Rasa
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Posts posted by Rasa
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A question for current/recent Singapore Dimensions Math users — since The Geometer’s Sketchpad is not available for purchase any longer, what do you use instead? We have encountered some activities involving The Geometer’s Sketchpad in Singapore Primary 6B, and it looks like it is referred to in Dimensions Math 7 as well. Any recommendations for easy to use software for geometric explorations?
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Would the transition from Singapore Primary Mathematics Grade 6 Standards Edition to Dimensions 7 be relatively smooth?
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On 8/6/2019 at 9:52 PM, Farrar said:
Waldorf writing in schools tends to be extremely formulaic and prescribed. I'd work on some writing at home. Something light, but something that emphasizes that she can write in her own style and voice.
From what I know about Waldorf schools, you may be up against a wall with the afterschooling. I don't think I'd advertise it much to the teachers.
Farrar, thanks for the feedback! Do you have a recommendation for a writing program to suit our situation?
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6 hours ago, moonflower said:
We switched from homeschooling to a waldorf charter and back to homeschooling a few years ago; there's an old thread about it around here somewhere.
It is really dependent on school and especially teacher - teachers have in general a lot of power in a waldorf setting, which can be good or bad. If the teacher follows the pedagogy rigidly, they will not be happy about the afterschooling and I wouldn't mention it. If they're more relaxed about it they'll allow you to differentiate according to your student's needs and might even allow it to some extent in the classroom. If your kid is in Singapore 6 in 6th grade, I can guarantee you she'll be well ahead of her class in Waldorf. Welllllllll ahead.
Thanks a lot to everyone for your valuable feedback! A bit of background information - it is a mixed 6/7 grade class. It sounds like the kids have a wide range of math skills in that class, and there is a lot of differentiation going on; e.g., someone was independently working on AOPS Prealgebra last year in that classroom.
It didn’t even occur to me that afterschooling in general might be an issue since it is part of family life and not part of school. I would love to read the old thread that moonflower mentioned. I haven’t found that thread on these forums yet. (I looked.) If anyone has a link, please send me a pointer. Many thanks again! Please keep your advice and different perspectives coming!
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Looking for afterschooling wisdom from experienced parents. My daughter was homeschooled through 5th grade. She will start 6th grade at a local Waldorf school in September. At home, I am planning to continue working on our math curiculum (Singapore Primary Math 6 grade) and incorporate additional instruction in other subjects through her school project assignments and reports as needed. Any feedback or advice? This child is a self-motivated, serious music student (~ 15 hour / week commitment.)
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4 hours ago, SammySommers said:
Would five be too young to start learning the violin? We all play strings and my youngest is starting to take an interest and has announced that he's going to learn the violin, but I don't want to start too soon and put him off. He's 4 at the moment.
I'm not a pushy parent or anything like that, but I'd like to encourage him if he seems interested.
Does anybody have any experience in this area?My daughter (11) started violin at 6.5, fairly late by Suzuki standards. She begged for a year before I gave in. We did a Kindermusik program for two years before starting Suzuki violin. Within a couple of years she she caught up with peers who started at two or three years old. At 11, she is still very enthusiastic about violin, loves playing solos and performing with her orchestra and string quartet. I am not a musician, and my focus as a Suzuki parent has been on happy relationships with music and within the Suzuki triangle (child-parent-teacher.) I would let the child take the lead in in this journey, but not push. My favorite book on this topic is Helping Parents Practice by Edmund Sprunger.
https://www.amazon.com/Helping-Parents-Practice-Making-Easier/dp/0976785439/
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If you are looking for depth, you could enrich any math curriculum with 6-grade Singapore supplements such as Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems.
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At that age, my daughter loved Violet Mackerel by Anna Branford (had to order the last two books from ebay in Australia since only the first six were published in the USA) and Cobble Street Cousins by Cynthia Ryland.
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DD is finishing up Singapore Math Primary Mathematics 5A (Standards edition) Textbook + Workbook. Occasionally we supplement with Intensive Practice. Textbook+Workbook alone are too easy for DD, and we do not have time to work out all the problems in Intensive Practice on a regular basis. I am wondering if in the future we could replace the workbook with Intensive Practice; i.e., work through Textbook+Intensive Practice in entirety, and use the workbook only as a supplement for chapter reviews. Any opinions or advice? Many thanks in advance.
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Another delightful not-a-Christmas book that happens around Christmas time --
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
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Great thread. My sweet 5th grade girl reads well, but strongly prefers large-print, well-spaced, illustrated editions for independent reading. Read-aloud editions usually work well, if we can find them. Any recommendations (as well as suggestions how to alleviate the transition to "normal" books)? Our library system doesn't have a good way to search for "unabridged, illustrated, large print". And regular large print editions tend to be awfully crowded with non-existent margins...
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Many thanks for the awesome recommendations! Please keep them coming! ?
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My 10-year-old daughter would like to learn about the history of the Universe (Big Bang and on.) My first thought was to start with George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Perhaps someone in the Hive has a ready-made list of resources suitable for a curious fifth grader? Many thanks in advance.
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Dear creative math teachers,
I am looking for resources (ideally, open-and-go) connecting music and fractions for a 4th grader. I would like to breathe some life into fractions. My daughter is at grade level in math and a passionate musician (a strong player and a fairly advanced violin student), but I am not sure that she sees and appreciates the connection between her math and music studies. Many thanks in advance!
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American Players Theatre produces engaging study guides for their student matinees.
https://americanplayers.org/assets/documents/2014_Romeo_and_Juliet_study_guide.pdf
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Another plug for Kindermusik or a similar relaxed, group-based program for a four-year-old. My daughter started asking for violin lessons around that time, but I was not sure if she would have the attention span for private lessons, so I signed her up for a Kindermusik program. Kindermusik Young Child, in addition to being lots of fun, motivated her to practice daily and independently, which she did happily and for a lot longer than the recommended 5 minutes a day. After a year of Young Child both of us were convinced that she had the stamina for daily, focused practice and the intellectual maturity for a more rigorous approach to music. At 6.5y we joined a Suzuki program, where my daughter progressed in leaps and bounds with pure joy. After watching hundreds of preschoolers over the last three years in the Suzuki world, I am still not convinced that an earlier start is better.
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Thank you, everyone, for your awesome ideas! Kneyda, how does one sign up for the MET Opera learning program?
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I am looking for recommendations of classical operas that a musically-minded 9-year-old would enjoy. (We saw Mozart's "The Magic Flute" live recently, and my daughter loved it.) Ideally, we would like to read a story of an opera in an illustrated children's book and then watch a production on DVD. Our public library has readily available resources for Verdi's Aida, so we are planning to start with that. Perhaps the wise WTM minds have more suggestions? Many thanks in advance.
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26.2mom... So you switched between 3a and 3b?
Yes!
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The switch from Singapore to Math Mammoth was very smooth for DS in the middle of 3rd grade. I am in the middle of
the opposite switch for DD (MM to Singapore), also in the middle of 3rd grade, after realizing that she needs more challenging word problems than what MM has to offer. I had to introduce some MM 4th grade topics to catch up (e.g., long division.) In my opinion, the strength of the Singapore program is word problems, and the strength of MM is clear, step-by-step procedural instruction. I imagine that we will be going back and forth between the two programs in the years to come. We have MM blue series, which is organized by topics, making it very easy to throw together a personalized supplement to Singapore.
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DD(8) took a while to internalize multiplication facts. A few weeks of systematic, cumulative review with Five Times Five is Not Ten together with a daily game of Multiplication War improved her confidence, speed and accuracy dramatically. Different things work for different kids. I had heard good things about Times Tales, but that approach was completely useless for my daughter.
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My 8-year-old loves the Great States board game.
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My daughter is entering 3rd grade and can independently write a decent sentence. She can chat forever on any given topic, but if I suggest to write her thoughts down, she will condense all she has to say into one basic five to seven-word sentence using the shortest, simplest words possible.
She is a relatively late reader (~7) and not a natural speller. At first I thought that spelling skills were holding back her writing. Her spelling skills have greatly improved with AAS, which we started in 2nd grade (we are mid-level 3 now), but her confidence in her writing abilities has not caught up with her spelling skills yet.
I would like to help her, since she says that she wants to be a writer when she grows up. I am thinking about Writing Strands. Do you think it might work for this child? What level would you recommend? I am leaning towards Level 2.
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I am thinking about REAL Science Odyssey Level 1, and looking for feedback from the hive. Did you and your children enjoy it? Would it be fairly open-and-go if I purchased the recommended supply kit? It would be for a third grader. Any other secular, hands-on Earth and Space science curriculum recommendations for the elementary age group? Many thanks in advance.
Looking for Twaddle
in The Chat Board
Posted
Noel Streatfeild -- the "Shoes" books etc. Wholesome, may feel a bit formulaic at times, but I can't recall a single one that my 11-year-old and I haven't enjoyed together.