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chellelynnr

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  • Location
    TX
  • Interests
    crochet
  • Occupation
    WAHM
  1. My son is an early riser by nature, while I'm an early riser by necessity :) I've trained him to read in his room until around 7:30 so I can have some time for prayer and Bible study while the house is quiet.
  2. Oooo.....I was just thinking about how to reinforce all our math facts. Thanks for the website suggestion!
  3. My daughter takes classes at Encore Centre for Dance in Little Elm (it's right on the border of Frisco). http://www.encorecentrefordance.com/ She's just starting and I never took dance, so I am not sure about the quality, but she enjoys her class! As far as soccer....I believe the Denton County Homeschool Association as a league, but that may be a bit too far to drive. There are plenty of sports opportunities in this area, but I have heard that Frisco is quite competitive even at young ages.
  4. We are using Mr. Q's Classical Science curriculum in our co-op and love it. The chapters are entertaining and easily read in about 15 minutes or so. Mr. Q has a wonderful sense of humor that keeps my daughter in stitches! This curriculum is very broad and doesn't go into much detail, but as a basic foundation, it's wonderful. I do not teach the science class, but from looking at the teacher's guide the experiments seem fairly simple. The only downfall is that is only available in e-book form, so if you want a printed copy that could cost you more. The first year, Biology, is a free download and each year after that is $50 for the student book (includes "homework" pages) and teacher's guide.
  5. I am about to finish up my BGS (finally) and have used this book in several of my English courses. The text is interesting and somewhat non-academic, which is good for preventing boredom. I loved the templates the authors suggest, since I tend to struggle with beginning an idea. I would highly suggest it for high school students. I really think this is a textbook worth reading through at least once a year.
  6. We are in Little Elm...near Frisco and Mckinney. It's a great place to homeschool! We joined Denton Classical Education Co-Op this year and are loving it. We have classes for History, Science, Writing, Literature, Art, PE, Latin, and Spanish. Essentially we do all of our reading at home and the kids get to do the activities and projects at co-op. The co-op isn't religion-based, but religious discussion is allowed and a prayer is said during assembly. We are also a part of Frisco H.I.S. and are truly benefiting from the support and field trips offered. Lewisville (about 15 miles from us) has a great little store called Home Educators Resource. They have new and used curriculum, plus they also provide co-op classes. I usually find myself browsing their shelves at least once a month...it's a guilty pleasure of mine.
  7. My DD (5) learned to read at age 3 and is now reading on a 2nd grade level. I don't think her teacher believed me when I told her how advanced DD is, but now she is assessing the class and is quite amazed. Wanted to say "I told you so", but held back :) I had a moment of panic when they sent the Sept. newsletter stating they were starting a unit on colors, learning about sorting and listing the word wall sight words. (I, like, can, red, etc.)...um, this is preK 3 material, minus the words. I am supplementing with SOTW 1 and WTM science for grade 1, which DD is loving. We kinda took a long break from phonics and need to get back to it, but she is resisting right now. We'll see how it goes. I haven't a clue of how she is doing socially...need to email teacher on this. DD doesn't seem bored, but she doesn't really talk about the school day other than recess and specials. I do know that if she finishes her work she gets to go to the class library, something she really enjoys. Thankfully, her teacher recognizes her abilities and is nominating her for the GT program. We'll see what all that entails at the end of this month.
  8. I completely understand what you are saying here. I'm really praying about this. Asking myself why do I need to change rates, and do I really need to? A part of me feels it really wouldn't be fair of me to change my policy and rates with my current clients (one has been with me since Jan 2005 and the other since Fall 2007). I increased rates last year from $25 to the $30. I feel like I would put them between a rock and a hard place...if they don't want to pay more, they would have to find someone else, maybe someone they aren't as comfortable with. But then I feel like...gosh I care for their children 9.5 to 10 hours a day, shouldn't I make more than $9.00 an hour? It's really not about the money for me. I can't imagine trying to find childcare for my children and am happy to provide the service for my clients. Not to mention, I haven't a clue of what I would do with just two kids around the house! Right now, I think I'm leaning toward keeping everything status quo for my current clients. If I get new ones, I'll institute the new policies and rates. Thank you so much for chiming in, everyone!
  9. Hi! I run a childcare business out of my home and have done so for the past 5 years. Right now my daily rate is $30, which includes meals and a small preschool program. I do not charge on days the child is not present. My question is....I'm am considering raising my daily rate to $35, but also giving my clients (also friends) an option to pay on a monthly basis at a 10% discount of the daily rate. What that equates to is a $1.50 a day increase, as opposed to a $5 increase; however I would not reimburse for days missed if they choose to pay monthly. I know this is how most daycare center and preschools work, but since I don't have any actual qualifications, I am wondering if this is too much. The private preschools in my area run about $700 a month ( I haven't checked daycares) and my rate is still $50 under that. My daughter is beginning kindergarten with MFW in the fall, and I will be including all children in the activities as fit for their ages. (I'll have 5 kids from ages 2-5) Two of my childcare kiddos will more than likely do the full program with my daughter, so I'll be purchasing extra materials for them. Honestly....does my new rate seem appropriate? I think so, but am looking for more opinions! Thanks!
  10. My daughter (4.5 yrs) has the same issue with the slate, but it does not seem to affect her ability to write those letters correctly on paper. I have ditched the HWOT two-lined paper approach though. My dd just seems to understand the three lines better, plus the other workbooks she writes in have three lines, so I figured why confuse her! I used the Pre-K workbook over the summer, but switched to StartWrite after we finished...I like the flexibility of making my own sheets and I can teach the capital and lowercase letters at the same time. Now that I think about it....I really only use the slate and the instructions on how to form the letters in regards to the actual HWOT program. Michelle
  11. Being a workbook kid, my daughter really enjoys the Singapore Earlybird series. We are just finishing up 1A and so far we only had some issues on a couple lessons that require drawing (she's just not into drawing). I found a Saxon K guide really cheap and tried it out. I think it is a really good pre-K program, but without a workbook my daughter just really wasn't getting into it. I do like the script and manipulatives though, so I am going to go through the lessons and see if we can combine Saxon with the Singapore workbooks. I agree with other posts, I think is depends on what you want to focus on and what your child enjoys. My daughter really doesn't feel we accomplish anything unless she sees that completed worksheet....or maybe it's me with the workbook fetish :)
  12. Great ideas, Tonia! I think I am going to stick with OPG, and try some of your suggestions. Now that we are done with blends, I think she'll be a little more challenged, and by adding some hands-on work we can make OPG work for us. I also think I'm going a little slower than she wants....I wanted to stretch the primer out another 2 years, but I might just have to throw that plan out the window! One thing I have tried in the past is having her illustrate some of the stories in the primer. She really had fun with that!
  13. My dd (4yrs) and I are using OPG for phonics right now. She loved it in the beginning, but now she whines about it. I know she's young and that could be the issue, but I am also thinking she might just be bored with it. She reads on a higher level than where we are in the book. ( We just finished blends) Granted, she has memorized many of the words she reads, but that is how both her father and I taught ourselves to read, so that doesn't really bother me. I figure I can focus more on phonics when we get to spelling. My question is.....I am looking to change our reading program. She's not bored with reading, just the drill part. Any suggestions? I've looked at the McGuffey Readers and Phonics Pathways....any opinions on those? Or do we just need to keep pushing through OPG?
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