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journey00

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Posts posted by journey00

  1. On 11/17/2018 at 7:55 PM, Faith-manor said:

    We reached a crisis point when family dinners became too much stress to host. When we were a young married couple, it seemed like the extended family was more well mannered, polite, kept the crazy to themselves. Everyone pitched in to put them on and then clean them up. Over time this became more and more my job along with my mother, and no one would help. It was an endless litany of how their lives were way more busy than mine, and how they deserved to have someone put on the holiday for them, but they couldn't contribute or help clean up or donate money- feeding a huge meal to twenty+  is expensive - etc. They'd sit around after the meal and yuck it up, while dh, myself, my kids, and I cleaned up after everyone. ON top of that, my brother's five kids and their spouses stopped getting along at some point and began being quite difficult to be around as a group. Then three years ago when we were going through the colossal horror with my father figure and mother, despite the fact that it was obvious I had more on my plate than I could possibly handle, they all wanted to know what kind of Thanksgiving  I was hosting for all of them. I snapped. I realized that Norman Rockwell is a dream from the past, that too many people are too selfish, to narcissistic to care about others enough to have an enjoyable, family event. So we ended them. The extended family is very angry with us. But, honestly, it just doesn't matter any more.

    We are doing small, lovely little affairs with just my mother in law, our boys, dd and her hubby, and our grandson. That's it. My mom is going to my brother's house where she will listen to my sister in law whine and complain about how she should be waited on and not be cooking. But that's her choice. We offered to have her with us, but she felt since she eats every Sunday meal with us, that she should go there. That's fine.

    I think that people need to let go of the Norman Rockwell thing, and also the "make everything just so" thing. Seriously, throw a turkey or ham in the oven, make a few sides, and tell everyone to bring their own table service which they will wash themselves. Keep it simple, serve it buffet style, and make a special proclamation that politics and religion are off limits. Anyone who brings up such a topic will be asked to leave. Those two things right there will make it go better. And I think it's very okay to tell the mean, selfish relatives that they aren't welcome to come.

    OP, I get it. I had to go out and get a few things, and though it was an errand to only one store, I ended up coming home thinking, "How can I avoid being around the other humans in this community?"

    This resonates with me soooo much!!! My extended family shows up and I am the one cooking and cleaning after everyone...I have gotten to the point where I want to disappear for Thanksgiving because I can't stand anyone in my family anymore!!! People come to my small house and stay for at least 5 days and has been going on for years and frankly I don't know how much I can take. I don't want any of my family members to show up ever again!  am so proud of you! Good for you!!

  2. Well my oldest was never homeschooled and one of her high schools she attended let you retake a course for higher credit and the other let you take one class completely off the transcript. Each school had a different policy but both gave more leeway than I expected. So my daughter took full advantage and dropped a C off her transcript from her sophomore year. That was the only help she needed transcript-wise.

     

    Extra credit-wise, by the end of her junior year she was facing four b's for final grades. She had to do a lot of extra credit and pulled two up at the last minute to A's.  Extra credit like environmental volunteering, jr. special olympics, write an extra essay, etc. I don't necessarily approve of volunteering to pull up a grade, but just to let you know public school teachers do offer it for students who are behind in assignments or test grades. 

    This post is really helpful.  It is nice to see that the "accredited" public schools are sometimes more flexible than we are on our homeschool kids.  Thanks!

    • Like 2
  3. I'm working on finishing my dd's high school transcript so she can apply for a university and a community college.

     

    She is dually enrolled at the community college & completed two classes: 

    English 1113 English Composition 1. 

    Music 2631 College Choir: Choral ensemble performance.

     

    English is worth 3 credit hours and I'm giving her 1 full credit.

     

    Do I count Music 2631 as 1 credit hour?

     

    And if yes, how does 1 credit hour translate into a high school credit.... .25 credit? .50 credit? 

     

    She attends choir twice weekly for 1 hour classes, then there's two mandatory concerts to perform.  Why would this be listed as only 1 credit hour?

     

     

  4. I wanted to thank everyone that responded.  I read all the responses and followed the advice given.  

     

    I sat with him during a live and a recorded class.  I took notes while he took notes.  Bingo!  Big difference so we are working on note taking. 

     

    I also noticed during today's live class that he needs extra work with neg. & pos. numbers so we will try IXL and Khan.  After the first few live classes in

    August my ds emailed him about extra practice problems and he responded that he doesn't have any but ds is welcome to make some up.  Then in one

    of the homeschool forums (maybe TWM) I read about moms using IXL for free and Mr. D provided the username & password.  So, I emailed him & obtainted that

    to start using IXL.  I knew ds would need more practice problems than Mr. D provides to really cement it in which is why I considered Saxon.  But, I may have to

    switch to the recorded only classes and re-arrange the family schedule to attend the live help (which a poster recommended).  

     

    Thank you again to everybody!! 

    • Like 2
  5. My 8th grade son is doing pre-Algebra with Mr. D Math live class.  The instructor is super encouraging, friendly, helpful, engaging and very reachable.  Ds loves to be in a live class with other

    students.  He likes math.  He has an A in the class.  Here's the BUT....  since it is a live class, my son has to take notes.  Mr. D has his own math program & doesn't follow any particular book.  There is no textbook nor a workbook.  He prints the class notes provided by instructor but It is more of an outline & the kids fill in the rest as they go through the live class.  

     

    When he is stuck he asks me...I'm a very non-mathy mom.  I paid $190 upfront & making 10 monthly payments of $29 and you're asking ME? I can't always help him & all I can say is go back to your notes.  He might not have any notes written for that particular type of problem so the only option is to watch the recorded class.  Mr. D offers tutoring 2x weekly but we have schedule conflicts.  

     

    He has done Teaching Textbooks since 3rd grade and there are notes & dvds explaining that type of problem where he did not waste very much time re-reading the chapter & finding the problem then analyzing what he did wrong.  That Mr. D's format isn't jiving with us is NOT the program's fault.  My ds prefers having all the information already there for him.

     

    Why did I change if it was working and getting done? Because I thought he needed something more rigorous to prepare him for higher maths & college.  He is quite capable of getting ahead in math. 

     

    Should I go back to TT since I already own the pre-algebra? I also own Saxon Math Homeschool 8/7 with Prealgebra & the Dive cd.   Mr. D's rate was $190 upfront and 10 monthly payments of $29.  

     

    I would appreciate any advice.  Thanks.


  6. 1. Have you found extra practice sheets for reinforcement anywhere? Mr. D said he did not have any made up. Now, I am wondering if I should have done Saxon instead.

    2. We came from TT which teaches the traditional math that I grew up with. Mr. D teaches differently, with shortcuts and multiplying/subtraction/division by 10's (something like that).... those of you in class know what I mean. I

    s your kid having trouble re learning the method? Mine keeps trying to do it like TT taught him instead of Mr. D's way. 

    Thanks!

  7. My sr. dd will be attending cc next yr. and will take the placement test to for a remedial math class and then work towards college algebra.  That's all good with us.  But, I don't want her

    to not do any math her sr. yr. in high school.  I want to keep math concepts fresh that might help her in that remedial class. She's taken Alg 1, Geom, and Consumer Math.  

     

    I would appreciate any suggestions.   Maybe even something fun (gasp), or unconventional. Thanks. 

  8. I have the funds for 2 online Bravewriter classes: 1 in fall, and 1 in spring.  This would be for my uprising 8th grader who doesn't like to bother with capitalizing, punctuating, or using contractions no thanks to texting.  :/  And, we are still working on Easy Grammar. He doesn't like to write but he will and he did fine with BW's online book club

     

    What two classes would you pick? Thanks.

     

     

  9. I signed up my rising 8th grader with Skrafty Minecraft Homeschool. It is a 1x week, live class taught using methodology of IEW by a teacher certified to teach this method.  They will work through the American History themed workbook, and build Minecraft models related to what they're studying. 

     

    I have always wanted to do IEW but could never fully execute it into our homeschool.  I am hoping that with the bulk of it being taught by someone that already knows what they are doing, and with my parental oversight,  then we can have a successful writing year.  We are looking forward to it.  

     

    Anyone here done it and can share the good and the bad? Thanks!

    • Like 2
  10. Grammar is not a good subject for self teaching and automatic grading. Children need to learn English skills from a competent teacher who will take the time to evaluate and discuss their work.

     

    There are programs that are directed to the student, therefore less teacher intensive, but you'll still need to check your child's work and clarify concepts as needed. Easy Grammar is one such option.

     

    I have been homeschooling for 7 years so I know all the points you made and we already do Easy Grammar.  ;)   Thanks.  

  11. Where can I find extra practice pages without searching the whole internet?? Ugh. I emailed TT and they had no solution except to contact their 3rd party sellers: Timberdoodle, Sonlight, Christian Books, and ask them.

     

    Would IXL line up pretty well? Thanks.

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