Caia
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Posts posted by Caia
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We live in a rural town and UPS delivers to the post office daily. The post office has a sign that says "If you order a package that is to be delivered by Fed Ex or UPS, please use this address." It then lists the actual address of the post office ex. 123 E Main St. Your Box #. City, State, Zip. We have received dozens of packages this way. We have also received packages with just our PO Box address on them too.
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I would get the 3 year old in Infant Swim Resource (ISR) or something similar. www.infantswim.com. I believe they take kids up to six years old.
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BJU is my personal favorite.
But I have definitely found that it is hard to jump between curriculum and feel like you are having good results with your kiddos for several months.
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43 minutes ago, bfw0729 said:
So, I purchased a really cheap ($9) BJU student text. I like the different genres of work. I'm looking to find a cheap student text too. Some of the stories are pretty long. How do you break up the work in a given week? How many days a week do you work on it and about how long for each day? I aim to put aside three days a week for about 45 min each day.
The workbook has the lesson number and reading pages listed at the bottom of each workbook page. The longer stories are broken into sections with bold subtitles (think chapter titles). Each time there is a new bolded section title, that would be the start of a new lesson.
We usually do reading 4 days per week, and it probably takes us about 30-40 minutes. The teacher's edition would have a list of questions you could verbally discuss with your student. I sometimes use those, but a lot of time I just ask questions on the fly.
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We love BJU Press. Youngest son just completed 5th grade reading this year, and he is looking forward to 6th grade curriculum.
There is a lot of reading comprehension/analyzing of the stories in the textbook, but they are not whole books. At the bottom of every worktext page, it list what skills are being worked on for that lesson. If you’d like to know what some of them are, let me know and I can list some.
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My daughter took it without really studying. She was very busy during the time she needed to take it to meet an early admittance deadline. So she decided to take them and would retake at a later date if she needed to. I believe she spent a few hours studying/looking over the format of the test on a couple of weekends prior to the test date. She ended up scoring very well and didn’t need to retake it. It helped get her a grad school scholarship for being in the top 2 by their ranking system.
Her undergrad gpa was very high, but she is not normally a great timed test taker. She mentioned that she could have used more time on the essay.
The school she wanted to attend had minimum gre scores listed on their school website. They also had stats showing what the average gpa’s and gre scores were of previous admitted classes. She compared what she received to those listed and decided she was happy with her chances. Maybe the school(s) he is interested in have something like that on their webpages?
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The newer classes (last three years or so) vary in length and are no longer set at 30 minutes.
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I’ve used BJU Press math with all of my children. Out of the curriculum I have tried, it fit us the best. The teachers for both grade 4 and 5 are excellent.
The lessons seem like a good length (once the child gets used to listening to an online teaxher). There is review in every lesson, and I feel like the amount of assigned work every day is not overwhelming.
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I prefer Dvd’s watched on a tv vs online, but it really depends on the kid and your internet connection! My daughter did fine online and staying focused. My oldest son (especially during the early teenage years) was less diligent and would get “sidetracked†on the internet....
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We love BJU Press also!
I like the format of the textbooks, how they present info, and the student activity manual that goes along with the textbook. I also really appreciated the DVD’s that are definitely optional, but sometimes saved my sanity when I was trying to teach multiple grade levels that were spread too far out to combine.
I have used levels 1st grade up through biology. My older kiddos then went and took dc classes at the local college for chemistry and physics. I haven’t decided for sure what I will do with the younger ones, but I am thinking about changing it up and teaching chemistry and physics at home.
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What is meant by “Not have finished the first four years of higher education at the beginning of the tax year.â€
My daughter had many DE credits when she graduated from high school and graduated with her bachelors degree in two school years (past high school). So we have used the AOTC credit during three tax years. She was a full time grad student only in 2017.
Does she qualify for this credit? She is persuing a degree. She is enrolled at least half time for at least one academic period. She has not claimed the AOTC for more than four tax years. And she does not have a felony.
I just don’t quite know what to assume they mean by finished the first four years of higher education. She technically has four years of higher education, but two of them are from high school. Do they count? Or does higher education refer specifically only to the years of education past high school?
Thanks for any help you can provide :)
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Bells of St. Mary’s
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So you have not really been teaching from the TM yet? Is that correct?
Do you do the computer or the paper ones? I understand DL has both and they are the same?
Even if I assigned fewer problems, the long lessons would still do us in. We can't seem to change that. It's just too many topics in one lesson. I have considered using the chapter review as the chapter test, but she really needs the chapter review to tie it all together and review! Sometimes there has been so much information covered by the time we get to the review that she has forgotten what was covered in the first part of the chapter! And if we use the actual tests, I feel like she needs to work the C problems in order to even be partly ready for them! It's just a rather poor setup for parent-led, I feel like. In some ways, I feel like they try to force you into DL, which is not a good fit for us.
This is my third child going through pre-algebra, and I am fairly confident in my abilities at this level. The material is also more fresh in my mind since this is my third time through. I use the TM for the answers for ease in grading. I teach from the student text. If I feel my son could use an additional explanation or possibly a different one because he is confused or not understanding the material like I would like him to, I have him watch the corresponding DVD lesson the next day and then complete the even problems.
We use the paper tests that came with the DL DVDs. I would assume they are the same or very similar to the ones used online.
A possibly interesting side note - in high school, I had two very different math teachers. One was a brilliant mathematician that understood most maths as easily as I understood basic addition facts. He was an awful high school math teacher. We didn't even begin to comprehend what he was saying or trying to explain for the majority of that whole year. The other math teacher was a much better teacher. She probably was a C student in school and struggled to learn and comprehend math. She, however, made learning the lessons relatively easy. She was able to explain the how's and why's and was able to get us from A to B and help us understand where we went wrong. This is a total guess on my part (and I haven't seen the regular tests to compare), but maybe the DL teacher when planning and teaching the lessons on camera decided that the regular tests were too much of a leap for most kids and created his own.
With all of my kids, I have had that "one year" depending on the kid where math was the focus of the year. It was mentally draining and I had to give and take in other subjects, but that year made a huge difference in their math progression. For this particular kid, it was the "fundamentals of math" year. The pre-algebra text would be a lot more time consuming if we hadn't spent so much time last year making sure he really understood what he was doing.
Best of luck in whatever curriculum you decide to use. Changing mid-year is never fun. Hang in there :)
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If you have any further advice about how you handled the year (Fundamentals), or anything in particular that you found challenging or things to watch out for, I am certainly open to suggestions :rolleyes:
I have a child in 5th grade math this year and the lessons are very quick and short compared to Fundamentals. So plan on spending a lot more time on math than you are currently used to. It is definitely a jump in expectations. Slow down when necessary and don't rush. There are definitely some new things learned that will take some extra time. Math was our number one time consumer that year.
I personally think that doing all of the cumulative review problems was very beneficial. Since we only did odd numbers during each lesson (of A & B and sometimes C, no dominion), we had lots of unworked problems left in previous lessons so we could go back to that lesson and complete another problem or two if he was not getting something right on the cumulative reviews.
There are a lot of quizzes (if you ordered them). We didn't do all of them. I saved them for areas that he needed the extra review. It just seemed like way too much math to get it all done every day. So if he understood the topic and did well on the lesson we moved on.
Hope that helps!
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Hi Kathy,
Being burnt out on math is never a fun thing. It makes for a very frustrating year.
I feel like BJU's Fundamentals of Math really prepared my son for pre-algebra. It is in the same/similar format so it is something he is used to and comfortable with. We are using a combination of parent led and dvds. This son is a little off schedule in math and started pre-algebra a month and a half into this school year. Most of the lessons he has been familiar enough with the material that he hasn't watched the lesson. I believe he has watched 3 lessons. Since I ordered the dvd lessons, I assume that we have the distance learning tests. We follow the lesson plans laid out in those instructions and we are not doing the honor type problems. Honestly, it seems like there is so much material there that if you did it all a typical student would be beyond overwhelmed by the amount of time spent on the lesson. I assign all of the odd problems under section A & B each time. Some lessons we do some of the C section, but usually not. I do not assign the dominion thru math. He will usually read through them, but I don't assign them to be completed and he wasn't do them for fun! He always does all of the review sections. I check his answers daily and make him correct all missed answers. IF he misses too many problems, I rework the problems he has missed with him to make sure he understands how to complete the problems and then assign him the even numbers on that specific section. Every few lessons there is a quiz to complete along with the lesson. The chapter tests haven't seemed unreasonable, but we are probably not near as far in as you are.
If you are not completely set on jumping ship to a different curriculum, I would suggest changing things up and assigning fewer problems. You wouldn't have to use the distance learning, and it would be cheaper than changing curriculums. (I have older children and neither has been harmed academically from not expecting as much rigor in pre-algebra. My oldest took calculus at the local college when she was 16). I would then have her complete the chapter review as the chapter test. Any problems that she misses on the chapter review due to not understanding how to complete the problem instead of a "silly" error (i.e. 2 +3 =6), I would then go back to the chapter sections and assign the even numbered problems in that section. This would drastically cut down on the amount of time being spent every day on math :) Hope that helps.
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My son (currently doing BJU pre-algebra) did 5th grade BJU and then went to 7th grade (Fundamentals) math. It worked out really well for us, but I did do more "hand holding" than I would have if we had done all levels. One of the main allowances I gave him was to write in his text. He had to use blank paper to work out a lot of the problems, but writing in the textbook helped immensely timewise. I was also very diligent about checking his answers and making sure he was understanding new topics. I spent a lot more time during math last year sitting near him because it was definitely a leap from 5th grade to 7th grade math, but it was well worth it. So far, pre-algebra has been smooth sailing.
We used the current editions of all texts.
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Our Walmart sells Ultra Swim shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo is 7 ounces for around 4 bucks.
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For geology - Northwest Rock and Fossil looks to be a good resource - We met the owner/author and his wife at a homeschool convention this summer, and they are a wealth of information (they are Christian).
The Rock Identification Made Easy book was great. My kids are always asking me what kind of rock and now they can try to figure it out on their own! Bedrock Geology looks to be a good read. They also have several rock and mineral kits.
Roadside Geology of Insert your State is also suppose to be a good book for local geology.
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which makes me think- why not just price them that way to begin with??? (From the Mom who is looking at having to purchase 3 full grades with books and DVDs!)
You might already know this, but if you don't happen to need all of the subjects in the three different grade levels then it might be cheaper to order during a Buy 6 or more DL subjects plus books and get 50% sale.
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BJU Press textbooks are always 10% off if you order through a Homeworks by Precept Consultant for BJU Press. If you can make it to a convention that has a BJU Press booth, all textbooks are 25% off if you order there.
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The DVDs are a 12 month rental and come with a pre-paid label to return them. Everything else is yours to keep. - And a Precept Consultant can help you get at least 10% off any order.
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I have a 9 year old and 11 year old using it this year, and we are really liking the course. Mr. Harmon and Mrs. Erickson take turns teaching the different units. Mrs. Erickson teaches the units that have to do with biology while Mr. Harmon teaches the rest of the units.
We have used several of Mrs. Vick's classes. She really is hard to compare to, but I definitely like this course's teachers better than some others. Both teacher's have a passion for their subjects.
Some things that I have noticed about this science course vs. earlier grades.
- It seems like quite a few of the labs are not done on video to the extent that they are in the lower grades (possibly Mr. Harmon's more so than Mrs. Erickson's labs).
- I seem I remember Mrs. Vick does an excellent job on the review lesson for each chapter. Mr. Harmon gives more of an outline detailing what you need to know for the test. Mrs. Erickson's chapter review seems a little more thorough. (I have to help my 9 year old study more for the chapter tests because the review doesn't seem to be quite enough).
-The classes vary in length. - I love this!
- Mr. Harmon has a sense of humor that my sons really like. Mrs. Erickson is very energetic and lively and holds their attention well.
I just went and watched part of the sample clip of Mr. Harmon and that is pretty much what you get with him. If you go to 10th grade biology and watch starting at around 12:45 mark you will see a sample of Mrs. Erickson. The biology class is significantly more advanced, but you will get an idea of what her teaching style is - she uses her hands a lot!
Hope that helps.
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I think it would be way more interesting for the student to do BJU 6th grade science by watching the distance learning videos. There are two teachers that teach 6th grade science and both are very knowledgeable and engaging. The DVDs (or online) are not extremely cheap, but I believe a student would definitely get more out of the class than trying to do it on their own.
The good news if that route interests you is that there is normally a sale during December (if you can wait that long) which brings the cost for the DLO down significantly.
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My 9 &11 year old boys have thoroughly enjoyed The Wordup! DVD and have listened to it repeatedly over the past year or so. They have been hoping another volume would be released, but that does not seem to be happening. Any recommendations for other resources that would be along a similar vein. Either "fun" or more academic resources would be great. Thanks!
May need a new car -- Where do I start
in The Chat Board
Posted
Did they check the neutral safety switch? We have a vehicle that does this intermittently and I can get the vehicle started in neutral if it won’t start in park.