The Flip-Flap Body Book: Read at Your Own Risk

This book is a great book.  A wonderful learning tool.  A terrific way to teach your young children about various aspects of the human body.  Things like digestion, the 5 senses, and human reproduction.  On a very kid-friendly level, really.

But use The Flip-Flap Body Book with caution.  Because repeated readings can lead to some really interesting situations.

For instance.....

....the 5 year old sits down to draw a picture. He draws an odd oval-ish shaped thing. (...and some other stuff...)

 When I ask him what it is, he responds quite plainly, "It's the shape of a stomach, Mom."  He repeats this to Louci, the Portuguese tutor when she asks.  When she doesn't understand, he rephrased his answer in simpler terms: "It's a tummy."  He even rubbed his belly for emphasis.

Guess he was paying attention the 327 times we read that section, huh?

Nothing interesting about that one, you say? How 'bout this.....

....the 9 year old sits down to read to the (then 4) 5 yr old. He picks The Flip-Flap Body Book.  He flips immediately to the reproduction section, at the insistance of the 5 year old.  Seems the 5 yr old is tired of mommy stopping before she gets to that part.

The 9 yr old has no such qualms and reads to his younger brother all about how babies are made, grown and born.  Complete with commentary: "see, this is what the baby really looks like at this point....isn't that ugly, Adventurer?! But see, it's only as big as this dot...that's not so ugly, is it?"  Cool, cross Sex Ed off the list. We've got that covered.

The 9 yr old even read the bold section titles, often phrased as questions, and had the (then 4) yr old repeat the questions before he'd go on to read the answers.  So I was not too surprised when I heard, "So what happens when the sperm gets to the egg?" coming from my youngest son....and then answered by my second son as he read the corresponding answering passage. 

Yea, fun times. I even have video, but it won't post here....


Seriously -- it's a great book, and introduces big topics in a way that little people are totally comfortable with.  Just prepare yourself for the inevitable interesting moments that are sure to follow.

On a lighter note, and so I don't leave you terrified of the book, they also compared the size of their hands to the size of the baby hand in the book, as per the directions on the last page.

 Isn't sweetness and brotherly love like this totally worth the, -ahem-, more embarrassing moments?  

Yea, I think so, too.

note: I bought this book as part of a Sonlight Core. No one is paying me or otherwise reimbursing me for this splendid review. I just had these 2 great moments to share, and the book tied them together nicely. Really, I promise.

Math Tests -- the results

So, we plowed our way through the Math Placement Tests and the results are in -- now we decide when to order and whether to ship here (gulp!!) or to Texas and can we wait to get the new math until we get to go home???

Caleb did amazingly well, better than I'd anticipated even.  On the entire 30 question test, divided into two parts, he missed 4 questions.  The grading scale says he could miss 5 on part one and 7 on part two and still be deemed "ready to take Teaching Textbooks 4" so I'm thrilled.  He is clearly doing well with Singapore, but as he is fast entering that level of math where I started having problems with teaching, I want to avoid that this go-round. So we're switching him over, and I'm excited.

Timothy is a different story. As I've said, he and I have struggled a bit with math ever since mid-way through Singapore 3. As he is finishing up Singapore 5, you can imagine the pain and frustration that math has been for the past three years. We stopped Singapore altogether one year and just focused on math facts; we slowed down one year and mixed in critical thinking problems for half the time; we trudged forward and at times raced forward -- it's been the most challenging aspect of our homeschool thus far.  That I've let us --him-- struggle for this long without switching sooner is something I deeply regret.  My only defense is that none of the other options seemed any better: Teaching Textbooks didn't have available, back then, the level he would have needed. Now that his path is finally intersecting with TT, I think he'll soar. 

In the end, I'm still undecided on whether to put him TT 7 or TT Pre-Algebra.  My gut says go with TT 7, which is, after all, the exact level his "grade" matches.  He could do Pre Algebra, I think. On a good day, it would be easy for him. On a bad day, he would be miserable.  So I'm stumped.  I think he'll have lots more good days with Teaching Textbooks.....but am I willing to gamble on that, to bet on that, enough to put him in Pre-Algebra?? Because it's a bet I am not willing to lose. I'm switching so we'll have No Tears Math: putting him ahead of what he's ready for will defeat the purpose.

"But he did the placement test, right?? How'd he do???"  -- see, that's the problem. With zero review before hand, he didn't do well. At all.  A quick day of review, and he missed zero problems. Scored 100%. And it was just "review" -- every problem on the placement test was something he's covered already. Stuff he can do, with ease. On a good day.  So I think -- great! He's ready for Pre-Algebra!  And he is. Unless he's having a bad day.  Unless it's been a while since he's seen that kind of math problem.  In which case.....well, it's those bad days that are the reason for the switch.  So I don't know what to think, which level to choose.

If any of you have a child who struggles with math....or if any of you used to be math teachers in your former lives and have some tips (hint, hint Shawna....).....or if any of you has any idea at all to help me decide and help me understand, I'll be happy to discuss it in more detail off the blog. Or take a note of encouragement on the blog. Either or both, I'm not picky. Most of all, I'm excited that No Tears Math could be ahead of us, in our near future. Wish me luck and wisdom as I decide where to place Timmy, and say a little prayer of thanks that we might truly have finally found a program that works for all of us.

And seriously -- if you have tips, email me. Or leave me your email in a comment so I can email you. (I won't publish the email!).

More About Math -- Why Singapore, and Why Teaching Textbooks?

Shelby asked a detailed question in my comments yesterday, and I decided she needed her own post in order to answer her completely.  If you missed her comment, here's what she had to say:

I'm so excited to hear about this math program through Sonlight. Math has always been my weakness. I am going to try very hard not to let me kids see that. I have heard lots about Singapore math too (though I haven't delved too hard into researching it just yet as we are still pre-k). I'd love to hear what you liked about Singaport (and how you chose this math program in the first place).

 Well, Shelby, let me try and answer you. Why did we choose Singapore to begin with?

Honestly, I didn't do a ton of research. We started out with Saxon K for my oldest when he was my only one in home school; he was 4 or so, and he hated that we'd do something one day, something else the next, a third thing on the third day, and so forth & so on until the 10th or 15th day or so we'd be back to whatever we had done on day one. There was no time to master anything, because you only spent a day on it at a time. We trudged through that first year, enjoyed the many manipulatives that we purchased as part of the program, and shelved it before the next year.

While shopping (we were already Sonlight users) the Sonlight catalog, I read their descriptions of the other maths they carried. It never dawned on me to look anywhere else, so my choices were narrowed down for me just by default.  Singapore, Math-u-See, and Miquon Math were the main options at the time. My husband vetoed Miquon Math and Math-u-See because they were so non-traditional.  That left us with Singapore -- textbooks, workbooks, inexpensive (after spending a small fortune on Saxon, and hating it, that was important to us), and the very program that is used with great renown in....Singapore, of course, where school children often far outscore the US in math and science.  We were sold.

What do we like about it?

Well, we instantly saw that it does just what Saxon doesn't -- it spends a bit of time on a topic, assumes mastery and then moves on to the next topic, which likely builds on the one before.  Plus it periodically schedules reviews of any and every concept learned up to that point.  Which is great.  If you have a child who is relatively good at math, this is perfect.

If you need a bit more review, you need to look for supplements.  Sonlight carries several; we've never used them, though we probably should have. Simple drill sheets have worked for us, though, on the areas where the boys need extra practice.

The problem we are running into with Singapore, though, is the focus on Mental Math vs. Write It Out/Show Your Work style math.  For Mom, who grew up on Show Your Work, to teach Mental Math, we run into some clashes. And some unique problems.  That is why we're switching Caleb; he's in Singapore 3A, and the Level 3 is about the beginning of where the clash of styles started for me with Timmy.  The problems become more complex (as they should), and kids need to start writing some stuff down. Singapore has been such up to this point (level 3) that they haven't needed to write things down before.  Now that they need to, we found ourselves starting at square one with teaching them how to line things up properly, and some major headaches ensued.

I will say this -- Caleb just started Singapore 3A, and he took the 1st half of the Teaching Textbooks 4 Placement Test yesterday; he correctly answered 12 of 15.  A score of 10 of 15 means "ready to go into TT 4" so I'm very pleased. Today he'll do Section 2 of the test, and I fully expect an equally good score.  But see how Singapore is a little advanced? He's only completed Level 2 of Singapore, and is ready for Level 4 of Teaching Textbooks.

Likewise with Timothy; he needs a bit of review on some things, but he will be able to go from Singapore Level 5 straight into either TT 7 or 8 (Pre-Algebra). Either one is a jump. So, I will say -- Singapore prepares them well, and while it doesn't have enough review built in for every kid, there are supplements available for that. Definitely through Level 3 it's wonderful.  Depending on you and your child, Levels 4 and following might also be great. For us, we stuck with it when maybe we shouldn't have, and now we're switching both boys over.

What led me to Teaching Textbooks?

As I said, Sonlight recommends it so highly that they carry nothing else in the print catalog for those higher grade levels. The other thing is that I get impatient when the boys don't grasp a math concept as easily as I think they should.  I've been known to yell at them. I've even brought one son to tears more than once, because I get frustrated trying to teach him math. Teaching Textbooks will take me out of the equation for the most part, is interactive enough that any learning style should be able to use it well (because you have the textbook, the workbook, the CD-rom with visual and audio help, etc.), and well, it will never, ever yell at my boys if they don't get it right away.  And, like I said, with Zach coming up into school, I'll need some time freed up to school him.

I think for Zach we'll follow the same pattern as we're doing now with Caleb -- Singapore for the early years, then switch to Teaching Textbooks after Level 3 or so. We'll see how he does with math, but that's my idea at this point.
So there you have it. I hope I've answered your question and not muddied the waters. If you, Shelby, or anyone else has more questions, please ask. If you want to chat off-board, leave your email in your comment -- I won't publish the comment, but that will allow me to contact you and further discuss things (be it homeschooling, or anything). 

Incidentally, I am not proud of the yelling. No mom should have to choose a math program based on the fact "it won't yell at my kids."  But, I wouldn't be honestly answering the question if I left that out.  I certainly don't yell every day, and I never leave my child in tears -- we take a break, calm down, try a different approach, shelve it for the next day, save it for when Dad gets home, whatever we have to do to not have a tearful rest of the day.  But the thought of having No Tears Math, every day, is a huge draw. For me and my boys. I'm not proud of that, but nor am I afraid to admit it.  Hopefully you don't have to consider that sort of thing, but just in case, I put it out there.

Math Placement Tests

We're entering a new era of our homeschool, as Timothy finds is way into Middle School, Junior High, 7th Grade, whatever you want to call that period between the first 6 years and the final four years of school.  That lovely transition time between "general education," aka, "Elementary School" in the US, and "High School." The time when he bridges into more and more independent study, and into those things like Harder Maths.

We've reached the end of the road with the math we are currently using -- we have used Singapore from the beginning, and are now at the end of what is offered. Next step: Pre-Algebra. As I looked at our options, I found Teaching Textbooks.  For starters, Sonlight recommends this program so highly that it is the only program they carry in their print catalog for those grade levels.

That spoke volumes to me, and I read up on it.  Went on-line and found samples -- Timmy was able to do a sample lesson, complete with instruction, exercises, examples, and practice problems. He liked it. He kept doing it after I said, "Cool; that's good, you can quit now...." Nope, he kept going.  This from the boy who demonstrates great wailing and gnashing of teeth whenever I open a math book. Hmmm.

The next step was to find the Placement Tests so we can determine if he's ready to jump straight into Pre-Algebra (normally done in 8th grade, not 7th) or if he needs the 7th Grade Math instead. He is jumping in from Singapore 5B, so I wasn't sure.  We printed the test, and I'll administer it today.

While Quentin was downloading it and getting ready to print, he started looking at the problems. "I can't do this!" he said. "Timmy can do all of this? These are hard problems!"  So he and I worked through it.  More than once Quentin asked for a calculator, but the directions clearly say not to use one. Quentin himself has told me the boys are not to use calculators for school until Algebra at least. So I told him No as well and we pressed on. When we finished, we compared our answers with the answer key.  We each missed four, mostly due to speed errors; working too quickly and making silly mistakes.  Oops. Forunately that is still in the range that says we're okay to take Pre-Algebra. Whew.

The good news? I don't have to teach Pre-Algebra. Not with this program.  Teaching Textbooks is just that -- a textbook and CD-Rom program that will teach my child math for me. The student will hear a teacher giving him instruction, see examples worked in front of him, have sample problems to work with the teacher, and then "homework" problems with instant feedback to work then and there. If he misses the problem, he can see it worked out correctly so that he gets the next problem right.  I am stoked. This is going to be awesome.

It's not a cheap program, but it is a good one. A great one.  We're thinking of switching Caleb over, too, since Math is the one area that takes the most of my time, and causes the most frustration.  Quentin is not keen on Singapore (though I love it), and with us adding Zach into the mix, less time on Big Kid Math is a good thing for me. A great thing for Zach.  So we printed his Placement Test as well, and we'll have the boys take those today.

Hopefully they'll do well. I'll let you know.

Back to Normal

Well, folks, today is it. Quentin goes back to work tomorrow, we start right back to school, and life returns to normal, whatever that is.

We've had a wonderful almost two weeks with Quentin home. We've been out of the house every day, if only for a brief run to get frozen yogurt, or even if I just count barbecuing in the backyard "getting out of the house."  We've swam, ridden bikes, walked, gone to the park with friends, eaten out, eaten in, watched movies at the theater and at home on DVD -- it's been a wonderful vacation.

It was different for us this year, staying in Brazil for Christmas/New Year's.  We had Christmas Eve/Christmas Day to ourselves, with video calls to the grandparents.  We had a Day After lunch with neighbors and new friends.  We spent New Year's Eve with the C family who also stayed here -- we didn't do Christmas with them since they're Jewish and all -- and had a blast. Watched fireworks from their balcony, ate spaghetti at the house after an hour and a half failed attempt to find a restaurant.  An open restaurant. Turns out that restaurants here close for NYE, or else they open at 9 and hold a "by reservation only" cea (which I'm sure I've spelled wrong, but is the Portuguese word that means late night holiday meal for Christmas/NYE). So we had spaghetti at the house, and "make your own ice cream sundae" for the kids afterwards. We had a good time.

Quentin has seen our schedule in action, and just how easy it is for the kids to accumulate lots of time on the Nintendo and yet still have lots and lots of time for other stuff during the day.  He's seen that I really do get chores done during the day, and not just in the last 30 minutes before he comes home. He's seen that cleaning the living room is a constant, all day affair, what with the kids continuously making messes and all. I hope he's seen that I handle it with grace and patience and ease, but that might be stretching things a bit.  I'll settle for him seeing it at all, and knowing he understands how our days flow now.

I've seen Quentin's willingness to jump in and help out, his ever-constant vigilance against the ants, the way he plays with the boys -- or uses them as an excuse to play Nintendo, one of the two. I've seen that he gets antsy to sit at home all day and do nothing, and that even though he says he wishes he could stay home longer, I can see that he'll be a teensy bit glad to get back to the hustle and bustle and busyness of work.  Even while he's missing us all at the same time.  And I'm glad to have seen that about him.

So we'll enjoy today, our last day with him home -- I think our plans today involve frozen yogurt, so that should be good. Maybe even a late-afternoon jaunt to a water park, but not sure on that one; depends if the weather men are right or not.

Then I have a little bit of planning to do.  We normally take our long break over Dec/Jan and start our new year in February.  Because that usually coincides with our trip home when I purchase our new materials. This year, we are going home for Easter so we'll have a 9-week Mini Session of math, language arts, Bible, and a few tidbits to fill out the day.  Then we'll have our big break during our US trip, purchase the new materials, and start our new year in May after we return from the US.

Thus it's early to bed tonight, because tomorrow it's back to work for Quentin, back to school for the boys and me.  Like I said, life returns to normal for us tomorrow.

What does normal look like at your house? Will tomorrow be a normal day, or are you still in vacation/holiday mode?

Homeschool Hints: A Plea for Help

As I mentioned yesterday, I plan to implement a schedule in the coming year. Up until now, in all the years of our homeschooling journey, we've followed a very loose routine. We have never started school at a set time, nor even followed a strict calendar of days. I even scored --gasp-- as an unschooler once on a "What style homeschooler are you?" quiz.  (it's okay if that horrifies you; it did me at the time) In other words, we've been very relaxed.  And it has worked well for us.

But, (and you knew that was coming, right?) we are entering a more challenging period. Timothy will be 7th grade next year, and Caleb 4th and we'll be adding Zach for his Kindergarten year.

Timothy needs structure now so that when he hits high school and eventually college, this won't be a shock to his system. 

And Zachary needs structure so that he'll be able to see the boundaries and know the expectations on him, and thus be willing and able to stay within said guidelines. 

Caleb will just be subjected to structure because everyone else needs it. Sorry, dear.

This is where I need your help -- having never followed a strict schedule, though I've made several, I need your tips on implementing a schedule.  I am fairly certain I can create a schedule that will work (though I'll take scheduling tips, especially from anyone schooling multiple ages &/or staggering the start times of their children); I am not so certain that I can manage to follow one for any length of time.

So -- what suggestions do you have for making a schedule work for you? For sticking to it, and for introducing it in a way that doesn't make the little darlings chafe under the new restrictions. Or the big momma darling, either, for that matter, which I suspect might be more of our problem, if I'm honest with myself (and with you). 

Do you stick to a schedule in your home or homeschool? If so, how do you make it work? I need to hear all about it, folks!

School Update

It's been a while since I blogged about our homeschool, and I thought I'd better update as we come to the end of our school year.

Since our move two years ago, we've followed the Brazilian school year of a February to Nov/Dec school year.  We still take random breaks throughout the year, and yet we manage to get everything done. It's wonderful.


We are finishing up our year, and I can't wait for some planning time to get next year ready.  Even as we finish up one really good year, I am looking forward to next year with eager anticipation. 

Timothy finishes 6th grade, Caleb finishes 3rd grade, and Zach finishes up a PreK year.  We will continue for two more weeks, and then our year is over! We will, by then, have accomplished everything I set out for this year, and then some.

Our many vacations this year, which some would look at as interruptions, were actually hands-on learning opportunities.  The boys are right now working on reports on marine animals, inspired by the things we saw on our Paraty trip. Thanks to World Book Encyclopedia on CD-Rom they are even able to research when our internet is down. Well, that and the many animal/biology themed books they own. These kids love their science!

I still have to answer the dubious stares and questions of people we meet -- the first question asked of a parent or child is where the child goes to school. When we answer "em casa" we are met with absolute bewilderment, because homeschooling is a completely foreign concept here. It is unheard of, not practiced, and many Brazilians take it as an afront to their culture that I don't enroll the boys in local private schools.  Only when I assure them that we did the same crazy thing in the US do they relax and ask me more about it.

No one has yet reached a level of understanding, but most have reached a basic acceptance that this is just something crazy American's do.  Although I still get asked, as does Quentin, with frequency.  It's just not done here, and most Brazilians can't understand why we insist on such a strange practice when there are perfectly good schools available, if we're willing to pay for them. We plow ahead anyway, schooling the boys the best way we know how and in the manner we deem best for them, and even on the bad days when they gripe and grumble I know they are thankful to have school at home.

We are making a few changes next year, though. Because of the many questions, it is more important that we stick to a bit more regular schedule.  We've never done so, and I chafe at the thought, but I need to get a time-table set out, a schedule drawn up, and then actually implement same.  As I look ahead to the high school years, and what we need to accomplish before then in order to acheive our goals later on, I can see that a schedule is going to be a necessary thing. Schooling a junior high student and a kindergartner should prove interesting, as well. I might finally need to go to schooling the boys at different times of day, rather than trying to force Zach to the table with the big boys, or making the big boys endure the noise of a boisterous five year old next year while they work on Pre-Algebra and World History and the like.

Like I said, I'm looking forward to the planning time to get ready for next year, because we've got some changes coming our way and I need to be sure we are ready.