[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

5 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

With the 7 yo I would do FLL. That and the grammar in the Barton will be gobs. For the 11 yo, no opinions. You're going a lot of directions, so try to streamline or make sure you're not duplicating. Like if your Fix It and SWI will hit grammar, then don't do more grammar for now. 

I hated going through FLL with my oldest years ago, but the repetition would probably be really good for my 7 yo. and wouldn't add a lot more time to our day.

Fix It does hit grammar and vocab and seems incremental with short amounts per day, but plenty of review.

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

4 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

I agree that Megawords on top would be overkill. HN is really nicely fleshed out, and the student workbook is going to give you opportunities to work on spelling, etc. I didn't get it, only because my ds does extremely limited writing. The reduced version is in the tm, and I'll just probably write on the whiteboard with him what he needs. There were some exercises I thought would be particularly good for him, like unscrambling sentences.

Spelling Power has an amazing activity file (you know, one of those boxes of good intentions), but the actual lists are pretty random. I got it and ds was pretty frustrated. Just so you know, she's at an age where professionals will begin encouraging you to focus on morphology. That's your roots, prefixes, etc. I've been thinking my ds is probably to where he could do something like SWR (analyzing lists of words), but having rules jumbled together doesn't fluster him.

Good to know about HN.  I will skip Megawords for now and hopefully HN will be the right fit for her at this time.

That's also good to know about Spelling Power.  In the past random lists didn't work (thinking of Logic of English Foundations), but am not sure how she would do now with them.  I think Apples and Pears works with morphology, but will have to do some digging to know if something else would be better or get her farther.  I need to think about this more with her given this is her weakest area right now.

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

2 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

You can probably do some of MCT with both a 9 yo and 7yo at same time. Read Sentence Island, read Poetry. 

 

Megawords sat unused on my shelf. I think I ultimately sent it on to Goodwill. 

Would MCT work well with both an 11 and 7 year old?  My 7 year old would be fine listening into anything, but isn't reading yet.  I am starting Foundation in Sounds with her next week (in the past I didn't know if she couldn't pay attention enough to pass the Barton screening or if she really couldn't pass part C which is why we are just now getting around to it). 

That is also good to know about Megawords.  I think I'll cross that off my list for now.

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

8 minutes ago, Pen said:

And Librivox gives free access to public domain classics. 

I forgot about Librivox.  We have used it in the past, but not lately.  I will put this on my list too. ?

2 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

We have it through the public library.  I am rural and out of district for all libraries, but have paid memberships at 2 libraries. I think both have Hoopla and Overdrive/ Library2Go.  There is some overlap in what the 2 systems have, but also some things are on each that are not on the other. I think Hoopla has less, but usually immediate access. Overdrive has more, but often long waits to get things. 

I believe it is also possible to get a personal paid Hoopla membership if your library doesn’t participate in it. 

I will look into a Hoopla membership.  Our library just uses Overdrive/Libby and TumbleBooks (but that might just be children's e-books and not audio books - I need to check into that one more as well).

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

3 minutes ago, Pen said:

If you can get it as Libby, I think that is easier to use. At our library it is the same books, just 2 choices of app. 

That sounds like a good idea. If that is so, then their Fluency materials and some of their readers also might be helpful. 

 

That might be duplicative with HN level 2. 

 

I think MCT is wonderful!  Highly recommend it!

But you need to be able to do it with her. It is sort of a sit side by side or on your lap sort of thing for that level. 

Thank you.  That's good to know about Libby.  I just downloaded it a few minutes ago and need to finish setting it up.  I'm excited that I finally got this done, as small of a task that it is.  It got pushed to the back burner too many times over the last year since I first learned about it.

I will also take a look at the fluency levels and readers from High Noon.  I don't know as much about the program options to be honest, but have liked what I have seen.  I also didn't know if Megawords would duplicate High Noon so will check into that.  I have plenty of unused curriculum sitting on my shelves and don't need to add more if it's not going to benefit us in some way.

I don't mind doing the poetry with her.  It would be good for me to go through it with her and refresh my memory of various types of poetry to help her get the most benefit out of it. 

I was feeling overwhelmed trying to sort through everything and line up the final pieces of my plan for my 2 school age kids, especially knowing that I need to make sure that DD7 gets the extra time she needs from me this year, but thinking through these ideas here and also finishing organizing our curriculum here today helps me feel better about tackling this school year and figuring out how to juggle it all.

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

Just now, Pen said:

And see if you can get Hoopla for audiobooks too. 

Thanks.  I haven't heard of Hoopla before.  Is it a separate app, subscription service, or something through a library system?

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

9 hours ago, Pen said:

And I third or fourth the recommendation to get her audiobooks.

We can get a bunch just through our public library on cd or as downloads on Hoopla and Library2Go apps.

Use the audiobooks for books she would probably not read on her own, such as classics and harder books. Let her continue reading for herself with fun books like Nancy Drew. 

That's a good idea as well.  I just downloaded our libary's app to access the audio files.  We went through many of their audiobook CDs, but there may be more that I haven't looked up in a while and I can also try requesting more for them to purchase or get through inter library loan.

That's a good point about separating the books she picks to read on her own and others that I either assign as audiobooks or ones that I pick to read aloud with her and my other kids.  I should have thought to do this a month ago, but I will make a list of books that I want her to either listen to or that I want to read aloud this year and then give her a blank sheet that she can list books that she has read as she goes along.  I think she will really like seeing them all listed somewhere.

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

9 hours ago, Pen said:

 

We used High Noon, and it is a wonderful program, but from your description it sounds to me like your dd is beyond that. 

For reading my tendency would be to get 2 copies of books she likes (Nancy Drew or whatever is fine) and have her read aloud as you look at the same text.  Make sure she is truly able to read it all. If there are more than a few words per page she struggles with then she may need a reading program still after all. Work on flow and feeling as she reads (can go back over a page for this). Have her tell you about what she read, make predictions about what may happen ahead, etc. as a way to check her comprehension. If there are words you are not sure she knows the meaning of, ask her for a synonym. 

If she cannot do that, report back for ideas. If she can, then if you keep this up with books of gradually increasing difficulty that should do it for reading. 

 

For spelling I recommend that you look at Spelling Power. An older edition used should be fine if price tag of new edition at $60 seems too high. But I do recommend a new clean student record book as helpful. It isn’t just an overpriced composition book, but is set up inside to make the program easier to do.  

Thank you.  I actually forgot about Spelling Power.  If I remember right, it goes into the spelling rules.  DD has really liked having the spelling rules taught and I've heard her trying to tell them to her younger sister at times.  DD thrives on knowing the rules of language and it helps her remember and understand it better.  I will look into Spelling Power more this evening.

I gave DD the placement test for level 2 of High Noon today.  Her fluency was 3 seconds slow on the story reading for part 2 and she struggled a bit with part 3.  I am going to order level 2 to help fill in those gaps and build fluency.

I also like your idea of reading along with her and working through what she has read, making predictions, discussing synonyms, etc.  That would help me identify some struggles or gaps easier.

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

14 hours ago, PeterPan said:

You shouldn't need to read aloud for her vocab to continue to improve at this point. Is she reading for pleasure yet?

With the audiobooks, what you might do is take whatever reading list would be normal for her age, say the 4th grade VP history/lit (they're great stuff, middle ages), and get them as audiobooks. Is she registered with the National Library Service/BARD so you have access for free? 

Her writing sounds wonderful!

Her scores look like her reading has taken off and she just has the spelling issue. Probably anything that gives her explicit instruction will be adequate. 

I'm in a similar stage to you with my ds, because his reading took off and he just doesn't NEED tons of decoding. I'm gonna do a touch more with him, but he's really ready to move on and do spelling, comprehension, typing, etc. He couldn't do the spelling in Barton except with tiles anyway. 

Have you thought of doing something different with her, like studied dictation? Or maybe just copywork or copybook? I wouldn't even be hyper-picky. If copybook interests her (collecting quotes, etc.), that would do. It would give you another way to sneak in some functional spelling. So if some does something with a workbook, something via copywork, something via typing, it adds up.

She is reading for pleasure now.  Our library has Overdrive with audiobooks (I need the download the app this weekend).  She isn't registered with the National Library Service/BARD.  I will have to check into that option. 

I will look into the VP history/lit book list.  I know people that have used their history and loved it, but I haven't ever checked into their lit program.  I may switch her to the VP online option at some point.  I switched gears on history this year and bought Mystery of History level 1 (both the book and the audio CDs) so we'll see how that goes.  She enjoyed listing to Story of the World audio books read by Jim Wise in the past.

I gave DD the High Noon level 2 placement test this afternoon.  She was 3 seconds too slow on the part 2 section and struggled with quite a few words in part 3.  I am going to go ahead and order High Noon level 2.  I like the idea of separating reading and spelling for her at this stage.  I may also order the first book of Megawords or try to find better samples.

I need to think more about studied dictation for her.  She might be ready for it now.  She definitely wasn't ready a year ago.  We are doing Fix it Grammar this year which has some copywork daily.  I may also add in other copy work or a copybook for her as well.  She is really into poetry right now and asked me to order a poetry curriculum that will help teach her more about poetry and require her to write poems.  I keep looking at MCT and IEW's poetry curriculum.  I'm sure there are many others that I could look into as well.  I feel like studying poetry will also help with another area of language and we can always add in copywork of the poems if it isn't scheduled in the lessons.  We are also starting typing this year.

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

3 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Did you check whether the grade levels were equivalents (ie. what grade level student at the 50th percentile would score what she scored on that test) or actual performance grade levels? It's just something to check. The Woodcock Johnson, for instance, kicks out actual grade levels, but many other common standardized tests are kicking out grade equivalents.  It was a grade level equivalent and was the Terra Nova (CAT) test.  I didn't do well reading aloud as much during pregnancy and much of last year and am sure that impacted her vocab level.  Her percentile ranking was 4% for spelling, 64% for vocab, and 77%-95% for the other areas related to reading and language arts. 

My ds has a similar spread with reading comprehension and spelling. I think what you might want to do is free yourself from the guilt and let her move on to learning other ways. There's sort of this thing like oh if you don't do it this way you're short-changing her. If she can learn from visual methods at this point, she's fine, kwim?
That's a good point.  I am trying to think of what approach may work best for her at this point.  I know she needed Barton to start, but seems to be doing okay without it now.

You might look at Ronit Bird vs. RightStart. If you think it's dyscalculia, I would definitely be thinking Ronit Bird.  I need to look at the dyscalculia symptoms again.  I remember looking at it in the past for her and even bought Ronit Bird's dot book.  I need to re-evaluate and see if it is a learning struggle for her or my lack of consistency with her during pregnancy and the infant phase this past year.  I am seeing progress and she's been excited about various math concepts from watching Odd Squad this summer.

Btw, on your dd's scores, vocabulary is an area of relative weakness, which might mean you'd like to do more with audiobooks to continue to get that up.  I agree.  I got her a Kindle this summer so I can get her going on audio books more where she can listen and roam around the house.  I used to be better about reading aloud a lot during the day until I got so sick in pregnancy almost 2 years ago and then it was hit and miss.  Meanwhile, she also listens to a lot of Adventures in Odyssey, but that's not the same as audiobooks.

Apples and Pears for spelling sounds like a great idea! It definitely would have been a program of choice for me, but ds just can't write that much. Even Spelfabet is a lot of writing for him. DD couldn't handle the writing when I bought it to try before Barton, but I am glad now I saved it.  She now will choose to write in a journal or a letter to friends/family so I am hoping it's not too much writing for her.  This calendar year she has started wanting to learn to write more and also wanted to start writing poetry.

Do the Horizons Reading people have a recommendation for spelling? Years ago I did Calvert Spelling cds with my dd, and I just can't seem to find a similar option now. There's stuff like Spelling City, but Calvert was actually instructional.  Reading Horizons has spelling built into the lessons.  I forgot about it until now, but I think I might be able to print off some extra practice pages as an option.  I've heard of Calvert years ago, but never looked into it.  I may also be able to purchase the version of Reading Horizons for older students for her, but I don't know if that will make a difference at this point.  I've thought about checking into Nessy Reading and Spelling, but she didn't seem to like the trial version and I had a hard time even getting her to try it more than once.

 

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

6 hours ago, Pen said:

I’m not familiar with Reading Horizons. What can your dd read / not read with fluency, automaticity, and good comprehension at this point?

Thanks.  Reading Horizons is supposed to be OG, but I feel lacks as much multi-sensory aspect being online.  It has a certain amount of review, but could have more in my opinion as well.  It does have her marking vowels, vowel teams, unit sounds, blends, etc. in words which I think helped her a lot as well.

I need to figure out what she can read with fluency and automaticity well.  Her reading comprehension is good and often I feel better than her actual reading level as she is a really good guesser if she knows the context.  I am going to try to find the High Noon Placement test tomorrow and see how she does with that.  I'm not sure what other placement tests or reading tests I should look at to get a better feel for where she is at right now.

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

45 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

I think you're going to want some data to make this decision. High Noon has a placement test included in level 2. Level 1 is presumably material she's already solid on. If her reading is solid through the content of High Noon 1, you could go into level 2. It will give her the more mature format she wants and the workbook will give her a bit more independence. At this point, you're talking about needing to work her through multiple levels of Barton to get her where she needs to be. It may be she needs that for the spelling. I have my ds doing Spelfabet, which is inexpensive, but I would not think she would like that. It's appropriate for him because it has pictures to support his language comprehension.

So without data, you don't actually know where her decoding is. You have assumptions or hopes but not actual data. As far as the spelling, you need to determine whether multi-sensory instruction that includes non-sense words is valuable to her. If her visual memory is strong, she may already have her spelling kicking in with her reading. It can happen. 

On the Barton, I don't see how you get her going forward if you can't afford the levels and don't have the time. It would be better to do something you CAN afford and get her moving forward at this point. Spelling can be hit lots of ways. Barton is great, but you're going to be saving levels for each successive kid. Level 4 is where things shift anyway, because you get through the syllable rules (which don't necessarily stick, people seem to need a lot of runs through, too fast), and then it drags out the sort of climax stuff after that and drags out to many levels what could have done more quickly. So you'll see people jumping after level 4 anyway, just because that is what is happening.

If she's doing so well with online instruction, how about some online spelling? I've been looking for it. I think a blend of stuff is good. I would get some data and see where she's actually at with her decoding and what she actually needs. Have you seen the free OG materials at the MA Rooney site? They might give you enough to get her through syllabication and morphology and know you've hit it. Then you just find something for her spelling. 

Thanks.  Reading Horizons is supposed to be OG, but I feel lacks as much multi-sensory aspect being online.  It has a certain amount of review, but could have more in my opinion as well.  It does have her marking vowels, vowel teams, unit sounds, blends, etc. in words which I think helped her a lot as well.

This summer when we did DD11's 4th grade standardized testing (she was already 5/6ths of the way through the Reading Horizons online curriculum at this point), she tested at grade level 8.3 for reading comprehension, 12.3 for language arts, 5.7 for vocabulary, 7.3 for language mechanics, and 2.6 for spelling.  That said, the results did say that anything more than 2 grade levels above (so above grade 6) wouldn't be accurate since it was only the 4th grade test.  Considering her reading level was at the 3rd grade level the summer before and spelling at the 1st grade level the summer before when we had our teacher assessment a year ago, I can see she is making progress.  That said, I don't know what her actual decoding level is yet and am trying to find an online test I can give her to determine her decoding level and also look closer at her fluency and automaticity. This summer she read through the unabridged Secret Garden on own and seemed to understand more than I expected (especially with the moor accent written in the book).  She has also been reading through the original Nancy Drew books quite a bit.  She has also been reading other books, sewing/craft books, and cookbooks but those were a few she talked about more.

I can figure out a way to buy the next Barton level if I need to do so.  I ended up purchasing Foundation in Sounds for my 7 year old last week with the funds I had saved for Barton level 4 (yes, I could have gone with LiPS for less money, but believe this will be enough for her and am too tired from a 12 month old who still nurses frequently at night to read an entire LiPS manual before I can implement it with my DD).  DD7 needs a lot of other time of mine for therapy related exercises daily, reflex integration, and likely additional therapy appointments (speech and OT evaluations to come).  I am also switching DD7 to RightStart as I can see how she will benefit from their approach and what we used before wasn't quite enough for her, but that is also teacher intensive.  The thought of all of that with Barton with 2 kids plus other subjects and a toddler sounds overwhelming, but we will figure out how to make it all work if needed.  That said, if I can find a way to keep DD11 moving forward with some independence (and less expensive than Barton would be nice), I am all for it.

I will give DD11 the High Noon Reading placement test tomorrow.  I forgot about High Noon.  She wasn't quite ready for it when I considered it before Barton, but I do believe she would be fine now with it. 

I will also look into the  free OG materials at the MA Rooney site.  I think I saw it mentioned here about a month ago when I was reading and searching for ideas, but forgot to write the website down and couldn't find it later when I went to look.  

I'll look at Spelfabet.  I haven't heard of it before.  I have Apples and Pears book A sitting on my shelf so gave her the placement test today and she placed towards the end of level A.  I may go ahead with that to start and see how that works for spelling for her and if it works well then move to the next level later this fall.  I read about some people that go through Apples and Pears and then switch to Megawords so that might be an option.  I may also look at some more online options as she likes a mix of work with me teaching and some independence as well at this age.
 

[Stay with Barton or move on to what?]

I have a 11 year old that I started using Barton with about 2.5-3 years ago if I remember correctly.  We got part-way into level 3 when I ended up sick with complications in pregnancy.  Barton got tabled for a long while.  At one point in pregnancy I restarted level 3 since we had taken such a long break.  After additional complications and then newborn challenges, we had taken another long break from Barton and then I had restarted level 3 again because I wasn't sure what she had retained.  Eventually I bought a subscription to Reading Horizons online so she could continue to get some practice without relying on me with a challenging baby.  Long story short, I wasn't consistent with Barton the entire 1st year of my baby's life and am now ready and prepared to jump back into with with both feet and create a consistent schedule.  During 2018 though, my daughter has progressed through most of Reading Horizons and only has a handful of lessons left in Reading Horizons Discovery.  Because of what she has learned in Reading Horizons, she really doesn't want to go back to "easier" levels in Barton where we left off.  Her reading is doing really well (spelling still needs extra work).  I'm struggling to know whether to continue with Barton (I am also starting my other daughter on Barton next week) and save to buy level 4 or switch her to something like Megawords or Nessy or something else entirely.  There is no way she would have done so well with Reading Horizons if she hadn't done work in Barton first, but I'm not certain the next best approach for her.  I feel like she still needs reading practice and extra spelling work, but I now question if she really needs Barton to continue making progress at this point.  With another child starting Barton and needing additional therapy, I would love it if something else would work that might be easier for me since I am also juggling a toddler, but will figure out how to make it work if we should continue Barton with her.

[Handwriting to fix bad habits]

We had a similar struggle. We did some HWOT (I should have done more in hindsight with more large motor movement incorporated) copy work with starting dots as reminders, etc. Starting LOE's Rhythm of Handwriting cursive this year has been the best thing yet. That said, we are still working on the number formation corrections, but the letters are much better switching to cursive.

[Non-teacher intensive options with a dyslexic]

What about ordering Tinkercrate for the year? The kids ger simple hands-on science, and you don't have to collect any supplies or Research explanatory text - it is all in the box. Most kids love getting mail. http://www.kiwicrate.com/Refer?i=SherylG4

 

BJU online is great. You will still need to be there for support with written work, but the hard lifting is done for you. That said, there is generally far too much material for average learners to cover in a reasonable amount of time, so if your child is working even slower, you will need to make sure to cut them off at a certain point or assign less. I love their English (for grade 2 and up), Math, and Science.

Thanks. I will look at those as well.

[Non-teacher intensive options with a dyslexic]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I put my responses below in red.

 

I haven't tried the apologia audio, but you might be able to slow it down in ereader software. Or if you can get the book as a pdf, you could use VoiceDream. BJU has reader capability in their e-text. It's not a human voice, but it's a reader. BJU is actually really, really good, but watch samples and see if it works for them. If they have attention issues, it might or might not work.

 

Thanks.  DD9 seems to do okay listening to most audio at normal pace, but I will check into the VoiceDream option.  I have never heard of that app or software.  I haven't looked into BJU at all either and will check into that more as well.  The DD9 has some attention issues, but not too bad, but DD6 has more of a struggle with attention.

 

The VP self-paced, for as much as I love it, is going to be a real stretch for non-readers. I'm not using it with my ds, because the quizzes require tons of reading. They're going to memorize events and dates, play games ordering text, take quizzes, etc. It's a lot of reading. Maybe I'm misremembering. Just depending where they are, even a little might be too much.

 

This is helpful.  I didn't know that about VP self-paced and that is definitely not what I am looking for next year with a lot of memorization of dates, quizzes, etc.

 

Audible has Great Courses. Agree with the recommend of documentaries, etc. My ds is avidly into History Channel, science shows, etc.

 

I have not hear about Great Courses before, but will look into them.  I don't have access to the history channel and am in a rural area, so netflix, amazon streaming, and DVDs are what we are limited to with shows, but will check out these options further.

 

Are you connected to BARD? I've never looked for an audio of Hakim, but BARD might have it.

 

What is BARD?

 

This is just my two cents, but you might try diversifying your approach, rather than assuming what you're looking for is more history and science. If they're watching videos of some kind and you buy a couple lab kits or boxes to try, you've got that covered, boom. So then diversify! Do you look at Timberdoodle? Your younger will enjoy the Djeco art kits. Timberdoodle always has great, great stuff. Their doodling books are WONDERFUL. They have art kits, logic games, super dot to dots, etc. etc. Get this kind of stuff and call it school! It's enriching, and it builds really valuable skills. We do this stuff! My ds can't necessarily do them *independently* but that's because of how he is with his autism. He couldn't do the drawing, etc., so our worker actually schedules in doodling every session.

 

I have never looked into Timberdoodle.  I will check it out though.  We do have quite a few logic games and puzzles around, but I am not always good at pulling them out on a regular basis.  I should start making some of them part of their school day as the kids would find them fun and something to look forward to on a regular basis.  I will check out the other kits, games, and exercises too.

 

They can write from prompts (Listography, Unjournaling, etc.) using tech. They could make videos. Teacher Created Resources sells ebooks of computer/tech projects for kids. They're thoroughly explained and really cool! They also have ebooks on learning to use apps. You can filter the search for say 4th and then by topic.

 

Computer Projects Grade 2-4

Using Apps and the iPad in the Classroom Grade 3-6

 

We've used some of the K-2 apps book, and it's really good! It's kind of just enough.

 

My ds also enjoys Scratch coding. I guess you'd have to see if your older can do work with the text enough. In reality it requires reading, ugh.  Scratch that.

 

Back to TCR. I really like their stuff! It works well for my ds where we want really concrete, clear tasks that don't require instruction. If you look under math, you'll find 

 

Challenging Graph Art

Coordinate Graphing: Creating Geometry Quilts Grade 4 & Up

Math Challenges, Grades 4-6

Daily Warm-Ups: Problem Solving Math Grade 4

 

They have more graphing art, cut and paste for math and science, etc. etc. Lots of really cute stuff! I know I've also gotten brain teaser type books from them that have gone over HUGE. And sure the math will have reading, but it's usually like one sentence, maybe two. If they can't read it, then I would consider putting a reader app on a phone and letting them use it. Or you could load the pdf and use (Claro? I forget) to read and type right in the document. I don't use the regular Daily Warm-Up pages, but we really like the problem solving ones! Or maybe I use the regular ones too? I forget. I usually buy a bunch of books and print them, then I go through chapters and collate them into daily work packets that I paperclip. That way his worker just pulls out the packet and they do it. That works for my ds.

 

Just checked, and yes apparently I am using their regular DWU Math as well as the problem solving math. There you go. They also have Brain Teasers books.  There's another Puzzles and Games that Make Kids Think. These kinds of books are really fun!!

 

Thanks.  I've seen you mention Teacher Created Resources on here before, but never checked them out in the past.  I will look into options they have as well.  Both girls like different types of puzzles, brain teasers, etc. so will look into more options for them to have available next year and make sure I actually schedule them into our school week.

 

I do our real instruction level math with Ronit Bird stuff, so for me the TCR materials are about seeing it in a new context, making sure he can understand word problems, etc. The amounts for each day are small. When I make a packet, I'll often pull pages from several different sections. The units stand alone, so I might give a page of geometry, a page of graphing, a page of word problems, if that makes sense. And each page is two "days" worth, but a day might only have two questions. And there will be those brain teaser and thinking pages. I try to make sure he has one page like that for every two pages of regular stuff. 

 

I am looking to change up a little bit of our extra math practice this year.  I will look at those materials as well and see if they would be a better option for us or not this next year.  I have one using MUS and am adding in some CLE for the review and other items and the other child using a combo of Ronit Bird and RS level A.  The "fun" online games for practice we are tired of and need something else that will be a better fit for next year.

 

The extreme dot to dot books are really challenging! Timberdoodle also sells geography puzzles. They include art kits in their grade leveled kits and doodling books. I usually just buy whatever they put in the kit and go by that for figuring out what is appropriate. My ds runs on the young side for that. Their logic games are AWESOME and could be assigned as independent work, absolutely.

 

I looked at their geography puzzles and we already have the ones I saw online at Timberdoodle.  DD6 would like the idea of dot to dot books.  I will look at their logic games more too as I thought I noticed some different ones I hadn't seen before.

 

Also, have you considered making a little homemade chess club? Like if they had a chess or checkers app on their tech, they could do that as part of their independent work. Then once a week they could come together and play. :) Also consider strategy games for your older. Agricola, Forbidden Island, etc. They can play them as apps to improve and then play with friends.

 

I was thinking about having some art/craft days with friends as DD9 and several of her friends are very artsy/crafty.  DD6 would rather play with dolls with friends. :)

 

Do they have any favored art or handicraft?

 

DD9 loves drawing.  This year she went through two levels of How to Draw by Barry Stebbing.  His painting DVD interested her and may be something I do as well.  DD9 also wants to learn to cross stitch and has been learning how to knit on a loom.  She wants to sew as well, but I need the time and space to have all the sewing items set up to do much work with her on that, which is not a high priority at the moment.  Both girls have enjoyed Home Art Studio DVDs in the past.  DD6 is more into lacing cards, beads, and things like that.  DD6 has some retained hand reflexes I need to work on which will help her fine motor more and I know it will help her enjoy some of these activities even more.

 

I know I'm saying a lot of art and elective stuff here. But really, kick things up. My ds watches documentaries, listens to Great Courses. He just has so many mature sources, he really doesn't need more of that. Would they like to do a Sonlight core using audiobooks? I like the catalog BARD sends out quarterly. We always highlight it. Now I'm starting to go through the adult section too, looking for history books my ds would enjoy. I definitely wouldn't limit yourself to one section there or assume. 

 

I never considered Sonlight using audiobooks.  I will definitely look more at several of these suggestions as well.

 

They might need to go through all the back episodes of Good Eats. :D

 

Good luck! It can be really fun. Hopefully you'll find a diverse list that scratches their itch. :)

 

[Non-teacher intensive options with a dyslexic]

Mystery science for science.

 

SOTW audiobooks.

 

Lots of other audiobooks. Many libraries have audiobook options. We use Myon. Diagnoses of dyslexia can lead to a learning ally (paid subscription), or local BARD use for audiobooks if your library is mediocre. We use audiobooks for living history books.

 

Lots of documentaries.

 

Reflex math for math facts (or ixl).

 

Thanks for the ideas.  I just learned today about an audiobook book option our library has so will explore that more this month.  I don't know what BARD is though.  I have thought about getting a learning ally subscription, and may do that if our library doesn't have as many options as I would like.

 

Do you have certain documentaries on netflix, amazon, or DVD format that you highly recommend?

 

I will look at reflex and IXL math again.  We have used DreamBox the last couple years, but always end up hitting road blocks and eventually work through them.  We've hit another roadblock and am done and not planning to renew at the end of this month.

[Non-teacher intensive options with a dyslexic]

I'm laugh-crying with you.

 

My child who tried to listen to Apologia on audio calls her the "crazed squirrel lady".  There is just too much content presented at too high a rate of speed for him to enjoy the audio.  We've had better luck watching Nature and Nova episodes and doing experiments from Janice Van Cleave's series.

 

The SOTW audio is good.  We have gone light on map work, but have hit some of the better crafts in the activity guide.

 

Thanks.  I had not heard the audio reading for Apologia.  That is good to know.  I will check out the nature and Nova episodes.  I think i have a Janice Van Cleave experiment book on one of my bookshelves now that you mention it.  I haven't look at it since I bought it though.  I will check it out.

 

That is also helpful to know about SOTW audio.  I may look at using parts of of the activity guide as an option.  My oldest enjoyed listening to some of this in the past, but we didn't do anything else with it at the time.

[Non-teacher intensive options with a dyslexic]

I know that the title of this may sound like an oxymoron.  Next fall I will have 4th grader (tested and dyslexic with slow processing speed) and 1st grader (shows signs of dyslexia and low working memory, but not yet tested).  I am also expecting a baby around the start of the school year as well.  We are already using Barton with my current 3rd grader and Recipe for Reading with my Ker, but I am planning to try Barton with her as well when my level 1 gets returned to me.  I know that both math and LA will be very teacher intensive with both kids.  My oldest really WANTS to do more with other subjects as well and asks for more, but I know what we are using this year (both science and history have me doing a lot of reading out loud) likely won't work well with a newborn so am checking out other options for next school year.

 

For background, neither child is reading anything outside of their reading lessons.  I do all the other reading aloud to them.  They do learn well from me reading to them, and love anything that is in story form.  My oldest can listen to audio books for hours.  However, when I am too sleep deprived, I will fall asleep reading aloud to my children.  I need some history, science, or other good options that take me out of doing all the reading.  I could think of a few, but thought you all would have some more great ideas for me to check into.   

 

For science, I know Apologia has some audio files of the author reading the book aloud.  Does this work well to listen to and then do experiments?  Are there other options for science to check into?  My oldest especially loves science and just nature studies and science videos will not satisfy her craving for knowledge here (I'm not too concerned about the 1st grader given her age). 

 

For history, I know SOTW and MOH both have audio book options.  Is listening to them and looking at maps enough?  I don't want something with a lot of projects as I am concerned I won't have the energy for them and will drop it all entirely.  I have heard of Veritas Press self paced history online too as an option since it can read everything aloud to the child, but am not sure how that will fit into the budget with a couple Barton levels to purchase and not being able to sell off old levels yet.  Have you used any of these with success with a dyslexic?  Or do you have other ideas I should look into?  I could also do a year of geography instead of history, but the few options I could think of were pretty teacher intensive with me reading aloud a lot and doing projects and I'm afraid it wouldn't get done.

 

For typing with the 4th grader, I would like to use Touch, Type, Read, and Spell since that is supposed to pair well with Barton.  After she completes level 4 (we aren't done with level 3 yet), I will add in other LA.  She is also doing well learning cursive this year so will somehow keep her practicing that in a way that will work with Barton, but am still figuring out that as well (I do own StartWrite software so have thought about copywork with Barton sentences).  I also will have art videos (a big hit with both of them and my oldest definitely has a talent for art) available to them.  I know my oldest would love art studies on famous artists, but haven't even looked into these options yet.  I would love to expose them to more music, but am not concerned if it happens next year or not.  I don't care next year if it is more listening to Classical Kids CDs (like Beethovan Lives Upstairs) and other CDs for the time being, even though I know long-term that is not ideal.

 

In short, outside of math and LA, I would love non-teacher intensive ideas or ideas with audio books that we can use to cover other subjects for a 4th grader and 1st grader or I am concerned that they may not get done.  My oldest is craving more "school work" and am trying ways to satisfy that while also being reasonable with what I can accomplish.

[Why is it so hard to find a great pediatric neuropsychologist? Portland or Seattle folks?]

I was given the name of a neurologist in Seattle that works at testing kids for learning challenges and helps the parents understand how their child learns best. I have not followed through with this after the pediatrician mentioned it, but can find the name for you. The pediatrician said he had many other parents that were very happy with him in gaining a better understanding how their child learns and how to help their children. I can look up his information later today. Also, Susan Barton has a list of people that test for dyslexia and other learning struggles that she will email if requested. There were several psychologists (I think most were educational psychologists when I checked over a year ago) on the list near Seattle (I did not check Portland). If dyslexia is part of what you are looking at with testing, Susan Barton also sends a list of interview questions you can ask before any testing begins. It sounds like you have some people you are working with locally that may also help with knowing what type of interview questions to ask. An interview beforehand would be beneficial as the actual testing will require a lot of time and money and you may be able to know from an interview if someone will be a bad fit. Some people on here have had great experiences with some testers and not so great with other testers.

[Christianbook.com coupons?]

HOME2LEARN is also a free shipping code for orders over $35 that I saw on FB yesterday.

[Magnetize your Barton tiles?]

I put magnets on mine last month. That said, we are only about to start level 3. Right now I have all three levels stored on a cookie sheet. My DD wanted magnets (as did I since I was tired of setting them up each time) and loved it when I added them and told me how much better they were than AAR tiles. I used sticky back 1" square magnets off Amazon. I am still trying to decide what to do next when we add more tiles. I have seen large metal pans (I think from an automotive section) used on a couple blogs with AAR tiles and they looked like they may work. The fold up set that comes advertised with some of the Barton levels looks nice, but I can't justify spending $80 on it.

 

As for the app, I thought part of the purpose of the app was not just the tiles, but also the prebuilt words for each level.

[Seeing Stars Kit - What do I NEED to buy?]

I use a different program for my dyslexic, so can't help you with Seeing Stars, but wanted to let you know that you may also want to post in the learning challenges forum. I know others there have used this and/or other products from the same company.

[Egg Timers for Time Management?]

We got a time timer a couple months ago. Ours can be set in from 1 to 60 minutes. It has been very helpful.

[Science that gets done]

I thought of Science in the Beginning as well when I read your description. Another option may be the God's Design for Science series. I understand they updated it earlier this year and each lesson is supposed to have an experiment or hands on work and they have papers/worksheets/notebooks that you download for the student. I haven't seen it in person, but reading about the updates made it sound appealing.