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Dawn in OH

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Everything posted by Dawn in OH

  1. My son is 7 and is working on first grade material. His birthday is in May. That is probably also around the time where we will be moving into 2nd grade material. We don't discuss grade levels in our homeschooling. If either of my children were asked what grade they were in they wouldn't have a clue what it meant. They would reply that they are in their 2nd year of homeschooling.
  2. I will teach it, as part of History, and all the changes made to it, once the children are reading well enough that they can read it for themselves. Since they are still learning to read and have so very much to learn right now, I don't think it's high on the list of priorities. I have one still trying to learn the days of the week in order, which I find far more practical and useful in daily life.
  3. We do weekly spelling words. I have two children working on First Grade. I wouldn't call it memorizing spelling words though. The kids get a list of six words on Monday with a spot to practice writing the words. The entire list of words is words with the same sound. The first two weeks were short a, then short e, etc. As the series advances the spelling words are words using specific blends. The words are pretty much their reading words. On Monday they get the list of new words. They write them and practice sounding them out. On Tuesday I give them a worksheet finding words that rhyme with the spelling words. On Wednesday they get a worksheet using the spelling words, it's usually something like a cross word or word search or completing a sentence using the spelling words. One evening during the week Dad quizzes them on the spelling of the words. To make spelling more fun we take some time and make sentences with the words. These sentences are usually pretty funny and the kids have a good time. On Friday they take their spelling test. They almost always get a perfect score. I also give them an opportunity to retake the test if they did poorly. The reasoning behind this is that we homeschool for mastery. Right now I'm getting our spelling words from Zaner Bloser's Spelling Connections online.
  4. My oldest has a May birthday. He could have started Kindergarten in the fall of 2006. He wasn't ready for many reasons. Even though I knew we were homeschooling, I called the PS to get an idea of what they expected from a Kindergartner. The woman I spoke with even agreed that he was a "young" 5 and not really ready for school. We did another year of homeschool preschool. Had I started him in school that year he would be in Second Grade right now. He still can't read. He's a reluctant reader. He understands all the letter sounds and most of the blends, but just is NOT ready to read. He would be struggling. His younger sister (September birthday) and him are both currently doing First Grade work. They are pretty much performing at the same level. I am perfectly comfortable with the decision I made for my son.
  5. Once a week, usually Thursday's, I have another Mom who brings here kids over to my house. The kids play. We chat. It's just as much of a treat for us Mom's as for the kids. We've even been over to their house for dinner a few times, husband's included. We like this couple. We originally met at a "play date" open to anyone in the community in a local park. If I didn't actually like this Mom we wouldn't be getting together weekly. I wouldn't be able to just tolerate her for the sake of the kids. I don't really consider this weekly get together as a "play date" like the initial first few meetings were.
  6. Wow. For a minute there I thought I posted a reply already and had forgotten about it. In all honesty though, I'm kind of lonely and I miss him. I married this great guy so that I could be with him and I hardly see him. Sleeping next to him for 6 hours doesn't really count as seeing him!
  7. This is not entirely correct. A child who is 6 before September 1 must be enrolled in school due to compulsory attendance laws. This can be Kindergarten or First Grade. Some children are not developmentally or emotionally ready for kindergarten at age 5, but have not necessarily learned the material and skills being taught in kindergarten that they will need before moving on to First Grade. Being 6 isn't automatic acceptance to First Grade. You must also meet certain criteria. Anyone not meeting that criteria would have to begin with Kindergarten and be one of the older children in the class. I only know this from experience. I have a child that almost went to PS because of a pushy grandma and myself not being good at standing up to her. Our son turned 5 in May but was not ready for Kindergarten in August. The school said he could wait and enter Kindergarten the following year and spend the current year at home acquiring the skills needed for Kindergarten. If he had been able to meet the First Grade requirements he would have been able to enter First Grade the following year (age 6) without doing Kindergarten through the PS.
  8. Wow. Your son sounds so much like mine. Mine is 7. We are doing first grade. I didn't start him with K when he was 5 because he just wasn't ready. We are still struggling with reading. He seems to forget sounds. His younger sister is working at the same level with him. She's much better at things that require memorization. She learned the abc's, counting, her phone number well before her older brother. He's a frustrating child to say the least. He's writing numbers and letters backward. But he can remember dinosaurs facts and talks about Knights and Medieval Times. I swear he "can" read but just likes to be difficult. I haven't figured out WHY he does it yet. I'd love to hear the responses you get to your question. Everyone tells me to just be patient that it takes some kids longer than others.
  9. My children either remember EVERYTHING and can go on forever, or remember nothing at all. They seem to never land in between. We read and then watched Hamlet because we were preparing to go see the play. Both kids (5 & 7) remembered everything about the play. Who was who, who died and how, you name it. We spent 2 hours discussing symmetry yesterday. Watched a video. Did some hands on stuff. Dad comes home and asks them about Symmetry. Nothing. They remember nothing.
  10. My kids are pretty young. So if any of us get a head cold we take the day off. We might watch an educational video, but it's pretty much a movies and rest day. If they feel well enough to be loud or fight with each other it's back to school!
  11. It takes me HOURS to get moving in the morning. Always has. I've been accused of being lazy and "not a morning person". By the time I'm actually "awake and alive" enough to do things, it's time to be cooking dinner and getting ready to end the day. And this has NOTHING to do with how much sleep I get. Whether I sleep 6, 8 or 12 hours I'm still in the same condition. I would love to be CURED!
  12. My husband, aka the Tooth Fairy, has kept all the teeth so far. Each one in an envelope and neatly labeled with the child's name, date, and location of the tooth. I told him I think its crazy to save them. He won't let me throw them out.
  13. Oh I'm so relieved to find out I'm not the only person that doesn't like to leave her children with strangers! I see so many people that think NOTHING of it. I also won't leave my children with well, other children as babysitters. I want a full grown adult, so that when the 1 year old chokes on something the sitter isn't there in a panic. I also want to know that my sitter is old enough to know that the 7 year old shouldn't be playing with pennies in the room where the 1 year old runs around! I have a neighbor that is always telling me to "just call the local high school" to find a baby sitter. My baby sitter of choice? Grandma...my mom. She's the only one I trust. I just have to remind her no soda and minimal tv unless its an educational channel.
  14. Our lunches are generally snack plates. The kids and I usually have some combination of things like a wedge of homemade bread with some cubed cheese, black olives, carrot or celery sticks, grape tomatoes, grapes, sliced apples or pears, a handful of nuts, hard boiled eggs, tuna or chicken salad or a bit of lunch meat. I generally put a tray on the table and everyone helps themselves, the only rule is they must eat a bit from each food group. I found out a long time ago that this was the best way to ensure that the kids were getting a healthy lunch covering all the food groups without having to stress out about getting them to eat the healthy things.
  15. Black is timeless, classy, slimming and easy to mix and match with most colors. Now, my children are only 6 and 7 so I would object to all black head to toe or black every day, but if dd wants a black turtleneck or tights that's fine with me. Black nail polish and lipstick will never be acceptable for me.
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