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Walking-Iris

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Everything posted by Walking-Iris

  1. RR is a small family business. Not at all to be compared to Apple or Lands End.
  2. I've never had any issue with RR at all. And their books get shipped fast, sometimes 2 days after I order. Could be because I am in IL. Also I tend to buy used so I do Amazon a lot, but I do place RR orders at least twice a year for consumable workbooks. I have to also pay that IL sales tax on top of shipping so I don't buy from RR more than those 1-2 times a year. The back order issues could be because of the time of year? I usually order closer to Sept...could be that summer is their busiest time with the back to school purchases. They are a small-ish family business, that gets nation wide business...so I'm sure it gets tricky. I think I've had maybe 2 backordered items in the 7 years I've ordered from them.
  3. Definitely. It truly does depend on personality of the teacher and students. Writing Strands is great, but it was sucking the joy out of our days. WWE is a good program, but the repetitiveness and lack of creativity was a minus. All those programs that have assignments such as "write how you feel about Popsicles" were also a turn off for us. Bravewriter really has helped me implement a writing program that is spot on perfect for our family while still making sure essential skills get learned and practiced.
  4. I'll be the one to ask it: secular, neutral, or Christian based courses?
  5. I wouldn't do an online K12 course with a K'er. So not necessary. I don't think cursive is necessary at this age either. If it's difficult, drop it for a couple of years.
  6. I really love the Bravewriter materials, and I also plan on using Writing With Skill (possibly jump into that next year). My ds likes the Killgallon books. But beyond those three (also a bit of WWE), I have discovered that I really don't need anything else.
  7. Welcome to homeschooling!!! I had the same problem of buying too much until this year. I've finally (hopefully it will stick) come to a place of acceptance with what I have. I doubt I'll be on any sort of buying binges for homeschool for some time (except regular books).
  8. Exactly. That's just normal parenting. But if a child already feels like he needs to hide a book in his bed in the mornings, the parent has the problem,not the child. Just my personal opinion. Why teach a child that reading is bad on some level? There's a world of difference between "hey let's get ready to go to the park, eat lunch, clean up the backyard..." and "you can only read a book for x amount of time each day!!!!" One is just normal training a child to think about other things, and the other is just punitiv eand overly restrictive.
  9. I know quite a few PS teachers. Honestly there have been conversations at times where I feel I know more about education and child development than they (just based on my decade long self-education). Public school teaching is confining and limiting in so many ways. Even the very best teacher can break out of the mainstream box only so far. Homeschooling is wide -open in possibilities.
  10. I'll second Jot It Down from Bravewriter. Also there will be a new set of Arrows (from Bravewriter) out soon called Quiver (Arrows for the 1st-2nd grade crowd). FIAR is also very nice.
  11. Are we seriously equating enjoying a book series with "weak and soulless bodies?" Most kids will keep up doing the thing they love if we let them.---my 7 year old would stay outside all day long if I didn't say "hey come in for a bit and get some lunch, help pick up your room, it's going to rain...come in now." Whether they are building with Legos all day, reading, drawing, painting, playing a game, riding their bike....eventually a parent will have to say "can you pause, turn off, come in, take a break because now we need to xyz." I don't think there's a parent alive who hasn't had to do that with something. But I would rather keep a healthy perspective about it. I think there's a way to honor their interests and yet still get them fed and doing some chores without making it punitive, or turning it into something pathological.
  12. I like HWOT (the wooden letters, play doh etc) and the workbooks. ETC Get Ready Set Go books are nice. Arts and crafts, different learning type toys in rotation, puzzles, games, building toys. Science experiments are fun at this age. Mudpies to Magnets or other simple activities.
  13. Drawing With Children, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Artistic Pursuits, Harmony Fine Arts. There's also a ton of free art lessons online and on Pinterest. Also if you can find an artist locally who wouldn't mind mentoring, it can be a big help.
  14. Um....who cares? Let him bring the books to the table. Read one aloud while you eat. Ask him to mark his spot whenever you need him to help around the house. Could be he is just really into the story and wants to finish them. Haven't you ever read a book that was hard to put down?
  15. I drool over FIAR. Just save SOTW for another year. I started SOTW with my oldest mid 2nd grade, picking up steam in 3rd. You don't have to completely give up on SOTW. The 1st book isn't even 1st grade...just the 1st book! Doesn't matter when you decide to do it. FIAR would make a lovely year!
  16. I can't really stand Junie B either. They're funny when read aloud...but they annoy me. I good alternative to Junie B is Judy Moody. They are easy to read, funny, and Judy is a lot nicer than Junie B while still having a bit of a feisty spirit.
  17. I'm excited to get into Latin and French this year. Those are going to be the two major subjects our school centers on this year. All of our other subjects are just a continuation of what has already been working for us. I'm going to use Lively Latin and Galore Park SYRWTLF. We're making them both a family affair (well I'm not really going to push the issue with my two younger children), but my DH and I are going to work the lessons with my oldest. I'm also excited about reading K12 Human Odyssey with my oldest this year. And starting The Wand with my 7 year old.
  18. But...but---that's what homeschooling parents have to do on some level. Children often learn abstract concepts (like math) better with concrete practice ("things" they can get their hands on). So "things" like c-rods, games, linking cubes and all those math manipulatives to get out and play with could truly help her. Miquon has only 3 "things" to use: workbooks, the Lab Annotations for the teacher and some c-rods. Nearly all math programs are going to have at least those three things--a teacher book, student books, and some recommended math manipulatives. You may possibly need to just pick something, learn how to teach it, and stick with it (trust the program) without jumping around or picking and choosing.
  19. Preschool age. But then again I keep any focused work like that short with younger children. My 4 year has participated in art and science/history projects as young as 2. I keep read alouds short too and allow playing with play doh or legos etc while I read, as long as they are listening and not getting too distracted or loud. I don't like basically reading aloud to myself! ;)
  20. 7 year old with a broken arm---our summer is likely going to be boring from here on out! Poor guy!

    1. meena

      meena

      Aww, that stinks! My 8yo broke his arm at the beginning of our summer break. He got a waterproof cast liner--totally worth it. He was able to stay active and happy. Hope your little guy's arm mends quickly and easily!

    2. 8filltheheart

      8filltheheart

      My 4 yr old fell and severely broke her arm this week, too. Cast from shoulder to finger tips. It's going to be a long 6 weeks. No swimming and no playing in the sand, her favorite daily activities. I am praising The Lord it didn't displace and require surgery.

  21. The materials I saw (had them in my hand, not online) was astronomy, possibly a level 1 (Grammar stage). I recall clearly seeing a note in the first pages about the author's personal belief in a young earth but that they were making the materials neutral. I used to be able to link to the astronomy sample from the website that I'm talking about, but now the sample link does not work, and I also see that a lot of ES materials have been revised and now have a 2014 copyright....so...this may have changed. http://d3r1z7wkgqhj9d.cloudfront.net/ESA%20samples.pdf Found it. Apparently I saved the old pdf. The issue I have with ES is in the section called Special Considerations. Rereading I have to say that may or may not point toward YEC, so I detract that statement. Still it's a concern for me personally, so I think others need to be aware of it in case they are also discerning about their science materials.
  22. I'm on my second go- through of Miquon. I wouldn't use it with a Kinder. It looks deceptively simple, but it is not really. Miquon also doesn't assume prior knowledge of c-rods. There are plenty of activities in the Orange book and in the Lab Annotations (which you should read and use if you're doing Miquon) that get the child familiar with c-rods. Education Unboxed is a good start with pre-Ker's. C-rod activity books are good. http://www.nurturedbylove.ca/resources/cuisenairebook.pdf I'm working with Saxon K and SM math K in these years before 1st grade. Adding some Montessori inspired math activities is helpful with little ones as well. http://www.pinterest.com/jojoebi/montessori-maths/ MMM is a good program. So are the RightStart games cards. They will take you beyond 1 year of use as well....so that's a value.
  23. I don't consider Elemental Science secular. The Earth science I had a chance to look at clearly stated that the author was YEC although the curriculum was meant to be neutral. That was enough for me to discount it as a valid option. Although I see that they have updated their material so they may have removed that tidbit about the author's personal preference....either way. ymmv. Middle school science has been tricky!! I loved RSO Biology level 2. We didn't even get to everything that massive book contained in it this year. Sort of just want to pick it back up honestly. Wish Pandia Press had their level 2 programs completed. I'm going to use a Holt book for Earth science and fill in with any extra activity books I find (Janice VanCleave etc.) The Ellen McHenry units for chemistry look decent. I wish I could afford to do it WTM way and just buy a ton of kits and just work through them and talk/write about it....but that is a bit much. BFSU goes into the upper grades, right?
  24. In the past I've used laminated cards with velcro backing for my oldest when he was a bit younger. As math was finished he could remove the math card and velcro it onto another board. It was a bit more fun to do that then check off a simple list. Or you can make a list with an arrow that moves down the side as you cover a daily task.
  25. I've kept a master list of various things to work on for each child. They do it separately most times, sometimes together. I need to make it a regular part of the day--up to now it's been hit or miss.
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