matrips
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Posts posted by matrips
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When you say the tongue should go up for the er sound, are you referring to the middle of the tongue? Not the tip of the tongue curling up, right? I just tried looking at myself in the mirror, but I find it tough to tell. Ds9 still has issues with this sounds. Bird usually sounds like board etc. and he twists his lips/ mouth to the side when he makes an r sound. He got speech therapy until he was 7.5, and then we moved.
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My crocs are my house shoes. The big old ugly original crocs. I tried the cuter ones, but the support wasn't the same.
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We don't have one, but the wii system has interactive dance and exercise things I think. Would it be worth the investment?
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We have, and love, A Word a Week. I thinks it's just a scholastic book. I got it used in some teacher giveaways on free cycle. It has one or two words per page, and then a story about the word. Maybe also a little poem, some questions, some roots, and describing the word really well. I just read it aloud. Sometimes it leads to discussions, sometimes not. We've been using it since last year. A thin book, maybe 1/4 inch, but plenty of words.
Edited to add link. Just saw it on amazon. This is the exact one we use; I have third graders. The words they chose have been in much of the literature we have read or listened to this year. The kids love running across the words they've learned.
http://www.amazon.com/Word-Week-Vocabulary-Program/dp/1576905160 -
We are using IEW (SWI A) and my kids don't need to come up with their own topic. He supplies them. I think that is part of the reason my 9yos, including two boys, are doing so well. And they don't complain about it. The boys used to be writing haters. Andrew Pudewa seems to remember well his own childhood and how to relate to boys who hate writing and would rather build forts. :).
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What are your thoughts? What if the subject or test is taking hours? If I let them just take a long time because they just sit there and stare or daydream am I doing a disservice when in the world there are limits and need to learn to work within those limits. Such as a job in the future. Does it teach them to be lazy? I know some of the benefits of homeschooling is to be able to move at their own pace but at what point does it begin to hurt them. Do you set a limit, move on to another subject then come back to it?
Both. I now have a time each day when I am done. That means I will go run errands with them or go to a park or whatever, but homeschooling for me is over. If someone is not done, they need to continue with their work in the car or the park or outside their extracurriculars. Amazing how fast, and accurately, my slowpoke can work when his activity or sport is really on the line. His two same age siblings work just fine and it's rarely an issue. I just got tired of feeling chained to the house by him. I don't think it's the curriculum or anything else; one day he will be my fast one and one of the others will turn Into the slowpoke. (It's been like that before). It's this merry go round we've been on for several years now. I keep saying, it's just a phase. They have a daily and weekly schedule with everything laid out. Some is independent and some we do together as a group and some we do together one on one. They usually decide the order they want to do things (with the understanding that all work with mom needs to be done before my done time). I will suggest if I notice him really going slow on something to switch to something else easier to get something accomplished. I also try to have him work in the kitchen because if I am around he is spurred on a bit more. -
We haaaaaaaaated Child's History of the World! Rebecca called it "that boring book."
See, now my kids beg me to read that one. They love it!
And we loved Mary on Horseback. I think they were 1st grade for that one, but they remember it and have re read it.
But honestly, we have loved all the read alouds, both history and literature from P3/4 through Core C. Some of the readers we haven't cared for, but that was probably because many were well below my kids usual reading level. -
Yes I am looking at this at the moment. I am wanting to veer away from DVD instruction but I like the different types of writing taught with this program. DS has begged to go back to WWE, so we will, but I'd like to use something like this alongside it.
One thing that bugged me a little when watching the sample DVD for EIW was how the teacher tripped over his own words all the time, I found that confusing and wondered whether it would confuse DS. Do you find this to be a problem at all?
I bought EIW a couple years ago when it first came out and was not impressed. Now we do like DVD instruction like Steve Demme with MUS and Andrew Pudewa with IEW. But yes, the EIW guy often seemed like it was a rough draft of his DVD. Quite a few mistakes. We never even finished out the year with it.
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Just curious, you mention going back after he wrote his paper and adding in the dress ups. I agree that would make an already written paper sound funny. However, that was not how he taught it. Once you have the kwo, you test it out orally, looking over the list of dress ups and adding them in at that oral stage. Then you write it down. They are not meant to be added after the fact, so I'm wondering if part of his problem with them is stemming from that.
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I find it's one thing to grasp a concept quickly and another to have it truly cemented. I probably overkill with math, but I want them to know it inside and out; I just believe it's that important. We do Singapore with Textbook, workbook, intensive practice and challenging word problems. And I also have them do MUS. Though I'm now switching to MUS just for the summer. Usually we did it at the same time.
My kids are great at math and get things easily, but I'd rather not accelerate them too fast or let them take things too easy. Drill isn't fun, but it does cement things better. At least the Singapore extra books have interesting problems.
I doubt it's the fit as much as the lack of practice. Things do take time and effort. I would just stick with one program, and get him the practice he needs. Maybe if you move forward with Singapore on a concept, have him do an intensive practice book at the same time a lesson or so behind to get that continuous review.
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On the plus side, I have saved a ton of money since they changed from buy/sell board to the classifieds! :)
But I do miss it. It was my favorite place to buy.
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Just a side question. Are you sure she's sleeping the whole time? I've heard from a couple different parents about their kids being tired and sleeping in, and months down the road they find out their child has been getting up during the night. Either to sneak down and watch tv, or do a video/ipad game etc. The parents were shocked, but the sleep issue resolved.
Seeing all the other posts, her sleep does sound normal for her age, but I just wanted to throw that question out there as well. My dd loves to sleep, and would gladly sleep that late each day. Her brothers get up on their own much earlier.
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We started FLL 4 a month or so ago, after finishing 3. We like it and it works. It gets done quickly and painlessly. There is great review built in. She has them starting to do their own diagram lines at times. I will periodically give them much harder sentences and have them do the FLL process and questions to diagram it themselves. Hers are such baby steps. But I think I tend to rush things once kids appear to understand, so I am grateful for the review and slow going. It has led to a very solid understanding of grammar that may have been missed with a different program. Paying off in our latin studies as well. We also discuss grammar at times during reading a book or when they have written a paper, and they demonstrate their grasp of it. We enjoy the poetry memorization as well.
The only other grammar programs I'm familiar with are Winston- enjoy it periodically but in and of itself it didn't promote true understanding- and Sonlight. I was never a huge fan of their LA so only used it sporadically. And I'm not partial to workbook style, circle up something type grammar. Oh, we do own mct and have read grammar island. For me, it seems like an okay book but I don't think they actually learned anything; maybe just not their style.
I also don't tend to care if my dcs are slightly bored if they are learning well. Not a fun mama I guess :)
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Also, I went to see quite a few homes for sale with our realtor when we were about to list ours. She wanted us to see the competition. I also went to open houses on my own and listened in on what people were saying and looking for. We interviewed four different experience realtors.
We did a huge decluttering (stuff and furniture), even got a storage unit, painted, refinished hardwoods, updated lights in baths (who would have thought?!). Updated a bath, a tile floor, and granite countertops. Our realtor believed in staging, and knew what buyers in our area were looking for (of course this will vary by region). We just used all their contractors. Everything was done quickly and so much cheaper than I would have thought. I would have done some of those things years before if I had known! The house had a whole new look to it. We had four offers, three over asking price by a significant amount, the first weekend (actually for the price our realtor thought we could get, but I was uncomfortable with the higher price, and she concurred, saying it would get more people interested in it at the lower price). I'm sure we would not have had that result if we did nothing, and we would have sold it for less. It is hard to take a brutal assessment of your home, but I do believe it can make a huge difference. Fwiw the home we bought in another state was staged too, and ready to move into. We looked at many others but clutter, dinginess and darkness just don't give that comfy homey feel (not saying that's your home, just many of what we saw!). Even though I was completely aware of the staging due to having done it myself, I fell for it. It's calming and relaxing to walk into a staged decluttered home. Moving is stressful. Location and basic requirements were still our top priority, but after that...
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I'd interview some successful realtors in your area and see what they say about your home; the good and bad and price comparisons. Not sure what your area is like, but I'd be more inclined to spend the $5000 towards staging and getting it looking ready to move in than giving back at closing. Staging makes a huge difference in both the area I moved from and the area we moved to.
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My kids always did vacation bible school at various churches in the area. Inexpensive and fun!
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I have two 9yo boys and one 9 yo girl. I give them a weekly schedule every Sunday that lays out their work for the week. The schedule is printed and I fill in the blanks, so the types of assignments are similar week to week. I fill in the minimum needed to be done each day, so they get a feel for how weekly work is spread out. They are welcome to work ahead in some subjects, but not behind (I have no desire to get to the weekend with a kid who blew off school all week). I try not to nag throughout the day; in the morning I tell them what time I will be done for the day (usually around 1pm). If they need help from me, I am happy to work with them up to that time. I also do any teaching or group work in the morning. After that time, it's my time where we will run errands or go to the park or basically anything (my time is usually spent doing stuff for them anyway!). I got tired of feeling trapped and tied to the house because of a whiner or procrastinator who was never done. I was working during dinner prep and working at 7 pm and tired of it. Also, if their minimum daily work is not completed, then they have no activities until it's done. They can bring it with them to the park or in the car during errands or to baseball practice, but they cannot partake of the fun until it's done. It's their job to tell their coach too. It's helped. It puts the stress on them to get their work done instead of on me. Silly me was all caught up in the drama of them doing or not doing the work before. I like this better. I use a lot of ohs and ums and hmms when the nonsense starts.
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Part of why I think we have such success is that I bought SWI A and Andrew Pudewa teaches them, not me. I will enforce or explain or replay parts, and I will give them the help that he wants us to give (I also bought TWSS for myself and watch and read that for myself-reminds me of what my part is!), but I am not the writing teacher. They watch the video of him teaching the class and giving the assignments; they raise their hands and participate along with the class wanting to answer the questions and read their stories out loud too. So if you do not have an outside teacher or coop class, SWI might be a great option for you since your dd does not want you to instruct her. Andrew is humorous and has a nice way with the kids.
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For my kids, no. It helps them find joy and creativity in it because it gives them the ideas of how to write and what to include. They don't need to think about it. So they can enjoy the time finding that strong verb or adjective or figuring out how to get an adverbial clause in it instead. They are impressed with how much better their writing has turned out and they can turn out a paragraph or three so easily. Much quicker than before. My strongest writer is still my strongest and my guy that never enjoyed writing and would really struggle on what to write has become decent. Still writes the shortest papers, but ... And my other is somewhere in between. They are all 9yoa and we are halfway through SWI a.
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Supporting through high school seems logical, but I think after that is a fine line. I'd want to help my kids, but I'd also expect them to be putting forth a great effort to support themselves or pay their way, and not being demanding and feeling entitled. I worked three jobs at a time and had grants and loans to help pay for college (which was based partly upon affordability and I picked a degree that was geared towards a good job). I did not blow money or take spring breaks. My parents were happy to fill in the gaps. I felt supported and yet not supported (as in beginning to grow up). I think it was a good lead in for when I graduated. I bought my own car, paid rent at home until I moved into an apt, began paying off my loans, and basically felt like an 'adult'. While my parents were there, I did not expect them to provide for me beyond just being there for me and making me feel at home, if that makes sense. It really helped keep me focused on being careful with money and spending wisely etc. I bought my first house a few years after graduation, my search and my loan, and all my purchases for the house. They gave me a tool box and tools that Christmas as a housewarming gift. One that I still use to this day. A great gift! That's what I hope to do for my kids. Set them up to be successful and independent, not enable them to remain children by over-supporting. Again, it can be a fine line. Perhaps more difficult in this day and age.
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I don't even care to find out more about cap. We like wwe (now in wwwe3) and just this past year added IEW to the mix. Love them both and no need to change.
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We are in wwe 3 now and have some fairly long dictations. The longest we've done was about 45 words. The first time through I expect the kids to listen for the pauses and know how how sentences it is, and how many commas they heard. I pause about 8-10 seconds at he end of a sentence, 3-4 seconds at commas. I think it helps them break up the dictation in their own mind. After two repetitions, they like to try saying it. I let them go through it and ignore mistakes. Then I tell them something like your first sentence was perfect. You added some words or changed some words in the other two. When I repeat it the third time, I try to emphasize with my voice the parts that were wrong (they know to listen for it), and then they usually are fine. But this is our third year of doing it, and they are generally pretty good at memorizing things quickly.
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Sheesh. Is no one required to grow up anymore? This age of selfishness and entitlement is going way too far.
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Odyssey
Boys life
My 9yo boys love them!
Is this name TOO "old lady"?
in The Chat Board
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I actually like the way it sounds and the way it looks. Our kids are all named after older relatives and I love that there is a history to their names. Mabel Rose is very pretty, but I would probably go with Mabel Ruth and tell her all about the wonderful woman she was named for.