onaclairadeluna
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Posts posted by onaclairadeluna
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I am a band teacher and a clarinetist first. I have studied all the wind instruments and learning new fingering is the easiest part of switching from one wind instrument to another. Sure the fingerings are different but the logic behind them is similar. It has been my experience that with the flute there are three kinds of students; those who get the embouchure right away, those who don't but absolutely love flute and have the will power to figure the embouchure out and those who struggle with the embouchure and are much happier playing clarinet or trumpet or something else. So before you rearrange her schedule I'd make sure that she is either really motivated or can produce a sound. You can either hire a flute teacher or perhaps there is someone at a local music store who would be willing to demonstrate flute embouchure (most people without instruction would blow into a flute the same way as a coke bottle but you blow into a flute differently). Good luck
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If he's a history fan I highly recommend teaching company courses.
FWIW. My son at 12 runs around at least as many minutes as he works. It helps him think. I limit things like Magic and D and D during the week (I let him do these at night AFTER all the work is done). Otherwise he doesn't focus as well.
There is a spectrum between unschooling and child led. I am most definitely not an unschooler (Writing is not an option, for example). However I try to get material that he is going to love so that I am not steering the ship all day long.
"Can I please listen to the Vikings mom?" "Yes dear, clear off the table first."
It can be helpful to have an idea of what's a priority. In our house my priority is to help my son learn to spell since he is dyslexic and its hard for him. His priority is math because he is good at it. So we start with that and then add as many things as we can. I tend to unschool history because he is so into it and does it on his own. And science too, though recently I have been needing to be a more involved with this. Lately I have been including more written work in these subjects because he needs to build his writing stamina.
I am not a big Saxon Fan.
http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm
This curriculum is free. I think it's cool. I also really like Singapore.
It might be that your son is not into math and Saxon is not the problem. But I would not have liked Saxon as a kid and I love math.
It takes time to figure out what is going to work. Sounds like you are doing all the right things.
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My son liked Singapore. For him writing was the main difficulty and math was a strength so it was a good match.
I always skipped the first couple of pages where you have to write out things like "Three hundred seventy six"
That was WAY to many letters for him. Otherwise it is pretty light on writing which was great.
Good luck.
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My dyslexic son also learned to read on his own however, I think that the lack of phonetic instruction was not in his best interest. I just didn't know any better. In the second grade he was reading Lord of the Rings but couldn't spell at a first grade level.
I did some reading (I recommend Sally Shaywitz's Overcoming Dyslexia) and I decided to tutor him with an Orton Gillingham program. He now reads *and* writes ahead of grade level and he has expressed great gratitude to me for explaining to him what the heck was going on with the English language.
Many dyslexics have trouble learning to read but many are able to compensate and figure it out. O-G instruction helps both groups. Early intervention is beneficial but it is never too late.
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Endoscopy can be wrong too, as the intestinal lesions are often patchy enough that they're missed during endoscopy. Some physicians are now recommending that a diagnosis of celiac be made with even if the biopsy is negative, assuming other conditions are met. I can dig up references, if anyone wants them.
I didn't know this.
Can I ask why? It sounds like you have a really dramatic response to gluten challenge, with debilitating leg pain. Why would you have wanted to undergo an endoscopy, with its associated risks, when a simple elimination and challenge had such dramatic results?Clearly I am happy with the results of my diet and I am not going to change them for any test. However I have some sypmtoms that have never gone away and it frustrates me not to know what is going on with my body. Is it celiac or some other condition that is dramatically helped by a gf diet? I actually eat SCD-completely grain free because it makes a huge difference in my health.
I would not change my diet, I just want to know. Does that make sense?
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They are advocating I try to go gluten free for a week and see if I am cured, or better. I am thinking it over, but I'd really prefer to have a diagnoses first.
I went GF without a diagnosis and I wish I had gotten one. Go get the test. The standard test is a endoscopy. Bloodwork can be wrong from what I have heard.
From my experience a week of going GF won't necessarily help. For me it took at least a month until I noticed a difference. Now when I accidentally eat gluten I get such bad leg pain that I can't walk.
I hope you find that this helps you. I am pretty skeptical that going gf is the solution for everyone. It has done wonders for me though and I am thankful for a friend's zeal in convincing me to try it.
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Just listen.
And sing, and play.
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Good questions. I love the reading lists on this site:
She has lists for kids and adults.
My favorite-see the beauty in math-adult resource is "The Joy of Thinking" from the teaching company.
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What is this world coming to when people can't figure basic percents?
This is pretty old but another great story.
http://consumerist.com/2006/12/verizon-doesnt-know-difference-between-dollars-and-cents.html
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There is a great video out there where recent MIT engineering school graduates are asked if they can light a light bulb with a wire and a battery. Only one out of many (a hundred?) was able to succeed. This is the importance of concepts. Should we be mad? Of course not. Would it be nice if the smartest people in our country had more than a surface understanding of things. Probably. Only you can decide if your kids need this type of education.
If your child is going to be the conductor of the Chicago symphony then a solid (conceptual) math education is nice but not essential. If you think they might go on to be a Phd physicist or mathematician (or more importantly an elementary teacher) then the concepts are of greater importance.
Also it comes down to values. Some consider conceptual math education valuable in and of itself, like music. We all make choices. Some people feel this way about gardening or sports. One of the things we do so well as a homeschool community is honor diversity. I really enjoy the geeky math threads. And though I get all fired up about math, I have many friends that don't know how to divide by fractions and it's cool. I promise there won't be a test. :001_smile:
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My son is a math kid and dyslexic. For him the most effective tool for learning math facts was doing a lot of math. Number theory was particularly beneficial. The game 24. Letting him work on challenging math problems. He is somewhat auditory so once a year I quiz him to see how fast he is getting. "quick what's 8x7" If I did this every day it would stress him out though. When he was young we did math on walks.
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I am using the free trial of dreambox and I really love it. It has great manipulatives. I am not familiar with the other program.
I probably won't purchase dreambox but I am all set at home with my closet full of manipulatives and 56 math curricula ;)
Still I think it is really well done.
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I am using Phonics Pathways and have come across different words with odd pronunciations, IMHO.
develop-with the first e being a schwa, sanity with i being a schwa. Spoken and chosen with a schwa-"un" sound. (Ok, I have schwa issues. :tongue_smilie:).
It's because they are not accented. Unaccented vowels often turn into a schwa sound.
In many parts of the country dog is pronounced dawg. My husband says git and reads hop on pop as "Git Wet, two dogs git wet". I think I might say Dawg, I am not sure...I am from NY Ariginally:) Anyhow, people's accents often defy the rules of phonics.
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My son was the same way.
The only way to slow a bright kid down is to give him hard problems. AOPS does this brilliantly.
You don't have to do algebra 1st. Or at least you don't have to do the whole book. The first few chapters are pre algebra (but really hard pre algebra) and that is enough for your child to be able to dive into Number Theory and Probability and counting.
My son was at about the same time table as yours and at 12 he is now working through Geometry after finishing the other 3 books. He also goes back and reviews (on his own, not prompted by me). He also did a few of the "elements of mathematics books" from eimacs but he did those as "summer fun math".
I can't sing the praises of AOPS enough. He grabs his books every day and heads outside cheerfully and works on his own for an hour or sometimes two. He cheers and sometimes shrieks in frustration but he is so completely engrossed in his work and it is indeed a labor of love.
I would only wait if you think it will be too hard or frustrating but if you want your child to slow down AOPS is the way to go.
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I just want them to see....
12-5= the difference between 12 and 5....5+5=10 and 2 more gets you to 12. so....the difference is 5+2 which is 7....
I have been supplementing with MEP, they do a great job illustrating this.
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I bolded what I'm talking about. Does it give *any* reasoning or just have the students memorize (or imprint) the correct spellings? This is what I'm wondering. My ds definitely needs "why" and not just a "that's the way it's spelled."
There are a few times that A and P mentions the rules (doubling rule, change y to i etc.) but many times they just show you the pattern. The cool thing I am finding is that my son is extrapolating the rules from the patterns in apples and pears. Instead of me telling him the rules, he is telling me.
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At 10 I gave my son high school level literature and had him read it through just to enjoy it. Now we are doing more analysis and so we are revisiting some of these classics (he's 12). This wasn't planned, he is my first and I was just winging it. Still it seems to be working out really well.
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I think you could start with level D. That's what I am doing. I reviewed what was covered in level C (with the online samples) and we are starting level D next week.
I too am curious what could come after A and P for spelling. I am pretty sure my ds will need it. Unless I find something else I am just going to do a word root study thing-a-ma-bobbie.
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I taught in a Waldorf school for awhile (music). Lots of what they do there you can't replicate at home but I think the reverse is also true. Many of the teachers seemed to feel "sorry" for me that I was homeschooling. I felt that they just didn't understand that in my opinion what I do is better. I would still homeschool even if they offered me free tuition.
I loved all the crafts that they did. Still I prefer more loose rule-less art. Lately I have been really into my glue gun. And my daughter really likes the art markers I bought her (much more than the beeswax crayons...though those things last forever so I still really love them).
My son sat in on a 5th grade Waldorf lesson when I was there and the teacher apparently said to the class "I don't care if you understand it, I just want you to do it" He came back to me appalled and thankful that he doesn't always have to sit quietly and be polite (suffering silently teachers who do not understand the beauty of math the way he does). Not to say Waldorf teachers always do that but it seems much of their math curriculum is pretty rote. I super-like the geometry units though and greedy gnome stories in the younger grades.
The best thing about homeschooling is you can do whatever you (or your kids) love and you can chuck the rest.
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I have a zen-on recorder and I like it better than my yamaha. Both are plastic student models. I prefer the tone of the zen on. It's darker and "woodier". I have also heard Aulos is a good model but I don't have personal experience with that instrument.
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What about online classes?
Art of Problem Solving has great classes for young bright mathematicians.
Their Alcumus system is free
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I accelerated my daughter through OM by a year and it doesn't feel rushed, forced or pushed at all. In fact it isn't quite enough and I supplement with more challenging math and lots of other things. (Art and music mostly since she is that kind of kid). She is 5 turning 6 and we are doing second grade this year.
Disclaimer: I am a Waldorf Rebel and I let my children color with black crayons and listen to recorded music. I also teach reading and math way before pure Waldorfians would think appropriate. I love the fairy tales, crafts and general warm fuzzies that Waldorf offers so I blend that with my families more academic leanings.
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I don't have any specific curricula suggestions but this book contains a good suggestions for a huge variety of learning issues.
Switching/adding instrument (flute??) (sorry, got long...)
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I would think so. You can call. Make sure to ask if someone at the store would be willing to demonstrate the instrument. Sometimes they will if they have someone that teaches at the store. As far as hygiene you can sanitize a flute with rubbing alcohol or rinse it out and for a clarinet you want to buy a new reed and rinse out the mouthpiece (but don't get the cork wet).
Yeah I suppose the spitty read is pretty icky when you think of it. Wind instruments are full of moist and yucky bits. I cleaned out my daughters cornet today and it was quite shocking what came out :ack2: