[Note Taking Apps]

What do you love (or hate) and why? 

I'm looking at options and they all start to run together. I want something that will sync between my tablet and phone and possibly my computer. I have Evernote on my computer but I couldn't tell from the app description if it would sync with all of my devices. 

Or there's Google Keep. Maybe I should use that one since pretty much everything else is google. 

Then there's Dropbox Paper but I don't think I actually have my own Dropbox, I've just been directed to pull from other people's. I think. And a play store editor's review said "it needs to catch up on PCs" so that doesn't sound good.

Am I the only one that thinks all this tech designed to "make things easier" is actually super complicated and a giant pain in the booty?

Regardless, I need a note app. 

[Plans vs reality]

Changes in italics:

Reading: A Wrinkle in Time, Number the Stars, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM, and more but I don't know what yet. We haven't read any of these! 😂 We've read gobs but just not these.

Sequential Spelling Yes!

????? haven't figured out grammar yet We tried Partership Writing and I just couldn't hack the loose goosey projects. So we went back to tried and true EIW. I pointed out to dd that if we can knock out schoolwork without so many moving parts, she'd have gobs of free time for projects and her other interests. She (finally) got the picture and its been going really well.

English from the Roots Up... I think...maybe...maybe not. Definitely not.

IEW Theme Based Writing Ancients went with EIW instead

???? unknown handwriting. She is using a therapy program from her OT this year so we'll see what she recommends for next year. We went with McRuffy 5th grade Cursive Handwriting

??? unsure on typing. She is doing Dance Mat right now so we'll see where she's at for next year I kept saying as long as we get to typing by the first of the year, it will be fine. Now its mid February and I still haven't enforced typing. Need to get on that.

Math Mammoth not sure about level, will probably make a separate post of questions about this soon Oy vey. We are still in 4b. I'm trying really hard not to stress and just go at her pace. She was diagnosed with a learning disorder with math and we are trying to figure out next steps.

STOW Ancients Every year, I say I'm going to do a curriculum but we just have too much fun following our interests. 

Science in the Ancient World we pick and choose what interests us but we are not doing this as written. 

Extras: weekly piano lessons, weekly homeschool PE, monthly art class, monthly field trip, monthly playdate with friends. We have had so many medical appointments for chronic illness that we've been doing piano on our own and dropped HS PE. We've been doing okay with the rest. Some have been cancelled for ice/snow

[5th Grade Planning Thread 2018-19 Updated 8-17-18]

On 1/31/2018 at 9:48 AM, MrsRobinson said:

Nm

 

Wrong thread

[Plans vs reality]

3 hours ago, Seeking Squirrels said:

Here's mine for my 5th grader. 

Original was in Jan/Feb, Red was in April, and Blue is now.

I've already changed a fair bit!

Math: SM, probably 4b/5a. We had to back up and dip into 3b this year (thank you ps 3rd), so she's on 4a right now. We'll just keep going with wherever we are. We also do a bit of BA on the side. She's in 3b now, so maybe 3c/3d next year. She's making good progress through 4a, so probably starting 4b in May and we'll keep that going through the summer. I'm hoping to recover the grade gap and finish 5b by the end of 5th.  We didn't keep going through the summer so we started 4b end of August and she has really struggled through it. So she is still in 4b 😕 We do math consistently but she just has a hard time with output. So it takes a long time. 

Writing/grammar: EIW5 Growing with Grammar, teach 5 paragraph essay, and write across the curriculum WTM-style. (Though I'm still not sold on GwG, it's the one thing I keep going back to and looking at other things. I want simple, cheap, and get-er-done but still appealing enough to not turn off my non-workbook kid.)  I never did order GwG and went with Bravewriter Partnership Writing instead. It goes well when we do it but we've been taking the projects slowly. We also do Arrows sometimes. She occasionally freewrites if we don't do anything from the other two. She also does Editor in Chief which she loved at first but has slowed down on as it gets harder. I feel like it's kind of a cobbled mess, but I *think* we're doing enough?

Spelling: AAS probably the last half of 4 and then 5. She's almost finished with 3 now. Still AAS, but probably just 4, she's slowed down. This is the same, she's progressing well through 4. 

Literature: Probably just a list made by me from searching other lists 😉We joined a book club and did that first semester. So still the same but overall we've read less books than I would have liked. 

Science: RSO Bio2 w/ microscope labs. This was overwhelming once all ready to go and we never got off the ground with it. First semester was really a hodgepodge of videos, random books, random 'labs', and tinker crate boxes. Which I am fine with for 1st but feels like failing her in 5th. So we just started back with the last few units of physics that she didn't finish last year as something solid to do until she's ready for RSO bio2. 

History: HO middle ages I have so failed history. We still haven't finished ancients. We just drop the ball so often and simply don't do it. 😞

Extracurricular: I don't know yet, but she's loving theater this year, so maybe we'll do that again. I'd also like to get her back into tumbling. She dropped it when she started theater (she does not like a full schedule), but her OT says she needs it. Ninja warrior style training class that will do parkour 1x/month. She does the ninja class, theater, and swimming. 

 

Wow, your dd and mine look like twins on planning pages! We should teach them together, alternating weeks on who does the teaching! 😂 

[Accountability Thread 2/10-2/16]

All us sickies slept in super late this morning and I am just letting them do whatever they want sans screens for a while. Currently, they have Lumi Dough projects baking in the oven and are playing Lego. I'm happy with that.

I'm working on a menu and grocery list. I'm hoping I have the energy for one small grocery store this afternoon and maybe by tomorrow, I'll be ready to conquer the dreaded Walmart. 

I also have the modest goals of running the dishwasher and doing a load of towels laundry today. This cold has been a butt kicker, as far as energy goes. 

[movies that count as school?]

Well as evidence that everything is educational, dd told me just the other day that she learned bananas are high in potassium from Honey We Shrunk Ourselves. 🙄 

Most of my list would be repeats of things already mentioned but one that I didn't see that we really enjoyed is the Brain Child series on Netflix. It sparked a lot of good conversations and ideas for my kids.

[Accountability Thread 2/10-2/16]

We got snow! We can't go out and play in it because we are still feeling lousy. 

More read alouds today and educational TV. The kids don't even want to draw, they are so miserable. When ds got out of the shower yesterday he said, "for some reason, that shower really wore me out." Poor guy! 😞  

[who does the decorating at your house?]

2 hours ago, caedmyn said:

I didn't mention them to him other than saying I wanted to get a rug for it.  Actually we had a discussion yesterday that prompted this thread--he wanted to hang something I don't particularly like (a duck call and framed newspaper article about the duck call maker) in the dining room.  I suggested he hang it in his office and he didn't like that idea.  So I was trying to figure out if my theory that women are typically the ones who decorate homes was correct, and if it's unreasonable of me to want/intend to do most of the decorating.  I won't get something if I know he doesn't/won't like it, and I don't mind trying to agree on stuff like furniture, curtains for the dining room, or paint colors, but it isn't practical and would be quite frustrating to try to agree on everything.  DH and I have vastly different tastes and have difficulty agreeing on anything.  And our new house is more than half again the size of our old one, so there's a lot of decorating to be done.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't want that in the dining room either. I would have suggested dh's office, as well.

Before we were together, my dh spent a ridiculous amount of money on a huge (HUGE) Simpson's print that had every character that had ever appeared on the show up to that point. It looked like a giant Where's Waldo spread. Only more obnoxious. 😂 

He was mad I hung it in the garage when we moved in together. He thought I'd put it in the living room over the couch. I said. "Uh, no. We are adults now."  I didn't even want to put it up in the garage! 🙄

[who does the decorating at your house?]

Ok, I'm super curious @caedmyn did your dh not like any of the hive's ideas for the space next to your kitchen? Is that what's prompting this question? 😊

[Accountability Thread 2/10-2/16]

Ice cancelled Sunday sevices for us too but we wouldn't have gone anyway because we are all sick. 

I am hoping to double up on read alouds today since its one of the few things any of us is up for. I'd like to find a couple of documentaries to go along with our geography so we can just sit and watch but its much better than them watching Capt. Underpants. 🙄 

[who does the decorating at your house?]

Me. 😊

That's the short answer. 

The long answer is dh doesn't like floral print. So I accommodate his preference.

Funny though, I think when we first moved in together, he really meant "feminine" because our house is certainly not totally "masculine" and there are lots of feminine touches that he would never choose. But they are not "floral", which is what he said so he keeps his mouth shut. 😏 

If he didn't have a wife, he'd live in a house with bare walls, no curtains, and whatever towels and bedsheets were cheapest at the nearest store. He doesn't care whether those things are there or not. But no floral print! 😂

 

[We are all sick but we want something warm from the oven... suggestions please!]

I want all of these! All of this will get us through this whole virus! 

I kept going into the kitchen and just saw ingredients. It like I forgot how to put ingredients together to make something worth eating. 

I hate being sick at the same time as everyone else. Everyone is sick... sick mom still has to give out all the meds, make the drinks and the food, give the snuggles. I get a little grumpy.

[Strep throat relief]

We are in the same boat.

We have been drinking Yogi Throat Comfort tea. Even my tea haters are drinking it because its soothing. 

[We are all sick but we want something warm from the oven... suggestions please!]

We all are miserable with congestion, sore throats, stuffy noses, and the like. 

But we all want something warm from the oven. Nothing to difficult for me to make. I just threw together a Bear Creek soup packet for dinner and that was tiring, lol.

I'm too foggy to think of what to make that would be sweet but not too sweet and filling. 

[is there something I can do with this space?]

I agree with moving the table. To me it seems odd (and annoying) to have to travel with food more than a few steps to sit at a table to eat it. 

Utilizing the other room as a playroom, office, den, or whatever could easily turn it into a favorite spot in the house. 

[Accountability Thread 2/3-2/9]

Lol on the gleaming trashcan @MeaganS  I don't know why I've never thought of that one! 😂 On the writing issue, your dd sounds like mine. She's almost 11 and is just now showing more willingness with writing. She still doesn't have the output that a public schooled 5th grader would but I don't think that was my goal. Hang in there! Hopefully at least the tantrums will stop if she doesn't want the consequences. 

@happysmileylady that is too funny that they did states in their free time! I love it when that happens! It sounds like they were getting along nicely too, so double bonus! 😂 

@Mommyof1 I'm thinking about stealing your idea and ordering pizza here in a minute. I never do that, I always go pick it up but it is so cold! 

Okay, I'm signing off the forums for the weekend! Have a great weekend everyone! 

[Accountability Thread 2/3-2/9]

@MeaganS You've done a lot of school considering everything you have going on with moving! We ended up with a full month off of bookwork by the time moving was all said and done. Of course, I had a new baby, too, and was breastfeeding round the clock. How old is your youngest? (I'm on mobile.) 

I keep meaning to get one of those lights...  Does it really help? Maybe they'll go on sale in the spring! 😁

[Accountability Thread 2/3-2/9]

I have had problems with the site too and I couldn't post all day yesterday! I'm finally in! 

HSL, it sounds like the property manager would be better off putting in a new drain line since its still causing problems. What a hassle for you! 

Yesterday, we did a full school day plus the library.

I am trying to bring some of the fun back in our homeschool rather than focusing on catching up or stressing because of all the appointment interruptions. So to that end, we started a long term science project! The kids were very excited. I also let them do some free writing, which is always a winner here. They love being encouraged to express their thoughts and ideas. 

Today is school work, allergy injections, shopping for the project, and family movie night. We are going to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! So hopefully its another *good* day. 

[Accountability Thread 2/3-2/9]

We are under a winter weather advisory, here, Mommyof1. Sounds like you are expected to get worse winter weather than us. 

Was the source of the plumbing issue discovered, HSL? And what did you bake? 😊 I could go for some homemade cookies or something...

Long medical day today. Blah blah blah. It gets tiring. The kids had independent work to do today and when we got home, I went ahead and did read alouds with them. I really wanted some snuggles and a fun story was my bait. 😂 

I finally finished the book I was reading to ds. So we got online to decide on our next read aloud and I've already put a hold on them at the library. Yes, them. He could only narrow it down to three choices. Which is fine. I'm just glad he's branching out in his interests. 

[Accountability Thread 2/3-2/9]

Glad you are feeling a little better HSL, in spite of continued plumbing and vehicle issues. 

MeaganS- I'm so jealous! I want to take a trip so badly! I don't care where, I just want to get away for a bit, ya know? That's awesome that you are buying a house! Keep us posted on the excitement!

Today, we have a normal school day. Memory work, spelling, grammar for dd, writing for ds, handwriting, math, and geography before lunch. Exercise, weekly chore, piano practice, and reading after lunch. Extra curriculars tonight.

I have a lot to do after schoolwork is done because tomorrow is a really really big medical day. I have to pack up independent schoolwork for the kids to do at the sitter's, pack extra clothes and shoes for them because they always get filthy romping around in the woods while there, pack snacks and drinks for the 3 hour one way drive, pack records, imaging, meds, chargers, devices, ear buds, clean the car, get gas, and I'm sure I'm missing something...

[There is a mouse in my kitchen]

This thread has clued me in to where the idea for If You Give a Mouse a Cookie originated! 😂 

At our previous home, we had mice every fall like clockwork. One year a mouse crawled up onto the back of the stove and stared at us as we sat on the couch!

Another year, they were in the attic and they were so LOUD scurrying around up there that we couldn't sleep! And the traps were not working that year for some reason. They'd eat the peanut butter but not set off the trap. Well, dh discovered the reason. There was a nest in the attic insulation and there were gobs of teeny tiny babies. They were too little to activate the traps! Dh relocated them. Then we spent a lot of time stuffing steel wool everywhere. I mean everywhere. Attic, garage, crawl space, behind appliances. Never had another mouse again and we were there for 7 more years. I highly recommend steel wool.

Now we live surrounded on three sides by farmland and fields that are cut twice a year for hay and we haven't had a single mouse in the 3 years we've been here. Go figure. 😄 

[Ha ha..my poor husband!!!]

Whew! That definitely sounds exhausting! I can't stand shopping so I'd go to the nearest store that sells faucets, grab the cheapest one with a high arch and maybe a built in sprayer if I felt rich that day.

Then once it was installed, I'd plop on the couch to watch a movie with dh if we needed to spend time together. Maybe I'd make a treat to snack on during the movie. 😂

[Accountability Thread 2/3-2/9]

Have fun Critter and Teen Critters! Sounds wonderful! 

We'll play outside today, for sure. We will also get out and do a few errands. 

Regular school day first, though. Memory work, copy work, spelling, grammar, math, and geography before lunch. Outside time, piano practice, and art after lunch. Reading before bed. 

[Help me figure out this noise...]

My Dh says give up and move! 😂

[Help me figure out this noise...]

Our Xboxes make intermittent noise like that when they are turned off. We only hear it when the house is very quiet like when trying to sleep or the kids are out of the house.