The best history teacher was n junior high, and I had him for two years, for world history and again for US history. I lived in fear that he would get fired because he seldom used the textbook. He - gasp - had us read books. He made history alive by using real books and activities. We researched a lot and discussed even more. He asked questions that required thought to answer. We played games to illustrate historical events and why they happened, which deepened understanding. Instead of reading the text chapters about the middle ages and renaissance eras, we read books, then each chose a novel set in the time period to read and write essay about. We then had to make a costume to become a character from the book. We put on a renaissance faire for the school, wearing our costumes and talking to students about our characters, sold indulgences, etc. we earned enough money for our class to go to the Renaissance Faire for a day. He was the teacher who showed me that history was interesting, and I have loved it ever since, even though my high school history teachers tried their best to make me hare history again. Because of his methodology, I have taught my dc with real books and not textbooks. My dc have benefitted from him, but he would never know.

I agree with the others. Let her stay. It won't hurt her to stay in the class where you are teaching, and it will help her solidify an attitude of serving others because she has the opportunityto help in any age appropriate way. It's a win for all.

No, digital scrapbooking is not exactly what you described. You can buy digital kits and elements. They are usually in a .jpg or a .png format. These are things like digital 'paper', both solid and patterned, and digital elements like frames, ribbon, beads, and so on. You can print these out on paper. Some people do a hybrid scrapbooking, which would be printing some digital papers and elements on paper, then adding photos, etc. to them. But if you buy a digital kit, you need software so you can use the kit. Digital scrapbooking is done with software, such as Photoshop Elements. I purchase digital elements and papers, and use them to create scrapbook pages using Photoshop. This allows a lot of options that are impossible with paper or hybrid scrapbooking. Then my completed pages can be printed, on a home printer on photo paper (I don't do this, but many people do), or at any place that prints the size page I designed. I usually use Costco, but Shutterfly is an online printer that is popular and does quality printing. Another option is to upload all my pages to a printer and have them printed and bound into a book, again, something that Costco and Shutterfly both do. Basically, I open Photoshop Elements, set up my page size, then open up the digital papers and elements and add them to the page, along with photos, then do journaling. That is the brief, very basic process. What is your project? I'm curious.

Soup. I add chicken to almost all the soup I make Parmesan breaded chicken - dip chicken in egg, then roll in bread crumbs mixed with parmesan cheese and sometimes some Italian seasonings, then bake. Cut it into bite sized pieces and add to stir fry or chow mein Bread and bake, then top with some swiss, jack or mozzarella cheese and broil till melted. Cover with marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce and serve wit spaghetti. Mix pieces of cooked chicken with veggies and either gravy or cream of whatever soup, top with tater tots or mashed potatoes and bake until hot and bubbly.. Mix cooked chicken with cooked noodles, lightly steamed broccoli, carrots, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, pesto and feta cheese for a yummy hot or cold pasta dish Chicken and cheese quesadillas Chicken sandwich - cook the chicken, put on a hamburger bun with your favorite burger toppings

It depends. Not all scanners can scan a negative, so that may decide for you. I think the negative provides a crisper result but you also need to specify the size of the final photo. Obviously your final photo size needs to be larger than the size of the negative. Also be sure to specify the quality of the final size if you will be printing the digital photos later. You also need to be sure your negative is not backwards, an say mistake to make. I think it may be easier to scan the photo. You still need to specify the quality of the goal photo. I would choose at least 300 dpi. Also specify if you want an exact size duplicate or if you want an enlargement. You may scan a 3x5 photo and want a 3x5 digital result, or you may want a larger size, maybe a 4x6 size photo. Some size changes require cropping so check that. A lot will depend on the state of your photos and negatives. If the old photos are yellowed or red, the negatives may be in better shape and provide truer color.

You could get software. Photoshop Elements is good for editing photos, which leads to loads of creative projects. She can use it for digital scrap booking to create her one yearbook or other memories and either print individual pages or have books printed. She can use the same software and digital scrapbooking supplies to create posters, gift cards, and more. She can create screensavers and personalized Facebook cover photos or Nook screensavers. Costco and online printing places will allow her to print calendars, cards, mouse pads, mugs, and even cell phone cases, all of which she can design with her photos and PSE software. The limit is her creativity. You can go with video editing software like Final Cut Express or Adobe Premiere. This will allow her to use a video camera to film and edit her own movies, music videos, vacation or event memories, stop motion, video reports or presentations, etc.

My high school ds was taking a class at the community college, and it was convenient to have him ride the city bus after class to get closer to home, where I would pick him up. I explained how to read the bus routes and time table and he decided which bus to ride. All was well. Until later when he informed me that while I had explained how to pick the right bus, I neglected to explain how to get OFF the bus. He realized this would be an issue when the bus driver skipped stops because no one was waiting to get on there. Fortunately, he figured it out when another rider pulled the cord and the bus stopped. I made sure to explain that handy bit of info to my other dc.

I also use Photoshop Elements. I don't use iPhoto at all. My photos are organized in folders, but I do use the PSE Organizer because I like tagging my photos and digital supplies. you can use prepared templates and pages where you just drop your photos or you can design it all yourself. It depends on what you want to do. The software is worth learning because of its versatility. I love grabbing my Mac and scrapping. Now if I just had more time available...

I may be a bit late here with all the advice and comments you have received, but I would like to add one more. My sil - my dh's sister - passed away after a 6 month battle with cancer. My bil never left her side, in the hospital and at home. They had been married 18 years (no children), and he was always 150% devoted to her. It was tragic for the entire family. He met a woman and one year later he remarried. He met a woman he grew to love, and he didn't want to be alone. Before he asked her to marry him, he went to my mil and fil to tell them about her and explain that he wanted to marry her, but he wanted to talk with them first because he wanted them to understand that he was not trying to replace their daughter. They told him that she would have wanted him to remarry and be happy and not spend the rest of his life alone, and they were not angry about it. They were happy for him. My mil and fil still consider him their sil. Most the family understood, once we got over the surprise. But one brother and his family were quite angry that he was getting remarried only one year after sil passed away. They were vocal and bitter, and refused to attend the wedding and were angry at relatives who did attend and support the marriage. They viewed it as disrespectful to my sil. My inlaws went to the wedding. The love his second wife. They have been married for nine years now and have two children. My inlaws love when they all visit. She is a wonderful woman and part of the family. The one brother and sil and family are still not very accepting and are still angry about the marriage and it has driven a bit of a wedge in family gatherings. He did not try to replace my sil. Not at all. That was never his goal and his current wife knows it. He still loves my sil, his first girlfriend and wife, and on the 10 year anniversary of her passing, he wrote a touching, heart-felt, loving tribute to her. His current wife refers to her with tenderness and gratefulness for making her husband who he is. She has not tried to replace my sil and never will. She knows that is not possible. She is who she is, and she is good for my bil. They have a wonderful marriage. I know the timing of your news may be shocking and seems inappropriate, and the pain of loss is still somewhat raw, but there can be good that comes about as life continues after loss.

My ds has done this for years. He started in late elementary school and his enjoyment only grew from there. He started out using Adobe Premiere Elements, then bought Adobe Premiere. He also taught himself Motion, After Effects and other editing software packages. Later in middle school he moved to Final Cut Pro and continued with the other editing packages that all integrate. Ds did stop motion with Adobe Premiere and the video camera connected to the computer, which controlled the single frame filming. Some used clay figures he built, but most were Playmobile characters. Most of his movies were live action or related to an event. My ds learned to edit by watching tutorials that either came with the software or that he found on the internet and in books. He also sought out people who worked in the field and shadowed them as much as possible. In high school ds got an internship filming and editing. He also filmed a couple weddings and made dvds of sports seasons for a few years. This all led him to a college major in Digital Media: Editing, and he will be graduating in December. A little over a year ago he got an internship with a production company that does a tv show. He did two internships with them, then they offered him a part time job as assistant editor. He was recently offered a full time position as an editor. He is still finishing school so can only work about 30 hours/week now, but will be full time once school ends in December. All that to say, please encourage your ds in his desire to learn video editing. I had no idea that my 4th grade ds would end up doing this as a career. He mostly taught himself, then sought out pros to hang out with to learn more. He spent many, many hours reading and playing with the software to accomplish his vision. We bought his first software, but he earned money to buy the rest. Check out deals for educational versions of Adobe Premiere or Premiere Elements (a cut down version of Premiere). My ds outgrew Premiere Elements quickly because he needed the full version to do what he wanted to do, but it taught him a lot and was a good starting point. Final Cut Express is also a good entry software. There are tutorials on the internet once you decide on the software to start with. The movies, sports season memory dvds and music videos he made while he was younger are priceless to me. And now I get to see his name in the credits of a tv show. You never know where an interest will lead.

Here is what I would do: Junk Box Challenges: http://www.sciencespot.net/Pages/junkboxprojects.html Give a challenge each week and provide the basic supplies. Let the boys work together to build a machine to do whatever the challenge is. It is a lot of fun, it's creative, the students need to think in order to design the projects, it is inexpensive, and it is educational as well.

I forget how to _____. Last week I forgot how to ______. I had forgotten how to _________.

It's a good idea for a class. Current Events or World Affairs. Look at current events and analyze them from world view perspectives or Constitutionality. Discuss different views of the same event, the timelines, who said what and why, the bigger meaning of the event, why the event matters now and in the future, how the event relates to other current or historic events, implications of decisions and actions in response to events, and so much more. It is a valuable topic because it is a lifelong skill to have. It is a legitimate class as long as there is discussion, analysis and research in addition to reading the newspaper. It is perfect for essays or a research paper.

I have a question. How does this affect the amount of internet you are able to use each month? Does streaming this way use a lot of internet?

I agree with those who believe that going to the bathroom is a basic need, not a privilege to be earned or taken away. I understand that teachers don't want to be interrupted during class, but if a student does not have a history of abusing the need to go to the bathroom, then the student should not be denied when the need arises - especially if there is not enough time scheduled into the school day for students to use the bathroom. I don't understand why parents don't speak up against rules that deny students the ability to use the bathroom. What adult would submit to a workplace rule that he may not use the bathroom when he needs to, and has less than two minutes every hour or so to use the bathroom, but only if he can get to his next meeting on the other side of the building or parking lot before the two minutes are up. That is crazy. If an adult would not accept this policy in the workplace, then a child should not be subjected to it at school.

I agree. It doesn't work from K-12. It is questionable in the first 2-3 years of college because the same dynamics are present. The kids who care, are motivated and comprehend the material do most the work, and the other students slack and get a better grade than they usually get because they are riding on the coattails of the better students. All the good students learn is that they are being used, and they hate group projects. However, my dc have experienced that as juniors and seniors in college, group projects are far more enjoyable, and they don't mind them. My dd said that she has enjoyed them because, in her major, all students have to go to grad school. All the students who are juniors or seniors are serious about their grades and getting into grad school, so they care. They all work together, follow through on their individual parts of the group projects, and meet their deadlines because they want to succeed and get a good grade. Ds said he never thought a group project could work, until that academic level. I think it is true that students need to be 'weeded out' before group projects have a chance of working well for and benefitting all the students.

Here is what we did for friends who had a toddler in ICU for nearly 4 weeks. We had two ice chests. One had drinks in it: juice, milk, sodas, Frappuccinos, etc. Whoever brought breakfast also brought ice for the coolers. One was for perishables. We also used a table in the waiting area. We kept hard boiled eggs, fresh fruit, yogurt and granola, sometimes donuts or danishes, veggies and dip, bagels and cream cheese, lunch meats and cheese, rolls/croissants, and some salads. We varied the kinds daily so they were not eating the same thing every day. For dinners, we brought in hot meals at about the same time each night so the family could plan. These were cooked at home usually, but some people brought take out because it was easier for them than cooking. Our friends were able to put any dinner leftovers into the cooler to eat during the night if they got hungry. Sometimes there were other people in the waiting room, so we usually had enough for them to eat, too. These other couple families were very grateful because they didn't have anyone taking care of them like our friends did.

The Uglies series is a good read Divergent by Veronica Roth, the sequel is Insurgent, and the third in the series has not been released yet. These are much better than Hunger Games, so I think you would like them if you liked Hunger Games. Thought-provoking.

That's not too cold to swim. The water is warm. Towels are a good start, but my dc preferred parkas - at least one size too big. They are very warm and snuggly, and last for years. Mine would get out of the pool, do a quick toweling off, then bundle up in their swim parkas, with the hood up over their heads. Does your team have team parkas? They are pricey, but buy big. My dd's was two sizes too big, but she wore it for many years. Totally worth the money. Feet get cold, so grab a pair of Uggs or an Ugg knockoff. The fleece inside is warm for those cold toes. Yes, the Uggs (or other brand) will start looking dirty because of all the water spots, but they are warm. Another idea is fleece. Buy or sew fleece pants. I used a pattern for pajama pants and it was only two pieces. I don't sew, but I could sew these! Because they are fleece, they don't even need hemming. I got cute fleece patterned fabric and made my dc pants. They also had fleece pullovers. Fleece is warm, and it dries fairly quickly - much nicer and warmer than sweats, especially at winter outdoor swim meets when kids are in and out of the water all day long. After a quick toweling off to get rid of most the water, wrap your dc up in a fleece blanket. They are cheap and very warm. If you want to make your dc very happy, sew another piece of fleece onto the side to use as a hood. Remember, fleece is warm and snuggly. If your dc are very cold, you can sew two fleece blankets together to get double thickness and more warmth. We have been to meets where I couldn't see when my dc reached halfway across the pool because of steam coming up from the water. We would have to strain to see the board to see who was ahead because we couldn't see the swimmers. It is just part of being a swimmer. Sometimes the weather is cold and the kids swim in snow or rain (not in lightening, though!). It is fine as long as the pool is warm and there are hot showers in the locker room. You, the parent, will be colder than the swimmers because you will be sitting there, watching. Bring coffee or tea and a blanket and enjoy it.

I understand your frustration. Unless there were extenuating circumstances, parents should have been consulted prior to the decision being made, and asked for permission to stay longer. Students who needed to return could have done so since it sounds like private cars were being used. Those who had permission to stay could have stayed. That way parents would have been involved. Now that Diva is home and safe, you may want to consider putting your thoughts on paper so you can organize them, then set up a meeting with the leaders to discuss what happened. This way you can ask the leaders what happened and get their perspective. I would want to find out why they made the decisions they made. I would let them explain what happened without saying anything. After they explain, I would start asking some questions. I would want to know why they decided to stay, how much information they had before attending the event (they should have know the ending time in advance!), if they contacted any parents, if anything like this (coming home late) has happened before (is there a pattern, should I expect this to happen again if I ever allow my dd to participate in their outings), and why parents were not consulted before making the decision. It may be that the leaders are young, inexperienced, and didn't consider the consequences of the decision to stay late. Dh and I have been involved in youth ministry for over 25 years and have known many enthusiastic, but immature, youth leaders, who don't have the same mindset as parents because they are not parents themselves. Many believe that parents need to stay away from youth groups decisions, and that the youth staff needs to be more important in youths' lives than the parents. Sad, but true. I have heard many say that they know more about the students than the students' parents do. Some youth leaders truly believe that parents need to take a back seat during the teen years. Having a discussion with them leaders involved in the trip and listening to them explain their decision making process may alert you to what they consider their role in youths' lives and allow you to discover how they view parents. Perhaps something happened that you don't know about which affected their decision. I can't think of much that would warrant staying away that much longer without officially notifying parents, but I have worked with some youth leaders who would not see anything wrong with doing it. Anyway, it would be totally appropriate to have a meeting to discuss what happened. Then you will have more information to use in deciding if this is a group of leaders who you can trust with Diva in the future.

I made a schedule so it would fit our needs. There is no need to use a prepared schedule. How long do you want to spend on each module? Two weeks seems to be the norm. You want a 4-day week, so take each module and break it into 8 days of work. I would schedule one day for the test, one for the experiments and one or two for the study guide. That takes up the second week. The first four days are for reading, the next week is for experiment, study guide and test. Now you have a basic schedule for 4 days each week and two weeks per module. Just repeat with each module and you are set. Sometimes you may need to change the day to do the experiments, based on what is being covered, but that can be adjusted easily. My dc had no problem doing all the experiments in one day during the second week of each module. They liked it that way instead of spreading them out, but you could schedule experiments in with reading. The goal is to make the schedule work for you and meet your needs. You don't need to adjust to a schedule prepared without your needs in mind.

No, it's not a fragment. Word is not always reliable, especially on complex sentences. I think it is grammatically correct.

Oh, yum! That means they should be getting Pumpkin Granola soon, too. Our TJs didn't have any yet, but said maybe in the next shipment. I am preparing a goodie box to send to dd in college and she loves the pumpkin granola. A jar of pumpkin butter would go well with the Pumpkin Vias I am sending. (Did you figure out the theme of this goodie box???) Those are okay, but I am waiting, not so patiently, for the Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint JoJos.

My dd was 3 yo when she made some adorable decorated paper mache boxes and a rabbit. These are the brown shapes and boxes from Michael's, and they are inexpensive. She picked out a rabbit and a few boxes. I gave her some pretty floral napkins that we pulled apart. These had two layers, one white and one with the print. Just use the print part. Then she tore them into pieces - super easy. She used a large sponge brush and a cup of Mod Podge. Paint the Mod Podge on the paper mache shape (rabbit or box), then put on a piece of the torn napkin, then paint more Mod Podge on top. Overlap the pieces of napkin, and it doesn't matter if it wrinkles a bit because of the pattern. Continue until the object is fully covered and let it dry. That's it! The Mod Podge dries clear with a bit of a sheen, and my dd did it all by herself. We tied a ribbon bow around the rabbits neck with some dried flowers I had, but the boxes were enough by themselves. They turned out really cute, and my dd was proud that she did it all by herself.

An hour is a normal length practice for that age, whether rec or USS Swim. Mine practiced at least that long because our coach also grouped by skill level, not just by age. By age 8, my dc practiced for 1.5 - 2 hours daily. But they loved it, so it was not a problem.