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peacefully

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Posts posted by peacefully

    What's your favorite language arts games for K-3?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    My favorite resource for phonics games, manipulatives and worksheets is free and available from the Florida Center for Reading Research. Be warned that these files are huge and will take a while to download. There are activities for grades K-3. Some can be done independently; others will require a partner. As an example, this week, ds and I will play a board game where we advance our marker based on the number of syllables a word contains. This doesn't even begin to demonstrate the variety here. Everything is pretty much print-and-go.

     

    Another resource that I really like is Words Their Way, although I hesitate to recommend it because it's not very parent-friendly. It's intended for classroom teachers, but it emphasizes individualizing instruction, so in that respect, it adapts to a homeschool setting quite beautifully, imo. Phonics is taught systematically, but the student is asked to sort preselected words or sounds or pictures first. This word sort is intended to reveal a phonics or spelling pattern (sometimes a vocabulary pattern) that can then be discussed and analyzed to greater depth. It's a really interesting way to work with phonics concepts at a deeper level. Students are then asked to write the words, do word hunts, play games, etc. The blackline masters are available on CD, so that's handy. I really love this approach, and I find that it is quite adaptable too, so I use it alongside Phonics Pathways with my 5yo. He's going to be finishing up PP soon, so I'll use WTW along with AAS as we go through that program.

     

    Peggy Kaye's books are all very good.

     

    Pairs in Pears, Bananagrams and Apple Letters are all good preparation for Scrabble.

     

    Mad-Libs is just classic. I *heart* Mad-Libs.

    Poetry recitation suggestions for kindy?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    My ds is supposed to recite a poem to a large audience in about a month. (This is part of the classical ed private school/homeschool hybrid program that he attends). I have had very little guidance so far from the teacher, and I have NO IDEA what type of a poem a kindergartener should be able to recite from memory. I'm hoping that the Hive might have a few suggestions to get us going on the right track. Help?

     

    (I'm just going to add that I am soooo nervous about this because I was always completely immobilized by public speaking when I was a kid. I went to a private school where one was expected to memorize poems and speeches regularly and recited them to the class, but we didn't have to speak in front of a large audience until we were in upper elementary. To say that I am anxious about this "evening of recitation" is an understatement, but I don't want to project that on to my kid, kwim?)

    Favorite garden as science project ideas?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    You have a four-year-old? Two words for you:

     

    Insect study. :D

     

    I've had garden all my life. When I was in college, I did some volunteer work at MLK middle school where Alice Waters started her Edible Schoolyards projects. Then I became a teacher. I have loved the curricular connections to gardens for about twenty years. I have many, many ideas that I want to eventually implement with my garden. Ours is pretty large, and we are interested in permaculture, backyard livestock, seed saving, medicinal herbs, the whole bit.

     

    The thing that really captures my kids' attention like nothing else are the critters (and pulling carrots :D). Then, in addition to talking about botany, you get to talk about habitat, predation, food webs, metamorphosis, migration, decomposition, adaptations, niches, etc. You can also talk about pesticides, natural methods of pest control, our food supply, the role of farmers vs. corporate ag, etc. Garden supply stores will be ready to ship lady beetles and mantis soon. You can start a compost pile and discover all sorts of creepy crawlies in there.

     

    Later, it will be fun to plan a garden that reflects different cultures, ancient and contemporary. Soil science, chemistry, math, more botany, cooking and food processing. You can make a homemade solar oven to cook with and talk about energy.

     

    Forgive me for being so rambly. I need my afternoon shot of coffee, but this is one of my favorite topics, so I just had to post (poor grammar, rambly ideas and all).

    Arts & Crafts

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I feel like arts and crafts is the most neglected aspect of our homeschool. Ds5 does not get into it, so it's hard for me to work up the motivation to set up all the supplies, keep 2yo little sister happy, mind the work area, provide direction or encouragement, clean the whole mess up, find a place to let the artwork dry or set-up, then figure out how to display it. Ugh. :glare: I would do this happily if ds liked this type of activity, but he only tolerates it. And so, I have a closet FULL of craft supplies that never get used. :glare::glare:

     

    For next year, I'm only doing a&c if it relates to a content-area project. Both ds and I can understand why we are creating a solar system model, but there's no way he's going to want to paint a picture just because. I'm also thinking about getting ds into a ceramics class. I like the idea of dropping him off to make a mess somewhere else. :tongue_smilie:

    BFSU- Raise your hand if you use it alongside another science!

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I'm going to be using BFSU along with my own science curriculum. I know that the author is quite adamant that one shouldn't "pick and choose" among his sequences, but I don't see any reason to be dogmatic about it.

     

    Our topics (loosely) will go in the following sequence:

    • matter and energy
    • space (from Big Bang to galaxies and stars)
    • solar system
    • the Earth, Moon, Sun system
    • geology
    • early life (with a side trip into basic botany)
    • evolution
    • dinosaurs
    • Ice Age mammals
    • early humans (with a side trip into human anatomy)

    I'll use BFSU lessons where they fit in the above sequence. I'm lining up several GEMS units, experiments from various sources, nonfiction books, some related literature, educational videos, field trips and crafts. We'll be maintaining a timeline and a science notebook throughout the year. This type of study is soooo perfect for my little guy. I can't wait to get started!:D

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