Notice a short, random post from earlier today? That was Jack, my new guest blogger. It'll be a weekly thing, his posting. For writing I'm having him compose weekly blog posts. My rationale for this multi-faceted. First, we live in a digital world and I want him to begin to learn to use the tools of that world. Second, writing for an audience is always a good idea. He won't get peer-reviews and such at home so this blog offers the next best thing. YOU!
I will not be proofing his work before he posts it nor am I giving him any constraints regarding topic. After each post, he and I will talk about conventions of writing and will discuss how to improve. Obviously, if you read the last post you'll notice we'll need to work on cohesion and how to pick a main topic!
How can you help? Comment! Ask questions, reply with your own thoughts. Don't worry about correcting him, that's my job as teacher. But feedback from an audience is something I can manufacture here, which is why we need you! But remember, like too much correction can frustrate him, too much praise can do the same (especially if he realizes the praise is unwarranted or unequal to his ability). The most important thing you can do is simply be real with him. Comment if you are a commenter, don't if you aren't. Comment if you have something to say, don't if you don't.
Hopefully we will see the growth of a writer through this process. And if nothing else, at least there will be something new here weekly!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
jack's week
I am going to Disney world in a week and I can't wait. Tonight is Halloween. On Saturday I have a
football game. I had guitar practice today. I have a new puppy.
football game. I had guitar practice today. I have a new puppy.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Red Ribbon week wonderings
My facebook newsfeed is blowing up with pics of kids getting ready for Red Ribbon Week. It's a week I remember well being a DARE graduate (DARE to keep a kid off drugs -- I can still sing the song). I've never really thought much about Red Ribbon Week other than the half-hearted acknowledgment that it keeps kids off drugs and all that.
Then something happened last week that has me wondering, does it actually work? We were on our way to Grace's gymnastics and rather than listening to KSBJ/AIR1/VBS preschool songs, I was actually listening to a classic rock station (stone me later). Steve Miller Band's The Joker came on -- a song my kids have heard countless times. The chorus came on and I was humming away when a little voice from the backseat said, "mom, what's a toker?" Uh oh. I decided to handle the question head on and quite academically (read sans-jargon) like all questions of this nature. I answered, "someone who smokes marijuana." Then Jack replied, "what's marijuana?" It was at that moment I realized my son's first exposure to drugs was ME. We can discuss all day whether or not that's the "appropriate" method. It was the advent of Red Ribbon Week that got me thinking -- does Red Ribbon Week do the same thing for many of the public school kids who participate?
I'm not arguing that some kids are exposed to drugs early in life and would benefit from frequent and early messages of drug resistance. But what about the other kids? In the name of prevention, are our schools the first "pushers" in our kids' lives?
This post isn't a warning against drug resistance education. It's just something I've been wondering about today...any thoughts from reader-world?
Then something happened last week that has me wondering, does it actually work? We were on our way to Grace's gymnastics and rather than listening to KSBJ/AIR1/VBS preschool songs, I was actually listening to a classic rock station (stone me later). Steve Miller Band's The Joker came on -- a song my kids have heard countless times. The chorus came on and I was humming away when a little voice from the backseat said, "mom, what's a toker?" Uh oh. I decided to handle the question head on and quite academically (read sans-jargon) like all questions of this nature. I answered, "someone who smokes marijuana." Then Jack replied, "what's marijuana?" It was at that moment I realized my son's first exposure to drugs was ME. We can discuss all day whether or not that's the "appropriate" method. It was the advent of Red Ribbon Week that got me thinking -- does Red Ribbon Week do the same thing for many of the public school kids who participate?
I'm not arguing that some kids are exposed to drugs early in life and would benefit from frequent and early messages of drug resistance. But what about the other kids? In the name of prevention, are our schools the first "pushers" in our kids' lives?
This post isn't a warning against drug resistance education. It's just something I've been wondering about today...any thoughts from reader-world?
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Another one bites the dust
Curriculum that is...
We've thrown out IEW's Primary Arts of Language Reading and Writing. I slogged through that for a semester with Jack before I threw it out. I thought surely starting with a kindergartner rather than a first grader would be better so I hauled it back out with Sam. 9 weeks in and I'm tossing it out again.
I sooo wanted this to work but after 9 weeks I can honestly say that it's not. Sam isn't learning phonics rules and truthfully I think his reading is suffering (he was progressing better before we started this); he seems stunted. So I'm chunking it out in favor of Explode the Code. Grace is using the preschool version and I've been very impressed with what she's been able to learn with just a little instruction every other day.
Not one to wait around once a decision has been made, I postponed the start of school today and drove to Mardel to buy the books. We started this morning; three pages in and I'm hooked. So much success so early!! Hoping this does the trick!
And yes...I know I only talk about homeschool. It's a safe topic around here while we still work through a lot of the mess the last 2.5 years made. I'll get deeper at some point!
We've thrown out IEW's Primary Arts of Language Reading and Writing. I slogged through that for a semester with Jack before I threw it out. I thought surely starting with a kindergartner rather than a first grader would be better so I hauled it back out with Sam. 9 weeks in and I'm tossing it out again.
I sooo wanted this to work but after 9 weeks I can honestly say that it's not. Sam isn't learning phonics rules and truthfully I think his reading is suffering (he was progressing better before we started this); he seems stunted. So I'm chunking it out in favor of Explode the Code. Grace is using the preschool version and I've been very impressed with what she's been able to learn with just a little instruction every other day.
Not one to wait around once a decision has been made, I postponed the start of school today and drove to Mardel to buy the books. We started this morning; three pages in and I'm hooked. So much success so early!! Hoping this does the trick!
And yes...I know I only talk about homeschool. It's a safe topic around here while we still work through a lot of the mess the last 2.5 years made. I'll get deeper at some point!
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