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ChristineW

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Posts posted by ChristineW

    Art Supplies for PreK and K

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    What do I really need and how much should I buy? I have a 3 1/2 year old and a soon to be 5 year old with fine motor issues who have both taken a big leap forward and now love art.

     

    Any brands that I should be aware of? I discovered Prang watercolors today and I will never buy the cheap watercolors again. Seriously, 1.39 for ugly water that never gets used or 2.99 for gorgeous, vivid color (now the kids do have to wear their smocks but its a worthwhile trade); its not a hard decision. Makes me wonder if I should try stockmar with the baby.

     

    Where do you get your supplies? I'm on the West Coast in the Bay Area.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Christine

    Best Memberships ... what says the hive???

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I think this may be a relatively new restriction - it hasn't always been like that. I had ONE great membership that wasn't local that got us into zoos, science museums, and children's museums for about $100. That was about 5 years ago. Since then, I have noticed the restriction on various museum and zoo websites. So check the policies at your local venues to be sure. You don;t want to shell out the money and then find it won't help for your local museums.

     

    I'm finding out that some of the zoos/aquariums here are free for homeschoolers - you might want to check if that's an option in your area.

     

    I think with the tough economy lots of museums have had budget cuts and are being more cautious. We're starting to get asked for id even at museums where we are members and I don't remember that happening two years ago. Also, many of our membership cards have our address printed on them.

     

    Christine W

    Best Memberships ... what says the hive???

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Tutor the Purple Palace looks great! Sometimes having the membership at a museum near you is the best way to go if you go there often' date=' and other times it's best to have one a few hundred miles away. The ASTC and ACM memberships (reciprocal memberships at science and children's museums) usually do not apply to museums within a certain mile radius of your membership museum. I forget the details as it's been a while.

     

    Thank you for sharing your experience, and I agree that it's money very well spent! :)[/quote']

     

    I love the reciprocity agreements. We just spent a wonderful afternoon in the Nature Museum of Canada using our membership to the Exploratorium.

     

    However, I'd be careful about purchasing a membership to a far away museum to get reciprocal benefits at a more expensive local museum. The travel passport benefits of science museums do not apply to persons living within 90 miles of the museum they wish to visit. So that even if I am a member of the Science Center in St Louis, I cannot use that membership for free admission to the Lawrence Hall of Sciences in Berkeley California because I live in the Bay Area. I do get a discount though because Lawrence Hall has an agreement with the local Bay Area Science centers including the Exploratorium to reduce admission prices for members of its local sister ASTC museums. Many of the larger children's museums have the same policy of denying reciprocity to local residents with nonlocal museum memberships.

     

    IMHO, its best to hold memberships at the museums that you and your family patronize most often and those you wish to support. Many of our local museums and zoos offer members benefits such as discounts on camps, classes, extended members only hours, open houses, and special speakers that compensate for the price differential. Also, some of the places that we love most (Cal Academy of the Sciences, Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Missouri Botanical Gardens) do not have reciprocal agreements with anyone.

     

    Christine W

    Rainbow Resource: Do They Send an Email

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I got an email with a tracking number in it. I will say that I was extremely frustrated with them the last several weeks. When I got my first shipment they got one item wrong. The lady told me to have it boxed up and UPS would be to pick it up on such and such day. That day came and no one came to pick it up, but in the meantime my replacement item came and guess what? It was again the wrong thing. UGH!!! I was so mad. I called and said that they again had messed up and what do I do now. She told me they would have to adjust the pick up order and to put both items in one box. UPS had apparently messed up the first pick up and was to pick up the week after. Finally, after 3 weeks of this back and forth stuff they got my order right and UPS picked up both "wrong" items.

     

    For me CBD is just as comparable on prices and their service is much better than RR.

     

    Forgive a newbie, but what is CPD?

     

    I've never gotten an e-mail or tracking number from RR, but the service has always been fast. If you're worried about an order, I'd call or e-mail. I've always gotten a quick, friendly response.

     

    Christine W

    S/O post of WTM member diagnosed w/ cancer

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    It would depend on the situation. In some cancers, traditional treatment has a low success rate. In those situations, I would apply to every clinical study that I was eligible for and I would pray that it would work. I don't know that I would be willing to go through the side effects of chemo where the 5 year survival rate was in the teens, but I don't know.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    i

    Anyone feels guilty staying home and husband working?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    No. Dh routinely works 12 hour days and at least once a week he works for 15 hours. He loves his job, and is ambitious.

     

    I used to work on a 9/80 schedule and my husband begged me for months and months to quit. The kids were in daycare for 12 hours a day, were often sick and we fought on who would stay home. We were all stressed out and no one was happy. The stress was bad enough that I was put on bedrest midway through my pregnancy with our third baby due to preterm labor. After a month away from work, my body fully recovered and I carried S full term. We missed my income but were sooo much happier as a family that I resigned. One year later, my DH still thanks me for quitting and makes sure that I have escapes from the kids so that I don't burn out and want to return to work.

     

     

    Christine W

    Work or HS?Need advice. LONG

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    Find an advocate and get a new IEP. If the current IEP states that your son needs one on one tutoring--the school is legally obligated toprovide one for him. If they can't meet your son's needs, you have the legal right to put him in a private school that can and then demand that the school pay tuition.

     

    Christine W

    San Francisco and area-

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    My kids love Cal Academy of the Sciences, Exploratorium, Alcatraz, and though it is touristy--the cable cars are such fun. You might want to consider getting a city pass because the main attractions really add up fast.

     

    Off the beaten path, if your boys like building things, Lawrence Hall of the Sciences in Berkeley, is a great math and science museum where they can design a roller coaster track, play math games, and build with thousands of kapla blocks. Your littlest might enjoy the steam trains down the street in Tilden park.

     

    Christine W

    McRuffy Phonics

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I really like the phonics readers that I've seen from McRuffy. I'm trying to decide whether or not I need to purchase the whole Kindergarten program or whether Dynamic Phonics supplemented with the readers is sufficient?

     

    I've read that the Kindergarten SE is superior to the previous program, but are the readers that different? Rainbow Resources has the older first readers on clearance and I'm tempted to get them and the Dynamic Phonics. DS is 4.5 and his fine motor skill are not ready for penmanship/writing.

     

    Am I crazy? Anyone tried this?

     

    Thank you,

     

    Christine

    Favorite Early Readers

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    What readers do you like for your just starting to read children? DS 4.5 knows all his letters and is beginning to read three letter cvc words. We have the BOB books, but he knows the first 5 or 6 by memory--we tried before he was ready and he just memorized rather than read.

     

    My niece learned how to read at nursery school with the A Beka curriculum as did my youngest three siblings; I'm tempted to order the K4, K5 readers and the reading handbook. I thought that A Beka used to have samples online but I can't find them any more. The McRuffey readers look interesting too. I know that I just need to make a decision but I don't want more books just sitting in the bookshelf unused.

     

    What "readers" are your favorite for first books?

     

     

    Thank you,

     

    Christine

    Where do you buy your manipulatives

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Are you going to be using a specific math program? I ask because certain math programs (i.e. MUS) sell their own manipulatives.

     

    I had some manipulatives I had picked up at a teacher's supply, but when we started MUS, I found their manipulatives to be much better than the ones we had prior to that.

     

    (Come to think of it, I did have some different colored little plastic teddy bears for counters when the kids were Pre-K and K that the kids absolutely loved. I think I actually got them at a hobby store).

     

    I haven't decided on a math program yet. I'm thinking about MEP because its free or maybe Right Start b/c it is supposed to be Montessori based. DS was in a Montessori daycare/preschool from 9 months of age until February. We spend a lot of time with number rods and the hundreds board. He skipped the tens board at school and I'm having a hard time getting him to use it to practice addition and subtraction. Montessori math definitely worked for him.

    Where do you buy your manipulatives

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I'm going to be homeschooling DS (4.5) for kindergarten this year, and DD1 (3.5) will likely be doing some work with us.

     

    I've got a Lakeshore Learning store about 10 minutes away, but many items seem overpriced and they don't carry everything I want. I've ordered from Rainbow Resource but as I'm only doing K and Pre-K, my wishlist isn't $150--it could be if I bought everything I wanted but I've found the simpler the better at this age. Also, I tend to buy things as needed.

     

    Are there other online stores that I should be aware of?

     

    Thanks,

     

    Christine W

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