What I do with Fix it!

I love Fix it!  At first sight, it looks like a simplistic curriculum, but it is actually very in depth.  I like the flexibility that a cumulative repetition gives in grammar, and this program lends itself well to an individualized approach, where the assignment can be tailored

The approach with Fix it! is that if your child is getting most things right, you are not on the right level for that child.  Learning from mistakes is the method.  So, each week there is a set of assignments for four days of the week in which the student becomes the editor of a story which lasts the entire year.  He or she slowly makes the corrections on a couple of sentences each day.    On the fifth day, it is copywork of corrected sentences for that week.  

One week's work

 I use different colored pens/highlighters to indicate different mistakes for that day, then I write a question or an additional assignment related to that grammatical error, color-coordinated on the left page.

In the beginning, I used to check and correct each day's assignment, but I've found that correcting at the end of the week gives a larger picture, where my children can see how that mistake would change the meaning of the story.

So, that's the scoop.  Fix it! has been a great addition to our English curriculum.  My college aged student is acing his essays.  He is a history major, so his classes are writing intensive.  

Thanks IEW!

Wrestling with IEW

Based on that title, you might think that I am having a hard time with IEW, and you would be right.  I think I have been going through this for the last fifteen years, or longer.  My struggle these days is different.  I struggle because of the many great choices and wishing I could just do all the different available courses.  This year, I would like to do the Theme based writing courses: Middle Ages, Early U.S. History, Narnia...  I would also like to do The Elegant Essay, Poetry, Fix it!, and American Literature...  If only we didn't have all the other subjects to deal with, especially with Michelle's high school load, which is quite daunting as it is.

So, what to choose?

Since Michelle is doing American History and Literature this year, it would make sense to do the American History writing curriculum with her.  However, because of the distribution of high school credit requirements in Florida, I need to have her take an English class each year.  So, I will just have to stick with doing IEW's American Literature, which has a good bit of writing in it, and save the American History writing courses for next year.

With Emily, on the other hand, I will do Following Narnia 1: The Lion's Song, because I just can't wait.  We will be listening and reading along with Kenneth Branagh's great voice in these Chronicle's of Narnia audiobooks.

I would like to continue with our Middle Ages writing program with Emily because she needs extra work with English.  She is my late bloomer, the baby of the family, who likes to take things slowly and go about life in a relaxed manner. I think that's called being laid back?...  It's a bit of an alien concept for me.

We will also carry on with the Fix It! series, books 3 and 4.  I have developed my own system with Fix It! which has been working well for us. I print out the student e-book on one side of the paper only.  I go through the lesson with each one individually on Monday, then assign the day's part for them to fix.  I then use different colored high lighters - I love these - and mark their lesson, using a different color for each thing they didn't get right.  I then use the opposite blank page to write a note on what they missed and a further assignment will be given on that particular item.  Depending on what it is and whether this is a repeat problem, they will need to explain why they got it wrong, copy the grammar rule missed found in the grammar section of their book, write examples of how that part of speech may be used, do an etymology on a word that is misspelled or used incorrectly, etc.

What do I do with Fix it!?

Pens for 2014-2015

I like a good pen. Perhaps that is an understatement...  I shop for pens once a year. I've bought numerous fountain pens in the past, and I still like them, but this time, I wanted ballpoint pens in several colors.   After reading several reviews on Amazon,  I decided to go to the store and skip the wait, since I was looking for easy-to-find brands.

I brought home a pack of BICs that looked great, BIC Atlantis, and another one of Uniballs.  Without hesitation,  Uni ball is much better side by side on an index card; furthermore, the lighter green BIC was not just a disappointment because the color was way too light and skipped leaving white streaks, but the pen actually didn't work... the clicker was broken right out of the box. :(

One reviewer on Amazon had high praises for the red Uniball, but there were none to be found at the store, so I did order that after testing them out. 

These days it's a good idea to check even on products I've bought many times before because companies change management all the time, and you never know if you will be getting the same item you've always liked.

Motivational Tools

Some of the new ideas I've found and will be using this coming year with the girls (3rd and 5th grades):
Reading Notebooks: From Scholastic's teacher board - free downloadable filler sheet.  Scholastic has a bunch of resources for teachers that are useful for homeschoolers as well.  I liked their Writing Center idea as well. Some of these things may not teach much in themselves, but I'm sure they will help keep the girls motivated, and motivation is an essential ingredient for learning.
State Research Report: A free worksheet to fill in about each state.  I like this site - Teachers Pay Teachers.  There are thousands of files for free on every subject.

Nature Journal Blog Hop #1!

<center><a href="http://schoolroomreflections.blogspot.com/search/label/blog%20hop" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" alt="School Room Reflections" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/5002403681_ff5173ef99.jpg" /></a></center>

If you are joining my Nature Journal Blog Hop, please copy and paste the picture or html code above in your post!  That way others can learn about it!   Link up is at the bottom of this post.

Wisteria

So, we went on our weekly nature walk on Friday morning.  The girls look forward to it and were all excited to walk out the door.  It's our time to explore and discover new things together.  Most of the time, we go out to see what we can find, but on Friday I had one thing I wanted them to check out.  I had gone out earlier in the week thinking about trimming the wisteria that grows out of control all summer.  When I came up close though, I discovered that there was a pair of cardinals making a lot of noise and fluttering around.  They had their nest built in there, so I had to change my plan and postpone trimming for a while; but I decided it would be a nice opportunity for the girls to see the pair and their nest.  So, we headed on out to check them out, and they were there making a fuss at us again for getting too close.  We didn't look inside the nest, so as to not disturb them too much, but I suspected there were babies in there.   We also saw another pair of cardinals along our driveway, in the big oaks.  For some reason, those are the ones they drew in their journal.



Jet Clouds



As we walked around the house and over to the driveway, Emily looked up and discovered jet clouds.  There were several planes flying overhead at that time, around 8:30 in the morning; probably loaded with commuting businessmen, unaware of the streaks they were leaving behind them all over the sky.  Emily marveled, and I enjoyed one of those precious moments when my kids make a great new discovery.  Of course, I was asked how the jets made those clouds, so I tried to explain water vapor and condensation - big words I had to remember to review later and maybe follow up with more information back inside.

Florida Native Morning Glories

We found a native Morning Glory vine climbing up another bush, its delicate purple flowers only there for a few hours before the sun would dry them up, greeted us as we walked by. 

Once inside, we pulled out the Handbook of Nature Study, where we learned all about cardinals, my favorite resource to use after nature walks.  We also looked at our birding guide and learned about where cardinals live, and how they migrate during the different seasons.  We looked at animal migration maps for other birds and butterflies at Journey North, a site where you can record your observations.  We recorded our sighting of Monarch butterflies on our walk there.  That was a good opportunity to do some geography review.

The girls just love these walks, and Friday mornings work out best for us because Michael is gone to his martial arts class with Gabi then, so I have the morning to do something like this with them.

When we went inside, they drew their pictures, each focusing on what they learned or liked about our walk.

Michelle's Picture

Michelle's picture reflected some of the things she has been learning in our art classes, like the texture on the trunk of the tree.  Her cardinals show the difference between the male and female cardinals.  I think she liked that it was a sunny morning too!

Emily's Picture, and "the biggest raindrop in history!"

 Emily had all the different things we saw in her picture and wanted to label them, so I wrote them down for her to copy.  She also drew herself and Michelle looking out the windows of the house.  Her father's comment when first seeing the picture, "that is the largest rain drop in history!"  She laughed.  I only suggested that there might be either eggs or babies in the cardinal's nest.  She drew hatching cardinal babies, just coming out of their eggs.  My favorite was the jet "stream" (cloud).

Since Michelle is older and more advanced, I asked her to write a paragraph about our nature walk.  I showed her a way to organize a word outline to help her get started.  I taught her about the importance of organizing our thoughts and information before starting to write, and how that helps people understand what we are trying to say better.

She gave me the important words about cardinals, the topic she wanted to write about, then I helped her organize them around the circle, forming a web.  Visual cues, like graphic organizers,  really help her understand better and make writing easier for her.

Join the Nature Journal Blog Hop by following the link below!

Happily linking with Autumn 2010 OHC!