LauraClark
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Posts posted by LauraClark
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In case you're looking for some kind of benchmark: we started at lesson 150ish at the beginning of this 2nd grade and will finish the book sometime during this year. Not sure if that is average or not, but it gives you an idea of what someone else is doing.
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8 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:
Yes. I start whenever is convenient for our current situation. 2 weeks would be a good amt of time for easing into all subjects, establishing a routing, and recognizing what might need to be tweaked. When you start back, go with the clearer vision.
That is wise advice. This year our first two weeks were alternately great and frustrating and probably having a week off to retweek things would have been perfect.
We do a 6 week on, 1 week off schedule with a short summer break. It is helpful to me to have multiple breaks during the year rather than one long break. I had planned to start Aug 3, but my boys were being way too wrestle-y ALL THE TIME (mixed in with a bunch of crying because they got hurt), so we started July 6. So far so good (now that we're done with week 3 😉). My husband's a ps teacher, but it's nice for him when the kids have something to do and he can get house projects done. We have taken a few days off for family hiking trips. Homeschooling flexibility is wonderful!
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On 7/18/2020 at 5:09 PM, AnneGG said:
This is helpful, thank you! I like the idea of only an hour spent on the activities.
I don’t know what my issue is. It’s kindergarten, I shouldn’t be this stressed over it!You're not alone. Especially with child #1-EVERYTHING was stressful. It still is to some extent. So don't think there's something wrong with you. 😊
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The nice thing about people who go crazy with conspiracy theories is that they really aren't interested in hearing what you have to say/don't give you an opportunity to say anything. So you don't really have to worry about how you should respond.
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1 hour ago, alisoncooks said:
Yes! My kids never told me when they outgrew shoes. I'm surprised none of their toes permanently curl under.
My kids only tell me they outgrew their shoes when we're running out the door to church. I'm the world's best mom when I respond: "Can't you just squeeze them in for today?"
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There are no specific readers suggested. We've just used whatever we had-bob books, progressive phonics (really short silly paragraphs we found online), hooked on phonics... Eventually we moved on to level 1/level 2 readers from the library.
I think TWTM suggests waiting to start spelling until half way through OPG (which is about 1st grade for us). We start spelling and grammar (FLL) in 1st grade. We just start super easy spelling words-in fact, I take spelling words (or even sentences) from the first lessons of OPG. I found that spelling helped to reinforce the reading.
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6 hours ago, Little Green Leaves said:
And I wish that while we chatted there were machines whirring away in the background, straightening up the house and washing the dishes.
Yes! My biggest frustration with myself is my constant distraction with housework. So, "I wish we could just do THIS for homeschooling...": stay focused. Both me with my housework and DS8 with his staring out the window.
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On 5/11/2020 at 1:45 PM, EmilyGF said:
Yes! One size does not fit all. DD4 is enjoying listening into me reading Lord of the Rings to my older kids (15, 13, 11), but ds8 was really disturbed by the book and on the verge of tears after the first few chapters. He said, "I'm not old enough for this!" It wasn't from lack of understanding but from over-connection.
Dd4 can handle it because she doesn't emotionally connect with the story, but ds8 is very extreme emotionally and it upset him a lot. But it was my friend's 6-yo's favorite. (Now ds8 is reading Hobbit with dad while I read LotR with big kids.)
Emily
Yes! I think this might be why you hear the "age appropriate" comments. Ain't no way I'm reading that book to my ds8 for at least 2 years-he would be very scared. We've read The Hobbit, but that is more made for kids than LOTR (and when we watched the old cartoon version of The Hobbit ds8 was terrified of the oarcs). My ds6, however, would probably enjoy it (but I'll wait until I can read it to both of them together). But I'm looking forward to reading it to them some day-one of my favorites 🙂
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Just adding my encouragement that I have my thing too: art. And I LOVE art (so do my kids). But it's messy and by the time we get our other stuff done I'm tired...so it finds a way of slipping through the cracks. Next year I'm doing an art class for my kids and a few of our friends. It will be on Friday, the day when we don't do our normal math, l.a., history, etc. I'm planning Friday to be our "fun" day.
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I'm looking for creative ideas on making our science "stick" a little more (2nd and 4th grade). I'd like something tangible. In history we have been creating lapbooks and this next year I want to really encourage their creativity with it and have them create their own pages based on what we read. All that to say, they might be tired of lapbooks for our science days. TWTM suggests experiment papers, and we can do some of them, but if we did one for each science lesson they would hate science (too much writing). Our book has questions after each lesson and this year we answered them, but I'd rather see them do something more fun and creative. Ideas?
(We're using Berean Builders Science in the Beginning.)
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Wanted to update everyone: we took a couple months off the curriculum we were using and just did some math related games and I made some of my own worksheets. He seemed to enjoy it a bit more. We've started back to the curriculum and his enjoyment is much better than it was in December. I think school in general is not his favorite thing (maybe I didn't enjoy it at his age either, I don't remember). DS 6 is struggling to focus on math right now so I'm going to take a break with him now and do something else for a bit. Basically, I just wanted to say thanks: this post gave me a ton of ideas, permission to take a break, and encouragement that I didn't need to recreate the math curriculum wheel. I have a feeling this will be a recurring cycle of doing the curriculum, taking a break, back to the curriculum - and I'm ok with that now. So, thanks everyone!
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We put everything on the same timeline (science, history, art, music, random things of interest like when diesel trains were invented). Here's some pictures of what we use. We had a very large empty wall so I wanted to create something visually interesting and not just white pieces of paper taped together. I wrapped a couple of foam boards in fabric and then all the paper is cardstock. The circles are about 1".
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We put everything on the same timeline (science, history, art, music, random things of interest like when diesel trains were invented). Here's some pictures of what we use. We had a very large empty wall so I wanted to create something visually interesting and not just white pieces of paper taped together. I wrapped a couple of foam boards in fabric and then all the paper is cardstock. The circles are about 1".
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We've really been enjoying the Science in the Beginning series by Jay Wile. Each lesson is about 2-2.5 pages long (including the experiment). There are experiments each day. They are normally pretty easy, but if it's more in depth than I want for that day (or I don't have the necessary components...who keeps mentos just laying around?!) I usually either do a quick Google/YouTube search (like the mentos in coke experiment) or just talk through the experiment. There are questions at the end of each lesson.
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1 hour ago, square_25 said:
Hmmm, interesting. I would personally be somewhat concerned about this, because if he can't explain with manipulatives, what does he think he's doing when he's "carrying" the ones? I know not everyone agrees with me, but I don't think it's all that useful to teach the algorithm before a child can do this with manipulatives and knows exactly what the steps mean. I'd work on this, personally.
Wow-thank you so much for all these ideas! My plan is to work on place value this week (maybe with both my older boys) as well as addition/subtraction with place value manipulatives. I'll add in some games too. I'm really excited about taking a break from curriculum for a bit and doing some more hands on and fun activities instead. I really can't thank each of you enough!!
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On 12/29/2019 at 8:59 PM, letsplaymath said:
(3) Games are often better than worksheets for providing lots of practice to develop mastery of a topic. Kids enjoy them and don't realize how much math they're doing as they play. I've posted lots of games on my blog that require nothing other than what you already have around the house: cards, dice, pencil and paper, etc. See also Learning the Math Facts.
Thank you so much for all this (and the rest too, I just shortened the quote)! I've got all these bookmarked and am slowly working through them. Already I've found a game that I'm wanting to try instead of the normal multiplication drill. I think maybe if we can keep going through the curriculum (as far as concepts), but do them in a fun way that might be at least part of the solution I'm looking for right now.
On 12/30/2019 at 8:08 AM, sweet2ndchance said:Thirty minutes actually is less than what we do. We do around an hour or so of math but broken up into 15 - 20 minute bites throughout the day. So we may spend one session on a worksheet that is nothing but review for 20 mins in the morning. Then we will play with whatever math concept we are currently working on for 20 mins or so after lunch. Then in the evening after dinner, we might play a game.
I agree with the posters above, you just had a baby, he's only eight, still a baby himself really, and math is important but so is your sanity and your relationship with your son. It is okay to take a break until you have recovered and maybe getting to sleep more than just a couple of hours at a time. I can tell you from experience that everything will be fine.
Thank you - maybe having him do it all at once is a little much. I'll think on how I can break it up into a couple segments during the day instead. Also, thank you for the encouragement - it is so helpful to have others who have been through it tell me that the end will be ok.
21 hours ago, Farrar said:I think part of the issue might be that you think, as you said, that math is math is math and you seem to think that differences between curricula are just window dressing. Let me assure you that that’s simply not true. Take a look at a program like Right Start or Miquon or MEP or Beast Academy. The differences there from what you’re doing with R&S are not window dressing. They have to do with depth, approach, types of problems, scope and sequence... it’s meaningful differences. Even a program like Singapore or Math Mammoth may look not that different, but there’s a different philosophy under the hood. I think much of the discussion in this thread has focused on the practical end of choosing the right math program (or going without one) and that is super important. However, that is the bells and whistles to some extent - the layout or style that hooks you. But there are also deeper philosophical differences between programs.
It’s not recommended like it used to be on these boards, but Liping Ma’s Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics might be a good read for you. Especially the first half is a quick read and may help you see why basic approach really matters. You might also pull up some of the things by AoPS’s Richard Rusczyk - the way he talks about kids’ need to attempt problems that they won’t necessarily be able to solve is great.
I'll look into Liping Ma's book. I guess what I mean by "math is math" is that in the end you have to answer the same math questions. I don't usually even use R&S's teaching manual. I pretty much just teach all the concepts how I want to, anyway. But, maybe it's worth a second (third...fourth?) look at other programs. Maybe they would add a lot to my understanding. Thank you!
17 hours ago, Gil said:I don't want that last part to sound snide, superior or anything like that. It's just plain old logistics.
If I ever wound up HSing another kid or crop of kids, I wouldn't create a customize math textbook for them. I'd use my own explanations and ready-made 3rd-party text for problem sets and exercises and just use my customized lessons/exercises where they fit.
Thank you - that is helpful advice! I guess when I first started this I was just feeling frustrated and blaming the curriculum. But, maybe it's me not explaining things well/not adding in fun things...but you're right, probably doing my own curriculum is not in my son's (or my) best interest.
18 hours ago, Ellie said:Yeah, I've seen that before. I agree: fascinating. I think I have mixed opinions about it.
3 hours ago, square_25 said:I will absolutely make a list with links for you in a few days! Sorry, we've been traveling but still trying to keep up with schoolwork, so it's been hard to find time.
I think one absolutely crucial suggestion I'll make is that you should let your son use manipulatives for as long as he finds it helpful, until he can explain perfectly with or without manipulatives. For example, how would he explain how he adds 34 and 45? How about 46 and 57? How would he explain 60 - 59?
Thank you! That's a good point. I've shown him with manipulatives, but I don't think he completely understood it and would explain 46+57 the standard way (adding the ones place, carrying-over, then adding the tens). Maybe that's something I'll go back to while we're breaking from the curriculum.
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2 hours ago, square_25 said:
Do you want the list of games I've used with my homeschool classes? I've been a bit disappointed by the average games people suggest, because a lot of them are flashcards in disguise and don't actually require active engagement with the ideas. But there are definitely excellent math games out there, too :-). And
I would love your game suggestions if you have time!
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Wow - thanks for all the feedback and ideas everyone!
20 hours ago, Jackie said:We have sometimes done math with a curriculum, and sometimes without, depending on our current mood and goals. We’ve found so many excellent math resources over the years, and most of them are more interesting than the vast majority of curriculum out there. We have taken long breaks from formal math programs and used math games, math puzzles, math videos, and hands-on math.
Math in the early years is pretty sequential: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions/decimals, exponents. You notice pretty quickly if a major concept is missing, because the child won’t be able to apply it to the next concept. There shouldn’t be much issue of missing an essential concept.
Maybe a break is really what we need right now. It's helpful that several people have mentioned that I'll notice if I miss something major. He's asked some questions about negative numbers which I've kind of put off to "we'll learn that later", but maybe we'll jump into that tomorrow and see if that sparks some interest.
@square_25 and @sweet2ndchance: thanks for the worksheet examples. Approximately how much time does math take for your kids? We're at probably 30 minutes (I don't assign all of the problems in each R&S lesson - maybe 1/3), and I'm wondering if the time spent on math is maybe part of the problem here.
17 hours ago, Farrar said:Also, I just realized the OP is using Rod and Staff, not Right Start. I totally misread the R's and S's and missed the & in there. Ugh, yes, please drop that no matter what else you end up doing.
Ha - there sure is a lot of hatred for R&S! Honestly, I've looked at other curriculum and really considered Saxon when we first started, but math is math is math. You can add color and little cartoon characters, but in the end your kids still have to sum 34+25 whether it's in plain black and white or bold red comic sans font with a colorful bear next to it 😃.
19 hours ago, Farrar said:But I honestly think that trying to do all of math long term without a curriculum is time consuming for no reason. It's a ton of effort for something that has already been done pretty well. Like, at one point, for various between programs reasons, I taught some basic skills - basic long division stuff - sans curriculum. I made the worksheets. It was so frickin tedious for me. And I did not do it as well as a good program would have.
That's something I've been thinking about too - the time involved... I just had a baby, I don't even know why I'm thinking about taking this on right now, but it just really bothers me that DS8 hates math so much. But, maybe, like you suggested, taking a break from the curriculum would be helpful.
3 hours ago, Evanthe said:Not to offer you another curriculum, but have you seen Dimensions Math? We are really liking it. It's brand new, so I think they just now got all the levels out. I'm only able to use it for dd12, because it only goes to a certain point.
Have you seen any of these sites? And, yes, I taught awhile without using a curriculum for math when they were little. You just have to kinda know what you're doing (or do a lot of reading). I still have an entire bookshelf of living math books, math dice, math games - they were awesome. A lot of fun. Math doesn't have to be painful. lol
Thank you! I'm slowly going through the list of links you provided.
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We're on break from school for a couple weeks, which always makes me reevaluate what I'm doing/work on doing things better. Plus I'm enjoying reading the in-depth discussions on the general forum about the old-school ways of home educating. Which leads me to math. I LOVED math in school. My 8 yo son hates it. He thinks it's boring and it's the subject that takes up the most time (partly because he drags his feet, but partly just because it's the longest subject). I'm using R&S curriculum right now and we're going through it pretty quickly (I don't assign every problem and sometimes we skip lessons). Right now R&S has us learning the multiplication and division facts. He definitely understands the concept, but just needs to work on memorizing (which I think is important). So a couple of questions: how do you help your child enjoy math? It never occurred to me that my children wouldn't like math since I loved it so much. I'm not sure if it's just that it's not challenging enough (he says he doesn't want anything challenging, though...but I'm not sure he even knows what he wants). Does anyone do math without a curriculum or loosely based on a curriculum? R&S is pretty dry, but I feel like I would miss teaching him things if I went totally without a curriculum (like he'd be in highschool and I'd suddenly realize I never taught him how to read a clock - ha!). Things I'm not interested in: spending a lot of money. I don't want to switch curriculums or buy lots of flashy hands-on things. Square_25 : I feel like you would have suggestions! Thanks!
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I am feeling very encouraged! My current plan is to finish out co-op (because we're committed for the school year and maybe it will turn out to be a good fit after all) and then try the park day again next year. Maybe I'll add in an optional craft or board games for the older kids that no longer enjoy running around the playground. I'm also going to talk to our library today and see if they would be willing to let us meet there when the weather is bad. And, even if no one shows up, it still gets us out of the house once a week. Thank you, all!
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We're doing some extra stuff, but the core of our schooling is:
3rd: Reading: reading a book together (I chose the book based on several lists found online). Grammer: FLL 3. Writing: Writing Strands 3, also learning cursive. Spelling: dictation day by day. Math: R&S.
1st: Reading: OPGtTR and some kind of easy reader. Grammer: FLL 1. Spelling: helps reinforce phonics for us, I just choose a page from OPGtTR, use words from there, and do the standard pretest/practice/test each week. Math: R&S. I don't do any extra writing, just whatever comes up in FLL and spelling.
I know what you mean about R&S dragging a little-if you stick with it I wouldn't be afraid of skipping lessons here and there. I also only sign a fraction of the problems, especially if they are getting it no problem.
Together: Read the Bible, History: SOTW (you could make that as simple and quick as you want-just read the text and ask some review questions), Science: Berean Builders Science in the Beginning (you could make that one quite simple too-sometimes we skip the experiment and just talk about what would happen). Geography: we learn a country a week (right now we're going through Europe. I just show them where it is on the map, review each day, and then they color it in on their map at the end of the week.)
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On 10/28/2019 at 9:02 PM, Momto6inIN said:
I agree with LMD that sometimes it takes time and that many people stress about friendships for their young kids without a whole lot of good reasons to do so.
I would also say that it's rarely successful to form real, lasting friendships when you join an activity specifically so your kids can make friends there. Proximity and forced togetherness =/= relationship. However, whenever we choose activities based on what my kids are interested in and we make a commitment to keep that activity going and invest our time in it, then I often find that my kids make friends naturally and organically.
That's good to know - ditching the co-op idea next year and instead doing some kind of activity they enjoy has been on my mind. I wonder if there are any clubs where the kids do nothing but talk about Star Wars...haha!
On 10/29/2019 at 7:26 AM, ClemsonDana said:Several years ago I might have described our situation the same way. My kids are now 5th and 8th grade and things feel very different, but not in the way that I expected. Now, my kids have buddies at our co-op. It takes a while - many public school kids wouldn't make good friends in the first week or 2 of school, but because co-ops only meet once/week it takes a while to have more than 1-2 weeks worth of 'school days'. After a couple of years of being in the same co-op my kids have great co-op friends, but this doesn't always translate into getting together much outside of co-op. We live almost an hour away from some of these folks, so we aren't likely to do weekly play-dates.
Good point - I'll try waiting it out a bit longer. We're in the same situation - most of the people in our co-op live at least an hour away.
18 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:The best way to have friends is to offer to host other people's kids and be willing to be the host mom a lot of the time. I'm usually willing to take the kids with no mom, although I'd love visiting with moms. But they're busy. That's just the reality that I've found. We're the inviters, the planners. It gets old. But that's what it takes.
I'm glad to know I'm not alone as a planner. Sometimes we get invited somewhere, but usually we instigate all of play dates.
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Thank you, LMD - those are all good points. It has been only 6 sessions, I guess I just hoped my kids would have made some friends at this point. I've tried to get to know some of the moms too, but it has been a struggle (I'd say I'm more introverted, but I really put myself out there when meeting new people). But, maybe I just haven't given it enough time.
Yes, we're still trying to prioritize the 6 family friends we have. It has gotten more difficult now that we have this co-op commitment every other week. I guess maybe I have unrealistic expectations of getting together more often...which really isn't something I have time for either. I want the best of both worlds - lots of time for academics and lots of time for friends - ha!
Thank you for the reminder of romanticizing childhood friendships - very true, I'm not in contact with any of my childhood friends but have made some great and close adult friends.
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How do you find a community of friends for your children? The academic side of homeschooling seems to be going fine, but my kids (boys ages 3, 6, 8) really enjoy being around other kids and I am struggling to make that happen. Last year I just tried to do as many play dates as possible (I'd say we have 6 solid homeschool families we are friends with), but that was exhausting on me. I also signed them up at our local YMCA for a swimming/gym class, but they made 0 friends there (they are naturally pretty social and outgoing). This year we decided to join a co-op which meets every other week. It started in August and both my kids and I have made 0 friends. We live in a pretty rural area. We attend a church and they have made some friends there and we still try to do play dates periodically, but I know they would like more. I don't really know what I'm looking for, but the co-op does not seem to be the answer. There's too much structure, maybe? Maybe the co-op we joined is just unfriendly? I just want my kids to get together with other kids and play. I feel like no one else wants that - every one has signed their kids up for some kind of co-op or other program. I feel very lonely in this position. I'd love someone to commiserate with me or offer suggestions! There's another co-op that is a little closer to our house (but meets every week) - would it be a mistake to try that one? I tried to start my own thing last year of just meeting at a park every other week - several people showed up at first, then it fizzled out and my kids were the only ones attending.
On a separate/related issue: when I was thinking about doing co-op again next year I got kind of excited about possibly teaching some classes (specifically a beginning Koine Greek class and a folk dancing class). If we're not involved in a co-op would it be possible for that to happen or should I let that dream die for now? I think I'm looking for a way to feel useful too (to people other than my family - ha!). Thanks - I know this is pretty rambly, but hopefully someone out there has been through this and can offer some ideas or encouragement!
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Talk to me about your favorite muffin recipes
in The Chat Board
Posted
This is a favorite and it has veggies so I count it as super healthy 😉
https://www.adayinthekitchen.com/flourless-double-chocolate-chip-zucchini-muffins/
I use peanut butter instead of almond butter and sometimes double the zucchini or use grated carrot instead of some zucchini.