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Punks in Ontario

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Everything posted by Punks in Ontario

  1. We've switched from Singapore to Saxon in 6th grade. The transition has gone quite well. The biggest drawback we've experienced so far has been the number of problems each day. Ssshh. Don't tell any die hard Saxon people this, but if my guys get over 80% on the tests, I reduce the number of problems the next week. One thing I prefer about Saxon is that to some degree they integrate subjects (algebra, geometry) which I believe helps overall math scores and aligns somewhat closer to Canadian integrated curriculum. This has helped my guys who've gone to grade 11 at the local school.
  2. I've washed my fitbit before too and it's been fine.
  3. We are doing a similar switch here. We have done science 5 and 6 with TM so far. While I didn't refer to them a lot, they were very helpful and I wouldn't want to go it without them. For science 7+ we've used the online option which has the TM online (and I only use it for chapter reviews.) We are starting heritage studies and writing and grammar 7 with TMs this year and have used online high school English before. For the online science, this option is more than worth the price IMHO. We get the $99 deal at Christmas. It has also been worth it for English since I'm not great at teaching this.
  4. Yep, I laughed. Sorry I don't have any great advice here. I've had the overtired irrational teen girl here too. Not fun. For the boys, 5 a.m. milking makes them go to bed before their little brothers.
  5. I'm rather surprised at how competitive I can be with people I don't know IRL. I'm trying to keep ahead of you Hoppy! (Probably shouldn't say that out loud.)
  6. We really like it too. so sad to be leaving it as they get older.
  7. We've never used AO so young, but yes we dropped some books, switched others out and kept some. Because a lot of the books were very dry, we just stopped them. After a while things were so tweaked they didn't quite look like the AO spine. LOL.
  8. I love the Pilgrim's Progress from Answers in Genesis. The work pages would only be for your 7th grader, with your youngers listening and checking out the pictures as you read aloud. Or you could have your 7th grader work through it on his own. It's laid out in 39 lessons with work pages for older elementary and secondary school age kids. I found that we were able to discuss each step on the journey thoroughly in this format. We did this 5 years ago with the kids in grades 8, 7, 2 and 1. Then we did it again with the younger guys in grades 5 and 6 with work pages. It was a good experience both times. I had read a regular copy of it to the older boys a few years earlier. Another favourite book for younger kids is The Dangerous Journey which is more of a picture book.
  9. Aw, the things you learn. My ds18 and ds16 work in dairy, but I can't picture them doing that!
  10. So glad you're this side of surgery. Praying you recover quickly and that you're able to rest okay with the young ones around.
  11. I joined too. I could really use the help when school starts. Then I just sit...and sit....and sit.
  12. My guys weren't retaining much with AVKO until we started modifying it seriously. For the last couple of years, we do a group of about 30 words per day including word families (chief, thief relieve), common misspellings, science words and grade level lists. When a word is mastered it is checked off and a new word is added. If a word is still giving trouble after a couple of days, it is written out 3, 5, 7, or 10 times depending on how much trouble. When it is spelled correctly for a couple of days, it gets a check. So out of 30 words, the first 10 could be difficult words from other days, another 10 might be words they've almost mastered, and the final 10 might be new words to try. Pros: I've seen definite progress in both boys spelling over time. It is working at some level. It is not openly graded avoiding the old, "I only got half the words right." It's easily tweaked to easier if that's where the child is at. You progress at the child's rate. Cons: The child doesn't always "see" the progress they're making. It only works if it's done every.single.day.
  13. With 6 kiddos, I'd be going with easier on you as plan A - Saxon with the online class and keep on top of how dc is doing. Then Lial's (which I've never used) as a plan B if Plan A tanks. I know around here in past days teaching math to the olders has been very frustrating with interruptions ALL THE TIME. I always found that looking up the videos on Khan or Alcumus just never happened unless I did it for the guys. Hmm.
  14. We buy everything until about grade 11. By then they're mostly done growing and can wear some things such as coats and boots multiple years. Then we give a set amount ($500) yearly so they can purchase their own clothes through high school. And they sometimes get extras such as the extra dress shirts they needed for a trip this week. The guys are not fussy about their clothes. In university, dd was generally responsible for her own clothes, but we sometimes would get her items.
  15. FWIW my step mother was a remedial teacher for many years. She's always told me that spelling is the hardest subject to re mediate. She just suggested spell check on the computer.
  16. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who isn't thrilled with VBS. Our church has a great one, very solid and well attended. My kids love it. I was on the committee the last few years and was director last year. I've been impressed by the number of people I've met who have said how much they loved VBS, and the connections to some neighbourhood families that have been made, but I don't like having an entire week messed up. This year I planned vacation that week. Now I'm feeling rather guilty. :huh: I still teach at AWANA and love that.
  17. I have 3 guys like this. Reading and comprehension is extremely high. Spelling is under the 25th percentile for one, under the 40th for another and under the 50th for the last. We use a heavily modified AVKO which has helped considerably. The middle speller is heading up into the sort of normal range now. The main thing that has worked here has been steady consistent time everyday. I'm still shocked at the level of disconnect with these guys. It's a good thing they're good at math. And yes, the teens did improve in high school. I think it was a combination of maturity and deciding that they weren't going to have their spelling be such a distraction.
  18. My guys love Stampy and Squid too. I've never been able to sit down and listen to the guy for long. I find him annoying. We are currently on a Stampy break - maybe until the guys forget about him. Maybe not. I found they were spending so much time watching minecraft they stopped building.
  19. Yes, they were the slims. My one guy doesn't mind the fit, but the slimmer looks terrible in them. We've tried a whole bunch of styles. I've also discussed girl jeans like one of his cousins have done. No go. Luckily, he has to buy his own right now and while he's frugal in many ways, he likes his pants to fit decently. These guys are 6'2" and 6'3". One of they're younger brother is going to have the same problem. The other is more of a normal size. And yes, I was one of those scrawny kids too.
  20. Disclaimer: Canadian info. It's 7th grade here. ETA The cutoff here is Dec 31 so he would still be one of the youngest children in his class if he were in school. We do very little red shirting here as well.
  21. I didn't vote because I'm Canadian. For a family of 6, we're spending $249/week av. in the last 52 weeks. That's about 25%. Way off US figures. Hmm.
  22. I tried the same thing. It was a flop so I get it cheap when I can, make baked oatmeal some of the time and the rest of the time, I ignore this cost when they do eat it. My mom is still to this day penny-wise and pound foolish. One of the more recent examples: she got a hybrid car for country driving to save money. Costed out, she pays more for insurance than she saves on fuel even at the manufacturers fuel mileage. That's before depreciation. And it's small, and low for an elderly lady. She doesn't understand why no one wants to drive it.
  23. We've tried wranglers and a few other moderate priced jeans but they're too big in the backside and thighs even though the waist and length are okay. He looks like he's wearing a sack. This guy is fine boned and thin, but very strong and fit. I know what you mean about thin material. So frustrating.
  24. I've had very little luck at any nearby thrift stores. I've never believed it was a deal to buy 3/4 worn out jeans for half the price of new. Almost everything we wear is worn completely out before we're done anyway. I get the 32X36 pants at old navy when they have sales in Jan, Feb. Unfortunately the 29X36 guy can't find cheap pants that fit him properly.We also buy very few clothes but try hard to target what will get used.
  25. We've used CLE LA from grades 1-7. For my natural spellers, it was enough. For the 2 that have troubles with spelling we use a severely tweaked version of Sequential Spelling. CLE was just too difficult and is more thematic than rule or pattern based. CLE has done an excellent job with the LA though.
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