5Wizards
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We're not big on video games, but my daughter really enjoyed doing Timezattack for multiplication...
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Here's what the current plan looks like (always subject to change):
Math: MM
Science: RSO Biology
L.A.: ETC, Houghton Mifflin readers, FLL, maybe AAS if I decide to start spelling, maybe continue with Writeshop Primary, start cursive in 2nd half of year
History: Study of 18 countries to include crafts/cooking/mapping activities
Language: Maybe La Clase Divertida as I have it or SSL
Extra: Continue dance class and piano lessons, maybe one other sporting activity if she so chooses.
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Yes, I remember when it came out and there was a long hue and cry over "oh YUCK, CaliFORNia, I'll never get it from there" like it promoted STDs :lol:.
What?? It doesn't??? :lol:
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My understanding from the Singapore site is that te Standards edition is closer to the 2nd edition of the texts that were being used when the TIMSS studies were initially done. See point 11 here.
I see people dismissing the standards edition for the sole reason that it's CA. I think that's shortsighted.
Your link isn't working for me, but I would be interested in seeing it. Here is some info. from Singaporemath.com.
>>On the Primary Mathematics series:
Singapore students who scored top in TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 1995, 1999 and 2003 were all using the Primary Mathematics series. We can, therefore, say that the Primary Mathematics series is a time tested and documented math success story. We are therefore pleased to have chosen this series to adapt to Primary Mathematics US Edition. With three TIMSS results, and the support of top math academics in the US, we figure we cannot be very wrong with our choice. More information about the adaptation of Primary Mathematics 3rd edition into Primary Mathematics U.S. edition.<<
http://www.singaporemath.com/Singapore_Math_Story_s/10.htm
Maybe someone trying to make a decision will find this helpful as well. It compares US to Standards as far as when things are introduced (and even if they are introduced at all).
http://www.singaporemath.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/SSUSandSTD2009.pdf
After looking around, perhaps this is the page you are referring to? If so, I can see why you might have come to your conclusion. However, the 3rd edition came out in 1998, and the 3 years scores that are mentioned here are 1995, 1999, and 2003 (so 2 of those years would be using 3rd edition it would seem to me).
http://www.singaporemath.com/FAQ_Primary_Math_s/15.htm#PMUSStory
Is the Standards Edition of Primary Math "dumbed down" compared to the US or third Edition?
No, it is not. It meets the math requirements per grade level for California, and so some topics were added and rearranged, but it maintains the integrity of the Primary Mathematics curriculum. Most of the content is the same as in the US Edition, and thus the third edition of Primary Mathematics, and some content was added in from the second edition of Primary Mathematics. In fact, it is probably in places a bit more challenging than the US edition because of the addition of material from the second edition of Primary Mathematics. This is one series that has not followed the trend of decreasing challenge with each new edition! Some topics were added, which could lead to concern that it is becoming "mile wide and inch deep" but the additions are fairly minimal. Some of the additions were simply made in order to be more explicit on material that was already in the curriculum, or to cover some of the same material at more grade levels. For example, some content that was repeated between grade levels was removed in going from the second edition to the third edition to create a "reduced content" edition. It is now back in the Standards edition, such as a review of equivalent fractions now in 4A, or the connection between division and fractions now in both 4A and 5A.
Again, it doesn't affect me one way or another, but I'd certainly be happy to read anything else you might find. I can understand not liking someone saying they don't like something just because it comes from a specific state, but I think one needs to be careful not to assume that anyone who says they don't like CA standards hasn't researched this and come to that conclusion (instead of just disliking because it's CA...if that made sense...lol). As I said, there's a particular thing I don't like about CA standards, but I live in CA and love it here. :tongue_smilie:
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IMO saying you disagree with CA Standards as a reason for avoiding the texts is a cop out. If you read the Singapore info, the standards edition has everything that the US editions have (although in some different orders) and some additional topics.
Personally I don't really care what anyone chooses to do as I don't have a vested interest (I'm doing 1A with my 5 year old for the color but will be switching to MM at some point like her sister). I just don't really get why disagreeing with CA standards would be a "cop out?"
Yes, they cover the same materials in different orders, but NOT necessarily in the same GRADES. So there might be material that the US edition covers in 5th, but the standards edition covers in 4th (and the opposite as well). The US edition is taught in the order that achieved high test scores in Singapore, and I'm guessing (could be wrong of course) that they chose the order for some reason or another. The standards edition was changed around to cover things in the grades that CA thinks things should be covered. Is that wrong? Certainly not. However, someone choosing the US edition over standards edition based upon this has a valid point on something that matters to that person. It might not matter to someone else, and that's ok too.
(I personally disagree with the CA standard of introducing negative numbers in 4th grade. I don't think it's age appropriate. Other than that I haven't paid much attention to CA standards.)
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The other option would be Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery. See, e.g., http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254392
Along these lines.....
I wasn't able to find the teacher guide for this used, but I WAS able to find the teacher guide for another of their offerings (Nous) for about $6. I am very impressed with it and think it's going to help me open up some really great discussions with my DD next year in 5th (and we'll be doing it with another 5th grader as well).
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http://cehs.montclair.edu/academic/iapc/docs/Curriculum_Brochure.pdf
I found the 4-6 grade teacher manual for this used (Nous), and I love it! I'll be doing it with 2 5th graders next year.
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"Less" is fine. Offering someone $10 for something you know cost $100 is chintzy.
It's all about supply and demand. I don't care what someone else paid for an item. For all I know, that $100 item may have been bought used for $15 by the person selling it (or picked up free somewhere, or whatever). The only thing that really matters in the end is what the market will hold. There are certain items that I see listed and sold frequently on the sale boards at prices that I personally think are too high, so I don't buy them. Obviously there are people out there who value that small discount on particular items because they always seem to sell. On the other hand, if I bought an item new and then decided to sell it, how I price it (and whether or not it will sell) is all based upon whether there are actually people who really value what I have to sell. It doesn't matter if I paid $100 for something if everyone else thinks it's only worth $10. Perhaps, instead of being cheap, they are being smart.
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I guess I just don't really get the whole "cheapskate" thing (but then maybe someone would call me that, so that could be why :tongue_smilie:). If I see something I'd like but I want to pay less, I send a PM and make an offer, with a "thanks for your consideration." The other person is free to laugh at my offer or whatever, but I'm just not getting why anyone is getting upset by things like this. All one has to do is say no thanks. If I'm buying used, I'm taking a big risk that someone else's idea of "great condition" matches my own, so I have to take that into consideration when buying. It's not my responsibility to worry about how much someone else is making on a sale - it's up to the person selling. If you don't like the offers, don't sell at a lower price. :confused: Anyway, I love the for sale boards, even though they are sometimes frustrating. Thanks to all of the sellers here!
Oh, and I'll take free curriculum if it's things I want any day! lol
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I have a SIL and BIL who were homeschooled and are now homeschooling their children.
I have a number of relatives who were homeschooled and are now young adults but don't have kids yet. Most of them loved being homeschooled (and what I saw of them growing up inspired me to consider homeschooling my kids).
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My 9 year old 4th grader writes 3-4 paragraphs 2 days/week. Sometimes it's a summary of what we're studying in history, sometimes a response to literature, and sometimes it's writing a story (her stories tend to be much longer as she loves to create them). On weeks where I'm not giving her a formal writing assignment, she either writes in her journal or works on her "novel," both of which she enjoys. I guess it really depends on the child.
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For the past few years, my DD has read books that I've assigned to her and we discuss them a little bit. She also reads tons on her own. Occasionally, she'll have a writing assignment having to do with one of the books she has read, but usually she picks which book she wants to use. For next year, 5th, we will be focusing more on beginning literary analysis as she's ready and wants to do more as well. We will be using 2-3 books in this series:
I have all 5 introductory books and like what they have to offer, but we'll see how I feel once we get going. I need some guidance myself when it comes to teaching literary analysis, so I figure this is a good start. She will also continue to read a variety of novels both connected to our history and novels of her choice.
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I didn't want to get married or have kids, even into adulthood. I knew that my DH really wanted children, but that he was willing to give up that dream in order to spend his life with me. At some point I decided that having a career wasn't all that I had built it up to be in my mind, so we decided to go ahead and have 1 child (and that I would stay home). We now have 3, and we would have more if we were both younger. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would have multiple children and HOMESCHOOL. :lol:
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I appreciate your input on this and plan to reread and consider it further. However, I'm guessing that I'll probably come to the same conclusion for this particular child. Perhaps I will someday regret it, but I really don't think so based on everything I know about her.
I feel that spelling was a total waste of time for me in school, and I do pretty well as an adult. :tongue_smilie:
Anyway, thanks again for your input, and I really am going to give it some more consideration.
Another one of those opinons, LOL You are warned before you read ...I do not think that omitting spelling completely is ever a good idea. Home educators often stop teaching a skill or reinforcing a skill when they feel it is deemed unecessary without considering the extended consequences. Phonics is a classic example. If you stop phonics too soon, you will find a fourth grader that is struggling to "decode" words in his/her reading. Spelling comes with its own basket of worms too.
You may think that you have a natural speller. Typically, this involves the recognition of patterns encountered, usually from phonics lessons, that the child has learned to imitate. This is a fantastic example of how well you, as an educator, have taught phonics. Yet, what and how do you plan to deal with foreign words that are common to our English vocabulary? Homonyms? Homophones? Prefixes? Suffixes? These are only a few examples. While they are introduced and explained in many grammar programs, they are not reinforced nor are their spelling variances learned. What will you do when more advanced words with similar sounds are spelled differently? (-er, -ur, -ir) You are only experiencing a small range of vocabulary in those texts and written materials geared for early-graded reading and understanding.
Are you hoping that your student will simply memorize every single word or rely solely on a dictionary or spell check in a word processing document? I think that this is overly idealistic. Being able to recognize the sound or pronounciation of a syllable of a word and spelling it is a fundamental need.
Perhaps if you indeed have an advanced "speller", you should consider adapting your spelling program to meet more advance goals versus omitting the subject entirely and considering it a waste of time. :) If you have noticed lately, there are quite a few comments and reprimands concerning the current adult poplulation's inability to spell. In large, the idea of spelling began loosing focus in the public school system.
I tend to want to favor vocabulary development and abandon the spelling "books" or "programs" sometime around the 7th-8th grade. With my first, now in nursing school, she continued her spelling lists through highschool, but these lists were actually her vocabulary words. I would say the word. She would spell and provide a definition for testing.
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I did one year of spelling in 3rd grade and then dropped it as it was busy work. I won't be adding it back in for her.
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If you don't mind black and white, the Houghton Mifflin Blackline Masters are cheap and good practice. You can even have your child color the pictures if you like. The one I'm linking here is the 1st grade one, and starts with 4 page stories with -at words (there are more pages as you go along with increasing difficulty). I don't remember exactly how many pull out books there are, but I'm thinking it's over 50.
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We are using Elemental Science Intro. to Science for K, and my daughter and the other child using it with her really like it. It's gentle and fun with experiments every week on different topics. We take a picture (or 2 or 3) of the experiment every week and attach it into her book. If you're looking for something "advanced" in science, this isn't it. I was looking for something fun that would get done, and this fits the bill. I don't have ES Biology for the Grammar stage, so I don't know if it would be appropriate for K or not. Good luck deciding!
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These colorful workbooks are about 80 pages each. Level D is supposed to be 4th grade level work.
http://www.amazon.com/Maps-Globes-Graphs-Level-D/dp/0739891049/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c
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Until my kids can read chapter books on their own, I don't expect them to spend time every day reading by themselves. That's not to say that they don't look at pictures in books on their own, or that they don't pick up easy readers and read on their own, but I don't have expectations that it needs to be done. I like to see it of course when it's spontaneous, but mostly I just make time to read with them. My middle child loves to sit and try to read all sorts of books now by herself, but my oldest child didn't want to learn how to read and would only look at the pictures unless I was working with her on it. She now loves to read and devours books, so I wouldn't worry too much about it honestly. Good luck.
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The Logic stage Biology just came out within the last month or so, so I'm guessing that you might not get much response yet. I need to get around to buying my own books for the program one of these days. :tongue_smilie:
YES! I finally bought a science. DH handed me my purse and said to me "just hurry and buy it before you change your mind AGAIN!" LOL:lol::lol::lol:What additional reading material or supplements did you add to Elemental Science? BIOLOGY - logic stage, of course. :)
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Reposting my thoughts on ES from another post:
I can speak more about Elemental as I actually have it, so here are some of the things I like:
- The Teacher's Guide (TG) includes discussion questions along with answers to make sure your child is understanding the material. There are also answers for all of the drawing labels and definitions.
- Every unit has a drawing to label that goes along with what's being studied. I did see one in Classiquest, but since I don't have it, I'm not sure how often this is utilized.
- Every week there are recommendations for further study, which can include things like video recommendations and further experiments (many of which use the microscope more, which makes me happy)
- Several weeks are set aside to work on a science fair experiment, and you are walked through the process. At the same time, the child works on a mini research paper and other activities (not the regular experiments as there is an ongoing experiment already presumably).
- There are unit tests (or quizzes, can't remember), but I'm neutral on those. Some people will see it as a positive, some as a negative.
- The more I look at everything, the more excited I am getting about the program. I considered buying Classiquest so that I could really compare the 2, but I don't think I'll do that at this point as I'm pretty satisfied.
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Perhaps I am too overloaded with choice. :)
I hear that. :lol: I sat for quite some time last night trying to compare what I have of the 2 programs to see if I did want to go ahead and buy Classiquest myself. I like to be able to physically compare things before making a decision, but you can't find either program used at this point at a discount as they're both so new. Anyway, they do seem pretty similar, so in the end if you're happy with the basic set-up they both use, either one will probably satisfy your needs.
To the OP: YW. I have a laser printer so am printing it all out on my own, but if I didn't, I'd definitely wait for it to come out in printed format too. I checked to see how much it would cost to send the file to Staples and have them print it for me and it just wasn't worth it to me.
Good luck making your decisions everyone. :001_smile:
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You might also like to check out your local bookstores. One of ours has an annual writing contest divided into 3 age groups. The 1st-3rd place winners in each age group have their pieces published in book, and there's an awards ceremony as well. Another option, although it wouldn't include publishing, would be County Fairs. HTH
episiotomy question
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
With my first pregnancy, I tore A LOT, tons of stitches, and recovery took a long time. With my 2nd pregnancy, my OB (who I love), really worked on stretching the area, but she felt that I was still probably going to tear and offered the choice of having an episiotomy or not, and I opted to do it. I had no further tearing and recovery was great. I honestly don't remember what happened with my 3rd! :tongue_smilie: I think I'll have to ask DH later because he tends to remember those things. Good luck making your decision!