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Woodland Mist Academy

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Posts posted by Woodland Mist Academy

  1. Still working on the science plan - I'll start a new thread when I get it together.

     

    Meanwhile, bumping in case anyone else wants to share their nontraditional schedules! This thread has really opened up a logjam for me, so thank you all again for posting.

     

    Just adding my thanks. Thanks for starting the thread, Rose! 

     

    I'll be waiting for the sequel...   :toetap05:

    • Like 3
  2. How we started 9th grade is very different than where we are halfway through. I have no idea where we'll be by May, but we are getting more nontraditional by the week. Lots of extra-curricular commitments (academic and otherwise) make a 8-4 M-F type schedule impossible. For some subjects we're reverting back to a more Charlotte Mason approach. (Some days I worry it verges on unschooling...  :ph34r: )

     

    For the most part I'm just watching and trying to figure out how to document everything. I was so glad to see this thread! Never in a million years did I think our high school years would veer so far from the path I had envisioned...

     

    Hmm....on second thought....maybe they are coming back to the path I had envisioned long, long ago before the panic set in...

     

     

     

     

    • Like 12
  3.  

    Sleep too. It's like watching a toddler go through a growth spurt, only it's not physically visible. That brain is working overtime... :zombie:

    Change that to not immediately visible. I thought she was finished growing, but as soon as I saw her this morning, I knew. No change in height for months and months. A year or more maybe? Then this spurt. She is now officially taller than I am. This will make it much more difficult to feel authoritative.... :sneaky2: I'm pretty sure I saw a gleeful smirk looking down at me this morning... :glare:

     

    It is a good visible reminder of the incredible energy growth takes.

  4. Recently after the worst of the storm, my dd had a snack. It was like a switch flipped. She said in her usual voice, "When did I eat last? Maybe that's what happened." It was obviously as upsetting to her as it was to the rest of the family. (And quite possibly the neighbors... :blushing: )  

     

    Sleep too. It's like watching a toddler go through a growth spurt, only it's not physically visible. That brain is working overtime... :zombie:

    • Like 3
  5. I almost posted a response to a question about a curriculum on the LC board. I just go through New Content and that gives me all forums. If I didn't catch it, I might have responded like I was on the K-8 board without even realizing it was on the LC board. I'm sure that's happened to others.

     

    ETA it's a lot easier to do when you are not on a desktop.

     

    I'm not sure I understand. Doesn't someone having a rough spell need some compassion no matter where the post is? 

     

    ETA: Maybe we are referring to different type of posts.

    • Like 1
  6. First let me thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement. I do really appreciate it.

     

    Second let me say that this thread was not started because someone was sharing a proud moment with their child. You should be proud and you should feel free to share it.

     

    What makes this hard for me is that in certain areas...like math my kids are behind because we had about two years where we were floundering looking for a program that would work for us. Now my kids know that they are behind because the kids in the neighborhood talk about school in front of them out with them. I know it's more important that my kids have a good solid base regardless of how long it takes but try telling that too am almost 16 year old still struggling with algebra 1 while all the other kids her age are much further along. She feels dumb and that doesn't help her attitude or her confidence.

     

    It will be ok in the end...that I know...it's just getting there.

     

    Thanks again for all the hugs and kind words.

     

    :grouphug:

     

    Two things from the board have come to my mind lately. Someone posted (I think last year) that her theme song for college application time was "Wake Me Up"  (Wake me up when it's all over...when I'm wiser and I'm older...) and just keep swimming. 

     

    I don't want to wish these years away, but sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball to reassure me that it would all turn out OK in the end.  There have been many days when I truly wonder...

     

    Just keep swimming...

    • Like 7
  7. When I hear those in real life, its because the speaker wants to be helpful, thinks the provided instruction was sufficient, but doesnt have time to dig into it and unravel the trouble. So, they have no clues to get you started. I take it the same on the internet; the person is acknowledging your request for help and sharing that they cant help.

     

    I guess in my mind it would be sufficient to say, "I'm sorry I can't help. I'll give the thread a bump and wish you the best!" Or even "Our experience was different, so I'm no help, but I'll give the thread a bump and wish you the best!"

     

    I think, too, it depends on context. Is the poster (general, not this thread) asking for general experience with the program or topic to see if their family's experience is typical? Or is the poster literally at wit's end and in total despair ready to give up with feelings of total and complete failure? 

    • Like 8
  8. Sometimes when I come across as Debbie Downer in a thread about Latin or some other topic, it's because I want to share our experience. For us Latin sometimes consumed the entire day (typically because my kids had put off their translation until too close to the due date)

     

    Similarly physics first was a total bust and almost derailed homeschooling altogether. My kids weren't automatic enough in their algebra abilities.

     

    It's easier to post a lot when you are planning a subject out. It's less enticing to come back and say things didn't come off as planned.

     

    Oh I agree! I think those types of posts are vital!

     

    What I was referring to is when someone posts about a student struggling with a topic or subject or curriculum and there are almost immediately posts about how easy it was for other students. Or worse, yet, how easy it was for a student who was years younger. I'm not sure what purpose those posts serve. They don't seem supportive. They seem to be closer to to kicking someone while they're down...

     

    Posts like this:

     

    "Well, I'll be of no help here. My kid did that at a younger age and thought it was the simplest thing ever. Sorry I'm no help. Good luck with that!"

     

    Not that a parent can't be beaming with pride and wanting to share it. It's just that perhaps a different thread would be better. 

     

    I hope that makes sense. 

    • Like 8
  9. Oh yes.

     

    I can't share with nearly all of my friends. The only one who understands homeschooled through 8th and then sent hers to public school. The norm in our area is to build character, not academics. I've never understood why you can't have both, so I mostly keep my mouth locked tight when I'm local.

     

    I can't share with most of our relatives. Same issue. I'm turning them into arrogant snobs by expecting a lot.

     

    Anyway, bottom line is that we support each other. 

     

    I think that's the key. Before we hit submit, ask ourselves if we are being supportive. Is this thread about us or about them? Does my post follow suit? Is it about my student's accomplishments and triumphs or about their students' struggles and disappointments? Surely there is room enough of the board for both kind of posts -usually in different threads.

    • Like 7
  10. Yes, keep in mind that those of us with high achievers sometimes only have this forum to be open about what they're doing.

     

     

    Isn't that true for many across the board, with all types of students? I would hazard a guess that's why we're here. Most homeschoolers I've had contact with in multiple states are radical unschoolers. This forum is the only place I can be open about a broad spectrum of homeschooling issues. (Many thanks to those who make it possible and to those who so willingly share.)

    • Like 8
  11. I can't be sure if it is bragging though. Granted, it is an extreme example, but what if my kid will never be able to read? Should I take it as bragging because someone is talking about how their kid learned to read and is delighted by reading?

    If someone posts that in a thread you started to express your disappointment, then I wouldn't call it compassionate empathy. If it's in a brag alert, a thread the person starts themselves, or in a general thread, that's totally different. Context matters.

    • Like 4
  12. Well, I try to be supportive even if that happens.  I know that person probably finds that often times he/she cannot talk about their child.  People just see it as bragging.  Even if it is bragging, parents like to brag about their kids sometimes. 

     

    I guess I see it very differently. If someone feels the need to brag, surely there's a better place than on a thread such as the type we're discussing, is there not? The "brag alert" threads are a good example of perhaps a better place. Or even a thread of one's own.

     

    I say this as someone who has been on both sides. Some of my posts have haunted me. I sometimes want to dig back through old threads and send apologies...

    • Like 9
  13.  

    I wonder what it would look like if parents of typically developing kids posted more often: "Well here we are in third grade in the third grade reader. She's mildly enthusiastic about some stories and pretty meh about some others. She sometimes groans a bit about school but is generally compliant. Onward ho!" I'll bet a lot of people could empathize.

     

    Yes and no. I think the problem is that sometimes when there are posts like that they quickly turn into, "Really? How sweet! That brings back memories of my nine-month-old reading that before translating it into 3 languages! Have fun with the book!" Things sort of fizzle from there...

    • Like 23
  14. Rats! I really don't work well with digital record keeping/ planning. I am very tactile and if I don't write it in pen, it either didn't happen or won't happen, depending on what it is.

     

    I might just play around with a few different options and go from there.

    By all means, do whatever works!

    • Like 1
  15. It's hard to tell. Maybe, maybe not. I contacted several schools and here were the responses:

     

    no response 

    she can't test at our school, but here are possible schools to contact

    registration is in Feb

    registration is in March

     

    All of the schools that responded were polite and helpful. I picked the Feb one for a few reasons, not the least of which is that the March one seemed late to me. I still have the information as a back-up in case the Feb. one falls through.

     

    I would recommend calling March 1st if you go with the school you mentioned. Had I waited until mid-Feb to call our school, it might have been too late. I would probably call other schools to see if anyone registers earlier. The more options you have the better. (At least that's how I felt.)

     

    Good luck.

  16. Interesting. I wonder why I'm seeing different start times? I've even read that at some schools the arrival time is noon and the start time is 12:30. They are all within the hour range - from 8-9 or 12-1. I wish I would have bookmarked the sites. I've looked at a zillion AP sites over the past few days, so I don't remember where I read the varying times, but I do remember they weren't all in the same location.

     

  17. Do schools have a bit of leeway with exam times? I thought they were 8 am and noon, but I've noticed slightly different times listed at some schools. Do they have an hour time-frame during which the exam must start, but no universal start time?  In other words, can exams start between 12pm and 1pm, say 12:30pm or 12:45pm instead of starting at noon? 

  18. Formal or informal is one question and on that I would err on the side of formality.

     

    But signing the email is a matter of functionality. Leaving out the signature may make it impossible for them to deal with the matter at hand, regardless of whether they are "offended" by its absence.  Sign the email SO THEY KNOW WHO IS WRITING. This is just basic common sense, no matter your view on the etiquette of it.

     

    I agree. Sometimes it's difficult to tell the name from email addresses. Also, it requires the extra step of going to look for it. I would never send a letter through the mail with a return address on the envelope, but not sign the letter because they should know who sent it from the envelope or from the heading at the top. 

     

    My goal is to make it as easy as possible for the person I'm emailing. By taking a few extra steps myself, I find I am more likely to get the response or action I need.

    • Like 3
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