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magistramom

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Posts posted by magistramom

    My fellow emergency preparedness people...

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Purchase a purification system for your pressure cooker (or purchase it along with purchasing a pressure cooker).

     

    There are camping straws that purify nasty water as it is syphoned up the filter.

     

    There are water purification bottles with filters, and you can learn to purify water using the sun.

     

    Camping stores also sell water purification tablets.

     

    Read up on Water Purification on Wikipedia, and on howstuffworks.com

     

    Good luck with your research - there is a lot you can do!

    Boxed Potatoes. Are they really that bad?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Hmmm... Well, I can't be all high and mighty because we eat them:) But if you are a principled person, it's always best to eat close to the natural source. If you really want to know how good your food is, research. I imagine that many boxed and pre-processed foods are made from veggies that have GMOs included, or are hybrids. It's good to also look at what we put in our gardens, as many seeds and seedlings contain GMOs, antibiotics, and are terminator plants (only produce for one season). Try to eat fresh, and try to eat pure (even better than organic). Save the box in your food stores for use in an emergency - it will be easy to "revive" with water.

     

    Enjoy dinner:)

    Could I read America a bed-time story?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I love your idea, and think of it often. You are on the right track with getting everyone to read a book, and this one sounds like a conversation starter.

     

    Those that follow TJEd (and CM and WTM) realize that our nation (any nation) needs a national book. Most American's woudl react with choosing the Bible as a national book, but that doesn't fit everyone in our nation. So, to suggest a book that we all read, we should start with the documents of our nation, for example, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Those "books" are our anchor.

     

    Fairy tales, fables, and cultural stories are another form of a "national book". They help anchor us to the virtues shared by the world. As you read these you realize that these stories are told over and over across the world, to fit the culture. The Bible is a collection of many stories of the past, retold as they are relived (creation myths/Genesis; Gilgamesh/Noah; Sargon/Moses; Hammurabi's Code/Ten Commandments). Your book suggestion fits in the fable/fairy tale part of this - we need more of these stories, and we need them to be common to all.

    Homeschool Library Builder

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    My attention this morning, has been over at the Homeschool Library Builder site this morning checking out what they have to offer. If you use WTM, CM, Sonlight, Tapestry of Grace, Veritas Press, Beautiful Feet, Five in a Row, or simply love to add living books to your curriculum without going through Amazon.com, HOMESCHOOL LIBRARY BUILDER (HSLB) is a site that offers those resources:

     

    http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/'>http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/'>http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/'>http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/

     

    I'm posting this over on the General Board too (excuse the duplicate in advance - I'm liking this site).

     

    I was first drawn to their $1 Bin...$2 Bin...on up to a $5 Bin link. From there, I started looking around their front page. My impression is that it is set up not to be a look and buy site - it is a site that members (easy form to fill out) can "participate" on - sort of a family feel and set up. Here are some of the perks:

     

    First, the usuals:

    ~Book buying points

    ~Monthly newsletter

     

    Now, the perks that make the site more than just a buy-and-go site:

     

    ~If you have homespun a curriculum, or designed a resource, you may market your product FREE on this site in their "Marketplace" area.

     

    ~They offer FUNDRAISING for your co-op, local group, or statewide organization.

     

    ~They have a charitable area set up (currently, they are matching dollar-for-dollar for Samaritan's Purse hurricane relief). Donating is simple!!!! Just buy a book. That's it.

     

    ~Special offers. As in, they offer, you choose to take them up on it or not. There are no other silly things to do or hoops to go through.

     

    Bookmark this site so you can visit it after the sometimes rousing, and always informative discussions here (I get lost here reading, for what seems like hours at a time). Remember, http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/

     

    Enjoy!

    For those of you who are Christian and do take part in fun events on Oct 31...

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Halloween is about having fun with your neighbours, eating candy, and dressing up. I think we're honouring God by acknowledging his sovereignty over the night and treating it as a way to honour him through our fellowship with neighbours. If anything, I think there should be more Christians out on Halloween being the light in their communities.

     

    I love what Doug Wilson says about Reformation Day and about giving out *more* candy than non-Christians :D

     

     

    I love Sarah's point about sovereignty. This is so important to understand, in order to understand the fullness of Christianity. Thank you Sarah!

    Is there 'really' a way to keep salad fresh in the fridge?...

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    The best "thing" to do is to unwrap your lettuce from any plastic wrap. Once this is done, do not wash until you are ready to use the leaves - then tear off ONLY the portions you want to use. Wrap the remaining lettuce in paper towels.

     

    Now, the MOST important "thing" to do, is to learn how to control the humidity controls in your veggie drawers. You will have instant success keeping lettuce and other veggies/fruits once you get this figured out. It is the reason they were invented - and people don't usually take the time to learn how to work the controls.

     

    Good luck!

    Improving reading comprehension: games or websites needed!

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    He should have his eyes checked as well. When children have mild farsightedness, there is a higher chance that they can have comprehension problems as well.

     

    I wouldn't put pressure on him - he's SEVEN!!!! But some things that can help... have him narrate stories back to you; have him comic strip draw the beginning, middle, and end of a story, and highlight the conflict or rising portion of the prose; conduct a series of questions that require him to talk to you in full sentences rather than answer yes or no; break his reading times into 20 minute sessions three times per day - only one session should be "academic" - the other two will be reading for fun from a variety of resources.

     

    Good luck!

    The dangers of studying the ancients...

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Snort!!! How funny! You know, it really does leak into everything (pun not intended)... I can only imagine what might happen at your house, with boys, after reading about the Ides of March and learning Latin... Pugno!

     

    The knowledge and activities in SOTW will put you in some stereotypical homeschool situations where your kids will be odd next to others - but we totally understand here!!!

     

    When the kids had an elephant ride last year - all their talk in line beforehand was of Hannibal and the Swiss Alps. I felt so geeky being surrounded by parents and kids talking about the big feet, trunk, and hairy hide of the elephant...

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