Oh my, I may need to re-think the whole plan...Our kids are crazy for history. We are spending the day before the confernce at Colonial Williamsburg and then dh is taking them there for the two days of the conference. I know there is so much there that they will want to spend time and go slow. I was hoping that we could do a good job of the two on Sunday after the conference since we aren't going home until Monday. We are going to be back in the area in October and I haven't planned what wea re doing then. We will have 3 days to do things. Maybe I should just pick one site for Sunday and do it well, and then do the other when we come back in October? I have no idea...:confused:

Those Capri Sun Sport ones are good. You could also bring small indivdual Gatorades. Bring a Sharpie in case they need to put thier name on the drinks. Have fun!!

Thank you! We will do Yorktwon first and then we can spend the rest of the day at Jamestown without feeling rushed!:001_smile:

We are looking at going after the Williamsburg conference. Can we see both of these in the same day? Our kids are still pretty young, but can we spend half a day at each and not feel rushed? Or, should we pick one or the other and spend the day there? Any thoughts?

Our kids don't have a large circle of friends. Often, the kids that they are in various activities with are ones that I really don't want to have over for a party. They always ask to have friends at their parties, and I have never said no. What I do is similar to what you are doing with your daughter. I offer them a "party" or "something else". The "something else" depends upon the child and the year. This March when our 6 yo ds turned 7, he wanted a lot of friends at a party. We came up with plans for a party, just like what he wanted, then I presented him an alternative plan. He could have either, but not both. He loves rocks and I told him we could have a "rock adventure" as a family. He would have cake and a present or two and a friend if he wanted on his birthday, and then as a family we would go to several "rock" destinations over a weekend that he had been wanting to go to. He chose the "rock adventure" and we will be going to Rock City and Ruby Falls, as well as a museum. These were on my list of places to go this year so it all works out. FWIW, last year he chose to have a military party. He only had a couple of friends so I just made sure there were lots of things to do to make it special. The year year before, he was turning 5, we did a swamp trip. We live near the Okefenokee and we did that instead of a big party. So, I would try to sell her on something special and see if the party is really what she wants or if she would rather spend the day as a fairy. First, talk to her and find out what kind of fairy she is talking about (seasonal, color, flower). You could start the day off with a special breakfast. Get some edible glitter and sprinkle it on her food so it looks fairy-ish. Do her hair and nails, like you said, and then put that sparkle stuff in her hair and on her body. Faries have to sparkle! Do it early so she can be a fairy all day. Make sure she has a fairy costume she can wear all day. Have a fairy "bower". If you don't have one, then use something you already have like a tent or sheet. You want her to be able to have a tea outside in the afternoon. Tule or mosquito netting are both cheap if you don't like what you already have. Do a couple of craft projects through the day. You could make fairy tiaras with strips of tule or a silky fabric. I would cut the proper lengths and then let her tie them onto a simple head piece you get at the craft store. Buy her a pink rose and pull the petals off so she can have a rose petal bath. There are just lots of fun fairy things you could do! The trick is to sell her on the idea and then follow through with a memorable day.

I had a bottle of the Expo but I lost it, so I was looking around the house for something else to use!! I will try the rubbing alcohol. Thanks

What do you use to get rid of the shadow?

We will be going. DH will have the kids at Colonial Williamsburg while I am at the conference.

We bought this program last week for our middle ds. It was his birthday present and he turned 7. I thought the Mindstorms was just too much too fast and this was geared for up to 11 year olds. Even though I might have to turn around and buy Mindstorms in a couple of years, I thought it was better than getting too advanced and frustrating him. As I said, we haven't gotten into it yet but having taken it apart it looks pretty good. http://www.legoeducation.com/store/detail.aspx?pl=6&ID=1736&c=0&t=0&l=0

I agree that Chessmaster is the best software for chess. My boys wake up early to play. Chess tournaments are a great thing also! We play LOTS of chess here and I view it as part of school. All three kiddos have to play every day, but often they play first thing before I ask them.

Along with running, I also mix it up a bit with push-ups, jumping jacks, and squats (my favorite). Most of the time my boys problem with focus is that they have some extra energy to burn. I've tried to not approach it as "punishment" but more of "ants on the pants" sort of thing. They often now will realize that they are having wiggle and focus issues and will hop up and start doing one of the above mentioned exercises.

I've canned meat before but as a general rule, I don't like the taste. IF I was going to can meat anymore, I would do it within a soup. Yes, you MUST follow the guidelines and you MUST have a pressure canner. I can a lot and would be happy to help you with any specific questions. There is a great yahoo group called canning2. The wealth of knowledge on that group is amazing! However, you still need a pressure canner and the USDA guidelines.

Well, I am still reading the book. I think it would be fine to read from the library. I bought the book because I lack patience! :lol:

I must have been...My children and I are decomposing numbers using a fountain pen!! :lol::lol::lol:

I know I'll never say it again!

I was so excited about all of this that we finished up early yesterday and drove down to the homeschool store in Jacksonville. They had the "Lab Book" but not the "first year diary" and the other one. I will order those from Rainbow Resource. My oldest is VERY logical. Logical to the point that we joke about him being Mr. Spock! Miquon is going to drive him insane!! I can't wait!! :lol::lol: His little brain is going to have to stretch and I see that as a good thing. I don't mean making him into something that he isn't but that whole process of growing and making new pathways in his brain is going to be a challenge for him. It will be interesting to see how he takes to the challenge. The Noble Knights of Knowledge made my heart skip! My bys saw it on the computer and wanted it RIGHT NOW!!:lol: What fun!! That looks fantastic! That could be a fun thing to do over the summer. I will look at it closer. Thank you.

Bill, I don't know what to say. That is one of the nicest posts I've ever read. Thank you, Sherri

I think I am going to go with Miquon, at least enough to get and read the teachers guides. I am really changing how I am thinking about math and how to teach. I see now the importance of the thinking behind it all. I think I will start everyone in the Orange book and then we will see from there. Thank you Bill and everyone else.:D

It's good to hear that you and your family are safe. I know this is a time of terrible loss for your country.

I ordered a sample of pens including the Pilot Varsity and the Lamy ABC. I will report back and let you all know how it goes. I am still unsure what to do with the cursive.

I hear they are also working on all three levels of earth science.

Yes, this is an excellent way to state what I am experiencing. I really do have somemore decisions to make from here but I am excited about where we are going. I lack confidence in teaching math. I have never felt like I "understood" math even though I have taken math up to PhD level statistics. I think I always had this idea that I would just get the basics in the kids and then somewhere in the middle, or so, my dh would take over. Ugghhh! What was I thinking? Now I really have my eyes opened to jsut how important the basics are and it's more than procedural! Thank you so much for this push! I needed it. It's a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone teaching their children or anyone else's children!

I know this post is about MEP and Singapore but could we also talk about Miquon for a moment. I am trying to see if this would be the right thing to add to our mix. If we did start, does everyone start at the Orange book? It seems like I read that somewhere. What else do i need to get started? How much time is involved for the lessons and the planning? Sorry for the hijack, but Bill has me down this rabbit-hole and all of this "math stuff" is mixing around in my head! :lol::lol:

(Some background about our math journey. We are using Saxon as our spine. Both sons (8 and almost 7) are working in Saxon 3. I have used Singapore as a "sometimes" supplement. Saxon has been a struggle as of late and I'm not really sure why. The last couple of weeks I have gone back to Singapore and the boys have been moving quickly through their books. Ds 8 is finishing 1B and ds 7 is finishing 1A. These are below the level of Saxon but I had thought this was a better place to start when I got these books about 9 months ago. I had also bought the RS math games box about 6 months ago. We just started using them in the past few weeks.) Well, I got my copy of Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, and what I am struck most by is how little I know and how much I need to learn.:lol: I have read the section on Subtraction and regrouping twice now and I think I will read it again before going any further. We have been very inconsistent with Singapore until the last few weeks. While working with Singapore I was frustrated with how it was presented to the student. I couldn't understand why they wanted to teach all of the subtraction that required regrouping without memorizing math facts first. It seemed to me like it was forcing them to count on their fingers to get the answer and I didn't like that. Now I get it!! What they are teaching is the decomposition of the number and multiple ways of regrouping. If they knew the math facts too well before teaching this concept then they would know the answer and not be forced to look at the different methods of regrouping. I see that my level of knowledge in elementary math is more on the line with the pseudo-conceptual understanding and at times is almost just procedural. My "knowledge package" needs to increase. I loved the discussion about giving the children the manipulatives and how the teacher just "discussed" with them the different methods they could use to come to the same result. I am a well educated person by most normal standards and I had no idea there was so much to regrouping! :lol: I was also intrigued by the idea that you are decomposing not borrowing. It seems trivial but it makes all the sense in the world now that I think about it. What I have learned is that my knowledge of elementary math is very low and can have a huge impact on the kiddos. I now plan to go back and go through Elementary Math for Teachers by Singapore. We are going to take a break from Saxon, and I don't know when or if we will go back. I am going to use Singapore as our spine from here on out. This week they will go up to 2A and 1B. I already have them doing the IP and CWP books. I wanted them to "think" about math in different ways and have a rich foundation in math. That was the reason I had them in both Saxon and Singapore. I guess I just had no idea how little I knew, and how much my background and abilities would impact them. I still want to find anothe program to help is develop a righ background in math. I see now the value in going slower and thinking deeper. I want to check out MEP and Miquon. Oh how I wish there were more hours in the day!! Thank you for the suggestion on the book. It has turned my thinking upside down and there is much more to read!:D

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