Woodland Mist Academy
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Posts posted by Woodland Mist Academy
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My dd is 10 and spends 6-8 hours on her studies on the weekdays. She also reads during her free time and for several hours on the weekend (literature, science, history etc.)
We are covering more subjects than you have listed. If my dd were finishing in an hour or two I would know she wasn't being challenged enough. In that case, I would add more subjects and increase the level of the work.
Note that I'm not suggesting busywork--the object is not just to be busy, but to be busy learning. :-)
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This thread is fantastic!
I have a question for those of you who run in the early am. Do you do that year-round? I'm wondering if you run the dark as the days are getting shorter. I'm in the process of trying to fit in more running.
Thanks!
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I second the recommendation for All About Spelling. We tried several spelling programs and AAS was the first one that worked for my dd. She does well with math and logic, but spelling was a bit of a struggle for her. It's still not her strongest point, but she's doing MUCH better now. The rule based system of AAS seems to make sense to her.
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Sounds familiar. My 7yo is a strong reader with trouble spelling. We've tried Spelling Power, Natural Speller, and Sequential Spelling. None of them were a good fit. Even if she would learn the words, she had trouble with retention. She's finally making great progress using All About Spelling.
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I agree, it's frustrating to just bits of stories. We used the workbook this year, but aren't planning to use one next year. We'll continue to do narrations from history and other sources. For dictation we'll use The Harp and the Laurel Wreath and other sources.
The Thornton Burgess books are a great idea. Thanks.
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My daughter was learning words with SS, but forgot them within days. I also found I was teaching her rules from my school days because none were taught in the book. I realized she was just memorizing words and not really learning. We switched to AAS and I am much happier, as is my daughter. We've tried several spelling programs and finally found a good fit.
We've tried Spelling Power, Natural Speller, Sequential Spelling and AAS.
For us, AAS wins hands down. :)
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I wanted to add that if you feel you need to go back a bit, do it. Don't worry about when she'll finish. Getting a good foundation is more important than finishing at a certain time. Sometimes it's a tough call whether to back up or plow forward. Probably if you went back she would go quickly through those early lessons so it might not take as long as you imagine.
Edited to add that I just realized you decided to keep going. If she is making progress, even slowly, that sounds like a great plan!
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I had the same concerns with my daughter when she was 5 and using OPGTTR. Then one day something just clicked and she started racing through it.
It sounds like things are progressing, albeit slowing. I think that's common in the beginning. Hang in there!
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We try to keep to the 36 week school year with 16 weeks off, but we divide the weeks off throughout the year. Usually we take three weeks off in Dec. and three weeks off in June. I divide the other ten weeks off throughout the year depending on what is going on. Sometimes we take a week off every month sometimes we go for two months straight and then take 2 weeks off, or some other variation depending on sickness, trips, etc.
It's working fabulously for us.
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Not as much as Singapore does. (At least not from what I've seen. I might have missed something somewhere though.)
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I was using Saxon and Miquon and was then going to try a combo of Saxon, Miquon and Singapore. Singapore was such a hit I decided to go with Singapore and all the supplements it offers plus added drill. We'll continue with Miquon as well. We were halfway through Saxon 3 when we stopped using it. It just wasn't a good fit and my dd was starting to hate math. She likes math again now and is feeling more challenged and happy.
I don't think two programs is too much as long as they are both good fits.
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You might want to try MathExpress. It deals with mental math and is one of the Singapore supplements.
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We're using it now and my daughter enjoys it. I sometimes wonder if it was worth the money though. I imagine you would be fine without it.
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Thanks so much Kareni! I missed that thread when I did a search. I appreciate your help.
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We started with Saxon K and I regret it. We should have started with Saxon 1. We ended up skipping Saxon 2 and going straight to Saxon 3 with no problems.
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I'm considering switching to KISS Grammar. I'm interested in hearing pros and cons about it. Is anyone familiar with it?
Thanks.
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I appreciate all the responses! It sounds like it will be a good fit. I like not having a set number of lessons a week so we can speed up or slow down and the review will hopefully help.
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My girls do AAS 5x per week, about 15-20 minutes per day. In level 2, my oldest could complete a lesson in 2 of these sessions. Now that she's in level 3, with more dictation sentences and the new "Writing Station" activity, she takes about 4 days to get through a lesson.
Retention...Yes, my kids are retaining everything very well. There is as much review as you need. This is generally what we do:
Day 1 - Review old rules, New teaching on board with tiles
Day 2 - Phonogram dictation; practice new and some old words on dry erase board
Day 3 - Half of dictation sentences
Day 4 - other half of dictation sentences
When I used to use a workbook program that was set up to do one lesson per week, I didn't really know what to do if my kids needed more practice. They had done all the workbook pages already, and if I took longer than a week for more review, I felt "behind." I don't have this problem with AAS. My younger daughter had more trouble with her most recent lesson. So, we spent more days reviewing the words on the dry erase board. There's no such thing as being "behind" with AAS. And, I keep any random words, and rule-breaker words, in the review section to be reviewed frequently. I feel like I have lots of tools to help my kids become good spellers now! I know how to teach spelling instead of just giving them a workbook and hoping for the best!
That's exactly what I want to do--teach spelling and not just give a list of words and hope for the best. We tried that and it didn't work well for us. :-(
When you do 5 days what do you do on day 5? You mentioned spelling 5 days a week but I only see 4 days listed.
Thanks!
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Yes, quite a bit. Every day, you are "supposed" to review their spelling rules and sounds. I put "supposed" to in quotes, b/c I don't get to it ;) But, I'm finding my girls are doing fine as well - but if I were going to review everything as the manual suggests, I'd add another 5-10 minutes onto the daily lesson time.
Clear as mud???
Made total sense to me. :-) We'll probably need some review so it's nice to have a ballpark figure of how much time we'll need.
Thanks!
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Thanks for the info!
Do you find your children retain what they're learning? We've tried other programs that don't include review and the retention has been a problem. It's my understanding All About Spelling has review built in. Am I correct?
Thanks again!
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Hello,
I'm considering this program and have a question. Is it set up for 5 days a week or does it move from lesson to lesson without an obvious intent for a 5 day week?
I've read other posts about the program, but can't find the answer anywhere.
Also, how long do you usually spend on this spelling program a day/week?
Thanks for your help.
How Long is Your School Day?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted · Edited by Hilltop Academy
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I guess it depends on your goals. I don't compare what my dd is doing to others--only to what she is capable of doing. If she can whiz through math in minutes I wonder if she is being challenged enough. Why settle for lessons she is breezing though when she can be challenged and learn to push her limits? If she is capable of much more, why not require it?
I think it depends on the goal. I don't add more work or subjects just to fill time (no busywork!) but for a myriad of other reasons.