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lexi

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Everything posted by lexi

  1. I haven't read all the responses so sorry if what I post is a repeat of someone else's post........ Our youngest had horribly severe eczema and it scared me to death! We have sense learned that she has food and other allergies. I make my own soaps and detergents and I'm careful about what other products we use at our house. I am also very careful that she wears nothing but all-cotton clothing which can be a pain to find but it has helped. We also avoid her allergens which made a huge impact on her skin. We try to avoid the steroid and antibiotic route and only do that when she has a full-blown infection. I suggest VaniCream which is a wonderful and thick lotion that has helped us. I order it online but it is not a prescription. We also do lukewarm tub soaks followed by lots of lotion, sometimes several times a day. Where we live it's humid but if it were dry I would keep a humidifier going to help in the winter. We're still battling the eczema but with lots of lotion and the soaking plus avoiding things that irritate her skin (which we've learned through trial and error) she has improved greatly. I hope things improve soon. We know firsthand how miserable that can be!
  2. I second Jennifer's response. We like to cut and paste pictures, words, and sentences but my daughter does not like tracing. She will dictate short sentences to me but the cut and paste lapbooks are perfect for us at this phase. :)
  3. I have wondered the same thing and have done some searching... This fall we are going to try Artistic Pursuits for art which looks like it has a nice blend of background info on artists, art appreciation, and art instruction with projects. I have not yet found anything I like for music. I would love something with some music history, bios on composers, and a breakdown of some of their most famous works. I am going to keep looking but I hope someone else chimes in! :bigear:
  4. I was wondering the exact same thing today. I've been searching the IEW website and I'm not finding the answer. I would love an overview of the program too! :bigear:
  5. We are doing kindergarten this year. Here is our lineup: Math-U-See Alpha (We did Primer in PreK as a warm up and my daughter loved it. She enjoys math!) We will only complete the first half this year. The first half of the Phonics Road with focus on learning the phonograms and the handwriting. We're doing a little bit of the spelling but will finish up the spelling next year. She does copybooks that I made for her on the computer. Explorers Beginnings for Bible Several Usborne books for science on different topics-supplemented with library books and one of the Usborne science activity books. A Child's History of the World for our history and geography. We add in interesting websites, historical videos, and books on certain time periods as she's interested. It's just our snuggle/read/discuss book. We do some narration with this book and sometimes make notebook pages. We do lots of painting and crafts and use ideas from Primary Art by Kohl. We listen to classical music. Then we have a very ambitious read aloud list that I compiled pulling from Sonlight, Veritas Press, Winter Promise, and some other booklists. We love to snuggle and read. We also spend lots of time outdoors and doing hands on things but my daughter begs to do "school" so I put together our K curricula. We go fairly slowly and it has been very fun. Next year we're going to continue with Math-U-See Alpha and the Phonics Road and then we will add Tapestry of Grace, a new Bible curriculum, Apologia Astronomy, Artistic Pursuits, some readers for her to practice her phonograms and work on reading, and more great read alouds.
  6. We are doing the Phonics Road and my daughter is in Kindergarten. We started a little before her K year just learning the phonograms and playing games with them (probably halfway through her PreK year). Once she was very solid on her letters and phonograms we slowly added some handwriting when she was ready. We focused on lots of handwriting and made up games for the phonograms to make sure we didn't forget them. We probably spent one semester on those things alone. We didn't start the spelling until later-about the beginning of our K year. We usually take about 2-3 weeks to cover one week of material. We take our time with the spelling words and continue practicing handwriting with copywork. It will take us 2 1/2 years to get through the first year of the curriculum from start to finish. We will have completed about half of it by the end of our K year and will finish the other half during our 1st grade year. I really wanted to make sure her foundation was solid but I felt she was ready to begin with the program in her PreK year. So far we have enjoyed the program and haven't experienced any frustration-probably due to our slow pace. My daughter has become a great speller and is starting to read on her own and is picking out words from books and reading short phonics-based readers on her own. I've been very pleased with how the program is set up. Don't be afraid to tweak the schedule and go more slowly with all the writing.
  7. I use blogspot as well and have found it to be fairly simple. I am not technologically savvy--my hubby can attest to that!! I haven't had any problems with blogspot and it's free......... My two blogs are in my signature. I love blogging and our families enjoy following the blogs to stay on top of what we're doing.
  8. Ok, I'm looking into Apologia Astronomy too and now I'm a little worried after reading the posts. :tongue_smilie: My daughter will be 6 so I think the simple text will be more appealing to her than an older student. I had planned to check out lots of living books from the library to correspond to each chapter as well as biographies of astronomers. I guess I was planning to make our study a little bit like TOG, using the Astronomy book as our spine- for a non-science mommy- and then supplementing because we love to read. For those of you who have used the program, do you think this is doable or even a good idea? :confused: Is there a science type curriculum that covers this topic that recommends supplemental books? I looked at NOEO but it didn't look very appealing. It looked like nothing more than a reading schedule. Now I'm on the fence for next year ad I really want to enjoy science because I never enjoyed it in school! :001_unsure:
  9. I am not familiar with Writing with Ease and don't know anyone who is using that program. Are there some threads here that discuss how it works or some reviews I could read? Anyone have some pros and cons of this program compared to Write Shop or other writing programs? Is it more of a grammar program or creative writing? I don't understand how it works and I couldn't find a description on the Peace Hill Press website.
  10. Thanks for listing those resources. I had not heard of those before.
  11. Thanks for the feedback. I think we're going to try it. I know it's not what WTM recommends but I think my daughter would love something like that. I'd love to hear a review from you after you've used it for a few months.
  12. My daughter enjoys coming up with stories and mom needs help coming up with ideas or ways to encourage her writing and story-telling. I saw Write Shop Primary and it looked like a good mix of writing activities and hands-on activities. I like that the student is not required to do a frustrating amount of writing at this level but it encourages creativity and helps them build a story. Has anyone used this program? Any feedback or suggestions? What would be a good, very gentle, and fun beginning writing curriculum? We're planning for first grade and my son will be in PreK so I thought he might join in on the story-telling with us occasionally. I am thinking about using IEW when she is older but would like something planned out with ideas for now.
  13. We plan to begin TOG when my daughter is 6. I decided to start now so I could begin learning my way around the curriculum. We'll begin with year 1 and start light and then add in more books or topics as we progress through the semester (and as I figure out what I'm doing!). Now that the curriculum is redesigned I've heard that the fog isn't quite so bad.......they also have Teacher Training that you can order on DVD or download the video I think. I've watched one about getting started with TOG and using the Digital Edition. It was so helpful to have Marcia walking you through the steps and getting you started. So.........while TOG would be a big undertaking, you could spend the year getting more familiar and adding additional components as you work through the year. I'm going to take the plunge now while my kids are still little so I have time to adjust to TOG. But the structure is something I think we need as well as the continuity of the curriculum. I think I would actually spend more time adding to another curriculum or supplementing things that I felt were disjointed. I think I need the flow of TOG to get us going.
  14. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on TOG. We are planning to start with year 1 this fall. I researched TOG and many other choices for months before deciding because it was such a huge decision. But I am so excited after looking through the material and it is wonderful to hear feedback from people who use TOG and enjoy it. If anyone TOG user blogs about their studies please share your blog link. I'm starting preparation for fall and I'm a little nervous with all the info and with getting started. So for those of you who already use it, please share some of your best starting tips! We can't wait!
  15. Thanks for the resources. I think I'm going to use some of the Classics for Kids for my daughter to listen to. It sounds like something she will enjoy. And I had not seen the download for the Book of Virtues. That is a HUGE file with lots of info so I'm going to look through it. Thank you!
  16. Thanks for the suggestion. This resource was new to me. I'm going to look it over! And yes, we were looking for something Christian-based.
  17. We used a Child's Book of Character Building last year and my kids enjoyed listening to it. It is for the younger age group though. My daughter was 4 when we read through it. I've been thinking about the Five in a Row Character supplement for our upcoming year. I don't know anyone who has used it though. So I'm still looking.
  18. Ok, I want to do something a little more structured than simply listening to classical music. I'd like something with bios and a breakdown of some of the famous works by each composer so we can talk about it. What do you all use for learning about composers and doing music appreciation? I need some suggestions.......This is for early elementary. Also, what does everyone enjoy for character training? I've looked at the FIAR character supplement and I like the book selections they use. Has anyone used this? Is it worthwhile? The character supplement from Barefoot Books just didn't look meaty enough for us. Suggestions please!! Lexi
  19. I had some questions about elementary Spanish curricula. I'm sure it's discussed somewhere on the forum but I haven't seen it. What are your recommendations for a Spanish curriculum for kindergarten or early elementary? I was looking at Puertas Abiertas but I only see one level. I didn't want something that is completely workbook driven but didn't know where to start looking. What do you use? Likes/dislikes? Thanks!
  20. Thank you! I'm going to check into that History for Little Pilgrims. It looks really neat. I had never heard of Queens homeschool. I'm going to look through their books. Can you tell I'm new at this? There are so many great resources I never know where to start!
  21. Ok, can someone help me with some book recommendations? I am looking for some books for my kindergarten aged children about the history of America, the founding fathers, and the 4th of July. Picture books or reference books. Anything with a Christian theme........ Suggestions or recommendations anyone? Thank you!
  22. lexi

    Music

    Thanks for all the ideas. The only one I had heard of was the Pfeiffer House.
  23. Does anyone have suggestions for a music curriculum for preschool and kindergarten/1st grade? I don't know where to even begin looking. Thanks!
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