Jump to content

Menu

ClassicMom

Members
  • Posts

    763
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by ClassicMom

  1. I also have a son on the spectrum and I think of all the sensory and language overload that church provides. When we don't go to church for awhile and then I put him back into that situation, it takes time to transition back in. A previous poster mentioned that perhaps you and your son could attend church together and maybe that would be a good solution for the time being. Having some special time together may allow him to adjust. He may be overwhelmed by the amount of people there, having to sit still for such a long period of time, the noise of the music, not understanding what is being said or sung, the new and maybe overwhelming smells of the church, the perfumes and colognes, etc. Explaining why your faith is so important to you, what it means to you, what some of the liturgy means, and why you sing the music/hymns that you do could help him some. Comfortable clothing, maybe some ear plugs and as mentioned, some fidgets could help as well. I don't know if you do this already, but showing him your faith throughout the week by having devotions in the night or in the morning might go a long way as well by making the language more accessible. Each week should be better than the previous one as he gets use to the routine and structure as well as the people involved.
  2. The Simplicity of Homeschooling by Vicky GoodChild (older book but was one that I read quite a few times) When Children Love to Learn by Elaine Cooper Educating the Wholehearted Child by Sally Clarkson The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer Anything written by Ruth Beechick: The 3 R's You Can Teach Your Child Successfully Biblical Home Education The Homeschool Answer Book
  3. I really liked the MFW K and 1st programs. However, I was far happier with 1st. Depending on how close she is to 5, you may want to look at the 1st grade program. If she is already looking at cvc words, she may be ready for it. I did see that you have other children and are embarking on a college career yourself. If you just wanted to do the phonics/math part, it wouldn't be too bad. Math is mostly hands-on and there is only a workbook if you want to supplement. You could have her sit in with the other children for science/history and just skip that part of the program if you wished. For K, there is a lot of hands-on components to learning the letters and it sounds like she already has that down.
  4. We had this one in our home for years until moving into an apartment: Learning Resources Calendar Pocket Chart For younger children, I also like the My Calendar Book that can be purchased at Rainbow Resource Center. Here is the write up from Rainbow Resource about it: "A great introduction for kids to calendars and weather. Kids not only learn the basics about months such as how many days each month contains, the sequence of months, and what season each month belongs in, but they also practice weather observation each day to make them aware of the changes that occur throughout the year. Each month has a different weather observation such as the high temperature of each day, type of precipitation, cloud types, wind direction, etc. Children will circle the appropriate icon in each box of the calendar, and at the end of the month they learn how to put all of their collected data into one of several chart formats (bar, column, pie, etc.). Questions and a coloring sheet are also included to be completed at some point during each month’s study, and teacher’s tips and notes are included as well."
  5. It sounds as if many of us are on the same page here. It took me many years to get to this point but we are in a good groove here and routine is the key. - workboxes and 36 week filing system - starting school at 8:00 sharp - mom getting up at 5:30 - daily picking-up, laundry and cleaning a chosen area of the house daily - whenever I am in a room, I will pick something up, wipe-off with Clorox wipes or run things up or downstairs as I go. - NO appointments or activities until after 12:00 - Getting dressed completely when I get up (keeps me motivated) -Weekly menu plan and grocery shopping - I take time for me in the afternoon (30-60 min) to recharge daily. Reading, Scripture, or just thinking. - We do formal academics in the mornings but afternoons are left for interest-led studies and play. This is something that I didn't do with my older children and wish that I would have. I was so overly concerned with formal academics but now I can see so much fruit from what my son comes up with left to follow his own interests when provided with plenty of books, tools and supplies.
  6. These look great! Will definitely have to check them out!
  7. Getting up early was probably one of the most difficult habits that I've had to instill in myself over the years. Here are some of the things that I do in order to be successful in that area: -my alarm goes off at 5:30 and no matter how much I want to, I don't hit the snooze button - I prepare my coffee at night so that all I have to do is switch it on when I go downstairs in the morning - I shower at night and then while I have my morning coffee, I dress, put on my makeup, and style my hair. After I have done that, I feel ready to face the day. - I now have an hour to spend with the Lord, do a load of laundry, and go over the day's lesson plans before waking my son at 7:00.
  8. Not to stir this pot more, but according to scripture, Jesus was there with God at the beginning. They are one and the same. Part of a whole. Colossians 1:16-17 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
  9. This is where workboxes have helped us tremendously. I have each of the subjects in a tray as well as his breaks with an activity or some type of physical exercise for that break. My son knows exactly what to expect for each subject, when he is going to get a break and when his school day will be done. Some of the breaks that I give him include: jumping on the trampoline riding his scooter or bike playing Legos working in his scrapbook playing a board game playing his Leapster some sort of sensory exercise: pushing/pulling, blowing bubbles, playing in the sand, etc. chess we have more but this is just a sample I have seen such an improvement in his day by using the workboxes. Also, by using the pictures of the subjects and activities, he can see at a glance what he has left.
  10. Yep. It's getting colder here already and I don't like it. I ALWAYS have a chocolate stash and am willing to share! ;) Chocolate is a necessity in any homeschooling mother's pantry. We just don't get very excited about lunch around here. PB&J for the kids and I had a granola bar with my coffee. Something about me: Shhh...I'm going to be 45 next month. I still can't believe how fast that came about. What ever happened to my 30's? I feel like I misplaced them somewhere.
  11. Lunch today was rather boring; a bowl of cereal. I had a very good day today and was generally at peace period. School flowed smoothly and we got everything done with plenty of time to explore a couple of extra rabbit trails. What's New? We started our week long study of Jamestown today but other than that, things are uneventful around here and that is OK by me. :)
  12. Organizing my scrapbooking space was a major chore last winter! What a mess! I bought an assortment of these from Hobby Lobby. I group by color and then I have also grouped my patterns together by shade or topics. It's really made things a lot easier and it looks much neater.
  13. I think Joy said it best when she said "relax and enjoy your children." Since being involved in homeschooling for eighteen years, I only wish I would have realized that sooner! We now slow down a little bit and I really watch the interests and delights of my son and nourish them. We have our formal schooling in the morning, but the afternoon is dedicated to his leading. Right now, it is birds, trees, the United States, and animals. I give him books, games, tools (such as magifiers, binoculars, a microscope), crafts, notebooking pages and coloring books. But I try to stay out of his way as he delightfully discovers the world around him. We take nature hikes and field trips and he excitedly tells me all of the things that he discovers that he has read about in his books. Our home is full of little areas full of books and art supplies, games and supplies to encourage delight-led learning. Yes, I do introduce topics by bringing in new books items, but from there, I leave it to him to decide where his interests will go. He has studied topics in much further depth than I would have ever done in a lesson plan or unit study. Sometimes it is hard to keep him focused on our regular studies! ;)
  14. I use the workboxes too. When I started with 12 boxes this summer, I thought that I'd never use that many. However, once we started full-force this fall and I started scheduling in breaks, I do actually use all 12 each day.
  15. We just finished week 2 of My Father's World Adventures and we are having a great time! creativeadventuresathome.blogspot.com
  16. Just my humble $.02 but I think you have an awful lot for just starting out and having just pulled her out. There are some things you could double up on: Since you chose FIAR volume 1, do you really need the Heritage Studies and a separate science this year? FIAR is a really nice, gentle way to study literature, history and science. Maybe you could do either the spelling program OR ETC. If she isn't reading fluently, I would choose ETC, but you mentioned that she is a good reader. She may be bored with ETC; especially if you start at volume 1. Bob Jones reading and grammar are good choices but keep in mind that they are teacher intensive and will take a good chunk of your time. MUS is also a very good program. However, have you looked at the scope and sequence? Alpha is pretty simple. Beta might be a better choice. I am just throwing this out there. Wishing you the very best of luck on your new adventure this year! :)
  17. Don't know if you know this or not but you can get printable meeting strips all ready to go with the story problem and everything for $2.75 for 2nd or 3rd grade for each year at:ibelieve Well worth it in my humble opinion! Saves me a ton of time and hassle!
  18. We spend about 40-45 minutes here. However, Saxon has a lot of drill. I let him skip the second side if he gets all of the first side correct. I do make him do flash cards that aren't part of the curriculum that adds time.
  19. I am so glad that you asked this! I was just thinking today how long it was going to take to cement all of the long vowel sounds before moving on. Thank you! :)
  20. We have enjoyed Math Dice and Math Dice Jr. at our house.
  21. I have been pleased with MFW Adventures so far! :) Like Amber, I do think it's a bit light on Science but I believe everything is working well for my ASD son, so I'm not going to rock the boat right now.
  22. I did a state study this summer and used almost everything from the library. I also printed a two-page notebook page from the Internet. It could be printed front and back on one page too. I used Train of States by Peter Sis as one of the spines. The other spine we used was The Unites States of America; A State by State Guide by Millie Miller I used a notebook page from Homeschool Launch that has typical state information on it. I had my son play these free games from Sheppard Software online. I used this map to have my son color the states as we learned them. We did purchase the Scrambled States of America game to play while learning the states. But other than that, I just borrowed books from the library.
  23. Our first week is up! :) CreativeAdventuresInHomeEducation
×
×
  • Create New...