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Looking For on-line supplement for 1st, 3rd (and maybe 5th) graders


km123175
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It's been a while since I've posted because things have been going along pretty well. 

 

We've been homeschooling essentially since the beginning (we had a one-year hiatus while I completed my doctorate). I work full-time; so, we school on evenings, weekends, and assigned work when they are home. Their dad helps whe he's home with them as well; they also attend a 2 day-per-week academic center for homeschoolers (focus is on science, history, writing, PE, and a smathering of some art).

 

The kids stay with their grandparents 2 days per week. This is where I need help.  WHen I send a stack of work to be completed (even if it is just reading a story in the reader, having a grandparent read the history chapter, etc.), it doesn't happen.  Ever.

 

So, I'm trying to find something that is paced and has specific checkpoints of specific activities that my kids can do while at their grandparents' house.  I don't want them to have to work all day, but I want them to have some educational input/activities while at the grandparents' house. It needs to be mostly independent (the 3rd grader would need to be able to help the 1st grader if needed).

 

 

I've checked out the ones listed below (as best I can).  Does anyone have experience with these?

 

Time for Learning - this seems very childish.  Do children actually learn real content here? Again, my point is educational activities that give them knowledge or shore up on skills.

 

www.acellus.com - this seems more academic just because it is not an animated video.

 

Monarch/Switched on Schoolhouse.  This is a bit too Christian for my tastes, and it won't work for my 1st grader, and I'm not sure my struggling reader 3rd grader will do well with that much text based (at least based on what I see there).

 

 

I also see several "on-line curriculum" distributors for various curricula that I can't get a good feel for what they actually offer.  We are not in a chater school state; so, all of those options (Connections Academy, K-12, etc.) are extremely expensive.  Laurel Springs and Oak Meadow are also out of our price range.  We are willing to spend up to $1000 per year for all 3 kids combined. I know that limits our options, but we're on fixed budgets.

 

We already have a subscription to Dreambox and starfall.  But, we'd like something with checklists of specific activities that the child should complete (which is what led me to acellus and Time for Learning). I guess we could just add a Brain Pop Subscription and require them to watch a lesson from each of the content areas - but we have no way to track that to ensure they actually did work, correct?  Maybe I'm wrong and there is a tracking feature there.

 

 

Again, I'm mostly looking for something they can do while I am at work and they spend time at grandma's house.  They will need to complete the lessons before the TV turns on (or at least complete the work before I get there to pick them up).

 

I'm sure you guys have some good ideas for me to consider that I haven't found yet in my hours of searching. :)

 

Thanks!

 

Kimberly

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You might take a look at MobyMax, which we've been using recently in a couple of areas. While I don't think it's possible to assign specific tasks, it's pretty easy to say to the kids, "I want you to set a timer and do 20 minutes of X and 20 minutes of Y." There are reports you can look at to make sure they actually spent the time you wanted them to spend. You can even specify writing assignments you want them to do and submit to you within the system, though I have not tried that.

 

We also use Khan Academy in the same way -- both of my kids finished their math books early this year and then switched to using Khan academy for review and independent learning.

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At the grandparent's house they watch TV/movies All. day. long. Literally from the second we walk in the door until I pick them up. The TV never turns off.  The oldest, when she would take a stack (very small) of work to do there would have to go to a different room to even be able to think to get anything done.  So, I'm thinking if the grandparents didn't have to do anything except let them sit in a room without a TV it would get done.

 

For my sanity, they have to start doing something at their grandparents' house besides watching TV and eating junk food.  I've resigned my self to not winning the junk food battle in the near future, but I feel like I can win the viewing battle - IF I have something that I can track that it was completed and it is pretty much independent work.

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Sumdog.com for math is free, but you can subscribe to get more features and data tracking.

Khan academy, but you need to set it up and pick a program for them, show them how to use it.

How about making a private blog for them with a checklist of things to do online? I did this one year and may for next year. I used lots of resources (sheppard geography games, math games, mrnussbaum site, you tube videos even, 

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Thanks for that log idea.  I'm really hoping to find something that will work, won't cost me a ton, and won't take me a lot of time to set up and implement. I know that's asking a lot. But at this time in our lives, I don't want to piece together what they do at grandma's ...I just want them to do something educational.

 

My energy for scouring for daily wor for grandma's house is just enough to find something that will make it pretty simple for me to manage after I get it ordered and log-ins created.

 

By the way, the middle will do her TT lessons while at grandma's house.  So, that's one thing off my list.

 

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At the grandparent's house they watch TV/movies All. day. long. Literally from the second we walk in the door until I pick them up. The TV never turns off. The oldest, when she would take a stack (very small) of work to do there would have to go to a different room to even be able to think to get anything done. So, I'm thinking if the grandparents didn't have to do anything except let them sit in a room without a TV it would get done.

 

For my sanity, they have to start doing something at their grandparents' house besides watching TV and eating junk food. I've resigned my self to not winning the junk food battle in the near future, but I feel like I can win the viewing battle - IF I have something that I can track that it was completed and it is pretty much independent work.

eek I see the problem. I was hoping gardening and baking and a nap. The homeschooling co-op has a bunch of free summer subscriptions at the moment so maybe try always ice cream/clever dragons for the oldest? There is also an educational streaming one that is only for the US and others although not all the right age group.

 

eta. I haven't activated it yet but I think clever dragons has a parent dashboard so you can see where they are.

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Clever dragons.  I'm off to look that up now. :)

I've see the options listed on Global Student Network website.  It lists a few options.  Two of which are:

 

A+ Courseware for homeschool

 

Oddeseyware

 

I'm just not sure what the products are - if they're really something else being distributed by a different name, or if they are specific products.  A+ courseware comes with Study Island (which is from Edumentum - which offers PLATO Courseware - so, I'm wondering if it is the same thing).

 

Has anyone used any of these options? Or know if that is actually a reputable site? I can't seem to get any real demo or comments from them.

 

Thanks again!

 

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My 4 yo (doing 1st grade work) and my DD (rising 2nd) love Mathseeds and Readingeggs. It is appropriate through about 1st grade but there also is something for older kids ages 7-12 I just haven't needed it so I don't know much about it. They will send you reports after every few lessons to help you track progress.

 

I also have my rising 2nd and rising 6th doing Redbird from Stanford's Gifted and Talented program. The older does both language arts and math and the younger does just the math right now. It is geared toward grades K-8 (math) and grades 2-8 (language arts). I find it very thorough and challenging for my kiddoes.

 

I got both online subscriptions at a reduced price from Homeschool Buyers Coop.  HTH!

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My 4 yo (doing 1st grade work) and my DD (rising 2nd) love Mathseeds and Readingeggs. It is appropriate through about 1st grade but there also is something for older kids ages 7-12 I just haven't needed it so I don't know much about it. They will send you reports after every few lessons to help you track progress.

 

I also have my rising 2nd and rising 6th doing Redbird from Stanford's Gifted and Talented program. The older does both language arts and math and the younger does just the math right now. It is geared toward grades K-8 (math) and grades 2-8 (language arts). I find it very thorough and challenging for my kiddoes.

 

I got both online subscriptions at a reduced price from Homeschool Buyers Coop.  HTH!

 

Hi...does the Redbird program require that they actually be gifted or tallented?  Because my younger 2 for sure aren't in that category academincally (just regular ol' folks). I'm looking into it.

 

But I think I might decide to go with Acellus...it seems to offer most of the options that I want.  I also will probably add the Reading Eggs subscription (if I can convince my husband that the free childcare from his mom means that we're saving money to pay for the programs!). :)

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We like MobyMax.  I also like Clever Dragons.  We just started using that one but it has been super fun for the kids and educational.  They have many categories of games and learning activities.  You can even choose what grade level they are working at.  It is free right now through homeschoolbuyerscoop - through Aug. 15.

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I would have a talk with the grandparents -- the constant tv is the problem, not the schoolwork. I would vote for no TV at all.

 

Yes.  I've had the converstaion with the grandparents since the oldest was an infant.  After 10 years, I'm just going to accept that they are not going to turn the TV off at their house.  So, I have to make another plan - and I can't afford additional days of childcare right now.  If this were a sitter situation they would have been fired long ago.  It's hard to fire grandparents when you don't have any other reasonably affordable options.

 

I did talk to Grandma yesterday about the work they MUST do before any "fun time." - Including excersising between lessons on the computer.  The nice thing is that with Acellus I can live monitor what they are doing and I can call and ask to talk to them and tell them to work - instead of relying on grandma to make sure it gets done.

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