Special Connection Homeschool

Skip counting is one of the challenges we faced last school year. Gess seems to get the tens fairly well (though she often omits 30). but she still struggles with the fives and twos. Math U See has a CD with songs including some for skip counting but I have never purchased it. One of the reasons is that in the videos and material they do warn you not to let them get accustomed to singing them because ultimately he wants them to say them by rote. It's important for math. So I am thinking I am not going to teach her one way and then try to undo it. So I decided to not use the CD. In the mean time I was looking for something to help Gess learn skip counting and I came across this video on Youtube. I like it because there is singing during the chorus but they do not actually sing when they are counting. Gess really loves it and it seems to have helped some. I do think that it is somewhat confusing because it teaches all three concepts at once. Because of that I recommend usin...

We are using the Math-U-See curriculum and so far we are really pleased with the results. Having blocks to use to work out all your problems is really beneficial for hands on learners, which Gess definitely is. We are still in the Primer that we did not quite complete last year and we finally got to a section that introduces algebra! It calls the section "Solving for the Unknown." I was not really certain if I should try such a concept with Gess but since she seemed to get everything else, including place values , I figured I would give it a try. Gess did struggle a little bit on day one as she was simply used to solving the problem and answering with the final result. Once we would find the "unknown" she still wanted to answer the actual problem, not tell you what went in the blank. However, by day two she was really getting it and now has really mastered the concept! Granted this is very simple algebraic equations using a question mark and blank instead of...

As I prepared to begin school this year I was looking through my Teaching Reading to Children With Down Syndrome book to see if there were any other ideas I could use along the regular reading curriculum we are using. Gess' reading skills are going quite well so I was reading the chapter on writing and spelling. While I am using Handwriting Without Tears to teach Gess how to write her letters, I am not currently doing anything to teach her about creative writing. Other than answering questions and beginning to write dictated sentences, Gess doesn't use her writing skills very much. Well the book on Teaching Reading had a great idea that I am implementing this year. I guess most public schools start creative writing journals in Kindergarten. During that year and much of first grade the journal consists only of pictures. Next they move on to open sentences. The example she gave in the book was the sentence "I had fun this weekend." They would copy the sentence ...

I had not planned on starting school for several weeks because I am waiting to get through Gess' surgery. However, there are other circumstances that had us start a bit early. One is that we were both anxious to get started. As I was organizing and arranging our school room and materials to get ready, Gess kept wanting to "do" school. I love that she loves school, so who am I to say no, right? She was so anxious to start she even woke up extra early. There is also another matter. I found out that I am expecting an addition to our family. I am due to deliver in March, which is perfect, for we will take that week as our spring break. However, I know the adjustment will be hard on Gess, not to mention how tired I will be! I figure if we get an early start now we can take 2 weeks or more off when the baby is born. Between the extra week or two this month and any time we need to make up over the summer, I think the adjustment will go rather smoothly. My mom has also ...