justasque
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Posts posted by justasque
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I Googled a bit more and found this site, which has test-specific materials for a variety of the tests typically used by home educators in PA. However, you'll end up paying more for the prep materials than you will for an inexpensive CAT.
Honestly, having watched this play out for many years, if your kiddo is doing a WTM-type program, and is reading and doing math at more-or-less grade level, you very likely have *no worries* when it comes to test scores. In the worst-case scenario, if your child does much worse than you'd like to see, you can toss the scores and re-test.
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I wouldn't expect anyone else to be responsible for dealing with a reaction except me (and possibly a close trusted friend). Thus, I would not drop off. I would expect others to make an effort to remember, but I'd realize that they would not be perfect at it, especially the kids, so I'd assume it was ultimately my responsibility, and I'd extend grace to anyone who made a mistake about it.
Honestly, for me it's a miracle I can dig up something for our lunchboxes on co-op day, and breakfast is on the run in the car. I have so few brain cells after loading the car with all our homework, library books, things I have to give to other people, etc., so to combine what my kid will willingly eat with what we have on hand to make a lunch is a feat in itself; adding someone else's food yes's and no's would likely not be done with 100% accuracy. Would I *want* to succeed, yes. Would I be perfect, no.
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Ask the place to which you are donating for guidelines; they will know best what they want/need. I volunteered at a thrift once; one of our biggest selling items was partly-burned candles, sold to folks whose electricity was cut off. Who knew?
I often shop thrift shops for clothes that I use to make bags, doll clothes, costumes, and so on. Things like shrunken sweaters, stained clothing that has nice fabric and trim away from the stain site, a bathing suit with worn-out elastic, etc. can be a real find for me and crafters like me. I made a great pool bag from a pair of board shorts, and a mess kit bag from another. I made a lovely makeup bag and matching makeup brush roll from a little girl's gingham dress, using the pre-embroidered images to really dress it up. I sometimes cut off a women's short skirt and put in an elastic waist to make a long skirt for my dd. I've made "historical" aprons from women's linen skirts. Any stains just give it an authentic patina.
BUT - not every donation center has customers who can/will use/want things like this, so if you ask, they can let you know.
You might also ask around about crafters who could use your stained clothing. For example, some folks make "made to match" Gymboree outfits for American Girl dolls using used Gymbo clothing. Making AG clothes from existing clothing is really fun - by carefully planning your cutting layout, you can use the already-applied trim and hems, so the clothing comes out looking like it's really been worn. (Think about a skirt cut from the hem of a pair of jeans - it will have the fading and wear at the hem, instead of a plain "homemade" hem.) I have a friend who collects shrunken sweaters and makes the most amazing things from them.
Also, as a PP said, some thrifts sell the not-perfect clothing as rags. One thrift I've visited takes off zippers and buttons from stained clothing, and sells them to crafters, though I think this is fairly rare. (It is in a remote area which does not have a sewing shop, so it's a real benefit to the local crafters.)
Some families would rather have a stained-but-quality Hannah A. dress than a perfect Walmart one, KWIM? Some little girls love "dress up", and mom is happy to dress them in not-perfect cast-off "party" dresses that she doesn't have to worry about them playing in because they didn't cost her a fortune to begin with.
When in doubt, I'd donate and let them decide.
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I'm in PA - I just want to say don't let the homeschooling law in PA scare you. It sounds dreadful at first, but, especially for someone doing more-or-less WTM, it should be routine paperwork after your first time.
There are some forms to fill in up-front (easy-peasy), some stuff to hand in at the end (a few samples of work), and an evaluation - basically a meeting with (typically) another homeschooling mom (who has the required credentials - there are tons to choose from) who will fill out a form for you.
Three times during K-12 you'll have to do standardized testing, and you'll probably agonize the first time, but after that it'll be no sweat and you'll wonder why you worried about it.
I know that sounds like a lot, but once you get the hang of it you really only pay attention once a year, around May, when you do the end-of-year stuff for the past year and the beginning-of-year forms for the next.
Problems that arise are almost always because school district employees aren't familiar with the law; it's easy to clear things up with a quick phone call to the Pa Dept of Ed, where there is a home education liaison.
It's all elaborate security theater, and if you think of it that way, you'll be fine.
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I've lived in SWVA. It does indeed get cold.
Don't underestimate the usefulness of a warm wool hat. It will help keep the rest of you warm, even if your head didn't feel all that cold. Ditto for nice knitted gauntlets for your arms/hands. Take up knitting!
You will need warm gloves - don't skimp on these - and perhaps a good pair of waterproof gloves if it snows. Marshalls is good for these, esp. for boys/men.
The underlayer is key. Either a cami, a long-sleeved undershirt, or both. Long enough to tuck in and stay tucked in. I like leggings under my skirts, others like tights. NOT the thin kind, the thick winter kind.
You'll also need a sweater, and/or a polar fleece. This is worn over your underlayer and shirt. This time of year you can get away with just this, as it gets colder you'll add a coat.
I love polar fleece socks. I get them from Campmor or from Marshalls, where they often get the previous year's designs for around $8 a pair. I know that sounds like a lot (they are normally more like $20), but they wear well and are super-warm. Other folks like the Smartwool brand. Either way, nice socks make a nice Christmas gift. My kids get 'em every year.
Honey, you are not going to be wearing pumps. You need some kind of dressy "park mom" shoe in a Mary Jane style, or a good boot. It gets wet, and icy, and snowy. Pumps don't keep you warm, nor can you safely walk in them in the bad weather. Ask your local friends what they wear and where they get them. Yes, this is a different look, but your eye will adjust, and you'll blend in with your community. Think English upper-class tweedy, country home set.
Coats - I love Lands End. Yes, they are pricey, but they give temperature ratings and they wear well. If you pay $80, it's really only $8-10 a year or less. Other outdoor stores work well too. Think function when you choose. Nothing that only goes to the waist.
Keep an eye out for warmer skirts. Wool or cotton twill help keep the wind out and keep you warmer.
Thrift shops are good, eBay is good, Marshalls and TJ Maxx are good.
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DS wants to go to the homecoming dance with a date. What should he wear? Where should I order from. Any advice and suggestions. TIA
Find out what everyone else is wearing. Ask the GIRLS, as the boys may be clueless. If it's a suit (which is unlikely), ask around to borrow one first, then try the thrifts in your area if they're good, then if he's small enough the boys dept. at Macy's, Penny's, etc. Hopefully, you can get away with kahkis and a sports jacket, so you'll just need the jacket. Again, borrow, then thrift, then Macy's or Penny's.
*Lots* of boys buy new suits for a wedding or whatever, wear them once, then donate when they outgrow. If the thrifts in your area are good, then even when you include the dry cleaning cost, you'll be ahead of things.
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If you like these people and would not have given a second thought to going had it not been for the dish issue, then I say go anyway. I doubt that this person was trying to be rude. If you would not have gone anyway then don't go and don't look back. If it is bothersome to the core principle of who you are, then don't go because you might have a chip on your shoulder, kwim? Otherwise have fun and may I recommend an Italian side dish!:001_smile:
:iagree:Yes! That's what I was trying to say!
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I agree that if you're expecting a gift, especially a substantial one, then asking for food as well is tacky. I am assuming that a pot-luck graduation party would not be one where gifts were expected.
But I would also try not to lose sight of the fact that the point of either kind of party is to give friends and family an opportunity to come together to congratulate/celebrate the graduate on their accomplishment and give them encouragement for their future plans/goals. (NOT, I hasten to add, by spending money on them one way or another, but to actually spend time with them and their family, talk to them about goals/plans, etc.) When invited to these parties, I put my emphasis on this, not on the gift.
BTW, I too have been to some very simple weddings, and they were just as beautiful and meaningful, if not more so, than the more lavish ones I've attended. (And the marriages have often lasted longer too!)
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Personally I'd like to see things go back to cookies and punch. Then the pressure to provide so much food would be off.
I do think you've got a good point for traditional "ask a few kids from the neighborhood", cake-and-candles-and-ice-cream, play a few simple games types of parties.
In our case, the families we know are often driving at least an hour to get here. In some cases, teens are dropped off, and their parents may be driving an hour to get here, going home, then coming back for pick-up. It's got to be a long party to make it worth their while. Plus, my kids like to play board games, and the games they play can last several hours each. Maintaining these friendships is important to my kids, so we host 7-hour "open house" days on a regular basis. If it's more than a few hours, you've got to feed people, and if they're teens, you've got to feed them quite a bit.
Graduation and other family parties can be similar - when everyone is driving so far to see each other, it just doesn't make sense to have a two-hour event and be done with it. Might as well do something longer, so everyone can spend more time with each other. Which means there's got to be a meal or two involved.
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We have informal parties/gatherings all the time, mostly around playing board/card games, but also for lesser holidays now and again. We invite tons of people, mainly kids/teens and their families. The event usually lasts for upwards of 7 hours, on an "open house" basis where people drop in for whatever part of it fits their schedule. I ask everyone to bring a healthy snack to share, if they're up to it. People bring anything from a baked treat, to a bottle of juice, to some fruit, to something they made for last night's dinner that was yummy, etc. etc. Because my invitation is wide and casual, I never have any idea how many people I will be serving. I always cook up a storm, to cover the basics, but these offerings help me to not stress, because if there are more guests, there will be more food brought by guests, so the food I provide will stretch to cover them. It also helps a lot for guests with dietary restrictions - there is usually a wide variety of food, most in simple form like cut-up fruit or homemade bread. Some people bring something every time, some now and again, some never. Some people bring home-cooked food, some buy something. Some people bring something they chose specifically for the party, some bring whatever they have on hand, even leftover bits of this and that. (When you're hosting a ton of teens, it's all gonna get eaten, KWIM?!) Other friends do the same at their parties. It's less about it being "my" party, and more about it being "our" party, that we create together, that happens to be at my house.
I can see that a graduation party is normally a different thing - a formal thing, with fancy $ gifts and so on. I've honestly always found these gift-based parties kind of strange; they are not part of my family's traditional culture. A more casual, pot-luck gathering would be fun too - just think of it as another kind of party entirely. I'm guessing also that it's one where there is less emphasis on the gift-giving part. If I were throwing this kind of party, I'd be assuming that the food was in lieu of the traditional gift.
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I have a hard time eating out. For me, it's fat and to some extent dairy. Things like cream sauces, ice cream, butter sauces, cheese sauces, anything with a high fat content - all of the things I love. If I eat grilled fish, potatoes without butter or sour cream, pasta with the sauce on the side, etc. I can eat out without problems. Sushi restaurants are wonderful as there is nothing I can't eat there! Chain restaurants are the worst; they use fat to make people think the food is good. If I cook at home without the high fat/high dairy, I can eat without problems.
Consider thinking about the foods you choose when you eat out, and the places you go to. You may find a common link.
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That's 13% of his body weight - kind of a lot. There are all kinds of things that could cause it, but he won't find out which until he gets a through work-up. The sooner he gets to the doc, the sooner you can find out if it's minor or major. And if it's major, the sooner he can get treatment. You have kids to think of - get him to the doc.
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I would think about mixing it up a bit - rather than just dinners, maybe some dinners, some breakfast-y things, and some "extras" like muffins or mini-pies or whatever works for his diet and his taste. That way there will be some variety, and he can mix-and-match frozen vs. other meals depending on what he has planned for the day.
I do agree with the pp who said that when your dh gets back you should probe a bit more about where his response was coming from. You want to be sure, after going to all that effort, that the items will actually be used.
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Nance, you know what I'd do? I'd call the school your kids would ordinarily go to, and tell them you are a homeschooler who would be assigned to that school. Ask if they have copies of the previous state tests posted on Blackboard (or ask if the parents have access to those copies somewhere else). See if you can get access, print them off, and use them for more specific test prep.
It's most likely that the test Nance chooses is not the same test the school kids will be taking. Although in PA we have the option of using the school test, generally home educators choose a different one that is privately given and takes much less time.
Spectrum test prep books will give a general sense of standardized testing, but are generally not test-specific.
Nance's dd does not have to meet a minimum score, though there can be some unpleasantness (or worse) if the superintendent believes she is not making progress in her home education program based on her test scores (and portfolio and evaluator's report).
Nance, if you have ethical concerns, another option is to give your dd the test, have it scored, and if you don't like the scores, toss the first set of results and test again. If your dd is an avid reader and is doing more-or-less grade-level math, you most likely have nothing to worry about, whether you prep or not.
Have you tried Googling test prep worksheets? I didn't get far with it, but I'm guessing there are school districts out there who have test prep stuff on their web sites for their own kids to use.
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BTW, I've been having a huge problem with sour towels and jeans lately, too.
Try watching your washer run through a cycle, as much as you can. It might be the washer causing all these problems.
We found our washer just wasn't agitating correctly; the symptoms were clothes that weren't washed well, and a few cases of hives/rash from not-rinsed-well clothes. The solution was a $10 part called the "agitator dogs"; now everything is good as new.
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A GBC binding machine worth over $400 for $15!
Mine was only $3! Again, no one knew what it was, including me, when my dad got it at a flea market. We all were kicking ourselves for letting him loose with any money. Now, I couldn't homeschool without it. *So* perfect for creating custom workbooks! I love to combine the best pages from, for example, a variety of grammar workbooks, or a variety of phonics/handwriting/early math/coloring books, or math textbooks (I choose all the word problem pages).
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You might find, now that you know about the timing, that you can manage some of it and plan ahead. For example, if you know it is coming up, you won't volunteer to bake 47 cookies in the shape of the Alamo for co-op, KWIM? When you feel the emotions, you will also know that they are temporary, and that may help keep them in check. I'm not suggesting that knowledge alone is a miracle cure, but it might help to keep things manageable until you can figure out some remedies.
I also suggest exercise, fresh air, vegetables, limiting caffeine, and getting as much sleep as your body is telling you it wants.
And I second the advice to get a general, all-around check-up.
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The main advantage to the test prep booklet is to give her a sense of the format of the test. You can probably get one cheaper at Borders/B&N, or even cheaper through Amazon, or see if an IRL friend has one you can look at. I did a quick Google but didn't find anything interesting - there's got to be something out there, though. You might find something at the library. You don't really need test-specific materials, just some multiple-choice type worksheets on similar topics. The main thing is, if you have bright kids, you have to teach them how to "dumb it down" to the level of the test. They need to choose the answer the test-maker thinks is the right answer, which is sometimes based on a simplistic understanding of the material. If you prep, do it with an eye towards making your dd comfortable with the test. At age 10, in our state, that's way more important than how she scores.
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When ds broke out in hives, I washed everything in Sun and Earth, and it worked well. Our homeschool group toured the small, clean factory; I got a very good impression of the company's values, and they couldn't have been more welcoming to our group. They get a lot of customers who have sensitive skin.
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That's the way it worked for most of my kids. For one kid, the times tables needed a little more focused work the summer before 5th grade. We play a lot of games, and that helps a ton. Plus I let them use manipulatives whenever they want.
I personally find that the knowledge is richer and more useful when it comes from tackling the problems from all kinds of angles. For example, reducing fractions really solidifies multiplication and division facts, because you have to be able to do them both ways: 7x4=28, but also recognizing that 28 can be broken into 7x4. In the case of something like 24, it helps you see how it can be factored in a whole bunch of ways - there's a 6 in there, or an 8, or a 3, and so on. (I don't teach reducing fractions by trying to find the largest factor; rather we find any factor and keep reducing until it's in simplest form. As they get more proficient, they start to choose larger numbers, so as to reduce the amount of work, a powerful motivation!)
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I've done both - had only enough dishes for one meal, and washed them several times a day, vs. had a ton of dishes and used the dishwasher on an ongoing basis. I loved the simplicity and minimal-stuff aspect of dishwashing by hand. Now that I have a dishwasher, though, and teenagers, I have more dishes. Way more dishes.
Could you buy a few nice breakfast bowls, and some small lunch plates? You don't have to spend a lot. Ikea, Marshalls, Target would all be good places to look. Take your time and find ones you love - it's nice to have pretty things around you. Then you can wash breakfast and lunch and bits and pieces after lunch, and dinner dishes and pots/pans after dinner.
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Boy Scout activities on an Indian reservation?
Visiting the UN?
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Blankets are one whole heck of a lot easier to wash when you get home.
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Look up your school's honor code. If there is one, and hopefully there is, it will most likely answer your question for you.
Is there anything immoral about teaching to the test a bit...?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Not that I know of, but I've never done a serious search, mostly because my own kids have usually done the WRAT or the Terra Nova, though they did the Iowa once or twice. I used Terra Nova-specific materials for my first kid's first (Terra Nova) test, but after that I stuck with the Spectrum stuff because it was cheap and easy to find, and because the whole testing thing had been demystified for me. The Iowas *are* a bit harder than the Terra Novas, and frankly give more useful results (if you are looking at testing that way, rather than just to fulfill the law), but my kids didn't take them until they were older and more used to testing, so we didn't prep specifically for them. (Plus some of my kids have the "good at testing" gene, so we didn't worry too much about it.)
The ITBS people seem pretty careful about test security, so I don't know how easy it would be to find even an old version. Honestly, I don't know if it would be to their benefit to have people able to critique the details of the actual test, even an old one. If you find anything, let me know and I'll add it to my site. I already added the Mari link from my previous post.