Any ideas for a history club activity related to Gilgamesh? This would be for 4 - 7 year olds. I'm afraid the activities listed in the book are going to be a complete letdown after some of the awesome ones we have done previously (chicken mummy, painting hieroglyphics on papyrus, model of the Nile, cave painting, archeological dig, etc.).

Thanks!

Have you ever heard of SRA Real Math? We are considering a private school that uses this. Thanks!

Hmmm - am I going to need the teacher's book for this one? I haven't used the ones I bought in the past, so planned to skip it, but will buy it if needed.

Sounds like I have to get both and just give 4 a try.

For some reason, I seem to think I read somewhere that after ETC 3, a lot of people went on to 5, and saved 4 for when they had finished the rest of the series. I can't find that post though, and I can't remember the reasoning. We are about halfway through ETC 3, so I need to order the next books. Should I order 4 or 5 next?

If you had a child who easily read most words, but still really struggled with comprehension, how would you tackle that?

My kids finish anything that they hadn't finished from the week, and then I am checking the week's assignment sheets and work. Often, I catch things that they "forgot" to do. ("I am pretty sure I did 10 pages of math, but I only have 8 here...") So they finish all that up & make any corrections needed. Then we usually have history club (SOTW activities) with friends around 11. Anyone who hasn't finished their work by then has to take it upstairs and finish before participating. We also have the mad dash cleanup before friends get here!

My 7 1/2 year old DD has had vision issues that have caused major reading delays, but with vision therapy, she has made significant progress. Her phonics are now at a 2nd grade level, though comprehension is still way behind. Here's the problem. She still can't reason things out. For example, she had this problem the other day: "I am green or brown. I live near the water, and like to sit on lily pads. I say ribbit. I am a fr____." She had no problem reading it. Then she answered "frind" (friend). The next one said something like: "I am a white, and am good with cookies. I come from a cow. If you turn me over, I spill. I am m____." Again, no trouble reading it, and yet she wrote "mesy" instead of milk. Would you worry about this? Or just chalk it up to oddly creative and unlogical? If it makes a difference, this kid had an APGAR at birth of 2, a Level 3 brain bleed early on that resolved on its own, and is possibly dyslexic. But of the triplets, she was the first/ most advanced developmentally from birth through probably age 4 or so. (The vision became a real issue after that.)

They are DIFFERENT. I loved the old VP timeline, so was not pleased when the new CC one came out. That being said, the CC one includes a lot of different things. The old one seemed to be focused on events and people, and was mostly Western and had a lot of Bible stuff. The new one is more civilization-focused, has less Bible stuff, and is much less Western-centric. I had a hard time deciding what to do this year, and ended up scanning all the cards (from both sets), and combining them into one big timeline doc to study off of. The new CC cards are at the top, then there is a horizontal line with the years across the middle, then the old VP cards are on the bottom. Of course some events have cards in both, so they are aligned, but many cards do not have a corresponding one in the other timeline set. I hope that my kids will see that they are really all one, and will retain both long-term. How's that for not helping you decide? :)

I print a hundreds chart for each child every day. It has about 1/2 the numbers, so they have to write in the rest of the numbers. Then they mark the pattern (cross out 1, cross out 2, circle 3, cross out 4, cross out 5, circle 6) all the way to 100. Then they read the circled numbers to me (3, 6, 9, 12, etc.).

Anyone seen these? Reviews? KitchenCue Instructional DVD, Volume 1, Sautes and Pan Sauces - KitchenCue

This one would be exactly what I was looking for, if it was a series covering a lot more than just eggs, and if it had good reviews! Kidviz: Kids Get Cooking - The Egg - Bea; DVD I am trying to find somewhere someone who has viewed these to tell me if kids would enjoy these or if they are way too advanced. I wouldn't expect them to actually be able to replicate fancy dishes - I just want to start introducing some of the tools, ingredients, and techniques. Can I call that the "grammar" of cooking? :) The Way To Cook DVD - Julia Child; DVD Julia & Jacques Cooking At Home - Julia Child; DVD Cooking From A to Zest - Kierstin Buchner; DVD Cooking With Vic One Technique At A Time - Volume 1: Basic Kitchen Techniques - Victor

Each of my kids has a checklist for the week. It has 5 columns, and a colored box under the day we typically do that subject. (So math would have a colored box to check off on all 5 days, but science has boxes on Mon & Thur, and history has Wed & Fri.) The column that has the description says "do 2 worksheets per day" instead of having specific page numbers. Then when I check it, I write the exact page numbers on their sheet. By the end of the week, they should have checks in every box. My list is long, but I have carefully included things that I know they will have done by the time they get out their schoolwork (make bed, brush teeth, etc.) so they start off by checking off a lot of things! I also have several 5 second items like "show Mom your best handshake - be sure to use eye contact and a smile!", and "do 25 jumping jacks", so they don't think that lots of items is overwhelming. :)

My kids LOVE Sonlight's Mathtacular DVD, as well as their Science video. I am NOT a cook, but am determined to somehow teach my kids. I would love a DVD similar to Sonlight's math & science ones, but dealing with cooking. Five minute fun snippets geared toward kids, covering things like proper food safety, knife basics, how to select the best produce, different cooking techniques (broil, poach, stir fry, roast, etc.), cooking veggies, pasta, chicken, how to cut up meat, sauces, basic baking, etc. Anybody know of anything like that?

I am looking for vision/fine motor worksheets, like mazes, dot to dots, etc. To make this a little less painful for my kids who hate them (but per the vision therapist need to do them), I would love to find themed ones to go with holidays or things we are studying. Googling leads to a gazillion websites. What are your favorite sites for these kinds of things? They would need to be for kindergarten/1st grade kids.

My kiddos were 5.5 when they technically should have started kindergarten. They were born 9 weeks prematurely, and have had challenges all along. They are in that weird gray area where they aren't quite bad enough off to be considered truly special-ed in the school system, but couldn't keep up with kids their age. They were in physical, occupational, and speech therapy for most of those years up to kindergarten age, but just were not developmentally anywhere close to the other kids. In 4 year old preschool, they came out every day saying "why am I the only one who can't ...". We agonized and agonized, but finally decided to have them repeat 4K. It was the best decision we ever could have made. That second year of 4K, they were able to understand the stories the teachers read. They could remember the songs, had the fine motor skills to complete the crafts, could keep up on the playground, etc. They are also tiny for their age, so they truly fit in in every way with the kids a year younger. They were right in the middle of the class - not the top, not the bottom. It's not always about trying to get an (unfair) advantage!

I hate to rain on your parade, but I bought one (or maybe I should say I bought a bunch). It is perfect for LIGHT stuff, but do not put anything even remotely heavy in it. It makes the sides push apart and the drawers fall down after a while. Mine were perfect for about a month, and every single drawer is falling now.

I have NOT done it yet, but from what I have read, some kids need to go back to MM1B for a little more work on subtraction, then will be ready for MM2A. Other people go straight to 2A successfully after RSB.

If I wanted to use Life of Fred elementary with 4 students simultaneously, would I need 4 copies? Or 5, if I have to have one? Or could I get away with buying 1 or 2?

My kids LOVE them! We listen to each story the first time, with me pausing it after every few sentences to ask questions and be sure they are understanding. Then we listen to it again straight through. They've gotten a lot out of it!

I do that when I read aloud, as well as when I sing. Supposedly its posture-related, from not breathing deeply enough as I am hunched over. Causes hiccups too.

We need a "like" button, like on FaceBook! :) Good for you for recognizing the problem, coming up with a solution, and actually getting motivated enough to get it fully implemented!!!

Seriously? You HAVE to know that EVERY parent goes through this!!! They may not blog about it, because who wants to read that, but EVERY SINGLE PARENT goes through struggles like this at some point or another! You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise! :) You are NOT alone, and it is NOT hopeless!!!

I actually did that all day one day, just so my kids could see how annoying it was to listen to / deal with! I whined and grumbled about every single thing I did ALL DAY LONG. Especially when they asked for something. It made quite the impression! :)