As others have mentioned, the dictation is really a critical part of cementing the phonograms for your student. If your five year old is not ready for that much writing, it's okay to step back for a while. Encourage play that builds hand strength (play dough, modeling clay, cutting, legos/duplos, etc.) You can also change up the writing by using a white board or a sand/salt tray. Still pay attention to letter formation, though. My students also get very excited by getting to use colored pencils for spelling/dictation - they flip for the pencils with multi-color led. Here are some game suggestions for make drill more fun, too. Line Hop: Use masking tape to make a straight line on the ground. Have your student stand on the line, with you at the top. Hold up a phonogram card in each hand and have him jump to the side with the sound you say. For variation, he can also jump toward the vowel or consonant, line letter or clock letter, phonogram that can/cannot be used at the end of an English word. He can tell you the sound after he jumps. Phonogram Bingo: Make a simple bingo card with the phongrams you are wanting to review. Have him cover the phonogram when he hears the sounds. To "earn" his Bingo, he has to be able to say back the phonograms. Phonogram Path: Make a path of the cards and have your student walk the path, saying each phonogram when he gets to it. He can pick up the card and move forward if he gets it correct. If you have to help, you get the card. Path-building that requires jumping over obstacles, standing on one foot, etc. are encouraged! "Treasure" at the end of the path is optional! Phonogram Hunt: Two ways to play this game - either hide the cards and have him find them, bring them to you, and say the sound. OR you can give him a sound and he has to hunt for that card specifically. Teacher: Who doesn't love being the teacher? He can run the drill, and you can be the student.

Bumping for the a.m. crowd :001_smile:

Bumping for the a.m. crowd :001_smile:

Inspired by http://www.wellreadmom.com/ and the group here on this board, I'm launching a Well-Read Mom book club here in the East Bay. If any WTMers are near by, I'd love to have you join. At this point we're going to dive right in with the November read and talk about how/if we'll catch up as the year goes on. PM me for details!

Inspired by http://www.wellreadmom.com/ and the group here on this board, I'm launching a Well-Read Mom book club here in the East Bay. If any WTMers are near by, I'd love to have you join. At this point we're going to dive right in with the November read and talk about how/if we'll catch up as the year goes on. PM me for details!

Inspired by http://www.wellreadmom.com/ and the group here on this board, I'm launching a Well-Read Mom book club here in the East Bay. If any WTMers are near by, I'd love to have you join. At this point we're going to dive right in with the November read and talk about how/if we'll catch up as the year goes on. PM me for details!

I love checklists :-) It's so easy for me to fall into a routine and forget to pay attention to the fact that kids grow up and are ready for more challenges! Checklists and other mommies' ways of doing things are nice reminders that it's always time to learn new things! I am finding that one of the biggest challenges for me in thinking about being a homeschool mom is how much does need to be taught intentionally. When I was in the classroom, I could easily handle reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic, but mom at home was responsible for dressing selves, table manners, social coaching. Sure I gave reminders (and tied a lot of shoes! Plus zipping - I can zip/unzip even the most stuck zipper!), and modeled behavior when an incident arose, but I was building on a foundation that mom created. Now I'm going to do both - create the foundation, re-enforce the foundation, oh yeah, and eventual get those three R's done, too! Yikes!

Thanks for this. I have been thinking a lot about the fear of being bored lately - for big people as well as small! It's the need to whip out a smartphone while standing in line or waiting for food in a restaurant or any other moment in which one is not actively engaged. I'm trying to be more intentional myself about only reaching for my phone/computer when I actually need it rather than when I'm "bored". I think one of the things I'm hearing in this thread is that by being "bored" - or actually just un-busy from our go-go-go adult view point - children learn to rely on their own creativity. I can see creating an enriching environment and then letting children actually experience it at their own pace increases their stamina for independent play. Plus, there are times when we ARE going to be bored. I have to stand in line at the super market if we are going to eat dinner. We have to wait at the doctor's office, because it's important for us to stay healthy. Now *I* have to learn to see this time as opportunities for good conversation and observation of the world around us rather than wasted/bored time.

Oooh, cooking is something I like to do with littles. Mr. 3 year old and I had a lot of fun cooking together, once he realized he was allowed to help in my kitchen. Exhausting fun at times, yes, but fun!

Glad to hear this :001_smile: I don't mind being invited into the occasional game or scenario, but I do reach an end of patience with pretend trains or dolls or build the blocks and knock them down. I will make a much better facilitator than playmate, I think. :cool:

Thank you for the recommendation! I found it on Amazon so good memory

I had hoped you would respond, Regentrude, so I'm thrilled to read this. The reminder to include lots of outdoor play (both for encouraging creativity and exhausting energy!) is particularly timely, since we live within walking distance of a lovely park. I should definitely take advantage more often! This list is particularly helpful. In particular, the focus on attention span (not aided by technology!), which is something I found lacking in many young people while teaching. For some reason I have never thought about actively encouraging/teaching focus and attention span; now I'm going to be watching for age-appropriate ways to work this into our days. Again, thank you for your reply. Very helpful!

After spending the summer watching my 3 year old cousin (and lots of times at parks, etc.), I'm finding myself more and more drawn to a non-academic environment for my own tiny tots. And, of course, that leads to questions! What toys or supplies do you find yourself keeping on hand to encourage creative (independent!) play for your littles? How do you encourage them to extend that play, if it isn't something that comes naturally? How involved with play were/are you as a parent, esp if you have an only or a tot with much older siblings? What about art/messy projects? Do you encourage them? Keep supplies available for play if asked? Set up opportunities (the word "invitations" makes me cringe a little) to explore various materials with no specific end goal? Have a crafting day once a whenever you have energy and create fabulous masterpieces for walls and grandparents? Never use them because the idea of paint in your house makes you a little queasy? How involved are your littles in your chores/household routines? I'm assuming lots of "life learning" is happening here, even though helping toddlers are, well, not so helpful. What skills do you expect your littles to have mastered before heading into formal academics? I'm thinking about life skills, independent problem solving, etc. as well as ABC/123 type information. Any favorite mom-books for both encouragement in play-based toddler/preschool years and practical ideas?

Yup! Keeping track of the myriad piles is something I do not miss! As a former elementary and middle school teacher, I am a huge advocate of fewer grades, particularly in a homeschool/high school setting. Honestly, grading daily work ends up being a way to pad the grades... and when you have a large group of students (read: parents), grade padding can save you hours of irritating conversation. When you work with your student on a regular basis, you know how they are progressing through daily work. Daily work is practice - the time to make mistakes, etc. Grading only tests (or only a year end final!) is sufficient to prove actual mastery, as in retention of the material as well as immediate performance. Certainly grading humanities courses has a bit more of a grey area; how do you define mastery? I always grade formal writing (not daily paragraphs, response writing, or rough drafts - basically product not process) and an oral presentation followed by a Q&A. I think oral presentations/exams are underused in schools these days, but it's a nice opportunity for a student to follow their interest and synthesize the researching/organizing/writing skills that are often the goals of humanities courses.

Speaking as a former 8th grade teacher in a K-8 school whose students went on to a variety of high school experiences, these are the things my kiddos reported back on as being important in their new experiences: - #1 - feel confident asking questions in the classroom and going to a teacher for help both during and after class - ability to take notes from a variety of formats (power point presentation, demonstrations, straight-up lectures) - ability to balance multiple assignments because most high school teachers don't care what other classes are up to (paraphrased from the kids); to this end, students who had figured out an organizational system that worked FOR THEM heading into HS had more success. Ninth graders (especially boys) might still need support using this system, but knowing that a daily assignment pad vs monthly calendar worked or color folders vs binders helped - ability to break down long term projects into manageable chunks (or at least know that projects should be broken down and get mom to help) - ability to complete/turn in assignments on time - lockers eat a lot of homework - experience with timed writing - finishing an assignment/test within a class period In terms of curriculum, again we were preparing students to head to a variety of high schools with a broad range of academic expectations for the students. In general terms, the most absolutely helpful skills were the following: - Grammar: at a minimum, the tools of good writing (mechanics, sentence types, subject/verb agreement). Students reported that many classes either didn't teach grammar or flew through the material so quickly that it was difficult to pick up without a solid background. Deeper grammar studies are a bonus, but that is the minimum I would consider for an incoming freshman. - Writing: the basics of an analytical or research essay - thesis, supporting arguments with evidence, overall organization of an essay (whether 5 paragraph format or other). - Literature: some exposure to and at least one deeper study of "classic" literature (more is great, but that's the English teacher in me talking). Popular freshman reads include Shakespeare, Dickens, and Orwell. Some schools do more and some less (obviously), but the ability to handle complicated texts with only minor classroom support will always be useful. - Math: more important than the level you are going in (assuming that the school can support that level) seems to be knowing your own learning style/how to self teach/how to get or find help. Prevent math studies from being derailed by a poor teacher or a poor text book.

There will be no Steinbeck in my house. Grapes of Wrath :ack2: Someone else can fill that gap. Or not. Surely plenty of people have survived (and thrived) in adulthood without Steinbeck. I'm still wishing for those hours of my life back, and I was only 16. And this is why there are a wealth of great books; there is no possible way I can teach them all, so I don't have to feel guilt avoiding the ones that make me :ack2: .

Carissa at http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/ has tons of ideas (and printables) for "tot school". She also hosts a linky each week for other blogs, so there is a lot of inspiration across age spreads and genders.

The week I always dreaded teaching 8th grade was the week the vocabulary book introduced "chafe," "endow," and "penal" in the same week. Who writes a middle school vocabulary program and doesn't think about these things?!? At least the original sentences that week were creative - gotta work hard to get that innuendo in!

I'm answering this as an advanced reader myself. I learned to read around age 3 (out of self-defence when my little brother was born!), and I entered school reading chapter books fluently. Fortunately, the school I attended in elementary had a very strong phonics program - they used Spalding's Writing Road to Reading - and although I certainly didn't need help with decoding, etc. the phonics background improved both my spelling (I was a fairly intuitive speller, but I didn't know why certain words were spelled that way) and my overall understanding of how language worked. I remember thinking that certain spelling rules were "really cool" because they explained the why behind something that I had processed but not deeply understood. My advice would be to focus on phonics through spelling rather than reading - Spalding, AAS, LOE, etc. are all good programs that can give an advanced reader insight into the "why's" behind what he's already doing.

read flashcards copywork worksheet from the "worksheet pile" (I have a file folder of worksheets that we've either skipped or that cover a skill I've introduced in another way) specific chores from chore list practice memory work journal math problem of the day/editing problem of the day write a letter to a grandparent/family member/friend practice an instrument work on a crossword I've also found it helps to have a specific sign that says "If I'm waiting for mom, today I may..." with a list of up to five concrete activities. I swap these out once a week or so, but the activities are always something I've previously introduced (whether it's a school routine or an around the house routine). This way, the skills they are practicing independently get rotated, they always know where to look for specific (appropriate!) suggestions, and if there is an ongoing school or house project that can be incorporated, it can be front and center that week. (For example, if we are doing a bird count in our neighborhood, I might add "bird count in science journal" to the list or "finish coloring history pocket", etc.)

Would you consider assigning outlines instead of essays? I require a formal outline of an essay often instead of fleshing out the entire essay itself; this helps overcome time issues and lets us focus on particular parts of essay writing. My basic outline would be for a five paragraph-ish essay, but I have extended it to research projects, etc. I find this to be very useful in refining writing thesis statements, as many times we discover that a particular thesis does not actually lend itself to an outline/essay (too broad, too narrow, etc.). We extend outlines by writing one paragraph of the outline - focus on intro paragraphs, or on a body paragraph to emphasize incorporating evidence, etc. I also find that assigning an annotated bibliography is a good way to practice citing sources (and why do I have graduate students still incapable of this skill?) as well as seeing the parts of a research project without diving all the way in. None of these exclude essay writing/research projects, but I do find that for weekly output, focused outlines/single paragraphs render much better results for some students.

This is a favorite around here, and it can be made vegan with a little attention to tortilla brands and skipping the cheese. I freeze it before I bake it. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chilaquiles_casserole.html

I would like to incorporate more beans into our diet, but my DH is a professed legume hater. He *thinks* it is a texture issue. I've never met a bean I didn't like, so I keep cans on hands for quick salads or soups for lunches, but I'd like to expand my dinner repertoire. Also, has anyone had success "stretching" ground meat with lentils? What's the preferred ratio to not tip the balance from meat-y to legume-y? (I already use half meat, half mushroom in most of my sauce/casserole type dishes).

We use ours almost daily, but we just use it for carbonated water. My dh loves the fact that he can control the amount of carbonation in the water. You cannot use most of the sodastream products for anything but plain water. There is one that is specifically for carbonating juice/other beverages, but it costs a bit more, and I would find it impractical for everyday use.

His very own diaper bag. My husband was thrilled to receive one, which I had not expected at all. I don't know if he liked the fact that it wasn't too feminine (his is backpack style), if he liked the fact that it was all his, or if he was just thrilled that someone thought he would be responsible enough to be sent out of the house alone with an infant. :tongue_smilie: