JeanM
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Posts posted by JeanM
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Sorry, I'm still figuring out this new board format. I'm not sure how best to reply to individual messages.
Thanks for the all of the great suggestions!
Now I have to decide which to choose. Money is an issue, although maybe once if we get a big tax refund we could afford some of the more expensive programs. I also really like the idea of investing in a program that my children will eventually use.
Kendall, I'm looking at the books you recommended. The "Lost Tools of Writing" sounds like a great program. Do you need the whole program or can you just buy the teacher's guide and get most of the benefit?
Jan P., I didn't see a an actual sample of the book at the Amazon site. Did I miss it somehow?
Quiver0f10, which writing courses are you considering? Maybe I can sign up too!
Thanks everyone!
Jean
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I'm mostly a lurker here. I'm just starting to try to lose weight. I've been too scared to weigh myself, but forced myself to do it today. My current goals are to watch my portion sizes, cut out most sweets and exercise at least 4 times a week. It is hard because it has been very cold here (Michigan) and I just want to sit inside and eat comfort food. We have snow today though, so I'm sure I'll be out with my boys.
Jean
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We have been taking summers off, although that doesn't mean that all learning instantly stops. We do lots of reading, exploring new interests and I still require a little math practice each week, just so it doesn't all go out the window.
Jean
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My kids are still young (ages 8 and 6), but I'm worried about my own writing skills (or lack thereof). I would really like to be more confident in instructing and correcting their writing. I also would like to improve my own writing for possible professional reasons. I'm embarrassed to say that even though I have a Ph.D. in my field, I have learned at least a few things from going through "Growing with Grammar" with my 8 yo. Very sad! :(
I figure I'd better start now so I can get a head start.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jean
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I pull most stuff together myself. I've been thinking more about boxed curriculum lately though. It is a lack of energy thing on my part.
Jean
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This happens to me all the time! Both of my children are absolutely terrible at judging time. My older ds has been known to get really mad at younger ds, claiming "he said he'd play and now he changed his mind." I have to explain to older ds that his brother *did* play for over an hour.
I try to be flexible on the schedule. There is no way that we could stick to the clock for a rigid schedule. If it doesn't get done right now, we'll probably get it done this afternoon. If it doesn't get done today, it will probably get done tomorrow. If we do that too often though, I get strict and say that everything on their list must get done.
Jean
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Her argument is illogical, in my opinion. I struggle with the disapproving relatives all the time, although it is mostly my relatives, not my inlaws, that are the problem. I have not found any real way of convincing them, but I find that *I* need affirmation after spending too much time with the relatives. These boards help, as do good homeschooling books.
My mom is actually one of my biggest critics. Just this past Christmas, she was telling me how my brother's son (age 7) is having issues in school with bullies and other problems. She actually said the words "maybe homeschooling isn't so bad", then she clapped her hand over her mouth and said she took it back. I can see that she may come around eventually though.
Stay strong, it isn't easy!
Jean
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Hi, my name is Jean. I'm homeschooling two boys, ages 8 and 6. We live in Michigan with one dog and assorted fish. I love reading about curriculum, and lurked a bit on the old boards. I'm going to try to be more active here.
Jean
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I'm Jean, and I'm homeschooling two boys ages 8 and 6. We're currently living in Michigan, although that may change this spring if DH gets a new job. We've homeschooled since halfway through my elder ds's kindergarten year. I guess that would be almost exactly three years now. Most of the time I love it.
I was working part-time from home until I lost my job a year and a half ago. I just interviewed for another at-home job, but don't know yet if I'll get it.
Jean
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I don't really know too much about the whole testing process, so I'm not much help there. I do know that at least at one time, the hoagies gifted website had a page that listed different psychologists by state. I think that at least one person had to have had personal experience with the psychologist in order for them to be on the list.
Also the book "Quirky Kids" has a lot of good information, if you want a book recommendation.
Good luck,
Jean
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I'm in southeast Michigan, at least for now. May be moving sometime this spring.
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Well the easy question to answer is what makes my children accelerated is that some of the material they use is above where they should be for their ages.
As far as giftedness goes, my older ds has had iq testing done and is officially "gifted" by tests. One way that both kids show that they are gifted is by how fast they catch on to things. My older ds has a very good memory, except for how to spell words. And they both have large vocabularies and tend to sound much older than they are. Honestly, my younger ds has always turned heads more than older ds, just because he is small for his age. Older ds is large and people tend to just assume that he is older than he really is.
Their behavior is not "gifted" though!
Jean
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I'm not a member. I think I briefly considered it when much younger, but never pursued it. I'm curious as to what it would be like for children. Can you visit a meeting a see what it is like first?
Jean
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Hmm, I never buy books based on my dc's output level. Well, at least not anything except handwriting. Both of your children sound like they are doing great. My 8 yo also cannot do anything if left unattended.
Do you have a good library? What subjects are you looking for? It doesn't really work to skip stuff in science or history, but you can buy more challenging material. Do you have to purchase everything now for next year?
I'm afraid I'm not much help,
Jean
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I waited until my older ds (now age 8) was in 1st grade to do SOTW, but that was because he was (and is) very sensitive and I thought some of the topics would upset him. SOTW is great and my older ds LOVES it, younger ds tolerates it. Personally, I'd say go ahead and get it if you want to. You can always take it slowly, take time to read lots of extra books and process it.
As far as handwriting goes, my oldest had major issues and I did a lot of writing for him in math and other topics. He finally does almost all of it himself, although he still would prefer for me to do it. I wouldn't hold him back because of handwriting issues, but that is just my opinion.
Good luck,
Jean:)
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I've got two boys - ages 8 and 6!
Jean
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DS8 is reading a lot of books simultaneously, which makes me a little crazy, but I don't complain too much. He is reading "Dragon Rider", "Lord Brocktree" (one of the Redwall series), "Robin Hood (Howard Pyle) and an Encyclopedia Brown book.
DS6 is reading a book called "Sea Monsters" or something like that - it is about prehistoric sea animals. He also is constantly reading Calvin and Hobbes or Garfield.
They are both listening to "Calling on Dragons" on CD, I think they have one more CD to go. And we are reading aloud both "Ice Fire" and "Winter Holiday" (a Swallows and Amazons) book. Oh, and they were listening to "Prince Caspian" on CD, but the CD stopped working so they are temporarily stuck. We'll get the book version from the library soon.
I'm making notes of lots of books in this thread; this is great. I also loved "Ballet Shoes" and other "Shoes" books!
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Well I typed up one intro, but somehow lost it. I'm homeschooling 2 boys, ages 6 1/2 and 8 (almost 9). I'm a biologist and I was working part-time at-home until last year when I lost my job. I just interviewed for another part-time at-home job, but am not sure if I'll get it. I'm not sure I want the job anyway, although we could use the money.
My oldest ds loves history and science, and is fairly good at math although he doesn't like it. He really struggles with handwriting and spelling. He has had fine motor problems and sensory issues for most of his life. He had a hard time with reading, but now reads very well and says that he loves it. He likes sports, although he is not very good at them, and loves legos and most of all loves "pretend" games.
My younger ds had no trouble with learning to read, although he claims he doesn't like to read. He has a harder time with math than his older brother and he doesn't really like history. He also loves legos, hot wheels and board games. He sometimes likes his brother's pretend games, but not often enough to please older bro.
Jean
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What a relief! I must admit I also wasted time trying to help get the board to "flip".
Jean
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You know it sounds to me like there are two separate issues. One is that he doesn't have his facts memorized. I've personally dealt with that by continuing to work on facts, but also moving on to more interesting math. I know many people believe you shouldn't move on until the facts are down, but it has worked for us and eventually ds got the facts down.
It also sounds like he is having some issues with really understanding some of the stuff though. You said:
"He knows how to skip count by 2's through 5's, but has trouble translating that into 5x3=."
Unfortunately I don't really know what would help him. I've only used Singapore with my dc, but maybe MUS would help. Is he a visual learner?
Sorry I'm not much help,
Jean
Do you love your local library?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
We go every week and we all love it! I almost always have holds waiting for me, and the librarians are wonderful.
Jean