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home4fun

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Posts posted by home4fun

    Mac Homeschool Tracking Software

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I have not used any of these, but I have looked at apples sight and found a few free downloads of the samples that may be something you are looking for.

     

    Here are a few...or you can look yourself under downloads and then under home and leaning category.

     

    1. Task List 5.2

     

    About Task List

    An application designed for students who use their laptops at school. It enables assignments to be tracked and managed, as well as grades, goals, and notes. Task List has the ability to synchronize preferences and assignments between computers using .mac , enabling students to sync their homework files between a desktop and laptop or other computer.

     

    It also includes a Dashboard widget for quickly checking what you need to do, and a lite version that resides in the menu bar.

     

    What’s New in this Version

    - Task List can now be secured with a password

    - Added a school overview for at-a-glance information

    - Reference information can now be customized

    - Added option to only sync unchecked tasks with the widget

    - Tasks exported to iCal now include any comments

    - Added an option to not add an alarm when exporting tasks to iCal

    - Averages, graphs, steps, etc. are now in a user-adjustable split view

     

    2. Lesson Planner Advanced 5.2

     

    About Lesson Planner Advanced

    Although Lesson Planner Advanced is very easy to use, it certainly doesn’t lack features. There’s an abundance of power and long list of features under the bonnet. Lesson Planner Advanced is available in stand alone or networked versions.

     

    - Add unlimited subjects and lessons.

    - Includes month, week and day planner.

    - Add schemes of work and attach lesson plans.

    - Add and use U.K. programmes of study or U.S. state standards.

    - Integrated multiple timetable module with click n tick lesson plan creation.

    - Pop-up calendar with customisable colour scheme.

    - Easily select and find plans, appointments, etc., directly from the planner.

    - Add new lesson plans directly from planner and timetable.

    - Easily search and display lesson plans.

    - Many more features.

     

    What’s New in this Version

    - Add schemes of work and attach lesson plans.

    - Add and use U.K. programmes of study or U.S. state standards.

     

    3. I can't find the one I started to like which worked with ical...maybe you will see it..no more time now!

     

    Blessings.

     

    Angie (home4fun)

    Logic stage; Can you still use SOTW?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I'm sorry that I don't have a written schedule to share (I'm going to e-mail Beth for hers!) but I can share the few things that we do to tweak SOTW to make it work for us.

     

    For the SOTW chapters, my daughter reads a chapter, tells the story back to me, and then we do a corresponding map activity. Instead of the SOTW activity guide map work, I use Building Skills by Exploring Maps - Ancient Civilizations (Creative Teaching Press.) There's work with cardinal and ordinal directions, latitude and longitude, distances using scales, and using the map key. And if there's an event or person that we need to add to her timeline, we do that.

     

    I don't try to sync up SOTW with The Story of the Greeks. Because this is my daughter's first Ancients cycle, I chose to hover on certain civilizations (Egypt in the fall, Greece this spring) while moving along with SOTW (she doesn't have a problem with the time periods being off.)

     

    For The Story of the Greeks, I read aloud a section or two (or three, depending.) Then she reads the corresponding section(s) in FMG. Then we discuss the questions in the FMG Guide. (We do this 3-4 times per week.)

     

    Since my daughter is not a fan of the history notebook, we do this:

     

    At the beginning of a study on a particular civilization (in this case Greece) I make a transparency of a map of Ancient Greece, project it onto a posterboard, my daughter traces it and colors it. There's also a timeline at the top of the map. So when she wants to add, say Aristotle, she goes to our World Book CD (or the internet), finds a small picture of him, prints it out, and adds it to her timeline. She also adds things like a picture of the Parthenon, highlights of the Persia Wars, etc., and adds notes that will jog her memory (example: Draco-Draconian punishment.) It's a nice visual, and something that she enjoys doing.

     

    And we add A LOT of historical fiction.

     

    Again, sorry I couldn't help with a schedule.

     

    No problem with the schedule it was great to read how you have "fit" everything in. Sounds like you are doing great and you daughter is having fun as well.

     

    Thanks again.

    Blessings

     

    Angie

    (home4fun)

    Logic stage; Can you still use SOTW?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    We're using SOTW Vol 1 this year, focusing on map work, discussion, and the timeline. We also use Guerber's Story of the Greeks as well as Famous Men of Greece (with the Study Guide) and a lot of historical fiction.

     

    This was what I was thinking of adding as well, but not sure how to schedule it. How did you? Thanks for any help you can give.

     

    Angie

    (home4fun)

    Logic stage; Can you still use SOTW?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    My first son is entering the logic stage in the fall. I just read the New WTM book and feel overwhelmed on how to apply all of the steps she laid out for history next year. I will have 2 others K and 2nd in the grammar stage and wanted to still use SOTW with all 3 of them. Has anyone else done this? How and what advise can you give? Is it cheating my logic stage child to still have him included in the SOTW?

     

    Thanks for any help you can give.

     

    Angie

    (home4fun)

    http://web.mac.com/macmalang/Home4Fun/Home4Fun/Home4Fun.html

    SOTW 4

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    This sounds exactly like us. We plan on spending a lot of time on those two wars. What is Homeschool in the woods?

     

    http://homeschoolinthewoods.com/

     

    The have super series called the Time Travelers Series on CD. We have used almost all of them!

     

    Blessings.

     

    Angie (home4fun)

     

    PS We also used the Dover coloring books on civil war and WW2.

    SOTW 4

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I have a 10yob and 7yob (first and 4th) and we are finishing up SOTW 4. It has been a good year for us. Yes it is a lot about wars..isn't all of history?, but my boys love war so they have loved this year. The chapters do have more detail that sometimes have gone over my 1st grader, but I did not think that was a problem. We did spend extensive time in the civil war, so even though we were learning other chapters in SOTW, we were doing civil war projects for almost 2 months. We made costumes and would have done homeschool in the woods CD on the civil war, but it came out too late..next time. Then second semester we have spent extensive time doing WW2 crafts while going through the other chapters. My boys really got into learning about the different planes and we have watched the History Channel series on Dogfights. This has been great as well. We made origami model airplanes. I am glad we did it for what it is worth. Let me know if you have any more questions, as it is pretty fresh right now..we are on Chp. 34 heading into the home stretch.

     

    Blessings,

     

    Angie (home4fun)

    Alternatives to explode the code for dyslexic 7yro

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    Here are a couple of books which provide gentle yet structured writing practice: "100% Writing Lite", published by Linguisystems, and "Models for Writing", published by Academic Therapy Publications. I've also found some really helpful support materials for spelling and writing at the Teacher Created Resources website (eg. Dr. Fry's Homophones Workbook).

     

     

    I think that was more what I was asking (though I was not clear)..what are good writing programs to begin with for dyslexic kids...

     

    I will look into it.

     

    Angie (home4fun)

    Alternatives to explode the code for dyslexic 7yro

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    My son is dyslexic. We have been using the Davis program and he has come a long ways. We have used explode the code for awhile, but I am realizing that he is good at guessing and not sure it is really helping or really my goal in using it. My only goal was getting him to write a little each day without complaining, which has worked. He can't spell yet!, and does not do any other writing. Now that his reading is coming along slowly, I would like to try to add some more writing, but not sure where to go from here. More explode the code books or what other suggestions would you all have?

     

    Thanks

     

    Angie (home4fun)

    Has anyone used Fix It! Grammar and Editing Made Easy with the Classics, by IEW?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I'm an IEW rep and after watching a training CD from the author of "Fix It' I am buying it for next year. I think it's an excellent program, very engaging and fun for the kids. If they like strategy or games, they'll love this. It takes classic lit and the kids have to solve the grammar mistakes, but it's done in skill building way.

     

    Will you supplement it with another program or is it a stand alone? We have only used First Language Lessons books 1-4, but he also does Latin. FLL's have become boring and too easy.

     

    Thanks for your help.

     

    Angie (home4fun)

    Guerber Histories anyone?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Using them this year in conjunction with SOTW and KFE. I think dd likes them. I wanted to add a little to her history as she is doing SOTW for the the 2nd time. I think it's working.

     

    Did you make up a schedule to use with SOTW? Did you have your child write up a summary of it or outline it? I would love to use them, but am afraid they will end up sitting on the shelf if I don't plan them in weekly.

     

    Thanks for any help you can offer.

     

    Angie (home4fun)

    Reviews for Dianne Craft method of teaching reading?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    with the last post, but I have used the Dianne Craft method. I think you will want to research also about being right brained and a picture thinker. That is Dianne' s main area that is really helpful. Her method and I think any method is time consuming and at times exhausting. (I have 4 as well). But Diannes method did help me understand why my son was having so many problems with reading and gave me a lot of patience that I did not have before. We do her figure 8 exercises everyday, do repatterning once a week, we used her sound cards, which my son loved and really helped him take his first steps in reading. We have her dyslexic handbook and we read words from that each day. I agree that if your son is dyslexic then he may need a different program. I used Diannes methods for 6-8 months, but my son really needed more help. We used and are using the Davis program from the book The gift of dyslexia by Ronald D Davis. We were able to find a tutor in our area and yes it is expensive, but the results will and have been life changing for our son.

     

    There is not one way to help with Dyslexia, and that is what makes it so hard to decide on a program.

     

    Blessings as you proceed and find what is best for your son.

     

    Angie (home4fun)

     

    3 boys 10,7,4, and a princess (1)

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