KellyGirl
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Posts posted by KellyGirl
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I would get Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart - I remember being introduced to it in elementary school and I still enjoy it today.
Although he's not truley "classical", Gershwin (start with Rhaposdy in Blue maybe) was another composer that I enjoyed as a youngster.
And my kids love the first few tracks from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.
HTH!
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This is our first year using SL LA. We previously used ABeka. They are very different. I'm using LA 3 with my 4th grader, just because we are doing core 3. I'd say it's much more gentle than ABeka and not as grammar rule intesive.
I would have to say that yes, I am happy with SL LA because my son had made HUGE strides in his writing. You can check out my blog to see the research paper my son just wrote. At the begining of the year it was like pulling teeth to get him to write more than two sentences about anything, but Sonlight really helped us through the writing process.
They give you lots of extra dictation to use if you want, and every Monday, dication is all you do for the lesson (besides spelling and optional workbooks). I purchased Word Study and Wordly Wise, and would recommend at least Word Study if not both books.
If you want lots of grammar and structured language stuff, you probably won't like it. I may go back to ABeka next year, but SL has offered a nice change of pace for us.
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I have lived in Syracuse all my life. I can tell you anything that you want to know! Houses are cheap, but the taxes are not. But even in spite of taxes, housing is more affordable here than it is in a lot of other places we looked at living. Traffic is almost a non-issue except in a few sprawling suburbs, but it is still nothing compared to big city traffic.
As for homeschooling, there are lots of homeschoolers. The LEAH convention has moved to Rochester, which is one and a half hour drive:angry:. And just to clear up what newlifemom said, you can attend the conventioni without signing the statement. If you want to be an active member of thier group, you have to pay dues and sign the statement. I have heard talk of a secular group in the area, but I don't know anything about it.
My family is involved in a co-op through a local church. It is called HIM ministry. You can have a look here. There are about 100 kids involved this year (I think that number is just for elementary, but I'm not sure).
I don't know what else you want to know... but I will do my best to answer if I can!
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My ds 10 is working on a paper about polar bears. He wrote three different "hook" sentences, and needs to collect votes for the best one. I posted this on my blog, but only got a few responses and he wants more input.
Thanks for your help!
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:iagree: When my boys finished 100 EL, that is exactly what I did. There is even a list in the back of the book for you to use.
From there, I used Sonlight's I Can Read It books (you could easily go straight to these). My second son was a pretty early reader, and for some reason, the Sonlight books didn't hold his interest. Neither did Bob books (which also worked well for my first). The ABeka first grade readers worked well for him. I just found old, used ones and didn't bother with a teacher's manual. We would just read and talk about the stories. I think Fun With Pets was the first one, but I'm not sure...
HTH!
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I'm on my third time around of 100EL, this time with a dd 3y 10mo. She will hesitate/refuse to do things if she is afraid that she can't do it. It is a little like you said, where no amount of fun or prodding will get her to take the plunge. She is very capable of doing the lessons, and even remembers the sounds after a few weeks off. She just lacks the confidence.
I try putting the book back on the shelf for a week or two, then bring it back out. But if I were you (or me) I would put lots of focus on learning all the letter sounds without the book. Just use flashcards, letter magnets, or write on a dry erase board. Then stick two sounds together, ask him to slowly say each sound. This can build his confidence without the intimidation of the book. Then, as he gets comfortable, go back to the book.
Hang in there, both of my boys hit walls with 100 EL from time to time. Now at almost 10 and almost 5, they are both fluent, motivated readers.:D Just try to stay creative and flexible.
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:grouphug: I had it pretty bad with all three of mine... like all day, nine month sickness. At wierd as it sounds, the only close to natural thing that helped me was fireballs. It took two or three different people telling me this before I would even try it. But if I popped one in my mouth when I started feeling sick, it would usually help the feeling pass. And then I had to make sure I was always snacking between fireballs. In the end, I was buying them in bulk.
The other thing that worked for me, and is totally not natural, is Unisom (like Joann said). But you have to get the right kind, and can't take it in the first trimester. It isn't habit forming, even after 6 months. If I missed a pill, I was guaranteed a horible next day. It's not natural, but if you're really feeling bad and nothing else works...
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Recently my sister told my 14 yo niece: "Put your gun down and go do your school work!"
They have been shooting squirrels out the window because of an infestation.
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I seem to remember that a seperate thread developed on "Helpmeet" (and like Holly said, the book title wasn't in the thread title), but I couldn't find it either. Kelli in TN did have a lot to say about how the Pearls view women and such. I did locate Gardenschooler quoting Kelli about the seminars on p. 12 of the "Can We Talk about the Pearls" thread.
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Up until I was around 12 years old, I would wet the bed when ever I got an ear infection. Sometimes, that was the only way mom knew I had one. And I have noticed with my little ones, they pee their pants with an ear infection. That might be totally random, but it could be worth asking if he is having any ear pain...
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My oldest was still wetting at 7. Our doctor said he doesn't like the meds because they mask the problem - skip the meds, wet the bed. They are good for things like camp and sleepovers, but don't really make sense for long term use.
The Dr. suggested that we try a bed wetting alarm. The cost (on ebay, but new) was about $60, but compared to the weekly purchase of Goodnites, that didn't seem so bad. The first night, ds didn't wake up. The next night we stayed near by and woke him up when it went off. Then there were a few nights where he got up himself when it went off. Then he never wet again. Except maybe once when he was really over tired. It has been 2 and a half years.
Another idea is to ask for a referal to a urologist. He is old enough that your ped should be willing to send him there, to make sure that there isn't a medical issue.
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About a year ago my dh and I bought a bass guitar pedal used in a music store and then turned around and made $400 on it by selling it on ebay. When we bought it we tested it thoroughly and even took it apart to make sure everything looked good on the inside. There was one jack that did not work on the pedal, and we stated that in our auction.
A few weeks after the guy got it, he sent us a message saying that the inside of the pedal was full of packing peanuts and it didn't work - it was ruined. Thankfuly, we had taken it apart (and put it back together)so we knew he was lying. I replied saying I didn't understand his complaint, asked for pictures, and suggested that he take up a claim with UPS. I didn't hear back from him and a month or two later he left positive feedback!
All that to say, some people are just out there to scam. Why pay for it if you can make some crazy complaint and get your money back? I would ask for a pic and better explination before giving a refund. But always present yourself humbly and word responses carefuly.
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I third Will Smith. He prides himself on not being crude. If you are interested in Christian music, there are some local guys that I worked with recently who have a lot of talent. (I work as sound engineer ont the side sometimes) They haven't made it big, but they really are pretty good - they were one of 4 local rap groups to perform and they were by far the best. Lots of energy and good flowing rhymes. And they were really polite and genuine off the stage. This is there website http://sonzofthunda.com.p4.hostingprod.com/ministry, you could probably call the phone number and order a CD.
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She sounds a lot like my 4yo son! He finished 100 EL while he was three.. I struggled with finding things that taught him reading and held his attention after that.
I think that initally I went to Bob books and Sonlight's 1st grade readers. I'm not sure why, but he quickly lost interest in both of those. Abeka readers (first grade) worked well for a while. He was excited to keep reading, which I think is important at such a young age. Then we moved on to a Bob Jones 2nd grade reading book that we had access to, and he liked that a lot too.
I was doing FLL with him for a while, and just skipping copy work. He was more than capable of it, and enjoyed it. I only stopped because I found he could learn parts of speech, etc. just as easily listening to his brother's lessons.
Personally, I haven't pushed handwritting much. He does write on his own, in fact yesterday he wrote a little poem (you could hear him read it on my blog). But your concern about future bad habbits is a good one. I would probably present handwriting around age 4 and offer "the right way", but not push if she doesn't want to learn, KWIM?
I have used this website http://handwritingworksheets.com/ or workbooks from Wal-Mart, or some of my oldest son's left over Reason for Handwriting sheets. I just show him how to make the letters and then let him practice.
HTH
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I think that tenure is, in general, a bad thing. I think that teachers get comfortable and a lot of times they go into "auto pilot" after a while. For example, I have heard teachers complain that they don't want to teach a new grade or a new course bcz it will be too much work. They just want to keep on doing what they have always done. So, I guess I would have to say that it has negative effects on the school system.
I think merit pay is a great idea to replace tenure. However the pitfalls of that go hand in hand with teaching to a test. How will you measure the good teachers? IMO, the kids with the best scores are not always the kids with the best teachers. There is so much more to being a teacher than test scores.
I see tenure as one of many reasons that our education system is broken. But none of those reasons had much to do with our decision to homeschool. I feel like I am able to give my kids the individual attention and tailored education they need to be their best. It is my responsibility to help them become sucsessful (in every sense of the word) adults - by building their character, teaching them the "3rs" and teaching how to learn and love learning.
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Admittidly, there is not much to the guides. But I find the maps and vocab (and sometimes the questions/discusion guides) helpful. For example if we are reading a book about sailors and there is lots of sailing terminology - rather than go for a dictionary or computer everytime I find I word we don't know, I open the IG. It will have all the words my kids should need help with given in context and then defined.
The same with the maps...I admit that I didn't know exactly where Barbados was so I just checked the Sonlight map then showed my kids the same spot on the globe.
With core 3/4 you will also get answers to the questions in History of the USA. The LA gives you answers to the Word Study books. That makes life much easier when correcting the days work. Not that I can't sit there and figure out if the answers are right, but it goes MUCH quicker with an answer key.
So, I guess I would echo the idea of buy it used. Esp. if you don't know if you want to follow the schedule.
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My gifted 4yo loves the kids k'nex (the bigger sized ones), and it is impressive the things he can build with them. I think that they allow for creative play while being a challenge.
I would also second Bob books, my boys loved these when they first started reading, as they are written in such a way that knowing letter sounds is just about all you need to get through the early ones. (And I think you can get a set for around $15) Beyond that though, just books in general...books that can be read to them now and they can read themselves later.
Maybe a Leapster 2...I've been thinking about one of those for my littles. But it is a video game....:tongue_smilie:
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I'm currently using Sonlight core 3 with my boys who are 9 and 4. I think that 3 moves a little quick, so I imagine 3+4 does move really quick. My 4yo is really bright (reads on a 3rd or 4th grade level) but he get lots out of Sonlight. I do not have him do any of the read alone books, but he sits with us for core subjects and some of LA. He can tell you all about how Ronanoke failed and then came Jamestown... and he is gaining a great understanding of geography.
Some of the reading may be a little a below your oldest, but I think he will still find it enjoyable. And it isn't hard to find more books for him to read on the subjects (at least once you get to the colonies). I would probably require a little more from him in the way of "min-reports" and reading summaries, but I think there is plenty there for him to learn and enjoy.
HTH
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Make sure you have a total of four nunchucks too! Although only some games require it, you could get away with 2 nunchuks if you don't want to spend that much right off the bat.
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:iagree:With Donna that Sonlight is very flexible and easy to use. I'm not all that familiar with CM, but have been using Sonlight for a few years. I am confident that Sonlight is the reason my boys love to read. You will have no shortage of good books if you buy a Sonlight core.
As for schedule, I think we spend about 45 min each morning on Sonlight core, not including the read aloud. We tend to do the read aloud at bed time and it takes 20 to 30 min. I'm also using Sonlight LA 3 and that doesn't take more than 15 min most days.
It is very helpful if you can allow yourself to not be bound by the schedule. Sometimes, if I get behind on read alouds, I pick up one as a book on tape. Other times, we put Sonlight on pause to explore something more thoughly (we just spent 2 extra weeks on Jamestown).
My younger 2 are preschool age, and they have gleaned A LOT from sitting in on Sonlight. My 3yo can't count past 5, but she can name the continents and states on the eastern seabord of the U.S. Some of the read alouds are over their heads, but some they really enjoy. And the history can easily be brought down to their level.
I feel you on the projects. I always wanted to be the mom that is into all the cool projects, but I often lack the motivation to do them. But I have found some great resources on line for when I want to suplement a project with our Sonlight studies.
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Workbooks might not hurt, if she likes them. But it sounds like she is a pretty motivated reader. My middle son is like that too. I have found that he pushes himself and doesn't really need formal reading instruction. I have him read to me about once a week (just from whatever book he is currently reading).
I decided that the relaxed approach isn't going to hurt him, because (much like your daughter) he reads as well as my 9yo. I just give him access to lots and lots of books. And we still read to him when he wants us to. Don't forget that she is getting a great advantage sitting in on school with big brother too!
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I love my Columbia Bugaboo boots. They are very warm and very dry. My feet are usually cold (even around the house) but I could walk in snow all day in these. They are an older version of this:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1996103
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1. I hate my dog. The dog I asked for (in part on my son's behalf).
We want to get rid of her, but no one wants her and my son would be devistated. It has gottent to the point where every time she runs away I think "maybe she won't come back this time." But she always does.
2. My 9yo can't seem learn his math facts no matter what I try.
3. The laundry won't put itself away after I wash and fold it.
If you could choose only TEN books from Sonlight's Core 3 and 4...
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
We're half way through core 3 now, and my almost 10yo ds LOVES Om-kas-toe and Naya Nuki (the other book in core 3 by the same author). He reads them over and over. He also really enjoyed Mr. Revere and I.
I think our favorite read aloud so far has been the Witch at Blackbird Pond, and if you dd is an avid reader, she may be able to tackle that one on her own.