[I need book recommendations for 10yo & 12yo ds.]

I have another idea:

How about reading through the Newbery and honor books list as their interests dictate (and of course, as you approve)?

[I need book recommendations for 10yo & 12yo ds.]

How about all the dog books--i.e. Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Big Red, etc.?

[So, has anyone tried the Sarah Palin hair-do this morning?]

I LOVE her hair and her look. She's just beautiful, in my opinion.

 

Alas, my hair is too short for that look at all, even if I could figure out how to do it. :confused: Besides, I'm much more interested in convenience and lack-of-fuss than appearance, unfortunately.:tongue_smilie:

[I'm not sure I can do this. . .]

Thanks, everyone. I know I need to take care of myself, and my DH is WONDERFUL about taking the girls off my hands for the evening. In fact, he's taking them over to his mom's tonight.

 

The "still, small voice" in my heart tells me this is the right thing to do, and I'm beginning to suspect it's as much for me as for them. I KNOW it will make me more dependent on the Lord.

 

As far as my whiny 3 year old, I'm pretty sure it's just a phase. That doesn't make it any easier, though, does it?

 

My girls are really very good. At least, that's what everyone tells me. :tongue_smilie: I'm probably overly sensitive to their "issues."

[I'm not sure I can do this. . .]

Thanks, everyone. I've been lurking (read: obsessed with) here for a month or two, and I know it's a great place for support.

 

I think we've really just had a bad week. My dd who's almost 3 has been a whining mess all week. It really gets to me, and I lose it, and then I feel horribly guilty and bad over it all. It's a vicious cycle.

 

We're already doing some pre-reading stuff (sounds) with lots of activities and lots of reading aloud. Really, our "learning time" is the highlight of our day. Both girls LOVE it. It's just the general whining, fighting, and arguing that get to me.

 

Yes, I am a Christian, which is what I meant when I said that I know I can't do it on my own. Still, even with the Lord helping me (and I KNOW He does!), I blow it sometimes. Big time, sometimes. I feel like I'm apologizing to my children a lot lately. I just need grace.

 

Anyway, I have a lot of apprehension about homeschooling, as I already mentioned. When do you ever know unequivocally, without a doubt that you are doing the right thing? :bigear:

[I'm not sure I can do this. . .]

I WANT to homeschool. I really, really do. I am a product of the ps that worked fairly well for me. I graduated at the top of my class (as did my dh) and even went on to teach school (ditto for dh). However, I do believe that school has changed even since I was a child, especially with the emphasis in my state on standardized tests. I won't even mention the societal changes that I'm not crazy about. I love the IDEA of homeschooling. It makes me happy to teach, and I love my children more than life itself.

 

Now, here come the BUTs. . .

 

First, I just don't know that I have the patience day in and day out to deal with my children in a positive way. Yes, I am a SAHM, and no, my children have never been to daycare or even a mothers-day-out program, so I guess you could say that I deal with them in a (mostly) positive way on a daily basis already, but it wears me out. I don't know that I can do it for the long haul.

 

Second, my 4 year old dd seems to really want to go to school. She mentions it occassionally on her own. I know that for some homeschoolers this is a non-issue, and in the grand scheme of things, I suppose it is for me, too. However, when I'm already feeling so unsure of this decision, it's hard to think of denying her something that she thinks she wants to do.

 

Okay, I'm sorry for this ramble. It's been a difficult day around here, and I'm feeling the pressure. I know I cannot do any of this on my own. Anyone have any words of wisdon/encouragement for me?:bigear:

[How to stem the tide of "twaddle" in our house]

I've never limited the twaddle and frankly, been surprised at times with the imaginative play and such that's come from it. But my experience has always been that they move on and are at least as eager to embrace the better quality stuff.

 

Remember, the person who can best recognize horse pucky is the person who mucks out stalls all day. Let them muck stalls for awhile. :D

 

 

Love this! And I suppose that's probably true. I suppose I was just having one of my 1000 daily moments of panic that I'm going to ruin my children in some way.:tongue_smilie:

[Why are Bob books good?]

I just started these with dd. I think they're considered good because they are simple and have controlled vocabulary (I think that's the terminology). In other words, like all early readers, they introduce certain sounds a few at a time.

 

DD is only four, so we're just sort of playing with them right now, but she was pretty excited about being able to read the first one (with a lot of help).

[How to stem the tide of "twaddle" in our house]

Yes, I, too, have always been of the opinion that children who read (or are read to) a lot will recognize and appreciate the difference between quality and twaddle. I don't want to be too limiting, but I'm still adjusting to the whole idea of homeschooling, so I'm just a little nervous.

[How to stem the tide of "twaddle" in our house]

Okay, so maybe all I really need is for someone to hold my hand and tell me that it's okay for them to enjoy a little bit of "candy" instead of always having elaborate, six-course meals!:tongue_smilie:

[How to stem the tide of "twaddle" in our house]

We go to the library every week, and I allow my girls (ages 4 and 2) to pick out a couple of books on their own. It never fails that my four year old gravitates toward the Dora, Bob the Builder, etc. books, which is precisely why I limit the number they get to pick. My girls don't even watch network t.v.; we very occasionally will check out a Dora or Bob video or DVD from the library (maybe 2 times a month). Otherwise, they might get to watch a children's church/Bible songs or Miss Pattycake video a few times a week (i.e. while I shower). We have a number of Disney Princess books at home, mostly given to us as gifts. How do I limit this (for my own sanity, if nothing else) without being a mean ogre mommy?

 

To clarify, we do a lot of reading, and because my graduate degree is in library science, I am already fairly knowledgable about what is considered quality children's literature. We read lots of pictures books and a chapter or so out of a longer book just about every day. However, there's always some "twaddle" mixed in there.

 

What do you do?

[Anybody want to play, "Name the Baby"?]

I love Maren (Merryn), Anna, Mariana, Bronwyn, Mary Elisabeth. . .

[Trainwrecks among formerly homeschooled students]

I just wanted to weigh in here as a very new, uninitiated homeschooler. My children are really too young to even go to school, but we do "learning time" here at home.

 

 

As an adjunct cc instructor, I occasionally have homeschooled students who usually somewhat disappoint me in their writing abilities. However, I should qualify this by saying that I am disappointed in the writing abilities of almost all of my ps-ed students, too. There doesn't seem to be a huge difference. My greatest shock was one semester when I taught developmental (remedial) English and had a girl as a student who had graduated as salutatorian of her public high school class the previous spring. Remedial English!:ack2:

 

When I was a fresh high school graduate (ps), I worked for five years at a public library while I got my bachelor's degree. We had several homeschooling families who were regular patrons. I was always favorably impressed by the children in these families. They seemed to genuinely enjoy reading and were extremely well behaved.

 

I agree with the person who said that most of the time, public school teachers never meet the hs successes. They usually only meet the trainwrecks.

[How do the various curricula fit into the classical method?]

I think my own love of learning (and yes, even school) is one reason I want to homeschool? Is that wrong?:tongue_smilie:I love thinking about what we can do together as a family!

[How do the various curricula fit into the classical method?]

Thanks for the responses! I'm really not too worried about it even for K; I know the consensus (with which I concur) is that the best thing to do for the early grades is to read, read, and read some more. We do that a good bit already. We're working on learning the phonemes (more about what we're doing on my blog). Other than that, we're just reading.

 

I'm just one of those people who obsess about things waaaaaaaaaaay before I should, I guess. It's endlessly fascinating for me to contemplate what's out there.

 

Anybody else?

[How do the various curricula fit into the classical method?]

I am a complete newbie, so please forgive me for asking what are probably very ignorant questions. I have two dds, ages 4 and almost 3. We will probably begin some kindergarten work next year (possibly with both of them, since my almost 3 year old is very insistent on being included in what her big sis does). Therefore, I'm really in no hurry to make a decision; I'm still mulling it over in my brain.

 

Okay, onto my question: I get the idea of classical education. I understand that it's based on three stages of development, and that the student cycles through history during each stage. However, what I don't know if I understand is how different curricula work with this. I have been to a HS conference where I saw TOG and SL firsthand, and both were interesting to me. How are they different? Can someone distill this for me in a short form that I can easily understand?

 

Thanks!:D

[Weekly Reports 8-15-08]

I blogged about our week! :) Link is in my signature line!

[Doing phonics with a two year old]

:D:D:D:D:D

[Just getting my feet wet]

Trying again. . .

[Just getting my feet wet]

Just wanted to checkout my sig line

[Doing phonics with a two year old]

Thanks, everyone! I'm loving the discussion. Especially thanks to Parrothead for the advice of letting little sis fall in line with big sis since they're so close in age. I kind of thought as much since because the way their birthdays fall, dd1 would start public kindergarten when she's barely five and dd2 would start it when she's almost six. I think it makes more sense to have them only a year apart, but we'll see what things look like when the time comes.

 

We're having a great time with learning time. You can read more about what we're doing on my blog here--http://hopeistheword.wordpress.com

 

 

I hope to eventually have that in my signature line!:tongue_smilie:

[Doing phonics with a two year old]

Thanks again, everyone! I am so tickled to be here and participating in such a great forum.

 

I am definitely not forcing her to do anything; she just expects to do what big sis is doing. I do need to help her more with her fine motor skill development, though. One of my problems is that she is left handed and I am most definitely right handed, so things like using scissors (which she wants to do) is difficult.

[Doing phonics with a two year old]

Thanks, everyone! That's my gut feeling, and really, since the girls are so close in age, what dd1 does, dd2 thinks she can do, too. Her fine motor skills are not there yet, of course, when it comes to using scissors (supervised) or coloring, etc., but she THINKS she can do it!

[Doing phonics with a two year old]

I thought that thread title might get a few looks!;)

 

I'm new to this whole homeschooling thing, at least as far as anything formal is concerned. We've done a little with BFIAR. However, we started last week learning consonant sounds.

 

While I am not intentionally doing phonics with my two year old, I am including her in what I'm doing with my four year old. We've just always done things this way, and while I'm sure that I could manage to find something to occupy her while big sister's learning sounds, I'm pretty sure it would be a hard sell. My girls are 18 months apart in age, and I'm seeing more and more that it might be a little difficult to separate what they do, especially as they get older.

 

I suppose my real questions are these:

a. Is there something truly better for her age that she should be doing during the short lessons on sounds?

b. What am I going to do with her when it is time for big sister to officially start kindergarten (next year) and she will be four in a few short months?

 

Thanks for answering a newbie's questions. I have lurked here for a while and know what a wealth of information and wisdom you seasoned homeschoolers can share. Thank you!

[Just getting my feet wet]

Hi! I'm new here!:tongue_smilie:I just wanted to introduce myself and check out how my post looks before I venture out into the bigger forums.:auto:

 

My name is Amy and I am a SAHM and part-time community college English instructor. I have two daughters, ages 4 (May) and 2 (November), and a husband who works in the field of public education. We are planning to homeschool, but I admit that I am coming to that with a good deal of trepidation and angst. I guess I'm looking for some support and encouragement, and as a follower of SWB and the WTM, I thought this would be a good place to "pull up a chair."