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EppieJ

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Everything posted by EppieJ

  1. She may just not be developmentally ready for 1A. I would agree with other posters that maybe you try setting it aside for a few weeks and play math games with her to solidify concepts and keep already learned skills in practice. My ds was that way with reading. He knew his letters/letter sounds for almost a year before he was ready to put them together. Also, at least in our school district, Singapore tends to run a little ahead in that 1A/B work actually coincides more with 2nd grade than 1st. We used Singapore up thru 4A (5th grade) then switched to Teaching Textbooks which seems to be a better fit for us. Ds is slightly ahead of grade level with Pre-Algebra/Algebra concepts in 6th grade (we also use the Kumon math program). If you decide to go with something different, you could try TT but be sure to give her the placement test to determine the appropriate starting place. Personally, since Singapore has worked well up to this point, I would just set it aside for now and give her a chance to develop a little more before continuing.
  2. Thanks for the heads up. I'll go take a look at it.:)
  3. That's part of my problem. :tongue_smilie: They all get good reviews. I like the look of Writeshop's writing emphasis and variety of styles; The Latin Road grammar/Latin stuff looks great and provides the grammar base we are currently lacking. The Writer's Jungle sounds like a great idea in that it seems to grow with the student and can be used with any studies (if I understand correctly). I'll see if I can find a cheap copy of The Writer's Jungle so i can peruse it before making up my mind. In the meantime, I'm on the lookout for more experienced opinions. Thanks for your replies!
  4. Read-alouds, file-folder games, read-alouds, counting/sorting/patterning, read-alouds, things like Kumon workbooks, outdoor play/exploration, read-alouds....:D Sense a pattern? We did a lot of reading in K. Exploration and play is ideal for this learning stage. Patterning is useful for both pre-math and pre-reading skills. We also did some computer edu-games like Reader Rabbit and JumpStart. HTH! Whatever you do, have fun!
  5. So I'm planning ahead because ds will be hitting 7th grade; I'm trying to map out what jr/sr high will look like. I've come across three LA programs that look really good: The Bridge to the Latin Road (I believe I would start with this one rather than The Latin Road 1 in order to ease him into a more formal grammar study), Writeshop and The Writer's Jungle. Currently, I'm leaning toward a combo of The Bridge and Writeshop because they focus on two different areas (grammar/Latin and types of composition). For those who know, do you think this combo would be "biting off more than we can chew?" I've also heard good things about The Writer's Jungle. And ds will likely be participating in NaNoWriMo projects as the mood hits him, which totally monopolizes November, but anyway.... Thoughts...opinions...experiences? Your input is appreciated! Thanks!
  6. FWIW: What we did when ds was 5/6 was use History Pockets Ancient Civilizations. It proved to be a great, gentle segue into SOTW and gave him another year to grow before starting a bigger study.
  7. ... looked at History Pockets / Literature Pockets? http://www.evan-moor.com/Search/Default.aspx?Search=history+pockets
  8. You can check it out on the website. Here's the link to the Young Writer's Program.... http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/
  9. You've got some great suggestions, but let me add a couple more for your consideration: "Treasure Boxes" - these are small containers which have objects for counting, sorting, patterning, etc. (buttons, colored paperclips, tiles, links...) Unifix Cubes File Folder Games - a google search will give you some ideas for those Magnets - could be letter tiles, geometric shapes... there are all kinds of kits out there these days Dry Erase Board/markers and maybe a map or some such that's coated so the markers can be used on it Kumon workbooks
  10. Ds is signed up for his third year of NaNoWriMo. His writing class at the PPP we belong to participates every year. The kids all have a ton of fun. The teacher brings in hot chocolate and parents bring snacks. The kids come to class comfy and hunker down for writing sessions and mutual encouragement. I've finally decided to do it along side him this year. He's older now and will need less direction from me, so I have little excuse not to! Now, if I could just solidify what I want to write about...:tongue_smilie:
  11. You might try looking at the Just Write program put out by EPS. The younger levels start with Write About Me and Write About My World. We worked through some of it when ds was little. Seems like a good program that might incorporate the grammar and writing you're looking for. There is also some drawing involved. Sorry about the bold print. For some reason it won't turn off!:tongue_smilie: Here's the link. Scroll toward the bottom of the page to see the book/price list. As you can see, it's quite affordable. http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?seriesonly=2625M "Just Write is a classroom-tested resource that helps students become confident, expressive writers. Students are guided through the writing process from initial idea to final edited and published narrative. Throughout, they are given models to follow and are encouraged to be creative. The drawing activities in Write about Me and Write about My World help children bridge the gap between thinking and talking about an idea and writing about it."
  12. I don't know what your budget is like, but Lego also has the Mindstorms stuff which is robotics coupled with programming. Or you could see about doing First Lego League which has robotics competitions as well as group projects. Other things you could look at would be kits such as solar robots (my ds has one of those we haven't put together yet). You might see if Rainbow Resource has more kits, etc to give you some ideas. HTH!
  13. but I'll add my two cents in. I drink decaf, but many of them also come fully loaded. As far as what to put in them, well that depends on the tea. Chai teas have a lot of flavor and I enjoy them with a little milk/cream and sugar Good Earth Original is also a strong flavored tea with elements of citrus, cloves and cinnamon among other things. I enjoy these with nothing added because they have a natural sweetness I also drink a lot of herbals, which probably won't do you any good if you're looking for a morning "buzz". I often add stevia, honey or aguave nectar to those You've got lots to check out if the number of responses is any indication! enjoy!
  14. but one of the things I did to help the long trips was to periodically offer "travel treats". Many of these consisted of McD's Happy Meal toys (before he knew they came with the meals ;) I used to sneak them out of the bag and save the 'good' ones for these occasions.) He would also get a favorite small edible treat. These were individually wrapped in tissue paper and given out one at a time at a frequency of about every hour or two depending on his attention span at the time (our road trips were only about 6-8 hrs or so). We also packed special activities such as magnet boards and took periodic stretch breaks. It gave him something to look forward to and sort of made up for being strapped in the carseat for long periods of time.
  15. Have you thought about having her write a book? Check out the NaNoWriMo program for young writers. Might be a fun change of pace for her to walk thru writing/publishing her own book. http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/
  16. Lots of busy kids! This is 6th grade part B for us. Ds is enrolled in our local PPP and has been since first grade- he loves it. But he started a year early and we decided that this would be a good year to get him "back on track" with his birthday. This is allowing him the option of choosing some of what we study this year, which will hopefully put some fun back into things. Math: Kumon, Teaching Textbooks (finish Math 7, begin Pre-Algebra), Critical Thinking Skills (various sources) Language Arts: Public Speaking (PPP), Novel Writing (PPP- they are using the NaNoWriMo program), Wordsmith Apprentice, Lit Study Guides (currently doing Progeny's The Hobbit), MCP Phonics (review & covering some glossed over things), Accelerated Reader (thru PPP), and any number of things I have laying around as time permits. And of course, reading (read-alouds, quiet reading and oral reading). This is not as bad as it looks. Most of these items only take a few minutes each day and we're only doing one lit guide per quarter. The novel will monopolize his LA for most of the first semester. This is his third time doing it, so I know! Unit Study: per ds' request these will be: The History of Lego (also doing Master Builder Academy), Architecture, Genetics, Survival Skills w/plants of the NW region. I'm also throwing in a short US Geography unit cuz the kid knows where Greece is but can't find Utah! The Arts: Art in 3D (PPP), Technology Projects (PPP) World Languages: Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish and maybe a little ASL thrown in later in the year Health/Fitness: Don't have much planned, but will be working on building strength, coordination and a better diet Here's hoping for a great year for everyone!
  17. Love your whole post, but had to laugh at this! :lol: Many years ago, I worked with a Kindergarten teacher who told me much the same thing- there is no difference between a 3 yo, a 13 yo, a 23 yo.... We all go through cycles. Thanks for you post. It's helpful to me because my ds is rapidly approaching 12 and I can see some changes coming. Some days he's very much a "little kid"; other days he seems older than his years. It's an interesting ride! This year should be pretty good, tho, because we've lightened the load and allowed ds to choose some unit study topics that he's interested in. Science and History as separate subjects has been thrown to the wind this year, but the unit studies ds chose will incorporate some of that (should I be worried that my 11 yo boy wants to study genetics?:001_huh:) Anyway, thanks again!
  18. Not a class, persay, but have you looked at NaNoWriMo? You can download/print the workbook from their site (free). It teaches the process of writing a novel; kids write their own novel with word count goals based on grade level. They even receive encouraging notes from published authors like "Erin Hunter" (Warrior series). Check out the website for more info. My ds will be doing it this year for the third time; he loves it! http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/
  19. Can anyone recommend a good dictionary for middle school/jr high? Ds' current dictionary is for elementary and is not as comprehensive as he needs. That said, I'm not ready to hand him a college-level dictionary either. What do you use? TIA!
  20. Thanks, everyone, for your responses and encouragement! I'm a little late getting back to you because for some reason most of the reply notifications were sent to my junk mail. I think I'll need to have another talk with dh (who doesn't really like talking about it) and look into a sleep study and allergy testing. Thankfully, ds' tics aren't bad enough to need meds, but he will need to know what he's dealing with as he hits puberty, and so will we. Thanks again!
  21. Hi Ho Cherry-O! is a good one for learning counting skills and following directions. Candyland is another classic that teaches color and matching skills.
  22. I haven't read the responses so this post may be redundant, but for what it's worth here are some things you could try: File Folder games (do a google search) Kumon wkbks 100 Easy Lessons (if you want to begin blending/reading skills) maybe some copywork since she likes writing She might enjoy a simple unit study/lapbook (try Currclick or Hands of a Child) Singapore Early Bird math books Reader Rabbit & JumpStart have some good stuff for computer time
  23. DS was in first grade when I started with the text and a few activity pages. By the end of the year my voice had about had it with all the read-alouds we were doing so I broke down and purchased the cd's for volume 1 and he finished it off that way. DS loved it! I never purchased another SOTW text after that. Each year I bought the next volume of cd's, handed it to him and watched him high-tail it to his bedroom for Legos and history. He would be back there for hours listening. Now I realize that the cd's alone may not provide in-depth study, but the kid already knows way more history than I ever did at his level. If your dc is doing the cd's and timeline plus historical fiction reading and enjoying it to boot, I'd say that makes for a great history plan. Another option might be to study a particular historical subject that she's interested in (person, time period, event...). That could entail the use of lapbooks, unit study/notebook pages, historical fiction.... Hands of a Child has some that may be interesting. There's certainly nothing wrong with taking it easy for a year. We are. In both history and science. Instead we're doing some "Unit Study" topics that ds is choosing. Hopefully, these ramblings are reassuring to you. Happy planning!
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