KJB
-
Posts
746 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by KJB
-
-
Reality isn't the same beast as the romantic notion of Spot playing ball.
Getting a dog "for the kids" is a misnomer. You have to get the dog for you.
Right now, evaluate how excited they're going to be about Fido when it's below freezing and they have to pick up the yard. Or worse, the spring melt clean up, which tends to be chock full of surprises.
Dogs can be expensive, messy, destructive, loud, dangerous, and a nuisance. An "outside" dog usually gets little attention or training which intensifies the above negatives. Even a well trained dog is a big responsibility and burden.
They don't really want a dog. They don't know what it really is to have one. You do know. Don't get caught up in the dream. You don't sound as if you really want one. Just say no. They can have a dog when they have their own place.
(And I love dogs, ftr.)
-
My kids kind of pair up age wise.
I have a 12 and 10 as well as an almost 4 and almost 6 (and a baby with no closely aged sibling.)
My two eldest have been doing memory work together forever. They've learned tons of geography, the presidents, lots of poems, latin, music notes, prayers, and other stuff this way. They can rattle off tons of information from this project.
I have a basket of flashcards and lists that they work on together every day. Schools not done until they hit the basket.
My next two have just started with poems and spelling rules.
It's a cinch. Buy a basket, fill it with flashcards, have them memorize, reward them for mastering lists, poems, etc. When my kids master a list, I get them a treat and they recite for Dad. The treat keeps them motivated.
-
Writing With Ease: Because blocks are for castles
Writing With Ease: Because it's not supposed to hurt
Writing With Ease: It's just a process
Writing With Ease: Copy, Create, Communicate
Writing With Ease: Your child's happily ever after
Writing With Ease: One step at a time
Writing With Ease: Gradual writing development for students of all ages
-
Huh. Really?
Yep. Really. :D
'Cause what if the view someone else holds really is inconsistent or illogical. It's not my place to point that out. If I'm leaning that way, it's probably best to keep my big mouth shut. Live and let live, but secretly try to figure out what the deal is on an internet message board, that's what I always say. :lol:
Not that my friend's view necessarily is inconsistent or illogical, btw, but the possibility and the arguments I have for why it might be don't belong in her lap. IMHO.
If a view was less controversial (not politics, religion, anything else that causes trouble between friends from different walks of life) or I knew my friend would enjoy a debate, I might bring it up. I try not to talk religion or politics or anything people get emotional about unless I am certain the other person would enjoy the discussion.
Perhaps, you've had better experiences when asking friends about these types of topics. I've just seen them spiral into bad feelings too many times to go there with a woman I really like.
-
But i do agree to just ask them directly for their own reasons. One thing i do realize is that not every reason needs to be completely understood by other people ;)
Well, this is why I *don't* intend to ask them.
It just feels like a judgement to ask "Why will you let the kids watch Star Wars, LOTR, Escape to Witch Mtn., but not xyz?" And of course, what I really want to know is "Are your views consistent? Why some fantasy story lines and not others? And how to you make these decisions anyway?"
IMO, these are disrespectful questions better posed to a bunch of strangers on a message board. :lol:
I don't want to put this dear woman on the spot. If I were her, and some knucklehead asked me those types of questions about my parenting choices, I'd pass some kind of dip her way or something. :D
Nope. I'm satisfied with the answers I've been given here. It's just really food for thought for me. This particular family got me thinking about it, but I don't want to risk making my friend uncomfortable. They don't owe me any explanation.
To me, it's kind of like home schooling talk with non-home school people. I was recently at a function where a woman asked repeatedly if I had "researched" any of this home schooling that I was doing (that I've been at for coming up on 8 years, btw, longer than this woman has been a mother) and if I'd thought about my children's future. Ha. I was speechless.
I hadn't expected to discuss home schooling (another friend brought it up) and I didn't feel compelled to explain my "research" to some crazy woman at a cocktail party. It still makes me laugh. I don't feel defensive about home schooling, just sometimes a little overwhelmed at the enormity of what it would take to help someone else understand something totally off their radar. And so, I tend to give fluff answers and change the subject.
(In this particular case, my dh showed up and she shut up since she knows he's kind of a fancy-pants but didn't know he was with me. All of the sudden it was OK that I home school despite my poor penchant for discussing my research. :D Funny how that works.)
I point this story out because likely my friend hasn't prepared a speech on their choice for fools like me. I don't want her to feel like she has to in order to be my friend. Kwim?
Anyway, thanks again to all who offered some light.
-
Another question.
She has never taught before. She's willing (and excited) to try taking on a student. Does this impact your suggestion?
Thanks!
-
from a young (adult) woman with talent but no degree?
I don't think I should pay as much as I pay for our highly educated piano teacher, but I want to pay well so this young woman feels appreciated.
She's asked that I decide on "what's fair" and I'm not sure?
-
I just wonder how you figure out what's Ok if this is your viewpoint.
I wonder if aliens with "magical" powers (is it magic or just advanced science or...???) are different than a book with a fantasy world like HP.
I am not being critical of the viewpoint, I'd just like to understand it better as we have friends with this view and my daughter wanted to lend a book (Inkheart) to her friend. I stopped her, but I wasn't sure if it would have been OK or not. I really just didn't want to put her Mom on the spot, since I knew she didn't know much about the book, nor do I want to interrogate them on their particular world view.
After I stopped my daughter, I found out that the family allowed their kids to see the Return to Witch Mountain and I began to wonder.
I agree that probably they take it on a case by case basis (they've seen Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc.) There are wizards in LOTR, after all.
I just wonder what the litmus test for being acceptable is? I was hoping someone with a similar view could clarify. I don't want to ask my friend because I don't want her to perceive my question as a challenge to their family belief system. I love this family and wouldn't want them to be offended or feel defensive.
I realize no one can tell me what my friend's family believes and what they're position is, but I do find it an interesting view and I'd like to better understand.
Some of these posts shed light on what their position might be, and I appreciate them very much. Thanks to all!
-
do you allow books about aliens or extra-terrestrial beings?
Is it consistent to disallow one but be OK with the other? Is it that stories about aliens are science-fiction and not fantasy that make them OK?
Just curious about this. Don't want a debate about the rightness or wrongness of this viewpoint, just curious if you must disallow both to be consistent.
-
Garlic Press! It's the best one I've ever used.
-
Thanks for the idea.
I'm still interested in plain old flash cards, too, if anyone else knows of any!
-
I went ahead and registered and I'm awaiting approval.
I have looked online but I've yet to find a flash card generator with pictures of the countries. I've found lots of them with a country name on one side and the capital on the other, but that's not what I'm looking for. I wouldn't mind buying them if they are what I want. They don't have to be free....
Anyway, we'll see if they exist at your link. Thanks!
-
Anyone know where I can find geography flash cards for modern western Europe with the country picture on one side (or all of western Europe with the country blacked out) and the name of the country along with capital and a few facts on the other side?
I've got some great states and capitals flash cards like this for the US but I can't seem to find them for Europe.
I'm sure they're out there. Anyone know where?
Thanks!!
-
I think there were actually three riders and only one of them delivered the warning. Both Revere and the other rider were arrested.
Revere was an active participant in the Sons of Liberty and a patriot. He wasn't the only guy you could write a poem about, but he wasn't exactly irrelevant either.
Maybe his name sounded better in the poem? It's curious, isn't it, why he chose Revere and not the successful guy.
-
My son has the entire poem Longfellow poem memorized. He'll enjoy these resources!
Thanks!
-
might not be the same as what an adult woman applies the same definition too.
Some boys might find beauty in what you or I appreciate, and some boys might be able to see beauty in things I'll never understand.
I think it's human nature to appreciate beauty. In fact, I think it's one of Rene Descartes' proofs of God. (We generally agree on what's beautiful since we all had exposure to God as true beauty before we acquired human existence or something like that....college philosophy was a few years ago :tongue_smilie:)
OTOH, if you want anyone (boys or girls alike) to appreciate what you find beautiful, then exposure and example/mentorship are probably huge factors in encouraging a love of what you believe holds beauty.
-
I have heard from local friends is that their version of tracking begins too early. Kids are evaluated and tracked in fourth grade which many consider to be too young.
Once someone is set on a career path it's difficult (but not impossible) to change here. Friends of mine are envious of how easy it is in the US to career hop or open your own business.
One of our movers who moved us in when we arrived here was studying to become a truck driver when we met him 18 months ago. He had been a mover for around 20 years and had been trying to change careers for about half of that time. He recently came to our house again to move some things to storage for us and he'd just finally received approval to apply for his license to drive a truck. It took him almost ten years to be ready and able to apply for the license to change from being a mover to a truck driver. Part of what slowed him down was having to work in the interim to support his family, but a large part of his pace were the requirements of the state.
Think about that for a minute....
Also, you can't just hang a sign here and call yourself a baker, a seamstress, or a candlestick maker. You have to be licensed and to get a license you have to meet specific educational requirements. Having grandma's secret recipe and practicing at home to perfect your product won't be enough to get you licensed here to open a small business. Unlike the US where market forces might determine the success of your business, here the state decides if you can hang your shingle.
So, the fourth grade can be a really big year here. When I was in fourth grade I was learning to roller skate and dreaming of training dolphins for a living. I no longer roller skate and I have never trained anything (other than my children, lol) to do much of anything.
(I should add, you *can* study and test to enter college no matter how you are tracked, you are just at a disadvantage if you aren't tracked on the university path.)
-
I have a feeling (because I am woefully anti the "they're out to get us" mentality so I might be slow to take this seriously) that the buzz is from newbie home schoolers who are freaking out a little about home schooling in Germany.
However. At least one of the list members is a seasoned home schooler who has been here for awhile and she has mentioned the changes to the site. In fact, here is her post (edited to remove a portion which would be considered too political for the board):
This is interesting. Did they provide any explanation as to the
change? Also, did they provide you with a copy of the policy letter explaining
the change? (they have to have one, the decision has to come from someone higher
up than the office staff) I ask this because when I arrived in Germany in 1999,
I went to the DoDD school at the first place we lived to try to register my
daughter for just an art or German class (she was going into 3rd or 4th grade at
the time) I was told that DoDDS didn't allow homeschoolers to attend on a part
time basis or particpate in sports or use the library. The person told me it
just wasn't allowed. She did not refer me to the principal, nor did she give me
a policy letter stating this.
A year or so later, another homeschool family I met via the
homeschool group at the airbase in Frankfurt (now closed) told me that their
kids were taking certain classes of interest, such as art and band, at the
school there. Then I met a family in my town, Darmstadt, who had kids taking a
class or two at the school where I had tried to do the same the year or so
prior. When I asked how they were able to do that, we compared stories. What
it boiled down to, was that they insisted on seeing a policy letter stating that
DoDDs didn't allow kids to enroll for just a couple of things, or that you had
to register to use the library. Apparently it ruffled someone's feathers,
because their kids got in. Apparently there was a policy letter, you just had
to know to ask about it. But in my case, the school secretary was not
forthcoming with that information, probably in an attempt to just "shoo me
away" which worked, since I basically
didn't challenge her.
This was all about the same time that a commander of one of the
units was trying to "require" folks in his command to register with the school,
even though they were not going to use it. This caused a big stink, too. I
have a copy of that letter here somewhere, I wish I could locate it. It had
nothing to do with using the school for a class or two, he just wanted
"accountability" or whatever.
I went to the DoDEA website, and you can no longer find any
policy letter there regarding homeschooling and a parent's ability to use the
schools for just a class or two, sports, library, etc. They have been removed.
There IS a page for homeschooling in areas where there are not any DoDD schools
and forms to do so. Are they trying to make folks think that we no longer have
the right to homeschool our own kids? Or are they just trying to refuse to let
homeschool kids derive any benefit from the schools, even though each of us pays
taxes to support these schools? We should be able to choose for ourselves to
what extent we want to use ( or not) the schools...(SECTION OMITTED HERE FOR POLITICAL CONTENT) Okay, enough. I will step down. But I am curious about the
removal of policy letters that were on that site just a few months ago. Does
anyone have a copy of them?
And be prepared that even though you have a son already registered
for any classes elsewhere, that could change over the summer, too. But let's
hope not. And I would be curious to hear if others who have used the school for
just a class or two have had similar experience for the upcoming year.
I have been planning on having my daughter take German at the high school this next fall and am now wondering if I'm going to have a problem. I need to contact the school again but I've been waiting until registration time at the end of this month to enroll her.
FWIW, my kids have never used the ps system and this will be the first time we've used any of what they have to offer. I hope this is just a bunch of hooey.:glare:
-
One concern I've read is that the policy you link in your post (DoDEA Memorandum) is no longer directly linked from the DoDDS site.
Instead, the only reference to home schooling is the handbook section, "DoDDS encourages families who wish to home school their children to communicate their desire to the local military community commander...."
The prattle on my list is that the wording of the memorandum is going to be changed. Of course, at this point it's only gossip.
If you don't mind, I'll quote your post on the list and see if it calms a few list members.
.
-
or are you going to make him find us for himself? :lol:
Enjoy your break!
-
Anyone heard anything about a change in the DoDDS policy?
I received this email tonight from a list I'm on:
"I don't know if this is at all schools or only KES, but the lady in the office today said it was DoDDS-wide. She said they will NO LONGER permit homeschoolers to register only for library and extra-curricular activities. I'm not sure how this will affect enrolling for specific classes--my eldest already enrolled for next year at the high school and had no problems, but they may or may not allow that at the elementary level."
I think KES is Kaiserslautern, but I'm not certain.
-
Have you seen Book Adventure? It is a site filled with reading comprehension questions and they give grade level on the books.
Also, here is a link that lists grade level for many books:
http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/
You can find hundreds of other such lists with a google search. FWIW, being able to decode at a high level would not mean being able to read at that grade level as the ultimate test of ability is reading comprehension.
To answer the bigger question, I have come to believe that for home schoolers grade level is only important for age based activities like scouts or sports. For academics, many home schoolers are all over the place. Also, you'll get some strange reactions and some bad feedback from other families if you walk around calling your 5 year old an 8th grader (not *you* but as an example).
I do believe that you need to think long range should you choose to allow your child to believe he/she is in a grade or grades beyond their age. When it comes time to take college placement exams, is it better to take those way early and compete against older children or to take them on time and compete with age mates?
If your child is academically competitive with much older children, they can take those tests *early* and receive "credit" for being a younger grade child taking a test intended for older children, kwim?
You can always accelerate curriculum, enter college early if that's appropriate, or whatever and still call your child an age appropriate x-grader for now.
(My eldest is 12 and a "6th grader" but she is completing her freshman year of high school this year. She's above and beyond the 9th grade in every subject except math and PE (0;. She was similar to how you describe your daughter when she was 5.)
-
I don't really care if my kids are up all night as long as they cheerfully (enough) get up in the morning.
If I'm hearing you, ds doesn't go to sleep right away so he comes visiting you after bedtime which leaves you and dh less kid free down time.
The solution at our house is stay awake as late as you want (as long as you get up at 7) but STAY IN BED. DD especially needs less sleep but as she progresses through puberty, her sleep needs seem to have increased.
In any case, when she was younger, we just enforced that once it was bedtime, everyone stays put (barring bathroom or maybe to pull a book off their bookshelf in their room). We were hard nosed about it and it was worth it.
Also, and I'm sure needless to say, the more exercise my kids are getting, the better they sleep. So, maybe a long walk after dinner but before bed will help him get to sleep faster.
Good luck! Evenings with kids in bed is one of my favorite recharging times of the day!
-
How's that for cross country? :lol:
We've also done Alaska to California and then across the country to Iowa where we took a plane to Maryland so we could fly to Germany. That trip took us about a month.
Military life is a strange and interesting beast but it certainly offers opportunities to travel if you're lucky.
Both of the above trips were done with a travel trailer. Our trailer was simple and not enormous but it fit the bill for our family. It was wonderful to have our clothes, meals, and a clean bathroom right there behind us. We cooked on the side of the road in many spectacular settings just because we could.
We made a point of stopping at everything that interested us along the way. We didn't have a set in stone plan but rather kind of winged it and stopped when we felt like it, which was frequently. We picked our route essentially by following the interstate system (which we've learned the hard way is usually the safest quickest route) with occasional side trips on highways in order to see something or stop somewhere.
The trailer offered us the opportunity to camp alone or at a campsite complete with amenities like restaurants and swimming pools. There are RV campground guides which list and star rate most campgrounds in the US. We didn't have a problem finding places to camp along the way.
Most nicer campgrounds cost anywhere from 15 to maybe 75 dollars a night. We could pull off and camp for free as an option also. The trailer allowed us to cook so our meal budget was the same as it would be normally. Gas was pricey, needless to say, and consumed the lion's share of the expense. Our trailer cost us $6000 and we sold it for that when we were finished with it.
Enjoy your adventure!
old
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
We tested at Thanksgiving time and had results by January 1st. It's so hard to wait sometimes! Especially when you need to make plans for next year and the results might help shape your decisions.
God Speed!