[How do you handle a motormouth? I'm going CRAZY!]

My DD does that. What's really frustrating is that she actually does a pretty good job of reining it in around other kids, but at home, it's constant chatter, whether someone else is in the room or not. One thing we have worked on is how to talk to someone and carry on a conversation, not just talking at them, and I do think it's helped as far as social conversations and in classroom situations. She has also gotten better at letting DH and I know when she wants to talk to us explicitly. I just wish she'd cut off the constant monologue, but recognizing that it IS a monologue and that it's not necessarily that she wants a conversation has made it less tiring for me.

 

I think it's behavioral, but I also think it's more like it's her natural state and, with effort, she can hold it together when she's in groups, and that it's just plain hard on her to do so. When she's been in group activities, especially daily ones like day camp or VBS, she's both obviously exhausted and wound up when she comes home-it's like she has a whole 3 hours or 6 hours worth of speech in her that just HAS to come out before she can calm down. I'd hate to think what she'd be like if she were in school every day!

 

YES!!!!! This is my son exactly.

[If you could pick any personal computer that you wanted, what would it be?]

I'm not techy at all so as long as the laptop WORKS and isn't slower than molasses, I'm cool. :glare: DS13, on the other hand, desperately wants a MacBookPro to do film editing. It is most certainly not going to happen since we literally JUST bought him a basic laptop for his school work a couple of months ago.

[Wearing a wedding ring poll]

Neither DH nor I wear a wedding ring. DH's finger started peeling weirdly under his ring about 5 or so years ago and he just decided not to wear it anymore. As for me, I just don't want to bother with it. Wearing it at home I always took it off anyway so I could cook or clean without getting stuff all over it or lose it down a drain. And well, I'm pretty absent-minded so I would always forget to put it back on. :tongue_smilie:

[Just for fun: Do you 'see' particular careers or fields in your kids' futures?]

I see Baseball Commentator in DS13's future. He eats, sleeps and breathes baseball and he talks incessantly. In fact, when he's throwing off of his mound or with the pitch back in the backyard he is CONSTANTLY commentating a game that is happening in his head. :001_huh: For about 6 months out of the year I don't understand a word the boy says.

[How do you schedule Killgallon?]

That is helpful. Thanks.

 

I think we'll plan on doing the Easy Grammar 5X/wk, Killgallon 2X/wk and KISS 2X/wk. Seems like each program only takes about 10 min. so doing 2/day shouldn't be an issue. :001_smile:

[Are there any classics that you're not looking forward to teaching?]

Beowulf. It's the only book ever assigned to me that literally put me to sleep every time I tried to read it. I must be a masochist because after this happened to me in high school, I tried again freshman year in college. Both times I wound up relying on Cliff Notes. :blushing:

 

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! That is my favorite book of ALL TIME! :tongue_smilie: I'm so looking forward to reading it with DS13 this year. :hurray: The Seamus Heaney version of Beowulf really is to die for. If you decide to read it with your kidlets, definitely get that one. I had an amazing Honors Lit. teacher in high school that made me absolutely adore some of the harder stuff like Beowulf and Chaucer.

[How do you schedule Killgallon?]

I just bought Grammar for Middle School (sentence composing) from Killgallon but I'm not sure how to schedule it. How many days a week do you do it? Does anyone do it orally?

 

We also have KISS and Easy Grammar that we'll be working through too.

[How do you handle carelessness?]

If you are only rewarding your children when they get a perfect score, you are either teaching or reinforcing his perfectionism. Have him go back and redo the problems he missed, but I would suggest not tying parental approval (in obvious ways such as special plates) be restricted to perfect performances.

 

:iagree:

 

Before handing in his work to be graded, I would make sure that he sits with it to look it over for mistakes. Then, whether you let him see the grades at this stage or not, I would simply give him the missed problems again either the same day or later. With my 8th grader I make him fix errors the same day. With a younger one it might be better to wait.

[need S names for a girl]

I love the names Sophia, Salome (Sahl-uh-may) and Sage.

[Does anyone else not understand 4-H?]

See...this is what I still don't understand. How does one "do" horses? How does one "do" meteorology? or dog obedience? I keep hearing people say they 'do' one subject or another, but I have no idea what that means. :)

 

Does that mean you worked through a series of workbooks (including a log book of time, expenses, and experiences) and then completed a hands-on project related to the workbooks? Or that the child simply taught him or herself about the topic and then shared with group members? Or, is there an adult who knows the subject well, who teaches the children?

 

 

I feel dumb for asking what must be really obvious to everyone around me. ;)

 

If there is only one group in my area, and it is only focused on agriculture, am I just out of luck if we are not an 'agriculture family?'

 

(sorry to hijack!)

 

Don't feel dumb; I was just thinking the same thing. :tongue_smilie:

[Are there any classics that you're not looking forward to teaching?]

Somehow I got through AP English without reading Austen or Bronte. I enjoy Austen movies but have yet to actually finish reading any of her works. I should try audiobooks. I can't seem to read LOTR but thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version.

 

Heh, I tried listening to Pride and Prejudice and couldn't even stand it that way.

 

 

I think some great works really were meant to be read aloud.

 

You're exactly right. I think that's why so many people hate Shakespeare. WHY would you send a child home with a BOOK that is supposed to be read as a PLAY? It just never made sense to me in high school. With my 13 yr. old son, I've been reading a summary of each Shakespeare play and listening to it on CD while reading along in the book. Then, we watch a performance of it live or on DVD. He LOVES Shakespeare this way and actually GETS it. Why did our high school teachers never think to teach this way?

[Does anyone else not understand 4-H?]

Wow. What a mess. :glare: Thanks for explaining. This really doesn't sound like something I want to spend time or energy on. I'm thinking we'll just stick to the homeschool network that we're already involved in.

[How often do you schedule The Fallacy Detective?]

We're planning to do it twice a week for half of the year and then do The Thinking Toolbox twice a week or the second half.

[Are there any classics that you're not looking forward to teaching?]

Not a classic at the same level by any means, but i have a strong memory of hating Johnny Tremain as a 7th grader so I just don't know if I can bear to add it to our studies. :glare:

 

DS13 had to read that last year and he absolutely loathed it too. I mistakenly had it on his list of lit. to choose from this year since I forgot that he had already read it, and I thought he was going to dissolve into a puddle of tears. He looked at me and said, "PLEASE tell me this is a mistake and I don't have to read it again." :D

[Funny things your kids have said recently...]

Friday when DS13 was working on his Olympics project he mentioned something to me about the flag of "Trinidad and Tobacco." :glare: It was a mispronunciation because he was talking too fast but it was funny just the same.

[True or False - food related]

I would prefer that DS13 happily try new foods but sometimes waste it; however, he is very much in the other camp. He is always hesitant to try new foods.

[Am I Being Unreasonable? WWYD?]

I would just tell her that you would LOVE to have her stay but need a definite decision by X date in order to line up the things in your own life. Then, if she doesn't make a decision or changes her mind, you should go ahead and make plans with another housekeeper regardless of whether she ends up staying with you or not.

[Does anyone else not understand 4-H?]

I've been to their website a zillion times over the years and I STILL just don't get it. It all just seems so convoluted. I always thought it was all farming and animal type stuff, but it seems that they have other things like Public Speaking as well. I would love for DS13 to be involved in Public Speaking and I know he would love something that involves meteorology or filmmaking but I just can't make heads or tails of how 4-H works. Is there a Dummies guide? :tongue_smilie:

[Does anyone completely ditch art?]

Wanna hear something funny?

I never got around to doing art with my ds when he homeschooled (he hs'ed high school only). He did guitar with his dad for music and that covered the fine art credit.

 

Check out what he's majoring/minoring in, down in my siggy. :D

 

:lol: Now THAT is hilarious!

[Does anyone completely ditch art?]

If DS13 were in PS I would be livid if they chose to cut art. However, I'm looking at the schedule this year and I'm not sure I want to spend time on it as a separate class. My thinking though, is that in PS there was so few other opportunities to be creative that art was a necessary outlet. With homeschooling; however, I can sprinkle it across the curriculum without dividing it into it's own class. Right?

 

DS has had the opportunity to join 2 different art co-ops this year and he wasn't interested in either. Even doing it at home didn't seem to pique his interest at all. On the other hand, he is doing some visual (photography) and performing arts (drama) this year. Does he really NEED drawing/painting etc.? Does anyone else ditch it?

[Diva users (female content)]

Love love love LOVE my cup!!!!!

 

The first month I had mine I absolutely hated it. It hurt A LOT. Then, I realized that I had it in wrong. :glare:

[Harry Potter's birthday is Tuesday]

Cool! That gives us an excuse to watch the next movie. We've been watching them over again for the last several weeks but this week we'll have to do it on Tuesday. :)

[Re-introduce yourself, no matter how long or short you've been here]

I'm Crissy from Delaware. I've been married 14 yrs. and together we have a 13 yr. old boy. We homeschooled through kindergarten and then DS went to a small public school for 1st - 5gh. For 6th and 7th he went to an even smaller Christian school at our church. Even though this is our first "official" year homeschooling since K, we've always summer schooled so this is just kind of like a really, really long summer. :tongue_smilie:

[Buyers Remorse... Please cheer me up!]

I bought Mystery of History 3 new this year and now we're not using it. We're completely switching tracks. It's not a total waste since I'll photocopy the supplementary reading list in the back of the companion guide and maybe reference the textbook when we do Renaissance and Reformation toward the end of the year but that's it.

[Another history question...]

My best advice though is to talk with your ds about it. Debra Bell has a book on homeschooling high school (Ultimate Guide...) that has a section on junior high that is worth your time. She says to get them involved in making their plans. It's something they need to own, and it's something he'll be interested in.

 

 

Actually, I have talked to DS13 at length about our plans. I want him to be actively involved in the choices. He wanted to do the co-op at first because he thought that was the best option vs. doing the same thing but just at home. Now that we've given him another option, it seems that he likes the idea of starting with the Ancients.

 

I already own several Ancient History books including SWB's History of the Ancient World and Streams of Civilization. I had him read a bit from both and was utterly shocked at his opinion. He absolutely HATED History of the Ancient World and said it seemed REALLY boring. On the other hand, when I gave him Streams of Civilization he said, "now THIS I like. It seems really interesting and I like that there are discussion questions." :lol: So... that is what we will do. I'm going to coordinate Streams with some literature of my own plus throw in some Beautiful Feet and see where it takes us.

 

Thank you for the book suggestion; I don't think that's one I've read yet.

 

 

You could do LLfLotR along with MOH3 btw. That would go well together and continue what you started with the Hobbit. Lots of room there to kick things up and make it very challenging. If it's a less familiar time period for him, he might really enjoy starting there.

 

I was actually contemplating LLfLotR at one point but honestly, I just don't think it's something he would like. I'm just praying that we make it through The Hobbit alive this year. That is not a genre that he enjoys and I think it would send him into hysterics to have to spend an entire year with it. He would much rather read historical texts and biographies.