Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 201 guests, and 74 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    chrislewis, seyanizikix, scoinerc, truedigitizing, JenniferWong
    11,675 Registered Users
    May
    S M T W T F S
    1 2 3
    4 5 6 7 8 9 10
    11 12 13 14 15 16 17
    18 19 20 21 22 23 24
    25 26 27 28 29 30 31
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    Page 2 of 2 1 2
    bronxmom #39608 02/27/09 03:46 PM
    Joined: Feb 2009
    Posts: 173
    B
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Feb 2009
    Posts: 173
    By the way I kept him home from school today for no particular reason at all... it's like I'm becoming a secret homeschooler.

    bronxmom #39611 02/27/09 04:39 PM
    Joined: Aug 2008
    Posts: 302
    E
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    E
    Joined: Aug 2008
    Posts: 302
    Nice!

    There are all flavors of home schooling: afterschooling, weekendschooling, unschooling, etc... even deschooling!

    I just like to say I am a
    "homeschooler at heart"

    - EW

    p.s. check your Private Message (blinking envelope)

    EastnWest #78860 06/24/10 04:09 AM
    Joined: Dec 2009
    Posts: 435
    T
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    T
    Joined: Dec 2009
    Posts: 435
    I want to like this program, but am still on the fence. We tried it for a few days for my DD who just turned 4, but I found the graphics and silliness annoying (but I'm not 4 so what do you expect, but I tend to like to keep things simple and not over-stimulating for her) and the directions and pace were painfully slow. It also broke things down into tiny parts that are not neccessary for her, and it was hard to find the right level. The grade expectations seemed really low to me, and the level never seemed right so I canceled it after a few days, but am considering trying it again just to give us something to do when it is rainy and she is bored and I need to clean etc. Based on others reports, I bet the program is better for older students or students who need early reading etc. really broken down for them.

    Joined: Apr 2010
    Posts: 123
    C
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    C
    Joined: Apr 2010
    Posts: 123
    TwinkleToes,

    If what you're looking for is just occassional edutainment, you should check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/
    The frustrating thing is you might have to sift through materials to find out what is appropriate for her personality, interests, and abilities... but at least it's free. I haven't played around with it much, but
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/ seems like it will work well for my dd (who will turn 4 in July).

    That being said, I have been using T4L for about 3 weeks now and have figured out how to do it in a way that makes sense for us. No quizzes or tests, except the ones at the end of the math sections that are required for the lesson to be considered "complete". No going in order unless we feel like it. No comprehension stuff -- it's superficial, multiple-choice, anyway. DD isn't doing the phonics stuff, but she's ~ 2/3 through Math 1; after burning through Science 1 and 2, she's doing the games on Science 3 (which is mostly text, so we just look through til we find a "game" -- or interactive lesson; and, so far, yes, the Grade 3 games still seem simple and slow). She's almost done with Social Studies 2, and will be soon be doing the same thing with Social Studies 3, and we're picking and choosing our way through LAs 1-3 based on what sounds interesting (she's gone through all the LA Extention 1-2 stories (which I think are awful, but she goes through so many books that I can't fault her these few more stories) and last night we did a neat family tree section on LA 3).

    Basically, I let her do as much as she wants (or occasionally less) of what she wants (though if she begins something, she needs to finish it, unless it's clear to me that it's not developmentally appropriate at this time). I'm not sure if I'll keep the subscription past this month, and if I do, I doubt I'll keep it more than two months total. By then, she'll have exhausted most of the non-textbook type stuff, and if she's going to be looking at books, I figure it might as well be offline. But she's enjoying the math portion, because it's big on stuff like patterns, geometry, and measurement, which she really enjoys -- and which I just haven't found a cool alternative for, so that's worth it for me. The science, social studies, and LA she enjoys, too, but it's definitely replaceable. And, yes, I find the little lessons repetitious and boring -- and sometimes it seems like the easier it is, the more repeating there is-- but dd doesn't mind, so there you go.

    One downside is I feel like since I'm paying for this, I should let her take as much advantage as she wants to; T4L has significantly increased her computer time -- but decreased her tv time, so maybe it balances out in the end?

    Clay #79469 07/01/10 03:24 AM
    Joined: Dec 2009
    Posts: 435
    T
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    T
    Joined: Dec 2009
    Posts: 435
    I gave Time for Learning another shot as an alternative to TV. She doesn't seem to like it that much, but I am giving her more time to see if she changes her mind. It does seem very slow, but she hasn't complained. We really don't do any of the language related activities since this is such a strength for her that the activities don't seem right. Maybe I need to move her up in the levels. She just turned four and I set it to be on first grade with the ability to move back and forth with second. At one point I checked out fifth grade science and she could answer all the questions on a quiz before we even did the lesson, but she loves science and we have read a lot of science. She is much farther ahead in language and science than she is in math. Her math is still ahead, but she certainly isn't doing the same level as she can with reading etc. I am still going to give it a chance because it seems one step above TV and I had been allowing more TV than I used to allow.

    Joined: Apr 2010
    Posts: 123
    C
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    C
    Joined: Apr 2010
    Posts: 123
    That's awesome that she knew the 5th grade science. smile (My dd could zoom ahead *almost* like that, but I'm worried about letting her get too far ahead in science, b/c eventually she'll need math skills for it? Or perhaps needing the math will make learning it more appealing? I dunno...)

    We haven't learned anything new in 3rd grade science, but, like I said, she likes it, and it doesn't hurt to cement skills, especially when the lessons last 5-8 minutes.(We did learn one sort-of new thing in 1st grade science: thunderstorm safety! The repetition was PAINFUL and unnecessary, but, still... new... wink

    I just found a math site this morning that seems cools: http://www.whizz.us/ Supposedly, it's adaptive. We'll probably try it out after we cancel our T4L subscription next month.

    Page 2 of 2 1 2

    Moderated by  M-Moderator 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    16-year old earns PhD
    by indigo - 05/18/25 01:05 PM
    Technology may replace 40% of jobs in 15 years
    by indigo - 05/16/25 03:27 AM
    Why such high gifted ID rate?
    by millersb02 - 05/14/25 07:36 PM
    Patents and Trademarks and Rights, oh my...!
    by indigo - 05/13/25 01:01 PM
    Grade Acceleration K-1-2
    by Eagle Mum - 05/08/25 07:21 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5