I've changed my mind several times since May :glare:, but I *think* this is close to what I want to do: We're completing the last 20 weeks of ECC, so that's geography, science, and Bible, although I do want another Bible study for her (probably Explorer's). Math: Mundo Matematico 4, MEP 3 (in Spanish) Singapore 2B (and if we have money, 3A & 3B) Reading: English- Sonlight 2 intermediate Spanish- a reading list I haven't put together yet :001_huh: Spelling: Spelling Power Practica Ortografia Writing: English- ?maybe writing strands 3? :confused:, but I have Sonlight LA 3 Spanish- Classical Writing Aesop, Spanish models Grammar: Intermediate Language Lessons (have this downloaded from Google books) Espanol 3 Geography: ECC Science: ECC habitats When we finish with ECC, she wants to study scientists and do different science experiments tied in with the study. She also wants to study bones and horses, so there'll be enough for the last 16 weeks of school I guess:tongue_smilie:. I haven't thought that far. (well, I have, but haven't gone anywhere with it) ETA: How could I forget foreign language! Foreign language: German (she wants to learn it for real this year). I'll probably cough up the money to do Powerspeak. Art: ECC, finish projects from Abeka 3 if she wants, I don't know what else Dance: As always, she does ballet Extracurricular?: 4-H- continue her dog project, start horse project?, I don't know what else

There's a Madrid, NM, but everyone here insists on calling it MA'drid (short a). It just. doesn't. sound right. I call it the "normal" way.

For the first time in a long time, I'm left speechless. :tongue_smilie:

Well, we only live in 659 sq ft, but have a decent-sized yard. So we have: 1. Two terriers, Luke (6 yo) and Chavela (1.5yrs) 2. One cat Gitana -7yrs old, and she's inside only, except when she's helping me catch grasshoppers in the garden. She's also a great mouser, so she stays IN! 3. We had a cockatiel passed on to us last November. His name is Cruci (as in crucigrama). He and my cat have a lot of fun together (NOT). 4. Several fish- platys, chinese algea eater, cory catfish (he's about 8 yrs old!), and a plateajkja;djfoiajkl (don't remember how to spell that bottom feeder). I'd love to have another small dog, or maybe even a cat, but, heck, it's small enough here.

Well, I guess after 10 years of losing to the US, Mexico deserved a win. But, dang, we couldn't even get one goal? :confused: Our family had fun with this one (one American, one Mexican, and one in the middle that always takes dad's side :D).

The US is losing. And, by so much. After all this time, winning against Mexico, the US comes dancing in on the field, slipping and sliding like they're in ballet slippers instead of cleats. Dag nabbit. I'm gonna owe my dh (and dd) dinner. It's currently 4-0. Um, ok, it's now 5-0. This is ridiculous. :glare: And we're on a home field. Sheesh.

I finally googled and found a powerpoint (turned html) about what the different subtests measure. Our evaluation returned the MPI score. For those of you with ppt: http://education.gsu.edu/sdecker/Class/Assessment/Achievement/Test%20Review/KABC-II.ppt Here's the html. It's a long link: http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:qm2NX1VgISwJ:education.gsu.edu/sdecker/Class/Assessment/Achievement/Test%2520Review/KABC-II.ppt+kaufman+assessment+battery+for+children+rover+triangles+atlantis+rebus&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

Can you post or email me a blank sample of your contract? I would be interested in seeing how you do this. I have sample contracts of childcare, as I used to do that in my home, but this seems different somehow. Thanks!

There must have been complaints on our freecycle board, because a few months ago the moderators said to start emailing them the names of who were no shows. If they were consistently the same people, they were going to ... ban them maybe? But, they were concerned about it and want to know who the people are.

He can be tried as a child and still be registered a sex offender when he comes out. The sealing of records is not an issue in a sex case whether tried as an adult or child. I see Cadam answered about the juvi facility issue.

Not necessarily. If he gets 8 years, for example, once he reaches 19 (or 20), he would transfer to an adult facility.

The size that fits me. As in, being able to get a pair of jeans where half my butt doesn't hang out because they think all women my size are flat-butt, wider hipped teens who likes wearing their pants at the bikini line. That would be ideal for me. :rant:

Unfortunately, the stats do bear out that many low scorers turn to education degrees. On average, English majors or math majors do not become teachers. Of course, there are those of us that help raise those average education scores :D :lol:. Kind of like how public schools say we need to keep our children in school to help them raise their scores :001_huh:. (my dd would be one they'd say to please keep out. She loathes tests and will mark anything. I found that out $60 later.)

Hey, watch it. I've, um, always scored, um, very high on, um, my, um, tests :D. I'm, um, majoring in (um, post-bacc) education because um, it's something (um, as far as, um, work) I do well from home.

I'm so sorry to hear that. There are other options that are high quality, but not so intense. For example, UoP is the only one I know of (so far) that has group AND individual assignments due each week, on top of the discussion questions you answer and respond to during the week. I was taking grad courses in early childhood education, and yes, I've also failed a class (silly me thought I could take two classes at the same time). Those group papers used to stress me out so much. I'm a writer, and... no one else in my group really was. I don't want to sound stuck up, but there was stuff I didn't want to put my name on. I always volunteered to do the editing. I tried very hard to just edit spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and not interject "me" too much into those papers. I used to stress so much about that. I'm in WGU right now, which is a bit more self-paced. You still have to complete so many hours per term, but each term is 6 months and you manage yourself. The discussion boards and teleconferences are optional, but I've found them helpful at times. I've learned a lot just by homeschooling, and find myself able to go through some assignments rather quickly, and others...not so quickly. I like the level of challenge of these courses. I love to learn.

My BA is from Thomas Edison State College. I already had an AA from a b & m, and taken other courses at another university. They have been around a very long time and catered mostly to the military at first, especially those overseas. They've grown by leaps and bounds. They are a brick and mortar as well. They are accredited enough that I got a Pell Grant to help me finish my BA, so yes, federal financial aid covers them. They also have many of their programs (such as nursing) accredited by national organizations. I've also taken courses with University of Phoenix. They are for-profit, but have excellent, high-quality courses. I had to stop because we ran out of money. I always tell people that if they want a quality education that will kill you slowly, go to UoP. It was a LOT of work. I don't get where people think online courses are easier. It was very, very challenging. Did I mention they were challenging? I'm currently taking courses with Western Governors University. They are fairly new, but the governors from 19 western states (including NM, where I am) got together and said there needed to be another affordable option. WGU is the only online University (no b & m) that is accredited by ALL the regional accreditation bodies. Many of their programs are also accredited by different national organizations. So, although new, and have no b&m classes, they are quite real. Workplaces view these degrees just fine, because there are so many colleges around, no one has them memorized. No one really cares- they want to know if you have a degree (and if it's accredited). I finished my BA in 2004. A lot more doors have opened for me since I've earned it, including many jobs that required a degree. I get no flack (from workplaces or other higher education universities) when I say I did classes via distance. I've never been embarrassed. Most people are impressed when they learn I worked full time, went to school full time, homeschooled, took care of my family, and periodically ate and slept :tongue_smilie:. The important thing is, to look at their accreditation. If they are accredited by the same regional bodies as other b & m schools, you have nothing to worry about. Just because a college offers their degrees via distance learning doesn't make them any less real than other schools. I've done both (sometimes at the same time), and I like being in charge of what I learn.

I used to work at a high-security, juvenile prison for males ages 10-19. This was not a home or a detention center, but a prison. Younger and smaller-statured boys were in a separate dorm than the older boys for their protection. 96% of dorm 6B were sex offenders. One 10 year had been raping his sister for years before he was caught, because she used to "make him mad." But yet, he was 10. And acted very much like a 10 year. Except for the fact that he felt what he did was justified because she should not have made him mad. I could tell more stories like that from the other 10-13 year olds on that dorm, but I won't. This was a long-term facility for juveniles (there were also murderers, drug dealers, gangsters, etc, and one passing through on his way to being deported back to Guatemala, alone). When they get out, the ones in for rape and other such crimes will be registered as sex offenders. There is no sealing that crime. The 10 year old isn't even allowed out until his sister (about 4 years younger than him) turns 21--hmmm, he still has another 2 or so years to go... It is well-known that these types of offenders are the hardest to rehabilitate. 98% of them will re-offend. What do we do with them? Just because the 14 year old is tried as an adult does not mean he goes to adult prison. More than likely, he will be taken to an age-appropriate facility much like the one I worked in. He will have more opportunities for counseling, including with his family (depending on the system he goes to), continue his education (remember schooling is compulsory), and perhaps because it is a cultural manifestation, maybe there is a chance for rehabilitation. I know in our facility, the ones that showed more potential of rehabilitation (I don't know how they worked that formula) was sent to another facility that specialized in juvenile sex crimes. They said their rehabilitation rate was pretty good. But, that's my long, drawn-out story just to say, just because he is tried as an adult, doesn't mean he will live them. At least until he's about 19-20. My heart goes out to the little girl.

I'm back to beat a dead horse :D. This thought crossed my mind as well. Considering this is public school, and the special ed department, I don't think the testing was very extensive. Really, what does "topping out" mean anyway? And she never told me what she topped off in. I found the evaluation JUST NOW. And in light of re-reading this thread, and going back over the paperwork, I've realized this report means absolutely nothing for me. :glare: Since I have not idea what most of the KABC-II subtests measured-- Number Recall (that I can guess), word order, hand movements, rover (??), triangles, block counting, atlantis (:confused:), rebus (????), etc.-- the score means nothing. Then the all caps subtests -- sequential, simultaneous, learning, planning, etc.-- mean even less. All I know is, in three she scored high (number recall, word order, and triangles), some were low, and some were average. :blink: Great. Now that I have the evaluation in hand, I can call the evaluator and ask for some better explanations. Thanks again for all ya'lls help :D. I probably just need to :chillpill:. Oh, and don't even get me started on her ITBS scores. She was so sick of testing by that point, she whipped through marking answers and finished most items within the regular time allotted. She doesn't read that fast, and she's allowed extra time (she didn't want it, just wanted to finish with or before the rest of the group. The extra time would have been given at home with me). She also did the CogAT. So that's $60 I could have used to line my toliet real pretty-like. :banghead: Renai ps. Can ya'll tell I'm in a smilies mood tonight? :tongue_smilie:Darn, had 3 too many and had to delete. Editing to add: she's begging me to do the ITBS testing at home next year.

Thanks for the response! I'm hoping this will get her back to liking math again, too.

The plans I have are for K, but easy to just do it informally. The big thing at young ages is vocabulary, and you don't need a curriculum for that. Get the Usborne 1000 First Words in Spanish and go at it! :D That's what I did for Japanese. I knew how to put a couple of simple phrases together, and just added new vocabulary to it (This is a book. this is a pencil. this is...).

I have free lesson plans that I picked up from someone's friend from another board. Pop me an email and I'll email it to you. It may get you started while you're researching your options. And age five is fine. Worldwide, children are learning more than one language from birth (from the womb, even). So learning a second language at age five is great :). And, it's ok you're learning with her too!

If you are using kit 2, how are you adding in the fraction components? Are you just saying, ok, today let's do fractions! I did write the question to Shiller, and the response was you'll do some book 4, some fractions, some book 4, etc., through book 5 or 6. Is it scheduled? Or is it something you're figuring out on your own? Thanks!

Hello all, Back in the day, when dd was in prek-k, I began Shiller kit 1 with her. She loved it! Then I started working full time (as well as in school full time) and switched to a workbook approach. For various reasons, I'm considering going back to Shiller for her 4th grade year. This summer, we've been working through Singapore, doing some MEP for fun, and completing her 3rd grade Spanish workbook (we got behind due to life). I have the Shiller 1-3 downloaded, and we started working on gaps in book 2. And again, she's loving it. We'll more than likely do all of book 3 as well. I started thinking about purchasing Shiller Kit II, but haven't read any reviews lately on this upper level. Has anyone used more than Kit I? I think I read Vanna and Heather in VA started book 4? How has that gone? I would use it in conjunction with Singapore, probably. Right now there's a sale and I can get $100 off and free shipping, as well as payments if I purchase before 7/31. TIA!

I know this is a very old thread, but wanted to say that place value begins with Activity 21 in Book 1. It's called the Decimal System.

I forgot about this part. When we use workboxes, it works great! Once you get into the habit, it goes faster (using the experience of others that have more than one).