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HappyClassical

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Everything posted by HappyClassical

  1. I'm actually impressed; I'll be interested to see how it gets reviewed when it is out.
  2. I recently jumped over from a combo of other programs to SWR. It's exactly what we needed and meets your criteria. I would recommend setting aside 2 weeks to 1 month to work through the guide, get your teacher book together, and watch YouTube, to feel most prepared when you jump in.
  3. FWIW, I think that all math will likely take a bit of time from the teacher, even if it's not as intensive as RS... Because you want to be correcting mistakes as they go and reinforcing. I have MM as supplement for mastery for my DD with RSB. But she couldn't do MM alone and I believe the methodology of RS works overall. You mention that RS is working. How much time are you spending? Math could take 40-60 minutes per day. I find that doing prep work in advance; having zippy bags with all the manipulatives and games ready to go, and reviewing lessons in advance makes things go smoother and less time. I just figure math is one of those subjects in these early years that require that face to contact. And if the foundation is laid solid, then later (I assume 4th grade and on - just guessing, not there yet), then they will be better equipped to truly learn more independently.
  4. Thanks, Everyone. I'm going to be working with my mom on writing our own *gulp* science curriculum over the next year - finally have her convinced - and she mentioned compiling as much public domain resources as possible. Then my eyes rolled in the back of my head - my research just got a head start!
  5. I came across this link, and it has some really cool looking history games (free and printable), and the links to the other bloggers gave me some new people to add to my reading list. Games span time periods, from Ancient to Modern. http://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/2014/06/21/13-free-printable-history-board-games/ Because I know you all need more stuff to print. 😜
  6. Ooh, once I find the charger cable for my tablet, all these books will be waiting for me! Just got them all; thanks!
  7. Woohoo!!! Was just looking for something like this.
  8. Discovery science streaming is an excellent supplemental resource. You can get it free for the summer through homeschooler buyers co op, and then they run deals on the subscription and it is really worth it. We supplement our curriculums with it and my kids really enjoy it. They are you get than yours, but discovery science is good for all ages. I sometimes use it to educate myself!
  9. I was taught that writing contractions is informal, but if you do use them, you should have break. I will be teaching my children cursive with the break as well.
  10. After doing tons and tons and tons of research including doing different programs, buying curriculum and previewing etc; I bought SWR (Spalding spin-off) I'm doing the prep work now and we will officially start it in 3 weeks. I honestly am so impressed with what I am reading and how I am really understanding a method. I never remember learning to read. I was a natural reader and could read with fluency at age 4, and was into long chapter books (Little House, Anne of Green Gables) before 2nd grade, so teaching phonics/reading and how spelling has been a real challenge for me. I strongly recommend giving Spalding or SWR a look.
  11. I'd second with CritterFixer question - studies have shown that boys are often drawn to non fiction. I am a rep for Usborne Books and I do see that boys tend to gravitate towards a lot of the non fiction selections - such as an encyclopedia of the world wars - it's not a hard and fast rule, but if he really isn't getting into the novels or fiction series, get him a meaty book about something he is interested in. :-)
  12. I really don't need to be buying anything else, but gee - I'm intrigued! And I pre-read everything anyway... Heading off to Amazon.
  13. My DD did HWOT through the 1st grade book in Kindergarten. She is an early writer but was an an early reader. We are switching to SWR this year, and starting Cursive First, with both her and her younger brother. I wish I had known about teaching cursive first earlier; research shows that it almost completely eliminates the occurrence of reversals (something DD does, despite having excellent letter formation), and is also recommended for children with visual perception issues (my DS). My DD flew through the HWOT books, and each page looks lovely (I had her correct mistakes as we went) - but I don't really think there was much connection being made. Handwriting felt disjointed from other topics. So, I agree with Ellie on starting a Spalding program (or swr which is a spin off).
  14. I would have got a new car... My DH and I are both terrified by rats. That being said, we live on a lake in south florida and rats happen - often. When I was pregnant with my toddler we had a rat in the house!!! We put out a sticky trap with peanut butter and laid in bed listening for about an hour... The rat got stuck and what ensued for our disposal of the rat, included a pregnant me peeing myself a little, a cooler, and my husband throwing up... So yea, we don't like rats. But, Peanut butter attracts them quickly and easily.
  15. Just checked to make sure they were ok, and so glad they are.
  16. I use a sweeper with a microfiber rag on it to "dust" the walls and take this time to also rub the air conditioning vents. For walls that are colored, I occasionally wash with a little castille soap mixed with water. Same for white or ivory walls, but if they are really dirty or have crayon or some unknown stubborn substance, a magic eraser does the trick.
  17. When I am pregnant, which has been about half of the last 6 years, I have limited activity due to bad hip and me being high risk... but I try to stay active and walk as much as possible. When I am not pregnant, I run! And I do beach body. My husband loves to run and we are planning to train for a 10K after blessing #4 gets here in September. The motivation is that I come from a whole line of overweight people and I want to set a good example for my children of what it is to take proper care of this body God gave us.
  18. I have a DD who can really focus on seat work and it gets done more effectively that way in my house rather than lots of breaks. We did quite a bit of work for K, and are doing a lot more for 1st (we school year round). She can handle it; all kids are different. She is a good influence for my DS, though I give him more breaks. We school in the morning, with a break for snack mid morning. It lends our afternoon to more active and informal pursuits, as well as crafty projects. Math - 40 minutes to 1 hour. Mathseeds and Splashmath online in free time - kids think it is fun and computer time is a reward. This time does include both seat work and related games or work with manipulatives; we are now doing RighStart - so it all goes together. Bible - 10-20 minutes-ish; using CLE - read the kids the story during breakfast, they do the worksheet. My husband does devotions at night. We are hoping to get into AWANA once we move next month; the church we are going to be attending has it. Language Arts (I lump together because one day WWE may take longer than FLL, or Spelling, or Reading, so it is a block) - 1 hours to 1.5 hours. DD reading a book to me may or may not make it into this time slot, but it happens every day. Reading Eggs is done in free time. Science - 3 x Week, my husband reads to them at night related to our curriculum; for the coming school year, he will be reading to them from the Sassafras novels. This allows my husband to engage with the kids education, spend more time with them (we are bumping their bedtime from 8 to 830), and also frees up time for me during the day. Our actual science time will be on par with last year, at 3 x week, 30 minutes, with a long wrap up time, taking 50-90 minutes. We don't include nature study, field trips, or gardening in this.. those are fund afternoon activities that don't really follow with our formal curriculum. History - 3-4 x week, 30 minutes to 1 hour. SOTW is listened to in the car on the way to activities, usually twice. We did SOTW in pieces informally last year, this year it will be formal - but again listening to it outside of regular school hours frees up time during school, and also makes use of car time (on way to CC, Tennis, Music lesson, Kung Fu, etc.) Geography - 15 minutes; extra to map work in CC or the AG from SOTW. We are doing Evan Moor Beginning Geography, 3 x week. Spanish - 2 x week, with a goal of 4 x week, 30 minutes. I don't do Science and History in blocks, so I can't help with that. Enrichments: CC - 1 day/week at a community and 20 minutes each day reviewing the memory work (we are using the notebooks from Wisdom & Righteousness) Music - Daily practice of 20 minutes, except for day when their is private lesson which is 30-45 minutes. Once per week, Music Appreciation with "World's Greatest Composers" by CoaH - 40 minutes to 1 hour. Fitness - 1 x week we do an activity from Homeschool Family Fitness (from Sonlight). 1 x week, they go to Kung Fu (45 minutes). 2 x week, they go to tennis (1 hour); DD maybe adding a day for a 45 minutes private lesson. And everyday we are out at the park or beach or riding bikes or climbing trees. We will be schooling Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and CC Community on Wednesday with Music Appreciation, Art Appreciation, a field trip or a project in the afternoon. Id have to go look at my HSTOnline schedules to see exactly how much time we are totaling out to.. but generally I just like to say we do school in the morning - we are done around lunch. But there are subjects and things we do in the afternoon, but not the core. Hope that helps!
  19. We switched from SM with MUS, for my math advanced DD, to RS and I have to say completely worth it at this point. Areas where things weren't sinking before are a breeze. We love the abacus. I love the format of the 2nd edition materials. I recorded everything in HSTonline ahead of time, so I prep quickly. We supplement with MM worksheets for mastery or review and Splashmath online. My daughter likes worksheets and extra work (I know), but I don't think you need to supplement RS at all.
  20. I vote Usborne. The content is great, the pictures are lovely, and the internet links add a lot of value of convenience.
  21. We are doing BJU Pasaporte al Espanol. I'm doing Rosetta Stone to hone my skills; I'm married to a Spaniard and live in South Florida.. So we have a lot more exposure than others.
  22. Discovery Science Techbook (available through homeschool buyers coop) is for grades k-8... I don't know much about the scope and sequence for older grades, but I find Discovery to be a great company and it might provide what you are looking for.
  23. Agree with others, it doesn't need to be fun in the traditional sense. We go through seat work quickly, bc we are focused, not bc we are rushing, and there is plenty of time in life for playing outside, sports activities and more. At the same time, my DD considers school "fun" for the most part but not the same kind of fun as going to the beach. She enjoys learning about something new, or the challenge of scoring well on a particular area.. We praise for a good effort, mostly just verbally. I believe communicating the goals of the less-traditionally-fun school makes it more enjoyable, and motivating. That being said, I do try my best to incorporate coloring or drawing or other age appropriate activities into our subjects, but more to engage her learning style and attention span of a 6 year old. I really loved school, all the way through graduate school and so did my husband through his PhD. Our attitudes towards school are maybe contagious. I don't know. I don't think you have anything to cry about. You are teaching your children and getting the work done; you are able to finish the work quickly and have many more hours of the day for no-pressure play. That's sounds great to me!
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