My kids loved doing "Action Latin." We would just do things like: *mom calls out words; sit if it's a noun, stand if it's a verb *the kids toss a ball back and forth, giving the definition of word each time; if they don't know the definition, they 'run a lap' around the yard *jump rope or toss the ball as they do chants Huh, I need to start that again! They can always use the exercise :D.

We haven't used Easy Grammar, so I can't compare, but both of my kids do very well with GWG. They do it on their own, yay, and only occasionally have questions or need clarification. I very much like that they have independent practice that I rarely need to be involved in, and I always have the option of adding in discussion and such when it works for me (and I do, we're language geeks around here!). My oldest started with level 4 and is currently in level 7, so she's four years in. As far as the actual books, they are printed on good quality paper and have a good look and feel. There is no visual clutter. It is set up with about seven to ten sections per chapter, and then a chapter review.

I have From Colonies to Constitution; is that one of the levels you are talking about? We used some of the beginning exercises in a small writing group, and it was very helpful, very good at getting the kids to think about different types of sources and how to evaluate them. I don't think it's a great choice for completely independent work; if you don't have the discussion and debate going on, you lose a lot of what is worthwhile, imo. I have the cd, and I need to print out the TG to get a better idea of how to plan.

Sweet! I love searching through used books.

You go, girl! I'm going to try and submit, if I can pull myself together before leaving for Disney next week.

Awesome! Maybe we'll see you at some point :001_smile:. We are staying at All Star Movies, and our touring plan is: Sunday, Magic Kingdom Monday, EPCOT Tuesday, Animal Kingdom Wednesday, Disney Studios Thursday, EPCOT Friday, Magic Kingdom Just noticed my girls are a year older and a year younger than your oldest dd! heh, I'll see what I can do about that!

Very cool. Do you work with them?

I'd also reccomend hanging around here for a while :D. If there is a consignment store within two hours or so, it's well worth a drive to see things in person. Let her root through all your stuff; tell her to make some hs friends and root through theirs as well.

Ooh, that's very good news! The 'crowd projector' is giving us 1s and 2s for every day we are there, so it's fabulous to know it really worked that way for you.

This is just tickling me :D. I have this vision of my kids with a whole slew of laminated cards for every purpose, with a dozen or so dangling from me as I walk around the house . . . actually, it's my dh who needs these. He's always trying to tell/ask me things at the MOST inopportune times. Are you seriously telling me we're out of peas while I'm in the bath? Write it on the list!! Maybe I'll hand him a stack of laminated cards, and a dry erase marker so he can add comments :lol: :lol:

Lots of Disney talk lately! Will anyone be there at the same time as us, November 13 - 19?

It helped my dd's spelling quite a bit. She's still not a good speller, mind you, but better, lol.

How old are they? What is your school schedule? If you school year-round or close to it, then you may be able to get away with your current schedule. If you want to take long summer and Christmas vacations, then not so much. Keep in mind, a field trip or visit to family does not have to mean no school that day. It's pretty rare that we don't do *something* on any given day, even if it's one subject or one hour. Everyone needs to be aware that, on 'out' days, it's required to get up and get at it right away. It helps to have a folder with independent work set up - - handwriting, spelling, copywork, drill sheets, and so forth. This folder work can be done every single day, field trip and co-op days included. Make a list of what can be done in the car. My kids find it impossible to write in a moving car, so they do stuff like memory work, Latin and French vocab, basically anything that is visual or auditory. It's a great time for them to quiz each other. If your kids love co-op and field trip days, I'd lay it on the line for them. This is what has to get done each week; how are we going to manage that? Discuss, decide, do!

I have no problems with teachers occasionally discussing matters not immediately germane to the 'lesson,' and I have no problems with a teacher disclosing their voting habits to a classroom full of seniors. When my kids are 18, I certainly hope they have enough mojo that I don't worry unduly about protecting them from people trying to push their point of view. With much younger children, more care should be taken, because they are far more likely to give their teacher's words more weight than they might merit. Seniors? They should have a bit of discernment; if they don't, a teacher spouting off about politics is the least of their worries.

Do they really?? How do they rate? Good, or just eh, at least it's veggie?

I wouldn't panic, but I'd definitely consider an eval. Not all 6 yr olds are ready to truly read, but difficulty with simple letter sounds at this age would concern me. If there is an issue of some kind, it's so much better to know early on! I would have his hearing checked, pronto, and then take it from there.

oh, honey, you are SO done, lol!

Magic Kingdom: Cosmic Ray's (TONS of food, we always share) and Pinochio's Village Haus Animal Kingdom: Flame Tree BBQ Disney Studios: nothing great, Pizza Planet is pretty good Epcot: hmm, can't even think of one

thanks for posting!

Do they enjoy reading it the first time, or are they reluctant all around? If reading brings joy, and re-reading brings reluctance, I probably would not force it. Instead, I would slip it in via short reading passages that include a lot of the same words - - just write sentences on the white board or such. It's fun to let them erase each sentence as they read it. Another way is to have a group of ten or so short sentences, with slight variations. Repeat a couple of the sentences exactly, but not in order (so sentences 2 and 7 might be the same). You can either hint at them to spot them, or let them discover it on their own (if you think they will). Let them erase or cross out each duplicate sentence that 'snuck in' to their reading practice. Almost every kid naturally turns to re-reading at some point, especially when they start on chapter books, so being reluctant to do it 'on command' isn't necessarily a terrible thing. I would make them re-read some sentences and short passages on occasion, to make sure they CAN. If they don't seem able to, or willing to even try, I would wonder how much guessing and 'reading clues from mom' they are doing, instead of actual reading (if you don't truly read a sentence, it's difficult at best to re-read, kwim? you won't remember where mom corrected you and so on).

So look at my kids' ages: 2, 3, 7, 9--if we don't have any more (& we're not planning to), I don't care what you say. I choose to believe it gets easier. Um, yeah, sure, Aubrey! When they're 10, 11, 15, and 17, it will be easier, hmmm mmm ;). But what about having more? Is it true that after 4, a couple more is no big deal I find that most people who think this is true either don't have a couple more, or the older kids are doing quite a bit of child care. Babies and toddlers are a lot of work; that work doesn't go away simply because they are numbers 6-8 rather than 2-4. The work may get redistributed, but it doesn't go away. Each family has to decide how much child care they are comfortable having the older children assume. I personally think that, if a parent truly doesn't notice the addition of a couple of extra human beings, the older kids are probably doing too much! :D

It's freakin' awesome! :lol:

If it were me, I'd be thinking of baby names, ;).

I'd certainly allow it. In my world, a 17-year-old should be making almost all of their own decisions. Now, would I pay for it? Not necessarily. Not all of it, at any rate. Having to pay for a portion of classes/equipment/etc quickly winnows out real interests from "dang, S&R sounds cool, and look at the shiny equipment!" But I would certainly allow and encourage it.

Re-reading is an excellent way to build fluency and increase speed, not just for emerging readers, but for all readers. Reading books "below level" is another helpful method - - there should be a mix of easy reading, right-on-target reading, and challenging reading.