Tawlas
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Posts posted by Tawlas
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You hire him to haul his wife? With or without the livestock? :leaving:
LOL! NO! We hire him to haul our livestock, and he and his wife will be taking us out to dinner tomorrow lol! You're hilarious :)
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Another vote for MM1. my younger ds started it in K. MM1A can be done in K easily with some kids I think. He's probably going to finish MM1B by the end of January and it's all flowed very well for him. The clock (to the nearest half hour I think), money (pennies, nickels, dimes and a bit of quarters) and shapes/measurement chapters are also very simple. Clock and money would probably be fine especially if your little guy can skip count by 5s and 1os. The only chapter I may hesitate to use for a four year old might be the place value one, and if that's the case, the more advanced chapter in adition that covers addition with regrouping but ymmv, right?
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I don't know. I really believe that there are natural spellers and natural readers and it doesn't really have anything to do with the program, but the child. I don't have a ton of experience mind you: two dyslexics using AAS (and only just starting level 3) and a little one who's already reading at fourth or fifth grade level in AAS1, so by all means, take this with a grain of salt. I plan on completing the first book with that younger to get absolute basics like segmenting and syllabication clearing laid, then reconsidering his next move. I think for him, it would be overkill, he doesn't need to learn the rules for every word since he has a good memory for what looks like - spelling instinct, if you will. The two dyslexics, however, they need that kind of structure and review. One of them started AAS1 in grade 1, the other in grade 2.
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Critter, you take the best care of your critters! They're lucky to have you. I have a little more of a rancher's view - be healthy or I'll eat you lol! (Not the cats and dogs of COURSE lol!!)
We had a town day today. piano lessons and then we dropped the three olders off at the pool so we could get a bit of Christmas shopping done. Didn't get nearly enough accomplished, but it's coming along. A man we hire frequently to haul our livestock and his wife are taking the whole darn family out for dinner tomorrow night, so we may squeeze in a little more Christmas shopping then as well. Saturday, my partner and I have a blessingway to attend. Every hear of one of these? In my area, there are "hippies" and there are "ranchers". This definitely falls into the hippie category and I love it. It's similar to a baby shower, I suppose, but instead of bringing gifts for the baby, you bring a bead and share a birth story or thoughts and advice around childbirth. You share the story as you bead your bead onto a string and then pass it to the next woman. The expectant mother wears the necklace from that point on, until she has given birth, to remind her of all the advice as well as the strength of women in general and the millions of women who have given birth before her. This is an older, first time mom, who's being very deliberate about the way she'd like it to go. I love the idea of sharing birth stories (it's certainly not for everyone lol!!) and I really hope she gets the natural, midwife birth she's looking for - and if she doesn't, then she's okay with that too.
Next week is a little crazy with two more holiday get-togethers, a few dear friends coming to play a board game on Friday night and the kids' piano recital as well as a neighbor's daughter's 8th birthday party. So, bring on the holidays - but only after a soldi 4-5 more days of work. I normally would lighten up a little by now, but we've missed a few weeks here and there since september so I need these days to "catch up" to where I"d like to be.
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Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Soror, my dd9 is similar to your dd. She doesn't like to be challenged. I think she'd be happy reading CVC words for the rest of her life and having me scribe every single word she wants to write. She hates it when she doesn't instinctively know how to solve a math problem in her head. As she advances more and more and that gets harder and harder, she spends most of her lessons sullen and belligerent and combative. It's so exhausting. We just did a word in spelling. We're supposed to be analyzing each word to figure out why the "A" is making it's long sound and I'm trying to lead her through the steps to figure it out. We did one word and I ended the lesson. It's a big reason why I'm outsourcing math to a program I feel is inferior to what she could do because I don't know that I can outsource spelling and writing realistically, so I need to save my patience resources with her for that. I'm feeling very frustrated right now. Public school is so tempting, but I know she would flounder and her self-esteem would be even worse. sigh. Homeschooling is best for her academically and emotionally, but I'm not sure it's the best for family relationships.
No time for more comments, need to get on to the next thing. Just spending the last five minutes of what should have been spelling trying to get a grip. Have a great day everyone!
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I'm easing my dd9 into more independent work. She's going to do multi-digit multiplication and all of division through MUS. I'll still do parts of Math Mammoth 4 with her though, for more depth and breadth. I think we'll be done REWARDS intermediate by the end of January. I'm hoping she'll be up for a little more independent reading at that point.
DS6 is almost done Math Mammoth 1B. I wasn't expecting that back in September! I *think* we'll continue on with 2A, maybe with some LOF thrown in? I don't know, he was discussing multiplication with DD9 today like he knew what he was talking about, so I guess second grade math shouldn't be a big deal. It just makes me uneasy lol.
The only one who isn't getting any changes is DS8. Except I need to find him some regular cursive copywork since he finished the last of his cursive instruction. He seems to moving along tickety boo otherwise. Gotta love that!
No major changes in their group work. CAP Fable is going as well as expected, they seem to really like the diagramming in FLL3. Science has it's boring moments but I guess it can't be all smoke and fizz lol. And I'm enjoying the Canadian History study I've put together, with SOTW3 interspersed as appropriate. I've just had to drop Latin back, but considering it's SLL, it's not a big deal anyhow.
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morning ladies. My InLaws were here for the weekend, but they left at 10 yesterday, so I got in an abbreviated day. Dh is away for the day, so I'll have some extra outdoor chores to do, but I should still get in what I need to get in. Did two days of grammar yesterday so I can hopefully concentrate on a good writing lesson today. Wish me luck, dictation is on the list! Started dd9 on MUS, some easy stuff for her to get used to the method and terminology. Seemed to go fine, but she's grumpy at the change of routine. Which is to be expected, she has a hard time with that.
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Jean, sounds like a fantastic day! Aurelia, love that you're getting in so much time on your guitar. . . you're almost inspriing me to practice my christmas carols on the piano a little more! I had an unexpected childless day AT HOME yesterday! That NEVER happens. Like less than once a year, I bet. Loved it. Got all sorts of productive things done in the peace and quiet of my own thoughts. No snack breaks, interruptions, quarrels or wrestling matches to step over. And I sat down with eggnog coffee and read a few chapters from my book :)
Today went as well as I hoped except the kids came back from outside later than I wanted so we didn't watch our documentary. That's okay, we'll do it next week, it will still be relevant.
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We're slacking a bit today. No spelling, and it's Fun Friday. Haha - that means geography and latin at group time and then an art dvd and a history documentary lol. We usually still do math, but for dd9 that means playing around with ounces, cups, pints and quarts :) I think we will also do some free reading this afternoon instead of the usual phonics lessons because me and ds8 and toddler are going to a neighbor's for tea at 230. That way everyone gets some reading in. Maybe me too? Then inlaws are coming for the weekend, but they usually leave by 9 on Sunday so we should still be able to get in a full day's work.
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Sdel, I wish I had something solide that might help, but all I can offer is encouragement. Keep your chin up! Some day she'll look back on this and be embarrassed and grateful to you.
Critter, hope you evening went smoothly, even without a nap.
Jean, your daily focus schedule is intriguing. I'm still playing with the idea for my kiddos, but I'm not sure it would work for us at this point.
Maize, I'm jealous your kids are into cello. I would love to play cello. I"m considering an electric so I can practice whenever I want - even after kids' bedtime or early morning. But the real ones are SO pretty!
Soror, I hope you feel better soon.
Againstthegrain, *I* can barely concentrate on school, and our Thanksiving break was mid-October lol. Just trying to get some real work done until I can call her quits for December. Must get more done!!
Well, we got most of our stuff done today. Up until lunch break it went tickety-boo. Then the kids discovered that the oversized puddle we graciously call a pond had frozen so they were outside for almost three hours clearing the snow and trying to skate. That ate up the time I'd usually spend with them doing reading but I also had to get the milk cow set up in a new pen with better access to feed and water so I took that time to get it done. I think I need to wean her calves soon, she's getting thin again. Upping her grain and adding molasses since I'd like to keep the calves on her if I can. . .
Anyhow. Kids finally came home cold at three pm. Fed them hot chocolate, got the boys to do their chores. DD9 did typing and piano practice and then played with the toddler while I did math, spelling and a bit of LA with ds6. DS8 got his piano practice done but has a short break from cursive copy work since he finished the book yesterday. Just going to do random copy work practice for a few months, then I'm considering starting him in Typing Without Tears later on this school year. So we didn't get to reading, but ds8 did spend a lot of time today writing his own hot wheels story - 9 pages, illustrated and stapled, so I'm going to be content with that. Plus, I feel like math is really going well. Well enough I'm starting to second (hundred) guess my plan to put DD9 into MUS for multidigit multiplication and all of division once we're done the current MM chapter. Gah. I hate switching things when it's working, but I just need more time in my day and this is all I can think of to get it all done . . . especially since i have to pack water to the milk cow in 5 gallon buckets now. 2 trips, 2 a day. I'll a bit of exercise and fresh air, anyhow.
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My first grade goof ball adored Mr. Putter and Tabby. No other chapter book got him that excited lol and those ones were a perfect transition from picture to novel. He's now reading a Dick King Smith book (I think that's the one. It's called Billy the Bird, and he also wrote Sophie's Snail series)
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Stefanie, can't like such a rotten thing, but I can certainly appreciate your stance. Natural consequences always seem . . . Well, natural. Stay strong and find chocolate!
Good morning here. Ipwe're loosely X following SOTW 3 but I'm throwing in a few extra weeks for more in depth Canadian history. I was born 400 years too late. I would have loved to be a habitant in New France. Except I'm sure it would be awful, day to day drudgery. However, I'm in love with the idea! In any case, the kids kept asking me to read more (Using the Story of Canada and Livesay books mostly) so we got two days reading done. Which is good cause I'm feeling behind in history! Tomorrow we do voyageurs.
Reading with the olders, everything with the first grader, then typing/cursive/piano left for this afternoon. First though, a well deserved break for us all. Still super chilly out side (-15 with wind) but sent them all out for some sledding anyhow. I'm laying in a patch of sunshine on the living room floor. So peaceful in the house!
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Reading with interest. I'm constantly tweaking too. Pretty sure both my nine year old and eight year old have dyslexia, so there's not a lot of independence here. And that nearly three year old already knows her letters and demands to "do math"! Not saying I'm planning on doing anything formal with her but I'm already cringing when I think about doing this with four kids. Used to convince oldest of to do math at six, but he's balked in the past year. . . Too bad.
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Got in an almost full day of school. Slacked off on typing, cursive for the olders and spelling for the first grader. But since he's going through a step each day we do AAS, I'm not too fussed. It was four oclock, so time to call 'er quits. DD9 is done lesson 14 in REWARDS, which means we're officially more than half way through. I think it's really helping. Our dictation didn't do too badly, which is always HUGE. We made muffins with and without baking powder in them for science and they would have been a lot better if dh hadn't asked me to come outside and give him a hand with something lol. They were edible, but only just. Egg nog helped! And ds6 and I had a good conversation about friction and why train tracks are mostly level by sliding around on the three different kinds of flooring in our socks lol. Try sliding on carpet in your socks! So it feels like a pretty good "school" day. Now I'm hiding in my office for a few minutes before family movie night while my partner cooks us finger food for dinner. Sunday night tradition. Sausage, veggies and dip and tortilla chips with salsa :)
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I've done a bit of geocaching in our area where the tourism office gives you a booklet filled with clues, no app. "Drive to such-and-such road and park 1.2km from the highway. take 25 paces north, turn west at a large boulder. 30 more paces and you'll find a cut bank. This is where some notable event from history took place (or the path of the first gold miners or the location of a First Nations heritage site). If you look to the south there are several old pine trees. The geocache is hidden there." There were usually some co-ordinates given of the exact geocache location as well. It was a neat way to get to know local history and my very little kids enjoyed it as well (3 and 5 at the time, I think).
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Update: Left the kids with what I thought was a do-able list and they got it all done! Yahoo. Some math, printing, fact practice, history documentary and reading all got done. They even helped each other with tricky parts and made lunch on their own. I'm very impressed (and glad that there was a third adult in the house who works from home in her office to "keep an ear on things" lol). So nice to know that is a possibility now - as long as I choose the work carefully.
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I second Hand the Cowdog. So funny! We're a fourth generation ranching family and it's so obvious to me that this author really knows his stuff and has a great gift to see the humorous side of life - all through the eyes of a well-meaning cowdog. he audible books versions are very well done!
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Oh brother you guys. I was hoping for a better week off for you all. Critter, I liked your post ONLY because the kitty seems to be doing slightly better - the rest stinks. I'm sorry. Stefanie, did you have big dinner plans today? Get better soon! Aurelia, my mom had a long straight lineof masking that ran through our family room so I could practice cartwheels, round offs, walkovers, whatever in a straight line lol. I was all over the place without it!
AFM, I can take American and Canadian Thanksgiving weeks off, right? Well, really, I'm only taking today off to help dh sort cows for the sale. Only problem is it's -18 degrees out there! Jeez. And tomorrow, I'm heading off to the small city nearby for a major Costco trip. Long overdue for this large® family. Well, off to layer up and take in some food before heading outside at daylight. Wish us luck!
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Sdel, I'm interested in to hear of your dd's psych eval. I have similar problems with dsd9. We're pretty darn sure she has dyslexia, but that's only been unofficially evaluated. I know that affects many areas of her life. And after reading the book Mindset, I could see how her mindset is affecting her cooperation in one-on-one lessons. That, combined with a poor self-esteem, makes for some pretty tough days. She's been with our family for two years and I can see improvement, but we still have some tough days. My answer, for now, is to limit how much face-to-face stuff we do. I'm easing her into MUS for multi-digit multiplication and all of division (but keeping some Math Mammoth chapters cause I like the program so much). I'm also going to set her up with some skype reading tutoring for 6-12 weeks (depending on daily time we can schedule) just to give us both a break from each other. I'm going to save "emotional growth" for spelling, writing and dictations lol. That'll be plenty of growth each day lol! Oh, and I'm trying to the Brainology program (made for for middle schoolers based on the info in the book Mindset). I hope that it's not too advanced for her. . .
Haha. All that to say, I'm considering an educational psychologist to help pinpoint what is dyslexia genuinely making things hard for her and what is her own interpretation or mindset that is making things hard for her. At least then I might be able to help her out more effectively.
Critter, I hope your kitty is okay! Man, I thought a kitten would be healthy for longer :(
Mama25, hope you get a chance to really rest up while visiting family. Being a mom and sick at the same time is just no fun.
Soror, plan sounds solid, hope it works out!
As for me, a slow day. Both boys went to town with dh for a firehall tour, since neither of them have been before. Poor neglected homeschoolers :P Most kids around here go in both preschool and kindergarten lol. So dd9 and I have already finished math and reading, she read to the toddler and now she's watching Times Tales. May tackle a dictation this afternoon while the toddler is "napping" (or whatever it is she thinks she does in her room during naptime) and then maybe bake muffins. We were supposed to try baking muffins with and without baking powder today for science. Maybe the boys will be back by then? So now I'm puttering a little. it's cold outside (-15 C) so I'm also keeping the fire going well :)
Have a great day everyone !
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Yay! So glad robotics went so well :) I'm also glad to hear that you've got a break planned this week, you need it! Nothing here for us. We took a week off in October for Thanksgiving in Canada (we went out of town) plus we schooled a little light last week since we had company for three days. Today is both my mom's and my nephew's birthdays though, so I need to remember to phone them!
Full day for us, with a semi-re arranged schedule. New routine mostly, but same old materials for now since dd9's new math hasn't arrived yet, nor will she start her online tutoring program for another week or two. See how it goes . . .
Critter, you posted while I was typing. 50,000 words is amazing, congrats. Have fun today at the aquarium! My kids desperately want to go but it's a good seven hour drive from our current home (as opposed to three and a half from my hometown).
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Gee soror, I'm getting nervous for you guys too! It sounds very exciting :)
I've decided I'm going to try Brainology for dd9. It's created for middle school aged kids, so she may be a little young, but there's a lot of video and online components so I think she'll like it, and we'll work together on the reading and writing activities. She get so combative and belligerent when she doesn't do everything perfect, extremely hard to work with, so I thought maybe this would help. You can get part of it for one month free, so I'm looking it over this weekend and we'll start Sunday afternoon. I hope. It's based on the book Mindset, which I adore, so fingers crossed that it's what I need for her (and it has some ideas for me to help her as well). I also think that soon I'll be stopping REWARDS for a bit (though I think it's perfect for her) and she'll so some skype-tutoring daily with a woman from Learning Links to get a thorough review in phonics and maybe learn some new things from a different angle. On the same vein, I'm going to try Math U See with her. I know it's not as challenging as Math Mammoth, but I figure we'll save our face-to-face time for the stuff she really needs one-on-one work with and I'll have more patience and she'll be less sick of me ;) Right now, that spelling and dictation and writing. Something has to give, and this is my next attempt. Plus, I'll be able to work with dd6 for more than a little bit, which I feel like he deserves. Still reworking the schedule, trying out different arrangements. . .
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Omg! I think I just solve the iPad signing out on me all the time problem!! I've been avoiding using safari for months because it signs me out of all password protected websites constantly. So time consuming and irritating. But spent 45 minutes online this morning and finally figured it out! Hurray! Well. I hope, anyway. I'll get back to you in a few days ;)
We've had company all week, but some school has gotten done, and she's super hands on with the kids so they've played board games, piano duets and we even had an hour or so lounging in front of the fireplace reading books together yesterday. So I think we're good.
I think I need to rearrange our schedule. I'm working on getting dd9 set up with curriculum that's a bit more independent so that were only really working face to face on her most challenging stuff (for her that's spelling and dictation). I'm also getting her set up with brainology to see if that will help her accept that corrections don't mean I think she's stupid - they mean I'm trying to help. I'm hoping this will help us both (all?) in a variety of ways. But I may need to drop French and Latin and possibly put writing on hold for a while - at least formally. I've been fighting that since September, but it just may be a reality. I'll look at my daily routine and see what I can do - with Jean's idea and a few others in the back of my mind lol. I hate to concede unless I have to.
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Morning ladies! I've been negligent as far as posting here goes. I think about it all the time - but that's the thing. A little short on time ;)
We have company for the next three days. She's a primary school teacher (currently only subbing) so that's interesting - I wonder what she'll think of our little set up lol. She's a very good friend of dh's though and I'm excited to have her here with us for a while. I think she's going to be out of the house helping dh with some ranch stuff - she loves to ride, so I think we're going to try and make that happen for her. That means we should be able to get a few hours in this morning, although I'm not sure about school this afternoon. Just winging it! I planned a full week with a promise to myself I would not stress if it does not get done, I'll just pass if forward to the next week.
I read every day - other people's lives are so interesting and amusing it reminds me to appreciate the little idiosyncrasies in my own little world - I'm sure they're amusing to someone else lol.
Critter - darn and hurray for those stubborn protagonists with their own ideas! Let us know how that one turns out lol
Jean - I'm also inspired by your schedule change. I'm considering shaking a few things up too. . .
Aurelia - love the picture of your daughter driving the dog around the place!
Soror, happy belated birthday to your littles! Glad the party went well :)
Shernandez - Good luck with the medieval history! Lots of fun at the age.
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I'll count for you Soror. 9 to 23 days? Let me know when you know :D
Wow, 626 and no bodies are bugging me for breakfast. Very unusual. I hear someone stoking the furnace downstairs through the heat vent though, so I suppose it's only a matter of time. Home Art Studio, Draw Write Now and a bit of geography today. We finished the Fox and the Grapes in Fable on Wednesday which impressed me because I figured it would take two days, not one. No science documentary on the periodic table, though I do have a few other online resrouces, so we'll either do that or watch Human Planet instead. Then finish up this week's math and reading. We're off tomorrow! Still trying to decide if I should stay home and clean/prep for next week or if I should go to town sans kids and check out the new book store, try the new apple cider at our local brewery and go to the library sale. I really need a haircut too . . .
We have someone coming to stay with us for three days next week, but I think I can still get some school work in while she's here. At least I hope so. I'm planning a regular week with the thought in mind that whatever doesn't get done will get carried forward to the next one. Samuel Champlain in history and there are a surprising number of resources in our library - some of them even my kids can read on their own, which is like a gold mine!
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Accountability Thread: 12/6-12/12
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
SATURDAY! Kids are unreasonably loud this morning so I kicked them all downstairs to the playroom with orders not to come back up. No school today, just social stuff for me :) Maybe some baking and planning. Lots to do in the next few weeks!