bluemongoose
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Posts posted by bluemongoose
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How old were they? This is common in lower grades when they're still learning to read. Should I have really pointed out my then 4-year-old's spelling errors when she started trying to write sentences?
This was K-7 for me. We moved to a new stated between my 7th & 8th grade years, but by then the damage was done. In high school I was laughed at for my poor spelling and grammar. It was mortifying!
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When my kids were in school we were told that "creative spelling" was fine and that it need not be corrected. The reasoning was that it might discourage the kids from writing at all. IMO, I think it is another way of shielding kids from being told something is not correct in order to preserve their self-esteem. Never mind the failure of self esteem in the future when they can't get into college or fill out a job application.
Lesley
Actually, I had this all through PS elementary in the '80s. We were told the same thing about our creativity being stifled by correcting our work. This was for both grammar and spelling. It is still embarrassing for me today. I am learning everything I didn't in PS with my DD now. I did go to the University and I graduated with a high GPA, but it was a struggle and I hated having to show any writing that I had not had time to go over with an understanding friend first. I do not like that my stunted writing ability speaks for how educated I am, and I 100% blame the shoddy foundation of my education on the PS door!:glare:
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Am I alone in my thinking that this is RIDICULOUS? Is this what is being taught in the university schools of education? I thought the whole-word learning versus (triumphant) phonics argument was settled. I guess not.
No
Yes- at least that is how it was taught to me when I was at the university school of ed. I got in trouble for saying "whole language" sucks and they should be bringing phonics back in. I was not very good at playing the part of a sheeple :lol:.
No, it is not settled, and many public schools are still opposed to phonics.
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In my state we are required to do standardized testing in certain years, not every year. I do not agree with it. I dont think the schools have their act together enough to police those outside of their school.
I also disagree with the fact that I am not allowed to administer the test myself, but required to pay for a "qualified" administer to give my child the test. The PS kids are required to take this same test, but the tax dollars pay for their test. Do I not also pay into this pool of tax dollars? Why is my student not allowed to come to test day if they are required to take it?
The State has been so shamed by the higher test scores of homeschoolers that they now no longer want to even see my child's test score. Not only that, but the requirement for passing is 15% on the test. That is a low F for crying out loud! They want me to pay money to prove that my kids are capable of at least an F!
So I have to pay for this formality just so the gov schools boards feel as though they are policing homeschoolers. It is expensive, unproductive, and lame. Much like PS often is itself these days:glare:.
I used to work in these PS. I got out because I could not stand being forced to teach to tests. I cannot teach that way. It is not really "teaching" IMO. I remember getting my first taste of "teaching to the test" when I was a student teacher in College. I was told to give a fourth grade class a their first lesson in division. I started the lesson and realized right away that the students didnt understand multiplication, so I decided to ditch the division lesson and step back to multiplication. I was strongly reprimanded by the head teacher for throwing the student schedule off track for the test. My supervisor was called in and I had to go before a board of review. This was all because I wouldn't conform to blindly leading these kids to the test. After all, I had gone to school to be a teacher!
This is why the gov ed. are not welcome to tell me how to homeschool and why I think their test is pointless.
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Brandonsmom- I am not as good as Jackie at compairing Singapore to MM, but I will give my reasons. And just a disclaimer before i do: DH has recently asked me to continue with both programs, so we are actually doing MM AND Singapore. I decided I would humor DH in this as he never asks me for anything, it is totally not necessary to do both programs.
Things Singapore and MM have in common: They are both in the Asian style of teaching math, they are Mastery programs, the really teach the kids the hows and whys of math. They are similar in how they go about teaching math as well, they are both strong programs.
Their differences: Singapore is more colorful, cartoony and eye appealing IMO. BUT it has so many different books to juggle, is more expensive, and often takes large conceptual leaps that the child has difficulty following at times.
MM- Is a little less eye appealing, it is more simplistic in that it uses shapes and things to illustrate, rather than using cartoons. It does have color. It is less expensive. The teaching is right at the top of the page and it is very well explained. The child, if an independent learner, can often do this program alone. With my DD I read through the instructions with her and then turn her loose to complete the work.
Even though MM is less eye appealing, I prefer it to Singapore because of the lack of conceptual jumps, the clear explanations, it is in one book, and the price.
You mentioned the other program you were comparing is Saxon. That program is very different from MM and Singapore as it is a Spiral type program. Some kids need a more Spiral type, some loathe it. My DD loathes spiral. I have never used Saxon, so I cannot compare it with the others for you.
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We also had a raccoon knock on our back door, looking through the glass. The only thing though, it was a momma and she was keeping watch while her 5 babies were downing our cat food in a hurry!
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I do have trouble finding shoes that fit my feet. My feet are wide at the ball and narrow at the heal. If I buy a wide shoe, the box fits but the heal slips. If I buy a regular shoe, the heal fits and the toe pinches. Dress shoes are the worst offenders. I cannot wear them (good thing I am a tomboy:lol:)
I have found the Keen brand fits my feet perfectly. They are expensive, but worth it. I have 1 pair of their sandels, 1 pair of their brown leather dress/casual, and one pair of tennis shoes. They last forever and are the best investment I have ever made. The only time I will buy a different brand of shoe is if I am forced into an even where I have to wear a dress shoe.
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Yep, Hannah Outlet, sometimes Gymboree, and the rest I make myself. Skirts are super easy to make and not expensive either.
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I think we both came to the conclusion around the same time. We knew that PS was not going to work out for DD. She is ahead of her peers, and has a very late in the year Bday. We didnt have the option of testing her in earlier, so she would just be allowed to go to school this fall. They also do not have a program for advanced students, so they told us she would get to wait in the regular class until the other kids caught up. DH did this in school, he hated school and just got into trouble instead of learning anything.
So we looked at Private Schools and realized very quickly that the only ones that could provide what DD needed academically were a far drive and very expensive.
So we came to the conclusion that homeschooling was our only real option. Now we love it and wouldnt change anything.
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I think pushing a child academically can kill their natural love of learning. A lot of times, I think it comes from the parent trying to fulfill their own needs. However, I also think there are some children with a high need for intellectual stimulation. Some children actually crave it, and sometimes what looks like pushing to an outsider is actually the parent meeting the child's need. If a child loves their academics, I don't see a need to keep them from excelling. If they hate their academics, I would think long and hard about pacing, learning style, shorter school days, and a more fun approach.
I have one of these High Need for intellectual stimulation. It is to such a degree that she acts out when not stimulated. Like almost to the level of ADHD kind of acting out. She is very, very difficult to manage if she is not stimulated every. single. day. And she has been able to express to me that it makes her uncomfortable and unable to focus if I dont do school with her.
With this child, I have been told point blank that I am hurting her emotionally by pushing. I suppose that they got the idea from it "looking like I was pushing from the outsider". Mainly because she was such a young age. I remember it being a very hurtful discussion (for me), the other person felt justified in the way she was going to let me have it I guess. I have also noticed a lot of people getting defensive about what their child is doing/not doing compared to mine because my child is so outward with her drive and skills. It is very hard to hide.
On the flip side, I do have one that lacks motivation in most things. However, he is not of schooling age yet, so I do not push at this time. I can see it looming in the future though. :glare: He will be my "Mom, I only want to play with legos, I don't need school" kid. He is really motivated with building, but not much else!
All that to say, yes pushing is sometimes needed, sometimes it is more about the parent, and sometimes it is more about the insecurities about what other kids are capable of doing.
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If your library doesnt have it, and you are serious about getting chickens, it is worth owning! I am actually planning on buying my own copy.
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About 18-20 weeks.
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Very, very rarely does he ask for anything. Usually he wants to know that they have "schooled" today, that they are learning, but he doesnt say much about what they are learning. However, just this weekend he asked me to keep using Singapore Math. We had recently purchased MM and I had been fading Singapore out and adding MM in. He so liked the way I was using them both as I was going through the change over, that he asked me to not fade Singapore out and just keep them both.
He helps with Science experiments.
He did help me pick what our future math and science might be. These are his strengths.
He likes to see a list of purchases for the next school year in March, and then he buys it all. He rarely makes me change my list no matter how much it costs, so I never complain about him liking to hit the buy button. I think he likes the feeling of it being "his contribution" by making the purchase.:lol:
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If it is not on anybody's list, but another book by the same title is, then all the folks in line for the similar book will get a notice.
This happens with things like you have the paperback version of say The Vikings. No one is wishing for the paperback version, so no one is in line for it. However, 10 people are in line for the Hardcover version of The Vikings and 5 people are in line for a really old edition of the paperback version that has a different ISBN. All 15 of these will get notice, and it will be a race to be the first to request your copy by any of the 15 people who do not mind accepting the different version you have rather than the one they are in line for.
Make sense???:001_smile:
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Usually just the first one in line for that book. If they dont want it (it doesnt meet their requirements or they do not respond in time) it goes to the next in line for the book...and so on.
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Can you sew? These are free:
http://www.agplaythings.com/AG%20Patterns/DollDressPatterns.html
Plus many of the pattern brands at the store have colonial doll clothing patterns.
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We are also using MM and Singapore together WITH Miquon!:001_huh: I had not planned it this way. Originally we were doing Singapore and Miquon, but then I started hearing all about MM. I liked the idea of less books and less cost, so I decided to switch, but keep Miquon. I made the switch in the middle of the 1B books, so I started doing them both with the idea that one program we would be getting used to (MM)and one would be fading out (singapore). I figured we would be done with Singapore by the end of the 1B book and be on to only MM with Miquon by 2A. But DH like what we were doing with all 3 programs so much he just asked me to keep doing them both with Miquon.:lol:
All that to say, you can do all 3:D
We only use 2 programs a day and we mix it up. All 3 in one day would be a bit much:)
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Oh...just remembered one more thing.
These are the best:
They are watering n*pples that the chickens peck at to get water. You screw them into the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket (about 3 to a bucket), fill bucket with water, put a lid on top, and hang it up in their coop or run. The great thing about them is that chickens are sooo messy with their water. We tried all the fountain waterers, and they just kept pooing in them. We had to change the water all the time! now that we have the bucket, we only have to fill the water when it starts to get low. No mess-less work:)
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I second Backyardchickens.com. Great website loads of info there!
Also this book http://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide-Raising-Chickens-Facilities/dp/158017325X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283232178&sr=8-2
I checked it out at the library. It had way more info than you thought you could ever need. Very very thorough! (if you are not interested in butchering...skip that chapter! It is icky!)
I got all of my chickens from local feed stores. A word of caution, feed stores are not always the most knowledgeable about chickens, so make sure you read up before you go in.
I have 2 golden sex links, but I was sold the wrong color link and ended up with 2 roos! (like I said...feed store messed up, and I was too green to know it until it crowed!)
As far as hens: 1 barred rock, 2 buff orpingtons, 2 black astrolorps, 3 easter eggers, and 2 rhode island reds. My barred rock is the most friendly. The astrolorps like to pick on the other hens, and my easter eggers want to keep to themselves.
The roos are ok for now, but they will go the second they get too feisty! They are good if you want to have chicks from your own chickens and they are also good for helping protect the flock from predators. But they can also be dangerous.
On the backyardchicken site they have a breed chart. Orpingtons are good broody hens, so if you eventually want a sitting hen, it might be a good option.
They just started laying about 3 weeks ago, and I now have a constant supply of eggs! They are great!
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I didnt have trouble with it when I found out, but DH did. Honestly, I think some of it comes down to the personality of the child. DH is very very B&W, very literal in his thinking. It is true or it is false. This was important to him at a very young age. He was very angry when he found out and he did question everything his parents told him, including about God. He was not ok with it in regards to leading our children to believe in Santa and the others. Our DD is the DH's carbon copy as far as personality.
Honestly, I do think it was the best thing for DD to not do Santa, my middle DS probably would have been ok like I was, and YDS is too young to tell. But for our family, it seemed to be the best decision.
We are not strict about "NO Santa" in the sense of not allowing Santa coloring books, Santa songs, or Santa wrapping paper. My kids know it is something fun to pretend about like fairies, but that he is not real. We do have other family members who do not allow anything but Jesus images in regards to Christmas and Easter. I think that is taking it too far. I never saw anything harmful in pretending things that you know are not real, it is good for the imagination:001_smile:
The only time I have been upset about the Santa thing was when my parents tried really hard to convince my kids that Santa was real and DD started getting upset.
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Cool! Thanks!:)
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I combine Singapore Earlybird B with Essential Math B. Earlybird A and Essential A are (IMO) more PreK than Kindy.
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Is LLATL that bad?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I had not read Ruth Beechick prior to trying LLATL. It didnt work for us AT all and I didnt know why. Thanks Heather, you cleared that up for me! We do not do spiral well at all (I had not thought of spiral vs mastery outside of math:lol:) And I also have gaps in LA and found LLATL frustrating. We also had trouble with LLATL being too easy. DD was doing the Red book at 4.5yo and still cried because it was too easy and boring. Red is supposed to be 2nd grade:confused:.
PR 1 is a much better fit for us!