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tiffany k

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Everything posted by tiffany k

  1. My ds11 checked out The Chronicles of Harris Burdick last week. It compiles 14 stories by different authors, each based on one of Burdick's drawings. He found it interesting.
  2. Since you are using k12 HO, why not split the three texts in half? You could schedule half of each book over six terms, three terms a year. Half a book over three or four months depending on whether you school year round.
  3. I am doing WWS in parts with breaks like you listed with my ds11. WWS is wonderful. I look forward to using all of it. I saw amazing improvement in ds's writing, but some of the tasks were a real reach for him. I think if we had gone straight through, it would have been a year of tears and frustrations. Completing one part and taking a month off, using what he had learned to write in his other subjects, gave him time to grow into his new skills and gain courage to go further. The best thing I heard him say was at the end of one of our breaks from WWS. He had decided to write a short story on his own and he came to me beaming with joy, declaring that that "hard writing workbook" was making him a better writer, "Just listen to this, Mom!" This is my son who would have preferred to do anything but write. Adjust WWS to your child, like any curriculum. I just wanted to say that the breaks between parts worked really well in our situation!
  4. Thanks for posting this link, Wapiti. I really enjoyed it.
  5. My kindergartener completed AAR 1 last month, she started in January. Some of the lessons are very long and we would work for 10-15 minutes and then finish it later in the day. Some days they read a story and that is a short lesson depending on how long the child takes to read. My daughter was motivated to get her sticker on the chart, so she liked to finish the longer lessons in one day by splitting it up. We only did AAR 3-4 days per week and just read previously read stories the other days. She enjoyed copying those stories on her white board or in her notebook to share with Daddy later. I don't think we ever spent more than 20 minutes on reading at one time. It is a nice program and the books are beautiful. I can't wait for AAR2 to come out!
  6. I haven't used the pre-reader level, but my dd is using AAR Level One right now. She's almost half way through it and has finished the first book. She loves the readers. She likes the activities, too. She isn't thrilled with the fluency practice, but it is really beneficial. She started out Kindergarten with phonics and could sound out CVC words slowly when we started AAR. The fluency practice and word cards have helped her to read so much better in such a short time. She also likes the stickers and the chart. This child likes busy work, so I print a lot of phonics and math worksheets and games from Teachers Pay Teachers for her to work on as well. With my next son, I think the activity book will be more than enough. I think this program moves pretty quickly, but she is doing well and keeping up, so I am happy with it.
  7. Thank you, Susan, for the sample. My ds10 has finished four weeks and it is a tremendous success. He enjoys working on it independently and comes in early from playing outside to have some quiet time to work on it, all without my ever having to ask about it. I am so impressed with how his writing has improved. He is checking out books from the library on interesting subjects and writing short reports on his own initiative! Best of all, he can see how his writing is improving and he is proud to present his work, aloud, at the dinner table. All this from my capable, but once very reluctant son. Many thanks. And he also sends his thanks for the great excerpts, we have more books to add to our library list.
  8. We started with Latin for Children A last year. It is a great program, my dd and I were really enjoying it. But my ds10 was fast becoming a Latin grump. Lively Latin has been a real blessing to us. It includes Roman history and drawing and card games, all things that interest my ds more than worksheets. We are half-way through the first book and will probably do the second. By then, I hope he finds Latin easier and can buckle down to complete LFC or something else. I like the discipline of Latin and hope my children will reach the level of reading Latin texts. I also hope that knowing Latin will make it easier for them to learn other languages. I think my ds needed a way to make Latin relevant and accessible, and Lively Latin met that need.
  9. One day at a time. Isn't that all we can do? It's good you have some money available to make things smoother. I don't want a housekeeper and I can't find a sitter willing to take on five kids, but I treat myself to great hair and nice clothes and that helps make me feel human and I want to get out and interact with others, which is very important (to me) when I'm in the thick of it. Does it help to know that you aren't alone?:001_smile:
  10. This sounds just like the school in my neighborhood. I've asked a lot of the parents I've met and they have mixed reviews. I would say that those parents who have been the most pleased are semi-fluent in Spanish themselves and can reinforce the language at home. Quite a few parents started in the immersion program and then pulled their kids out for reasons relating to math retention and their kids really weren't acquiring the language. It seems like it would be difficult to really make a mistake either way in first grade! I hope you can find some parents who have used the program for 3 or so years and find out how they've made it work well for their children.
  11. I bought Liberty's Kids. It's 6 DVD's and my kids have really enjoyed them. I have Netflix, but I thought the price was reasonable enough to just purchase them. I didn't buy the Carmen San Diego sets, we'll rent those. They aren't sequential, so I figured it didn't matter if we couldn't watch them in order. Maybe the "play now" feature is a better deal, but my kids would have to watch them on the computer and I'd rather be on the computer! :001_smile:
  12. I totally agree with Momee! There is plenty of review. Practice math facts over the summer and you'll be golden for 5/4. Enjoy your dance!
  13. Good luck with your wardrobe update! My husband is AF and we've lived in AZ, Spokane and are now in Alexandria. I still dress the same... like all the other moms at our neighborhood preschool or at the mall or walking around downtown Alexandria. Except that I have five young kids out in the daytime and I am hugely pregnant! I assume that's why people look at me funny and not my wardrobe choices! But what if I'm wrong??? Welcome to the area and I hope you get some pretty clothes out of it! Maybe I'll bring up this topic with my own dh when I'm not limited to shopping at The Pea in the Pod!
  14. I don't know if this will help, but I'll play... I buy fewer outfits for each kid, this has helped the most. I used to buy too much for each kid and that led to stuffed drawers and clothes that really never got used up. Now I aim to have them wear out their seasonal clothes by the end of the season, so I usually limit each kid to four or five outfits, plus church clothes. I buy mostly Gymboree and GapKids so they will last the 3-4 months we need them. I'm not fond of winter because it seems they always outgrow their pants before the need for pants is over, so I do end up saving some pants for the younger kids. It means that I have to do laundry regularly, but I feel it's worth it. At the end of spring this year, I had less than one plastic bin for all their clothes that can still be worn. I pass along church clothes that the youngest ones have outgrown to a friend. Those clothes are like new usually. It's probably good that my kids are homeschooled. They might have to have more clothes more often if they were in school.:001_smile: But, my problem was too many clothes in good condition at the end of each season. We move every three years and I got tired of moving a dozen or more clothes bins! Your dilemma may be entirely different!
  15. Based on advice from the Hive, I used Latin For Children A with my dd 2nd grade and ds 3rd grade. We are only half way through, we started in March, but they are keeping up better than I expected and they love it. They use the Flashdash program that is free online from the publishers and listen to the CD vocab each day. We watch the DVD's for the teaching portion because he explains it so much better than I do. We finish one or two of the activity pages each week and complete the worksheet and quiz. It is very easy for me to use and with consistent practice I think they are doing very well. I am quite happy with the program!
  16. I really enjoyed The Forgotten Garden and The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley is very good as well and he has a new one out that I haven't read yet. I've also enjoyed Dissolution and Dark Fire by CJ Sansom, they are mysteries set in Henry VIII's reign.
  17. Congratulations! What amazing scores! The wrestling sounds like a perfect way to celebrate!:001_smile:
  18. Hi, I'm Tiffany! I've been married for 12 years and am the mama to three boys, 9,6 and 3, and two girls, 8 and 4. We are having a baby this summer but the ultrasounds are conflicting so I guess we'll be surprised. We've homeschooled from the beginning, and while I never intended to go beyond 2nd grade, we love this lifestyle too much to change now. My dh is USAF and we are getting used to the DC area, but I hope we can move to NC when his commitment is up in two years. I'm not so fond of crowds!:001_smile:
  19. I'm due in July and I hate thinking about names at this point. I really wanted to name her Fiona, but my husband and children can't get over Shrek. They can't decide on a name between themselves either, so I guess we'll just name her Baby. Unless she turns out to be a he, then I will immediately name him at the hospital without telling anyone. I'm not sure when baby naming turned into a family discussion, I think I did pretty well naming the first five on my own (with dh's nod of approval, of course)!:001_smile: I'm glad to know I'm not alone with the naming challenge!
  20. We used Pre Level Chemistry this spring and I thought it was great. My oldest three loved the corresponding experiments. The reading was in manageable chunks and the illustrations were interesting. This program was easy to get done, and that means a lot to me, we have a busy household. I know you don't really care about Pre Level, so here's a bump!
  21. "Shut, flush, wash." I'm so used to saying it when I hear the bathroom door open, I accidentally said it to my FIL last week!
  22. This year I sent my two youngest to the small Christian preschool close to our home for two mornings a week. I felt that I wouldn't have time for crafts or playdates this year for them and, while the expense made my husband question my sanity, it has been a wonderful experience for our family. I appreciate their teachers so much, they are such lovely women who care for my littles. Jack and Abby enjoy their time there and while there were initial upsets, we all worked through those issues and it has been a great year for all of us. As an aside, we are the only homeschooling family and in the beginning I felt there was a lot of suspicion cast our way, but I think now most people involved look at homeschooling in a much more favorable light. Don't feel guilty for trying it if it's best for your little guy and your family. :001_smile:
  23. I'm 24 weeks with my 6th baby. At my appointment yesterday, my bp was 146/87. Normally, it's 110/70. The tech had me relax in a quiet, darkened room for 10 minutes and then took it again from my other arm. It was 136/74. The nurse I saw for my appt said nothing about it and when I inquired if that seemed high, she asked if I was on bp medication. I said I wasn't and she just made a note in my chart and told me to schedule an appt in 4 weeks like usual. I'm concerned because those 10 minutes were the most relaxed I've been in nine years, since becoming a mother, so what's my bp like in reality? Is high blood pressure only a concern at the end of a pregnancy? Anyone out there who has BTDT? Maybe I'm worrying over nothing.
  24. I use Flashcard Touch for Latin (my older kids) and sight words (for my kinder). They like games like Angry Birds, Chop Chop Ninja, Traffic Rush, Sunday Lawn and Uno. My favorites are HomeRoutine, MealBoard, Cash Tracker and Bump. Sometimes I wonder how I managed without iPhone! This is a fun thread, I found some goodies to add! I never thought to look for Set, my kids love that game!
  25. I just finished The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton this week and it was amazing! http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Garden-Novel-Kate-Morton/dp/1416550550/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269451371&sr=8-1 Fun thread!
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