We typically finish it all. A few sujects we just proceed by skill and comprehension and others I break down into a schedule. I divide all the lesson plans into 4 quarters, and then divide each quarter into 9 weeks of lessons. However, I often schedule an extra week in the middle of the quarter and an extra week at the end of each quarter. These extra weeks mean a longer school year, but a lot of our weeks are only 4 days long. Often our extra weeks are pretty light (maybe just math and reading) if we're on schedule. Occasionally these extra weeks are busy with trying to catch up to the schedule. We stop school at 170 days (the same number of days as our local school district). Today was our last day for the year and we finished everything!

Giving this a bump. This fall I'm planning to teach Spanish 1 at a homeschool enrichment center two days a week for 9th graders. I was hoping to look at curriculum at our area homeschool conference, but I just realized I won't be able to make it. Any other suggestions? In the meantime, I'll start looking into Destinos and BJU.

My DH just ordered us a Roku - and we have been pleased with it. It is very easy to use and the kids love to play Angry Birds with the remote.

I've started pre-rinsing a lot more myself. I also put about a 1/2 cup of vinegar in the bottom once a week. That seems to be helping clear the sprayers from mineral deposits.

My DH recently bought one that he said can go up to 475 (I never checked the specs myself). I love making fritatas with it. And I am so thankful it is silicone or else I would have a severely burned hand!

I've been looking for something like this!

I've enjoyed Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I think it lasts about 25 minutes. My only recommendation is to do extra hamstring stretches afterwards.

My 7yo loves sewing craft kits. We started her on felt pieces with the holes cut and a plastic needle. She has a loom for making potholders that she has gotten a lot of use out of. My mom gave her a sewing kit last year and I caught her starting a doll sized patchwork quilt a couple of days ago. She's been asking to learn how to use a sewing machine for over a year. Since I don't really know how to use one, I've been dragging my feet. Maybe we'll start learning together over Christmas break. She's also into secret messages and codes. I think I saw a Highlights magazine advertisement for something along those lines.

I don't watch much on my Kindle Fire, but I certainly have trouble reading it. I often have the brightness way down low and will get headaches if I spend too much time reading on it. I am very thankful my DH got an e-ink Kindle, and that is what I mainly use now.

Is it just me, or are the tests from the MIF Assesments harder than the Reviews/Tests in the MIF workbooks? Is that normal for tests to be harder than what is taught and then practiced in the workbook? My 7yo just finished MIF 2A. We did the mid-year review from the workbook and then the mid-year test from the assessment book. I don't do all chapter assessments, but I do all the Chapter Reviews/Tests from the workbooks. I tend to use the assesments as review work or extra practice if my dd doesn't score well on a Chapter Review/Test. She generally scores between 85%-95% (she consistently misses points because of lack of attention to detail but if she scores poorly because of trouble with a concept, I reteach the concept before moving on). I don't focus on her scores, but use them as a tool to assess her understanding of the material. After the Mid-Year Review from the workbook, I realized we needed to review some concepts from early on in the semester. We took a few days of review and then I gave her the Mid-Year Test from the Assessment book. I was not expecting her score of 63%. She did miss some because of lack of attention to detail but most of the questions that she missed were questions that weren't like the workbook's Chapter Reviews/Tests and they seemed a step harder than what was in most of the Assessment's tests. Most of the questions she had trouble with were pre-algebra like questions. She did fine on most of the word problems which I thought were easier than normal. While I can identify a few specific concepts that we need to review, I question whether the assessment is a good tool in this case. While I am leaning to a review of a few specific concepts from the semester and then move on (because I think she's ready for the most part), my DH (who isn't familiar with the material) thinks I need to do some major review/reteaching to DD based on the assessment score. Do you think the MIF Assessments tests are an accurate reflection of understanding of the the material taught in the book and practiced in the workbook?

Thank you! I just got it!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm starting to do some reading. It was SOCKS that he hasn't worn in 1 1/2 years! Trust me, if he had been refusing shoes we would have done something long ago. Now, he is rather particular about his shoes and has to get them just right, but he does wear them. I appreciate your help!

:iagree:

I've been very happy with MIF but I don't think I love it so much that I'd pay full price for it. I got the Teacher's Editions used last year and am looking for used TEs for this coming year. I know there are many who don't use the TE's (or HIGs) in the early levels, but I'm not always good at putting math concepts into words and I felt that the TEs provided some additional insight for me. I also like having my own copy of the student book in front of me and the MIF TEs have the student book bages and all the workbook pages with in them.

I have a 4yo son with some sensory processing issues. I've suspected for awhile (ex: he hasn't worn socks in 1 1/2 years and putting shoes on often involves crying) but some things have gotten better while others have gotten a bit worse. My doctor recommended doing some reading, but there are so many books out there. I thought I'd check with the Hive to get me started. What have been the most helpful books for you? Do any stand out as having lots of practical help? Thanks for your help!

The Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization has 4 levels of 20 poems each (19 poems plus 1 of your choice) and a 5th level of speech and soliloquy suggestions. The material recommends reciting a poem (or at least 1 stanza at a time) several times a day until it is mastered. Then you move onto the next poem/stanza. It recommends reciting every poem every day until you complete the level. Then you recite every other poem every other day of Level 1 (so half one day and half the next), then you begin working on Level 2 poems, reciting one poem (or one stanza at a time) until the poem is mastered and recite the mastered Level 2 poems every day. When you are ready for Level 3, you recite every third poem of Level 1 every third day, and every other poem of Level 2 every other day, while reciting Level 3 poems that you have learned every day until you get to Level 4 and so on. It comes with charts that you can use and copy to keep track. We're not that scheduled at my home, although after fizzling out the last couple of months due to illness and vacations, I am ready to get back to a more structured schedule. However our routine will probably involve reciting the thoroughly mastered poems just once a week, while working on the recently mastered poems a couple of times a week, and the brand new poems several times a week. As we progress, I can see where it might be more helpful to follow such a schedule as they recommend but I doubt that we'll ever fully follow it. My first grader began Level 1 last summer and will finish this summer or fall. If we had completely followed their recommendations, I'm sure we could have been done by now because my DD's auditory memory is great, but I'm not in a huge rush. While Level 1 poems are certainly fun and appealing to her now, I don't think Level 3 poems will have as much appeal to a 3rd grader. The poems are longer as each level progresses, so it will take longer to go through each level. I've seen memory work recommendations for index boxes with tabs for daily work, even days, odd days, Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and then days 1-30. You progressively move memory work through the tabs until your earliest/best remembered works are said once a month (at least I think that was how far they went, may it was to just once a week). My DD has also learned FLL poems and quite a bit of scripture through AWANA so I am thinking about doing something similar. I wish I hadn't waited so long to start it because now I have so much to add. I think it would be less prep work for me to put it in a binder rather than writing everything out or formatting and cutting everything to fit on index cards. I could also just see kids some day spilling out the index box. My DD has enjoyed the memorization for the most part (after some grumbles, I've added the occasional treats for perfect recitations) and it's been fun to watch my just turned 4yo recite a couple of poems without ever having worked with him. They still get a kick out of reciting Ooey Gooey and laugh at some of the others. I'm glad we went with the program and look forward to continuing it.

:lol: That is hilarious! Love it!

I've liked what I've seen by Nancy Rue (author of The Body Book: It's a God Thing) so far.

:grouphug: I feel your pain. I hope it gets better soon.

I'm thinking about buying the pdf's of SOTW (volume 2) and the AG. While I will use it some from my laptop (for printing), my hope is to mainly use it from my Kindle Fire. Can anyone who has done this let me know how it worked? Were you happy with the format and the size on the Fire? What did you like/not like? This will be my first time to teach from a pdf and not the hard copy.

:bigear: I want to hear what others have to say as well. We really like AAS but I am longing for something that isn't as teacher intensive.

I didn't use AAS to teach reading, but I did notice a huge improvement in my dd's reading ability after starting AAS.

I'm glad I'm not alone! Carol Barnier gave a lot of great tips for the highly distractable mom (or any mom) at a homeschooling convention. One of my favorites was using sign language. Hold the sign of the first letter of what you're looking for, the topic of discussion you need to have with someone (use while you are waiting on the person), etc... It's not something others will notice and will keep you from getting distracted. I recommend taking a look at some of her books.

QuintessArt - I've downloaded the paintings we are studying for the year (a CM approach to art) and it makes a great review. Let's do the math - math flash card review. There's another android app for this that I use on my phone that I actually like a little better, but my dd likes this on the Fire. Speed Anatomy - this one is for me! I like the review and keep playing to beat my score. I haven't actually spent a whole lot of time looking for apps yet. I'm hoping more will come available soon.

:bigear: I'm curious about the anti-glare. We are hoping to do a beach vacation and I wonder if the anti-glare makes an obvious difference.