SparrowsNest
-
Posts
307 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by SparrowsNest
-
-
.There are too many abstract concepts for a younger child to be able to successfully learn from this formatOK, that's what I was thinking as well. She is such a sweet girl and very diligent worker, but she just had no idea where even to start on these, and when I was thinking about it I realized that these have to be reasoned out in multiple steps, which is not a grammar-age skill (at least as far as I understand!).
-
I love owning a book. It makes it more 'mine' somehow. When I look at my old books, they bring back the memories of when I read them, that time in my life, how I felt then, etc. I feel very sentimentally attached to them.
I hate the library! LOL They're someone else's books. My husband is the opposite and loves the library, takes the kids regularly, etc. It takes all kinds! :)
-
Not sure if this is the right forum, but I have a question.
My daughter is in ps in 2nd grade. Her homework last night included what I felt were some pretty difficult (for 2nd grade) word problems, such as...
John's mother gave him $6.25. He already had six coins in his pocket. Now he has $7.65. What were the six coins?
or
The Red Team had 25 more points than the Blue Team. In the next game, the Red team got 15 points and the blue team got 45 points. In the game after that, the Red team got 5 points and the Blue team got 10 points. Who has more points?
I don't remember my older boys doing problems like this in 2nd. :confused:
She just looked like a little deer in headlights; she had no idea how to set up this type of multi-step problem. Once I showed her the steps broken down, she could do each of the steps, but I don't think it would've been something she'd've understood without a lot of handholding. I guess I am just concerned about her -- she's still working on borrowing in 3-digit subtraction and is just now getting those 1-20 basic facts (i.e., 15-8= __) down. I thought that was grade appropriate, but now...
OK, I don't know what the point of this post is! LOL I guess I'm just wondering if this is typical 2nd grade work?
-
This thread makes me chuckle. You all probably think I'm a total laissez-faire, free'n'easy type Mom, what with me leaving the kids in the car and all, but I have only just started permitting my oldest to run this type of errand within the past few months.
He's, um, 13.5. ;) When we are in a store, I still make my 11-in-May ds hang on to the cart. Ha!
-
If your goal is to focus more on history then maybe TOG is for you; if you want to focus more on great books then perhaps Omnibus. I really like them both very much, but ultimately I chose TOG because it does a very good job at both educating my children and holding my hand and it makes my life easier because all three of my sons are studying the same topics (usually).
...and this was what I needed to know. THANK YOU! I really appreciate it.
-
Kathie, it helped enormously! Thank you!
I think I've got some researching/pondering to do. :)
-
I use Omnibus
Julie in GA, :wave: I'm in GA, too. Your oldest is 13 and you're in Omnibus II? How's that going?
IMO, 12 is way too young for the reading in Omnibus.I thought it was geared to the middle school years? It is very unlikely I'd have him home for high school, so I can't save it for then. :(
-
Jean, I think you and I have been on the same reproductive plan, minus my bookend kiddos (ds13 and dd8m). Cool! :)
I hope someone can help us... otherwise I'll end up buying it all!! ;)
-
I'm looking ahead -- way ahead, to year after next. Yes, I like to plan. ;)
I may have 3 children at home, and they will be at that time ds12 (6th/7th grade-ish), dd9 in 4th grade, and ds7 in 1st.
Is it unreasonable to do Omnibus with the oldest and ToG alongside for the younger ones, or should I rather use ToG for everyone? What would the oldest get from Omnibus that he would not get in ToG? Conversely, what would the oldest get from ToG which he would not get from Omnibus? If Omnibus does offer something ToG does not, is the trade-off of having everyone 'on the same page' worth it overall?
Thanks for any insight. :)
-
The IEW exercises are not meant to be "their writing." They are exercises, much like math fact drill, which allow them to practice skills repeatedly, which they will then use in their own way.
Wise words.
We are doing IEW SWI-B here with ds10 and ds13. There has been an almost overnight difference from the first assignment to this (our fourth), particularly with ds13, whose writing was wooden and dry. Some children have a natural grasp on 'dress-ups' (I loathe that term by the way, because we're not trying to fancify our writing for the sake of putting a pig in a wig! I think they should simply be called 'stylistic techniques,' because that's what they are.) but for those who do not, a checklist and repeated exposure (drill) in these techniques will allow them to master them and then to use them in their own writing.
-
it is easy to forget the fact that the beauty of language should be paramount
Geeky English-Major-type thing to follow:
The beauty of the language is not fully appreciated unless you know how language is normally used and how an author is demonstrating mastery of/veering away from/innovating standard usage. Anyone can enjoy the ballet, but those of us who have danced and who recognize the skill and technical expertise enjoy it far more. I have always found great beauty in music, but not until I understood the amazing skill required in something like folk music did I *really* appreciate the beauty and artistry of that genre.
If you want to know why children need to learn grammar at some point before they start talking seriously about literature, I'd say watch Janice's video of diagramming a selection from The Hobbit. You cannot have that kind of application unless the grammar of grammar is already there. Likewise, you cannot do algebra fluidly if you have to stop and count on your fingers when you simplify 12x-7x.
Whether you need to start it at kindergarten or 3rd grade could be debated. But at some point, IMHO, they need to understand how our language works in a nuts and bolts way. We will be using Michael Clay Thompson's Grammar Voyage as our springboard text, with assignments from R&S 6 for reinforcement. Beauty and technique, hand in hand. :)
-
Wow, I am surprised the program isn't more popular! I would've thought this would be a big hit.
But thank you for that information. It is very expensive, and that's the one thing that's holding me back. On the other hand, reading Francis Schaeffer was, I felt, an education unto itself.
-
I am considering using this for afterschooling of my rising 9th grader (who will be attending a private, classical(ish) Christian school). Anyone familiar with it or have any insight? I did a search but didn't get any hits, so I thought I'd toss it out!
Thanks!
http://www.cornerstonecurriculum.com/Curriculum/wvww/wvww.htm
-
My ds10 wears out pants on a weekly basis. Then again, he is a very, very active kid who still loves to crawl, wrestle, climb trees, play chase, run and slide on his knees, etc.
I broke down and bought Lands End pants with reinforced knees. The thing is, although the knees are not ripped, they are dirty. And our Georgia clay isn't exactly wash-friendly! So the pants still look bad. They were $25, and although they did last longer (say, 2 months vs. a month), I could've bought two pairs of the Wrangler Jeans at WalMart/Target.
So I have just given up this battle. Whenever I am at WalMart or Target, I pick up 2 pairs of jeans for ds10 and instruct him to hang them up and examine all other pairs of jeans for holes. I'm hoping we can't have much longer in this stage!
-
What I bought was the SWI-B with DVDs. The way it works is basically...
Mr. Pudewa introduces a topic, and the children work along with him.
He then gives them a writing assignment. They use the notes they have made and incorporate the required "dress-ups" or stylistic techniques they have covered, either rewriting the source text in their own words or doing an 'inspired-by' type rewrite.
The parent manual gives additional source texts if you want to repeat the exercise.
The exercises increase in difficulty and complexity, i.e., the first writing exercise is fairly simple, but they build on from there.
Does that help?
-
I have had my two boys (5th & 8th) working on the SWI level B. (We're doing it as afterschooling, so we're moving at a relaxed pace.) I have explained to them that practicing these techniques in a formal way (i.e., including one strong verb, one strong adjective, and whatever else is on the checklist) are ways of working their writing muscles. Right now, they need to practice using these techniques; when they mature as writers, they will be able to pick and choose from among them to suit their purposes then.
Since my boys had had no writing training, my purpose was to get them writing confidently. SWI has worked on that level. This summer we will move into focusing on academic essay writing with The Elegant Essay from IEW and Michael Clay Thomas' Essay Voyage.
-
I was required to know all of them for my Master's Degree.
Were you tested on them? That's so interesting. Nothing like that in my (English Lit) Master's program.
Anyway, I don't think knowing the term 'chiastic structure' is essential for high school level literature studies, but recognizing poetic structure when you see it is. Does that make sense? I.e., I would expect my high schooler to notice "the ideas are repeated here and here, and other ideas are repeated here and here." Knowing the exact terminology would get bonus points, even in an intro level college course, I suspect. My 12th grade AP English class did require us to learn, oh, the 50 most common literary terms -- allusion and assonance and personification and meter and such -- but I don't think even this much was the norm. We had a pretest in first year college literature (private, liberal arts school), and my teacher confided to me that I had scored better than anyone else due to my familiarity with those terms, so that leads me to believe that in-depth knowledge of literary terms isn't standard fare in high school, even ritzy prep schools like most of my university classmates hailed from.
Of course if you're interested, go for it!
-
My overall parenting philosophy has been to have, as much as possible, open discourse on a wide variety of topics (with age-appropriate sensitivity, obviously), such that we are always in conversation about the realities of God and fallen man. I want my children, as soon as they are able to make these types of connections, to have a solid grasp on the distinctions of the Christian faith, to understand that it really isn't surprising that we see similarities between it and other faiths, but where the differences lie and why we believe Christianity to be not just relative truth for us (i.e., they believe this, but we believe that), but Truth regardless of who believes it.
The ancient Greek and Roman myths are incredibly fun and interesting, and they are an important point of cultural literacy to boot. They also serve, at least to my mind, as a wonderful example of what humans groping around for understanding -- absent God's revelation -- can come up with. If anything, the capricious, volatile, *flawed* nature of these gods and goddesses highlights the wonderful unchanging nature of God, who has always moved towards his people with love and grace. I think we have a wonderful example of "god in the image of man" in these figures, and it's a teaching opportunity not to be missed. I suppose the risk in studying other religions is that the child would conclude that Christianity is just 'one amongst many' and that the whole religious impulse is man-made/search for father/fear of death/etc. Yet we can't hide from these philosophies for ever. And regardless, I don't think that a faith that has never been exposed to anything else could be very strong. In today's culture, we have to know what we believe and why, and we cannot suppose to keep The World out of our lives. Of course, our sin natures are such that The World is always with us, anyway. We are The World (cue cheesy 80's song ;) ).
Bottom lining it, I believe that my children's salvation is in God's hands, not mine. I'm not afraid of Zeus or Diana or Harry Potter threatening their security in the Father's hand. At the same time, I take my responsibility to train them in the fear and admonition of the Lord seriously, which is why I want to be there to point them towards Christ whatever the context. If the impulse is saying "we need to wait on this until they are more spiritually mature" I think that's cool. If the impulse is "we need to hide them away from anything that could make them question their belief in Christ," then I think that's quite problematic. They cannot be equipped for service if they don't know what they will be facing.
all that being said, I always believe in being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and if it was on someone's heart to delay exposure to ancient mythologies, then by all means, delay, provided it isn't a way of avoiding any challenges to the faith. Some children may not be ready, and there's nothing wrong with being sensitive to that. I guess what I am saying is I try to introduce these types of things (whatever it is, differing worldviews, abortion, sex before marriage, etc) at age-appropriate points. I do think it's problematic and ultimately not to a child's advantage to try to avoid any and all challenging views to the faith.
-
Here goes...
The Basics
Math: unsure I have R&S 6, and am going to get Singapore as well. We may do both, then ditch whichever works less well. Maybe Saxon.
Latin: Latina Christiana I
Grammar: Michael Clay Thompson Grammar Voyage + Rod & Staff (somehow, this makes sense in my mind. We'll use MCT as our springboard, then selected exercises from R&S to reinforce)
Writing: Classical Writing Aesop M-Th, Michael Clay Thompson Essay Book on Fridays
Vocabulary: Vocabulary for the College Bound Student
Independent Work
Daily Bible Reading and (Heidelberg) Catechism Copywork
History: Outlining/Timelining 5-6 chapters in Kingfisher
Reading: One Novel per week plus short written narrative
Enrichment
French: First Start French
Art: Drawing with Children plus Veritas Press' Art for Children (I think that's it)
Music: Violin, plus 4 9-week studies on: Opera, Ballet, Great Composers, and Folk Songs
Poetry: MCT Poetry
And my husband will be doing Science (as yet undecided) with him once a week.
-
Speaking of math, are there any statistics which correlate specific math programs to students' performance in math?
I am, broadly speaking, getting frustrated with the lack of data to use while making curricula choices/goals/planning for my ds. Harumph!
-
JuJube, please note that the examples I gave were *not* "spontaneously exploding cars", they were instances where very young children (under the age of 5) left alone got out of their car seats and found a lighter , a car cigarette lighter, matches, etc (IIRC from other coverage, in the Conover case, it was a disposable lighter left by a previous passenger, no one in the family smoked and the mother didn't know the lighter was in the car) and played with them, thereby injuring or killing themselves and/or younger siblings. Others were playing with the power windows, accidentally setting the car in motion, etc. My point was that, contrary to a statement by a previous poster, it is *not* only "110 degrees or leaving them for hours" that endangers children.
Sorry I didn't read more carefully. I stand corrected.
But I still think the scenario of "passenger leaves unnoticed lighter which is found by 3 year old and lit and starts fire" is probably about as rare as a spontaneous explosion caused by, say, someone having a small gas leak and a careless smoker throwing a lit butt on the groud nearby. Freak things can happen anywhere. If the mother slipped while carrying the baby and the baby fell and died, that is a statistical possibility which would have not happened if the mother had run in and left the baby in the car, kwim?
This is an interesting table which I think puts some perspective on the risks we're talking about. link
Accidental Death Dangers for Young Children (Age 1 to 7):
A discussion with some parents led me to look into this, using the CDC's invaluable WISQARS application. I looked at accidental death dangers for young children, age 1 to 7, over the span 2001 to 2005; do not assume that this extrapolates well to older children, but run your own queries instead. Here are the results: Cause of accidental deathRate per 100,000 children age 1 to 7Drowning2.0Car accident, child passenger in car1.3 to 2.2Hit by car while walking1.3Fire (not including house fire)1.2House fire1.1Suffocation0.6Fall0.2Bicycle0.1Poison0.1"Unintentional struck by or against"0.1Firearm0.1
If you want to figure out the total numbers per year, multiply each number by 250 (since there are roughly 25 million children age 1 to 7 in the country).
1.3 times 250 is 325.
From this site, I found per-year rates of accidental in-and-around car deaths (not driving accidents)...
http://www.usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd_2c.cfm?content_item_id=25251&folder_id=540
78 deaths total (i.e., far less than the number of pedestrian children hit by cars)
34% from hyperthermia
27% backed over
13% children put car in gear
17% other
and
9% trunk entrapment
So the 'other' would cover spontaneous explosions and such. ;) That would be 13% of 78 or... scratch scratch... figure figure... about 10. 10 children killed from 'other' car-related accidents, and about 300 children pedestrians killed.
I'm not trying to be a priss, I really do think these types of analyses are interesting. It does look to me like, all things being equal, it may be safer to be in a child in the car than a child walking amongst moving cars, but that's only if my math is good LOL Of course this doesn't say how often children are walking amongst cars v. how often they are in carseats of locked vehicles, so the comparison isn't perfect. Which just brings us back to the "everyone makes the decision they feel is best and we all pray that our children are safe" business. :)
My boys are buckled in my van while I do this. They do not climb out of their seats. We don't have lighters in the van. No one rides in our van who smokes. We don't even have any friends who smoke (now there's child endangerment!). They have books, activity books and audio books to do in the van. My boys have been trained to buckle immediately upon entering the van and not to unbuckle and get out until the van has come to a complete stop and I remove the keys.I will drop movies in the drop slot and return library materials in the drop slot while my boys are buckled in the van. When I buckle my boys up and realize I've left a coupon in the house, I leave them in the van to get the coupon. SHOCKING isn't it? :001_rolleyes: I'm sure all you other fabulous moms would unbuckle the crew to go fetch the coupon.
I have never gone in a store when my boys were left in the van. I hold their hands when we walk through a parking lot. I do not let them ride bikes in the street unless an adult is watching. I do not let them play in the front yard. They are not allowed to roam around the neighborhood. I do not let them wander around a store by themselves. I would not send them to a bus stop and hours later hope they return. I've never left my children at a daycare facility.
These are my parameters
And by the way, Dawn? These are pretty much exactly my parameters, right down to not leaving my side in the store.
-
As a mom whose kids are in ps/private school and who hasn't started homeschooling yet, I realize that I have a different perspective than many here. That said, I think I am going to test every year (even though our law only requires every 3 years). Although tests are only one measure, and a faulty one at that, they are still one measure of how a child stacks up against his peers. Now obviously everyone's an individual, everyone develops differently, etc., but at the end of the day I want to know that my children are not losing ground (since I have previous tests to compare with) on their same-age counterparts. Like a university who looks at SAT/ACT scores as part of the overall picture, tests can be part of the overall picture, and I want to have as much information on my children's intellectual development as I can if I am taking sole responsibility for it.
-
Since you addressed me personally I will just say this, I am not trying to be judgemental or inflammatory. I handled it the way I handled it when mine were young. You handle it the way you see best. It'll all be okay!
Yep. ;) I knew you weren't trying to be judgmental, and I hope my tone was clear as well (nonjudgmental LOL). I just think we all think through these very small risks and reasonable people can come to different conclusions. It's subjective, and some of it is emotionally-driven and fear-based, and it can't be argued anyway.
-
I can tell you right now, I would never begrude any woman or man with one child, much less 6!!!! who left a cart in the lot. In fact, if I were walking by you, I would stop and offer to take your cart for you.
You wouldn't believe how angry and ugly this discussion got! The "return the cart or else you are a bad person" contingent cited the damage that could be done to their cars if the cart ran into them/a wind blew them, people got in accidents because of errant carts, etc. Of course the other side was "my children are more important than your car" and they were accused of being helicopter moms, etc.
Anyway, it was a real eye-opener. Sometimes though I think people, especially in Internetland, just like to fight! LOL
2nd Grade Math Question
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Thanks so much to those who shared their viewpoints. I feel much relieved! :)