Ponichka
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Posts posted by Ponichka
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If anyone needs Biology or Chemistry labs, My Fun Science is offering Intensives in a variety of states:
https://myfunscience.com/course-tag/summer-2018/
They have 6-mth payment plans, too.
Thank you! This sounds impressive. Too bad they don't provide labs in California.
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Hello everyone, can you suggest any places where incoming 9th grader could get lab experience before taking Bio Med class?
My son is about to take a class that is a part of Project Lead the Way - https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/pltw-biomedical-science-curriculum#curriculum-1 . We understand that it is very hard to pass the lab portion of this project, and wanted to get some lab tutoring before our boy gets into real class at school.
Thank you for any leads you could share!
P.S. Additional Info about Bio Med Course is in the attachment below
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Olga, I was wondering whether your daughter ended up taking UC placement test in Russian. I am considering the same for my son next year and would love to hear any feedback you may have. Thank you!
I still have days when I want to register my DD13 in the nearest public school :) Other days are spent trying to figure out how to tackle this whole highschool project.
Current plans:
Math: continue AOPS. It will probably be Algebra 2. Geometry is halfway done, but I am not sure, I may have her do UC Scouts Geometry or CC HS recovery credit class, which is individual and has a flexible schedule. This is entirely for UC system,
Science: hopefully Intro to Chemistry in CC. We'll see how it goes and then decide what to do for the spring semester.
History: She is studying US History now. We will probably do a summer semester of US History 1850s - current with an SAT subject in October.
Either Ancients or Ancients/Medieval history, with an SAT subject test at the end of 10-beginning of 11 grade. We may consider an AP, too.
English: Still working on that. Something with studying epics.
French: continue working with the tutor.
Russian: I want her to take the Russian placement test in UC, which will cover the requirement, but I also want to to do something to confirm her French, so either SAT or AP or DE later. For this year I want to start studying Russian classics in Russian. Probably an analog to a Russian school literature course with less writing.
PE: fencing
Fine Arts: DE art course seems to be the easiest. I will try to enroll her this summer. A 3 credit course can count as a year, right? UC seems to agree :)
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Barnes and Noble and many other bookstores will order specific books at your request.
Thanks. My problems is that I cannot find the names / reference to any books above Algebra II. However, it looks like Kumon centers teach higher levels of math if you enroll. I wonder if they don't release any materials above Algebra II to general public...
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try checking out these stores..probably one of these is in your neighborhood..
Thank you, Klara. I will go to a couple of stores and double check. I think that Barnes & Nobles and other stores including online stores carry books through Algebra II. But then, it does not look that higher level workbooks are released to general public / stores...
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Hello everyone,
My son has been using math Kumon workbooks for a while. We used to purchase them on Amazon. He just finished Algebra II workbook, and it does not look that there are other math work books available. However, Kumon's curriculum seems to show a few more levels:
K Functions - Quadratic, Fractional,
Irrational, Exponential
L Logarithms, Differential and Integral Calculus
M Trigonometry, Straight Lines,Circles
N Loci, Graphic inequality,Sequences,limits
O Advanced calculus, Graphing, Differential equations
X Elective study: Vector, Matrix, Trigonometry,
Probability and statisticshttp://media.wix.com/ugd/f630d9_84a58803fdbc6055734057b33d9b80cc.pdf
Can someone let me know where I could buy remaining math books or worksheets?
Thank you!
Jane
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Hi everyone, I am looking for suggestions that would help my 10-year old son learn how to speak more eloquently.
By the way of background - he is an excellent student, good writer, and is a bilingual child. But he is shy by nature. Unfortunately, people tend to judge book by its cover, and if a 10-year old cannot tell a story that someone would follow it, or cannot look person in the eye when he is speaking, then his cover is not very attractive right now. I do realize that a part of the problem is driven by his lack of assertiveness and anxiety when he deals with outsiders. But even at home his communication skills behind his age level.
Any tips that you can offer are greatly appreciated!
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Thank you, Lissande!
It sounds like more of a creative writing assignment to me - come up with a new character living in the same setting (not necessarily at the same time as the events in the book, but on the same island and in the same culture) and write a first-person narrative by a character in a similar circumstance (revealing the secret name and what happened next). No quotations from the book or anywhere else should be necessary.
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My son has received an assignment with no explanation. Can you please read the below enclosed assignment and interpret it for me? Is the target to reflect on what was written in the book and describe it from the point of view of a bystander who could be a new character reflecting on the tragedy described in the book? OR does my son's character need to spill a secret in a similar manner as the book character did? Also, are we allowed to use quotes, or is this not appropriate here?
Here it is:
Island of the Blue Dolphins
You Were There
In the following activities, you will become a character in each situation and express as though "you were there".
Activity 1. In a chapter one, we learn that the inhabitants of the Island of the Blue Dolphins are rather simple and primitive people. Karana was surprised that her father gave out his secret name to the strangers, for it is believed that once your secret name is known, its magic is lost. When this happens, tragedy may follow.
In your reading response journal, write about a person with a secret name who used to live on the island. While you are sitting at the fire with the villagers, relate what happened to your character after he / she foolishly announced his /her secret name to others.
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Thank you, texasmama! I glanced online at the book you recommended and will certainly will order it. Yep, the descriptions fit - takes time to process information, does not like to speak up, etc... And yes, there are some thing that can not simply be "outgrown".
I would highly suggest reading The Hidden Gifts of Your Introverted Child. It helped me to understand how my introverted child's brain worked. It also helped me to understand my husband, who is an introvert.
Introverts have much to offer. Introversion is not a problem to be cured so much as a personality trait to be understood. (Not that you are trying to "cure" your son of anything, but you express concern.) the book I mentioned helped me, an extrovert, to understand and value the introverts on my life. Then I was equipped to support my introverted son live well and value his contributions in a world of extroverts.
My new motto is that introverts could probably solve most of the world's problems if the extroverts would sit down and shut up long enough to let them. ;)
Unless your son is anxious or unhappy, I would focus my efforts as a parent on helping him to understand and value his introversion. I would likely not become involved in the school situation unless it was causing a problem for my son, not just a concern for what might happen in the future. -
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I agree with you - I need to talk to my son's teacher and point out that in previous years he had more success in this area. I just think that she completely misreads his personality. She takes his shyness for lack of desire. In the past I've employed school psychologist, and she helped a lot by training my son and the teacher. I think I need to reach out to her again...
I think you need to speak to the teacher and ask her to consult with her colleagues who have been successful with your child in the past, as well as the principal and the school psych. You might also ask that she consider assigning students to various group roles so that all will have experience in the different roles. Explain that your child feels there is a Dominant Student who won't allow the group to consider any ideas but his own and has reasoned that he doesn't need to waste his time talking in futility.
We had a similar problem in Kindy...teacher telling us our child was antisocial as he'd go off and read...turned out she expected him to be playing with the other boys. He had declined, because they were playing blocks and one child spent every day knocking the other children's blocks over....ds had blocks at home and had no interest in feeding that boy's emotional needs, so he moved away. I suggested that they be allowed to get the chess sets out, or that the block-knocker-over be removed if he couldn't agree to leave everyone else's creations alone until they were finished and gave permission for wrecking.
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For now he is not irritated at all. That is what bugging me.
I am a Russian speaker, and it makes it easy for me to use school books from Russia. I am utilizing book written by Ramzaeva.
Is he going to be paired with this other boy forever? In that case, you might want to interest him in an outside activity where he can't be in his shadow. Not just to help him speak up, but eventually, he's going to be highly irritated by this whole situation.
Sorry to derail but I noticed in your siggy that you're teaching him Russian? What are you using? I have a friend whose daughter wants to learn Russian and everything I know of is for college aged students.
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I sure hope that in a couple of years it will be a matter of a simple conversation. For now, he is not that mature yet...
I'd have thought when he gets to the age where he will lose marks for not participating, it would be time to say "Son, it's time to start playing their silly game. Put your hand up and comment in most classes so you don't lose marks for not participating, ok?" But I am not American and I am an introvert, so perhaps I can't understand properly. He won't be getting graded on whether his comments are well received by his peers anyway, only that he participates.
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Personal testimony certainly counts...
My concern is that he will start hiding behind peers, and in a few years when participation would be "graded", he won't be well received as he won't be used to participation....
You think he will be rendered unable to speak up when he feels it's worth his while?
If personal testimony counts for anything, like your son I prefer not to bang my head against brick walls, but I'm quite able to speak up when I think it worth my time. I don't really think you need to worry about this, but of course I've never met your son. -
To me it is not a question of marks... he became a shadow of that other boy, and feels that he does not need to speak up because his ideas would be overcasted by whatever friend promotes. I am afraid this situation damages his character.
Yes, you said that. I still don't understand why it is a problem. Is he losing marks for not speaking up?
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He stopped showing initiative this year, and I attribute it to the fact that he is grouped with a boy whose mom is ensuring that her son leads everything. Further, the fact that this year teacher is disengaged herself and does not motivate my boy does not help...
I don't really understand the problem. Is there a reason he shouldn't be allowed to mind his business?
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He is an introvert...
Is he anxious? Introverted?
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Well, I would just say it. My boy is not a natural born leader. Moreover, when new people meet him, the very first comment we get, "why is he so serious?" He is 9 now, but the issue was haunting us since he was a toddler. I remember a 4-year old boy approaching me at the play ground, and asking "why is your boy so angry looking?" In fact, he was not "angry" then, and he is not "serious" now, he just does not feel like smiling or sharing, or taking initiative.
Years went by, and he has outgrown the severity of the issue, but is still not taking initiative in a class, not raising hand, etc. Yet, he has been getting highest grades possible so far. So, the cause of quietness at school is not due to the lack of knowledge, it is likely to be due to his personality. Last year we lucked out - the teacher would find ways to bring him out of his shell through "special assignments", individual presentations, etc. This year we have a very subdued teacher... So, my kid is not taking part in any discussions, and the teacher is saying that she is yet to figure this out.
I think that I know why, but am not sure how to tell her in a politically correct manner. There are 2 reasons for this behavior -
1) One is that the teacher might want to engage him more than an average kid. Once he feels that she won't go away, he will likely to keep participating at least at the minimum level, and
2) My son shares a desk with a good friend of his whose mom happens to be a PTA queen and a class mom. She is always in class and is making sure that her boy leads all the projects. I have nothing against her boy, but my son sees that all of his ideas are going to be dismissed any way, and ... is not trying to lead / actively participate any more.
I don't think that full separation make sense, as they are friends and are both considered to be academic peers. I could probably ask to pair him up with other kids for some time or for selected classes.
Should I approach the teacher with my suggestions or should I wait for her to come with solutions? OR should I talk with someone else - principal, school psychologist, etc.?
Any parental advice you can give is much appreciated!
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My 9-year old is very curious about stock market. He started to research basics on the internet and even bought fake shares. Can anyone recommend any stock market educational resources for kids? Or share experiences?
Thank you!
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That is the feeling I've got. Thank you!
I have a lot of teacher friends and family in districts across the state and I cannot believe the discrepancies in class sizes. Also my dh works at the state data collection agency and sees the data for all districts. I really think that although there are "rules" about it, they do what they do and they get away with it.
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Good to know. Thank you!
I know from the principal in my dd's school last year that if they exceed a particular number (I think it's 25 in K-3) they have to pay the teachers more . . . .
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Many thanks!
http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/cefcsp.asp
According to this, a 5th grade class cannot go over 29 children or whatever the district's average was in 1964. It sounds like your district's average must have been 35 children.
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Hello everyone!
I am a bit perplexed by information discrepancies I am receiving from our school. One of the excuses for the principal not to promote my son into 5th grade math (while attending the 4th grade) is the class size. Apparently, there are 35 students in the 5th grade. She has mentioned that by law they cannot have 36 kids.
Where can I find out what is the class size limit for CA public schools? In particular, I am interested in getting information about the 5th grade size limit.
Thank you for your commentary!
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Great resource! Thank you!
Writeslaw.com is the best place to learn about advocacy for special needs. Here is a link to their IEP page. I don't know if they have any samples or not.
Typically, an IEP will start with an overview of the child. It will give strengths and weaknesses. Then there is a goal section which must have measurable goals set and methods of measurement (teacher observation can be an measurement). Then there will be an accommodations section. For example, we had things like a keyboard for writing.
I thought gifted kids could get a 504 plan. This section at wrights law tells a bit about the difference between IDEA and 504 plans. It says a 504 can use an IEP. I would guess that is what you will get. You might want to acquaint yourself with what a 504 has to offer.
Online College Classes for High Schoolers
in Accelerated Learner Board
Posted
Hello,
My 9th grader is hoping to start taking college level classes in the summer. We are looking for colleges that offer online classes for high school students in the summer. Can you recommend such colleges?
Thank you!
Jane