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kesmom

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Posts posted by kesmom

  1. My oldest is doing 5A right now too and we have some of the same issues. For the first time I'm teaching her to do some of the textbook pages on notebook paper.  She doesn't have any handwriting/dysgraphia issues and it's still been a big struggle!

     

    We do use a small white board sometimes, with ultra-fine tip markers. I like the idea of taking pictures of the work. We might try that and keep a notebook on the ipad. 

  2. Week 4. The first two weeks went quite well and now it's been harder to get everything done. We've had some appointments etc, but also DD just seems a lot more distracted. I keep wondering if I have her doing too much, but when I suggest cutting back even slightly she really doesn't want to. She gets frustrated when she thinks she's "behind" and seems stressed. I worry a little about Paris Geller tendencies....

     

     

  3. There is a local used bookstore that has nearly all the Zaccaro books right now - all the challenge books, algebra and more. I was wondering if one of the books stands out as a favorite? (I will not buy them all, I will not buy them all, I will not buy them all........ )

     

     

     

     

  4. I can't deal with anything that looks like the materials used at my cousins' hokey little Christian school when we were growing up - Abeka and those Lifepacs or whatever they are called.

     

     

    Also if it takes too long to figure out what material/level my kid needs, I won't use it. (IEW)

     

     

    I haven't bought from Critical Thinking Company because I feel like their catalog preys on parents' insecurities. The offer huge packages of material that look like a full year's curriculum but marketed as supplements.

     

     

    And I was turned off of CM/AO for years after joining a yahoo group where all the moms seemed kind of miserable and constantly wringing their hands over whether or not something they were doing was "truly CM" style. I found the WTM boards and didn't look back. Now Bravewriter etc... is slowly getting me interested in it again.

    • Like 4
  5. We are one week into it, so I'm not sure I can give an accurate review at this point. I gave my daughter the choice of continuing with CAP W+R (that she liked) or Writers in Residence. She browsed through the sample and fell in love with it.

     

    I think it could be used secularly. We are Christian but I usually prefer secular material. I don't like Apoligia for science but this is fine with me. I haven't read through the other author profiles to see their content. It seems like it would be easy enough to find articles or interviews with other authors if you wanted to.

  6. I ordered a pair of the Maped scissors for my 10 year old. Now I'm curious about them too! (though I've adapted to right handed cutting for over 30 years and even the thought of lefty cutting feels weird lol)

     

    I have a family member who irons with her left hand because her mom and older sister were both left handed and that's how they taught her. 

     

     

  7. You can use less detergent, but I wouldn't recommend no soap for the reasons already mentioned. I used to cut Finish tabs in half after reading on someone's blog that they did it as a way to save money. It worked fine though I eventually quit doing it because of the hassle. (It's kind of difficult to cut and you can't cut a bunch at once without a mess. Maybe I will start doing it again)

     

    Another thing that will help your dishwasher run better is, before starting it, to run the water in the kitchen sink until it is hot.

    • Like 1
  8. I bought a used Usborne science dictionary recently and it came in a nice clear plastic cover that fits it perfectly. Does anyone know if these are available for other Usborne paperbacks? I also just bought the science encyclopedia (new) and would love to keep it protected.

  9. For handwriting, how about buying an inexpensive pad of handwriting paper and writing some of the words from ETC for her to copy?

     

    I've been using them behind level for my 8 year old. He struggled when he first started reading and the "easy" work was confidence building and good review for him. I don't have him do much writing in the book at all (we used HWT for that). On the pages where it is just pictures and a line to write each word, I had him spell each word orally to me while I wrote them down. It provided a bit of a spelling test and he got to watch me model good handwriting.

     

     

    • Like 1
  10. I ordered a new box of printer paper and 6 Better Binders from Staples a few weeks ago when I had a coupon. I might need a couple more binders but I will wait until I know for sure and probably just get simple ones from Amazon. I splurged on Frixion highlighters for ME.

     

    We don't need too much - index cards, binder rings, maybe one package of notebook paper. I will probably also get a handful of folders and notebooks to keep on hand.

     

    I will grab some little cutesy stuff for the first day of school, but will pick those out in the store.

     

     

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