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kpupg

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Everything posted by kpupg

  1. We currently live in Utah, where homeschoolers are explicitly permitted by state law to take public school courses, either at the school or through the online school ... it has been a Godsend for us. If the fee seems reasonable to you ... compared to, say, online homeschoolers' courses ... then why not give it a try and see how it works out for you. Karen
  2. Is he a good reader? If so, he might enjoy the novels of Patrick O'Brian (first in the series is "Master and Commander"). They are very literary novels, and a fascinating look at the English navy based on real events in history. Karen
  3. My son did this with success in 9th grade. He did not want to take bio at all, but our family requires it, so he was stuck. He chose to take AP rather than regular bio at the local p.s. He likes challenges that way. Biology in this day and age is mostly chemistry, and mostly memorization. Has he had any chemistry yet? My DS studied high school level chem without lab work in 6th grade; I'm sure it was a support even though it wasn't that recent. There was a small amount of stats in the genetics unit. DS got a 5 on the exam. Best wishes, Karen
  4. We used NEM and NSAM for Algebra I, II, and Geometry. We combined it with Life of Fred because ds just plain loves LOF. So I used LOF as the spine and spliced in the corresponding chapters from Singapore. Best of both worlds. You could do this without actually using a 2nd curriculum ... just use a conventional American book to give you the appropriate chapters for each year. HTH, Karen
  5. For those of you who get your news from the so-called mainstream media, you may want this information: The Anchoress You don't have to agree with the author's opinions, but the copious links provided here will give a fair-minded person pause. The so-called mainstream media does not give you the truth, much less the whole truth or nothing but the truth. And this is not unusual when the subject is the Church. Be careful whom you hate based on reports in the so-called mainstream media. The Catholic-hatred on this board is stomach-turning today. Karen
  6. Last week I posted a prayer request for my dh51 who had a massive stroke on Mar. 2. He is doing better. He is in 3 hours of hospital rehab therapy a day, and will stay there for 2 more weeks. He will not be wheelchair-bound (thanks be to God), but we don't yet know whether he will be able to walk unassisted. He can speak with great difficulty -- unbelievable difficulty -- yet he can express himself somewhat now. We don't yet know whether his language will return to the extent needed to hold a job, especially a communication-intensive job like he had. So, who knows, a year from now, we could be living on government assistance, but we will get dh back to our family. DH's coworkers and bosses have been wonderful ... they helped us distribute dd's Girl Scout cookies ... they have bombarded dh with emails of encouragement. They very much want him back at work with them ... this gives me great comfort. Things are looking up, but the road before us looks very very long. We are all changed and changing in a way I could not even have imagined. Ds15 and dd13 are ready to be done with this thing ... they are learning patience and forbearance the hardest way. Thank you all for your prayers ... I do feel them ... and if you would, please send up another prayer now and then for us as we continue to do what we have to do. Karen
  7. My dh, age 51, had a massive stroke last Tuesday night. He is as healthy and fit as a 51-year-old can be, 3-time Ironman finisher, the bafflement of all the doctors as to why he would have a stroke. He is paralyzed on his right side and cannot speak. His mind is all there and is trapped inside. Our kids are ds15 (today is his birthday, Crappy Birthday to You Son :( ) and dd13. We would appreciate any and every prayer for dh to recover to be able to work again, even if not to be an athlete again. Thanks, Karen
  8. We just don't snack. If someone is hungry, they can have a cheese stick or a yogurt or a banana or some chips/pretzels (if we happen to have them in the house), but we don't have snack time or a snacking habit -- outside of mealtimes, it's strictly hunger driven.
  9. :grouphug: Yes, illness just makes one more vulnerable in every way. Hope you're feeling better real quick. :)
  10. :iagree: We have an HP B/W laser printer that is at least 10 years old and going strong. The cartridges run about $75, but we only need 1 a year or so. It is the most reliable electronic device I have ever owned and I love it for that. We also have a color inkjet thing that is continually having problems. I hate it and try not to use it.
  11. Something bland but filling. A bowl of rice, a baked potato, a bowl of instant mashed potatoes, buttered pasta.
  12. My mother thinks she knows me well, but she knows me less well than she knows her friends from church. We are almost polar opposite personality types. If you're familiar with Myers-Briggs, I'm INTJ and she is ESFJ. Ships in the night. And yet, she can't see that ... sigh ... she tries so hard, but ... when your assumptions are wrong from the start, well, it doesn't work out so well, does it ... :(
  13. :iagree: This has been an enormous benefit to my ds14, who is taking two outside classes this year. No, make that 3 ... one recently ended. It has actually improved his attitude toward ME, the mom as teacher. Also, both of ds's continuing outside teachers are men, and I think it is good for him to have that masculine influence in academics ... especially at the age he's at. I have a few criteria for outside classes, in no particular order: -- it's subject matter that I don't feel the need to control. I feel the need to control history/social studies so that I can teach the world view I believe is correct, so there will be no outsourcing in that area. DS is taking outside AP biology and German this year ... I don't have strong feelings in those subject areas, so I was willing to let go of them. -- it's an area where I'm not particularly excited about MY workload to teach the class ... e.g. for German, I would have to learn it along with the student, certainly less than optimal and, sorry, I don't even WANT to learn German ... for AP biology, I could teach it well, but the amount of TIME it would take me in preparation, oh dear lord ...! -- there's a trustworthy outside source ... by which I mean a teacher that I can have confidence in ... this year's outside classes were an experiment for us, and have worked out well, so we are more confident looking forward to next year using the same resources. Looking to next year, I am considering outsourcing some classes for dd12. Haven't decided yet. I'm wondering whether the accountability issue might help her in a good way. And I'm wondering whether her work ethic might get a shake-up from an outside class .... dunno ... still pondering.
  14. Uh .... LOF Alg 2 DOES include matrices. Chapter 9. General comment: It has been hashed and re-hashed on this board: LOF is a fine program that covers all topic areas well and is light on practice. Many families combine LOF with another curriculum to provide more problem sets and/or another slant on the subject.
  15. :iagree: This has been our approach. All responsibilities -- school work, chores, church/outside activities -- must be completed before privileges are available. Also, at age 12, it might help to start talking about the future. That's about the age I sat my kids down and asked "do you want to go to college", "what do you want to do with your adult life" ... they won't have full answers, but it starts the thinking process ... as a result, my ds (now 9th grade) began to develop a little academic ambition ...
  16. I don't think I would be insulted ... more bemused, maybe. But then, I'm one of those hard-to-buy-for people ... I know I'm hard to please, too. So I've gotten an AWFUL lot of gifts that I just had no personal feeling for. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate the thought and the giver ... just that I'm not emotionally invested in the material item in question ... hope that makes sense. To consider a twist on the situation, my MIL has given me the exact same gift on 3 different years (not consecutive years, thanks be to God LOL). The first time I received the item, I thought "oh, nice" and put it away and never touched it again ... again, nothing personal, just not my cup of tea ... the 2nd time I received the item, I felt a little miffed ... but the 3rd time, I just had to laugh out loud. I guess I'm recommending the laughing part :) Sympathies, Karen
  17. :iagree: To this day, I heave a big sigh of relief when my calendar tells me that I don't have to drive anyone anywhere today :) If this were my child, I would probably require her to participate in one outside activity on a regular basis ... even just a one-hour-a-week thing ... and I would change it up to expose her to new experiences and ideas. Hypothetical illustration: take karate lessons for 3 months, then join the library book club for 3 months, then <whatever> for 3 months ... maybe take the summer off ... who knows, maybe she'll stumble across an interest that will take root and grow ... But I do think it's a good thing to be comfortable in your own skin and to be comfortable with solitude ...
  18. :iagree: I am a power user at the public library. When I need a book for literature or history (excluding textbooks), the library is the first place I look. Even for things like Teaching Company courses. Second stop is Paperback Swap. I have also gotten several good textbooks through PBS. Third stop is looking for used materials at home school forums. Last resort is looking at Amazon used book sellers and suchlike sellers. No, the really last resort is Amazon new book sales LOL And I admit, I have bought new materials from retailers such as Rainbow and Christian Book a few times ... when I wanted something very particular. It takes a lot of time, but frankly, there are so many books I want my kids to read, but I don't necessarily want to own those books IYKWIM. The expense may not be much per book, but we read a lot, so it adds up. And our storage space is a nightmare already ....
  19. The kids have a shared cell phone for MY convenience, not theirs. It has no capability for texting or surfing. They use it only to call me or Dad to come pick them up/whatever. I don't know when, if ever, I will give them "full" cell phone privileges ... Our family does not do online social networking. Social anything is done IRL here. :) We all play computer games, including a couple of MMOs. That time is permitted after all the schoolwork, chores, outside activities, church obligations, etc. are done. In practical terms, that means there are usually a couple days a week when the kids get no game time at all, but OTOH, they usually get a lot of time on lazy Sunday afternoons. Our computers are located in a common area -- no one gets a computer in their own room -- so we all share in some degree what we're doing online. We don't have any Xbox type game systems, and we have only one TV for the whole family.
  20. I agree with the other posters that a boy needs his mama-rock ... and that most schools are feminized anyway, so where's the advantage in that. But about age 13, my son really needed more outside masculine influences in his life than I was able to provide -- other than his father, who is a very involved dad -- ds seemed to need to "get out" more. He was in scouting, but was becoming disenchanted with his troop, so ... Taking up fencing was a big help -- at last, a sport that makes him sweat for 2 hours at a stretch -- that he enjoys -- yay! Ironically, the coaches are both women, but the great majority of fencers are boys and men, so it's a very male-dominated environment for him to test himself and all that. And he is now going to the public high school for two classes -- both of which have male teachers -- and where he is observing the p.s. social environment he has "missed" all this time being home schooled. :tongue_smilie: But to the OP, given the very young age of your friend's son, I do not think this issue will be relevant for several years to come, especially if she sees to it he has some kind of masculine activities -- scouting, for instance.
  21. I'm giving up complaining. There were a couple of disorienting moments yesterday when I wanted to complain, and really had to think how to express something without the complaining aspect .... Pray for me LOL! The whole family is doing a sort of Secret Santa kind of thing ... we drew names and will do secret kindnesses for our person ... re-drawing names every week. I am following a Lenten reading plan I found on kindness: Fr. Faber and Cardinal Newman Lenten Reading Plan Of course, we will add extra community time ... stations, etc. throughout the season. Our parish penance service is scheduled for my son's birthday, so we will have to make a plan to get to another parish's service ... or maybe go to regular confession at our cathedral (long drive, so always a special event for us). And we plan to make a re-stocking visit to the closest Ronald McDonald house -- taking food, laundry detergent, other things they use -- as our family almsgiving project.
  22. According to the Times Online, Bishop's mother worked for the police in some capacity: "According to the police chief, Ms Bishop’s mother, Judith, was a public official who sat on a police personnel committee. " http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7026844.ece 'Splains a lot, eh ....
  23. My mom had that happen when she had fibroids. :( Prayers, Karen
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