[What do you use for grammar in HS? besides Abeka.]

We used R&S and now we are using Easy Grammar's Ultimate Series which is set up like their Daily Grams. 5 minutes a day and she's done, but she's also a junior and like for her to focus more on reading and writing.

[Unreasonable to change the bedroom of college son?]

I think it's perfectly reasonable. My dd's friend had her room converted to gym before her plane even touched down in FL the day she left.

[I'm looking for a book recommendation...]

I wonder if it would help to give her some kind of ACT prep type book AND the answer key, so she won't feel criticized but instead can be on the search for what the proper answer is and then deduce "why" the proper answer would be selected?

 

Julie

 

Thanks Julie, she knows this is a problem for her, so she doesn't feel criticized when we talk about it, but she does get down on herself when she score poorly on her tests. After dh worked with her on her permit tests, it dawned on me that she needs someone to show and tell her the way to take tests. She's an auditory learner, so I think hearing it will be key.

 

This is the one I decided to go with:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/029919194X/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

I think it addresses all the topics we need to cover.

[Beowulf on the Beach?]

Lisa, I'll post it over there for you. NM- You already did. :-)

 

Besides the Beowulf one, my other favorite is The Black Plague, "Ooooh, fleas on rats, fleas on rats..."

 

Jenn, we spent an hour one night watching these, even my dh got into it.

Be sure to send me the recipie for Beowulf on the Beach...

[Hyper-Inflated Grades.....(warning: ps rant)]

 

People need to be aware of what their school and community standards actually are. I realize for parents who don't have experience with college themselves it may be really difficult to measure whether their child's high school is actually preparing them for higher education, but, besides high school grades, there are other measure's available to them. The SAT is the most obvious; community college placement tests are another.

 

 

 

I don't want to say most parents don't care to educate themselves, so I'll say maybe they just don't think to.

 

The local ps high school around here (as I've said in other posts) is supposed to be top notch: Distiguished School awards several years in a row, Fundamental (meaning it's supposed to be more academically rigorous), they require 50-60 additional credits than the other schools in the area and have better requirments, and their test scores overall are right up there. That all looks great on paper, and it's a given in this community that this is a fabulous school, so I think the parents are comfortable sending their kids there and not worrying about it. And it's true, the school has a great rate for getting kids into college. However, let me tell you what an average English class looks like: 2 essays, neither of them graded or given back to the student for feedback. They read one novel, Lord of the Flies, and listened to 2 others, and no homework.

 

So parents send their kids there and think they are getting a good education, and on paper they are, but not by my standards and not by most people's who know better.

 

I completly blame No Child Left Behind. I think the intention was good, but failed in execution.

[Beowulf on the Beach?]

 

 

I love this. It's done to my favorite song, too...

[Beowulf on the Beach?]

No relevence at all to your question, but when I first saw the title of this post I had two thoughts:

 

1) Is that some new drink?

 

2) Heck ya, any day!

[I'm looking for a book recommendation...]

Well I did a search on Amazon and found some things that look promising. I just was wondering if someone had used a book they liked especially well.

 

The specific problems dd has is with the wording of the questions and multiple choice-like standardized testing. It took her 3 times to get her learners permit because the questions were confusing to her. She got it on the third try, but her dad spent hours with her teaching her how to take the test and figure out what the questions were asking. A lot of times she has a difficult time deciphering what the question is asking. If I ask her the question, she can tell me the answer, but when she sees it on paper it's hard for her to process it. Now, some of it is test anxiety, but I still feel it's something we need to work on.

 

Thanks for the ideas ladies.

[Hyper-Inflated Grades.....(warning: ps rant)]

This is why I have a 19 year old relative who was an honor student in high school but can't pass the state written exam to get a learner's permit to drive a car.

 

Ummm that's my daughter... I don't think one relates to other, one can do well on essays and such but still have a problem reading test questions. But that's just my personal biased opinion.

 

FWIW I do think the standards are incredibly low in the PS and was greatly dissappointed during dd's brief return there last year.

[S/O Low expectations: why I have 'dumbed down' certain classes]

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

I like Realistic Expectations...

 

You know, it's okay to be "regular".

 

:iagree:

[I'm looking for a book recommendation...]

on how to take tests. Not just SAT/ACT, but multiple choices and other kinds of tests. DD has a problem taking them (she always has), but as she approaches college I feeel that this is a skill we need to work on.

 

Any suggestions?

[So are you done wrapping?]

Wrapping?:eek: Shoot... I haven't really even started shopping yet. Wrapping... :leaving:

[Okay ladies, who else is still in their pajamas?]

Ooh...ooh... Me!Me! And I'll probably stay in them until this afternoon. My kids are still in there pj's too. Well except for the boy, kinda, he's got his pj bottoms on and a dress polo shirt:blink: I love homeschooling!

[I've had enough]

:grouphug:

[Please share your buckeye recipe + cakeball?]

The cakeballs are a lot of a work, but I think they are yummy. It seems to go faster is you have help, though. For my birthday dd made me carrot cake/cream cheese/white chocolate. Delish...

[Kind of sad now, and theres no way for me to have closure irl...]

Thanks everyone. I don't have her physical address, but was able to send her an email through the online obituary service. I know an email isn't a card, but it's the best I could do.

[Printing iCal to fit my Franklin Planner]

I have a Covey too, the 5x7 one, and the best way I found to print out pages in that exact size is to create the option in my printer properties. You can customize the size and then print to that scale.

[Prayers for an unknown soul]

:grouphug::grouphug: What a brave and noble thing you did. I agree with a pp, that if that were my son, I would have so much peace in knowing that he died in the arms of a mother who was brave enough to do what you did.

 

I will be praying for you, your family, and his.

[Kind of sad now, and theres no way for me to have closure irl...]

Last night I found out that my first love died in August of cancer. He wasn't very old, 37, and left behind a dsd he raised from the the time she was 3, a son, and his wife. The wife is the girl he got together with after we broke up and has been with for the last 20 years.

 

We were friends for a bit afterwords, but she was very jealous and controlling so we quit talking to each other. I'm sad because I know his Mom is absolutely heartbroken, having lost her first husband in a car accident and her kids were her life. I'm sad because I can't reach out to her (because I think it would be really awkward and if she's begun to heal I don't want to ruin that) to let her know I'm thinking of her. I'm sad because he was a really great guy and it appears the wife may have cut him off from ALL of his friends as is evident by his online guest book. I'm sad because he left his babies behind, he grew up without a father and now his son will too. I'm sad because I can only imagine this giant of a man withering away and suffering from the effects of a really brutal cancer. I'm just really sad.

 

Thanks for listening.:(

[Memoria Press' Literature Guides]

I agree about finding stuff online. I just found a really great lit guide/lesson plan for Journey to the Center of the Earth. The internet has a plethera of good stuff.

 

If you have your heart set on using a guide, I'll give you my opinion. I've had a chance to compare them at length to the Veritas & Progeny Guides and I'll be honest, I was not impressed.

 

There are couple of reasons why:

 

1. I thought they were pretty simplistic. I didn't think the questions were especially thought provoking and I didn't think the vocabulary assignments were all that great either. I think Veritas has better activities (like hands on stuff) and the questions & vocabulary excercises were rich without being overwhelming. The Progeny Guides do a better job with vocabulary like what'd you'd expect to do with a classical education and there was much more literary analysis and the reading comprehension questions were much better.

 

2. The MP guides come in two parts, a teachers guide and a student guide and they aren't cheap. I think Progeny offers more for you money.

 

3. Presentation. I hate those black comb bindings.

 

So there you have it, my overall impressions fwiw.

 

Good luck in your search.

[So what do you think you can do for a living with a degree in Natural Resouces...]

I am still trying to figure out a major for an AS and this particular degree offered at our local CC has a lot of things I was looking for, plus transfers nicely to the local universities.

 

I want something that is scientific in nature, where I'm working with nature and possibly able to do research. I also want someting where I can do field or "office" work. I'm thinking about getting a certificate in Technical Communiations which is a lot of Art New Media, Computer Information Sciences, and various kinds of writing. I think the two could compliment each other and offer a lot of opportunites.

 

At this point in my life I am looking for job satisfaction and something I can do well into later in life, and since I am not the primary wage earner, I don't have to make a lot of money, but if I had to, the potential is there.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone.

[So what do you think you can do for a living with a degree in Natural Resouces...]

Classes include: Natural Resource Conservation and Policy, Native Trees & Shrubs, Wild Flowers of Nor Cal, Fishery Ecology, The Forest & Environment, Intro to Wildlife Biology, Principals of Sustainability...

 

Obviously Park Ranger is an option, but what else?

[Comprehension and notetaking with textbooks...]

You're welcome, I'm glad your library had it.:D

[Comprehension and notetaking with textbooks...]

If you were so inclined, you might want to see if you can get a copy of How to Study in College http://www.amazon.com/Study-College-Seventh-Walter-Pauk/dp/0618046720/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292130666&sr=8-1.

 

It covers using Cornell Notes for lecture and textbook and also the SQ3R method. It's more than taking notes however, and has valuable information for time management and reading & listening skills. I'm reading through it and helping dd apply it to her science & history texts. We just started this year so the jury is still out on how it is working for her, but it might be a good resource for you.

[PSA: Book Find!]

This is an awesome resource. I got dd one for her US History studies and she reads to me on a (mostly) daily basis. This is a very cool book. I got mine at Amazon, but my Wal-Mart carries it too.