LibrarianMom
-
Posts
420 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by LibrarianMom
-
-
Be honest but willing to work within the system. For your kindergarten student, you have probably noticed that he/she is not the only one who is familiar with the content. If you are there several hours a week, ask if you can work with them on an extra project or different item so that the teacher/aide/other volunteers can work with those who are struggling. Ask if your child can read a story to the class or share some other interesting items with the class.
For your 4th grader, ask for a list of the books with quizzes. Your school should be able to provide a list of books that they have quizzes for and the reading level. You will be surprised at the number of good and interesting classic books that are included. I know because I was the administrator of such a program at a previous job. 35 points seems low but is what is doable for all students in the class. Keep in mind that point totals for each book are based on a combination of the reading level and the interest level of a book. For example, Little Women was, I believe, a 36 point book. You could also volunteer to create quizzes (10-20 question multiple choice on big picture facts about the book) for books they don't have quizzes for yet. Ask to take a quiz on something you've read recently out loud to your children in order to get a feel for what the tests are like as they really do make sure you have read the entire book and remember the facts.
Keep in mind that you can always ask you child to read something separate at home or since he is finished with his points for this quarter, that he can read whatever he wants.
-
This website http://ala.org/ala/education/educationcareers.cfm from the ALA is excellent. A masters degree in library science has to be from an ALA accredited school to be considered legitimate. In the midwest, the University of Illinois has a top-notch program (my alma mater), Dominican University has a good program (my husband's degree), and Indiana University has an excellent program as well.
Quite frankly, a college degree in marine biology or another science and a masters in library science would be quite marketable. Many medical and research libraries like to hire candidates with a background in the sciences because they understand the material and the requirements of research in the field.
-
Our form didn't ask about ER visits, but we did have to fill out a similar form in what felt like triplicate. We also had a new form this year that also had to be signed by our doctor indicating exactly what kind of first aid type medicine the school can give. Apparently, new state law has stripped school nurses of the ability to examine a child to see what kind of medicine they need. Our doctor agreed it's awfully silly.
-
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale is near the Shawnee National Forest. The daughter of our children's minister is a pre-med major there and actively involved in campus ministry.
-
When did you get the email? All I've gotten is my credit card bill. :001_huh:
I receive my email on August 27. I haven't downloaded it yet though as we are saving the software for either a birthday or a Christmas present. It was funny though that dd came along as my dh and I were watching the demonstration video and was just intrigued and asked "Can we get this?" I'm hoping they do another buy in a few years as I didn't want to pay yet for a copy for a 3 year old.
-
I'm so glad to hear your son had a good first day. To have contact with the teacher right away would be very reassuring.
-
At least he'll have company. It turns out that every single entering homeschooler in the district had the same problem. The new lady in the homeschool office didn't forward anybody's paperwork.Was she fired? Disciplined? Something? Because that is just. so. ridiculous.
I am so sorry for your son's disappointing first day which is truly a shame. But give this lady a break. If she's a new to the job, it's likely that she has only been in the "office" a week or two at most. It's also likely that there wasn't adequate instructions or notes left to cover the transition between one staff person and the next. Personally, I would be angry at the previous person who should have made sure that all things were taken care of before leaving the position.
-
Hi,
I thought I had my art curriculum all picked out, but then I found a good deal on the entire set of Child Size Masterpieces. I'm guessing they can be used along side other curricula without problems. Before I splurge on this purchase, can anyone comment on their likes and dislikes about this product?
-
We try to AS those subjects as well as others. I haven't used the programs you mention. For Bible, we try to do read out of our Bible storybook each day and have prayer time. Beyond that I watch for life moments where we can talk about what God would want us to do. We're hoping to start the Child's Book of Character Building tomorrow.
For music, my children have always listened to lots of classical music on the radio. My youngest loves to listen to the CD Classical Cats. This year I'm hoping to make it more formal by using Stories of Great Composers. It has a story and activity page about a variety of composers and then I'll intentionally play that composers music during the month. For art appreciation, I like the Come Look With Me books Shay mentioned. We're also going to be using Artistic Pursuits this year. We'll see how it goes. I've been really fortunate that our YMCA offers great art camps in the summer and art days on some of the days the kids have off school. Often then focus on a particular artist or art period.
-
It is hard to get much done when your children come home tired, have other homework or activities, and you have your own housework and things to do. As others have said, pick what you want to focus on and then use snatches of time to fit in a little bit here and there. This sounds silly, but I find that the best time to read to my dd is when she is the bathtub/shower. :lol:
As far as your your children not doing science or history yet, it is still quite early in the school year. A casual inquiry to the teachers is probably a good idea. I wouldn't be surprised if your 2nd grader doesn't get much history except for seasonal things around the holidays.
-
Thank you for the input thus far.
It's unrealistic, IMO, to expect to practice these customs alone or as a family unit. Judaism a tribal religion, and that shows. Also, it can be difficult to get supplies (we had relatives bring the estrog and lulav from Israel), or to muster up the energy to do something as huge as build a sukkah all by yourself, with and for little kids.
This has been my experience when I've tried to celebrate the festivals before. In addition to celebrating as a community, I really need someone to show me how it is done. :001_smile: Unfortunately, the closest Messianic congregation is not very close.
-
Hello WTMers,
I have the book Celebrating the Feasts by Martha Zimmerman and for some time I've been wanting to implement these feasts. I was wondering if anyone out here in WTM-land has done so. We are doing better at celebrating the feasts of the church year (at least Advent and Lent) and would like to begin including the OT feasts while our children are still young enough that it's not "weird". Any hints, thoughts, suggestions, or other resources to consult would be appreciated.
-
I can't help you with Keepers, but in our area your dd is old enough for 4-H Clovers. I don't know many details, but I know they can exhibit at the fair but aren't judged.
The Clover Buds sounds like a really interesting program. Unfortunately, our county only has one clover buds group. When I spoke to the extension office, I had the feeling that they only encouraged people who lived in that town to be involved although they promptly asked if I wanted to lead a group.
LibrarianMom
-
My children aren't quite old enough for 4-H yet, although I'm checking out all of the possibilities. Recently, I was looking at the Keepers at Home/Contenders for the Faith resources and I was struck at how much of those resources duplicate the types of activities I can imagine my children doing in 4-H. I was wondering if anyone else can comment on similarities and differences between the two. Do you do both? One or the other?
On a related note, my dd is entering first grade and will turn 7 soon. If I was going to take a plunge with the Keepers resources, would you suggest Little Keepers or Keepers at Home? I don't want her to be bored but I don't want to get in over our heads either. :confused:
LibrarianMom
-
What you've described sounds doable. My kids aren't that old yet, but I like your emphasis in several areas on keeping it fun. Work around their other assignments, combining when able. Doing something is always better than nothing.
LibrarianMom
-
For my kids, and even myself, I'm all about the thrift shop, garage sale, hand me downs, and clearance racks. The only things I buy new are socks, underwear, and sometimes shoes--which reminds me I still need to buy gym shoes for both of mine. Obviously, I'm not buying scientific or graphing calculators yet, but even after buying extra school supplies and craft supplies for home and some fun stuff for myself I spent less than $85 and our school fee was only $60.
-
http://www.eric.ed.gov is the main site but that site has never evolved from the early days of the internets.
Actually the ERIC site has evolved quite a bit from the early days of the internets. ERIC is a site from the US Department of Education which indexes an incredible number of resources related to education for all ages. As you found, many of the resources, including entire books, are now available in full text. The full text is one of the more recent additions. Thousands of resources are added each year.
Librarian Mom
-
I agree with Nakitty that you really need to consult an experienced copyright attorney. I recently reviewed a book on copyright for librarians and educators and was amazed at the small things that a company can sue for if they desire.
You will probably want to consider contacting each company that you want to modify activities from to ensure that it is permissible. Another possibility would be to cite where parents can find the activity and then list what modifications can be made. Many libraries have access to lots of children's magazines in full text for FREE.
-
I wouldn't worry too much about reading materials. In grade school, books don't have s_x or language issues. There might be some attitude issues displayed by characters, but those can be opportunities for discussion. Provide lots of good books at home or from your public library pre-selected or selected with your daughter. Ask about what she's reading and what she likes or doesn't like about the books. When you hit middle school and high school is when you'll have more issues.
-
My daughter really enjoys her school most of the time. That's mostly because she doesn't know any difference since I work outside of the home, although sometimes she'll ask if we can home school today. :001_smile: Public school isn't all rosy but it's not always a bad as some make it out to be. So much depends on your area, the individual school, and particular teachers.
Like the others have said, you need to stay involved particularly with your 9 yo. That will be more difficult with the older ones but the magnet school should help with that aspect. The magnet school should help a lot since the kids who are there really want to be there. Since your children are older and have benefited from your training and tutelage, I don't think you should see to much detrimental behavior. If or when you do, it's important to get on it right away.
-
Library Cards for non-residents: $50 annual fee :confused:
Holds Not Picked Up: $2 per item
ILL: $5 per item :thumbdown:
Actually these fees are fairly reasonable. Many libraries charge much more for non-resident library cards. As for ILL items, $5 helps to pay for the salary of the person who places the request, the fees involved for belonging to various consortium that allow ILLs, the fee the lending library charges for lending the book if your library isn't in their consortium, the salary of the person who unpacks the request, creates a temporary record for the item so that it can be charged to you, and alerts you the item is available, and the salary for the person who packages the item to send back to the lending library. When you consider all of the steps required for placing an ILL, $2 for not picking up is understandable. Academic library studies have shown that it costs over $20 to place a single ILL request.
I'm sorry this is going to put a wrench in your plans for the coming year but given budget cuts you have to do what you have to do.
-
This sounds silly but my dd LOVES to be read to while she takes her bath. Granted this makes bath time take longer, but it gets the job done. ;)
-
Well, the history portion of Core K takes about 5-10 minutes but we find that the 1-2 pages assigned for each day are never enough. I think the time for Core 1 increases some. You might get a better response from the main boards as to how much time it takes.
-
I'm afterschooling with Sonlight. We're still working our way through Core K but have tossed in all the sequels to books, some other books, and lots of other things. However, since I hear that lots of people take two years to do a core, I'm not concerned.
I think what you plan is doable, particularly since it is my future plan.:001_smile: Be prepared that you won't get through all the activities. Pick and choose a few. Know that it might take longer than a year. My biggest problem is being consistent in doing it and not letting other activities crowd out that special time with my dd. When we actually sit down to read, we can get through quite a bit.
Assoc Press story on high number of Americans in college requiring remedial education
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
I take exception to this statement. Students desperately need information literacy instruction. At the college level students have access to so many more resources and tools than they have had previously. If you want students to do college-level research, they must be introduced to the resources available. When I survey the freshman students with whom I interact, they always indicate that yes they have written research papers and they use only books and internet sites as references. So I, as the librarian, come in and emphasize why college assignments require journal articles and how to know if a resource is sufficiently scholarly to use. To many students, parents, teachers, PS school board members, and even HS parents think that Google is sufficient for every information need.