nd293
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Posts posted by nd293
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I don't think you're alone in having doubts. We've just started Gr5 (today, actually!) and I've already realised that the there is going to be a definite gap between what I want to achieve and what we can get done in a day. I'm not sure if that's because dd works too slowly, is unmotivated or where the problem lies.
Dd is reading and writing well, though. I think that if she was not, I would probably delay some logic stage work for a while. But a lack of writing skills doesn't necessarily mean she isn't ready for some solid pre-logic work such as Mindbenders puzzles etc.
Reading your post, I questioned the need for creative writing assignments. Logic stage (and academic stage, really) will ask far more in the line of academic writing than creative writing. I found the IEW approach incredibly helpful in this regard. We did not do the full programme, but simply worked through one of the theme-based books. Our approach might have been less robust than many writing programmes, but we got to the heart of the matter. I felt that both dd and I had a better understanding of what was expected of her writing afterwards.
Nikki
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I am still struggling to get reading before Wednesday or Thursday, then it's a flat panic to get the book read by Sunday, so I begged a friend for a short book, and she gave me The Housekeeper and the Professor.
What a truly beautiful book! It's a mathematical love story, you might say. I am hoping dh will read it to dd, doing the maths along the way.
I have now read three books, so I am still one behind.
I have already made good progress with my Week 5 book, which is The Red Tent, a woman's perspective on the life and times of the Biblical patriarch Jacob.
Nikki
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I really love Michael Clay Thompson's books - just get the Grammar Island, and Grammar Town books and have a read. They're such fun, and I understood so much more after I read them.
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I used to like baths, but I think kids and an endless To Do list have cured me of that. On the other hand, I adore a long shower. And if I'm in a hotel, and it's extra large, with a fancy showerhead, and a white towel and bathrobe waitingfor me afterwards, I'm in heaven...
Here there's a water shortage, and it's a quick 4 minute shower for me, most days. I still love it, though!
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For years my dd would visualise the word "bed" when in doubt - it looks like it has the head and footboard of a bed, so she was able to visualise the direction of the "b" and "d". Her confusion never affected reading, just writing.
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We're a full year behind in Maths! We were about to start Horizons 3B in Grade 4 when we switched to Singapore (and sorry, but Horizons in definitely not ahead of Singapore). We went back and did Gr3 Singapore. This year (calendar school year) we're just going to leap, and skip Gr 4 entirely.
Dd10 still can't really write cursive.
Our history has been a disaster. We just keep doing Ancient History. This year all we are going to do is read through every available narrative history, start to finish (I have collected four different ones).
And ds4? He can't even recognise the first letter in his name, and dd knew all the letter sounds at this age.
I'm not worrying about any of it. :001_smile:
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Some meals that have increased our vegetable intake are:
Risotto (usually with mushrooms and asparagus)
Vegetarian Lasagna (a tin of lentils and a mix of other veggies)
Butternut pasta sauce (butternut squash with onion and tomato)
Pad Thai
Dh likes to think he's having meat so I sometimes use it as a "garnish" - I will roast a chicken, and cut up and freeze the meat. I'll often add a little of that to the risotto or Pad Thai. I sometimes garnish the pasta with crumbled bacon (first fry til crispy, then crush).
We have other meals which consist primarily of pasta, but don't necessarily have a lot of veggies in - a creamy asparagus cause, perhaps with some sliced ham in, or a pasta salad meal with olives, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and thinly sliced steak as garnish.
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um...blending my thumb. :001_unsure: I usually run it under water while spinning to clean it...something wasn't coming out so I used my finger to get it...and accidentally pushed the button. It didn't cut it, but it hurt like the dickens!
My friend did that, and it did cut. She had to organise a lift to the hospital and ended up with stitches! Unplug as soon as you are finished using it so you're not tempted to try to this...
I was using the whisk feature on mine to make meringues. The whisk moves in an irregular pattern, somehow, so if you don't hold the bowl, it knocks it around. If using the whisk, hold the bowl. I had meringue from the middle of the upper kitchen cupboards to under the fridge. Inside the button that opens the microwave - which then wouldn't work properly. All over me. All over the kitchen counter. And the floor. It was everywhere. And needless to say, merignue mixture is sticky.
ETA: Probably my favourite appliance, despite the mishaps and dangers!
Nikki
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We used Jolly Grammar which is aimed at the first two years of school.
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Thanks - I found this very helpful. Although, as usual, without looking at the book, it's hard to know for sure. And living in Australia, the postage issue makes making the wrong choice particularly costly.
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Those titles are marketed as Christian logic, per their website, so I have not seriously considered them. http://www.fallacydetective.com/about/
Yes, I do know that. I just wonder exactly what it means. For instance, by Christian logic do they just choose to avoid arguments and discussions which might be objectionable to Christians, or does it have more to do with pre-conceived ideas on certain subjects?
The first I could be OK with, but the second would obviously be a problem.
ETA: I realise I asked specifically for secular resources. Fallacy Detective looks quite used-friendly, and like something which would naturally appeal to dd, hence the question.
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Sure he's not Made in China?
(The bug-in-the-rice was my favourite thread of last year! It still makes me smile to think about it.)
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Thanks Sharon. I am starting to develop a picture of what might covered in the next few years.
Has anyone used The Fallacy Detective or The Thinking Toolbox?
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No. If something was advertised as Christian, I don't see how I could attend, unless they state that non-Christians are welcome. Under the "terms of the deal" you list, there is no way I could join this coop.
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My dh has great in-laws. ;)
Just what I was going to say!
My mil was a lot older than my mother, and the relationship was not close, but she lived in a different city, and we never had any actual problems.
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The nicks show the wood underneath which looks like MDF but it's much lighter than MDF would be. I tried painting over them but they still look bad.
That is one thing to consider in terms of the colour of the cabinets. We are still in the deciding phase ourselves (looking at Ikea at the moment), but dh is in favour of a black colour that shows a grain pattern. His logic is that this would be much easier to fix if it has small nicks. Not sure if that logic is correct, but thinking about how you would fix damage is important.
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Nelson Mandela - his biography was fascinating.
Bill Gates
It might be interesting to look at someone really young that did something interesting. Can't think of names here, but there was the guy that went and lived alone in Alaska and died there, or the guy that live with bears (that one ended badly too), or the Australian teenager that recently sailed solo around the world.
From a psychology point of view, I think choosing a young person might be more interersting, as there has been less time for a variety of influences, so the influences that have been at play will have had a more dramatic impact.
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You know, were it me, I'd e-mail every family who did not show and let them know I was putting them on the wait list. As of right now there are no open spaces, and you will let them know if a space opens up.
Then I'd call every wait-listed family and let them know when the next meeting was.
I'd give it one more try before I decide to give it up.
Brilliant response!
Last year my main social group was homeschoolers, and I got so sick of people being unreliable. This year I am mainly socialising through ds's playgroup (non-homeschoolers) and the difference is staggering - people show up when expected, call when they can't make it, and remember their commitments. It is my sad experience that many homeschoolers think themselves somehow excused from the rules of common courtesy.
So sorry you had to go through this...
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Thanks - these were some of the ones we did when dd was younger, although I don't think we got as far as Orbiting with Logic. Considering we've taken a break from logic (so to speak) it might be a good idea to start there before moving onto anything more formal.
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It really depends - on my mood, the circumstances of the tragic lollipop accident, and the "tone" of the crying.
I could accordingly replace the lollipop (and eat the broken one myself), sympathise and allow the traumatised little one to sit on my lap and eat the broken lollipop, or say "Tough - it broke, eat it or don't, your call." (The latter would usually be when efforts at sympathy have done little to resolve the problem.)
Nikki
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Thanks Kash! That's exactly what I wanted - some sort of idea of how other people are tackling secular logic. I feel competent to tackle history, English, even Maths at this level, but I've had no exposure to logic as a student, and have no idea of how to approach it with dd.
I really like the idea of an online class, although realistically we might have to do a bit of work first. Dd is a somewhat uninspired student (although more than capable) and I've let things slide badly against what I wante to achieve.
Anyone else?
Nikki
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I am already behind!
I didn't read at all in Week 2, but in Week 3 I read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I loved the "Pray" part, but found the Eat part self-absorbed and the Love part exasperating.
Week 4 will see me reading Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen. As it's not too long, I'm hoping to "catch up" by fitting in another short book.
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I cannot get my head around how to tackle logic with dd10. When she was 7 and 8yrs we worked through some logic puzzle type books - Logic Safari, Mindbenders, Analogies, etc. Then I realised I had got caught up in "homeschooling chatter" and was ignoring more elementary aspects of her education while fast-forwarding logic (using TWTM as a blueprint, I mean). That said, she enjoyed the logic puzzles, and was good at them, way better than I was!
Now we are officially in the logic stage, and I am stumped as to what to do. Does anyone care to share what they have done, or what they plan to do, covering all four years of the logic stage?
I know this complicates things and limits the responses I am likely to get, but I am looking exclusively at secular resources.
Nikki
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Of course the day isn't done. But already today I've broken down crying twice, and stomped out in a rage to do some gardening in the rain. I'm figuring the out of control emotions are somehow connected to my diet? Am I doing something wrong? Will I get over it?
I would let myself off the hook - the first few days of a diet are horrible, or at least, they always are for me. I get terrible head-aches as I adjust to a new food regime, and I feel totally miserable. Just stick it out for a week or so and see how you feel.
I would definitely add more protein if I was feeling lousy. Something like a hard-boiled egg on toast with cream cheese and tomato usually does me well, plus a couple of cups of coffee with skimmed milk. When I am up-and-running and doing well with a weight-loss effort, I usually have a massive fruit salad with some sort of cereal (or plain dry oats) mixed in.
I believe that it's only if you listen to your body that you can really be successful in losing and keeping off weight.
All of you who manage to start school before the crack of 10:00, help me!
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
We start at 8am.
We used to be on the 10am track, until I got sick of it - we would barely get started before people wanted lunch, and barely get back to work before it was time for afterschool acitvities! Now dd sets her alarm for 7am. She has to eat, dress and brush teeth before watching any TV, but once she's done this she may watch until 8am (or be on computer etc).
I try to set my alarm for 6am, so I can get a couple of coffees into me before the kids get up. I often sleep badly, though, so then I reset the alarm to 7am. Either way, I have coffee at the computer, and get dressed before 8am. Preferably no-one talks to me until then! I may eat breakfast "on the go" after 8am while helping dd with her work.
One thing, in reference to a previous post - I found starting going to bed earlier then getting up earlier didn't really work for us, as dd would then not be tired enough to sleep. On the other hand, 2 or 3 days of getting up earlier sure makes going to bed earlier seem more appealing!
Nikki