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Lucy the Valiant

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Posts posted by Lucy the Valiant

    Which DNA testing kit do I want?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by Lucy the Valiant

    55 minutes ago, Katy said:

    My point wasn't whether the data is protected or not. The point is if there is a medical problem your insurance already knows so the idea that you're protecting yourself from knowledge of your own body isn't particularly logical.  And also, there's an insurance database, it's a bit like a credit report.  IDK how it's legal with HIPAA, but it is.  If you ever get turned down for life insurance every company knows it. So basically they all know, and between data science and actuarial science they might know more about your family than you do. <snip>

    No, they don't know DNA data until you agree to testing. ("They" = insurance AND also potential employers. Edit: non-military application.)

    I know doing the ancestry research is fun for many people; it's just worth a note that for some kids, it's a huge danger, too. Like fire - sometimes a huge benefit, sometimes extremely destructive. 

    Which DNA testing kit do I want?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, Katy said:

    I have a disabled child.  He's been tested for genetic issues.  The insurance pre-approved, paid for the tests, and got the results. If there is a genetic condition that needs care, your insurance ALREADY knows. And while we all know laws can be changed, right now genetic discrimination is not legal.  ETA: they paid for the visits and consultations with the genetic counselor physician too.

    I'm so thankful that happened for you. 

    Unfortunately, genetic discrimination by an employer (against a parent of a medically complex child) is nearly impossible to prove. Common, painful  and devastating, and yes, technically illegal.

    • Like 2

    Which DNA testing kit do I want?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Katy said:

    But recent science has shown that the microbiome has a much larger influence on health than DNA. In fact the microbiome seems to be the largest factor in epigenetics. Unless you have one of the rare diseases that is caused by DNA alone knowing chances doesn’t do anything but help you get better treatment and preventative care. 

    Unless your insurance finds the data. People (especially children, and especially children with expensive disabilites) are enormously vulnerable to misuse of medical data. 

    I'm actually thankful that so many people don't know that, but it's worth thinking about, especually if (general) you haven't had to do so before.

    • Thanks 2

    U.S. History?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by Lucy the Valiant

    We just wrapped up U. S. History using Land of Hope (and the fantastic student book, too) alongside Hillsdale College's free video lectures. It's a "short" class (not 32 full weeks), so we added in some field trips, a couple of local projects & documentaries, and I had the students each take both U. S. History CLEP exams, too. The 3 kids I had really appreciated the class, and I (as facilitator) deeply appreciated the thought-provoking conversations that followed. The lectures assumed a functional working knowledge of the facts of U.S. History, and struck an authentic balance between acknowledging the ugly parts of U. S. history while still highlighting the uniqueness of this experiment in self-governance. "Land of Hope" is not just the book title; it's the theme of the lecture series. Exactly what we were looking for.

    Logistics: I went through the student book at the beginning of the year and selected "essay questions" that the kids had to submit in writing before we met for class; during class time, we orally discussed the other questions from that chapter, and then watched the lecture video for the next chapter. Kids took quizzes through the Hillsdale site, which were not difficult at all. 

    10/10

    • Like 4

    2022 Garden Plans

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    On 4/10/2022 at 9:58 PM, itsheresomewhere said:

    I would like to apologize for the snow flurries this weekend.  I got ahead of nature and power washed the siding on Friday.  
     

    Green house heat source is hooked up and doing well. Peas are started along with carrots and strawberry runners were transplanted. 

    Hahaha! We keep the huge pile of snow shovels RIGHT by the back door just to ward against this! 

    It's fine to rake and even mow once, to lay mulch and stack next year's wood, to ride bikes and change out flannels, but for the love of everything holy, do NOT put the snow shovels away!

    • Haha 2

    Lawyers, landlords, & anyone with shared driveway experience, or even just sympathy, lol

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    In my area, a shared driveway is (legally, the actual land) owned by one house, but has an "easement" (legal language) attached to the deeds of both houses. This was a common set up before the town passed an ordinance requiring a certain amount of road footage for new lots. In a similar situation to your parents', the police would be called here  and they would ticket the easement-breaker's vehicle. 

    • Like 4

    Homeschoolers connecting with children's authors and authors connecting with homeschoolers

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Tangential idea - When ours were younger, we did an "Author Project" together. We'd read one (or several) books by a children's author, and then the kids would write letters and / or draw pictures to that author. They introduced themselves as home schoolers and asked a few questions, either about the book characters or about the author's own life. If the author was still living, we'd mail those out, and if the author was deceased, we just tucked them in our binder. 

    MANY of the authors wrote back - some with pre-made materials, etc., but many with individual letters actually answering the kids' questions! We saved all of them in a 3-ring binder, and just built it over the years as interest waxed and waned. ❤️ 

    • Like 2

    Most Enjoyable Curriculum

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    The most fun thing (yes school, but not exactly curriculum) we've done over all the years is to schedule "school parties" - pick whatever we're learning in history or science, circle a date on the calendar, invite a few friends, and then divvy up "volunteer assignments" (yes, the friends, too). We've had homecoming parties to welcome Odysseus home, we've had "Scat Parties" with owl pellet dissections and (ewwwww) tootsie-roll "kitty litter" cake, we've had in-costume Shakespearean parties where we watched Hollow Crown (Benedict Cumberbatch) Richard III and played busking games, we've had brain-wave synapse relay races with candy-constructed brain diagrams, we've "encamped" through many different nations / centuries / discoveries. 

    For CURRICULUM, I'd have to nominate Considering God's Creation (especially the games and songs!), Ellen McHenry (never disappoints, especially the games), SOTW especially year 1 activities, there was a Little House on the Prairie one from Cadron Creek, Mapping the World with Art, and World Watch (current events, Christian worldview). 

    Funniest = Word Up! The Vocab Show (corny humor that my kids found HILARIOUS during the early middle school years, when it really mattered, LOL).

    • Like 9

    Eggs-Please educate me

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    *PSA for this year, though: If you have friends who have chickens, please don't go in their coop. There's a bad avian flu this year that is easily spread. It helps the chicken owners immensely if you keep your shoes / boots / etc out of the places the chickens go. We are not even going inside the feed store this year, just picking up the food curbside out of concern for biosecurity. 

    • Like 2

    I might be unsure of our math sequence. Help? After Dolciani Algebra II with Trigonometry

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by Lucy the Valiant

    We did (and will do again with up-coming kids) the Larson pre-calc and then Larson calc. My kids appreciated the review (some of the pre-calc WAS review). We out-sourced at that point, too, and the tutor said the kids COULD have gone directly to calc (skipping pre-calc), but we've always been a slow-and-steady math approach, which has been a very good fit overall. The review built confidence, and - they know what they know, kwim? The kids described the transition as similar to the transition that happened at middle school when they moved Singapore-to-Dociani (edit: aka irregularly paced because the review was faster than the new material, but helpful in the sense of switching gears / switching math teachers / etc). 

    $.02 / adjusted for inflation *grin

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    Visiting Chicago. Can you please help a girl out?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by Lucy the Valiant

    7 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

    How does that ASTC work?   Do you pay $200 to buy one of these passports and then you can use it 90+ miles away from home.   
    Or you get a membership to one of them on the list, and you automatically get this passport for 90+ miles away from home?  

    We buy a pass to our local ASTC museum and then present THAT pass at any reciprocal membership museum 90+ miles from the original museum / our home. (We have asked politely and been pleasantly surprised at generous agreements less than 90 miles, but of course YMMV.)

    We've had the best success when we show the "highest level" of pass ("premier" / full family / etc.). And each museum has a different arrangement with the whole list, so read carefully. It's not always "free entrance", for example; sometimes it's 50% off, or limited to # of people, etc. But if you're going across the country with a family that loves science & technology museums, it's a HUGE $-saver! (We've even planned some ASTC museums as "road stops" when doing a cross country drive; we would not do that if we had to pay full admission.)

    *Also, I have not done this since covid, so - that may be a factor these days.

     

    Edit: Also, I can't stress enough to read the fine print. We learned (over the years) that if we go OUT OF OUR WAY to buy the family pass at the MORE EXPENSIVE museum near us, it actually SAVES us a ton of money in the long run because the more expensive pass also includes 2 hours of free parking. And an 8-member pass doesn't always get you 8 free admissions to the "reciprocal" museum, but - it's definitely worth asking; we have never argued with any admission desk, but we have been graciously given IMAX passes, special exhibit passes, etc. when we showed the premier level pass from the home museum. 

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    Visiting Chicago. Can you please help a girl out?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    It may be worth your $ to become a member of ASTC reciprocating museums if you aren't already; our membership saved us HUNDREDS when we went together as a family a few years back (pre-pandemic). Our $200 / year local family pass got our whole family into several of the Chicago museums (Science and Industry, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium). The Chicago museums even gave us extra passes to the special exhibits and stuff (that weren't official on the reciprocity list, but - whew! we loved it! Saw a Viking ship right when Certain Kid was super into the Vikings. 😉 )

    • Like 5

    Super Senior Year & PSAT???

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by Lucy the Valiant

    22 hours ago, bibiche said:

    How did that work out in terms of college admissions? I have been advised that a repeated grade in high school throws up red flags and makes a student less competitive for very selective schools. I wonder if that is just opinion or if there is something to it. I know an awful lot of kids right now who could benefit from an extra year in high school rather than the traditional gap year after, but I’d hate to see it impact admission to elite universities.

    This particular student was not actively targeting elite universities, but did receive several scholarship offers at competitive schools and honors college invites / scholarships. This student chose a small private school (with excellent scholarship). So I don't really know about elite universities; she didn't really even specifically prep for PSAT as it was more of a side thing, but she did test well.

    22 hours ago, Farrar said:

    I've seen it work fine. It looks different for homeschoolers. It really is a classification, not a "repeating a grade."

    This. Her transcript was listed by subject, and nobody even asked about the 5 year vs. 4. It was truly a non-issue. (She did not repeat any courses.)

    20 hours ago, JazzyMom said:

    Do you remember what you had to include in the letter, such a specific reason, etc.?

    Yes, we had to include the reason for the reclassification; our student's reason was that she wanted the time and ability to further study the subjects included in her high school program. 

     

    This is from NationalMerit.org (bolding mine; we were aware of this and acknowledged it in our communication with NM) - 

    Students who plan to spend five years in grades 9 through 12 before entering college full time can participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program if they take the PSAT/NMSQT in the third year of high school and again in the fourth year. These students’ Selection Index scores will not be eligible for the program until a written request for entry to the competition is approved by NMSC®. The request should include the student's name, high school name and location, year the student began high school, year the student will complete high school, and a brief explanation of the student’s educational pattern.

    NMSC will use the student’s Selection Index score from the PSAT/NMSQT taken in the student’s third year of grades 9 through 12 to determine the expected level of recognition. In order to be recognized in the fifth (final) year of high school, the student must take the PSAT/NMSQT again in the fourth year and earn a qualifying Selection Index score at or above the level achieved on the third year test. The level of recognition a student receives cannot exceed the level earned on the qualifying test taken during the student’s third year in grades 9 through 12, the year in which all other competitors are considered.

    Note: Because a student can participate (and be considered for a scholarship) in only one specific competition year, the year in which the student takes the PSAT/NMSQT to enter the competition is very important. If there is a question about whether a student can participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program because his or her educational plans do not fit one of the preceding descriptions, or for any other reason, contact NMSC immediately.

    • Like 2
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    As Analytical Grammar does not include verb tenses, where to learn and find practice?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by Lucy the Valiant

    4 minutes ago, shalpin2 said:

    Royspeed, I am very interested in your book. My oldest is very bright and reads constantly (although what she is reading may not be grammatically correct). Her grammar is probably correct 90% of the time, but I need a book that gets her that last ten percent. Does your book explain the answers to these grammar questions:

     

    1. Mother, along with Uncle Joe, (has or have) left for the beach.

     

    2. Each of the girls (speak/speaks).

     

    3. I want to go to the mall.  

    Sorry, neither of the cars is/are available.

    Thanks!

    Rod and Staff 8th grade grammar book explains these solidly, too. (The sentences you included are testing subject / verb agreement, though, not verb tense.) 
     

     

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
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