Could you do it like you would hear students chant Latin at school? Everybody stands, you start with the thing everyone knows the best, all chant together. As each person reaches the end of what they know they stop and listen as the others continue.

This is exactly what I needed! Thanks!

Thank you! We have the old one and I can't stand it. However the new one looks pretty good. Amazing how the layout changes things.

WWE - My son thinks that the passages are boring or strange, and in many cases I agree. He also hates the writing. Child can draw for hours, but ask him to copy a sentence and his hand cramps right up. :glare: Global or Holistic - There are so many programs, many of them very specialized. I sense that we could spend all day every day on spelling, and get so lost in the rules that we forget we are trying to learn to spell. I also worry that I will forget an entire category of something. Like spelling or handwriting. So I was trying to find a broader perspective for myself - like he needs to be able to read, spell, print, etc...

I feel some need to comment on all of the advice to "chill"... I really don't feel like I need to relax on this... we are SO relaxed that we aren't doing ANY of it formally. I eliminate and eliminate in order to have a simple and relaxed day - but occasionally I look up and think, um I should at least know what I am not doing! Also, I think that if one wants to use certain programs later, than there is prep work to be done. I think that it is more relaxed to do the prep now, slowly, than to wait, realize that we haven't done it, and then panic and cram it all in. For me it is helpful to have an understanding of the foundation/structure of what needs to be taught. Then I can judge if we are doing that, or if I need to add it. For example I found math choices very stressful until I realized that really we just need to cover how to add, subtract, etc. Then I could figure out how to do that in a way that worked for us. Some of these programs have so many bells, whistles, manipulatives, and busy work that I struggle to see the core of what needs to be done. I was not taught phonics or grammar as a child. Spelling appeared to be random. I look at these programs and struggle to process what they are doing with my understanding of being a functional reader. Now we are in OPGTR and it is like "this is the rule, except for in these 45 other examples, when we will present sub rules until every word has it's own freaking customized rule." And then my son looks at me and asks "why am I learning these rules that aren't rules when I can already read the sentence anyway?" and I have a hard time answering him because I am wondering the same thing. It does not help that my husband and I are the same age, and went to many of the same schools. So I turn to him and say "What spelling rules did you learn?" and with a blank expression he says "I don't know, i before e, except after c? We're all of those spelling things just random???" :lol: Anyway, I certainly don't think that my son is suffering under my anal examination of LAs. If anything my processing leaves him in a more relaxed setting.

Am I looking at the wrong thing? The spelling appears secular enough, but the phonics book is stories about Jesus. :001_huh:

I have been thinking about you all day. Glad to hear that it looks like things are getting better.

Can anyone comment on how different the new version is? I am annoyed that I can't see a sample online. :glare:

Okay, so for *you* what does this look like??? Do you do a spelling program? Any grammar? Something else???

I am not sure I can return to PP - Dewey makes me want to scratch my eyes out. :blink: But it sounds like some phonics rules are important. Is there something like R&S but secular? Off to search again. I know he is young. However I would like to be able to see the larger picture of what/where I am going, so that I can decide what is important now.;)

I need help getting back on track. I have a first (going to second) grader. We tried doing: WWE - okay, although my son hates it :glare: FFL - cannot get into this, seems too young or too old, or just not us OPGTR - We were going along pretty well through the simple sounds. Now that he is starting to read though, he just reads the exercises without internalizing the "rules". Since I never learned these rules I still struggle with them and thus have a difficult time remembering them or forcing him to use them. Basically I looked up today and realized that the only things we are routinely doing for LAs are lots of reading, audio books, and poetry memorization. I am worried that I am going to get so far off track that I am never going to be ready for ...... whatever comes next. I have tried searching, but I cannot find a thread that gives me a more global or holistic perspective. So, can you tell me... What I should be doing now, and what I should be doing next year??? :bigear:

THANK YOU for taking the time to write that all out! It helped a lot. The context - friend, age, etc - seems to give a lot to the poem. The other analysis included the idea that neither path was less traveled - making taking the less traveled not an option. Further that the poem was concerned with how the narrator would describe (in the future) the present (the paths) in a way that was inaccurate (I took the less traveled) and that the sigh was because he knew it to be a lie.

Could you please explain the poem the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost? I read a popular analysis and I am not sure I agree. Poem: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth. Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same. And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. :bigear:

I serve everyone the first round from the stove. That way I can make it look nice on the plate. ;) If I get up to refill my plate I ask if anyone else wants anything, and my husband does the same. I do not stop eating to refill someone's plate. So perhaps there is a compromise? As for playing I have discovered that if I set a time limit (and a timer) than I am much happier. I can even enjoy playing if I know that when the timer dings I am done. It is the sheer endless nature of playing that drains me. Also I would think that perhaps an audiobook while playing might help.

He also has a bunch of MP3s available on Amazon, but you have to search as MP3s, otherwise a bunch of them don't show up.

My cousin got pregnant in high school, following the death of her father. I think that since I was not much younger my parents made a big point about what a bad situation this was for my cousin. My cousin's sister did everything "right" and she was held up as the one who followed the rules. She got married to the "perfect" guy, and then had a baby. Turns out Mr. Perfect beat her and threw her down the stairs, breaking her jaw. They divorced and she has raised her son alone in very trying circumstances. My unwed pregnant cousin quietly married later, had additional kids, and is leading a fantastic life. What looks perfect is not always so. And what looks... wrong, can turn out very right. It is okay to mourn. But it is also okay to be happy and excited. :grouphug:

If he says that he is having trouble "hearing" you, have you asked him to repeat the tasks to make sure he understands? Would it work to give him a list to cross off? A timer so that he could see how much time he had left to do the tasks? FWIW, my husband, man of integrity, superhero of his work environment, would not have printed out the directions. And it would have completely annoyed me. :tongue_smilie:

Maybe they mean wine? :lol:

I loved reading about your grandmother. It is amazing to me how good grandmothers are so much the same, and yet so unique. :grouphug:

My husband is a consultant who builds large technology systems. He averages 14+ hr days, 5 days a week, salaried. With phone call and texts often received while home. When things get really "ugly" he leaves before I am up and home after we are all asleep. Good stretches he is home for dinner at 6:30, but still leaves very early. We live in a university town, and all of our friends have husbands that work in academia. They are off super early, go in late, and have summers off. They have no clue what "long hours" means. Last night my husband came home really early (5:30 pm) to take our kids to the farmer's market with their friends. One of the other dads asked if this was the time that DH normally got home, or if he had left early. I thought DH was going to die laughing. Of course that man is also headed off for a three week vacation with his family. :glare:

:smilielol5: I find silver foil stars to be highly motivating for me.

I found that it is easier if you involve at least one other person who can lead the conversation and knows some of the people involved. When I collected stories from my grandmother I took my uncle (her son) with me. I had researched some historical developments that would have happened during her lifetime, and had thought about some of the stories I would like to hear. I had a list of ideas like: first job, first date with grandpa, favorite memory with sister, etc. That way if we got "stuck" I could immediately interject a prompt. It was good to have my uncle there because he could prod or pull the stories, saying things like "what was that story about your dad and the dog...." or "didn't your grandfather....". He was able to converse with her and develop the stories while I took notes. That was it felt less like an interview. We did a series of three sessions. The first time she was a little hesitant, but warmed up. By the second she loved telling the stories. I put together a digital scrapbook with all of her photos, including the captions written on the backs, and her stories. I will see if I can find a link to the book if you are interested. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.

Because parents want daycare.

They say that each course goes on sale at least once a year. They are always having special deals and sales. :D

A urologist once explained to me that our bladders are not meant for modern society. Caffeine and carbonation in particular can irritate the bladder and cause frequency and leakage issues. This problem can occur even without a rise in consumption. So my first advice would be to cut out everything but water. Including things with trace amounts of caffeine (like chocolate).