shawthorne44
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Posts posted by shawthorne44
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Not this year, but I am interested in how it went.
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I'm such a fan of my local library that I once wrote them a Thank You note.
Borrow first and then buy as cheaply as possible if it is loved. Mostly based on finances. I'll buy if I can find something interesting super cheap.
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Amusing update on the book that inspired this thread, The Lorax.
It has now been removed from my "Oh nooooo, not again" list. One of the things that drove me nuts was that for each and every instance of "Thneed" in the picture, DD said "What's that?" Some pages have that word a lot! I hate saying that word. It goes into my nose.
She hadn't asked for it for a while, until last night. Last night instead of asking "What's that?" she would point and say "Thneeds" and giggle in glee and triumph. What is not to love about your baby starting to read?
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Does anyone know of a website for the inaccuracies in SOTW? I think that would be very helpful. With maybe arguments for and against X being an inaccuracy.
For example, I know that one of the complaints is that it says that Alexander wasn't really Greek. People complain that he Yes, he was Greek. But the answer is really both Yes and No.
I still want to use SOTW, but I think that combined with a pro/con website would be ideal for learning facts and developing the proper Historical Thought Process. Plus other stuff, of course.
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I will be hitting menopause when dd hits puberty...my husband has already decided he will be working overtime during those years.
:grouphug:
maybe this is a good time to get her working on her own and you getting in the routine of long walks.
My best friend said her mother's menopause was horrible. Her, her dad and her three brothers used to fight to take the dog for a walk. Sometimes, one of them was waiting on the dog to get back, so that he could go on another walk.
This was with public school.
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Cons: It's basic idea that unstructured play is a waste of time, and the corresponding idea that there is one way to play with X set of toys.
Extended pretend play is important for the development of executive function. This is not allowed in a Montessori school.
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Amazon thanks you.
I also picked up his book on Historical sites and few other books that jumped into my cart.
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Take a look at the book by the same author called "Teaching What Really Happened". There are many ideas in there on how to approach history as a living subject instead of relying on storytellers to tell you what they think happened.
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I'm in the same boat as the OP. I read the Lies book and found it disturbing. We aren't ready for history yet, so I hadn't looked into. But, I did jump into this thread when I saw the title.
I knew he'd made a textbook, but I hadn't realized he'd written another book. (Off to Amazon I go)
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...Incidentally, not finishing the books in school is why I never was taught about any history after WWII until Junior year in high school, and even that was very rushed....
I am impressed that you actually got through WWI. The teachers were mandated to include a question on WWI and on WWII on our final exam. But, they could combine questions. Therefore the ONLY thing we needed to know from the 20th Century (yes, the whole century) was that the Italians were on our side in one war, and the opposite on the other. Didn't even need to know which wars.
Never finished a history textbook until I took an AP class.
People get grumpy about P.S's "teaching to the test", but I think part of it is grumpiness about having to finish all the material.
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I would get one of the paperwhites. I would also not get a Kindle if you are looking for free books. I know that the library downloads work with less problems if it isn't the Kindle format.
I personally like the light to be from a little clip-on. I find it more restful. Others probably prefer the opposite.
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The NA or cowboy question is just a bad question. That isn't to say that testing in general is a bad idea.
Although it is frustrating. I remember that the practice Teacher Certification Physics test had two out of 50 questions marked with the wrong answer. The thought of being judged by people that published that test irritated me.
I never thought about it before, but I have always assumed that the test writers aren't as smart as I am. (And I am an excellent test taker) I remember the Princeton Review for the SAT said that an employee's 19-year-old daughter was hired to write test questions one summer. That was helpful knowledge. (And that was back in the dark ages when the test was a lot harder)
The portfolios idea sounds good. But, I don't really think it is practical. Who judges the portfolio, and who has time to do so?
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I've always suspected that my bad eyesight is related to my being an extremely earlier reader.
The huge fonts available on my e-reader will be great to ease the mind of this worry-wort mommy once DD gets to that point.
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I'm in the camp that thinks this is weird, but not a reason to reject Sonlight. I remember moving in the middle of 3rd grade and being taught history that was opposite in the new place. Actually, now that I think of it, it was American History. If I were to teach this Core, I would probably show the table to my kid, and then discuss why you should never just accept what it is said/written. I also plan to include "Lies my teacher taught" (going by memory, but if you've read it, you will recognize it) What ends up in History books seems to have at least as much to do with the conditions it was written in, then the facts.
Of course I want my child to get facts as correct as can be known. But, I also want her to develop a "this doesn't smell right" meter, and look into things when the meter goes off.
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...Sometimes they will even be kind of meh, but they always want the end. It's puzzling really....
This is me. I don't know why I do it. In my 43 years as a bookworm, I've dropped less than 5 books.
Sometimes it is like a train wreck, you know you shouldn't finish, but you have to anyway.
Actually, I'll even finish a series I hate. I HAVE to know how it ends.
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One of the complaints I've heard about getting Sonlight books at the library, is that you can't get them when they are on the schedule. But, with P3/4 reading the books in order isn't really important. It isn't like you are reading history books, and you'll mix up your timeline.
I think I remember reading in a thread here that someone made an excel document with the P3/4 then P4/5 stories in it. Then as you read the stories/books, you checked them off, or wrote in the date.
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Thank you Punchie for mentioning the Hoot Owl game.
I looked it up on Amazon, and it is a little old for DD. But, the same company has one where you work together to get all the runaway chicks back to the coop for the Mother Hen. That has been a hit.
It made me thankful to the internet and Amazon. As a kid, my family was really into games. My parents would have gleefully bought the same games I am gleefully buying now. At my parent's house the games are stored on a metal shelving unit 4' wide by 6' tall, and they don't all fit. But, because my parents were limited to what was at the local store, which for kid's games was only Chutes and Ladders and the like.
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This has been so helpful! I love the Usbourne books, but I can see how they should be banned from read-aloud time. Adding them to "readers only" list.
For anyone else interested in the same thing, I'd like to add the picture book "Big Plans" to the list. A kid gets bored in school, and he ends up steamrolling everyone into letting him take over as POTUS and then do something to the moon that could be seen from earth.
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Rather than a glossy magazine with colorful ads, what about a newsletter and all black and white? The Tightwad Gazette comes to mind. (Showing my age) It could be available either in an e-book format, or a black and white newsletter sent by post. Newsletter version with the postage price added. I personally get ticked when the e-book version of anything is the same price.
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Our science book one year had a cover that showed a progression from some gorilla/ape-ish animal to modern man. But the topic was never covered. I don't remember anything being skipped over, we probably just never got to it.
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I think it is wonderful. I hope they don't dumb down the classes. In fact I think keeping the online classes at exactly the same level and letting many students flunk would be good for them long-term.
It would have been a good fit for me. Definitely for my first two years, a mix of online classes and B&M classes at the same University would have been great too.
I went to Big State U. I had many classes with over 100 students in them. There really wasn't time in the large classes for class interaction. Plus, I really truly did not care what the student 10 rows over had to say. I did do study groups in the upper-level classes. But only for the social interaction and because we often went to the pub afterward. I don't think I ever had more than two office visits for the same class, and that includes my Masters in Engineering.
Reminds me of Freshman Chem. A boy I later almost married was sitting next to me. First day of class he told me that he hoped his book wasn't unlucky. He'd borrowed it from his ex-girlfriend and she failed the class. (Point being that he had a recent ex-gf and was available) She didn't understand why she failed the class, so the class must be really hard. Then he opened the book, and the spine cracked. It was hysterical. The ding-bat had never even opened the book! I met so many like that. They thought college was like High School where you go to class every day, and you pass. Later on, he told me he thought I was going to fail too, since every time he looked over I was drawing flowers. Then when the first test was handed back, the prof said he was pleased that his class got the highest grade (same test for all fresh classes) (I got the impression the profs had a bet going) The boy next to me looked at my test, and saw he was talking about me.
I know prof's in B&M classes have grade pressure. I saw several examples of students banding together and saying that the low average GPA in the class was because the prof was a bad teacher. When in reality, those classes just had a larger collection of students that shouldn't have been in the class. For an online class, admin could review everything and then more easily tell the students "Get your act together".
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Or games, we were playing a peaceable kingdom game last night that uses counting but not reading. The idea is you get all the little chicks back to the coop. Cooperative game. Everyone takes a turn at spinning the spinner. The spinner lands on an animal. You move the Mother Hen forward until you land on the next version of that animal and you count how many steps. Then you put that many chicks into the coop. I got it from Amazon. If you hide a few chicks, you make it easier to win.
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I started out with several books on the P3/4 list that had been mine that my mother had saved. I've bought most of the rest, and even if I pay retail for the few remaining, the total will be $167.
I got several at half.com, and the used area of Amazon. I took the remaining list to the local large used book store, and I had them look them up in the computer. Being new to kids book buying, I didn't know how to find them. I got the collections books pretty cheap there. They were totally worth it. There were some that I just bought new on Amazon. Although, I have since noticed that Rainbow Resource has good prices on individual P4/5 books. So, they probably have good prices on P3/4. They would probably be the place to finish off buying the books. If used only saved me a couple of bucks, I bought new. I am an Engineer. So, I made an excel worksheet and I put the Sonlight price in, and I kept a running tally of what I spent. The big savings are in the expensive books.
We started with P3/4 early. So, we just added the books to her library. It worked out well that they all trickled in. New books are interesting. For some reason, DD dubbed the Harper-Collins book "Mommy book". I thought we never stop reading from that book. One thing nice about the collections is that when the story ends she wants "next one".
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I don't know if it is true. But, I heard the actors/set people were really mean to the fat German kid. They say because he was a snot. But, I really don't want anything to do with mean, so the background makes it even creepier.
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Has anyone else seen this? I was visiting with a friend this weekend. We initially bonded when we met while both pregnant and both planning to homeschool. She planned on being a SAHM. Then work begged her to work some from home. They got themselves into a financial pickle, so they enrolled their DS in an all-day preschool "for a little while." This last weekend, she said she loves the school and they've taught him "so much stuff". "Like what?" I asked. Potty-training, talking better, ABC song, counting. He does art every day. So, they've tossed the homeschooling idea. I didn't mention that DD was doing the academic things she mentioned many months ago.
I can see the potty-training. Being around other kids going potty was a motivator for DD. But I think the rest was just age, and the good home foundation. Her DS is 2 months younger than my DD.
Is my thinking off-base? Could a good preschool be better than a good home environment? He definitely has a good home environment.
Dallas, Tx neighborhoods
in The Chat Board
Posted
The problem is that Love Field puts you in Dallas-Dallas. I would personally never live in Dallas because then the city politics would drive me bonkers. But if you want to live 30 minutes from work, you won't be able to go too far away.
If you are homeschoolers, I would to rent really close to work, and then explore.
I think your school choice will have a big impact. I would never in a million years live in anywhere in Dallas or Irving if I had to send my kids to public school.
In Dallas, the only kids that go to public schools are the kids that have no other choice and a small number of Asian kids. My husband went to school in Dallas (an exception to the rule. Except that his parents did not care about his education). He knows WAYYYYYY too much about living around gangs and beating the crap out of the first person that attacks you so that everyone else will leave you alone. Not something I want for my child.
In Irving, you have very very nice expensive areas and then there is this invisible line and it is very poor. That is fine to live there because you can choose to not cross the line. But the kids are mixed together. So you get the Dallas effect in the schools.
But, if you are homeschooling. Then no worries. I am very new at this (live in Plano and moving to Farmersville) but there seems to be many groups and lots of active homeschoolers. My MIL lives in the Casa Linda area and it very nice.