elw_miller
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Posts posted by elw_miller
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I got my daughter's violin (when she was 3) off eBay. However, I watched and watched until I found one being sold from a school music program. I had also heard about the terrible quality of most inexpensive violins. My daughter's violin teacher thought the 1/10 violin was excellent quality--much better than what she usually saw for that size. A local luthier was also impressed with the quality.
So, if you can find one being sold by a music program, they should be pretty good. My daughter's cost $125, I think. A private seller for larger sizes should be pretty good, too.
You might also look to the rent-to-own programs. A portion of your rental fee gets saved up towards purchasing an instrument. We'll be doing this for the cello.
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My childbirth educator homeschooled one of her daughters who was having trouble concentrating in school because she wanted to move so much. It seemed to help her concentrate on schoolwork if she sat on a birth ball (exercise ball) while she worked. She was an older child, though.
Good luck!
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NOT Shakespeare in Love -- sex scenes, nudity. I think it's excessive and I'm a grown-up! :)
Mel Gibson's Hamlet might be okay. I don't recall any nudity or sex scenes, but it has been quite awhile since I saw it. I think the acting is superb. If I recall, Branagh's Hamlet has eroticism in Ophelia's mad scene; she's mostly clothed, but still.
Julius Caesar (1953) should be pretty free from nudity, etc.
I haven't watched any Olivier productions. They may be okay if they are older films.
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Enchanted Learning may have cards or other low-prep fun activities. We use some of their freebies, but I may join ($20/year I think) since so many of the member activities look super.
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Are you set on getting a curriculum?
You may not need to buy something. Lots of preschool language development happens just by reading tons of books and playing around with language.
My daughter is 4 and I would consider her language development to be right on track. We do not have a curriculum. I found preschool developmental guidelines online (PA and IA guidelines) and with What Your Preschooler Needs to Know--for language, math, social skills, etc. and use that as a guide to make sure her learning is broad in scope and thorough.
We read books daily, sometimes several times a day. We sing songs. We tell our own stories. We play games using homemade rhyming cards and read books with rhyming. We play brainstorming games for letters ("how many words can we think of that start with B?"). I have a shallow box of sand in which she practices "writing" her letters. She plays with lacing cards. We talk about interesting pictures--famous painting, magazine advertisements, calendar pictures, etc. We write outside on the sidewalk with chalk.
I do have some lined notebooks and a dry erase board for her to write her letters on if she wishes. We make homemade books about things she's interested in or things I find for her to learn (e.g., butterfly lifecycle)--she can color in the "book" and then write her letters. We watch Old School Sesame Street sometimes, too.
We also encourage her to "read" (narrate) books to her younger brother. She likes telling the story of The Little Engine That Could, for instance. She also acts out some stories we read; she especially likes acting out The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Sorry I couldn't be of any help on "for purchase" curricula. I hope some of these ideas help, though. :) Best of luck!
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I also think very highly of the Montessori Method. I would love to have my dd go to Montessori school, but it is just out of our reach financially. I have tried to do as much as I can here at home. I've read a number of her books, visited several schools (when we were still hoping we could swing it), and I've made a few of my own materials.
The materials are extremely expensive to purchase--well built and beautiful, but out of our price range. We try to do a lot of the Practical Life things by incorporating them into our routine. Dado cubes might be an okay substitute for the Stacking Blocks.
For the Montessori teachers out there, what do you think of the Elizabeth G. Hainstock Teaching Montessori in the Home books? I've made a few of the preschool manipulatives for my dd; they seem to work pretty well. However, not being a Montessori teacher, I am unsure whether it explains the sequencing and demonstrations as well as they could be.
I agree, it is amazing to see lots of 4-year-olds busily and quietly working!
P.S. My DD is 4.
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How did you do all of this with several students? That's another problem - I have 4 other children that I am teaching plus a very busy toddler, so time is limited. I'm not looking for the "fastest way," but I have to face reality in that I only have so many hours in the day.
Hmmm....that's tricky. When I did this with my middle school students it was with the whole class. We read through a challenging short story together; I picked out words and passages that I thought might be tricky and modeled my thought processes or asked questions of the class. Sometimes I had the students pair up to discuss it. We might do this for 15 minutes out of a class or the full 45 minutes--it just depended on the day. It might take a few days, going over a little bit at a time.
How much time do you allocate for his narration? None of this has to be done all at once, every time you narrate. Perhaps choose 1-2 things to work on for a few days, then choose something else, taking about 10 minutes each time (or for the time allotted to narration). Work it in slowly; it will gradually build up.
Do you read books as a family before bed? Maybe incorporate some strategies during this time as you read the stories. Or while you look at magazines at the dentists office. Or when you watch movies.
How old are the other children? Perhaps this could become a sibling activity where everyone discusses the same thing--a movie, favorite comics, a book being read aloud in the evening.
Definitely tricky. :) Good luck!
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So are y'all saying that I should read the books I have him read for reading with him, and have him narrate every paragraph or two? We are working through WWE, so I'm hoping that will help as well.
I don't ask him to narrate the books he reads on his own apart from "so what is your book about?" Of course he rarely reads on his own, so...
Read or be familiar with the same books he's reading for school so you can ask him questions to help strengthen his understanding. If he really seems to struggle with a particular spot, then read with him--having him read and narrate every so often. Be careful not to make him feel like he is being grilled, though. :) Make sure you model how you read and think about the information you're reading, too, so he knows what's expected.
He may not read much on his own because he struggles with understanding what he reads. Perhaps try using comics, like Calvin and Hobbes, that often have several strips that compose a larger story. That may pique his interest and help him follow short storylines that could build his comprehension. Both the artwork and the actual writing could be brought to his attention as means to understand the storyline.
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In all my reading on narration (which granted, hasn't been a TON, but I have read up on it), I haven't seen this addressed, so I'm hoping someone can help me!
Reading comprehension can be an issue for one of my dc in particular. That's all fine and good, but whenever he's telling me about something, rather than say things like, "I don't know," he pretty much makes up this whole new story, based on what he THOUGHT he read (but didn't actually read). If I simply have him narrate to me the things he read, how can I know if he actually understood what he's readng, unless I have actually read the book myself?
He has a smidge of some sort of processing issue, I think - he even has trouble comprehending some movies and even what goes on in real life at times. So it's not specifically a reading issue.
Should I stick with a reading curriculum for him, one that has questions/answers, so that I can make sure he's actually reading the material correctly? Or is there a way to overcome this with narration?
That sounds very creative to me. :) To keep him on track, maybe he could write notes as he reads or make little ticks in the margin when he gets to a spot he doesn't quite understand.
Is he in the habit of asking himself questions about a text or "talking/thinking to himself" as he reads? Things like, what does this word mean? Can I figure it out by the context? I'm not sure what the sentence is saying; I'd better reread it. I'm lost; I think I need to back up a few pages and reread this section.
Does he seem to read very quickly? He may be unintentionally skimming rather than reading for content, and thus misses key information.
Is he doing narration after he reads a whole book? If so, maybe break it down into chapters, segments of chapters, or even paragraphs if need be. After breaking it down into smaller narrations maybe at the end of the book he could then do a final, overall narration.
He may also be the kind of kid who needs to write down his narration or to outline it to help him organize his thoughts and to make sure he understands something before he retells the story to someone else.
You may have to follow along with him for a little while to get him on track to reading with attention. For instance, as you read aloud the same thing he reads silently verbalize your thought processes--the questions you might ask of the text, etc. You can also check his comprehension as you read with him (or at least have read the chapters/books so you're familiar with the info), weaning him from your assistance, until you think his comprehension has made improvements.
I haven't actually started doing official narrations with my daughter yet, but I did teach 8th grade English. This is what I'd do with my students if they seemed to be struggling with a text.
Good luck!
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I echo the L.M Montgomery books and Marguerite Henry (esp. her book about mustangs) suggestions. Not sure what you mean by "non-violent"--does that include books like The Red Badge of Courage or The Killer Angels (both set in the Civil War) or The Lord of the Rings trilogy?
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility. (my favorite is P&P)
Gary Paulsen--Hatchet
C.S. Lewis' Narnia books (e.g., The Horse and His Boy)
A Confederacy of Dunces--I don't think there are any curse words, it's been awhile since I read it, though
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Number the Stars
The Upstairs Room
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
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I, too, like the Kumon books (and some of the other activity books). My DD4 will be the first of 3 kids to use these books. To save money on them, I tear all the pages out, put them in page protectors and put them in 3-ring binders. She uses dry erase markers on them and then wipes them off when she's done.
We do homemade Montessori activities. I made sandpaper letters, sound boxes from film canisters (my mom still uses a film camera), and color tablets. I also have a shallow box filled with sand for tracing letters. I made rhyming/matching cards by printing off pictures from GoogleImages (hat/cat; chair/bear). I made a matching game using stickers and juice can lids. She also works on Practical Life skills by helping around the house. We do number & shape BINGO on homemade cards. She loves playing with stacking/nesting blocks, writing on the dry erase board in the playroom, and playing with puzzles (20-40 pcs.).
We read tons of books, go on nature walks, watch birds and squirrels at our feeders, do LOTS of crafts, build with Legos, visit the zoo and museums. She is involved in Suzuki music, gymnastics, and swimming lessons. I am also in a mom's group, so she has friends through those activities, too.
I looked at curriculum guidelines for PA and IA and the What Your Preschooler Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch. We don't really follow a set routine (need to work on that); I do try to work at least one of these sorts of things in every day, if possible.
For craft books I love The Preschoolers Busy Book. I agree that some of the best learning preschoolers can do is through experiences and using their fine/gross motor skills.
I love hearing everyone's ideas! The suggestions for materials and activities are super. Glad I found this forum!
Favorite Pre-k 4 ??????
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
My dd just turned 4 in February. We got her a small Lego fireman set. She had some assistance putting it together. She loves playing them. The set says for 5+, but my dd seemed ready.
She also got some puzzles: 35 pcs, 60 pcs, and a 100 pc. She can do the 35 pc ones by herself, the 60 pc ones with minimal assistance, and the 100 pc one with a little guidance, too. Ravensburger has some excellent puzzles for little people. She has one with chameleons, elephants, a jungle scene, and an African savannah scene.
One by Abeka(sp?) depicts a British farmers market (the items in the market have the British pound instead of the dollar sign) with all the letters of the alphabet and corresponding pictures across the top and bottom. The alphabet pictures are intermixed into the scene for the kids to find. I really like this 100 pc puzzle because it is easy to put together even for a 4-year-old. The scene is in layers--top layer is part of the alphabet, next layer down is a row of houses and businesses, then a street, then the market, then the bottom layer is the rest of the alphabet.