Jump to content

Menu

Beach Mom

Members
  • Posts

    870
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Beach Mom

  1. I would think your son could be bored. Our experience has been that there is an occasional assignment from outside the book but the majority of the work and discussion come directly from the book.
  2. I have a student who is about to complete WWS2 with WTMA. This has been a wonderful experience for my son. We completed WWS1 independently last year. I was skeptical of the workshop model, and to be honest my son was a little intimidated by the peer feedback at the beginning. However, Mrs. Brian handled the class very well and was careful to ensure balanced feedback was provided. She also provided independent written feedback on his assignments throughout the course. His writing has improved, the class has helped him learn to partition assignments and manage deadlines, and he has learned to both provide and accept verbal feedback. I can also attest that she was extremely responsive and helpful when I had any questions or concerns. Everyone's experience will be different but ours was excellent and I have registered my other son for WTMA writing for the fall. We are in the midst of a high school decision for my older son. If he does not go to private high school we will register him for another WTMA writing class without hesitation.
  3. My daughter completed WWE 1-4 and WWS1. She transitioned to a private high school two years ago and has received excellent grades and feedback on her writing. Like you there were times going through it that I wondered, "Are we doing enough? Will this get us where she needs to be before high school?" The same course has been a success with my DS (13) who is not a natural writer. He has just started WWS2 and part way through WWS1 he really began to discover his writing voice. His writing has progressed significantly in the last 12 months. I am a big fan of WWE and WWS. None of my 3 would say it was/is their favorite part of school, but it works.
  4. We went with Lial's for this year which has word problems in every section as well as more 'traditional' problems. It starts a little slow for my youngest son, who is very math adept, but I know from using it in the past that the it picks up. I am keeping an eye on whether it will be engaging enough for him. Depending how far you went with Singapore you might look at the middle school versions of Math In Focus (Courses 1,2,3). They are based on Singapore Math and have activity and practice books that provide more extensive problems than the text.
  5. We start tomorrow. DD's school started last Monday, but I am having trouble embracing the end of summer this year. I have cleaned, printed schedules, done a meal plan and generally tried to get as organized as I can before we start. I enjoy the optimism the first day of school brings - well laid plans and the illusion that we will joyfully complete assignments each day, happily marching through our plans in perfect order with an enthusiasm and joy of learning that exceeds expectations. Ha! Not once has that ever happened, but every year I think this might be the one. I can't say the boys are excited but I am hopeful for a strong start. DS1 is taking a WTM Academy writing class that starts on Thursday and I am anxious to see how that goes. For tomorrow as long as the coffee pot keeps working and everyone gets out of bed with a decent attitude I will call that a success.
  6. It is pretty easy too move to a new computer. You just need to copy your database file from the old computer, it is usually in your HST folder - it ends in mdb - mine is hsplanner2.mdb. Install HST+ on your new computer, move the database file to the new computer and then when you start HST+ go to the Database menu, Select Utilities and make sure it is pointing to wherever you placed your database files. I have moved mine several times and it has never been a problem.
  7. I believe you can only add one resource per item. I handle it by either adding the resources/additional activities in the directions or in the supplies. Often if it is two distinctly different activities, for example reading and a lab, I add them as two items so that I can reschedule one or both as needed. I just make sure they have the same sequence number so they automatically schedule to the same day initially.
  8. I found when using this level and above with boys (my two boys do grammar together at the same level) it helped to mix up how we did the exercises. We diagrammed on windows with white board markers, we used a basketball to practice prepositions (ball on the table, under the table, beside the table....), we started at the bottom of steps and took one step up for each correct answer, one step down for each incorrect. It kept grammar from being a drudgery, and they remembered what they were learning. I wouldn't continue on if your DS wasn't grasping what he was learning, I would slow down. When working on nouns go around the house and find nouns, touch them, point to them. For verbs have him demonstrate some - run, jump etc. To some extent the information is repeated each year, but without the basics he will be lost in R&S 5 and 6. I find from 5 to 6 to be the biggest leap in complexity. I took 2 years to do R&S 6 with my daughter. After that we switched to Analytical Grammar and it was all review for her. We go through 6 and after that grammar is practiced through writing and some diagramming review. It is also helpful to remember that R&S is written for a classroom so if you have one or two students you shouldn't be doing all of the practice. Select a sensible assortment from each day.
  9. Beach Mom

    nm

    I have the KA immersion blender and I love it. Mine came with a container that we use for smoothies and shakes. My two boys can make smoothies with no mess, which is saying something. Although I did have to teach them to resist the temptation to take the blender out of the cup while it is still running :) I have used it for many large batches of soup including beans, broccoli and lots of other varieties. It handles them all with ease. This is one of my favorite kitchen tools.
  10. I have used R&S with my boys beginning with 2 and now using 6 with my 6th and 5th grader. My DD used it through book 7 and is doing very well in high school honors English. What I like about it: The TM scripts the review each day which makes it easy to gauge retention. We do all of the review orally. The workbooks are cheap $3 and save some of the written work. I like the flexibilityof the many problems, but with that comes the responsibility to pick and choose so it doens't become too dry and overwhelming. When they get it, stop. Don't do the 45 exercises designed for a classroom setting with your one or two children. Do enough to reinforce the lesson and ensure they are retaining the material. We diagram a few sentences, not 20. We mix it up, some days we do the whole lesson orally, some days in a notebook, some days on the white board. What I like most is that it works. What I don't like: The farming examples and use of archaic names can be a little much after awhile. Sometimes when doing it orally we make a game out of changing the names - Brother Simon becomes Batman. The many examples require some planning to pick and choose that which is necessary. After a year I got better at choosing on the fly. In summary, itt is grammar. It isn't terribly exciting, it will never be their favorite subject, but it gets the job done well and they end up knowing a ton of grammar by the end of book 6. I used Analytical Grammar my daughter's last year home (8th) and quite honestly it was 90% review from R&S 2-6. I would not think this would be a good program to give your kids to do alone. What makes it not dry in our house is that we interact and make it as fun as grammar can be. As for the writing, we do the writing exercises but also use WWE then WWS. I am a big believer in the WWE/WWS philosophy and it is turning my kids into good writers. The R&S exercises are good, but you probably need some dictation and narration somewhere else in your curriculum.
  11. :iagree: Wusthof knives rock! Sur la table was having an amzing sale on them a week or so ago.
  12. We have a sliding glass door right behind our kitchen table. If you have that or some windows you don't need a whiteboard. We use dry erase markers on our slider all day long and at the end of the school day erase. We had a school room with a white board, but we all prefer the kitchen.
  13. Another vote for Spot it, for some reason my kids keep playing and playing and always giggling while playing.
  14. Here are a few that came to mind: brothers and sisters be right back walking to school drive the car riding my bike fish in tanks snowflakes on mittens fold the clothes birds fly south acrobats flipping over lions roaring loudly long necked giraffes
  15. WWE / WWS, like others said we don't love every lesson but I have seen all 3 of my kids' writing skills grow tremendously over the years. My DD completed 3 years of WWE, 1 year of WWS and has transitioned to a private high school. She is doing well on Honors English writing assignments and feels very comfortable with her writing skills. What I like about WWS vs IEW is I felt she found her own writing voice using WWS. I know it can be very effective, but we found IEW too formulaic and stifling. I will stay on the WWE/WWS path with my boys. I look forward to having another year of WWS to use.
  16. Do you ever add anything to hot chocolate? A peppermint stick or a little creme de menthe Did you go to sleepovers when you were a child? Yes, once in a while. Do you allow sleepovers for your children? Yes, I am lucky that DD's BFF has parents that we have known for years. Today's totally random question: Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Almost
  17. While away on vacation my DD and her cousin wrote some postcards. They went and purchased some stamps. My sister found them in the lobby gluing the stamps onto the postcards. Neither of them knew to lick the stamps, evidently they have both only ever seen peel off postage stamps. :glare: I can't blame it on homeschool either as my niece goes to public school.
  18. What a relief!!! Congratulations and healthy baby prayers for you. :party:
  19. My Walmart always has them. I buy tons of them as my daughter if often called upon to make balloon animals for parties.
  20. So glad the adjustment has gone well. It is funny how quickly they attach themselves to a particular person. We need to see a picture!
  21. :party:There is a sense of security just having it in your purse when you are out with a kid who has allergy.
  22. Lots of hugs :grouphug: and prayers for you.
  23. I have 2 male Yorkies ages 3 and 4. My two, and the many others I have been around love to sit on the couch with you, will sleep on the top of the couch or chair, and like to play with tennis balls, chew toys and ropes. They behave better if they get a nice long walk every day. Mine are not tiny (6 and 10 lbs) but you do have to be careful with their knees and hips and not let them jump off of things that are too high. They like to curl up on blankets, quilts, pillows, anything soft that they can claim as their space. We have two soft dog pillows that sit next two our school table. The dogs are almost always found there when we are at school. In our experience they attach to someone in the family and like to be where ever that person is. If you are used to bigger dogs you have to get used to them being near your feet especially when you are standing cooking or folding laundry. As for training, Yorkie males can be hard to train, consistency is the key. All the ones we have ever we have bell trained. Make sure they go out 30-45 minutes after eating, and every 2 hours or so the rest of the day. Establish a routine. We crate new dogs when we aren't home. I would try to find out what kind of food he is used to and start with that. The breed can have sensitive stomachs. You can change his food but do it by switching to the new food 1/4 at a time over a week or so. We wash and brush ours once a week but do not keep them in really long hair. Our groomer cuts them in a puppy cut which is shorter and easier to maintain. We have always had Yorkies. My two are in the family room now, one on a blanket next to my video playing son, and the other running around with a tennis ball in his mouth trying to get the other son to play with him. Enjoy and keep us posted.
  24. I make lots of pie and tarts, and I do use different recipes. If you are a chocolate fan, this tart is yummy, but bad for you and rich http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chocolate-tart-recipe/index.html Here is a lemon tart I really enjoy http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-curd-tart-recipe/index.html and here is a tomato zucchini tart that is a family favorite (I regularly substitute swiss for gouda because it is much cheaper!) It calls for puff pastry, but I often use my regular crust recipe or in a pinch a refrigerated pie crust. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/easy-zucchini-tomato-and-cheese-tart-recipe/index.html Happy Cooking!
  25. Carter's almost always has cute dresses in baby sizes. You can check them out online, or at one of their outlets if you are close to Lancaster, Gettysburg or Hershey. They almost always have cardigans and tights to match so it is easy to put outfits together.
×
×
  • Create New...