Give it a little try

Ok so we all know how much I'm willing to spend on HS curricula....anyone? That's right, I aim for a big fat 0! And I mostly make it. I spend, maybe, $50/year on my 2 boys. Mostly for apps that are less than $5 each. You know it's sad when it takes 4 days to make a decision because an app costs a whopping $8.99! Man, I'm anal. Lol

One thing I love about computer programs vs apps? You can usually get a free trial with a computer program. Sure, lots of apps offer a modified 'free' version. But I don't recommend them. It usually will not give you a well rounded idea of what it will be like to use the full app because they cut so much out of it to make it free. But, most computer curricula will give you a few weeks of using the entire program to see how you like it.

Our newest trial? Readingeggs.com I wasn't sure if this was going to be worth it. My 11 y/o is a great reader. But my 8 y/o is a lazy reader! Gasp! Shock! As many of you are very aware I'm a voracious reader - at least 2 books/day. It's how I maintain my sanity. And the kids are old enough that I can make slaves of them for misbehaving...hehehe. But once they are in bed, I sit out side, rain or shine, with a big cup of decaf and read. So having a reluctant reader is stumping me.

X-man doesn't see the need to exert himself when he has an older brother or mom to do it for him. So I have been trying to find something that will interest him and help him learn to love the written word as much as I. One thing the kids fight over? Computer time. So I thought, why not suck it up and try a reading program?

So the next 4 weeks we are trying 2 different or programs. I'm trying to ignore my cheap side and let the kids make the decision based on which program they will use.

Abcthekey.com - cost: $FREE

Gee, con you guess why I like this one? Lol but it is a little confusing for the kids. And no where near as interactive.

Readingeggs.com - cost: $49/6 months, $75/year (you can add up to 3 students on one acct)

Gulp! To me that is a ton of money! But, the kids have been playing with it for a couple of days and are really liking it. Even my 11 y/o! He loves that many of the 'books' are half story-half comic book. And my 8 y/o loves the virtual world (and the silly music videos!)

So I'll let you know which one we end up settling on.

My new obsession

I've been a very bad blogger lately (Bad Shannon!). We are just wrapping up our fall session at coop - and had tons of fun! The boys had really gotten into it this year! I taught 3 classes - which has totally burned me out (Physics, Geography and Latin). But the kids all seemed to have a great time.

I just signed up as an Usborne books consultant. These are the best books for kids out there - everything from awesomely illustrated reference books, to great early readers, to learning kits for science, math and art. Check out  my website www.theusbornelearningfairy.com . I just can't believe that I can feed my book addiction and make money at it! It's awesome! I especially love that you can get library bindings on the books. I'll never forget some of the board books my boys loved as toddlers (especially Sandra Boyton's The Cow Says Moo) and how sad we were that the bindings all fell apart! I had been hoping to keep them for when my boys have children, as a keepsake (I have a couple of the books I loved as a kid) but the books completely fell apart. I was so sad. So I love that families can get books that will last with little hands playing with them. And whomever illustrates the books are amazing - they are so colorful and beautiful and don't cost any more than a normal kids book.

Looking forward to the holidays!
Shannon

WAHOO!! Free LA Workbooks!!!!

One of my other HS mom's showed me a FANTASTIC site. Reading and Writing Workbooks by Scott Foresman.

Reading and things..

So I'm almost finished compiling our curriculum for this coming year...I feel like it's all I've lived and breathed for the last couple of weeks.

For my oldest - DJ - he's using Magic Tree House books as his reading list - reading one every 2 weeks as it takes him a little while to finish a book. THen he'll do a small 1 file folder lapbook on the book he just read. Some of the resources we'll be using for these lapbooks:

• http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/magicth/activities.html - worksheets
• http://www.randomhouse.com/teacher/magicth/guides - teachers guides
• http://www.curriclick.com they have several worksheets and such
• http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/magictreehouse - this too has some great activities. It also has a passport you can print, you then print a little 'stamp' for each book. When a child reads a book they can paste the 'stamp' into their passport.

For my youngest - Xman - we're using Dr. Seuss and rhymes for our reading, as he's just starting to read independently.

• A Nursery Rhyme a week - http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/rimes_and_rhymes.htm fab downloadables, worksheets, lesson plans, etc
• http://www.abcteach.com/directory/seasonalmonths/3_march/dr_seuss
• lesson plans - http://atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Dr_Seuss/
• http://www.teachersplanet.com/resource/drseuss.php - worksheets
• http://orgin-www.seussville.com/university this is a great site for printables
• http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/dr_seuss_links.htm there are about 50 great links for dr seuss here
• http://www.schoolexpress.com/fws/cat.php?id=2331 rhyming worksheets

My Favorite Early/Fluent Reading Resources (or some anyway)

• http://www.polk-fl.net/staff/resources/ese/resources.htm This has some great resources for phonics and language arts.



• http://www.jordan.k12.ut.us/oes/readingcorner/readinghelps.html



• http://pbskids.org/lions/videos/two_vowels_qt.html NOTHING BEATS Between The Lions, my kids love the show, and I love the lessons!



• http://classroom.kleinisd.net/webs/dapierce/reading_and_fluency_strategies.htm



• http://www.mrsalphabet.com/links.html (preschool)



• http://teacherweb.com/TN/RutlandElementarySchool/MrsHodge/uh6.stm


• http://pr003.k12.sd.us/reiterwebpage/Reading%20Standards.htm


• article for parents http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/em_lit2.html


• http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/teachers/worksheets.html


• http://newtoncountyschools.org/oakhill/teacher_links.htm#Language_Arts