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blondeviolin

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Posts posted by blondeviolin

    For Fun: Homeschool Things You Just Don't Get (no hate)

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Unschooling - sounds nice, but my kids aren't that motivated and I'm not willing to let them become proficient in "minecraft architecture" or whatever.

     

    People who "homeschool" their first grader with a computer-based program and no oversight and then complain that their child isn't learning anything.

     

    How anyone teaches their kids how to spell anything. I can't tell you how many spelling curricula we've tried over the course of schooling 4 kids. One is likely dyslexic, one probably dysgraphic, one neither, and yet my 10yo is only a mildly decent speller. I get stuck in this conundrum where I don't believe it's developmentally appropriate for a young child to write paragraphs. And I feel this is where spelling eventually becomes automatic. So I feel like I sacrifice spelling in the early elementary years for the sake of solid writing in the older years.

     

    Those kids who get up raring to go and do their schoolwork independently. My 10yo is getting there; I help with math and Latin. But none of my kids wake up and rip through ten math pages before I've finished breakfast. If they did, it was too easy for them anyway.

    • Like 4

    Swim parents - adding time at meets?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    The last couple of meets my swimmer has added SECONDS to nearly every event. He was consistently hitting B times for the 10&under age group and now it's a couple seconds slower.

     

    He turned 9 at the end of October so he's aged up, but still swimming in the faster heats. He looks like he's tiring sooner than typical. He has moved up to the next group at swim practice. He also looks likes he's gained a few pounds but hasn't gotten any taller. He also was recently diagnosed ADHD has been taking a stimulant in the morning. (Practice is at 5, though, so that's probably on the way out when he's in the pool.)

     

    I thought last time it was because he was recovering from a virus, but today he added like 4 seconds to his 200 free time. What could cause this?

     

    This comes at a pretty bad time because his B times have qualified him for age group championships. :-/

    Just so DONE with math...

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    My oldest is very much the same. We took a "gap" year in third grade so she could gain confidence. We used TT a year ahead and she was able to solidify some concepts. From there we moved to Saxon. The 30 problems is a lot for her so I assign ten with concepts I know she's weak on or what I know what they're scaffolding for. She takes a test every five lessons and she consistently scores above 90%. The lessons are so incremental that she's feeling a lot more confident about it all.

    • Like 4

    What does your 8yo or 2nd grader do?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    My 7.5-year-old is in second grade.  She turns 8 in July.  She gets up, gets her breakfast, and is supposed to brush her teeth and make her bed.  I am still often there telling her to stop playing and get her things done.

     

    Her schoolwork is nearly all completed in the morning. She begins with reading a book of her choice, then a phonics workbook and spelling; these are independent.  She does grammar with me.  Then she breaks with whichever toy or craft she decides.  After her break she reads a book of MY choosing.  Some books I get the audio and she follows along.  Then she has another break.  From there she does math (somewhat independent...I mostly teach the lesson and she's sitting near but I'm helping someone else usually).  After math she does writing which is not independent at all.  About this time she finishes and plays while I help everyone else finish.  

     

    After lunch the kids each have a chore (sweep, clear table, dishes, or put food away).  And then they get a break while I put the toddler down for a nap.  They then play outside or help me clean (their choice).  If they didn't finish putting laundry away or get their bed made or room picked up before schoolwork, they must do it here.  Then we do history or science as a group with a snack.  And then she's released to go play. 

     

    She still plays with baby dolls.  She also loves to craft (cutting and pasting and making a giant mess in general) or listen to music or sing.  She plays outside with friends but not as much in the winter because she's a skinny little thing that gets cold easily.

    • Like 1

    Creative writing suggestions?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    My fifth grader is a very creative soul.  She loves to write and invent stories.  Sometimes the physical act of writing is a pain, but if she's got an idea she will quickly get past that because she loves writing stories.  I think she'd LOVE a creative writing course.  I looked at the Creative Writer, but I don't know what else is out there.  She loves animal stories and sometimes chafes at the idea of writing from a very specific prompt.  But prompts are helpful sometimes because she doesn't always have an idea readily availble.  

     

    She's done three levels of WWE and can give narration and/or write dictation with fair ease.  She is writing summaries across the curriculum and working through Killgallon's Sentence Composing for Elementary School.  For expository writing, I am planning on taking her through WWS next year or so.  She's got a good grammar base thanks to FLL 1-4 and will be doing AG next year.  

     

    She just wrote this little riddle for her sister on her break: "I have a friend that goes hop, hop, hop.  She's big and brown, but she doesn't stop a lot, lot, lot.  She has strong back legs, and she doesn't lay eggs.  What is she?  Well, that's up to me!  But she has a pouch with a little roo.  What is she? A kangaroo!"

    Choosing a treadmill... I'm at a loss!

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Is it possible to invest in some good winter gear and walk outside? With snow pants and a good coat, solid boots, gloves, and a balaclava, I've been walking everyday for quite a while. We've had many subzero days. All in all, I paid less than $500 and this gear allows me to do other things too (sledding with the kids, cross country skiing, etc).

    If I have (mild) asthma and had pneumonia less than 2 months ago and now...

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Don't mistake good pulse ox for a good measuring of lung functioning. Many asthmatics (myself included) have great saturation but trap carbon dioxide until its almost too late and then sats drop. That's how it went for me when I ended up in the ICU on a ventilator. Tired can mean you're working to breathe harder than you need to and there's only a finite amount of time that you can work that hard.

     

    Steroids make me tired and not sleepy and hungry with everything tasting gross. And if I need them I already feel like crap so I'm not the most polite of person. I try to reign it because I know that about myself.

     

    Keep up with the meds. Make sure you're doing regular spirometry tests. Once every six months should be good.

    • Like 3

    Losing Weight - plateau

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    This is the first time I've seriously put effort into losing weight.  In August I was 170 and a size 10, which is heavier than I've ever been not pregnant.  After some thought, I started counting calories.  This led to taking daily walks in the mornings before my kids even wake (this is huge because I am not a morning person and I've been walking in sub-zero temps lately).  I dropped 20 pounds in 3-3.5 months.  My face is skinnier, my tops are looser, my pants are a bit looser, and I'm overall happier with the scale saying 150.  I'd really like to get down to 145.  I'm 5'6" so that's still a healthy weight and it would give me a good five-pound cushion.  

     

    Well, for the last three weeks I have maintained what I'm doing and still at this stupid 149/150lbs spot.  I can't get past it! I'm maintaining at least a 500 calorie deficit everyday. My meals are mostly veggies and meats with a few grains tossed in.  I do indulge in my one serving of chips at night because if I can't have that, then it's not worth it.  (I'm not a chocolate/sweets person.)  I'm making sure that I'm drinking 64 ounces of water.  

     

    Here's my dilemma: Due to severely limited lung function, I can't run, I can't bike, I can't do anything huge cardio.  I don't have a heart monitor, but I'd assume my morning walks get my heart pumping a bit faster (pacing 19 min a mile through a few inches of snow).  I could probably do some strength training, but I don't have much time after my kids get up to do it - twenty minutes or less.

     

    I'm getting to the point where I think maybe I just SHOULDN'T be below 150...

    Resources on philanthropy for kids

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Justserve.org is run by the LDS church, but anyone can add service opportunities or sign up for service. The idea is to make service needs known in your community. Ours often has secular options, such as building lunch boxes for kids who suffer from nothing to eat home. Each will opportunity will have a description letting you know if minors are okay to attend and help.

    • Like 1

    Need help with spelling curriculum

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    We're using SS for my older two. My 10yo is an average but lazy speller. She is excelling. My 9yo is a weak speller who I suspect is dyslexic. The SS works nicely for him, I think. He still has a lot of holes and spelling issues, but he is getting there. The SS is more than just correcting it once. Because it builds on the base word, they have to remember how to spell that sound pattern over and over again. They also get good at adding prefixes and suffixes to words. In all honesty, it's simple, but effective here.

    • Like 2
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