Mommy22alyns
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Posts posted by Mommy22alyns
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My girls love horses, so I'm trying to pull together a fun little 2-week horse study for science. I'm thinking of something in the same style as the Living Learning life science - I just bought the teacher & student pack from a member here, but I'm surprised that LL didn't include horses!
So I'd love any suggestions for simple, fun horse crafts or activities. I'd also like to find a good coloring book or some printable sheets - I don't want anatomy, but I need more than a line drawing. Anything you all can recommend would be a great help!
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She stresses that you shouldn't worry that your child hasn't been exposed to every sound and rule. Any gaps will show up in the child's oral reading at which time they can be addressed.
I am so glad to hear this. I was just fretting over the same question the other day, so I feel a lot more comfortable with my decision too.
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Fantastic! I was just trying to find some video resources for life science!
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Hello there! She sounds a lot like my oldest DD too. Becca has that same determination to plug through something that seems "too hard." I started her out in Saxon 1, but we lasted only a few lessons before I figured out that the approach was too slow for her and just made her bored. I'm taking Cadam's recommendation of Singapore math too. I'm also going to check out Miquon - I've seen several people use it in tandem with Singapore.
I know just how you feel, so maybe we can pick things up together along the way while we try to keep up with our DDs! I just try to keep it at a challenging enough level for her without pushing her too hard at this age. I'm loosely planning a first grade curriculum for her, but I know that it also doesn't matter if she wants to meander and go slowly or move faster. I'm declaring her a kindergartener, so there's no pressure and no problem if she doesn't "do" all of first grade by the end of the school year.
For writing, I just have her do one or two sentence copywork, or even just writing answers in Spelling Workout. She's focusing on neatness and spacing but she just doesn't have the attention span to drag it out. I have started FLL with her, but watch out - Becca's mind is like a little steel trap and she had "The Caterpillar" memorized in a day! :001_huh: I'm thinking of getting out some Shel Silverstein's short silly poems for her to learn.
BTW, Becca just turned 5 too. When is your daughter's birthday?
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My dd loves history thanks to SOTW, lots of picture books and crafts. When else are you going to make a pyramid of sugar cubes, mummify a chicken, and make a Parthenon from graham crackers? Really. It is the fun part of our day and the highlight of many weeks.
You don't teach ancient history to first graders so that they will have a deep understanding of history. You teach it to them so that when they hear it again in more depth, it is not the first time they have heard it. They can synthesize the information better if they already have a feel for the flow of history.
:iagree:
I have never liked history very much and got a very mangled and truncated history education in school. I think I covered American History to Reconstruction four different times, but barely skimmed over WWII.
I am looking forward to the fun way that SOTW has history set up - this is an education for me too. It is the first time I've ever been excited about history. I don't expect Becca to come out knowing tons of info about the ancients, but I hope she'll never forget mummifying that chicken!
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I hope this isn't too far off, but I have to say that this is another reason I chose homeschooling. I haven't actually dealt with public schools either, but I know that there are a lot of projects and demands placed on after-school time as well. That can really crunch a family and make education unpleasant and intrusive. :confused:
Anyway... I never wanted to be the parent who did their kids' projects for them. My parents weren't like that either, so as a kid, it was frustrating to come up against the parent-completed projects.
Even though my girls are so young, I'm having to make myself allow them to do whatever they can on their own. And I have to fight myself back from correcting, straightening, tweaking, etc. If Becca can cut some pictures out, then she wants to, and I have to accept that, jagged edges and all! :001_smile:
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Becca's real name is Rebecca. Somewhere along the way, in trying to keep up with a fast-moving little girl, we just started calling her Becca. She's really embodied that name and goes by it 99% of the time. She's used it at preschool almost exclusively, that's what she writes when she writes her name, and I don't think Sylvia has ever once called her Rebecca. She'll answer to Rebecca without blinking an eye, but hardly anyone really calls her that.
Sylvia goes by Sylvie a lot - it doesn't change the number of letters I have to type, but it does cut one syllable out when I have to yell it on the playground. :001_smile: When asked her name, she usually says, "Sylvie," but adults always translate it to "Sophie." I'll probably have her stay closer to her given name though.
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We bought Becca a Leapster for her fourth birthday, and just a few months later we bought Sylvia one. They are worth their weight in GOLD for me - it's amazing what the girls have learned from them and they provide a nice little sanity break for me. Also excellent for Dr. office visits; anytime you need them to truly be in one place and be (relatively) quiet.
I do keep them up on a shelf so I can monitor the playing time - they do very well with it.
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My dh works a lot of hours. That is part of the reason I only had two kids! I still think it is really hard because I don't think we were meant to do this alone. My hat is off to you that have a houseful!
:iagree:
I was just thinking the same thing!
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Thank you for this!
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I hope you get some good answers, because I'm already wondering almost the same thing! I don't know if I should "consume" pages in things like SOTW AG or not. Will Sylvia do the same thing? Will something better come out in another 2 years? So I can kind of relate. Hopefully some experienced HSers will help us out!
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How much would you use ETC for a fairly fluent (but still young) reader? Becca can decode words up to a fourth grade level, which includes a lot of things that can't be sounded out. But I don't want to bypass things like consonant blends, diagraphs, etc if she really needs the instruction. She's just picked up on the reading at an amazing level and I don't know if she needs a certain level of actual instruction in it or if I should just do a spelling workbook and focus on reading books. :confused:
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Dh is going to be *so* disappointed....
Fwiw, I did have placenta previa w/ #2, & apt from hemmoraging (good grief! sp??) after the birth, all was fine. I still barely know what it meant!
If you've had placenta previa before, you have a significantly higher risk of reoccurrence. Was yours just marginal, or do you know?
I had complete placenta previa with my youngest. It never moved and I had a serious bleed at 32 weeks. Obviously it worked out in the end, but it was very scary. So I'd definitely say rest up as much as you can - and keep us updated! :001_smile:
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I'll be your friend if you'll be mine! :)
I basically have no IRL mommy friends, never mind homeschool IRL mommy friends!
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My mom had mine pierced when I was 3 or so... I'm not sure what my dad thought at the time.
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:glare: Surely this won't affect option #3, will it?
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Well, Rebecca isn't highly/profoundly gifted, but she is accelerated and extremely intelligent. She's my first child, so all of this is new to me.
There's no way she could go to kindergarten when she's surpassed almost every grade level guideline across the board already, and is a few grade levels ahead in language arts. So I've set up a WTM first grade curriculum for this school year. One great thing is that I have the freedom to let her go as fast or as slow as she wants.
This is quite a learning process for me. I was advanced and accelerated in school, but how do I keep up with a five year old who keeps astounding me? :001_huh:
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There's nothing wrong with enjoying a piece of something you've brought to a group meal! Especially when it's sweet. :D
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If I remember correctly, the viral pinkeye is contagious, but the bacterial pinkeye really isn't.
Becca had bacterial pinkeye back in the fall. Her eyes looked pretty goopy, but the doctor said she wasn't contagious.
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Ours is Sept. 30. For some reason I thought it was Sept. 1, though it doesn't change anything for us either way.
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I've had a little debate with this myself, but I came to the same basic conclusion as the previous posters. Becca would be going into kindergarten this fall, but she's doing almost all first grade work. I'm just going to declare K as her grade but have her work at her level. I don't really know what to expect with her, so if she doesn't complete all of the first grade work, that's fine - she'll be declared as a first grader next year.
And if she ever went to public school... well, that's another can of beans.
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I'm a sucker for Godiva. I can buy a medium-sized box and it will last me quite a while, because I only need one. That's amazing for me, because I love chocolate and have a huge sweet tooth! I was always a milk chocolate girl, but Godiva has such amazing dark chocolate that I prefer it from them.
I wish I had easier access to European chocolates... mmmm....
Maybe I need to go have a leetle chocolate now!
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I know you asked for completely secular, but I felt my thoughts might be pertinent. We are Christian, but I teach them that big bang theory, evolution, and the like are the truths that scientists currently find to be the most plausable.
I quite often explain that "XX" is what the book says, "YY" is what I believe (if it is different), and if they want to know what their dad thinks they need to ask him...and that other people believe "ZZ" or even "XYZ." I usually say that as they grow older they will decide what their own beliefs are. But I didn't do too much of that until they started asking. They seem to be content to take on their parents' beliefs for now, but as we head into the teen years, I know they will have more questions and will probably explore other beliefs, possibly even more conservative Christian beliefs than I hold.
And, as I said we are Christian so the basic premises that God loves each of us and that Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected to make it possible to have a right relationship with God is not something I offer alternatives to.
Writing it out like this, it sounds a little schitzo...how can we be Christian but secular, too? Some would say we can't be...but it is where I am on my journey and I have to be honest with my kids about that.
Wow, thanks for your input too! I really like your approach as well.
We also read a book of creation stories from around the world.Which book do you use?
Jenny, I'm checking out your recommendation too. :)
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The Pagan thread went over so well, I'm encouraged to ask this question. :001_smile: I'd like to hear from the homeschoolers here who are using a completely secular approach.
How are you addressing the beginnings of civilization with your kids? Are you teaching different beliefs right away or waiting for your child(ren) to ask questions first?
Rebecca has been to a Christian preschool, but there has been minimal "religious" education there. We're using a Christian umbrella school this year - I'm assuming a Bible curriculum will be required (haven't had a chance to ask questions yet) so I'm choosing something more historical in perspective than religious.
With ancient studies beginning this year, and with Becca being the bright and inquisitive little girl she is... I'd better be prepared for the big questions!
What I want is to encourage her to think critically and make her own decisions about what beliefs to embrace. I want to give her information with as little bias as possible. To be completely honest, I'm still a seeker myself.
Has anyone else schooled using this approach? How did you address the big questions like beginnings and endings? Do you have any materials or books to suggest?
***Please note - it can be hard to make myself clear online, so please don't take any of my words the wrong way if you totally disagree with me! I am in no way trying to intimate anything about how anyone else passes on belief systems to their children! :)
Ants and Terro - I'm completely enthralled
in General Education Discussion Board
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Terro is awesome - the traps are much better than the little drops. But it gets worse before it gets better.
I can't believe I was actually considering getting an ant farm for science studies! :001_huh: