LEK
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Posts posted by LEK
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We are using mus as our main program and so far love it. it is exactly what i needed, easy to teach, open and go and mostly independent. We are also supplementing with a spiral program (yet to be decided for next year but most likely MM) as I have a few concerns about the MUS S&S but the method and teaching really is working well here. I agonised over our math program decision for a year and ended up narrowing it to mus and singapore then scored a second hand bargain with MUS so decided to try that, lucky as it turns out, I bought a second hand SM a few months later and she HATED it with a passion!!!
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We are galloping the globe this year with a young Ker, so far going well. I like that galloping the globe is more a list of references and ideas, this give me just enough inspiration and direction to head off and do my own thing without getting lost in cyberspace and re-emerging weeks later after following a million tangents with no actual work acheived. So far we are really only using GtG for ideas for topics to cover and fun activities while I am making our own worksheets for age appropriate country studies as my DD is not quite at the level for the worksheets included. As to 1st, I am currently unsure whether i will continue and do GtG for a second year or whether I will start SOTW (have both, will see when the time comes I guess) but I have so many ideas for geography and we are enjoying it, might just continue on our world adventure for a while longer.
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Like the others said, depends on where you are. We decided to do a geography focus for our K year. We are making it fun, moving as fast/slow as we want and we are covering many of the other topics but mostly through geography centred unit studies and not as individual subject areas.
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We are doing 2 math programs simultaneously, one spiral and one mastery.
The spiral one atm is the program used by our local schools however we will be switching once this level is done in a few months (maybe to MM). MUS is currently our main curriculum as she loves it and it is working well. We will also be starting LOF in July. That will work out to be 1 day/week of LOF and 2 days/week each of the math programs.
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My daughter is in K this year (started in jan) and turned 5 in April.
This year our main focus is on the basics; math and reading. We do 1 lesson of formal maths daily (MUS or the local PS program) and 1 informal maths activity, usually manipulative work but sometimes games etc with a math focus. For LA we do 1 lesson of phonics (ETC), 1 reading activity and one other LA activity daily (spelling, handwriting, games...) and are using OPGTR.
As to other subjects we are doing a geography focussed year, we are roughly using galloping the globe as a guide and do several activities daily based on our current topic/country. We are tying in art, music, geography, cooking, languages, science etc into our unit studies on each topic. Main books utilised in addition to Galloping the Globe are Beginning Geography, Draw Write Now 7 and 8, Children just like me, and a wide assortment of atlases, maps and free lapbooks etc from the net.
We are also focussing on logic using lollipop logic, and participate in 2 homeschool sports classes (gym and ball sports).
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We school 4 days per week. We do 2 days of each program most weeks but sometimes it is 3 of one and one of the other.
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I am going by age, she will be promoted when her peers are promoted in PS based on age, what level we are working on in each area is irrelevant. However as we get closer to highschool age i may change this and correct her grade level to her current working level, that was we will have a graduation age/year.
ATM we celebrate finishing curricula not grades. Whenever she finishes a book we have a small celebration or if it was really hard going on her a bigger celebration. We went all out with a mini party when she finished her first phonics book this year, she found it tough going in the beginning and we were all so proud we though a party was definitely in order.
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lol, i don't dread it mostly because i just never seem to actually do it (well not so far). I tend to get to the end of the curricula and realise i have not yet opened the teacher manual and wonder if maybe I missed something important. Best case scenario, I read the introduction in the teacher manual and the first lesson then forget all about it till we are wrapping it all up. I really need to start reading those manuals.
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I just start the next thing when we finish the first. I have no plans over a year except our minimum requirements which are typically well under half what actually gets done. So far (in 1 term and 1 week into term 2) we have finished 2 complete year long math curricula (yes she is very mathematically minded), 2 ETC books... My goals for the entire year in math and LA (workbook components not extra activities) were to complete those 2 math programs (done in 10 weeks!) and complete 3 ETC workbooks (will end up taking 1 1/2 terms at this rate). We are already onto "next year" math wise in term 2 and will be onto next year phonics within the month. We school feb-december.
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:iagree: Yes, Stetro grips on a mechanical pencil (they break if you put too much pressure on it) has hugely improved my dd7's grip and handwriting stamina.
ooh thanks love this idea, she not only holds the pencil wrong but also presses so hard.
Thanks for the suggestions for small crayon stubs, will do that this week too. thanks everyone, hopefully we can now make some progress on this issue!
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ok, I now have 2 of the stetro grips, hopefully this will help. Never heard of the claw one but will keep in mind if this grip does not work. Thanks
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Thanks, will try a different pencil grip and see if that helps and will look up that song.
Any other suggestions?
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I second MEP or CSMP, they are both free and will tide you over till you can get the new lot in. Also lots of manipulative work, I make puzzles or challenges for my kids to solve using their manipulatives which they both love.
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Well this I was not prepared for. we are in our first year of formal HS with a Ker and a p-Ker. Researched curricula to death and am happy with all my choices as are the kiddies, we are making great progress in all areas except one. Holding a pencil! I kid you not, holding that pencil correctly is driving us both bonkers, she just does not get it and it is fast becoming the bane of our schooling. I cannot figure out how to correct that pencil grip, I have tried everything and no success. Honestly she holds it any old which way, in her fist, at the very end, randomly between any 2 fingers... when i try to correct it she insists she can't write like that and adjusts to the most uncomfortable looking positioning ever and completely unworkable. Help please, any advice greatly appreciated. Any website recommendations to show how I can correct it? Any tips at all? Honestly I am at my wits end here, there has to be something we are missing.
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Thanks guys. No not worried about reading level, just thought having an idea of approximate level would be beneficial. Thanks for the idea of using graded reader lists online (man I must be having a slow day here lol), that is a huge help.
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We are currently using 2, soon to be 3 programs for K. I am doing this partly to slow her down as she is very math minded and partly to ensure we have good understanding from all angles (probably not necessary, she just gets math).
ATM we are using MUS, we do one lesson per week and this usually takes only 15 minutes one day a week. We are also using the program used in our local PS 2 days per week (workbook only). In addition we will soon be starting miquon. We also do manipulative "work" most days, tangrams, pattern blocks, playing with the MUS blocks, experimenting with capacity and volume using kitchen items...
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Ok, seriously silly newbie question alert (we have been HS for 3 months). In a lot of posts I see people refer to their child's reading level (ie in 1st grade but reading at a 4th grade level). How do I assess reading level??? Is there a website/book/product readily available to assess the reading level of my children. How is everyone assessing reading levels?
TIA
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The MUS blocks are much bigger. They would not fit right on top of the pictures in the Miquon book.
Ok thanks, looks like I will be ordering the rods along with the books then
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Draw Write Now is a resource you will use a LOT if you have it. This is something I sorely regret not purchasing earlier.
Faber-Castell beeswax crayons. Stockmar are even nicer, but these are good enough. Prang part soy crayons are better than Crayola, in quality and color selection, if you want a 64 pack.
Pattern Blocks You can find ways to use these all the way through algebra.
Was going to suggest pattern blocks and draw write now. My kids are completely in love with both (ages 3 and 5).
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My DD5 also hate coloring in, she will draw for hours though so I let her draw instead. I see no reason to push colouring in if a child is not interested, there are other ways of practising the same motor skills such as dot to dots, mazes, drawing... (on the other hand my DD3 is obsessed with coloring in)
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I love the MUS blocks and so do my kids, actually playing with those blocks is one of their favourite pastimes out of school time, they really love them lol. So far we have not "needed" those specific blocks and others would have done but I believe that as you get to the higher levels the MUS blocks specifically would definitely be best.
Actually I was wondering about hte exact opposite situation to you, would we be able to use MUS blocks instead of Cuisenaire rods for miquon?
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I hate ruining books, even workbooks. I do not tear them out or cut off the binding, but in cases where it is easier I will photocopy the pages we will be using. This also suits my perfectionist daughter as she can get a bit upset if something is not good enough by her standards, by photocopying and not letting her use the original I can make an extra copy when she needs it. Having said that we do try not to actually write in work books wherever possible, instead I prefer using loose binder paper or exercise books.
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Looks good!
Looks a lot what we're doing (except our math is CLE 1). We'll be doing Evan Moor Beginning geography/map skills for our Soc. Studies.
Good to hear! Always great to know you are not alone and that others have made similar choices.
We have already started beginning geography but at the rate we are working on it I expect it will take 2 years :001_smile:
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Looks great to me! I would just add in read alouds, but maybe you have that planned already.
They will be associated with whatever our unit study is at the time, so yes already planned (but somehow didn't quite make it to the list)
Elementary math, doing every grade every year?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Rather than skipping levels (I would be concerned that they would miss a few concepts that might hold them up in the next level) we are going through our programs faster than normal and skipping most the review. We are doing MUS and do 1 review page in most topics if I feel she has mastered the topics covered well or all if I feel she needs more work in an area. So far this calendar year we are working through MUS and a spiral curricula concurrently however MUS is our major focus, in 10 weeks we have covered the first 19 MUS lessons (2 sometimes 3 days per week on MUS) with almost complete mastery, only 1 topic covered so far that I feel she still needs review on. At this rate we will be completing an entire year of MUS in 15ish weeks start to finish so about 2 levels per year until she slows down and needs more work and review on concepts.