desiree77
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Posts posted by desiree77
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We are currently listening to Anne of Green Gables in the car and reading aloud: The Secret Garden at night very slowly (started back in the spring), Gooney Bird Greene about 3 chapters a week, the Bible, Meet Josephina, Moccasin Trail several chapters a week, fairy tales sometimes at lunch, and our own personal books. No one seems to think I'm nuts and the kids follow pretty well.
This isn't usual for us. :tongue_smilie:
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Our thermostat is at 72 AND we use the gas fireplace. I'd been a popsicle at 68! We keep a small space heater in our bathroom as well. If I do a hot shower/sauna in there with the space heater going and blow dry my hair, then dress while steamy hot, I find I stay warmer, longer.
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My kids are usually outside in the evenings. They play at neighbor kid's houses or in our yard. Sometimes dad and I will go out and water the grass or throw a ball with them. Sometimes we take walks with the dog and go to the park. Other times dh and I stay inside. It's a nice vegging time for me after a full day of homeschooling. Dh likes to play video games. Right now he researching local hunting spots.
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I did several math curriculums when my oldest was K-3. I used MUS, Singapore, Miquon. Developmental Math and Horizon's were dropped pretty fast. We basically kept trading off which one we used. When we went back to one we'd dropped earlier, we just picked up where we left off. By 4th/5th grade I decided on one program and we're sticking with it (MUS).
The back and forth and trying lots of programs was important for ME to understand where I stood with math and how I wanted to teach it. Trying all those programs was enlightening!
My oldest is perhaps behind in math. She's on the 6th level of MUS in 7th grade. I guess she could be doing Pre-Alg right now if I hadn't had her doing other things in the early years. But she's moving quickly, and I think she'll be done with PA by this time next year. So not much loss.
Anyway, I just wanted to offer the opinion that it's not always totally detrimental to try new things. I think picking one program by the time your child is 10 and sticking with it is probably a smart move. Don't sweat it in K-2!!!
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Anything from Queen's homeschool - poor quality printing and too expensive for what you get
Apologia elementary series - I bought this three times and always sold it. I really wanted to like it!
My Father's World K and 1st - boring
Horizon's Math
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I've heard it said:
You sacrifice your money to adopt internationally.
You sacrifice your dignity to adopt through the state.
Either way, as long as a child gets a loving home, should it matter how their parents went about choosing which path to take?
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:lurk5:
I hide in my bedroom, but that's not the best solution.
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Well, I said earlier that I didn't think luck had anything to do with it, but I guess that's because I tend to attribute good luck to God. Bad luck is just life, and we've been fortunate not to have much. We've sold two houses. One took 8 months to sell, and we were fortunate that our lifestyle choices enabled us to keep making two mortgage payments that long without really hurting. The second house sold for a higher-than-expected amount the month before the stock market crashed in '08. I always praised God for that, but I suppose some people would just see it as luck.
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Just when I think I need to have her evaluated, she jumps ahead in something and I decide to wait it out again. Her older two siblings read early, and I'm feeling at a loss to know what's "normal" for her age.
She just turned 8, and she's only had consistent systematic phonics since January. (Before that I did do phonics lessons with her, but it was sporadic.) Since January, she's gone through HOP 1st and most of HOP 2nd, and now we're working through Phonics Pathways and reading all kinds of books. Right now she's working her way through our Dr. Suess collection. She's reading these books fairly well. She guesses a lot, but when I point to her error, she always gets it right. Nothing is stumping her in these books. She's also working through Explode the Code book 3. I have to do it with her though because she will guess at the reading exercises. Once she knows she erred, she can correct herself without help from me.
Writing - we started WWE 2 and FLL 2 this summer. She is amazing me with her memory. We've done 1 poem in addition to our bible memory work, which she's picking up super quickly. The narrations in WWE are interesting. She usually has 2 sentences to write from narration. I read it to her twice and she never asks for me to repeat it, even though it may take her 10 minutes to write it up! I sit with her and tell her to ask for help with spelling. She usually needs help with several words. Today she needed help with Patsy (mixed up the s and t), refused (she was going to skip the "e" in -ed), wanted to spell dirty, d-i-r-d-y, and needed reminding on the silent "e" at the end of "outside".
Her handwriting is nice. She writes quickly and prettily. She did a cursive book last year, but I've set that aside for now so we can focus on reading ability.
She struggles sometimes with comprehension in WWE. Some of the stories are easier than others. Sometimes she has a hard time remembering anything she's heard. She gets lost listening to read-alouds. I have to go slowly. We're doing Charlotte's Web right now, and it's going well. But I think of that as a 4-5yo's read aloud! I feel like I've failed her for not working earlier on reading. But then part of me thinks that maybe if I had pushed it earlier we still would have had problems. Her two best friends are reading chapter books like Magic Tree House, and she feels dumb because she can't read.
Does anyone know what is normal for an 8 year old? Or what's the range of normal? So many homeschoolers seem to have the accelerated chilren who are reading Tolkien in 4th grade or the special needs children who don't read until they are 10. How well does the average child read at the age of 8? My dd is a young 3rd grader with a summer birthday. I don't want to expect too much and get panicky, nor do I want to ignore what might be a learning disability.
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For most of my married life, I would have said we were prospering financially. Recently my dh underwent a career change that has set us back a little. We aren't able to save as much or buy many extras. We still pay all our bills and buy quality food, while living in a nice area and driving two cars.
What do I attribute our good fortune to? Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it!
education - nope. Dh has a high school education and the jobs he's worked haven't required a degree. I have a degree, but the loans from that have been a drain on our finances rather than a help. I've never worked.
background - maybe. Both our parents are hard-working people. Dh's father was a good example of a man willing to go to the job day after day to earn a living for his family. Even though he didn't like that job. Dh did the same job and we prospered. Unlike his dad, dh decided to change careers and take a paycut in order to do something more fulfilling.
genetics - no clue. I don't think in terms of genetics. I probably attribute life situation to our choices rather than our genes.
good health - this certainly plays a part! Without good health, we cannot work or earn money. We have both enjoyed good health. We have never had medical bills pile up.
work ethic - this one ties in with background. Dh was raised with a strong work ethic.
I mostly answered for dh, since he works for money. If the money-making was left to me, I'm afraid that we'd be sunk! I don't have a strong work ethic or good mental health. My physical health is good, but the lethargy that comes from mental issues isn't conducive to getting much work done.
geographic area in which you reside - we live in a great area for jobs, but my dh is a firefighter and doesn't have to worry about job security as much as he would in a different field. We also aren't part of a culture of poverty. If anything, we have to fight against a culture of materialism that tells us we need the newest and best of everything.
luck - uh, no
family inheritance - I wish!
We also know the right way to budget and spend our money. We did read Dave Ramsey a while back. We don't treat his advice as gospel, but we've done our best with what we've been given. His saving advice is what enabled dh to change careers and take the paycut without going broke. It's what keeps us solvent now that we don't make as much.
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I heard a lecture last year on the pre-teen brain. According to this lecture, that I have not verified or further researched, the 11-14 yo brain is undergoing major re-mapping -- neural connections are being severed and rejoined. Children lose skills temporarily. It was an interesting lecture.
I have a 12 yo dd. If my major complaint was that she didn't wash out her cereal bowl, I'd be in heaven. ;) I'd personally let this one go. I call my kids back to the table when they forget, and I don't care much about rinsing. Someone's job is loading the dishwasher anyway, and that person can rinse (or not) as they load.
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MUS gets better. I had a hard time using it in the early years, because it seemed so boring. But now that I have four using it, and the older two are completely independent, I love it! They have a solid foundation and it doesn't take forever and most importantly, they do it themselves! It's awesome. I am just starting it for my 6yo and I feel much calmer about doing it without adding in extras for variety. At this point, my day has enough variety!
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Oh, I forgot I just bought Life of Fred. :tongue_smilie:
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At one point I had Singapore, Miquon, MathUSee, Developmental Math, and Horizons. I am happy to say I have whittled it down to MUS and Singapore's Challenging Word Problems! I also have Mathtacular dvds, but that doesn't count, right? I do have Singapore level 1 texts, but I am actively trying to sell them, so they don't count either.
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And some of that stuff isn't it's own lesson. Like the symbols and perpendicular lines. They will be tacked into another lesson.
The way he teaches area of a parallelogram is really cool.
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Why do dissections? Just to identify parts?
If my kids continue hunting deer and pig with their daddy, will that be good enough? They already dig through them looking at the heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. It's so gross. And pigs are comparable to humans, right? The organs are big anyway.
So what's involved in a high school biology dissection?
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I don't use curriculum until 1st grade, and then it's pretty light (like a phonics book). I let my under 8s play all day and I read to them. That's their education!
We have tv and video games, but it's limited to 30 minutes on Saturdays and the times that I leave the house alone and dh let them.
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I wish my kids would interrupt! I know they don't always understand certain vocabulary. I wish they'd ask me what things me and speak up as soon as they realize they aren't following.
Random comments aren't welcome. I usually tell them to interrupt only with a question. We can discuss opinions and tell funny stories later.
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I am considering using outside classes to teach my kids things that I do not wish to teach, like Latin and music. Or things that benefit from a group, like speech and theater. I don't wish to be involved in a true co-op where I have to teach and my kids have to take what's offered, no matter if it's something we need or want.
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Is it moving South???
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Hi! My name's Desiree, and I've been lurking here for a few weeks. I've been homeschooling for the past 7 years. My oldest is entering 7th grade and I am freaked out by it! Add to that a 3rd grader who's not reading fluently, and you have one stressed out hs mama!
I'm fairly eclectic in my curriculum choices. I pick things I like and go my own way. I've used Sonlight for history/literature for 4 years and I'm getting a little tired of it. I've been on their forums for longer than that (username: heartofjoy) and I am tired of always getting the same advice. It looks like these boards are a little more varied!
Looking forward to talking with everyone!
Desiree
Reading to your children
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Umm....Our read-alouds at the moment are books that I'm very familiar with. My kids might be held in suspense, but not me! I do take months to read certain books though. It took me nearly a year to read Dracula. I could only take it in small doses. Now I'm reading War and Peace and that one's going to take me awhile. But I can't only read the heavy classics! I have to have other lighter stuff going on at the same time. I guess having all kinds of books going at once is just a way of life around here!