freelylearned
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Posts posted by freelylearned
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You know, if your son is enjoying W&R...CAP has a new grammar program called the Well Ordered Language. The first book looks like it was written to complement Fable. We like CAP at our house because the materials are challenging, without too much busywork.
Well Ordered Language doesn't seem as dry as other programs and it doesn't seem to rely on endless drilling. It actually seems like an interesting grammar program. Those are just my impressions from looking at the samples because I haven't ordered it...yet.
I have been shopping for grammar too and this is the first program that I've seen that I didn't immediately hate. I may buy it and adapt it up for my 6th grader because we've been light on formal grammar the last few years. He picks up so much from reading that I haven't had to do much more than use the W&R dictation sentences as a jumping off point for discussing how grammar and mechanics were used in that example. Good luck shopping!
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Other than writing in pen, adding Spanish, and increasing the length of reading and writing assignments, not much looks different at our house. I estimate 6th grade will take another 30-60 minutes longer than 5th grade did.
I plan on adding a little to the workload each year to work up to high school level time and effort commitments over the next few years.
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Most of the ones that I would have mentioned were already listed, but here are a few more ideas:
Johnny Tremain
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (short story)
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (short story)
A drama like West Side Story might be a fun change of pace.
Witch of Blackbird Pond
Sign of the Beaver
Huck Finn
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Poetry of Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, e e cummings
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For my dysgraphic son, we have done well with Singapore math because it has a few well chosen problems per lesson and the workbook has a generous amount of space for writing. I will have him tell me what to do next for the textbook problems or we work them out on our chalkboard. Then he does the workbook on his own. Singapore also teaches mental math for advanced problems, which is great for dysgraphics.
When problems require "lining up" I transfer the problems to graph paper or I will use different colored highlighters to make columns directly on the workbook page.
For fact practice, we us xtramath.com or some of the games on abcya.com.
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I have a bound planner (A Simple Plan) that I track everything in. I track assignments, activities, PE minutes, and even grades right on the weekly planning grid. The grades I put right next to the assignment. I list books read in the notes section next to the grid. I like having everything in one place. At the end of the month when I have to fill out forms for our charter school, I just flip through my planner and pull out the info I need.
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You could make a checklist for your dailies. And then for your LA and FA you could also have a checklist, but leave blank lines underneath to fill in what was actually done. Something like:
[ ] bible
[ ] math
[ ] lit
[ ] CC
[ ] fine arts
_____________
_____________
[ ] language arts
_____________
_____________
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Stick to your guns, he'll get over it. I don't think extreme reactions to losing screen time are that unusual at that age.
You could start an audio book with him or let him listen to podcasts for an hour to ease the transition. He'll still be entertained by electronics, but not in such a passive manner.
You could also start his screen time later (4-6) rather than staying with the same earlier time (1-3). I let my kids have their screen time right before dinner, so when 6:00 comes there is no down time to fill before they go to their dinner chores. Instead of complaining about not playing longer, they realize they are hungry as soon as they hit the power button.
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Last year our schedule looked like this. On Mondays he had class at our charter school and on Tuesday through Thursday, I tried to get all of our formal curriculum done before lunch to allow for free time after lunch.
7:30 Breakfast/Chores/Free Time
8:30-10:00 Math, Handwriting, and Writing (Singapore and W&R or Journal Writing)
10-10:30 Snack and Outside Play/PE
10:30-12ish Spelling (Megawords), History Reading (SOTW) and Narration, Science (REAL Science Odyssey Chemistry) or Geography (Trail Guide to World Geography)
12 or 12:30 Lunch and then Free Time
After lunch, he would either have an elective at his charter school (1-2 days a week) or free time, which he usually used to read, go outside with the neighborhood kids, play Legos, draw, or write stories or draw. Sometimes he would have to finish his morning work or work on a special project for our charter school. I would also do Bible and read alouds during this time. Once a week we go to the library in the afternoons, too. Time permitting, my kids get an hour of screen time, such as computer games or a TV show, while I make dinner. When the weather is nice, they are usually all outside.
He would also do an hour of free reading before bedtime (9:00)
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You'll probably have to plan on teaching or tutoring Math, there really isn't any way around it. But here are some ideas for everything else:
--Give your two older kids a checklist everyday of what they need to do independently so they can work through the list.
--Xtramath.com for math fact practice
--Assign an hour of free reading per day for the two older kids
--Get an Audible subscription and let your kids listen to stories while they work on art projects or life skill projects like folding laundry
--Have your kids keep a daily journal for writing and once or twice a week, have them write about something they've been learning so they get practice in both narrative and expository writing
--Have your oldest watch a history or science documentary once a week and take notes on it
--Your oldest can also keep notebooks in history and science. Add a few facts a day, a diagram, or a short outline and they will fill up fast
--Duolingo for learning a foreign language since it's on line for your oldest, Salsa Spanish is also online and will captivate all of your three youngest
Best wishes! I hope you have a peaceful year!
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My 3 and 5 year old like Listen and Play by BBC. It's great for working on listening skills n
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My kids enjoyed the BOB Books with whatever program I used, because they would quickly amass a stack of books that they could read all by themselves.
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If you really want to teach correct letter formation at three, you can get the Montessori wooden letters that kids trace with their pointer finger. That is probably the only age appropriate way to teach a three year old correct letter formation before their hands aren't ready for writing. HWOT has a preschool prewriting book that you can get, but you should probably get the teacher's guide to go with it for the non workbook activities that are more important than worksheets at that age.
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That's just fine. It will be a really, really long time before her written narrations catch up to her oral narrations, meaning it will be a long time for her to write on the level she thinks. It will also be awhile before her grammar and mechanics become automatic in her writing. I think it's a great starting point for a 3rd grade narration.
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I wasn't a morning person before my kids were born, but I soon figured out that it was very difficult for me to hit the ground running when my kids woke up, usually at 6:00. I needed at least an hour for coffee, devotions, and personal study. So I started setting the alarm for 5:00 am. If I included a little exercise (rounds of counter push ups, squats, heel raises, etc) while I waited for the coffee to brew, it was easier for me to reach full alertness quickly than if I just waited for the coffee to kick in.
Now my internal clock has adjusted and I get up between 4:30 and 5:00 on my own. I DO need to take power nap a couple of times a week since starting an earlier schedule because I just can't sleep in anymore.
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I circle anything that needs to be looked at again. Instead of using proofreading marks, I circle the word and let my son look closely and determine if it is an error in capitalization, spelling, or word choice. I circle the part of a math problem where the error occurred or just the number of the problem. If an answer is missing information, I make a "fill in the blank" underline (_____________) to indicate that the answer is incomplete.
I put stars by anything that I find excellent or praiseworthy.
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This chart shows that the Standards edition is a little bit ahead of the CC edition in some areas (Starting about third grade) and as far as I can see, covers everything required by CC. You'd be OK with the Standards edition, if you wanted to be ready for testing and take advantage of the HIG guide.
I used the Standards edition when I switched from public school to homeschooling and we have done really well with it. The activities in the HIG guide have been very helpful in explaining concepts. My son took the standardized test for Common Core and felt like he was prepared with what he had learned from the Standards Edition.
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I would make sure everything fits comfortably in a backpack and I think the following would fit:
Math book and workbook
Journal and Sketchbook (focus on narrative writing for composition and sketching for art)
History and science texts (if not on Kindle)
A five subject notebook for working out all assignments
Kindle preloaded with literature and nonfiction
Writing and art supplies in a single pencil box
Learning apps on my phone for math drills, foreign language, etc...
Since you're focusing on high school, you could also download a few Great Courses to work on skills like note taking and to free up your time to focus more on moving.
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I am curious about this question, too. I'm also considering DM after 6B.
I think I read on the Singapore site that they recommended to go to a Geometry course with proofs, because they aren't covered in Dimensions and then continue from there. Unfortunately, I can't find where I read that on the Singapore site. It is not the easiest website to navigate. Some input from DM veterans would be much appreciated!
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I can read aloud 15-20 minutes at a time...and I still need a bottle of water to get through it. I have to intersperse other activities in with read aloud sessions.
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I don't use TC, but here's how I do W&R:
Day 1: do the reading passage and the narration
Day 2: reread the passage and do the discussion and Go Deeper section
Day 3: do the writing time section
Day 4: do whatever longer writing assignment is at the end of the lesson
I only required a revised and final draft on the final writing assignment in each level. I considered the other writing assignments to be exercises. I also skipped most of the speaking sections.
Fable is for 3rd and 4th grade, so you are not behind. All of the W&R books are one semester programs so it would be easy enough to do both Fable and Narrative 1 in a year. I also have plenty of time to work in other language arts work.
Hope that helps!
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We follow the local school schedule and we used to have a lot of 3 day weekend scattered throughout January and February but recently we switched to a full week off in February instead of the scattered 3 day weekends. We like the week off much better. It's so nice to have a week off not tied to a holiday.
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For most novels, I just take my best guess based on what I know of foreign names and phonetic rules. If I am reading about historical figures, I will look up the pronunciation to honor the person.
The Chronicles of Prydain is the only fictional series I have read that has thrown me for a loop. Fflewddur Fflam is definitely the oddest name I have ever seen in print!
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I would just start the year fresh with the new system without transferring everything over. If a public school switches computer systems, I doubt they transfer all old data to the new system. College admissions is used to seeing all types of transcripts, I'm sure. You can always type your own transcripts and course descriptions for applications so everything is neat and orderly.
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I have seen those workbooks at Costco in with the summer workbooks. They are not published by the same company as the Singapore curriculum. They are titled something along the lines of Singapore Math 4 practice and then it also says appropriate for US grade 5.
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Is it too early to change Math curriculum?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
To answer the original question, I don't think that it's too early to switch. It's possible that your son had an off day on the placement test and is in a level that is too easy. I think that the idea is testing ahead is wise.
But if the problem ends up being the Saxon method is a poor fit for your son, it is better to switch programs sooner than later. I stubbornly stuck with Saxon for a couple month longer than I should have with my son and when I switched to Singapore, we found a math program that really worked with how my son's brain is wired. No sense staying in a sinking ship.