grace'smom
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Posts posted by grace'smom
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We got Nat Geo Kids during the last sale and it goes in the trash the day it arrives. My DD really dislikes it. The pages are very busy and there's not much actual information versus the ad content. She won't even read it. I hand it to her and she hands it back. She's not even excited that it's mail with her name on it, LOL.
That's KIDS version though, not Little Kids version. Maybe that one's better?
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Wouldn't it be more likely that the ones born in the first half of 2002 would be anxious? I believe that maternal anxiety and depression has been shown to effect a fetus, although I probably couldn't put my hands on any research articles right now....
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I am not sure what LMD does, but I think there's a wide variety of writing assignments at this age. Some kids don't do any at all until they are reading fluently... At our house we use a composition book that has the top half of the page blank. Each school day (ideally, LOL) she either comes up with a sentence she wants to write on her own or we come up with one together based on some recent subject or occurance. I write the sentence on the white board or a sheet of paper, and then she copies it and colors a picture to go with it. That's it for us. I help her write a letter every now and then, but she's pretty writing phobic so there's not too much of that. A lot of people use Writing With Ease for first grade but my daughter's just not ready for it yet...
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I don't think it's really behind. My daughter writes some pretty strangely spelled words when she is writing on her own without help. It's just part of the process. The good thing is that you can recognize the words!
It also sounds like she was in an emotional space rather than an academic one at the time she wrote it, and probably was not concentrating on her spelling.:grouphug:
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I'm reading a book about Queen Victoria aloud to the kids, and it lays out in detail the education that the Princess was given to prepare her...now THAT was a classical education, and you'd better believe there was memory work and there was CONTEXT. It was a very good representation of what a child of decent intellect can accomplish, given the right circumstances.
I'd love to know the title of that book if you don't mind sharing... :D
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Bump! Just want to see if anyone is signing up. There doesn't seem to be much activity around it and I don't want her to cancel it, LOL.
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Thanks for offering this!!!
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I'm definitely going... I'm trying to figure out whether I am bringing my family or not. She says it's for adults and children as well, but do you really think it's for little children (like six years old)? I think I'd be better off asking my mom to babysit.
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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
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I got kind of sad after reading the "only child" thread the other day. It seemed like my DD was really missing out on a sibling relationship and I felt guilty and sad for her. After reading this I feel a lot better... there's a huge chance that the sibling relationship she lacks would not have been all that she dreams of anyway.
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Aimee (board name Evergreen Academy) had some great tips on language processing issues and WWE/reading comp exercises. Maybe you could contact her (I just pm'd her with my questions and she was super friendly and helpful)...
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I see they have a minivan. I don't know anything about Volkswagen, except it's German. :)
Anyone own a VW and want to share their experiences?
:bigear:
I didn't read the other responses: just wanted to say I once had a Volkswagon Jetta. It was extremely expensive to repair when it had any issues (which began around 60-75K miles), and it died long before my husbands same age oldsmobile. We took good care of both of them, but the volkswagon just didn't live up to that "reliable" reputation.
Volkswagon parts are more expensive than standard, they sometimes have to special order them, and some car repair shops are not as familiar with them as standard vehicles. My FIL is an automechanic and he does not recommend them for the sheer purposes of dealing with repairs.
Our neighbors purchased a used Volkswagon (definitely do not recommend used) for their teenage daughter. I don't even know how much money or how many weekends they spent working on it before they finally gave up and had to purchase another vehicle to get her through college.
Overall, my impression is that they are good as new vehicles but they don't age well and they're expensive to repair.
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I use a method from someone on this board. I have a binder with divided folder sections for each day of the week. The folder sections are available at Walmart or Office Max really cheap. At the beginning of the week I put in all the pages they need into the day they should be done. If there is a noneworkbook page type of lesson I put in an index card or a notebook page with it listed (for example, I have laminated half sheet size cards that say Memory Work, Phonogram Review, Math Lesson, etc). I hope the person that listed method first will chime in because she had an awesome blog post that showed exactly how to do it. This method works REALLY well for us. I really like it because it's all right there when it's time to start school- no prep needed, no looking on a list and pulling out books. It's right there...
After she is done with her sheets/lessons for the day, she can put them back into the slot or hand them to me and I file the pages into a binder. For example, we have one binder for Math in which we place MUS and Math Mammoth page. It works well to keep track of what you are doing.
Oh, another thing I did- I divided the school year into weeks and put all the worksheets into a file marked with the appropriate week. I do not recommend that because now we've got some things we are ahead in and some we are behind, so it's been more trouble than it's worth.
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As I said, we haven't done this long enough to have the perspective of years and years of homeschooling.... but when I read posts from people who are experiencing full-blown burnout, there seem to be common factors contributing to the crisis. Lack of spousal support (in any area of life), lack of extended family support (any area), lack of finances (all-encompassing), health struggles (any family member), and an uncooperative/rebellious child (any age) -- these are stressful enough under any circumstances.
When we add up our stress factors -- then add to that another, which is homeschooling -- the sum of our stresses is X.
Then we subtract our coping resources -- good fit for curriculum, free/low cost materials, help from friends, a supportive family member, our own outlook on life, a cooperative student -- what is the sum of our adaptive responses? That is Y.
X (stress factors) - Y (healthy responses) = Outcome
Even though my girls are young, there are activities we simply don't do, because putting them on our plate would be TOO MUCH. So I say to myself that if I am in this for the long haul, then A, B, and C are not my priorities. So, they are off the agenda, at least for now.
What can you do to reduce your stress?
We also try to actively increase our ability to "handle things." What are the margins around you, around your marriage, around your finances, around your life? Do you build in "wiggle room," so that if something goes awry, a little wiggle will not upset the whole apple cart?
What can you do to increase your healthy responses?
One thing that helped me recently (sister troubles, long story) was to make a written list of my healthy choices. I will share it here, in part, because it might help someone at some low point:
My Wellness Toolbox
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Spend time in nature
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Listen to quiet worship music
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Complete one small task
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Complete another small task
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Keep the kitchen sink clean :)
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Sit in the sunshine for two hours while the girls play
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Pet a furry animal
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Talk to the goldfish as though he understands, LOL
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Drink hot tea
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Drink more hot tea
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Sleep for at least 8 hours daily
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Go to bed by 10:30 pm
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Fold & put away laundry immediately
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Walk outside in a beautiful place
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Breathe in lavender scent
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Put fresh rosemary in between the towels
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Eat fresh basil
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Remain hopeful
Now that I look back on it, this list cracks me up, especially the "eat fresh basil." I thought I would turn green, but it works for me. What works for you? What are the things that you control that make you feel better?
Do those things, as much as possible. Why keep putting off the self-care that allows you to parent, that equips you to teach, that restores balance and empathy -- even empathy with yourself. Where can you go, where is that quiet space where the guilt will roll away, where you are tender with your own humanity, and thankful for each precious homeschooling day?
This is not condemnation, but my own reflections on my choices, my goals, and my abilities (or lack of them). ;) Sometimes these do not all line up. Lofty goals! Unrealistic? Or doable, when disciplined? It's a fine line, isn't it? No wonder we feel tossed by the wind.
When I beat myself up over how feeble I am to accomplish great things, including the plans I make for these three children, it isn't a "slump" or a "burnout." (At least not at this early point). It is a growth day, it is life stretching and teaching me. Let the children read, let the little ones play -- take your own time to do the inner work that all true learners and teachers must do.
It took me a few years to get off the Academic High Horse and see that I am homeschooling for growth, especially my own. HTH.
This is a really helpful perspective- thank you for sharing it with us. I like your idea of thinking of things as a "growth day." That's a really cool, positive way to think about it.
Your x-y=outcome-----that seems to validate why so many people listed that switching to less intensive curriculum for a period of time helped them get through a slump. It seems like a lot of people start with that if they can...
Also, thanks to those who shared :grouphug: in this thread.
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Spend time in nature
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I don't know if what I experienced could be called burn out, but a friend of mine was murdered right before school started this year. I don't know what I was thinking, but we took the first week off of school to attend the funeral and then I just tried to put my grief aside and start school- like I thought sadness could wait for a break or something, LOL. Well, it doesn't work that way, and my daughter had her own grief to deal with because that family was very intertwined with our own... and her world changed from safe and secure to the knowledge that people are capable of horrible things.
Everything that was a bit of a struggle last year became overwhelming this year. There were days when I thought I should send dd to school because I was unfit to teach her/parent her when all I could think about was my friend and how she died. My dd had anger and pain of her own and she needed to work it out, and I was the person she wanted to work it out with... Going to co op was painful, being around other happy people was painful. It was rough. I'm only just now coming out of the fog, and I have embarassed myself around many people by talking about emotional things that I normally would keep to myself (like right now, LOL).
So- how we've handled it... I had to accept the reality that I'm not superwoman and I need time to heal and that it's OK to need that. Any curriculum that caused stress on my daughter or me was put away. Last year we did things that were hard for her to do because she's wiggly but I pushed it because "they were the best," and it took a lot of effort on my part to help her get through the subjects. This year about two weeks into school I switched her math because I couldn't take it anymore (RS to MUS), we just switched language arts (sad and painful decision but I'm trying to be realistic right now) and we're quitting CC school after the winter break. We're doing lots of field trips and just trying to be together and strengthen our family. I am lucky because she's only six so we have time to make up missed content later. And I am lucky because I still have days to spend with my daughter. I don't want to spend any time arguing with her about school that I could spend telling her that I love her and hugging her and letting her know how special she is to me... I always wonder what the last thing is that my friend said to her daughter. If anything should ever happen to me, I don't want my last thing to have been along the lines of "try harder."
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I'm not sure how Essentials works but for Foundations I would think you would at least need to add in some grammar that they understand. It wouldn't have to be FLL, maybe a Growing With Grammar or Evan Moore Daily Grammar sort of thing they could do a bit more independently to save time? I'm not sure about the writing... You could always check out the Complete Writer from the library and compare what you are doing with what it recommends.
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Well, Kristen, how did it all go?
:lurk5::lurk5:
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My DD is six as well and we are doing CC and another history co op. It's a lot to juggle. We were doing BFSU but it fell by the wayside because I want to, above all, focus on math and language arts and I don't have time to prep the BFSU and do the two co ops. What we are doing for science right now is just getting whatever Let's Read and Find Out book from the library that matches up with the CC human body science for that week and reading it, and doing a project from Scholastic's Human Body Projects that was on sale for 99 cents this fall. I can't find it on their page now but here is something similar: http://shop.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_29974_-1_10001_10002
We're also doing Evan Moore's Daily Science pages with encyclopedia selections to match it, and that's an easy thing to fit in.
For history we are getting whatever Early Reader from the library that makes any sort of connection with the time period of the history sentence. We read about the history sentence in the Complete Book of American History if that helps dd understand the sentence better. She also does a narration from one of the books she chose each week and writes a handwriting sentence/colors a picture about it.
I wouldn't try to get a curriculum for history that matches up now that you're almost halfway through the CC school year, but if you did want a curriculum the Elemental History would be a good choice for that age group. It's almost overwhelming for me to think of juggling a full science curriculum like BFSU with the two other co ops, but I do plan to go back to it when CC is over and we're not doing CC next year. We're just going to take a break so I can see what it's like to plan whatever I want, LOL.
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I don't think it's critical but I also wouldn't skip it. As you move in to higher levels of MUS concepts are often taught multiple ways to build understanding and to offer options for the student on how to work the problem. People think differently and what makes sense to one person won't necessarily click for another. I did find that when memorizing the facts it was helpful when dd was stuck on a problem like 4+5 to say, "well can you remember what 4+4 is" and she would then say, "ok, now I remember because 4+4 is 8 and 4+5 is 1 more so it's 9". You don't have to spend a lot of time on it but it is a good technique for figuring out the answer.
Ok, that's good to know. So this is a concept presented that maybe just doesn't click and that's OK because there are other ways. She just really has her math facts down and she partitions very well as a result of playing with C-rods, so it seems strange to both of us--like it's a partitioning exercise that doesn't have any of the other partitions listed, LOL.
Thanks so much for the advice!!!
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We just did the math u see alpha lesson 14 and I don't get it. we're supposed to be showing the kids how 3 + 4 is the same as 3+3+1 in the idea that it will make adding easier for them. I don't really get it. I could see how the 5+6 as 5+5+1 might make things easier, but I don't get how say, 4+5 is easier to think of as 4+4+1. Are they setting something up for down the line? My daughter already does the "7 takes 3 from another number to make ten and whatever," and the same with 6 (she just took the 8 and 9 thing a step further on her own).
I am just wondering- if we skip this whole concept will it be harder for her later or is this one of those "helping tools" that is not necessary if it doesn't click for us...
Any advice? Thanks!!!!
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My husband was an only until he was 14, and my daugher is an only child as well. One thing I would say about caring for an older parent... I've watched my mother-in-law care for her mother and she had two siblings. They did not help at all. I think the responsibility for that will usually fall on one sibling anyway, and it just builts resentment between them all. There's no getting around that being hard but I think it's a "grass is greener on the other side" sort of issue.
As for the pros and cons I see in my daughter's life:
-she gets more individual attention and all our love is directed at her
-she gets to do more enrichment activities than she would if she had siblings, not only because of finances but also because she can handle being in "quiet" places where I couldn't take a toddler.
-she gets enough down time for a kid who has sensory processing issues (this is a huge bonus)
-she doesn't know what it means to be picked on by a sibling
-she's very independent and imaginative as a result of having lots of time to herself- she's comfortable playing alone, KWIM?
-we are in a better position to afford the things she needs and give her a safe financial start in the world
CONS-
-She could have been very lonely if there weren't other kids in our neighborhood. I can't imagine her being an only child outside the suburbs, but as it stands every day at 3 pm there are two girls across the street to play with...
-She doesn't have a handle on dealing with rejection that most children with siblings face from time to time- she seems more innocent and shocked when someone leaves her out or says something unkind
-I think my husband and I have expectations of her that can be sometimes be too high for a child her age. My husband is not around a lot of kids so he doesn't understand what is normal six year old behavior and expects her to be more calm and responsible than most other children are at her age, KWIM?
-She has no one to take the pressure off of her if she does something wrong. I ALWAYS know it was her if there's crayon on the wall or something is broken.
That's what I can think of for now...
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That's awful! We have an HOA but they mainly just make sure people's houses aren't falling down, LOL. They are not strict at all. They have a complaint process where one of your neighbors has to actually be upset with a rule you are breaking before they will do anything (and believe me most people don't care as long as the majority of your siding is still on your house, LOL).
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Do you happen to know if the new 6.0 version is worth getting over the 5.0?
I would not get version 6.0. Most of the upgrades were made to the print sections. You cannot use a startdot or arrows on most of their cursive anyway. I got 6.0 and was very disappointed with how much I paid because most of the things they promoted were not available in the cursive section.
Hope I can save someone else from making the same mistake!
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:iagree:
Speaking of which: MathUSee. We use this as our primary math. It is seriously non-optimal on the mental math front. Conceptually I think we're doing well, but Button's a naturally conceptual guy.
Can you explain what you mean by it being non-optimal on mental math? We are doing Alpha in MUS and Math Mammoth 1a/b this year. My dd does mental math very well, but it might be because of the combination or perhaps because she did Rightstart last year...
Are you doing anything different for Christmas for your homeschool curriculum?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
We do a month of copywork related to Christmas. Last year she wrote the story of Jesus' birth from copying bible verses and we made scrapbook paper "frames" and hung it along the wall in the tree room. This year we are copying The Night Before Christmas on that top-half-blank paper so she can color pictures over it and make her own book.
Other than that we just do the usual crafty things- we make cinnamon ornaments which is super easy and cheap, see friends, decorate, etc.
OH- someone told us a great idea we started this year too- we make a stocking for Jesus. You hang it next to the others and every time you do something that would make Jesus happy you write it down and put it in his stocking... Then on Christmas morning you pull them all out and read them to remember all the times you had Jesus in your heart that month and all the things you can do to make him happy. It's your gift to him.