"We have been home schooling for 5 years now. I started with my oldest daughter who is now 11 years old and is on a 6th grad level when she was 5 years old and in the 1st grade. My youngest daughter who has just recently turned 5 is just now showing signs of interest in learning to read etc.She begs me from the second her eyes are open to do her "school work" , which of course is Time4 Learning. She ,however, is what the school system would label a special needs child. She is gifted and has borderline ADHD, and Sensory processing dysfunction. The fact that it keeps her attention and allows her to go at her own pace is wonderful.
I have sat on the board of our local home-school support group ...
I have searched the world over looking for that perfect curriculum or program that fits my child and now children individually. Ok so maybe not the world but I have searched for 5 years now relentlessly. I can tell you that this program alone has been what I have been looking for. I realize that it has been less than a week since we started using Time4Learning but it has been wonderful for both of my children who have two very different learning styles. I am so thankful that I found you and that you go up to 8th grade. I am excited that you are going to offer a forum or blog in any sort of fashion as I can see that too really taking off. I think it is going to be great and can not wait to start using it.
One thing that I have learned in home-schooling my children is that you need support and help in many different areas. ...
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Parenting Help - Whats the root problem? How can you help?
In some ways, children are strikingly direct. What parent hasn't heard their child in a voice too loud: "Look at that very fat man"?
In contrast, children with anxiety or emotional needs generally "act out" rather than directly ask for help. And, any child can feel anxious if they don't get some regular attention fromt their parent. And while parents know that being rushed is part of life, many children find the morning rush to be a source of anxiety.
Most parents find the mornings to be tough. Children are woken at a fixed hour, by a knock, yell, or alarm. Children are then expected to rush out of bed, rush thru dressing, rush thru breakfast, and rush to get to school on time. Once they sit down in class, many misbehave and "act out". Oddly, these children can often be expressing their need for attention.
Could this solve the problem? Try going in to your child 30 minutes before they have to get up. Lie down with them and talk with no agenda other than to listen to whats on their mind. Did they have dreams? Whats today going to be like? With 20 minutes of pure attention from a parent, many children who act out at school are now equipped for an entirely different sort of day.
This message sponsored by Time4Learning - A great Homeschool Resource
and Homeschool Curriculum. Time4Learning provides interactive math lessons and teaches reading from teaching phonics through reading comprehension.
In contrast, children with anxiety or emotional needs generally "act out" rather than directly ask for help. And, any child can feel anxious if they don't get some regular attention fromt their parent. And while parents know that being rushed is part of life, many children find the morning rush to be a source of anxiety.
Most parents find the mornings to be tough. Children are woken at a fixed hour, by a knock, yell, or alarm. Children are then expected to rush out of bed, rush thru dressing, rush thru breakfast, and rush to get to school on time. Once they sit down in class, many misbehave and "act out". Oddly, these children can often be expressing their need for attention.
Could this solve the problem? Try going in to your child 30 minutes before they have to get up. Lie down with them and talk with no agenda other than to listen to whats on their mind. Did they have dreams? Whats today going to be like? With 20 minutes of pure attention from a parent, many children who act out at school are now equipped for an entirely different sort of day.
This message sponsored by Time4Learning - A great Homeschool Resource
and Homeschool Curriculum. Time4Learning provides interactive math lessons and teaches reading from teaching phonics through reading comprehension.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Learning Games
Two great new learning game sites:
Learning Games for Kids - Great Games
Parenting in an Electronic Age
Learning Games for Kids - Great Games
Parenting in an Electronic Age
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Teaching Writing
There's a new focus on WRITING--just ask your kids!
Writing was always a part of the 3 R's--Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic--but when you were in 4th grade, did you know the difference between narrative, informative and persuasive forms of writing? Could you write in all three forms? Todays 4th graders are expected to master this and will demonstrate their mastery of these skills on standardized tests.
How important is writing?
Writing is a vitally important life skill. The link between writing skills and academic success is clear and most standardized tests assess writing. Employers care more about writing skills today, as most jobs now require some writing. There's no doubt--writing is a skill your children must master. Time4Learning's K-8 writing curriculum can help.
A Writing Curriculum Proven to Work
Correlated to federal and state standards and field-tested nationally in thousands of schools, Time4Learning uses the best, most current methods of teaching writing. Your children will learn and practice each stage of the writing process, from pre-writing strategies to drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Each lesson ends with a quiz and kids can check their own work with self-assessments. Progress is recognized every step of the way--motivating kids and reassuring parents.
A Kid-Friendly Approach to Writing
Time4Learning's writing curriculum isn't cut and dry. It's designed to bring out the writer in every student. Age-appropriate animated characters present each lesson in a highly interactive format that promotes self-expression. Children have the opportunity to learn and try different forms of fiction and nonfiction writing, from short story narratives to informational reports. As early as the kindergarten level, Time4Learning engages children in telling their own stories. Try Time4Learning's Story Creator exercise to see how young children are introduced to writing.
How to encourage writing at home
Encourage your children to write regularly, whether it's about their favorite video, a poem, or keeping a journal. When you review your child's writing, be entirely positive and focus on the elements that were the most effective: "I really liked reading about your friends..." or "your description of the garden made me feel like I could see the garden." Your goal is to help your child establish a writing habit and a comfort level with expression.
At other times, shift your focus to the rigors of writing. This approach should be kept distince from the expressive non-critical mode. With this approach, you can help your child develop critical thinking skills and the ability to write clear prose. Time4Learning's writing curriculum provides a full menu of pre-writing tools, such as electronic note cards and graphic organizers, which promote clarity and organization of ideas. Time4Learning also covers grammar and punctuation, as well as vocabulary and spelling, so that your child learns and practices the fundamentals. Check out Time4Learning demo lessons such as "Punctuation: Comma Confusion" and "Homonyms".
Improve Your Child's Writing
This K-8 Writing Curriculum is a component of Time4Learning's comprehensive reading and language arts program. You can have full access on your home computer to this comprehensive learning system for only $19.95 a month. Let Time4Learning help the young writers in your home! Sign up today!
It's Time 4 Learning! And Fun!
Writing was always a part of the 3 R's--Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic--but when you were in 4th grade, did you know the difference between narrative, informative and persuasive forms of writing? Could you write in all three forms? Todays 4th graders are expected to master this and will demonstrate their mastery of these skills on standardized tests.
How important is writing?
Writing is a vitally important life skill. The link between writing skills and academic success is clear and most standardized tests assess writing. Employers care more about writing skills today, as most jobs now require some writing. There's no doubt--writing is a skill your children must master. Time4Learning's K-8 writing curriculum can help.
A Writing Curriculum Proven to Work
Correlated to federal and state standards and field-tested nationally in thousands of schools, Time4Learning uses the best, most current methods of teaching writing. Your children will learn and practice each stage of the writing process, from pre-writing strategies to drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Each lesson ends with a quiz and kids can check their own work with self-assessments. Progress is recognized every step of the way--motivating kids and reassuring parents.
A Kid-Friendly Approach to Writing
Time4Learning's writing curriculum isn't cut and dry. It's designed to bring out the writer in every student. Age-appropriate animated characters present each lesson in a highly interactive format that promotes self-expression. Children have the opportunity to learn and try different forms of fiction and nonfiction writing, from short story narratives to informational reports. As early as the kindergarten level, Time4Learning engages children in telling their own stories. Try Time4Learning's Story Creator exercise to see how young children are introduced to writing.
How to encourage writing at home
Encourage your children to write regularly, whether it's about their favorite video, a poem, or keeping a journal. When you review your child's writing, be entirely positive and focus on the elements that were the most effective: "I really liked reading about your friends..." or "your description of the garden made me feel like I could see the garden." Your goal is to help your child establish a writing habit and a comfort level with expression.
At other times, shift your focus to the rigors of writing. This approach should be kept distince from the expressive non-critical mode. With this approach, you can help your child develop critical thinking skills and the ability to write clear prose. Time4Learning's writing curriculum provides a full menu of pre-writing tools, such as electronic note cards and graphic organizers, which promote clarity and organization of ideas. Time4Learning also covers grammar and punctuation, as well as vocabulary and spelling, so that your child learns and practices the fundamentals. Check out Time4Learning demo lessons such as "Punctuation: Comma Confusion" and "Homonyms".
Improve Your Child's Writing
This K-8 Writing Curriculum is a component of Time4Learning's comprehensive reading and language arts program. You can have full access on your home computer to this comprehensive learning system for only $19.95 a month. Let Time4Learning help the young writers in your home! Sign up today!
It's Time 4 Learning! And Fun!
Friday, November 18, 2005
Video Games, Electronic Entertainment, Kids and Parenting
Heres my theory.
1. TRY LIVING WITH NO TV. It's actually easier than it might seem. I have often lived without a TV for between three months and once for two years. Following my most recent move, I just did not put a TV in my new house. When the kids asked, I just "Hadn't bought a TV yet". This meant no cable, no videos, and no game machine. Actually, we did occasionally watch videos by putting DVDs in the computer and turning the monitor around towards a couch. This meant huddling together to watch on a smallish screen. The no-TV hiatus lasted 13 months (read how it ended below).
2. CONTROL THE SELECTION of VIDEOs. One day, I was humiliated into getting a TV. It involved one evening when I had a dozen people over sponteneously after a neighborhood block party got a little wild for those of us withchildren under ten. It turned out to be a night when a World Series game was on, our home team (Marlins) was in it, and my house was the one spot in town from which they could not follow the game! Woops, major social gaffe. I bought a TV the next day and signed up for cable so I would be prepared if such a thing happened again. For my own family, I stocked up on DVDs. I got classic musicals (Grease, Annie, Oliver, Music Man, Mary Poppins, Pirates of Penzance, Sound of Music ,etc), the best animated films, some other kids films (Spy Kids is a favorite, we're big Harry Potter fans), and some classic animations (my son particuarly likes the original ThunderBirds). The kids accept that this selection although there is always pressure with the new releases. This past year, there have been some great ones (Incredibles and Sky High, both working the family-centric SpyKids theme) . I control the watching so the kids need to ask permission to watch: we tend to watch one or two videos over a weekend. Also, I will often break the watching of video up into several sessions. We will start it before dinner...finish it afterwards. I'm also big on discussing the videos. I'll ask about characters and they whether they think the character did the right thing, what would they have doneetc etc. My idea is that watching does not have to be mindless: I try to exercise "reading comprehension-like skills" (major idea, details, sequence, character etc) The kids don't get access to cable or broadcast in my house. Not at all.
3. Video games - Limit the Selection and Focus on Multiplayer Games. Parents, stay involved! I only stock games that can be played as a group and which have no real violence. We play alot of bomberman (its like pacman but its multiplayer - up to 6 at the same time) for instance, there is a Mario Race game, a Mario Smash brothers, and a few others. I have both Nintendo and an old Playstation to play "Croc, Legend of the Gobos". This is the only single player game that we allow in the house but we take turns playing and among Croc's many virtues as a game, its fun to watch!
4. LIMIT THE HOURS of VIDEO GAMES. When the kids get too difficult, I put the power cable away for usually two weeks. Period. I keep TV & Video games as a privilege that they get only if they are good and do their chores / reading / homework. In addition, I stress that too much electronic entertainment (like too much candy) is bad for them. It over-excites and makes it hard to concentrate and to remain calm. The kids believe this (either because I've said it alot or because they can feel how it affects them). We try to not to eat too much candy at a time or to play more than an hour of video games. Do we ever go on a binge? You bet we do but playing two hours of video games when its a rare treat is alot more fun than having that as a normal. Also, sometimes, I make a whole tray of fudge and we eat it all too. .
5. NOTHING ANTI-SOCIAL, no Walkmans (or Ipods - did I just date myself?) or mobile games. I flatly refuse to allow a GameBoy (or other portable single player game machine) in the house since it aggressively attacks community time. Also, no Ipod or other headphones with music. These are sore points. I recently took away my daughter's phone for the weekend since she was using it to play games on. But I find a person in headsets to be shut-off in a way that I'm not allowing.
6. USE TECHNOLOGY CREATIVELY - We listen to audio books in the car. ALOT. Sometimes we bring them into the house to finish a chapter but somehow, thats never as good as sitting in the car, even if its parked in the driveway. I have a whole theory on audio books for kids and reading comprehension. We've listened to Dr Suess (Yurtle the Turtle) and all the existing Harry Potter books. We just listened to The Golden Compass (yes, the kids are growing...)
7. PEA - An important aspect of Parenting is that we are Parenting in an Electronic Age. This is the subject of my upcoming essay which will develop many of these thoughts further. Input welcome.
But, I need to evolve with fast-changing kids and world. Other than Online Learning Games with Time4Learning, the kids like alot of online computer stuff with Neopets becoming the particular favorite. There are some great learning games that I try to steer them towards with moderate success and some two player games (these are all part of Time4Learning). And how to manage IM and all this other stuff? Well, online safety first. My daughter's school forced her to get her own computer (a good thing) and so far, it has been benign. Her grandparents have given her a cell phone which so far, has been convenient and fun. But my oldest ( a girl) is a young teen so I know that the big challenges are ahead.....
One of our word games for the car is that I'll mention a technology (the web, remote controls for TVs, cell phones, fax machines, trains, radio, telegraph, printing, electric lights, flush toilets) and the kids guess whether this was new:
- when they were born (since 1990)
- when I was young (1970s-80s)
- when I was born
- when my parents were young or born (1920-40s)
- when our grandparents were born
etc
It gives them a real albeit rough sense how much the world that they live in is in flux from a techological materials point of view
1. TRY LIVING WITH NO TV. It's actually easier than it might seem. I have often lived without a TV for between three months and once for two years. Following my most recent move, I just did not put a TV in my new house. When the kids asked, I just "Hadn't bought a TV yet". This meant no cable, no videos, and no game machine. Actually, we did occasionally watch videos by putting DVDs in the computer and turning the monitor around towards a couch. This meant huddling together to watch on a smallish screen. The no-TV hiatus lasted 13 months (read how it ended below).
2. CONTROL THE SELECTION of VIDEOs. One day, I was humiliated into getting a TV. It involved one evening when I had a dozen people over sponteneously after a neighborhood block party got a little wild for those of us withchildren under ten. It turned out to be a night when a World Series game was on, our home team (Marlins) was in it, and my house was the one spot in town from which they could not follow the game! Woops, major social gaffe. I bought a TV the next day and signed up for cable so I would be prepared if such a thing happened again. For my own family, I stocked up on DVDs. I got classic musicals (Grease, Annie, Oliver, Music Man, Mary Poppins, Pirates of Penzance, Sound of Music ,etc), the best animated films, some other kids films (Spy Kids is a favorite, we're big Harry Potter fans), and some classic animations (my son particuarly likes the original ThunderBirds). The kids accept that this selection although there is always pressure with the new releases. This past year, there have been some great ones (Incredibles and Sky High, both working the family-centric SpyKids theme) . I control the watching so the kids need to ask permission to watch: we tend to watch one or two videos over a weekend. Also, I will often break the watching of video up into several sessions. We will start it before dinner...finish it afterwards. I'm also big on discussing the videos. I'll ask about characters and they whether they think the character did the right thing, what would they have doneetc etc. My idea is that watching does not have to be mindless: I try to exercise "reading comprehension-like skills" (major idea, details, sequence, character etc) The kids don't get access to cable or broadcast in my house. Not at all.
3. Video games - Limit the Selection and Focus on Multiplayer Games. Parents, stay involved! I only stock games that can be played as a group and which have no real violence. We play alot of bomberman (its like pacman but its multiplayer - up to 6 at the same time) for instance, there is a Mario Race game, a Mario Smash brothers, and a few others. I have both Nintendo and an old Playstation to play "Croc, Legend of the Gobos". This is the only single player game that we allow in the house but we take turns playing and among Croc's many virtues as a game, its fun to watch!
4. LIMIT THE HOURS of VIDEO GAMES. When the kids get too difficult, I put the power cable away for usually two weeks. Period. I keep TV & Video games as a privilege that they get only if they are good and do their chores / reading / homework. In addition, I stress that too much electronic entertainment (like too much candy) is bad for them. It over-excites and makes it hard to concentrate and to remain calm. The kids believe this (either because I've said it alot or because they can feel how it affects them). We try to not to eat too much candy at a time or to play more than an hour of video games. Do we ever go on a binge? You bet we do but playing two hours of video games when its a rare treat is alot more fun than having that as a normal. Also, sometimes, I make a whole tray of fudge and we eat it all too. .
5. NOTHING ANTI-SOCIAL, no Walkmans (or Ipods - did I just date myself?) or mobile games. I flatly refuse to allow a GameBoy (or other portable single player game machine) in the house since it aggressively attacks community time. Also, no Ipod or other headphones with music. These are sore points. I recently took away my daughter's phone for the weekend since she was using it to play games on. But I find a person in headsets to be shut-off in a way that I'm not allowing.
6. USE TECHNOLOGY CREATIVELY - We listen to audio books in the car. ALOT. Sometimes we bring them into the house to finish a chapter but somehow, thats never as good as sitting in the car, even if its parked in the driveway. I have a whole theory on audio books for kids and reading comprehension. We've listened to Dr Suess (Yurtle the Turtle) and all the existing Harry Potter books. We just listened to The Golden Compass (yes, the kids are growing...)
7. PEA - An important aspect of Parenting is that we are Parenting in an Electronic Age. This is the subject of my upcoming essay which will develop many of these thoughts further. Input welcome.
But, I need to evolve with fast-changing kids and world. Other than Online Learning Games with Time4Learning, the kids like alot of online computer stuff with Neopets becoming the particular favorite. There are some great learning games that I try to steer them towards with moderate success and some two player games (these are all part of Time4Learning). And how to manage IM and all this other stuff? Well, online safety first. My daughter's school forced her to get her own computer (a good thing) and so far, it has been benign. Her grandparents have given her a cell phone which so far, has been convenient and fun. But my oldest ( a girl) is a young teen so I know that the big challenges are ahead.....
One of our word games for the car is that I'll mention a technology (the web, remote controls for TVs, cell phones, fax machines, trains, radio, telegraph, printing, electric lights, flush toilets) and the kids guess whether this was new:
- when they were born (since 1990)
- when I was young (1970s-80s)
- when I was born
- when my parents were young or born (1920-40s)
- when our grandparents were born
etc
It gives them a real albeit rough sense how much the world that they live in is in flux from a techological materials point of view
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Internet Safety
"As parents, we understand the risks that come with our children's growing independence and we know how to protect and advise them. I remember when my young daughter wanted to ride her bike around the block on her own. I was anxious but I let her go. I understood the risks and where the boundaries should be set. "
This is how Mr. Doug Fodeman, a nationally recognized expert on keeping our children safe online, who runs Children Online, a site educating parents on Internet risks and a Time4Learning Educational Advisory Board starts his talks with advice for parents. He continues:
"Unfortunately, this same intuitive understanding of risks is not true for most parent with the internet. Most parents are unaware of the risks and dangers that await children on the Internet. As wonderful a tool as the Internet is, it has many sites that are not age-appropriate for our children, sites with opportunities for our children to interact with strangers of all ages, and places that put children at risk for harm such as bullying, personal encounters, and addictive behavior." Strange though it may seem, a child can be very influenced by a stranger or group of strangers over the net and can make terrible lapses in judgement in giving out personal information
First recommendation, young children should be supervised at all times on the computer and net. This is to protect the computer and the children. Many parents place the computer screen so that they can easily see it while they are working or cooking. Put the computer with the screen facing the inside of the room (so its easy to see) and perhaps in the parents home office or kitchen but not in the children's own bedroom. This is a great policy into the early teen years.
Second recommendation, get and stay informed about safety on the net. Good sites to look at are: Children Online, Get NetWise, and Parenting In an Electronic Age. And since the net and technology is evolving rapdily, plan on an annual update of your knowledge. Many schools host an annual evening helping parents to understand the risks from the evolving electronic media (remember, a cell phone can now also include email, chat, and web surfing!). If you need speakers, contact us and we might be able to suggest one.
Share your information about the risks with the children. We recommend that you reach an agreement with your child about the what they will and will not do on the net. There are a number of templates for this but essentially, the agreement helps you and your children communicate about the risks and how the child has to take responsibility for not disclosing any personal information. We recommend that the signed agreement be taped to the wall by the computer.
Third recommendation, purchase and install web filtering software for all children under the age of 16. Web filtering software acts as a barrier between your child and the Internet. It attempts to filter out bad/inappropriate content before your child sees it. Filters help support the boundaries you set such as the hours of usage, the sites that they can visit, and their usage of email or instant messaging. We recommend Cyberpatrol for the PC and Content Barrier for the Mac. Also, parents should look at all electronic media and find a trusted source of family-friendly info on electronic media.
Lastly, while it's important that you understand and manage the risks of your children using the Internet, we believe that you should make efforts to have your children take advantage of the Internet. Just like bicycles and cars and sports, there are risks. But these risks are manageable.
Time4Learning is a great example of an online learning program for homeschool or enrichment. Time4Learning has helped thousands of children with a curriculua covering from PreSchool thru Middle School. Each child gets their own individual learning path full of lessons, learning games, printable worksheets, and assessments.
This is how Mr. Doug Fodeman, a nationally recognized expert on keeping our children safe online, who runs Children Online, a site educating parents on Internet risks and a Time4Learning Educational Advisory Board starts his talks with advice for parents. He continues:
"Unfortunately, this same intuitive understanding of risks is not true for most parent with the internet. Most parents are unaware of the risks and dangers that await children on the Internet. As wonderful a tool as the Internet is, it has many sites that are not age-appropriate for our children, sites with opportunities for our children to interact with strangers of all ages, and places that put children at risk for harm such as bullying, personal encounters, and addictive behavior." Strange though it may seem, a child can be very influenced by a stranger or group of strangers over the net and can make terrible lapses in judgement in giving out personal information
First recommendation, young children should be supervised at all times on the computer and net. This is to protect the computer and the children. Many parents place the computer screen so that they can easily see it while they are working or cooking. Put the computer with the screen facing the inside of the room (so its easy to see) and perhaps in the parents home office or kitchen but not in the children's own bedroom. This is a great policy into the early teen years.
Second recommendation, get and stay informed about safety on the net. Good sites to look at are: Children Online, Get NetWise, and Parenting In an Electronic Age. And since the net and technology is evolving rapdily, plan on an annual update of your knowledge. Many schools host an annual evening helping parents to understand the risks from the evolving electronic media (remember, a cell phone can now also include email, chat, and web surfing!). If you need speakers, contact us and we might be able to suggest one.
Share your information about the risks with the children. We recommend that you reach an agreement with your child about the what they will and will not do on the net. There are a number of templates for this but essentially, the agreement helps you and your children communicate about the risks and how the child has to take responsibility for not disclosing any personal information. We recommend that the signed agreement be taped to the wall by the computer.
Third recommendation, purchase and install web filtering software for all children under the age of 16. Web filtering software acts as a barrier between your child and the Internet. It attempts to filter out bad/inappropriate content before your child sees it. Filters help support the boundaries you set such as the hours of usage, the sites that they can visit, and their usage of email or instant messaging. We recommend Cyberpatrol for the PC and Content Barrier for the Mac. Also, parents should look at all electronic media and find a trusted source of family-friendly info on electronic media.
Lastly, while it's important that you understand and manage the risks of your children using the Internet, we believe that you should make efforts to have your children take advantage of the Internet. Just like bicycles and cars and sports, there are risks. But these risks are manageable.
Time4Learning is a great example of an online learning program for homeschool or enrichment. Time4Learning has helped thousands of children with a curriculua covering from PreSchool thru Middle School. Each child gets their own individual learning path full of lessons, learning games, printable worksheets, and assessments.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
First Grade Learning Games - New Site
Found first grade learning games site. Free and great.
List it on your site too.
List it on your site too.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Elementary Grades Math Curriculum, lessons
Elementary Math Curriculum
An elementary math curriculum for supplementary or home school should teach much more than the "how to" of simple arithmetic. A good math curriculum should have elementary math activities that build a solid foundation which is both deep and broad, conceptual and "how to".
What is a quality Elementary Math Curriculum?
A quality math curriculum contains a wide range of elementary math activities, which cover more than just arithmetic, math facts, and operations. An elementary math curriculum should teach these five math strands.*
Number Sense and Operations - Knowing how to represent numbers, recognizing 'how many' are in a group, and using numbers to compare and represent paves the way for grasping number theory, place value and the meaning of operations and how they relate to one another.
Algebra - The ability to sort and order objects or numbers and recognizing and building on simple patterns are examples of ways children begin to experience algebra. This elementary math concept sets the groundwork for working with algebraic variables as a child's math experience grows.
Geometry and Spatial Sense - Children build on their knowledge of basic shapes to identify more complex 2-D and 3-D shapes by drawing and sorting. They then learn to reason spatially, read maps, visualize objects in space, and use geometric modeling to solve problems. Eventually children will be able to use coordinate geometry to specify locations, give directions and describe spatial relationships.
Measurement - Learning how to measure and compare involves concepts of length, weight, temperature, capacity and money. Telling the time and using money links to an understanding of the number system and represents an important life skill.
Data Analysis and Probability - As children collect information about the world around them, they will find it useful to display and represent their knowledge. Using charts, tables, graphs will help them learn to share and organize data.
Elementary math curriculums that cover just one or two of these five math strands are narrow and lead to a weak understanding of math. Help your child build a strong, broad math foundation. Learn more about Time4Learning's elementary math curriculum.
An elementary math curriculum for supplementary or home school should teach much more than the "how to" of simple arithmetic. A good math curriculum should have elementary math activities that build a solid foundation which is both deep and broad, conceptual and "how to".
What is a quality Elementary Math Curriculum?
A quality math curriculum contains a wide range of elementary math activities, which cover more than just arithmetic, math facts, and operations. An elementary math curriculum should teach these five math strands.*
Number Sense and Operations - Knowing how to represent numbers, recognizing 'how many' are in a group, and using numbers to compare and represent paves the way for grasping number theory, place value and the meaning of operations and how they relate to one another.
Algebra - The ability to sort and order objects or numbers and recognizing and building on simple patterns are examples of ways children begin to experience algebra. This elementary math concept sets the groundwork for working with algebraic variables as a child's math experience grows.
Geometry and Spatial Sense - Children build on their knowledge of basic shapes to identify more complex 2-D and 3-D shapes by drawing and sorting. They then learn to reason spatially, read maps, visualize objects in space, and use geometric modeling to solve problems. Eventually children will be able to use coordinate geometry to specify locations, give directions and describe spatial relationships.
Measurement - Learning how to measure and compare involves concepts of length, weight, temperature, capacity and money. Telling the time and using money links to an understanding of the number system and represents an important life skill.
Data Analysis and Probability - As children collect information about the world around them, they will find it useful to display and represent their knowledge. Using charts, tables, graphs will help them learn to share and organize data.
Elementary math curriculums that cover just one or two of these five math strands are narrow and lead to a weak understanding of math. Help your child build a strong, broad math foundation. Learn more about Time4Learning's elementary math curriculum.
Math Facts - Where do they fit in building a math foundation?
Learn Math, Math Skills, & Build a Math Foundation Online
PreSchool Math
Kindergarten Math
Elementary Math
First Grade Math
Second Grade Math
Third Grade Math
Fourth Grade Math
Sixth Grade Math
Seventh Grade Math Curriculu
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Learning to read
Learning to read is an exciting time for children and their families. For many parents, helping their child learning to read establishes a pattern for their involvement in their child's academic education. Here are a few important hints:
Be Involved and Patient
Learning to read is the culmination of a great many learned skills and developmental processes. Learning to read is a long-term program. At times, there is no visible progress. At other times, they make dramatic daily progress. In all cases, show patience, confidence, and be encouraging. Keep the focus on the progress they've made and how proud you are, avoid accidentally over-focusing on the skills that they have not yet learned.
Learn about learning to read
There are many great books and websites on learning to read. While you don't need to know all the latest theories about learning to read, there are some basics which you should understand. My favorite sources are SEDL or Todays Learners Reading Articles. The Time4Learning free newsletter provides useful and digestible insights into how children learn to read and how parents can help teach them. It also points to the best websites, articles, resources, and books for more info on a specific steps or issues in learning to read.
Learning to Read has a sequence
Just as children start with T-ball before playing baseball, there are specific steps in learning to read. Trying to teach the steps out of sequence can inadvertently frustrate your child (and you).
For instance, prior to successfully learning phonics, the child should master a set of pre-reading skills including understanding basic print concepts, discerning the sounds, understanding that words are made up of sounds which they need to think about as interchangeable parts (ie phonemic awareness), and memorizing the alphabet.
To help parents understand the steps in learning to read, look at The Reading Skills Pyramid . And while most children do follow this sequence, be aware that each child is different and that there are a great number of variations. Three common errors to avoid are:
Be Involved and Patient
Learning to read is the culmination of a great many learned skills and developmental processes. Learning to read is a long-term program. At times, there is no visible progress. At other times, they make dramatic daily progress. In all cases, show patience, confidence, and be encouraging. Keep the focus on the progress they've made and how proud you are, avoid accidentally over-focusing on the skills that they have not yet learned.
Learn about learning to read
There are many great books and websites on learning to read. While you don't need to know all the latest theories about learning to read, there are some basics which you should understand. My favorite sources are SEDL or Todays Learners Reading Articles. The Time4Learning free newsletter provides useful and digestible insights into how children learn to read and how parents can help teach them. It also points to the best websites, articles, resources, and books for more info on a specific steps or issues in learning to read.
Learning to Read has a sequence
Just as children start with T-ball before playing baseball, there are specific steps in learning to read. Trying to teach the steps out of sequence can inadvertently frustrate your child (and you).
For instance, prior to successfully learning phonics, the child should master a set of pre-reading skills including understanding basic print concepts, discerning the sounds, understanding that words are made up of sounds which they need to think about as interchangeable parts (ie phonemic awareness), and memorizing the alphabet.
To help parents understand the steps in learning to read, look at The Reading Skills Pyramid . And while most children do follow this sequence, be aware that each child is different and that there are a great number of variations. Three common errors to avoid are:
- Starting with phonics. There are vital reading readiness skills to develop prior to children being ready to succeed with phonics.
- Overlooking how much work and technique goes into developing reading comprehension skills. Reading comprehension is a learned skill, not a "natural" one.
- Noticing a problem and not getting to the real root of the issue. For instance, many apparent weaknesses in comprehension are due to a child struggling with word decoding. Many problems in learning to read have to do with visual perception issues.
Learning to Read is Multimodal
Learning to read is easiest if you involve all the children's learning styles and modalities. They should see the words on wall posters and have learning toys. As they learn the letters, have letters to play with (I had some big 6 inch plastic ones for my kids), drawing books with letters, playing letter games with them on the computer, and of course, seeing the letters in books. Each of these different activities helps develop prereading skills using a different learning modality.
Online Learning - Time4Learning is an Effective Fun Service
The Time4Learning language arts program can serve as a core or supplementary curriculum for children learning to read. Learn about how Time4Learning's online reading program can help your children's education. Time4Learning is built around the award-winning CompassLearning Odyssey for home use and includes math, science, and social studies.
By John Edelson, Founder - Time4Learning - Online Interactive Homeschool Curricula
Online Typing Tutors
In todays schools, typing skills have in a sense replaced handwriting as a foundation skill. And typing tutors are one of the domains in which teaching software is a more excellent typing tutor than most teachers. While there is no real Mavis Beacon, the excellence of the Mavis Beacon typing tutor has literally taught millions a basic skill.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Homeschooling Curriculum - Different Children, Different Learning Styles, Different Seasons!
One of our goals in homeschooling was to get away from rigid systems and constraining schedules. But all the same, most homeschoolers find that some organization - a curriculum and a daily schedule for following it - is necessary for effective homeschooling. This doesn't mean that the homeschool curriculum or schedule gets followed to the minute or religiously.
In fact, the selection of a curriculum and a schedule might be the epitome of a rule that is being made to be broken. But having a curriculum and schedule are the right starting points. The challenge is that most parents find that picking curriculum is not a one-time event, it's an ongoing process....
The Challenges of Selecting a Homeschool Curriculum
The first challenge in selecting the curriculum for a starting point is finding one that meets the needs of each child. Many families find that what fits one child, may not fit another.
The second challenge you will encounter is that each child has different needs: many children have different needs in different subjects. A child might find one curriculum works great for them in language arts but doesn't serve them at all well in math.
And it gets worse still as you will probably also find that what worked well one semester, may feel stale and stop working the next.
What most families discover is that their children's educational needs cannot be met by a single program or medium. In addition to the basic language arts and math skills, young children need (just to name a few) writing and drawing to develop fine motor skills, playtime with manipulatives, art activities with arts and craft, and speech development. While some parents manage this need for a broad approach well, other parents seem less adept at understanding and responding to their children's diverse needs and cycles as they move pass elementary and middle school.
Children have different learning styles. And while this is well understood, its more subtle for parents to recognize that the same child's needs might be different in language arts than in math. One curriculum might be great for them in one subject but be ineffective in another.
Guidelines in Picking a Homeschool Schedule or Curriculum
Most homeschool families start by structuring their days around a predictable schedule of diverse activities. By shifting from computer-based lessons to discussion, or from paper and pencil exercises to art projects, children stay engaged and benefit from different teaching methods. Variety helps keep children motivated and attentive throughout the day. Homeschool families greatly differ on whether the schedule should be primarily driven by their children's individual natures (arguably, more of an unschooling approach), whether the schedule should be followed strictly, or whether the schedule is the proverbial set of "rules that were made to be broken".
Time4Learning.com has witnessed this trend and these variations through its homeschooling members. We find the following to be useful rules for success.
1. Build diversity into the daily and weekly schedule. As one mom put, "My kids love me and like listening to me....for limited amounts of time. They do NOT want to listen to my voice for hours and hours each day". This same is true for worksheets, textbooks, group exercises, and computer time. Children like to switch from one activity to another. Plan for each day to involve a broad range of types of exercises.
2. Expect each approach to learning to go through a life-cycle. Each new approach should feel exciting and challenging. After a few months, it feels comfortable and eventually, it will feel old and stale. While this does not mean that you should necessarily change and churn constantly, it does mean that you can get a lift by integrating new programs. You can also put away an approach for a few months and then bring it out again later when it'll feel new again. Planning these changes in advance often helps children get the most out of a program. For instance. Time4Learning has families that use us only in the fall and spring but not in the winter or summer. Remember, as much your kids might like playing soccer in the fall, at the end of the season they happily hang up their cleats and shift to basketball with new enthusiasm.
3. Avoid Expensive Comprehensive Inflexible Curriculum - It seems that alot of homeschool parents pull their children from school and then sign up for an expensive system for homeschooling. Over the first month (the trial period), its an exciting time as the parents and children experience their new-found freedom. Then, around month three, the curriculum's shortcomings or inappropriateness or just over-use becomes apparent and the curriculum falls into disuse. There are used curriculums to start with and vendors should offer low cost cancel-at any time solutions. For instance, Time4Learning at $19.95/month, cancel anytime, allows parents to use it for a semester. Stop for a semester. Then start again.
4. Follow a well thought-out curriculum. Teaching most skills has a sequence. For instance, without the prereading skills in place, children will not succeed at phonics. Specifically, if a child does not understand that words are made out of sounds which are like interchangable parts so that changing the "C" sound in "CAT" to an "H" sound makes "HAT", the teaching of phonics will make no sense to them. The Reading Skills Pyramid is a good illustration to parents of how skills should be sequenced. A common mistake with parents in teaching math is taking too narrow an approach. Parents frequently think of a math education being just arithmetic as in learning the numbers and operations (addition, subtraction etc). A solid math education needs to cover all the math areas from the earliest age. Spatial reasoning is vital so children need geometry from an early age. Pre-algebra skills were at the heart of the New Math revolution of the 60s for good reasons. Children need to be able to reason by thinking in terms of sets and variables. This is the rationale behind the pattern games (red fish, blue fish, red fish, now what?) and the sets ("Which of these objects does not belong?"). Estimation, measurement, and data analysis. pitch that we cover all strands in a fun way.
Example of a Homeschool Schedule
There is no single, best homeschool curriculum. Parents should focus both on selecting a curriculum and on creating a diversity of activities. Children need a mix and match of activities to hold their attention, especially at the younger ages. Each learning style and method should be applied to exercises, making sure that a child isn't forced to sit through a particular activity for more than an hour. For instance, a morning schedule (for an eight year old) might include:
| 8-8:30 | Opening & Plan for Day (Group Discussion) |
| 8:30-9:00 | Online Math Lessons & Learning Games (Self/Computer Work) |
| 9:15-9:45 | Writing Worksheets (Self Writing Exercises) |
| 10-10:30 | Reading & Comprehension (Self Reading/Group Discussion) Break |
| 11:00-11:45 | Online Language Arts (Self/Computer Work) |
This homeschool schedule offers a diversity of activities shifting from group to computer, from paper and pencil to reading, from discussion to computer. Any one homeschool activity will not hold a child's attention that long, but through diversity, the child's day is planned to keep them engaged in the homeschool curricula that's being presented
The Time4Learning language
arts, math, science, and social studies program can serve as the core or supplementary curriculum for children, Preschool to eighth grade.. Learn more about how Time4Learning's online program can help
your children's education. Time4Learning is built around adopting the award-winning CompassLearning Odyssey for home use.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Like Hooked on Phonics was supposed to be
I just spoke to one mom of several children with special needs. She has some at schools, some are homeschooled. She seems to have a unique ability to bridge the two worlds. She absolutely loves Time4Learning. Says it is totally unique and useful to her. She also lectured me on getting alot more aggressive about the marketing: "Ain't no reason to be the best-kept secret, you get out there and tell them that you are like Hooked on Phonics was supposed to be".
Math lessons, math curriculum, math standards - K-6
Hooked on Phonics had its heyday. But it relied on the gee-whiz technology of the 80s. Printed cards, audio tapes, and even video tapes were exciting as educational tools. Just as today, using a computer to learn is highly motivating.
Time4Learning - Online Homeschool Curriculum or Enrichment
Math lessons, math curriculum, math standards - K-6
Hooked on Phonics had its heyday. But it relied on the gee-whiz technology of the 80s. Printed cards, audio tapes, and even video tapes were exciting as educational tools. Just as today, using a computer to learn is highly motivating.
Time4Learning - Online Homeschool Curriculum or Enrichment
Rapidly Growing Homeschool Trend Stimulated by New Internet Tools
Parents dissatisfied with school environments opt to access homeschool curriculums and learning tools online.
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl (PRWEB) September 26, 2005 -- With increasing concerns about the school environment and the ever growing array of new homeschool curriculums and products available, more and more families are choosing to home school their children. Rebecca Kochenderfer, Co-Founder of Homeschool.com, the number one homeschool site on the Internet, says: "Today, homeschool families have so many choices of groups and activities. From online learning software to homeschool curriculum reviews and homeschool sports teams, the choices are increasing everyday. Our site helps parents understand homeschool curricula and their full range of choices."Parents of homeschooled children have struggled for years with different approaches to helping their children keep up in reading and math. The computer and internet have become valuable tools for parents.
Online learning can supplement homeschool curriculums and help children excel at these core subjects since today's online educational teaching games and learning software blur the distinction between games and lessons.Students are considered to be homeschooled if their parents reported them as being schooled at home instead of at a public or private school for at least part of their education and if their part-time enrollment in public or private schools did not exceed 25 hours a week.
The most recent NHES study concluded that about 1.1 million students (1,096,000) were being homeschooled in the United States in the spring of 2003. This represents an increase from the estimated 850,000 students who were being homeschooled in the spring of 1999. The study interviewed parents of more than 11,994 students with a grade equivalent of kindergarten through grade 12.
John Edelson, founder of homeschool curricula for k-6, explained “The Time4Learning.com homeschool curriculum includes a full language arts and math curriculum. Parents like that the program is self-running and safe. Kids like that its fun and they can progress at their own pace.” Time4Learning.com is one of the many new computer-based learning programs providing home school curricula for k-6 and comprehensive lesson plans. Celebrating it's first year of operations this summer,Time4Learning adapts a range of online educational software for home use. It provides educational materials primarily from CompassLearning(tm) Odyssey, a premier developer of educational materials focused primarily on working with schools. Other computer-based learning games and programs are available to parents looking to supplement their home school curriculum.
Time4Learning.com - This subscription service teaches children math and reading skills systematically. Time4Learning tracks the children's activities and provides them with an effective sequence. Time4Learning also has reports for parents and games for kids included in the $19.95 monthly fee. Learn More
About Time4Learning.com:Time4Learning.com, used by homeschool parents and as a supplement to traditional education, is a new approach that takes advantage of today's technology through learn to read programs and kids math games. Many of Time4Learning's educational teaching games are an adaptation of the award-winning CompassLearning(R) Odyssey. A recent review in The Old School Magazine said: "My son absolutely loved the site". The teaching games assure coverage of the reading and math skills and concepts that help children succeed.” Time4Learning is proven effective, has a low monthly price, and provides a money-back guarantee so you can make sure that it works for your children, risk free! Take a tour of Time4Learning's educational teaching games now. Time4Learning provides a homeschool curricula k-6, homeschool curriculum reviews and online learning tools for homeschool families.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Children Going BackToSchool Increasingly Login to Educational Teaching Games
Parents have struggled for years with different approaches to helping their children keep up in reading and math. The computer and internet have become valuable tools for parents. Online learning can help children excel at these core subjects since today's online educational teaching games in reading and math for children from preschool to fifth grade.
How can online
What types of educational teaching games are available?
- Learning Games on CDs - These can be bought in most stores.
- These games are a lot of fun with some educational components included.
- The downside is that most "learning games" tend to be more game than lesson. An upside is that CDs work even when there's no net access.
- Free Educational Game Sites - There are a lot of websites with "learning and games". But, these sites can be very commercial. Some even invite children to download games which contain spyware and viruses. These sites are similar to CDs in that they tilt towards games with limited educational substance.
- Free Learning Sites - Free learning sites range from those that provide worksheets to those with interactive exercises. But, it is left to the parent to provide continuity, determine progress, and to assemble an over-all program.
- Time4Learning.com - This subscription service teaches children math and reading skills systematically. Time4Learning tracks the children's activities and provides them with an effective sequence. Time4Learning also has reports for parents and games for kids included in the $19.95 monthly fee. http://www.time4learning.com [Learn More] or http://www.time4learning.com/start/index.htm [Sign Up Now].
Computer-based learning blurs the line between learning and games. Educational fun games for kids reinforce lessons and can teach new reading and math skills. Sometimes kids learn better using interactive educational teaching games, because there's more concentration and more fun.
About Time4Learning.com
http://www.time4learning.com [Time4Learning.com] is a new approach that takes advantage of today's technology through http://www.time4learning.com [learn to read programs] and kids math games. Its educational teaching games provided by Compass Learning Odyssey for children allows children to work at their own pace, so they feel stimulated and independent. Parents like that it tracks progress and helps children advance by teaching with individualized learning paths. Kids feel like they are playing games and don't realize at first that it's primarily educational. The teaching games assure coverage of the reading and math skills and concepts that help children succeed. Time4Learning is proven effective, has a low monthly price, and provides a money-back guarantee so you can make sure that it works for your children, risk free! http://www.time4learning.com [Take a tour of Time4Learning's educational teaching games now].
How can online
What types of educational teaching games are available?
- Learning Games on CDs - These can be bought in most stores.
- These games are a lot of fun with some educational components included.
- The downside is that most "learning games" tend to be more game than lesson. An upside is that CDs work even when there's no net access.
- Free Educational Game Sites - There are a lot of websites with "learning and games". But, these sites can be very commercial. Some even invite children to download games which contain spyware and viruses. These sites are similar to CDs in that they tilt towards games with limited educational substance.
- Free Learning Sites - Free learning sites range from those that provide worksheets to those with interactive exercises. But, it is left to the parent to provide continuity, determine progress, and to assemble an over-all program.
- Time4Learning.com - This subscription service teaches children math and reading skills systematically. Time4Learning tracks the children's activities and provides them with an effective sequence. Time4Learning also has reports for parents and games for kids included in the $19.95 monthly fee. http://www.time4learning.com [Learn More] or http://www.time4learning.com/start/index.htm [Sign Up Now].
Computer-based learning blurs the line between learning and games. Educational fun games for kids reinforce lessons and can teach new reading and math skills. Sometimes kids learn better using interactive educational teaching games, because there's more concentration and more fun.
About Time4Learning.com
http://www.time4learning.com [Time4Learning.com] is a new approach that takes advantage of today's technology through http://www.time4learning.com [learn to read programs] and kids math games. Its educational teaching games provided by Compass Learning Odyssey for children allows children to work at their own pace, so they feel stimulated and independent. Parents like that it tracks progress and helps children advance by teaching with individualized learning paths. Kids feel like they are playing games and don't realize at first that it's primarily educational. The teaching games assure coverage of the reading and math skills and concepts that help children succeed. Time4Learning is proven effective, has a low monthly price, and provides a money-back guarantee so you can make sure that it works for your children, risk free! http://www.time4learning.com [Take a tour of Time4Learning's educational teaching games now].
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