OrdinaryTime
-
Posts
659 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by OrdinaryTime
-
-
We are going through it pretty quickly, too. My son started Apples this summer and is almost finshed with Farming. I don't think it is recommended to go onto Fractions until you have long division down pat, though, and he will not be there yet. He likes to re-read books so I suspect he'll go through some again over the next year or so. Also, there are other fun living math books that we will use. Also, we'll probably start Beast Academy next year, and I'm hoping it fills the "fun" math slot for us.
-
My husband, a NYC native who is absolute pizza snob, actually really liked the gluten-free pizza from Naked Pizza.
-
shows a pic, but not how to do the craft...
You just glue the Pom-poms onto the pinecone.
This is about as elaborate as we get at our house!
-
This is level we can handle at our house.
http://www.giverslog.com/wrapthegift/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/08-11-06-truluxe-pinecones.jpg
-
The snowmen remind me of Calvin and Hobbes' snowmen!
-
Anyone have a nekked AG size doll who desperately needs a dress? I can whip something up pretty fast!
I have a Kirsten AG doll, if someone is interested. She has her "Meet Kirsten" outfit on, but sadly no other clothes. Maybe Margaret could make her some if someone wants her. She is in good shape, though someone shortened her braids. They are now shoulder length, but the hair is not tangled. Also, I have a few of the little books that go with her. If you are interested, pm me with a mailing address.
ETA: Kirsten has a home.
-
Can you do some of your math work orally? I use almost no textbook/workbook with my eldest for introducing new concepts. We work things out orally with manipulatives. We do a little drill work on paper or through iPad apps, but I break it up into little segments throughout the day. Also, the Life of Fred books might be something fun to go through. You can read them aloud together and then do the problems together orally. They just came out with some new elementary books that will take the elementary series a little bit further. Also, there are numerous good living math books out there that you could read together.
I'm taking my eldest in to be evaluated next week, but have already been doing some of this as his headaches have increased during the past months.
-
Several people have raised multiple objections to what exactly we call this, OP said Obamacare specifically and we all know what this post is about whether or not we're using the exact acronym specified in the act itself. Please can we stop derailing to talk about what to call it? That's not the issue.
I don't have problem with Obamacare. I think it is a nationally recognized name for the legislation, where one likes it or not. (Kind of like the Bush Tax cuts being short for the EGTRRA and JGTRRA. That would be a mouthful!!) No one is calling this legislation AHA, though, and as a board, I think it makes us all look uninformed to continuing using an incorrect acronym, though I'm sure it was an innocent mistake.
-
I will be praying for you, especially for the success of Friday surgery. God bless you!
-
Okay, I just have to step in and say it is ACA (or PPACA if you want to get technical), not AHA. Somewhere in the thread we must have had a typo, but now it is taking on a life of its own.
-
I found when my kids were that age and we were struggling with staying focused was to pick a curriculum for one (or two) subjects that we could do together as a group. The Story of the World books and worksheets are great for a group. I'd read the chapter outloud on the couch while the kids either snuggled in or started quietly coloring the accompanying worksheets. After each chapter, we headed for the library to check out lots of books that corresponded with the chapter but were on different reading levels - from picture books, to chapter books, Osborne books, Magic Tree House research books, etc. We'd take a couple days exploring those - sharing what we were finding out, etc. During that time, my oldest could write a paragraph over the topic, make a poster,etc - something age/educationally appropriate. This doing as a group really helped! Usually we did it with history, science, handwriting, foreign language.
For math, I'd use a timer.. During that time we worked one on one while the rest either did computer time or dvd lessons or book on tape or any activity that was structured and didn't need my assistance or supervision. Upon the pain of death, could you interupt when mom and child were working on "timer subjects"
You know, nothing ever works all the time. Kids change, seasons change, you change - sometimes you all just need a break then take a deep breath and try again. Home schooling is emotionally hard!
Hang in there!
Myra
You are definitely in the weeds! I know, because I'm there, too. It can be extremely hard to stay calm and collected with unwilling students and so many littles. I think Myra has some good suggestions. This year I began started the school day with some read-alouds. I start with fairy tales, fables, and poetry for the littles and gradually work up to more complex material for the older kids, like SOTW and science books. The littles eventually drift away to play, but they are choosing to go instead of being sent away, which means they play nicely and let us focus. My older kids enjoy this time, and it seems to set us up for a better day by focusing on the joy of learning. We usually then do a short activity that spins off our reading to transition to table time.
Also, like Myra, during table time I set a timer and keep one-on-one lessons short and sweet. I demand perfect attention during this time, but feel it is fair to demand that for 15-20 minutes. You could start very small and then build up to more minutes slowly. If we had a good read-aloud/activity time, the kids are usually in a pretty good mood by this time - you know, actually exhibiting some natural curiousity and interest in learning - so it is much easier for them to give me their best.
Finally, the change most in your control is your own disposition. This year I have focused intently on trying to teach from "a place of rest," a concept from Andrew Kern for those who are familiar with the Circe Institute. I know my kids are not learning much if I am anxious and upset during our school time, even if I actually get them to finish their work. Now I try to not even think about education that way anymore - as "work" to "finish." We are trying to gain knowledge to form a person through education, not produce something on a production line. The process is just as important, in not more so, than any product in education. This helped me let go of the anxiety to "get it all done" - whatever that means! - and to focus on introducing my children to the world of learning in a joyful, peaceful way. This change in thinking has actually resulted in us "getting more done" (thought I hate using those words now) and to enjoy doing it much of the time. Changing my focus was a very necessary first step to helping change my kids' attitude about education.
-
No problem, Eliana. It is a very confusing situation right now. My husband is a government healthcare contractor so I hear A LOT about the nitty gritty details day in and out.
-
Oops, the quoted material is not from the CBO, but this Kaiser Family Foundation report.
http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8168.pdf
-
I just wanted to address the OP's question somewhere in the middle of the thread about what income would be used to determine eligibility for the subsidy for health insurance costs. I believe someone erroneously mentioned that it would be based on the past year's income. In fact, the final determination of one's eligibility and for how much will be based on the income of the current year in which you are receiving the subsidy. You may use the past year's tax returns as documentation to pre-apply for a subsidy and receive it in advance, to pay for your insurance that year, but at the end of the year, the IRS will determine your subsidy eligibility and amount abased on the new information from that current year's tax returns. So if you under-estimated your income, you will have to possibly pay back some or all of the subsidy. If you over-estimated, you could receive more assistance. (This is why the ACA has increaed the need for more IRS agents to readjust all the estimations of income with actual income at the end of the year.) I thought it was important the OP understood this since her income changes so dramatically from year to year.
From the CBO on this issue:
Income eligibility for advance tax credit payments may be determined using income as reported on the most recent tax return available. Under the law, individuals eligible for premium tax credits can apply for advance payments of the credits, which will be paid directly to their insurer. This is important for helping to make coverage affordable at the time it is needed. The ACA provides that income eligibility for advance payments may be determined using income as reported on the most recent tax return available, which for many people may reflect income for two years prior to the year for which assistance is being requested. The law also requires that procedures be in place to collect more current income information from people who experience a change in their financial situations or family circumstances since filing a return, or do not file a tax return.
 Income eligibility for premium tax credits ultimately will be based on an individual’s annual income for the year in which credits were received. At the end of the year, any advance premium credit payments received will be reconciled against the credits for which individuals are eligible based on their annual income that year, which will be determined based on their annual MAGI as reported on the tax return. If the advance payments exceed the amount of credit for which individuals are ultimately eligible, some or all of the overpayment must be repaid.1 This could cause a financial burden for families and discourage some individuals from applying to receive advance payments of the subsidy.
-
Let's see, mine's based on my experience as a girl, teaching my only child, also a girl:
Pre-K: Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales, Oxford Treasury of Fairy Tales, some version of Mother Goose - I grew up with Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever, as well as the one illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa. If I had to choose between those versions, I'd get the second. It has more poems.
Kindergarten: Favorite Poems, Old and New (to be read for multiple years), Winnie-the-Pooh, Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
First Grade: The Aesop for Children, Little House on the Prairie, The Red Fairy Book
Second Grade: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pippi Longstocking, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Third Grade: Charlotte's Web, The Secret Garden, The Wind in the Willows
Fourth Grade: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, The Chronicles of Narnia, Treasure Island
Fifth Grade: Anne of Green Gables, The Hobbit, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Sixth Grade: Little Women, The Westing Game, To Kill a Mockingbird
Seventh Grade: Flowers for Algernon, King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Oliver Twist
Eighth Grade: The Diary of Anne Frank, Great Expectations, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Don't ask about high school, I've got smoke coming from my ears already, though it would include Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dostoyevsky, Homer, and A Tale of Two Cities.
I really like this list!! You hit all of my favorites, except maybe The Lord of the Rings for middle school.
-
So sorry to hear you have all been sick for so long! It is amazingly frustrating. No advice, but you all will be in my prayers for a quick, complete recovery.
-
So sorry to hear you have all been sick for so long! It is amazingly frustrating. No advice, but youall will be in my prayers for a quick, complete recovery.
-
I am a bit of a minimalist so I don't own many books, especially since I've always been blessed to live near good libraries. For me to own something, it needs to fit at least one of these three criteria: 1) we need to use it on at least a weekly, if not daily, basis, 2) it is essential, but unavailable from the library, or 3) it has already been read a few times from the library and has reached annual re-read status.
Group 1(Daily/Weekly Use)
A few good picture Bibles (The Action Bible is a big hit right now.)
Children's catechism
Atlas
Dictionary
Animal encyclopedia (DK's Visual Encyclopedia of Animals has proved perfect for us at this point.)
Plant/tree/star/nature field guides
Group 2 (Occasional use, but essential that are not at library)
Good saint biographies
Well-illustrated, good re-tellings of classic fairy tales
Set of phonetic-based leveled readers
Group 3 (Books that reach annual re-read status)
My kids' list so far... We really, really have to love them before we buy!
Chronicles of Narnia
The Hobbit
The Flower Fairy books
The Little House series
101 Dalmations
-
I worked through most of The Elements with my eldest last spring. It was the highlight of his year. The humor was right up his alley. He still talks about the Atomic Chef. Plus he truly learned quite a bit. The story of Mendelev and the creation of the periodic table intrigued him into looking at scientific biographies and planted a little spark of inspiration into his mind about how scientists think and work. I coukdn't have been more pleased with it.
-
I bought AAR 1 for my six year old and AAR 2 for my seven year old this year. I feel it has been worth my money. It is very easy to use, has great readers, and wonderful activities my kids love. My kids really enjoy the program, and I know it is solid instruction. Win-win.
Because it is so expensive, I did laminate most of the games so I can re-use everything with my other kids (or you could sell it whe you are finished). I set it up in binders with the activities and fluency sheets for each lesson together in a plastic sheet protector. This has made it faster for me to find all the components.
-
I am an INFJ. I sometimes pity my poor children with my insane expectations of perfection, put upon myself more than anyone else, which often turns me into a crazy person. I was very relieved when I finally read a few descriptions of the INFJ type and realized I wasn't just a nutcase. I've sorta come to peace with the fact that I'm never going to have a lot of internal peace. :-)
The internal shift that has helped me most in the homeschooling area is realizing that I don't have to accomplish so much through the schooling time itself. As an INFJ, I felt everything had to be accomplished through our homeschool, and it all had to be done perfectly. Realizing that I could focus on building certain character traits/virtues in my kids through our intellectual endeavors, but use other areas of their life (chores, sports, music, friendships, etc.) to work on other aspects of their formation was a turning point for me. I use our intellectual work to focus on encouraging wonder and awe, to build the faculty of attention, and stimulate curiosity. I do NOT use it to focus strong on diligence and perserverance; I focus on those traits though their manual labor (chores). Now I can let myself not check every item off a list or skip a problem or two when schooling because the focus at that time is not simple endurance. That is focused on at a different time. Similarly, if the kids aren't finding much joy in their chores, I can just work on pushing through with them because that is the focus at that time. I know we will work on finding joy in our intellectual work. Eventually, I hope the different "ideals" I am working on in different areas will build upon each other and flow in and out of different aspects of my kids lives into a more harmonious whole. But right now, this paradigm has allowed me to hold on to my ideals (because I honestly cannot just let them go) while bringing some peace to myself and our home.
-
4
-
-
Here is another DIY science kit that already has all the experiments typed up for you.
http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2012/06/gift-idea-science-kit-for-kids-with-free-printables/
-
My son loves science, too. I plan to make my own science kit for him so I can include experiments that will coordinate with the topics we are studying in science. I plan to type up instructions and supply list as simply as possible and paste them in a composition book that will be his lab notes, leaving lots of room for his own drawings and notes. All of the supplies will be included and numbered as to what experiment they belong to so he can do the experiments as independently as possible. I might also find a cheap pair of googles and a lab coat for kicks.
Here is some inspiration:
-
Well, if we're thinking about juxtapositions, I buy brand new, name brand shoes for my kids every time. They have wide feet and a terrible sense of their own level of comfort when trying things on. We go to the children's shoe store with the experts who really know their products and never buy online as a result. We spend a small fortune. And *everything else* they wear comes from the thrift store and the Target.
Totally. We have the exact same problem (super wide feet, one kid needs orthotics, blah, blah, blah) so I spend an obnoxious amount of money on shoes, but buy almost nothing else for the kids. If I don't have enough hand-me-downs and am forced to buy clothes for the kids, it is thrift store or Target.
Oh, I do spend money on quality eyeglasses for the kids.
Blast from the past/Easy homemade gift for girls
in The Chat Board
Posted
So I just posted a picture of the first homemade Christmas gift I completed for my girls this year on FB and was shocked how many people recognized it from their childhood. Did any of you have the Gingham paper dolls growing up? I didn't know anyone else who had them growing up, but it seems they were pretty popular.
Anyway, I was really excited when I found them online here where you can print the dolls and clothes out for free. There is a second link at the bottom to another set of the Ginghams.
For my girls, I printed them on cardstock, then laminated them. Then I cut them out and put them on a self-adhesive roll of magnetic sheeting. Then cut them out again so the whole back of the dolls/clothes is magnetic. I found the roll of self-adhesive magnetic sheeting at Michaels for $10 a roll. It is pretty big and almost all the dolls/clothes from both sets fit on one roll since I had already cut them out and could place them really closely. It sounds very labor-intensive writing this all out, but it really wasn't that bad.
I was really happy with the results. They were much cheaper than magnetic doll kits I saw in stores, plus it brings back great memories from my childhood.