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grace'smom

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Posts posted by grace'smom

  1. As for the public schoolers saying you aren't doing enough...

     

    I had an experience recently where a friend of mine who isn't very homeschool friendly (we became friends preHS) grilled me about what we are doing for first grade... She asked me a ton of questions about what we do, where we get our curriculum, do we do art, music, exercise? I had all my bases covered but she just kept asking and asking. Finally, she asked about computers. I said we didn't do any formal computer curriculum. She said "Well, I think that's very important and necessary for children. My DD (3rd grade) gets that in school. It's VERY important, etc." I said I didn't think it was necessary for a first grader, but she was adament that she'd found a hole in our plan, LOL. It happened to be computers but if she hadn't found it she would have kept on chipping away until she found something else. I remembered at that point all the advice on this board about passing the bean dip. Rookie mistake.

     

    All that is to say that sometimes I think public school advocates will say you aren't doing enough for reasons that have nothing to do with your personal homeschooling plan. Remember that everyone has their own issues they are trying to work out in their mind, and sometimes it is very important for them to back up their decisions by finding flaws in yours.

  2. If you are going to do a SOTW, WTM approach to history you can use the library as your science resource. We have been using BFSU (Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding) and it's been great. I think it's 20.00 on Amazon, and the lessons are laid out as a guide for the teacher. I go over the lesson, highlight the important points I need to hit, put together the activities and use the library for back up books. It's really easy. At first, I was intimidated by the whole thing, but once I let go of the idea that I had to teach everything "perfectly," BFSU became a curriculum favorite. If nothing more, it makes a great spine to help you figure out what subjects to hit and the important points to make. Then you can round it out with library books on the subject at hand, remembering that science is "gravy" at this point in their education so you really can't go wrong, LOL.

  3. The other thread about what math curriculums you have on your shelf got me thinking about what a wealth of information it would be if everyone could share some quick thoughts on those curriculums. Do you have so many because you like them or due to trial and error? Would anyone be interested in sharing a one sentence review of ALL those curriculums they have on their shelves? I'll start...

     

    Rightstart Level A and B: While DD learned a great deal, I eventually realized that transitioning her through all the different games and activities was overwhelming to her (and me) so we ditched it. It was hard to let go, but math time was getting to be tears time.

    Math Mammoth: I like it, my DD likes it, but I'm hesitant to use it as a stand alone and I don't know why... Don't take that as an opinion on it's thoroughness because I know nothing about math.

    Miquon: I like it but DD gave it a thumbs down. She just wants to play with the rods, but when I bring out the worksheets and she glazes over.

     

    Math U See: we don't have this but we're strongly thinking about using it. I hear it's like Rightstart but for those that can't handle all the different activities.

     

    I also have the Liping Ma book and Teaching Elementary Mathematics to Children. I like them both and I'm slowly working my way through TEMC.

  4. I'm not sure. A lot of the "odd" behavior dogs exhibit can be traced to their heightened senses -- sniffing out cancer or being better attuned to the weather. There are a few things our dog does, though, which I have never been able to explain.

     

    There is a man who walks by our house several times a week. This isn't unusual, as we live in a quiet neighborhood and there are quite a few walkers and bicyclers that go by throughout the day. Our dog will sometimes sit at the window and watch people pass, but unless they have a dog with them she is quiet. This one man, though, is different. She reacts to him EVERY TIME. Barks, hackles up, low growls, the works. Even when she's seen him multiple times a week for the past ten years. Even when she is asleep across the room with the doors and windows shut, she will leap to her feet and race to the window and start barking. I can't explain how she knows he's there, but she does. I don't know the man, and I can honestly say I never want to; her reaction really freaks me out.

     

    There may be something innocent about how the man looks that bothers her... Watch him and see if you can spot any differences that might explain it. We thought our dog was intuitive until we realized she barks at anyone wearing a hat. Even my husband. I think it scares her when she can't see their eyes. She also barks at the UPS man- but to be honest I can see how a very loud, fast moving vehicle pulling up to the house followed by a man running to your porch and throwing something at it could set a dog off. :D

  5. If cost is a factor you could try www.donnayoung.org for cursive instruction. When we did cursive I had to start with the whiteboard anyway because DD wasn't very good at printing on paper. We started with Cursive First, but moved to using HWT cursive because I thought it was more kid friendly. The cursive first instructions were good, but my DD sometimes couldn't remember all the instructions to make a letter. The HWT instructions were shorter and easier to remember for her. She has a little trouble with her short term memory though, so that might not be a factor with someone else.

  6. Personally, I would think about the changing dynamic of your relationship with this child / family - I would really follow my instincts there. There are people who, no matter how good friends, are not to be done "business" with, especially not of the kind which involves raising their children (effectively). You would have to check with the parents that you are on the same page regarding expectations, what you wish to do, your general parenting / conflict solving / day to day issues philosophy; then there are potential nutrition issues, money issues and a whole other set of things which one takes upon oneself when they take another person's child in such a commitment. There are situations where it may work fantastically, but I would err on the side of caution here and consider all of these parameters.

     

    Also, keep in mind that you have a gifted / accelerated child. The dynamic between children might change... ?

     

     

    :iagree: I had a similar situation this past year. We decided we would help our neighbors down the street by watching their DD after school. Nice neighbors, the kids had been friends since they were toddlers, happy family... We thought it would be a great fit for everyone (DD would have a buddy after school and her friend would have a family atmosphere after school). Well, about a month into the school year the parents told us they were getting a divorce. The little girl began having emotional issues and was very passive aggressive and mean toward my daughter. The parents began battling it out in court and things got really ugly. At one point, the father took out a completely false restraining order on the mother (and that's just ONE of the things that went on that I really didn't want to know about). When I found out about that I told them I couldn't watch their daughter anymore because it was just too crazy for me and my daughter was being affected by it. This family had seemed completely happy and stable and we had NO idea what was happening behind closed doors. I tried to cut things off as best I could but I still ended up getting dragged into court (the father had a subpoena taped to my front door and I could not decline to testify) as a witness in their divorce battle. It has been the worst experience I've had in a long time. It put strains on our family having to explain to our daughter things we did not want her to know about, having to struggle between our desire to help our daughter's friend (who was caught in the middle of her parents), and our need to protect our own daughter from emotional harm.

     

    So, that's my story of caution. It was a hard lesson for us.

  7. I taught my DD cursive at 5 as well. She learned it easily enough with HWOT. The only issue we've had is when she is at Sunday school or co op, science camp, etc. she will try to write in print rather than cursive and she doesn't really know how to print. She doesn't want to write in cursive in front of the other kids, but she doesn't know how to make all the print letters, so you get a hodge podge of letters that looks pretty rough.

     

    She did know print before we started cursive, but she forgot it as we went along. I'd just make sure you keep your daughter doing print every once in a while so she won't forget it like mine did. Other than that cursive is awesome! My DD constantly writes words backwards if she doesn't write in cursive. With cursive that is a complete nonissue. I wish you could write 6's and 9's in cursive, LOL.

  8. I have found that out of all my curriculum, I really have to mark up BFSU. Most of the time I do not like to mark my books at all, but there's highlighter marks all over the BFSU book and I've penciled in notes everywhere. I don't think I could use the kindle version for that reason.

  9. This looks like a perfect field trip for those of us that can get to it:

     

    The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

     

    On November 17, 2011, the museum opens its largest exhibition of ancient Egyptian mummies and artifacts to date, which focuses on Smithsonian science and what museum experts have learned about burial practices, health, disease, and demographics from studying mummies.

    In addition to the three preview cases, the following cases will go on view:

     

    • Mummy Science reveals insights into burial practices, health, disease, and demography that can be gained from the study of mummies.
    • Animal Mummies explains the link between animal mummification and the Egyptian belief system and features the museum’s two Apis bull mummies and mummies of cats, ibises, hawks, crocodiles, dogs, and a baboon.
    • Tentkhonsu’s Coffin showcases the richly decorated inner coffin of Tentkhonsu, a member of a group of noble women who participated in temple services and festivals.
    • Preparing for Eternal Life explores how living Egyptians tried to assure they and their families would have eternal life after death.
    • The Gods and Eternal Life explores the roles of two prominent gods, Osiris and Re, in helping the dead achieve eternal life and in keeping the natural order of the world of the living.
    • Insects in Ancient Egypt reveals that insects were an important part of preparing for the afterlife and became symbolic of the transition.

     

  10. Check out my blog post on our shower tile white board. I LOVE IT! It was no more than 40 for the whole thing with all the bells and whistles (we framed it and use rain gutters to hold dry erase crayons and cleaning wipes).

     

    I highly recommend a shower tile board if you can get it home somehow (we had to strap it to the top of our car). You don't have to spend 40 on it either- the actual board was only 12.00.

     

    http://givingourbest.blogspot.com/2011/05/schoolroom-pics.html

  11. I think if she liked it before she found out her friend wasn't doing it, then she's really not having any of the issues described like feeling her personal space is violated, etc. She LIKED it until she found out her friend wasn't in it. In that case, I see nothing wrong with making her stick it out for a month and see if she changes her mind. It may be an opportunity to show her that she can do something without her best friend sometimes and still have a good time, or an opportunity for her to make a few new friends.

  12. I just posted about wanting to switch from Rightstart to Math Mammoth because I've realized how much I don't enjoy teaching it after I started teaching Level B this week. It's just a LOT. I think I would still do Level A again, because I do think it gave her a great start, but I'm not sure I want to continue with Level B. It seems a lot of people get some Rightstart burn out going on around level B or C, so take that into consideration when making your decision.

  13. I wouldn't continue a program that I hated teaching, and I would strongly consider one that gave both me and my child a sense of accomplishment. This is one of those times when you have to disregard those other voices that tell you xyz program is "the best." There are so many curricula out there because there are all different kinds of teachers and learners. What's best for one might not be best for another. You have to evaluate based on how it's working for your family, and don't worry if someone else says the curriculum grass is greener somewhere else :).

     

    I really needed to hear that! Thanks guys for all the replies and suggestions. I think we'll try Math Mammoth for a week with Rightstart Friday, as someone had suggested, and we'll see how that goes... My husband also offered to teach Grace math after work so if he really means it my problem will be solved, LOL.

  14. We did Rightstart Level A last year and I had planned on doing B with DD this year. However, I got the book out and did a few lessons recently. It made me remember how much I don't enjoy teaching with that program. Don't get me wrong, I can see it's an excellent program, but I really didn't like the script approach and I never really had a good feeling that my child had mastered the material. I know she DID, because she knows a lot about math and seems to be good at it, but I have some sort of hang up about wanting to "see" the work is done.

     

    We have Math Mammoth and used 1A last year to supplement. DD and I were just flipping through the completed workbook and thinking "wow, we did all that last year." It gave me AND my DD a sense of accomplishment and a visual reminder of the work we had done.

     

    I am so tempted to just switch to Math Mammoth to avoid the dread of the script and the intensity of Rightstart. What would my DD stand to lose, educationally speaking, if I did that? I know so many say Rightstart is such a great program and they can see it works for their child. I can see it works for mine too. I feel kind of guilty that I am considering ditching it just because I don't enjoy teaching it, and I wonder if I would be doing a disservice to her in doing so...

     

    If you're still reading this and feeling helpful, can you either give me a "Rightstart, do it for your child" kind of peptalk or tell me we're not going to lose any vital math skills by switching to Math Mammoth?

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