lotsofpumpkins
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Posts posted by lotsofpumpkins
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This would be for 5th, 7th, and 8th graders next year. What programs are out there for middle school? I need affordable, open-and-go, just enough grammar (meaning, enough to help us start learning the language, but not so much that we get bogged down in complicated grammar concepts), and a Christian program would be nice. We tried Speedy Spanish a couple of years ago and didn't like it. Any other suggestions?
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We are using LC1 this year, and we are reading from Famous Men of Rome too. The LC teacher's manual tells you which chapters of Famous Men are covered on each test, so I'm pacing our reading to match that. We do Latin 5 days a week, but only read/discuss Famous Men on two of those days. The pacing is pretty slow; we are ahead even with only doing the history part twice a week. So, until the test, I'm just reviewing the important information that they need to remember for the test. (The information from Famous Men isn't found on the quizzes, just the test that happens every 5 lessons).
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My 4th and 6th graders are using this right now. We started it in mid-July, and so far they are enjoying it. There are a lot of hands-on activities thrown in there, which my boys love.
As for the negative feedback, what specifically don't they like about it?
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We've used both, and I prefer CLE. I almost went back to R&S this year to save money down the road since it's nonconsumable, but I just couldn't do it. I don't see R&S as being "open-and-go" because there would be way too much writing for the dc to do it as written. That would leave me figuring out assignments for 4 different levels. So, we decided to use CLE again (last year was our 1st year with CLE LA) and so far it's going great. The dc can complete their assignments with very little help from me, grading their quizzes/tests is a breeze since it clearly says how many points everything is worth, and it is just as thorough as R&S, IMO. I really like the spelling in CLE too. The words are topical, and the dc seem to be pretty interested in the lists each week. I had thought we'd go back to R&S Spelling so that dd would learn the word roots (7th grade), but since we decided to start Latin, I no longer needed Spelling to cover that.
You might notice from my signature that my younger dc aren't using CLE LA. I decided to use CLE LA in 3rd grade and up; in 1st and 2nd there is a lot of focus on phonics. Since I decided to go in another direction for phonics for my 1st and 2nd graders, we are not using CLE LA for them.
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We tried it today and it went really well. The children seemed to like the change; they actually worked faster on math and LA than they usually do. Probably because they knew that all the group stuff was already finished, so they were in control of how much longer school took today. We'll keep trying the new routine next week to see for sure, but so far it's very promising.
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Thanks for the replies! I think we'll try this and see how it goes.
Mrs. A- no naps here. The 3yo gave them up a LONG time ago. He is usually content to play while we do schoolwork though. We've never had a quiet time in the afternoon either, since we are usually working on school still after lunch.
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Has anyone tried doing all of their content subjects first each day, and THEN doing the 3Rs? Our days haven't been running very smoothly lately, and I'm thinking it would help to do all of our group subjects first before everyone splits up to do their math/LA. Everyone takes such different amounts of time to do their individual work that I'm having trouble figuring out when to bring everyone back together again. I'm thinking doing history/science first could work out fine, as long as we don't let the math/LA slide. Any thoughts on this?
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Never heard of 'em. Is it because I'm not on FB?
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I have a bookcase for science and one for history. The books I intend to use as a part of our curriculum are mixed in with all of the other books. I don't mind if they decide to read a book early, as long as they put it back where they found it so I can find it later!
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www.homesciencetools.com has a good selection of microscopes for good prices.
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Today I went school supply shopping! Because we like to start our school year in July, I decided to buy twice what we need so that next year we'll be fine starting our school year before the school supply sales start. (We started last week and it's been kind of a pain not having the binders and dividers to keep the papers organized.) Then next year I can shop for the following year and stay ahead of things a bit.
Today I bought:
binders
dividers
notebook paper
mechanical pencils
ticonderoga pencils
pencil top erasers
crayons
markers
construction paper
art paper
finger paint
tempera paint
paint brushes
texture brushes and fun rollers
art chalk
glue
pink pearl erasers
protractor and compass
I think we're all set for quite a long time. :001_smile: I love buying school supplies, so it was a fun day.
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Look what we just bought for our homeschool!
I actually bought the unbound version (also available at cbd.com) and hung it up on our dining room walls where we do most of our schoolwork. It's about 22' long (not quite as long as the promo says), so I had to cut it to make it fit. The children are enjoying looking on it for familiar events and seeing what else was going on in the world at the time.
BTW, it's based on Ussher's Annals of the World, which cbd.com also carries. I bought that too, and one of these days I'll find some time to start reading it. :)
Anyway, I thought some of you might find this timeline as beautiful as we did. (The best part is, it's already finished. As we study history, we will examine the timeline, instead of making our own.)
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My dc have really been enjoying Nature Friend magazine. It's a Christian magazine, giving credit to God as the creator. I have not seen an environmental agenda at all, just appreciation for the beauty all around us.
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A few years ago we were able to get deals on school supplies within a few days of July 4th. This year they are really taking their time getting everything out. Dh was in Walmart on Monday and said they had some stuff out, but not everything. I'm SO eager to get our supplies, because we started our new school year last week. The dc have random papers everywhere already. We need binders and dividers NOW!
(I'm going to buy double of what we need so I can stash 2015-16 supplies in a cabinet and won't have this problem again next year, since we like to start in early July. Then when supplies go on sale in 2015, we can stock up for 2016.)
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I'm sorry if I'm repeating what has already been said, but I did want to mention that whiteboards clean up much better with no ghosting if you use real Windex. I have tried just water and also knock off brans, but now I just spend the $ and get the Good Blue Stuff.
Thanks for the tip!
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It's one thing to appreciate music. It's quite another to be a part of MAKING music. Music has been an important part of my life (piano and flute) and I want my dc to have that opportunity too. I realize that they all have different levels of ability in this area, but I at least want to get them started and see where they go with it.
Also, dh is the pastor of a small church with no pianist. Except for me. A few years ago I dusted off my VERY rusty piano skills (which were quite neglected during my years of flute playing) and started working on hymns. I now play in the Sunday evening services. (We use a clavinova to play the songs for us during the morning services.) I would LOVE for my dc to far surpass my abilities and be able to play in church someday. So, there's a practical reason for learning music.
It's also cool when a song is playing and my dc can recognize a key change (and they will yell out "key change!" if we are somewhere where it's okay to do so). They are young, and yet they are already experiencing the emotional impact something as simple as a key change can have. Music is very powerful, and like I said, it can be so rewarding to be the one making that music, instead of just listening to it.
BTW, we are using Alfred's Premier Piano Course, which is very affordable. I am teaching the dc myself; there are CDs with the books, so even if you can't play the piano yourself, you can work through it with your child. Just something to consider if private lessons are something that needs to be cut. There are so many tutorials/lessons online these days too.
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We named ours because the kids thought it a fun thing to do :D
Same here. We even had t-shirts made when VistaPrint was having a sale, just for fun.
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Where can one even buy a quality chalkboard nowadays?
Office Depot has magnetic porcelain chalkboards (which I'm assuming are quality based on price and what I've heard about the brand they carry.)
A chalkboard might have been fun, but I couldn't beat the $28 TOTAL it cost us to make a really nice whiteboard with pretty wood trim. (If we hadn't cared about trim, the whiteboard itself was only $10.51.)
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I turtled waxed the board before we wrote on it, and so far the markers are erasing beautifully. We're only 2 days into our school year though...
I LOVE our whiteboard. I don't know how we made it through 7 years of homeschooling without it! :)
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Mine know to put their work in a certain spot on the kitchen counter so I can grade it. After I grade it, I give it back and they correct mistakes. We use CLE for Math and LA; when they finish a LightUnit, I put the test into their portfolio folder and record the quiz grades on a grade sheet I made. Then I can put the LU into their box in my closet. As for other subjects, they'll have a binder with dividers, and the work will just stay there until then end of the school year when I make portfolios. (If the binders fill up during the year, I'll pull work out for the portfolios and put the rest in the boxes in the closet if I need to.)
Each child has a certain spot on a shelf or a basket to keep all of their books in. So, in theory, nothing is disappearing until I go through it.
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We've never really followed a schedule before, but as my dc get older, they are actually asking for one. I think we also need one now, because I'm going to be juggling a lot this year with 5 school-age dc.
Our schedule is not too specific, and I won't stress if it needs adjustment!
7:30 a.m. Wake up, individual devotions, get dressed, make beds, breakfast
8:30 a.m. Bible time (memory work, Bible story)
8:50 a.m. Math (everyone works on math at the same time and I'll be available for flashcards, setting speed drill timers, answering questions, etc)
9:50 a.m. snack
10:00 a.m. Language Arts (everyone works on LA subjects at the same time and I'll be available to help where needed.)
11:00 a.m. Latin (the oldest 3 will sit at the table and I'll teach the lesson at the whiteboard. The youngest 3 can go play in the playroom.)
11:30 a.m. History (everyone together in the living room or at the kitchen table; haven't decided yet)
12:00 p.m. Lunch
12:30 p.m. Science (7th grade independently, 4th and 6th graders with me. Free reading time for the 1st and 2nd graders.
1:00 p.m. Science (1st and 2nd graders with me). Free reading time for the 7th, 6th, and 4th graders.
1:30 p.m. Misc subjects (Logic on Tuesdays, Nature Walk on Thursdays, Art on Fridays)
2:00 p.m. Piano practice (plus finish up any uncompleted work). One person has typing/computer time each day during this time as well.
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My preschooler has colored some with dry-erase markers on some of those wipe-off books and he does a pretty good job not making a big mess. The markers I let him use weren't new though; they were getting close to going dry.
It looks like we are definitely going the Lowe's route, and I'm going to buy some good markers for ME to use on the board. They will be kept on top of the refrigerator. I told dh I don't want/need a tray for the markers right there at the board; that way the dc will be less likely to doodle on the whiteboard. (I want the Latin lessons I write on it to stay there for several days, not get scribbled over.) If my dc want to draw on a whiteboard, they can use one of our small ones like they've always done (using dollar store markers, so it won't matter as much if they leave a cap off!)
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I know that MOH asks people to take down free notebooking pages that correspond with their books, but I did find a set that goes with Vol 1 (the order was changed so it didn't match the TOC of MOH, but everything was still there). Is there a set somewhere that goes with Vol 2? I really don't want to spend $20 for the official set, not knowing yet if we are actually going to use them (still working on the planning details for how we are going to do MOH). I'd love to find some free pages. Anyone know of any?
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I'm having a hard time finding it on their website but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't carry it, just that it's hard to find. I did find this, which may work well for you.
Thank you!
I really can't beat the price, even with having dh add some wood trim. I'm thinking this will be what we go with.
Help! The dawdling is killing me. Any advice?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
One thing that helped my ds for a while was to give him a timer. He would set it for 5 minutes, and had to work as hard as he could for that 5 minutes. Then, he would take a 5 minute break. Then he would work for 5 more minutes. Before long, he started working for longer and longer because he realized he'd have more free time if he would just finish his schoolwork. Sometimes he would skip the break if he was close to finishing an assignment. Even if he did take all of the 5 minute breaks, he was still finishing his work more quickly than he was before. He only used a timer for a few weeks; he got to where he just didn't need it anymore. He's in 4th grade now and gets his work done pretty quickly most of the time. The only time he dawdles is when he is having trouble with math. If I sit with him and help him as needed, he gets right back to work.
ETA: I do think he would have outgrown the dawdling even without the timer or the other tricks we tried (like switching around the order of his subjects) because I've seen it with my other dc too. They eventually reach a point where they realize that they are wasting away their own free time, so they might as well get the work done! Just be patient until they figure it out!