give_me_a_latte
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Posts posted by give_me_a_latte
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Thanks so much everyone! Very helpful. We already play with bear counters and pattern blocks, read Living Math books, etc. So it wouldn't be that difficult to add in a RS activity once or twice a week. If he's not ready then I'll just stop. I really don't want to buy anything else at this point since we *just* bought RightStart. I think I need to just really sit down with the RightStart manual. I flipped through it when it arrived and got overwhelmed looking at the big picture. :tongue_smilie:The comments about others having success with Level A for PreK are encouraging!
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I bought RS Level A thinking we could jump into it for PreK. Now that I've looked at it I'm not sure about that. I'm thinking it may be more on a Kinder level. Any suggestions for what to use in the meantime? I have Saxon K on hand as well. I was thinking of just playing around in that. Or maybe just start RS Level A but move veeeerrrrryyyy slloooowwwwlllyyy. Thoughts?
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We didn't get it, only because I was trying to keep costs low. Once you have the Teacher Manual you can log on and get the lyrics to all the songs, so that's what I did. Who knows if we're singing the songs the "right" way, but we still have plenty of fun!
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Thanks everyone for the info and links! We're going to order RS Level A for now and see where it takes us!
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Yep, I had planned to hold off on Horizons until his K5 year.
I think I'm going to order RS level A and just feeeel it in my hands. Maybe ease into it for his PreK year. From what I've read it seems the foundation is laid really well after Level A and B, so I like your suggestion to introduce Horizons at midpoint Level B.
I'm sure I'll be revisiting this in a year after we've had RS in our hands. !!
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Definitely intrigued.....definitely. Goodness knows I could use a boost to my own mental math capabilities ;-)
After discussing both programs with my husband he says, "Why not do both?". So....would that be crazy? To do RS and Horizons? They're so very different I don't know if that would even work.
I think RS is such a unique nontraditional way of teaching math that I worry it won't be enough. I'm trying to cut that mindset loose, but in the meantime I feel like Horizons is my safety net.
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I planned to use Horizons, all the way through. It looked like a solid math program, and seemed engaging and colorful enough in the early years to be "fun".
Then I bought Saxon K for a steal. Not super impressed with it, but figured we would play around with it during our Pre-K year, then just start Horizons for K.
But.
It is becoming more and more apparent that my son is not a fan of routine or workbooks. For example, he loves LOVES loves HWT Pre-K, when we do wooden pieces or the slate or sing, etc. The workbook? Not so much. He can write the letters no problem, he just doesn't want to do the workbook. Or Hooked on Phonics...he loves the DVD clips, loves the books, HATES doing the workbook lessons. He can read the words just fine, he just doesn't want to read the workbook lesson.
So.
I'm questioning if Horizons will be a good fit for him. RightStart seems like it would suit his temperament more, but the whole premise of RS is foreign to me. I'm not exactly good at math myself, especially conceptual math. And Saxon? Well I don't want to waste time playing around with it if I'm going to end up having to re-teach concepts the RS way. But I don't want to use RS if it's not a good, solid program.
Advice?
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I also once bought a used Saxon K manual that the seller neglected to tell me had all the student masters removed. Each of the missing pages though will be shown very small in the lesson section where it is to be used. I was able to easily hand make my own version.
Thank you! I was wondering if I could even enlarge those and make a copy. I'll have to see if Saxon allows copies..and then play around a bit.
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I bought a used Saxon Math K TE, and it's missing all the student masters in the back. Is there anywhere online I can print these?
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We're only about five or six weeks into the Pre-K level, but I use the TM every day. Obviously you need the student book. We originally didn't buy the wood pieces, planning to make our own. But we ended up ordering them and I'm so glad we did. My son can be a little rough when he's tapping them to the songs, and homemade pieces wouldn't stand a chance! We also bought the cards to go with the wood pieces, and they're really useful. I didn't buy the CD because you can download all the lyrics on the website once you get the code inside the TM. So I just sing/chant to my own beat and it's worked so far!! HWT is so fun at this level! We really enjoy it!
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Have you checked out Science Play?
I plan to use it for K as our main resource. It's got a lot of activities and easy experiments that use things you're sure to have around the house.
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We're half way through Hooked on Phonics Pre-K and have enjoyed it so far. My son has known his alphabet and letter sounds for awhile, so we're moving really fast.....but you could certainly slow it down. The Pre-K level focuses mostly on the letters, letter sounds, and beginning sounds. It's cute and enjoyable and the lessons are quick.
You could also look into Letter Of The Week (letteroftheweek.com) and Starfall (Starfall.com). We've used both of those, and my son still loves clicking around on Starfall.
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I agree with the other posters- keep it casual. I have an autistic 4-year-old who is reading very well (he started reading at 3), and all I do with him are BOB books and sometimes www.starfall.com
I definitely second Starfall!! My son used to love sitting with me and clicking through all the letters. He actually learned to use a mouse on his own by using Starfall.
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Do you have the LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD? That teaches letter names along with the sounds, which might help him connect the two.
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Thanks!!! I really didn't want to give up on TOG, so I'm glad they seem able to keep things fairly neutral!!
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I know TOG is Christian, and I'm cool with that. But now I'm wondering about what, if any, political ideology is woven through the curriculum. I see the TOG creators in other places online where they share their political beliefs and opinions, and they are 100% the other direction from mine! So I worry that their political opinions are reflected in TOG. Thoughts?
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By the way, stating a child's grade is *not* required by law, and neither is stating their birthday. Name and age are the only things that are required by law, even though in my county at least, the declaration of intent form suppied by the local school district asks for grade, birthday, and special education status.
Lawana (in Georgia)
Good info. I've noticed some forms ask for different things. And the DOE page directed you to ask your local office. You'd think they'd have a generic state-wide form.
So basically I just get to teach on my own accord until the September when my son is actually six years old...which by my guess will be the September he'll start "2nd grade".
They did point out the part of the law that says if a child is in public school for 20 days at any time, they fall under Compulsary Attendance, even if they're under age 6.
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See, you're thinking about this too much, and no one at DOE will understand why you're even asking the question, lol.
Yep :-) I always over think and over analyze and over plan and over prepare everything!! Haha!
DOE did write back and said that if a parent opts out of Kindergarten, the late birthday child would not start school until first grade, at age six-and-a-half-ish.
So yep, looks like I'll get a free year, like someone else mentioned.
I feel better now. :-)
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Unless your dc has significant learning difficiulties or other issues, it would be expected that a child who turns 6 after September 1 would be in kindergarten; the following year he would enter 1st grade, regardless of whether he had attended kindergarten. I don't see where a child is "forced" to go through kindergarten.
I'm just having my own little philosophical debate, that's all :-) I love studying law and the nuances of statutes.
The reason I said "forced" into Kindergarten is because of the two laws.....the Sept 1 cutoff for enrollment, AND the compulsary attendance between 6th and 16th birthdays. So if a child has a December 1 birthday, he can't attend 1st grade until the year after he turns 6....he would be six-and-a-half when he started 1st grade. Yet under compulsary attendance he has to be in school from his 6th to 16th birthdays...so my question is...what happens between his 6th birthday and the start of 1st grade?
DOE wrote me back and said he'd have to go into Kindergarten. Buuut Kindergarten isn't mandatory, so that's why I say it seems they "force" some kids through Kindergarten in order to satisfy Compulsary Attendance. I wrote them back for further clarification, so we'll see.
But as you said, none of this applies to me as a HSer. I'm just wanting to understand it :-)
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Hmmm, I wouldn't be comfortable with those activities either.
I'm using the book "First and Favorite Bible Lessons" for our first bit of Bible time. I got the book last weekend and it's FABULOUS! It's definitely geared for Sunday School classes, but can EASILY be adapted to home use. Each lesson has a song, Bible story/talk time, craft, snack, etc.
Bright Beginnings was my first choice for Preschool. Their website is here. I'm holding off on buying it though because I think I can piece together stuff myself for now. It'll probably make an appearance in my house at some point though ;-)
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Are you questioning when you need to file your intent to homeschool?
Not really...I was looking up the cutoff dates, out of curiousity...and I just thought the law was pretty vague and confusing. I'm not too concerned about filing my letter of intent. I'll probably file it the Fall before he turns 6, just so I don't have to worry about any little holes in the red tape. BUT, I do believe I'll consider that his first grade year, not Kindergarten! We'll see when we get there...
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Thanks for all your thoughts. I'm still waiting on an official reply from DOE, which I won't be holding my breath for :-)
I'm not sure what to think either. Like some of you mentioned, I would assume he'd go into Kindergarten, even though it's not mandatory. Just seems to be a silly couple of laws. Almost like they're forcing a kid to go through Kindergarten at some point.
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I'm sure there's an easy, logical explanation here.....I wrote the DOE but they'll probably take too long. So I'm hoping someone here can spell this out for me....
"Georgia law requires that students attend a public or private school or a home study program from their sixth to their 16th birthdays. Public Kindergarten is available in every school system, but it is not mandatory. "
So I understand a child must be in school on his 6th birthday, correct? And Kindergarten is not required. But then I read this...
"A child must be five years old on or before September 1 to enter a public Kindergarten. The child must be six years old on or before September 1 to enter first grade."
What about Fall birthdays? If a child has a November birthday and does not go to Kindergarten, what happens when he turns six? He would not have turned six on or before September 1, so he could not be enrolled in first grade. Yet by law, he must be enrolled in school at the age of six. So, if Kindergarten is not mandatory, but being in school at age 6 is...what grade would he go into that year?
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my plan is to take the whole year before we start the program to study ancients *myself* before I attempt to teach it to her. I would like to buy the curriculum a year in advance so I really have a feel for it and maybe even read through the source books before we start. Hey, I can plan, right?? :D
This is what I plan to do as well. I'll start Year 1 in 1st grade, but I'll probably buy it sometime during our K year. I just want to get myself comfortable with the format.
I'm also making a list of the Classics (Both from TOG and other Classical resources) for myself to read, starting now. I wasn't exposed to hardly any of them in school so I want to read them.
I know a lot of people feel TOG is silly to use in the Grammar years (early Grammar especially)..but I look at it like this: I'm going to use it later anyway. I'm going to be paying for it later anyway. Why not go ahead and get it early on, when our other expenses won't be so high? That way we have it...I'll have 4 years to wrap my brain around the format and material....and then when other subjects (like science!!) start getting more expensive, I won't have to shell out for TOG at the same time.
For 1st grade, I'm sure we'll mostly play around with TOG...doing activities and crafts, reading some of the books together....but I'd rather spend the money on TOG, when I know I'll keep using it...than spend the money elsewhere, only to end up buying TOG later anyway.
Thanks for posting this by the way. It's been helpful!
My early reader is bored with HOP
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
My son will be four this Fall. He's half way through the Kinder level of HOP and oh my gosh...it is like pulling teeth to get him to do a lesson. I truly think he's bored. He can read the new material just fine after hearing/seeing it once. It's the repetition that's getting to him. Today I just did the DVD clip and skipped through the lesson to the end where he got to read a story (and he read it just fine, the little stinker!). Short of hitting fast forward on the rest of the curriculum, does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone found a way to spice up HOP?