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Dolphin

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Posts posted by Dolphin

  1. It has taken me awhile this year, but I think I mostly have it together now.

     

    We also just keep going with things, so we will transition when ready. For instance ds is starting pre a on Monday (combo of JA, LOF, and AOPS)

     

    History and Literature: The History of the Ancient World with study guide (toned down a little for age)

                                          MP Online Classical Studies 1

                                          Lots of reading of quality books assigned as the year goes on.

                                          This is his favorite/advanced subject. Talking of the earlier accelerated students, my ds is strong              in some things, average in others, and slowly improving with spelling.

     

    Latin and Greek:          MP online High School Form Latin

                                         not sure about Greek yet. Might continue Koine with Hey Andrew or Switch to Attic/Classical this   year. I will decide after I see how the 2 online courses go as this is our first time doing those.

     

    Language Arts:            Rod and Staff Grammar 6

                                        Phonetic Zoo Level b

                                        Finish WWS1 move to WWS2 after Christmas I think. interspersed with IEW. We do 1 week of   WWS, then 2 weeks of IEW.

     

    Logic:                          Art of Argument

     

    Math:                            Finish Pre Algebra and start AOPS intro to Algebra around November I think.

                                         Khan Academy

     

    Science:                       Yeah OMSI! Our local science museum has a great science course for MS

     

    Geography:                   MP Geography 2

     

    Memory:                      We are going to attempt MP's Horatius at the Bridge

     

    Extras:                          Piano, Choir, Drama, Ballet, and Trapeze.

     

    Programming:               Raspberry Pi, and something after the fall musical is OVER!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  2. Also, for a true south Indian style ghee, you simmer it for closer to 45 minutes. It should look like dark brown ale. It can last in the cupboard for a year easily. Make sure and use unsalted butter.

     

    For those who make their own, if you pour carefully and keep the sediment in the bottom, it is fantastic mixed with some sage and served over the butternut squash ravioli from Costco.

  3. With my 1st grader we have been doing phonics, handwriting and Math. Just in the last few weeks we have added Learning Language through Literature. So far we are reading aloud Beatrice potter, aesops fables, and some good poetry. We have talked about sentences and people names starting with capitals and ending sentences with punctuation. It is really easy and gentle. We are having fun with it. We are pretty chill in the first grades, and add as reading and handwriting improve.

  4. Ok, if you want land you are going to need to be SW and commute. You might be able to find a place like that in Sherwood. Everything but the thrift shops, you might need to drive for that. You would need to look on the Newberg side of Sherwood most likely (40 min commute). You can also look across the river at Canby. Oregon City is also an option. Those are places you can get 1/2-1acre in the price range. 1/2 acre closer in will run more in the 600+ range. 

     

    http://www.equitygroup.com/p/9/13478854

     

    http://www.equitygroup.com/p/19/672052

     

    http://www.equitygroup.com/p/9/14324954

     

    http://www.equitygroup.com/p/9/13388930

     

    Just to give you a few ideas. You can mapquest the addresses to downtown Portland to give you drive times.

  5. Well, what is the commute time that dh would be good with? That will give you a circle around Portland, Salem, and Eugene.

     

    Next, what type of place. Do you want urban, right in the city. Or a burb? Portlandia type, hip neighborhood, or nice single house's, tree lined streets and cul du sacs?

     

    Are schools important or will you homeschool throughout?

     

    What price bracket of house?

     

    Sherwood is a wonderful community. They are about 30 minutes out from Portland. I think it was voted the 6th best small town in America. A lot of people commute both to Portland and Salem from there. 

     

    The SW side of Portland is nice, and the side of Portland on the way to Salem. Wilsonville is an interesting town that has good public transit options both to Portland and Salem. It has some really decent restaurants as well.

     

    West Linn and Lake Oswego are the more affluent burbs. Both have good school districts. Lake Oswego's is it's own district, but West Linn/Wilsonville is a joint school district. Constantly top in the state. So, you can live more middle class, while still benefiting from the taxes of West Linn.

     

    Closer in you have SW Portland and Multnomah Village. Good parks and rec, etc....

     

    Milwaukie is on the other side of the river. The Max line is about to connect up to it, houses are a little cheaper. Lots of stuff out there, a lot of strip malls etc...

     

    Give me some more info and I can help out. This is my stomping ground.

  6. We tried a few different things, and then we stumbled onto Handwriting without Tears. We have been using this for 2 and a half years now and it is working on both my children. It is the only book that works on both. They have different Math, language arts etc...

     

    I write really slowly with my dd. For K and 1st grade I got the teacher manual. It has a whole section on left handed writing. (My dd is left handed and I am not). 2nd grade I am going to try without the teacher guide, and that should be ok. I found the first grade one the most useful.

     

    The other thing I like about HWOT is they have a lined paper for older students. My ds is in 6th and doing can do cursive. He really likes having the guideline on the page, and it makes a huge difference. So, he is going to wean himself to regular lined paper sometime in 7th or 8th.

  7. My first thought when I saw the title is that I do not bother with grades, but I see you need to.

    I would evaluate each subject. If you think they have Mastery of it, know it inside out and upside down, assign an A. If they are pretty darn good B, if they have learnt enough for you to move on, but just kinda average a C.

     

    For things with percent.

    90-100% is a A

    80-*89% is a B

    70-79% is a C

     

    Hope that helps.

  8. The other thing is that R&S Grammar only goes through level 8. We are stretching it out. Also, make sure you have the teacher manual for this one. The oral review at the start of the lesson is key. We also tend to only do odds or evens with the exercises. If there are a lot of mistakes we go over them and then ds still has some exercise problems to do correctly. Other wise it is A LOT of writing.

  9. I think you should be OK to proceed. HWOT has a book (I think it's called Kickstart Cursive) It starts from the beginning in the strokes you need to form your letters. You might want to spring for the specially lined HWOT paper for her.

     

    This is what I would recommend as well. My son is in 6th and he still uses the oldest HWOT paper. Just less headaches for me when reading. Sit with her while she is doing it. My dd reverses a lot. She is still only 6, but someone told me to always sit next to her when writing and correct right away so she doesn't train her brain to write it backwards. We also have the printing poster for her to look at. Even though it is not cursive, it is right in front of where she works so she can look up at anytime and see the letter (and number) the correct way.

  10. De school first. Don't worry about jumping in all together.

     

    After that, my advice is to just pick a math program. Put them in the level the test into (most have placement tests on their sites.) Teach that for a month. It will help you figure out what works and doesn't work for both you as a teacher AND the learning style of the individual kiddos. Math and reading aloud is a great place to start. You will save yourself money if you start slow. The only way to really learn about the programs is to use them, but as you use more you will realize what types of things work for you.

     

    There are many math options out there:

    Khan academy

    Beast Academy

    Life of Fred

    Math in Focus

    Singapore Math

    Saxon

    Math Mammoth

    CLE

    Teaching Textbooks

    Rod and Staff

     

    As for writing, I would recommend the instructors guide to Writing with Ease. See if your library has it. This will really help you guide your son in a positive way toward writing. 

  11. I am starting today to get rid of any unnecessary stuff so it will be easier to move. How do I do it though? This is the only home two of my children ever lived in. I've been here 16 years. Just hurts...

     

    First of all  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

     

    Next, look at apartments with pools. At 15 and 9 a pool would be pretty cool. Possibly even make up for sharing a room. Apartments can be a fun adventure. Plus, no maintenance for you.

  12. Last year I did a fun dinner.

     

    I put a plastic table cloth on the table and served spaghetti, caesar salad and garlic bread. Straight onto the table, no plates, no cutlery. DS, was confused "Um, mom, I think you forgot something." Then new plastic table cloth and ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Again, not plates or utensils.

     

    The year before we gift wrapped both children's doors.

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