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    parentologyco, Smartlady60, petercgeelan, eterpstra, Valib90
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    Joined: Nov 2007
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    I don't know exactly what we'll be doing yet, but my math looks pretty much exactly like LMom's and we'll be doing the cybered science, too. And I-Science 4th grade, Singapore Math's discontinued science course. I have the books and equipment and DS thinks it's great fun. (But Lorel, his favorite thing is to make potions, too.)

    For a foreign language, he wants to learn Turkish b/c he did the demo on Rosetta Stone and remembers everything from lesson 1. We tried Korean, but it's not the updated version and it was a lot harder for him. Still language shopping. I'm not sure Turkish is the best choice, although it's possible he could have a Turkish cousin in the not too distant future. That would impress his cousin's future in-laws, no doubt. Everyone around here talks about studying Mandarin Chinese. Spanish is more practical. What do you think? I suppose a year of Turkish couldn't hurt - although I wonder what they'd do with him if he went back to school.

    For our curriculum, we'll make sure to cover all the subjects covered by the local private and public schools so that if DS returns to school in the next year or two there won't be gaps. We aren't bound to use what they use, but we plan to cover the topics, and go from there.

    The big emphasis this year will be on writing (including cursive, dictation using dragon naturally speaking and typing), reading and study skills. We are using a teacher for most of it, as I'm working.

    We have all sorts of great activities planned from drum lessons to a course at the nature center, as well as the things he was doing last year - NXT robotics, drama, taekwondo and swimming. I'm still not sure how I do this and work, but we'll see how it goes. I'm hopeful we can find a great babysitter as well.

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    found the answer to my question..

    Last edited by Dazed&Confuzed; 08/23/08 07:00 PM.
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    It's a dictation software. FYI, they just released Version 10, which is supposed to be better at understanding kids. There is a $99 introductory offer for Draon 10 preferred. Don't have the website offhand, but it's made by Nuance so you could try www.nuance.com. (I'm on the BB at the moment). HTH.

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    lol you're fast! I googled it and then edited my post! Thanks for the info.

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    My $.02, worth less than half that:

    I think he's young, and if he wants to learn Turkish, it's a good time to go with it. It doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment at this age, just something fun.

    Plus you never know when an unusual interest will become something more. The world *does* need people who speak Turkish, too, albeit in smaller numbers than it needs people who speak Spanish.

    I'm working on the Arabic that DS7 wants to learn, but I haven't found anything for him yet...


    Kriston
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    Go for it with the Turkish, Q! I have a dear friend who came from Turkey, and I think it's a great language. I've considered having my kids take it, but DH argues that it isn't "useful" enough. I like the "niche marketing" aspect though- I think it might make a person more interesting and valuable to employers later. It seems like everyone is learning Japanese or Chinese these days.

    Any second language will be good for him, and make it easier to acquire others.

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    Yes, both of my middle ones learned cursive with HWT. It's not the prettiest handwriting, but it is easy to read and they both took to it quickly.

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    A side note in favor of learning odd languages:

    DH learned a bit of Greek before our honeymoon there. The best was, "I'd like a good bottle of red wine." Tee hee hee!

    Apparently NO tourists bother to learn any Greek because everyone speaks such good English there. So people fussed over him! They'd ask if he was Greek first (not native, obviously--he didn't speak THAT well!), but when they found out he just learned to be polite, they practically asked us to join the family. They'd give us free food--even a free bottle of good red wine once! It was amazing the treatment we got. And that was all *before* they found out we were on our honeymoon.

    So I confess, I'm very much in favor of learning "weird" languages. It worked amazingly well for us! laugh


    Kriston
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    I completely missed the boat on teaching my DS (now 8) cursive. frown He utterly begged me to teach him cursive in Kindergarten. An older boy on the block showed it to him and he became completely entranced. The Kindergarten teacher literally forbade me from teaching it to him. His left-handed scribbles were readable, but she wanted him to practice printing in order to master it. Same thing occurred in first grade. In second grade his handwriting was still rather poor, comparatively. Then he was accelerated mid-year, missing the second grade instruction on cursive. I don't know if it is because he feels slightly behind, but he as lost all interest in learning cursive. And his handwriting in 4th grade is noticeably abysmal. Any suggestions anyone?

    Ahhh. The things we would change if we could go back in time....

    As far as physics references... My DH, who teaches Conceptual Physics on occasion, recommended the author Paul Hewitt. He is a physicist and a cartoonist who has a knack for taking difficult concepts and explaining them simply. Conceptual Physics is what we would have called 'Physics for Poets' many years ago. It focuses on the big ideas of physics and uses very little math. (only algebra on occasion, as opposed to engineering physics which uses calculus). Hewitt writes many of the high school and college text books (for non-science, english major types), so they may be a little dry and dense for younger kids if they are used to flashy cartoons and images. But they do convey the ideas quite clearly and easily for this crowd. I wouldn't plunk down serious cash for any of his books for fear of it being too dry, but they would be great finds for ebay, a used book store, or the library. I just noticed that Amazon has a cartoon version (paperback) aimed at kids. I haven't read it yet (big disclaimer!), but I might see if the library has it.

    Touch This! Conceptual Physics for Everyone (Paperback)
    http://www.amazon.com/Touch-This-Co...p;s=books&qid=1219585397&sr=1-10

    Other books that looked interesting were:
    Physics, Fun, and Beyond: Electrifying Projects and Inventions from Recycled and Low-Cost Materials (Paperback)
    http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Fun-Beyond-Electrifying-Inventions/dp/0131856731/ref=pd_sim_b_njs_4

    The Flying Circus of Physics (Paperback)
    http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Circus-Physics-Jearl-Walker/dp/0471762733/ref=pd_sim_b_njs_3

    The Flying Circus looks like it is less of a textbook on physics and more of a "wow... look at all the cool things about physics" kind of book. It could be kind of cheesy, but sometimes cheese is necessary in order to hold their attention. Again, I haven't read any of these books, and would probably try to get them from the library.

    Another reference that I found on Amazon is a list for "Introductory Physics for Homeschoolers":

    http://www.amazon.com/Introductory-...IKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0F8HMEZTHSDD6FAJ36TE

    Hopefully it will have some useful suggestions for physics!! Both DH and I are physicists, so if you run across any material that you have questions about during the year, please feel free to PM me.


    Mom to DS12 and DD3
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    Thank you so much ebeth! The books look awesome. I will see if our library carries them. The Flying Circus of Physics is something which could get my son really interested in physics.

    This thread is awesome (and kind of expensive wink)


    LMom
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