Update on my boys

[linzy]

Someone recently requested an update on my boys, ages 6 (in May) and 2.75. Overall they are doing great, I think the older is reading on a highschool level and doing 4th grade Math. The younger is readingmaybe 1st grade level and mainly focusing on basic math skills and writing.

For the elder age 6:
Math:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday:
1) Flashcards for all equations in addition, multiplication, division and subtraction
2) Worksheets from JG in all four operations
3) One lesson from Saxon Math 5/4
(The flashcards are extra review for now that we are doing as a warm up, he nearly had them all memorized and was doing well with times but then his attention started to wonder and his scores started going down, so we added them in until it is all automatic)

Monday, Saturday and Sunday:
1) Jones Genius Math 3
2) Beast academy 3A

Supplemental is dreambox which he sees as a game and enjoys playing, plus gives him a very conceptual view that is lacking in the other programs.

Writing
Just finished spelling workout level D
Writing with Ease
Daily Language Review Grade 3

Reading
Working through a list of fiction, Science and History books I have compiled. Currently wrapping up the last of the Chronicles of Narnia series.

For little brother, age 2

Math:
Counting
Kumon writing numbers book
Trying to Fit in Right start A when we have time

Writing
Kumon: Lowercase letters (already did uppercase), easy mazes, coloring
Esplode the code

Reading
The ordinary Parents guide to teaching Reading
Bob books
Readingeggs
ReadingBear


Otherwise of course there is swimming lessons, soccer and lots of camping and hiking.

[mom2bee]

Thanks so much for this update, your boys progress is really inspiring. When you say reading level, what exactly do you mean? (Do you take into account comprehension of vocabulary and story line, respect for and understanding of punctuation, accuracy of decoding as well as speed, fluency and retention of what they've read, or how is reading level measured. I remember being VERY impressed with your older boys reading a chapter "Kidnapped" I think from an older novel....) I can only imagine the progress he's made since then, but how do you determine his reading level?

If you have that book list your older boy is reading through typed up somewhere, I know that I can't be the only brillkids member interested in seeing it. Please link or post it here if it is already typed up.

I love that your family is doing so strongly in Math, this is what I love to see. EL kids thriving and excelling in math and reading very early on...
Have you looked at Hands on Equations, now might be the perfect time to introduce it to your son...He seems like he's at the right level for basic algebra...

Do you do anything specific for science, history, literature etc, or are those subjects still informal at this time?

About how long do you spend on Math each week vs the other subjects?

Do you guys have interest in music? I'm constantly debating whether or not I should teach music and if so, what to teach (perfect pitch, an instrument, more than one instrument, composer study, etc...)

[Tanikit]

Thanks for the update - sounds like they are doing really well. Can I ask how you manage to get it done with both of them - do you have a routine you could share and do you ever combine them? I am still trying to mange to give my younger child enough attention for learning each day though we are sorting something workable out now. I see you are schooling seven days a week - do you take breaks ever and if so when? Are you homeschooling both boys?

[linzy]

Momtobee:

When I say reading levels I usually check the lexile level of the books he is reading easily to get an idea. For example "The voyage of the Dawn Treader" which he just finished was Lexile 970. Which is probably around a 9th grade level. In some of his other areas of interest like ultralight backpacking and soldering/circuitry building I assume it would be higher, just because the books are ususally only written for adults.

We are really working hard in Math. I feel like it is not a natural strength with my older son. He is excellent at following directions or working through problems by steps, but I want him to be more creative in his problem solving and understand more why the steps give you the answer.  That's one of the reasons we started with dreambox. At the same time we are still hitting the flashcards and timed worksheets pretty hard to try to really automatize the math facts. We haven't looked at hands on equations yet, but I'll definitely check it out. My husband has put a moratorium on curriculum buying for now. But the two next purchases I'd like to make would be a keyboard and Rosetta stone I think.

For history and literature we cover it all in our reading. We also have Classical conversation materials we got when they recently had there megasale as they upgraded their materials. We love to listen to the CDs in the car. My son has already read a lot of classical books (Things like Aesop's fables, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, Alice and Wonderland, Just So Stories...). Eventually we will move into a Great Books type Curriculum.

For science it is mainly reading. He also has several science kits and Snap Circuits. We own a huge area of land with many creeks and an orchard and plants/animals. So he enjoys classifying plants and animals and taking pictures and uploading it to Project Noah on my iphone.

I would guess he spends 1-2 hours a day on Math, 30 minutes on writing and 2-3 hours reading. The reading is his choice, I normally put him to be an hour before lights out and let him read, but often will let him stay up later if we don't have anything planned the next day, so he'll read much later.

I work 4 days a week so those 4 days his dad oversees his schooling and we try to make it pretty much "plug and play". The days I am home we do more of the intensive teaching type things. and also in the evenings sometimes. For the little ohe loves his workbooks and those are very easyy for us to get done in maybe 30 minutes each day and then we do reading before bed or when I get home. We use reading eggs/readingbear for fun but not on any sort of schedule. Probably 4ish times a week.

Tanikit:
In all honesty my older son is very compliant. If I tell him what needs to be done he will do it. I often set him up with a timer and some math worksheets and flashcards and he will go through the flashcards. Time himself on the worksheets and then bring them to me for correction. While I am correcting he may start on his language arts workbooks. I purposely chose things that he could do on his own to make it easier on whoever was overseeing his school. During that time we work on "school" with little brother. They do do the Jones genius math pegs together and also the classical conversations memory work.

We do schedule 7 days a week, but that is just so that we don't lose momentum when we do take off. Earlier this summer we took 2 weeks off for a road trip. It was not a great idea though as I feel like it took 2 more weeks to get back to where we were before we left. I couldn't imagine taking off 3 months like the public school does. We often take off a few days to go camping or spend the day working on our property or exploring Crater lake or the coast.

[bella]

thank you so much for your update lindsay . I f i can ask you and other parents you mentioned you are reading Narnia with your six years old . Could you tell me please which version of narnia books your child is reading . i do have the chronicles of narnia which my eldest daughter read ( 15 ) , the print is quite small , very little black and white illustrations . I am wondering if there are better unbridged versions more wuitable for young readers .
xx
viv

[linzy]

The book we bought was mostly for cost saving sake, we bought it at a local used book store. It is all 7 books in one unabridged. So it comes out to 767 pages. I was worried he wouldn't read it with the small font, but he was very interested in the story so it didn't phase him. Probably if you were looking not just based on price getting the 7 books individually possibly in an illustrated version would be less daunting. Here are pictures of the one we got:

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