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Mandi in Ohio

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Posts posted by Mandi in Ohio

  1. Anyone out there using Abeka??? We have the math lesson plans and test key from our first child. I need to order the workbooks for our second child to go with these for this year. Of course they've revised the editions since then. I called the company and they said the new workbooks will not match up with the old 1st grade curriculum and test and speed drills key? Are they just wanting me to order new books or can I really not use the old with the new? If its just a tiny bit off we can tweak it, I just hate buying new books if we don't really need to. Anyone have a clue???

     

    Mandi

  2. We will be doing another year with Abeka Math and this year our oldest will be using Abeka's 3rd Grade Arithmetic books. At this level do they still really need the teacher lesson plans too? I was looking at just getting the student book and Teacher Key and possibly the Test and Speed Drills book with the Key?

     

    If you did not use the lesson plans with this book did your child just self teach using the student workbooks? Is that asking too much of an 8 year old? She does well in math but I didn't want to overwhelm her.

     

    Thanks!

    Mandi

  3. This last year I had our kindergartener do Abeka k5 for her phonics program. I really loved it for our first girl (typical driven first born) but for our second she's more of a hands-on, less focused kinda kid. Which is fine but I'm just not sure what to do for next year with her. She really stuggled/got frustrated with Abeka phonics because of the work sheets. She would do great 1 on 1 with the lessons, but then couldn't keep focus to do her worksheets on her own. So we are starting 1st grade with her reading basic phonics books that "follow the rules". Not only do I not know what to do for first grade phonics, but we are starting SOTW and Apologia Science with her this year and I'm afraid she'll get behind or frustrated with her other subjects because of her reading level? I love SOTW and want to do it but the reading list they suggest would be mostly me reading to her a this level?

     

    So with all that said....what should I do about phonics with her? I really want something that is best for a child who has a short attention span/has trouble focusing. I was looking at OPGTR because of the lack of worksheets and the one on one teaching? Any curriculum choices or over all tips would be so helpful! Thanks!!!

     

    Mandi

  4. We had to hunt a bit for the folders, and I *think* I found them in the Target school section last year. They are plastic, with 4 clear inserts inside - pockets on both sides of each insert.

     

    Here's something similar: http://www.amazon.com/Esselte-Oxford-8-Pocket-Folder-Letter/dp/B000V9CQ1Q/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1311024246&sr=8-27

     

    (Sorry, I don't know how to make the cute little links.)

     

     

    Those look wonderful!! Thank you so much! Headed to Target in a bit so I'll keep my eye out for them.

  5. We just started a new system. We've been using the Trofast bins from IKEA, but I found that we slowly were moving toward more of a workfolder approach.

     

    Now we have plastic folders for each day of the week (the kiddo decorated each folder with stickers and used scrapbooking letter stickers to write the day of the week on each folder). Inside each folder, there are 8 plastic pockets, and I've put 2 velcro dots on each. We don't use the number cards that Sue suggests, I just make cards up with the subjects (I don't care if he does the work in order, as long as he finishes it each day), so each plastic pocket gets one subject card and, if necessary, a work with Mom card or a time card (15 minutes, etc). If I can't fit the actual activity in the plastic pocket, I have cards made up to slip in the pockets. If all else fails, I can draw a quick picture to put in the pocket! All 5 of these folders fit into a little decorative file box from Target, which lives on top of the re-purposed Trofast bins. When we are ready to work, the kiddo grabs the appropriate folder and he's all set. The Trofast bins are now divided into subjects, and all of the necessary manipulatives, etc are in bins for easy reach. So far, this is working well, taking up less space, and I like that I fill the folders weekly rather than nightly.

     

    Hopefully that made sense!

     

    HTH a bit, and that you find a new system that works well for your family.

     

    Can I ask where you got the folders with 8 pockets insides of them? I saw someone else online using something like that but had no clue where they were from. Thanks!!

  6. Just wanted to say, there's often a lot of "hidden space" you can use for storing books. Think about putting a shelf above the door, for instance, or hanging a book rack on the back of the door. :001_smile:

    I like a room with a high shelf all around the top of the walls (maybe a foot down from the ceiling, for example), for storing books I still want to keep, but may not use every day. I don't mind standing on a 3 step ladder to reach them.

     

    Great ideas!! Always looking for places to stash the book hoard!

  7. When we were using workboxes, I used one rubbermaid container for each child. The container was big enough to hold large ziploc bags. I put 10 ziploc bags in each container. The bags were our 'workboxes.' I put stickers numbered 1 to 10 on each bag. I put the curriculum and acitivites for each child in their bags. I was able to put the containers on a book shelf so they didn't take up much room. This worked very well for us.

     

     

    Did you just use regular sized freezer bags or extra large ones? Also did the bags seem to hold up all year? Thanks!!

  8. So I need some help! My mind is spinning! We did the workboxes last year with our girls and absolutely loved it! This Summer we moved rooms around to make room for a new baby and ended up switching out rooms for our homeschool room. It's in a better location now but a smaller room. So it's a bit tight with all our magazine holders for 3 kids' workboxes as is and I really could use that space to store our evergrowing book collection.

     

    So I've been looking around online and of course there are lots of ideas on how others have adapted this system and not used shoe boxes or magazine boxes (like us). Has anyone done this and liked it? What did you use for your workboxes/folders/drawers and where did you get them?

     

    We have a 3rd grader, 1st grader, and preschooler who will be doing boxes next year. I'd also love to have maybe 4 small boxes for "organized play" for our 2 year old during school.

     

    Any ideas???

  9. I think your letter sounds great but I also agree withthe suggestions above. Our entire family is gluten free and after doing it for 3 years most of our friends who would invite our kids or fmaily to a party/get to gether know we are gluten free. We always bring our own food/snack to events. We have an amazing children's church teacher who has gone out of her way to only have gluten free snacks for the class to make sure my kids (especially the 2 yr old) dosen't accidently get ahold of someone else's snack. She mostly does things like apple slices and such that are naturally gluten free.

     

    Another idea for a birthday party is that I will make up gluten free cupcakes and freeze them. Then when the kids have a party of a special event I will pull out the number we need and just thaw and frost those. This way I have a gluten free dessert for them to take somewhere on short notice. If I don't have any in the freezer sometimes I'll let the kids stop on the way to the party and get a candy bar at the store to take to the party for "cake time". It's not cake but seeing how they never get to pick a candy bar at the store it's still pretty special.

  10. :grouphug:

    Gluten/wheat is a common culprit for stomach/intestinal issues, so you may want to look in to a gf diet. Gluten is usually a more severe allergy too, so it's very important to get it out of your diet right away if you have an allergy.

     

     

     

     

    Totally agree! Our family is all gluten free with celiac running crazy through the family tree. It is hard to diagnose bc it shows up with different symptoms with different people, but the most common symptoms are bowl issues and fatigue.

     

    No matter what it ends up being I'd definitely get it checked out.

  11. So I'm ready to make the splurge and buy a laminator. I really don't want to spend a fortune but I really don't love the little laminator pockets most laminators come with? I've never used thembut don't they waste a lot of the plastic? I guess I'm just used to the regular school type with the long continuous roll of plastic where you just insert as many items as you need laminated and then cut the plastic off when those items run through it. Is there anything on the market like that for a reasonable price?

     

    For those who use the laminators with the refill packs that are pockets, how do you like them? How much can you laminate with one refil pack. Just trying to get an idea of price for the value.

     

    I'm getting ready to laminate a ton (printing the k4 program at Confession of a Homeschooler). So I need something pretty reasonable for refills as well.

     

    Thanks!!

     

    Mandi

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