EL Goals for 2013

[Mandabplus3]

izp11, LR UK version 3 is available. I am using it I didnt get the announcement either....but if you look you will find. 
Very pleased not to be teaching all my kiddies the wrong spelling 

[CVMomma]

Thought I would bump this thread and see how it is going for everyone. 

An update on my almost three year old:

Reading:
LR is going very well.  We are doing our own playlists in addition to the daily lessons.  She now is able to open and play the entire lesson without my help including finding the correct playlist if I tell her what day of the month it is. 
We are doing much better than I thought on the reading.  No where near what some of you are doing, but I am impressed!    I think we are close to 100 books (including online) with very few repeats.  We made it all the way through Heidi condensed version and she really enjoyed it.  It took a couple of weeks.  Now we are working on another chapter book called New Kid in Town by Janette Oke.  There aren't many pictures, but she still sits, listens, and follows along with a couple of chapters a day.
We are up to 50% mastered in Reading Bear.  She does one lesson (choose for me) and one quiz per day.  We end up going through each lesson 5 times before she gets her gold star, but I don't think the repetition hurts her.  On the quizzes, she hasn't gotten less than a 15 for over a month!   She also handles the mouse on her own for this!

Math:
We are still plugging along on JumpMath1, Rightstart A, and MEP1.  We do at least one of these nearly every day and she still seems to enjoy it.
Math facts are only "mastered" if she uses manipulatives.  Oh, well we have a long time before I worry about it.  Still having fun so that is all that matters.
She is really amazing me with her telling time abilities.  Other measurements we aren't focusing on them right now.

Writing:
Not sure that she will still be ready for a handwriting book here in a couple of weeks when she turns 3.  Maybe later. 

Science/History:
She really is interested in space and the universe right now.  Any free resourse ideas would be appreciated. 

Music:
We are up to lesson 217 in LMs.  She pretty consistently recognizes all of the chords by sight and sound.  (Better than I do..."you're wrong, Momma!  It should be Re SO Te!"   

Physical: 
Physical stamina definitely needs to increase!!  Hard to do here in the winter.  We don't have access to gyms or any classes like gymnasicts, dancing, martial arts, etc.  Any ideas would be appreciated!!
We were able to go swimming in a motel pool the other day.  Obviously she forgot a lot since the last time.  She still loves the water so I'm hoping she picks it up again easily.

Other:
We haven't been very faithful with Rosetta Stone French lately.  Better get back at that!!
Manners.... well... She does very well with other people, not so great with Momma lately.  Did the terrible twos hit late?  Daddy is helping with that one, so it shouldn't be a problem for long!
I think she is ready for a spelling program.  I am looking at All About Spelling right now.

I am looking forward to hearing how others are doing.  You all keep me encouraged!!  Thanks!!!

[Mandabplus3]

Hey I read through my goals and am pleased to say we are doing pretty well!
We are well behind on the history though. We have been realist ending to SOTW 1 rather than starting 2. Need to sync the iPod and it turns out its a trickier task than I anticipated. It won't keep my playlists! Grrrrr
Our maths is ahead of schedule with my middle girl who is doing Saxon now and learning the times tables at the same time. My oldest is maybe just a bit behind in math but I still think her goals are achievable.
My son is flying along. Working solidly on math facts now. He seems to find everything else I offer him easy. He will need some big number practice.
The daily drawing has slipped. Not sure how to fit that in.
We included writing and started ALL the kids on reading classics. Which is having a wonderful effect on their imaginations and vocabulary.
Finally my kindergarten class are well and truly on the road to reading. The biggest challenge I have found with this is finding time to read with all of them individually every day. We don't have enough resources to do reading groups yet. I also have some still working on phonemic awareness and others reading sight word books. So it's challenging to provide for them all but certainly not impossible. We are learning all the letters names and sounds ( names to keep the parents happy) and probably half the class can blend CVC words with the letters that they know. We use LR most days and it is a great addition to our day. We talk a lot about beginning sounds while doing LR for phonemic awareness. I also use the word split with the sound off so the children have to put the word back together for me. Good blending practice.
Over all the goals are still achieve able and we are making good progress.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

We are pretty much focusing on the "5 R's"

Reading - HOP Master Reader, cycling twice and a few other random reading programs, chapter book buddy read alouds, independent silent reading, etc
'Riting - Handwriting sheets for Lily, Coloring, fine motor, and beginning writing for Owen
'Rithmatic - Soroban Apps & Nurture Minds Apps, Singapore Math, & finishing memorizing skip counting
Rhythm (aka music) - Yamaha piano lesson and daily practice for Lily, Soft Mozart for Owen
Right Brain - High speed flashcards, speed reading, memory training, intuition, etc

Foreign language is still missing in that, although we read some books in Spanish and watch some FL dvd's informally. I bought a latin program but haven't even attempted it yet.  I am just making some other subjects priority at the moment. They are also getting a smattering of general knowledge like geography and other reinforcement with apps and EK websites.

[Wolfwind]

Hard to believe a quarter of the year is gone!

We're still focusing on reading and math.  Big Girl A is almost 2 1/2 and can spell the first 400 or so words on the Ayres list and read phonograms in the correct order on the page, but still doesn't blend.  We're so close, though!  We've taken some time off for sickness, or I think we'd be there.  But it's still fun.  Baby S, at 9 months, is ready to start adjectives and couplets in reading; I haven't tested so I don't know what she retained, but we've been decently consistent.

In math, Big Girl A can do any addition and subtraction up to five with manipulatives independently, and up to ten with me talking her through it, so we're solidifying that. Once she can add and subtract up to twenty, we'll move on to Part 3 of Marshmallow Math, done with our homemade Right Start-esque abacus, tally sticks, or random manipulators.  Baby S LOVES math quantity dots more than anything, and we've done addition, subtraction, and subitizing up to 70; we're working on multiplication this week and hoping to hit 100 soon.

In my other goals, I've given up on Montessori for the summer and switched to Charlotte Mason: spend 4-6 hours a day outside.  That's a challenge!  But fun.  I have been absolutely DISMAL at speaking French and need to improve.  Grr.  But physical excellence is going pretty well; Baby S loves balance exercises and hangs independently for at least 20 seconds several times a day; she's almost ready for brachiation.  Big Girl A gets to choose how long to hang and rarely goes as high as 20, though she can.  She's working on jumping on a mini-trampoline, jumping rope, and riding a balance bike this summer.  I hope our outdoor time will correlate to gains in physical excellence.

As far as not buying anything... I did OK.  I bought Soft Mozart, but I've been wanting that for years, so I think it's OK.  And I bought myself a book on Vygotsky, and "Talking from Infancy" because PokerDad recommended it so highly.  I've wanted both of those for months, and they weren't too expensive.  So I think I've done fairly well.  I do have one more book I'm yearning for, though: "The Self-Propelled Advantage."  An average of one book a month should be OK, right?

EDITED to add: I forgot about music!  We're on day 50 of Little Musician, and Big Girl A can finally recognize notes on the screen!  She can't do hear and sing correctly yet, but it took her this long just to memorize the notes by sight, so I'm sure that will come.  She doesn't sing on pitch yet, but it's closer than it was when we started.  So is mine!  We just bought Soft Mozart, and I am looking forward to adding that.

[lzp11]

Thought I would bump this thread to see how everyone is getting along towards the end of the year?!
I'm pleased to look at our targets and find that we are well on track or even ahead in some areas. Some goals have changed - for example we are not currently using rightstart and have opted for mainly "app maths" instead. But I feel the progress in this is very positive. I must revisit the rightstart curriculum A to make sure nothing has been missed. Reading, French and music are also progressing well. Phew!

[Korrale4kq]

Good Bump! I had completely forgotten about this.

Update:
Boy is still not the best behaved. He has his moments. But is really into pushing boundaries.

PHYSICAL
Fail on the bike riding. We just don't get to it enough.
He JUST started doing gymnastics. And he is excelling.
He can run a 15 minute mile. He could possibly run 2 Miles. But I haven't tried to push him to do it.
We didn't get to swim much. But James was able to swim several laps across a pool with light flotation assistance.

MATH
We are doing better than planned. He is working through several first grade math programs.
Addition is partially mastered. As is some subtraction. He understands the concepts of multiplication and division and can do it with manipulatives.

READING
He is reading well. We no longer do phonics. And I don't think we need it. He can finally rhyme. Months after I stopped trying to teach him of course.
Spelling? Eh.... We have not even started.

WRITING.
Not so much. He can write his name. And he can write numbers. But it is a mess.
We spend more time coloring.

SCIENCE
We do a lot of science.  We have been through BFSU1. We have expanded upon it a lot though.

PRACTICAL LIFE STUFF
We don't do this so much. We are probably leading a more Waldorf home lifestyle. Except with EL, which is not Waldorf like.

MUSIC
This is a big development because it wasn't initially a goal. James is not learning little songs.
He is doing LMus more frequently.
And he is learning piano via KinderBach and Joy Tunes. He played Mary Had a Little Lamb the other day!
Oh and he can clap in time.


Our initial goals for comparison.

Ok... I am  going to make this up on the fly. And I have the right to revise. It would be nice to make sure that this thread is bumped at least every few months. I love seeing everyone's goals and progress.

James 3 years.
Firstly, my mild boy flipped a switch on me. He is becoming a terror. So we need to focus on manners and ettiquette. We are using We are virtues as the basis of this ans having him focus on one each week.

Physical
Master riding a bike, no training wheels.
Start a structured class, dance or martial arts. (Not many options in our area)
Work on tumbling, brachiation and balance beam
Run 1-2 miles at a time.
Become a confident swimmer over the summer.

Math
Complete all kindergarten level math from various sources.
Memorize addtion, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Reading
Plod along with phonics so that he learns all the phonics rules and exceptions.
Keeps reading a variety of genres.
Fuse spelling and reading and writing.

Penmanship
Start writing with more purpose, starting with Montessori insets that I plan to make myself.
Use the LetterSchool app to get the writing mechanics down. Then transfer this skill to paper.
Continue to draw.

Science
Complete our first run through BFSU, fleshing it out with a lot of complimentary reading, documentaries and discussion.

Concentration/Focus/Practical Life.
Go back to Montessori tasks.

My goal, read Charlotte Mason and implement some of her philosophies.

[Mandabplus3]

Wow that was fun to re read!  I have learnt some things since I wrote that!

So we actually are doing very well on our goals!
Covered all of Natalyas but we slowed a little on the Math. In saying that we still may hit the goal by the end of the year. It's doable! Her Gymnastics is beautiful and next year will be doing advanced level 4 (with level 5 skills included in her class.) I think the club would like a winning team for next year and it makes little difference for her to be level 4 or 5....the class is basically the same they just work on from what they can do now. This class is a good fit for her young age. By the end of the year she will have all the level 4 skills covered as we aimed for.
Tiana has covered all her goals. She came second in her interclub comp for level 1 gymnastics (woohoo!) she thinks she might drop gymnastics next year in favour of an art class. We draw a few times a week, not every day but for good stretches of time. Her math is strong.
Jaykob is well above where I actually thought I could get him. His piano is sporadic but he is still keen to practice. It's mummy who hasn't the time. He reads pretty close to age 10 already and is doing spelling.

We have completely failed in our history goal of story of the world 2. Instead we have gone back further in time and I taught the kids about evolution. Rather than go onto story of the world 2 I am considering continuing with our more detailed study of the ancient world.
Now for the big one! Yes I have taught my kindy class to read! Not 100% of them (yet!) but all the full time or close to it kids can read AND write basic sentences. The ones I only have 2 days a week can read some sight words but can't decode independently yet.
 I have some plans for the next years class  which includes more writing, stronger phonics focus and making sure the stupid computers work EVERYDAY so that we can consistently show LR and LMusic. I still have 4 months until this group starts school ( but they only have me for 2.5 months more)  to get the rest up to reading and advance the readers. Next year I want to do more advanced math too. Math facts perhaps. Not sure yet. They have covered the first year of school but not with excellence. Oh I suppose I could do that for the rest of the year couldn't I? 
They had perfect pitch for The first 30 days of Lmusic but the sound died on the technology and I can't fix it. They have amazing human body knowledge and know everything about the water cycle, composting, worls continents, dinosaurs and worms.  I know more about worms than I ever wanted to! Overall its been a great year for them and I know I can do even more. Over Christmas I will evaluate what I want to teach next year ( or more what i think they should learn) and reassess.
We are most definitely on track!

[Wolfwind]

Wow, I had completely forgotten about this!

Big Girl A is totally capable of reading words and sentences, but more than 6 words in a sitting and she rebels.  We stopped spelling in June when we started living outside and never picked it up again.  Instead, we're using the "We Both Read" series from the library, and she'll read a couple of pages of that in order to get more story before she quits.  I don't really know what to do beyond continuing every day and hoping her stamina picks up.  Baby S is using LR, and she refuses the games, so I don't know what she can read.  But she loves words still.

In math, any curriculum that I follow out of a book gets shot down by Big Girl A.  So we're just doing Marshmallow Math, YouTube videos, and living math books.  We actually did quite a bit of Life of Fred - Apples before it went back to the library; I'll have to try that again.  I'm also looking into Math on the Level (but that will shoot my not-buying-it goal right out of the water), because that's the way we're doing math.  But we just memorized the ones table in addition and are working on "Addition the Fun Way," which looks perfect for her.  Baby S finished Doman math and is working on RightStart subitizing and addition.  Again, not sure how much she's retaining, but she loves holding up fingers and calling out numbers.

We still do LMus daily and they like know the notes and chords, though they don't sing on pitch or clap on the beat.  We haven't actually used Soft Mozart yet.

I'm still not speaking French, and we're going outside 3 times a week or so.  Not great.  Neither girl is brachiating; our monkey bars are inside.  Big Girl A is almost ready for a pedal bike.

This is kind of depressing.  I need to change something: goals or efforts.  I wonder what it will be.

[Mandabplus3]

Wolf wind that made me laugh!    you are depressed that you have a toddler who can read?  and a baby that loves math!    oh yes how depressing! 
Is all relative though isn't it. I adjusted some of my goals. My education enlightened me on what more my kids need to learn. The purpose of some of the goals were achieved before we actually reached the goal. Oh and some were just not feasible everyday..we just don't have the time.
A goal can be altered just not ignored 

[Wolfwind]

     Thanks, Manda, I needed that!

My husband was having a really tough time getting some help for a volunteer task that he really didn't want to coordinate while I wrote that, and I think I was picking up on his feelings.  You're right, of course; we're doing great!  We stopped spelling because she decided she liked Reading Bear, which had been my first choice for teaching reading but she refused it at the beginning of the year.  I decided that I can't teach multiplication with the manipulatives I have on hand.  Well, she understands the concept and can do the zeros and ones.  We're going to memorize addition facts and then do the two times that way, then memorize the rest.  So it's just adjusting the goal.  She can read, like you said; the stamina will come.  And my other goals were less important.  I bet Baby S can do tons; I just need to find a way to let her show it.  Things are going fine.

Thanks again!

[CVMomma]

It was fun to read back through the goals and see how others are doing too! 

We are doing quite well, with a few adjustments.        She is now 3 years, 5 months old.

In reading, we finished LR, so I made my own course with lots of French downloads and EK facts.  It is a 130 day course, and we are on day 65, I think.  She is still doing Reading Bear everyday (when our internet works    ).  I think she is at 75% mastered.  She still takes a quiz every time.  If she gets them all right she gets a piece of candy, like one M&M, so quizzes are the best .  It is really the only time she gets sweets, so she is impressed.  She is really into reading anything by Beatrix Potter right now.  She read through the whole Mr. Jeremy Fisher book with help on only 3 words.  Daddy was impressed!

In math, I have seen the biggest improvements!  We still use LM for skip counting.  Right now skip counting is still at the rote memory stage.  She is still using Jump Math every day.  We both really like it.  Rightstart came to a complete halt several months ago.  She just completely resisted it.  Maybe next year...  MEP is pretty much the same story as RS.  I think our biggest math improvements have come from i Pad apps though.  Right now we are going through Eurotalk for the second time,  SlateMath for the second time, and SplashMath 20 ? per day.  I can not believe the difference between the 1st and 2nd time through these apps.  She demonstrates such a more thorough understanding!  She now uses Math on her own in her everyday life.  Daddy and several other people have commented on her Math ability just while she was carrying on a normal conversation with people!  Momma is very pleased with this!!

We also have started handwriting and spelling.  Neither of them are an actual curriculum, just things I printed off the internet. She is still at the tracing stage on most letters and can only write about 2 - 5 words on paper before she is tired.  Because of this, most of our spelling is oral practice.  Both of these subjects we use the i Pad for also.  LetterSchool is handwriting only.  Writing Wizard has a section that you can make your own word list, so I put her spelling words on that one.  And we use Word Wizard by L'Escapadou  for her spelling "tests".   

This summer she was able to swim in our neighbor's green house quite a bit too.  She can now jump into the pool and swim from one end to the other and back with a small floatation device.  Momma just didn't have the energy to tote her around in the pool this summer, so I let her use a floaty.  Alas! Our nights are now so cool that even in the green house the pool is too cold, so no more swimming until next year.    But since she learned how to jump into the pool, she now jumps everywhere she goes!  Not so impressive at church, grocery store, or doctor's office, I know!  But since this is such a big milestone for her, I have a hard time stopping her even if we get strange looks.  
 

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