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Help finding a thread about dc working independently

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 8:36 pm
by krismoose
Hi :)
Can anyone link me to a somewhat recent thread about how you keep up with the material in the older guides, where the dc work mostly independently? It talked about how you assess their learning with the projects etc. I have a friend considering RevtoRev and Bigger, and wanted to get her a bit more info...
Thanks for your help :)

Re: Help finding a thread about dc working independently

Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:39 pm
by jer2911mom
Hi Kristen,

I'm not sure if this is the thread you are looking for, but awile back I asked a question about the philosophy behind having children working independently and there might some answers in there:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8220&p=59864&hilit= ... nce#p59864

Kathy

Re: Help finding a thread about dc working independently

Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 2:54 pm
by krismoose
Thanks Kathy, that helps a lot :). I think the one I was thinking of is more recent and more focused on following up with the dc after they've done their independent reading and tasks, but this is great!

Re: Help finding a thread about dc working independently

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:00 pm
by my3sons
I'm not sure which thread that was, but I can share what we do! :D I usually have 2 teaching block times with my oldest ds. I have done it differently in different years, sometimes having him start with his "I" Independent boxes, and sometimes having him start with a teaching block of time with met to do the "T" teacher-directed boxes. Both have worked well, and I've chosen which to do based on the rest of the dc's ages and needs each year. :D

For the "T" boxes, I do all that is in the box with him. I have loved the variety of what we do together from year to year. To prepare for working with me, I have him read through the box(es) in the Teacher's Guide we will be doing and grab the needed materials (usually a book and his Bible, maybe a pencil/paper or a marker/markerboard, or his history student notebook. We usually meet on the couch for anything we are going to read or discuss together. I have him look right at the teacher's guide with me, so he can follow along, as well as sit right next to me and look at the book I am reading, or the resource(s) we are using, so he can follow along. Then, the follow-ups are done right away, making it clear that he understood and applied what we worked on. He checks off the box(es) we did then in the Teacher's Guide. We read the "Key Idea" then, to sum up what we learned. :D

For the "S" boxes, I again have him read through the box's directions on his own, gather the needed materials. Then I start him off on those and he finishes them independently. I have him read through the box one more time before handing his work in on the kitchen counter. This helps him double-check if he did all that was asked of him in the box. He hands it in on the counter open to the page or place I need to correct it. He then puts a checkmark in the box of the TG to show he's done with that. Before meeting with him for my second block of teaching time, I correct all he's turned in on the counter. Then, at the next teaching block time I have with him, we go over his work and the boxes he did semi-independently, correcting any work he needs to, and reading the "Key Idea" at the end.

We follow the same routine then, and at the end I meet with him one final time. I make sure all the boxes are checked off, and that we have done all of the follow-ups we are to do together. I also want to add that if there are questions that are done independently in the independent boxes, with no written answers required, I spot check that by asking him to answer some/all depending on the day of them orally. I also skim the material he his reading that he narrates upon, by reading 3 pages - one at the beginning, one at the middle, and one at the end of the day's reading. I also read the key idea, as it is a concise summary of the day's reading. :D I also require (as HOD suggests) correct spelling and grammatical writing. If my ds has misspelled something, I jot the word properly spelled in the margin, or on a sticky note, and he must find it and fix it. I do the same with punctuation marks, putting the missing mark (i.e comma, quotation mark, etc.) in the margin of the line it is missing from, or on a sticky note next to the line it is missing from, and he must add it the appropriate place. I do this for his entire History Student Notebook as well, which by the way, is another visual way to be sure a student completed everything within a week (empty boxes, unfinished work :wink: ). I think it is important to do these things, as the guide intends for the parent to be monitoring a child's work each day. I have found it key not to let my correcting or follow-ups carryover to the next day. Is this kind of what you were asking? Not sure, but keep asking more if it's not what you were looking for! :D

In Christ,
Julie