Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

KC in KS

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    131

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by KC in KS

    AHG Tenderheart moms/leaders

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Oh, yes, all the time. We rather generally try to keep the different Units working on the same thing more or less at the same time, but their needs vary so greatly... we may have a guest speaker, a panel discussion, a service project, a craft day, a guest instructor on some skill.... all during regular meeting times. Off-meeting events are rarer, but they do happen -- field trips, mostly, though my PiPas just asked if they can go camping just as a Unit (with proper adult supervision, of course). 

     

    Keelie

    ahg leaders, ques about starting american heritage girls group

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I've had a Troop for four years now, with fairly static membership, and no noticeable pressure to grow. Yes, you'll be listed on the national locator map, so you will get inquiries from interested families, but you can choose to only register Tenderheart leaders "for now". It's okay to start with just one Unit.

     

    I will offer that you may end up eager to grow. There is a lot of administrative work involved in running a Troop, and it will be a LOT of work for just a couple of parents to do. Many hands make light work :)

     

    Keelie, KS0252

     

     

    Hi,

    My friend and I are considering starting an American heritage girls troop at our home church.

    As detailed in an earlier post, we are not happy with the troop where our 7 and 8 year old daughters are involved. We think the national group is great, but this particular local group is not working for us.

    So, we'd like to ask current ahg leaders, please:

    Does national ahg pressure new troops to grow? We're not looking to start a whole huge troop. We'd like to start a small troop of tenderhearts with our daughters and 4-6 of.their awana friends and grow the troop as time, energy, and involvement of other parents allow.

    What have current ahg leaders experienced?

    Thanks,

    Ga mom

     

    Critical Thinking Company - Math Reasoning Workbooks

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I used them as a primary text for 1st grade, and about half of 2nd. Then we started in with Math-U-See, and I've discovered that it is very useful to alternate between the two. When my kids get stuck in one -- or just bored with it -- we switch to the other for a while. Yes, it means we're going through both very slowly, but I'm convinced they are getting a solid foundation, and we have had no "I can't DO this!" dramas.

    American Heritage Girls?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Angie,

     

    I'm a Troop coordinator for AHG; I lead a Troop of about 50 girls.

     

    You're right in that it's very similar to Girl Scouts -- it was actually founded by a group of families that was looking for an alternative to GS that would incorporate Christian values. Personally, I think it's a little more similar to Boy Scouts these days, in terms of activities and values.

     

    I highly recommend you at least check the program out -- Troops vary, of course, but they've got a solid foundation under them.

     

    Here's a bit of technical info -- Girl Scout Troops are owned and operated by GSUSA. AHG Troops are chartered -- owned and operated -- by their Charter Organizations (usually churches or other Christian non-profit). This means that everything a Troop does is reviewed and approved by the Charter Org. If some new program or directive comes down from the AHG national office that the Charter Org doesn't approve of, the Charter wins. If the disagreement is crucial enough, the Troop will actually have to disband. Sounds terrible, but what that actually means is there's a great set of checks on the direction of the national office -- prevents a lot of the cultural drift that has affected GS in recent years.

     

    Happy to answer any other questions you have!

     

    KC

    I need research on phonics vs. sight-words for reading

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    My son's vision therapist just made a very strong case for ditching phonics in favor of word recognition by sight. Not only did her logic seem sound, she's an expert in her field AND a former school teacher (who left the field over differences of opinion in pedagogy!) so I have a certain degree of confidence in what she says. (She's also pro-homeschooling -- bonus!)

     

    But... I guess I've spent too long reading "back to phonics" sorts of things. Now I'm really confused!

     

    Anybody know of where I can find actual research? Or at least a balanced discussion of the issue?

     

    Thanks!

    KC

    Vent!

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    A friend of mine just got her membership a month ago as well, and she called their customer service department and Borders refunded the full amount.

     

    Hope the same works for you!

     

    I'm going to try that, thanks! I bought a membership last month, despite some misgivings about their solvency.... should've listened to my instincts!

    Common Sense Media: CARS 2 Review/Parents aren't happy

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    We saw it just this afternoon with our not-quite-5 y.o. son.

     

    The gun battles didn't faze us; he watches several other fighting type shows. Dad has talked to him for years about using weapons to defend ourselves.

     

    The torture scene bugged me, but I don't think he grasped it. I think I would've worried more if my 6.5 y.o. DD had been with us, because she would've understood.

     

    But overall, I felt like it was a more complex, fast-moving story, and therefore I think the preschool set will have a hard time following it. I'd peg it at around the 8-10 year old age, which puts a whole `nother spin on the violence question.

     

    I didn't find the movie all that entertaining. I missed the humor of the first one. But DH says he and DS chortled and grunted at all the horsepower and techno-wizardry on display.... perhaps this is just a more testosterone-appealing movie?

    S/O Yeah, we need to work on life skills - for Parents

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I had a few lemons that I'd zested, but had no real use for the "innards" of. I decided to pitch them down the kitchen disposal to freshen it.

     

    I chopped them into big chunks, then wedged them in.

     

    Then -- my fatal mistake -- I thought that if I didn't turn on the water, it wouldn't dilute the lemon oil.

     

    I now have a sink trap full of a big lump of minced lemon, and a completely non-draining sink. :glare:

    Curriculum help for accelerated 5 yr old

    in Accelerated Learner Board

    Posted

    We used a lot from Critical Thinking Company. Building Thinking Skills, Can You Find Me?, Visual Perceptual Skill Building, etc.

     

    I like the idea of first giving her a solid foundation in thinking, before we got into skills.

     

    Plus, a lot of the skills types books (phonics, math, etc) started requiring more in the way of writing than she was capable of at her age. So by spending a year on thinking skills, we fed her brain without letting it run too far ahead of her body.

    Any AHG leaders out there?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I'm an AHG Troop Coordinator (all of 1 year's experience now!)

     

    The existing AHG troop is owned by a Catholic Church and therefore a lot of their activities and service projects come down through the archdiocese and specifically serve the Church or involve a 1-1/2 hr drive to the Cathedral for events. I'm Catholic so I don't really mind but the Protestant parents in the Pack have voiced dissent and are hopeful that we can start a non-denominational troop.

     

    Every Troop must be non-denominational. While it's understood, expected, and recommended that the Troop offer a service project or two a year to their Charter Organization as a way of showing appreciation and gratitude, the Troop doesn't exist solely to support the church.

     

    Perhaps what is needed is a parent to track down some other, outside service opportunities. Personally, if I can spot something within our church that fits well with the Troop I suggest it because it's *easy for me*. Everything else we've done has been because a parent took some initiative to get it started.

     

    The other reason parents give for wanting our own troop is so we can meet on the same night and at the same time as our Pack and Troop. That way the meetings only take up one night of the families' time. However, I am already seeing some issues with that (for instance, our own Boy Scouts can't be Den Chiefs for our Cub Scout dens because that would mean they couldn't attend the troop meetings) and I know that it will also be an issue for the handful of active adult leaders that we have.

     

    Yup, you've got a issue here. Of *course* the parents like the idea of doubling up their time -- but are they going to double up their volunteering? Truly, you should expect a family with both a son and a daughter involved to have BOTH a father and a mother participating. Run that past them and see if it doesn't dampen their enthusiasm.

     

    Personally, I would just as soon run a "satelite" branch off of the existing AHG troop and meet on Fridays with our Pack (and go to the monthly family meetings with the rest of the AHG troop one Monday/month) as a trial run and see if it is even something we can tackle at this time. The other moms are pushing for me to tackle this and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at the thought of reinventing the wheel.

     

    I think you should listen to yourself here. While running an AHG Troop is both a blessing and a lot of fun, it is a LOT of WORK. If these other moms want it so badly, tell them to form a committee and do it!

     

    FYI, I've got a Troop of about 50 girls (4 levels out of the 5). To do that, my volunteer staff looks like this:

     

    Me: Troop Coordinator, Special Events Chair, Service Projects Chair, Advancement Chair

    Co-Coodinator, also Registrar, Health & Safety Lead, and Fundraising Chair

    Treasurer

    Shepherd

    8 Leaders/Asst Leaders

    6 Squad Leaders

    8 Parent Helpers

    2 Paras (help with a special needs child)

     

    If your Troop is small enough to just have one level, you're still going to need Coordinator, Vice Coordinator, Treasurer, Shepherd, 3 Leaders minimum, and a variety of chairpeople. With just 6 girls, I'm not sure you've got enough mothers to pull it off.

     

    (Then there's the question of what happens when word gets out there's another Troop in town. Let me tell you -- there is a need and a desire out there for this program!)

     

    Now, let me tell you, if you decide to do this, I will be happy to offer any help, support, and encouragement I can.

    Are there any unorthodox religious people here?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I'm a devoted member of a local non-denominational evangelical church. Right there, most people assume they know a lot about my beliefs and my politics.

     

    Not so. I have this really bad habit of studying the Bible and trying to figure stuff out for myself. It leads me down a lot of paths that would make the Religious Right absolutely hysterical.

     

    Fortunately, our founder/senior pastor emphasizes grace.... we may not all agree, but through grace, that's okay.

     

    Actually, I'm currently writing a summer Bible study to teach other women how to do the same sorts of research for themselves. Might just stir up some discussions in our church! :lol: (and yup, the pastor's just fine with that!)

    "RAD" in a baby

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    IIRC, it's what they call pre-asthma. They don't typically diagnose asthma this young because an infant's airways are so tiny to begin with. It could very well be outgrown. Knock out the croup and pneumonia and it should be a lot easier for babe. That typically means steroids and a round of antibiotics.

     

    Yup, my DS had it. According to his asthma doc, asthma is simply a repeated pattern of airway reactivity. Apparently there's not a hard-and-fast rule, but he doesn't like to diagnose actual asthma until after age 2, because some insurance companies get freaky about it.

     

    BTW, nearly everybody has airway reactions occasionally. What makes for RAD/asthma is when the body doesn't bring it under control well.

×
×
  • Create New...