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squirtymomma

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Everything posted by squirtymomma

  1. We're coming to the end of AAR pre-level, and I'm not excited about spending $450 on AAR 1-4 (plus, it's not looking like all the levels will be out in time anyway). I used Phonics Pathways and OPGTR with my oldest. I really like the idea of using the phonogram tiles from AAR, though. I think they'll be helpful for my second - very visual - daughter. Couldn't I just use them with any phonics program? Has anyone else done this successfully? Also, is the new Ziggy supplement useable independently of AAR 1? My dd is looking forward to more with Ziggy...
  2. I don't mind that it goes slowly. I'm just not thrilled with paying $150 for 25 (?) lessons. And no one knows how many levels it will take to get through the basic phonics/reading instruction, do they?
  3. Oh noooo! Don't say that! What to do... what to do...
  4. I agree with this. Golden was written as close to the text as possible, just slightly simplified for children. Vos has a lot of her own theology written into the stories.
  5. I'm sending my soon-to-be-2-year-old to 2 days of MDO next year for our sanity. I still have to figure out what to do with her the other two days, but I think it will help.
  6. You know, I was in a similar place, and I've just decided use mostly SL books and to classify my booklist in SL-terms: family read-alouds, readers for my oldest, read-alouds for my younger, etc. That's helped me get my brain around it.
  7. I have 3 girls the same ages as yours! Maybe try Crazy8 (online)?
  8. Can anyone else compare MFW K phonics and AAR 1 phonics? Do they have approximately the same scope and sequence? I guess I also need to consider what would come next... would we want to continue on with MFW 1st or AAR 2... and then there's the production schedule for AAR 2...
  9. You're the perfect person to compare them for me! Do you not find the phonics redundant? From the samples, it looks like the phonics activity sheets are very similar.
  10. So, my girl that will be in Kinder is finishing up AAR pre-level now. She will be ready to start learning to read in the Fall. I had planned to move up to AAR1 plus do Singapore EM, HWT K, and add on Wee Folk Art's weekly books and activities. But I was looking at MFW K again, and there are some things that are appealing about it. It looks like the phonics in AAR1 and in MFWK are pretty similar. Has anyone seen/used both that would be able to compare and contrast those? I like that it does some calendar, 100 chart, and some extra math stuff, though I would still use Singapore. I might still do HWT K in addition to the handwriting in MFW. I'm also trying to decide whether we'd prefer the books/activities in MFW or in WFA. My one big concern with MFW is the character stuff. We are Christian, but it seems that their stuff can be a bit heavy handed. I tend to prefer Bible stories and good literature, with any "morals" discussed only at the right moment and rarely. I feel like character is mostly modeled, not preached, especially at this age. But the science activities still look fun, and I could take what I like of the character lessons and leave the rest. I guess what's most appealing about MFW is the weekly/daily schedule, the book list, and having most everything in one place. The activities in WFA look really neat, but I'm not as sure that they'll get done. TIA for any help!
  11. That is perfect. :lol: That's a funny blog... this post is also good.
  12. We *just* finished after having done it off-and-on for 2.5 years. We watched Mary Poppins to celebrate. :)
  13. I'm seriously considering using it next year with a second grader. She is doing the CW Primers this year quite comfortably. I've kept trying to figure out how to start her in WWE, but I just think it's too incremental for this kid. I plan for WT1 to cover grammar and writing for her.
  14. Start slowly with a 5 year old! A couple of times a week is plenty at that age. Then, as he gets the hang of it, you can increase. A good way to start with young ones is to have them draw a picture of their favorite part of the story, or tell a grandparent about the book he's reading (or having read to him). My 6 year old first grader now does at least one narration a day, but definitely not for everything she reads. Sometimes she gives spontaneous narrations of books she reads to herself in her free time, which is great, but not at all required. I do CM-style narrations. I think it helps her to develop a relationship with the material, to own it herself. I will (probably next year) begin working on summary-style narrations in parallel (which I think is a different, but also important skill). This might give you some more food for thought about the benefits of narration: http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/autistic-kids-and-cm/page/2 Look at Tammy Glaser's post about an autism therapy called RDI and an article by Dr. Carroll Smith about Vygotsky and Charlotte Mason.
  15. Bluegoat - I really appreciate this post, and all of the posts I've seen by you! I totally agree. I think TWTM is a great, practical guide, but I continually evaluate what we are doing by the CM philosophy. Reading and re-reading For the Children's Sake and When Children Love to Learn have been helpful for doing this. I think CM and TWTM mesh well. SWB's article is a response to Andreola's and Levinson's interpretations of CM, which I personally find lacking. CM is not unschooling, nor is it "better late than early". A CM education looks very much like what we call Classical, especially after the early years.
  16. I have two friends who had DID. One was a result of SRA, the other was sexually and emotionally abused by her father for years. It is a coping mechanism, like others have said. It's interesting to consider what the brain is capable of.
  17. This looks super cute, and it's free: http://weefolkart.com/content/homeschool-companion-guides I'm finding that buying the books shouldn't be too pricey. Most are $6ish, and Amazon's 4-for-3 applies. I'm just trying to decide whether we'll start with winter after Christmas, or wait for next Fall when my dd is in Kinder.
  18. Ack! I meant number line, not timeline. LOL I do see what you mean about regrouping being scaleable. And I appreciate the comparison to phonics/sight-reading. That makes a lot of sense. Like I mentioned in the above post, though, we're only trying to master the facts up to 10, not beyond. Could that be comparable to having a few sight words learned, so that you can read a small book that makes sense before you learn every single sound for every single letter? LOL Really, I'm just playing devil's advocate now.
  19. But, we're talking about addition/subtraction facts to 10. You can't mentally add 8+2+5 when you see 8+7 unless you know that 2+5=7. I'm totally on board with how Singapore teaches addition past 10, but they have to know the facts to 10 first to be able to use those strategies.
  20. I can see what you mean about not spending enough time on the concrete step in SM. And I see how the C rods are an excellent tool. We did some work with them today, making "trains" and then writing the corresponding number bonds, and vice versa. I also tried to connect them with the dot cards (from the back of the HIG) for the 5+_ bonds and with an abacus (although we don't have the RS-style one). She enjoyed it, and I do think it's helpful. I guess there are also other ways to "see" what is happening with basic addition and subtraction. To me, counting on (and other methods) involve basically visualizing a timeline, don't they? Isn't that another legitimate way to understand the relationships between numbers (and one that will be particularly helpful when we get to decimals and negative numbers)? We've done some Miquon (it's been about a year, though), and it uses timelines too. Also, aren't fingers the perfect 5+_ manipulative? She recognizes numbers 6-10 by the number of fingers her second hand is holding up. I'm definitely sympathetic with the suggestion to use a more conceptual means to master the facts. I was the bane of all of my math teachers because I always wanted to know "why" something worked the way it did. I didn't give up easily. :tongue_smilie: But I also know that there were times that concepts solidified with use over time, and rote work can be helpful to make calculations simpler in the meantime. Can't you go at it from both directions? I really appreciate you sharing your ideas. They've helped me think through this better.
  21. Ok, tell me exactly what you mean by finger counting. Basically, she has to "count on" or "count back" (and I remind her to use these skills learned from Singapore). She just sometimes uses her fingers to keep track (only up to 4). Is that the same as finger counting?
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