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Post by kppy on Jun 12, 2006 6:14:19 GMT -5
not just for homeschoolers....
will you be continuing to do a full or partial program over the summer or will you give your kids (and yourself!) a break?
my plan at this point is doing 2 days a week of academic work. this will consist of 2-3 subjects that i rotate to cover all subjects during the 2 days. so maybe handwriting, science and math one day and then language arts, reading and geography the 2nd day. since we can accomplish this in an hour or so, it shouldn't put a damper on "fun" stuff we want to do!
kids are going to a day camp 3 days a week so i'm looking forward to having a bit of a break myself- yay!!
what's your plan?
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Post by Charlie Girl on Jun 12, 2006 7:20:19 GMT -5
I hadn't planned on any school activities for the summer but now that you've brought it up, I should seek out ways to get my son to practice his multiplication math facts. He is so weak on them. Hopefully I can come up with some constructive ways to get him to use them without his realizing he is doing school work.
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Post by misty on Jun 12, 2006 8:49:35 GMT -5
My daughters Learning Support teacher sent home some summer work. I plan on working with her a few days a week. Just for a half hour or so. just to keep her up to speed.
but most of the time I want her to just have FUN! She'll swim, go to amusement parks, etc.
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Post by kppy on Jun 12, 2006 9:39:52 GMT -5
one of the fun ways i keep my kids engaged in "academic" activities is to do math facts ect in the car. multiplication, addition ect... tables are more fun than just flash cards and it has the added benefit of making the kids use imagery instead of reading. i do this when we have other kids in the car as well. makes for a little fun competition.
i also review geography by asking state capitols or even correct spelling of states/cities ect... another fun geography activity is giving directions as in, "what is just south of michigan and begins with the letter o?" or "what states do you travel thru to get from washington to north dakota?" stuff like this makes them think, passes time and reviews what they have learned in school.
i never teach anything "new" in the summer just review and support what they learned that year in hopes that they retain the info into the following school year.
there's lots of fun ways to do schoolwork. spelling, math ect..while still enjoying the summertime. in the sand at the beach do math facts, spelling, geography. simple math with pebbles, toys. we make sidewalk chalk cities (my personal fav) out in the cul de sac. creating whacky street names (all spelled correctly tho!) and so much more! lemonade stands are great for math but also spelling, handwriting and organizational skill not to mention the social skill aspect of coordination within a group (if there's more than one child)
i figure if i can get 2-3 of the subjects in on the days they are home, we'll be in good shape for next year.
anyone have any other fun ways to incooperate schoolwork into the summer break?
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Post by Charlie Girl on Jun 12, 2006 22:32:10 GMT -5
Thanks for the ideas Kppy!
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Post by misty on Jun 14, 2006 0:10:56 GMT -5
My daughter spends alot of time in the pool. We play a game where every time she comes up for air I shout a math problem at her. She then has the time shes back under water to formulate an answer & has to shout her answer when she comes back up!
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Post by kppy on Jun 14, 2006 7:10:53 GMT -5
sounds like fun misty!
the hardest activities for me to come up with are for writing. anyone have some fun suggestions for writing activities? he has a draft book that he writes in daily, handwring (d'neilian cursive) and written responses in various subjects.
i need something fun!!
;D
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Post by misty on Jun 14, 2006 10:14:34 GMT -5
Would he be up for keeping a journal? Even if he only writes a little in it each evening, its practice.
Thats one area I dont have any trouble with Shannon. She writes stories constantly. She has notebooks FILLED with them!
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Post by kppy on Jun 15, 2006 14:13:44 GMT -5
good idea but i would have to be ALL over him to do it! i can, but for him, writing is alot of work!
my daughter was like yours dawn- loved to write and would type them up on the computer after she wrote a particularily fun story.
kppy
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Post by Charlie Girl on Jun 15, 2006 14:49:36 GMT -5
Maybe you and he could write a story together. He could choose the topic and you could help him outline the plot and flesh out the story, etc but it would be his book all the way. You could have him write it in his own hand and then put it on the computer and edit it and do a final draft that way. The main objective would be to get him writing something in his own hand.
Something else you could do is have him develop fluency (the ability to write letters without having to think about which letters to use and how to form them) by writing in large letters in sand, salt, pudding, etc, Once he has the fluency, it should be easier for him to write with pen or pencil on paper.
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Post by kppy on Jun 15, 2006 21:10:26 GMT -5
these are great ideas barb and ones i have used myself with younger children. check out my previous post and you'll see i made the same suggestion for writing in the sand! multi modality approach is always helpful in teaching anything.
the problem isn't fluency. it's laziness! his writing is fluent, but very messy and mis sized. he hates to write and takes many short cuts and the overall "quality" of the content suffers.
for an example, if he were allowed to do a book report aloud instead of in written format, it would be highly detailed, interesting and accurate. however if written, it's bland, messy and with very little detail. he wants to get it done in the least amount of time, with the least amount of effort.
overall when he does take his time and is highly encouraged (bribed!!) his sentence structure is fine (maybe a bit immature), spelling not bad and letter formation nice.
writing is simply laborious for him. i had him eval'd a few years ago and his fine motor skills were above average! "what the heck" i wonder? all i can come up with is that he really dislikes it and rushes thru it to be done. this is what he tells me as well. sigh.
still looking for more ideas and sorry to sound pessimistic! i keep thinking there's gotta be SOMETHING out there that can help with this! maybe it's just maturity? who knows.
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Post by Charlie Girl on Jun 15, 2006 21:38:46 GMT -5
My son is the same way Kppy. His fine motor skills aren't above average but they are good enough that he can do it when he wants to. The problem is that like your son, he doesn't want to. I had him tested twice because he had me convinced! Aaaargh!
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Post by Charlie Girl on Jun 16, 2006 0:50:52 GMT -5
This is a cool site that is for handwriting problems and dysgraphia, so hopefully you can find something there that you haven't tried. It also has a homeschooling section. www.resourceroom.net/readspell/dysgraphia.asp Accommodations and Modifications for Students with Handwriting Problems and/or Dysgraphia |
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Post by kppy on Jun 16, 2006 5:50:51 GMT -5
great link barb! thanks.
i may need to look into dysgraphia more as the description sure fit my son especially the mixed upper and lower case combination and placement on the page (always been a problem for him!)
the whole issue of writing has become front and center as of late and i'm sure due to the fact that his schoolwork has become more complicated and written response demanded more.
i think i'll check out the ld forum and see if there are any suggestions there.
off on another mission! ;D
kppy
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Post by misty on Jun 17, 2006 0:09:28 GMT -5
Hey Kppy, Barbs idea of writing a story together reminded me of something! My daughter likes to play a game where she thinks of a word, but she doesnt tell me. Then I tell a little story stopping just before the last word. Thats where she injects her word. Of course the stories end up sounding hilarious & giving us some great laughs! I bet you could do that in a written version with you thinking of the word, him writing the short story, then tyyou add your word. It might be fun enough to keep him interested!
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Post by kppy on Jun 17, 2006 15:17:07 GMT -5
we do something similar but i start the story and then "pass it on" to the next kid (mine or whoever is with us) to add their part of the story and so on till it's done. none of it is written tho. maybe i'll give it a shot and see.
i've gotten sidetracked as i have been heavily researching dysgraphia now! i'm wondering if i can put in an early request to have an ot eval done next year. still thinking/learning....
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Post by unicorn-tiff'smom on Jun 17, 2006 15:28:45 GMT -5
I don't homeschool, she goes to public school. We are doing work over the summer to keep Tiff up to speed. She is reading some from her summer reading list. Her reading tutor is still going to come, not as often. And we have to start with a math tutor in July.
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Post by kppy on Jun 17, 2006 18:21:06 GMT -5
hi tiffsmom,
how old is your daughter and what skills will you and the tutor be working on? just curious as i try to get to know everyone here! #treeswing#
kppy
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