Mine is in my siggy. Mostly homeschooling -- sometimes a bit of scrapbooking leaks in. :D

This is my first time playing. Here's the link. I've decided that the only way we are going to do nature study around here is to do it in a way that I enjoy it. This is what I like to do. :D

:iagree: Yep, much harder pretty quickly. Since we are working slowly I have tried to supplement with other readers for practice. So when we read Little Bear I added in some other LB books. Earlier this month we read one of the Cynthia Rylant books. We added Toad and Frog All Year to our week this week. That gives her more practice with similar titles instead of rushing on to the next level.

I wrote a little about The Wand here on my blog. There was also some good discussion on these forums about it; if you search on "Wand" I am sure some things will come up. It is a meaty program. If your DD has only done the 3 ETC Get Ready books then I would say she is probably not ready for it. We were far beyond that -- had actually finished most of Reading Made Easy when we started and have still slowed it way down. We are doing the first of November's books right now -- taking about three weeks to do every one of the program. The program is really for about second grade and up I would say. It is more of a phonetic spelling program to me than it is a learn-to-read program. It has a bit of grammar and usage (taught through copywork) and word study thrown in. I was really a bit surprised at how dense it is given the relaxed feel of The Writer's Jungle and The BW Lifestyle. If you follow it as written it goes at a fast clip and is pretty regimented. We take it much easier and gentler than that simply because my DD is not ready to move so quickly. We add in extra practice. I would say DD is about average for a first grade reader -- not accelerated, but not "behind" average either. Right now we are reading Frog and Toad are Friends and if she chose to she could read most of it alone, missing maybe every eighth or ninth word on average. She struggles more with spelling (I think she is more of a sight reader than a phonetic one.) so needs lots more practice with that. HTH. Let me know if you have some more specific questions and I will try to answer them. Pam

I have been a subscriber to your site since September and the kids just watched the fist video yesterday, so I really need something that has a text and keys the videos to it. We love videos and the kids wanted to watch that one twice. I agree that the SOTW approach is a good one. You might want to get the activity guide and have a look at that too. My kids are younger. We use coloring pages mostly to give them something to do while I read aloud. If the pages are more detailed they aren't frustrated, but that may just be my kids. I think I would gear them toward the middle elementary range. Just my two cents. I have been looking at BFSU to use for next year. I have found the lesson outlines done by a mom (or teacher) in the Yahoo group invaluable. I can print the outline, read the chapter, jot a note or two and be ready to go.

I voted sell it because you can sometimes make more than you paid for it on ebay -- I have. Seriously put each item out there separate and start the bidding on each at .99. You will be surprised. Re: Scrapbooking. If you don't enjoy scrapbooking then don't do it. There are far too many other ways to record memories -- simple Project Life- type things, photo albums and notes, photo books, blogs (back it up! and possibly slurp it to a Blurb book). I was a CM consultant years ago and scrapped it all :D because the chronological format impeded my progress -- I would get hung up on what order to scrap in. Now, I scrapbook digitally and simply because I like to tell stories. They are in no certain order -- I simply make pages about what is interesting to me at the time. Everything is printed and stored in 3-ring scrapbooks so I can move it about whenever I want. There should be no guilt in scrapbooking. :001_smile:

Kids love Salsa. It's free and I learn along with them. Google Salsa Spanish videos.

:bigear:

We're only in grade 1 so take this for what it is worth. :) We started the year with a history/geography curriculum and were quickly bored. We took a break for the holidays and haven't started the history part back yet. Daughter is all over the geography right now, though. We are doing it with books, maps, games, songs, state quarters. Will pick history up again soon and just read picture books and narration for the rest of the year hopefully getting through the Revolution. Next year we are doing World Geography with picture books, cooking, activities, map work. I will have a second grader and K. After that the plan is to start with the ancients. Haven't decided on SOTW yet, but may use that as our spine and add in some things from a Catholic perspective (Salvation history focus, lives of Saints, etc). Will likely slow it down to a five or six year cycle and use lots of other books as well and focus on where their interests lie instead of trying to push through to get done. So in that case the jury is still out on the "curriculum."

I just checked out and everything went well.

Maybe this will help??? http://m.examiner.com/homeschooling-in-mankato/long-division-is-so-last-century

Did this at our house and blogged about it today here. Thanks for the cool idea. A friend and I have started a weekly link-up so you can show off things you have pinned and actually accomplished -- for us procrastinating pinners. :tongue_smilie: Would love to have any Pinterest fans join up.

Just another welcome. I love the Church. :D

I prefer home's cool, but I'm a big-time introvert. :D I actually use homeschool. I know for a fact that I didn't get a job interview once because the principal thought I misspelled adviser on my resume. The thing HE didn't know was that scholastic journalism advisers and the related community use the AP Stylebook, which prefers the adviser spelling -- both are correct. I was highly recommended for the position, and he was very vocal about my perceived inadequacy -- enough so that the story got back to me. :glare: I was happy not to have to produce a yearbook under his administration.

That is a fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing.

:iagree: And if you would correlate it to your videos for those of us who are members that would be fantastic too.

Just a note to check with your local science museums for discovery box programs. Our local nature park has nine boxes available to teachers and homeschoolers -- seven life science based and two history ones. We can leave a security deposit and check them out free for two weeks.

Oy this is daunting. We need a Discovery Box Netflix. Pay a monthly fee and check out your box for a while.

I posted this on a recent thread about unschooling: There were others who liked the idea and wanted to work together to make lists for every subject. I have created a social group called Learning Lifestyle Lists for anyone who is interested in helping compile the lists or discussing how we can use them in our homeschools. Any interested party is welcome to join us! :001_smile:

I'm very interested in the discovery box suggestion. I have the book coming. Wouldn't mind watching the videos and discussing as a group either.

I have a hard copy (bought it used) and I really wish I had this instead. That binder is big and bulky and not good for curling up and reading -- notes or no notes.

:iagree: And radical unschoolers would tell you not to make them do the chores or go on the field trips either. They would also tell you that it is very important to sit and build things with the legos -- but not try to tell him what to build. Also great advice. I have not evolved to the point yet where I feel I can totally "trust the child," which is so important to the unschooling philosophy. I keep thinking that one day they may blame me for not preparing them properly for the world. :D Therefore we are eclectic, but I am making progress on the continuum. And I really believe unschooling is a journey, not a destination. We all have our public school baggage. Some on the journey just get there faster than others. Have you considered gathering them all in the same room and letting them play quietly while you read to them? Then you can discuss what you read if they are willing. He can certainly build while he listens to say, SOTW. You can muse aloud about the things you find interesting -- don't orally quiz, but model and invite conversation. One of the things I struggle with is that there has to be some sort of output from my children. There doesn't. Partnered conversation (as opposed to teacher/student conversation) can be enough. On the other hand, he may be a kid that wants to do a workbook for every subject, get it over quickly, and have the rest of the day to play. If school is not a choice in your home, he has to buckle down and do it. You can help him find the most painless way, but it is not optional. In unschooling it is important to strew, invite, and provide opportunities without getting mad if they refuse. I really think in many ways unschooling is more challenging for the mom than many other methods.

I don't know of one and we aren't technically unschoolers because we do sit down and do the 3Rs everyday. BUT I have been mulling over an idea that might be along the lines you want. I love the Bravewriter Lifestyle list of activities for Language Arts. What I would really like is a list of activities for every subject area -- a list of things to do on a regular basis that would ensure we were getting a well-rounded education in all of the subjects without using a curriculum. I like to think of it as Learning Lifestyle Lists or unschooling for the type-A personality. :D I have thought a couple of times about asking the relaxed learners here on the WTM boards if they would be interested in helping brainstorm ideas for the lists, but have yet to work up the courage to do it. As an example, I have come up with a draft of a science list: Read living science books Complete a science notebooking or journal page (transcribed by mom for younger set) Nature study Conduct an inquiry experiment with a discovery box (borrowed from inquiry science thread found here) Discuss and add questions to the science board for further exploration (borrowed from inquiry science thread found here) Science field trip (science museum, zoo, animal habitat) Watch a science documentary or edutainment show (Magic School Bus, Bill Nye) Subscribe to, view, and discuss a science video- or photo-of-the-day Subscribe to and discuss science magazines of interest Look for and discuss science current events Explore a science-themed app or website Some of these would be done daily, some weekly, and others once a month or two. I would love to have a list like this for all subjects -- kind of checklist of activities that I can refer to make sure we are using a variety of methods to explore each subject. I don't know if that is what you were looking for or not, but thanks for reading. :)

We need a technology column -- how to integrate it with homeschool. I volunteer to help with that one. I also have a graphic design background but more in a workhorse capacity instead of the stellar designer capacity. :D

THANK YOU for reminding me to thaw the ham bone and soak my peas!! We have it without the greens, but over rice. Will serve cabbage on the side. Cornbread and sweet tea complete the meal. Mmmmmm...