Ecclecticmum
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Posts posted by Ecclecticmum
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Thanks. I really think he'll do better with MUS.
I tried playing games with the cuisenaire rods & alphabet book, and he just started one of his destructive phases. So I think me being noticeably "in charge" of the games etc or Rightstart, I just have a feeling it wouldn't work.
Thank you for all the replies, I'm definitely going to add MUS to my to-purchase list. We'll see how we go, and once it gets here, I will try to update this thread.
Its a real pity its not cartoon-based. DS loves brainpop lol. I think if the robot was in charge of MUS, he'd follow it to the ends of the earth :lol: But buying any curriculum is a risk, and I think, looking at things, its a risk I'm going to have to take! I'll probably still get him his own set of wooden C-Rods, maybe once he's been with the program a while, he might like to play around with mummy & miquon :tongue_smilie:
Thank you!
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:bigear:
We have the same problem. I have CFS, so its hard to do daily things (especially when they fall lower than the childs education) DD has diabetes, and DS is awaiting dx for ASD.
I am still putting together (have to fix the frames back on) to a picture chore chart for them all.
I love the idea of accountable kids, but as someone else says, I can just see them ripped off and added to the clutter by Chaos (who thrives on destruction).
I barely clean a room before I turn round and between DH & the kids, they have blitzed it again, which sends my stress levels through the roof, and makes my CFS worse.
Today after the doctors appointment I just went through for DS, I need some physical exertion (take it out on the clutter and all that) so will be concentrating on the verandah and yard, and hopefully get to the dining room. I will definitely be all ears for some ideas. My kids are all young, and when they see Chaos doing something, they believe they have the right to act naughty too, and they conspire together :glare:
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Alternative ideas I've used for the workbox feel:
- Storage Tubs I've had on hand (moved whatever was in it, to somewhere else)
- Cardboard Archive Boxes (got these as a pack on special at office place)
- Page protector/Display folder
- Binder & Tabs
- Reusable Shopping Bags (for toys etc)
- Drawers from my dressing/makeup table (when we moved it became the tv holder for dining room, so just removed the drawers)
I honestly could never have a full workbox system right now, as Chaos would just tornado everything in them, so any boxes, are still passed out lol.
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Thanks.
We'd get the Australian version of the program, so since the resale cost is so high, even if I did manage to find the primer, added with shipping from an individual, then buying the blocks, it would probably still work out to cost the same.
I have managed to bring my budget down to a basic level, so I do have room to purchase it new, its just the risk factor that scares me. It sounds like it may be a good choice though.
I like the idea of Rightstart, but to be absolutely honest, I don't think I can handle it. Theres too many bits and it seems similar to Happy Phonics (HP is a rude word in this house :lol:) theres too many little fiddly things, and I am unsure of it. I will look into it again though.
I will double check that theres no used Primers in the Aus classies, and have a proper look at Rightstart.
I would still love to hear any opinions :)
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I am very impressed! I would love to put together a schedule like this, I think it would make our days and weeks run a whole lot smoother. What do you do if you ever fall behind? That would be my only concern with having everything all scheduled out for a whole year.
I just concentrated on what was there, so if there was stuff for the week that wasn't done, we would finish it before moving onto the next week. We school year round, the planner has no dates attached to it (just week 1, day 1 etc) so, yes sometimes it may take us 3 days to do "day 1" if we had doctors appointments or life dramas ;)
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(sorry if this is in there somewhere and I missed it-it's late here)
It would be nice to possibly add some PE/Science/Project into your program. Maybe the possibility of adding combined studies?
Something Like this
(6 week rotation)
Week 1: Structured PE time (play ball with him, PE Game, Race etc)
Week 2: Nature Hike (Nature Studies visual/audio + PE)
Week 3: Geocaching (Geography/GPS/Compass Skills + PE)
Week 4: Backyard Nature Sketching
Week 5: Mini Yard/Nature Project (build a simple birdhouse, cut the trees, mow the lawn ;) lol = Nature + poss. PE)
Week 6: Mini Study of a local Animal/Insect (Anatomy, Habitat, Food, Lifecycle)
Adds that little bit extra, can be as simple as you want, gets them outside, and adds science & PE in without too much drama, and can be done as a family activity on the weekend.
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Hi,
In the meantime of waiting for a DX (waiting call-back from assessment centre from intake worker, and seeing GP on Monday) I'm looking into possible options for DS maths.
He'll be 5 very shortly. I tried Singapore(Pre-k) (before finally catching on to the "niggling" feeling of ASD/SPD) and he basically "scribbled" over 3 pages before I could even begin trying to figure out where to start. I originally thought "Oh he's not ready, in the way of listening/waiting" and dropped it back for next year.
He LOVES TV (with lots of capitals! :tongue_smilie:) he'll hang on to anything the TV says lol. Its helped with his speech too. He adores Magic School Bus (mentioning it lots), so I use a lot of videos to re-inforce whatever we are learning. He watched Mathtacular the other day, and was imitating everything Justin said, and watching avidly. He's also a "touch" person.
I've been umming and ahhing over the thought of getting MUS for him for about 6 months (I keep switching back and forth, because MUS is a lot of cash to fork over, if Steve was a bit more like Justin, I wouldn't have hesitated, I am just unsure if he would relate to Steve). I have Alphabet C-Rod book, and plan to get him his own C-Rod set shortly, and have again been tempted by MUS. If it works, I am happy to shell out whatever dollars, but that unsure feeling for the beginning setup ($220 + shipping + something for the storage of the blocks that is suitable for his sorting needs) is a lot to shell out for such a big if (I'm in aus, so most things cost twice as much lol)
WWYD? I really want something he will relate with, the C-Rods and book, some pattern blocks etc will be good to keep him happy, but I really need a program that interests him, as I know he is reasonally bright (not genius, lol, just a tad above average. What I mean is he has the brain there to do Maths, I just need to find a way to tap into it) so I am trying to find something that he will relate to.
Thanks :D
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You forgot overprotective in your description.
No, homeschool kids are not all weird, overprotected, religious and socially awkward.
hmmm....I'm all of the above :lol: Well definitely weird & socially awkward anyway :tongue_smilie:
And my kids are none of the above :lol: Except Atlas, who does believe in God.
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I would say 2-4 books a year, but it really depends on both your childs mastery and their handwriting.
We purchased books 1-4 plus all the halves :001_huh: lol, when I was planning to do it for DD, she greatly struggles with reading. In the end, because of her handwriting, I decided it was best to have separate programs, otherwise the handwriting would draw the program out longer than she needs it to be.
The halves aren't really needed unless a child sincerely struggles with the concepts and needs more re-inforcement. I more had those there as a backup (as I have to purchase once a year, and from overseas for most of my stuff).
Some children may just get through 2 books, with oral reinforcement, others may complete the 4 book average, and some other children fly through 6. Its really an independant thing.
Can you (if using excel) just combine the 5 days, and write 2-3 Pages a day. Or just asterisk to note to yourself to do those items, then write in how much you did afterwards? I used the asterisk for AAR, I would note the sessions afterwards. If you feel she needs re-forcement on a certain area (after completing it) then dig out the half book, and have her work through that particular concept.
With LA & Math, its a little harder (unless its a constant re-inforcement program) to schedule it out into a master planner. Another option (what I do) is to have a separate sheet with an overview for that particular subject. Write out all lessons that need to be done, then you can just cross them off as you go. It gives you a quick at-a-glance overview at how far you are along, and gives you an idea as you progress, what book you'll end at.
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Are they really complex? :001_huh: I was set on Cattus Petasatus too! It's actually what I have been greeting my cats with "Hello Cattus Petasatus!" :lol: Complex for the kids to understand, or complex for pronunciation of out-loud reading? :confused:
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Wow!!! That is an amazing system. I wish I had enough time to put something like that together. I especially love the Notes pages that you made. Did you type all of that info on the note pages yourself? How long does it take you to put together a whole years worth of planning?
Yes, I did. Other than some of the Health, Crafts & such, I don't make up the ideas myself, but I did re-write them into "better wording" for me to glance over and copy them out (a lot were from either books or protected PDF's, thus I hand to hand-type everything out.
That whole year, I'm not sure. I tend to work pretty fast with planning. Its the one thing my mind can stay focused on, so it probably took me let's say a good week to figure it all out, input & print etc, but my mind buzzes round for a bit before I put anything on paper.
WOW!!!!!!! This is serious and I can't believe you have all of that done with your oldest only being 6. You must just be an organizer:D.LOL. My kids all loved it. The History and Science weren't hands-on and easy enough to encompass all of them, so we've changed those. And we've pulled back on the Language Arts to concentrate on Atlas' phonics. The the schedule has entirely changed, but I still put it up, as I have been promising people I would for a while. We've changed round to block schedules, natural learning & unit studies (what we did basically before I started that schedule) we find this better suits us. The 3yo follows along for practically everything (she loves school). I've changed to to hopefully be something my middle child understands, thus making it easier for everyone.
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We did for a couple of weeks. I much preferred it. Because my kids are young, I felt they made the connections more when we would go through the whole lesson/chapter etc. Elsewise everything was stretched over 3-5 days and we were jumping from one subject to the next, so they would still think the experiment we did had something to do with the history we were studying, or the history have something to do with geography (although everything is inter-related, it wasn't to the point of that).
If I had stayed with my program, I would of stayed with the new scheduling arrangement.
We changed over to Winter Promise, so will be doing that 4 days a week with Science on the Friday, and extras/electives after WP or on weekends (most of the "electives" are fun stuff, and doing them on the weekend allows the kids to be kept busy, whilst I clean :tongue_smilie:)
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I LOVE your BABS system!! I think something similar would work for me.... a couple of questions for you (because I'm all about the little tiny details):
- did you create that electives page yourself?? I'm having a hard time reading it - but what sorts of information do you put on there?
- What is the difference between your weekly schedule binder and the weekly schedules in the 6 separate binders? I'm a little fuzzy on that.....
- can you expand on what is in your Miss Edumacated binder?
Hi :D
Electives - I created it myself in word. We went from Sonlight, so its a sonlight inspired planning system. It has all the stuff my school area counts as optional or "not core" items. So Bible, Health & Home Ec, Foreign Languages, Logic & Critical thinking, Art, Craft & Music. Once a week we have one fun messy craft I schedule in. Below the schedule is just a note I cut off and input into C's portfolio (it just mentions the same thing, that he follows along with that schedule). Here's a direct link to photo, you can usually enlarge it a little bit by clicking on it: Electives
Schedules: If you look up any posts about organizing Sonlight, thats what we do (even though we don't use Sonlight lol) The 6 week binders are 70mm, they are fat, heavy and full. They contain usually triplicate of worksheets/activity sheets for all sort of different subjects. The 6 week folders are basically storage. It allows me to take out on week, and input into a smaller folder (my weekly guide) so I am not lugging so much around. It also gave me a fair idea of breaks. Once we had emptied one folder, we can have a mini break. A blog about Sonlight Organizing
Teachers Guide (aka Miss Ed :tongue_smilie: ) - Front section is a Calendar, I use this to jot any notes down regarding doctors apps, field trips, DHs work schedule etc. There are all my supply lists & movie lists. Review Cards, and Cheat Sheets for SOTW activities. Board letters for Letter of the Week program. Basically any looseleaf stuff thats meant for teacher not student, and that can't be divided up by weeks. It also holds all my membership cards, receipts and important documents for HS stuff in a page protector at the back.
Hope that helps. I'm happy to answer any more q's :001_smile:
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I'm not sure what it is :001_huh: lol.
I got it from the office supplies place. It has a lined page on the left hand side, and blank on the right hand side with 2 lines at the bottom I think it is some sort of science notebook, meant for writing up initial guesses/results, followed by picture/paste/photo, with opposite side meant to encompass a diagram (or another picture graph or something.) The front of it is blank, but I remember it saying something "big-titled" or "science-y" :lol: They were clearing them out, so I purchased a few.
For natural books we have glued binding books with the thick board for the back cover, they are sketchbooks. The board allows it to stay firm, and not crumple/get bendy, which is good, as we keep them in our nature backpacks.
I should of grabbed more of those science books (I only grabbed 4) as I haven't seen any like that since, and they are very useful. I write out the experiment on the left hand side and what we're hoping to achieve, she draws a picture of the experiment, and tells me simply what we are doing (in her own words) I scribe this for her on the two lines. Next page I write out the results, she draws a picture of results, and tells me about the results in her own words, which I scribe on the two lines. So one page for Initial Experiment/Setup, next page for the Results of Experiment. I love it. It allows us to have a more thorough book recording experiments, as well as her simple version of events, its great as a keepsake.
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I love it. It had me chuckling throughout. :D Thanks for posting.
Its what I have come to realize. I need something that suits them, is ONE curricula rather than jumping all over the place, and that we stick with it.
Below (in my sig) is what we have. I'm purchasing stuff for next year soon, I have my list, I went thoroughly over it and removed extras (and will probably do so again, and further cut it back if possible) and I will NOT look at/purchase/consider curriculum other than whats in my sig or my to purchase list. So if I do (and its not regarding DS, still have to figure things out a bit there due to his problems) duly give me a cyber-kick :tongue_smilie:
hmm....wouldn't mind shiny floors though. Actually just being able to see the floor would be a start. :lol: I got down on hands and knees to clear up the loungeroom, and had DS jumping from the daybed onto my shoulders...hence why I am here 20 minutes later....I am kaput. :glare: Whilst there jumping about singing the ABC song.
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We originally started off with Elemental Science, and Real Science Odyssey.
Whilst I love those programs, they just didn't fit our learning style, some of the stuff went over the kids heads in RSO, and Elemental Science used an experiment book that was too much for DD.
What I figured out in the end was I needed to have a program that the Middle Child (Chaos) could understand, that could be built upon if we have time, and since we're talking about early elementary (for us) something that would give them a love for science.
So we've dropped the curriculums and are just doing experiments, lots and lots of messy experiments. When Science Play arrives, I will loosely do an overview year of the different threads with it. Next year we'll use WP Animals and their Worlds. I figured out that WP more fits our learning style without me having to make everything up from scratch.
Now, if I was a science major, and understood all the "realms" :tongue_smilie: of science, then I would of definitely started with BFSU and followed both volumes through. BFSU would give me the framework I need, and I would be able to explain it to the children on my own terms. BUT, my knowledge of science is lacking, thanks to the schools I went to (they consisted of videos, the teacher would whack on a video, nobody would pay attention, said teacher would disappear or fall asleep and we would all play hookie). In TAFE I was nicknamed "Bunsen" for my ability on the 2nd day in the science lab to blow/destroy the table to bits (yes, children exaggerate.....there was lots of smoke, but I didn't "blow the table to bits" I merely made a crater size hole/burn through it :lol: thanks to the use of a bunsen burner when trying to heat something up) and the whole building was evacuated (personally I think they over-reacted a tad). After that, I wasn't allowed to touch anything. :tongue_smilie:
BFSU is very "meaty" and gives a very good baseline for building upon. So, personally, if I understood it, I would be grabbing it with both hands. Perhaps thats why the "science majors" select it? Its good for someone who knows there way around science, but for those of us whom aren't science-savvy, we can get lost easily.
Elemental Science is inspired/follows the Well Trained Mind form.
Real Science Odyssey has rather "fun" labs for something that gives a good base.
I do understand in a kind of round about way what you mean. The BFSU threads do give me a little guilt each time I see them, that I am not providing the sort of foundation it does, but each family to their own. You have to decide the best thing for your child/ren.
For me, if the children have a love of science, and want to explore their options further, there are many study paths they can follow, and many meaty programs once you get upto 7th/8th grade, so until then, I am learning the basics alongside them :001_smile: which also shows them learning is a life long thing.
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My daughter is obssessed with Ancient Egypt. I'm still trying to get it through her head, they were all humans & people as well.
We took the easy way out, watching documentarys, reading books. She wrapped her barbie up and created organ jars before we even began SOTW lol. I purchased Danger Dans Mummy Kit (using clay to make wrappings) and Lift the Lid on Mummies. Considering I have one very curious and into everything DS, plus two prowling cats, the chicken would of been the worst idea ever!
Now I'm extra glad I skipped it after seeing numerous photo blogs on the process :lol:
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"You can't put whipped cream on a garbage can." :confused:
Seriously? :lol: I nearly lost my coffee over the keyboard.
I can't believe any program would have that. I hear a lot of good things about AWANA, unfortunately the closest thing we have to a "club" of any sort of description out here (rural-ish Aus) is "The Men's Shed" where they get drunk, tell tales, and pretend to make stuff out of wood :tongue_smilie:
Two programs I have is Keepers of the Faith and Pearables stuff. I think there are quite a few "Keepers at home" and Contenders for the faith groups, you would have to check out their website.
I have to write down that, to tell DH. To me, that line is wrong on so many levels :001_huh:
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I probably have enough of those to fill a store :lol:
Chalkboards:
3x Slates: Used for quiet time, drawing, creative thinking, maths, handwriting, games, science etc
1 x Table - We have an ikea-looking kids table that has a black glossy surface, and is actually meant to be used as a "chalkboard" table. This is in our "nature area". We mostly use it for science (I can place objects all over it, and write down what they are etc)
Whiteboards:
Honestly I don't know how many, I'll take an educated guess:
1x Massive two-sided flip one on wheels - The type they have in classrooms :tongue_smilie: it was $99 at my local office supplies store on special, so I grabbed it. I have it up against the kitchen counter. It serves multiple purposes. It blocks the view of the kitchen (thus not having to see messy kitchen when we are going school) Between (over its legs and under the whiteboard) I put our old coffee table. The kids sometimes do school at that desk, I can also store stuff there. The side facing the kitchen I use as a menu planner, the side facing the dining, I use for "family" lessons, for all the kids to see. DH sometimes scribbles notes there in the morning about Atlas' diabetes stuff (notes about her levels or anything else I need to know).
- One "table" size one. Its pretty large. We use this for phonics and spelling lessons in the "cozy" room (what used to be my den, now has a shag rug on the floor, nice and cozy in there). I usually keep it stashed under the futon, and just slide it out when I need it. Theres plenty of room for both me to be teaching Atlas' her lessons and for Atlas to play with her tiles on there.
- One little A4 size one. I will use this for Maths next year, but for the moment it is used for the Pre-K Magnet Pages. Its sparkly pink (since it was originally meant for Atlas lol)
- One more A4 one, usually hangs on the wall in the dining for notes/bills etc. I am in the process of attaching this to my desk.
All of our whiteboards are magnetic. So they always are able to perform some service.
I may have another one or two white/chalk boards I have forgotten about :001_huh: :tongue_smilie:
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I LOVE it :D
The ability to choose what video we want to watch (or photos/sounds of the day) is excellent. the video quality is fine, and we can actually watch it (there are few sites that cater to non-us countries, and as for the videos themselves, usually they freeze all the time) so happy scientist has been great! And its cheap. I can get both AHA! Science & Happy Scientist for a year for less than it costs for a month of supercharged science.
The videos I have watched so far, its super easy to get the ingrediants, the experiments are very simple, and the guy himself is fun. His voice could be a little clearer (its a little muffled, so I usually have to turn it up a bit louder than we would other videos) but thats about the only con I have found
I think if you got Happy Scientist, AHA! Science, and a few printables (learningpage.com, abcteach.com, teacherfilebox.com, or Enchanted Learning) you could have a elementary science program both kids & adults would be jealous of :D
My kids adore him, sometimes they just watch him, other times we'll do an experiment. I watched one of his free videos a while ago, and about a week after that one of the kids remembered the whole thing and wanted to set up and do the experiment by themselves!
We were using the free videos, but after some ahhing, I decided to go through HSBC and got a subscription the other day. $10 is an amazing bargain IMO, and I know it mentions his price goes up in September, and that he's planning to add more to the site.
I think it would be especially great for people within the US under state standards, as he's put up courses/lists of videos etc to cover those standards.
We love Bill Nye (but he's more "wacky" than science worthy to us lol), Magic School Bus, Sid the Science Kid, Backyard Science and we're practically glued to the TV when certain Science docos come on ABC/SBS. We saw a huuuugge snake getting dissected the other day....that was...interesting :ack2: lol, but the kids loved it.
Back to the subject (I waffle on....you get used to it :tongue_smilie: ), it would be great as an extra/supplement to practically any program. His videos are so down to earth, easily understandable for any age (my 3yo understands most of what he's talking about), and most importantly, fun! :D
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I actually just literally finished it!!
Its more for my scheduled planner. Its part of my new "Our Homeschool" Series.
Our HS Series: Babs, The Binder System
(shows planner and other bits)
My new Natural Learner Homeschool Journal will probably be in a later post.
HTH xxx
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If you want more, I've been collecting up links on my Pinterest
So Far I have:
I am hoping to finish off the rest of SOTW2 today, then start back on links for SOTW1, then do 3 & 4. I had to do a bit of curriculum sorting/selling/buying, so stopped working on it for a couple of weeks, but I'm all raring to finish it now
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I have found that:
1) Its best to ignore everything. :D lol. To do what my children love, rather than what would make a "perfect" school.
2) There is no lock strong or high enough that Chaos can't get to it.
3) that is best to hire a PA to make up the most amazing busy bags to keep Eve entertained. Thats not going to happen, so I have to accept the fact Eve is going to throw tantrums (terrible three's phase) over every single even throughout the day...except when she is painting.
4) Not to make up a schedule ala Sonlight Style. Best to have separate overviews of subjects of what "needs" to be done through the year (Maths etc) and note how many lesson we need to do a week. Our new schedule is a Natural Learners type one, and I write everything down after we do it. I use post-it notes on the page to remind me of things I have to get done
5) The "learning/researching/settling in to homeschooling" period is still in effect. Therefore I cannot be blamed for purchasing unneeded supplies (last year was boxed, this year I was still trying to figure it out on my own, I've finally decided using a themed and/or science package from WP as my spine fits the kids learning style better.
6) to read every single thing on a website before I download something (I only saw that Lollipop Logic was a PDF. After I paid for it, I realized it said I needed Abode Editions, not available to Linux (what this netbook is running on) thus I have spent the past few days trying to fix up my desktop computer in order to download Lollipop Logic.
7) that this list can, at any time, be added to. :D
:tongue_smilie:
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I like WP, so I think their book lists are great for ideas (take a look at the Animal Worlds program) they also used to have a selection of books lined up, "Animal Defenses" and a few others available from someplace called something to do with "nature" and "Acorns". My brain is oh so broken tonight. :lol:
Some WTM threads of Interest:
Ideas for Science without a Curriculum
Printables:
Enchanted Learning
LearningPage.com
Videos/Video Based:
AHA! Science
Adaptive Science
The Happy Scientist
Discovery Science
Brainpop/Jr
Magic School Bus
Sid the Science Kid
Bill Nye
Extras/Others:
Guesthollow's Stuff (she has all sorts of Biology/Life science extras)
Homeschool Den (Old Site, but has all her unit studies - good for biology, scroll down, on left hand side will be the categories
Creekside Learning - Has Biology/Life Science posts
My Pinterest Enrichment folder has a number of Life Science Experiments/Ideas
HTH a little :001_smile:
Can We Do an ADHD Resources Thread?
in The Learning Challenges Board
Posted
Not sure if these are already listed:
How to get your child off the refridgerator and onto Learning
If I'm diapering a Watermelon, where did I leave the baby?
Games for Learning - Or pretty much any Peggy Kaye Books
I've seen stuff like a circle of Lycra wrapped around bottom of front chair legs, something for the child to "fidgit" with, that can possibly help soe children with ADHD, as it keeps there focus, and gives them something to play with
On the same grounds, I have seen teachers swap normal chairs for the gym ball chairs.
Smart but Scattered
Visual Spacial Learners
Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World
The Gift of ADHD & Actvity Book
Learning Abled Kids Website
Certain Vitamins/Supplements that may help
ADHD Comic Book
ADHDMommas Blog
Ideas for School
Some of these have been recommended to me, others my friend uses, and some are just ones I came across. Take with a grain of salt. I have concentration issues, and so do my kids, hence the recommendations, but no-one in our household has adhd, so I cannot "recommend" based on that. But these were books, resources and ideas that I believe to be useful.