kaxy
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Posts posted by kaxy
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I used AAR for my firstborn, and I'm doing loe foundations for my next kid. So far, I like the whole body activity and not those fluency pages that can overwhelm a child like AAR has.
Lots of bits and pieces, but I do think LOE is solid. Using Essentials with my firstborn now.
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Don't forget field trip possibilities -- are you near anything that has an air/space/flight exhibit?
Would also suggest following some of NASA's updates, and also SpaceX and their launch schedule. THEY LANDED A ROCKET ON A BARGE IN THE OCEAN WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT. Amazing stuff!
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Not sure which bridge, but I used to live in Pittsburgh and it was kind of a running joke for planning something: "Do I need to cross a bridge? Go through a tunnel? Do I reaaaaaaaally want to do this thing?" haha.
It sounds like too much. You already have soccer and outings. What about a library class? Some libraries have daytime story hour for that age set, and you might get some regulars.
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I also am planning on using Exploring Nature with Children -- it looks doable and fun, and educational for all. I say just jump in. Can you have too much nature study? Nah.
How does weekly sound to you? And more time in nature is a bonus?
We're also planning on linking up with some fellow homeschoolers for group nature study. Don't let it overwhelm you. Just be out in nature to start.
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You said "cursor," so I'm assuming this is an on-screen reading? Sometimes I have trouble with tracking if I've been looking at a screen too long. How does he do with a physical book in hand? (Or whoops, is this a physical book with some sort of physical tracking?)
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My goal is to be done with academics by lunchtime each day. I have a Ker and 2nd grader. I don't want dawdling over a lesson; full attention and a short lesson is preferred over here.
I want the afternoons to be open for free play, parks, museums, whatever. There's some time in the morning for play if they're up early enough. Play and free time, and time outdoors is important! Not just for our young ones, but I think all people benefit. Work hard, play hard.-
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We are using and loving Long Story Short. Check out the samples. You use a full Bible in your preferred translation, and you read a passage and ask some questions (with desired answers). The beauty of it is how they pull some examples from modern life, but also how in one week, we might be in the Old Testament, some Psalms or Proverbs, and New Testament all seeing how they are connected and pointing to Jesus.
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Call the RightStart office for sure. They can help you get a better fit. Perhaps doing some specific card games for awhile will help make C a successful year for her.
More important than being on grade level is making sure she has solid understanding and is able to break through those walls.
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Also, part of the fun of reading old books is that the cadence is different, and if you change the punctuation/usage you can lose that. I'd teach that too.
So true on affecting the cadence! Sure, we might have a few correct ways of punctuating a sentence. But more importantly, I think we need to err on the side of the author. Sometimes incorrect grammar or usage is an intentional plot device, or is used within dialog.
Ugh, those Eloise books come to mind! Bad writing, intentionally. :lol:
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I would change the commas to reflect the rules I was teaching. So if I were to have my child copy those passages, I'd change them to read:
So, as far as the little girl could see, there was only the one little house where she lived with her father and mother, her sister Mary, and baby sister Carrie. (p. 2)
[...]
The little girl was named Laura, and she called her father Pa and her mother Ma. (p. 2)
My gut is to lean to the original and have no comma following the "so," but I can see the argument for putting one there. I definitely prefer a comma following "Mary." I also would keep the commas to offset Pa and Ma in the 2nd example.
Ai yi yi, commas! Sometimes, there is one right answer. Sometimes, I think there are a few ways that would work.
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My pal @Domestic_Engineer and I just hashed out a few things via email, and I'd like to submit the topic to the Hive.
With regard to copywork, do we yield to the book and its editor as the final say? What if we disagree with comma usage within? Do we teach alternatives, or do we emphasize the original?
For example, I chose what I thought was an innocuous passage from Little House in the Big Woods. I've triple-checked my transcription for accuracy, and it is as follows:
So as far as the little girl could see, there was only the one little house where she lived with her father and mother, her sister Mary and baby sister Carrie. (p. 2)
[...]
The little girl was named Laura and she called her father, Pa, and her mother, Ma. (p. 2)
Would you change commas in those sentences? Add some, perhaps? Or is it 100% accurate as-is?
To my second and larger point, when choosing copywork from our books, do we teach the grammar and mechanics as we see it in the book? What if we prefer an Oxford comma? Do we change the text to meet our end goal? I had another example copywork selection from Paddle-to-the-Sea. The comma usage within was debatable. Do we even go there in that debate with our child and make edits to the original text or suggest alternates? I feel like I ought to be able to trust the grammar in classic books, and while typos exist in virtually any published work, there is strong likelihood that the book is correct.
Is it risky choosing our own copywork? Should I just use copywork selections from credible sources (WWE, BW, etc.)?Third point: I want to remediate my own understanding of grammar/mechanics/usage. Do you have recommendations for me? Maybe a book or three, or maybe a just-the-facts worktext.
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I'm another OneNote user. I prefer the free OneNote 2013 desktop version, so if your machine has an older version installed, check out the 2013. I made a table in Excel and copy/pasted that thing into OneNote where I further tweaked it. Once I had it where I wanted it for the year (roughly), I saved it as a template for that tab, and with one click can add a new page for the following week using the same template.
Here is a sample notebook I made to share with others. If you click it, it will open in the OneNote web version which looks different than the 2013 desktop, but whatev. https://1drv.ms/u/s!ArdMArD0t_oJmURaLjGtx9tnu9XK
Hope that is helpful to someone. Feel free to ask questions or PM me if needed.
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Is it the variety and the pre-planning drawing you to Mystery Science? Or the format? Maybe both?
My science-loving 7yo did a bunch of the lessons a few months ago when there was the free trial going on (I think you can still see the content of the first lesson per unit?) and it was fun, but I also would want to add library books to the topics. In the end, he plowed through too much too fast for me to justify a subscription for that particular kid.
I'm wondering if you'd like BFSU? You'd get variety, and it wouldn't take as much of the budget.
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One other thing to add -- unless you have legal requirements to do so, don't worry about scrambling around getting your new choices finalized right away. Take your time with it and compare options, look at samples, and see what your local group can maybe show & tell or lend.
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I think the MFWK library list and lit pack is still very good, so do those in addition to science and Bible if you want. I liked all but The Rainbow Fish.
Those are GREAT science toys he'll be getting for his birthday!
Depending on his reading comfort, it might make sense for you to do All About Reading in addition to AAS. Or, if you want to save $$ and think that AAR might be a big overkill, do AAS, and also get the AAR readers if you can. They are well done and help build fluency. All About Spelling is a complete phonics program, coming at it from the encoding perspective (vs. decoding with AAR). Before AAR came out, some folks used AAS to help teach their kids how to read. I do think it makes sense to go through phonics intentionally, even though he's reading some.Agree with suggestion for FIAR titles and Read-Aloud Handbook.
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Yeah...I started with MFWK for my eldest's kindergarten year, and quickly came to the same conclusion that I needed to remove their 3Rs and do my own. Kind of a waste at that point, though there were some books and activities we ended up enjoying. Still, I suspect grade-in-a-box won't be a good fit for you.
I'm not sure what would be good fits for your son, perhaps Logic of English, perhaps All About Spelling, perhaps Rightstart Math? Perhaps the bits and bops of those programs might serve as too much distraction, though.
Anyway, your gut is right that MFWK didn't end up being a good fit as-is. Whether you keep some of it or scrap it all together, good luck!
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Wanted to share, you might be able to tweak the Goodreads settings to hide the uh, other stuff:
Go to your feed in your desktop. There's a settings icon on the right. See if "everyone" is selected and if so, change to "friends and following." You can also select which items you'd want to appear in the feed.
I'd paste a screenshot in here but I don't see how.
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Are you using first or second ed. Of Rightstart?
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Thanks, all! He's really excited to learn more, and exactly as momacacia said, it can let us know if we ought to pursue private lessons at some point.
I'm not clear on the 2.0 option, but I'm sure they will have samples available when the time comes. I'll have to figure out if it makes more sense to buy a unit at a time or bundle the first 6 in light of the membership site launching soon.
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Keva planks! My 7yo makes amazing structures with these. He also is into Lego and Snap Circuits
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TL;DR: Is an online piano course fine for my 7yo as a first (and possibly final) instruction in piano? Will it be an acceptable first step before private lessons? Or, could it be harmful?
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My 7yo has enjoyed plunking around on our digital piano, composing his own songs and learning some tunes via the built-in program. Without instruction, he has poor technique and isn't learning music theory this way, so I'd like to be intentional with his piano and music theory instruction. For this kid, I suspect it will be a hobby and not a life-long pursuit. Maybe he'll join a homeschool band or something if interest and opportunity presents itself.
I inquired about some private lessons, but my husband thinks at this age and stage, it is an unnecessary expense. He questions whether we can handle the year-long weekly commitment (and having to entertain/occupy my younger kids somewhere else), but also if we should commit to something that he might not want to pursue long-term as a weekly class with daily practice at this age. And yah again, the price tag he thought was a bit much for right now.
As an alternative, I had him do a few lessons of Hoffman Academy. We love it so far -- the methodology, Mr. Hoffman's demeanor, and how it will encourage such enjoyment of creating music. I will buy the downloads/join the 2.0 site when it launches to round it out.
It seems to me, if a student only wishes to have a casual, passing ability to play piano or make music, Hoffman Academy ought to be sufficient to meet that end. If he wanted to pursue further piano or another instrument, I'm thinking HA would lay a good foundation....right?
Or, would it be more likely that without a private instructor seeing my child's weekly progress, he might develop bad habits that are hard to break? I would be actively involved with viewing the lessons and making sure he is following instructions with regard to form and technique, to the best of my own ability -- but my own musical background is just a few years of elementary-age violin in a group setting, a year or so of piano, and 4 years of choir. I'm not a musician.
I'm overthinking this, but I welcome any input. Is "good enough" fine here? Thank you!
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I feel like I am trying to cram too much in. Likely.
2nd grade science-lover:
Math: Rightstart B (last few lessons, then C)
Spelling: AAS at whatever pace
Handwriting: Rhythm of Handwriting cursive, then copywork
LA: Copywork, dictation, narrations for most readings, loooosely maybe following WWE main book for progression. We'll see. Mad Libs, Grammaropolis, and Schoolhouse Rock thrown in.
Science: BFSU, nature study, reading nature lore, Intelligo Astronomy unit study (was a freebie on the coop awhile back and I'm hoping the links save me some prep time), on his own reading/experiments/whatever
History: Truthquest 1
Independent workbooks when I feel like getting them involved: Maps, Charts, and Graphs; Vocabulary Workshop Green; Process Skills in Problem Solving (math)
Kindergartener, lover of beautiful things, somewhat resistant/combative over sit-down stuff so this might happen much later:
Morning time
LA: Logic of English Foundations A
Math: Rightstart A
- Some read-alouds tailored to her, maybe from My Father's World K? I used part of it with my firstborn, maybe I will do Bible, book, and certain activities with her.
- Field trips, nature study, time to PLAY
2yo, turning 3 in September:
- lol.
Morning time on a rotation of some kind. Not all every day, or every term:
- Bible with Long Story Short (continuing); maybe switching it up with Jesus Storybook Bible or Gospel Story Bible
- Hymn
- 1 poem a day
- Various lit: nature lore, history, science topics, fables, tales, lit, etc.etc.
- Picture study
- Vocabulary Cartoon of the Day
- Art Class DVD lesson
- Classical Kids podcast episode
- Song School Spanish
Car school:
- Just some selections of audio books at the ready, music, poetry, etc. Stuff for while we're driving about if we wanna
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What drew me to TQ was the freedom to follow my own pacing, choose my own books from the curated list, and discussing them. My son is only a rising 2nd grader, so I'm good with narrations and general discussion at this stage.
I'm wondering if it will move more smoothly for you if you prepare a procedure for how you want to do TQ. Have you seen this on Pam Barnhill's blog? I like it! http://edsnapshots.com/homeschool-procedures/
Maybe you could map out a general procedure and loop through activities, or just choose from what most makes sense.
figuring out reading/language arts
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
What you are doing now is great and plenty! Let him read, discuss as a way of further enjoying a book rather than it being a quiz type of thing.
Later, you could maybe do Brave Writer Quiver of Arrows or regular Arrows if you wanted to spend a little more time with one book per month. Cheaper on hsbc if you went that route.