moonlight Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Hello, I would like some advice. I have a 3rd grade boy and not enough time/energy to get everything I want done with him. We consistently get math and reading and some writing done. That requires me to sit next to him to make sure he is on track. On his own, he does his memory work and reading daily as well. He is usually done A LOT earlier than his older brother. If he does not have something to do then he is distracting to his older brother and even his little one (who plays by himself a lot more calmly if his brother is otherwise engaged!) I have books on Cd that he sometimes listens to, Brainpop Jr. that he likes, Logic Puzzles (Rush hour, Chocolate Fix, etc) and some iPad games that I will let him do for his "enrichment time." I need ideas for him that are totally independent. Spelling, writing, logic, science and history would be great if they could get done consistently. I don't want ideas that require time from me, otherwise it becomes another curriculum/curriculum/game that has to wait for me to find time! Any ideas? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weintz8 Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I struggle with this a lot also :-(. I have one kid who gets his work done super fast and then distracts everyone else who is still working. Two options that I have found for him are; Rosetta Stone (stupid expensive!! I know, but it requires 0 work from me and since I make him repeat the lesson until he gets an 80% or better, it can take up a lot of time without frustrating or creating work for me) and Journaling (he's required to write one notebook page about any thing he would like, I don't check anything on this except to make sure that it's done). Maybe one of these would help you? I've also started making him do his independent reading by timer not by chapter (as my other kids do). He must read for 45 min as opposed to one or two chapters. I'm hoping other people have some suggestions I can use also!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weintz8 Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I struggle with this a lot also :-(. I have one kid who gets his work done super fast and then distracts everyone else who is still working. Two options that I have found for him are; Rosetta Stone (stupid expensive!! I know, but it requires 0 work from me and since I make him repeat the lesson until he gets an 80% or better, it can take up a lot of time without frustrating or creating work for me) and Journaling (he's required to write one notebook page about any thing he would like, I don't check anything on this except to make sure that it's done). Maybe one of these would help you? I've also started making him do his independent reading by timer not by chapter (as my other kids do). He must read for 45 min as opposed to one or two chapters. I'm hoping other people have some suggestions I can use also!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 I can't imagine he would sit for Rosetta Stone. I actually own a couple of languages of it. It might be too dry for him. I have Little Pim that I could try for him though. I LOVE the journaling idea. I remember now that I started this last year and promptly forgot about it! :glare: Thanks! Something I have done that might work for you: I have a craft box with a ton of art/craft supplies that he has free access to and he uses it a lot. Just not in the daytime when I want him to, but in the evenings! I don't have the good quality stuff in there though, but lots of non messier things: creamy crayons, craft sticks, duct tape, washi tape, dot art sticks, foam stickers, stickers, glitter glue, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, easter grass, paper bags, feathers, small wood craft kits. I am also going to put together an "engineering" box with a specific challenge and materials needed for that project in baggies and he can dig one out at a time. this will be a bit time consuming to put together and I have a lot going on so it might take a couple of months before I get to it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 My fourth grader did History Odyssey Level 1 Early Modern last year mostly independently. I went through at the beginning of the year and marked what I felt were appropriate amounts of work for each day, and then he did the work himself, asking for help where needed, and I checked it and asked him about it later. He read SOTW and the Usborne Encyclopedia himself and did the mapwork and note-taking himself. He is doing Mr. Q for science this year and reading it to himself, and he's doing well with it. I think he could have read it to himself last year as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Would he do workbooks on his own? If so, look at the Critical Thinking Company workbook series (we use Language Smarts, there are several other language arts series as well as math, science, and logic), The Complete Book of …series (coverage includes geography, history, and civics) and Prufrock Press workbooks. Otherwise, science kits, snap circuits, or Lego Education products. If it is any consolation, my 3rd grader has a few workbooks he does semi-independently, but really, my 1st grader is far more independent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I'm usually pretty hesitant about independent work for this age, but with the parameters you're talking about - helping him productively fill his time with educational stuff basically while his sibs finish school - I think you can find some stuff. Some of it might take a few weeks of extra you time to set in motion though... There are some good logic workbooks out there - Logic Safari, Critical Thinking Company stuff, and some of the stuff from Tin Man Press - that can be independent. I like your idea of games. Some of the Muggins games can be played independently. How about a video time for science and history? You could have him watch all of Liberty's Kids for history and all of Bill Nye for science. Or you could cue up a long playlist of youtube videos. You could have him watch whatever is on The Kid Should See This every day as a routine. Great videos about cool stuff curated for kids. You don't need to preview them and could just bookmark the page. For writing, copywork can be independent. You could make a big copywork jar with quotes for copying. Or he could choose his own or you could chose for him. There are also a lot of workbook type grammar practice books on Scholastic's e-book page. I'd wait for a Dollar Deals sale, but many of the No More Boring Practice Please books are decent as workbooks go and could be independent. Or you could considering getting Evan-Moor's Daily Language Review or something along those lines. If it were me, I would try to separate out part of the math to make it math lesson and learning time and math drill and practice time. And then use that 15 minutes to do a spelling program during your regular time. I don't think spelling can be truly independent, especially not at this age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 For history, we got the Story of the World CD's and just play them in the background while the kids draw or do puzzles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Khan Academy for extra practice? Or Teaching Textbooks? Veritas Press Self-paced history courses? Possibly videos assigned from this site? http://www.zaneeducation.com/ A typing program like Type to Learn 4 or Typing Pal where the program is the teacher and you just periodically make certain they are sitting correctly with the correct finger position? One of the educational programs on DVD like Bill Nye the Science Guy or a show based on history like Liberty's Kids? Sorry xposted while others were saying the same thing... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Some of the things that have worked for us as independent work/educational activities: Sequential Spelling on DVD- my 9 y/o has done it 100% independently for two full years now Evan Moor Daily Math review Reviewing math facts- xtramath.com, reflexmath.com, regular flashcards, this book Foreign language practice- I don't expect my kids to teach themselves another language, but my oldest can review flashcards, vocabulary, find an online game like DuoLingo or app for enrichment, etc. in addition to our regular lessons and classes Read Listen to audiobooks Watch approved shows (documentaries, Bill Nye, Cosmos, Liberty Kids, etc.) Practice their instrument Khan Academy Various arts and crafts (drawing, working with air dry clay, etc.) Working on large jigsaw puzzles Assigning them to start at the beginning of the Snap Circuit booklet and go through the projects in order one by one, checking them off as they go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohini Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I also have a boy ;). If he has access to a computer there are a couple of fun educational things that I think have a lot of value and are really independent. He LOVES the VP self paced history course he's doing (it's still on sale for $99 I think.) He LOVES Teaching Textbooks - which we do as "extra math" for fun after all the other stuff is done. He LOVES LOVES LOVES Timez Attack (so much that I have to tell him to cut it out ! :glare: ) He loves logging his books and browsing books on Biblionaseum. And he Loves Hour of Code (free coding lessons for Java etc..) All of these things are completely independent and high motivation - also super educational. I know they add to screen time but honestly, we've replaced almost all "entertainment" screen time with these activities, which I'm thrilled about. Another thought would be to get him involved in a martial art that would require him to practice particular sequences and moves... alone, and possibly outside - which is another thing that keeps my ds busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Spelling, writing, logic, science and history would be great if they could get done consistently. I don't want ideas that require time from me, otherwise it becomes another curriculum/curriculum/game that has to wait for me to find time! I always have a certain amount of seat work for my elementary aged kids. And I don't want busy work; I want independent work that will extend the lessons. Logic: We love the Orbiting with Logic series by Prufrock Press. These are probably best started in 4th grade, but the Primary Logic series is good for 3rd grade. We've also used the Building Thinking Skills books by Critical Thinking Press. Science: I don't think this should be done independently. Whether you do a formal science or let him do some delight directed science, this is best done with some accountability and teaching. History: My ds loves the self-paced history through Veritas Press. Many days, I sit with him to work through it, but there are just as many days that he does it completely independently or with me working in the kitchen while he's on the computer. Very few glitches and this is like dessert for his day. Hope some of this helps, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I have two 8, almost 9, year old sons. We do spelling, Latin and History/Science together. Most of the time they do the majority of their math, grammar, writing independently, with me checking in on them here and there or they ask for help when needed. We use CLE math and it starts out with new teaching which I sometimes have to help with but sometimes they can read it on their own and do it without help. Then there is a larger section called We Remember where they are doing review problems that they can do without help. For Grammar we are trying IEW's Fix It! Grammar this year for the first time and, so far, we are all loving it. I teach something new once a week. The rest of the week they are practicing it and require very little help so far. Each lesson has them look up a vocabulary word in the dictionary, copy the definition that fits the use of the word in the sentence, fix a provided sentence, adding punctuation, marking n above nouns, ar above articles, etc. and then copy the corrected sentence (without the markings) onto a separate piece of paper. They add one sentence a day and they are actually writing an entire story that is interesting. We are really enjoying this, they are learning a lot and most of the work is fairly independent. For writing we are finishing up IEW's Bible Heroes. I work with both of them together one day a week to help them create their key word outline. The next day I work with them separately to brainstorm strong verbs, adjectives, etc. and then they are pretty much on their own to write the rough draft. I edit their rough draft and explain to them any corrections and then they are on their own to copy it to their final draft. They are also required to read-to-self for 40 minutes, although I need to up that to 45 soon. We are working towards an hour. One son also does piano practice for 18 minutes on his own. I don't know if any of that helps or not but that is the independent work my 3rd graders do right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 Thanks for all the replies. I should have mentioned that he is not a strong reader. While he can read appropriate leveled books to himself, I doubt he could do the history reading to himself and me feel that it was accurate. I love the Story of the World Cds idea though. I had lent out my CDs and am just noticing that the whole case is empty! Argh! Now to track that down.. I think I have some Critical Thinking Workbooks lying around. Should see if any of them are appropriate for him. The Complete Book of Science might be good for him. Something to keep him busy with.. Bill Nye and Liberty's kids are a great idea. I also have a ton of other educational videos like Cyberchase. Just have to make sure the older one is in a different room for that. I just got the Lego WeDo that he is going to start soon. Thanks everyone for all the great ideas. These should keep us busy for a while. I just need a better organization system to make sure he knows these options are available to him and to keep him going from one activity to the next. I guess that would be another thread.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarabellesmom Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Sequential Spelling with the DVD? My daughter was able to do that for spelling independently, and it was effective too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarabellesmom Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Or Phonetic Zoo, that's supposed to be independent isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Things that my 3rd grader does independently or with only a little help from me: -Complete Book of Maps and Geography -Spelling Workout -Logic Safari -Pentime (penmanship practice) -BBC Dance Mat typing (free, online) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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