Michelle in MO
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Posts posted by Michelle in MO
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My oldest daughter will turn 16 years old soon, and we are going to have her start taking classes at our local community college. I'm not sure how many classes we should have her take at first, but taking science there would certainly be one of our options.
Back to my question. We've been doing the Apologia series since 7th grade, and both of my oldest girls have done well with the program. The oldest is now in 10th grade and doing Chemistry. She's doing really very well, and is working very hard to understand the concepts. However, the math involved sometimes really weighs her down. (She struggled mightily with Algebra II last year, which was my mistake!) I know that the math in Chemistry is really Algebra I work, but it's been two years since she did Algebra I. Anyway, I think that, whether or not she takes science at the cc or does it here at home, she would be relieved if she didn't have to do Physics.
Now, she is very bright, and we do have her on a college-bound track here at home, and she tests very well. I had always thought all along we would do the traditional Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and then elective science in the senior year. Would it be a detriment on her transcript if she didn't do Physics next year (either at home or at the cc)? Would it look "bad" on her transcript, in other words? If she does science at the cc, I'm not sure what the options are yet. I thought last night that if she does science at home next year I could have her do either the Apologia Advanced Biology or Apologia Marine Biology.
Again, I do think this girl will do well in college, but I don't think she'll end up majoring in either math or science. I see her as more of a humanities-type individual: English, history, literature, etc.
What do you suggest?
Thanks for your input!
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not Catholic, but I've checked Highlands Latin School website over and over and over again, and I'm very impressed by what I see! More specifically, I agree with what you said about the importance of a healthy school culture.
I would love to visit Highlands Latin School school someday, though, just to see how they put it all together. Cheryl Lowe and Martin Cothran seem like truly first-class individuals and teachers, and I was so impressed by what was stated on the website: "One of the first things parents will notice is the absence of social cliques." I believe so many Christian schools fail in this area! We had all three of our daughters at a local private school and pulled them out after our oldest finished 3rd grade because of the social cliques. Third grade was an almost devastating experience for our oldest. The other option in town is a Catholic school. Both schools only go through 8th grade. If we have to re-enroll the children in school (which we are seriously considering because my husband was diagnosed with a heart condition last fall, and he would like me to go back to school and get a master's degree) my youngest would go to the Catholic school in town over the other one, because in this case the Catholic school has a better handle on discipline and a good school culture. I felt like the other school had serious problems with social cliques and some bullying that the administration wasn't addressing.
The other thing I like about Highlands Latin School is, as you mentioned, the focused literature reading in high school. I like many of the Omnibus readings and the book is beautiful, but HLS seems to take a "less is more" approach; as you said, they focus more in-depth on certain pieces of literature. I believe the students still read plenty, however. I printed off their Summer Reading List from the website, and it was impressive. I'm not sure if those readings are required or just encouraged, but it's obvious the students from that school do very well.
Yes, I can certainly understand your point about HLS!
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In fact, I wish I could get my girls to take German, but they think it is too "brute!" (It's really not!)
If they're still in print (although I can't remember the publisher) you might check out "Deutsch Heute" which was the text we used in college.
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nearby--the neat activities you mentioned. I'd love to have lots of neat art projects going, the speech and debate meets, special speakers, etc. That's very hard in our area!
I thought of Douglas Wilson because I went to the ACCS Conference in Atlanta this summer and heard an excellent talk by him about teaching kids to love classical education and its standard. It was very thought-provoking! However, I'm not Presbyterian, so I'm not very familiar with the rest of what he teaches. I just know that that particular message really stirred me!
Thanks for your input! Anyone else?
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how would you do it? This is something I daydream about a lot; mostly because I'd love to see a classical Christian school in our area. However, I have no clue how to begin one, because there's hardly anyone in our area who's even heard of it, let alone is interested in it!
Anyway, I'll describe my "dream" school:
K-12th grades:
Kindergarten - Half-day kindergarten; plenty of emphasis on phonics, pre-writing skills, early arithmetic skills, art, music, and play. Kids go home to nap!
Grammar Stage:
English: I'd love to see a combination of R&S Grammar, coupled with the chants from Shurley Grammar (if this wasn't overkill).
Writing: IEW
Spelling/Phonics: Not sure! :confused:
Math: Perhaps R&S math, or Abeka (what we've used), or Modern Curriculum Press (not familiar with the latter, but I know it's the choice of some classical Christian schools)
History: SOTW combined with VP History cards and songs
Literature: Combined with history, similar to what VP uses or else Highlands Latin School (their summer reading list)
Science: BJUP or Apologia Exploring Creation series (though I'm not sure how adaptable these latter would be for classroom use).
Art: A good art teacher! Art history instruction with VP resources
Music: Same as above! A good music teacher, with an emphasis on classical music and hymns through the ages.
Logic & Rhetoric:
English: R&S Grammar; more diagraming, writing, etc.
Writing: Continue with IEW; begin writing more about history and literature
Vocabulary: Hopefully by 6th grade the spelling could be dropped; by 7th start Vocabulary study with Vocabulary from the Classical Roots and Wordly Wise.
Logic: Perhaps start with Introductory and Intermediate Logic by Jim Nance in 7th-8th grades; then move into Traditional Logic I and II by Martin Cothran in 9th-10th grades.
History: Need suggestions for Logic-stage history! Omnibus I a possibility, but I would use selected readings. Rhetoric level students could do most of Omnibus
Literature: Couple literature readings with history! Same as above---Omnibus I starting perhaps in 7th grade, but selected readings. Rhetoric level students could do most of Omnibus.
Science: Apologia.
Math: Lial's series; Jacob's Geometry?
Teachers:
If I could hire any teachers, I would love to have the following:
1. Andrew Pudewa teach grammar and logic stage writing; Susan Wise Bauer and Cindy Marsch teach rhetoric level writing.
2. Dr. George Grant and Douglas Wilson teach theology, philosophy, ethics
3. Matt Whitling teach one of the grammar-level classes
4. Martin Cothran teach his Traditional Logic series
OK, these are all pipe dreams! Oh---and one more thing: on the website for Highlands Latin School, I found a very interesting note, something to the effect is that when parents visit the school campus they will note the absence of social cliques. That's something I'd love to see happen in more schools, period!
So----what are your dreams for a school? Or, would you continue on with what you're presently doing now?
:)
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candidates! The pickins are pretty slim! :D
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because our homeschooling group has dwindled away. :( This has made the past couple of years difficult, so we're looking for other options for our dd's. This decision is also because of my dh's heart problems, which were diagnosed last fall. I'm glad to hear many of you have a good group!
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Unfortunately, you are caught in the middle: you love your husband and your mother both. However, I agree with the others---it sounds like your mother, as dear as she is to you, is the source of much of the strife. Can you find other living arrangements for her? You could still visit her, of course, but you have tried your best to have her live with you, and the situation just isn't working. It's a difficult choice, but you need peace in your family again.
My prayers are with you for a peaceful resolution to this difficult situation.
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a Dyson as well. I have never owned a better vacuum cleaner! We have 3 kids and 3 pets, and it cleans up absolutely everything! It's safe for the wood floors (with an attachment) and works great! When we first bought it, my husband and I were continually amazed at how efficient it was. Our version is the Dyson Animal.
HTH!
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very valuable, and unless you are the official babysitter, you need to be with your children at that time. It sounds like you've been very giving so far!
I find that with appointments (doctors, dentists, etc.) that the receptionists often don't value my time! I know this sounds nit-picky, and I really do understand that they have many, many people that they have to schedule in a busy workday. However, I do get a lot of comments like, "Oh! Well, you homeschool, so you could come in during the schoolday!" I usually agree to come later in the afternoon (i.e., maybe between 2 and 3 p.m.). That way, they've fulfilled their obligations to get those daytime appointments in, and I feel better, knowing that the bulk of my schoolday is over by then. (The peevish side of me feels sometimes like retorting, "Would you ask a schoolteacher to abandon her class to come to this appointment?" I don't though; that wouldn't be very nice!) :)
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Lial's as early as 6th grade (perhaps even earlier, if your dd is advanced) and start with BCM, then move into Introductory Algebra. Make sure they're ready for Intro., though; it's not that difficult, but some kids "hit the wall" when it comes to Algebra. For my girls, I'd rather they really understand what they're doing before starting Algebra.
Both my oldest and middle daughter did BCM in 7th grade, and then Intro. in 8th grade. After that, I would recommend geometry, followed by Intermediate Algebra.
HTH!
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dh this fall; he was diagnosed with an enlarged heart and had to have a defibrillator implanted in his chest. All is well, now, but we have to watch his diet, exercise, etc., so much more closely than we did before.
I will pray for you and your dh! (((Hugs)))
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in fact, I'm just figuring out the "system" now!), it would seem more appropriate to send that individual a Private Message, if there was something that they posted that another individual strongly disagreed with.
I can see where the positive rep. thing can have its benefits, but I think I'm going to leave negative reps alone and try to focus on the positive. If I have a strong difference with an individual, I'd rather "talk" to them privately about it.
Just my .02 worth! Overall, though, I'm getting used to these boards; it was a bit difficult for me at first!
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be life after this, right? I just kind of wish God had given us an "on-off" switch instead of this draining, lingering malaise we suffer! (I probably shouldn't question the Almighty; I guess He knows what He's doing, right?:D)
Thanks again!
Blessings,
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OB-GYN nurse practitioner also said he had a good reputation. I tried the progesterone cream for a while, and for a while it did really work quite well; my headaches were virtually eliminated. After a while, though, it seemed like I started getting two periods a month again and started getting headaches again! :confused: So, I stopped taking the progesterone cream because I didn't know what was going on with my body. I did try experimenting with using less, or trying to adjust the doses in some way, but never could figure out what I was doing wrong.
If you have any suggestions, I'm certainly open to your advice! Thanks for responding! :)
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my body back again, so to speak! The headaches, the frequent periods, etc.---they're a pain!
Thanks for the nutritional tips, Deb, and for the website!
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Two weeks ago it was . . . that time of the month. Now, two weeks later---again! :( I'm 47 years old, and I know that I'm close to that age when all these bodily functions start changing.
I woke up with a whopper of a headache, which I thought was a sinus headache (due to all the recent storms we had!) I took ibuprofen and rested as much as I could, but it lasted all day until the evening. I'm trying to deal with these headaches with good nutrition (as much as possible), and have found that drinking extra milk, taking extra calcium/magnesium tablets, potassium supplements, and eating bananas all help just before my period starts---but this one yesterday took me by surprise. Has anyone else struggled with this? If so, how do you cope? Can you recommend any good books or websites that I can check out that can help me manage all these changes? Thanks! :)
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so now we have the 6th edition. Then---we switched to World History: A Human Odyssey, which was a better fit for my then-7th-grader. They're very similar, and yes, I believe he does come from a more evolutionary viewpoint (in the beginning chapter) but I don't usually let that bother me. I can always use that as a jumping-off discussion point for the kids while we're reading it. Mostly it's fairly balanced; every once in a while he ventures into historical opinion, but I think most historians do, and I tell the kids when I disagree with a particular perspective.
We'll probably use Western Civ. next year; if we don't, I'm keeping the books anyway, because they are beautiful! :)
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but my youngest still needs some help in some areas, and I have to do Omnibus with my older two (the discussions require it) plus they need "prodding" with writing.
If your 11-year-old is independent, go ahead and let them work as independently as they can manage, but I would still check their work daily and make sure they're staying on track. "Trust, but verify." I don't know where I heard that, but that's how we've tried to do school here.
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burnout, as you've described. The past couple of years have been very difficult on me, and this past fall my husband had a health crisis (diagnosed with an enlarged heart---he's now fine!)
Anyway, if I were you (which I'm not) I would tweak TOG to suit my own needs as much as possible. We use Omnibus II, and I can tell you I definitely don't do all of Omnibus! Some ladies on these boards do, and do it quite successfully, but I felt it would be too much for my and my dd's to tackle all of it. So, I pick and choose among the books to read. Try to make your programs work for you, not the other way around. And remember, your children will be fine and they'll still learn what they need to learn.
Since you're getting back into homeschooling, try to schedule days off for you and the children. I haven't done it for a few months here (:() but I've learned it's necessary for all of us. The public and private schools do it at least once a month, so I decided I needed to do that, as well. Schedule a day at the park, the zoo, the science center, or just stay at home and catch up on stuff, or make popcorn and watch your favorite movie. These all help to "bust" burnout! You need to keep yourself level and sane, so do these things for yourself and your family to keep the boat afloat, so to speak!
I may be sending a couple of mine to school next year. It's not what we really want to do, but after my husband's health crisis, he feels that I ought to look at going back to school and getting the master's degree that I've talked about for so long. We're not frightened about his current health right now, but he seems to feel it strongly, and we both believe it's wisdom to think ahead for our future. Plus, our homeschool group has changed, so my dd's don't have nearly as many social options as they used to. So, my oldest, who will be 16, will most likely take at least a part-time load at our local community college, and my middle daughter may go to the high school. We're not sure yet about the youngest. But---things change, and our situation has changed, so we're trying to look at the "big picture" of what's best for the whole family.
Blessings to you and your family as you get back into the swing of things. Pace yourself, don't heap blame or condemnation upon yourself, and just try to take a deep breath and take one day at a time! :)
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is so difficult for so many people. That has to be terribly stressful. We have good friends who have been trying to sell their house forever. I will pray for God to open up a good place for them.
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and your healthy recovery. God bless! :)
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We prayed last night for you and your dear family. Check in with us soon and let us know how you are! ((()))
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They have such a great attitude, but I'll pray that God will help them find a new home and help them through this trial.
Heath Ledger's funeral
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I did not see Brokeback Mountain, but it grieves my heart any time I hear of such an early death. I'm not a big celebrity watcher, either, but it does trouble me that some of them have such tremendous success on the one hand, but so little personal peace on the other hand. :(