momto3innc
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Posts posted by momto3innc
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Here's a few things I'm doing this year for my PKer and Ker (my Ker could care less about going to school but it's a BIG deal to my PKer so I've done a lot of things like you've mentioned for both of them).
For school my Ker is doing:
-Horizons K math
-HWT
-OPGTTR (but with fun readers and I got a bunch of file folder phonics games at a teacher store)
-AAS 1 slowly
-We do Sonlight Science. If you want a real open and go science, this may be a nice option for you (although not as cheap as elemental science). The Discover and Do DVD that goes with them are my kids favorite plus Sonlight comes with the science kit so you're not scrambling for supplies. Science A would probably fit best.
-Sonlight P4/5 (just the read alouds, not all the language arts). They really are just great kids books with ideas of activities to go with them. The Instructor Guide tells you what to read each day. It's about 20 minutes of fun snuggle time reading.
Here are some fun things we do:
-I am not an Abeka person, but I somehow ended up with their preschool craft workbooks. My little two do one of these every day and really enjoy them. I enjoy them because they require very little of me (currently they're running around with Monkey puppets they made today). All I have to do is cut out the craft and hand them a few basic supplies (they use the same ones all year...very basic).
-I got a bunch of Kumon books (pasting, cutting, mazes, etc...) Those are great too.
-From a thread off here about Morning Boards, I ended up taking 3 hours one night and making one out of a science tri fold board. This is their FAVORITE part of the day, hands down. You can search on here for it, but they linked great homeschool blogs that had almost everything I needed. It was a time killer making it, but now we do it for about 10 minutes a morning and that's it.
Typing it out it seems like it would be a lot to do, but it's all stuff that once I got it, is painless to actually do each day. Plus they watch one fun educational video while I do reading with my older son. Anyway, not sure if it's what you're looking for, but it works for us.
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I think they are nice for preschool age and my younger two have/are really enjoying them. My just turned 4 yo dd is doing them now and just loves them. I don't think there is any rocket science to them...some is quite easy for her, but other parts have challenged her more. For me, it's a nice thing that she likes to do while I do math with my middle son. Again, if she didn't like it, I don't think I would push them, but she LOVES them.
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My mom works at a special ed teacher in the ps...while she loves the kids, there is so much paperwork, so much testing, so much working out different schedules, it is hard to actually get anything done. You are a far better advocate yourself (although it is very tiring).
My ds was really struggling at the start of last year with reading (6 at the time). He seemed so bright in other areas I just didn't get it. Well, long long story short...we had him tested and he has dyslexia along with processing speed issues. He just doesn't do things fast. From what we learned in the testing, we've been able to do quite a lot of things differently and we have seen huge improvements. While it has been tiring and costly, the beauty of it, is that he has no idea something is/was wrong. The testing was just "Miss Sarah is going to find out all the cool things you know" and everything else we do is just part of school. He has no thoughts of "I'm stupid" or "everyone can do this better than me" that I unfortunately used to see when I was a classroom teacher with kids who learned differently. To me, that is one of the best things of all with homeschooling.
Oh, and we did have his eyes tested through a covd.org eye doctor. While his vision was 20/20, he could not zoom, track, or converge. We are at the end of vision therapy and have seen a HUGE difference just from this. I would say vision therapy took care of half the problem, what we learned in testing is helping us with the rest.
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I would watch so that a pattern didn't develop. I wasn't that strict with it with my first (I was more concerned that he got the right answer than that the number looked "perfect"). However, it then allowed some bad habits to develop that took longer to fix (he still does 9 backwards on occasion).
With my ds5 this year, I am sitting and watching and correctly the reversals immediately. Hoping to keep the habit from forming...
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Thanks all...I'll look over the links a little bit. I'll probably go ahead and get at least 1 of the writing books. They're so excited to learn, it certainly won't hurt....I just should have gotten it right away if I had been paying more attention. Thanks for the tip on the teacher's guide as well--looks like I'm not quite done buying yet:glare:.
Interesting that this is for pre-readers....all 3 of mine are reading, the 7 yr. old fairly well and the other 2 at more of a basic CVC word type level...wondering if the level 1 would be better?? AAHHH! Just want to get this figured out. I guess since I'm already ordering, I could get the level 1 since I will eventually get there.
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We are about to be given a piano and we are going to start teaching our 3 basic piano before eventually putting them in lessons (I had lessons for about 3 years, my husband for 5...I am not terribly musical but he is). Anyway, I got the first book...My First Piano Adventure Lesson book A. Then I realized there is also a My First Piano Adventure Writing book A. Do I need both of them? What is the difference? If all three of my kids are doing this do I need three Writing books? Any other tips for teaching 3 kids from this series??
Thanks for the help...Amazon doesn't have the look inside option for these and I just can't figure it out!
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Something I have found incredibly helpful is having them read "nonsense" words...they cannot guess them...they have to just use phonetic rules to sound them out. Say: chac, fitbur, etc... I have lists of them I got at a seminar but if you google "nonsense words" you can come up with some as well. Anyway, it forces them to use the rules since they have no category for the word (since it isn't one).
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Well, I tried OPG with my oldest and it was a dismal failure (but then found out he is dyslexic so take that with a grain of salt). I am now using it with my 4 and 5 year old and it is going very well and they enjoy it. Here's what I've tweaked though:
1) They both knew sounds well so we started past the beginning (one at lesson 27, the other a little ways past that).
2) I have AAS and we use the tiles from that a lot which they really love
3) I do not have them read out of the book...I write it on a dry erase board. Takes a minute on my part but it works much better
4) I have TONS of readers (Bob, Veritas Press, HOP, Sonlight, etc...) so they do one of these for "fun" each day. I think without that it would be dry. Basically we do 10 minutes or so of instruction from OPG and then snuggle up and read a book that matches well with what we're learning.
The way I look at it, OPG is providing me a clear, sequential order for solid phonics instruction. I am providing some extras to make it enjoyable for the kiddos. It has been very effective so far.
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When my daughter was 2-3, I used the bathtub. I put in tons of bubbles and she could bring in all the toys she wanted. She literally stayed in for about an hour a day...she was really clean that year:001_smile: and we got a ton done during that hour. She also got a half hour of leap frog and could entertain herself quietly for about a half hour. This gave us two good hours.
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We use AAS as well and I write a variety of C or K beginning words but leave off the first letter. The basic rules:
-C says /s/ is front of e, i, or y (such as except, city, cyclone)
-if is is a /k/ sound, always try the C first, then the K because C is the higher frequency letter.
He then maneuvers the tiles around and determines the correct letter that is needed for each word.
As far as the -CK at the end, we know that is at the end of a one syllable word with a short vowel. (so jack, tack, etc...not magic since that is a two syllable word, not bake since it is a long vowel sound).
Not sure if I'm being clear enough but we just go over and over it with the tiles and eventually it sinks in.
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My son is quite dyslexic and we are doing WWE2 this year. I just asked this the other day and this is what I've decided to do based on the answers. I am leaving the narration and copywork as is because it is working well. For the dictation I am doing dictation but not the sentences in the book. I am going to use my own based on his spelling level. We use AAS so I will be using sentences from there that I know he has the ability to spell but will still be challenging to him. You could also pick a sentence from the book she is currently reading. This is working well for us.
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THanks so much for all the advice. He really enjoys all the other parts of WWE so we'll keep those, drop the WWE dictation and just do the dictation that goes with AAS which is appropriate for his spelling level (we always keep AAS at his spelling level, not reading level). That's definitely the right thing...I just needed to think about it for a bit. Thanks for helping me process!
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My 7 yo son has been diagnosed as severely dyslexic. He received OG help 3x a week last year and I'm continuing it this year (I was certified this summer). He also has vision therapy. Overall we're seeing good, consistent improvement.
For LA, we do a combination of OG phonics/reading, AAS, FLL, and WWE. Last year all worked great. His reading is FAR better than his spelling/writing.
This year in second grade all is still working fine...except we started WWE 2 this week. The narration was fine (I write it for him) and copywork OK but the first dictation was a disaster. First of all Bauer says it's not about spelling and to help them with any words they ask for help on. Well he asked how to spell virtually every word...which meant there was no way he could keep the sentence in his head. We do dictation with AAS--should I just ditch the dictation with WWE or keep up with it? It's really our main writing so I feel like I should keep it...it just in no way felt like a dictation this week.
I guess overall I'm just concerned with his writing. When I write what he dictates to me his writing is great...I guess I'm just not sure how I move past that. How do I help his writing improve? I like the idea of WWE but as I look ahead in the book I just don't know if he'll be able to do it unless I write all narrations for him and change the dictated sentences to only words he can spell...and I don't know if that completely gets rid of the point of it??
Any thoughts?
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Thanks! Yes, I have 2 6 foot tables and well as a kiddie table for 2. I was going to set them up in the living room directly in front of the TV. I do also have a dining room table nearby but it doesn't have as good of a view but is another option. The little 3 would be upstairs with a parent in the playroom so I think that will work out okay.
You said you watched the DVD and then went into another room to the project...are they that separate? I was for some reason under the impression that they needed to be at their tables while watching it or maybe even working on it while watching...maybe that's not right?
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can I ask you a few questions? I got level 1 to use with my kids this year and decided to invite some friends to join in. Total we will have:
2- 7 yr. olds
2- 6 yr. olds
3- 5 yr. olds
2- 4 yr. olds
(plus 3 younger siblings who will play upstairs in the playroom. I may have lost my mind the day I decided this would be fun:001_huh:. Our plan is to do it 2-3 times a month on Friday afternoons. We'll do the lesson followed by playtime at a local park or my backyard.
Here are my questions:
-what was your basic schedule like?
-did you share supplies or everyone bring everything?
-was there one main "teacher" who facilitated everything?
-how long did it take you?
-any tips or advice?
I have never done Atelier at all so some of these are just questions about the program in general.
Thank you!!!
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I don't know if this would be convenient for you or not but I have a desk apprentice from Staples. For one child, it would hold all their books, teacher manuals, and extra paper on the sides. In the middle it can hold more books plus hanging file folders. The little corner things on the sides hold scissors, glue sticks, markers, pencils, etc... It could be on your table all day and then be picked up and moved somewhere else at night. Now that I'm homeschooling all 3 it doesn't hold everything, but it definitely did for 1-2 kids.
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I had major concerns about my son's reading last year at this time. I searched online for dyslexia symptoms and thought they fit him to a tee. We have a private school in our area that tested him informally for dyslexia and then we went on to do a full educational evaluation with a educational psychologist (we chose to do it that way over public schools just to get a more full evaluation). He is severely dyslexic (with a very high IQ). He's amazing at math, science, and history but reading was really rough. We also had him tested by a eye doctor from covd.org and while he sees 20/20 he was unable to zoom, track, or converge which meant, among other things, that he only saw one word at a time (which made sense since that was how he read).
We did two things last year: vision therapy (almost finished) and started doing his reading based on Orton-Gillingham methodology (used for dyslexics). He has come really far in a year.
If I were you I would test. I'm sure it would help you to really find out what is going on.
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My son (severely dyslexic, age 7) also has slow processing speed and some memory issues although he is quite bright and has a high IQ. When we did his evaluation last fall the psychologist told me to never ever do anything timed and basically to only give him half the work in math because of his speed.
I think you need to know your own child. While my son is painfully slow, he does well, far better than he would do in a public school where there must be time constraints. I just try to keep the mood light and encouraging and try to keep him from being frustrated.
One thing I discovered about my son and math that goes against what the psychologist said...he loves timed things! Now, he is insanely slow (not that he knows that ...the joys of homeschooling!!) We have a flashmaster and he LOVES to beat him time or score on it and amazingly enough he loves little "speed tests" (not sure of the proper name) for math--you know with a bunch of simple problems to do quickly. We don't do them a ton and there's no pressure from me but he LOVES seeing if he can get them all right in a shorter amount of time. Again, in a typical classroom he may have one of the lowest times but he doesn't know that--and it has really helped him in math. This may not be your experience but you always know your child and the situation better than a stranger.
On the other hand, from teaching 6th-9th grade math in the past, there are times for calculators for certain children/types of work, particularly when you are working on the process before than the basic calculation.
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We have done level 1 and 2 with my oldest and are starting level 1 with my middle. I really think you just need 1 student set of cards per level While I don't use the cards a ton, I use them enough for review that I really think the program would be less effective without them.
My kids LOVE the tiles even though at times they annoy me. Since you have so many littles that will end up using them, I personally think they would be worth it to you. Now my 2 oldest are boys with less than the best fine motor skills so the tiles have been invaluable for times that they know perfectly well how to spell the word but would have trouble writing it. It really eliminates frustration and lets them go as far as their spelling ability not their writing ability. I use them occasionally along with OPGTTR as well. I do feel they have been worthwhile. I suppose you could make them...you'd just want to make sure you had the complete list since there are a lot more things than just the basic alphabet...the syllable types, blends, digraphs, vowel teams, etc... We tend to use the tiles for the first half of the lesson and the dry erase marker for the second half.
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Oh thank you thank you!! (from a total non-pack rat!!)
It was the second one-exactly what I was looking for!
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I went to the southeast convention this year in Greenville, SC and in booklet thing they give you with all the vendors/schedules in them there was a great quote on the first page or two. I am fairly sure it was from an author of Five in a Row. I wanted to type it out but now I can't find my booklet anywhere.
Does anyone still have theirs that can help me?
Thanks!
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My idea is pretty basic but it's worked well for me because it's not overwhelming. When I first started I made sure the house was totally decluttered so that I was more maintaining than constantly moving junk around.
I have a dry erase weekly calendar on the side of the fridge. It's a decent size (maybe 2 feet by 2 feet??)
I've divided it into 4 sections per day. The first section is my workout for the day and what we're having for dinner. The second section is any appointments for that day. The third section is what has to be cleaned. I do dusting/sheets on Monday, a bigger project on Tuesday (think vacuuming out the couch, magic erasering the walls, vacumming the car, cleaning out the frige, etc...), bathrooms on Wednesdays, Floors on Thursdays, and one other "bigger project" (like Tuesday) on Fridays. Saturday is any yard stuff. Sunday is off. There is something for me about seeing that board every time I go to the fridge. I am very movtivated to erase everything on it. Since it is in little chunks it almost always gets done. We constantly keep things generally picked up, dishes done, laundry done so I don't write those down on my board although you could.
It's simple and basic but has worked great for me. Oh and the fourth section on the board is for all the misc. "to do" stuff that needs to happen in my life.
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Note the date and watch for signs of illness in 10-14 days - slight fever, over sleepy. It may be hard to tell in such a little baby. The spot will probably be red for a while. When my 4yo ds had a tick borne illness last month, he complained of headache and was very fatigued. I also noticed the lymph nodes near the bite were pretty swollen. It responded well to antibiotics and now he's fine. Hope it's nothing. Most of them are.
As someone with lyme and 3 other tick borne diseases, it is important to keep an eye out for the next 2 weeks or so--fever, fussiness, etc... If for some reason the area got a "bulls eye" rash that is a definitely indication to take him right in even with no other symptoms. Or if he has symptoms and no rash, same thing.
In the future, you should keep the tick in a ziploc in the freezer so that if symptoms do develop they can test the tick. If it had just gotten on him and you took it off so quickly, it really should be fine. The longer they are on, the more likely they are to impart diseas.
What is this? (diagnose me)
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
It fits a few of the symptoms I had before being diagnosed with lyme. For me, it had messed up MANY things in me including my gut. Once I went off dairy, wheat, soy, and a few other things and worked on eliminating yeast, digestion related problems dramatically improved. As far as everything else...well...that's a work in progress.