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tibbyl

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Everything posted by tibbyl

  1. Suzy Squirrel! That is one of our favorites. We still have it.
  2. I sold complete sets of my kids' series books (Magic Tree House, Hank the Cowdog, and others) in excellent condition for gift giving. They fetched a handsome price on ebay around Christmas.
  3. I prefer loading it up and dropping off at Goodwill. Freecycle and Craigslist generates lots of phone calls. When I gave away a tae kwondo wave runner brand kick practice thingy, I finally had to take phone off hook.
  4. Theoretically, I prefer the simple, clean lines and versatility of the first set of photos. However, I am a horrible clutterbug in my home work space, so I probably would do better with the more traditional 2nd set of pics where I would have drawers and cabinets to stash my stuff.
  5. I did not plan for high school for the younger kids until a few weeks before it began, but that is when I did planning for any grade. Actually my oldest did his own high school planning by scheduling out and ordering all required coursework.
  6. I always get a little nervous when someone blanketly asks where to start because that seems to imply that they have not taken initiative to read about h/s'ing on their own. First, one should familiarize herself with the homeschooling laws in her state and, if applicable, decide which route to take to satisfy the attendance laws. Second, I guess they would need to decide how they want to achieve the h/s'ing. Are they going to do all the teaching themselves or farm part of it out to co-ops or tutorials or other tutoring arrangements? Will they select each subject or purchase a packaged curriculum or develop their own curriculum and materials? I don't have a 3rd question.
  7. We used the top rated shop in the countercultural part of our town. It cost $30.
  8. I was under impression that this was not exclusively a homeschooling board. The author of Well Trained Mind allegedly afterschooled, not homeschooled, her own children. Hence the existence of an afterschooling forum although it is admittedly a relatively small part of the message board. We spent our first decade homeschooling without any meaningful contact with other homeschoolers. It was only when we moved that we sought h/s'ers out. We found a huge range in quality education in both home and traditional school settings per *our perceptions.* I neither try to sell h/s'ing or steer people away from it; I will give honest opinion when asked. I believe the best educational fit depends upon a number of circumstances such that either traditional or home education cannot be blanketly advised for any family without consideration of their circumstances.
  9. The Wii? Why shouldn't a 7 year old have a few treasured items that she does not have to share? The bed? Not negotiable. Time for her to learn about social white lies. Instead of saying she had at the friend's, she could say something like thanks for having me over.
  10. My decision would be based upon happiness of my immediate family, not the desires of extended family. I have young adult children. I would not dream of asking them to not move because I would miss them.
  11. For eldest, lots of newspaper articles about his community activist work. Another kid mentioned for certain awards at public high school. No mention of one of the kids.
  12. Jennefer, I am one of the parents who decided to forego additional diagnoses or professionally-administered therapies. Due to sensitive nature of information, I have PM'd you to spell out our methods used and reasoning behind our regret-free decision.
  13. Riada, I will reply to your post via PM due to sensitive personal information.
  14. If anyone talks with sil and mil, it should be your husband's responsibility, not yours. You handled the situation appropriately. Do not have them over again until your blended family has had much more time to become accustomed to one another. You do not need outsiders tearing down what you are trying to build up. If you must see them at all, make it short time increments in a neutral setting. Good luck.
  15. Also remember to look at way reading level is measured. On certain standardized tests, if a 2nd grader is allegedly reading at 10th grade level, what that means is that the 2nd grader scored what a 10th grader would have scored on the test given to the 2nd grader. My kids are not Einsteins. They are somewhere in the range of average intelligence levels, probably toward the upper end of the middle. Usually I fare well at not comparing my kids to their peers, but it does get harder when ACT/SAT time rolls around.
  16. (1) Drop the forgiveness talks; the desire for revenge is healthy given his age. (2) Find someone, preferably another male, who can help empower your son by teaching him to fight. Advise him to not unnecessarily start a fight but to quickly defend himself. Heck, if they call him names, I'd tell him to throw the first punch. Fight to *hurt* them. In this situation, I'd consider letting him enter into a social situation with these boys where bullying would likely break out. Deal with the fallout from upset parents and/or administrators later.
  17. I had a problem with animal cruelty in my home with a foster child. I will not under any circumstances tolerate cruelty to animals, regardless of the child's past which may include physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or psychiatric problems. My choice would be to go straight to director to tell him/her what mother has said about boy and ask that boy be removed immediately from the school. There would be no second chances, no "working" with the child or mother.
  18. Remember that homeschoolers are just like everyone else, warts and all. Thus, the proportion of "jerks" among homeschoolers should be same as in general population. As for being jerk in name of a god, people probably would behave in same manner with or without religion, but they'd just justify it differently. My family and I actually spent most of our homeschooling years isolated from other homeschoolers. My children's social interactions were with traditionally schooled children from activites, from our neighborhood, or through my adult friends. It was only after we moved to a new area that I decided we should try to connect to the homeschooling community at large. Without delving into painful details, we had some of similar experiences that I'm guessing you had. I changed my strategies for meeting other homeschoolers in an effort to locate those with whom we'd be more compatible. Although it took a few years, it paid off with some wonderful family friendships. PM me if you want details. Ultimately though, my always-homeschooled younger children took the plunge to public high school and have not regretted it even though our (kids and myself) original intent was for them to complete high school at home. One of their primary reasons was to have a larger, more diverse group of peers. Still, most of their lasting social contacts were made through outside activities, not public school. It does get much harder in high school years to find homeschooled teens with similar socialization needs, especially if one lives in a non-transient area where teens are likely to already have long established circle of friends.
  19. That is way we handled curriculum that had an answer key, Katia. In fact, VideoText Algebra actually recommends that student check his answer against the detailed solution manual BEFORE he proceeds on to the next problem.
  20. Michelle, you just hit upon something. Although homeschoolers constitute a relatively small proportion of the people I know, they make up 100% of the conspiracy theorists with whom I'm acquainted. Interesting observation and one I had not thought of before.
  21. I'd hope he follows through with his stated intentions so that I would one less loony relative to deal with during holidays.
  22. Children are deeply impacted by emotionally abusive situations even when they are only the witnesses, not the targets.
  23. To homeschool in TN, you primarily have 2 options: (1) Sign up as an independent homeschooler with your LEA (local education authority, i..e, the superintendent of your school district). As an independent homeschooler, you complete a "Notice of Intent to Homeschool" within 30 days after you move into the state. At the end of the school year, you give attendance report to the LEA. You have to have a high school diploma or GED to teach K-8 and a BA/BS to teach 9-12. Currently, the independent homeschooler must take TCAP test at their local school in grades 5 and 7. Some parents get around testing requirements by never reporting their kids as being in those grades. The TCAP's allegedly are so easy a cat can pass them. Testing also is required in grade 9, but the Gateway (not to be confused with Gateway Christian School) tests that the high schools use are *not* the type of tests spelled out in homeschooling code, so parents typically ignore the 9th grade testing. As an independent homeschooler, you do not report grades to the LEA. The parent is responsible for their own record-keeping. The LEA has no authority to inspect, review, or reject your curriculum. You do not report grades to LEA. You decide what grade your child is in, not the LEA. The parent, not the LEA, issues the high school diploma. (2) Sign up with a church-related school (CRS), generically known as umbrella schools or cover schools. Your student is then considered a private schooler, not a homeschooler, per the Jeter memo, which is nothing more than a decade old opinion of a TN Dept. of Educ. staff attorney. Please note that this is *not* codified law and could possibly be subject to a legal challenge although most folks are confident that it will not be. The Jeter memo is worth a read; the CRS is supposed to supervise the satellite (in home) school in a fairly direct manner although, in real life, this is usually not the case. CRS curriculum, testing, and statement of faith requirements vary. Some of the most popular CRS's, such as Gateway Christian School and Home Life Academy, require no testing and the parent has total freedom as far as curriculum choice. Gateway requires that family meet regularly with Christ-worshippers or something along those lines. Home Life requires only that parent sign a statement of ethics. Home Life does not accept pregnant females or students who have been expelled from other schools. You'll have to check out their websites for latest rules. Finally, with a CRS, the parent does NOT have to have a BA/BS to teach high school like they do as an independent homeschooler. The CRS issues a high school diploma when student has met their course and grade requirements. Because the CRS accreditation bodies listed in TN Code Annotated are conservative christian, virtually all CRS's, including Home Life, are conservative christian. Just a couple years ago, The Farm School in Summertown, TN, applied directly to TN Board of Educ. for status as a CRS and were approved. The Farm School is an alternative for TN homeschoolers who are unable or unwilling to enroll in a conservative Christian CRS. It is dogma-free; you can read their statement of beliefs on their website. It is an outgrowth of The Farm, the former hippie commune now turned cooperative. The Farm is world-reknowned for its emphasis and research on ecologically sustainable living.
  24. Gonesh incense in Honeysuckle, Dreamcicle, or Love Any Juniper Ridge incense Candles 90% cacao chocolate bar Black satin eyeshades
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