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Kel & the Kids

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Everything posted by Kel & the Kids

  1. Yes, looking at them further I think CE would be plenty for her - although it's pretty teacher-intensive I think, which may not work very well here next year. I'll check out the liink, thanks!
  2. Can anyone offer some suggestions? I'm looking for a good word roots - type program for my DD 12 for next year. She's not really academically oriented, she's never taken Latin, she's had a very little bit of Greek but she's taking Spanish. I'd really like something to expand her vocabulary and help read better books (she LOVES twaddle), write better etc. I have R&S 7 but it doesn't seem as in depth as maybe I would like. I'm looking at Word Within the Word 1 maybe but it might be too difficult. It's hard to tell. Thanks in advance for any ideas!
  3. I'll have a 7th grader next year. She's not terribly academic but we're making progress. This is a girl who would rather be playing hockey, wrestling around, swimming - ANYTHING but sitting doing school. History: Sonlight G Writing: hopefully an online IEW class Math: ?? I need something on DVD or online Language: Spanish Grammar: R&S 7 Christian studies: CLE 700 Some MP Lit. studies Piano Science: Christian Kids study Chem? (fulfills the outcomes for our province nicely) or Apologia General Thinking about Caesar's English for vocab? I'm just starting to plan so haven't got very far...
  4. No advice, but this issue is a nightmare in our house with my DS. The older he gets, the more things he *has* to use the computer for (legitimately), the harder it is to monitor. He incrementally worked himself up to a YEAR of grounding off video games (looooong story) and we stuck to it. Did it do any good? Nope. I'm at my wit's end! I hope someone has some brilliant advice :)
  5. I agree that it's probably not your info to share without the blessing of your dh and family but since you asked the opinion of adoptees on whether they would want to know the info I'll speak to that. Being an adoptee and having searched for my birth mother obviously I would want to know. It didn't matter much to me how I was conceived or why I was given up. I think my adoptive mother did a great job in making me feel very wanted so that it just didn't matter. I've enjoyed knowing the truth. If she has been actively looking (I'm not sure from your post if she has or not), then I think she should know, particularly regarding medical history (with the caveat above). As for honouring MIL's wishes, after losing both my parents and most of my other family members, my very personal opinion is that life is for the living. Some of the things they wanted just don't make sense in real life anymore. They made decisions that they may have thought were for the best in their opinion at that time, but when the ones who are left have to live them out it doesn't always work. Circumstances, ideas, finances, new information, they change how things play out. My birthmother does not want contact with me but I'm hoping that after she's gone one of my siblings will find out the story and track me down. ETA: I have no idea if this is helpful :)
  6. We sent our DS 13 to a small private school last year for many of the same reasons. I didn't tell them anything that they didn't ask. And they didn't ask much! I really wanted him to experience school as it is for every kid there, plus I was done trying to customize anything for him, iykwim. Most of the work is review for him, but that's the way it is sometimes, he's a little bored and the schedule is really wearing on him, but that's point of sending him. There are a lot of benefits to being home but they don't come for free. The price is a good attitude. We did go to the parent-teacher night, met and talked to each teacher, but I've been purposely uninvolved and it's worked out great. He's really stepped up to the plate. He's much better at home and he's getting glowing reports at school. As someone upthread said, sometimes they are an entirely different person at school and that's certainly the case with my ds. We also will re-evaluate in June. I'm sensing some softening on his part, so we shall see. It has been a great year around our house :) I wish you the best!
  7. There's a very interesting book called "Grain Brain" on this very topic. I can't remember the Dr.'s name who wrote it but it was very thought provoking.
  8. We have 1997 grand caravan with 260,000 kilometers on it and have put very little work into it. We bought it used and my dh made sure it was the 3.3L motor and it also has a towing package which, although never used, enhanced the transmission (I really don't know much about that end of things but I do understand it's all about the right motor!) This has been our 4th Caravan with that motor and they've all been great. One I totaled and one was stolen, one we traded up for a nicer version. So we've been very happy. We were just tonight considering replacing it with a 2007 but read a lot of reviews saying the got 300,000 miles out of the same van so I think we'll just stay put for a while.
  9. I did this year. More textbooks and workbooks ie: things that are easier to schedule, require less creativeness from me, and are easier to mark and evaluate. Oh, and Math, Writing and Latin on DVD :) Doing those textbooks and workbooks AS WRITTEN. I am not tweaking anything (well, hardly). Oh, and lest I forget, I sent my "problem child" to private school this year. We are all happier :) :) :) I decided I needed a year "off" if I was going to do this long term. At the end of this year I'll see where we/I are/am and proceed from there. I hope you find some compromises you can make to get yourself through this time!
  10. I just noticed I didn't answer this! The private school is the cheapest in the area so relatively speaking it's not expensive - it's just expensive as far as *our* budget goes ;) They just do so much of nothing there that after homeschooling it appears to me as if they are learning next to nothing. One example is that Weds. are 1/2 hr English, 1/2 hr French, 2 hours of Foods, PE and Art. And they spent the first 5 weeks on "safety in the kitchen" in Foods. One afternoon a week the do chores around the school. They require hardly any reading. I really consider all that to be a waste of time. He's getting good marks on questions like: Where is the best place to keep the oven mitts? (next to the stove). Seriously. He's been well prepared in our homeschool and most things are review despite the constant struggle we had.
  11. Has the change in format for Math been difficult? We are using Thinkwell 6 this year for my 6th grader but it is nowhere near enough, I don't think. We need to do something and I'm thinking of R&S. How did you choose grade 6, did you find a placement test anywhere? I'm also thinking of switching my 3rd grader over but I'm not sure where to start. I'd love any thoughts you have!
  12. Wow, my DS sounds just like yours. I quit last spring and he is enrolled in private school. After 13 years of arguing with him I decided it was my girls' turn for my attention. I did NOT want him at school since they do barely anything that I *would* call school but my dh told me to think of it as a year of "daycare" for him, which is what I'm doing. He wouldn't do chores, he was not motivated by loss or reward, he dragged us all down everyday and I just ran out of steam, especially while trying to teach my 3 others who actually wanted to learn. On a positive note, although I expected the worst, DS has really stepped up to the plate! He takes the public bus to and from school, looks after all his own work (and is getting good grades), has decent kids to hang with at school, is well liked by teachers and kids alike. He is a happy person and willingly does his chores or whatever is asked of him at home. It is coming at great financial cost to our family but so far it's been more than worth it. I am increasingly astonished. I'm sad he's not really learning anything but let's face it, he wasn't learning here anyway despite having the opportunity to choose what he wanted, online classes, outsourced classes, you name it. I hope you find something that works for your family!
  13. Listening in... I'm thinking of moving the MP direction, particularly with my 3rd grader, I like their materials and I *love* what Mr. Cothran writes every time I get my Classical Teacher mag. in the mail :) I'd like to get my 6th grader transitioned too for some things but I'm not sure where to start with her. I wish I'd thought of doing this when I was doing my planning last spring, sigh.
  14. So you're sure then? Just kidding! Thanks for the review. We haven't had too much trouble with confusion issues, it just doesn't seem thorough at all!
  15. I'm primarily a lurker here but I pick up a lot of good advice... so I checked out Thinkwell this year and thought it looked good for my 6th grader who has been doing Math Mammoth for the last couple of years and previous to that, the old BJU. Math is not her strongest subject and we have had much frustration with MM so I thought it was time to move on. In comparison to MM, Thinkwell is ridiculously easy unless I'm missing something. We are getting into the intro to Algebra now but it still doesn't seem to require any "thinking" at all, just a few very straightforward questions. We're doing the online exercise and the printed worksheet which seems to be all there is. Does it get better? Am I missing something? Have we just been overworked by MM? I appreciate any thoughts :)
  16. I have just discovered a gold mine -for us anyway! It's the Currclick live classes (am I allowed to post a link?). So far I'm very impressed. My kids are doing Mandarin and a Fractions class. I'm lingering close by getting breakfast for my little girls while a professional Math teacher is teaching my dd 10 to add fractions :p This may save my sanity DS 12 :)
  17. We're considered odd by most. We don't allow sleepovers across the board unless it's with family. But then again we homeschool too among other things, lol, and that's also considered odd by most people I know. I did loads of sleepovers as a kid and what I most remember is a lot fun - learning about things I shouldn't have been learning about ; ) I'm certainly glad no one had access to the internet back then! I guess our friends weren't from the most outstanding families, we were always into something we shouldn't have been. I just tell the kids it'll have to be one more thing they'll need therapy for when they grow up. I wouldn't be a good parent if they didn't have a few issues to work through.
  18. Take this fwiw since I don't use it personally and I'm not terribly techy... but we got it this summer so that my ds could learn programming and do some virtual learning programs on Windows and we have had no issues at all. I was expecting some trouble and glitchy garbage but it's been hassle free. What a pleasant turn of events when speaking of computers, lol. Hopefully you'll get some great answers from those more knowledgable!
  19. This is a pet peeve of mine. I'm 43 and I've ALWAYS hated that word and potty humour in general. My oldest didn't know the word until he was about 10, lol. We've always called them "scuses" (because you say "excuse me") and they think that's the most natural word in the world. My dh's brothers think it's hilarious and a little sad. But in our house, that other word is a swear word. :D My Mom used to say "let one slide", as in "Did you let one slide?", lol. That still cracks my dh up, I just rolled my eyes.
  20. Huh. Never occurred to me not to! I mean I boil them for HOURS right? If I didn't do that I'd have to buy more canned soup which would have to be *more* gross, don't you think? Maybe I won't mention it to anyone anymore though :lol:
  21. She just stopped sending me things at all, never visited, nothing, when I was about 9... I got over it. My mom never liked her anyway and explained how it was her choice and not my fault, that I had lots of people who loved me. It's still ok with me. I feel sorry for the woman that she would have felt like that whatever her reasons were but people do odd things. It's part of life. Sometimes it's our fault and sometimes it's not. I'd let it go and encourage the kids to think well of them, pray for them and be kind to them as the occasion arises.
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