Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

Kay in Cal

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,366

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Kay in Cal

    Pastor's Wives/Husbands - just wondering how many of us there are (m)

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by Kay in Cal

    Well... I'm an ordained United Methodist pastor. My dh does most of the homeschool teaching, but I'm the one who plans our curriculum and hangs out on the boards, and I've been around here for about 6 years now.

     

    I'm the only pastor of a small congregation in sub/urban Los Angeles, and our lives do indeed revolve around the church, though we actually live in the parsonage for the next UMC up the road, which means we don't have drop-ins or anything. I've been in full-time ordained ministry for 13 years now, seven years of it at the church I currently serve. The home/work/church balance is always tricky. I like to do as much as I can (writing sermons, planning classes, etc) at home.

    Parents over 35 needed

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    My first was born when I was 31, my second when I was 33... and I was one of the youngest moms in our peer group. Many of my friends had thier first child after 40, none were under 30 that I can think of offhand, my sil is pregant with her first and she'll be 36 when the baby is born. I'm 38, my friends range from around 35 to 45, and they all either have small children now or are childless by choice.

     

    I'm not sure what the focus of your paper is, but I really think that the answers will vary widely by social group/region/educational level/etc? I would have to say that for me it would have been far more unusual to have a child before, say, 25... now THAT would have been wierd, having the only child in a wider group of childless couples and singles...

    Carnima Burana

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Go check out ITunes, search "Carmina Burana", and look at what the ratings are. I have found the ratings for Classical music in particular are very helpful. If I hadn't just moved, I'd look up the recommended version in the book NPR Guide to Building a Classical Music Collection, but I don't know where it is! If you can get your hands on a copy, that is also helpful...

    Do you teach creative writing? (s/o NaNoWriMo curriculum thread)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) website has a Young Writers Program. Here is a link to their workbooks. There are three levels: elementary, middle school, and high school.

     

    My dh has started teaching through the Nanowrimo elementary curriculum as a run up to National Novel Writing Month. My ds6 is so excited about his novel, he can hardly wait to do the exercises. He spends hours thinking about characters and plot and what sort of books he's going to write. Even spelling and grammar have become more popular as the connection to actual story telling is made... and ds4 wants to draw a novel himself.

     

    I know that WTM doesn't include or encourage creative writing, but this has been a big transition here after a month of school resistence. Of course, my dh is a writer, I like to write--so maybe that increases dss interest? So I'm letting Aesops go for now until we are done with the Nanowrimo process (including rewrites) in December. I love it when they love it!

     

    So do you teach creative writing? Why or why not?

    What kind/grade of math is this?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted · Edited by Kay in Cal

    I would agree with the 3rd grade analysis...

     

    We use EPGY math online from Stanford... now it IS supposed to be rigorous and college prep, but not age inappropriate. These types of problems, and ones more complex, are included in the 3rd grade curriculum (we're just finishing it up now). Although they tend to use variables, so the problem would be shown as: (3+5) x a = 24, then 8 x a = 24, a = 3. It's really just arithmetic using some algebraic methods. I know ds has learned the commutative, associative and distributive properties this year.

    Minimus teacher guides?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted · Edited by Kay in Cal

    I think the teacher's guides are worth it... they have additional historical information, some additional vocabulary, and the activity pages. I haven't noticed a quality issue with the CD... my ds is an auditory learner, and he loves to listen to them. They are basically dramatic readings of the episodes in the books, not vocabulary drill or anything like that.

     

    We've really enjoyed doing Minimus (and Secundus) over the past year. I think it is an excellent and light "introduction" to Latin, especially if you are interested in the Classical world at all. The family in the book is based on a historical family who lived at Vindolandae and left a huge set of documents that are still being excavated. Even though it has been fictionalized in the stories (I doubt they had a talking mouse) it seems so cool to me that the stories of parties and funerals and soldiers were all things that happened.

     

    BUT FYI I would say that you aren't going to come out of it knowing tons of Latin. It is really more conversational, introductory and fun... my dh has 8 years of Latin and has added in some grammar , but it isn't a "parts to whole" approach. But aren't you SCA, Rosie? There is so much great everyday life vocab, especially about soldiers and weapons!

    Rant against some of the homeschool community culture and values. I'm venting.......

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Yeah, I totally cannot concentrate if someone's hairstyle doesn't line up with my belief system.

    What, is he waving the hawk in their eyes so they can't see their papers? Is he grooming himself so kids can't see the teacher? Who are these kids who have such delicate attention spans that they absolutely cannot concentrate if someone has a hawk in the same room?:confused:

     

    :lol::lol::lol:

     

    I agree with others... if the "rule" is new and just about one kid, I'd fight it. Otherwise I'd just opt out. Of course, at your ds's age, it probably is up to him in the long run.

     

    IMHO, it isn't worth it to be part of a group that is so shallow it sets more store by appearance than by behavior and character.

    My son is obsessed with Greek Mythology. What are some ideas for Christmas presents?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I don't know if your son is still young enough for action figures... but the Mythology book (in the same series as Pirateology, Wizardology) does have some nice action figures available.

     

    Here's one for Theseus:

    http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Mythology-Inch-Action-Figure/dp/B001C9HBBY

     

    they have the minotaur, cyclops, and Odysseus in this larger series.

     

    They also make small collectible figures which might be fun--this is Poseidon:

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Mythology-Inch-Tall-Figure/dp/B001BFM4NE

     

    but you can also get Zeus, Athena, Apollo.

     

    Somehow I am just really pleased by the fact that they make ancient Greek hero action figures...

×
×
  • Create New...