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kailuamom

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Posts posted by kailuamom

  1. I am thinking about just printing out the pdfs of the writing pages (Lesson & Exercise pages) in black and white, keeping the fancy copy to teach from. Then I will have a complete book to use for later children, with the beautiful art work and fancy, shiny paper.

     

     

    This is what I plan to do. :001_smile:

  2. I am not sure if anyone has ever mentioned this before in the hive, but I wanted to share a cool reading site. It is run by the Screen Actors Guild and it has "celebrities" (for example, Sean Astin & Elijah Wood of LOTR, Melissa Gilbert, Lou Diamond Philips) reading picture books on video -- A Bad Case of Stripes, Stellaluna, Polar Express to name a few. Of course, I would rather read to the kids, but when I am busy teaching the older kids, it can entertain the younger ones.

     

    I am going to *try* to put the link in here:

     

    BookPALS Storyline Online

     

    Hope it worked! :)

  3. You have to just pick something.:D

     

    Writing Strands is a solid, comprehensive series. You can't go wrong with it. And it goes through high school, so you wouldn't have to make this decision again:D

     

    Oh so true! Is that what you used? I have level 4 for her, but it just seemed to focus a lot on the forming of complex sentences, etc. She can do that. I need her to learn how to write certain types of papers, etc.

     

    I WILL make a decision soon!! Won't I?? :001_huh:

     

    Ok, I will. :001_smile:

  4. [quote=~Tara~;438119}

     

    I'm quite organizationally challenged and nearly break out in hives when I think about taking steps to change it. I need help! :p

     

    That is basically me. But, too late now! lol I actually kind of did it just to get my butt in gear.

     

    (It will probably last about 4 weeks. I hope longer!!!!)

  5. OK...so there is no turning back now! I just TORE UP all my workbooks and I am set to start on my WEEKLY BINDER plan! I am going to have a hole-punching party now. lol I have been organizationally-challenged (?) for a long, long time now, so I hope this works! I am excited (as are the kids -- they think it will be cool to have everything in one binder each week). And the CONTROL I am feeling over the days and weeks now...it is intoxicating. I am lovin' the power! LOL

     

    I have gotten a lot of inspriration about planning on these boards (thanks!!) and I am really looking forward to planning it all myself this year.

     

    Wish me luck! (OK, I admit it...I am gonna need it! LOL)

     

    :D

  6. I have two green squares? Oh, way cool! Wow! Thanks. I hadn't even noticed. This ended up on like page 7. I was looking for something else from this morning when I found out that

     

    I have two green squares!!!!!

     

    Way to go! I can't wait for that feeling! :) I am inching there... :D

     

    Cheers to you!! (Ok, it is a bit early, but pretent it is root beer!)

     

    :cheers2:

  7. Last year I majorly dropped the ball wrt science and I'm determined to include it more regularly this year. I like science, but just really need something laid out for me to keep me on track.

     

    So I recently bought Noeo Bio I and II. Ds is 5.5 and dd is 9. I figured I would do two days/wk. with ds and two days/wk. with dd and if they wanted to sit in on each other's readings and experiments great, but they would each have their own dedicated science time.

     

    However I came across the Real Science-4-Kids books and am now really interested in those. Mainly because I've slacked off on science and since we are taking the hs'ing decision on a year-by-year basis I'm worried specifically that if dd goes back to school for gr. 5 (we've already decided we will continue hs'ing for gr. 4) that she will have a great foundation in biology after going through Noeo Biology II, but be seriously lacking when it comes to physics and chemistry. I'm not terribly concerned about ds b/c he's only gr. 1 this year and if he goes into gr. 2 at public school not understanding chemistry or physics it's not as big of a deal as dd going into gr. 5 kwim.

     

    So now I'm considering doing RS4K Pre-Level 1 Biology and Chemistry with ds this year and having dd sit in and then still doing Noeo Bio II with her. Then next year if we are still hs'ing I'll do Noeo Bio I with ds and RS4K Level 1 - Bio, Chemistry, and Physics with dd to give her a solid foundation.

     

    So my questions are:

     

    1. Am I worrying for nothing.

    2. If anybody has used RS4K Pre-1 or 1 Programs or Noeo could you please give your feedback about what you liked or didn't like about the programs.

     

    Thanks!!

     

    I can't answer your worry question because I am a champion worrier over here! lol But, we used the NOEO Physics I and I have chosen RS4K for us this year, so I can try to give a little insight.

     

    When we did NOEO Physics, my daugher was around 5-6 and it was a bit tough for her. It may have been the subject matter, Bio may be easier, but some of it went over her head. I really liked the living books that were used, but the writing down aspect of the workbook (you just do lab sheets, describe or draw what you learned) was difficult for her, in part, again, because of the subject matter. (How does a 5/6 yo draw friction? lol) I would def. start with the Bio I -- if it is too easy for your older one, you can supplement. (Bio 1 is up to age 8, Bio 2 is for ages 9 -12, so you could easily tailor the I for your younger child.) Then, after Bio I, you could do RS4K Chemistry Pre-Level 1. It kind of mirrors the Level 1 in subject matter, just in a simpler manner. I have both levels and I think the Level 1 would be too much for your 5.5 yo. Again, you could supplement for your older one (but I believe the ages for Pre-Level are K-3rd) if you need to. The RS4K is only a 10-week program, so I think you could do both and spread them out over one year nd then add on in areas they enjoy. (Can't remember how long NOEO is supposed to take.)

     

    We are going to do RS4K Pre-Level 1 (for my almost 5 yo and almost 8 yo) along with Level 1 for my 11 yo, to give her more depth. I did not find out it was only 10 weeks until after I got it (shame on me for not researching more!) so I am not sure what we will do after that.

     

    Back to the worrying? I think in school, from about 3rd to 6th, they do a little bit of everything in science. We did Calvert for those grades and the science texts they used just went over all different types of science (life science, physcial science, earth science, etc. etc.) in little chunks, adding a bit of information each year. Really, their textbooks were set up almost the same, with longer paragraphs for each section as the years went on. So, it's not like one grade studies one subject in depth and if they miss it they are in trouble. They are really not much more than introductions to the different sciences until they get to jr high or high school. That's where we homeschoolers have an advantage -- we can really delve into an area they enjoy.

     

     

    OK, I totally rambled. And, it is likely disjointed because my baby kept jumping on me. I hope it makes sense -- and helps a bit!

     

    Good luck!

  8. My ds (9) is a struggling reader due to vision problems. We will spend this year reinforcing phonics and doing read-alouds (he will probably have vision therapy also, which will add to his workload). I was considering Explode the Code Online and, in going through the demos, I'm wondering if I should supplement with a spelling program. Ds used Spellwell the past two years, memorized all the words, but it didn't stick. I've been told his vision problems most likely are to blame for this, too. I want to focus on his reading and not overwhelm him with to much busywork. Is it possible that ETC will be enough for now? Is it too much to try to remediate reading and spelling at the same time? Is there something out there I don't know about that might combine the reading and spelling?

     

    I appreciate your help.

    Nancy in NH

     

    I have used ETC and Spelling Workout with each of my kids. And, imo, ETC by itself is not enough for spelling. That said, if you are trying to remediate the phonics beause of his vision problems, I can't see how it would hurt to take a few months or even a year and focus solely on the phonics. With the therapy you don't want to overload him. You need to reinforce the basics of the phonics and maybe then the spelling will come more naturally. If you wanted to do some spelling, and he likes the computer, you could look into the Calvert Spelling program -- it is a cd-rom that does the spelling that way. We used it for a while when we did Calvert. That would be a way to approach it differently. Or, sneak some spelling in via the vocab while you read aloud -- pick words to practice spelling, but do it orally instead of written out.

     

    Sorry if that was not too helpful! Good luck!

  9. Well there, I've rambled enough. Here's a link to a SWB review of Wordsmith you might find interesting. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/wordsmith.html Not that I'm saying to add Wordsmith to your list, haha, though it might be fine. (I have Wordsmith Apprentice to use with my dd this fall as part of our baby break, independent work.) What's interesting is her suggestions on scheduling of various programs. It's down at the bottom of the article. What it shows is that you can balance out the weaknesses and strengths of programs by alternating them. I don't consider it an all or nothing thing where you have to get into one progression and stick there forever, kwim? You just have to know the one step you want her to take this year and find a program that helps her make that step. We had already covered tons of style, so I wanted structure, which I made a schedule for myself. In another couple years, I could see us going to something like CW Diogenes (unless Amy Olsen hurries up and gets another level of WT ready!) to focus on style and thought some more. You're wanting structure, and your life is busy enough that you'd benefit from something preplanned. Then I'd consider how her writing is with the non-fiction she's done for you, whether her "style" stuff carries over. If it doesn't, then I'd want something that hits both. If it does, then to me you have more options. Just my two cents. If you do decide to pull it together yourself using Jensen or something, you're welcome to email me and let me send you the checklists I made. Might save you some hassle, leaving you just to pull together your assignment list.

     

    You are an absolute angel! I TRULY appreciate all of you insight and advice. I am going to mull it all over again this weekend. You have helped focus my thoughts. Thank you so much!

  10. I used Microsoft Publisher and used the "fill" to make each row a different color. If you have publisher I would be happy to send you my document and you can play with it. You can also do something similar using Word. Excel gives you the most flexibility and makes a very professional looking result but I am not comfortable enough with that program yet.

     

    Year at a Glance

     

    Love the idea! And love your blog -- the name is great. Beautiful kids. :)

  11. Book. Then you can form the characters in your mind yourself, before being forced to view them as some producer dictates. Then, you can either keep your vision in your head, or, if the actors, etc., did a good job in their portrayal, you can envision them that way. (I found this with the Harry Potter movies...I thought they did such a good job in casting that I had no problem shifting my vision to encompass theirs -- does that make any sense?? lol)

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