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Clarita

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Posts posted by Clarita

    Ants in drawers and on clothes - what to do? Need help ASAP

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    On 10/19/2021 at 4:18 AM, Kassia said:

    I don't think there are any available rooms, unfortunately. 

    They actually may have spare rooms. (They will not be available when you are signing up for housing.) I had an issue with a girl in my dorm. Even though our dormitories were "full" I learned they keep spare rooms available in case emergencies happen. In my case it was pretty major (police were involved and stuff), but I was told usually colleges will keep spare rooms available for such emergencies. I don't know if ants or ant abatement will warrant this.

    However you do not get a huge choice on where you end up. For me and my roomate we ended up on a boy's floor. 

    • Like 1

    Making learning to read more like learning math

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    2 hours ago, 2_girls_mommy said:

    Funny, for us, reading was always more entertaining and engaging than  math.  I guess it depends on the natural abilities of the teacher.  I used a math program that told me what to do daily and that included the hands on teaching methods and we did it several days a week.  I had a supplementary book of games, and infused our year with math units or literature based math lessons occasionally, but those things don't come naturally to me.  I want somebody else who has thought of a way to make it fun and to seem natural for me because it doesn't.  

    Too bad my kids are so little. All my suggestions currently would be for little kids.

    Making learning to read more like learning math

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, 2_girls_mommy said:

    We start a phonics program halfway through k, 1-3 days a week, over k and 1st and continue reading Bob books and moving into whatever other readers they are ready for along the way.  That is very simple.  A program made for 5 days a week over first grade, spread over a year and a half of k, leaving the first half of k very light with just reading a little Bob books for fun. 

    Oh that's interesting. I've been trying to do phonics lesson 5 days a week, since we do math 5 days a week. Good to know.

    Yesterday and today has felt a lot better. We got to go to the library (our library just opened for in-person visits). We borrowed a few begining reader books and he was really excited to read them when we got home. It felt good and "fun". 

    TOPGR (the WTM reading book) for now will just be for me to learn phonics. We'll just stick with the pre-reading AAR reduced to 1-2 times a week. When we go back to "stare at this page and read" I may take @Gil idea with the index cards, to mix things up.

    Thanks so much to @wendyroo for a thorough trial of Lalilo. I didn't even think to put my kid into a different grade to try the assesment. I totally agree with you, I would not want to have my kid chose between fire, fier, fyre, fyer. Unless it was coupled with a lesson on why fire should be the one chosen. The level they put my child at (begining of first grade) had words that were phonetically incorrect. They only shared begining or ending letters or were about the same shape/size.

    Thank you everyone!

    • Like 1

    Making learning to read more like learning math

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    2 hours ago, wendyroo said:

    Lastly, the test was not very adaptive as promised. At first I put my daughter into a class I designated as first grade. Her assessment tested her on first grade concepts and said that she was 75% proficient at first grade skills (they were requiring her to spell first grade sight words like "could" - in my world that is not a first grade spelling skill!). It did not test her on any second grade skills. Then I put her in a second grade class and had her take the assessment - this time it placed her about half way through second grade. Then I put her in a third grade class and had her take the assessment, and she was placed about half way through third grade. Those are not the results of an adaptive test!

    Well that's a bummer. I noticed one of the lesson questions asked him to spell said, which my son could read but spelling-wise spelled "sed". I'm still trying to figure out the assesments. I honestly thought the sight words were part of teaching him phonics, because he knows how to sound out every single sight word (with the exception for said - which he knows is not phonetically spelled, but has come up enough during read aloud time so he knows). I agree could is not what I would expect a first grader to be able to spell accurately.

    Making learning to read more like learning math

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Gil said:

    I used a scope and sequence, but did my own thing. I made lessons a little more engaging than stare at this page and read, but we also had plenty of "stare at this page and read" days as well.

    This is an interesting idea. I would probably just be putting the reading curriculum words on to the notecards.

    I guess at this moment math just has a little more hands-on application than reading. I don't actually do a lot of jumping around in math either (it gets too distracting). There is just a bit more exploration in the lessons than "Introduce skill. Practice briefly. Bam done." @PeterPan With math there is introduce concept/skill, practice briefly. free exploration and discussion. Later in the day my kids will try and apply the skills we've learned. That type of thing so far just doesn't happen with reading.

    I do not have the confidence to "wing it" in language.  

    Making learning to read more like learning math

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    6 hours ago, AnneGG said:

    Lalilo is free (sign up as a teacher) and it covers syllables and much of what AAR-pre covers. LaLiLo does an automatic placement test so you can see where the gaps are, if any. It’s not set up like a game/app, more like an old CD-ROM game. Might be a dealbreaker for some kids. 
     

    I bought Secret Stories a few weeks ago and my son went nuts over it. It’s a supplementary program that presents the phonics rules like secrets and has cute visuals.  It was like a switch flipped and now he’s reading everything. He finds the secrets everywhere: Starbucks menu, the back of the shampoo bottle, interstate exits, etc.  Last month, he wouldn’t have even acknowledged these things can be read. 

    Doing the Lalilo placement test was eye-opening. It seems he needs more practice with the stuff he currently knows. Anything timed he scores really low. 

    I think he knows there are words to read in real life but often he doesn't realize he has the skills to read them. I think he's at this stage where he knows how to decipher a lot but it takes him a long time to decipher the words.

     

    Making learning to read more like learning math

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Xahm said:

    Phonics without context isn't much fun.

    Yes I think that's what it is. 

    4 hours ago, KSera said:

    This is a young K-er right? I would drop having multiple things (especially if you mean you are doing more than one phonics program in a day) and just do shorter sessions with one. There's no hurry; it sounds like he's doing well, and he will get it without needing to work so hard to make it happen faster. At that age, I often pointed out new phonics rules in the course of reading together. I like Progressive Phonics for this age because it's fun and they can read real stories.

    Yes young K-er. We are just doing one in a day. He only has the stamina for the reading lesson for about 2 minutes. 

     

    2 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

    This makes zero sense. If he's using OPGTR and those dash easy readers, he doesn't need AAR pre. And if you like AAR pre, why not just move forward with AAR? 

    OPGTR covers the phonics rules which he doesn't know. Dash readers I thought would be more fun. I was originally trying to up his fluency and confidence. I tried more advance AAR, it required too much reading for him. AAR pre did cover a lot of skills he didn't know syllables, how many words are in a sentence, and rhyming. 

    Maybe we continue AAR pre and see where that goes. 

     

     

    Making learning to read more like learning math

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Learning to read is kind of a drag at our house. We are at the point where we are learning the phonics rules, like g makes the /j/ sound when followed by e or i. 

    Math is fun, not in the everything is a game fun, but there's exploration discovering new things etc. We talk about what we learn outside of school time. There is this beautiful back and forth and dare I say "natural" learning going on. I just use the Singapore math, nothing too special. I teach/demo a topic from the textbook and then we/he works 3-4 problems.

    Learning to read has none of that. He loves books and can read if I say he has to. There is a desire to learn to read. When we learn a new phonics rule the joy just drains out, he sticks with me because he feels it's the only way. I'm afraid whatever we are doing now will squash his overall reading desires. I'm trying to use TOPGR (the WTM reading book), Dash into Reading for getting fluency, and AAR pre-reading because it seems like it's a little more fun. 

    Answered, thanks. :)

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

    Wanna put me out of my misery and tell me the brand? When I looked at them on amazon, I wasn't finding stainless that were nicer.

    I have one from 10 years ago. They are called Buffalo Smart Cooker. Maybe this is the current model?? Amazon.com: Buffalo Titanium Grey IH SMART COOKER, Rice Cooker and Warmer, 1.5L, 8 cups of rice, Non-Coating inner pot, Efficient, Multiple function, Induction Heating (8 cups): Home & Kitchen

    I've found random postings of mine. Buffalo Rice Cooker, Smart Cooker, Stainless Steel Inner Pot Rice Cooker (goldenhood.com.au)

    A cheap rice cooker: Amazon.com: Aroma Housewares Select Stainless Rice Cooker & Warmer with Uncoated Inner Pot, 6-Cup(cooked) / 1.2Qt, ARC-753SG: Rice Cooker Stainless Steel: Home & Kitchen

    • Thanks 2

    Answered, thanks. :)

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    We have 2 rice cookers and no instant pot (but we do have a pressure canner which I also use as a pressure cooker). We have a fancy rice cooker and a cheap rice cooker, both stainless steel. I would personally stay away from the non-stick rice cooker. Stainless steel rice cooker is just not that hard to clean. The cheap rice cooker just needs extra soaking time with hot water and soap. The fancy rice cooker is a breeze the clean. 

    Fancy rice cooker vs. cheap, fancy has more "functions" for making cake, steaming veggies in the pot, soup etc, and the pot distributes heat more evenly (you don't get the crust of rice on the bottom of the pot), also the pot is smoother so less areas for the food to cling to. My fancy one is also insulated so I can use it to bring the food I make places, but I think cheaper ones have that too (just not my super cheap one).

    I've never used the fancy rice cooker for anything other than rice, because we have all the gadgets (except the IP). 

    How have you taught a foreign language successfully without a curriculum?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    On 10/9/2021 at 9:08 AM, MomN said:

    I am wondering how some of you have more naturally incorporated a second language into your day.  Do you tackle vocabulary first?  Like start with colors and numbers and food? Or do you start with essential phrases and then add in vocabulary weekly?  Any ideas are appreciated!

    I'm still learning how to do it. For us and my super little kids I tried a curriculum and it's just hard to pull out the book and do it in a school-ish fashion everyday. What has kind of worked for us is to take it easy with no expectations. We do a music class once a week in Chinese. Mostly what my kids do is jump, dance and play music, the language in the songs happen to be in Chinese. If we learn shapes or numbers in English I may interject some Chinese into it. I got some Chinese learning reading books (it's like Bob Books in Chinese) we do those when we feel like it but I try to make it more for exposure and fun rather than actually leading my kids to memorize any of the characters.

    I've seen a little too many of my peers loathe Chinese after having it forced on them for years (no one here sounds like they do this). I don't want that for my kids. I just want them exposed enough that if they need it they have the muscle memory for pronouncing the words perfectly and it doesn't seem daunting if/when they want to learn it. 

    • Like 3

    S/O booster timing

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    4 hours ago, wendyroo said:

    The science is clear; immunity wanes considerably by six months. The CDC has decided that I only marginally qualify for a booster because a breakthrough infection probably wouldn’t be too severe for me. I probably wouldn’t end up in the hospital or dead. And I’m grateful for that, I really am, but I’m really shooting for the stars and trying not to kill my kids either. They are too young to be vaccinated, one has a medical condition that would make COVID more dangerous for him, and a breakthrough infection in me would almost certainly spread to them.

    I think everyone does have to make their own decisions, because everyone situation is not the same. What I want is to send our surplus shots to parts of the world that want and need it. The fact that so many doses are just going to trash is just wrong.

    S/O booster timing

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Apparently I'm a minority here but I'm just going to wait until I legitimately qualify for a booster (healthy under 40 J&J). As a homeschool mom, I do not count myself in the same category as a teacher of 20-40 kids/class. If I am to trust CDC, FDA, WHO, etc. on getting the vaccine for the safety of others I should also trust them on the distribution.

    We take all the precautions masking everywhere. For our group activities we are required to mask even when outdoors. We have people that we've been a "family" (or pod) with, when their kid got the cold we quarantined/isolated ourselves until no was sick anymore and confirmed not COVID. The thing is I'm pretty sure my family got Alpha back in Feb/March 2020 before they "knew" it was in the US. For us, the most we felt was a regular case of the cold/flu. So, it's likely we are asymptomatic carriers; I'm extra cautious because of this. 

    On a side note if you want to people around you to mask, I've had a great deal of success by telling people that I'm pretty sure I'm going to be an asymptomatic carrier (when asked about why I'm wearing a mask). 

    Correcting Work for Kindergarten

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    23 hours ago, PeterPan said:

    And for independent work for a K5er, things that will be possibly below instructional level, consider things like:

    Although oddly enough a lot of the cutting and gluing, and coloring are the things he gets wrong most often. It's like the art skills are too much for him.

    S/O Bringing food to events and food allergies

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Spryte said:

    Admitting here, too, that last year we did a Covid thanksgiving at home without attending a big gathering, and it was absolutely glorious in the lack of food-stress. And when DS sat at the table and realized that *everything* was safe for him to eat — wow. What a moment. We might just do it every year at home, from now on. I enjoyed it on a completely different level, there wasn’t the constant vigilance that our family usually requires, and it was like being able to breathe freely.

    Thanksgiving is definately one of the harder holidays. It just revolves too much around food, even my (slight discomfort) lactose intolerance has a hard time at Thanksgiving. It's been so much nicer to have a smaller Thanksgiving where my BIL can just eat with everyone everything on the table. My kids just think mashed cauliflower is a traditional Thanksgiving food 😄.

    • Like 4

    Correcting Work for Kindergarten

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Thanks all for all the helpful advice. I think I'm going to try the going over the work together and marking them correct; re-working them orally or written if necessary for complete happy marks. Whiteboard idea may have to come later because my kids get super distracted by white boards right now. 

    He is K4 I just don't bother differentiating because we're homeschooling and it doesn't matter. I just don't have a lot of expertise with kids and I don't know what expectations are age appropriate.  

    • Like 2

    For fun: What leather boots are you liking this year?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I have a pair of fancy looking UGG boots (like not the typical furry kind). It has a wedge heel, slim fit and goes slightly below the calf. Those are hands down my favorite, haven't bought boots for several years now. I can't find the style on the UGG website.

    I may recommend the fancier looking UGGs because the slim boot still had the UGG fur on the inside for comfy and warmth but looks more sophisticated than the furry UGGs of my college days. 

    Correcting Work for Kindergarten

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I might have read one too many articles about the horrible effects of telling your kid they are wrong. I don't even know how to begin the conversation of "You did this wrong."

    2 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

    So fill me in because I haven't used that Singapore book. Are you saying there are 3-4 problems on a page and he might miss 1?

    It's 3-4 problems and he might miss 1. He's generally trying to get the answers right and is careful, but of course he's going to be 5 at the end of the month so he doesn't understand the concept of checking his answers. I'm generally fine with the amount he misses because he might miss 1 in a week of work, I don't expect anyone to be perfect. 

    So this work isn't truly what he's doing independently. I'm right there next to him for the work, I might stretch or go to the bathroom or help his little sister with her scribbling.

    Deleted

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Depending on why I believe the reason is for the person who isn't pulling their weight. Money or labor. If I couldn't put my finger on it I'd either come in with a "What are you bringing?" or a "Could you bring napkins (or other purchasable/non parishable goods) or food item that they can decide to make or purchase?" 

    I get what you are saying there is a mom in our little group of friends whole will bring a 1 person serving of blueberries and half a PBandJ to a potluck. It's pretty annoying.  

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