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specialkmom

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Everything posted by specialkmom

  1. For the OP: I just want to encourage you. I was your daughter. About high school age I hated being homeschooled. I would leave notes in my mom's purse about how I hated it and wanted to go to a real school, even if it was the awful public high school down the road (a lot of gang influence there). I always said I would never homeschool, and my kids were all going to a real school someday where they would have lots of friends and real teachers and real experiences. We played sports for a private school and we were very involved with other activities outside our home without our parents. But, I thought the grass was greener somewhere else. There was no way my parents were going to allow any of us to go to public school and there was no money for private school. The answer was always no, and that was that. But still, even up to my oldest going to Pre-K/K, my kids were going to a school- no way I was homeschooling. When the time came to send him, I took a good look at what they were going to teach, my drive there and back with younger kids, and my husband's very busy and abnormal schedule. I decided it wasn't worth it to send him when I could accomplish all that at home in a short time, we'd have a free schedule, and still have time with friends. After we got started I realized I enjoyed homeschooling, and when 1st grade rolled around, I said no to school and we kept going. Now, I'm actually a bit sad that my kids will be going to a school for a couple years (we'll be moving overseas). But, you know- despite my previous hatred for homeschooling- my attitude has changed. And even though I educate my kids differently at home than my parents did for me, I am still very appreciative of what they did for me during those years. There were a lot of benefits I didn't see then, but I do now. So, no advice on what to do for your daughter, just encouragement that the attitude change may happen, it just might be a while out. Perhaps sitting down and discussing her thoughts and yours might help you both.
  2. Thank you all, I appreciate hearing your experiences. I think we'll give it a try. At least it will be interesting reading even if we slowly work through some of the problems. My son really liked the samples of the guides. I have a question for those who went on to SM3, did you accelerate a bit through 3A or 3B after doing some of BA due to either ease or repetitive material? I noticed BA covers a lot of the same material in 3B. I was wondering if BA goes into more depth on those topics and if going through 3B would be redundant or just good review.
  3. I was thinking of getting Beast Academy as a supplement to Singapore 3 for next year. But, as I was looking through it, I thought maybe it would be fun to do some of it (at least book A) over the summer to keep my son's brain in motion and give him a break from normal worksheets. My question is, do you think BA can be used prior to SM3, or would it be better during or after? My ds works through SM pretty well and we do the IP at the same level as the WB with no problem. We also use a little of MEP for practicing skills/review.
  4. Thanks, I appreciate the reviews. One of our area libraries have them, so maybe I'll just check a few of them out. I'm a bit disappointed there isn't really a story line. My kids love Magic School Bus.
  5. Any experience with these books? Are they worth the read? Looks like it's for ages 8 and up? They look interesting at any rate.
  6. Are you using the US edition of Singapore Math? I use the standards edition, it's laid out much better. I've had several friends look at my Standards HIG and say how much better it is than the US edition. I'd check out the Standards Edition before switching programs.
  7. If your ds6 who is about to be 7 would be in 1st in school, but you are planning to begin 2nd, then why would he not be on grade. Even if you did another year of 1st, he is still on grade. Don't let outside pressures affect the decisions you make for your family. Smile and ask about the bean dip. It sounds like your two oldest are similar to my older brother and me. He had dyslexia and was all about taking things apart, playing outside, and getting out of school. I was more advanced and we ended up in the same grade. He needed more time to mature, to learn to read, and to learn to hold still. It drove my dad nuts that my brother wasn't as good in school as he wanted him to be, but that pressure just made it worse. From another of your postings you said ds6 has vision problems. That is going to affect reading and other visual forms of learning. My oldest ds is turning 7 soon and will be doing 2nd grade work. He has the same focus problems. He gets easily distracted by the others. My mother in law told me about whisper phone. Might look into that. One thing I started doing the last few months of this past school year was to do something with everyone together first. The younger kids get excited, have their fun, and then leave to play. Oldest is already in "doing"mode and we just switch over to his stuff. Sometimes we would postpone some things until nap time. That worked well some days because chaos reigns in households with little kids. Anyway, I still say forget about school until you are settled into your new place. Figure out your child's vision problems and how to address that. Ease in with what does work, and then add in what you can (but be aware of your child's learning type and abilities and don't let anyone guilt you into doing what isn't best for him). And don't compare your children to each other. They are different, rejoice in each one of their strengths while helping each other in weaknesses.
  8. I use the standards. The HIG for standards is just so well laid out. I had a friends who used US and switched to Standards after seeing my HIG. The US Intensive Practice books are really good. I'm thinking of not using CWP and doing that instead. I like the Standards textbook and workbook. Nice in color, and as others said adequate review and work pages. I do use the Intensive Practice books because it takes them a step further and contains word problems as well. CWP is only word problems. Anyway, I'd look at the samples offered online to check out the difference. I'm in love with the Standards HIG though. I wish more curriculum guides were as well laid out.
  9. My kids are the exact ages as yours, even the same genders. And we, just finished our move a week ago. Take it from me, now is not the time to be worried about school. There is too much stress, too much else to do. Send your kids outside to play. Give them books to read and look at. If they beg for it give them a worksheet from those books at Sams or Walmart. Or better just let them color. And let that be your schedule for at least a couple weeks after you move. Believe it or not, moving is very stressful to your kids as well. They need to have a bit of stability and routine. I am just now buying stuff, but I'm not planning to start for a few weeks yet. Just let go of starting now. Don't even look at it. Put it in a box and forget about it until you are settled in.
  10. Not trying to hijack, but I've got a 2nd grader and I'm looking at AAS or R&S for spelling. I did AAS1 last year. It was pretty easy for my ds. We ended up streamlining it because it took longer than it needed to. Also, I'm not sure how teacher intensive I want spelling to be with our other subjects. I did like the content for AAS. Anyway, R&S spelling looks good too and a little more independent. Would you recommend grade 3 if my ds isn't doing their phonics, or start with 2? Also, the TM would be necessary? I didn't see spelling rules in the workbook. ETA : my ds is more of a natural speller.
  11. History Odyssey timeline is made for a binder? Website seemed to indicate more of a wall use, though binder could work. I'm not interested in a binder timeline. Anyway, if timelines are better for upper elementary, then I'll save my money and the timeline for later.
  12. What ages would you use this with? I have a 2nd and K 'er this year. We're doing HO Ancients level 1. Trying to decide if I want to spend the money on this or wait until they are older.
  13. I know I'm not an expert. We love Singapore Math, standards edition. Go to cbd.com to look at samples. They had the best offering of samples of Singapore Math that I could find. Definitely look at the HIG. I have a friend using the US edition and she said the standards edition HIG was laid out much better than the US. But, anyway, they have both editions and have a good sampling to look at. I tried Math Mammoth. Didn't care for it. But my ds is young and I wanted more teacher involvement. MM was too easy for me to hand him a page and walk away. That's not what either of us wanted.
  14. Hmm, I started another thread about SL Core B and SOTW, and was assured SOTW was pretty open and go. After reading this it doesn't sound like it. Does Sonlight plan days and SOTW plan weeks? I would like to see your plan Fairprospects.
  15. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and thoughts. I think I may lean more towards SOTW to get my second son involved. My oldest would have no problems with just reading books and using his own imagination to make things and act stuff out. My second son needs things to do. We did Geography this year and if it wasn't for the maps and flags to color, and other activitues that were planned, he wouldn't have joined in. Right now the oldest and I are doing a quick American History. We basically use a spine, some Beautiful Feet books, and whatever our library has that is good. That works fine, but my younger son hasn't wanted to join us at all except for the Liberty Kids movies I borrowed from the library. SL has great read alouds. We've read over half of Core A ones and several of Core B. So, I'd probably pick and choose those anyway. My son would need the 3rd grade readers. I was thinking of doing both the audio and book for SOTW if I went with SOTW. Or adding SOTW audio to SL B if I did that. I think my younger son would enjoy listening to that while doing something. I know he'd have a hard time sitting through the book because he still needs the pictures. Thanks again for your help.
  16. I'll have two boys, 2nd and K. We love books. Activities are welcomed, but I don't like really big involved stuff. Like the mummified chicken is a no-go. We are moving to a smaller community and I'm guessing the library is so-so. I'd like to have most of the books we need on hand. I was thinking SL Core B, just the history portion. But, its not that many books. So I looked at TOG's recommendations for LG and picked out some of that. Then I thought that if I'm going to buy all those books, then I should just get SOtW and AG and not SL B history portion. Now I'm confused. I want something open and go. I don't want to make lesson plans. I want some activities, but not too much. I want books to read besides the spine. I thought I read on here SL B wasn't chronological. Is that true? Which would be more fun for my boys? My oldest devours books and loves to learn, my younger son has to be ADHD and prefers hands-on and funny books. He will sit for a bit, and he likes books, but his attention span is so short. He gets antsy and has to move. Basically this would be for my older son and the younger one along for the fun parts. Part of me wants to try SL because a lot of my friends like it, we're moving overseas in a year or so, and those books are just so appealing. I'm not sure I care that we do a 4 year rotation at this age. And, our kids will probably be in a school for a year or so when we move overseas before we go back to homeschooling. I appreciate any guidance. Thanks.
  17. Heidi@MtHope- YES! That is the series. I was checking on my phone at my son's swimming lessons and I couldn't access the samples from my phone. I saw the cover for the Bach cd and it looked so familiar. So, now I'm at home on my computer and listened to the Mozart sample- and it is the one! Thank you so much. laundrycrisis- thanks for the website. It looks great.
  18. MeaganS, that series sounds very interesting. But, I don't remember there being fictional stories, just historical. The titles don't ring any bells with me. But, it looks like something I an looking for. Thank you!
  19. That could be it. The description sounds similar. Wish I could listen to a clip. But, even if it's not the same one, that's ok. Thank you so much!
  20. When I was younger we had cassettes with a man narrating the life story of a composer with their music in the background as well as featuring certain pieces throughout the story. My parents no longer have them, can't remember who made them. I would like to find something similar if I can for my children. My first grade son is taking a class on composers with our homeschool co-op and he would really enjoy them. But, I haven't had any luck on google. Does anyone know of something similar?
  21. I've been reading different threads about Primary Language Lessons, as well as looking at the free PLL books on Google. I really like what's there. I haven't seen Serl's PLL, but love what I have seen so far in Maxwell's and Sheldon's PLL. But, the thing is, I was planning to do FLL 1. I borrowed it from the library a while back. I wasn't in love with it, but I did like the things it covered and thought I might as well do that with WWE level 1. So, now, I am thinking... should I do FLL/WWE this year and add PLL next? Or could I do FLL 1-2x a week and PLL 2x a week? Would WWE go well with PLL? I like FLL's focus on more formal grammar, but I like PLL for pretty much everything else. Also, for those who have used or have seen differing versions of PLL- what are the main differences between Serl, Maxwell, and Sheldon? (Btw, my ds reads and writes cursive so that is not an issue with us.) Has anyone used PLL with a more formal approach to grammar? What did you use and how has that worked for you? Thanks!
  22. I'm trying to decide on what would work best for my ds. I'd like to avoid too much "busy work" or workbook stuff if I can. He is somewhat of a natural speller and visual. Very similar to me- when I spell a word I either see the word (letters not a picture) or I spell out by syllable while "seeing" the letters in my head. He's the same with math facts- has to "see" the numbers in his head. He writes very well, does spell phonetically- sometimes right and sometimes not. I would like to have phonics rules emphasized because I think it would help firm up his phonics skills, although his reading is excellent. We've gone through Phonics Pathways for reading. I was almost wondering about using it again for spelling and incorporating copywork and dictation with it as well. (So far any spelling has been copywork/dictation, looking at his "notes" he likes to write to us all, or just from learning phonics for reading.) I have 3 younger children, one of whom is starting to learn to read. I would prefer something that doesn't have a lot of pieces or isn't too time-consuming. (As a side note, we are selling our house in the spring so the less space it takes up the better.) I have A Beka's 1st grade spelling book someone gave to me. But it just doesn't excite me. I've looked into AAS, but the small, multiple pieces and big magnetic board I'm supposed to store somewhere freak me out a bit. But otherwise he might like it. I looked into Apples and Pears, but it seems more for those with difficulty spelling. I briefly looked at some others, but I'd rather avoid just a list of words if I can. Anyway, maybe someone can give me some advice as to what would work well.
  23. Look up Expedition Earth from Confessions of a Homeschooler. It's not exactly and all-in-one, but it's got a lot of good stuff for Geography and even animal study. I am most likely doing it for 1st grade.
  24. Trying to find handwriting paper that is smaller than 1/2in. Anyone have any ideas? Not sure it would be cost-effective to print my own- I have an inkjet. Thanks.
  25. I too agonized over MM and SM. We had done SM Earlybird and then MEP while I tried to decide. I ended up going with MM for 1A and B. But after a while I found like a PP mentioned that it was like giving my child a page to get done. Now, he didn't have any problem necessarily doing it after we read the instructions. And if you are short on time, don't like to teach, or naturally good at finding ways to explain or make math hands-on then I think you'll like it. I found I missed the hands-on and teacher interaction. I want to learn how to do math the "Asian" way right along with my son. And I need a bit more hand-holding than MM gives me. I took a longer look at SM, ordered 1A materials and after looking at it today- it's what I want. Since I have MM I will supplement with it as needed. Now, I haven't looked at the higher grades and I am sure instruction is different. If he were older and/or I didn't have as much time to do math with him then I would rely more on MM. I also agree with others that it depends on learning style and teaching style. MM is pretty straightforward, but I wanted more meat for me and more teacher direction/interaction. Also, after looking through the HIG, Textbook, and Workbook- I can see that it's doesn't always mean flipping through all of them. I can read through the HIG once or twice while my ds is writing or taking a snack break. I get my ideas, understand what I am trying to teach and ways to teach it, what I need to do in the textbook and workbook- and then just use the other two books. It's not as cumbersome as I thought it would be. But then, it is only Year 1.
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