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ElaineJ

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Everything posted by ElaineJ

  1. We always thought that SC peach looked a bit like a large behind. :lol: Elaine
  2. I am also an INTJ, although my J/P are borderline. I think it is funny that so many of us here are INTJs. That makes me feel less alone. In real life, I often feel like a bit of a weirdo among women. :001_unsure: Elaine
  3. I have a friend who is a devoted fan of Jasper Fford, so I read The Eyre Affair this week at her recommendation. It was entertaining brain candy, which is fun sometimes. :001_smile: It felt a bit like reading Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I am now reading A Tale for the Time Being but haven't gotten too far into the story yet. Elaine
  4. It looks like the writing in Cambodia. Elaine
  5. This week I read The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. My apologies to those who loved it, but it just seemed poorly written to me. I actually laughed out loud at this sentence: "The flame, throwing shadows that twitch with the rhythm of her daughter's breath, catches the golden glint of her hair, or the glistening of a fine filament of dribble that trails from the corner of the translucent pink mouth." The plot felt too predictable as well. I think it might have worked as a movie; the setting of the island lighthouse would have been dramatic on film. I found myself speed reading toward the end of the book, though, to get it finished. Now I am beginning A Tale for the Time Being and continuing to trudge along in Gulliver's Travels . Ds and I also started Henry V together today, which I am excited about. Elaine
  6. Yes- I am still reading Gulliver's Travels after so many weeks! It's not that I don't like it, I just don't get through much at a time, which is not good since it is a read-aloud with ds. And I'm still only halfway through From This Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple and partway through The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith. I think I will focus on finishing already started books this week! Elaine
  7. Ok, that makes sense. I didn't put all the pieces together. Elaine
  8. But what would she sue him for? What he did was morally reprehensible and I think it would be a positive thing for it to all be brought out into the light of day. While what he did was very wrong, though, I can't think of how she would have a LEGAL claim against him. The article clarifies that she was over 21 and you can't sue someone for being hypocritical, manipulative or adulterous. Or am I missing something? Elaine
  9. This looks like some good options! I would go with A Tale of Two Cities rather than David Copperfield just because of length (even though I loved David Copperfield!) I would also replace Wuthering Heights with Jane Eyre, as suggested earlier, and would add in War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Elaine
  10. That's what I thought, too! :lol: OP, I feel the same way. I think you will find a lot of fellow introverts on this board. This is a primary challenge for me in homeschooling. Elaine
  11. Thanks all! That was helpful to know what I am looking for. I'm not willing to spend 99 dollars on the answer key, I'm afraid. As suggested, I guess I could just assign the odd problems since it will be a supplemental text, anyway. I will look into Lial's as well. Thanks again! Elaine
  12. After getting input from you all about my AoPS dilemma for next year, I have decided to carry on with it but would like to get a secondary text to work with it/ take tests and make sure we are mastering the material. I am looking at Dolciani as everyone seems to love it, but if I buy the pre-1985 version- (which is what everyone likes, yes?)- then I wouldn't seem to be able to get an answer key or tests. Is that correct? Or am I just not looking in the right places? I can't look at a hard copy of anything because I live in Asia at the moment and just have to peruse virtually and hope for the best. Thanks for your help! Elaine
  13. This sounds like a very interesting resource! Thanks for sharing. Elaine
  14. Hmmmm....maybe this will sound snobbish, but I found that list to be kind of depressing. And the sexist book about some guy's sexual and drinking "adventures" ? That doesn't strike me as good publicity for that particular state. :auto: Elaine
  15. Last week I finished the Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I have mixed feelings about it. She is a good writer, which made the book a compelling read. I finished it several days ago, but I still find myself in the world of the book because she did a great job of making the characters and the settings come alive. She is also obviously a well educated person, and the allusions sprinkled throughout the book connected her story to the bigger picture of the Great Conversation. :001_smile: The main thing that didn't ring true to me was her concluding chapters. The protagonist's " conversion", if you will, didn't seem plausible, or didn't seem like it would result from the experiences and thought processes that preceded it. My reaction to the outcome may be partly a result of my faith, though. As a Christian, I see a character who feels like he is a victim of fate but who is actually co-operating with his death in the midst of all of the bad things that happen to him. I don't see him recognizing that in the end, and therefore the redemption seems unbelievable to me. Does that make sense? It seemed like the conclusion was asking me to accept a Camus-like "bold embrace of beauty in the face of an ugly reality" and that without buying into the idea (as opposed to just considering and understanding it better) I couldn't buy into the ending. That said, though, it was worth a read and I would put it in the category of literature. Elaine
  16. I'm so glad you are enjoying it! It really is a book you want to process slowly, a little bit at a time. Elaine
  17. My ds is using LNM for an online class through the Potter's School. It seems to be a nice melding of the grammar memorization approach (Henle, et al) and the "learn through reading" method (like Cambridge Latin). He is having a good experience with it thus far. Elaine
  18. My struggle is that I just don't really like playing. period. If my youngest had his way, he would want me on the floor doing imaginative play with him all day long. I do some of that out of love and because I feel like it is the right thing to do by a child, but it takes a lot of effort sometimes. I adore my kids; it has nothing to do with them. I wish I was different in this area. Elaine
  19. Yes, a great read for Lent! Perfect timing. Elaine
  20. Thanks again, all! This is a very helpful conversation for me. Now I'm thinking that it would definitely be good for me to access a second curriculum and make sure we are really getting the essentials of the course. I am not a "math oriented person myself, so I lack some confidence in assessing this area. The algebra videos have been sooooo helpful to us. Do anyone know if they are planning to continue making them to accompany the rest of the book? Elaine
  21. Thanks for the encouragement, ladies! I really would like to keep him with AoPS. We've just never used grades before, so this whole grading for a transcript thing makes me nervous. I just want whatever grade I give him to be legitimate, you know? That is very helpful to hear that the AoPS people say an 80% would be an A. Elaine
  22. I guess that would be a good option. Do have suggestions of curriculums that might dovetail better with AoPS than others? Thanks, Elaine
  23. I'm planning out math for my ds who is entering high school this fall. We have been using AoPS the past 2 years, for pre-algebra and then this year for Algebra 1 (first half of book, according to my understanding, right?) I love the curriculum because I feel like it really stretches him and builds his fundamental understanding of math in a way the other materials I've looked at don't. Here is the dilemma: he is an average math student, and as I look around the web for help, it seems like most people using this curriculum have kids who range between advanced and math genius. What usually happens with our lessons is that he watches the video on line, does the practice problems and then goes over the explanations in the lessons, and then goes on to do the other problem sets. He will typically do about 1/3 to 1/2 of the problem sets incorrectly, and we go back and rework them until they are all correct and we have a basic understanding of the material presented. This has worked fine for us and I feel like he is learning at a good pace. As I am putting together high school plans, though, and thinking about the reality of a permanent grade on a transcript, this scares me a bit. I couldn't honestly give him more than a "C" on this algebra class, but I know that if he were using Life of Fred (which we use as a supplement) he would be getting an A+. He's got to carry his transcript around with him for the rest of his life. So I guess my questions are: Are any of you with average math students using AoPS? How do you deal with the grading? Should I just change to a curriculum which would be easier for him next year, even though he wouldn't be getting as much out of the experience? Thanks for your input! Elaine
  24. You have my sympathy! I can't stomach that genre of movie. It just affects me too deeply and I feel very dark and despairing afterwards. Elaine
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