alicai
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Posts posted by alicai
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My 1st grader was reading very well coming into this year so all I did for reading was to assign a chapter a day from selected books (otherwise, she won't read). Some of these I took from ELTL1, which I used in a modified way and was great. She loved listening to a fable and a poem per day, and I sometimes used the grammar lessons as jumping off points. I don't worry about grammar much at this age. Her favorite book was the complete works of Beatrix Potter. She has enjoyed the Elson Reader as well.
A surprising hit this year was an app called Simplex Spelling. Since Ainsley loves electronics and absorbs huge amounts from it, I somewhat grudgingly allowed her to do this and she is spelling beautifully. She sets a timer for 15 minutes and does this most days, and has made rapid progress.
I also made up my own copywork from her reading, which she did daily. I kept it short because she really struggles with grip and writing but these short daily sessions seem to have been very beneficial.
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DH and I are taking a very serious look at moving to Bend. I have lots of questions!
1) What are the homeschool rules/regs?
2) Is there a good group of homeschoolers?
3) How are the schools?
4) What do you love/dislike about Bend?
I have two chief concerns. Where we are now offers tons of classes, activities, lessons, groups, etc for the kids with a deep talent pool. Do you feel like that's available to you in Bend? How close do you need to live to downtown for that to be really accessible?
My other concern is that we'd be giving up all our friends/network and friends can be very hard to come by when you're homeschooling. DH's thought is that we'd need to send them to school for a year just to meet people. Do you think that's so? Is the culture in Bend very friendly and outgoing? Do your kids struggle to make friends? Are there neighborhoods hat would make it particularly easy? One struggle I have with that is that I don't especially want to live in suburbia again, and if I have to, I want a large lot. I'm tired of living cheek by jowl.
I appreciate any input!
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One thing I should mention is that I already have, in my possession, the textbooks and teacher guides for the (probably) appropriate levels of Singapore. All I would have to do is buy the workbooks.
Based on that, do y'all think I should just go with Singapore?
I don't think you should use a curriculum just because you have it, if it doesn't work for you. Emphasis on if. If you have the textbooks and teacher guides, I would go through it. If you feel like, "Yeah, this makes perfect sense, and looks awesome to boot", you've got yourself a winner. If you're scratching your head or feeling the onset of a panic attack, I would put it away and begin with something else like one of the suggestions above.
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It's *perfect* for this kid. This is a good description of Morgan, too - she needs more than WWE but she isn't ready to compose her own stuff without me scribing, so I felt we weren't getting the full benefit of Fable. TC is perfect - it will take their understanding of writing to the next level with a manageable quantity of writing. Then do Fable, once she is comfortably writing paragraphs on her own! This is what I've concluded, at least.
This was us too. We had planned to start Fable. I had taught a unit out of it in the spring and we both liked it, but the parts where she had to really write, she was like a deer in headlights. I also have MCT and Killgallon on hand, but after sitting down with it all, I realized that TC was the one connecting all the dots. My plan is to proceed through Section 1, pick up some additional grammar, spend a good chunk of time on writing good sentences with both TC and Killgallon, and then start Fable nearer the end of the year.
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We started yesterday and it's going well so far. I really feel like this sort of explicit connect-the-dots is precisely what my reluctant writer needs. I am very, very happy that TC came out in time for me to realize that W&R was better saved for late in the year.
Also, one of the girls' most treasured stuffies was named Bushy and featured in a great many of their pretend plays, so we got off to an auspicious start :)
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We've never done anything particular for our first day, although I'm liking some of these ideas. This year I do have plans to take pictures of them sleeping in on the 1st day of ps, and I think it's a great idea to go out and have a fun day. It's important when everyone you know is doing something so different to celebrate what's great about your own experience.
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When I was in that boat I bought a grade level of MathMammoth. I thought it sounded solid and it was cheap while we were getting our feet wet. Four years later, we still use it and love it. And it's still cheap :)
Also, just wanted to point out, that you can get any and all of the grade levels (Light Blue Series) as a digital download. I have loved this as I can just print and reprint the pages. I've also uploaded it to Google Drive so it's available on the go, etc.
What I think is particularly good about MathMammoth when you're first starting out is that it's simple and straightforward. There aren't any fiddly bits, a multitude of manuals or anything overwhelming. It's quite plain, but the instruction is solid. I have seen great results with my kids using it. HTH :)
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183! I am completely reworking my language arts plan for this year, God help me.
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Try circle25 as the coupon it takes 25% off....
Now my question, can I use this for 4 kids?????
Thank you! I've now got it down to $62.91 :hurray:
Also, I got this in my email this morning from them:
"Many parents with more than one child are afraid to sign up for our site because they think that they have to buy one membership for each kid. But that’s not true! One membership per household gives you access to our materials for every grade and every test – as well as all of our online games and school enrichment programs, all for one low price! "
So it sounds like it can be used with multiple kids to me. I hope so, since I'm planning to use it for 2.
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A years subscription of http://www.testingmom.com/ will give you access to both brainpops and much more. Search online for a code. I was about to get the entire year for $63.
My 4 year old loves both brainpops equally. There is a great deal of more information in brainpop as opposed to brainpop Jr. But he still enjoys Jr and is learning a lot.
I take it back … somewhat. I see how you can sign up for the lesser Skill Building program and still get access to brain pop but my coupon still only gets me down to $75. Still a great price though for both Brainpop and Brainpop Jr.
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A years subscription of http://www.testingmom.com/ will give you access to both brainpops and much more. Search online for a code. I was about to get the entire year for $63.
My 4 year old loves both brainpops equally. There is a great deal of more information in brainpop as opposed to brainpop Jr. But he still enjoys Jr and is learning a lot.
How did you come up with the $63 price? I did a bunch of googling but could only come up with a 10% coupon which gets it to down to $107 for the year. Better than $200 but I'd rather pay $63 :)
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So I'm thinking that I'll finally spring for Brainpop this year for my 1st and 3rd graders and I don't want to buy both versions, but Brainpop Jr seems way too easy for my 3rd grader and Brainpop seems like it would lose my 1st grader's attention. Am I wrong? Is there some way to get more affordable access to both that I haven't discovered? The best deal I've seen so far is on HSBC and it's close to $200 for both.
Also, do you value this more than Discovery Streaming if you've had both? Thanks!
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For some reason I was convinced there was a pdf version of Writing & Rhetoric but when I went to order, I'm not seeing it. That being the case, are you using both the teacher and student books? I don't mind having the teacher book, but I really like to be able to print off student pages. Bummer :/
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I have a mathy background and I have been very pleased with MM (dd is currently working in year 4). She has an extremely solid understanding of everything she's learned so far and never minds doing her work. I had tried a different program for my younger dd this year, who is a very different learner, and we ended up switching to MM and she is doing well. I got the full set on sale back when - best deal ever.
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I bought the 1st grade section of MM our first year of homeschooling because it looked good and was cheap and I was afraid to invest in anything expensive. We are still using it 4 years later and I continue to be very pleased with it. For my oldest, it has been very independent. Both of my girls started MM1 halfway through their K year.
I think if nothing else it's a solid, affordable way to begin when you're beginning.
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We use letter tiles and such so I need to be able to store all that on the board and still have lots of room for writing. But my dh gave me the thumbs up on the sliding smaller boards, which would be perfect. That way I could leave stuff up on different subject boards and not have to erase. :hurray:
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Sorry, I should have clarified <$200 shipped. Oftentimes the shipping is as much as the board. You lucked out at the Habitat Restore! I wonder if Goodwill gets whiteboards.
I have a 2x3 whiteboard right now from Target. It is way too small and has all the usual problems with a cheapo board. I was doing a little googling earlier and got to thinking that maybe it would be possible to diy a set of sliding smaller magnetic boards. Then I could keep my phonics tiles on one, do math on another, etc. Tricky part is figuring out how to mock up a frame like that. But DH is extremely handy, so maybe.
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I have persused some online vendors and didn't find prices that were in my budget. I also checked out the paint thing and came to the same conclusion.
That's an interesting idea to put together some smaller boards. I'll have to think about whether that could work for us.
I need something around a 4'x4'. It needs to be wall-mount and my budget is < $200, although I'm starting to think that's impossible.
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I have been putting off buying a larger whiteboard for a long time due to the expense, but I just can't stall anymore. I need something fairly large. I have been checking our local Craigslist without finding anything. Other ideas? Cheap online vendors?
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I didn't have time to read all the replies so hopefully I'm not repeating. We have been using MM (light blue) for 3 years. I did my degree in CS and math.
I have great respect for Maria (who wrote MM). I have found it to be rigorous, thorough, and virtually self-teaching. Sometimes I find myself wishing I could teach more because I enjoy it but it's usually not needed after dd reads the explanation.
There are no bells and whistles but I feel like Maria has hit the sweet spot of excellent teaching that doesn't endeavor to be cute or trendy while still being pleasant and not an onus for the kids.
But, in the end, all that matters is what's in the pudding, right? Thus far, my dd consistently works a year ahead of her peers, tests well, and, most importantly, constantly shows working, deep understanding of her math concepts in everyday life.
Hth!
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By way of context, my oldest dd has done MathMammoth since the beginning. She is about to start level 4. Math is not her favorite subject but what she knows, she knows very well and often surprises me with her application of it in life.
My middle dd is a different learner and very energetic, physical, loud, etc. so I thought RS might be a good fit for her. We completed A and a little of B this year during her K year and she's now using MM.
I thought RSA was fun and had some cool lessons and I liked the presentation of some concepts, but she was way less into it than I thought she'd be. She was annoyed by a lot of the activities and only really liked the games. Also, unlike some people's experiences, over time I realized that she didn't have solid concepts and, to me,this is due to the all-over-the-place spiral nature of RS. I don't know if it's the way we think in my family or the way I teach, but a mastery-based approach makes way more sense to me and seems to give my kids the solid understanding that they keep and can apply.
MathMammoth is kind of the anti-RightStart, to my mind - no bells and whistles, complete immersion in one topic at a time, practically self-teaching.
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Thank you! Your google kung fu is strong. I managed not to find that file but did find a bunch of other people saying they couldn't find the file :)
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I ended up down a bunch of rabbit trails as a result of the Circe threads and found myself really wanting to listen to Analytical Learning, but googling has not produced it either for free or purchase. Does anyone know where I can find a copy to listen to? Many thanks!
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To be lacking latin is to be deaf to big chunks of the Great Conversation.
:iagree: And I :001_tt1: this.
Spelling recommendation
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
My 6.5yo is not a rules-based learner and she has loved an app called Simplex Spelling this year. She sets a timer for 10-15 minutes most days and has made rapid progress. Bonus - no work for me!