jenniferp8
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Posts posted by jenniferp8
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aww, thanks, but no. I'm using brand new Superior Masterpiece thread, both in top and in the bobbin.
I even went on Superior's thread chart thingy and set the tension (once it started breaking) to the suggested tension for Masterpiece, which is lower than other thread tensions.
Oh, correction, I'm using Star something or other in the bobbin. I was using that up top, too, and switched because they were the same color and I couldn't figure out which was which. I was using Star when it started breaking, but have adjusted for the Superior and it's still breaking. But all of these are brand new threads for machine piecing that I got at my local (in the US) quilt shop last time we were there.
I still am not understanding why it can go from totally fine and beautiful one seam and then unfixable thread breakage the next seam. :confused:
These are good brands of thread. They should work fine. Have you double checked to make sure the bobbin is in correctly? Sometimes having it in backwards will cause a break pretty quickly. Also - make sure it isn't wrapped around anything that would put extra tension after you've sewn some stitches and then cause a break. Is the thread breaking in exactly the same place every time? Have you tried a new needle? Sometimes if there is a burr or a sharp edge somewhere that the thread rubs on it can weaken and break it. Is the thread snapping or fraying and then breaking?
Just some thoughts... I hate to see people frustrated with good machines.
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Thanks, I thought that was the case.
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Is it necessary for a student to go through a "pre-algebra" course before starting Jacobs Elementary Algebra?
What about pre-algebra in general? As I look at various T of C in pre-algebra books I see sections on variables, basic inequalities, exponents and negatives numbers which I thought was "pre-algebra". But 70% of the book is decimals, fractions, percentages, basic geometry, ratio, square roots etc... I thought a lot of that was covered in general 5 and 6 grade math... Am I missing something or are they just getting mastery down good before moving on??
J
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Thanks for your thoughts. I looked at the videos over on the AoPS website and looking at the chapter list in the pre-algebra book I'd say she's probably comfortable with 85-90% of it. She may be able to use the videos to fill in the gaps or I could get another text to supplement with and see if a different teaching method will help.
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I'm familiar with Saxon but can anyone tell my how AoPS compares? I've heard good reviews but don't know much about it.
My situation:
I have a daughter who is in 6th grade at a charter school this year after homeschooling for 4 years. She is doing Course 3 (equiv to 8/7?) and is needing more practice to really understand the logic behind the beg algebra topics they are covering now. She would be going to Algebra next year if we can get her the right extra practice to be comfortable enough with it. Would you get her another Saxon text (which one?) to practice over the summer or would AoPS be fun and help her understanding (the logical thinking processes - the why - behind the problems) better? I want something that really explains the why behind the math... Or any other suggestions?
Thanks!
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My first two children did the same thing. It was a combination of me having Overactive LetDown (OLD) and my babies having a sensitivity to dairy. I had no idea about the dairy thing with my first; she basically just projectile vomited fountains every day, but gained weight normally and the ped was unconcerned. By the time I had my son, I'd read about casein (milk protein) sensitivity, and so I eliminated it entirely from my diet. Within days, he was rarely vomiting, and it stopped entirely within 2 weeks.
I knew for sure that was it, because if I ever slipped up and had even a teensy amount of hidden milk, it would start again within hours. As long as I was clean, he was fine. I was able to reintroduce dairy when he was about 10mos or so, although he did react to it again from 2-3yrs old. A year of eliminating, and he's fine now, although he refuses to drink any milk.
I'm having a similar situation with what seems like a dairy sensitivity. My baby is almost 5 mo. now. I went off milk when he was about 1-2 mo old and the spitting up seemed to get back under control. He wasn't vomiting buckets all the time but would get very fussy and cranky about 20 min after nursing and many times this would be accompanied by a big mess of spit up. He was so much happier after I quit milk. I can have small amounts of it now but if I have any yogurt (we make our own) he'll usually spit up and it's very curdy and mucousy/slimy. I'm thinking he'll grow out of it eventually. My 6 yo had milk issues when I stopped nursing her and didn't tolerate cows milk very well but now she's fine with it.
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What a fun thread!
When ds was about 4 I was trying to get him to understand rhyming words. We were in the car and I wanted to say a word and have him say words that rhymed with it. He wasn't quite getting it so I said, "You know, like bed, red, head, bread..." and he said "Oh, yea! Like we bred the big goat with the little goat?" (we also live on a small farm :tongue_smilie:)
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any other opinions?
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bump:001_smile:
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Well, what types of books are you giving him to read? Are they at his current reading level? If so, there's your problem. It's hard work to read at grade level.
I haven't been assigning him anything specific to read. They have all been things he's picked on his own.
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I don't think he's ADHD, just active. He has no problem doing an entire math assignment in one sitting though. He tends to start books and then gets caught up by the next book that looks good and starts it and never gets around to finishing any of them. He's just not been hooked enough by anything that he HAS to finish it and find out what happens I guess. And right now, anything with a lot of pages or words on a page is overwhelming from the start. So maybe it will just take some time and more exposure and more reading by me... If I read, he wants to hear more and can sit through it... "ANOTHER CHAPTER, PLEEEAAASSSEEEE!!"
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After receiving a few responses, I'm clarifying my situation a little more. My son wasn't avoiding "schoolwork" because he would rather play or watch TV (we don't have one for TV and watch very few movies). I saw most of his activities as totally worthwhile and he learned a lot from the projects he was doing and reading (he reads a ton of non-fiction), they just didn't all look like "school" and I could see there were some skills he was beginning to neglect. I had bought into the "student directed learning" philosophy a little too much and now I realize I should have just required a certain amount of school time basics and not budged on that. I wanted him to love learning and when he hated math and writing, I let it go for awhile thinking that eventually he'd come back around to it. Maybe he would, maybe not. He got a little bit in with the projects he was doing but it took going back to school to really get him to want to do the work.
I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???
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Anyone read this book? Was it helpful to you? How?
It seems I get too many books where I'm already doing half of what it says or their suggestions just really don't work for us. I hate to fork out the money for another one unless it's really helpful but I can't find it at the library and I'm curious about it.
Jen
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How strict are you in giving your kids assignments and making sure they complete them (ie - what are the consequences if they don't) or do you sit back and let them make the calls? It seems sometimes with homeschooling we lose the accountability factor that they would get in a brick and mortar school because they aren't going to get a bad grade if they don't do the work... not that I totally believe in grades, because I don't, but how have you handled that?
My oldest ds age 13 went to a local charter school this year and really has done well. I am pleased with the school and the teachers so I have no complaints there. I would have loved to have had him at home longer but he wasn't willing to branch out past a very narrow band of interests and did not want to spend his time doing things he didn't totally enjoy (like writing and some math - really anything besides his narrow band of interests) even though he knew he should. He says it's better for him to be at school because it makes him do it.
I'd love your thoughts...
After receiving a few responses, I'm clarifying my situation a little more. My son wasn't avoiding "schoolwork" because he would rather play or watch TV (we don't have one for TV and watch very few movies). I saw most of his activities as totally worthwhile and he learned a lot from the projects he was doing and reading (he reads a ton of non-fiction), they just didn't all look like "school" and I could see there were some skills he was beginning to neglect. I had bought into the "student directed learning" philosophy a little too much and now I realize I should have just required a certain amount of school time basics and not budged on that. I wanted him to love learning and when he hated math and writing, I let it go for awhile thinking that eventually he'd come back around to it. Maybe he would, maybe not. He got a little bit in with the projects he was doing but it took going back to school to really get him to want to do the work.
I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???
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It seems to me that as long as your kid likes to read, homeschooling isn't all that bad. But what do you do when you have one that would rather do anything besides read? I have a ds 10 who will find plenty of other things to do (even wandering the house) to avoid sitting down and reading. I think he's just too active of a kid and is still getting fluent at reading well though he's come a very long way in the last year. (From about a K level to almost a 4th grade level). He is more than happy to listen to me read and remembers things very well when he hears them but I don't have tons of time to read all day to him (5 other children) and we don't have access to a library where I can get good books on tape.
He tried the local charter school (3rd grade) and has done very well there this year (his first year at any school) but for other reasons I'd love to have him home again but don't want to lose the momentum he's gotten there.
Any suggestions/ideas on how you homeschool your kids who don't enjoy reading on their own?
Thanks!
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I love that I can put pdf docs on it. I find it so much easier to get through all those free e books and documents of information I download and never have time to sit at the computer to read (and I don't want to print them all off - too much paper). I can take it with me and easily read all those things I wouldn't get to otherwise.
I don't buy books for it. I've downloaded some free ones but I think I'd rather have a book I can mark and refer to later. But for documents, I've really liked it.
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How easy is it to use WTM with multiple children? It seems like it wouldn't be too bad but I'm just wondering if you've had to tweak anything to make it work? I'm attracted to TOG because it covers all age levels but the simplicity of WTM attracts me too. I tend to get bogged down trying to do too much and then get overwhelmed and homeschooling isn't fun anymore.
One of my dc does not enjoy reading all that much so just assigning him stuff to read probably isn't going to work well. We would need to do the reading all together. Next year I might have a dd 6 1/2 and ds 10 doing homeschool as well as 2 youngers dd 3 and ds 1.
Any tips or ideas?
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It sounds to me like you did just fine. I have found that my kids have learned the independent/accountable work as they have reached high school. I think it is very normal for homeschooled kids to be a little "behind" in that area just from the circumstances of homeschooling. Hey, we can keep up with them better. (I think ps teachers wish that they could!) I give you a big pat on the back for doing such an excellent job with them! If they had been done a disservice, you would most certainly have been able to tell when they entered school. It sounds to me like just normal adjustments. (Well, maybe work a little more on math at some point.;))
Thanks. I do need to work more on math (and other basics) at home :). Seems like when we begin something new we swing back and forth between both extremes a (from strict ps at home on one side to unschooling on the other) little before we finally find our comfort zone and what works for us and our kids. It's just taken me too long to find a happy middle ground and realize that it's OK to require certain things (be tough and just have them do it) and OK to let them go off on their own on others (don't worry about cramming everything in).
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I have a question. Your older kids all started back to ps after homeschooling. How are they doing? Academically are they where they need to be? If so, then you haven't done them a disservice. Your methods were not doing them harm. If they are way behind, then you probably need to really look at why and make changes.
Yes, my oldest 3 started back at a local charter school after 4 years of hs. And overall they are adjusting quite well. I'm pleased at how well ds 12 (7th grade) and dd 11 (6th grade) have acclimated themselves to the math programs (this school teaches 1 year above grade level as well) there. After 4 years of homeschooling and not using a formal math program (just a little bit here and there that had to do with various projects they were working on) they have caught up fast and are A students so far. I've heard of studies that say once kids hit puberty they can do an elementary math curriculum in a matter of a few months. I can see how that is true, there is so much repetition in elem school.
They are probably a little behind in writing/grammar but they are catching on and doing fine.
Ds 9 (3rd grade) is behind in reading but that is mostly due to some eye tracking problems we discovered last Feb. After some therapy he has made huge improvements between now and then and a couple weeks before school started it all began to click. He is probably on a 2nd grade reading level right now (compared to K last Feb). His handwriting isn't beautiful and his spelling is atrocious which makes it hard as they are supposedly doing 4th grade level spelling words but I don't worry so much about that. I think spelling comes with a lot more reading experience. The school uses WRTR so the kids learn phonograms and do their spelling program. It will come. Other than that, he has adjusted very well after having homeschooled since the beginning.
So no, they aren't spouting off amazing facts and appearing as these homeschooled child prodigies but they are adjusting very well and definitely have a great foundation of good character. (I hear stories from them about the things "other kids do" that they point out to me like they can't believe anyone would act that way...)
I know that they hate that "school" takes up so much of their day between classes and homework. I regret that they have less (read: virtually NO) time for the things/projects they are interested in studying too but now they are learning more about "certain things just have to be done first" and being independent and accountable for your own work/time schedule so that is a good thing. I wasn't doing as much as I should have to teach that and plan to do those things differently with the youngers.
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I am glad I did not push my kids harder when they were younger. My kids are now middle school and high school age and they have grown into incredibly self motivated and capable individuals who love to learn AND they have a solid educational foundation. When they were younger I thought I was far too lackadaisical to home school them and I worried often about what we/they should be doing. An active and engaging atmosphere for them to learn and grow provided most of what they needed. I am very pleased with the way our homeschooling has progressed. They need so much more than curriculum.
Would you mind elaborating a little more on what you felt the essential components of your homeschool were? What the "active and engaging" atmosphere consisted of? I think this is where I get off the path - I think I'm providing a good atmosphere and "much more than curriculum" but then look back later and realize I really did neglect the basics and now we have to play catch up.
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Aime,
You said so many things that resonated with me. How I've been, where I need to go. Thanks for sharing.
Also, thanks to everyone who's shared advice on this thread. You've empowered me to start again. I'm going to go through my FIAR and Sonlight schedules and pick out some basic things we can do each day and if nothing else, make sure we do reading, writing and math. I think you've made me see it doesn't have to be hard and complicated (ie trying to do everything in a perfectionistic way) and I just need to make the choice to move forward and stop hanging myself with my insecurities and indecision and having guilt over what's now in the past.:banghead:
I don't know if my 3 olders will ever come back home. We'll see how this year goes for them and then look at our options and how well I've got it together. But for right now I can start again with my K dd and make it the best I possibly can at home for the younger 3 at least.
Thanks so much everyone, I feel so much better about what I have to do and what I can do. Thanks for a dose of reality and a good kick in the pants!! :tongue_smilie:
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If you have uninterrupted school time' date=' it should only take 1 - 1.5 hours with a Kindergartener. I think using the 2yo's nap time for this is a good idea. You can easily do read alouds and other learning things with both of them together throughout the day. I don't think the program you use matters so much as just using something to make sure you cover the basics. [/quote']
You are right. I need to go back to the very basics and worry about those first and get good at that and then add other things slowly. That was part of my hope with just doing kindergarten at home this year was that I could sort of "start over" homeschooling with the 3 younger kids now that I've learned what I have with my trials and errors over the last 4 years. I think I also had trouble because I wanted to cram in every good thing with all the kids (plus study ahead myself to be prepared to teach things) and I couldn't. I also wanted the kids to be more independent than they were ready for and got frustrated when we didn't accomplish as much as I thought we should have (according to my "schedule"). It lost all the fun.
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You all are amazing - you inspire me. I get frustrated that my own studies move at such a snail's pace with everything else that demands my attention. And there are so many things I'd love to learn but so little time. But I guess we learn little by little and line upon line right?
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So if I can come up with my own schedule from the book lists maybe the book notes aren't so critical - at least in the younger cores? Save my money for the high school cores?
I'm being an ungrateful brat -- help me stop, please??
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
You are inserting the thread in the slot on the side of the bobbin case right? And putting the pressure foot down before you start sewing? I don't mean to question your intelligence ;) but sometimes it can be the smallest thing where you smack your head and say "duh!!".
Check to see if the needle was pushed up all the way up when you inserted it - loosen the screw and double check.
There is a chance the timing could be off which would be something a shop would have to fix.
Also, when you insert the bobbin case you have to hold the little wing out to get it in and then after you let go and push the bobbin case in it should make a little click as it snaps in the machine...
Just some other things to try...
I am curious about what the problem ends up being - let us know!! :)