Photo Ninja
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Posts posted by Photo Ninja
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South Lake Tahoe is probably where you would want to stay. The largest casinos are there for your dh and there is a lot for you to do.
You can ride the gondola up the mountain at Heavenly. The view is great. You can spend time there reading, then give your eyes a rest with a gorgeous view.
Tahoe Queen - the ride on the lake is pretty and relaxing. Take a dinner or brunch cruise.
Go to Emerald Bay - beautiful.
Walk. There are walking paths all over South Lake and you can walk or bike for miles.
Hike - lots of hiking trails at all levels
Drive around the lake. Really. It's pretty.
Rent a kayak and get out on the lake.
Go to Squaw Valley and ride the tram to the top. Shop, eat, relax, skate, golf, frisbee gold, swim. There is a lot to do. See if they have any full moon hikes going on. Those are fun if there is a full moon.
There is plenty for you to do in South Lake Tahoe. The problem is trying to fit it all in and still have a relaxing time.
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My understanding is that the waiver comes with its own list of federal requirements, so there is still not state autonomy in public education.
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We experienced a similar situation. In our case, the pastor had a five year plan and he expected everyone to buy into it and make it happen. When someone did not do what he wanted or needed done in some ministry position, he pressured privately and publicly. The pastor would teach specifically at certain people, and everyone knew who they were. It was his passive-aggressive way of manipulating, to get people to make the decisions he wanted them to make without actually telling them to their face - unless they went to him to talk about it,when he would tell them to their face that he was giving them an opportunity to make the 'right' decision on their own. (The "right" decision was what the pastor wanted people to do.)
In our case, we were very involved in ministry in our community, not just in the church, where we were also leading ministries in the church. The pastor always wanted more. When I was pregnant with my third child in three years, I was on bed rest for several months. I had to stop leading a couple of the small groups and Bible studies I had been leading because I physically couldn't do it anymore. I was told by the pastor that I was out of God's will because now someone else would have to take up the slack, and I shouldn't stop what I was doing. My health was not as important as church ministry. I was told that ministry in the community didn't count (count for what?) and I should be involved only in ministry through the church. We were told that hsing was a bad idea because it took time away from serving in the church, so we were pressured to put our dc into the ps system. The pastor told several of us that we need to stop having babies because our children were taking our time away from serving in the church. I could go on, but basically we were pressured every time we were at church, through phone calls and at meetings. We held our ground and told him that while he said God wanted us to lead some ministry, we would pray about it and wait for God to tell us Himself. The pastor was pretty mad at us for taking this stance. We served extensively and were involved in ministries, just not all the specific ministries that the pastor wanted done that were part of his five year plan.
We waited a couple more years trying to work it out, continued to serve in the areas where God had called us, and continued to stand against the increasing pressure from the pastor, staff and deacons. It was very difficult and made me not want to go to church at all, to be honest, because I was tired of the pressure and from trying to have godly responses to the pressure and comments. We did have several meetings with the pastor to discuss the situation, and a couple times we had a mediator to help, but the pastor would not accept that God had a different plan for our lives than he had.
We ended up leaving that church, but not without doing all we could to make it work out. We only spoke to the pastor and leadership about what was happening because we didn't want to include other church members in what was happening to us. We didn't want to cause any rifts or discord and worked hard on that. In hindsight, I think we should have left far sooner. It would have been healthier for dh and me.
All that to say, be honest with yourselves about the situation you are in and how healthy it is for your family. I do think you need to approach the pastor directly to be sure your interpretation of what is happening is what the pastor intends to communicate, just in case there has been a misunderstanding. Let him know what you are feeling about the continued comments and pressure. Your pastor may not accept your reasons for not being more involved in the church, but that is not your responsibility. You can make your decision about staying or finding another church based on the pastor's response during your conversation. If the pressure continues even when the people making the comments know your health situation and your current ministry commitments, then you can consider whether you should find a new church. Even if you leave that church, you can continue friendships with those people you care about.
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I buy a roasted chicken every week and use the meat. It really is a great option on hot days.
Quesadillas (use an electric skillet or a frying pan). You can also add diced ham or chicken to them if you so desire.
Pasta Salad - I make it early and make enough for a few days. Cook pasta (I like curly noodles, but penne works well, too), lightly steam (you can use the microwave or can toss the veggies into the hot water with the pasta) whatever veggies you like. I usually use broccoli and carrots, but you can add bell peppers or zucchini or whatever. In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta, veggies, sliced olives, cut up artichoke hearts or quarters. For the dressing, I mix marinade from the marinated artichoke hearts with some mayo, then add some curry powder until I like how it tastes. You can use Italian salad dressing, or even Caesar salad dressing. Go with whatever you like best. This is great for a side dish, but I often add some cooked chicken, or even canned chicken, to make it a meal. It is easy to make enough to last for a few days.
Taco salad
Sandwiches and green salad
Cold Platter - cheese cubes, cold veggies and dip, salami type meat, tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, rolls or bread
Chicken salad sandwiches or salad: cut up cooked chicken, dice some tart apples. Mix the chicken and apples with some mayonnaise and a bit of curry for flavor. Just before serving, mix in some toasted cashews. This is yummy as a sandwich, in a wrap, or add a scoop on top of salad greens.
Caesar Pasta Salad - Mix cooked pasta, romaine lettuce torn into bite sized pieces, and some cooked chicken if you want that, grape tomatoes, then toss with Caesar salad dressing and top with shredded or grated parmesian cheese. This is also good with olives or other veggies.
Fruit mixed with yogurt, hard boiled eggs
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Fast means using frozen bread dough or biscuit dough. The best cinnamon rolls take time.
You could do a pull-apart bread. It tastes very similar to cinnamon rolls, but is faster. Take some cans of Pillsbury biscuits, cut them into thirds or quarters. Grease a bundt pan well and add a bit of sugar to coat it. Melt butter, then roll each piece of biscuit in melted butter, then in a cinnamon/sugar mixture, and place in the bundt pan. Bake until it is cooked, then turn it upside down onto a plate and eat it. You could do this with one can of biscuits and a pie tin instead of a bundt pan, and it would cook even faster.
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You can use jpgs, tiff, etc. on a Mac just like you do on a pc, so emailing photos is not a problem.
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My dc had already read most the books in the Starting Point curriculum, but I think it is worth reading them again. The books are included not just to read, but to learn to analyze. If your dc have already read the books, great. Now they get to read them with a different purpose, and since they are familiar with the content, they can focus more on the analysis taught in the curriculum. I would not skip the books for that reason. The books themselves may not be challenging to all students, however the analytical instruction may be new. It can be easier to analyze a book that is a slightly lower reading level or is familiar. It is a different purpose for reading.
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A key word outline is a way to learn to take notes from resources when a student will be writing a report or essay. Many students end up plagiarizing because they write use entire sentences in their notes. By summing up the information in several key words, they are less likely to use entire sentences from a resource and can more easily relay the important info in their own words.
IEW teaches this type of key word outlining. It prepares a student to take notes as well as to outline in preparation for writing. At the beginning levels, the student will almost be composing sentences identical to the original from which he took the key word notes because the sources are simple sentences. That is okay because it is a learning process where one starts very simply and moves to advanced material and skills. As the student starts using multiple resources and upper level resources with complex sentence structure, he will be taking notes (key word notes on research topics to turn into outlines) from paragraphs and chapters instead of from every sentence.
It is a good tool that makes writing easier as well as gives students a method for notetaking from lectures and written material.
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File when you remove them from the ps. While the window for filing for existing schools (including home schools) is in the fall, you can file any time during the year. You can file just before you take your dc out of school. It is not a good idea for your dc to be enrolled in two different schools concurrently. Filing the affidavit early would result in that scenario.
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Funny!I like the camel wash.
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I think it may vary by state depending on how your state regulations are written. Sometimes there is not one answer that applies to all locations.
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Hsing is also cool because your dc can do their lessons in dress up clothes. My dd loves a photo I have of her sitting at a table in a tutu, practicing her letters in her penmanship book. My dc have done lessons wearing princess clothes and hats, as well as capes and knight dress up clothes. Of course, they can also do lessons in their pajamas.
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Hot Lava Mama is correct.
In CA, Kindy is included in the preschool laws and mandates. That is one reason K rooms in schools have their own bathrooms with low sinks and toilets, for example. They have to because of the preschool laws. Elementary schools don't have to meet those regulations for first grade and up.
Hsers in CA hs under the private school laws, so basically laws that apply to private schools apply to hsers, unless there is an exemption. This is why hsers in CA don't list their K students on their affidavits because they would then be subject to all the preschool regulations. In CA, K has not been mandated, so hsers don't list students until they are in first grade, and have avoided the problem of preschool laws.
That is one problem with this bill. As currently written, hsers with Kindy students would have to list them on the affidavit, subjecting the families to the preschool regulations, which would be expensive and difficult to meet.
So no, this bill is not stating that people can not hs Kindergarten, nor does it remove the right to home educate. However, as written, it will subject hsers to regulations that will be difficult to meet, likely resulting in families not being able to hs Kindergarten. It is a consequence of the bill, not the bill changing hs laws.
No, this bill does not specifically say that hsers will be subject to preschool regulations. It doesn't have to. The preschool regulations already include Kindergarten, so they apply. Anything addressing Kindergarten is subject to other laws respecting Kindergarten. Unless this bill exempts Kindergarten from the current regulations, hsers will be subject to the current laws regarding preschools when they begin hsing their Kindergarten student.
It is common for bills to have unintended consequences, and this is issue is one. If the bill included language to exempt hsers, then it could be okay. If the bill included language to remove Kindergarten from the preschool laws and regulations and add it to the elementary school regulations, then it could be okay. Unfortunately, neither of those are in the bill, so it is a problem for hsers in CA.
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Look at a different tablet, not an iPad. They come in different sizes, so maybe one will be right for you. There is the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet as well. They access the internet, but I am not sure how their speed compares with a regular tablet.
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That is true for my state. The ps won't accept any hs credits unless they are from a ps hsing program. So when people start hsing high school, they know it is all or nothing. Sometimes a private school will accept the hsing credits, but the ps won't. I think they can make exceptions, but as a policy, they won't. Other states are different, though.
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I think it is a great idea. You wouldn't need to clean up projects so you can use the table or floor, and the mess doesn't show when you have friends over. You would have more space for group projects as your dc get older. The library idea is great because you could have a dedicated room for books, and a couple nice, comfy chairs in the middle of the room for quiet reading times.
I might miss the convenience of running to the dishwasher or washing machine to change the loads, though. But if the trailer was close to the house, it wouldn't matter.
Then once you are not hsing anymore, you would have a guest house, or your dc or other family members could live there, or maybe you could rent it out. Of course, you could repurpose it to be your private quiet place, with the reading room and a quiet, pretty (redecorated, or course) living area where you can hang out or pursue your hobbies.There are a lot of options. If you can get the permits, it sounds like a good investment.
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Filing your affidavit is easy, so don't worry about that. You are buying your own curriculum anyway, so that is not a big change. How old are your dc? When do you plan to put them back into ps? That could be a deciding factor. They need to start high school in the ps because most ps high schools won't accept any home school credits unless they are from a ps ISP. But if your dc are younger than that, the ps will enroll them whether they were hsed privately or are coming from an ISP. Keep your paperwork yourself. There is not much that is required and there is probably a local hs support group in your area that can help you if you need help with that. It's not difficult. If you don't want to keep up your own paperwork (and again, it is minimal), you could leave the ISP and join a PSP (private school hs program, usually without a campus). There are plenty of them for hsers, and they will keep your paperwork for you, and many provide activities, classes, etc. if you are looking for that. You won't need to worry about standardized tests, and can teach the way that is best for your dc, using the curriculum that is best for your dc. If you decide to put your dc into the ps, your paperwork will be in order and you can enroll them.
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Airsoft is fine as long as your dc follow safety rules and wear eye protection. Then take them to a safe area and let them have fun.
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It can work out well depending on your dc and on the cc.
My dd did this. She took some cc courses in 10th grade, then went full time at the cc in 11th grade, then graduated high school after 11th grade because she had plenty of credits and all the required courses completed. She was already a full time college student, so we saw no reason to keep her in high school. She had her AA when she would have been finishing 12th grade. She transferred to a university that accepted all her credits, and gave her a full tuition scholarship based on her cc GPA. So for her, it worked out wonderfully and it didn't matter that she did not get freshman scholarships because she got the transfer scholarship. Not all universities offer such good transfer scholarships, though, so it really depends on the university your ds will want to attend.
Universities set their own policies on how many cc credits a student can have and still be a freshman. Some universities allow as many as 30 credits as long as they were taken while in high school. Others allow fewer. Unless you know what universities your ds may want to attend, it will be difficult to plan.
There is great value in your ds being a regular cc student (not concurrent enrollment) because he will have a higher priority for registering for classes, giving him a better chance of getting classes, and you don't need to fuss with concurrent enrollment paperwork every semester.
Maybe you could consider it from the point of view of the worst thing that could happen. He could have to be a transfer student to a university instead of a freshman, possibly missing out on freshman scholarships. But, you will have saved a lot of money by taking a year or two of cc courses, so how does that balance out with the cost of university with a freshman scholarship? It would depend on the school, the freshman scholarships, and the chances that your ds would have received a scholarship. It could be that cc credits won't transfer to a university, but you can help alleviate that problem by being sure he takes courses off the transfer list. If he attends an out of state school that refuses to transfer his cc courses, (two of my dc took cc classes and went to out of state universities and all their cc classes transferred) then he will still have all the knowledge he gained while taking the cc classes, which should make the courses at the university easier. Maybe that doesn't help at all, but sometimes working backwards from a possible end can bring a different perspective.
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Notgrass won't be a repeat of Starting Points. Your plan will work just fine.
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Using berries helps it not to be green. My dc don't like looking at the brown color, either (green spinach + red/purple berried = ugly brown smoothies), so I got cups with lids and straws. They couldn't see the smoothie, and loved how it tasted, so the problem was solved as long as they didn't see me make the smoothies. Eventually they stopped caring because they realized they liked the smoothies even though they included spinach, so they started helping make the smoothies, then made them themselves.
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My dc started with foreign language. After that, my dc picked other courses, like Public Speaking (a common general ed requirement), art history, and music, (two other basic general ed requirements). My dd liked her Psychology course, and my dc also took Statistics at the cc. They also took some history courses (Western Civ and U.S. History) and Biology and other science courses at the cc. They spent lot of time on the foreign language, math and science courses, but did not find them particularly difficult. It was just a lot of studying and memorizing. Study skills were more important than previous knowledge in that subject (except for math).
I think it is difficult to play a few years ahead for a student to take dual credit courses. The student has to be vested in it and want to do it, and want to take that particular course. Things also change within the cc systems, so what is possible one year may not be possible another year.
I suggest you consider planning on all the courses being done at home, then when the time comes to take dual credit courses, decide then which ones to take and adjust your plans accordingly. This way you are planning on full year courses, and if your dc decide to take a cc course, you end up with a free semester. If your dc decide not to take any cc courses, your plans still work. Just my thoughts.
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I found this: http://www.pencilsdown.org/kit/california.pdf It is from an organization with an anti-STAR testing belief, but it includes a sample opt out note you may be able to use. It says to do the following:
Send a simple letter like the following to your school principal before testing begins.
Dear Principal: I do not want my child, _________________, to take the STAR tests this spring.
______________
Date
________________________________
parent’s signature
I also found this: http://richgibson.com/ca-law.html
The reference is Title 5 of the CA
Code of Regulations, Division 1, Chapter 2, Subchapter 3.75
"Standardized Testing and Reporting Program", Section 852, (a).
Its under "more about STAR" on the SED website.
"A parent or guardian may submit to the school a written request to
excuse his or her child from any or all parts of any test provided
pursuant to Ed Code Section 60640 [a STAR is born}. The parent or
guardian must initiate the request and the school district and its
employees shall not solicit or encourage any written request on
behalf of any child."
The law is this:
California Education Code Section 60615. "Notwithstanding any
provision of law, a parent's or guardian's written request to school
officials to excuse his or her child from any or all parts of the
assessments administered pursuant to this chapter shall be granted.">
So based on these, it looks like you just need to notify the school in writing that you are opting out, and that should take care of it. It is your legal right, and you can exercise it. If you notify the school, the school can't declare your dd as truant. This is why you need proof you actually did give the school your opt out notice, to protect yourself, just in case.
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So it looks like you are faced with either 1. withdrawing her tomorrow, or 2. opting out of testing, which is your legal right, possibly leading the charter school to decide not to allow her to enroll next school year.
I would notify the school in writing that you are opting out of testing for this year. Be sure that notice is at the school tomorrow, and get a signed receipt that you delivered it. Ask what forms you need to sign to make it official, then obtain and sign them tomorrow, keeping a copy for yourself as proof that you opted out. If there are no forms to sign, then get a signed statement to that effect so you can prove you tried should there be any question about it in the future.
If you opt out, and the charter school drops your family, then at least your dd will get to complete this school year and get her report card, and you will be able to finish the school year using the curriculum you currently have.
If you withdraw your dd it sounds like it will be a lot more work for you, and your dd won't be attending there next year.
If you opt out, then the driving problem to testing is solved and the school may kick your family out. Same ending, but one way you get to finish the school year. That sounds more reasonable to me. Besides, do you really want to stay part of a school that is treating you this way?
Are you sure that the charter school can actually kick you out for exercising your legal right to opt out of testing? This sounds questionable. Please check on this to be sure the school can legally do it. Is the requirement to test in the charter school enrollment documents? Did you sign an agreement to take the test? If so, then the school may be able to do it, but otherwise, you may be able to fight them if they kick you out for exercising a legal right.
team swimming-h.s. versus club
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Here, high school swimmers swim US Swim year round, but many stop US Swim and swim on the high school team during high school swim season. Usually the high school swim coaches also coach US Swim teams, so high school swimming is very competitive and often coached by the swimmer's regular swim coach. Students have to try out to be on the school swim team, and competition is fierce. Only year round swimmers end up being on the high school swim teams. High school swim workouts are only once a day for a couple hours, 5 days per week instead of the US Swim team workouts that are often twice a day/5 days per week plus once on Saturday, so in that respect practices are easier on the high school swim team.
Those who just want a fun swim team experience here do summer rec teams, which usually do 6 swim meets and only meet from May - first week of August or so. Our experience is that many on the summer rec teams are also very competitive, but many are not. The best swimmers on the summer rec teams are the ones who swim US Swim during fall and sometimes part of winter, stopping in time so as not to be disqualified from swimming summer rec. That's how it is here.
It is important to check out the coach's philosophy. Some are highly competitive and have very high expectations for swimmers, and they expect a high level of commitment to practices and improvement. Other coaches are more casual and not as competitive, don't mind if swimmers miss practices or don't go to swim meets. Talk to the coach to see if his/her philosophy meets your child's needs. Ask about expectations for the swimmers and for the parents. What is the parent expected to do at meets? Is there a number of hours of service/volunteering required? What are the requirements? Are swimmers grouped by age or by skill level? Where do the swimmers on the team currently rank? How many have A times, or Junior Olympic times? These can give you an idea of what to expect. Try to match your child to the coach's philosophy. A highly competitive swimmer won't excel if the coach has a goal of having fun over increased skill or competition. A child who just wants to exercise and get to be a better swimmer won't enjoy a highly competitive coach who expects the swimmers to practice hard to improve and meet goals at swim meets.