Deee
-
Posts
634 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Deee
-
-
I know this is old, but I love Nan's list, especially the "worrisome" bits! As the mother of a 14yr old computer geek, it seems to me that the bikinis are the most dangerous thing listed.
-
Please, oh please may we have an international edition? I'll be your best friend:)
D
-
Around the World in 80 Days was a surprise hit with my teen bookclub (mostly boys), as was Kidnapped.
D
-
1
-
-
I married well- a loving, stable, honest, hardworking man who can fix anything and who will stand by me through anything. He had no money, student debt, child support liabilities and mental health issues. We have been together for 21 years. I wouldn't swap him for anything, because in the hard, lean times (and we've had several), we still have our love for each other. Yes, I married well.
-
7
-
-
As a former scientific writer, I would encourage her to do both for as long as she can (I did, to my great advantage long term). Science desperately needs excellent communicators, now more than ever. Scientists write A LOT! Their funding, and thus, their continued employment, depends on it. Many of them are quite ordinary at it. A good English professor should have a knowledge of scientific reasoning - its the very basis of critical thought. And a good scientist should be able to passionately and intelligently discuss literature and poetry - what's the point of understanding the world and human life if you can't appreciate its beauty and abstract achievements? Some careers she may not have thought of : scientific writer, science journalist, editor. Who knows where she might end up. When I was juggling too many science, maths and English classes in high school, I didn't think I'd be teaching cellular biology and discussing Poe's The Raven in a teen bookclub on the same day!
PS I am aware that the last sentence is a shocker - its midnight in Sydney and I can't be bothered fixing it.
-
2
-
-
I think you can buy the recorded sessions and listen whenever you like.
D
-
I took screeenshots of Andrew Kern's slides and printed them
D
-
1
-
-
Yes, it was/is fantastic! Bocky has covered most of my thoughts already. Because I am in Australia, I have used the recordings of each session. Susan's series on homeschooling real children was wonderful - exactly what I needed, and given with honesty and humility. I'm in the middle of listening to Andrew Kern's writing series ATM. Again, really useful, and great to be able to relisten, print out slides, etc. i am pleasantly surprised by how generous each speaker has been with information. Australia has no homeschool conventions, so this has been a great opportunity for me, just at the time when I needed support. Thank you Susan, et al!
D
-
4
-
-
Ok Shakespeare nerd hat firmly on here: there is a lot to be said for watching 4 actors covering all roles. Stripped- back theatre can be a fantastic experience, especially Shakespeare, which has been performed by tiny companies with no props almost since it was first written. If you can manage it, I would see one of each, ie a full production and a 4-actor production. Then you can compare each experience. You could also watch a film version of the 4 actor play and discuss the differences (because film is the complete opposite - full cast, sets, ability to manipulate etc).
If I could choose from that list, I'd pick MacBeth (but make sure your 13 yo gets the utter desperation and desolation, not just the gore, craziness and killing), Much Ado and As You Like It. That way you can compare comedy with tragedy, and two comedies with each other.
-
1
-
-
No, I'm an Aussie. I thought we owned "bloody". No wonder Sth Africans fit in so well here! You can use whatever curriculum materials you like as long as you cover the key learning areas.
-
1
-
-
I'm on the outskirts of Sydney, about an hour and a half by train (about 55km). I wouldn't drive into the city in a pink fit! The traffic and the parking are awful. Daily commutes of an hour or more each way are common. Sydney is a very expensive city. We are in the grip of a housing affordability crisis. Allow between $600 and $750 a week for rent (have a look on domain.com.au for an idea of prices). Furnished will be hard to find in that price-range. But furniture is relatively cheap here, with lots of secondhand stuff and giveaway sites like Freecycle. Food will cost around $250 per week depending on your eating habits and family size. Petrol is about $1.35 per litre. I'm not sure how frugal you are with power and water use, but add another $2-300 per month for both. Phone and internet will cost you about $100 a month, unless you are ringing Sth Africa a lot, which will be pricey. Car registration will cost about $1200 a year, but you can pay this in two installments. Anything you buy that comes from overseas (eg books) will cost a bloody fortune in shipping, but being Sth African, you'll already be used to this!
I'm not sure if you are eligible for Medicare, but if you are, our health system is very good. We pay for out-of-hospital specialist care, ambulances and medicines (heavily subsidized in many cases). Some doctors charge above the medicare fee, some bulk bill (which means you pay nothing).
The NSW Board of Studies regulates homeschooling. I don't think they will be at all interested in you or your kids until you have residency, but you could email them and ask,
Sydney is home to lots of Sth African ex-pats. I bet there is an online forum. It is a beautiful and diverse city, and a great place to live, despite the cost, traffic and dreadful planning. Let us know when you get here.
-
3
-
-
I've just had a huge hit with And Then There Were None in our bookclub. Who'd have thought Agatha Christie would keep teenagers up past bedtime?
-
1
-
-
I about to try the same thing after a decade (and I'm too vain to get reading glasses just yet.....). For seperating the colours, get a piece of cardboard (cereal box will do), cut slits round the sides and write the name or number of the colour under the slit. Find a nice young person to put the threads in the right slits. Bribe them with cake.
D
-
At the risk of sounding harsh, this is just too much to do properly. Really. Let him read all those books, but for pleasure, not lit analysis. Concentrate on the lit and writing course. He's in year 9. While its fantastic that he is so keen to do all this, its your job as the educator to temper his enthusiasm with a bit of reality. Take it from someone who tried to do a double English load with a full maths and science load through high-school - its too much and you risk not doing justice to any of it. Not every book needs to be analysed (even if it is fun). And not everything we do in our homes needs to be counted as school.
If he really wants to study Tom Sawyer, read it with Huck Finn and do some compare and contrast stuff with them (style, character presentation, recollection of events, point of view, language used, class, author intentions). He's at a great age for that.
-
3
-
-
Writing is a bug-bear here, too. DS is 14. Both his writing and his ability to think up content seem to have dwindled to a lower primary level. I'm hoping its hormonal. He's a genius in the afternoons when left to his passion - IT.
Lori D, thanks for your fabulously detailed and useful post. You really are a Homeschool Living Treasure.
-
My late father was very superstitious. He had a pathological fear of hats on beds (its very unlucky apparently). It was drummed into me at a very young age that hats can NEVER go on beds (no, not even on the bedhead). When I was in the army, I convinced whole platoons of recruits that the army didn't allow hats on beds. Aged 45, 25 years after my father's death, I still can't handle hats on the bed. My mother and husband think its hilarious and bait me with random hat placement. Be careful - some of your children might be scarred for life ;)
-
I am a greenie to the core (I teach Permaculture and have been a candidate for the Greens). Really green would be no gifts. Frankly, I find the "dream fund" a bit off.
-
4
-
-
I had a reflux baby. The infant seat (we call them 'capsules' here) was a nightmare. It folded him in half and made him reflux. He never fell asleep in it, but screamed instead. And it was too bulky to comfortably carry around, despite the fact that I am tall and strong. Ditching it in favour of a reversible seat on the paediatrician's advice, was one of our better decisions in a pretty rough year.
-
I'm ashamed of my country's position on this. Australia, a land of boat people, immigrants and refugees, and one of the wealthiest nations on the planet, can't find any room for these desperate people. Our government is a disgrace
-
2
-
-
I got notification last night (I'm in Australia) and again this morning a couple of hours before the session, so the system is working very well for some of us. Unfortunately, I missed the session so I'm patiently waiting for the taped version......
D
-
2
-
-
Oh I loved The Slap! Hated most of the characters, but I thought it was a great book.
D
-
1
-
-
Tomorrow when the War Began by John Marsden. DS and I struggled through it for book club (I lead the book club). It was horrible: unrealistic, poorly written, stereotypic characterisations, patronising, had all the teenagers obsessed with sex while the world was coming to an end. Horrible, just horrible. One of the kids suggested it, and all the other kids LOVED it......
-
1
-
-
I need it noted publicly that this is the one (and only) time I've agreed with Barnaby Joyce! We have some of strictest quarantine laws in the world for good reason. They are not a secret - they're plastered all over the internet, and well known internationally. I even had a shop owner audibly groan when I entered his shop in Ottawa and he realised I was an Aussie. He knew 3/4 of the shop was off-limits for me.
MSNative, "bugger-off" is considered pretty tame here. Joyce is a conservative politician from the National Party, which represents the bush and farmers. He's not known for his oratory skills, but he is quite vocal. Most of his constituents will be applauding him, more so because he didn't mince his words with a famous actor. A few will lament his turn of phrase, but I think it was quite calculated.
-
8
-
-
Neither! Twelfth Night is my absolute favourite, and I am a big Shakespeare buff, but its too early for your boys. Twelfth Night is full of delightful innuendo that will be largely wasted on early teens. It is a very, very funny play, the perfect comedy, both in a Shakespearian sense (i.e. it has a happy ending) and in the standard comedic sense (because mistaken identity and sexual innuendo are always funny in the hands of a clever author). Midsummer is a bit convoluted - it has a lot of characters - and this makes it hard for newcomers to get. Its my least favourite play - I find much of it inane (shocking I know, but I thought I should get both my biases out in the open). I think one of the best first Shakespeare plays is the Merchant of Venice. It's deep, easy to follow, has several themes that appeal to young teens (prejudice, the role of women, gambling), and can be very funny. Its not particularly quirky which allows kids to get their heads around the language while concentrating on a good story. And it has a wonderful villain. I find Hamlet depressing - great for older teens in that angst-ridden semi-Goth phase. Macbeth is tempting, but better around the year 9 mark. Unless your kids like gruesome, in which case they may love it but miss the extraordinary focus on the madness that comes from ambition, greed and a lust for power. so I'd wait on that, too. The other great option for boys is Henry V. Don't read it - read the historical context, watch it live or use the fabulous Kenneth Branagh version. Then study the "band of brothers" speech and call it done. Much Ado About Nothing is lovely, although my son found it a bit soppy for his tastes. Taming of the Shrew is good, too. Try the Elizabeth Taylor/ Richard Burton version. Very funny. it was the first Shakespeare my son watched, entirely by chance one wet Sunday afternoon. Turn the sub-titles on when you watch it.
-
3
-
Homeschooling at the Helm Questions 8FilltheHeart
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
nm