I'm jsut looking at using it right now, but for me, I'm a little concerned about the metrics. Mostly because I don't understand metrics, and not sure how to switch back and forth from metric to standard measurements.

My dd (who has an ld) when reading words that end in 'g' always wants to put an n sound infront of the g. Pig comes out ping, dig is ding, rag is rang (pronounced like rag, but with an n sound, rather than pronouncing it like rang). If I can get her to go back and look at each letter and sound them out, sometimes she gets it, sometimes she still puts the n in there and I have to help her sound it out. I'm looking for suggestions on how to help her with this. :bigear:

One of my dd's turned 5 in July, then was supposed to be enrolled in K in August because of compulsory attendance laws. She was no where ready, she had only just turned 5, and was still really more of a 4 yo than a 5 yo. That's the year I decided to homeschool, so I kept her at home with me. We had lots of creative play, read good books, lots of arts and crafts, learned a new letter and number each week. That's it. I didn't teach reading or math or anything academic till the next year, about midway thru, when she was more developmentally ready. There's a lot to be said for doing things when children are ready for them as opposed to when ps schedules children to do them. When they're grown, I don't think it it will matter if they went to K at age 5 or started 1st at age 7 instead.

I graduated in 95. I took Algebra 1 in 8th because I was in honors/GT classes and that's what 8th grade math was for the advanced classes. In 9th I took Geometry, but failed it because I completely did not get it. So in 10th I took informal geometry, then 11 I think was Algebra II? then my senior year was Advanced Math.

Where do you find this? We're doing starfall.com, waldorf craft/ play activites, and different activites that focus on colors, shapes and numbers. Later I'm thinking of adding in maybe R&S workbooks and Singapore Early bird

it turned out great! Really crispy, and the only mess was on the cookie sheet. Gretchen, does the parchment paper catch all the grease like the foil?

Thanks! I've got some in the oven... we'll see what happens. I've got one that likes floppy bacon, the others like it medium crispy, and I like it just shy of charcoal. LOL

Oh, that sounds so much less messy than frying! Does it come out crispy?

Anyone bake their bacon instead of frying it? How do you do it? Do you do it in a casserole dish or a cast iron skillet?

My ds is doing La Clasa Divertida with his sisters (we only just started it). He doesn't do the workbooks or anything, just watches the video and does some of the activities. BUt he's picking up the songs and likes me to sing them with him. He seems to be doing just as well with it as his sisters and I.

Are the materials for the "reception" level available on MEP?

To me homeschooling is doing school at home. Personally, I'm not crazy about that idea. But it works for a lot of people. Radical unschooling, to me, is not doing school at home at all, and letting pretty much have their way all day every day. Not too crazy about that idea either. I don't think it's what John Holt had in mind. I can see it working with the right set of parents and kids, tho. I need to have more control over the situation than this. Uschooling, to me, is child led learning. I don't think it means the child is in control completely, but that the parents role is to aid the child in educating him/her self. How this is applied can encompass anything from following the child's interest from one day to the next to sitting down doing school everyday if that is what your child wants/needs. I think it's a very broad road. To me, I think it's really important to follow their interest, to view the whole world and everything in it as educational, to not limit education to something that happenes at a certain time of day during certain months of the year. I love what John Holt said about learning to learn rather than learning to be taught, and love the idea of learning in freedom. BUt there are certain things they have to know in this life, and it's my job to make certain they get that. Their minds do need some discipline, and they do need guidance, and do need to do things they don't want to do. I have one child who is very self motivated and can teach herself most things, another who needs lots and lots of work on everything with lots of help from mom. I can turn them both loose and see them learns tons of fabulous things all on their own too tho. So for our family I prefer a middle ground, I say that we somewhat unschool. They are free to follow what ever is exciting to them everyday, but I make sure they get all the major subjects in everyday-- they can go about learning them in whatever way works today, whatever is fun and exciting and makes them love learning, just so long as they get everything they need.

No, I don't have excel.

When planning out you're day with older children, then trying to work in a younger child, how to you work preschool in? What does your day look like? I'm going to have 8, 9 and 4 yo's this year, and I'm planning out the 8and 9yo's schedule, and trying to figure out how to work in the 4 yo so he gets plenty of mommy time and everything I have planned for him this year

To schedule school and chores this year. What I want it to look like is something like Motivated Moms chore charts where Daily Chores is listed down one side then days of the week with what is to be done each day is listed across, and has check boxes. But I don't have anything on my computer to make something like that. Is there somewhere I can get a template?

How do you get the password for MEP math?

Yes. We're just finding classical education, but probably fall more into the eclectic sometimes unschooling catagory. :)

The unschooling family I mentioned in my earlier post, she loaned me the book Family Math. I haven't had a chance to sit down and go all the way thru it yet. Someone also gave me the book , oh, I can't remember what the exact name is right now. It think it's some like Math for peole who hate math, similar to family math. They both look really good and I'm looking forward to trying some activities from them.

I don't see why it necessarily would be. There are unschoolers who classically educate.

Thanks for the living math recommendation. It does look really good, I like how she coordinates it with history. We all love studying history around here. Math on the level does look tempting... but the price! I know it would last a while tho.... I might have to save up for that.

Thanks, I'll check it out. Games are a really great way for learning lots of things, I can see playing cards as a good way for learning math. Sounds like fun!

Thank you! I'll check into that

Thank you for sharing! I had been considering getting the kids a bunch of change and pricing everything in the house. Charge them for meals, or watching TV, or whatever. I like how you started it with your kids so young. I'll make a mindfull effort to do that with my baby as well as my girls. I do something like that with words with him now, I don't know why I never considered working math in that way too. :001_smile:

She doesn't have an LD, I don't believe. I would seriously be shocked if she did. She just doesn't get math the way math is taught as a subject. I think it's because it's so out of context. I feel that learning 'real life' math would be more beneficial to her, I just have to rearrange my thinking-- having never been taught that way myself-- and figure out ways to include math in everyday things. So I'm looking for suggestions to creative ways of teaching math to get me started in that direction. :)

Unschooling means so many different things to so many people, that's why I asked how you go about it. ;) Thank you for sharing your view on it.