The Woodcock-Johnson III Test of Achievement is an educational assessment administered to students individually.Most of the questions are read aloud while the student looks at a pictorial prompt or the actual wording of the question.Naturally, on the reading subtests, students must read the passages on their own.One of the advantages to the Woodcock-Johnson is that students who read below grade level can still demonstrate their knowledge and skills in other areas.The testing moves at the individual pace of each student.Questions begin in an easy and comfortable range and continue until the child has reached their top level, ending when it becomes too difficult.
Due to the individual nature of this assessment, completion times will vary.Younger students will finish quicker than older students.This is due primarily to the more lengthy written responses and higher level mathematics questions.
The assessment is divided into subtests.The information from each subtest can be used to determine specific strengths and weaknesses.When these scores are combined into cluster scores, it indicates an overall performance level for the areas of reading, math, and written language as well yielding an overall achievement score.
Educational Assessment
With Writing Samples and Cluster Scores
Reading
Letter-Word Identification - Identifying letters and words in a list
Passage Comprehension - Answering questions based on a story they read
These subtest scores are combined to give you cluster score noting the overall achievement in the area of reading.
Written Language
Spelling - Includes spelling and punctuation
Writing Samples - Writing complete sentences based on a prompt
These subtest scores are combined to give you cluster score noting the overall achievement in the area of written language.
Math
Calculation - Answering Questions using direct calculations on paper
Applied Problems - Answering questions based on a story they hear and see.
These subtest scores are combined to give you cluster score noting the overall achievement in the area of math.
General Knowledge - Answering questions in content areas of science, social studies and humanities
Additional Subtests are available to assess listening comprehension and oral expression skills.
These subtests would be helpful in identifying specific concerns regarding your child’s ability to understand what they hear and how much they can process at one time.
Oral Language
Story Recall
Understanding Directions
Picture Vocabulary
Oral comprehension
Fee: $75
Includes all of the materials necessary to complete the assesment, computer printout of the results,consultation services to review the evaluation results and a 2 hour time block to complete everything.This time is divided between testing time with the student and consultative time with the parents.The two hours do not have to be scheduled for the same day.
BRCHE Special
$55
Basic Educational Assessment
For BRCHE Members only
Appointments must be scheduled
For March, April, or May 2008
Basic Educational Assesment
This assessment yields the scores and information needed to meet the assessment criteria
established by the Sate Department.This is an excellent option for those simply needing to meet the
reporting standards.Assessment information at this level reports skills in isolation.The time block for this assessment and consultation is one hour and includes all of the materials necessary to complete the assessment, a review of the assessment and acomputer printout of the results.
Subtests include:
Letter-Word Identification
Passage Comprehension
Spelling
Calculation
Applied Problems
Punctuation & Capitals
Academic Knowledge
Assesments are completed in my home or at my office in Elkin.When testing takes place in my home, parents are allowed to remain nearby as long as they are not visible.Siblings are allowed to play in the basement playroom if supervised by their parents.
You can email me from this page to set up a time for testing.
Since we were here, we decieded that we had to go to Graceland. The girls loved it. I have never been a big fan of Elvis but it was interesting. So now I can say, "Been there, done that." It took more time than I imagined. But if your a fan, I bet you'd like it.
On the Road Again
Arkansas Not my photo
Hot Springs
We camped in Hot Springs. This is a really nice little town. We had such a nice moring. We did find the hot springs. When they say hot, they meat HOT! I had plans on relaxing my feet in the warm water - NOT!
Our traveling M&M has been very busy since we got here. We have had a great time with family and seen many things. The picture here is in front of the Texas State Capital. (The capital doesn't really lean, it's just the photographer:) )
We have been here for several days and will move on shortly for our return trip.
We are only a long day away from our destination so the girls want to press on. We did not stop to see anything in the state. What was noteworthy though were the things you couldn't see. Most of the rest stops and state attractions near Baton Rouge were still closed. There was no where for us to visit. As we traved west, the trees to the south were still nearly stripped of vegitaiton. They had vines growing up them and new undergrowth but it was clear that something devistating had happened.
Our camping location was filled with Gator fans getting ready for the Big Game on Saturday. Our destination is the beach. We traveled south through the Florida panhandle then crossed over Perdido Bay into Alabama. We spent the night there then crossed back into Florida and spent the moring at the beach. The girls had a great time and we very comfortable here.
We beached at Perdido Bay and then drove to the Gulf Coast side for some fun.
By now, Addison is having a hard time keeping up with what state she is in. But she loves the adventure. She has finally given up guessing where we are and just answers, "China" with a big grin. She knows our destination though. Today was mostly driving and beach time.
I apologize for being offline for a few days. We headed out early and our campsite did not of internet access. Our drives have gone well and the girls are doing great in the car! Our first stop was in SC.
South Carolina
Our traveling M&M discovered a place called Cow Pens. A battle took place during the revolutionary war here. They the visitors center helps you to imagine how the two sides met each other in the field. If your up for the journey, see if you can find out how this area got it's name. This served as a great lunch stop for us.
Moving on . . .
Georgia
Stone Mountain was a great place to stay. There was so much more to do than we could squeeze in. We even extended our stay an extra day. We decieded to have the full Atlanta experience and take the Marta into town. For those of you in the big cities, you are used to this. But it was a new experience for this country girl! The girls loved it!
It's late here, we crossed into the central time zone today so our day has been an hour longer.
Keep watching for more info.
We are headed out soon!
If you and your children are following along on our journey, we would love for you to indroduce yourself here on the blog. We would love to know what state you live in. Just click the comment link below. (Please remember your internet saftey rules and only give your first name or nickname and your state. Please never leave personal conact info on the blog.)
We would love to know what state you live in.
Our next update will be from the road. Watch to see where the Moving M&M shows up next!
We are so excited about our upcoming adventure.
While on the road, we will keep you updated about our adventures.
You can even get your kids involved in geography in a fun way.
Join us on our trip. Learn about the Southeastern United States in a fun way.
Track our progress on a map, using information we give you and
our GPS location.
(For saftey reasons, it will be a public place we visited or a place we have already left.)
Collect inforamtion about the states as we pass through 10 of the Southeastern United States.
I have created a fact sheet to be used with each state.
When you email me to join us on our adventure, I will send you the fact sheet as an email attachment. You will then get simple questions for your children to answer along the way. They will be able to find most of the answers at one or two websites.
You will get a daily update with pictures and answers to the previous days questions.
Of course, what you do is up to you.
Use this blog site to share your answers, talk with us or share comments.
We have been blessed this summer. God planted a seed in me a few years ago to use my skills as a teacher and the interests of my children to offer enrichment classes. I gave this idea my full effort this summer and was blessed more than I could have dreamed. My daughters have joined me in making this experience a reality. We all worked together. You can scroll down to see a few things we did.
The priviledge of homeschooling will allow us to continue our classes into the school year and even offer activities for other homeschool families. I wish to offer a special thanks to those parents who have supported me by enrolling their children in classes this summer. Your support and feedback has been fabulous.
Take a minute to see what is going on this fall at The Loft.
Budding Artist Classes: Fee:$24 per month or 4 classes
Children will enjoy painting with brushes, fingers, cars, marbles and even kitchen
utensils. They will experience free art exploration and guided art activities. A variety of
projects will be related to a book read at the beginning of each class. The story chosen
each week will reflect the current seasons and holidays. Some
projects will even be designed for use as Christmas Gifts.
Thursday Afternoons 1:00 - 2:00pm (3yrs - 6yrs)
Thursday Evenings 6:00 - 7:00pm (2yrs - 6yrs)
Open Art Time: (2yrs - 5yrs) Fee:$6 per class
This time is set aside for families with young children to come and go at any time.
While in The Loft, children enjoy moving freely from one art station to another, exploring
all of the crafts and projects prepared for the day. Many children do this independently.
This gives parents a chance to sit and visit with one another.
Thursday Mornings 10am-Noon
Exploring Great Artist: (2nd - 5th grade) Fee:$180 for 10 classes
Each week, participants will learn about a Great Artist and their style. We will
experiment with creating
art work in the style of that artist. Some of the great masters we will investigate include
Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh and Matisse.
Monday afternoons 1:30 - 2:30pm
Thursday afternoons 3:00 - 4:00pm
(pay $45 per month or get 10% discount when you pay the total by Sept.15.)
Chemistry 4 Kids: (4th - 6th grade) Fee:$180 for 10 classes
Participants in this class will participate in fun weekly lab activities designed to
introduce them to topics such as matter, molecules, chemical reactions, acids, bases,
mixtures, polymers and proteins. Each week they will complete a lab assignment using
the steps involved in the scientific method. All of the activities are hands on activities the
students do themselves. This a great way to encourage those scientifically curious kids.
(pay $45 per month or get 10% discount when you pay the total by Sept.15.)
Multiplication Mastery: (3rd - 5th grade) Fee:$75 for 5 classes
Your children will enjoy this creative approach to multiplication. Through
the use of creative stories and techniques, children master those difficult to remember
upper multiplication facts. I utilize many interesting materials to keep their interest and
motivation. This is not another hour of math worksheets like they get at school. Where
time
allows, we will work on their math homework.
These classes rotate through 5 primary lessons and are repeated every 5 weeks.
Students can join in anytime during the rotation. Registration will be due the first class of
each month.
Monday afternoons 3:00 - 4:00pm
Space is limited so pre-registration is required. In order to adequately prepare for each class,
class fees will be due the 1st Thursday of each month.
You may participate in as many months as you like.
(Minimum class size of 4 must be meet each month.)
Last year, Mark started building a sailboat with the girls. The boat will hold all 4 of us when it is complete. He ordered blue prints and has been working on it board by board. They got to this exciting step last weekend.
Paper Crafts Camp:
This week will gave campers the opportunity to begin with basic paper crafts and advance through the week. They finished with a paper mache project.
Scrapbook Camp:
The young photographers spent the week working on their scrapbook skills. Each day new creative ideas will be added, ending with a creative keepsake to share with everyone.
Kid Concoctions Camp:
Campers had the opportunity to explore basic chemistry through the use of everyday household products. Enjoy the wonder of creating things like slime, chalk, supper bubble ozze, magic bubble paint and so much more.
I have started up our Time 4 Learning lessons again. My oldest is doing division assignments without too much complaining. I think she worked at least 5 extra lessons the other day! She loves the science activities so I never have to ask her to do those, but the extras she chose were in Language Arts! My preschooler spent nearly 2 hours on her lessons. She is a little ahead so I put her right into the kindergarten lessons and she loves it.
My children log on every day for their math, language arts and science lessons. My oldest also has social studies lessons also. Each day, the sign in and begin their school work. The lessons are exciting, informative, colorful and fun. My girls are asking to do their school work.
These lessons cover everything the kids need to know for each grade level. I have used them off and on over the last 3 years. The first time I used them, I had broken my foot and was having trouble getting my act together to provide good lessons for my dd in the 3rd grade. They solved my problems then and are even better now. Everything is there. All I have to do is make sure they actually do their work. There are quizes for each unit and tests along the way. They even have a log book so you can see how accurate their answers were for nearly every activitiy! You can also see which activities they did on each day.
My girls are excited about school!
My children log on every day for their math, language arts and science lessons. My oldest also has social studies lessons also. Each day, the sign in and begin their school work. The lessons are exciting, informative, colorful and fun. My girls are asking to do their school work.
I recommend this curriculum for busy moms and for children who are visual learners.
You can get a trial period for free! You can stop your service anytime. Like I said, I have used it off and on depending on my needs. I you choose to check it out, can you do me a favor and put my email address on the referral line. (tspark@charter.net) I get a little credit. We all know how tight our budgets get and I have two kids on this program. If you like it and want to learn how to get credits for yourself, let me know and I will help you.
We enjoyed this study of the polar regions. It was perfect timing since we will soon get very involved with our following of the Iditarod. I participated in an online co-op with a group of other homeschooling families. We each divided the jobs neccessary to provide everyone with a variety of additional support materials for this unit. I never though of an online co-op. But it was great. The lapbook was from Hands of a Child and they provided the organized co-op as well.
This time I combined activities for both girls into the one lapbook. You will see in the pictures that there is an ABC mitten gameboard. I used that board for my youngest and vocabulary cards for both. I chose vocabulary questions based on who was answering the questions. They loved it!
We glued this iceburg picture like a pocket on the front cover. It holds our 5 Polar Animals song and cards. The Polar Math pocket holds math for both girls.
Here is the game board with playing pieces. The gameboard came from Child Care Land.
We have accepted our found bird into our family. We have named him Simon. We had his wings clipped so know we can get him out. He is slowly getting used to the the noises and activities in our house. The girls love him and spend a great deal of time talking to him and trying to pet him. He will know sit on my shoulder and hang out with us or hand out on one of his perches around the house. He has a few favorite places to go. He does spend most of the day out of his cage. What a fun addition he has been to our house. It is interesting how he found us as we were deeply involved in our study of birds. I just hope when we study insects, we don't have to adopt them too
I just returned from an amazing walk with the Lord. Christ truely met me as I journeyed through the weekend. I had tried for two years to find a sponsor for this journey. God finally sent me a sponsor. I know now that this was the time I needed to go, not two years ago. My experience and support would not have been the same had I gone earlier.
It is hard to put into words the experience that I had. The weekend was about personal spititual formation. While I consider myself a woman of faith and I gave my heart to Jesus long ago, I discovered that I was still holding back. Keeping a part of me and that stood as an obsticle to truely experience the love of God. I left those obsticles there. I pray everday now that I do not choose to pick them up again. I pray that I can take the love I felt and messages I heard into the world and help others.
The grace God has to offer us immeasureable. It was a blessing to see the Holy Spirit working through everyone present. I made new friends and learned new ways to worship. I learned how to take my life lessons and use them for God. I learned that I can lean on God's strength, not my own. I prayed more than I have ever prayed in my life. (That includes taking youth on mission trips. I thought I prayed alot then!) God met me where I was, leaned down to kiss me and wrapped me in his loving embrace!!!
If you want to hear more about my personal experience on this walk, please email me. I don't want to put everything here on the blog because I do not want to spoil the gift for those who have yet to go. If you are interested in learning more about it and finding a Walk near you, try this link. http://www.upperroom.org/emmaus.
The girls did something amazing today! They cleaned their room in record time! My girls share a room and we have always struggled with keeping the room clean. This time was different. I had the cleaning divided into little small jobs that in the end resulted in a clean room. Not only did they complete their first jobs, they wanted more and kept going through the cards until they were done! I was amazed and thrilled with how quickly they got it done. Even more importantly, they got it done without complaining! I cannot take credit for this idea. I found this idea at the Trigger Memory Systems. There is a link to the right. This spacific idea is from the "Clean N Flip Room Cleaning for Kids." When I saw this, I thought that there was no way this could help. I was sooo wrong.
Today we released five butterflies. This is the last of our bunch. It has been so much fun to go out into the field, find the eggs and raise the caterpillars. Both girls agreed that butterflies are one of God's greatest creations. One of the caterpillars fell to the ground while it was forming the chrysalis. We fixed it up to hang and waited to see if it would live. Sure enough, it emeraged as well. Each butterfly was given a letter and named. (You can do that with a sharpie about an hour after they emerge.) After each release, we watched for them to come back to our butterfly bushes but we never saw them again. The sweetest thing is that 4yrs dd prayes for God to keep them safe each day.
I have been so blessed to be able choose the path of homeschooling my two daughters. God has given me many gifts as I endever to raise them up to be Christ like women. We have found along our journey, ways to enrich our lives and share that with others. I hope you enjoy keeping up with the classes I teach locally as well as the happenings in the education of my girls. I hope that you find something helpful here for your family.
Favorite Sites
Here are a few of my favorite places to visit and products that have helped our family. I hope you find them helpful.
If you shop at these sites by starting here at my page, then you will be helping me raise money for my homeschool efforts.
We are using this online academy this year. Check it out.
My daughters LOVE this site!
We use this site for much of our school work. Not only does it meet grade level requirements, it is fun! My 4 year old begs to go to her Time 4 Learning page and my 5th grader doesn't complain about doing her work.
These are the most creative stories I have seen yet to help kids finally learn those difficult upper times tables.
These flip charts are like magic! My girls love have the reminder of what to do next. I couldn't believe how great it was!
Memphis and Elvis 
Not my photo
We beached at Perdido Bay and then drove to the Gulf Coast side for some fun.
Moving M&M
Enrichment Opportunities at 
Space is limited so pre-registration is required. In order to adequately prepare for each class, 
The Polar Math pocket holds math for both girls.
Here is the game board with playing pieces. The gameboard came from Child Care Land.
