KJB
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Posts posted by KJB
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You have great ideas! I love the rice krispy plan and a pvc pipe would make an excellent spine!!
I would love to just buy the pan, but unfortunately we're overseas and ordering something often takes forever. (I ordered a Thanksgiving table cloth at the end of October that I finally got in January this year!) I'm down to the wire, anyway. I need to bake it tomorrow.
Thanks for the recipe! Super helpful!!
Want to just come make the cake for me? :lol:
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Thanks for the help!
I was thinking black licorice for the treads on his, what are they, wheels?
I'm mulling over the non-cake for everything besides the torso option. It's certainly a good thought. It would be much easier that way.
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I'm attempting to build the robot in the morning.
What would work well for the neck? Or how is that little neck supporting that big head??
Any other suggestions for this project?
(My cake will look nothing like this. :D)
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My daughter attended the Goethe Institute camp for three weeks of immersion last summer. We are in Germany, but the camps are also in the US. It was a great experience for her.
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I've decided to place my two younger children (almost 6 and just 4) in German kindergarten in the fall.
I am a little concerned about my almost 6 year old son. He's sensitive and a bit of a perfectionist. He's also kind of rigid with his expectations and he gets upset when he perceives he's being slighted even if that isn't the case.
I don't want to tell the teachers he may have trouble with the transition, but I wonder if I should. I don't want to set him up for failure but it might be to everyone's advantage if I give them a little heads up that he isn't the most easy going kid around.
Any suggestions about how to ease him into the transition?
Any tips on what to say to my kids to warn them what I'm about to subject them to? :D How do I tell them that they aren't going to understand at first?
Any other general suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
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I don't know if this will work for you but You Tube has lots of piano teachers with short lessons teaching specific pieces for players who don't want to learn to read the music themselves.
Check out this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JJ227tnBMU
(He's not the only teacher with videos. You can find more if you look around.)
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I believe that the birth mother has say in who adopts her child, if we're discussing an infant adoption. In that case, its her decision, and therefore whatever preference SHE has is what counts, period. As far as a social service adoption goes, I believe its what is the best fit for the child, as well as what the prospective parents are willing to accept, as far as race,age, potential exposure to drugs and alcohol, disabilities, etc goes. Far more goes into deciding placement of a child than gay/straight. There are hundreds of children available for adoption in foster care, waiting and waiting and waiting. Its never down to the wire here as to 'there's only one child left, who shall we place them with??'
I am sure there are people who are much better versed in how adoption works than I am. However, as a matter of law or state policy, my preference is that heterosexual couples should be favored in cases where other criteria place couples on even footing.
I will say again, I am in no way suggesting gays shouldn't be allowed to adopt or parent. I am fully supportive of anyone taking on this monumental task of raising little humans. And of course there is much more to the decision than sexual orientation, which is why I made a point of saying "all things equal".
And you're right, it isn't as if there's one child left, but there is a high demand for adoption of healthy infants. Many people look outside the US for adoption because of the relative scarcity of young babies.
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But a lot of marriages don't involve children anyway. Some people can't have them, or choose not to, or maybe they had children that are now grown and with lives of their own, so technically, the biological reason for their marriage is now over.
I'm not saying that children aren't an important component of marriage (got four of 'em myself), but I don't think this is the only important feature of marriage.
No question. I would be in favor of legalizing gay marriage if heterosexual couples were given preference in cases of adoption.
LOL. Boy, have I had that feeling recently.
But no worries, it was a reasonable position, argued calmly. :)
Thanks. I'm not outta the doghouse yet. :D
((KJB, ready to jump ship at any indicator of impending crisis))
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KJB, I disagree with you about homosexual parents being inferior in any way to heterosexual parents. That said, I feel like we have a shortage of people who want to adopt! I assume we can agree that a loving home of any kind is superior to none at all or an aborted pregnancy. I don't think allowing homosexual couples to marry and adopt is going to mean that there is going to mean that there is going to be a shortage of children for heterosexual couples to adopt anytime in the near future.
I also don't think that biology is telling us that homosexual couples are inferior parents. Although I'm glad that we seem to agree that homosexuality is about science and not about choices. But, I think the presence of homosexuality in humans and in animals is telling us that it is not in our species' best interest for all of us to reproduce perhaps to do a lack of resources or perhaps for other reasons.
You misread me. I am not saying an *individual* homosexual parent is inferior to an *individual* heterosexual parent.
I am saying that as a couple, a woman and a man function better to raise a child than two same gender parents. I can give things as a woman to my children my husband never will and likewise he imparts molding to my children as a man that I am unable to replicate no matter how much I love them.
And if same sex couples were intended to create and raise children, then logically they should be biologically capable.
And the question isn't rather or not gays should be able to parent. I wholeheartedly support gay adoption and gay parenting. I just believe ALL THINGS EQUAL (ie two couples, one gay and one straight all four excellent people) the heterosexual couple should be given preference for adoption.
Recognizing marriages legally removes that impetus.
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And most people marry because they love another person and want to build a life together. What's wrong with that?
Bill
In general, I agree with you here Bill. To respond specifically to this question, I'll tell you my concern.
IMO, marriage is an institution designed first and foremost to protect children.
My reservation about gay marriage centers around giving gay couples equal footing for adoption with heterosexual couples. If we acknowledge gay marriage and gay families as equal to or the same as traditional families, how then can we then give favor to heterosexual couples wanting to adopt?
I believe that parenting is best when a child has a woman for a mother and a man for a father. I will never ever be convinced that having same sex parents is equal to having a traditional family assuming all four potential parents are good people.
I am not against gay adoptions, either. I am sure many gay couples are excellent parents and wonderful people. I just don't think, all things being equal, a family with two same sex parents is equal to or better than a traditional one.
Legitimizing gay marriage says same sex couples and traditional couples are equally good for children; biology tells us otherwise.
Deep breathe. Hit submit. Await need to delete!
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Thanks for the link!
I've seen Paula's site before, but I always forget to look there!
Paula's integration of SOTW and CHOW might be perfect.
Thanks again!!
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Thanks again for helping me think this through.
We're Catholic, fwiw, but we don't home school for religious reasons. I am happy to use a spine from any faith as long as it's engaging, historically accurate, and doesn't bash Catholics too much. :lol:
I have A Child's History of the World (Calvert) and A Little History of the World but I don't think either will be as fun as SOTW activity guide.
Any suggestions?
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Thanks for your reply.
No, of course he doesn't remember from fours years ago. I barely remember from that long ago!
My problem is that he listens to SOTW almost daily *now*. He has all four volumes on his ipod and he listens to it while he plays, before he goes to sleep, in the car, etc.
He also listens to many of the books we've read aloud to complement our history because we have a large audio book collection. Of course, there are always more books to read.
My thought is maybe we should do a different program that starts with the ancients, but *I* loved the SOTW activity guide so much and I have all the projects planned out from when I did them with my older two that I hate to change.
The narration would be new since it would be his own. The projects would be fresh since he hasn't done them. The only problem would be he's really already familiar with the books. I wonder if I should use a different spine to give him a fresh look.
I'm just thinking about this. I can see benefits of repetition since my whole family has benefited from listening again and again.
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I am trying to get organized for the fall and I have a question for all of you who have older children and younger ones following in their siblings footsteps.
My two eldest children have done all four volumes of SOTW. They love the stories, of course, and we listen to the cds all the time. My third child is a rising first grader. He has listened to SOTW and dozens of other history related read alouds and books on tape. He is a read aloud junkie and listens to many stories as well as SOTW on his ipod constantly.
I had always planned to just repeat what I've done with my older two with my next set of kids who are the son I mentioned and his younger sister who is 4. Now, I'm not so sure it makes sense to do SOTW again since ds has already heard the books read aloud and knows by heart so many of the stories.
I could jump ship and do something else but I was really looking forward to a re-do since I'm lazy:tongue_smilie:. I kind of hoped schooling my younger two would be a no-brainer repeat. :D
I know in the big picture either a switch or redoing SOTW doesn't matter that much. It's first grade, after all. Now that I have middle schoolers I get that, but I'd still like ds's first grade to be as fun for him as my older two when we were using SOTW fresh and new.
Any thoughts? :lurk5:
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This book has entertained my 10 year old son for hours. It even comes with a selection of paper that can be folded for special planes.
http://www.amazon.com/Klutz-Book-Paper-Airplanes-Stillinger/dp/1570548307
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I agree that a lot depends on your spouse's job. My Dh is working constantly right now and even though we're in a fantastic location, we can't make the most of it because of Dh's position. We're also in the situation where dh's career is controlling not only his work life, but his social life, too. We have functions we have to attend almost weekly so instead of going on dates where we *want* to go, we're going where dh is expected to go. Sigh....
What makes a place great to you?
We've been to Offutt, Cannon, Scott, Eielson, and now Spangdahlem.
I really loved Scott since it's so close to St Louis. I thought St. Louis was a fantastic city with lots to offer. I loved all the free area attractions. It's located in Illinois where home school laws are great (no reporting, no testing, nothing to file) and the base itself is really nice. The base has three pools, a YMCA very close, lots of programs through the Youth center, a decent library, etc.
Oh, and I think Hickam and all AK assignments are considered overseas. Otherwise, Hickam or Elmendorf would be high on my list. We've visited Hickam while staying at the AF rec area in Hawaii and it's terrific. Some of the housing is on the water and the base is beautiful. We bought lots of delicious pineapple at the Commissary there. Elmendorf would be great, too. In fact, we're going on vacation to AK next week to look at some property so we can return there some day!
Are you PCSing?
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Dh and I are both certified. We used to dive frequently. Now, with young children, we don't get much time with the tank.
Where is Bonaire? Where is Sand Dollar?
It's great that your kids are old enough to join you!
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One of my sons used to run laps around our kitchen island and stop to read a word before running another lap.
My other son would hang upside down on the couch occasionally flipping himself into a backroll.
My girls both cuddled on my lap. With my eldest, I made the mistake of holding the book myself. With my other little girl who is still learning, I let her hold the book.
My children have all read early and read well.
For the pointing to a word, I have a few ideas for you:
1. you could rewrite the isolated word on a white board and then wipe it and write another after dd reads the particular word.
2. you could use a sharp pencil to point to the word in the book.
3. you could use index cards to rewrite the word (which is nice because then dd can hold the word and hang upside down if she likes) or move the card under the word
4. you could rewrite the word with alphabet tiles or just plain old pencil and paper
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Everywhere I've lived since I've had school aged children! We've lucked out so far.
Illinois, ALASKA (my favorite place to home school!), overseas under SOFA
If you're pcs'ing and haven't been to Alaska, it's worth it just for the home schooling, imo. (And it's a neat place to live anyway!)
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A few more:
1. Do you have a contract and may I see it?
2. What is your policy for missed lessons and your make-up policy?
3. Do you take the summer off?
4. Do you ever offer group lessons so your students get to know each other?
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Edited to Add: Forgot one of the most important ones (although it's omission wouldn't surprise my dh!): How Much??? And along with that, how long are lessons for my child aged ___?
1. Are you a member of the MTNA
2. Do you have a degree in music and/or education?
3. How many years have you been teaching?
4. What are your goals/expectations of your students?
5. How long should my student practice?
6. Do you offer performance opportunities?
7. Do you teach scales (and other aspects of technique, theory, performance) in addition to good music?
8. What techniques do you use for motivating a student?
9. Can *I* attend the lessons?
Oh and a good one for weeding out good teachers, imo, is to ask how students are expected to dress for recitals. The kind of teacher *I* want prefers the kids to dress up and look polished. Also, if the teacher doesn't expect the student to memorize their pieces for recital, I wouldn't be interested in them as a teacher.
Just a few off the top of my head.... I'll be back if I think of more!
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'96 Chevy Suburban with 192,000 miles
When we move back to the US, I'm getting a new car! This old girl (my first car bought *almost* new with only 15,000 miles on it) has served us well. :auto:
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I have five kids. After my first three, I considered myself a paragon of excellent parenting. My first three (and now my #5) were (and still are :D) practically perfect. They are compliant, well behaved, do what they're told, hard working, and the list goes on....
And then. My dear sweet #4 entered the world and shattered all of my self-proclaimed expertise. She's just a fire cracker and there's not a thing I can do to change her although I've tried. Lord knows I've tried.... (And now that she's four, she's finally become a smidge more reasonable and she does much much better than she used to, but we still have our moments.)
Personality and biology impact behavior much more than we parents of easy going children realize. You may think your kids are well behaved because of you, but I'm here to tell you your sample size may just not be big enough. Some kids are just *more*.
22 month olds are notoriously disagreeable and often difficult. They don't respond to logic. They aren't necessarily simple creatures that can be assuaged with just the right technique. And, ime, there's no way to insist (no matter how good a parent you are) that a 22 month old pay attention to an activity any longer than he is inclined. 22 months is still a baby.
Now, if he's still a monstro at 5, I say cut ties with your friend and feel free to let her know it's because her son set fire to your house or whatever. :D
For now, at least let her first baby adjust to the second and allow them to establish some routine in their lives as they deal with a new baby before you come down too hard as a friend. I might offer to babysit so your friend can get some rest since she is probably exhausted with the needs of a newborn and a demanding young toddler. I sure wouldn't feel comfortable changing my relationship with a woman I otherwise liked who's just having trouble adjusting to having two babies at once.
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I would board her. IME with our puppy, the training doesn't go away as long as you're consistent with her when you come home. We also have five children and when my Mom came when #5 was born, we boarded our pup just so Mom didn't have to help with the puppy as well as the kids. It was a good decision and she was very very happy to come home. Our puppy was 8 months at the time.
The socialization she will get at your vet's at her age will be good for her if they are well run. If you are ever in an emergency and need to board her, this will already be a tried and true option. She's with your very own hand selected vet who you already trust.
At the kennel where I occasionally board our pup they'll play with a puppy if you ask ($) and take her on extra walks to exercise her.
Anybody ever made a Wall-E cake?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I agree it's probably Oreos and either graham crackers or maybe butterfingers crushed up?