eternallytired
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Posts posted by eternallytired
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I did a hodgepodge. I wrote a blog post about some of the multitude of things I did with my older two; my youngest is slowly making his way down the same path. The pre-packaged things just didn't appeal, though Progressive Phonics kept the kids engaged longest.
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Not a workbook, but the Bedtime Math book series is like what you describe. It has a paragraph of interesting information on a topic followed by three or four word problems (of increasing difficulty) related to the topic. Each book has several chapters with probably 15 problem sets per chapter. My math-averse daughter actually asked to do more problems from those books.
ETA: Check your library and you can always try them for free. There are three books--and I just discovered that they have a website with an app and a "Today's Fun Math" problem set of the day. http://bedtimemath.org/
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Logic of English Foundations has a very gentle-looking cursive program intended for beginning writers, but I wasn't willing to spend the money on it, so I made my own using this free worksheet generator. I liked that I could change the size of the words/lines to get smaller as they got more confident, customize the amount of practice we needed, and use my own text.
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Well, I'll have a first grader again this year, but since the future can change, I'll tell you what last year looked like with my oldest in first:
On Mondays we had choir in the morning--only an hour, but a half-hour drive each way plus the few minutes of getting there early and socializing/getting packed up afterwards meant that it took most of the morning. On Thursdays we went to Community Bible Study in the morning from 9:30-11:30. The one a half-hour away has a homeschool program, which I like because the kids have a little bit of large-group experience and those schooly details I never think to give them at home but are probably helpful touchpoints socially (morning pledge, classroom jobs, recess). On those days we didn't do any work at home.
On the other days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday) we got up and breakfasted at 8. The kids had some time to play (because they so desperately want to play first thing in the morning--and the weather is often nicer for being outside earlier in the day) while I do some cleaning or prep. Around 10:30ish I called them for snack; we all sat around the kitchen table and I read aloud to them while they munched. Then we did our "together" work--things like science and social studies that we do as a group--before I started them on their separate work (math and language arts). We finished by lunchtime, and after lunch (12:30 or 1ish) they were free to do as they pleased.
I allowed some "technology time" right after lunch, when they could watch a somewhat educational video, play games I'd installed on the tablet, or do something on the computer (play on Starfall, type a story) for about a half-hour. We often go up the street and hang out at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a little while in the afternoons if we don't have anything else planned. (Each kid is allowed to be in two extracurriculars at a time; ideally I have at least one where they overlap, otherwise it can be a lot of running.) Free reading has always been at bedtime, so that's not built into our schedule otherwise.
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I got the cheapest desks I could find at Walmart, since the kids desperately needed their own space to save everyone's sanity and budget was my main concern. I like that they are very spacious (20x36 top, so room to spread a book and notebook), and the price was definitely a draw (listed at $35 right now). They've held up well for about two years now and I have no concerns about their long-term viability. The only thing I don't love is the open-shelf storage--our binders and notebooks were always tipping over and falling off the shelves, so this year I got each kid a plastic bin for each shelf to keep their stuff in place.
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My oldest is also 7, a rising second grade boy. In his mind, there is no such thing as too much play. :-) My kids wake up with a strong drive to play--stronger, even, than their drive to eat, so I often have to force them to sit and have breakfast. Because of this urge to play first thing, we don't start our work until morning snack. So between about 8 (when I get everyone from their rooms) and 10:30 (approximate snack time--might be moved earlier or later depending how well everyone is playing and what we have later in the day) they eat breakfast and play. At snack time everyone sits and munches while I read aloud, which for us is a good transition. Then we do any "together" work (social studies, science, anything we're learning as a group) before the kids move to their "alone" work (mostly math). Counting snack/read-aloud, our "work" usually takes 2-2.5 hours, and by 1 we're eating lunch and the kids are free to go. In that time, we accomplish enough to keep us ahead of grade level. That's working mostly 3 days/week year-round with breaks whenever Daddy is off or if we have a special event scheduled; we also do less work in the summer to accommodate swimming lessons and day camps.
Overall, that would be 2-2.5 hours of "work" and...the rest of the day of play. His only other responsibilities are helping to do some cleaning after dinner (usually we spend about 15-20 minutes a night on this) and guitar practice every evening. (Bedtime routine includes a half-hour of guitar practice followed by about an hour of free-reading--his choice of books--which is both good reading practice and necessary to help him unwind.)
As for structured activities, we participate in a Community Bible Study one day a week that has a large homeschool program, so he spends two hours a week there. Then I let each child choose two extracurriculars at a time, so that generally translates to two extra hours per week of structured time. And of course there's Sunday School during the school year, if you count that.
My kid plays a LOT. I'd estimate he spends 8 hours a day playing. But he still doesn't want to take a break for work or stop to go to bed--it's never enough. I gently point out that my requirements are a lot less than the public school's, and that keeps him from too much grumbling. You'll have to find your balance.
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Do you have a Facebook account or friends you see regularly who are in B&M school? My kids get a dose of culture (for good or ill!) from their cousins who are in B&M school, and I pick up a lot of tidbits about trends by watching the FB feeds of friends near and far--what their kid's shirt says, what party theme they choose, what they're doing in pictures. Nothing formal, but that way I can decide if there's something that would be helpful for my kids to know a little about as far as culture goes.
As for media/current events, so far I just talk about things I've read on the news, but I was recently trying to find a good, kid-friendly news source, so :bigear:.
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This clicked with me, so adding: we start every day with one logic game and one worksheet. The worksheets for this year are 80% math drill and 20% logic (as off the cuff estimates). I call them our brain warm ups. I don't even think of the morning warmup as part of our school most days, but it's definitely there. And we have lots of living math and math games.
I wonder... idly... what percentage of parents who use BA are generally comfortable with math themselves and mix and match. It seems like a curric that would draw math-savvy parents who figure out how to supplement when needed.
Hey, what worksheets are you using? I'm trying to carve out a few minutes each day to work with YDS when we start our next session in a couple weeks, and I'd decided that some math warm-up/review could be one of the things the older two use independently during that time, but I'd rather not reinvent the wheel.
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For me, an hour would still be long enough for more than one thing. I'd get the older kids set with quiet reading before you put the littles down for nap. That way once nap commences, your "me" time can start right away. About 20-30 minutes of "me" time does wonders for me, so after that I would move into big kid activities--probably a couple days of one-on-one time and at least a day of fun stuff that doesn't work well with littles. That leaves you either a 30-40 minute block for one activity or two 15-20 minute one-on-one blocks.
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We don't exactly schedule. We usually snuggle on the couch and read the guide section on one day, and the kids dive in and do the first page or so, which is usually a pretty simple intro to the concept. From there, we look over the pages and set goals for each day based on how difficult/time consuming the material appears to be. At the beginning of a chapter, we might get through four pages (single side) easily; by the chapter's end the work is often more challenging and we might only do a page. I keep one finger on the kids' pulse--if they're enjoying it, we may work for quite a long time; if they're frustrated or if the work is taking longer than we anticipated and they've begun to drag, I revise our goal.
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To build reading fluency, have you encouraged independent reading? I found that telling my readers that they could stay up an extra 15 minutes to read OR go to bed at the regular time got me some very motivated readers, and the extra practice does wonders.
If your daughters understand math concepts, you could do daily fact practice however it works for them (online games, RS card games, flash cards, Mad Minute-type worksheets...) and continue your math curriculum as well, effectively doubling the review and the new material. I'm not sure what to tell you about curriculum. I loved RS-B, but if it's not getting done, it may not be the best choice. Singapore is a bit of a hybrid--similar teaching style to RS, but more workbook-y like Math Mammoth. Maybe that would work?
Especially since you have a co-op for extras, I wouldn't worry about those. Get some good books on science and social studies topics, but focus on the basics for now. Consistency may really be the key to the growth you're looking for. Hope this coming year works well for all of you!
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I know I could make a little bit of money teaching a class at a homeschool academy ($10/mo per student, no real overhead). They will take on pretty much any subject that a homeschool mom is willing to prepare and teach a class on. Problem is I don't feel qualified to teach anything. Bookeeping, yes, but who needs that in their homeschool line-up? I probably could have taught Econ at one point but I don't feel qualified on that anymore.
I can see this going two directions, given the skills you've mentioned--a financial literacy class for teens (budgeting, credit cards, mortgages--perhaps viewed as more practical than a class with an "accounting" title?) or a baking class. I'm not sure about the tone/climate of your region, so I'm not sure how either would be received, but I know I've seen FB posts from locals looking for the former, and I was planning to sign my kids up for a popular baking/cooking class this summer until I learned that the person who had been giving it moved away.
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The public school teachers always have some fun crafty type thing they all do as a class...I can't see my to find anything that catches my eye! These are great suggestions though!
As a former teacher...most of my first-day crafts were done in order to generate a cute bulletin board right outside the classroom door that represented everyone in the class. So you'd come up with a theme (say, "Diving into X Grade!") and run with it (everyone decorate a scuba diver or submarine and paste their picture in the helmet/porthole). And of course there was the requisite get-to-know-you questionnaire, which is still fun with your own kids.
We school year-round, but the kids really loved the back-to-school bowling we did last August, so I think I'm going to try to find a few families to join us for extra fun. (Besides, if you have 10 kids, you can get a way cheaper rate as an "event" than as a family letting your kids bowl.)
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I was realizing this spring that I do like PP said and focus so much on the older ones that my little guy misses out. What I'm planning on doing this fall is setting aside a bit of time (something like 15-20 min a day) in which my older kids will do independent work while I do something special with him. Right now I'm gathering options and making a little visual representation of each on a card. Each day I'll let him pick what he'd like to do, and we'll do it together. If we have more time, we'll do something more. It's nothing formal or formulaic (my kids seem to rebel at the PreK age if I try to dictate our direction) but rather educational but kid-directed. I did essentially this same thing for my older two around this age (the first half-hour of YDS's naptime was their special "big kid activity" time), and it worked really well.
I've explained what I'm planning and he's all excited (and the older kids got all puffed up about how they can be independent now because of how big they're getting). Here are the activity options I have--I plan to rotate what he can choose from and provide 3-4 options each day, of which we'll have time for maybe 2 of them. I want him to have a choice without being overwhelmed, but have variety so he doesn't get bored. I grouped them by basic skill.
- Handwriting: dot-to-dot book, maze book, handwriting book, how-to-draw book, coloring book, possibly various seasonal crafts for other fine motor skillwork
- Reading: AAS activities, Progressive Phonics (free online--also has handwriting which I'd do if I hadn't already bought a book to get me free shipping), mom read-aloud, reading worksheet
- Math: RightStart A, MathSeeds or DragonBox (doesn't need me for this but likes the audience), Cuisenaire activities
- General/Mixed: various games, puzzles
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Thanks for all the resource suggestions! Now I'm off to do some googling and browsing the library's website...
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My kids have decided they'd like to study knights and castles next. What have been your favorite resources for elementary students? What read-alouds are perfect for enjoying alongside our studies? TIA!
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DS7 absolutely LOVED Jessica Day George's Tuesdays at the Castle series. It's set in a magical castle that changes things up whenever it gets bored--which is often on Tuesdays, when the king is hearing petitions. It's the first series he finished reading and immediately started all over again. (Though he liked Wednesdays and Thursdays best--and Saturday isn't out yet.) Those are about a 5th grade reading level.
The Magical Animal Adoption Agency books by Kallie George might also be suitable. I can't find their reading level online, but typing in the first couple paragraphs of the first book yields a 4.9 Fleisch-Kincaid score.
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Wow, you-all have a lot of info here.
I had looked into the Feingold diet, but hadn't taken the plunge because of the mixed reviews, as well as the fact that we are on a tight budget. (Though at the rate the cost of meds is increasing...) We probably do more gluten than is ideal (Goldfish and pretzels for snacks, crackers or sandwiches with lunch, noodle- or rice-based dishes for dinner often because they're filling and cheap) but otherwise we do very little in the way of sugary food and eat several servings of fruits and veggies daily. Maybe I'll have to take another look at Feingold or at least see what I can do to further reduce our processed food intake (and up our dopamine, too).
In addition, I try to ensure he gets lots of exercise, otherwise he takes several hours to fall asleep at night. On weekdays he spends 1-2 hours a day swimming; yesterday he did an hour or more of yardwork and today he biked 7 miles with DH (in 90 degree heat). Unfortunately (?), the exercise succeeds at tiring him out, which seems to make him more emotional and less able to control himself.
As far as the meds, I wouldn't say that he necessarily performed better, just MORE. He's always been good at math, but when he didn't spend as much time staring at his pencil and re-numbering his problems various ways, he was proud of how much he could do and how well. He's got natural talent with the guitar, but when he's not running at the mouth constantly or leaping up to race in circles after every song, he listens to critique and spends more of his practice time actually practicing and thus makes faster progress. Does that make sense? And yes, he is on the XR meds.
Thanks for all the links and recommendations, all. I've got about a zillion tabs open and am trying to research everything at once!
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Your diagnosis was from a ped or psych?
The diagnosis came from a pediatric neurologist. (Apparently different parts of the country prefer different doctor types for diagnosing/treating ADHD, according to what I've read.) I was a little taken aback at how...easy, I guess...the diagnosis was. We were told to fill out a survey and take it to the doc. He glanced at it, asked a few questions, did an EEG to check for seizures, had DS squeeze his fingers/walk heel-toe/follow a light with his eyes...and that was it. Diagnosis made, prescription written. It felt like a bit of a letdown.
We've actually spent quite a large part of our spring working through Mind Up, since I was hoping mindfulness would help everyone with various issues. I should get us back into the habit of taking time for that daily again. And now I'm off to research primary reflexes and cognitive behavior therapy. We went to fill the new prescription today and it was $123 for a month of meds. Considering the cost and how quickly he's building up immunity, DH and I are thinking of weaning him off and seeing what we can do on our own, so I need all the resources I can find.
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Thanks, all. I'll have to check out that link about behavior therapy. Thankfully (I think because he is super introverted) it's his AD that shines in group settings--and teachers don't mind a Sunday School kid who sits quietly, not interacting, or a choir student who doesn't participate except when everyone starts singing the songs.
We had tried the stimulant medications for one month before giving up on them due to the emotional side effects. That said, right now he's near emotional wreck state because he keeps getting in trouble and can't handle transitions, so I don't know that this is winning for him, either. Sigh.
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My ODS (7.5) was diagnosed with ADHD a little over a year ago. We had long suspected that he had it (DH does--diagnosed in first grade), but we had been able to handle it until Fall '14. At that point, his focus was nil and he was having a hard time transitioning and stopping undesirable behaviors; consequently he was missing social cues, stagnating academically, and getting yelled at a lot. In Spring 2015 I finally consented to bring him in and talk to the pedi, who referred us to a pediatric neurologist.
DH was on Ritalin from first grade until midway through high school, and he had a great experience--the meds helped him to focus so he was able to succeed in school, and as he got older his coping mechanisms made the meds unnecessary. We hoped DS would have the same experience.
We tried DS on two different stimulants (Metadate and Adderall). While each of them worked well initially, within about a month they seemed less effective. After he returned to pre-medication behavior, we called the doc, who increased the dosage. When we increased the dosage, the meds regained effectiveness in controlling his ADHD, but on each of the stimulants he turned into a weepy mess--not worth the meds.
**On a side note, when the meds worked, DS absolutely soared. He was able to focus on his academics and on things he enjoyed, and he really rocketed ahead in many areas, wasn't constantly in trouble, had more awareness of those around him and did a little more interacting with peers. It was awesome to watch.
This spring the doc recommended trying a non-stimulant since we didn't like the emotional side-effects of the stimulants. After acting like a zoned-out zombie for the first couple days, DS's body adjusted to the Intuniv and it worked well...for a couple months. Now for a couple months he's been very frustrating again, but I'm trying to hold out lest we run out of medical options before this kid turns 10. I've tried Omega-3s (Nordic Naturals were recommended to me--tried them before trying meds and now in addition to the meds) but had limited--if any--success.
This week we had an appt with his neuro. When I reported that the meds had once again given out, he said that we can increase his dosage, but there aren't many other medications left to try if that proves ineffective. When I mentioned other options and said I'd tried Omega-3, he shrugged and said he didn't think it would do any good, but it wouldn't be harmful. I guess I was hoping he'd give me additional suggestions beyond just "try more meds; you're running out of options."
Have you had a kid for whom meds only seem to help briefly? What can you do beyond the usual medication route? How do you help your child develop the brakes/filters/awareness they need? What's helped your child to thrive?
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I'm pretty sure Prodigy recently changed something about their teacher interface. For one thing, their interface currently seems to be broken, since it is stuck on Sunday (and doesn't show any activity for days other than Sunday). For another thing, when you go to Student Reports: Curriculum, you used to be able to select any of the standards at any grade level and see where your kid fell. Mine now only lists the Ontario grade levels, too.
I still think that creating an assignment under a different framework wouldn't negatively affect his standing. (I've browsed through and chosen topics from random sections/standards before, and--at least before--it seemed to just add the problems to the general pool of data about the student's work and plug it in where appropriate in each of the standards across the board.) That said, I am rather annoyed that the interface seems broken and that it doesn't allow me the option of looking at my kids' progress through more relevant standards.
According to the forums, they've changed things so you select your location initially which will auto-select your standards; if it has auto-selected incorrectly you can send a note to support@prodigygame.com and specify how you'd like it changed.
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My kids picked up their letter sounds somewhat by accident through exposure to various ABC books (mostly the Seuss one, though) and Starfall and LeapFrog products (letter magnets, Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory DVDs). All three of them spontaneously began sounding things out on their own. If he's interested, letter sounds might be enough to get him going if you can work them in by stealth.
With the older two I moved on to playing games. I was going to try listing a bunch, but I realized that it would take a ton of space and I once listed them all in a blog post. I plan to get my act together and have some designated game time for the little guy this fall to help him progress.
As for math, I managed to get through all of Right Start A without the kids having a clue we were following a curriculum. I would read a few lessons and then simply find ways to work the concepts into their play. So I'd take out the bag of colored tiles and start making designs and pictures, and then I'd introduce the idea of patterns. Or I'd take the dot cards and start looking at them and pointing out that some of them have pairs and some have an extra (even vs. odd). The kids would be excited to show me more examples of each type, and we'd sort them. Then I'd challenge them to match each one to its number, and finally I'd ask if they could put the numbers in order and point out that that odd-even is a pattern.
Handwriting was the area I started formally. Since my oldest refused my gentle/informal correction/instruction, I started talking up the fact that he was nearly old enough for daily work. I bought a handwriting book and made a big deal about the fact that on a certain day we'd start and he'd do X amount per day. When the day came it seemed exciting and was short enough for him to survive. After the novelty wore off it had already become habit, so we kept on.
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I used to live in NW Indiana (considered a Chicago suburb because we were just over the border from IL and on the tip of the lake).
Chicago is awesome and has lots of cool things to see, but I HATE driving it, and everything is super expensive. If you really want to add an extra day to your trip, you can check out some museums. The Museum of Science and Industry is strangely far south from downtown, so easier to get to. I never minded driving to that one. The Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium share a campus on the lakefront. I think the Shedd is overpriced and you don't see much unless you pay for the extra exhibits, but my sister's family loved it and my BIL and his family go regularly. Navy Pier isn't far away and is a fun tourist stop with its enormous Ferris wheel. The Art Institute is huge and awesome... You get the idea.
When we lived in NWI, we actually went to Lancaster County for vacation one year. IIRC, we made it to the far side of Ohio or beginning of PA in a comfortable day of driving. You could probably get farther since your kids are older than mine were at the time. (I'd say as long as you're not alone in the car, you're not likely to get too overtired and can probably easily knock out ten hours as long as you don't make frequent or extended stops.) In Lancaster, we visited the Amish Village, which had an interesting guided home tour and a variety of buildings for you to walk through and interact with folks who shared about Amish life and culture. We also went on a buggy ride (we used Aaron & Jessica's Buggy Rides--the driver was friendly and chatty, telling us about his family and driving us to his own farm...where his family had cookies available for us to buy before we headed back to our starting point). In Hershey we went to Hershey's Chocolate World. They have a pretty cool tour you can take where you ride in carts and see how their chocolates are made (reminds me a bit of some Disney rides--kids thought it was great!). They also have a couple other attractions you have to pay extra to do. Then there's the huge store filled with Hershey candy. Yum! We didn't do Hershey Park, which has all the rides. Those were our relevant tourist stops. (Our other activities--besides lots of family time--were a tour of the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Factory in Lititz and a ride on a steam train.) I'd say Lancaster and Hershey could each be done in a day, but I'm sure you could find more to do if you wanted to stay longer.
Excessive belching = gluten issue?
in The Chat Board
Posted
So, Dr. Hive, I have another health question for y'all. My son, now 7.5, has issues with excessive belching. This has been a problem for more than two years--probably coming up on three years now. It's not that he WANTS to be belching. In fact, he finds it highly distressing and often has difficulty falling asleep because he's so air-filled at night. (Sometimes it sounds like he's retching, he's got so much air coming up.)
I took him to the pedi when this first became a consistent issue, and she said, "Stomach aches are the most common complaint among kids, and he's obviously healthy." About a year later, I brought it up to our new pedi across the country, and he just kinda hmmmed and dismissed it.
Lately I've noticed that DS seems to complain most on nights when we've had a supper containing rice or pasta, so I've started wondering if there's a connection. He says that he always feels full of air, but some times are worse than others. Does anyone have any insight they could share? TIA!