craftyerin
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Posts posted by craftyerin
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Nobody really knows. All we really know is that they're rebranding the historical collection as "BeForever", are changing some of the "meet" outfits, book covers, and bringing back Samantha.
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I have spent 2 years in FIAR, and I had no idea that MP's studies had the subjects you listed! Goodness! I would have preferred picture study, poetry, and music along with social studies and science instead of the applied math, art, and LA topics that FIAR includes. Seriously, we only did the social studies and science for most of our rows. Occasionally the we did the suggested art project, but usually we did something cuter off of Pinterest. The applied math is really weak, IMO (mostly counting something from the illustrations) and the LA topics are fine, but are the sort of thing I'd naturally point out when reading books. ("Did you hear how that cake was described as "lovely, light, luscious" using 3 words that start with an "l" in a row? That's called alliteration!") FIAR is planning heavy, too. I'm leaving it after this year in favor of a straight CM approach (no unit studies) because I want more nature study, picture study, poetry, etc in our homeschool. I might have liked MP! Too late for us! I'm off to browse just for fun, though. LOL
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My almost 6yo twins have been doing Spalding (with some tweaks). We paused just last week at the end of section H. I'm going to have them do some review over the summer (nothing formal--just me puling out a spiral a couple of times a week and asking them to orally spell a dozen words or so). And then I am not having mine start back over at the beginning next year. I know that's the official method from Spalding, but I don't see any reason to do so. We'll start at section I when we pick it back up. My twins are VERY natural spellers and have had no problem with the content so far, but they are VERY almost-6 in terms of writing stamina. Doing all of those words from section H again, faster, would be mean writing more of them per day/week. I think that would be counter-productive, as it would make spelling (something they enjoy) into a big writing chore (something they do not enjoy). I'm not doing it. :001_tt2:
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We have friends with a little boy named Urban. He's adorable.
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I chose between Earlybird and Essential Math using several threads on this board and this blog post http://www.blueskiesacademy.com/2011/03/singapore-earlybird-versus-essential-math/ I ended up with Essential Math for K and was really happy with it. I did not consider MIF for kindergarten (more expensive, and I thought SM Essential was good), but I'm using MIF for first and really like it. We've had zero issues moving form Essential Math to MiF 1A, so I don't think your choice for kindergarten will necessarily dictate your choice for 1st and up.
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I got one for the PK level, but didn't for the K or 1st level.
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Yes, I can. I self taught in my late 20s after spending my entire childhood and adolescence refusing to allow my mother to teach me (huge mistake!). My kids do not, yet. I will offer when they get a little older.
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Introverts never jitterbug under rainbows.
WHJVE
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I will have three 1st-ish graders next year and we are going to do Spanish. I really prefer exposure to a modern language in lower elementary and will save Latin for 3rd or 4th grade.
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Yeah, mine just got dumped in with the others in a plastic shoebox with a lid. I had no plans to use the tray to neatly store them, but I did find it curious that there weren't exactly the right amount.
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My MMM kit did not have exactly the right number of blocks for the spaces. It was close, but not quite. It didn't bother me though.
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I'm planning to use Queen's Language Lessons for my 1st graders next year in lieu of FLL and WWE. They don't get a lot of mention on here, since they're definitely CM style materials, but they might fit what you're looking for. Narration, copywork, some intro grammar, some poetry, plus some things that FLL/WWE don't have like picture study.
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I added the short U sound to my "O" phonogram along with the long E sound to my "I" phonogram without thinking twice. It just makes more sense. I use AAS with one kid and Spalding with the other two, and I much prefer AAS's stance on this. ;)
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I added the long E sound to my Spalding phonogram card without thinking twice about it. I simply cannot handle trying to justify to little ears that baby is pronounced with a short I sound at the end for spelling. Love Spalding in general, so that's an easy tweak for me to make.
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What does MEP stand for? Never mind. Mathamatics Enhancement Program. :o)
MEP is not patterned after Singapore style math though, right?
Correct. MEP is not Singapore in style, but it's a strong program conceptually. I just started year 1 with my DS6 because I wanted a spiral program. We used Singapore for K. I LOVE it so far! We're just a few lessons in, but it's active, it's fun, it's challenging. A great fit!
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We have lived in Houston, and will again (DH's job currently has us on a 3-4 year stint elsewhere). I agree with the comments that you need to prioritize where you live based on commute. If you don't, your husband could spend HOURS on the road every day. If the commute makes it possible, though, Cypress, The Woodlands, and Tomball have the best trees/nature (north and northwest suburbs), or if you want to live closer in (and can afford it) there are some nice areas with trees, parks, and nature trails in the Memorial/Briar Forest area.
There aren't really seasons in Houston. It's is brutally painfully hot and humid from May through September, and actually pretty mild and pleasant the rest of the year. I love southern winters! Summer is the season you hide inside in the south. Winter is lovely!
Homeschooling is crazy easy in Texas. No reporting or anything.
Really, Texas is a great place to live. I hope you enjoy it!
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I am using Spalding with fluently reading Kers that aren't yet 6, but are both very natural spellers. We're not doing it "right" at all. :lol: I call my method "Spalding meets the talk I heard Andrew Pudewa give on spelling last summer."
Our daily schedule is:
- phonograms (orally flip through them daily, and probably 2x a week, have them write a few of the more confusing ones from dictation on a small white board)
- orally review 5-10 words each (just me holding someone's spiral, flipping through previous words, and saying "Spell ____. Good. Now spell _____." They rarely miss these.
- enter somewhere between 5-8 new words in their spiral, with discussion, marking, etc.
- put the words that they find interesting or "hard" up on our spelling city board
that's it, no tests. I know Ellie's head is probably exploding from my not doing anything that really resembles the official Spalding schedule, but it works really well for us.
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(((hugs))) We are just starting our dyslexia journey and I can just see this in our future. It makes my heart hurt for my little dude.
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We loved P3/4. We read through it the year we started PK at home, before we started FIAR (which we still use). We "met" many of our family favorite picture books through that series. The covers on our "big blue book" and "big white book" are totally falling off. Now that my kids are reading on their own, they love to take those books to their rooms during rest time and read and read and read those wonderful stories over and over again. And the teddy bear matching game was a favorite for years. Truly wonderful books!
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We have both bio and adopted kids. I shared this on my FB yesterday. Cracked me up!
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Three first graders here next year, with two of them working pretty far ahead of the 3rd one. Here's what we're planning:
LIt for all 3: AO Y1, with tweaks (read aloud by me)
Spelling: Spalding for two, AAS for the third
Handwriting: Copywork for two, HWT for the third, starting copywork when he's ready
Grammar and Writing: Queen's Language Lessons, probably using two different levels
Reading: reading aloud to me daily for the two fluent readers, AAR for the third
I will not be doing all of that every day, though. That would be killer.
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with my in-laws. :tongue_smilie:
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The only thing I have in addition to your list is a mud room with upper cabinet storage and a vertical row of large baskets on shelves. I don't actually feel like my house has a lot of storage. A decent amount, yes, but not as much as some of my friends with newer houses. We have decent bedroom closets, but tiny hall and linen closets. I added the mud room and the cabinets above the washer/dryer when we moved here, so it's far better now, but not great.
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Yep. I have twin Kers reading at a 3rd-4th grade level and we dropped phonics-to-read in favor of phonics-to-spell. We're using Spalding (WRTR).
Do you have boys who are close in age?
in The Chat Board
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Boys just shy of a year apart (363 days, LOL). Younger boy has a twin sister, too.