74Heaven
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Posts posted by 74Heaven
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Yes, of course it is "averaging" - I don't know why I was calling it something else. <g> but I don't usually allow it unless they get a C-, D or F on a test.
Lisaj, who shouldn't post on 5 hrs sleep
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The classes are out of control to some degree. Here's the kicker. It's usually a child of one the leaders who acts up the most in one way or another. Because I have witnessed first hand some of these things (calling a autisic child "mental retard", back talking to teacher, throwing things into the face of other kids, etc etc). I am aware of what is going on. But now, when one of these other kids do something to my kid, the other kid lies about it, and then I get a notice! Today, one of the kids kicked my one son. My son pushed him. Teacher steps in. Other kid claims it was an accident. My son gets rebuked. Like can a teacher really believe a kid, whom they themselves have to correct constantly, when he says, I didn't mean to kick him?
Ruthie
Obviously from the other posts, my pov won't be popular. And I don't deny there may be a problem *and* it might be serious enough to leave over.
In the example - both children were disruptive and shared blame. I would discipline my child for pushing the other child. His being provoked is no excuse - he used physical violence and that is wrong. A child is going to have to hear that many times before he/she understands that he/she is responsible for his/her own self control regardless of the "other person". I can't discipline or control the other kid - so I would focus on helping my child to focus on his/her fault and take ownership of how he acted and what he could change.
I would also sugg. maybe the classes can have a "discipline monitor" who does the disciplining for the teacher and thus allows the teacher to teach while someone else disciplines, removes students, watches for misbehavior, etc.
I would cut the teacher some slack because it is extremely hard to teach and then resolve-a kick/push episode on the spot. We've all punished the wrong child and as the saying goes (and I've taught my kids) "they always catch the one who retaliates". And a teacher is usually trying to quickly resolve the situation that is being disruptive to the whole class. I know I do. As a teacher, my attitude is more "I don't care who did what... let's get back to geography." I don't always "believe" the kids involved but geography would never get done if I listened to the whole drawn out he did/she did story.
Lastly, I want to admit that I have some ADD children who have some self control issues. They aren't necessarily worse thany other kids but they are more apt to be vying for attention from a classmate or friendship and pursue it inappropriately. My now 9yob who is a model kid *now* but he (a LEADER's KID) was getting sent home from Bible Club 2-3x a year when he was 6-7yo and getting warnings often as well (Bible Club has a count system of 5 disobeys/inappropriates). I didn't always *feel* they were fair or just with him but I knew their heart was not to punish or single out my son - but to keep the group running smoothly and minimize problems.
I have more of a "people are messy" philosophy of friendship, mothering and co ops. Issues are bound to come up but keep trying to resolve them and keep our eye on loving the other - but most of all - keep working on relationships - even tho they are often HARD.
In Christ
Lisa
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my students accept the grade adn then correct the test by themselves. If they have really bombed it (say 75% or less) I will let them correct the test and earn back "half" the points. So 75% on the Test and 90% on the retake adds only 7.5 points to their final grade (75+7.5 = 83%). I consider that "grace" and incentive to bring up their grade and restudy the material.
One thing I will do is (ahead of time I let them know); give the students 1/2 points for memorizing and writing out biology or chemistry vocabulary definitions at the test time. They have to be really close to word-perfect to get the credit tho. I will take the vocab list and basically make the whole list worth 5-7 points, so if the vocab list is very lengthy, they may only get 1/4 of a pt per word.
There is *no* way I would give them the second higher grade as their final grade - what on earth is the purpose of the first test if they can retake a test and get a higher grade? (Even a revised test - that doesn't seem fair to me. It makes the first test more of a "practice" test.)
I feel like maybe I am missing some part or understanding of this thread because why would teachers or parents give the second (basically retake) grade of the test as it isn't a true measure of the test performance when the test was given?
lisaj
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Hi Jenny, he does sound difficult to buy for and this may be a stupid idea - but my dh loves his favorite team's apparel and hats etc etc (and I *totally* don't get this) so I was wondering if you dh might want some apparel or whatever with your dtr's college logo on it? Or your annual vacation spot?
Something for his car? (My dh also loves his car logo - go figure.) Or something "nicer" then he'd get himself, i.e. a nice dress watch if he wears a sports model - or a sports model watch if he only has more of a jewelry-type watch?
How about "date night" gift certificates, i.e. $50 restaurant gift card and a coupon for a back rub or whatever ;) after? i asked for last year and got several $25 gift certificates to area restaurants - it has made date night more regular and very affordable for us - like we are dining for half-price I guess when we want to go out.
All my ideas seem to lame to post. maybe they will help someone else.
Lisa
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My dh has taken up archery hunting and we bought 9yo son a set. Great gift for an outdoorsy boy. We are looking for a suitable one for my 6yob now. We did buy a quality set - and then we got arrows (maybe 4 for $19??) cheap at Walmart about a month ago - so far the arrows have held up surprisingly well.
Lisa
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Fine. At this point, dd(5) knows he is not real. Don't know that dd(3) has put that much thought into it.
MIL called to ask if she could send the girls the "letter from santa" that she sends to all of the grandkids. I said yes. She would have been ahead, if she hadn't gone into talking about people who have hangups over calling it lying and it's just part of childhood. Kids can tell the difference. Blah. Blah. Blah.
Unless MIL is a horrid woman who looks very every oppty to undermine you/dh's parenting; I would totally let this go. And we are more "against" Santa then most :().
I would just ignore MIL's blather at the end (and hey, we all do this sometimes when we are making an uncomfortable call or one where we think there might be resistance, blather on about something that is of no use to the conversation) and thank her for asking first. That was respectful. IF dh has an issue over the Santa letter, let him politely talk to his mother.
My general thought is that you will "battle" the "Santa thing" for the rest of your parenting lives in various degrees.
Stick to what is important at your house; continue to explain Santa exactly what he is (maybe even let Grandma know that you will be telling them she is the author - or not, just tell the kids "someone wrote this because they thought you would think it was fun to pretend Santa writes letters).
With kids 16 to 6yo, we have not made a big deal of Santa but explain that other (fine) people do otherwise and that is there concern, not mine. The culture is so "real" that it has taken numerous instances to cement in their mind that he *really is not real*.
HTH - really, in law relationships are too fragile to worry about little things that have little, real lasting effect. In my mind, this is one of those things (Santa) that you will find lots of ways to explain the Santa celebrations.
lisaj, mom to 5, ages 16 to 6
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I LOVE the Memoria Press DVD's. I know some have called them "dry" or "boring", but I just love them. We tried Latin for Children, but I think the DVD instruction in Prima or Christiana is far more thorough.
I felt much the same way that the orig poster does. I do recommend the DVDs if they will be what keeps you doing Latin. Yeah, they are dry. But they beat frustration and hair-pulling.
One of the best pieces of advice that I heard was from the yahoo Latina Christiana group . (I don't know how to tell you to join - but I am sure someone can - you get emails with questions from users and "veterans" who use Latina Christiana.(
Anyway, the great advice was to focus on the vocabulary for the first few years - Yes, pay attention to declensions, conjugations, etc. - but if you're children are mastering the vocabulary, songs, prayers, etc. - then LC1 & II are worthwhile and you *are learning Latin*. Granted, I felt lost sometimes but it all cleared up slowly as we pressed on.
We are in our 5th year of Latin (LC1, LC2, Review Year, Henle 1 (Units 1-2); Henle 2 (Units 3-5) - and for the most part, the last two years have been a great "coming together" for me of understanding declensions and conjugations and Latin grammar in general. We have switched to a co op setting for Henle and that has been wonderful - but my dtrs have done better than myself all the way through - and I wasn't always the best teacher - we just kept pressing on. Often they would grasp something thoroughly and I would be struggling - then a few lessons later, something would be clear to me.
FWIW, we do LC 1 w/o the videos and then in LC2, we switch to the DVDs.
I know a lot of people also say to focus on derivatives but I have a little trouble with that as most of the derivatives are above the vocabulary level of our young Latin students. So for us, the "derivative" part of the lesson is more about exposure of Latin roots and their vast influence on the English Language - and not really about the vocabulary enhancement.
Press on, it pays off in huge ways. Just a little tip - Remember, that Latin words are governed by how they are used in the sentence (i.e. parts of speech). Make, buy or download a big declension 4X6 card (LC 1 or 2 covers this) or 8x11 sheet and use it as your "cheat sheet". A list of what words are in what declension groups helps too.
Lisaj, mom to 5 (currently LC1, LFC "B", and Henle Year 1 (Units 3-5).
Btw, I find LC the most "teachable" of these 3 curriculums but we are hoping to move the middle student into Henle Year 1 at a co op and the co op uses LFC "B" for the students prior to Henle so we wanted to "be on the same page"
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Wow! thanks, these are awesome. I will make one tomorrow. These are really going to be helpful!
lisaj
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Inexpensive is nice but not the main requirement. I really need it simple too as I am very busy and don't like to cook. Oh and not to ask for the impossible, but only easy to find, "usual" ingredients.
He is on the weight watcher's "core food" plan which means he eats lean meats, fruits and vegetables mostly. Pasta only once a week and I have that covered. So, I won't be using much sauce or casseroles, etc. I eat the same low fat things my husband does - altho I am not as strict as to "core foods" as he is. I'm also trying to cook the same for the whole family with just small adjustments for dh.
Our meals tend toward grilled this and grilled that paired with fresh fruit and salads- However, my main complaint is lack of variety. Any ideas?
He can have all the salsa, avacado and fresh fruits, veggies he wants.
This sounds pretty impossible - so let me know your thoughts.
Thanks - Lisaj, who doesn't like to cook
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I think I understand what you are trying to figure out.
Given Premise 1 and Premise 2 then the Conclusion is consistent. That would mean the problem is "valid". IF both the premises were TRUE then the correct conclusion was reached.
Ok, I don't understnad how Premise 1 & Premise 2 make the Conclusion "consistent".
To me Premise 1 is a given, thus "valid" but premise 2 is *not* true/valid since we all know some people have pets for snakes.
so how does the conclusion "follow" from two distinctly opposite premises (i.e. Premise 1 says a snake (boa constrictor) *is a pet* and Premise 2 says "snakes are *not pets*"?
still confused - and I apologize for all the typos in the first post - in a hurry
Lisaj
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I can't figure this out: (the answer key says this is Valid/False
Premise 1 Joe has a pet boa constrictor named Hugger.
Premise 2 No snakes are pets.
Conclusion Therefore, Hugger is not a snake.
To me, premise 1 is true/valid
Premise 2 is not true/invalid/logical?
Conclusion is false
So the problems is invalid/false.
Definition (p 183): An argument is Valid if the reasoning proceeds logically from the premises to the conclusion.
The book (p 184) says: I the study of reasonin you must be a ware that validity and truth are very different things. An argument that is valid can result in a false conclusion.
The book goes on to say: an argument that is invalid can result in a true conclusion. Yu must be able to distinguish valid arguments from true conclusion. If a conclusion of an argumnt is false, but the reasoning is valid, then the argument is not sound and you automatically know that at least one of the premises is false.
(OK, I think I understand - why is the above argument Valid? HOw is the "resaoning" valid????) Is the answer key wrong?) I hope I didn't confuse things further?
Lisaj, mom to 5
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Hi, I would like to buy each of my children a video for Christmas to add to our family library. We have virtually no videos that are on DVD. So could you recommend some titles for me. Some restrictions are PG or G-rated; suitable for the whole family and fairly "easily available" - if you know a website where I should look that is fine too.
The movies don't have to be "Christian" tho that is a plus, but just family friendly. I'd also like some titles that are fairly "sure things" if there is such a thing; so maybe bigger name movies as opposed to obscure classics :().
I think I'll buy the first and second Narnia and we have Facing the Giants; so what else? Oh and if you could add a brief blurb if the movie is not well known that would be great?? (and we are on dial up so it is pretty time consuming to follow links for info - thx!)
My children are dtrs ages 16,14,11 and 2 sons, age 6,9. Thanks!!!
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Hi, thanks so much for all the good advice. I do need to do some more research. Dtr will likely attend a state university, community college or Bible college. She will not be attempting anything higher tier based on the general reason that we don't want her far from home for the first 1-2 years, to ensure more guidance, mentoring, maturity, etc.
So, I guess I am wondering how much a state or Bible college will care if she does the 3 reqd maths and then goes to consumer math. IF the competition isn't fierce, does the decision become more "either one is fine?
I do see the logic in not having her forget all her algebra before a CLEP or other enrollment test.
The statistics option was one i hadn't thought of - any curriculum suggestions? (With lots of help in the TMs for mom?) I enjoy algebra but am very busy with 5 kids and Alg 2 is new material for me along with my dtrs.)
I also hadn't thought of a semester of pre-calc instead of a whole year - anyone have an idea of a curric. that might easily address that option? (Do I just do half of a standard curriculum?)
I am fine with my dtr deciding her senior math course, but I know she will rely heavily on my input so I am trying to get some info to share with her and figure out the pros and cons of her decision. When it comes right down to it, I think she will choose to do the harder math, with the understanding that it will pay off later. However, I think pre-calculus will add an hour to her school day next year, so there will be a price to pay!!!
Also, we have decided against comm. college classes at this time for this dtr. We don't see her in a college environment until after her senior year of high school.
Thanks!
Lisa
Thanks again!
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My oldest dtr will be a senior next year. She has been thru several math curriculums and has completed Alg 1 & 2 and is doing BJU Geometry (VT, TT & Math Relief for Alg). She has seen some Fs on tests and lots of do-overs, re-reads, sit-downs with mom, etc. but she (with hard work and hours of overtime) manages a B in math.
So, what to do for next year? I think students should (generally) work to the best of their abilities and "do hard things" often as a matter of confidence-building, maturing and life experience. OTOH, I feel that consumer math is extremely helpful and relevant.
My dtr vacillates between being a nurse and a translator. Either are possible and I def. want her to be prepared for college pre-nursing courses.
My dtr is open to my guidance and shares my indecision. I have two competing goals.
#1 One is to contniue college prep coursework and press on towards more science and math exposure before college (i.e. precalculus next?). The "press on" option is that she will be very happy in college that she has been exposed to all this math in high school.
#2 The other goal is to make her senior year more "fun" and allow her several hours a week for some drama and music pursuits. This option suggests a consumer math course.
Just for reference, I think the rest of her senior schedule will be: English/Writing, Govt/Economics, Adv Biology-Apologia), Spanish (and maybe more Latin), drama, music and swim team/P.E. & math is actually optional in terms of her requirements are met for college. (And prob. a part time job)
What do you suggest? (I was thinking maybe TT Pre Calculus as the least painful "introduction". And btw, the Alg. 2 she finished with (Math Relief) was not as strenuous or as challenging as VT Alg. 2).
One other factoid is that she has averaged 6-7 credits per year so far and that is not counting piano, occasional church and other choirs, or 2x a week AWANA club & assisting, youth group, etc.
Thanks in advance!
Lisaj
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I'm not expecting to be much help - lol, but I am reading and excellent book about David Thompson who was a British man who came to American for (I think) the Hudson Bay Co (fur trading) and about halfway switched over to the Canadian Fur Co (name is close, not exact). Anyway, he did a lot of exploration in Canada and the Hudson Bay area. THe book is called Sources of the River and I suppose this really isn't that helpful - but it is Fascinating!
Are you using a timeline? I agree with the hands on ideas. Also I believe greatly in salt dough map making. I think it helps students to remember geography as well. I think the boys would enjoy the map making. Also some super creative boys might want to do it with legos???
Good luck!
lisa
IF you are truly finding the subject "covered" in your classtime, what about finding some interesting "read aloud" to do at the end of class - if you just need what I call "cheap filler".
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I think another place offers it to, I can't remember if it is "Home2Teach" or "Write@Home". And it might not be as indepth as what Potter's School or the ps did?
Also, Alpha Omega (or SOS?) has or had some kind of computer curriculum but I don't know the quality or if it is still offered. I'd love it if someone could vouch for the program's quality. I have thought about it a few times.
Lisaj, mom to 5
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100 Easy Lessons on Mom's lap. (or Dad's ) Then on to 120 lessons of AlphaPhonics. Did this 5X, starting at age 4-3/4. And keep reading aloud!
Lisaj, mom to 5
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I love (love, love) to recommend Rainbow; esp if you have a science-oriented student and can do it in in 5th/6th or 6th/7th. We did it in 5th-6th. Then went to Apologia Physical, Biology and now BJU Chemistry (I wanted DVDs) for 7-8-9th grade science.
Rainbow was well put together, extremely easy to teach and the weekly experiment was usually great too!, great middle school course, loved by both kids and mom. (My older non-science dtrs was in 7th-8th - the science whiz kid was the 5/6th grader who did Rainbow at the same time as her older sis.)
I liked Apologia but I love Rainbow!
Lisaj,
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Lisaj,
I've started another thread that will point you to examples of course descriptions.
Regards,
Kareni
thanks!!
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:iagree:
All of the schools we looked at wanted significantly LESS than a portfolio. The only "extras" we ended up sending in were a reading list, an activity list, and many pages of course descriptions.
I guess my main question (since I haven't been doing this, we do use mostly textbooks) - is how do I compile these and which courses should I do these for?
If we've used a basic Algebra course, do I need to include a course description - will just a text book name do? (Videotext for one dtr; Math Relief for another) or do I need to write out (copy?) the scope and sequence or table of contents?)
Thanks for any guidance - I am behind on this part???
Lisaj
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The OP could have been talking about my 16yo dtr. I appreciate all the posts, all the advice and commiserate with all of you about how hard it is to parent and educate such a child.
I have one thing to add and that is that those of you with younger children like this, please embrace your new almost-full time job:::: *finding your child's motivations*. They change of course, after you find them. But I try to motivate my teen with what I think is important to her (like taking away social privleges, computer time, phone time, allowances, even "fines") and it all meant *nothing* to her. Now, she would vocalize how awful it was to take away these things but still - no motivation. We even made her quit her part time job because she was so far behind on neglected assignments, weak efforts and sloppy work. We were *sure* this restriction would change hte behavior. Still, nada.
Then we took away her high school AWANA Bible Club (kind of like youth group) - 1st week, nada; 2nd week, nada; 3rd week; nada. 4th Week - Wow! She got to work. All of the sudden she is motivated. It took A MONTH!
It took so excruciatingly long. (And taking away AWANA was after the jobs/friends/social losses.) Why did it take so long? I don't know; apparently she thought things would "come back" after some mediocre effort ant some time (and we did have a record of that).
Also, we added a new individual sport (swimming) this year for her for P.E. this year and she is very nonathletic and has finally started to see improvement - after 3-4 practices a week (she must go and enjoys going, counts as a P.E. credit) and we talk about translating all that hard work (hundreds of yards of laps every week are a good metaphor for slugging away at something methodically, bit-by-bit, with hard work and determination the only real ingredients).
My main reason for posting is that it has been way too draining and a ton of work to figure out *what* is that kid's motivation? Something John Rosemond said was basically, "the punishment/discipline needs to hurt the *kid* more than the parent". So true, but what? Keep looking for it.
Hindsight being 20/20, I think I would have given harsher penalties earlier and stuck to them thru longer periods. Also, I have learned not to "care" so much if dtr misses a movie outing or a friend's visit, etc etc. (Our soical calendar is "reasonable" as we have a large extended family and participate in co ops, clubs and activities so it isn't as if the social needs are totally abandoned for a "grounded" teen.)
sorry so long
lisa, Mom to 5
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We do something similiar with much younger girls (5-11yo) so you might want to visit the Keepers of the Home website for ideas. The Keepers book (which works with all ages) and website has lots of themes, craft ideas, etc.
Enjoy, sounds like a great activity!
Lisa
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But we tend to work through the chapter reviews till they are sure they understand the concepts. That seems to help them do well on the tests.
We do the same thing. No open book tests here. To me, giving a high school level child an open book math test kind of leads to grade inflation on their transcript. IOW, my dtr would prob. get a B+ or an A with the book open. But w/o the book open (and after a thorough chapter review/quiz review, etc.) her grade would be more like a C+ or B. So I want my dtr's transcript to accurately reflect a "standard" system to measure her grade.
I'm not criticizing, so I hope it doesn't come out that way. It is just that to me, in high school, an open book test should be a rare exception, not the standard. There could be exceptions for learning disabled children I suppose.
But, I have started this year grading my children's homework. Basically the homework gets a grade, weighted at 25% of the total chapter grade; the quizzes get a grade, weighted at 25% and the test grades are 50%. Each chapter gets a grade and then all those chapter grades are averaged for the final grade.
I tell my children, in this way, "your homework is like an open book test" (or at the very least a quiz). This is only a few months old policy here, but (praise the Lord) I see their homework improving and showing more effort.
HTH!
Lisaj
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I have a very old set I bought at a garage sale. I don't like it. The speaker puts a "uh" sound at the end of some the letter sounds and that was a bad habit I didn't want to have my child pick up. Like "buh", "duh" etc. The sound makes "baby" "Buh-aaa bee" which can be overcome but was something I found annoying and possibly detrimental. (I think my set is copyright 1992 so it is old.)
However (!), I did find one very good use for it. I could set my 4 or 5yo in the recliner with an older sibling and put in the tape adn the older sibling could do the flashcards and in this way my 5yo who was doing 100 EL could get a quick phonics review lesson w/o *me*. This was very helpful. The better my young preschooler was reading, the less the "uh" sound was noticable to him. Plus, I warned the sibling to smooth it over.
I am surprised that so many people on this post like it, so it just goes to show that what works for one family may not work for another - or vice versa!
lisaj, mom to 5
Rainbow Science or Apologia General for Grade 6-7?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
which worked better for us. We did each reading twice then the lab on Fridays - we kep science to 30-40min a day tho.
So Monday read a lesson aloud and outlined all (or the most important parts of) it and made vocab cards; Tuesday we re-read it aloud and did the end-of-lesson question (1,2 or 3 of those).
Weds, Thurs - next lesson same thing.
Friday - lab.
For most this was overkill, I suppose. But for non-sci mom and older dtr, this was very good for retention.
We also used the online quizzes - I think each quiz covdered 2-3 lessons.
Lisaj