Adventures of Dancing with Courage

Dec. 16, 2008

Time 4 Learning Review

Joshua loves his “school time.” My Joshua is a special child. God has gifted him with an extra chromosome (Trisomy 21, aka Down syndrome) It takes him longer to learn some things. He’s a very visual learner. He makes connections when he can see it, feel it, hear it, touch it. His life and world experiences make his learning come alive. Enter Time4Learning – a new approach that takes advantage of today's technology. It's a convenient, online home education program that combines learning with fun educational teaching games. (From their website.) Click Here For Time4Learning I had 2 of my kids working here this month. My youngest, Joshua, works in the Kindergarten level. Here, he is learning phonics, special sounds, counting by 2’s and 5’s, ordinal numbers, comparing numbers, and odd/even numbers. Joshua is just beginning to learn these number concepts and Time4Learning provides the “fun” school time he needs to reinforce these concepts. He loves it. Since I am homeschooling, Joshua likes to think of this as his “school” time. In Joshua’s experience with Time4Learning, I have been most pleased with the Language Arts section. It does a very good job of introducing new sounds or sight words, and then working with them. Creative-looking, colorful sock puppets, finger puppets, and little bugs are used to teach the lessons. He would be on this site all day if I let him! Joshua loves his “school time.” If I could afford it, (it is reasonably priced) I’d keep Joshua on Time4Learning indefinitely. He truly enjoys it and is making connections. It has been beneficial, indeed, for Joshua. The only drawbacks are the size of the graphics in the math sections. • At times, the items to be counted are too small for him to clearly differentiate. • The number grids and graphs are also too small for him to see and therefore • He has a hard time understanding the concept being taught. The Science and Social Studies sections are fun and interactive also. But, it seems some reading is involved, which the parents will need to read to the student. This is fine in my case. Joshua likes to sit on my lap and learn that way. We read through each section and I help him to understand the lesson, then we take the quizzes together. The program leads Joshua through each section with flashing arrows. He can click on any icon and work in any section, but it keeps track of what he has or hasn’t finished. So, each time he works, it prompts him to what he needs to finish. My other son, Jonathan, has been working in the 6th grade level. He’s been focusing on the math and language arts sections. This is quite different for him, since he’s been engrossed in Saxon math for the past 2 years. Time4Learning is big, and bouncy, and loud, and he was a little embarrassed when he began. I think he felt it was too juvenile for him. He’s gotten over that; he keeps the volume down… For Jonathan, I see Time4Learning acting as a great supplement to his math and grammar studies. The lessons are very entertaining and keep his attention. Reviewing Time4Learning this past month has been a privilege. You simply sign up each child in their appropriate level and then they are assigned a username and a password for each time they log in to learn. There are two levels for logins, an Upper Level Login, and a Lower Level Login. There is also a Parent Login that gives access to a parent forum, and lesson plans. It gives an account status and allows you to make changes to the student levels. Time4Learning’s interaction is very similar to the kid’s computer programs JumpStart series and Winnie-the-Pooh learning software. There is also a child’s portfolio icon which shows what they’ve worked on, how successful they’ve been, how much time they’ve spent on each section, etc. These reports can be printed out for reference. Click Here For Time4Learning Their website says... Time4Learning's curriculum can be the foundation of a homeschool program. Many homeschool families use Time4Learning as core curriculum in one or more subjects: others use Time4Learning to supplement other homeschool curriculum with a fun interactive reinforcement of the day's lessons. Families with children in school use Time4Learning after school as an alternative to tutoring, learning centers, or supplementary workbooks. Time4Learning is also popular as a summer skills sharpener or instead of summer school.

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Dec. 11, 2008

Spears Art Studio High School Art

Dec. 8, 2008

MOVING FORWARD WITH... RIME TO READ

I say to my son Joshua, "Want to learn Rime To Read?" I sit with him on my lap and open up the first book - Pat. We say it together… “Pat.” We look at the cute girl in the blue dress with the long curly hair. She’s Pat. She’s really cute. We click the arrow for the next page. We read… "Pat and cat." He smiles big and looks back at me. He likes the cat. We click for the next page. I read… "Pat, cat, rat." “No, no,” Joshua says, “I’ll do it.” And he does. And he reads it to me. And he reads, “Pat and cat and rat.” And he smiles big, and he’s proud of himself. And I’m proud of him. I tell him he’s a fantastic reader, and he agrees. And he finishes reading the page, and then the book, “Pat and a cat sat. The rat and the bat sat.” They are all smiling at him from the pages of this little book. And he is smiling back, and happy. So goes our first experience with Rime to Read. It was sweet... I am pleased with the simplicity and gentleness of the pages and Joshua likes… to read them. We’ve come back many times to read Dan, and Dad, and Ned in Bed, and Nell, and Joshua’s favorite, The Pet. Each time we reap the rewards of this wonderful reading program. My son, Joshua, is eight and he is learning to read. He’s a little behind, but we don’t focus on that. We focus on moving him forward. Rime to Read is doing just that. Moving him forward. What is Rime to Read? Rime to Read Pat, Rat, Sat, Cat, Bat. Pam, Sam, Am, Jam, Ham. Pet, Met, Get, Wet, Let, Bet. What do these words have in common? They rhyme; and they’re rimes. Yes, that’s how it’s spelled. “Rimes” are words that rhyme and are also spelled the same way. Rat, cat, fat, splat, hat, - they are all in the same word family and sound alike, and look alike. Rhyming words such as “son, fun” or “care, hair, bear” are not spelled alike, thus they are not “rimes.” Rime to Read is a beginner’s reading program that uses “rimes” to teach reading, starting with basic, simple words and building upon them in their stories. See their web site for a more thorough explanation. Rime to Read Some highlights from their web site: • A program for Beginning Readers is now available ONLINE!! • Highly effective approach to beginning reading • Emphasizing word families (rimes) • Unique color-coded system • Structured for success • Having trouble reading a word? CLICK it and it will be read back to you. • The cumulative 20 book program can be printed or read on your home computer monitor. For me and Joshua, we look forward to sitting together and learning to Rime to Read by reading the sweet, simple stories that bring smiles to both our faces.

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