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Targhee

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  1. Just bought six games as gifts today (I had already bought four): Clank!, The River, Honshū, Dungeon Mayhem, Qwixx, and The Magic Labyrinth Before today I had not heard of Dungeon Mayhem or Honshū. The first is a battling card game where you play as one of 4 DnD classes with a very simplified mechanic. I demoed one round and thought DS would love it. Honshū is a tile laying game where you are creating a map to expand your fief in feudal Japan. Both are light weight games, compact size (will be stocking stuffers), with shorter play time. I am really exciting for brother and SIL to play The River and let me know how it is - it’s brand new tile laying, worker placement from Days of Wonder.
  2. We emphasize routine over schedule (rhythm of our day but without really checking the click, first this then that afterwards this other thing, etc) As to content vs time it was a mix. If I’ve git lessons in reasonable sized chunks we do the lesson. If it starts dragging or we are losing focus we stop and shelve for the next day. As an aside and completely in a light and casual vein, just by your description of your child and homework, be observant about the possibility of inattentive ADHD. I am not saying that I think your child definitely has it, but that you might want to read up on other signs of it and just watch. It’s better to catch it younger and be able to help your child develop skills needed to work in a non ADHD world as well as set realistic expectations. And it means a world of difference to their self image if they understand why they can’t meet a neurotypucal expectation, and what they need to succeed. Coming from a mom of 3 of 4 kidswith ADHD.
  3. Perhaps a live in a time vacuum, but many things posted (cool, neat, grody, same) are still in common usage amongst younger kids around me, and not just my own. There are new terms I don’t use, many I dislike (because they’re merely truncation of actual words and it sounds lazy to me), but I never get weird stares, sniggering from teens, and even a second glance if I say “cool” “neat” or even “awesome.” Perhaps, where I live, if I were to say “radical” or “stoked” or “cool beans” I might get a response. I definitely get responses when I use all the farming phrases I learned from my dad 😂
  4. Then drop it. There’s no point in hanging on to it if it does not serve you. Best wishes!
  5. No. And it isn’t PDF or printable. It is much like the text, however the problems have blanks for you to type in your answer, the video lectures are integrated, and it’s of course on a screen. I prefer both.
  6. I suppose the better question is “Is Lstin still serving us?”
  7. In the places I’ve lived there was only one such program, run by the school district. So you were a public school student doing school at home and had reporting and accountability to the school. And it was free. Once a week you went to the building for classes. Maybe search “alternative” “day school” or “public school home study” or similar. We did not use the program but they had interesting classes. If you don’t want public school you could look into drop off co-ops. Many co-ops don’t take younger kids as drop-offs (parent must be on site), but you may find one. Be ready to pay. Another option might be getting an au pair. Your kids would get language learning and the one day a week you are gone she could read, play, do projects with them.
  8. Gather together in the morning for something - read aloud, devotional, chores, etc. This shows the beginning of the homeschool day to all. Have the oldest two rotate between working with you on school and playing with and reading to 3yo. Keep lessons short for all. Do anything that you plan to teach combined to the oldest two during nap time. But keep your overall amount of work time in the day short. Hypothetically could play out like: 9:00 Read alouds for all 9:30 Mom teach 2nd Math, K’er plays with 3 yo 10:00 Mom teach K’er math, 2nd plays with 3 yo 10:20 2nd and K’er work on math problems and Mom attends to 3 yo and baby 10:40 Mom teach 2nd LA, K’er pmsy eith 3 yo 11:10 Mom teach K’er LA, 2nd plays with 3 yo 11:30 2nd/K independent LA work, Mom attends to 3 yo and baby Lunch Nap time and Mom teaches content area (science, history, projects, etc) End of School day My only comment would be to make it a routine (eg A then B then C...) rather than a schedule (eg 9:90 then 9:30 then 9:50...). Get the rhythm, ignore the pressure-inducing clock. Best wishes!
  9. If you really want some reading with output maybe try Evan Moor daily science or science reading, perhaps a grade or more ahead. There’s also a book series from Singapore Earlybird Science designed for about that age which is mostly reading and some output (they are workbooks). But if he has a thirst for it and likes reading, I still think learning the ins and outs of using the library is your best bet.
  10. RSO has some reading, but it’s all about the labs/activities and they require teacher/mom. Have you looked at snap circuits? There’s a student book (sold separately) that has lots of projects and explanations of the electronics (though maybe the book is better for a little older? the kits do come with project booklets to build). And there’s lots of room for play and exploration with the kits. A good science encyclopedia, or The Way Things Work, or similar reference book might be a good idea. My DS used to go to sleep with the Usborn Science Encyclopedia every night. The Eye-witness My First ____ Encyclopedia series is nice at that age. Go to your library and show him how to use it to find things he’s interested in. Maybe check out Exploration Education. There are lots of things to make and do on Ellen McHenry’s site. Unless he’s asking for lab write ups I wouldn’t go that way at all. If he likes writing things down get him a field journal. You could also try some field guides, binocs, or a loupe to go with them. Why are videos not good?
  11. If you just want to give him projects FOR FUN you might try Thames and Kosmos kits, but I wouldn’t attach academic expectations to it.
  12. Just my two cents, but I wouldn’t do a curriculum, especially if you need self-directed at age 7. Especially not lab sheets. Not even my gifted STEM-y kids got that because honestly it sucks the joy, and the innate scientific exploration of childhood, out of it. Maybe introduce lab sheets at 10 or 12. For now, read, watch, play, and experiment through play. Kids are natural scientists! A few well placed questions can help direct, but directed memorizing and output work are not necessary at that age. And self-directed work at that age is asking a lot.
  13. Watching “How to play ___” videos is helpful. There are many out there for just about every game you can buy. Have fun!
  14. I hear you. Here’s what we like for 6 people: - King of Tokyo - Telestrations - Snake Oil - Castle Panic - Tenzi - One Night Ultimate... (we have Vampire and Alien) - Timeline - Evolution - Dixit - 7 Wonders - Betrayal at the House on the Hill - Kingdomino plus Queendomino - Dominion plus a second base game (not expansion) plays up to six - Catan with expansion Agricola expansion, Sagrada expansion, Exploding Kittens with 2 decks... There are more. I too wish more base games were designed for up to six, because even some that are expanded don’t scale well and the p,any isn’t as enjoyable.
  15. 😣 made the mistake of watching game review videos today... opened the worm (wyrm? 🤪) hole... hours of looking at games online and now my list has ballooned out of decent dimensions. There are so many great looking games out there! We are in the Golden Era of Tabletop Gaming! Here are some more obscure (at least to me, well before today) games that have me very interested: Best Treehouse Ever, The River, Bunny Kingdom, Super Dungeon: Explore, Cryptid, Kodama, NMBR 9
  16. SmallWorld, Stone Age (similar to Agricola but a bit less complex/long), Puerto Rico are all similar to your likes
  17. 7 Wonders plays 7 (and is fun, never quite sure who will win until scoring) Dominion is an awesome game, and if you buy a second stand alone (eg Dominion Intrigue stand alone, not expansion only) you can play up to six. King of Tokyo is a fun game, comic book/Godzilla style king of the hill game with some quirky cards/abilities. Telestrations is a great large group game. No strategy, but fun, Snake Oil is hilarious and plays a very large group (can’t remember off hand we have done at least 8). the One Night Ultimate... Games are fun. We own three. It’s like the game mafia, but more nuanced. Settlers of Catan plays six with the expansion.
  18. I’m giving Sleeping Queens, Hiss, Bandido, MTG cards, and Qwixx to kids. we recently discovered Kingdomino as a great family game (the Queendomino expansion allows all six of us to play). Also finally tried SushiGo Party - fun group game. What I’m eyeing: Clank!, Century Golem, Scythe, Bring Your Own Book, and Elfenroads.
  19. Would it be easier if older sibling cane home too? Then 6th header might feel it was less unfair. Plus you’d have the freedoms of not being on the school’s schedule!
  20. Did you post on the Accelerated Learners board? Might get more response there. No I did not use workbooks, i photocopied whatever I needed from the book.
  21. We have used three of the books supplementally and not in their entireties. They do work towards higher thinking, excerpts are decent (well written and not trite not inane), the activities almost all work for homeschooling (some require modification), and they are aimed at gifted kids so levels given are somewhere in the range of accurate-to-advanced. I like them, but like I said I didn’t use them in their entireties (we were targeting some specific skills). HTH
  22. Not a text spine, but what about Crash Course World History to go with The Story of Science? As an aside, the Janes Burke film series Connections is old but great at connecting scientific history with political history and I think very engaging. Also there are some great trade books, like Disappearing Spoon, that also weave science and history together. Have fun!
  23. DS was 6.5, middle DD was 6.5, youngest DD turned 7 right as we started 1st grade (end of Aug). Oldest was grade accelerated so turned 6 in Oct of 1st grade in public school. We later, in middle school, reverted to the grade she should be in according to age. During that time she was public for 3 years and home the rest. I will say that even though she was a academically ready for even more acceleration she was NOT socially/emotionally ready. I thought she was, but after a few years it was obvious she wasn’t (ADHD made it even more obvious, and she’s petite). Enter homeschooling where we could continue to add more advanced content without putting her into difficult social contexts.
  24. Prosciutto wrapped asparagus, fruit picks (mini kabobs), olives (several varieties), salami with GF/DF crackers, garlic dip (or hummus) with veggies, meatballs, almond flour biscotti...
  25. I can see the appeal. Skills are important. But do you need 6 years of them in spiral repetition at the time-cost of quality literature? I say no. We did one year use an Evan Moor book on reading skills that was also science. We used it two grades ahead because my kid loved science and had a high lexile score but he didn’t like stopping to analyze text. There were enough exercises to last a year doing it 2 times a week. It was informational and appealed to him because he was learning more science, and he was learning SKILLS for reading a text. But he still had other science and he still had other literature. I don’t know, I guess what I am saying is you can still teach the valuable skills but it doesn’t have to overtake your time or replace quality literature. Best wishes with finding what you want!
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