I forgot to add: Math. Math is the language of science. If you don't understand the size (big and small) within the range of science, it is difficult to understand what science is teaching us. Statistics and bell curves and math as it applies to physics and chemistry are also required (in our household).

1) I have dd4 do crafting (gluing, watercolors) in a 9x13 pan. It contains the excess water from the watercolor painting, it easy to move at mealtime, and keeps the glue off the table. We have two in our household, and both get used. Of course, I can't make rice crispy bars now...... :glare: 2) Mod Podge (aka decopodge) is my best friend for gluing. It can glue ANYTHING that would fall off with Elmers. PomPoms, jewels, beads, seeds. I give dd4 a big paintbrush, and let her dollop it out of the jar. I purchase ModPodge from JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon 3) Crocheting is a good idea! 4) Pony beads and big needles and yarn. I have found that big blunt metal needles are the best. At this age, you can teach your son about patterns. Have him make you holiday necklaces with patterns of appropriate colors (Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Valentines). Other patterns may be your favorite colors, or a local favorite sports team. 5) Home Art Studio We also have this series. We liked it for 1st grade. I am hoping that 2nd grade will stretch us. 6) General Drawing Introduce him to Ed Emberley (your library should have some books) and teach him HOW to use Emberley books. When we draw, we make everything in triplicate for practice and for creativity. It also eliminates perfection because "your next one will be better." 7) Spin Art -- My daughters LOVE this. 8) Artree - is an online monthly magazine for children. We read a page or so over lunch. Each issue introduces an artist and several new techniques. This month, it discusses artist Andy Goldsworthy. My daughters were introduced to "transient art," and they saw lots of examples of Mr. Goldsworthy's art made from rocks, leaves, ice, sticks etc. All month, my girls have been creating indoors and out. We have glued leaves, sticks, flowers, and maple seeds on paintings. We made a big sun out of dandelions at the preschool for "public art." We used watercolors with dry and wet bases, and we used salt to create a different visual effect. We made caterpillars from the blooms of the snowball plant. A mandala made of nature pieces is our next project. We also will make "a face on a tree" with clay and nature pieces (stones, shells, moss, etc). There is one free issue online. Subscriptions are $10/year, or you can purchase individual past issues for $2 each.

How I hope to achieve scientific literacy for my children. ETA: For those of you who are upset with #6 below, please note that my opening phrase is (above) is "How *I* hope to achieve scientific literacy for my children." 1) The basic ideas of science. This includes everything from our heliocentric solar system to genetic inheritance. Just the facts, Ma'am. After all, if my children don't know about plate tectonics, they will not be very knowledgeable to discuss volcanoes and earthquakes. We read Cricket magazines and Ranger Rick. We have a tremendous Nature Center with incredible rangers who lead school, camp, and family programming. My kids are on a first-name basis with all the naturalists. We watch PBS Kids tv shows, and we watch Nova and Nature on PBS. We started when older dd was young, and would point out, "Look at the giraffe!!! See the monkeys!!!" on Nature. 2) History of science: great experiments throughout history. Things that people used to think, and the experiments that changed their minds. 3) How is science done? --"The scientific method." --Publishing in journals. --Reproducible results (in someone else's lab) --Your data is open. --Could your results be because of another reason? Do a confirmatory experiment to answer that question --How some ideas go back and forth and back and forth for decades until someone develops a beautiful experiment. --How, as a scientist, you get prestige points for proving someone wrong. You even get points for proving yourself wrong! --The best ideas win....eventually. 4) We value EVIDENCE. ***If an experiment goes wrong, I try not to use the words "right" or "wrong." We discuss what other scientists discovered when they did the experiment, and I reassure her that it is better to observe what she sees and record it than to get the "right" answer.*** 5) It is okay for Science to change. I am 44, and I often frame ideas of how we used to believe differently when I was my dd's age. We used to believe that dinosaurs dragged their tails, they were all cold-blooded reptiles (no feathers), and we didn't know why they died out. I remember the day my dad discussed it at dinnertime. I was fascinated. I encourage my daughters to question things that don't sound right to them. Maybe we can do an experiment to answer this question. Maybe she will disprove a known theory of science with her questioning. 6) Children who do science, become scientists. Children who don't, don't. It's not enough to READ about science. You need to DO it. You don't need to have a curriculum to do this. Get a chemistry kit. Or a snap circuits kit. Identify all the trees and wildflowers in your neighborhood. We just spent several days culturing bacteria from our environment on agar plates and growing them in the gas oven overnight. Both the 4yo and 8yo learned about agar, bacteria, streaking plates, incubating, and cell division. And yes, even the 4yo did it. She did great! 7) Science in the news. -- Even now, when I see something interesting in the news, I share it with my girls. This may be about the dolphin die-off in the gulf, or a galaxy with 300 trillion suns. It may be from PBS News, or it may be on my FB feed. My children see that the things they learn about science are relevant in the real world. 8) Current Events. If we continue homeschooling through Middle School, I am hoping to begin Current Events. A part of that will be Science in the news.

moonlight, you are making me so excited about summer reading programs!!! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: Sorry so long. I'm excited! See who can read the widest selection of genre throughout the summer. Include a list. Here's a start: classics science fiction fantasy a book of fairy tales or a novel with fairy tale character(s) a book of myths or a novel with character(s) or events from a myth (Percy Jackson, etc) action/adventure/thriller mystery poetry graphic novel history (nonfiction) Western Sports Award Winner or Honor book War (this includes "the Resistance," or an occupied state, etc, not just battle). a play a Shakespeare play or novelization/story version a book set in another country besides the U.S. (Feel free to eliminate all English-speaking countries). historical fiction science math biography Make it clear that most people will not read all of these types over 12 weeks, but see how many you can. Tell everyone to keep a list of: --title, author, so they can report total number of books --genre (picture book counts as a genre, for younger readers), so they can report genre number --number of pages, so they can report total pages for the summer. If you plan to use the other challenges or reading levels I list below, then make that clear at the beginning of the summer, so kids can plan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rewards: Certificates are fine. I would steer away from "sponsorship." Whenever we had sponsorship of reading programs as kids, it always turned me off. I was shy and bookish. To approach friends and neighbors of limited means was too intimidating for me. You don't want to turn off some of your best readers, and make one of their favorite things into a struggle and a terror. Also, then the best salesmen win or the ones who have parents with the best network win, rather than the best readers. BTDT. If you want to give a prize, a) give school supplies. A pencil. A sheet of stickers. Pencil-top erasers. 79-page spiral notebooks. b) Mini-cans of play-doh. Glow-necklaces. Little toys c) homemade bookmarks. There are some cute ideas here, but all you have to do is google "homemade bookmarks" for tons of ideas. ----------------------------------------------------------- Divide the kids according to reading level for certificates or prizes. The 4th grader who reads 100 picture books should not be winning "most books" and beating out his 10yo peer who read 35 chapter books. Determine your level by deciding what you read the most of. Levels: 1) Picture books (PK - 2nd) 2) Early Chapter - books over 60 pages (3rd-4th) 3) Chapter books - books over 100 pages (5th - 8th) 4) Advanced Chapter - books over 200 pages (9th - 12th) Exceptions are books of poetry, anthologies, and plays, since they are usually shorter in length. ----------------------------------------------------- Other Challenges: Give special awards or certificates for: 1) Most pages read at each level. Have everyone of that level stand. Who has read 100 pages? (some will sit down). 150? 200? 250? etc, etc. Eventually, only one will be left standing. 2) Most books read at each level. There may be a tie for this one. Be prepared with an extra certificate. 3) Has anyone read a book that was more than 1000 pages? Any of yer high schoolers gonna read War and Peace this summer? Or Gone with the Wind? We did in high school, and the process of reading such a long book was invaluable to me. All of these should be acknowledged with a prize or certificate, if possible. 4) Has anyone read a whole series of more than a trilogy, or at least 10 in a series or by an author? Narnia? Percy Jackson? Harry Potter? Left Behind? I list the "at least 10" option because series like Dragon Slayer's Academy, Beast Quest, and Magic Treehouse all have too many to read in a summer. Likewise, the 8th grader who reads 10 of Shakespeare's plays over the summer should be acknowledged. All of these should be acknowledged with a prize or certificate, if possible. 5) Does anyone have a special project they did to share a book? A diorama? A lapbook? A piece of artwork or series of drawings of scenes in the book? A poster? A movie? A website? All of these should be acknowledged with a prize or certificate, if possible.

Disclaimer: I'm an overscheduler. Take this all with a grain of salt. Finishing this year (2nd grade): --Saxon Phonics 2 --Explode the Code (finishing the series, still working on books 7.5 & 8. --Wordly Wise 2 (for vocabulary) --IEW PAL Writing --general comprehension practice workbook (barely started) --Typing (Dancemat is a good place to begin). --Sequential Spelling (started at Christmas, onlly 80 lessons completed). What is on the schedule for 3rd Grade: Goals: 1) grammar/punctuation 2) spelling 3) transitioning to easy chapter books (60-100 pages) by using quality literature. Analyzing these books. Resources --Logic of English (at least parts of it. ) for grammar --Wordly Wise 3 for vocabulary --Sequential Spelling for spelling --general grammar workbooks from this series for extra practice for grammar/punctuation. --Institute for Excellence in Writing: Teaching Writing: Structure and Style for writing And now the reading part: I hope to eventually read many Newbery Award winners with my daughters, just as we have read many Caldecott books. However, 3rd grade is a little young for most Newbery books. 1) We are using books from the Battle of the Books Website, 3rd and 4th grade lists. I have let dd pick a few books for next year, and I have made a few selections, too. If you order through the website, the prices are very reasonable. I will have dd tell me two things from each chapter to practice her narration. 2) Novel-ties: I have not tried these yet. This will be my version of a Lit teacher for each of the books on our BOTB list from #1. 3) Lap Book Book Reports: We'll try this. 4) And I will do the Teaching the Classics seminar before September 1st. Here is an example video. I'm hoping that it will help me brush up on my 10th grade Honors Lit class.

*apologies for resurrecting a dead thread* Conversation with a native speaker should be as often as possible. I've had good luck practicing my paltry Chinese in two ways: 1) Asking local college students of "Asian appearance" if they speak Chinese; then using a few words in Chinese to practice. It has gotten easier the more I do it. Be unafraid to ask for help, even from strangers. Last month, an acquaintance checked pages and pages of my homemade Chinese dictionary for errors. ****My children see me do this.***** I am grateful for the graciousness of the students and wider Chinese community as I pronounce things very poorly. 2) My Language Exchange can help you find someone to practice your language with via Skype. I have had very good luck with the site for ME to practice. DISCLAIMER: THIS SITE IS NOT FOR CHILDREN TO USE UNATTENDED.

We started young with languages. Two caveats: 1) We play many, many games. 2) Beware of any writing required by young children. I learned that for my dd; it was enough for her to be learning to write in English. Pick a workbook with not a lot of writing, and even then, don't be married to it. You can always pick the workbook up again next year. Here is a former post of mine on some foreign language video options for very young children. (Entry #9) Here is a list of our games, which may be adjusted for any beginning language. (Entry #8) ------------------------------------------------------------ I would definitely do Spanish first. If you believe that you children will live and work in the U.S. as adults, Spanish is the language to know. As children, they will also encounter Spanish among their peers or in the greater world (hearing it at stores, the zoo, the park, or a museum). They will realize the connection between the subject and its value in the wider world.

Be prepared for someone (and this applies to the whole range of students, from secular to YEC, for any sort of subject) to nitpick a subject and STEAL YOUR TIME. You have only a finite amount of classtime. Be prepared with an answer of the following type: --We won't be covering that for the test. If you want an A, this is what you need to know for the test. --That question is for discussion with your family/spiritual leader. Here we are covering what is in the syllabus. --I'd be happy to discuss that after class, but right now, we need to cover [subject X, subject Y, and subject Z] on the syllabus today.

Ugly Fish. Bad Kitty

--Real Men Don't Rehearse: Adventures in the Secret World of Professional Orchestras (The author transitioned to a job as a consultant for music on tv. For example, queuing the cameras to focus on the French Horns when the French Horns had a solo in the piece that was being taped for tv.) This book will not tell you a lot about musical careers, but it is an enjoyable read. --Instrument care and tuning. Piano tuning. Violin care. --What does it take to get a job with a major music company? Sony, EMI, Universal, Warner, itunes, or any minor label. Start contacting companies NOW and ask, "How did you get to where you are at? What was the most valuable learning experience for you? What kind of (college) education do you prefer your entry-level employees to have? What kind of experience or traits do you like your entry-level employees to have? Do you have summer internships? Is it possible to come and get a tour of your headquarters/studios/postproduction, etc? ***Click on the link in this paragraph for more general information about the industry.*** --Beware of setting teaching as a goal unless he is super good at what he does. One acquaintance wanted to be a band teacher. His adviser at college told him that he simply wasn't good enough. He became depressed and dropped out of college. Today he works in Information Management, and makes quite a bit more than he ever would have as a music teacher.

Twelfth Night.

The trolls like to think that they are informed. All they can do is declare how they wish the world worked and cling to their ideological position like a toddler to their blankie. They are not in the business of solving problems or sharing information. They believe they are having rational discourse, but they really sound like a tired 4yo.

Joann's Fabrics I'm impressed with the stuff I find there. It is good beginner quality. I'm also impressed with unusual art items they have available on the shelf or via website. Jerry's Artarama: a nice selection, but probably better quality and more expensive than the ages/abilities of my children. I've bought tube watercolors, palettes, and brushes from there. JoAnn's is cheaper and a better fit for where my children are at. Artful Parent: does not sell art supplies, but makes recommendations. Here is her blog post on paper. --------------------------------------------- We are recently inspired by Artree, an online art magazine for kids. Past issues are only a couple of dollars each, or you can get an annual subscription for $10. The projects push us out of our comfort zone of just painting or drawing to create unusual pictures using new materials and new techniques. It doubles as "art education" because it profiles an artist each month.

There are two types of dentists: 1) Dentists who "wait and see," and 2) Dentists who want to fix everything NOW. You may have a dentist who is of the latter group. ------------------------------------------------------------------- I have also seen that younger dentists (fresh out of dental school, opened their own practice, and have lots of college debt) anecdotally fit into the second category. :( ------------------------------------------------------------------ Beware of franchises. Dental franchises are a growing segment of dental care, and the owners are under high pressure to rev up income. Aspen, Great Expressions, Comfort Dental, and FLOSS are a few, but there are others. I would RUN, DON'T WALK away from these health care providers. They have a record of recommending (in a dire tone) an expensive course of care (rather than options that fit the income of the patient). They pressure patients to sign for care right now, and they provide expensive payment plans that some patients cannot afford. Here is one of many articles on the subject. There was also the news story about the (mostly low income) CHILDREN that were given unnecessary dental procedures at a children's dental franchise. (This makes me mad because it is children, and it makes me mad because it is government money being fraudulently wasted). Here is an unrelated document about that story.

We go through it quickly since we make several large batches of Party Mix each year. We use our giant turkey roaster pan for Party Mix far more often than for turkey!

1) Work is dangerous at this age. Consider the following: Work: --I get money. --I am "independent." --I am praised for my abilities. --I am not asked to do anything hard. However, this level of work will not ever support a family or pay for college. It's not a good long-term plan. School: --No money. --I have to do what others tell me. --Whatever I do is not good enough (both in current work and in the fact that even if I finish Algebra 2, I still have to do Geometry, Trig, PreCalc, and Calc). --Every assignment, I have to learn something new...and that is hard! There needs to be a discussion that: SCHOOL IS YOUR JOB. Anything else is a hobby. Threaten to cut off his job if his grades and attitude do not improve. That is what most parents do if the job at McDonalds interferes with school. And then follow through. 2) Send him to public school part time, if that is possible. Even if things are going swimmingly, consider this. Disclaimer: our state (Iowa) is very good at this. This is not possible in all states or districts. An experienced local homeschooling friend of our follows the following schedule: 9th grade: one class at the local high school 10th grade: two classes 11th grade: three classes 12th grade: four classes This serves several purposes: a) by the time the student has 4 "outside of home" classes, he/she is one step away from a college schedule of 5 classes. b) the student becomes accustomed to following someone else's schedule and being independent to complete assignments and remembering to bring supplies to class c) higher level (Honors, AP, CLEP or IB) classes, or classes that are difficult to teach at home (like Chemistry or Physics lab) are available d) student can truly compare themselves to their peers. If the student receives a C and their peers received an A, what needs to change? This can be an opportunity to fill holes before college starts. e) you will be plugged into the school guidance system to learn about college programs and scholarships. In our state, any students that passes a set list of classes receives and automatic scholarship to help pay for college. Does your state have this?

Roughly, our break is June and July. We are busy with swim lessons, summer camps, and learning other stuff. These activities end ~August 1. I plan a month of swimming at the pool and reading books.... BUT our family doesn't do well without a plan. After a week, I add Math lessons. Then I gradually add extra subjects as we need them. By the time the public schools open, we have been schooling for a couple of weeks.

1) Word Girl It has really silly bad guys. My favorite is Chuck, the Evil Sandwich-Making-Guys. I even dressed up as him for Halloween a few years ago (our whole family went as Word Girl characters). I bought fake ketchup and mustard squirters and squirted the other Trick-or-Treaters. 2) Not a superhero, but Scooby Doo. They teach that it's usually a bad guy, not something supernatural. Watching Shaggy and Scooby be chased is funny. Our 4yo are fine with some episodes, but scared by others. These are easily purchased at Target for a modest price. ***My children were scared when they were younger; the 4yo is still scared sometimes. After watching them 100+ times, they become less scary. 3) We've had good luck with: --fast forwarding on demand and watching as often as requested or --muting the sound and reading aloud the subtitles (I do this for watching zombie movies. I'm a scaredy cat!) or --stopping the movie and asking what the child thinks will happen next. This is not a magic cure. You will still have to fast forward through the scary parts. .....But it introduces the idea that no matter how scary the movie is, the good guy always wins. 4) See if you can read a book/graphic novel version before watching the movie. Having no surprises may help eliminate the anxiety. A good comic book store may be able to help you with this. Good Luck. He's a lucky little guy to have parents who will go to the mat for him!

I used to nanny for a family that played the furnace game. The dad liked to keep the heat turned low. And I have ALWAYS been chronically cold. Then the mom came came home one afternoon, and I was folding laundry in the livingroom while wearing my winter coat. (The toddler was upstairs napping.) The mom turned the heat up for me. :)

1) We talk about the plan for the day. This plan is recited several times a day. 2) No tv until dd is dressed and all the other "morning" stuff is done (teeth, hair, socks, potty). 3) If child runs away from me while getting dressed, I get up and go do one thing to get myself ready. We are not playing the "run away" game right now. We are playing the "getting ready" game right now. It's no fun to play the "run away" game by yourself if mom walks away to go pack the bag. 4) Give a choice of what is next to get ready: What do you want to do first? Potty, clothes, hair, teeth, or socks? 5) Clothes are laid out the night before. I put the clothes in the dryer. If you want WARM clothes, you need to come and get dressed NOW. 6) Understanding of why a child may be breaking a rule. What is it like from his/her point of view? --Is it okay to do a certain action at some times, but not others? --Is it okay for older sibling to do a certain action, but when toddler does it, there is a big mess? --Is the child bored, and needs you to arrange an extra activity? --Is the child lonely and needs to be with you? --Does the child say, "no, no, no" because they know it will get attention from you? --Does the child say, "no, no, no" because he/she doesn't have the right words to say, "Mommy, I need some cozy time with you. Will you snuggle with me? Or color with me? Or read me my favorite book? Or give me a snack? Or roll the ball on the floor with me? Or do a puzzle with me? Or tell me again how much you love me and how special I am? This too: -------------------------------------------------------- On the lighter side, if you have a toddler in the house, you MUST read The Honest Toddler. Check the library for a copy.

Not toenail fungus, but athlete's foot...and a funny story. Loverboy had a professor that had athlete's foot when he (the professor) was an undergrad. Being poor AND a chemistry major, he decided to just soak his foot in a bleach solution. However, the bleach solution didn't seem to work. So he increased the concentration (percent) of bleach in the mixture. After doing this a number of times (and increasing the concentration of beach each time), his foot was still red and itchy after soaking. He finally decided to go to the student health service for his athlete's foot. The doctor took one look at his foot with the athlete's foot and said, "Hey! That looks rather like a CHEMICAL BURN!" :w00t: :lol: The professor went home, quit treating his foot, and the itchiness/burning went away.

Games to teach a specific skill. Examples; --identifying blends: sw, sn, sm, sp, cr, dr, shr, str, scr Just 2-3 for each activity. --fractions matched to a visual, colored-in shape --fractions matched to decimals and vice versa --identify notes on a music staff --foreign language (Spanish) bingo game or matching game

A lot of the titles here are familiar in our house, too! Dd8 has read and loved so many of them! Here are two lists from A Mighty Girl: Age 6-8 Age 9-12

I was going to put the dinosaur docs on Netflix but then I couldn't find them. They may have been removed :( Did you try the link for them? It should take to you to the Dinosaur ones on Netflix.

Philosophy: Sometimes half a loaf of bread is better than no loaf at all. 1) What things can my child(ren) do independently? --Piano: Send dd to practice independently for 20 minutes, rather than the usual 30-with-instruction. I don't even care what she plays, as long as her hands are touching the piano keys. --The math facts sheets in the math lesson. --Writing with no expectations of spelling or grammar. We can fix those on another day. --General workbook pages (Explode the Code, Test Prep Practice, etc). 2) Science Documentaries, until I feel so sick that I give in and let them watch whatever they want while I lock the door and go lay down.