RKWAcademy
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Posts posted by RKWAcademy
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Anna Karenina
The Catcher in the Rye
The Doomsday Book (so not a classic but I love it)
Atlas Shrugged (or anything Ayn Rand)
Any big collection by Edgar Allen Poe (can this count?)
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When one of my six year olds couldn't grasp addition (we were finishing Singapore 1a but she retained nothing), I moved her to MUS Alpha. I don't love it and don't think it's complete, but it really helped her. I think it had a lot of review. Definitely more than we do with Singapore. I still used Singapore with her for money, time, etc in 1st grade. She's finished MUS Alpha and I'm just going over some Singapore 1B that she seems to have no trouble with now. I'm not sure what we'll do next - either MUS Beta or Singapore 2A or MM 2A (I have it all).
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I had a Dyson for years. It was expensive but at the time we were dual income-no kids. I liked it a lot. Then it died late last year. I couldn't spring for another so I bought a $99 hoover from Costco. I have regretted it since the second day. I don't think any of the lower cost vacuums are worth anything. Sigh.
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Draw Write Now. My 6 year olds use them whenever they want, without my help. I have all the books. They just pick the subject that interests them and start drawing.
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I splurged once on Sherwin Williams (Cashmere, I think, in the best color ever: Grey Screen). The difference is obvious. It was so nice to work with and looked great on. I usually just use a middle to upper range from Lowes. They are good enough but Sherwin Williams was quality. They have sales occasionally, making them almost affordable.
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There are several series about the different generations of Laura's family. Martha's (Laura's great-grandmother) starts with Little House in the Highlands, Charlotte's (Laura's grandmother) begins with Little House By Boston Bay, Caroline's starts with Little House in Brookfield, and Rose's is Little House on Rocky Ridge. They have a similar feel to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, but are by different authors.
I never knew about these! Thank you!
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Boxcar Children series
Little Britches series
Encyclopedia Brown
The Penderwicks
The Cabin Faced West (similar feel as Little House but only 1 book)
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My daughter (7) has a speech impediment and she also says /tr/ the same as /ch/. She also can't hear the difference which is one reason I think she pronounces it incorrectly. But pronounced correctly, it sounds very distinctly like a /t/ sound blended with an /r/ sound to me.
Truck sounds like this:
Chuck sounds like this.
I agree with this.
My son's speech therapist has been working specifically with this, also. /tr/ is not supposed to sound like /ch/. My son (and I, by extension of daily practice) has been working on this for a long time! Per our speech therapy, you have to get the /t/ and /r/ clear and separate before you can blend them in speech like you and I would do.
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We camp in a travel trailer. Right now, we can really only swing two separate weeks per summer at the beach. But some day, we hope to branch out and go other places. Our camper has proven to be as expensive as just renting a beach house - between the blow-outs (2!) and the campground fees and on and on. But we just love it. We have never taken the kids to Disney, but we hope to stay at their campground when we finally save up and make that trip. There is also a campground Bahia Honda in the keys that we have wanted to visit for years. It's just such a long way down from NC.
As for tent camping, I was all game for that when I was a kid. But now I'll leave it to DH and DS for their scout trips.
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I could never understand why he'd leave extended family and make those moves with such a young family. But then I remember the bears and panthers in the deeps woods. Angry Native Americans vs panthers chasing your horse and leaping at you? (Or was the panther story the grandfather, can't remember).
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My first graders have gone through 4 books. I'm not sure when they started, probably the summer before 1st grade. We just use it as fun and sort of a spiral of our regular reading program All About Reading (starting AAR4 now). Right now they do two pages of ETC per day and enjoy it. I wouldn't continue using it if they didn't really like it. It's more review than instruction for us.
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I would suggest meals or offering to walk/play/care for the dogs for awhile. When I was recovering from neck surgery, all I wanted was for someone to take over my regular responsibilities (kids, mostly). I just didn't want to feel a burden of not taking care of my responsibilities. Likewise, anything that could help her husband, who is taking over her responsibilities, is helpful, too. They'd both appreciate that.
ETA - I now see that you don't live near her. I like the idea of sending dog food or meals. Can a meal be sent somehow? If not, a nice thoughtful note would be appreciated.
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I understand completely. Several years ago my dh had a cervical fusion, and then 3 days later had a colon rupture. He ended up with a colostomy while in a neck brace. Which meant he couldn't even SEE to do self care for the colostomy. Not to mention the major emotional side effects he had from various meds they had him on. While I love him dearly, and would do anything to care for him when he was in such a need, it was mentally exhausting! I got stressed and grumpy too. And ticked when he wouldn't follow medical advice to the letter.
((Hugs)) to you both.
Hugs to the OP!! This had to be rough, too!! My dh had a colon rupture, colostomy, and then infection at the surgical site of the second surgery to reverse the colostomy. Ugh. I can't imagine any of those while recovering from cervical fusion (which I had recently). Poor guy, poor you. I hope your dh is all better now!
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I'm around the same age as you are. My birthday this month hit me hard. I started to notice lines around my eyes, too. But, that's life. I'd like to think it just makes us look wiser. Embrace them as a reminder of all the good laughs you've had in your - ahem - many decades.
If that doesn't help, maybe your skin is dry because of winter? Maybe they aren't noticeable in the summer with a touch of a tan and moister skin?
I really do love those lines on my husband, though. Why do they make men so much more distinguished? *sigh*
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I can't offer much help for science needs but my kids adore Home Art Studio. They are in first grade this year, and they beg for art. It is very well done. I bought a set of several years worth so we just started with the "kindergarten" DVD, even though they are in first.
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I have first grade twins. We spend maybe two hours tops doing school in the morning. They are working on the same things for the most part. We do reading (AAR3 - just finished finally), spelling (AAS1), Explode the Code workbooks (2 pages daily, they love this, and it's good review of AAR), and math daily. Most days, we also do a bit of FLL 1/2 or WWE1. We fail miserably at getting Science (RSO Life), Art (Home Art Studio), and History (a favorite, lots of different books and Adventures in America) most weeks. Oh well. We read after dinner. I also fail at making them read to me later in the day or at bed. They're still doing well and I'm happy with their progress.
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We just finished a cute book - Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat. Was enjoyed by all. I can't remember where I saw it mentioned. They are also loving Harry Potter, Roald Dahl, Ramona books about a year ago.
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All About Spelling and a notebook. I don't use the tiles or cards. It's all in the teacher's manual (at least in level 1, where we are finishing up). Like others have said, just read the rule and dictate words. Works for both of my first graders, even the terrible speller with a speech disorder.
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Same problem here with my DD6. I bought a kid sized wetsuit on Amazon. That helps her some. But we only really swim in the summer when we go on vacation. Last year, I did put a swim cap on her. I can't remember if it kept her hair dry, thus she stayed warmer. I can imagine a wetsuit would impede your son's swimming skills. Wish there was an answer. I do bundle her up when she's not in the pool.
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Like others have said, it's normal and fine for them to be on different levels. I tried too hard in K and the beginning of 1st to keep them in the same programs and lessons. But, one does better at math. They are now in totally different math programs. They each have their strengths. Fortunately, there hasn't been any competition between the two. I did manage to keep them in All About Reading at the exact same level. So their reading levels are very similar. Likewise, although my son's handwriting and spelling abilities aren't up to his sister's level, they do the same lessons. Sometimes my son just needs more time or help. I don't actually separate my kids for anything (except independent reading, I don't want them to hear their twin and then regurgitate the words instead of reading). When it is math time, they do different things. I take turns introducing the topic. It helps that one kid does MUS and can watch the video. But for one-off things, like a separate money section we're doing, they stay together. I think I'd lose my mind if I taught the same thing two different times in the same day. Honestly, I think having twins must be easier than moms who have to juggle several different grade levels. At least the way I do it seems fairly easy and streamlined. Good luck!
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I don't like long breaks in the summer, so we start somewhere in July and school "most" weekdays. I like to take a day off here and there, too. Those breaks give the kids and me a nice reset but prevents them from purging too much from their brains. Last year, we easily surpassed 180. I plan out about 200 days on the calendar each year but give plenty of room to take off random days.
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I do use the HIG for Singapore but I don't plan ahead. I wing it. Has worked so far. I look in the HIG, we work through the examples in the HIG with manipulatives or sometimes we write it on his boogie board. Then we walk through the textbook pages that are in that lesson in the HIG. Then he works through the workbook pages. Shuffling isn't that big of a deal to me. If I were smarter, I'd get a sticky note or bookmark for the books because finding my place every day takes the most time :) I also don't plan in advance what I'm going to cover on each day. I just open and go. Mostly it's just the next full lesson.
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I prefer MM for how easy it is to teach. It looks like something I'd like if I were a kid. However, my kiddos don't like it. I've tried twice to get them interested. Both kids did SM in Kindergarten and 1A. One kid does well with Singapore. The other needs the slower teaching of MUS, and I add some Singapore to it. They are finishing up 1st grade now. DS will start SM2A in a few weeks. DD will spend some time picking up pieces not covered in MUS Alpha and then do MUS Beta starting in a month or so.
Take my recommendations with a grain of salt because I'm a curriculum hopper. You name it, I've probably bought it. Don't be like me!
I should add that RightStart was a bust with my kids, too. So consider that if yours did well with RS. If I could get over my kids' complaints, I'd pick MM in a heartbeat. Could you do MM and throw in some CWP or something else. Best of both worlds?
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I like Beckett and Bennett (and Benjamin). Also, Brooks.
Which five classics would you say...
in The Chat Board
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Yep, Connie Willis I haven't read Passage. I like To Say Nothing of the Dog. I'm not usually a fan of Science Fiction, although I'll read some Heinlein. The Doomsday Book was so good and started my interest in the Middle Ages. I was never a history fan until well into my adult years. I'd never given much thought to the middle ages before this book. I'll find Passage and give it a try.