Works for Us~

OK, not sure how all you home school moms and other busy moms get to your blogging.  By the time the evening comes and the kids are tucked in, I am just wiped, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get myself to the computer to make a coherent post.  I spoke with Emily earlier this evening and she told me she keeps checking the blog to see photos of her siblings, and that her mother has been a slacker!  So here you are, daughter of mine, a photo of Gracie!  Who by the way, does still wear contacts.  But, she came to me yesterday and told me she was putting her last pair in and needed more.  Well, now she's learned that I need about a weeks notice to get her new ones ordered.  She's not so happy to be back in glasses, but I am SURE she'll be giving me a heads up before she runs out the next time. :)

Anyway, in a past post, I showed Charlie with the math curriculum that, so far, is working well for AnnaClaire, Charlie and Kate.  And now I want to share the math that has been working very well for Grace.  And that is Teaching Textbooks. For Grace's math her first year home, when her English was very limited, I used THIS site and it did the trick to keep her practicing her basic math skills.  She also learned to tell time on the round face clock that year, and I was able to generate worksheets for that from this site as well.  Starting Grace's 2nd year home, we began using Teaching Textbooks Grade 4.  Grace completed Grade 4 last year and also got a start on Grade 5, so she started this year not quite a 1/4 of the way into Grade 5.  I am hopeful that perhaps by the end of next year, she'll be up to grade level in her math.  We BOTH love Teaching Textbooks.  Both of us like the fact that it's done on the computer.  She enjoys  being able to do her lessons independently, and I LOVE that she can do them independently. She is also happy to be getting some extra computer time, since in our family we try to keep screen time fairly limited for the younger set. :)  All of the grading and record keeping is done by the computer, which is a HUGE help to me.  All of the teaching, practice problems, and tests are done on the computer, which I know Grace enjoys as much as I do. If a problem is missed, Grace is able to see a full explanation on how to correctly do the problem, and that has been quite helpful.  In the photo above, Grace is holding up the consumable workbook.  She does the problems in the workbook, and then transfers her answers to the computer.  But really, the workbook is not necessary to have, as it can all be done on the computer.  This curriculum has been a win/win for both of us, and a lifesaver for me!  Do I think this is the most challenging and rigorous math curriculum out there?  Absolutely not. If I had a very mathematically inclined student, I would probably not be using Teaching Textbooks.  I do believe though, that it is a very solid program, and it is just right for Grace. And for this home schooling mama as well!

Our fall activities are all back in full swing, and I'll need to post about some of those thing soon.  I also want to do more homeschooling posts on things that are working well for my students.  I know I always enjoy seeing what works for others.

Also, my laptop has crashed and died.  So now I'm typing on Emily's old one.  Which is MUCH older than my laptop was.  Go figure. So, I wanted to give you all an alert that I have lost my all my email addresses, as I can only access my emails online right now. If you do not hear from me, that's why!  I will have to wait to hear from you, to get you back in my address book.  So please drop me a line!