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KristenR

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Everything posted by KristenR

  1. Had to share this-- my hubby and I surprised our girls by decorating their beds last night. That in itself isn't so unique but I LOVE the picture I captured of them when they came in the room and saw it for the first time. A little blurry- but so glad I had my camera ready....
  2. Grandma and Grandpa Barbies!?!? I had never heard of those!! I'm off to check them out!
  3. My girls haven't had any problem dressing these dolls. Their arms and legs do bend and the clothes are stretchy and primarily Velcro so even my youngest is able to dress and undress her on her own.
  4. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily against Barbie... We do have a few -- they are more the Disney princess ones... I do put my foot down on the Bratz and Monster High dolls. Those dolls just flat out creep me out.
  5. I recently was given the chance to review these new Lottie dolls and I have to say- they were a HUGE hit here with my girls. I admit we have caved before and purchased Barbies and Disney Princess Dolls-- I wish I had known about these dolls beforehand because I swear they are the only dolls I want in my house. My girls ADORE them! They are wholesome and nicely made. I'd much rather put my money behind this company. If you are looking to get a doll for your daughter this Christmas, be sure to check out Lottie.
  6. Granted my children are girls, but Toobs from Safari come in a vast assortment of items and you're guaranteed to find something he'll like. Safari and Schleich toys are big winners at our house.
  7. We were at DisneyWorld the past two days and we finally caught the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Hollywood Studios. My girls LOVED it. I toyed with the idea of getting them the leather whip there but ultimately decided $30 was too much to spend on a whim. Today- I decided to check Amazon and SCORE!! $5.51 for the same exact whip!! That's over 80% OFF!!! Add in free shipping and you got one happy shopper! Here's hoping no one loses an eye!! LOL
  8. I'm always down for introducing young kids to ballet/opera/symphonies from a young age. Sometimes money can be a factor though if you don't know of your kid will make it the whole way through. I was torn because the performance here is $30-65 a ticket which isn't as easy to fork out when you have 3 kids who may or may not like it. Sometimes though the folks in our community let me bring my girls into dress rehearsals and sit for that. That way if they get antsy we can head out and not disturb anybody. Maybe you can see if that's an option.
  9. Mine has changed a bit since we moved and added in some extracurriculars. But this is what we were mostly doing last year. Whenever I feel myself getting paranoid about finding an ideal "schedule" I try to remember this post.
  10. Yeah, I would just take it as it goes. Don't assume she will or won't be anywhere at a particular time. Just move her along as she progresses naturally. If she is capable of doing the higher books then I wouldn't recommend trying to slow her down. The 1/2 would just bore her. Let her do it as long as she is comfortably able to.... My oldest was flying through the books as well but eventually I had to slow her down-- not because of the phonics but because the spaces in the books for the children to write get smaller. Her print was still childlike and large and she couldn't squeeze words like "departure" without a LARGE blank space. So unless you're daughter can comfortably write tiny, you might want to hold off and focus on something else. We slowed down and focused on AAS. For us, we were jointly working AAS anyway and I really recommend doing them together. They really compliment one another and you can progress through AAS while taking your time with the more difficult levels of ETC. I'm actually getting ready to write an update on my kids' progress with AAS. I was hoping to get it up next month sometime. It's really been such a great fit here.
  11. I agree that you need to check out Education Unboxed. It's an amazing resource!!! Also, I have a few Miquon posts that you can check out.
  12. WoO HOO!! I finally finished my Clothesline Timeline and have it proudly hanging in the girls' playroom. I ended up using our Classical Conversation timeline cards but you could easily make one using your own resources. Just wanted to share with you guys.
  13. I agree with the sentiment expressed by the other hive members. Really it's just a part of the learning process for such young kids. I remember thinking the same thing about my early reader but honestly- it's just a phase where they are learning and still processing. That phase was one I struggled with and also the phase where they read like robots. But again- it's fleeting and part of the learning. Just sit back and enjoy the ride! But eventually you get to this point and it reminds you how beautiful the ride has been.
  14. Here is a post about our breakdown of our AAS lessons. It's been a few months sine my last update and I still don't have a set-routine. We really take it per lesson per kid. My oldest picks up things really quickly with minimal review. My middle daughter is starting AAR and we really take our time and do lots of review. Some lessons she goes quicker through and others we take our time with.... I really just recommend gauging it on your kid's reactions and progess to the lessons.
  15. I listed my curricula and resources that I am using with my 2nd grader on my blog. You can see it here if you want to check it out. We're a secular family as well.
  16. I have only used AAS so I can't compare it to SP for you. FOr what it's worth, we LOVE it. If it helps at all you can see my review and "A Day's Lesson with AAS" on my blog.
  17. We did a fun unit on the big bang and evolution before we started ancients. You can see some posts that you might find helpful on my blog. First, we did a universe timeline from an old earth perspective. Then we did fun Big Bang and Cosmic Tower activities that were a huge hit. I also had a bunch of activities and book suggestions for evolution and prehistory that you might want to check out. When I was planning our history cycle I envisioned using SOTW and creating a timeline book similar to the one my friend made. I still have thoughts of doing that but I recently joined Classical Conversations (YES we are secular and CC is a Christian co-op but I talk about how I make it work for my secular family here) One of the biggest selling points for me on CC was their awesome timeline. I loved it and the catchy song that goes along with it. All 13 minutes of it! I adore their timeline cards and find them fantastic! Granted, there are a few strictly biblical cards and a few cards interspersed in the timeline that I would personally have skipped- but the way I see it this gives me a chance to open up a dialogue with my kids about various faiths and religions. We're been finding it a perfect fit.
  18. WORDLESS: I couldn't sleep and messed around editing this photo instead. Star Gate has a better ring to it than Star Door, though. WORD-FILLED: Making Meaningful Time For Mom- Mornings For Mommy!
  19. Interesting take. I admit, I haven't looked into it too much at this point because there is not much about Waldorf that appeals to me personally. The gnomes were just something I stumbled upon on Pinterest that I've been meaning to look into more. I am adhering pretty closely to a classical approach but I do like adding in things that pique our interest. I like the idea of the gnomes but I wouldn't rely solely on them. We are already using Singapore and Miquon. This would be for a purely fun extra. I wouldn't be getting into the whole spirit of Waldorf-- just taking this idea-- morphing it a bit and running with it. We wouldn't be missing any of our regular math lessons...
  20. First off, Waldorf never captured my attention on a whole. BUT I do really like the math gnomes used to introduces the different mathematical processes (addition, subtraction, division,and multiplication) I'm searching around on the web and I AM finding some info but I was wondering if anyhow has come across a "tutorial" of sorts that gives a synopsis of the story, and explains the colors and "decor" of each gnome. I'd rather not waste my whole morning sifting through the various things I am finding and was wondering if someone on here has done it- or at least found a comprehensive post describing it. I'd be very appreciative if anyone can lead me to a good one!!
  21. I learn so much by reading homeschool blogs and trying to find people who mirror our learning styles. Chances are, if something works for them, it stands a greater chance of working for us. That being said I wholeheartedly recommend using both. OPGTR takes just a few minutes a day. AAR is a bit more involved but VERY fun and something kids would generally prefer over the black/white straight forward OPGTR approach. These programs enhance and compliement one another perfectly. YOu can check out some of my thoughts of OPGTR and AAR on my blog if you are interested.
  22. I am only throwing this out there because the movie just came out and the cover of the DVD piqued my interest. I looked into it a bit and it appears to be based on an old French comic book. Other than that I have no info and this might not be approporate at all. In any event, here's the book, the movie, and the review on CommonSense media for the movie.
  23. I go into a bit more detail in this old thread. Check it out and see if that helps explain it a bit more. If not, feel free to ask some more questions.
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