LibrarianMom
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Posts posted by LibrarianMom
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My favorite beef stew is apple cider beef stew so it uses apple cider and vinegar for the broth. It could probably be done with apple juice too.
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:iagree:
The last thing these children need is to be torn away from the one thing left to them: familiar surroundings. We'll do far more good by funding reputable orphanages and child care organizations locally, than by uprooting them "for their own good."
Those who have no family left will still be far better off being adopted by local families. Helping these local families pick up the slack is a better option in my opinion.
Several months ago I inquired with a friend of mind, who is the former director of a mission based in Haiti, concerning whether it would be better for my husband and I to consider adopting internationally from Haiti or another country or giving the equivalent money to care for children in their context. He said without a doubt that the $50 thousand it would take to adopt a child from Haiti that his organization could easily provide care for 200 children. I also recently read a statistic that indicated most of the world's orphans have at least one parent living. I am becoming more and more convinced that in many instances (china withstanding due to the one child policy) we need to help facilitate economic and community development in other countries so families can afford to keep their own children and take in others. Unfortunately, this view is in the minority and it is difficult to get an opportunity to share such an opposing viewpoint.
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I am trying to decide what to do for next year for history. I checked out the SOTW books from the library, and while they are an interesting read, they just don't make sense in my brain. They're just a bunch of stories that don't connect for me. I get lost between chapters on who is doing what where and why. Is there something that connects the stories to help them make sense? Like a flow chart of something? I haven't seen the activity guide so maybe that addresses it.
For littles in the grammar stage, I think it is more important to become familiar with the people and stories rather than seeing it as one big story. The connections come together more in the logic stage. I like to think of the grammar stage as laying a foundation for knowledge and learning whereas in the logic stage you start to build on the foundation and create a structure.
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We read the first BoxCar Children book as part of Core K and enjoyed it so much we kept going. I read the first 7 or 8 aloud and our whole family enjoyed them. They are for the younger set though. My dd is now in 2nd grade and has almost all of the original 19 books. I think she read 5 or 6 over the weekend. It was fun because she would find parts she like and then come read it to me with lots of expression. She has read a few of the later books and complains they aren't as good. Overall, BoxCar books are great for good, fun reading and a whole lot better than vegging in front of the TV.
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The problem is that the NCLB tests are nationalized. The assumption is that all children are being taught the same material across the nation. I don't believe school districts in Washington state are teaching the same materials as those districts in Washington, DC, are teaching the same materials in South Dakota are teaching the same information in Alabama. For NCLB to work, public school education needs to be nationalized so that all the states are teaching the same material at the same time. (Please don't throw tomatoes at me...I don't agree that ps need to be/should be nationalized). What I hear you saying, Heather, is that school districts need benchmarks. I agree, but the test should then be based on what the school district believes is important, not what the federal gov't believes should be taught (unless what is taught is nationalized).
Actually the NCLB tests are not nationalized. Each state has its own standards and their own tests. Schools in Washington state and Washington DC are not necessarily teaching the same material. There are probably similarities but they will be teaching to their state standards.
An issue I have with NCLB is that each year the stakes raise and schools have to do better in order to make progress. The time is coming when schools will have to make 90 or 100% pass to make progress. While that would be great, it is unrealistic as you have some kids who are not able to do that well, others who are smart but aren't good test takers, and other kids (particularly older kids) who just don't care and purposefully will throw the test. In my state, juniors take the ACT as part of their state exam, but most take it again on an official test day and feel it doesn't matter.
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Ambleside Schools are CM style schools that are beginning to sprout up. I checked and there isn't one in Nashville yet. I've been really tempted to start one in my area but I'm not sure there would be sufficient interest. Being Nashville, if you're interested in starting one, would be more doable.
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Check out AR Book Find. You can look for books by reading level and interest level. I would look up James and the Giant Peach (4.8 MG interest) and then find other books at the same level.
On a funny note, last night my husband and I were discussing what the first "adult" books we remember reading were. I recall reading parts of The Thornbirds when I was about 8 because my mom was reading it at the time. I recall not finishing it. ;) I'm also finding that my dd is doing a lot more reading over my shoulder and asks interesting questions about what I'm reading.
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They had my dd reading stories aloud to her class and things like that in gr 2, her last year in ps.
At my dd's school, in 2nd grade reading aloud to the class is the reward for all students when they meet a certain reading level. They make a huge deal out of it.
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Depending on what time your kids go to school, some on this board have found success with before schooling. Mine get on the bus a bit before 8 though so before schooling doesn't work. I've tried to emphasize the fun factor and togetherness in afterschooling. Pick some great read-alouds, some fun projects (great for the weekends), and do games. I've found games are great for practicing basic skills. It is so tempting to try to cram an entire home schooling curriculum into afterschooling (I've tried) and it doesn't work. Pick the couple of things that are most important to you and do those.
I was excited that over break my dd asked why we weren't reading our history book (SOTW) anymore and indicated she missed it. :) So I think we'll be trying to add that back in.
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Thank you for the encouragement. I fear I blew it already when dd raised the "why didn't you buy her for Christmas" question. But we hugged and said sorry.
I think she's OK because she's already looking at other things on the AG site and excitedly announced about the new AG pet and that she only needs two more Emily outfits. I do have some dolls on my ebay watch list right now (for birthdays). I also really like the suggestion of getting a modern doll and then doing her hair/clothes like Kirsten.
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Good evening,
I'm needing some help figuring out how to be appropriately sympathetic to my dd this evening. As you probably know, the AG doll Kirsten went back into the vault. A few minutes ago, my dd was at the AG website and burst into tears because Kirsten is gone forever and now she can never get her. Normally I would feel badly, but we were at the AG store this fall and dd had enough money to buy a doll but chose to buy outfits and an AG pet instead. I had told her before going that she had to choose whether she wanted another doll or stuff for the doll she had. I think she was hoping we were going to buy Kirsten for Christmas which didn't happen. I want to feel for her, but part of me wants to say "I told you so." Suggestions?
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I cleaned the area of my kitchen where all the plastic sacks get stuck.
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When we went to Houston to visit my sister, my kids loved the aquarium. Granted they were much younger, but they had a blast and still talk about it. The restaurant is pricey but so worth it. We also liked the children's museum, but your 11 yo might think it too babyish. We went to the natural history museum and really enjoyed it as well. My kids loved the dinosaurs and they had a cool exhibit on oil (it is Texas of course). My husband really enjoyed going to the San Jacinto battlefield as well.
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This sounds very do-able. I might even be able to convince my husband and kids that one thing a day isn't too scary.
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We also open gifts until Epiphany. My daughter this year asked why couldn't we open all our presents on Christmas like normal families. My husband told her normal is overrated. I like continuing to celebrate as our entire family if off school and work. I think opening throughout Christmas helps our kids to enjoy each specific gift for at least a day before setting it aside for something else.
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I feel more comfortable crocheting but want to get back to knitting. After finishing a crocheted baby blanket, I want to complete a blanket I've been working on forever. It's just knitted squares in several colors but will at least be a blanket. After that I'm planning to do lots of dish clothes to become familiar with lots of different stitches. They will also be part of the bath baskets I'm planning to make for a craft bazaar. It's not until October so I have some time. However, those plans might be put aside as my daughter and I are taking up weaving (after we open our Christmas presents). Now I just need to figure out exactly what we can make with them.
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I feel odd posting to my own thread but I'm so excited to report that CurrClick maintains a record of your downloads and you can download items again up to 5 times. Woo hoo! I was able to salvage a small portion of my loss.
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I was wondering how others organize their free or purchased downloads from CurrClick or HomeSchool Freebies? I had previously organized and saved mine to CD as I needed to get all those large files off my computer. However, I just found that one of the CDs with all kinds of great holiday resources has become unreadable. I had used it yesterday and then tried to open it on a different computer today and got nothing. I'm so frustrated with myself. Anyway I'm looking for other ideas and wanting to give a warning to those who have saved things to a CD.
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Thanks for the suggestion of braiding her hair at night. I don't think she's quite asleep yet, so I'm off to braid!
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Hello! My daughter (8) has hair that goes past her shoulders, about mid-way down her back. We struggle though as no matter how often we wash and condition it always has tangles and sometimes huge knots. I ask her to brush her hair and she gets the top part but it will still have huge tangles underneath. But then if I brush the tangles out, she yells like I'm torturing her. We've tried detangler but it tends to make her hair look greasy and doesn't really help. I'm tempted to get it all cut off! Suggestions?
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I agree with Cadam that his behavior is a symptom of the problem. Do whatever it takes to figure out what the issues are. It might not hurt to have a psychiatric evaluation. But an evaluation does not mean medication is the answer. Maybe the upcoming school break will give everyone a chance to sit back, relax, and come at things fresh in January.
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My son was well past 4. I prepped him for several weeks that when this bag of pull-ups is gone, we weren't buying anymore. The first day he had one accident at the sitters house and after that he was fine. He even was fine at night.
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I echo the advice of going to visit your local public library and your nearest college library. Even if you can't check out books, most likely you can use their journal databases which provide access to enormous amount of information. Even our fairly small college library has over 9,000 journals in full text.
For books, I would encourage you to take a look at worldcat.org. It is a freely available catalog that allows you to see what libraries nearest to you have a book available by entering your zip code. Pretty much any library that is fully automated includes their holdings. You can also set up your own account and make lists of books about particular topics or books you want to order. It is wonderful!
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Our little black kitty who isn't so little anymore is called Inky. Growing up on a farm though I have previously had a Midnight and a Shadow. Our Shadow though was a gray cat.
You are NOT going to BELIEVE this!
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Congratulations and best wishes to you Heather and to Natalie. I'm certain she will thrive in your care and knowing of Christ's love.