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Embassy

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Posts posted by Embassy

  1. I lived in Scotland for about a year a long time ago. I had a washer, but I hung the clothes on a special clothes rack inside. It was often rainy so hanging things outside would not work well. The rack was on the ceiling and it had a little device that would lower it for me to put the clothes on and then I would raise it up to the ceiling to dry.

  2. I'm still in the planning stages, but this will give you an idea of what we will be doing:

     

    Reading – 20,000 leagues under the sea, Robinson Crusoe, The Yearling, Anne Frank, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Hobbit, National Velvet, Shane

     

    Read Alouds – A Christmas Carol, Moby Dick, Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry, Ivanhoe, Johnny Tremain, Kim, Where the Red Fern Grows

     

    Language Arts - Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts program

     

    Spelling – Sequential Spelling 2 DVD

     

    Handwriting – Italic book D

     

    Math – Singapore Math and Speed Math and finish Mathematical Reasoning grade 3

     

    Geography – in depth studies on China, India, and Thailand

     

    History – in depth studies on ancient cultures around the world

     

    Science - in depth studies on cells, human anatomy, and DNA

     

    Bible – Bible look up practice, memory work, old covenant law study, mission stories, music

     

    Arabic - Alif Baa, Arabic Instant Immersion, Arabic for English Speakers Junior Level 1

     

    Greek – Hey Andrew Teach Me Some Greek 2

     

    Mandarin – Rosetta Stone Mandarin and Chinese Made Easy for Kids Level 1

     

    Typing Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum

     

    Art - integrated with history and geography with a little art appreciation thrown in.

     

    Music – Music Ace and Guitar lessons

     

    PE / Fitness – Daily exercises in log book, Weekly hike, Gross Motor Lab, Team sport

  3. I enjoy reading books to my children, but I have a problem that has been a reoccurring problem for years. I keep falling asleep when I read to them. This usually happens when I'm reading chapter books while sitting down on the couch. My son is used to nudging me awake as I read. Tell me I'm not the only one.

  4. So we'd appreciate any opinions or insight that you might have! Thank you! :)

     

    Come on over! If you live in the Toronto area you will live in one of the most diverse areas of the world. It is an easy place to study and experience various cultures. Just last week my boys were playing their first game of cricket with a neighbor boy who spoke Urdu. I love it here.

     

    We have been here less than 2 years. My husband is Canadian so the move was easy as far as paperwork goes. If you don't like hockey now, you may change your mind :001_smile:

     

    I'm still trying to figure out US and Canadian spelling differences though. Temperatures are quite different too. I am getting used to knowing what 10 degrees means now. And Tim...you need to get to know him. Those fruit explosion muffins are the best!

  5. I hardly ever get out. We are a one car family so my opportunities are limited. I think a lot depends on the personalities of your children. Do they want to get out and socialize or are they happy at home? The most important social role model your child can have is you. You model proper behavior. It doesn't hurt that my boys are close in age and can play with each other. I have observed my children when they are with other children and they do fine interacting. They do much better than my dh and I did at that age. We were both very reserved at that age. I have made it a point to not push my kids into any social situations. I spent my childhood and teen years being pushed to do things I didn't want to do and was made to feel that it wasn't okay to be me. My kids are pretty much happy at home so we spend most of our time at home. They will be fine.

     

    I do expect that we will be getting out of house more and more as my children grow.

  6. I am looking for an Arabic language program that will teach a lot of vocabulary. I don't speak Arabic so I need something that will speak everything. My kids and I are using Alif Baa with Multimedia and Instant Immersion right now and we like them both. I just want a little more vocabulary introduced. Any suggestions?

  7. Has anyone else hit being told that their child is "just gifted, and it's normal for gifted kids" on the OE level? I've been told that my DD doesn't qualify for services for SID, because "It's normal for profoundly gifted kids to have sensitivities" and "They outgrow it without therapy".

     

    And the next question is-do they? I will say that my DD no longer goes into total panic when a vacuum cleaner is turned on, like she did when she was younger, so I guess that's progress....

     

     

    I can relate to my 8 year old. As an infant he needed constant holding and attention. At age 2 he would run screaming if someone with a loud voice talked to him. At age 7 he covered his ears crying at an IMAX theater - his first time in a theater. In general, he has outgrown most sensory issues. He still has many overexcitabilities, but the sensory overexcitabilites are barely seen anymore. It pretty much only shows up now when he is in a very loud and busy environment. He can handle it. He just doesn't want to be there long.

     

    I plan on getting How Does Your Engine Run? to help him deal with some of the emotional overexcitabilities.

  8. With my oldest it was when he was an infant. He needed constant stimulation. There was no way he could just sit and look around. He grew into a toddler that soaked up everything. LOL, he is still like that.

     

    With my second child it was little glimpses during his preschool years. He would say or do something that surprised me like write the complete alphabet in order when he was 3 or read a few simple things. He is still like that.

     

    With my third child it was rather recently around the age of 2. She likes to tell her own jokes to make people laugh. She can count up to 3, knows a lot of colors, and has a great vocabulary for her age.

  9. I don't feel guilty. I think a true educator would value a personalized education. Sometimes my response that we homeschool is met with silence or awkwardness. I have no problem discussing why we do what we do. I think some educators bite their tongue. Some are quite silly. I had one tell me last school year to stop by the local district and get a list of what I need to teach.

  10. I am starting to put together next year's plan for school. My six year old will be in first grade next year. He has a natural bent toward art and I would like to encourage that. He likes to create without instruction, but will copy things. For example, he doesn't want to build Lego sets by their instructions - he wants to create his own unique piece. He doesn't want to draw something he is not interested in either. He does a great job copying things he sees. What would you suggest?

     

    1. An art curriculum of some kind? If so, what would you recommend?

    2. Just get him art supplies, time to draw, and leave him alone.

    3. Exposure to famous artists throughout history.

    4. Some combination of the above.

     

    He will be doing some theme-based art along with history and geography.

     

    Thanks!

  11. Thank you for the link.

     

    As for the original link, I was just confused by the terminology. Looking back at it, it is from South Africa, where perhaps they have different names for these things (the Behavioral Inhibition described therein sounds identical to a subset of SPD).

     

    That makes sense :) Yes, the site is not from the USA and they do say some things a little differently.

  12. Generally speaking, motor issues and sensitivities are both sensory processing issues, i.e., issues of the central nervous system. What is described at the link seems to me to be a subset of Sensory Processing Disorder. It's a bit confusing to call the same thing by two different names. See, e.g.:

     

    http://www.starcenter.us/aboutspd.html

     

    http://www.spdfoundation.net/

     

    Apparently there is still a chance that SPD will be included in the DSM-V. http://www.spdfoundation.net/dsmv.html

     

    The skillsforaction website is helpful for both children with overexcitabilities and sensory processing disorder. Overexcitabilities and sensory processing disorder may look similiar clinically, but they are quite different. With overexcitabilities a child has highly sensitive receptors. The child with sensory processing disorder has problems processing sensory information. This article goes over the differences.

  13. So yes, aside from renouncing your citizenship, which I would not do if you want to continue crossing the border easily, you will always have to enter the US on your US passport. Hopefully your prior "interrogation" will not happen again.

     

    So how do they know if you are using the wrong passport and why would it be the wrong passport if you are a citizen of that country?

     

    I don't plan on getting my children US passports. I only want them to have Canadian passports, but they were born in the USA. Are you saying they will have problems because of that?

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