As the others said, you are not obligated to do the work. The landlord made the agreement and has the responsibility to follow through, not you. You do not pay the $1,000 and have it taken off your rent. You pay your rent. The landlord pays her own bills. The landlord needs to hire someone to complete the work per her agreement with your neighbor, and needs to communicate it to you in writing so you are aware that work will be done on the property. The landlord must provide you with heat. It would be best to write all this down for your records. Record dates, what was emailed to you, what the neighbor asked, etc. Send a letter to the landlord and the property manager, registered, return receipt signature required so you have proof of delivers. State that the landlord needs to complete the fence work that began. Also formally state that there has been no repair to the air conditioner or to the furnace and note when you originally notified them that it stopped working. Request that the furnace be repaired or replaced within a reasonable period of time, before cold weather arrived. The landlord needs to provide this. If the landlord does not provide it then you may need to move. But having the record of the landlord's refusal to do repairs will give you leverage in breaking the lease so there should not be any penalty to moving. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. It is not acceptable behavior for the landlord.

Three one-hour classes is not much time to plan a storyline, make the figures, then do the stop motion filming process, add titles and credits, and any sounds, voice overs or background music. You could save some time by having the kids pick a fairy tale or Bible story, then make the clay figures needed for it. That saves time writing a story. If you have enough kids, and they work quickly, you may be able to get the figures made in one hour, but it will be tight for time. They will need to coordinate to be sure the figures are all about the same size. You can help with this by making the wire forms first, then letting the kids build the figures around the wire forms. This way you will be assured that the figures will be fairly uniform sizes and look good together in the final video. Then you need to make the sets. You can be simple, and perhaps you could have some basic scenes available for the kids to choose from, but sets, even simple ones, will take at least an hour to make. You could use poster board and markers, then whatever else you have around. That only leaves one hour for the video, which really is not long enough. Stop motion needs small movements, then a frame of photo or video, another small change in movement, another photo or frame, and so on. It is time consuming. It is not difficult, but it takes time. If there is too much movement all at once, it won't look right. This is the time consuming part. I would suggest that the full semester class time be spent with the kids in groups, each working on their own projects. That way there is plenty of time for the full process without rushing it and ending up with a final project that is not quality. But that may not be your choice to make. Another idea: Use Playmobile or Lego figurines instead of making them from claymation clay. This will save time. My dc made stop motion movies with their Playmobile and Legos and had a lot of fun filming videos. My dc's stop motion videos are valuable memories for me! You could use a large white board and marker to draw something. Let the kids each make small marks - instead of a long line, just make a one inch or smaller line, take the frame, draw another inch, take the frame of video, and so on. When done, it will look like the picture is drawing itself (kind of, you know what I mean). This is stop motion, but doesn't require clay figures. Really, three one-hour classes is not long enough for an entire stop motion project. I know how long my dc and their friends spent. But maybe if you have them come prepared with their story (fairy tale, Aesop's fable or Bible story) already planned out, already knowing what figures they need, and have them make the backgrounds and sets at home, then you may be able to get a short video completed in three hours. Instead of posting it on YouTube, you could just burn dvds. You will already be using the computer for the project, so burning each family a dvd wouldn't be too difficult. Just my thoughts.

Our copy of Smokey is tattered, torn, and very well-loved. Had it been a stuffed rabbit, it would be real by now. It's a great story, and all these years later, I can still quote some of it because I read it aloud so many times to my sons. Then they learned to read and read it often themselves. Great book!

Long time swim mom here. It's a great sport, one that your dc can enjoy for a lifetime. Literally. It allows opportunity for increasing skills, setting and achieving goals, learning the reality of what one-one hundredth of a second can mean, improving and achieving as an individual and as part of a team where one swimmer supports and encourages the others. It allows for leadership skills to develop, and it is excellent exercise as well. I am all for participating on swim teams. But I want to warn you, it is a big commitment, usually larger than what people are told initially. It usually ends up being a family commitment, which works well if you have more than one dc swimming. There are practices daily M-F or M-S, and those practices get longer as your dc get older. It was common for my dc to spend 3-4 hours in the pool each day, sometimes with practices in the am and afternoon. Meets are year around, and are 2-3 days each. They are long days, often arriving by 7:00 am and not leaving until 3-4:00. The more committed your dc are to competing, the more meets they want to attend. Meets are often out of town, and we traveled to other states as well. This requires hotels, food, gas, sometimes time off work, depending on your job, and a lot of traveling. Of course, you could only go to local meets and avoid the traveling and travel expenses. You do have some choice in it. There are usually parent commitments, which vary by team. You may be required to put in a certain number of hours volunteering time for the team, which may mean organizing events, working snack bars, check in tables, etc., or you may choose to volunteer and become a USA official (stroke and turn judge, starter, etc.) and meet the requirements that way. You will be required to time at meets because they can't happen without timers. It's not hard, but you need to be aware that you will time, and often because other parents won't to their share of timing, willing families end up with both wife and husband timing. It's actually a fun job with a great view of the action. While practices may be a drop off activity, being a swim team family is not really a drop off activity. Expenses: The yearly fee is just the tangible starting point. There are multiple swim suits (the water destroys them, so keep a couple suits only for meets and double or triple up on the other worn suits), goggles (always have a few pair within reach), caps, sweats, flip flops, lots of towels, fleece, sunscreen. You may have team sweats to buy, and team t-shirts. Your swimmers will need a parka (they really are warm!). Programs at meets cost money, and you will want one to keep track of what is going on. Meets cost money. Usually you pay an entry fee plus a fee for each event you enter. If you are going to be at the meet all day, swimmers usually enter the maximum number of events allowed, but that is up to you, your swimmer's skill level, goals and motivation. You will either bring snacks, sometimes breakfast, and lunch, or you will be buying at the snack bars. Depending on where the meets are, you will buy and haul around lawn chairs, ice chests, and an awning for shade or for protection from the rain. Compare it to camping out for a couple days, but going home at night. But it is all worth it, and I have no regrets about the financial investment or time investment. My dc are better off because of it. The lessons they have learned are valuable, and they have learned how to set reasonable goals, how to work toward goals, and that they can be achieved with commitment and hard work. They learned that when they worked, they achieved, and if they slacked off, their skills decreased. They learned to trust their coaches, even when my dc did not agree with them or when my dc wanted to do something differently. We never intended to get involved with a swim team. We just wanted our dc to be proficient swimmers and be safe in the water. It just ended up happening. Two of my dc swam competitively from age 4 or 5 (depending on the child) through high school. One ended up getting a job lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons, a great job year around while in college. Another lifeguarded and assisted coached summer rec, USA swim teams and master's swim programs for several years. My dc learned water safety and lifeguard skills, and one ds has saved people from drowning because he knew what to do. My dc learned to be competitive, but also remain friends with their competitors. They learned and demonstrated compassion, encouragement, and truly support the other swimmers on their teams. They became like family. It is worth all the time and money. I just want you to have a realistic idea of what you are joining. There are some levels of increased commitment that will come from your family choices, not from the coach, but I have never seen a team that did not have parent volunteer requirements. So go for it and have a wonderful time!

One year my dd made her brothers tied fleece throws. there was no sewing involved and we found the fleece on sale so it was very inexpensive, and she could do it herself. My ds once made two video tapes of someone's favorite tv shows to give as a gift to his sister He recorded them from the tv diligently, and the gift was appreciated and used repeatedly. How about a chalkboard? It just requires a light piece of wood, some chalkboard paint and some chalk. Do you live where it snows? How about a snowman kit? Collect or get from a thrift store a hat, scarf, etc. and put it into a decorated box as a snowman kit. Again only good for snow, but how about a couple small squirt bottles and some food coloring as Snow Paint? You can change the spray from a stream to a spray and draw on the snow. How about pony bead keychains or zipper pulls? There are loads of free patterns on the internet and pony beads are quite cheap. My dc made lots of these to give as gifts. Cupcake kit? Assemble a box of cake mix, cupcake wrappers, frosting and sprinkles. My dd loved getting this as a gift because it was all hers and she could make them when she wanted to because everything was present. There is plenty of time to watch for sales on the items before Christmas.

Because of all the exercise, my dc preferred to eat small snacks instead of a meal. They liked cup of noodles. I know it's not so healthy, but it is quick to prepare (we bring a thermos of hot water) and it is warm, which is nice on a cold day. They also like veggies and dip because it is easy to grab a couple carrot sticks at a time. They will eat salad with chicken. A wrap is also easy because they can eat a few bites or half at a time without getting so much food that they end up feeling sick. They also like eating small bowls of oatmeal. Smoothies are nice on a warm day. They also like taco salad. Probably not the healthiest because of the tortilla chips. but they like it after they finish their events.

Do the math with WUE cost and without. What will it cost at 4 years of WUE tuition price? What will it cost if he pays out of state tuition for one year, then gets in-state resident status for tuition purposes and pays in-state tuition costs for the next 3 years? IIRC, he won't be able to get residency for tuition purposes if he does WUE. Is it cheaper in the long term this way? Does one way end up costing less than the other? What if he ends up being there for 5 years? Does the WUE cost end after 4 years, and he then needs to pay out of state tuition costs for the 5th year? Getting residency avoids that, should it happen. Of course there are assumptions made with either choice, but it is something to consider before committing to WUE (which is a good deal at many schools!).

A transfer scholarship is not so bad. My dd got one for full tuition, based entirely on her cc grades. It is valid for 2 years, but that's all she needs to complete her college education since she has the AA. It has not been a drawback for her at all. She is very happy with her decision, and will be graduating from the university next May. It was her request to take the cc courses during high school. It allowed her to move toward her goals. The cc courses applied to high school credits, so she earned her high school diploma as well. It is not a case of taking the cc courses in addition to high school courses. The cc courses count for both concurrently. I can see where some students would not be ready to go this route. Some need more time to mature before going away to a university, and attending a cc for two years after high school allows that time. Earning an AA during high school does mean being about two years younger when tackling upper division college course content, which some students may find difficult. Some students will need more time to master the basics in high school or to explore varied curriculum areas before focusing on college level work. While all the universities my dc applied to and attend transferred in all their cc course credits, I have heard (on this forum) that some universities don't accept cc credits. It is important to take it all into consideration before making the decision to take a lot of college credits during high school.

Do you have chain restaurants that donate a percentage of their sales during specific hours to organizations and teams? It is an easy fundraiser because all you need to do is advertise to go out to dinner on that day/time, and people just give the waitperson the flier. We often see students standing outside restaurants handing fliers to people who happen to be going there anyway, but who didn't know about the fundraiser. All you need is advertising. The people order whatever they want to eat, and your organization gets a percentage check at the end of the evening. Do you get advertising for the programs at your swim meets? We made money that way. Local businesses pay for ads, and often parents will pay for an add to wish their swimmer success in events at the meet. It takes legwork to get the ads, but it can be a money maker.

I hope the girl was just mouthing off and being dramatic, but no matter what her intent, you did the right thing. Someone needs to be aware of what she was saying and find out what is going on in case she was serious. It's hard to believe that her parents would hang up on the suicide hotline people. That's crazy. It makes me wonder if they are aware that their dd lis ying to get attention, or if they are aware that their dd has a problem and don't want that to be public. I'm glad you followed through. It's not an easy step to take, but you could have saved her life, and you are giving your ds an example to follow should he ever find himself in a similar situation. This is not something to simply ignore.

Hsers can not participate on school sports teams here (or music, etc.) unless they enroll as a full time student at the school, so a not hsing anymore. we never felt a loss because there are other options. I'm sure it varies by area, but here about the only sports that a student needs a school for are football and baseball, and those only at the high school level. Other sports are available in the community. Swimmers swim USS year round, but stop for part of the spring to swim for their high school team. My dc swam and competed year round at a high level, no school needed. Soccer players play year round on club teams, but take time off from that to play on their high school team, but really, their college scholarships come from their club team achievements more than from high school team achievements. So unless the sport is baseball or football, a school team is not needed here, even at a high school level because it all currently exists. What's different is that club teams directly cost the families money, but schools charge a lot for participating on sports teams anyway, so it may not make much difference. I can see this being a possible problem in rural communities, but then, those schools probably don't offer all the team sports anyway. A town can support the local community teams just as much as they do individual school teams. It is the same kids. I know that some students stay in school because of participating on sports, and I don't know how to remediate that problem, but I wouldn't mind removing team competitive sports from schools and letting the community and club teams be the alternative, as long as the schools stay out of it completely.

My dc were told that often by friends and peers on teams in sports. By high school even more teens were making comments like this, wishing they had the same opportunities my dc had. Only one dc asked to go to school, but when he realized he could achieve the same goal by hsing, he said he wanted to keep hsing. I can't tell ou the number of times my kids' friends asked me to hs them or told my dc that they wished they could take cc classes while in high school. We had a neighbor boy who would come over on Fridays to see what science experiments ans projects we had done because he lamented that his class does no science. His mother confirmed that. It does make our dc appreciative of hsing when their friends tell them how lucky they are. My dc were encouraged by it. Their friends' mothers, not so much... What a wonderful start to your year! Enjoy the adventure!

My dd is away from home and decided to try the apple because she was hungry and it was handy. Fortunately, in her case. the OAS allergy only gives her hives, not anaphylactic reactions. That is reserved for other allergies. So she only risked hives that she knew could be handled with Benadryl. She would never do this with peanuts or eggs or dogs or horses.

My dd has not been able to eat most fresh fruit except berries and bananas because of this. I was actually relieved to learn about OAS because it explained what people said was not possible (she could not eat fruit raw but could eat it cooked). She was ecstatic this summer because she has been out of state going to college and discovered that she could eat apples that were grown locally there! She has not eaten a fresh apple since she was too young to remember what it tastes like raw. We are assuming that whatever has caused the allergy problem with apples here is not an issue there. She has been loving eating apples for the first time in her life! She has also been able to eat peaches grown locally there.

Okay, here is a great story about people with no boundaries. We were selling our house and had an offer. It was an absurdly low offer, so we countered and had not heard back yet, but were not considering his offer because it was way too low. One day we came home to see a painter's van in front of our house. We walked inside, and dh immediately sent our dc out to the front yard because he heard voices inside. I grabbed the phone to call 911 and he confronted two men in our family room. He asked what they were doing there and they said that _____ (the guy who put an offer on the house) sent them over to give him a quote on painting the inside of the house, that he said the house would be open and they could just go inside. We said that _____ doesn't live there and is not the owner of the house. Dh told him that they had just illegally entered our home and we were calling the police. They said that they had permission from _____ to go in, were surprised that he didn't live there or own the home, apologized for a couple minutes, then quickly left. They had entered our house from a back door (had to go through a side gate and into the back yard to get to that door). We had a realtor card on the counter, so we think a realtor showed the house while we were gone and didn't lock the door properly when they left, which is how these guys got in. We called our realtor and told him what happened and instructed him to call the guy who put in the offer and tell him that we were not going to accept any offer from him and not to send anyone else to our house. Our realtor was flabbergasted. He later called back and said that the other guy's realtor didn't believe that he had sent the painters there, but then guy admitted he had because he wanted to know how much it would cost to paint the interior, and that he was also sending out landscapers to give a quote on changing the yard and a flooring company to get him an estimate on installing hardwood floors throughout the house. All before we had accepted his offer! He had found out that we had an open house scheduled for that afternoon and intended all these companies to come into the house then to get him estimates. Uh, that is not what an open house is for. :lol: His realtor apologized and said she had told the guy that what he did was totally inappropriate, and our realtor made certain that this guy would not be contacting us again. :tongue_smilie:

I heard water running outside in our front yard one morning (the pipes were making a noise) so I went out to see what was going on since the sprinklers were not supposed to be watering then. There were gardeners working in the planting area between the sidewalk and street, area that the HOA maintains. They had my hose running across my front yard to the holes they were filling in, watering them and some new plants they had installed. To get to my hose they had to walk across my front yard, uncoil it from the hose-stand, then drag it all the way to the street. I asked what they were doing and they said they had just worked on the irrigation pipes and wanted to be sure that they had not done anything to the water lines going to the house while they were working there. They wanted to be sure my house water was still working. :glare: Dumb answer. I asked them why they couldn't tell the difference between the water mains that go to the house, which are nowhere near the planter area, and the small pvc irrigation pipes running through the planter area. He looked at me stunned. I guess he didn't think I could see through his lie. I also asked why he had to uncoil the hose and drag it all the way across the yard to the street in order to see if the water was working, and why he didn't just knock on the door to ask me. He didn't say anything. He finally said that a lady up the street had told him he could use the hoses at any of the houses when he needed water. I asked him if he really thought that one person could give him permission to trespass and use my hose and water and any of the other neighbors' hoses and water. He said that she told him he could do it, so I told him that he was welcome to go get her hose and drag it down the street and use her water because she has no authority to give him permission to trespass. He quickly put the hose back and turned off my water. Sheesh. If he had just knocked and asked I probably would have let him use the hose. But to trespass, then lie about why he was doing it? No way. (The lady up the street is a totally different story, a crazy lady who appears to think she is the queen of the HOA who rules the neighborhood...)

I never understood the draw of these books. My mother had 50 or 60 of these. She was the only one who read them. She said that they were the only way she had time to read an entire book. I pointed out that she was not reading whole books and shw could read an entire book instead of a couple condensed books. Her logic made no sense to me. I would rather read one whole book than three or four condensed books. She was shocked when she moved and tried to sell them and no one would buy them and was offended when she tried to give them away and no one and no organization or thrift store would take them. Does anyone know the history of these books? What was the original draw or purpose? Weren't they a monthly club type thing where they sent one each month or something like that?

There is probably no way to know what really happened at the swim a thon. In the future you can try to be around. Your presence may diffuse any attempts at cheating should they arise. I have had to deal with cheating parents at swim team. It's not fun but they were always discovered once people and the coach started watching. One dad who was responsible for entering the times and dqs into the computer at meets refused to enter his dds dqs because he said they were wrong. Uh, no. Judge de isions are final unless appealed properly. We all saw what she did and even she got out of the pool and announced that she was going to be Dqed for what she just did. The dad and mom denied that she had changed her stroke during the event and announced it was a bad call that needed to be ignored. No, wrong again. Yes she would have broken a team record that my dd set several years earlier and her parents wanted her to break records, but they need to be broken fairly. You can't swim a lap of free during the fly event and not expect to be disqualified. These parents tried to cheat in other ways too. He made a lot of "mistakes" when entering times that resulted in his daughters winning events even though we all knew who placed and we had the times recorded. Sigh. I did a lot of double checking and reentering of data that year before the coach relieved him of computer entry duty. They were only on the team for two years before changing teams. Everyone was on to them so they couldn't cheat anymore. It's hard. I know.

Usually i read one after the other because I want to know what happens next.

I think it is a result of the self esteem movement. I know people who won't tell their dc or others that they are not the best at something. They heap false praise for things that are not deserving of that praise. Saying That was the most beautiful cake ever, when the cake does not look good at all, is not going to build true self esteem. The person who made the cake can see that is is not the most beautiful cake. But a person who hears false praise constantly begins to believe it and expect it..either that or they realize that the person telling them all these things is not to be trusted because they are lying. Self esteem comes from truly earning the position or prize or goal. It can't be based on a lie even if the speaker means well. Let your praise be true and real. Find ways to let our kids know we value them and love them without lying to them. Yes everyone is special but that is because of how God views each person not because other people say the person is special. Value and specialness are rooted in God not in people's opinion which changes all the time Yes we are all special but we are not the best at everything and never will be. I think we need to praise when praise is warranted but it needs to be honest. Some people see through the meaningless praise but too many people believe it. I find it hard to trust and believe people who praise others meaninglessly. In fact I don't like the term self esteem. People tend to put themselves first enough. My feelings are not always based inthe reality of a situation I prefer the term God esteem because that is true and forever and is not rooted in how a person feels at that particular moment or determined by other motives.

Yes. I have often been surprised in the morning when someone walks into the kitchen and I didn't know he/she had spent the night. But since my dc and their friends started driving, they have known that if their friends are here late that I would rather they spend the night instead of driving home in the wee hours. It just seems safer to me - as long as their parents knew and approved, of course. Besides, I like my dc's friends. I don't mind. That continues into the college years, where they are all more independent, of course. I still ask that they let their parents know so they don't worry. Dh and I will go to bed and more young people will show up for a movie or video game time. But now we often have young people (over 18 yo) living with us for periods of time, too. Sometimes is it for a month, or three months, or for a year, for a variety of reasons. Right now, apart from our dc, we have a college student living with us for the summer. In addition to that, a couple months ago one of my dc's friends got married and it was a bad situation where they were living, so they asked if they could live with us for 7 or 8 months. They have a 2.5 yo dd, too. But you know, they are mature young people who are working very hard to be responsible. They just need someone to believe in them and be a supportive, listening ear. Besides, when a 21 yo young lady asks if she can hang out with you in the kitchen because she doesn't know how to cook, and she would like some girl time, how can I say no? They both came from difficult situations without much guidance or support and love their dd and want to be good parents. They are. Dh and I figure that if we can help, or support, or mentor, or just befriend young people, we want to do it. It makes for a busy house, the loss of some privacy, and it increases costs, but it is worth it. Besides, when my dc are away at college, I appreciate the families who open their homes to my dc for holidays they can't come home and for breaks so they can get away from school. I feel blessed that we can do this.

Our youth pastor was strongly into youth being salt and light in the ps. THe problem is the youth were not taught enough doctrine to know what they believed. If they don't know what they believe, it is difficult to evangelize. I once asked him how successful the youth were in this goal. He was quiet for a while, then said they need to work harder so they can be successful. He believed they were just not being salty enough. It was a difficult conversation because he didn't think they needed teaching apart from encouraging them to evangelize and bring their friends to church, which he considered one of the best goals of them going to the ps. It seemed like more of a numbers goal than an evangelistic goal. He considered evangelism at the ps to be the students bringing their friends to church. He didn't accept that most students need to mature in their own faith before they are comfortable sharing it. Oh well. We agreed to disagree. It is true that some students thrive in the ps system and are truly salt there. But in my experience, those students are in the minority and in all cases, those students came from families who did not leave teaching of doctrine to the church. They were strong Christian families who discipled their dc. I am sure there are exceptions, but this has been my experience. It is difficult being on the outside of someone's expectations.

I remember reading Farewell to Manzanar when I was in elementary school and asking my teacher about internment camps. I wondered why it was okay in the US, but wrong for the Nazis to force people into camps. My teacher told me it wasn't in the history book, so we didn't need to learn about it. I was never satisfied with that answer. My sons have had a long-lasting interest in WWII, so we spent many months studying it, then when I forced us to move to a different history topic, my sons spent a couple years reading on their own. One topic we studying was the use of propaganda by the US government during the war. Germans and Japanese were portrayed as monsters, and depicted as such on posters, in ads, etc. The constant propaganda served its purpose to make Americans dislike the Germans and Japanese. My mil was interned, so my dc have grown up knowing that perspective as well. Strange as it may seem, she and the rest of her family are not angry towards the US for what it did to them. They lost their farm, house, and all their belongings except for what they were allowed to carry with them to camp. They were taken to another state to live, then when they were finally released, they didn't have any money to get back home (which had been stolen from them while they were gone). It took them years to get back. My mil's brothers were decorated for heroism after fighting in the 442nd. One reason was that they enlisted was they wanted to fight for the US, where they had been born. They were Americans. One ds was on duty at a gym where he worked and ended up chatting with a member, an older woman who started telling ds stories about her life during WWII. She was young at the time, and believed the propaganda about Germans being monsters and thought they really looked like the posters. Her father was a guard at a POW camp, so sometimes he would take her there to see that the German prisoners were just men. But as a child, she struggled between what she saw - men - and how the government portrayed them as literal monsters. My ds said it was one of the most interesting conversations he has had, and that she was surprised he wanted to hear about it and that he knew so much. Of course, that same ds's favorite lecture ever was an opportunity he had to hear a veteran speak about his experiences on Iwo Jima when the famous flag photo was taken. We were at a military open house once and there was a tent with memorabilia from WWII, and a table where a man was sitting with some items displayed. We went over to talk to him and see what he was showing. He couldn't believe that my dc wanted to hear his story. He had enlisted when he was underage because he wanted to fight, and became a pilot. He was shot down over Europe and spent almost two years hiding from the Nazis. Residents in a town in France found him after seeing his parachute and hid him by passing him from family to family. The town held a celebration of V-Day and invited him back, where he met some of the people who had hid him. One of the families still had part of his plane in their barn, and another gave him part of his parachute that they had stored (after using most of it to make undergarments for the women in the family because of the silk). Anyway, he was flabbergasted that anyone would want to know his story. I told him the truth - that our children need to hear these stories, and he is one of the few who can tell them. It is important. It is vital that our dc learn about this part of history, and sadly, most schools don't teach it or simply skim the surface. Yes, the internment history of the US is sad, but it is necessary that we remember it because it could happen again. Our dc need to know what happened and work through the ethical and political questions so they have background to form their own views about government acts in the future.

Put a layer of mod podge on the wood, add the paper while the mod podge is wet, then add another layer of mod podge on top of the paper. It will go on white, but dry clear.