AKshanmar
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Posts posted by AKshanmar
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They are so cheap, they are a great supplement. Just get them! In the lower subject the answer books are probably not necessary. They aren't very detailed. They worked very well for my dd who liked busy work. Not well for my boys, who didn't like busy work. Saxon, quite honesty, has enough drill that you shouldn't need it. (Keys... are a much better match to a program like Singapore, which is strong is conceptual presentation, but a little weak in drill). But I think it is always nice to be able to throw something else into the daily schedule, to shake things up a bit!
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We really liked:
http://www.beginningspublishing.com/
or Real Science 4 Kids.
One huge hit was the book The Story of the Periodic Table.... or something like that, I'm way to comfy to get up and check. History and science all wrapped together.
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UGH! How awful! Obviously, she is NEVER going to actually listen to anything you say, don't don't bother saying anything. I would go with something like "That's interesting." Over and over again!
Perhaps, play with facial expressions until you find one that makes you feel like you've had some sort of victory over her. Good luck!
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Beyond unacceptable here. Our policy is that a teen may listen to any music that I don't pay for on their headphones and have privacy, but music played out loud for everyone may not contain ANY form of profanity. And yes, that word IS profanity.
I agree with Anne! I don't want to hear it. They can listen to whatever they want in their vehicles. But i'm going to nag their ear off if I hear it. This is where my rule when they were little comes back to haunt me: I used to say the driver gets to pick what is on the radio.... Ok, now I have to rephrase that when I am riding in their car, for which they paid, because I'm still not going to listen to that.
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Sounds like he deserves the job! Congrats! (It always helps to have a supportive wife. Glad you could be there for him!)
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Oh! I feel for you. The nitty gritty of going through the mess is the most painful and overwhelming. Thinking of you...
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The more invested the child is in what they are doing, the more they will be enthusiastic about it.
They will also learn, sometimes the hard way, about making the wrong choice. My son HATED the English program he picked one year, but he actually finished it, because it had been his choice. He is very stubborn, and if I had picked it, I don't think he ever would have done it.
I just love seeing kids learn to have control over their own life. I do still think there should be some structure. I like the idea of present several options and letting them choose. On the other hand, this sounds like a very accomplished young lady, who might be able to figure it out herself!
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There is no way anyone could do it all right. What is right for one kid is wrong for another. Even basic concepts of "spanking", "no spanking", "permissive", "controlling", can be completely negated by other things.
I have a friend who completely embraces unschooling. Her kids are allowed to do whatever they want to do, but they are expected to communicate with their parents what they are doing, but I can't think of anything that would be off limits. She has an amazing 20 year old son from this process, and then another one, who she says, just NEEDS to rebel, even though there is nothing to rebel against.
Another friend of mine, went from completely controlling with number 1, to very permissive with number 7. Number 1 & Number 7 are so similar at ages 27 & 17 you would hardly believe it.
Most important is loving them and talking to them. Give them respect, and expect respect from them. Share your values, so they know why they are your values, don't just demand they follow your rules. And be willing to apologize if you messed up. Because you will. They won't be perfect, either. There is no magic pill.
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Our first was a stubborn little chick from day one. She made me realize right off the bat, that these little people are not created by me, I just get to be there, to do what I can. I know I'm not explaining that well, but it was a real eye-opener for me, when she was just a stubborn little toddler. Amazingly, today, she is a successful 20 year old, with good values, her own successful business and a dog! Yeah!
Our next kid always fit in. He was never embarrassing, rarely got in trouble, popular with adults and kids. When he was 17, he decided he hated us, and didn't believe in God. He pierced his tongue & ears, and moved out. As soon as he turned 18 he got 3 tattoos. He lived the fun life. Oh my word. I probably cried for a year straight. But you know, he has made some good choices lately. Decided to go to college, he calls me to help him with his homework. I think it is easier to have him gone, and not be responsible for every action he makes. It is nice to be able to guide them, but if they aren't listening, it is pointless to bang your head against the wall. It just hurts you.
Now we have another 17 year old boy. He is a piece of work. In high school, his teachers either LOVED him or HATED him, but he was buddies with the principal and all the other administrators. He has probably been pulled over by every cop in town, but rarely gets a ticket. He likes to chat with the police officers if he runs into them out in public! He will thank an outfitted military person for their service, but then ride around in a motorized wheelchair at Walmart purposely driving into things. He is charming and completely and totally exhausting. I can't get him to do the homeschool classes he is doing at home, but he has passed 3 college classes with A's. I'm secretly ready for him to move out!
I have one more, a almost 15 year old girl.... she and I have a good relationship, and she can "manage" her dad, way more than any of her siblings every could. We are just holding our breath!
Hang in there, but learn to let go and let them move on... When you leave the door open, they just might come back to visit.
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Thanks for that detailed explanation Lori! That perfectly describes my son. He is 17, homeschooling his senior year, dual enrolled at the University of Alaska, in the GM automotive program.
I homeschooled him 3rd - 8th. He was very, very challenging. He refused to learn anything that had "order" to it. He now knows the days of the week, but still doesn't know the order of the months. Really. He would never do math according to the normal prescribed steps, but usually could get to the right answer, even in algebra and geometry. But then he would show absolute brilliance in big picture situations.
He took automotive classes all through highschool, now as a college freshman, his professor said he is the top of his class (5 hours a day, 5 days a week class). He was discussing an electrical process the other day, and my husband and I just sat there with our mouths open! There is hope!
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My 14 year old requires background noise, music or even a video, to work. She works completely independently. My 17 yo can't have any noise whatsoever. He needs me there to remind him it is necessary to pick up his pencil. Sigh!
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I think learning to adapt to new situations is a "life skill"! Not always fun, but good to learn confidence that the experience is survivable.
We moved when my kids were a little younger than yours. It was really hard on me, as we lost our comfy nest of friends and such, but we quickly adapted. The smaller house is definitely a bummer, but being closer to your husband's work is priceless.
Like other posters mentioned, I would spend a little time visiting with the principal!
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I am trying to find a good electronics program for my senior. Hoping to count it as science. The more it is related to cars the better!
Thanks!
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My dd was just like Whisperlily's daughter. She now has a very unique style.
One of my son's drew very detailed pictures at age 5, and now shows very little artistic talent.
Go figure!
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First of all...I don't have enough kids.
I have long hair and wear skirts. I'm also often wearing a black leather jacket and black boots.
My girls wear skirts 50% of the time, with Ugg boots or flip flops.
My boys have their jeans just right, and are usually wearing skaterish clothes, as long as they don't have skulls on them. (I despise skulls as logo wear.)
I am currently driving an orange avalanche truck. My only bumper sticker is the one that my son snuck on my bumper which reads "Out of my mind. Back in 5 minutes."
We have just about everytype of homeschooler around here. We also have a large Russian Orthodox community and a decent sized Mennonite community, both of which fit the lots of kids, skirts, khaki, van sterotype.
Variety is the spice of life!
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...I let him pick his spelling curriculum, but I retained control over everything else. I figured, how much could you mess up spelling as a 5th grader. It actually did a lot for him. And he picked Sequential Spelling, which has been such a success for our whole family, it was a really good thing.
So last year, I let him pick his writing, and he picked WriteAtHome, which was not a good match for him, (it is a fine program, not classical, but well done, but he HATES writing fiction, and there was a lot of that) However, he couldn't whine, because he had picked it! LOL.
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Gwen, seeing that I am just about to open a coffee shop where I will hire people whom I expect to behave properly. I would especially appreciate a customer doing what you expressed! I would be too wimpy to do it myself, but I sure would be tempted! As an employer, I would be furious enough to say something.
I despise poor service. And it affects my tip. I always wonder why people offer poor service, when at least 50% of the time it has to affect their tip.
We eat out a lot. My husband is either a spectacular tipper or a horrible one. If a server is rude to us, I often have been tempted to warn them, that they are throwing good money down the toilet! Several times, mistakes have been made, like our server entirely missing us for FORTY FIVE MINUTES! However, once he realized what he had done, he went over the top to correct the error, and dh left him a huge tip, probably 50%. The waiter chased us out of the restaurant thanking us profusely, because he obviously had expected nothing.
All through highschool I worked as a hostess / busser for a hotel chain. It was hard work earning that 5% of 10%! But as a kid still living at home, I also recognized how hard it was for those waitresses who didn't still live at home with their mommies, but with their kids they needed to support, to give me that 5% of 10%. I knew that I sure better be helping make their lives easier to earn that money.
Now, as I am the owner of my B&B and have no expectation of receiving tips, even when I am cook, server & dishwasher all in one. I still try to offer tip worthy service! Every once in awhile, I get a surprise from a guest, and it sure is appreciated.
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The real amazing part is that this is her 5 child, and she managed to make it to SEVEN months without anyone noticing!!!!
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I'd love to help you plan your trip...it is what I do for a living you know!
How long will you have? Where exactly is your brother based? Glennallen? Valdez is a pretty spot, and a nice spot to take a boat / glacier /wildlife trip in Prince William Sound.
Of course you have to visit me at my B&B. We have enough around here to keep you busy for a few days.
Denali is slightly overrated. (Shhhhh. ) But most people go there. Sometimes I just send my guests to Talkeetna, where you can usually see the mountain, so you can say you did! The train is cool, but very expensive. Everytime I think about doing it, I just can't do it. It is much cheaper to just drive. There are pictures of my recent winter drive up the Parks Hwy on my blog, if you scan down a bit.
The Kenai Pennisula, including Homer, is absolutely gorgeous. It just depends on how much time you have.
Feel free to email me, shannon@pioneerridge.com, or call me.
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Toni- No, I haven't given up on you yet! I figure something will show up sometime. How about a similar logo using a coffee cup? Just food for thought!
Don't worry- I will have a lot of secular stuff. We are in an area, where most of the homeschoolers are using public funding so they can only purchase secular. Also, while I am Christian, I prefer to use secular curriculum myself. And as I have some highschoolers, I'll have some of that too!
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It is so nice to have recommendations, as one person certainly can't read everything! I depend a lot on Amazon reviews, but obviously, you folks are MUCH smarter than the average reviewer. ;)
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Thanks, that looks great.
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Yes, it is a bit like Christmas!
It is a lot of work, my head hurts, I'm not getting enough sleep, I've lost the ability to retain any train of ...um...huh? I've develped carpal tunnel. But it is so much fun, I really don't care! I just wish I had more time!
Thanks, again!
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I know I haven't been around much lately. I've been crazy busy with bookstore stuff & shockingly enough, I still have 4 kids, that need me even more, now that I am so distracted!
So, I have lists and lists of books from our various distributors, which they think we should carry in our new store. However, they don't seem to think I need any homeschooling books! So I have to make my own lists.
Could you recomend your favorite homeschooling books, the "how to" kind or the "why" kind; and any parental books that you really love.
I know we've had these lists before, but I didn't find them in any searches I tried. I must not have the right key words or something.
Thank you SOOOO much for your help. I am so zombied out from all these lists, it helps to just have someone else's direction.
Overwhelmed by homeschooling drawbacks
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
OH boy...it is a completely different way of life! I always planned on sending my kids to school. I had NO intention of homeschooling. But life changes! I almost had them all in school, (5th, 3rd & 2nd grade... with a little one all ready to start K) when my 3rd grader asked to be homeschooled.... after a bit of a story... I ended up homeschooling all of them. I never got to have my dream, of having delightful days to get everything done I wanted to! Somehow, you just do it. The relationship with your kids shifts to something that is more important and closer. You learn to do things together, and make it work. It is huge for the kids to big involved with all those events that adults do. They learn to understand the bank, the doctor... all that stuff, and then they can do it themselves! They learn the lingo adults use, and when it comes time they aren't daunted by it. My kids are pretty much grown now... and I don't regret the sacrifices of my own time at all. (Not to say, I didn't lose my sanity now and then! REALLY! But that isn't what I remember!)