Homeschool Chat

[LittleBlue22]

Hi everyone.
I know that I haven't been around here lately. However, our school year is going well. Next week we will take off and head to the mountains in TN. We are looking forward to that. We are meeting up with friends from Texas.

I wanted to let you know about a wonderful devotional book that I use each morning. It was written by a homeschool mom and it is written to homeschool moms. A homeschool friend gave it to me for Christmas last year. It is a wonderful way to be encouraged each morning before I start my day. Some of you might know about it. However, I know that some of you are new to homeschooling and might not know about it. Here is the information: http://www.aophomeschooling.com/homeschool-resources/other-resources/ar8001.prod



Also, while looking for the link for this devotional, I came across an announcement for a homeschool giveaway! You can register to win the devotional book or an entire curriculum!
Here is the link for the contest: http://www.aop.com/news/alpha-omega-publications-announces-homeschool-giveaway

ETA: I just registered for the contest. When you fill out the entry form, there is a blank that you can check to receive the daily devotionals by email each day! That way you can get it for free without buying the book!!!!

Thank you for sharing I hadn't heard of it.

 

[feedthebirds]

Hi all! I am in need of help! We are thinking of HS...but here is my big question...how do you get your kids to agree? My children love going to school and I fear that they will really fight being hs and that may keep them from being receptive to the entire idea. I want this to be enjoyable for them and am really kinda tired of what is going on in PS here. Also, can you guys send me to some resources that you trust than I can learn more of what I need to be prepared for? TIA!

I also second the recommend for the Lisa Welchel book! Great stuff.

My older girls really resisted the idea of homeschooling. I made sure to involve them, but also kept in mind that as children, they were seeing something they were unfamilliar with, something unsure. As an adult, I had a different perspective than they did, as a parent I feel that my kids do not always know what is best for them. For me, I had to remember that I was doing what my dh and I felt needed to be done for our family at that time. Now that my kids know what it is all about, they love it. They really had a good time loading the software on the computer, getting hands on with things. They have their old friends (and we are now free of a few bullies we were dealing with, though not my reason for homeschooling) and now they have new friends we have met through a homeschooling group. I also noticed a change in their overall attitude for the better. My 12 year old says she never wants to go back to ps, she truthfully was bored, she reads at a 12 gr level and was overall not challenged enough. I am able to meet her needs better at home.

 

[feedthebirds]

!

We have SOS and Lifepac too. I'm am pleased with their material. The only frustration I get with SOS is some of the video voices are garbled. Maybe its just my video application .

Thank you for the welcome!

I have not had any problems with my videos with SOS, I wish I could help you! (though I did have to buy a new sound card for my computer after we moved). Did you call them? They have an excellent tech department.

Thanks for the info on the devotional TLHB70!

Wishing you all a wonderful learning day tomorrow!

 

[Temair]

My dd is 9 and doing grade 4 curriculum. The last 2 years we have been with a virtual school and this is our first year of really homeschooling where I'm in charge, and make sure everything is done. My DD had an assignment to read any book and write a book report. It took her 3 days to read the book and then 2 weeks to write the report. It was terrible. I will never claim to be a great writer, I did enough to pass highschool but never really understood what I was suposed to do
i just followed the forumla and filled in the blanks kind of thing. My DH is more talented in this area and took what my DD wrote and has been helping her to rewrite it in more detail, and in a better format. The problem he has found is my DD can read the words and the sentence but she just doesn't understand what she just read. My DH says the best thing is to continue o do book reports and that will help her reading comprehension. Any other advice? Is this normal for kids?

 

[sha_lyn]

I wish I had some advice for you, but I'm going through the exact same thing with 11DD. She is taking forever to write her paper on Macbeth

 

[mykidsintow]

Sounds like you need to be reading ahead of her and asking questions. Its comprehension she needs help with. So I would ask lots of questions on each chapter and then on each book. After reading a lesson, ask question to followup and see what she is getting from it.

Its fairly common for kids to master reading and struggle with comprehension. I would definitely work on questions. I am sure there are many books that have questions that go along with them...

Good luck! One of the moms in my local grouping is struggling with this same thing with her 5th grader.

 

[graygables]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/ is having a huge sale through the 28th. They are lap books (we use the ebook versions) that cover a plethora of subjects. We just finished Ancient Rome and Ohio and are working on Thanksgiving.

I joined their super membership ($60) and saved 45% off of all the lap books I ordered for the rest of the school year! Plus, I get access to free books each months and all kinds of printables.

I love this product; for the first time, my girls come to me and ask when we are going to work on them. They are great for anyone who likes to cut, color, glue, and create. They are also easy to travel with, so we'll be taking ours to Disney for the month of January.

 

[Ashley Kees]

My dd is 9 and doing grade 4 curriculum. The last 2 years we have been with a virtual school and this is our first year of really homeschooling where I'm in charge, and make sure everything is done. My DD had an assignment to read any book and write a book report. It took her 3 days to read the book and then 2 weeks to write the report. It was terrible. I will never claim to be a great writer, I did enough to pass highschool but never really understood what I was suposed to do
i just followed the forumla and filled in the blanks kind of thing. My DH is more talented in this area and took what my DD wrote and has been helping her to rewrite it in more detail, and in a better format. The problem he has found is my DD can read the words and the sentence but she just doesn't understand what she just read. My DH says the best thing is to continue o do book reports and that will help her reading comprehension. Any other advice? Is this normal for kids?

First off, . Don't get discouraged.
Secondly, I REALLY suggest you put a moratorium on the book reports and go back to basics, so to speak. Her issue is reading comprehension, so you need to start smaller than a book.
1. Give her some "quizzes" similar to spelling tests. Read one sentence out loud, then have her write down what you said. Reciting the words she sees does not require her to actually PROCESS the words, but hearing the words and then writing them down forces her to process meaning.
2. Give her worksheets with a short paragraph at the top, and a few questions regarding content at the bottom. As she gets better, give her longer paragraphs, short stories, etc. until she works her way up to books again.
Alternatively, you can have her read the paragraph out loud to you, and then you ask her questions.

If you really want to stay with books, try doing a short "report" over each page or chapter instead of the whole book at once.

You're doing great, and she'll get it soon!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I agree Ashley Kees!! We do that with the Charlotte Mason method-Narration. Read to them and have them answer back to you what they just heard. You can do it page by page, paragraph by paragraph, whatever until the comprehension kicks in.

Ashley---You leave tomorrow!!!! YIPPEE for you!!! post some pictures for us when you get back!! Oh, I am VERY curious how the EMH hours are working without writstbands!!! Have fun!!!

 

[Ellester]

We've also been working with comprehension with our dd10. She is an avid reader, but has trouble getting across what she has read. I got her a reading comprehension workbook and I think that it has helped dramatically. Ours is from Seton (http://www.setonhome.org/curriculum/seeinside.php?ToView=P-RD05-15), but I'm sure there are non-Catholic ones out there. Hers is an ongoing story about two boys in ancient Egypt. Each week she reads basically a chapter (one page) and has to answer 8-10 questions on the passage. Sometimes she does great, other times I am amazed that she can't get what seem to me to be the simplest questions right. But, week to week I have seen an improvement. I decided on this over book reports for now because I don't want her to stop liking to read, which was what was happening when I asked too many questions about the "fun" books she was reading.

We also used "Diamond Notes" from Sonlight (http://www.sonlight.com/RL67.html) to work on writing skills. I really liked the format and I think it was a nice, gentle way to introduce basic writing skills.

 

[tethermagee]

We always jsut talked about the books we read. No book reports. Whether they would be the book lovers now, had we done the same thing, I don't know.

Either way, one can check for comprehension, and teach a child to pay more attention. I think it is an individual thing.

 

[feedthebirds]

Have any of you used Rosetta Stone? We are considering French or Japanese (my cousin's daughter speaks Japanese and I think this would be fun for them to chat over the phone for conversation skills). Any other language curriculum suggestions?

 

[Nicolepa]

Hi all! I finally made it thru all 76 pages! I am Nicole, mom to an 8yo (3rd), 6yo (1st) and 9 month old. My oldest is highly gifted and in a great program in our district and typically works 1-2 years ahead.

We are thinking of hs our son next year. I love his teacher this year and the school overall is fine. The principal has rules for the sake of having rules and it is driving me crazy. My son has a 504 for a mild hearing loss. I feel because of that they are throwing a bunch of remedial reading class and an extra PE class (which the PE teaches says he probably doesn't need) etc. He got an almost perfect score on his evaluation for the reading class this period so I also question why he is there.

I am trying to figure out what cirriulum(s) to use that will work well for me (a Producer) and my son (an Inventor) with our different learning styles. I thrive on structure, lists, due dates etc. He is very tactile has to touch everything etc. So I am at a loss as to what would work well for us.

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[graygables]

I am trying to figure out what cirriulum(s) to use that will work well for me (a Producer) and my son (an Inventor) with our different learning styles. I thrive on structure, lists, due dates etc. He is very tactile has to touch everything etc. So I am at a loss as to what would work well for us.

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!

I am becoming a huge proponent of lap books. My post on 11/20 has the link to where we purchase ours. They offer enough structure, but still lots of hands on. We print ours out on white cardstock, so there is a LOT of coloring/art involved as well as the cutting out, folding, etc.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hi all! I finally made it thru all 76 pages! I am Nicole, mom to an 8yo (3rd), 6yo (1st) and 9 month old. My oldest is highly gifted and in a great program in our district and typically works 1-2 years ahead.

We are thinking of hs our son next year. I love his teacher this year and the school overall is fine. The principal has rules for the sake of having rules and it is driving me crazy. My son has a 504 for a mild hearing loss. I feel because of that they are throwing a bunch of remedial reading class and an extra PE class (which the PE teaches says he probably doesn't need) etc. He got an almost perfect score on his evaluation for the reading class this period so I also question why he is there.

I am trying to figure out what cirriulum(s) to use that will work well for me (a Producer) and my son (an Inventor) with our different learning styles. I thrive on structure, lists, due dates etc. He is very tactile has to touch everything etc. So I am at a loss as to what would work well for us.

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!

First of all WELCOME!! We are glad you are here...that was a lot to catch up on!!! I have talked about this book a page or so back-the 100Top Picks by Cathy Duffy-you gotta read it. It talks about diff learning styles and what curr. might work best for that-with websites so you can look specifically at each one and see what might be a great fit. Sorry your little man is having to deal with that-He will thrive even more at home!! Just keep reading!! To him,and with him-I love, love ,love all the Dr. Suess books-we are never to old to read them!! Ha!!!!

 

[Praise2Him]

Have any of you used Rosetta Stone? We are considering French or Japanese (my cousin's daughter speaks Japanese and I think this would be fun for them to chat over the phone for conversation skills). Any other language curriculum suggestions?

My DD is using Rosetta Stone French. This is her 2nd year and she loves it. I'm not crazy about it because I don't like to sit down at the computer to learn. I also think I bought the wrong version because it didn't come with any workbooks or tests (except on the computer), so make sure you get the Homeschool version!

I also found this website which looks pretty good, but haven't actually started it yet. It's a free language learning program from the State Dept. and has all kinds of languages, even obscure ones.

http://www.fsi-language-courses.com/

Also, our local library has a language program on their website that is free. I haven't looked at it yet, but supposedly you can chat with native speakers from other countries to improve your skills.

Finally, we have the book, "French for Dummies", as a resource to look up words we don't know. It also comes with a CD.

Hope this helps! I begged her to learn Spanish because it's so much more useful, but she wanted to learn French. Although, she plans to go into Fashion Design and live in Paris for a year to study, so maybe it will come in handy in a few years.

Oh yes, that reminds me - we did try one semester of Spanish using Power Glide. I loved it - she hated it! So I guess it all depends on your learning style.

 

[Nicolepa]

First of all WELCOME!! We are glad you are here...that was a lot to catch up on!!! I have talked about this book a page or so back-the 100Top Picks by Cathy Duffy-you gotta read it. It talks about diff learning styles and what curr. might work best for that-with websites so you can look specifically at each one and see what might be a great fit. Sorry your little man is having to deal with that-He will thrive even more at home!! Just keep reading!! To him,and with him-I love, love ,love all the Dr. Suess books-we are never to old to read them!! Ha!!!!

I have checked the 100 top picks out of the library. I am also reading Discover your child's Learning Style. I am confused by 100 top picks. She will give it a 3 or 4 for his learning style and then when I go online and look at her site it will say good for all BUT Competent Carl. LOL.

One example is Saxon. I was going to use that as I've heard so many good things. Then I look online and she says it's good for all BUT Competent Carl. I think he would like Singapore but I don't know how long I'll keep him home so I am hesitant to use it since it teaches things "out of order".

 

[feedthebirds]

My DD is using Rosetta Stone French. This is her 2nd year and she loves it. I'm not crazy about it because I don't like to sit down at the computer to learn. I also think I bought the wrong version because it didn't come with any workbooks or tests (except on the computer), so make sure you get the Homeschool version!

I also found this website which looks pretty good, but haven't actually started it yet. It's a free language learning program from the State Dept. and has all kinds of languages, even obscure ones.

http://www.fsi-language-courses.com/

Also, our local library has a language program on their website that is free. I haven't looked at it yet, but supposedly you can chat with native speakers from other countries to improve your skills.

Finally, we have the book, "French for Dummies", as a resource to look up words we don't know. It also comes with a CD.

Hope this helps! I begged her to learn Spanish because it's so much more useful, but she wanted to learn French. Although, she plans to go into Fashion Design and live in Paris for a year to study, so maybe it will come in handy in a few years.

Oh yes, that reminds me - we did try one semester of Spanish using Power Glide. I loved it - she hated it! So I guess it all depends on your learning style.

Thank you so much for the info. I was looking at the For Dummies series, and I thought that would be helpful too as a resource. I had no idea about the State Dept. site, thanks!

I have a friend who used Power Glide and her son did not like it at all but they stuck it out!

Best wishes to your daughter. My former neighbor's sister went to Paris to study fashion and ended up being a model (she had no intention of doing any modeling). She now does modeling in here in the US as well as fashion design (she's 23).

Thanks again!

 

[DawnM]

Pulling this back to the front page!

Dawn

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

good!! How are ya'll doing with the holidays coming up? Is everyone about ready to take off for Christmas? We are!!!!! We were very ready for break-time!!!! We have some days scheduled where we are going to do absolutely NOTHING!!! Glorious!!!!