[VBS registration question]

I would word it something like this:

 

Please register early to reserve your child/children's spot in our VBS classes. When the maximum students per class has been reached, you may place your child on a wait list in case we have any cancellations.

 

Regarding the teacher situation, I would let church members know that if they are teachers or help in any VBS capacity, their children will be guaranteed a place in VBS. Maybe put something in the bulletin or send a note to parents after Sunday School/put in church mail boxes. My church is rather small but unless a mom has just had a baby, all the moms pretty much work in VBS. We've never had to turn anyone away. We also have the youth in our church serve as teacher assistants/crowd control or with the games etc. We also only have preschool age classes for workers children.

 

I hope you have a successful VBS! I commend you for leading it as I see that as an awesome task! :D

[Black Widow infestation...]

This is purely anectodal as I don't have anything to offer in the way of eliminating black widows. Last year around this time, my husband found one clinging to the mail he had just retrieved from the mailbox. I was just so freaked out about it as we usually let one of the kids get the mail or I would get the mail while in the car and would have dragged it across my lap/body before setting it down on the seat beside me. Either way someone would likely have been bitten! So my husband trapped it in a jar so we could let the kids look at it. We left it in our kitchen until bedtime, at which time I was too creeped out about it being in our house. So we killed it by spraying bug spray into the jar. I live in the Dallas area and I had no idea that black widows lived here. I have been nervous about getting the mail ever since!!!

[Urgent prayer request for young girl]

I will be praying for Holly!

[Please pray for a missing boy]

I'll pray for his safe return!

[question on Math-U-See]

I've always been able to purchase the TM and DVD set used from someone and saved quite a bit that way. Then I just need to buy the student books. I just thought I'd mention that option.

Take care!

[Lively Latin users, what do you use for chant help?]

I'm considering using LL next year with my 3rd and 2nd graders. This year we have watched some of the DVD's that go with the Latin for Children program and we like chanting along with them. Lively Latin doesn't have anything audio yet and I'd really like to have a CD that we can listen to while in the car or as part of our lessons. Is there something else I could use along with LL?

Thanks for any suggestions!!!

[Phonics and Spelling?]

:iagree: My ds8 is finishing up ETC6 and from the look of it...it's busywork to him. You know that look...the glazed eyes, I'm bored look! We are going to do AAS next year and just read, read, read! No more ETC. My ds6 hated ETC so we ditched that AND SWO b/c both drove him to tears. Not b/c he couldn't do it...b/c he just got so bored. Not enough of a challenge. Plus, he's not a workbook kid. So, AAS will work well, I think.

 

Sue, I felt the same way about ETC being busywork although they (my twin 1st graders last year) did not mind doing it. I think it was a good bridge between reading lessons and spelling lessons. My dd 6 (1st grader this year) likes doing ETC very much and for her she really does need some phonics review even though she's doing AAS. For me, I think it gives her more handwriting practice which she could certainly use, LOL! But if she didn't enjoy it I would get rid of it too.

[Phonics and Spelling?]

I dropped Explode the Code for my 2nd graders this year (We did it in 1st after Phonics Pathways) since they were reading well. Although I wanted a spelling program that followed the phonics rules so we have done All About Spelling this year. So if you'd like to reinforce phonics with a spelling program, this program is great! HTHs!

 

http://www.allaboutspelling.com/

[AAS - do I need the extra materials packet for each child?]

I think you DO need the extra materials packet for each child. I set up an index box for each child and put their names on it with some fun stick on letters. Then when each child's lesson time comes, I just have them get their box. Since each child's mastery of the material and pace through the program is different then they each need their own set of cards. I did however make the mistake of buying 3 sets of letter tiles and I only needed one. Although I may have a separate set of tiles for younger child since the older two will be using phonograms and diagraphs that will clutter her work space and be distracting to her I think. I haven't gotten that far yet!! :001_smile:

 

I am working with 3 children right now. The older two are moving into the next book and many of the phonogram and sound cards are used in book 2. I hope this anwers your question.

 

p.s. No baby yet? I was praying about that this weekend. Blessings!

[Can we talk about Spelling??? I may be an SWR dropout...]

I think the theory of teaching spelling in SWR and AAS are the same although I have not used SWR. AAS is a phonics based spelling program that is so, so, so, easy to use. Once you cut up all the cards, put them into your index file box, and cut up your letter tiles you can begin teaching right away. The author addresses questions for SWR users directly on her website here:

 

http://www.all-about-spelling.com/spell-to-write-and-read.html

 

Be sure to also read the section that explains how All About Spelling works. I spend 10-15 minutes each day with each of my children and they enjoy spelling and I find it easy to use. It's an open-and-go type of lesson each time. Yes, it is more teacher intensive than a workbook type program but with AAS I know what they know and that the learning is concrete. I want my children to understand why something is spelled the way it is so they can apply the spelling rules to other words. KWIM?

 

I hope it gets better for you! Blessings! :001_smile:

[Ohhh, narration. Am I a bad teacher if...]

Thanks to all who commented on this narration and SOTW subject. I felt badly that I wasn't doing them most of the time but we do get through the review questions. I have twin boys in 2nd grade and a daughter in 1st all trying to answer or narrate at the same time. It has been a relief to read here that the SOTW sections do not lend themselves readily to narration. I have recently found that they are excited to narrate one of Aesop's fables or a story from FLL. I have begun to realize that not all children are ready to do this at a certain age. It was nice to read it here as well. Thanks!!!!!! :D

[AAS users...A question....]

I am using AAS with twin 2nd graders and a 1st grader. It really is so easy to use and my kids enjoy doing spelling. I think it helps that it's not all writing and very short lessons (10-15mins). And they enjoy doing the reviews. I think they really like knowing all the answers and reminding themselves of how much they know.

 

We don't really have a weekly routine but I do find that we split up each lesson into two days. And if I think one of them needs more review time we just spend a lesson time doing review and dictation of words/phrases/sentences. I inserted some grammar review when we were learning about sentences..."is that a sentence or a phrase?", "What kind of sentence is that?", etc.

 

It really is a wonderful program! And I recommend, as did others, getting the magnets and something to keep the tiles on. I just got some and they are such a help. Take care!

[how do you beat the Monday morning blahs with your kids and get school going?]

Monday is cereal day! Or make Monday a lighter day and Tues - Fri a bit heavier? Above all, don't feel like a slave to your schedule. Freedom over our time and calendar is one of the best things about homeschooling IMHO!

 

Mondays around here have become a lighter day. Reviewing where we ended the previous week and finishing any leftover work. Then Tuesday has become our "Monday" and we work harder on that day. Plus, I find myself doing more housework on Monday's to put the house back in some sort of order after the weekend. I think having flexibility in our schedules is what keeps us sane!! :D All that said, my 8yo ds woke me up this morning fully dressed telling me he was going to start his school work (it was 7am) so he could be done faster. This may be due to the fact that as I tucked my boys in last night I reminded them that tomorrow was a school day and whatever work didn't get finished in the morning would be completed during their free time. So because of this son's earnest and motivation, we had most of our school work done before lunch....which rarely happens around here. ;)

[Those who have had children memorize latin chants before doing workbooks...]

-Your other option is to get SSL for now and push back the study for LFC.

 

 

Thanks for all your suggestions ladies! What is SSL? I can't find it on the abbreviation lists.

Thanks so much!

[Those who have had children memorize latin chants before doing workbooks...]

I have the Latin for Children A DVD's and CD. I was encouraged to have my children spend a year watching/listening to these to learn the chants and then begin the book work when they had them all memorized. I was hoping we would start the workbooks next fall. My dc are currently 2nd and 1st and we have not spent much time watching these. For those of you who used this approach, how did you accomplish this and how did you know if they had it memorized. I am not sure if we should watch lesson 1 until it's memorized and then move onto the next lesson? I don't have any books to go with it yet. Thanks for any advice in this area!

[I've disliked most spelling programs.....]

AAS is phonics based but it is laid out very simply and is soooo easy to use. I wanted a phonics based program even though my children were reading just fine but to me learning to spell according to the phonics rules made more sense. If you want word families then Sequential Spelling would be a good program for that but I haven't looked at it in a while or used it so I can't speak to its ease of use. HTHs!!

[This aired in my state the other night . . .]

I just watched the video and I think it is very much pro homeschooling. I had to laugh when the ps guy acknowledged that no teacher will ever know the student as the parent does, "But we try." he says. It seemed like he didn't quite know how to refute that one. I did think that one of the ps comments seemed like a good point. The lady basically said that the reason the average test scores are higher for h'schoolers is that the families that are not doing a good job of teaching/learning in the homeschool setting are not the ones taking the tests. Well that might be a valid point in states that don't require h'schoolers to take tests but that do it voluntarily.

 

One question though about the homeschool mom with the 5 boys that was interviewed- How does she spend only $20-50 a year on books/materials? I'm definantly doing something wrong! :001_huh:

[All About Spelling]

AAS is the only spelling program we have used and fortunately it was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a phonics based system and I too am learning a lot about the spelling rules. I love the built in review and the kids enjoy the variations from one lesson to another. The dictation has been very good for my 2nd graders. I don't have the magnets for the tiles yet but I'm ordering them. Setting out the tiles and putting them away is my only negative but by putting the magnets on the tiles and finding a magnetic board to keep them on will solve that problem!

[I got my first comment today - about HS'ing]

This isn't really the same subject being discussed on this thread, but I wanted to share what the YMCA in my town offers homeschoolers. There are 2 nearby locations and they both offer a Homeschool PE class from 1-2pm two days a week. It is free for members and cost $20 a month for non-members. I love it because I can exercise while the kids are having fun with other kids, doing strength building activites, working on sports skills, and playing games. I've also met other homeschool moms and made some new friends. They also have open swim times for homeschoolers on some Friday afternoons. It may be something you can suggest to your YMCA. :)

[Combining 2nd and 3rd graders in Grammar/Writing]

FLL3 is a much gentler approach than R&S3, IMHO, and would be perfect for combining those ages. WWE is for grades 1-4 and so fits your ages perfectly as well. AND, both FLL3 and WWE are designed to "fit" together! Don't mean to "wreck" your beautiful plans...just offering another suggestion!

 

Thanks Sue and Gretchen. I had been meaning to look into WWE and FFL3 as options. Thanks for the reminder!:001_smile:

[Combining 2nd and 3rd graders in Grammar/Writing]

I think you can combine all 3, but I would combine them to the lower level of your 2nd grader and require more from your 3rd graders. Both R&S grammar and CW are very intense programs. It would be very difficult for your daughter to keep up even though it's just one year. I combine CW for my oldest sons and work at the level of my 5th grader (we are currently doing Homer A), but I keep their grammar work separate (we are doing R&S 5 and 6). I decided to keep their grammar separate because I like to do annual standarized testing, and I wanted to keep my 6th grader at his grade level. I could easily have combined them with R&S 5 and required more writing from my 6th grader though.

 

So you mean put the 2nd grader in R&S 2 or something else and put the 3rd graders in R&S 3 and then wait a year for CW (they would be 3rd and 4th graders) and require more work from the 4th graders? I was thinking it okay to wait until 4th for the boys. Or I could do a more gentle writing program for them next year that could serve as exposure and an introduction to writing. I like the layout of CW through the older years and was drawn to the progymnasmata approach. And I also like teaching all three at the same level and making it more doable for me. Thanks so much for your help!! :)

[Combining 2nd and 3rd graders in Grammar/Writing]

I'd like to know if it is okay to combine my next year 2nd grade DD and twin 3rd grader DS's for grammar (leaning toward Rod and Staff 3) and writing (leaning toward CW Aesop). My DD 6 will be just turning 7 next August but she has been doing FLL 1 & 2 with her brothers. She is a strong reader but her handwriting is not so strong. Although my sons are just one grade ahead of her, they are almost 2 years older since they have a Dec. birthday.

 

Here are the options I'm considering:

 

#1 Do all three R&S 3 Grammar and wait another year until she is 3rd and they are 4th to start Classical Writing. Or wait until halfway through the year next year to start CW Aesop?

 

#2 Do all three R&S 3 Grammar and CW Aesop but not require as much written work from the 2nd grader.

 

#3 Just do CW with all three and no other grammar program.

 

#4 Do R&S Grammar 3 and CW Aesop A only with the 3rd graders and just have the 2nd grader wait to do both when she is in 3rd grade and they will always be a year off.

 

I'd love to make it easier time wise obviously, but not if it doesn't make sense. Are there other programs that would work better to combine that I'm not aware of? Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[SOTW Vol. 1 CDs]

We used SOTW 1 Cd's last year and they were by Jim Weiss. My kids love Jim Weiss' Cd's and we own many of them. This year we are doing SOTW 2 and the CD with Jim Weiss was not available so I bought the other one. My kids complained everytime we listened to it and asked me why it wasn't Jim Weiss. Around the holidays I found that it was now available with Jim Weiss narrating it so I bought it and history is going much more smoothly now. Jim Weiss has a way of drawing them in and he is so animated that they listen better. That's been my experience. HTH!

[Fun Copywork Ideas?]

If your kids have any mad libs they've done lying around, you could let them copy one of those silly sentences or paragraphs. It would also be a grammar review. Hey, I'm going to use your idea of copy work when too much dawdling is happening. I like that!! :D

[Here is my basic plan next year for kindergartener (inside). Can you help me decide]

If this Kindergartener is your oldest and you decide to not do history (which I didn't do until 1st grade), perhaps you might consider Five in a Row. I used that with my twin K'ers and younger child several years ago and it includes great books, geography, other cultures, art, math concepts, science, and Bible. You can do as much or as little of the activities. My next K'er did SOTW Ancients with her brothers which was fine. I also like a Reason for Handwriting for this age as it was just a letter each day and a coloring page. I also used MUS which we still use. I love the Kindergarten year! Enjoy!

 

Blessing,

Michelle