TheLisa
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Posts posted by TheLisa
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Well, from experience, I can tell you what NOT to do.
Don't say "Why don't you just homeschool?" when they are complaining about some unfair policy, teacher, or homework.
Also, don't say "That's why I homeschool."
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We don't have that book, but...when dd was in 2nd grade in the local ps, she was pleased to tell me that there is a machine in the bathroom where you can buy a napkin, and her friend had bought one to dry her hands! DD added, "Guess what, mom? They also have something called t----!"
I was not happy that the younger grades had access to the machines. I did mention it to the principal, and she said that the second item was not stocked in the machine.
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A friend just told me about her dd's math assignment. She is in a public school that uses a "new math" type of text.
She had to find numbers in use around the house and tell about the numbers she found. This was supposed to show that numbers are IMPORTANT. It sounds like it was a rather time-consuming assignment, although my friend said it was fun! She was just upset, because the teacher later decided that the numbers had to be food-related. The dd got all the answers wrong, and had to do the assignment again!
My head was just spinning after hearing about all the little steps they had to go through, and I just kept thinking- how is that supposed to teach math?
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Moccasin Trail, forgot the author
Heart of the Rockies by G. Henty (higher reading level)
I thought my wilderness-loving ds would also enjoy books by Louis L'Amour, but at 12 he wasn't interested. I plan to introduce them again.
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We emphasize fun and fitness, not body shape. Dd8 is in non-competetive dance, but we have suggested to her that as she gets older, she may enjoy volleyball or basketball, and that she is lucky to be so tall!
Your younger dd is a little young for scoliosis- I don't know anything about RG, but I would not want my dd favoring one side. Also watch out for heavy backpacks. They may not know what causes scoliosis, but there are probably contributing factors. You don't want to take any chances. Early detection is crucial.
And speaking of body image, scoliosis is a HUGE HUGE body image issue!!! (I'm not shouting at you, just emphasis on an important, often overlooked issue)
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I agree with Texascamps.
I don't like tattlers who tell just to get someone in trouble, but sometimes kids need to get adults involved. For example, a child who is bullied. DD had an issue in dance class last year, and I didn't find out until halfway through the year, when she wanted to drop out! Not all of it was obvious bullying- cutting in line here, a snide remark there, which really added up and made class very unpleasant. DD was in ps at the time, and now I wonder if she misunderstood "no-tattling" rules!
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We had the box from the furnace in our living room for over a month- it was the best box ever! DD8 still talks about it. It was huge, almost 5 ft tall! The delivery guys looked at me as if I was nuts, when I asked them to leave the box.
She loves to sew, too, but I think it is a little early for a machine. I will probably start her on mine when she is ready. She loves to take a length of fabric and make doll clothes and accessories. Maybe you could make a sewing kit and include fabric, which can be inexpensive.
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I should have re-phrased the question- because I can think of a zillion examples of incompetency at the university level.
I just expected cc to be more straightfoward.
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I'm sharing the experiences of a local h-s graduate, who is now at cc. He made the transition to being on their schedule, following the rules,etc, and it seems he can't win. Is this common?
His calc prof is always late, very disorganized, and changes the schedule on his whim. For example, the quiz was supposed to be Mon. The student was sick on Fri, missed that class, and what do you know, the prof decides to give the quiz EARLY, and will not give a make-up! Next week, the test was supposed to be MON, the prof "forgot," just started teaching until someone finally asked, "Isn't there a test today?" He said oops and put it off until later that week. This prof also will not give any partial credit- if you miss a step, the whole thing is wrong!
Another teacher is in his own world- actually I think he is jealous that this kid knows as much as he does. So my student friend wrote the longest paper in class, participates in discussion, always knows the answer, and is getting a low B. He saw some of the other papers- most did not even include the req. citations, and they received better grades. I did not read his paper, but he does know how to write a paper and he knows the subject.
I could go on. I know college profs can be a little "off" but this is CC. Most cc classes I had were like High School Part 2. Straightfoward, a little hand-holding and somewhat flexible. What happened?
I was planning to send ds to cc when he is 16 or so- now I'm rethinking that!
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I can't go, so I will be looking for a long thread from those who went! Not that I didn't enjoy the long threads on tea, Halloween, and the state of our economy ;)
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Just wanted to add- on the subject of introverted people- Even if I'm not an introvert, it takes a strong person, sometimes, to keep a group under control. I hate being the one responsible for keeping everything fair- who started the fight, whose turn is it to clean up, who goes first, etc. And some of these kids are so SNEAKY! If the kids were more pleasant, we might get more volunteers. That's probably not the main reason, but I'm sure it plays a part.
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Yes, I've noticed kids being very reluctant to help clean up! DS ended up doing double duty- the other kids just filed out with their parents. I made a general announcement- to their retreating backs, and no one listened! The helpful parents who stayed around seemed to accept that there are many who don't do their share. I'm not talking about spending lost of time volunteering- I'm talking about the "entitlement" of these kids who assume we are there to clean up after them. DS was upset because the leaders know he will do the work but he does not get recognized. So he deals with it by trying to avoid work, but he does this at the critical moment when it is noticed by a leader. He says he feel picked on sometimes. We've talked about changing groups, but I cautioned him that they may all be similar.
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I like Verlo Mattress Factory (I don't know if they are nationwide). Verlo will rebuild your mattress if you are not satisfied! You can customize your mattress - some of the options are free. They also have a good warranty. The quality is supposed to be better, and the price is comparable to the name brands (the sales pitch is that you actually get more for your money) . If the # of coils is not as high as the brand names, Verlo coils are thicker and more durable. They are upfront on what's inside the mattresses, and which mattresses are for guest/children only.
Overall we've had better luck with Verlo, and another local mattress factory. We've tried department store brands, with average to poor results. Although- MIL bought a good set from Sears, years ago, which has held up well.
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Thanks for the info!
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A question for Margaret- or anyone who does BoR-
Do you allow the boy to advance if he does not do the sewing? Or if the last rank advancement is still PINNED on?
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About the new shirts- in general we (and everyone I talked to) don't like them. They look like nice shirts for camp-outs, and I like the high-tech features, but otherwise they are too casual. I am disappointed that they discontinued the old shirts already. I did manage to buy one a size larger for ds.
About the sewing- badge magic is good for Cub Scouts, I hear. In Boy Scouts, the boys should do the sewing, but usually they need help. When ds was in 5th grade, I would put in a few anchor stitches, and ds did the rest.By 7th grade he was independently sewing patches and other things, like repairing his stuff sack and making a book bag for his Scout book. He's a little unusual- I know many boys who do not have any of these skills.
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It is the Portland State University series, or Getty-Dubay. Lots of catalogs carry it (I got mine from Timberdoodle or CBD). It is a series of workbooks. We started in the middle, with book F. He also did a few pages from his sister's book (a few levels down- more printing practice).
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We've been easing back into the school year, and when I read all the handwriting posts, I realized that we haven't started handwriting. I admit I got a LITTLE anxious.
DS13 had struggled over the years. His printing is legible, but he kept writing his 'a' 'o' etc with a clockwise circle, so it didn't look right. And we could not break that habit!!! I never spent enough time with cursive, either, so I thought. We had started Spencerian, but it was too tedious or I was too unmotivated. Last year we started the Italic series, and he was reluctant to adopt a new style.
I was pleasantly surprised today! After taking most of the summer off printing and cursive, something "clicked" and he is writing his 'a' and the other letters correctly! Overall his work is neater, too.
I am pleased with the Italic style- it is so easy to transition from print to cursive, perfect for those reluctant boys.
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Last year one of my dogs stopped eating his dry, but would eat the canned/dry mix. And any table scraps. I thought he was being stubborn, too, and maybe overfed. Then he had some vomiting, then vomiting blood. After a $400 vet visit, it turns out he had pancreatitis. He got a bland diet, antibiotics and antacids.
While reading about pancreatitis, I learned that some of these dogs stop eating the dry but will keep eating the better-tasting stuff (which might not be so good for them). I can't remember if diarrhea is a symptom- I know the blood in the vomit was unusual, and we also think he got into something outside.
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Spielvogel's Western Civ for MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL? ROTFL!
Our community college uses that text. We always hear commentary on the state of public ed vs homeschooling, but this is the first time I've seen the actual textbooks used at such different levels.
I hear that it is a good basic text. Someone (I forgot where) actually said that every homeschooling PARENT should read it before teaching history.
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DS13 found me here earlier, and requested that I ask you ladies something:
"Why doesn't my son do schoolwork?"
He then helpfully provided the answer:
"Because he's NORMAL!"
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DS was invited when he was about 11. We went to the informational meeting- the presentation was very convincing- it looked like a great trip. So DS was heartbroken (so was I!) when we decided he was too young to go overseas (the $5000 + fee was also a factor!).
I went to the message boards for info, also wondering how a homeschooled kid got nominated (PTP would not tell me). One poster replied that her severely disabled child was nominated. Otherwise, I heard mostly positive comments, not the life-changing experience promised at the info meeting, but as someone here said- expensive, interesting, fun.
I liked the educational and political aspects of the program. We just got a letter for next year, maybe I would consider it. I would worry more about the supervision- I think the younger kids had more restrictions, which was a selling point for me!
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Word on the street (or what I learned from previous posts here and other places): Geometry is integrated in Alg 1, 2 and Adv Math. The problem is that you need Geometry for the SAT/ACT, and you may not have finished the 3-book sequence in time. I also hear that Saxon's Geometry is not as in-depth as a regular course.
DS really likes Saxon. I tried to switch to Teaching Textbooks Geometry, when we were about 20 lessons into Alg 2. I thought the material was too rigorous and Geometry would be a nice break, after which we would continue the Saxon sequence (did I mention that DS really likes Saxon?).
My plan was unanimously rejected, so we're back to Saxon (did I mention that DS REALLY likes Saxon?).
He will complete the Geometry later--- I wish someone had told me that Saxon will have Geometry ;) we'll give TT another try later.
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1. Does anyone remember this story that was in the news a few years ago? A boy from a very poor family came to school with all the requested supplies- and his family was POOR but they bought ALL the supplies, maybe extra or better, I can't remember. Anyway, this is a kid whose family cares about his education, and he understands the value of these supplies.... on the first day, the supplies get dumped in the community pot, to be used by kids whose parents didn't bother to send even pencils or anything, kids who don't bother to take care of their things.... I think the news story described this sad boy watching his new supplies getting picked over by the other kids- I think lots of people who saw the story sent him new stuff!
2. Hand sanitizer... Unfortunately lots of kids are not taught to wash their hands- even after using the bathroom. Or they don't wash properly- just a quick rinse.
Tips for conversing with non-homeschoolers?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I know what you mean about the kids. I've watched my kids have less and less in common with their friends. There are no other homeschoolers in town. My kids do end up being left out of conversation or activities, not purposely. People aren't trying to be mean. They just live in one world and we live in another, isolated world.
On the other hand, when people actively try to include me in conversation, I get really tired of explaining Homeschooling Basics over and over!