I need some new and better ideas on how to approach teaching adverbs. We get the easy ones okay (ending in -ly, etc.) but there are some that are less obvious that I need some pointers on. I freely admit that I didn't really learn this when I was at school, so I am not the best at it. Also, anyone have some tips on how to find what these harder ones (for me) modify? Again, I'm not getting it :lol: For example: The fire drill went rather quickly today. So, "rather", "quickly", and "today" are adverbs correct? "Rather" would modify "quickly", "quickly" would modify "went", and "today" would modify "went"? Is that correct? How do I explain that to my DD who is near tears because she just doesn't get why?

Back story first: DD did HWT at home for K... went to school for 1st where they did Zaner-Bloser... came back home for second and started on HWT 1st grade book. This was put aside for most of the year to do VT. In 3rd, after VT, we started her on HWT cursive. This year, 4th, we have finished HWT cursive. She happily does 1/2 to 1 page of her cursive book in the morning, but then proceeds to write in print for all her other subjects. I have tried having her write in cursive for her other subjects, but it slows her output way down and also causes her to have even more spelling errors. It just isn't her natural writing style. I would revert back to just letting her print (My DH, DS and myself are all printers), but her cursive does look marginally better. She does still have some issues that make her cursive not entirely neat, but it is better than her printing. I can read her printing, but it still looks very juvenile with spacing issues as well as incorrectly sized letters. We are trying to work on her fine motor skills with clay and art projects. But she is nearing age 10 and just not as interested in doing the other typical OT type activities (tweezers, etc...). Since she is dyslexic, I'm am pretty sure she has dysgraphia as well. So, I'm not sure where to go for next year. Do I drop handwriting and just require her outside assignments to be done neatly? Do we continue to work on it? Should we do just cursive or work on improving her printing? She can print nicely if she tries really hard. But we also never make it all the way through the HWT 1st grade or 2nd grade printing books. Did we miss some really good instruction and practice there that would have made a difference? I will add that we are also working on typing, but she isn't quick enough to use it all the time. That and I'm not quite ready to give up on the pencil/paper work just yet.

I am the same way with scripting. It usually makes me worse at teaching. I find that instead of relying on my own knowledge and actually teaching/connecting with my DD, I am looking the the book over and over again and the whole flow of the lesson is off. It's gotten the the point where most scripts drive me so crazy that it makes me think twice about using the curriculum. For example, Nancy Larson science and WriteShop Junior are one my radars for next year, but their scripts are causing me not to fully commit, though I like everything else I see.

In the sample for the Teacher's Edition, it lists these as the read-alouds. Pocahontas and the Strangers (Bulla, Clyde Robert) Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims (Bulla, Clyde Robert) A Lion To Guard Us (Bulla, Clyde Robert) Tolliver’s Secret (Brady, Esther Wood) The Cabin Faced West (Fritz, Jean) The Courage of Sarah Noble (Dalgliesh, Alice) The Matchlock Gun (Edmonds, Walter D.) Little House on the Prairie (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) On the Banks of Plum Creek (Wilder, Laura Ingalls) In Grandma’s Attic (Richardson, Arleta)

Dyslexia isn't just about visual processing vs. auditory processing. Usually it is a combination of both, but I would say that poor auditory processing is the major red flag.

Another one in the same boat. We are still struggling to find the right "fit" for grammar and spelling. My DD's spelling improved a lot while we were doing A&P. I think it is really a great program for poor spellers that don't respond well to strictly rule-based programs like AAS. We are currently taking a break from A&P because my DD was getting really burnt out on it. We are doing SS right now, and it is overall also working well. Long term, I don't think we will stick with it, but it is what is working right now. I have also looked at PZ and am interested, but the mastery required might cause problems. I can see my DD getting very frustrated if she has to keep working on the same list over and over. But the program is still on my radar. We are using Winston Grammar this year, which is supposed to be excellent for dyslexics. We've seen some improvement, but my DD still struggles. I have looked over and over at MCT, but it makes no sense to me. I have no idea if it will make sense to my DD. It has such a hefty price-tag that keeps me from experimenting with it. As far as reading, she can read at grade level, but does skip words or substitute words. We work about 10-15 minutes each day on decoding longer words and accuracy. She also reads aloud to me each day. I don't point out everything she misses unless what she is saying doesn't make sense. Her comprehension is excellent, and I don't want to kill her love of stories by over-critiquing. I hope some others chime in.

If you look in the TM for that Science it should have copies of the student worksheets within the teaching instructions. That would give you a good idea of what they would cover.

There are activity pages that go along with it. The 2nd edition used to be a set with the TM, the student text, the activity pages, and sometimes a cassette (that might have just been 1st grade). It seems like most places just are selling the new 3rd edition, so it might be difficult to track down the older versions. The 2nd and 3rd editions are not compatible.

This was my DD's problem as well. She has been tested as mild-moderate dyslexia. But her scores for working memory, visual memory, and auditory memory were quite low. AAS didn't work well for her because it was just too much for her to juggle. She would use up her working memory trying to think of how to form the letters while writing, thinking of the sounds to write down, and then any spelling rules on top of that. After a year and a half of AAS, only making it to about step 10 of level B, we went a different route. Apples and Pears does such a great job of including that "overlearning" that my DD needed for her memory struggles. I've also heard it said that it does a type of "visual imprinting" to help spelling improve. She has done level A and half of level B and her spelling has improved by leaps and bounds. There is a lot of writing, but I think that is one of the ways in which it works. The child is exposed to WRITING the word over and over again in different contexts. Just reading the word over and over again didn't do it for my DD. That being said, we are taking a brief break from it as she was getting a little bit burnt out. She is doing some SS at the moment and doing okay with it. If she hadn't had the exposure to A&P, I don't think she would be having as much luck.

:iagree: I actually live in this county. Yes, it is in the top wealthiest counties in the US, but that does not mean that everybody is well off. When you figure that most homeschooling families are living off of one income, compared with the predominantly dual-income households in the county and the high-cost of living...many do need that assistance. I have stayed out of this discussion because, to be honest, I have no idea how I feel about this. I do have aquaitances that are a part of the Cloverleaf homeschooling program, who really love it. Most of the directors and teachers in the program are Christian, and most of the students are as well. The program itself meets in a local church. A lot of these families would love to use Sonlight as is, but because of the enrichment program itself falling under public school jurisdiction, they are trying to make it secular (as far as what I understood).

I would also recommend Apples & Pears for your situation. Both of your boys could do it. It really is easy. Yes, it is workbook based, but the exercises are so easy and repetative. It really doesn't take any brain power. Spend 10 minutes on it each day, close it, and move on. You don't need to plan anything extra. It also is not rule-based in the same way that AAS, SWR, WRTR, R&S, etc. are. Those exceptions always drove me crazy as well. My DD's spelling has improved so much using this program that I highly recommend it. She has been a little bit burnt out on it lately, so we are taking a short break from it and doing Sequential Spelling. I find A&P to be easier to use even than SS.

I'm here in CO with combination skin as well. Mine is also very sensitive, so any with fragrances are out. My routine is very simple. Olay Sensitive face wash morning and night. I use Olay Sensitive SPF 30 for during the day. And I love Cerave PM for at night. It is somewhere between a gel and a lotion, so not heavy, but packed with moisturizers.

If you like nature trails and hiking you could try Castlewood Canyon. Or you could go just north of Castle Rock into Parker and go to the Wildlife Experience.

Having watched the first one and the Christmas one, here are my feelings on them. I love Phil Visher. I think he is really trying hard to produce quality Christian entertainment. We were really, really big fans of the earlier VeggieTales. I do like how he is approaching telling the Bible in this new series, but we have had trouble getting into it. It just seems to just from one thing to another really quickly. It's almost like there is just TOO much going on.

Thanks again! That really helps. It sounds like my DD would be fine with the readers. Jean Fritz books would be easy for her. We have a few of the advanced readers here that I snagged at library sales. Stone Fox she could do, but Naya Nuki is getting to the long side for her. I think you all have talking me into taking the plunge and just going for it. :)

Thanks so much for the input! I really appreciate it.

:bigear:

This is what I am strongly considering for my DD for next year, but I thought I would get some input from those who have already used it. Which books in the History core, Read-Alouds, and Readers did you enjoy the most? Which books did you not enjoy, or skipped altogether? Did you add anything such as activities or supplemental books/videos? Did your child get tired of the readers all being history-based? What level (approximately) are the readers? Just for some info. My DD loves learning things in context and through story. This is why I am looking at Sonlight. She does, however, have dyslexia. While she is reading "on level", she is slow and doesn't usually have the endurance for reading longer books. For example, while she can read a Ramona-type book, the length does overwhelm her. Also, she has a hard time understanding books if the language is too "old". Last year we read Peter Pan, and she had trouble understanding most of it. Any other tips or suggestions would be great as well.

I'll 5th or 6th sticking with what is working. BJU has a fantastic elementary math program. If you don't need all the extras, just skip them. Find that balance. I'm another one that isn't a huge fan of Saxon math. It is just okay for K-3, tolerable/doable for the middle school grades, but I hate how it teaches upper level math. Just my opinion though.

You either have to file a notice of intent or register under an umbrella school here (chec.org is a popular one). Testing is required every other year and you have to count the number of days you do school. I believe 172 days is the required amount. We used to have to count hours averaging at least 4 a day, but that has been changed this year.

In my research, I have found that most people have not purchased the TM for this program. Would it still be worthwhile to buy if my DD is a big fan of interaction, active learning, and games. Or do the student sheets provide enough? She would be at the intermediate level. We have tried a few other bible study programs and all have been somewhat of a bust. First was Leading Little Ones to God. Way too boring for us. I liked what I saw for TGS level 1, but thought it would be below DD so we went ahead with level 2. For this level I am finding there are a lot less projects and hands-on. While we love the little games, crafts, plays, science, etc, there really aren't enough to fill out an entire week. And my DD doesn't do coloring. So we picked up Long Story Short. It has been okay, but again, a bit boring. The questions feel somewhat canned. Do you think something like BSGFAA would be a better fit? With or without the TM? How about the timeline and audio CD?

We did sort of what you did, but expanded on it slightly. We made a really large timeline that spanned from midnight to midnight. On that we not only marked, but drew pictures that represented what we were doing when. Then we shaded in the timeline yellow for the hours that have sunlight and darkened the line during the night hours. Underneath the timeline (the pictures were above), we marked when AM started and when PM started. From there I continued to point out that we change to PM at noon, but that our sunlight hours were on both sides. We hung the timeline on the wall for quite a while. It seemed to really help my DD, who really learns well with visuals and by applying it to her daily life.

Here's our girl, Chloe. She is a 13 year old lab/German Shepherd X missing most of her teeth. She's my shadow.

I'm going to try a level of this for the second half of our school year since art just isn't happening around here. But I can't figure out which level to start my DD in. She is 9 and has had very little art instruction. She loves art but isn't that great at it. Her drawings look more like a K-er or 1st grader due to some learning difficulties. Suggestions?

This was me in high school and college. I would take ibuprofen, use a heating pad, and sleep. My cramps would be so bad I also would vomit. In college I finally went on the pill for this reason and it helped tremedously. It does take some trial and error to find the right pill. Some of the ones I took made me mean and depressed. Others were fine. I rarely have them now after having children. On the occasional months where I still have a bad day, I can usually link it to poorer eating, especially sodas.