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Everything posted by Jenny Piaaree
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We need to put our dog to sleep tomorrow
Jenny Piaaree replied to Only me's topic in General Education Discussion Board
:grouphug: So sorry about poor Thunder. I'm glad you had 12 happy years with him. -
When to contact paypal?
Jenny Piaaree replied to mlgbug's topic in General Education Discussion Board
Judging by your previous communication with her, does this seem in or out of character (if you can tell)? I recently had a similar problem with a lady, but it seemed out of character from the emails we had already exchanged. She had seemed very forthright and honest. Since I never got a response from my later emails, I went ahead and filed a resolution request with Paypal, but I framed it very nicely, giving her the benefit of the doubt. Turns out, I was glad I did it that way. She had not gotten my emails, and was very glad that I had gone through Paypal, because that's the only way she knew there was a problem. (Her husband had forgotten my package in the bottom of his briefcase!!) She was very apologetic and nice about it, and even refunded me $15 on Paypal. So going through Paypal is not necessarily being unpleasant about it. You have a chance to type a note and strike any tone you choose to. I recommend a friendly tone first; you can get mean on the next go-round if needed. There is a time limit though, so don't wait too long! Good luck! -
:iagree: We used this series for my son last year for Am. Hist., and I loved them. As Bill said, the main thrust of these books is to emphasize the main themes of history without getting bogged down in the minutiae of details. I appreciated this approach, and I'm sure my son did also. In fact, although I'm sure we covered more details in my high school class (most of which were promptly forgotten), I felt like I finally understood the issues and characters of US Hist. so much better after reading the Collier books.
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Should be :sleep:, but instead I'm :blink:.
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Math Mammoth-which format do you use?
Jenny Piaaree replied to teamturner's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
I chose the download version, simply because, like Veruca Salt, I want it NOOOW! :D -
I agree about WTM. Also, if you haven't already tried this, what helps me is to look up general threads on these boards, see what all is out there, and then look up specific threads and investigate the interesting-sounding things on the web. For instance, this is a recent thread: www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159732&highlight=language+arts+5th Next year for 5th I'm pretty sure I'm going to follow WTM recommendations (from the previous edition) for science using Reader's Digest guides as spines. (These are out of print, but available and inexpensive on Amazon.) I may also incorporate MrQ's free life science. For LA I plan on using WWE, along with IEW or MCT or both. If I don't use MCT, then it'll be back to the boards to research grammar programs! ETA: I also meant to give you a warm welcome to hsing. Hopefully it will be the solution you are looking for. Remember that the first year is likely to be the hardest, so don't get discouraged if you hit some rough patches. Just keep going; you'll gain a ton of experience. This year for me has gone way smoother than last year. Best wishes to you!
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CA folk-you have a beautiful state...
Jenny Piaaree replied to Jeanne in MN's topic in General Education Discussion Board
Glad you enjoyed yourself, and that you got to see so much while you were here. You picked the best time to see it, too! This lovely green won't last long. -
Ulp. I often have a late library book or two....:blushing: BUT, I've gotten much better now that I've signed up for their online reminders. However, once I actually lost a book and had to pay the replacement fee. I paid up willingly, but what puzzled me was that they said that if I later found the book, I should return it anyway, as it was still "their" property. After I paid to have it replaced???? I wonder if they actually do use the replacement funds to replace those lost books or not? :glare:
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Thinking of switching from WWE 3 to IEW
Jenny Piaaree replied to Legomom's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
Well, I was waiting to see if someone more knowledgeable was going to chime in.... Ok then, here's my not-so-knowledgeable 2 cents worth. Why not "dip your toes in" with IEW with one of the Theme-based books. A lot of folks seem to like All Things Fun and Fascinating. We have only recently begun the Ancient History theme-based book, and so far we are liking it (although I won't be above tweaking it a bit). I bought a used copy of the TWSS, and I'm glad I did, but you don't have to have it to go through the theme-based stuff. It's written to the student and laid out pretty clearly. They are only $29 each, so not a big outlay. OR, if you want to be even more cautious, print out some .pdf samples of some of the books and do a couple of week's worth of lessons as a free trial. If IEW intrigues you, why not give it a whirl? Not everyone likes it, but there are plenty here on the boards that do. LOTS of posts if you want to research further. If you don't like it, no harm done. (A lot of folks really like Writing Tales for this age group, too, if IEW doesn't suit.) -
Hi. I don't know if this is what you mean by writing/rewriting each story three times, but here is a quote from the FAQ on the WT site. I just thought if this offers any relief, then maybe you could continue with WT, since you and ds like it in other respects. All the best! Q: My child really resists writing the Final Draft. He doesn’t see the point of adding creative details to his story. Is this part really necessary, or could we skip the Final Draft altogether? A: Adding creative touches to every Final Draft is the "fun" part of writing in Writing Tales (WT) for most of the students that go through the program.But I find that a small percentage of the students using WT really don't enjoy this part of the process.These students tend to be concrete, factual, and really don't see the "point" in adding all that extra "stuff" to their story.Well, quite honestly, the "point" is simply to make the whole writing process more enjoyable for them! I ask them to do this to give them an end product (their story) of which they can feel ownership, and to make writing a gratifying experience for them. I can't stress this next point enough - adding these creative touches is not a part of the original process in this level of the progymnasmata! If this step of the process is adding stress for your son, then it is not achieving the goal of making writing a joyful and gratifying experience for him. By all means, leave it out! Now, please realize: I'm not saying leave the Final Draft out, just the addition of the creative touches.Use this time instead to take his Rough Draft and improve upon it. Isolate some of his sentences and ask him to make them better.Ask him how he could make his story more interesting to his reader. Work on the details, in other words. Use the time to make him a better writer. Teach him to slow down and think about his choice of words, and his arrangement of those words into beautiful, well-flowing sentences, and those sentences in a well thought-out, exciting story.
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Does the Bible itself call Mary the Mother of God? No. Does the Bible or Jesus himself encourage Christians to specially honor Mary? While Mary is certainly presented as a stellar example of faith, she is never given special honor or veneration. When Jesus was speaking to a crowd, a woman "raised her voice and said, 'Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!' But he replied, 'Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!'" So rather than directing special attention to Mary, he redirected the woman's attention to where it rightfully belonged - on God. - Luke 11:27, 28. Notably, Peter makes no mention of Mary at all in his writings, and Paul speaks of her only as "a woman." -Galations 4:4 As Christians shouldn't the Bible be our chief authority? Jesus condemned the Pharisees for allowing their tradition to supercede God's Word, saying,"It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines." (Matthew 15:6,9) So if the Church doctrines deviate from the written Word of God, I believe we should "let God be found true, though every man be found a liar." (Romans 3:4) If you research the origins of the adoration of Mary (and of the Trinity doctrine itself), it does not take long to see that these beliefs pre-dated Christianity, coming instead from ancient pagan religions. Considering God's clearly stated views against mixing false religious teachings with his own true worship, is it reasonable that he would be pleased with these developments? (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) I prefer to stick with what the Bible itself says.
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Help me decide! Puppy or guinea pigs?
Jenny Piaaree replied to myfatherslily's topic in General Education Discussion Board
That's a tough one. My mom was never fond of the dog we had, but I loved her almost like life itself. I preferred that dog to some of my friends. But she was not well-trained, so to my mom she was a pain. Which leads me to my only piece of advice.... If you do decide on a puppy, please just be sure to meet it on its own level. Meaning, don't expect it to not act like a puppy, but do what you can to mitigate that. It will chew things, so make sure you supply it with lots of chew toys. It will have accidents, but truly, these can be infrequent if you follow a good routine of house training. Training is essential! Probably your library has several books on puppy care and training. If you can, take the puppy to obedience classes. (Check to see at what age - I think around 6 mos old.) These are wonderful, because they train the owners how to work with the dogs. If only we could train them not to shed! But even then, there are some "non-shedding" dogs. Also, some breeds are easier than others. My vet's office had a book that explained the character traits and temperaments of various breeds. I can't recall the title, but I bet you could find it on google. Basically, the more you educate yourself pre-puppy, the more comfortable and successful you are likely to be if you decide to go that route. (Caveat: Like kids, no puppy ever goes exactly "by the book"! Oh well. :)) -
Those in CA, how did you teach CA History?
Jenny Piaaree replied to MountainViewMama's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
My dd is also in 4th this year. This is our first year hsing on our own. (Last year we went through a hs program at our local ps district. Meh.) I was really itching to get started with Ancients, but at the same time I didn't want to leave out CA history entirely. I basically just made a list of chronological topics - the Native Americans, the Spanish and Missions, the Ranchos, the Gold Rush, and a little on Chinese immigrants and the Depression. (It was not a comprehensive list; we just hit the things I found most interesting or important. You can add or leave out whatever.) I found a couple good library books on each topic and went through them over four or six weeks in the summer. Then we did a couple of fun field trips. We visited the mission and related sites in Sonoma. We visited a gold rush museum in Auburn, Sutter's Mill in Coloma, and actually went gold panning for the afternoon somewhere up Highway 50. Depending on where you live, there are a lot of great options for field trips. If you can't or don't want to do it all now, you can just hit the highlights and get more detailed in middle school/high school if you choose. Are you planning to do a year of US History at any point? If so, that would be a possible place to take some time for CA history. (As an aside, I went all through school in CA in the 70s and 80s, and, excepting the Gold Rush, I do not believe we did a single stitch of CA history. Certainly not in jr. high or high school. I consider this a loss - I wish we had learned more. Most of what I know comes from when my ds went through 4th in ps and what my dd and I studied last summer! There's a lot of interesting stuff - I just didn't want to spend a lot of time on it right now.) -
Sure, Math U See would be great, but...
Jenny Piaaree replied to SproutMamaK's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
I have MUS Delta. There is not a single spot of color in it. Not in the student book nor in the teacher's manual. The blocks are colored, of course, but the color is not necessary, just an enhancement. It's the different lengths that matter. (If I remember correctly (and I may not, as it has been many years), Montessori did not even believe in using colored rods; she felt there should be only one variable - the length. So you could even possibly get Montessori rods if you wanted. Just a thought) So I say, go for it!! ETA: I don't know if it's more of an issue in the earlier levels. I do know that I don't use MUS blocks, because I had some cheap number blocks from a school supply store already, and I didn't want to spend the extra $. My blocks are colored, but the colors do not match MUS's colors for the various lengths. It has not hindered us in the slightest.) -
How do you pronounce the word Poem?
Jenny Piaaree replied to Jumping In Puddles's topic in General Education Discussion Board
:iagree: Me too! I laughed when I saw this thread, because I just listened to that the other night, and I knew right away where this was coming from!! :lol: -
Misty of Chincoteague Series?
Jenny Piaaree replied to Melissa in St Louis's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
These books are wonderful - some of my personal favorites from childhood. They can be read in any order that suits your fancy. Enjoy!! -
I have just started MM with my dd9 in division. While I haven't covered that exactly, I can tell you that Maria Miller is very big on pattern recognition. I'm pretty sure the idea here is to get ready for the concept of multiplication (repeated addition). So if two 900s are 1800, and three 900s are 2700, then I can see that 5 of them must be 4500. Don't know if dc is supposed to recognize that fully at that point or not. BUT, another thing it is good to know is that if you do have to go back to pick up that information, you do not need to purchase a whole grade level. MM has a Green Series and a Gold Series, which are just worksheets and cost less than the whole teaching packets. Look on the website to see which would best suit your needs. HTH a little.
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It could very well be normal teen boy behavior. But if you feel that this is very out-of-character, or came on relatively rapidly, or goes beyond normal teen apathy, then you might consider checking into it further. You know your son best, and if you have a bad feeling, there may be something to it, kwim? Could he be going through depression? One of the symptoms is losing interest in things that you once enjoyed. I'm just throwing this out there; it could be way off base, and I don't want you to needlessly worry. I just think that moms are pretty good at sensing when things are wrong.
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I saw some posts about this a month or two ago, but now am having trouble finding them again. I'm curious how the program is working out for you, and particularly how time-consuming it is. It sounds like a fascinating approach; I just worry about covering enough and having enough time. Pros? Cons? Thanks!
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This question shows my lack of computer skills but...
Jenny Piaaree replied to Kfamily's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
If you mean creating files in your documents folder, then that is pretty simple. Even I can do it! :D Open your documents folder (or whatever place you've got your documents stored). With your cursor anywhere in that window, right click once. A menu will come up. Click "New" and then in the next menu, "Folder." A folder icon will pop up. Type in whatever you want to name it. Then you can click and drag any loose documents into it (or right click a document/file and choose "Move to folder," then specify which folder). Click on a folder to open it, and once there, you can right click and choose "New"/"Folder" again to create additional folders inside the original one for further layers of organization. You can make as many "layers" as you want. Clear as mud? It is easier to envision once you actually start doing it. I have a main documents folder with all of my stuff in it. In that I have a folder labeled "Homeschool." In that I have four folders: one for important legal and planning forms; one for general curriculum/ideas; and one for each year I've been homeschooling, labeled with that year. In this year's folder I have various documents about things pertaining to this year, plus another folder called "Subjects." In this folder are folders for each individual subject, and in those are folders for the kids' assignments and for curriculum choices, etc. So let's say I want to look at my dd's last writing assignment. I would follow this path: Documents/Homeschool/2009-2010/Subjects/Language Arts/N's Assignments. Of course you can break it down any way you wish. It's completely flexible. HTH! -
Real Science 4-Kids - for grade 3?
Jenny Piaaree replied to mamapjama's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
We did RS4K Chem I and Pre-I - both together - for my 3rd grader dd last year. If your son is reading at grade 6 level, he should have no problem whatsoever with Chem I. It's very easy going. (We could have just gone with Level I, but I just loved the little atoms clinging arms in pre-I, and I thought it would help dd to conceptualize bonding. Silly, I suppose.) -
On your recommendation, Colleen, I listened last night to the mp3s for middle school, high school, and lit. analysis. I took notes on all three, too. They were all very helpful, but I will need to review and review my notes, because it takes a long time for things to really sink in. Part of me feels like ditching everything else, and just doing SWB's way. Why make it more complicated? My day is already crowded as it is. On the other hand, I'm a little panicked about getting such a late start with my son, who is in 9th. Definitely some time pressure there. I just started IEW about a week ago to get some quick skill-building in structure, because I feel like he needs to make progress now. But I've also started him on outlining and doing logic-stage foundational stuff from WTM. I've got my dd9, 4th, started on the skills from WWE 2, but incorporated into history and science, not the workbook. I still need to feel things out and see which way we want to go. But I must say, SWB's recommendations are very appealing.
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:laugh: Hmmm. OK, I read it. I think I'll try just putting the dry food out twice a day first, rather than going through the agony of weaning him off kibble. Thanks for the information! Gives me something to try! Thanks to all you posters - I love hearing everyone's cat stories. Oh, and AK Mom4, we did turn our sofa into a cat fort today, just because your tents sounded so fun! :D