tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42013212090714587372024-03-19T05:34:21.931-06:00Sceleratus Classical AcademytheYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.comBlogger416125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-53825194131345646272018-01-29T14:44:00.002-07:002018-01-31T18:03:35.729-07:00Spy School: Communication<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Secret-Decoder-Activity/dp/B00H2XRACE/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&qid=1517248820&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=Melissa+and+Foug+Secret+decoder+deluxe+activity+set&linkCode=li2&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=215c4b9f9b4b827305aa91f6db1d3053" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00H2XRACE&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=sceleclassaca-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sceleclassaca-20&l=li2&o=1&a=B00H2XRACE" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />This is a summary of what we did the first three weeks of Spy School and a guide/suggestions for those who wish to do it, too. I do not recommend Spy School for children who are still learning to read. For young kids who can read some, the <a href="http://amzn.to/2GrH4oe" target="_blank">Melissa & Doug Secret Decoder set</a> is a great set for independent (or some adult help needed, depending on reading ability) exploration on the topic of codes and hidden messages. I don't remember when I got this kit for the boys, it was between 2-4 years ago. Their favorite part was the invisible ink marker that could be revealed with a different marker. That was my favorite part, too, because it had my reluctant writer, Builder Boy, writing all on his own initiative! It was that activity and result that gave me the idea to make Spy School.<br />
<h4>
Resources:</h4>
If you have elementary students (3rd-6th grade work ability) you can make Spy School with just the <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2DICiRG" target="_blank">Spy Science</a></i> and <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2DJZwXB" target="_blank">Detective Science</a></i> books, plus some <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mrswarde/homeschool-spy-school/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> DIY. If your kids are middle school and up, or are very interested in the topic and capable of doing more, some additional resources will be necessary. There is overlap in my suggestions, and I bought more books than I really needed to because I recently discovered Thrift Books where I can find a lot of books I want in good condition for $4 on average. Free shipping on orders for $15 in the US, and a reward program that gives you $5 spend every $50 you accumulate in purchases. And a referral program (<a href="https://www.thriftbooks.com/share/?code=t%252fI%252bCPhgz01yO%252fmCdl2Prw%253d%253d" target="_blank">this link will get you 15% off your first purchase</a>.) Some of the books I already had purchased years ago, either new or at a thrift store, because my kids aren't the only ones who think codes are cool.<br />
<h3>
General Schedule:</h3>
(For an expanded explanation of the schedule, <a href="https://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2018/01/spy-school-general-outline-schedule.html" target="_blank">I blogged about that here</a>.)<br />
<h4>
Monday-Thursday: </h4>
(<a href="https://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2018/01/spy-school-set-up-and-first-day.html" target="_blank">First Day</a> only) Introduction to the concept and issuing of gear bags, choose Secret Agent Code Names, and make ID cards. <br />
<ul>
<li>Move Like a Spy</li>
<li>History of Spying</li>
<li>Talk Like a Spy</li>
<li>Themed Activity</li>
<li>Themed Activity</li>
<li>Write a Mission Report to Headquarters </li>
</ul>
<b>Friday: Mystery! </b>(I will be blogging about the mysteries separately.) <br />
<ul>
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<h3>
Week 1:</h3>
For our first week, <b>Move Like a Spy</b> was learning how to walk silently. We used some of the resources <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mrswarde/homeschool-spy-school/move-like-a-spy/" target="_blank">linked here</a>, and practiced by having one person sitting with their back to the rest of the room and having the other person try to sneak up on them without being heard. If the listener did hear them (and isn't just guessing) then the sneaker goes back to the beginning. Over the week as they got better at it we added obstacles like tissue paper and other things on the floor that they had to notice and move around to avoid making a sound. We also tried doing it from longer distances, and found our it's a lot harder to be quiet on stairs.<br />
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<b>History of Spying</b> is outlining a two page spread every day from Clive Gifford's <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2DLlQ3b" target="_blank">Spies and Spying</a></i>. It was a learning lesson for me as well as the boys. I learned that it had been too long since we had done any narration and summary, and the skills had atrophied. Also, outlining was a big struggle for Builder Boy when I tried to teach him over a year ago, and Early Bird had never done it. I learned that it worked better if I did it along with them and let them copy my outline to get them used to the basic structure. Also, instead of having them read it I read it to them and then we discussed it and decided together what the unifying themes and most important things to take note of were. (For those who aren't sure how to do outlining, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2GtQJuC" target="_blank">The Well Trained Mind</a> </i>is my go-to resource. Most libraries carry it) How to outline is covered in chapter 16 (3rd edition) Why 1492? History and Geography in the Logic Stage under the heading "How to Outline" (page 297 in the 3rd edition.)) We are doing basic - dash and *dot layers so far. We do the main text together and then I let them chose one of the bubble/pop-up information blips to write their own short note on at the end.<br />
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A word of caution on <i>Spies and Spying</i>: this does cover history and war and mentions some terrible deaths for spies who were caught. Sensitive children who highly empathize may not work well with this book. It is not overly graphic as far as I have found so far, but please keep that in mind and pre-read for yourself. Though a benefit of this book is it had my 8 year old telling my husband about Fredrick the Great disagreeing with Machiavelli and then launching into an ethical discussion on leadership and war, so it is worth the work if your kid can handle the subject matter. I will however be skipping the end of the book with current conflicts. Early Bird can not handle knowing about current issues with his anxiety. Just seeing the news on a tv in the local McDonald's set him asking about North Korea and their missiles for weeks.<br />
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<b>Talk Like a Spy</b> is taken from the back of Spy Science. If we are still doing spy school and run out of glossary words before we are done then we will use words from the glossary of Detective Science. The first day they write the words down and I give them the definition verbally. This <i>always</i> prompts a discussion of some sort or the other as the boys verbally make connections or explore alternative definitions of the words that they know but are not used by the book. The second day I say the definitions and they tell me what word I'm describing. The third day I say the word and they define it to me. The fourth day I have them spell out loud the words that they should be able to spell at their level. Once a week, instead of writing a report they are allowed to write the vocabulary words in 5 unrelated sentences.<br />
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<b>Themed Activities</b>: For the first week the first themed activity was learning a new code for the first activity, and a communication exercise for the second activity.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Break-Code-Cryptography-Beginners-Childrens/dp/0486291464/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0486291464&pd_rd_r=PNHEG1CNE9F6YXP0DF0K&pd_rd_w=T473s&pd_rd_wg=eHHOC&psc=1&refRID=PNHEG1CNE9F6YXP0DF0K&linkCode=li2&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=3f62a61f1bc1204a2cf936e5388167d8" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0486291464&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=sceleclassaca-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sceleclassaca-20&l=li2&o=1&a=0486291464" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
For the codes I used the additional resource <a href="http://amzn.to/2EjvcnD" target="_blank"><i>Cryptography for Beginners</i></a>. This taught some codes that were new to my boys who already had some basic code knowledge. I liked that this book had activity pages that I could just photocopy without any other set-up or work. But you can easily do without this book. <i>Spy Science</i> has 3 cypher activities and one deciphering activity already. There are also codes available online you could learn about and DIY; I've collected some in my Pinterest Board, sub section "<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mrswarde/homeschool-spy-school/codes-and-hidden-messages/" target="_blank">Codes and Hidden Messages</a>." Pick one or two a day, depending on child's ability and stamina.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFs_Ib4mPsuFQSIkxjCW3pypSVrqBL580yNdXY8KZ6m_xmiO4T2sz-FTB8E2XdKqY0oZqQcxRRksYDe7P2yQvIZnfpIi-rHefONKsWtNl9wpTg7BT32tXTWzEbRuHWFf3KCPoJxguhBti/s1600/Comunication+Exercise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1440" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFs_Ib4mPsuFQSIkxjCW3pypSVrqBL580yNdXY8KZ6m_xmiO4T2sz-FTB8E2XdKqY0oZqQcxRRksYDe7P2yQvIZnfpIi-rHefONKsWtNl9wpTg7BT32tXTWzEbRuHWFf3KCPoJxguhBti/s640/Comunication+Exercise.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The communication exercise was of my own design. A good spy needs to be able to communicate with team members. I had the boys sit across the table from each other with a file folder in front of each, blocking their view. I then gave them the same things on either side and had one arrange them and then tell the other how they were arranged so he could copy it. They then pulled up the dividers to see if they replicated it correctly. Sometimes they did, sometimes they weren't specific enough and were a little off. This practiced not just accurate communication, but also trying to put yourself in the other person's perspective. We did it with foam blocks, Legos, and paper shapes, changing it up so they had to keep thinking of different things and ways. This was a very good exercise for my autistic boys. Your children may not need the practice; condensing the 3 weeks into 2 by cutting this out and doing other hidden messages this week instead is just fine.<br />
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<b>Write a Report to Headquarters</b>. Builder Boy still sometimes struggles with writing work. One of my main goals with Spy School was to sneak in a lot of writing practice, but making it fun and spy themed so he wouldn't mind so much. At time of writing this we've done Spy School for 4 weeks with mixed results. But the constant practice, which we've been spotty and weak on in the past, is helping. Early Bird is slower to write his paragraph, but it is always excellent quality and readable. For him I am hoping the repetition will help him gain speed in writing. Again, we're not there yet; his anxiety and perfectionism is very strong. He also needs a lot of re-directing on this activity as he gets lost in thought a lot when left to his own devices.<br />
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For writing a report, all I ask from the is 5 sentences about what we did that day. It can summarize the whole list of activities, or describe in detail one or two of the activities that they liked the most that day.<br />
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<b>Spy Gear</b>: for this week I added to their bags <a href="http://dabblesandbabbles.com/printable-secret-decoder-wheel/" target="_blank">cypher wheels that I got here</a>. I printed them two to a page so they would be smaller, glued the bottom one to a colored piece of card-stock, and laminated them all individually before putting them together with a brad. I'm glad I laminated them because 4 weeks later they're still using them and they are holding up well. <br />
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<h3>
Week 2:</h3>
<b>Move Like a Spy</b> for this became an unplanned communication exercise. What I did is had one boy hide a specific book somewhere in our library. The other brother had one minute to try to find it on their own. Then, if he did not find it, the hider would give "warmer" or "colder" clues. Builder Boy needed the practice of giving feedback; in the beginning brother would move in a direction and he wouldn't say anything. But over the week he got better at it.<br />
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<b>History of Spying</b> and <b>Talk Like a Spy</b> will always be continuations of the outlining and vocabulary work with the next ones in sequence.<br />
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<b>Themed Activities</b>: this week we worked on decrypting cryptograms for when you don't know the key and handwriting analysis.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Top-Secret-Handbook-Ciphers-Writing/dp/0763629723/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0763629723&pd_rd_r=PNHEG1CNE9F6YXP0DF0K&pd_rd_w=T473s&pd_rd_wg=eHHOC&psc=1&refRID=PNHEG1CNE9F6YXP0DF0K&linkCode=li2&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=8422f43e052e50892383a42074c38f46" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0763629723&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=sceleclassaca-20" /></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cryptoclub-Using-Mathematics-Break-Secret/dp/156881223X/ref=as_li_ss_il?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517256176&sr=1-1&keywords=cryptoclub&linkCode=li2&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=60a368291eac094a848a62751644261a" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=156881223X&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=sceleclassaca-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sceleclassaca-20&l=li2&o=1&a=156881223X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
For teaching decryption skills I used the supplementary resource <a href="http://amzn.to/2rPzhgS" target="_blank"><i>The Cryptoclub: Using Mathematics to Make and Break Codes</i></a>. This is an excellent, but expensive resource given that we only did the first 6 chapters for only one week. If you have an 8th grade or higher student, the rest of the book is an excellent exercise of applied mathematics. For younger you do not need to spend the money on this book. I could not find it cheaper on Thrift Books, either. <i>Spy Science</i> has 1 activity on the basics. The book <a href="http://amzn.to/2Fshk9U" target="_blank"><i>TOP SECRET</i></a> expands on the idea enough for younger students, and also has quite a few codes in it, so it's a good supplementary resource to add to the <i>Spy Science</i> and <i>Detective Science</i> books if you want to go deeper into cryptography than the surface basics.<br />
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For handwriting analysis we used the activities and instructions from <i>Detective Science</i>. We also wrote "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." (This sentence contains every letter in the English alphabet.) They did that every day and compared their handwriting to each different day's. We also got samples of the handwriting from other people (same sentence) and had them compare to their own. Sometimes I mixed up the unlabeled samples and had them figure out which was whose. In the beginning, they didn't even recognize their own handwriting when the samples were mixed! But they got better at comparing and noticing identifying details. For the last two days I had them try to disguise their handwriting in two different ways. If I could guess whose was whose, they had to do a chore for me. If they were able to trick me they got an extra half hour of tv. The first time they did not trick me, but the second time they put a lot of thought into identifying each other's traits and were able to trick me, with me really trying! <br />
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<b>Reports to Headquarters</b> will be unchanged unless stated otherwise.<br />
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<b>Spy Gear</b>: this week I printed out the letter frequency chart found here as well as most common small words lists and a few other lists like that from the TOP SECRET book. I cut them out, glued them to colored cardstock (blue for Builder Boy, green for Early Bird so they know who is responsible for which) and laminated them. These helped them on the big mystery.<br />
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<h3>
Week 3:</h3>
<b>Move Like a Spy</b>: for this week we again did the hiding the book in the home library. But this time the hider got to tell the seeker where to find it while <i>I </i>tried to find it without the clue. I got a head start while they were doing the telling. This helped them practice not whispering so dang loud. Once they had that down then they were restricted to only 3 words, then 2 word clues to give brother, so they had to think about what words to use. Then they had to write the clues and couldn't say it or give any other clues verbally.<br />
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<b>Themed Activities</b>: this week we covered invisible messages and hidden messages rather than coded messages. Each day we did two of the following: From Spy Science we did Lemony Message, Scytale, and Page Grilles. From Pinterest we did<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Writing-Secret-Messages-in-Color/" target="_blank"> red filter</a>, <a href="https://www.muminthemadhouse.com/after-school-fun-lets-be-a-spy-leave-secret-message/" target="_blank">white on white</a> (we used marker instead of paint), and<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/498984833707160289/" target="_blank"> 2 pieces of paper </a>that when held on top of each other and held up to the light reveals the message. I also turned <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/498984833707119123/" target="_blank">anamorphic illustrations</a> into a hidden message (see picture) and we beaded their names in Morse code with one color for dot, one for dash, and clear for spaces, on pipe-cleaners. Lastly we found little things from around the house to hide messages in. We found an old candy wrapper, empty floss container that opened and closed, and some small, leftover Halloween candy boxes. To test them out I had the boys hid messages in them, then put them in their spy gear satchels. When their daddy got home we told him to try to find the hidden messages, but we didn't say <i>where</i> they were. He overlooked them for a long time, which delighted the boys.<br />
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<b>Spy Gear</b>: they got to keep the hidden messages containers for future use. I also printed out a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=morse+code&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRhvWCkv7YAhUB4WMKHYz4AfoQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=927#imgrc=enCOlSb3ePWr5M:" target="_blank">Morse Code legend</a> and a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=pigpen+cipher&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjlpfGqkv7YAhVH52MKHQeGCLcQsAQIOA&biw=1920&bih=927#imgrc=kKgCKK50m82mOM:" target="_blank">Pigpen legend</a> and pasted it on to their color of cardstock and laminated them.<br />
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theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-24278288018631686882018-01-03T06:00:00.000-07:002018-01-03T06:00:17.707-07:00Spy School: Set-Up and First Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are so many cool things and ideas on <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mrswarde/homeschool-spy-school/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> to make Spy School an immersive experience. I tried to keep it easy, cheap, and reasonable and ended up making a Security Panel, outfighting Spy Kits with thrift store satchels, and a few odds and ends.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/498984833706885831/" target="_blank">Security Panel</a> is actually a dollar store calculator hot glued to cardboard, covered in foil or foil wrapping paper, and held on the wall with small Command Hooks. It was a cheap, quick, and fairly easy thing to make the experience a bit more immersive. I gave each boy a passcode and they have to practice keeping it a secret from the other. Their passcode is their birthday in numerals, though they pointed out that I forgot to uncover the 0 key. Luckily they both were born in a 200X year, so I have them put just that last number in. If you're going to do this with birthdays to get them to practice their birthday in numerals, don't forget to cut out a space for the 0!<br />
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I knew I wanted briefcases or something cool like that for the boys' gear. With each new theme they will be acquiring new things, like disguising hats and sunglasses or a fingerprinting kit. There are plans on Pinterest to make a <a href="http://www.primarypossibilities.com/2014/06/monday-made-it.html" target="_blank">cardboard briefcase out of cereal boxes</a>, but I needed something bigger and more durable. I lucked out at the local thrift store. Nice looking satchels in each of the boys' favorite colors, and one of them was half off! Together they cost around $10 for both of them. They're the perfect size for all the things I plan to equip them with, and they'll last a good long time after Spy School is done. In their bags are new composition books, compact journal with leather clasp and pen attached, a magnifying lenses, and a laser pointer, all found at the dollar store! Most of the school work done for Spy School will be done in their composition books. The other little book is for codes and taking notes on people they "spy" on.<br />
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A few other little touches I included were name tags on card clips and an In/Out box. There are a lot of different, free to print options on Pinterest. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j9TP7Qtmh0TXP4fccEyok796-rKo0jjUgioYFjAM_oI/mobilebasic?pli=1" target="_blank">I chose ones I thought looked cute</a>. I printed them out along with a picture of each boy, cut and glued, and then laminated. Then I cut a slit for the card holder attacher. I got the card holders in the office/school section of the dollar store. On the In/Out box I labeled the top "Mission Reports" and the bottom "New Missions." Every morning they will get a "new mission" from the "Chief" that's a schedule for the day and at the end of the day's school they will write a "mission report" detailing what they did (and sneaking in some extra writing practice!) Those papers are put in a manila envelope with [TOP SECRET] and "Agent's Eyes Only!" written on them. <br />
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All together I spent around $20 and one evening making and prepping. (Not including shopping time.)<br />
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On the first day of Spy School before we began any actual learning I introduced them to the security panel (they have to input the code every morning before beginning,) explained the system of the In/Out box, and had them read their first mission. Their first mission included being issued their kits and choosing their Secret Agent Code Names and making their badges. Builder Boy chose the code name Brainstorm. Early Bird chose Matchstick. I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this.theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-35386365266133702292018-01-02T16:41:00.001-07:002018-01-02T17:27:39.793-07:00Spy School: General Outline Schedule<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What's a great way to get your reluctant writer to have fun writing? In secret code of course! Invisible ink is another good way. I learned that this summer when we did a few projects for fun. Early Bird kept asking when we were going to do more Spy School, so I scrapped all of our usual work and have planned out a 3 month unit study based around a Spy/Secret Agent/Detective theme.<br />
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The great thing about homeschooling is it's flexibility and customization. Because your interests, needs, and time available might be different than ours, I am going to first provide a general outline that you can pick and chose from and adapt as needed. Also, ours is geared towards a 4th-6th grade level. This can be adapted to lower or higher grade levels. My <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mrswarde/homeschool-spy-school/" target="_blank">Pinterest board</a> has everything from K level to high school so again, customize as appropriate. Each 2 to 3 week sub unit has a specific theme/focus.<br />
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<h3>
Daily Schedule (Monday-Thursday):</h3>
(Math done separately before spy school)<br />
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<h4>
Move Like a Spy: </h4>
activities like learning to walk silently and sneaking up on people, strength and endurance exercises, and beginner parkour.<br />
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<h4>
History of Spying:</h4>
outlining the book <a href="http://amzn.to/2Cpy2d0" target="_blank">Spies and Spying</a>. It's an important spy skill to be able to read information and condense or summarize it in your own words. Less words also means less work encoding the information.<br />
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<h4>
Talk Like a Spy:</h4>
vocabulary work from the glossary of <a href="http://amzn.to/2EGJv5t" target="_blank">Spy Science</a>. 10 words a week<br />
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<h4>
2-3 Themed Activities</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Write a Report to Headquarters: </h4>
In our case a paragraph about what they did and learned that day.<br />
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<br />
<h3>
Friday:</h3>
An escape room inspired mystery or "crime" that reviews things learned that week and the weeks before.<br />
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<h2>
Themes:</h2>
<b>Communication</b> (2 to 3 weeks) Focus on codes and invisible or hidden messages as well as Communication Exercises (will be explained in another post.)<br />
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<b>Disguise and Observation</b> (2 weeks) Learn to be a good witness by quickly remembering identifying features. Then learn how to disguise those features in yourself. Also includes sneaking and taking notes. On Fridays instead of a mystery to solve, go to the library or other public space and kids practice sneaking/following and making observations and taking notes on people there.<br />
<br />
<b>Inference</b> (2-3 weeks) Practice looking beyond the face value of something and learn to gather information from things. Also work with deductive logic. <br />
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<b>Clues</b> (2-3 weeks) Finger prints, shoe impressions, teeth marks, fibers, ink chromatography and more! Even better if you have a microscope.<br />
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<b>Forensics </b>(2 weeks) First week blood and DNA projects, second week identifying similar looking substances using chemical analysis.<br />
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I will post about each theme separately, as well as a post of reviews on the different resources I purchased for this unit.<br />
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<br />theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-20851126583903507972017-08-30T15:18:00.000-06:002017-08-30T15:18:33.618-06:00Review of The Girl Who Thought In Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was so excited when I heard there was a <a href="http://amzn.to/2vKVfyb" target="_blank">children's book coming out about Dr. Temple Grandin</a>. A children's book about the woman who made autistic adults visible for the first time? Yes, please! I was even more excited when I was accepted for the opportunity to receive an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. Yay for not having to wait! But then I read and and thought, "huh." Actually, I had a lot more thoughts than that, but I second guessed myself. This was a children's book; I was probably overthinking it. But then I showed it to an autistic friend and her autistic daughter and asked them to read it and tell me what they thought, and they said a lot of what I was thinking without me saying anything first.<br />
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<h4>
Review For Autistic Children:</h4>
My boys enjoyed <a href="http://amzn.to/2vKVfyb" target="_blank">The Girl Who Thought In Pictures</a>. Builder Boy's favorite part was that she invented things like he likes to do. Early Bird loved that there was a book about a real life autistic person. They've never seen anything like that before, and it meant a lot to have a book about someone who was autistic like them. For that reason alone, if you have an autistic child and don't have a moral objection to Temple Grandin, you should get this book so they can have that experience.<br />
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<h4>
For Non-autistic Children: </h4>
If you are looking for a book to introduce the topic of autism to a child, this is not that book. It does not explain autism, it does not connect autism with her strengths <i>or </i>sensitivities, and their most likely take away from this book would be autism=thinking in pictures. If you like biographies of women in science, or like diversity in children's literature, then this could be an option you like. There are very nice pictures, a rhyming scheme, and isn't too long to lose the child's attention.<br />
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<h4>
For Parents:</h4>
There is a lot of, let's call them "opportunities for discussion-things," in this book. The best thing to prepare you for reading this book with your child is to watch the Temple Grandin Biopic movie. Because this book seems to be a summary of the movie for kids. Which means that it assumes a lot of information that the uninitiated does not have. For example, the door metaphor from the movie makes an appearance in the book, with no explanation. Autistics are often very literal minded; inserting a metaphor without explanation in a books that is ideally marketed towards autistics is not that smart. Also, the way they jumped around in their summary of her life left the teenage daughter of my friend confused as to what actually happened, as she had not seen the movie.<br />
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This book seems to attempt to be neutral on the topic of autism. It avoids the person first vs. identity way of referring to autistics by not saying either; or anything at all, really. The only mention of autism is in the beginning when she's having a lot of struggles. Autism is associated only with negative things. Then she grows up, does great, and autism is no longer mentioned. Did she grow out of it? The books might make you think so, if it's your only source of information. The end of the book mentions that Dr. Grandin becomes a famous speaker, while omitting that she has done a lot of that public speaking about autism and being pretty much the first visible autistic adult in an age when autism was still considered to be a child-only "disease." There is a simple timeline in the back of the book, an a short "more about" section. The more I think about it and look at this book, the more I realize this book really isn't about autism. That was my faulty assumption going into it. This is a book about an industrial designer and an overview of how she became one. But despite the title, there is very little mention of her thinking in pictures. But there is a picture and line about how she thinks like a cow. Please don't let autism=thinking like a cow be your child's take away from this. (This insight was pointed out by my friend's daughter, who did not know about Temple Grandin before reading this book.)<br />
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The book ends with the positive idea that being different is okay and that the reader (presumably a child) should be okay with that. I've seen that message a lot in books, and seeing it again here I wondered, where are the books telling the reader to appreciate <i>other</i> children's differences, too? Because while you might think that should follow, that's not the message most kids hear, and it's certainly not what plays out on the playgrounds.<br />
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So, if you're a children's librarian looking for examples of diversity in children's books, this is a book you should have in your library. If you have an autistic child who would really love to see a real live autistic in a book, this is also for you. If you have a child interested in industrial design or animal husbandry, your child might like this book. But if you're looking for a book to explain or show a positive example of autism, look somewhere else.theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-60006212051046497532017-08-21T12:28:00.002-06:002017-08-21T12:28:55.263-06:00First Day of 2017-2018 School Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioypsVjPmr7buR99BgspS3Y_O-9QQ9ZoQ2sEyGp5G1TAHnACnnScvXEtwk8VgS8etVE_4wc35dKun3Ne5PQ8g-Bvpv_U_Hky8ArGBSIEtGQj3ewvPig1lmdqWa1DTUh765hUdh8eiZhgK2/s1600/2017+First+Day+of+School.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioypsVjPmr7buR99BgspS3Y_O-9QQ9ZoQ2sEyGp5G1TAHnACnnScvXEtwk8VgS8etVE_4wc35dKun3Ne5PQ8g-Bvpv_U_Hky8ArGBSIEtGQj3ewvPig1lmdqWa1DTUh765hUdh8eiZhgK2/s640/2017+First+Day+of+School.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here we go again!theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-29151497656315772682017-08-18T16:35:00.001-06:002017-08-18T16:35:48.483-06:00Now Also Blogging I wrote in February that I didn't want to turn this blog into all about autism. Then Blogger started really not working because after a certain point, Blogger runs out of space, the pictures become broken, and it won't even let me fix stuff. So I'm finally blogging again, and very little of it is going to be here. I am going to keep the autism specific stuff over at <a href="https://wibblywobblyneurounlogicalstuff.com/" target="_blank">Wibbly Wobbly, Neuro-UNlogical Stuff</a> and the purely homeschool stuff here. So that's what's going on right now. First Day of our new school year is next Monday!theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-88616341280793742902017-08-18T16:21:00.000-06:002017-08-18T16:22:03.539-06:00Math Facts Help for Digital Learning<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVDtlvA2XT3HW0s5YCcYfUd5UoI2W5MVNQukRklMXBzWyDtom7dArCp1rkQDZFlPlgGtM3hxn7ioJh5XuC0IrHqJ7doz4vyF5dl9bV_iLXp0TEdJ-dQ4E951L0yJDO93BXK2u13_NyeVK/s1600/Math+Facts+Center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVDtlvA2XT3HW0s5YCcYfUd5UoI2W5MVNQukRklMXBzWyDtom7dArCp1rkQDZFlPlgGtM3hxn7ioJh5XuC0IrHqJ7doz4vyF5dl9bV_iLXp0TEdJ-dQ4E951L0yJDO93BXK2u13_NyeVK/s640/Math+Facts+Center.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span id="goog_1971455226"></span><span id="goog_1971455227"></span>There is an idea I heard about from some homeschooling moms for kids who are ready for higher math but don't have their math facts memorized. The idea is for them to use a times table or other with the facts written down, and refer to it as needed. As they continue working on the higher level work they will have the facts reinforced by them seeing it and eventually they won't need it anymore. But in the meantime you're not frustrating the kid with boring repetition when they're ready and interested in going beyond 5=2+3. Early Bird is back to doing math at Dream Box (at his request) for the next few months. Since he always does that on the laptop, I turned the area into a math center for him with all the reference materials and tools he may need to make it smooth sailing. I used Command Hooks to hold up his Right Start abacus (I love Command Hooks,) I got the cute <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/Tens-Buddies-1308726">10 Buddies print out from Teachers Pay Teachers (free to download!</a>) and the rest I either used a Google image search or made myself. Early Bird does well learning from visual sources, so here's hoping this will work for him. theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-31059641278308921412017-02-20T10:39:00.001-07:002017-02-20T10:39:39.909-07:002016: A Year in the Rear View Mirror that can eat my dust<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have not blogged much at all in the past year. 2016 turned into The Year of Testing. The same day we had <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2016/03/overdue-update.html">Lady Bug screened and found out she was autistic</a> (level 3) some stuff came out about Builder Boy and Early Bird that had been happening at AWANAS and no one ever said anything about it to me until everything came to a horrible climax and <a href="http://www.heysigmund.com/anxiety-or-aggression-children/">Early Bird's anxiety was expressing as aggression</a> and he was no longer welcome at a friend's house for a time. Oh yeah, it was A Year. In August (September?) Builder Boy was identified as being autistic level 1 (what used to be known as Asperger's and then HFA/High Functioning Autism) with a Pragmatic Language Disorder, a very smart Visual Spacial Reasoning brain (remember <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Kinetic%20Learning">all my posts about kinetic learning</a>?) but not enough to qualify as <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Gifted">gifted</a>. Which of course had me questioning almost every single parenting and teaching choice I had made in the past 5 years. In January Early Bird was also identified as autistic level 1 and qualified as 2E/twice exceptional/gifted plus "disability." And he was diagnosed in early 2016 as having anxiety. And he fits all the signs of SPD/Sensory Processing Disorder as sensory defensive (everything feels like more than what "normal" people perceive it as.) <br /><br />When Builder Boy was identified as being ASD, by that time I knew there was no way that Early Bird wasn't, since he was having more severe problems at the time.<b> So over the course of one day I went from having one special needs toddler and two older kids that I thought I had a handle on, to an ALL Special Needs House. </b><br /><br />So what does that mean for my blog? I started this with the intention on sharing how we homeschool; that has not changed. I don't intend for this to become an All About Autism blog, because what we're doing isn't necessarily autism specific, and can be used by regular neurotypical families just fine. Of course now I feel the need to re-read everything I've ever written to see if it needs a qualifier added to it. But Blogger is being sucky and isn't letting me edit any old posts anymore so I can't even fix broken pictures. Which sucks. I have a bunch of things I want to write about, things we've been using (because we are actually getting stuff done for one in our journey!) and things we've done a bit differently that I think people would like to hear. Time to myself has been precious and not likely to be spent on the computer in full view of children. But reading some of my old posts helped me realize that I miss this. So I'm going to try to get back on the writing wagon. And despite the occasional autism specific post, I'm intending to keep it homeschool focused. Thanks for sticking around.<br />
<br />theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-12605144476963615702017-01-15T14:14:00.001-07:002017-02-20T10:45:58.752-07:005 Things to Tell Your Kids About Autistic Children<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_4vz">
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After <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2017/01/autism-exists.html">my last post for Autism *Understanding*</a> I was asked to make one
specifically for kids so that they could help young children understand
and help better interactions with autistic children. Here's what I came
up with:<br /><br />
1) Autistic kids are like you: they have favorite things
and like to have fun! But autistic kids are also different from you
because what is fun for you may not be fun to them, and vice versa.<br /><br />
2) Autistic kids may seem strange or weird because they may act
differently than other kids. They may repeat the same words or actions
over and over, or become scared by something that doesn't seem scary to
you. But try to remember that *you* are weird and strange to them, too!<br /><br />
3) Autistic kids say exactly what they mean and expect others to do the
same. Sometimes this causes confusion! But that's okay; just try again.
Sometimes they don't say anything at all. That's okay, too.<br /><br />
4)
Sometimes autistic kids are too rough when playing. They aren't trying
to be mean; it doesn't feel the same to them as it does to you.
Sometimes autistic kids want to never be touched. Please respect that.<br /><br />
5) The easiest way to play with an autistic kid is to follow their lead and copy what they are doing as a way to start.<br /><br />
Remember that autistic kids want friends and to be friendly; they just
often don't know how to or are not very good at it. And they don't
understand teasing. They won't do it on purpose and they won't
understand if it's done to them.<br /><br />
Feel free to share to promote Autism Understanding!<br /><br />Can any of my fellow ASD parents chime in? Anything to add, anything I missed, or a better way to say something?</div>
theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-58352999425342360152017-01-15T13:33:00.000-07:002017-02-20T10:45:58.757-07:00Autism Exists!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Autism exists!!!<br /></b></span><br />
Oh, wait, you already knew that? But that's
all you need to know to have awareness, right? No? Hmm, well, how about
instead of posting silly sentences that doesn't promote autism
*understanding* you share this:<br />
<br />
1) 2014 CDC statistics have 1 in
68 kids as being autistic. Since the definition of autism is expanding
and changing all the time, and since girls on the spectrum are often
missed, it's probably more than that. That means, unless you're a
hermit, you'r<span class="text_exposed_show">e probably meeting more autistic people than you realize.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
2) Autism is a spectrum; that means that there are variations and
differences in various degrees of intensity. There will be people who
you don't think "look" autistic, but are. If you've met one person with
autism, you've met one person. Don't expect all other autistic people to
act the way the one person with autism that you know does.<br />
<br />
3)
Asperger's and "High Functioning Autism" are now known as ASD (autism
spectrum disorder) level 1. Unless the person identifies *themselves* as
an Aspie, try to use current terms.<br />
<br />
4) Most people on the
spectrum do not enjoy being touched by people they aren't very close to.
(I mean, do YOU want to be touched by strangers?) So while all autistic
people are different, it's a good rule of thumb that unless someone is
in IMMEDIATE DANGER, keep your hands to yourself.<br />
<br />
5) Don't bring
up vaccines. Seriously; DO NOT. I don't care which way you think, don't
bring them up unless you WANT to come across as a clueless jerk.<br />
<br />
If you never have anyone on the autism spectrum in your close social
circle, then this is the main stuff you should know. If you do have
someone in your family or close social circle who is on the spectrum,
the best source of information it the person themselves (or their parent
if they're a child.)<br />
If you'd like some more information of what NOT to say, <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2016/03/overdue-update.html#more">here's a link to my blog post about that</a>.<br />
<br /> Please share for actual Autism Understanding that helps the community. </div>
theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-78734389215606374492016-08-24T14:17:00.000-06:002016-08-24T14:17:48.001-06:00Curricula Goals 2016-2017Vocabulary: Wordly Wise Book 3 and 4<br />
Handwriting: Zaner Bloser workbooks<br />
Grammar: Finish First Language Lessons 3 and do all of FLL 4<br />
Spelling: Finish All About Spelling level 3 and begin AAS level 4<br />
Math: Beast Academy<br />
<span style="color: orange;"> Early Bird</span>: Work through level 3 and hopefully complete by the end of the school year<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Builder Boy</span>: Work through both levels 3 and 4<br />
Science: (Biology year) 3 weeks Intro to Biology, 18 weeks Animal Kingdom, 1 week DNA and inherited traits, 8 weeks Human Body, 6 weeks Plants<br />
History: Story of the World Ancients<br />
<span style="color: orange;"> Early Bird</span>: Read chapter and answer questions from activity guide, do narration, coloring page from activity guide<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Builder Boy</span>: Listen to chapter, outline history encyclopedia pages or paragraph<br />
Both: map work from activity guide, time line, SOTW chapter tests, occasional activities, additional reading<br />
<br />
Writing will be folded into science and history until comfort level has been reached, at which point we will continue with 4 Square Writing and How To Tell a Story. <br />
<br />
I am going to try giving the boys their very first assigned reading assignments and accompanying project starting next week. We'll see how that goes.<br />
<br />
I would like to eventually add in Beginning Editing, Word Roots study, and Logic again. theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-28372080876690824902016-08-06T16:29:00.000-06:002016-08-06T16:29:42.143-06:00First Day and Week of School, Take 5<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrZHvpt81Zl5Mib6gUtnRkbqyfc4tffp7tgS4cyf7LoCLVuks8RgcYZAZuapffP3gp_wnZoJUrdfMVYwGPEHNS5FgEhwgfPQZJV9zAHCh2Z-sszC3MPKpa0kKUHkLRrXsUZm493XE3Ntm/s1600/First+Day+of+School+WM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrZHvpt81Zl5Mib6gUtnRkbqyfc4tffp7tgS4cyf7LoCLVuks8RgcYZAZuapffP3gp_wnZoJUrdfMVYwGPEHNS5FgEhwgfPQZJV9zAHCh2Z-sszC3MPKpa0kKUHkLRrXsUZm493XE3Ntm/s400/First+Day+of+School+WM.jpg" width="240" /></a>Another First Day of School happened this week. Our 5th one so far. I took pictures and then tried not to cry over the obvious differences in the boys' faces over the years of First Days. Despite Lady Bug waking me up at 2am and not falling asleep until 6am almost every night, I really feel like I rocked our first week of the new school year. And that's funny, because the me of 5 years ago would never have considered what we did this week for school as "rocking it." We didn't do a single project or craft! How is that good enough?! But we actually got all of our subjects done at a <b><i>sustainable</i></b> level. And that's key for me.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong, I still love the idea of the crafts and awesome projects laid out in the Activity Guide for Story of the World. I want to do ALL THE THINGS and have fun! But I also want to homeschool consistently for more than a few months at a time. I managed to homeschool last year in a few big chunks with a multi-month break for the fourth move in four years. However, despite the very full school files, it doesn't feel like it was quite enough. And that's with unschooling the science and history that year.<br />
<br />
The last two weeks of July we did morning subjects and a fun engineering project in the afternoon. It was a really good way to ease us back into out schedule. The first week of August we did morning subjects plus an afternoon subject. I am hoping that over the months we will find time to add in the less basic subjects like editing, word root study, and formal logic. Right now we're doing vocabulary, handwriting, grammar, spelling, math, science, history, and writing. And it feels really good to be getting things done.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRzcDVyyQZJhWE6LXKRXnKeLsfvqmzuNJb9Sov4KstPOEvpDKHMZ2ZBnrzXE5EMcGbmsxuJSxvc5PwPZxIe7CZW2Y8-DFKgNGENzPeuVWOvqeHKxCVBN2WnbqlIhW5ySAeT1mLc3EHweA/s1600/First+Days+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRzcDVyyQZJhWE6LXKRXnKeLsfvqmzuNJb9Sov4KstPOEvpDKHMZ2ZBnrzXE5EMcGbmsxuJSxvc5PwPZxIe7CZW2Y8-DFKgNGENzPeuVWOvqeHKxCVBN2WnbqlIhW5ySAeT1mLc3EHweA/s640/First+Days+Collage.jpg" width="640" /></a>And no, I didn't make a mistake on Early Bird's sign. He's been doing the same work as his brother in most subjects now for a few years and his lowest grade level subject is math which he is working on at a 3rd grade level. So he has officially "skipped" a grade even though he did all the work.<br />
theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-54599739755851615252016-04-25T07:00:00.000-06:002016-04-25T07:00:19.464-06:00Logic Resources before the Logic Stage: Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC5gwbeh636nSHvcANxhM9sv_DACaGFrt33RceQLbz_mCG18NLLBP6RuShVfTGx9pVyjuwIT_GfXl_yTuX9xPBVQ7UxvHiTNAkuUwCNcl3H4OwdWDl44nmPcebzGfzQhTRNlpk1hW3YFi/s1600/Logic+Header+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC5gwbeh636nSHvcANxhM9sv_DACaGFrt33RceQLbz_mCG18NLLBP6RuShVfTGx9pVyjuwIT_GfXl_yTuX9xPBVQ7UxvHiTNAkuUwCNcl3H4OwdWDl44nmPcebzGfzQhTRNlpk1hW3YFi/s640/Logic+Header+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
A continuation of what we're doing with logic before beginning formal logic in 5th grade in the fall. (<a href="http://______________________________________________________ Amazon affiliate links are a quick way for you to find the product if you're interested in looking further, and a nice way to help me buy more products to review and share without costing you anything extra. For more information check out the Affiliate Disclosure tab. I am not paid to review products and all opinions expressed are my own.">Part 1 here</a>.)<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Perplexors is a series of logic workbooks that focus on deductive reasoning based on clues in a story/sentence format, as well as process of elimination and "if, then" thinking, and is a variation of a grid logic puzzle. It's kid friendly and appropriate, though sometimes there were things that my boys had no experience with that needed to be explained. Interestingly, Builder Boy had a difficult time differentiating girl names from boy names, so when gender was used I had to identify the gender of the characters for him.<br />
<br />
The puzzles start out simple and easy, and increase in difficulty. The below examples are the first and last pages of the Basic Level MORE book. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CtdqxQetGXk5LcM2rD97kMAI_b-qF-EtH2J3JKU2Adt0SVHS6phcDPYyzPErCGgq5LV1tz5FlU6zgR1pQ6eVhA1IK_KTXZ3ZnPB0qbH1CLbbSnmhTFfuE4XsKdsb2jmMhSCRXSDx1zKY/s1600/Scan0120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CtdqxQetGXk5LcM2rD97kMAI_b-qF-EtH2J3JKU2Adt0SVHS6phcDPYyzPErCGgq5LV1tz5FlU6zgR1pQ6eVhA1IK_KTXZ3ZnPB0qbH1CLbbSnmhTFfuE4XsKdsb2jmMhSCRXSDx1zKY/s400/Scan0120.jpg" width="308" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8b1YLSaqdg_j4H12KK-4JipX0vntyOk6jrFR-4rZ4Ud1tUyvnLYX_aLLHfvTwOUBraZ7CW9NrVTh1QvvT-pPtzDiD8KEmCO_LBFQW-d5GfuA_iZ_gF_Tj4Z2IlXc4njMKY4q51y-IWfU_/s1600/Scan0119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8b1YLSaqdg_j4H12KK-4JipX0vntyOk6jrFR-4rZ4Ud1tUyvnLYX_aLLHfvTwOUBraZ7CW9NrVTh1QvvT-pPtzDiD8KEmCO_LBFQW-d5GfuA_iZ_gF_Tj4Z2IlXc4njMKY4q51y-IWfU_/s400/Scan0119.jpg" width="308" /></a><br />
The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/MindWare-90445W-Perplexors-Basic/dp/189206913X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&keywords=Perplexors&qid=1461276163&ref_=sr_1_5&sr=8-5&linkCode=ll1&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=599c1d5865e6bc3d235e095db3a6baa0">Perplexors</a> series has been such a big hit in our house that I've bought three in the past few months. I didn't find out until after I had bought the first one that there were more options, so learn from my experience!<br />
<br />
The level system threw me, and I didn't see the chart until I had already bought the first one, so here it is:<br />
<br />
Basic Level: Grade 3-4<br />
Level A: Grade 4-5<br />
Level B: Grade 5-6<br />
Level C: Grade 6-7<br />
Level D: 7-9<br />
Expert Level: 9-12<br />
<br />
I, not having seen the Basic Level option, bought Level A for 4th grade Builder Boy. I would have liked this to be a more independent for him than it turned out to be. He did okay, but I had to coax and scaffold him through quite a bit. Being new to the concept, the Basic Level would probably have been a better start for him.<br />
<br />
After seeing his big brother having fun with Perplexors, Early Bird wanted one, too. By that time I had found out about the Basic Level and ordered that one for him. He breezed through the first half of the book, enjoying the continuity the and the silly animals doing human things. Towards the end of the book, though, he needed help more frequently due to increase in difficulty and complexity, and we did not finish the last few puzzles because they were too much. (<span class="_5yl5">I can not, in good conscience, recommend buying this for a first grader without making sure you're aware of the large amount of teacher involvement required for a first or second grade reader</span>.)<br />
<br />
If I knew what I knew now at the beginning I would still have gotten the Basic Level for Early Bird but I also would have gotten the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/MindWare-56188-More-Perplexors-Basic/dp/B009AEXNO2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1461280108&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Perplexors+Basic+level+more&linkCode=ll1&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=f2d0540be64f2a0c8765ae929ccb608f">Basic Level MORE book</a> for Builder Boy. They way they could have both worked at the level best for them (which, yes, happens to be the same level) but they would have had different problems to work on. Now I'm letting Early Bird continue with the first half of the MORE book and Builder Boy is working on the second half of the MORE Basic Level book. I'm copying the pages and bringing them out when we need a break from the book we moved on to next which I will review in Part 3.<br />
______________________________________________________<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4a0s1NQF2R4oIP46xat77QYNE9vfsgPh0fZNRefWrOpiECJpY4JdcL27MAtKtQ_woq7j8WysrnOWWqSYNfpYEnNpaJgydi1ClEWtW_mgM14bCakn5TAO54OQnvtP8RjOa8WT435e61v0/s1600/Curriculum+habit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4a0s1NQF2R4oIP46xat77QYNE9vfsgPh0fZNRefWrOpiECJpY4JdcL27MAtKtQ_woq7j8WysrnOWWqSYNfpYEnNpaJgydi1ClEWtW_mgM14bCakn5TAO54OQnvtP8RjOa8WT435e61v0/s200/Curriculum+habit.jpg" width="200" /></a>Amazon
affiliate links are a quick way for you to find the product if you're
interested in looking further, and a nice way to help me buy more
products to <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Review">review</a> and share without costing you anything extra. For more information check out the Affiliate Disclosure tab.<br />
<br />
I am not paid to review products and all opinions expressed are my own. <br />
<br />theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-65873592151150732982016-04-22T07:00:00.000-06:002016-04-25T11:54:47.190-06:00Logic Resources before the Logic Stage: Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ml1pdDaNTHPQVJU9zXZORta7T32eeAyN7OQBcFzhyjcwzuA9sbCbtWZg8QVx3YL_WUiFtpmYimAUNf181aokg2Lc0E0NrH0hRrJ5mC2DWvMHpdEYEqdLscuj4vVV4hoKiOVH5GZOKZaR/s1600/Logic+Header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ml1pdDaNTHPQVJU9zXZORta7T32eeAyN7OQBcFzhyjcwzuA9sbCbtWZg8QVx3YL_WUiFtpmYimAUNf181aokg2Lc0E0NrH0hRrJ5mC2DWvMHpdEYEqdLscuj4vVV4hoKiOVH5GZOKZaR/s640/Logic+Header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
While we have been doing things differently than a strictly classical education approach in the last few years, I still like to "check in" with The Well Trained Mind to get an idea of what our goals should be close to. I started Builder Boy's 4th grade year with the goal of having him ready for the classical approach for 5th grade as laid out by TWTM. Not sure if we'll actually get there or not, but I do like the idea of introducing formal logic in 5th grade. But I didn't want to just dump it on him with no warm up, so this 4th grade year we have been having some fun with various playful logic resources to introduce him to the concepts.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I started out with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lollipop-Logic-Grades-K-2-Book/dp/1593630921/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1459195673&sr=8-1&keywords=Lollipop+logic&linkCode=ll1&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=1abc2a253108973a72c569dc5f8d92d8">Lollipop Logic</a>. Builder Boy had already done level 1 some time ago, and it did not take him long to get through level 2. Early Bird did the level 1 book at the same time as Builder Boy went through level 2.<br />
<br />
If you're like me you prefer to actually look through a curricula, or have an extremely detailed review of it, before purchasing. I'm also very visual which is why I include a lot of pictures in my posts. So, hopefully without breaking copyright laws, here's a look at the inside of Lollipop Logic Level 1. (Amazon does have a "look inside" option for this book, but it only shows options from the first section.) .<br />
<br />
Lollipop Logic has seven sections with the first six sections having eight pages per section and the last having three. The sections/topics are Sequences, Relationships, Analogies, Deduction, Pattern Decoding, Inference, and Critical Analysis.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTfEhB1x0AOTNRLB3DOwQdkONJ1tGTjJSArqNJwpCDgJsSIlunj-hO4zqYRlXS04g5U0JflGf3XT4VANG8si_ANdYyfOg6uoIHZSBZwcG3Ivv0b8D1plySUT8rmQ2uIYj9gzjpjzYiVVE/s1600/Lesson+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTfEhB1x0AOTNRLB3DOwQdkONJ1tGTjJSArqNJwpCDgJsSIlunj-hO4zqYRlXS04g5U0JflGf3XT4VANG8si_ANdYyfOg6uoIHZSBZwcG3Ivv0b8D1plySUT8rmQ2uIYj9gzjpjzYiVVE/s640/Lesson+3.jpg" width="499" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sequences</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Sequences pages are pretty straight forward and simple. The introduction part of the book has the "story" of each page to tell the student what is happening in the story to help explain what they're looking for, if needed. Even if your child has not had any previous exposure to sequencing the pictures/stories are pretty familiar and simple enough to pick up quickly.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4cjfHIiGtRcvZVMbqPKR0siZPXFcb679ZA4aEV4Tspo4suODy-VKnB1xNJa4yFGgF3uYWIJEGUKKjz9W8InQE4llJVBKiIAIZ-edI7qdAHmMJOJ9ypZsSGOQKLKyUqRoCizEkINd_yri/s1600/Lesson+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4cjfHIiGtRcvZVMbqPKR0siZPXFcb679ZA4aEV4Tspo4suODy-VKnB1xNJa4yFGgF3uYWIJEGUKKjz9W8InQE4llJVBKiIAIZ-edI7qdAHmMJOJ9ypZsSGOQKLKyUqRoCizEkINd_yri/s640/Lesson+16.jpg" width="497" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relationships</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Relationships sections has two different types of activities. The first four are a kind of "what goes together" with (for example) a picture of a hand and then a few pictures to choose from like a shoe, glove, and flower. The second section has a box of like things and then a variety of answer options to decided if they belong in the same category or do not.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjOv3xEbusKAPCMsalzHtt65P1ocjwhGjeOP0hv879OfAeE_CrkOtNVbkNDe3yKNLufWUHS86WN_6faDGChRRHCn8q75yKlwl4rVHQ2Pn3uS1O-ySDWHIqwnyt663288jZA5s9eWD9f2Y/s1600/Lesson+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjOv3xEbusKAPCMsalzHtt65P1ocjwhGjeOP0hv879OfAeE_CrkOtNVbkNDe3yKNLufWUHS86WN_6faDGChRRHCn8q75yKlwl4rVHQ2Pn3uS1O-ySDWHIqwnyt663288jZA5s9eWD9f2Y/s640/Lesson+24.jpg" width="499" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Analogies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Analogies introduces the x is to X as y is to Y concept and phrase usage. I had to try several different ways of phrasing this before my kids understood what was being asked for. They also sometimes had trouble going from one to the next and expecting the second one to have the same relationship as the first ones. But it's a good brain stretcher and they eventually got there, sometimes intuiting the right answer but not being able to answer <i>why.</i> <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvJl652LqIfIdHpDWrOW8-V1hSt54EYEGTRoOmlAUQsHNCnqby9sGwj1BTeWQSS2pnGLdhNKANcGjLmQDX6GOkmpcCVfJ31kGt01cKp8UPE3x0lr8eRHoN8CKX_kjcRRSidUmjDfqFB8y/s1600/Lesson+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvJl652LqIfIdHpDWrOW8-V1hSt54EYEGTRoOmlAUQsHNCnqby9sGwj1BTeWQSS2pnGLdhNKANcGjLmQDX6GOkmpcCVfJ31kGt01cKp8UPE3x0lr8eRHoN8CKX_kjcRRSidUmjDfqFB8y/s640/Lesson+25.jpg" width="497" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deduction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Deduction was surprising to me how one child immediately got the concept and the other one struggled with it. It's a great gentle introduction to grid logic puzzles, and this section of Lollipop Logic inspired our next workbook choice, Perplxors, which I will review in <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2016/04/logic-resources-before-logic-stage-part_25.html">Part 2</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftdsHQ4GXUrGSz3fG26z_PY8972b-VHmW1gop5fo3g1hd3O5p5GxjRRXCK8ZZ3Hb1c9WAnRh53MNr-wgKDyls-uYVyrbKbk2SARnGGpOHcxWVFQhj1YoAlUQZ9wgjDxpMespVFzP1dbD8/s1600/Lesson+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftdsHQ4GXUrGSz3fG26z_PY8972b-VHmW1gop5fo3g1hd3O5p5GxjRRXCK8ZZ3Hb1c9WAnRh53MNr-wgKDyls-uYVyrbKbk2SARnGGpOHcxWVFQhj1YoAlUQZ9wgjDxpMespVFzP1dbD8/s640/Lesson+36.jpg" width="488" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pattern Decoding</td></tr>
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Pattern Decoding was ridiculously easy for kids who did kindergarten level math a while ago. But, there was a trip up point. See, the instructions say to draw a line from the answer to where it comes next. But sometimes the answer is used twice, sometimes an answer is never used. This was a problem for Early Bird, and while it was good practice for dealing with annoyances in worksheets, it was still <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inference</td></tr>
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Inference had variety. Once had mixed up puzzle pieces and had the kid guess what the whole picture would look like. Another showed a close up of something that would ideally be familiar to a child and had them say what the whole picture was. (A little more difficult for some because it's black and white, wide tip drawings.) Others had whole pictures with pieces missing and you had to match the missing piece to the picture.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Critical Analysis</td></tr>
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Critical Analysis is the shortest section, only three pages. It's also a big leap in difficulty, and there is even one that I could not figure out the answer to. Don't forget that <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/02/youre-not-boss-of-me.html">you are the boss</a>, not the curriculum, and it's okay to skip if it's not working for your child.<br />
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Overall, I think these are a great, gentle introduction to logic. The books are rates as for grades K-2. Book 2 is a little more difficult, but not by too much. (Examples in this review are from book 1.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4a0s1NQF2R4oIP46xat77QYNE9vfsgPh0fZNRefWrOpiECJpY4JdcL27MAtKtQ_woq7j8WysrnOWWqSYNfpYEnNpaJgydi1ClEWtW_mgM14bCakn5TAO54OQnvtP8RjOa8WT435e61v0/s1600/Curriculum+habit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4a0s1NQF2R4oIP46xat77QYNE9vfsgPh0fZNRefWrOpiECJpY4JdcL27MAtKtQ_woq7j8WysrnOWWqSYNfpYEnNpaJgydi1ClEWtW_mgM14bCakn5TAO54OQnvtP8RjOa8WT435e61v0/s200/Curriculum+habit.jpg" width="200" /></a>______________________________________________________<br />
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I am not paid to review products and all opinions expressed are my own.theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-34965707497812089772016-04-20T14:54:00.000-06:002016-04-20T14:54:16.316-06:00How Does a Homeschooler Raise a Butterfly?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6Yc3NvHYH41KwTqr73ebRs-_k0Mhqjc2avAeiQqAEkaI1dfdSRNWfrSNradY7kBuRnHPxlrlCeZ3wp3lMPTX4J-NwTHnA9A5TbH6jAzBYjoKoj6Vw1ZK5oE-qWHGeue8HRrjKyc_46zd/s1600/Butterfly+Header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6Yc3NvHYH41KwTqr73ebRs-_k0Mhqjc2avAeiQqAEkaI1dfdSRNWfrSNradY7kBuRnHPxlrlCeZ3wp3lMPTX4J-NwTHnA9A5TbH6jAzBYjoKoj6Vw1ZK5oE-qWHGeue8HRrjKyc_46zd/s400/Butterfly+Header.jpg" width="400" /></a>I love the homeschooler changing a lightbulb joke. You know the one:<br />
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"<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text">How does a homeschooler change a lightbulb?</span><span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text"> </span><br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text">First, mom checks three books on electricity out of the library, then
the kids make models of light bulbs, read a biography of Thomas Edison
and do a skit based on his life.</span><span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text"> </span><br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text">Next, everyone studies the history of lighting methods, wrapping up with dipping their own candles.</span><span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text"> Next, everyone takes a trip to the store where they compare types of
light bulbs as well as prices and figure out how much change they'll get
if they buy two bulbs for $1.99 and pay with a five dollar bill. </span><br />
<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text">On the way home, a discussion develops over the history of money and
also Abraham Lincoln, as his picture is on the five dollar bill. <br />
Finally, after building a homemade ladder out of branches dragged from the woods, the light bulb is installed. <br />
And there is light."</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text"><br />Because some days really are that rabbit-trail fueled. But I worry that homeschoolers see this as the image we have to maintain. After all, we can't just be as good as a public school, we have to be <i>better. </i>Or else the judgemental people we run into will wonder why we think we're so great that the school system that is perfectly fine for <i>their</i> children, thank you very much, isn't good enough for <i>your</i> children. I think at lot of homeschooling parents put a ton of pressure on themselves to make every single thing a detailed learning experience, and not just a learning experience but a <i>schooling</i> experience with something to show for it/prove that "see, we did do school!" And then people who are considering homeschooling see those parents killing themselves to do all the things and think to themselves that there is no way they can do that at that level so they don't try at all. </span><br />
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<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text">Well, in this environment, I'm going to make a very bold confession: we raised butterflies....and didn't do a single learning activity along with it. No printouts, no work sheets, no graphs or growth charts, no journals. We didn't even read a single book about butterflies (and I have several on my shelves!) And this crazy thing happened: the truant officer didn't show up at the door, and my kids still had an awesome experience. </span></div>
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<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text">But there's more story to it than that. See, Builder Boy asked for Science for Christmas presents. <b>Two </b>Christmases ago. And he received several science things, including a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Original-Butterfly-Garden-with-Voucher/dp/B00000ISC5/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&keywords=Butterfly%20kit&qid=1461164851&ref_=sr_1_4&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-4&linkCode=ll1&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=1b3d27839e1b442a8acd74a5d604dd2a">raise your own butterflies kit;</a> <i>two </i>Christmases ago. Obviously we did not raise them in the middle of winter because we would not have been able to release them and expected them to survive. So we waited until spring. And then with one thing or another, putting off because of weather, and then because I didn't have learning activities prepared, then we lost the voucher, and we moved....twice. Two years passed and my son had not gotten to enjoy his Christmas presents. That's just not right. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUehUMob1awaAb14DfAAcy4dpx9lFyeCPrpCLq43ZwsKD8v6q6EeWE0JNvDC0EclacTs89c9vGkd5-ujdl5puyN1vn6AVzm5kJsOx5MF2bCYIxMfTr7Y0_1TBzkGeRhxKSFtVhKLgYHrPx/s1600/20160318_183424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUehUMob1awaAb14DfAAcy4dpx9lFyeCPrpCLq43ZwsKD8v6q6EeWE0JNvDC0EclacTs89c9vGkd5-ujdl5puyN1vn6AVzm5kJsOx5MF2bCYIxMfTr7Y0_1TBzkGeRhxKSFtVhKLgYHrPx/s200/20160318_183424.jpg" title="Cup of Caterpillars" width="133" /></a><span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text">So finally, a few weeks ago, I just did it. I ordered replacement caterpillars. They came and....I didn't have to take care of them. What?! Yup, they came in a cup and instructions said to keep it closed until they were chrysali. My big worry of keeping them alive went down. (I have a bad track record of keeping anything but humans alive.) Once they were crysalized the instructions say to move them the net and mist them with the squirter. I lost the squirter. Thankfully the instructions <i>also</i> said that they would be okay without it and less was better than accidentally over wetting them like I probably would have ended up doing with an improvised attempt. They all hatched just fine. Five lovely butterflies managed to survive me! The boys had a ton of fun observing their "pets" over the weeks. Builder Boy even tried to name them, though I did have to explain that labeling them with stickers so he could tell them apart wasn't a viable option. We fed them the sugar water solution the instructions suggested and some orange fruits, then let them go a few days later. </span><span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text"> </span></div>
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<span class="ya-q-text" id="yui_3_17_2_3_1461163699380_2179" itemprop="text">And I was left wondering, why had I put this off for so long? We had a lovely experience, and it wasn't difficult because I didn't make it over-complicated. It was worth the money just to get to watch this awesome part of nature unfold in front of us. No papers or other activities required. Now, I definitely want to order some more and do it again; this time with activities. Sometime. But until then we have the memories of this experience that before was just a theoretical occurrence from books. And I'm really glad we finally did it.</span><br />
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theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-90331307531824071202016-03-25T13:11:00.000-06:002017-02-20T10:45:58.762-07:00Overdue UpdateIn October my good friend babysat all three kids for me for several hours. When I went to pick them up from her house she asked me to stay for a minute and talk. She had been doing some random reading the night before about signs of autism in toddlers and she thought she saw some of the things mentioned in Lady Bug. She shared a link to the <a href="https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis/mchat">Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised</a> (also known as the M-CHAT) and suggested I try the checklist and see what it said.<br />
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I knew that Lady Bug wasn't talking as well as she was earlier in the year. (She was meeting 2 year speech milestones at 14 months.) I figured that was my fault ; my PTSD triggers move from out of state to two miles away on the same day I had painful oral surgery that had me in bed for a week. I got deeply depressed and stopped talking and interacting beyond the necessities myself. It was a hard summer on all of us; surely she was just responding to that? The poking of her side of the face and ear that she was doing; she probably just had clogged ear ducts and was trying to relieve pressure.(Checked with pediatrician, no ear infection.) All of my friend's "signs" all seemed to have alternative explanations. But then she shared an almost 10 minute video that she took of her trying to get Lady Bug (who knew her well) to play or interact with her. It was heartbreaking and eye opening. I did the M-Chat; the result was "high risk for autism; see doctor ASAP."<br />
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I wrote a post about the journey seeking a diagnosis and about the roller-coaster of emotions; this is not that post. I wrote that post on paper and have misplaced it in the move (but as soon as I find it I'll post it!.) Oh, yeah, we moved <i>again. </i>But at least this time we're home owners! We looked for a house and bought one and moved it all between being <span class="_5yl5">referred</span> for an assessment and her actual assessment. 5 months. That's how long we had to live in limbo. But we finally got a diagnosis last week. She "presented with behaviors consistent with moderate to severe Autism" along with a speech delay and a global developmental delay. (She did not test well due to lack of interaction with the testers.) We're also seeking a Sensory Processing Disorder diagnosis (she's a sensory seeker), but that has to be given by an Occupational Therapist.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9k9Z9kU4DszuL7iTOReQ46NeIiYpIeu5n94nIOSveHTMezcELtAovhRFc1PNggq5rRaqBV36ZOtoIoKC8wqY0D_Nk5_imczDtQBAWBs1vziRTdA9IVUeDhk3IdiASzP9nv_kz9rWsg8Y/s1600/Autism+Awareness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9k9Z9kU4DszuL7iTOReQ46NeIiYpIeu5n94nIOSveHTMezcELtAovhRFc1PNggq5rRaqBV36ZOtoIoKC8wqY0D_Nk5_imczDtQBAWBs1vziRTdA9IVUeDhk3IdiASzP9nv_kz9rWsg8Y/s400/Autism+Awareness.jpg" width="320" /></a>April is Autism Awareness Month; or April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. (I've been seeing conflicting info on this.) I have been going through these past five months being glad that there is such an awareness of what Autism is and is not and the destigmatization of it in the past five years or so. And then I realized that just because I had become more aware of it in the past few years does not mean that all others/society had been going through the same learning process I have. Maybe I've just been hanging out with and facebooking with people who share information about Autism, but that's not necessarily representative of the whole of society. So what can I add to Autism Awareness? I just started this! I'm still barely learning about what this means for my daughter and my family. But already I've encountered some attitudes and comments that, in my raw/new to this state, have come off as frustrating or hurtful. So, if you do not have a child with Autism, but you encounter someone who does, please keep these in mind?<br />
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<b>1) If you've met one kid with Autism, you've met one kid with Autism. Autism is a broad spectrum with such a wide range of severity and behaviors. Please don't think that just because something worked for some other Autistic kid that you know that it will automatically help us.</b><br />
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<b>2) If you don't have a child with Autism and you're not a specialist who works with Autistic kids, please, just keep any advice to yourself </b><i>unless I specifically ask</i><b>. It's such a different brain wiring that what you think works for your kids isn't likely going to translate well to mine. It's like a non-parent trying to give unsolicited parenting advice to parent with several kids. </b><br />
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<b>3) Trying to "reassure" me that this is something she'll grow out of/ nothing to worry about/ all kids her age do X does not reassure me. It comes off to me as dismissive of a very real condition that needs to be seriously addressed. Minimizing my daughter's symptoms makes me think you're thinking I'm blowing things out of proportion and makes me not want to share with you because clearly you think I'm just overreacting. <br /><br />4)"Everybody is on the spectrum." What does that actually mean to you, lady at the art museum? Maybe you meant to be comforting and inclusive. I wish I'd asked. Instead I was too busy running after my sensory seeker to stop her from trying to eat paint to ask you to clarify. But in the newness of the complete reordering of our world, along with your tone of voice and body language, it felt dismissive. Maybe I'm extra sensitive right now. Maybe we should assume that of all the parents who you've only just met and be a bit less generalizing. </b><br />
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<b>5) "I hope you won't let this diagnosis restrict her potential." Seriously?! I did ask for clarification on what that meant to the person who said that. Her view was parents getting Autism diagnosis and assuming that their children would never learn anything so never trying to teach them, or in the WAY BACK PAST parents getting a mental handicap diagnosis and shutting them up in the attic or sending them away for the rest of their lives in an institution. Seriously; she thought that my daughter being diagnosed with Autism meant that I might not try to help my daughter learn or think she has the potential to do more than maybe someday pass 8th grade. Um, no, that's not how any of this works anymore. And thanks for thinking it's a possibility that I'm the kind of parent that would give up on her child. /sarcasm </b><br />
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<b>6) If you've met one parent of an Autistic kid, you've met one parent of an Autistic kid. Not all parents are going to be as sensitive as I am right now. Hopefully in a year or so from now <i>I</i> won't be as sensitive as I am right now. But the world could use more kindness and gentleness. If you feel like you should say something but are worried how it will be taken, maybe just try "is there anything I can do or say that would help?" </b><br />
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I know so much more about Autism now than I did before my daughter was suspected to be on the spectrum. I know so much less right now than I likely will a year/5 years/10 years from now. I hope that before all this happened I wasn't saying stupid stuff to parents of kids that I had no real knowledge about. If I did say something thoughtless, I am so sorry. I hope I can extend grace to those who don't realize what their comments sound like. And I hope that if you read this, if you find yourself talking to a parent of an autistic kid that maybe you'll remember that what you mean to say may not come out the way you mean it. <br />
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Thank you.theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-48982210589837857862015-10-15T15:22:00.001-06:002016-04-21T14:00:12.044-06:00Wordly Wise A, B, and C Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We recently completed the Wordly Wise series A, B, and C and have moved on to Wordly Wise 3000 workbooks. We first started these workbooks sometime in Builder Boy's 2nd grade year, after they took the <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/02/dora-reveiw.html">DORA for the first time</a> and the results showed that they were ready for a vocabulary program and would benefit from one. I asked around my online homeschooling groups and purchased the <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/012971">first book from Rainbow Resource online</a>. I purchased the answer key (sold separately) as well, but it really wasn't necessary. It was pretty obvious to me what the answers were most of the time.<br />
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The workbooks are designed to hand to the student and have them fill in answers. We used them differently, doing all the work completely orally. I would write the word on a whiteboard, and I would have both boys take turns giving me answers. Because they were working on the same words at the same time it encouraged using the new terms in everyday and play speech more. When working on book A and we passed a hedge they always pointed it out because of their vocabulary study. Doing everything together and orally also saved money not having to purchase a second workbook, though they really do not cost very much.<br />
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A lesson consists of a list of words and definition, often along with a picture. Next comes a true or false activity, then a fill in with the vocabulary word activity that gives you an answer to a joke, and then a crossword activity using the vocabulary words. In book C an extra activity is several sentences where definitions are used and you have to replace all the definition words with the one vocabulary word. I would introduce the new word list and the do the true or false activity one day, and do each next activity one day at a time. This spread out the time they had with the words, getting used to them. It usually took 5 to 10 minutes and it was a fun way to start our school day with something easy to accomplish and get us in the mind frame for schoolwork. We went through the books sporadically, which is why it took us from February 2014 to October 2015 to complete them.<br />
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The books do increase in complexity and difficulty, though not too much. In book A each exercise only uses definitions and words used in that lesson's list. But in book 2 they begin to add in other definitions from previous lessons on the true and false. Also the words in book A are usually just noun definitions with one definition per word. In book B and more in C they introduce words with more than one definition, and in book C words that can have both a noun definition and a verb definition, so it is helpful if they know what those two parts of speech are when your child goes through it.<br />
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I personally think that vocabulary instruction is best when a child can already read pretty well and will not be struggling to read these new words with phonetic rules that they might not have learned yet. These books were a great introduction to the concept of how to define a word (as in, you can't use the word itself when you are trying to tell the meaning) and to get them to think that every word they say has a meaning; and possibly more than one. It really enhanced their word play, and has been the cause of many silly moments and groan worthy jokes. The words they had never heard of before were mixed in with words they were familiar with, so it was a good balance in my opinion. Some of the words seemed a bit "old fashioned" and not words they were likely to encounter in real life, like "bonnet," but will make reading classics easier. Over all I am very happy with the program.<br />
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I chose to move on to the Wordly Wise 3000 workbook 2 rather than their grade level books because while there are some repeat words (the letter books are the old books and do not carry over to the 3000 series) there are some words they don't know in them and doing it on that level will give them a chance to get comfortable with the different format and with writing answers in workbooks. More on that to come. We will probably do two levels of 3000 a year, so we'll catch up and then some in time.<br />
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<b>I recommend this series for children who can read with confidence but are not yet ready for Greek and Latin root meanings/etymology study and for parents who want to introduce new words in a friendly and fun way that does not add too much time to their homeschool day.<br />__________________________________________________________________________</b><br />
No affiliate links, and I was not paid to review this product. All opinions are my own.<b><br /></b>theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-69279654047540226742015-10-12T13:06:00.002-06:002015-10-12T13:06:59.089-06:00Costume Making SeasonSo I'm in full blown costume making mode. And I have the spray painted fingers to prove it! We've usually gone simple for costumes but this year we're going a bit more elaborate with a Doctor Who family theme. Oh, and I also threw together a quick bat costume for Early Bird because he's currently obsessed with bats. I'll have pictures and guidelines to follow once I find my hot glue gun, but if you just can't wait to see what's going on I've been updating on the blog's facebook page. <br /><br /><a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Costumes">Here's the link to all the easy costumes I've made over the years.</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Sceleratus-Classical-Academy-159830117432552/timeline/">Here's the link to the facebook page.</a>theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-58419646579479477872015-10-02T07:00:00.000-06:002015-10-02T07:00:05.327-06:00Catching Up in Language Arts, Part 1: FLL3 and WWE2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrtMgyDiQNMz0LAgSkp-4O2eb40OMKq-walq4qn_0zTmEGmRS1vEpMrsrwLiJvM7wfN2609wJcy7bopj0T4d5lwOSV00iqlq1jL7XyErD7ksnGLiGGl6Z6fDXHU97OMdx-r5m6kUDNwbx/s1600/Grammar+Header+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrtMgyDiQNMz0LAgSkp-4O2eb40OMKq-walq4qn_0zTmEGmRS1vEpMrsrwLiJvM7wfN2609wJcy7bopj0T4d5lwOSV00iqlq1jL7XyErD7ksnGLiGGl6Z6fDXHU97OMdx-r5m6kUDNwbx/s640/Grammar+Header+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The goals:<br />
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<li>Finish First Language Lessons level 3 and 4 in one year's time and be prepared to move on to 5th grade grammar at the beginning of the next school year. </li>
<li>Finish Writing With Ease level 2 by the middle of the school year and move on to a new curriculum, probably Brave Writer. </li>
</ol>
The students: Builder Boy (not quite 9 years old) and Early Bird (6 1/2)<br />
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The purpose of this post: to show you how we are doing it if you ever find you want to do something similar, and a reminder that <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/02/youre-not-boss-of-me.html">curricula is not the boss of you</a>.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>We went through First Language Lessons level 1 a while ago and really enjoyed it. It took more than a to get through because of circumstances, but the boys had fun with it. I was able to add to it to make it work better for my kinetic learner and <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/FLL%201">I blogged what I added</a> for others who might be interested in doing the same. I intended to do the same with FLL2 and <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/11/supplementing-fll2-lessons-1-10.html">even started the process</a>, but a move and more circumstances saw me dropping it for the rest of the year.<br />
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So here I was at the beginning of Builder Boy's 4th grade year and we have barely begun the 2nd grade level of our chose grammar curriculum. Do I carry on with the 2nd grade level during 4th grade, or was a skip possible? I re-read the relevant part of The Well Trained Mind and the course description of FLL2. That made it pretty clear that the purpose of the first two levels was much more about exposure to the idea of grammar and the very basics than mastery of the subject. Which is perfect, in my opinion, for the intended ages/grade level. Then I took a look at the lesson names and what level 3 teaches (<a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/21455340/First-Language-Lessons-Level-3-Instructor-Text">found here</a>) and decided that we could probably skip level 2 and move on to level 3. I got the pdf of the student workbook so that I could print out the work pages for both boys and that has been nice and easy. I also don't always have them do all of the exercises for every lesson, so I can cut a page here or there and print less.<br />
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I was only going to plan on finishing level 3 this school year. But I have been having them do a lesson every day, 5 days a week instead of only 3 days a week. In the first four weeks of school we finished 20% of level 3, not including the optional topical lessons. Since we school year round I think it is completely realistic to expect to finish by the next school year at this rate, assuming there are no unforeseen problems.<br />
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The lessons are moving along at a steady pace. There seems to be enough review that a 3rd grader with no previous grammar experience could probably start at level 3 with no problem as long as you move at a mastery pace, taking extra time to practice and review as needed.<br />
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This level introduces diagramming, and the boys are so far having fun with it. Early Bird insists on writing for himself (he is currently finishing up the kindergarten Zaner-Bloser handwriting workbook.) Because he is careful and meticulous, and Builder Boy is more concerned with finishing quickly, this often means waiting for Early Bird before we can move on. As long as he continues to show mastery of the subject I let him skip one or two per lesson so that we can move on. Right now each lesson takes around 20-25 minutes between poem memorization practice, definition review, the scripted learning part, and the workbook exercises.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAii4I3J8cw8fVE7jm_Mi11QLxYlRUOybjZeSCIbC8BA1TSZ33QyzsU4JHGkH-e3l5QKWk0HR87YUtKozAob1dP49jN0L1ThgUPyFueoYE7VgUin3PTa4WyNaxKj6lEC8zq2F-cAw2sEB/s1600/Grammar+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAii4I3J8cw8fVE7jm_Mi11QLxYlRUOybjZeSCIbC8BA1TSZ33QyzsU4JHGkH-e3l5QKWk0HR87YUtKozAob1dP49jN0L1ThgUPyFueoYE7VgUin3PTa4WyNaxKj6lEC8zq2F-cAw2sEB/s400/Grammar+3.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Builder Boy's</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Uyji9vlGukz-XgPiWHUq7dq1wk851YV1a_Y0t3UUACERB0Wqn_3nvFkZCoaHvryvqPEvDAbiHBxqpC2CIVy6Ca72SF2LpFUNQ-eUWw2IGmvKVdfgNqL9MOrzUBsD4zKdRXUvY2fUStB-/s1600/Grammar+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Uyji9vlGukz-XgPiWHUq7dq1wk851YV1a_Y0t3UUACERB0Wqn_3nvFkZCoaHvryvqPEvDAbiHBxqpC2CIVy6Ca72SF2LpFUNQ-eUWw2IGmvKVdfgNqL9MOrzUBsD4zKdRXUvY2fUStB-/s400/Grammar+4.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early Bird's</td></tr>
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Yes, my 6 year old is working on this curriculum with understanding just fine. No, I do not think an average 6 year old should jump ahead to this book. When Builder Boy was 6 he was still working on sorting the difference between a common noun and a regular noun, needing physical cards to move around to help him. The work we are doing now would have confused and frustrated him. Early Bird has the benefit of having had the preliminary work of going through the first level, plus his greatest strength is in language arts.<br />
<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/08/language-arts-very-good-reason-to.html"><br /></a>
<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/08/language-arts-very-good-reason-to.html"><br /></a>
<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/08/language-arts-very-good-reason-to.html">A similar problem presented itself with Writing With Ease</a>. We made it less than half way through <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/05/writing-with-ease-1.html">WWE level 1</a> by the end of Builder Boy's 3rd grade year. Handwriting issues has been a major reason, though another is a lack of follow through on my end. We have skipped ahead to WWE level 2, but we are also skipping the copywork and dictation lessons. We are doing just the narrations, one a day, 5 days a week, and that this rate will be done sometime around January. At that time we will be switching to a different curriculum. I respect the authors of The Well Trained Mind and WWE a great deal, but I want something different for our family. I will likely still use WWE level 1 with Lady Bug when the time comes for her in a few years. Not really sure what after that, which is a little scary. But I am reading reviews of programs by bloggers that I highly respect to get a better feel of what I want for us and what is going to be best for providing that. More to come on that when I finally figure it out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqW77LlPI1xcumnZ1mBr81cqHl0uFtnPx_M8wrC5whN5aDPEO8CObfhFem5AKhKxf4H_HHM1bStqOeTyhykRpBCyONGk9lX4xRILNezkLssCZO9t3Jggnm4dTVKqXuAF9lFBMBYA-jZc7H/s1600/Curriculum+habit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqW77LlPI1xcumnZ1mBr81cqHl0uFtnPx_M8wrC5whN5aDPEO8CObfhFem5AKhKxf4H_HHM1bStqOeTyhykRpBCyONGk9lX4xRILNezkLssCZO9t3Jggnm4dTVKqXuAF9lFBMBYA-jZc7H/s200/Curriculum+habit.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The Well Trained Mind, First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, and Writing With Ease are all produced by Peace Hill Press. I am an affiliate with PHP which means if you purchase their products through one of my links, I get a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you. Affiliate link to their grammar products: <a href="http://peacehillpress.com/affiliates/idevaffiliate.php?id=108_22_3_9" target="_blank">Peace Hill Press Grammar Products.</a><br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sceleclassaca-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1933339071" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933339071/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1933339071&linkCode=as2&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=HXCBRB63EP3QOU6J" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1933339071&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=sceleclassaca-20" /></a>The books can also be found at Amazon.com (picture of the book is another affiliate link.) Sometimes Amazon.com has better prices on the books, however, to my knowledge, you can not purchase the workbook PDF on Amazon. You get it at the PHP site, and if you have more than one kid and a not too expensive printer I highly recommend going that way.<br />
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I was not paid to review these products. All opinions expressed are my own.theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-78676515504602601682015-09-30T16:13:00.004-06:002015-09-30T16:13:42.490-06:00Our Homeschool System and Schedule We finally found our homeschooling groove! I <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/09/how-we-found-our-homeschooling-groove.html">wrote here</a> about the general things that helped us find it. Now here are the specifics of what our groove actually turned out to be. This may be nothing like your groove, or it could have one element or two that you would like to add to yours. Whatever the reason, if it helps, here's the information.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXE7NLt1kvlqmgzbhV9iaSibQWYr9o-l-a843TmhMTWTQyGOSRGGDDhqK0F8bQRGnxz0uLb9_4PIfZNnqRgCYUa_JBNox97AhzFyxfj3w7MXKQcZ2uSCDw2WMSsRWCb2nJvlS3Flfumqcm/s1600/Homeschooling+Header+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXE7NLt1kvlqmgzbhV9iaSibQWYr9o-l-a843TmhMTWTQyGOSRGGDDhqK0F8bQRGnxz0uLb9_4PIfZNnqRgCYUa_JBNox97AhzFyxfj3w7MXKQcZ2uSCDw2WMSsRWCb2nJvlS3Flfumqcm/s640/Homeschooling+Header+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOdLY_K42eh1H0w7p0bk4U2UsT0KjRm3Y_hQQZOZVBKC5cRKOYvx64x9oRHcnCKzuc4uOlv_R1t2yVAbgpIcVOu6-sy9eX0gvYzfguEtne29PDcoIidKJKSMs30b-j513sunBgfKEmE62/s1600/School+Area.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOdLY_K42eh1H0w7p0bk4U2UsT0KjRm3Y_hQQZOZVBKC5cRKOYvx64x9oRHcnCKzuc4uOlv_R1t2yVAbgpIcVOu6-sy9eX0gvYzfguEtne29PDcoIidKJKSMs30b-j513sunBgfKEmE62/s640/School+Area.jpg" width="640" /></a>This is our school area. Also known as the dining room table. It hasn't <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2012/08/our-school-area.html">changed much from when we started two homes ago</a>, but I finally have an organization system that works well for us.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j0p_oarqDXIgzaHTQMPYhTFjHj4NWNeAOKZpTN2xettq0J78b3vQrRx75kAf274eS8qSLkw7vDdNvau3V3Fg1YTzgeoKlkM14IGRgQ4yDckt4Nu4BCniE7KUug_lsJscQWXv3-sXcgKD/s1600/School+Whiteboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j0p_oarqDXIgzaHTQMPYhTFjHj4NWNeAOKZpTN2xettq0J78b3vQrRx75kAf274eS8qSLkw7vDdNvau3V3Fg1YTzgeoKlkM14IGRgQ4yDckt4Nu4BCniE7KUug_lsJscQWXv3-sXcgKD/s640/School+Whiteboard.jpg" width="640" /></a>The whiteboard across the table where the boys sit is new to us since moving here. The boys' verses from AWANAs is on there so they can practice when they sit down to eat. The date gets changed every morning, and the boys are quick to remind me if the date is wrong. The list of what we will be doing doesn't change every day, but it's good to work as a check list or a reminder of a change of schedule. I also keep the week's spelling list on there so they can practice it when they see it, or at least be a bit more familiar with them. It doesn't leave much room left to work on, but that's usually where the current vocabulary words go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzq8pDm8xCRZySiepCSy8RQnxQwvz7d6IO36zMRKUswGNWIUDLRaEnJbevE1Iw6ac3BLwBEgzaNayOgDUXkLLpj5yR5kTJVTvSBE062hTs1CGuQ4odTwP1bIa7TuWp5WOb39TYey5Zm16E/s1600/School+Towers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzq8pDm8xCRZySiepCSy8RQnxQwvz7d6IO36zMRKUswGNWIUDLRaEnJbevE1Iw6ac3BLwBEgzaNayOgDUXkLLpj5yR5kTJVTvSBE062hTs1CGuQ4odTwP1bIa7TuWp5WOb39TYey5Zm16E/s400/School+Towers.jpg" width="216" /></a>The second whiteboard is for All About Spelling only. I take it down from the top of the towers when we use it and then put it back up when we are done. I had to learn to do this the hard way; I left it down too many times and ended up having to buy replacement tiles thanks to a curious two year old.<br />
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The towers have gone through various arrangements. What we currently have is two here and a third in the master bedroom. Each boy has a large drawer with his notebooks and his own specific (and labeled) school supplies. They are responsible for taking their things out and putting them back in. That includes their Grammar and Handwriting Folder, Zaner-Bloser handwriting book, Reading Log, and History Folder. I think the chance to get out of their seats, even just to go to the their drawer every other subject, has been helpful for my wiggly boys.<br />
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Most subjects have their own drawer, and they go in order from top to bottom. We pull a book out, use it, and then put it back and move to the next drawer. This has helped my clutter problem and makes it so we can still eat at the dining table.<br />
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The bottom drawers are paper/lined paper or construction paper. Drawing supplies are higher up because of aforementioned mess making toddler.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6USLrIre9dNreFIbBNZrkiPlHc9BjcXnikO6kC33ZvHGZ7vb6zrHjX3w-BxRUcdE0C68x5aM3maTVlouDEVv9jKuC464iJ-DkHrpwJ3wdh6LUgysoO85QLJASj9sryydSn8PiEac8nprb/s1600/School+Reading+Log.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6USLrIre9dNreFIbBNZrkiPlHc9BjcXnikO6kC33ZvHGZ7vb6zrHjX3w-BxRUcdE0C68x5aM3maTVlouDEVv9jKuC464iJ-DkHrpwJ3wdh6LUgysoO85QLJASj9sryydSn8PiEac8nprb/s640/School+Reading+Log.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0bUKs7W2nW7gVPKTgB9Urcr6XByQKJb2D90VxydXmOXusGdoj0tVsF0cdm0gWgpvHu-wnDIc4OmeuLLrOQIB9lfNxDR9aolvCoJyiVhrfPyYWPeQW-r4oJ0FmL6uD1d9CW2tTmlaidMb/s1600/School+Reading+Log+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0bUKs7W2nW7gVPKTgB9Urcr6XByQKJb2D90VxydXmOXusGdoj0tVsF0cdm0gWgpvHu-wnDIc4OmeuLLrOQIB9lfNxDR9aolvCoJyiVhrfPyYWPeQW-r4oJ0FmL6uD1d9CW2tTmlaidMb/s320/School+Reading+Log+2.jpg" width="219" /></a>One of the things in each boy's drawer is their individual Reading Log. This has been a struggle area for us. I have never been good about consistently reading aloud to them, nor requiring them to read aloud to me. We're finally getting a hang on making this a more regular occurrence, and a big help in that has been bribing them. I hand made some fun charts and bought some cheap stickers. We also kept track of the books they read so that they were not reading the same thing over and over but rather were challenging themselves. The reward for filling all the same colored bubbles with stickers was 30 extra computer minutes to play multi-player Terraria with Principal Daddy. This was the perfect motivator for them.<br />
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At first I gave a sticker for every 100 words they read. Since the first time they read Builder Boy only read 200 words or so, that seemed an appropriate amount. But by the end of the first chart Early Bird was reading 1,400 words at a go and Builder Boy was reading 600-700 words at a time. That was just too much counting words for me. So I moved it to every sticker is 5 minutes of reading. Now I can just time it on my phone and not worry about spending 15 minutes counting words. They read anywhere from 15-30 minutes at a time to me, earning 3-6 stickers. We're still keeping track of what they are reading.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXY07BeAfo4W5aboE6mmWX22qcyH_LsgM5SvYMFEOjbCM6DMTsxZQuKowiLooAuwAt86y3eVH3LimY-BObfVsAx-7TD2Qm3myijy4JRuy9nF0yVHriUjnRBUZysfFd7JpwbvniL23GAxm/s1600/School+File+Folder+Box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXY07BeAfo4W5aboE6mmWX22qcyH_LsgM5SvYMFEOjbCM6DMTsxZQuKowiLooAuwAt86y3eVH3LimY-BObfVsAx-7TD2Qm3myijy4JRuy9nF0yVHriUjnRBUZysfFd7JpwbvniL23GAxm/s320/School+File+Folder+Box.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early Bird's file folders</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Before this year there was no required written output. That has changed this year and we need some way to deal with all those papers. Vocabulary is still completely oral. Grammar is First Language Lessons 3 this year, and I have the PDF so I can print off copies for both boys. I print them off a week's worth at a time and we keep them in the back of a folder with pockets and brads in the middle for holding hold punched papers. Once the lesson's papers have been done we add them to the brads. We are doing only the narrations, no copywork, for Writing With Ease 2 right now. I write the boys' narrations on a piece of lined paper and then at the end of the week add it to the Grammar and Writing folder. However, the folder only holds about four week's worth of papers before I have to do something with them. I don't want to buy folders for every 4 weeks worth of work, so every four weeks I'm going to take out the collected papers and keep them in the boys' individual school records file folders.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjKUN0o9QGT9NRmLdjPUHGIXDD5j2J1_foF8FiuzjBxlxmPnrboXR1Ht1Uxv09EGTbfVpIDBia903dRmTBt9YHlCvHKFjtA27Vd6aGka0-TZTWVOMgTZU3fEP2JS1CwL0tMpJEDErDZez/s1600/School+Folders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjKUN0o9QGT9NRmLdjPUHGIXDD5j2J1_foF8FiuzjBxlxmPnrboXR1Ht1Uxv09EGTbfVpIDBia903dRmTBt9YHlCvHKFjtA27Vd6aGka0-TZTWVOMgTZU3fEP2JS1CwL0tMpJEDErDZez/s320/School+Folders.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The Grammar and Writing papers will need their own separate file folder. The other folder holds the math papers, spelling tests (and now also spelling dictation) and the Story of the World Activity Guide activity pages. The math pages go straight to the folders once they're done. (I file them.) Spelling dictations happen Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on the same paper so get filed on Thursday, and spelling tests happen and are filed on Fridays. History pages were given together in a folder, 8 chapters at a time. Those get filed once all of the chapters are done and new ones are required.<br />
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I've got to say, there is something satisfying about filing away papers. It's a much more tangible sense of accomplishment than doing everything orally and only having lesson progression to show for it. I am still glad we did it that way when we needed to, but this has really helped <i>me</i>.<br />
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<b>Schedule: </b><br />
<div data-contents="true" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0">
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="e5jbf-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e5jbf">
<span data-offset-key="e5jbf-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e5jbf.0:$e5jbf-0-0"><span data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e5jbf.0:$e5jbf-0-0.0">We don't start until 9:30 which gives the boys an hour to an hour and a half to eat breakfast and play or do their own thing. If Early Bird wakes up with something in his head he just has to get onto paper, he has the time to do that. If he needs to jump on the mini-trampoline or run around, he has time for this. This is also helpful for Builder Boy who spends almost every morning time in his room building with blocks and listening to Story of the World cds. He started doing this on his own and it really seems to help center him.</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="1f5go-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$1f5go">
<span data-offset-key="1f5go-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$1f5go.0:$1f5go-0-0"><br data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$1f5go.0:$1f5go-0-0.0" /></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="5dg1t-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$5dg1t">
<span data-offset-key="5dg1t-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$5dg1t.0:$5dg1t-0-0"><span data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$5dg1t.0:$5dg1t-0-0.0">Starting at 9:30 we usually get vocabulary and grammar done by 10 am. We take a break after grammar is done for a snack. The next subject is writing and is done completely orally so it can be done while snack is happening and that way they don't get sidetracked. After that we do spelling. Monday and Friday this takes 30 minutes or so, but usually only 10 the middle days. (I will blog about how we use AAS another time.) Then it's handwriting and then math. Builder Boy is given his math to do and he can try to do what he can on his own. Some days this is most or all, other days it's a melt down. I help Early Bird through his math, and then help Builder Boy with whatever is left.</span></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="et086-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$et086">
<span data-offset-key="et086-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$et086.0:$et086-0-0"><br data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$et086.0:$et086-0-0.0" /></span></div>
<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="e3ojq-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq">
<span data-offset-key="e3ojq-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0"><span data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0.0">We are usually finished by 11:30 am, sometimes earlier, sometimes later. They get the time between when they finish their work (properly) until lunchtime as extra computer time, which is very motivating for them to not drag their feet during handwriting and math. After lunch, if they get all their school done, they get an hour guaranteed on the computers. Then it's free time until Lady Bug's nap time/family quiet time. This used to be 2 pm on the dot, but lately it's closer to 2:30 or 3 pm. While Lady Bug is trying to fall asleep the boys go to their room and play quietly while listening to Story of the World 3 on cd for an hour. They have the activity pages in a folder and they can color or not as they wish. </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="e3ojq-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0"><span data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0.0"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="e3ojq-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0"><span data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0.0">Sometime near the middle to end of Lady Bug's nap I try to have reading time. Sometimes this happens at other times, sometimes not at all. Sometimes Teacher Mommy needs a lot more quiet time. Everything else after that time is the same as I imagine most family's evenings go. We don't do any other academics past that time. Oh, except the moon chart the boys decided they want to do. That gets done at bed time for obvious reasons.</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="e3ojq-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0"><span data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0.0"><br /></span></span>
<span data-offset-key="e3ojq-0-0" data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0"><span data-reactid=".qa.1:6.0.$right.0.0.0.0.1.0.0.$editor0.0.0.$e3ojq.0:$e3ojq-0-0.0">So that's what we have found that works for us. I imagine as they get older and their workload increases that times will change. When Lady Bug gives up her nap, though, we are still doing Quiet Time! I very much value that time. It's a sanity keeper for this introverted mom, and time to connect with adults on facebook.</span></span></div>
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theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-64893232494616642692015-09-29T11:36:00.001-06:002015-09-30T16:15:16.125-06:00How We Found Our Homeschooling Groove<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACeJYwc2_6GB2-_Kro-P0g5RBos-k12yn_VH4yxmW5yPBtlso6rEtDmnlByBg9N9BrfGedJCg-la86ddSZ3yXen__snp8xbJXfyx_Nmeuc38zeu0jMH46X2975ntaKUMGpqK9nVjqm7O6/s1600/Homeschool+Groove+Header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACeJYwc2_6GB2-_Kro-P0g5RBos-k12yn_VH4yxmW5yPBtlso6rEtDmnlByBg9N9BrfGedJCg-la86ddSZ3yXen__snp8xbJXfyx_Nmeuc38zeu0jMH46X2975ntaKUMGpqK9nVjqm7O6/s640/Homeschool+Groove+Header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is our 4th year homeschooling. I have seen it said that it usually takes 3-4 years to get your homeschool groove. This has been true for us. I have also seen it said that you find your groove and then things change and you have to find it all over again. Lord, I sure hope that one doesn't apply to us!<br />
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If you are still trying to find what works for you and your family, here's what it took for us to find ours:<br />
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1. Trial and Error<br />
2. Timing<br />
3. Realizing My Own Limitations (again, and again)<br />
4. Letting Go of the Ideal<br />
5. Practice and Maturity<br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Trial and Error</b></span><br />
The past three years on this blog show the evidence of planning, trying, and<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-did-we-do.html"> things not working out like planned</a>; multiple times. I have tried to be open and honest about our missteps so that no one reading this blog will think I am perfect, or get the idea that they have to be perfect to homeschool. No matter how well you know your kids you can not with 100% accuracy predict how they will do/react with a specific curriculum or schedule or project or approach. You can only try your best in picking, assessing, and re-assessing as necessary and adapt when needed. For example, I love the Right Start math curriculum. It's great and it worked really well for how Builder Boy learned. <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/05/right-start-math-drop-out.html">But it did not end up working for us long term</a> and it was hard to let go of this curriculum that was perfect for both of us if only I could just make the timing work.....<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Timing</b></span><br />
Finding out the best time for your kids to learn isn't always what you want it to be. I had to find out the hard way not to plan on any sit down work happening after lunch because we just couldn't make it work. I usually crashed energy-wise that time, had a baby that needed to be held to nap, or something along those lines. The boys can learn through fun media sources in their own way in the afternoon, but paper work or anything official just doesn't work for them at this time. I have online homeschooling friends whose kids learn best at night before bed. Others whose kid wakes up extra early and is half done with their school work before the rest of the house is even <i>considering</i> possibly waking up. You can force your ideal of what a school day is "supposed" to look like, or you can go with what works best for you and your kids. Right now for us that means school happens between 9:30 am to lunch at noon. Some morning we start at 9am if we have the rare morning appointment or park date. But no earlier than that. It gives everyone a chance to wake up when their body is ready and gives them some time to themselves to do their own thing in the morning before they have to start. For elementary age kids, this seems extra important. There's plenty of time later to set alarms.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Realizing My Own Limitations</b></span><br />
I wanted to do all the <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Story%20of%20the%20World%3A%20Ancient%20Times">awesome projects for Story of the World</a>. I wanted weekly science experiments and craft projects and <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Art%20Tea%20Party">art tea parties</a> and things that I realized take more time and work to set up and clean up then the kids actually spent doing them. And I was doing too much of the actual project <i>for </i>them when we actually did them. Then I wasn't checking supply lists ahead of time and then we didn't have what we needed so <i>learning</i> got put on hold until I could get it. And then I would forget. <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/05/homeschooling-history-and-power-of.html">So stuff wasn't getting done because I wasn't able to do it perfectly.</a> And that's just one example. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Letting Go of the Ideal</b></span><br />
When we started thinking about homeschooling we purchased and read The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. Principal Daddy and I loved the classical education path it described. We wanted that to be what we did for our children. We still use quite a few of the resources and processes recommended, and I continue to look to the book as a standard. But modifications had to be made. I had to learn that a curriculum is a tool,<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/02/youre-not-boss-of-me.html"> not my boss</a>. I gave up on the idea of teaching Latin in 2nd or 3rd grade when we just needed to get the basics done. I never would have imagined that I would give up on formal science and history for a year so we could "catch up" and focus on language arts. Our 4th year of homeschooling looks so different than what I envisioned in our 1st year. But what we are doing now is working for us; that is what mattered.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Practice and Maturity </b></span><br />
This actually goes for both the kids <i>and </i>me. Maturity wise for the kids, in my enthusiasm to introduce a new topic or learning point I sometimes tried to teach before Builder Boy was ready for it. And sometimes he wasn't ready for some stuff for a while. I sometimes wonder if I tired to teach handwriting too soon and that's why it's such an ongoing problem for us. (Or it could be something else. Not sure.) Maturity wise for me, homeschooling my kids has been a such a learning experience for <i>me.</i> Learning to trust myself rather than go by the book has not been easy and has taken a lot of baby steps to get there. Figuring out when we need to take a day off instead of pushing through is another thing I'm still working on.<br />
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And practice; doing school consistently has been a major issues for us. Our first homeschool year got sidelined by <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Pregnancy">a pregnancy that had me bedridden</a>, year two had a new baby who only napped if I was holding her, and year three I was dealing with major depression and PTSD triggering with a move for us and triggers moving in to our town. But this summer, after the June from Hell, I finally got us on a semi-regular schedule with half our subjects and got us into the habit of doing school at the same time of day 3-5 days a week. So when we started our new school year we were already in the habit of doing it. We had worked out kinks with what to do with Lady Bug and the boys would look at the clock and say "hey, it's almost school time" and get ready.<br />
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I do not know if this will help someone reading this find their family's homeschooling groove faster; time seems to be a major factor. But I do hope it helps those who haven't found theirs yet to know that they're not alone in that, and to give themselves some grace.<br />
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<b>Have you found your homeschooling groove? What helped you/any advice for others? </b></div>
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<b>Please share in the comments!</b></div>
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ETA: follow up post on the specifics of our schedule and set up <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/09/our-homeschool-system-and-schedule.html">can be found here</a>.theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-69151106728885990212015-08-31T15:04:00.000-06:002015-10-01T16:51:19.034-06:00First Day of School 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEK98K-YW92YvDhK333pndg6H0xjV2PogytZhdJ5acOaYztOLybwzaD-sEEpZphiuPAjjDBlppm4Wo08aEfh8_F3-lxHsrnPTI6zuXOE7ETzjKVD7Js5yvjt_U7gafKpSQs-PsN7vuODzi/s1600/First+Day+2015+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEK98K-YW92YvDhK333pndg6H0xjV2PogytZhdJ5acOaYztOLybwzaD-sEEpZphiuPAjjDBlppm4Wo08aEfh8_F3-lxHsrnPTI6zuXOE7ETzjKVD7Js5yvjt_U7gafKpSQs-PsN7vuODzi/s320/First+Day+2015+A.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
Here we are at our fourth first day of school. I know it's cliche to say, but it really does seem like we just had our very first day of homeschool recently.<br />
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We started with our traditional pancake breakfast and pictures with signs. This year I also added a little present; a math concept book for Builder Boy and a Beethoven action figure for Early Bird. Lady Bug was not impressed with my signs or picture attempts this year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_HSZuTEYDu062GtcqklqJ2wddWhBYEYJ-GK9jMRsxKJkjW9MMOXNdXjRV5LW0Usmgg5OtJe16RlPboZEdVHaleKdhB50pCwQC3zy7qSDuFy5B6qr9Og81qN2fIbWGxwidpgDbXBfvWeP/s1600/First+Day+2015+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_HSZuTEYDu062GtcqklqJ2wddWhBYEYJ-GK9jMRsxKJkjW9MMOXNdXjRV5LW0Usmgg5OtJe16RlPboZEdVHaleKdhB50pCwQC3zy7qSDuFy5B6qr9Og81qN2fIbWGxwidpgDbXBfvWeP/s320/First+Day+2015+C.jpg" width="256" /></a>This was our first year not taking a break before the start of the new school year. We have been working on vocabulary, spelling, handwriting, and math consistently starting at the same time every day for the past two months. I have to say I really think this works best for us. The no-longer-summer-schedule saw us add just two new subjects (grammar and writing) in the morning and I got the next Story of the World cds for them to listen to during quiet time.<br />
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<i>If</i> our current schedule and system works for us, <i>then </i>I will blog about it. But I don't want to count my chickens just yet.<br />
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<br />theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-31132978616893089302015-08-29T14:01:00.003-06:002015-09-01T11:48:15.777-06:00Homeschooling and Overexcitabilities This month's Hoagies blog hop is about Overexcitiblites, something I have mentioned several times before on my blog. Both Builder Boy and Early Bird demonstrate various overexcitabilities (here after shortened to OE's) and that has both hampered and helped our homeschooling efforts.<br />
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(I have also posted about <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/01/lilo-dabrowskis-gifted-child-in-reel.html" target="_blank">Overexcitabilities portrayed in film here</a>.)<br />
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To explain overexcitabilities I will refer you to <a href="http://sengifted.org/archives/articles/getting-over-overexcitabilities-effectively-managing-family-interactions-when-family-members-have-different-overexcitabilities" target="_blank">SENG's article here</a> and <a href="http://jadeannrivera.com/how-to-identify-and-cope-with-overexcitabilities-part-1-of-5-emotional-overexcitability/" target="_blank">Jade Rivera's excellent series which begins here</a>.<br />
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Using SENG's definition, the five overexcitabilities are<br />
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<ul>
<li>
<div dir="ltr">
Emotional – experiencing things deeply</div>
</li>
<li>
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Imaginational – capacity to visualize, invent, and create</div>
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Intellectual – inquisitive and reflective</div>
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Psychomotor – a surplus of energy</div>
</li>
<li>
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Sensual (Sensory) – intense responsiveness to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell</div>
</li>
</ul>
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<b>Emotional Overexcitabilities:</b> experiencing things deeply actually affects the rest of our lives more than our schooling time. Based on what <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/06/how-gifted-childhood-prepared-me-for.html" target="_blank">I learned from my own childhood</a>, we operate fairly well with an attitude of mutual respect. I respect their right to feel and don't require perfect behavior. They in return recognize that I have bad days, too, and they forgive my own emotional outbursts when I ask for forgiveness. We have not yet had a school time since we've had it that we needed to break out the <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/07/inside-out-emotions-tool-box.html" target="_blank">Inside Out Emotions Tool Box</a> yet. But it's there if we need it and on the days where it really is too much we take the rest of the day off.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZkV4h7_y6qr2GYq1mrM3gfvTmtScINikZwNPTb30_auK0VQvbHZJ7ASvDSuvYsLDrxLvum4eHTlhsMsiVhC2L0wgwfLdX7cqb2xW3WwDQLr5bfk8xGvmgVSBnGicSgsUOmuJ2oK1MVea/s1600/Overexcitibilities+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZkV4h7_y6qr2GYq1mrM3gfvTmtScINikZwNPTb30_auK0VQvbHZJ7ASvDSuvYsLDrxLvum4eHTlhsMsiVhC2L0wgwfLdX7cqb2xW3WwDQLr5bfk8xGvmgVSBnGicSgsUOmuJ2oK1MVea/s320/Overexcitibilities+3.jpg" width="180" /></a><b>Imaginational Overexcitiabilities:</b> a strong imagination can be very helpful in a time-limitless homeschool environment. And it's not hard to adapt and teach a fruit bat or armadillo or a Roman general instead of your student. Sure, *animal noise* "answer" *animal noise* gets tiresome after a while but being able to swap out the kangaroo disk for a sloth dish in their Creature Power Suit so they'll stop bounding around and slow down for five minutes is well worth it. The main "problem" with imaginational OE that I have encountered is the <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.ca/2012/06/fun-rabbit-trail-from-playing-with.html" target="_blank">rabbit trails</a>. One thing I say leads to a thought about something else which leads to a thought about something else and no, I don't want to know about a power up in Ninja Kingdom, I'm trying to teach you vocabulary!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQCyOitnf3yyxXnkgKkv0oNHlwr-xyC-K2spzGgBhlIuDt3sG_uz0yg8uJx5PWrZlxCThHOeN8G3B02rOV9XwhwFHkRP1krwOQZeNlfLIHyq3C7rlEkTTqwfrZ3-xCEu_coEovMDx40Xy/s1600/Overexcitibilities+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQCyOitnf3yyxXnkgKkv0oNHlwr-xyC-K2spzGgBhlIuDt3sG_uz0yg8uJx5PWrZlxCThHOeN8G3B02rOV9XwhwFHkRP1krwOQZeNlfLIHyq3C7rlEkTTqwfrZ3-xCEu_coEovMDx40Xy/s320/Overexcitibilities+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magic Wand during Spelling</td></tr>
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The worst for my desperate-to-be-on-a-schedule self is the 30 minute spelling test. The boys are working on the same level of All About Spelling. Every Monday they are given ten new words and every Friday they are tested on them. Their tests have to be taken separately because they process out loud the rules and how to spell the word, and I don't want them hearing each other but I won't take away the coping skill they need right now to do their best. Also, Early Bird either dictates the words to me or uses the letter tiles, and I don't want Builder Boy getting the answers from him. So that doubles the time it "should" take. But what really drags it out are the sample sentences. I say the spelling word, then come up with a sentence that uses the word, and then the word again. With out fail, no matter what the sentence, it either makes them think of something that they just <i>have </i>to share or they have an even better sentence to use that word for, this is it, this is why, and what was the word again? 10 seconds writing the word, 1;20 talking about it. (This could also be categorized as Intellectual OEs.)<br />
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<b>Intellectual Overexcitabilities:</b> are both a boon and a curse. <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/05/homeschooling-history-and-power-of.html" target="_blank">When your child is interested it the topic they can learn so much, so fast, with great retention.</a> But if they are interested in something other than what you are trying to teach, it is not so much fun. Child led learning is great, and this school year I feel comfortable completely unschooling science because of what they pick up on their own and are interested in. We need the prime seated learning time for the topic that we struggle with the most; writing. Over all, Intellectual OEs can lead to a wonderful attitude towards homeschool time and learning. Just make sure you don't bore them with too much stuff they already know with nothing new added in.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGc1XulpV28V51QhhI_Aju5xqTdkGoIHR5iPHfiCHDbZja7Perfjifzwq5cc-165zvqE8BKZkSXThyqUZeazf1_DNAgtsJ85LqtrJtQoEdwiQQ3I5YT7xEUypwuMrN1FszVmNfcND6DIq/s1600/Overexcitibilities+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGc1XulpV28V51QhhI_Aju5xqTdkGoIHR5iPHfiCHDbZja7Perfjifzwq5cc-165zvqE8BKZkSXThyqUZeazf1_DNAgtsJ85LqtrJtQoEdwiQQ3I5YT7xEUypwuMrN1FszVmNfcND6DIq/s320/Overexcitibilities+4.jpg" width="204" /></a><b>Psychomotor Overexcitabilities:</b> I am unsure if Builder Boy and Early Bird have these or are just little boys in an echoy house without a playroom anymore and with a mama who is sensitive to too much noise and craziness. We have an American Ninja Warrior obstacle course (for kids) outside and a mini trampoline inside for those times when sitting still for a lesson just won't happen. It doesn't solve all problems, but it helps.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHuLcYqgtXIMH81NkCXviu00E3Nve-7rSKoBtm3agkEjdLYPghDv9diMDgpwx6xp02VIIKD3DaDgVCfMQIJaLM81v77V7xa-dE0p3r0bVMVzofIJcOWbO0uWm2601cIoW5jHN75pNptZE/s1600/Overexcitibilities+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHuLcYqgtXIMH81NkCXviu00E3Nve-7rSKoBtm3agkEjdLYPghDv9diMDgpwx6xp02VIIKD3DaDgVCfMQIJaLM81v77V7xa-dE0p3r0bVMVzofIJcOWbO0uWm2601cIoW5jHN75pNptZE/s320/Overexcitibilities+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obstacle Course</td></tr>
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<b>Sensual/Sensory Overexcitabilities:</b> this is another area where the OE affects the rest of our lives more than homeschooling time. (Especially dinner time, but that's a different blog post.) For homeschooling this means that sometimes we need to stop in the middle of a lesson for Early Bird to change clothes or get partly naked because a piece of his clothing is bothering him and he can't focus without it being removed. Sometimes it means using a specific writing instrument because all others feel wrong and it's not good trying to write with anything else. Or the workbook needs to be arranged just so. Forcing a kid with sensory issues to "just deal with it" is not reasonable or productive. It will just lead to a meltdown and even less learning. No, my kids isn't tantruming to get his way to "win" a battle with me. No, I'm not just making excuses for him. (Yes, I've been told that to my face.) It doesn't take that much time to adjust the necessary and optimal condition so he can focus and then we're back to what we are learning.<br />
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One of the reasons I love homeschooling is because I can take a gentle, respectful approach with my children's OEs instead of having them try to force themselves to conform to the necessary restrictions and uniformity of public school. We have the time to <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-theological-discussion-sparked.html" target="_blank">talk theology that was sparked by a handwriting prompt</a> or let them <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/02/writing-isnt-just-writing.html" target="_blank">experiment with magnets while they listen to a reading section</a>. Recess is when it's needed, not something that has to be waited for while productive learning has ceased but a bell hasn't rung yet. Not all kids need accommodations, and its not practical for large groups of kids. No knocking on public school; they are what they have to be. But for kids who's brains and bodies work differently than regular kids, homeschooling can be great. As long as the parent/homeschool teacher's OE's don't get in the way!<br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_overexcitabilities.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_overexcitabilities.htm" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VsLe-kfSpWWB3G_jERI-NrEJXCV7i35XlQrPSaWMxWlbCdVqcQf3TERUyFmwA8-Glb2kVTEYrKaG-KuIXKG7gSfbMoEF411UxSuooZmWeteiYAw_3WvljPSK4ZmkOClkK6XiYpOOr3Na/s1600/Overexcitabilities+Blog+Hop.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_overexcitabilities.htm" target="_blank">Check out the rest of the posts in this blog hop here</a>! <br />
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<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<li>Emotional – experiencing things deeply</li>
<li>Imaginational – capacity to visualize, invent, and create</li>
<li>Intellectual – inquisitive and reflective</li>
<li>Psychomotor – a surplus of energy</li>
<li>Sensual (Sensory) – intense responsiveness to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell</li>
- See more at:
http://sengifted.org/archives/articles/getting-over-overexcitabilities-effectively-managing-family-interactions-when-family-members-have-different-overexcitabilities#sthash.rRx1WkZ5.dpuf</div>
theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-11387091520621472062015-08-14T07:00:00.000-06:002015-08-14T07:00:03.876-06:00Music and Art Appreciation: #1 Most Likely to Drop SubjectPart 5 (and last one!) of my series wrapping up what we learned this year in different
subjects and what each experience taught me about homeschooling in
general. (<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/05/homeschooling-history-and-power-of.html" target="_blank">Part 1: History</a>, <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/05/science-what-is-enough.html" target="_blank">Part 2: Science</a>, <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/07/math-going-against-common-advice.html" target="_blank">Part 3: Math</a>, <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/08/language-arts-very-good-reason-to.html" target="_blank">Part 4: Language Arts</a>.)<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I love music. Classical/instrumental especially, but I enjoy a large variety of music styles. I can not draw realistically to save my life, but I have an appreciation of great artists. This is something I want to pass on to my children. I have bought books we barely or never used. We have done the rare project that took so much more time to set up and <i>clean</i> up than the actual doing itself that I wondered if it was worth it. I attempted to instill culture and art appreciation with my <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Art%20Tea%20Party" target="_blank">Tea Parties</a> which they loved and still ask for more to this day. But got derailed by co-op and general exhaustion and depression. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only thing "art" related that they have ever completed is the <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2013/08/workbook-review-follow-directions-draw.html" target="_blank"><u>Follow Directions & Draw It Yourself</u></a> workbook that I printed out a page and left at the table for them for when they woke up and had breakfast. And from what I have heard from other homeschooling parents, I'm not alone in this. When it is a matter of time, "regular" topics are going to be covered before "extras" like art and music.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early Bird "Composing"</td></tr>
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Thanks to our<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/10/screen-time-at-sceleratus-classical.html" target="_blank"> screen time policy</a> and developmental asynchronicity, what has taught my kids more about music and famous art work is the kid show Little Einsteins. (We are currently watching it on Netflix Streaming. It is also available to purchase through <a href="http://amzn.to/1W9eF9b" target="_blank">Amazon Streaming</a>.) Builder Boy watched it when he was little, and again when Early Bird was at an age to be interested it in, and now they're watching it again with Lady Bug who is obsessed with this show. While I hate the idea of them watching "too much" tv, I have to admit that every minute they spend watching Little Einsteins is worth it. I did not realize the full extent of what they learned from that show until we got a piano in June. Suddenly Early Bird is pointing out the notations at the beginning of the sheet music, correcting me on the difference between <i>piano </i>and <i>pianissimo</i>, and identifying the various instruments by their sound in music clips we listened to on YouTube. I am pretty sure he has learned more music from that <i>preschool</i> show than I was taught in three years of band plus my own piano lessons when I was young! I have an online friend with a degree in Music Theory and Education who teaches classes and even she has said that she wishes her beginning students would watch the show to pick up the basics. I can't think of better validation than that!<br />
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Like all the rest of our subjects so far, we are homeschooling piano lessons for now. My good friend loaned me her old books that she learned on and kept (same curriculum I was taught on!) and I try to give a formal lesson to each boy at least once a week. For Builder Boy, that is enough and he is content with gradual learning and progress. He was much more excited about seeing the inner workings when the piano tuner was here, but he enjoys just "playing" with it from time to time.<br />
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Early Bird on the other hand is further along in the book due to interest and his own initiative to practice every single day. And he's been working faithfully for over a month now. But I am teaching him the way I wish I had been taught as a very young but initially excited child. At least once a week Early Bird comes to me with a new melody piece from Little Einsteins that he wants to learn. He hums it or tells me the name of the piece and/or the composer, then I find the music online and print it out. I bought <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0793562023/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0793562023&linkCode=as2&tag=sceleclassaca-20&linkId=SYLOIKAP42UZXC5U">Keyboard Stickers</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sceleclassaca-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0793562023" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
when we got the piano (if you buy these be warned that there are not quite enough for a full piano) and put them on them on the most used keys. On the music selection print outs that Early Bird requests, I write the note letter above the line of sheet music. I play it for him, and then let him take over and figure it out how he will do it. The kid (in my non-professional opinion) has a terrific ear and a natural sense of rhythm. He works at these pieces until he gets them right. There are sometimes (often) perfectionism meltdowns over not getting it right/perfect the first day, but it is great practice persevering.<br />
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If you have young kids (Builder Boy is almost 9!) I highly recommend introducing them to this show. Even if it's just background noise during quiet time or craft time. Kids will pick up a lot more from it than you would think, and it can help you feel like you haven't quite failed them in the art and music department after all.<br />
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<br />theYoungerMrsWardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728269515696847619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4201321209071458737.post-7630082064676494802015-08-10T07:00:00.000-06:002015-08-10T07:00:03.147-06:00Language Arts: A Very Good Reason to HomeschoolPart 4 of my series wrapping up what we learned this year in different
subjects and what each experience taught me about homeschooling in
general. (<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/05/homeschooling-history-and-power-of.html" target="_blank">Part 1: History</a>, <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/05/science-what-is-enough.html" target="_blank">Part 2: Science</a>, <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2015/07/math-going-against-common-advice.html" target="_blank">Part 3: Math</a>.)<br />
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For the sake of this blog post, "language arts" is reading, writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and handwriting.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>Handwriting:</b> Even before I started homeschooling I heard how boys often have trouble (compared to girls) with handwriting and writing in general. I wanted to be aware of that and not push my sons to go beyond what was developmentally appropriate for each child. And I admit, my perfectionism and fear of teaching my children "the wrong way" tripped us up in the beginning. See, I didn't want Builder Boy (my first student) to be doing copy-work and handwriting exercises using words he could not yet read. But at the same time he was trying to figure out on his own how to write letters (he was five, I think?) and I didn't want him to get in the habit of writing letters <i>wrong. </i>So started to teach him handwriting with <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/Zaner-Bloser" target="_blank">Zaner-Bloser</a> workbooks and he hated it, fought it, and we were both miserable. Eventually he grew to love it. And then he hated it again and it was such an issue that I dropped handwriting for an entire year because I didn't want that attitude to stick for the rest of his life. (We did do some<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/09/handwriting-without-pencil.html" target="_blank"> handwriting without using pencils</a>, though.) He started doing writing on his own this past year to label his drawings and yes, he <i>formed</i> a lot of the letters wrong, even though the final result was readable. So here we are in the last month of his Third Grade year working on the beginning of the second grade book with at least an okay if not stellar attitude. I don't know what would have happened with him in a public school, with all the writing required. Because we are able to do other subjects orally, we were able to give him a break from something he dreaded until he was more ready to do it.<br />
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Early Bird, thankfully, has no aversion to doing his handwriting work. I don't know if this is because he loves words or because I didn't give him an official lesson until he was six years old or some other reason. Handwriting is the only subject that Early Bird works at a kindergarten level at.<br />
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<b>Reading:</b> We finished<a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/search/label/OPGTR" target="_blank"> The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading </a>a while ago. Reading is now supposed to be a focus on daily practice and stretching of ability, but we have yet to be consistent on that. On taking the <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/02/dora-reveiw.html" target="_blank">DORA</a> both boy's highest score was in the Word Recognition subtest. Builder Boy scored at grade 6.5, with a Lexile Level of 400. Early Bird's Word Recognition subtest score put him in grade 11.83 (last few months of junior year of high school) with a Lexile Level of 300. Yup, you read that right. Their subtest scores are all over the place. As long as they continue to make progress on the DORA I feel less guilty about not having them read aloud "enough." But some things do need to change.<br />
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<b>Writing:</b> We still haven't finished <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/05/writing-with-ease-1.html" target="_blank">Writing With Ease Level 1</a>. I am beginning to wonder if we ever are. Or if that's the right way to go about this. I'm thinking of doing just the story and narration pages and skip the copy work. At that rate we could do 2.5 week's lesson in 1 week and maybe "catch up?" Or should I skip ahead? Or look at another curriculum? I'm feeling lost and behind here, and I'm willing to admit it. <br />
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<b>Grammar:</b> We <a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2014/11/supplementing-fll2-lessons-1-10.html" target="_blank">started First Language Lessons 2</a>. We did not finish; or even get half way through. I am considering condensing, even though I hate what we would lose. <br />
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<b>Spelling:</b> Finally I have gotten a grip on spelling! We didn't really get serious about doing <a href="http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-spelling/" target="_blank">All About Spelling 2</a> (both boys are working on the same level) until this summer, but now every week they are given the list on Monday, taught the new rule and practice through the week, and have their test on Friday. I require an 80% (ten word tests) to continue to the next chapter and so far we haven't had to redo a chapter. AAS2 is working really well for us and I am so glad we finally are working on this.<br />
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Thing is, I have to give the tests individually, behind closed door, because the boys process and work stuff out verbally; a LOT. I don't want one to get the right answer from the other, but I also don't want to handicap them from doing what they need to do to get it right. And they have a tendency to go off on tangents after <u>every single example sentence</u> and talk about what I said reminded them of. Every test has taken 30 minutes for one boy than the other. For ten small words. For Early Bird I have him dictate and I write what he tells me. Then I have him look at the word and tell me if it's right to him and we can move on or if he wants to change anything. There is a lot of crossing out and Early Bird giggling at the mistakes, but he usually gets them right in the end. Last test I brought the AAS whiteboard into the bedroom where we test and had him form the words with the letter tiles. This cut down drastically on the silly mistakes and helped it take a few less minutes to do. He still got one wrong, so I am confident that it is not giving him an unfair advantage.<br />
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Builder Boy I have write out the words. This was last week's test (after I corrected it):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaREIkM7IdcYHthmWhOKxVz7bDPwxiSoAlZ_2MMq5DkfqTti8jk7cLjbimCzNwVQXoZWF7oidXyzAoV9QMQdA0l9WuP9R3AzSnEuTmzMHjA0BDlwMfbvwFLRRud6pBZn0q6S17f1xjpQ31/s1600/Spelling+Test.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaREIkM7IdcYHthmWhOKxVz7bDPwxiSoAlZ_2MMq5DkfqTti8jk7cLjbimCzNwVQXoZWF7oidXyzAoV9QMQdA0l9WuP9R3AzSnEuTmzMHjA0BDlwMfbvwFLRRud6pBZn0q6S17f1xjpQ31/s640/Spelling+Test.jpg" width="640" /></a>He gets bored with regular writing, hence the "fancy," curly writing. But he still has trouble with basic manuscript. <br />
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<b>Vocabulary:</b> Together the boys have completed Wordly Wise A and B and have started <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/012972/" target="_blank">Wordly Wise C</a>. Once that is completed we will move to <a href="http://www.wordlywise3000.com/" target="_blank">Wordly Wise 3000</a>, book 2. We do it all orally and the boys take turns answering. This is a fun way to begin our school time and we all love it. Some of the words they already know, some are new, and some have other definitions they've never heard before.<br />
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In most of these subjects, both boys are functioning at a 2nd grade level. The main focus of our next school year (starting August 31) will be to get them comfortable with daily writing, beyond one sentence. I want them writing a paragraph by this time next year. (Or at least Builder Boy writing a paragraph and Early Bird dictating one.) They will continue with math, and I have a self-learning idea to go with the history they will be listening to, but other than that we are schooling language arts and math and letting the rest be unschooled this year. I intend for Builder Boy's fifth grade year to stop with doing everything verbally and to require some written answers, so work is going to have to be done this year. I am really grateful that we can homeschool and accommodate weak areas while still being able to soar in strength areas. I am grateful that I can work with their emotional needs and avoid too much pressure and anxiety build up that can often happen.<br />
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