cintinative
-
Posts
8,219 -
Joined
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by cintinative
-
-
I agree with what you are saying. I feel pretty confident I have done plenty and my kids are fine. I am not sure my friends feel the same, but I *love* the mentor idea. It makes so much more sense than trying to get that kind of feedback from a 30 minute appointment with a basic stranger. =)
-
No, that makes sense. That was what I thought also. I have asked my friends how much stuff they brought. Perhaps she was vague because she didn't have a lot to go on. Last year I wasn't really told how much to bring and then even though I thought I had brought all but the kitchen sink there were still some things I forgot. =)
-
One more week! Crawling over the finish line by our fingernails!!
-
In our state you can either do testing or a portfolio review by a certified teacher.
I used a portfolio review last year for my then 1st grader and we talked about my Kinder informally. This year I am going to see the same person for a 1st and 2nd grader. My concern is that some friends have come from their reviews saying they only got vague sort of input. However, I don't know what they brought with them. I felt a little like that last year, however, I also had everything documented, so perhaps there wasn't much to say. I did ask a fair amount of questions.
I am looking for some input from the hive here--what sort of things do you expect from the teacher who is doing your portfolio review? Do you expect them to identify gaps, or not? If so, to what degree? How much time does your reviewer spend with you? (Mine spent 1/2 hour per child.) Does your reviewer use a checklist? Does she/he send anything home with you but the letter?
Also, do you have any tips for getting the full value out of your portfolio review?
Do any of you do portfolio review AND testing? If so, what are you reasons (I am considering doing testing at home but not submitting scores).
Looking forward to your responses.
-
you could try the Phonetic Zoo (IEW). It is designed to be used after AAS 3. The student listens to a CD where the narrator gives a jingle rule, a list of words that follow that rule, then the student spells the words, then the narrator goes through each one and the student checks his/her own work. If they get all the words correct they move on to the next lesson. If not, they repeat it. There is also a personal spelling list feature. It is very independent--you may only need to check in a couple times a week.
-
I developed this list from a thread about fantasy books and a recent thread with ideas for an 8 y.o. boy. I intend to add the Memoria Press Summer Reading Lists for grades 3-5 and the IEW lists for these grades. It is an Excel file so you can sort it how you like. Included in this file is the lexile, grade level equivalent and F&P for each book. I hope this helps someone! Just trying to give back a little as you all have helped me so very much.
If you see any glaring deficiencies, let me know! (I know the little house books aren't on here yet btw). I am not including non-fiction on this list. This is all fiction of one type or another. Also, due to the many differences in leveling books there may be some books whose grade level equivalent is far above 5th but lexile is perhaps lower. I am still not 100% sure I understand how all this leveling is determined.
As always, use your own judgement. For example, one book that was within my son's reading level that was recommended had content that I believed to be appropriate for his age level.
https://drive.google...dit?usp=sharing
FYI. I am already seeing some needed corrections.
-
Here is my list. I have not added the Memoria Press Summer Reading list or the IEW List yet. This is pretty much all from board contributions.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0oUXygCNeMlNVM4TzV4MVNjUms/edit?usp=sharing
-
We read the one recommended by SOTW which is by Roger Lancelyn Green. I enjoyed it a lot.
-
I'm working on updating my book list with these. I have a list from a prior thread about fantasy books/series. I am adding these and the Memoria list and possibly the IEW list. I'm also putting in reading levels. It might take me awhile but when I am done I will post a link to it for everyone.
-
Read all of them aloud this year to my six and eight year old boys.
-
Well, since mine both use the same math texts (just different levels), I usually order ahead but not necessarily two of each. That is more of a financial thing than a planning thing, since I order about every six months anyway.
For Story of the World, I did go ahead and order the student pages from Peace Hill for all the books recently. That way, if they revise the books and the student pages, I have the version that goes with what I have.
The writing curriculum I used is designed to be consumable but you are allowed to make copies for your family. Since I don't usually write in the book it hasn't been an issue yet.
Mine are close in age though so I might be a bad person to ask. At least this will bump your question for you!
-
Thanks!! We have tried these:
- Encyclopedia Brown (Sobol)
- Boxcar Children (Warner) He used to like these as a read aloud but hates them to read himself for some reason.
- The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (Dalgliesh) -- read this and one other by her
- Flat Stanley series (Brown) (read book one only so far)
- The Littles series (Peterson) (we have read two of these so far)
- My Father's Dragon trilogy (Gannett) read these last year and liked!
- Time Warp Trio series (Scieszka) Come to think of it he did like these and we only read two. Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks for the reminders for the series we didn't finish. I am looking forward to trying out the others you all have suggested!
Oh, and I am reading these aloud. We just finished The Turret. The boys love them!!
- The Rescuers; Miss Bianca; The Turret; Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines; Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharp)
-
Thanks! I actually have Henry Huggins from the library!
-
I know you are not alone with the "pingk" problem. Both my boys did that--and I actually had quite a time trying to "pronounce for spelling" as All about Spelling tells you to do. I went to co-op and asked my friends how to pronounce it so it didn't sound like there was a "g" in there--we couldn't figure it out! My 6 year old (7 in June) still needs to be regularly reminded of the "k" and "ck" rules. I am no expert but I would think this is pretty normal. =) There is a thread on here somewhere in which another mom describes trying to convince her son there was no "g" in pink and he did not believe her for a very long time. =)
-
I still have my 2nd grader (8 y.o.) and 1st grader (6 y.o.) read to me out loud every school day. I pick those books but I try to pick books that they should like. I am still trying to find the perfect fit for my 8 y.o. We have read Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, The Mouse and the Motorcycle and the sequels, Half Magic (that one was too high), How to Eat Fried Worms, The Littles, Freddy Goes to Florida (his current book), etc. He really liked the Mouse and the Motorcycle books. Everything else was "okay" but I think he probably liked the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle ones second to those.
So they do pick out other books to read silently and/or at night, but lately it has only been Captain Underpants and Bad Kitty. My 8 y.o. will finish one of these books in less than a day. He devours them. I am not a fan of the content, but I love the veracious reading. What books do I need to try to get him reading like this more on his own? These books tend to be heavy on illustrations which I think he likes.
I need some ideas that hopefully don't involve underpants or naughty kitties. Besides he has already read through the entire series of both. :huh: Help?
ETA: I feel compelled to say there were some actual learning elements to Bad Kitty for President (about the electoral process) and the latest book Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble (about literary elements like plot and characters). So really I was not disappointed they picked them to read. =)
-
So far we have used 1A,1B, 2A and 2B and I've only cracked open the teacher's manual once. In that case, it was because a friend and I could not figure out how to do the problem. Reading the teacher's guide convinced us it was just a poorly developed problem. That has only happened once.
As the prior poster mentioned, you can access the teacher's guide online if you need it (and at once or less a year that is my plan). I am thinking that in later grades (perhaps 4 and up) I will consider buying the teacher's guide. Otherwise, it seems thus far to be an unnecessary added expense. I hope that helps!
-
Yes, these boards have been very valuable, and this seems a very prudent course of action. I also like the Amazon affiliate idea.
-
There is something for CC Cycle 1. I am sure you can find it on youtube or pinterest. There were songs for the declension endings.
Here is something:
-
School starts at 8:35 and ends at 3:35. No naps, only one recess, 30 kids in the class with 1 teacher, and a lot of seat work. I primarily blame this ridiculous schedule for how much now he dislikes school.
This was our experience with full-day K. The year started with three recess periods a day (to manage the wiggles, I am guessing), but by the end of the year only one recess period. There were no naps, but lots and lots of videos. It was a very long day. If my son rode the bus home he would not be home until almost 4 p.m. and he started school at 8:35. Lunch was a half hour with a half hour recess following. There was definitely a TON of seat work and 27 kids in our classroom with one teacher and no aide. I prayed for that woman regularly. =)
-
I'll admit that I haven't read the other responses yet, but yes, absolutely that is the reason we red-shirted our son. It was all day K or nothing in our local school and as a younger 5 (birthday in mid-Sept) it just didn't make sense to me to put him in young for a seven hour school day. However, after that K year we pulled him out to homeschool, so life can be unpredictable. =)
-
Another poster said that it is important to know where the child's writing started--this is so true. My oldest was VERY slow to write properly. We had him in preschool, and he was really only writing well by the end of his second year (mid 5). Then he went into K in Public School and they were learning d'nealian. Well, that basically ruined his handwriting for a year. It did *eventually* improve some, but it took me many months to correct reversals that the K teacher did not think were important to correct. He would come home with whole pages of numbers reversed and she had not marked it or said anything to him. He was in full day so doing more handwriting after school just wasn't in my game plan (though in retrospect I should have) So we had some "unlearning" to do when he was pulled out and homeschooled. Contrast that with my other one who I had from the beginning--I was able to correct a lot more, and sooner, than with my first who had other teachers for three years. I am definitely NOT a great handwriting teacher, but the one-on-one versus one on 15 (preschool) or one on 27 (K) does make a big difference.
I have a class of six boys aged 6-9 doing Lego simple machines. There is some "optional" writing when we do investigations. Only one of the six ever wants to do the writing, and his handwriting is better than mine. LOL. The rest would rather stab themselves with a pencil. =)
-
Can you clarify what about his handwriting concerns you? Is it the reversals? Because developmentally that is totally normal for his age. My six year old's handwriting is similar to yours, and he still reverses b's and d's and 5's on occasion. My eight year old did also until he was a little over 7 years old.
My six year old is a slow writer, but neat, like yours (at least I think yours is pretty neat). My eight year old is fast and sloppy.
Hating handwriting is very characteristic of a boy IMO. Neither of my boys enjoy doing handwriting or copywork. Neither of them really enjoy sitting so it naturally follows that handwriting is not a favorite. LOL.
-
I've never taught this but American Girl History is popular at co-op. It is similar to what the prior poster said. They do some cooking in this class.
We also got a lot of interest in a cooking/baking class.
We have done FIAR multiple times. We also usually always offer a Math Games class. Next year it is Math Games/Brain Games.
We have done something like the hands-on science one of the other posters mentioned, and this coming year we are doing Inquiry in Action (the free American Chemist Society curriculum)
Musical theater and guitar are very popular, as is art
-
1
-
-
Reading Roadmaps?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I have been using this to identify books to discuss for literary elements--also just great books to read. I like it but it has taken me some time to get comfortable with the discussion process and using the chart (referenced in the Center for Lit Teaching the Classics seminar, etc.). Even if I hadn't done Teaching the Classics, it is still helpful. Another book I like for book lists (but not literary analysis) is The Book Tree.