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What REALLY excites your child?


Novafan
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I'm sitting here reading the boards while my boys are on the floor behind me drawing, labeling and coloring the map of the United States together. My 7 year old is "teaching" my 5 year old how to "do maps."

 

Geography is THE hit here. My boys would draw and label maps all day long if I let them. I'm sitting here chuckling as I listen to the conversations they are having about their work and I can't believe how fired up they are about it.

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In her words b/c she's answering:

 

Explorer's Bible Study- "I like reading with my mom about Jesus, it makes me feel good that we do this everyday."

 

Horizons Math- "I like adding, multiplying and doing the clocks."

 

Poetry- "I like being able to say poems out loud and draw pictures for them, they are a lot of fun."

 

History- "I like being able to color and doing maps and mom says we're doing history, I don't think we are because we're just reading books I like. Sometimes we have art projects and I love those because I like to color and draw."

 

Explode the Code- "It's really easy and it helps me read and spell."

 

French- "I like being able to copy what someone else says and I don't have to do worksheets each day, it's fun and short."

 

Primary Language Lessons- "I like looking at the pictures and talking about them. I also like that I have something different to do each day. Mom says I have to be especially careful when I write and I like that, it reminds me of the poem "Work" because I like doing my best the first time." (and Mom says, whoa!)

 

Piano- "I like playing the piano and learning how to read notes, I feel like it is something special just for me."

 

Reading books- "I love reading to my Mom, we laugh at the funny parts and she helps me with difficult words. Even when I feel it's too hard, she's there helping me so I don't feel bad. I like reading about different things but I really like animal stories."

 

Science- "Science is really cool right now, we're learning about the planets and we're going outside to see nature too. I love going outside with Mom, I wish we could do it everyday but it doesn't always happen. I wish (my brother) could stay inside sometimes so Mom and I could just walk and talk more. I also love my nature journal, I just don't know what to put in it at times because I want to put everything. I really want to learn how to use a compass."

 

Lessons are done with enthusiasm now and they go quickly, can it stay this way forever? Please....

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:D I'm afraid and embarrassed to say that nothing excites me kids right now about school. We did that cookie dough map of Anc. Egypt this morning instead of regular school work and they did get into that. Oh, and we'll make our bird feeder later and they are looking forward to that. So...I guess anything hands-on that doesn't include math, spelling, grammar, writing, etc. :) In all fairness though, nothing is really exciting me these days so I can't really blame them! I've never been this stressed at 8 1/2 mos. pregnant before. Never. :(

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My boys love history -- Sonlight Core 3 -- and they beg me to hurry up and get to history. They are big readers so they love listening to all the books and they get to draw or play legos while I read to them. I stop often and ask them questions about what I just read (to make sure they are paying attention) and they respond right away. I'm so happy that they enjoy books about girls (The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Calico Bush) just as much as they like the books about boys.

 

A close second is logic with the Mindbenders books. And p.e. is always a hit at our house.

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I'm sitting here reading the boards while my boys are on the floor behind me drawing, labeling and coloring the map of the United States together. My 7 year old is "teaching" my 5 year old how to "do maps."

 

Geography is THE hit here. My boys would draw and label maps all day long if I let them. I'm sitting here chuckling as I listen to the conversations they are having about their work and I can't believe how fired up they are about it.

 

Very little, to be honest. Read-alouds are probably at the top of the list.

What really excites my boys, though, is uninterrupted play/listening/reading time for oldest and play/read-alouds/projects for middle dc.

Youngest is only 4, so play and more play is the favorite :D

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Oh, you meant school subjects? :rolleyes:

 

Nothing, to be honest. DS is not the most enthusiastic scholar in town, and does not exactly shine with his "love of learning".

 

He is okay with reading, and likes history, but I would not say he is excited about anything related to learning.

Michelle T

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All things Narnia. We've been reading the whole series and are in The Last Battle now. They play Narnia in so many different ways--with their dollhouse, with their Narnia action figures that keep losing body parts, with their Lego castle, with dress-up clothes. They draw scenes from the books all of the time and I have to guess what they are (I need to remember that the green stick figure is Puddleglum and I keep guessing the Lady of the Green Kirtle). They beg Daddy to set up the computer to show the preview for Prince Caspian and then they watch it over and over and laugh at Prince Caspian's accent. They are counting down the days until May 16 when it opens.

 

If you mean academics, we're a history-loving household. History is scheduled last as the incentive to get everything else done so we can get to history.

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For all of my kids, reading good books on any topic history, science, literature, etc. would come first. Running a close second would be hands on projects, lapbooking and science experiments for the girls and Kumon workbooks (especially cutting and mazes) for my 3yo. For this time of the year, finishing up books comes in at a close third.

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My ds 9 is a huge history/geography fan, but the projects are his favorite by far. When we come to the next chapter in SOTW, he goes through the activity book to find out what the projects will be!

 

Dd 6 is my science & math girl, and she loves doing experiments. She also loves art projects.

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My dd 9 gets excited about Science right now....we were doing History of Science (she loves to read), but she wasnt really getting into it, so I switched to "Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day" by Jeanne Fulbright and she LOVES it, she asked if we could do science today first thing and it is not even our science day. She also loves SOTW history, which we are not doing this year because I wanted the focus to be mostly American History, but I just switched from "Exploring American History" to "The Story of the Great Republic" by Guerber and she likes it much better!

 

We also switched (we did a lot of switching this year LOL) from Abeka to ILL and she likes it better although I can't say its her favorite subject, she does like making up stories though.

 

She also gets excited about Art & Music.

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Two teen boys here who seem solely motivated by computer screens and video games.:eek: When it comes to school, things that seem less despised (lol) -- which, I think they really *do* enjoy, it's just they think they have to keep up the pretense of: "if it's school, we hate it":

 

- reading/discussing books aloud

- logic (Fallacy Detective, Thinking Toolbox)

- various critical thinking puzzles which we do together

- science experiments (love anything involving matches, explosive chemical reactions, etc.)

- educational science or history videos/TV shows

- field trips

 

Neither boy here has ever cared for "arts & crafts" or coloring pages. They haven't minded the occasional hands-on activity to go along with history. But when it comes to math, writing, art, music, etc. -- "just the facts ma'am, so we can get this over with."

 

Just my boys' learning style and interests -- which they *didn't* inherit from me, because I LOVE doing it all and learning about anything! (lol). -- Lori D.

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Anything I'm reading out loud to the kids excites them. My dd's get excited over assigned projects that allow them to decide what that project will be. My son gets excited over science experiments. Everyone gets excited over upcoming breaks! :)

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And cooking. And Legos. Hmmm...she likes a lot of stuff, LOL. Not too hot on math, but anything that involves reading or hands-on stuff, she's into.

 

DS3....he likes making a big mess and playing outside. And "making maps" LOL. I draw a big assymetric outline on a piece of paper and he colors it in, different sections different colors, as dd is doing her mapwork. My favorite quote, "See these lines over here? This is the beach. And over there is Babylon." ROFL.

 

:)

Melissa

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(especially those of you who don't have budding scholars!:))

 

My ds (7) passion right now is....

 

Nintendo DS :o

 

If I pressed him for what "learning" activites he enjoys, it would be:

 

Lego Robotics class (offered through a resource center), soccer, and science (done according to TWTM!)

 

DD (5) playing Barbies, and imagining life on a farm with a barn full of animals.

 

For both- read alouds (currently Ms. Piggle-Wiggle, formerly James and the Giant Peach)

 

Here's hoping that reading aloud for hours upon end will keep the love of learning alive!!

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Wow, what an interesting, lovely group of children we parent!

 

DS 9 enjoys making money, thinking about making money, being a business man. We've been experimenting with dog biscuit recipes to sell under the name Peachey Pooch Treats.

 

DS 7 loves Star Wars Lego, SOTW audio cd's, and Math.

 

They both love Webkinz, March break, beaching.

 

DD 4 loves being a princess, giving Mommy-make overs and working at the art table.

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Um, IS there life outside of dinosaurs? Oh, yeah. Trains. That is all.

 

Unless you're 4. And a girl. Dd loves horses. Fairies, princesses, and dress-ups are good, too, but horses are all that really matter.

 

Wait, we were talking school. Ds7 enjoys science. Especially when it's about dinosaurs. LOL

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Guest Lorna

Both children love to make paper dolls, cities, game cards and play with Kapla bricks.

My daughter gets very excited over books and reading.

My son loves machines, electronics, swimming, writing stories and science.

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For ds4, it is definitely science. He tells us he is a scientist. Last year he checked out every volume about volcanos in the non-fiction section of our library. I learned more about plate tectonics from reading to him than I ever did in school. He is constantly collecting rocks and fossils, which he keeps in a large plastic container in his room to get out and study whenever he likes. When we go to the library, he chooses books such as Rocks and Minerals, Magnificent Meteorites, and Everything You Need To Know to Be a Paleontologist. Dd finds these titles extremely dull, but ds loves them. When we started the last one he said, "Mom, I might want to be a Paleontologist, but I want to read the book first and find out more about it." I actually think it is meant to be a textbook for junior high or high school. For holidays, our relatives have started buying him gifts such as a microscope and experiment kits because that is what really floats his boat.

 

Dd6.5 likes to read. And she loves to put together our U.S.A. puzzle and sing the U.S.A. songs from our Geography songs cd. She also delights in being able to recite something that she has memorized. She really enjoys getting to do special projects, such as science experiments.

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