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hisforhomeschooling

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Posts posted by hisforhomeschooling

  1. I have an old version of TWTM. The logic books she suggests (Mind Benders warm up and A1-A4) are no longer easy to find. I am wondering if she still recommends the same ones, bought used, or if she has updated what to do for logic starting in 5th grade. There are still Mind Bender books to buy, but they've all been updated, so I am not sure which ones I should get. 

    Thanks! 

  2. The Trail Guide to World Geography samples show week 1 and 2, but not week 3, which is when they actually get to a continent and mapping. Can anyone take a picture of week 3 for me? That might help make up my mind.  

    I want something a bit meatier than 1 country a week ( a la Expedition Earth, which I have also looked at), but not as intense as, say, Evan Moor's 7 Continents series, where you have to buy 7 books at $22 each. But I do love the way EM combines mapping and geographical terms, based on their samples. I want some combination of mapping and questions/worksheets based on what we just mapped. Does that exist?

    Let's Go Geography is almost what I want, but I'm not sure I want to jump around for 3 years like that. I feel like learning one continent at a time is less confusing. 

    I'm thinking we will do Memoria Press Geography III when my oldest hits 7th grade, or thereabouts, but I want to learn the countries before we get there. But Geography I and II look really dry. 

    I'm overthinking this. But that's what we do on these boards, right?

    Thanks! 

  3. Background: One of my neighbors is an elementary school teacher. I approached her about my 4, almost 5 year old, son, who people have commented about being artistically gifted. She contacted the art teachers she works with who provided a test and he scored as “creatively gifted.”

    Coming to all of you with my question: what now?!

    We have an easel set up where we homeschool and I provide him with paper and supplies. He colors and draws and cuts and pastes all day. 

    His birthday is next month. What should I put on his list? What tools are musts? What art books should we add to our library? 

    Any program/project suggestions? Kindergarten curriculum that caters to artfully-minded littles?

    I want to provide him with every opportunity to do what he loves and excel.

    Thanks! 

     

  4. 1 hour ago, Sarah0000 said:

    We haven't got there yet but I'm planning on going though Right Brained Fractions with fraction circles and overlays before doing fractions in BA.


    Thanks for the recommendation! I'll look into it!

    53 minutes ago, silver said:

    I would go ahead to the other two chapters of 3D, but continue working a little bit each day on the fraction topics. When it seems like he gets the topic, you can go back and do the fraction chapter.

    You could get the MM dark blue book that introduces fractions for another source to teach fractions on the side: https://www.mathmammoth.com/introduction_fractions.php


    I was actually looking at that today! We did Math Mammoth in 1st and 2nd grade and he wasn't a huge fan but it is so clear. I think I am going to buy the book and slowly work through that on top of moving forward with the end of BA. Thanks for the suggestions!

    39 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

    Okay, to begin with, I have Right Start fraction pieces, MUS fraction pieces, ETA Cuisenaire fraction circles, directions for using c-rods with fractions....

    None of it clicked with my kid.  He could play with them, and understand what he was doing when he played, but it didn't transfer over.  Someone on here recommended the game Fraction Formula.  I put it in my Amazon cart and then accidentally bought it one day, figuring that at the very least he'd see a different way of doing things.  But it got the job done!  We started with the directions of the game (go to 1 without going over), and then slowly changed the rules to take out the 1/2s, creating a hand that would total 1, using two tubes simultaneously..and so on.  Every game it's just reinforced how to change fractions and make equivalent ones.  Each math lesson starts out with a game or two with that before we move on to the lesson of the day.

    So now he's back doing fractions in Right Start, and everything for the next several lessons has been covered through that game.  The 3D pieces helped him sooooooo much!


    Oh man. I lol'd at you buying it by accident! Sounds like something I would do! I will look into it! Thanks!

  5. 19 minutes ago, Kiara.I said:

    We use Beast as a supplement, and our main curriculum is Rightstart. We also use it behind. Mine had no trouble with the fractions section, because he already understood it thoroughly from his primary curriculum. So... Maybe do the fractions kit from Rightstart?


    I have heard of people using BA as a supplement. How does that work? I think any of my kids would lose their minds if we tried to juggle more than one math. Thanks for the idea of the fractions kit!

    17 minutes ago, mama25angels said:

    Could you slow down with fractions but have him go ahead and work on estimation and area so tha he's not so discouraged?  Also, maybe get the Key to Fractions books and work through those too.


    Switching gears and moving forward but doing extra fractions work is a good idea. Thanks! I will look into the books you mentioned!

    12 minutes ago, corail said:

    I usually go to Khan Academy for basic concepts videos and practice when my kids have problems with our math curriculum. BA 3D does go hard and deep on fractions, which my DS2 just went through. 


    I forgot about Khan Academy. Thanks! So hard and deep. I was reading to him from the answer key because I couldn't figure out how to do or explain some of them. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought it was a bit intense. 

    • Like 1
  6. My DS8 adores Beast Academy, and mostly has done really well with it. But we just started 3D and fractions are kicking his butt. I am not sure what to do and would love advice. Should I stop and work the rest of the year on reinforcing multiplication and division, since Beast Academy doesn't really drill and maybe memorizing those facts will help with fractions? Is there a really great fractions resource, either a book or app, that I can use to dig into fractions a little deeper? He doesn't get the concept of greater than/less than when the numerator is the same but the denominator is different. He doesn't completely get the concepts of simplifying and converting. I have tried drawing and explaining it in a thousand different ways. I am walking him through every step of every problem and it isn't sticking and they keep getting harder, obviously. This is the first thing that is important that has stumped him so I want to make sure I address it correctly...and honestly...I don't know if we should continue with Beast Academy 4. But I don't know what we would do instead. The next 2 chapters of 3D are estimation and area. I am assuming we need to cover those before going to 4A in August? He is so discouraged and I feel lost. Math is not my strong point and I am doing my best, but I feel like I am failing him. Help! 

  7. 8 hours ago, KaceeM said:

    These are free, its a full year of reading. Some books just have oral questions and some have written. I would use the Fifth grade guides since you've been doing Memoria Press. plainandnotsoplain.com/free-schooling-resources/

    Thank you! Free and full year sound perfect ;)

  8. 7 hours ago, Lori D. said:

    Here are a few titles and links to free online/downloadable comprehension questions. Most of the books are well-known, so it shouldn't be too hard to do an online summary for "chapter summaries for ___(name of book)___" to get a quick overview of the content to help you keep up with your student as he reads.

    Memoria Press 4th Grade Books

    Cricket in Times Square -- K-12 comprehension questions/guide

    Homer Price -- Delightful Learning: activities

    Blue Fairy Book -- Weekly Storybook: journalism writing assignments to go with Lang fairytales (a Writing resource, more for upper elementary/lower middle school)

    Dangerous Journey -- Emily Whitten's Redeemed Reader guide; other free resources

    Sonlight 4th Grade Books (and check out Roads to Everywhere blog for links to many free resources for these and other Sonlight 4 books)

    Trumpet of the Swan -- Miss Aronson comprehension questions

    By the Great Horn Spoon -- activities & questions;  Mrs. Andrews quiz [comprehension] questions

    In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson -- Betty Powers Francis Reading Right guide

    Sign of the Beaver -- Mr. Parratore chapter questions;  K-12 comprehension questions/guide

    Caddie Woodlawn -- Scholastic lesson plan/discussion questions;  Olol School NJ questions

    Om-Kas-Toe -- Grandview Publishing questions

    Freedom Train -- Lakewood City Schools comprehension questions

    Other good titles

    The Iron Giant (title is "The Iron Man" in the UK) -- activities, questions, vocabulary;  Grafton Public School: unit study

    Frindle -- Scholastic lesson plan/discussion guide;  Rise to Reading comprehension questions

    Nim's Island -- Savvy Southern parent blog: questions;  list of linked resources

    Sideways Stories from Wayside School -- Bluestem Resources: questions

    Ben and Me -- Bradley Connections: comprehension questions

    The Big Wave -- K-12 comprehension questions/guide;  Wise Owl Factory: discussion guide

    More good titles (perhaps use as "book basket" titles)

    The Rescuers (Sharp)

    Follow My Leader (Garfield)

    The Toothbrush Millionaire (Merrill) 

    Archimedes and the Door of Science (Bendict)

    Behind Rebel Lines (Reit)

    Wow! Thanks for all the info!! I appreciate it!

  9. We have used Memoria Press for 3 years, but the person who handed the guides down to us can’t anymore and they’re expensive. 

    I don’t want to reinvent the wheel but I also don’t want to pay for stuff I won’t use. 

    What I want is a great book list for a 4th grade boy that works out to one chapter a day (or a little less) for a 4-day school week and that also has comprehension questions to go over orally. Bonus points if there is some genre variety. 

    I know I could do this all myself with some time and energy, but who has that?! ?

    Thanks! 

  10. I wold look into Spelling Power. It's one book for all levels, customizes easily to the kid and only has him study the words he doesn't know, plus the task cards offer tactile ways to study spelling.

     

    However, we cut down spelling even further here.  DS8 intuits rules easily, so I have him do Dictation Day By Day for spelling.  It's a slowly spiraling list of words that are introduced in the context of sentences.  Two sentences a day and he's done.  The spelling carries over to the rest of his work.  Between that and copywork, his spelling is okay for his age now.

     

     

    I wouldn't do spelling for a 6-year-old unless he wanted to. I tried it once; it was not worth my time. At 8, it worked great.

     

    He may be advanced in many areas but he's 6, so I would scale back writing to minimal unless he wants to be writing.

     

     

     

    Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

     

     

    It sounds like they are more natural spellers. My oldest was like this and found many lists to be unchallenging. We switched to Building Spelling Skills from CLP bc they had more challenging words on their lists. Another approach we successfully tried was holding Spelling bees out of the McGuffey speller. The first ten words missed became his list. However, my son hated getting any wrong, and they had some obscure farming words included. So BSS was a better fit and less time consuming.

     

     

    Touch Type Read and Spell is super easy to implement and teaches typing and spelling together (no writing on paper). 

     

    I wouldn't worry about backsliding in spelling with kids that age because they are probably picking up on the spelling of words from reading. (Not all kids do, but my kids who caught onto reading quickly without a lot of phonics instruction have also tended to pick up spelling easily.)

     

     

    Have you tried spelling on a white board? Dd is writing-resistant, but is much less so with a white board and marker.

     

    I am using misspelled words that we have gathered from EM since September, finding patterns, and using monthly spelling tic tac toe boards. I think the simplicity, variety, and choice will appeal to both boys! We will keep going through the EM spelling lists for new words as the year goes on. They loved it today, but we all know that we can't judge anything by the first day or week haha. Thanks for the ideas, everyone!

  11. DS8 (3rd) and DS6 (1st/2nd) are both HATING Evan-Moor spelling all of a sudden. I think it is too easy for DS8, so I have just started giving him a pretest a day and if he gets them all right, he moves to the next one and doesn't have to do any of the other worksheets. He flew through pretests this week with no errors. In Words Their Way, he tests at the beginning of the last level of spelling, derivational relations. I am considering Spelling Wisdom for him because it looks easy to implement but meaningful and challenging in content. Thoughts?

     

    DS6 is accelerated and challenging. Started reading at 3 and everything comes easily to him but he is lazy and reluctant. I keep trying to challenge him while also keeping his age in mind. He HATES writing. Of all the things he complains about daily, writing is the biggest challenge. I do everything orally with him that I can, but still require him to do writing occasionally. He just started getting spelling words wrong in Evan Moor at the end of their 2nd grade book. He tests at the within words category according to Words Their Way. So, my question is, is there anything open and go that is easier to implement than Words Their Way, that doesn't require a lot of writing? Or, what would you suggest for spelling for a child who hates writing? Would you just do it all orally? I feel like he is a visual kid and there has to be something tangible, too. I have no patience or energy or space for All About Spelling even though it's appealing. I also have a 3 year old who would destroy everything and a 4 year old who would help then blame her. Or do I take a break from spelling until he’s older? I know that’s what CM would suggest. I worry about backsliding and where to pick up later.

     

    Sorry, this is rambly. That's how I roll, as some of you know.

     

    Thanks for your thoughts!

  12. Well, you know what, maybe they will end up being graphic novelists. My college roommate's thesis was a graphic novel (although not Pokemon). It is a valid and increasingly popular literary and art form, and it is possible that children who are familiar with it from a young age are gaining valuable knowledge and experience that those of us who are more comfortable with, say, Paddle-to-the-Sea, cannot impart.

     

    Now, while I don't require reading, I am on a constant stealth mission to find new favorites, using our library's various databases and recommendations, as well as our friendly reference librarian...I've found, "Try to read the first chapter and see if you like this," is a lot more effective than requiring reading.

     

    I don't have a problem with graphic novels. I just want them to have some variety. And gosh, Pokemon is just awful. But they love it. I like the sampling it for a chapter idea. Thanks! 

     

    That's why I continued reading aloud to my dc. :-)

     

    I don't believe in requiring children to read on their own. And when they read on their own, they get to read whatever they want. FTR, my mother wanted me to read something other than horse books, lol.

     

    Horse books >>>> Pokemon. 

     

    I haven't read all the responses, but when mine were first reading, they would read aloud to me, and I always picked the books. If they wanted to read off school time, they got to pick those books, which were largely ones we had here or occasionally we would pick some from the library. 

     

    Once they were reading independently, they started at 20 minutes/5 days a week and worked up to 30 minutes/5 days a week. All of those books have technically been "assigned."  Sometimes I will give them a stack to pick from and ask them to read one of them, but I picked every book in the stack. 

     

    As far as "free reading" outside of school hours, my kids will generally not pick novels. The only exception has been that my oldest loved Harry Potter and read the whole series multiple times and he has also read The Chronicles of Prydain multiple times.  Other than that, their  "library picks" are Captain Underpants and Calvin and Hobbes.  =)   Those are fine, but they read them in their free time.

     

    I share the issue that others have mentioned with the library having a lot of graphic novels and books that are not necessarily great.  I usually have to request the books we read and they may or may not come in from another branch.  

     

    I spent most of my pre-teen and teen years reading awful twaddle so I am probably oversensitive to the idea of my kids reading that stuff. 

     

    Also, we still read aloud here. I usually pick the harder selections from the history based reading and read those aloud.  

     

    Thanks for your thoughts! 

     

    By the way, another avenue for acquiring books besides the library are Estate sales.  Yes, Estate Sales. 

     

    There are often really well kept quality books available at these sales and the cost is negligible.  DD and I found out about two local companies that do Estate Sales and have websites.  We are on their list.  When a sale is coming up, we get an email with a link to the address and photographs of the items available.  Almost always everything is half off on the last day and during the last hour or so they just want to get rid of stuff.  If the Estate Sale seems to have things we need, we bring our laundry basket and if they have books we can fill the basket with books and whatever else might be needed (such as computer paper, notebooks, etc.) and can get the whole thing for very little.  I've gotten beautiful hardbacks in near new condition for pennies or sometimes even free.  DD gets so excited about finding books at these sales.  (So do I).  We then pass them on to others or donate them to the library when we no longer need them.

     

    I've never tried an estate sale! We frequent library sales, but I will have to look into estate sales, too. Thanks!

     

    Graphic novels are actually pretty cool. If they like them, there are lots of ones that you could offer them. We have ones of the Odyssey and Iliad, although they might be a too...graphic. ;) I found a lot of good suggestions from Farrar at I Capture the Rowhouse. Marcia Williams has the illustrated Shakespeare books that are really graphic novels. 

     

    One thing I have done that has helped my kids to expand their reading horizons is to do required summer reading. I make a list of about 9-12 books and they have to read one a month from my list. They read a lot more than that but just the one per month from me. I try to make my list books that I think they will like but that they might not pick up on their own. 

     

    I'll check those out. Love the idea of Shakespeare graphic novel, though I'm sure the graphic might be too graphic for 8 and 6 lol. I will read them for me, interspersed with my personal twaddle choices, haha. 

    • Like 1
  13. What kind of required reading do you do? I did have "required" reading at those ages, but it was things like Frog & Toad or Henry & Mudge etc..., not something to complement history or science. It was "fun" but not "Pokemon," LOL! I had a book basket of 10-15 books they could choose from, and I rotated books in and out every week. 

     

    For library visits, you can direct their choices. For every 2 Pokemon books, they should choose one picture story book that is not based on any TV or movie characters...or something like that. Go through the stacks and pick out high interest books for them too. (Then it could be, for every 2 they pick, they should pick at least one from your stack.)

     

    Yes, lots of reading aloud, but it won't kill them to read other types of books on their own too. I will say, at those ages it wasn't "independent" reading--I had them read out loud to me, so the book basket was things they read to me until they were really going strong with chapter books.

     

    I gradually moved from the book basket to Sonlight "scheduled" readers (except we didn't follow the schedule, I just handed them the next book) as they moved into upper elementary--but even those lit. books are high interest, adventure, award-winning books, and not reading an Usborne book or other non-fiction. I mainly saved non-fiction for their choice or for things I read aloud. 

     

    I love the ratio idea! We haven't done the "reading time" more than once or twice because there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth and I didn't want it to be like that. Once I told them they could pick anything. The second time, I handed them books (I gave the 8yo A Cricket in Times Square, which we had already started and he liked when I was reading it out loud and I gave the 6yo a Beatrix Potter book we've read in the past and had him read it out loud to me). Despair. Anguish. So I decided to pick some smart, experienced brains before trying it again, haha! Glad I did! 

  14. This exactly. I don't assign reading at young ages either. Just provide good books and let them read for fun!

     

    Thanks!

     

    Regarding twaddle, or non-worthy books -- I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on, including completely trivial fare like the babysitter's club and Sweet Valley High books.  I think as long as kids are exposed to lots of good books as well, eventually they will recognize what constitutes good writing vs bad.  I think it's a very good skill.  Not to say you can't steer them towards better choices when you can and definitely don't want a diet full of poorly written books, but also don't be afraid if they get attached to a certain series that makes you roll your eyes.  They will outgrow it. :-)

     

    For reading time DURING school, I have a basket of books that align with the history or science we are studying, and tell them to choose and read for 30 minutes. They just have to.  I do make sure the books are interesting, well written, and appropriate to their level. So if they were in elementary, I would choose books like A Walk in the Rainforest by Rebecca Johnson because I know it is well written and would appeal to one of my kids.  And I would choose the secret codes or the history of codes for the other one.  There are a lot of deadly dull elementary school books out there that will kill the joy of reading! 

     

    I mean...are you sure they will outgrow it? The number of Pokemon graphic novels they have consumed at the library is rivaled only by my husbands comic book collection...

     

    I’ve always alternated between mom-assigned books and kid’s choice. Independent reading time has always been 10 min. Per grade and they get as far in their books each day as their reading speed allows. They quickly figure out that choosing books that are too easy makes for a very boring read.

     

    Thanks!

    • Like 2
  15. I gave a list for my 4th grade DD at the beginning of the school year and she has to read for 30 minutes per day from that list. It includes nonfiction books that we have about whatever we're studying in science as well as biographies and fiction related to our history studies. Without fail she picked the nonfiction and easy readers first lol and now that we're closing in on the last quarter of the year she "has" to read the longer fiction chapter books. She doesn't have any problems reading them, and she usually even likes them by the time she's done, but they are just not what she would choose to read on her own. Which is fine, she gets her fill of fluffy easy twaddle fairy and doggy books from the library and I don't say a word about them. But when it's for school, she knows she will read the good stuff :)

     

    Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk

     

    I'm feeling like this is possibly the solution. Keep reading good lit out loud because they enjoy that (because I do voices and get really into it. I was an English teacher in my previous life and my teenaged students loved being read to as well, haha.) and give them nonfiction readings to go along with other subjects as part of their school time.

     

    In my house once you can read well independently you're expected to do so daily. I take the time to build a collection of books for each particular child. This collection includes books at their level, a bit above their level, and below their level, in a variety of genres. They are free to choose whichever book they like from that collection.

     

    My 4th and 1st graders take their readers (from that collection I made them) to their favorite quiet reading nook and read. When they're finished they'll pass back through the room I'm in, and they'll tell me what the characters in their story are up to. Some days we have a long discussion about their book and others we barely mention it. They each have plenty of books they read on their own without my involvement. Constantly.

     

     

    My kids read "mommy-assigned" literature from learning to read until they graduate. In high school they get structured mommy-made schedules to go with it.

     

    I always appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. You seem really relaxed but also organized somehow. 

     

    It looks like a trip the library weekly, where people of all ages check out as many books as they want or none at all, and those books in a basket on the floor in the living room. Children choose to read them or not.

     

    I've done that before and it is all Pokemon graphic novels, haha. 

     

    I think part of the problem with this plan is that libraries nowadays have a lot more pseudo-books.  The children's sections of our libraries look completely different than they did when I was a kid.  The actual books (with pages of continuous text) are limited and look very stuffy and uninteresting compared to all the other offerings.  There are toys and crafts and computer games.  There are umpteen shelves of leveled lego/batman/Sponge Bob/Angry Birds/etc readers.  Graphic novels are EVERYWHERE.  Even lots of the non-fiction books have TV and movie tie-ins to Kratt Brothers and Bill Nye the Science Guy. 

     

    My kids LOVE to read, but if left to their own devices they would happily only check out and read non-literary twaddle.  It just looks so shiny and compelling...kind of like sugar cereal packaging at the grocery store.  That's not to say that I complete forbid twaddle...or sugar cereal.  But I don't think my kids have the maturity in either situation to regulate their own intake and strike a healthy balance.

     

    Wendy

     

    Yup. Again. All. Pokemon. Books. 

     

    At those ages I let them read whatever they wanted and tried to encourage a love of reading. I read aloud to them the books I wanted them to hear for school or for higher literature exposure.

     

    Once my kids got older I assigned history, science, and literature books to be read independently. But we did all that together for most of elementary school.

     

    Thanks! Another vote for continuing to read aloud and assigning history/science at some point. 

     

    FWIW, I developed my love of reading because it was something I saw my parents doing for themselves and there were always great books around to read and there was only one TV in the house and use of that TV was strictly controlled.  When there was downtime I had books to turn to, but I wasn't forced to do so.  It was just an option.  Reading was also something I associated early on with a fun time to be with Mom.  It was not made out to be some academic necessity. Reading was something Mom did with me before going to bed or for fun during an afternoon and was something we did while we cuddled and was something we had fun giggling about or discussing.  She let me pick the books I wanted us to read together.  Sometimes she suggested books but mostly she let me pick.  It was not forced on me.  I came to associate reading with love and hugs and exploring new and interesting ideas/characters and with having some autonomy.  I did have required readings for school (ps) and did those but I fell in love with reading because it was MY thing.  Something I had as an option to do and was allowed choices in when and what.  Reading for pleasure was not forced on me or dictated to me.  As I got older I got more into reading and read voraciously.  If I had been forced to read every day beyond academics, with no real choice, I don't know that I would have been nearly as enthusiastic.  And frankly, even though I loved reading and read a lot, I didn't really get super into reading long chapter books on a daily basis until I was about 9-10.  I'm glad I was given the time to develop my interest in reading at my own pace.

     

    By the time I was a pre-teen I had even created my own card cataloging system for my books.   It was my idea and my execution of that idea.

     

    Do some kids need some structure and encouragement to read?  Yes.  Yes they do.  But it sounds like your kids are already into reading.  They just want to have some autonomy, not be micromanaged.  I would have some academically required reading that has purpose to it (so they can see why this particular reading assignment is useful) and just let the rest be their choice.  Provide them with plenty of reading material but don't micromanage them.  

     

    Thanks for your thoughts! I read way more quality literature as a teen than I do now. Life burns me out a lot of the time and twaddle is my escape. Twaddle and a bubble bath and some dark chocolate is my happy place. 

     

    I wouldn't assign any reading...I simply don't see the point to it at this age. If they are reading all the time, that's wonderful. There are some kids that would do fine with a required reading list, but others not. I would hate to make reading a chore. If there is a list of books you want them to read, get them on audio book or read them aloud. 

     

    As for what it looks like in our house- both kids read whatever they want. There are a lot of books I want them to be exposed to, so I check them out at the library and put them on a bookshelf. About 80% of those books get read. My daughter recently read Number the Stars because I had talked about how much I enjoyed the book as a kid. A lot of books are read because I talk about them so much. 

     

    I think I'll keep reading the books I love out loud to them. Thanks!

     

    If the point is vocab exposure, I'd consider read-aloud until they ask if they can skip ahead.

     

    If the point is to get them to love reading, I'd keep doing what you're doing already because it seems to be working!

     

    Not worried about vocab exposure, and they do love reading. Thanks!

    • Like 2
  16. At that age I just let them read what they wanted. No assigned books. I picked books for read aloud and would get books I thought they would like out of the library and give it to them as an option.

     

    We do assigned reading more in middle school and up.

     

    Thanks! 

     

    Then let them just read. I don't see a point in killing their love for reading by forcing them to read specific books you picked. At that age, my primary focus would be on making reading enjoyable.

    Make sure they have access to good books, give them books for birthdays and Christmas, take them to the library so they can develop a strong habit of reading for fun.  

    Provide audioboks/do read alouds that are a bit above their independent reading ability; that is a great way to build vocabulary and let them experience more complex language and storylines.

     

    Thanks! That's pretty much what we are already doing. They just free-read all twaddle, and I was thinking about giving them some more structure.

     

    I started my kids with mandatory reading as soon as they could read. I started with something like ten minutes and have worked up to an hour per day for one child and 45 minutes per day for the other child (set a timer), and "count" this toward school work. If they did not read quite a lot outside of school, I'd add time but they do, so it's not necessary . They can read to me aloud, or read to themselves and then tell me about it. Their choice, and at a certain point they almost always chose to read to themselves because it's faster. All the books I wanted them to read are always kept on a particular shelf and they can pick any selection from that shelf. 

     

    Reading regular books is the primary way my kids  get new to them information and ideas. If we were ensconced in some big program, learning more from textbooks or something along those lines, I'd probably take a different tact. 

     

    I still do all their school reading out loud (history and science and literature) just for convenience since we only have one set of books or they're on my kindle. And, with lit especially, because then the 3 and 4 year old get to hear the classics, too. 

     

    This is what we do. They love to read and read alot on their own. I do assign non fiction for history and science to my 2nd grader and have just been setting a timer for her (or now having Alexa remind us).

     

    Maybe my answer is to assign "extra" history or science independently either for x minutes or one chapter or whatever. I could never figure out how to manage more reading out loud to them in these subjects when there are so many books and only so many hours in a day. Thanks for the thought. 

     

    Every week we go to the library and stagger out with full book bags. I say no to books Idon’t think have good values or are age inappropriate. I make suggestions, “You might like this one. It’s about some children who find a door into a whole nother world where animals talk!†A lot of the time they’re willing to give things I obviously like a try, but they do have tastes. No one here likes “boy and his dog†books, for example. That’s fine with me. I limit screen time. And both dh and I are readers. For us, all those things have come together so that my older two just love to read, do it for fun, and have read large numbers of children’s classics just for fun. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but I would start there. :)

     

    Eta: my first grader has vision issues and isn’t reading independently yet.

     

    My husband and I both love to read, too. If I let them pick at the library, which I always do, its Pokemon, Star Wars and superheroes 100% of the time. If I suggest other books, they won't read them on their own. 

     

     

    My kids are about the same ages as yours.  I have three boys (a 3rd grader who is almost 9, a 1st grader who is 6.5 and a preschooler who is 4.5) and then a toddler girl.

     

    Each of my boys has a reading bin.  I fill it with a variety of genres: non-fiction, fiction, biographies, poetry, even an occasional graphic novel.  I don't assign exactly what book they must read at any given time; they just choose from the bin and then work their way through the book until they finish (except in extenuating circumstances).  Sometimes if I think they are getting in a rut, I will let their bin-pickings dwindle to force them to try something they are avoiding, but normally I keep their bin pretty full.

     

    My 4 year old's assigned reading time is part of his school time.  He chooses a book (Bob book, We Both Read, phonics reader, etc) to read with me.  He normally only has the stamina for ~5 minutes (this is on top of his phonics lesson), which I am fine with.

     

    My 6 year old does his assigned reading aloud...not because he can't read to himself, but he is a very social creature and he enjoys reading to an audience.  He reads (for about 10 minutes) to me and his little sister right after he finishes breakfast.  Little Sis is in her high chair finishing eating and I am tidying up the kitchen.  Mr. 6 sits nearby and reads to us, and then I ask him a question about the reading so he can narrating back to me.  Next year, when he is in second grade, he will start writing a one sentence narration about his reading.

     

    My 8, almost 9, year old much prefers to do his reading to himself.  Recently, as his work load has increased a bit, he has started doing his reading before breakfast so that we can still wrap up our school day by around 10 or 10:30.  He normally reads and narrates two chapters a day (~15 minutes of reading).  We have a shared Google Doc into which I have put a bunch of opened ended literary discussion questions: "In what way does someone you know in real life behave like the main character in the story?", "What is the problem or conflict in the story, and how does it stand in the protagonist’s way?", "Describe an example of personification in the story."  After he reads a chapter of his book he then chooses one question to answer...in a complete, interesting sentence.  Later in the day, I go into the Google Doc and offer corrections and suggestions, explaining how he needs to fix his punctuation, pointing out confusing or ambiguous wording, exhorting him to add more detail to a short, boring sentence, etc.

     
    None of my boys do a lot of assigned reading, but I'm not worried because they do hours of free reading every day and also listen to a lot of read alouds.  Their assigned reading is mostly to 1) "force" them into reading some books that are more challenging  than what they normally choose for themselves and 2) giving them something to practice narrating/writing about.
     
    Wendy

     

     

    Wendy, we have the same age spread and genders :) I think we're often on the same boards, too :) Thanks for the ideas. I like the idea of book bins with genres they wouldn't choose for themselves. 

     

    They read whatever they want (as long as it is appropriate) for as long as they want all day long without interference from me. I don't feel it unreasonable to ask that they read from a book of my choosing each day as well. I have a book box of selections I would like for them to get through. They can pick what they want to read next for SSR time. Depending upon their age and length of chapters I have either assigned a chapter at a time or required reading for a set length of time. Right now my 11 year old has to read for 30 minutes daily and my almost 8 year old for 20 minutes. This is a part of their daily checklist that I write on the white board of what they need to accomplish that day. I choose books they may not pick on their own but that I think they will get something out of the experience. 

     

    This is kind of how I was visualizing it. As part of their schoolwork. My boys will never pick something that isn't twaddle in their free reading. Except I have found "Trumpet of the Swan" in their bathroom, so I guess I should say 99% of the time they pick twaddle. Haha! Of course, I guess I am not setting a great example in that respect because 99% of what I read these days for fun is twaddle, too. So...food for thought there!

     

    • Like 1
  17. I have an 8yo 3rd grader and a 6yo 1st grader who have both completed OPG and can read whatever I give them. Then a 3 and 4yo.

     

    I have lists I want to work from for the older 2, but would love to hear how ppl do independent reading. My oldest 3 are boys and the older 2 fight me if I say it’s reading time. They read on their own all the time but don’t want to read if I “assign†it. Would you set up a reward system like they sometimes do in schools? How long should they be reading mommy-assigned books for daily? They love being read aloud to do it’s not that they don’t like books or reading. I think I just need ideas on how to present it and do it consistently.

     

    Thanks!

  18. My son has dysgraphia so writing is hard for him. Since he has to write for other things, with Fix-It we frequently do it orally. Easily done but I highly recommend that the child SEE the sentence, not just hear it. DS has the printed student page in front of him and I have the TM. He talks me through the sentence (or marks it if his hand isn't already too tired) and I mark it for him. I have the TM with me so if he gets confused or has a question I can answer right away, before the confusion becomes more ingrained or reinforced. The student is supposed to then copy the sentence over into their notebook as copywork and so at the end they have a story they can read in their own handwriting. Originally I would usually do the copying but lately DS has been typing the sentences afterwards, with proper punctuation. He has eyesight issues so typing means it is easier for him to read afterwards. You could skip that part altogether with a younger child.

     

    Another part to the program is looking up the definition of one highlighted word in the sentence. Usually these words are more advanced and may have multiple definitions. I got a large print dictionary (I don't let them look things up on their phone or electronic device because I found the act of physically looking things up in a dictionary helped solidify how things are arranged alphabetically, not just by first letter but deeper in, with words that all start with the same letter or maybe the same two, and so on). The kids look up their word and then try to determine from the context of the sentence what the definition would be. They then either copy it into their notebook themselves or in DS' case I frequently copy it for him as he reads it out to me. We often discuss the words and that has led to much greater understanding of the vocabulary.

    I appreciate your thorough responses so much! I went ahead and bought it and we will start on Monday. I put FLL3 away and we’re doing mad libs in the meantime 😉 I think we will keep doing mad libs to reinforce parts of speech because they all enjoy them so much! Thanks again!

    • Like 1
  19. My DD likes the Editor in Chief workbook. She has the very first one and occasionally chooses it to work in for grammar because she like editing. Not sure if it meets your criteria but you should check it out.

    A friend recommended this one to me as well. Thanks!

  20. There are reference cards to print out (I recommend on card stock) that the student can refer to for help. They might work best in clear plastic baseball card sleeves (for three ring binders). There are 9 slots per sheet. Your child could see the front and the back and be able to easily find the card he needs.

    Thanks! What are your thoughts on doing it orally with a younger child as well? I have a 6yo who reads and understands at a more advanced level than he writes.

  21. Fix-It Grammar I believe meets all your needs. If you buy the TM you have access to the student pages as a PDF for free. Download them to your computer and print as needed. The student corrects one or two sentences a day and only 4 days a week unless you want to accelerate. Takes less than :15. Sentences are taken from real literature and tell a story so the sentences are in context. Program starts out VERY gentle and builds layers slowly. Easy to accelerate or slow down.

     

    There ARE some words that a student needs to select the correct spelling for but they are clearly marked, the student is taught ahead of time what to look for and they aren't misspelled as in spelled incorrectly. They are words that sound the same but have different meanings and different spellings. The student is taught which spelling is correct for which context. They are given choices and circle the one they think is right. This process is gently introduced and scaffolding is encouraged. Only a few are done, by the way, and in Book 1 it may only be there/their and two/too/to (can't remember).

     

    There are no randomly misspelled words in the text.

    Thank you for that clarification! That makes sense and, looking at the samples again, I do see how it builds and seems to hit most of the things I’m looking for. Randomly misspelled words were my concern, so I appreciate you being specific about that :)

    • Like 1
  22. What about Sentence Family, Treasured Conversations, or KISS?

    None is exactly what you like, but all three are available in .pdf,

    are open and go, and teach the parts of speech.

    They have their individual quirks. I recommend looking at samples.

     

    Sentence Family: http://www.currclick.com/product/41915/The-Sentence-Family?it=1

     

    Treasured Conversations: https://www.educents.com/treasured-conversations/

     

    KISS grammar: https://www.kissgrammar.org

    Going to look at these, thanks!

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