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Neige

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Everything posted by Neige

  1. Does anyone have recommendations for a good, solid music curriculum? I've seen Artistic Pursuits for visual art, and am looking for something similar for music. Not to learn to play an instrument, but to teach some music theory, composer study, music history, etc. Many thanks!
  2. Thanks! Just saw in the Used Curriculum Sale fine print on their site that strollers are allowed :) Phew! (It'll come in handy for carting book purchases around too, I'm sure!)
  3. I'm thinking I may go to HEAV just to shop this year but wanted to make sure - there won't be any issue with me bringing in a stroller, will there? I'll have my little one in tow. Thanks!
  4. Eep - 30% math, 38% reading and 16% math 30% reading compared to Singapore.
  5. Thank you, Sarah - those ALL look really interesting!
  6. Planning for the future, but I sat down with DH the other night to talk things over and set a direction. I'd always assumed we'd teach Latin at least, and maybe also Greek. I see it as an asset when understanding language roots (English, as well as others), spelling, and vocabulary/etymology. DH (who was a Classics major at university...go figure) does not. He thinks it's a waste of time. Help me change his mind? :)
  7. Nan - Interesting! I'm glad I'm not the only one! :)
  8. We've been the past few years (live in a suburb). I would metro in, honestly. You will probably, eventually find parking, but it is always a hike (and almost always further than the metro stop).
  9. I forget words all the time. I was raised bilingually (mostly English at home, all French at school). I learned to read/write in French, so there are still words I'll sometimes instinctively mispronounce (emphasis on the wrong syllable) when I read aloud in English. My mother speaks German, my grandmother speaks Latvian. I was sent to German school on the weekends when I was younger and there was always a smattering of Latvian words thrown in whenever we were around my extended family. I learned Spanish in high school, and Mandarin in university. Oddly, the "go to" language my brain reaches for when I can't think of a word in Mandarin or German is Spanish. No idea why. At home, I speak French and Mandarin with DS. DH speaks to him in English and Arabic. Our babysitter speaks Mandarin, and my mother speaks to him in German. We also sign to him still, which I think helps as it acts as a sort of "bridge" between the languages. I hope he turns out alright :)
  10. As the mother of a boy, and someone who has a very strained relationship with my own MIL, I would be very, very cautious if ever asked about this. I don't want to be the overstepping MIL that I've been blessed with. I'd like to be there to fully support my son and any future partner that he has, but I don't want to get in the way or in any way take over a parental role. If they both really, really wanted me to, of course I would (at least part time)...but I think a lot would depend on the situation. Again, though, it's just a particular sensitivity I have. It's been tough convincing my MIL that, in fact, *I* am DS's mother, not she.
  11. Family Schools Program invites you to their annual Used Curriculum Sale April 6, 2013 9am-2pm Covenant Life Church 7501 Muncaster Mill Rd. Gaithersburg, MD 20877 Bring your own bags, and see you there! www.familyschoolsprogram.org/fsp online/Events/Used-Curriculum-Sale
  12. Thanks. He's a pre-Ker. I think DH's thinking isn't exactly to have a plan we must stick to at all costs, but more a list of goals we work backwards from. So, for example, we want the kid to be able to swim competently by age 6 (or whatever)? Well, what age should we introduce him to swim lessons to achieve that? Whatever answer we decide on/research goes into the plan. I know, we're probably way over-thinking things.
  13. My DH and I are planners. We have spreadsheets for everything, lol. Recently, he's decided we need to have a plan in place for our DC's (entire) education. Not just schooling, but different skills and aptitudes we want to instil (e.g. survival skills, basic auto maintenance/repair, reading/following a map, knowing how to swim, etc.). I have definite ideas about which curricula I'm drawn to for the academic side of things, but recognize that we have to take it year by year as to what works for this particular child. So while I'm laying out on paper what I'd ideally like to do for school subjects, I know I may end up throwing it all out the window when we actually get to that point. I have no idea about how to incorporate non-academic pursuits. Nevertheless, DH wants a "plan," with some sort of timeline involved so that we know if we're on track to meeting educational and other goals. Has anyone done this? What did yours look like, format-wise? Many thanks! :)
  14. Banff is pretty touristy, but still a lovely place to visit. If you're out hiking or kayaking, it hardly matters what the village is like. There are some really great restaurants there too. The islands off of BC can also be touristy - depends on which ones you're looking to visit. Some are pretty isolated and therefore have fewer visitors.
  15. Actually, you can't even get them on Amazon UK. JK Rowling has exclusive rights, and the HP audiobooks are now sold exclusively through her Pottermore website. There are "geographical" restrictions on which version (US vs. UK) you can purchase through the site. That said, *ahem*, if you are in the US and want to buy the UK version *as a gift* for yourself (or your husband, or your kid) at an alternate email address, the UK download may just work :)
  16. Yes! He does the UK/Canada version ones (ie. Philosopher's Stone rather than Sorceror's Stone). They're excellent.
  17. Tim Curry is also great in A Christmas Carol. Also second (third? fourth? fifth?) Stephen Fry. Love the Harry Potter books he did. Oooh, and Rob Inglis - he does a great LOTR and Hobbit. Songs and all.
  18. Chocolate pudding? Maybe not the most refined, but almost always a crowd pleaser :) Or a fruit platter?
  19. I've had to leave a playgroup for similar reasons. I'm glad you posted, because I really had the "Is it just me?!" thought swirling in my brain at the time. In our situation, the mother wasn't just oblivious, she actively joined in on her son's behalf. Boys fighting over a toy? She was right there, playing tug-o-war against the other child to win the toy back for her son. It was unbelievable to watch a full-grown woman bullying a 3 year old. In a group of 5 moms, I seemed to be the only person who this annoyed, so I left. ETA typo - sorry!
  20. Acupuncture can help. As can chiropractic - getting everything all aligned so baby is in a good position to come out. Go to a chiro certified in the Webster technique, though. I agree re: using castor oil as an absolute last resort. It's horrid.
  21. Agree. From the muscle spasms in his arms it sounds like a simple partial (aka. focal motor or Jacksonian motor) seizure. Produces jerky muscle activity, but the sufferer remains awake and aware of what's going on - they just can't control it. Not full blown tonic-clonic, but can easily progress to one. (I'm an EMT.)
  22. I see these on ebay occasionally, though they're used.
  23. I love the narration on the LOTR audiobooks - forget the narrator's name at the moment, though!
  24. This is the case in Canada, as well. I did the IB Diploma program in high school not (too!) long ago. It was the most rigorous academic work I have ever completed, and I attended an Ivy-equivalent university and graduate school. I did 4 HLs: English, French A (1st language), Social and Cultural Anthropology, and History (European history focus option). I did my two SLs, Biology and Maths, in one year (exams at the end of Grade 11) in order to have time for my 4 HLs. Prepping for those last 4 exams (which themselves were each actually comprised of multiple exams over the course of several days) was incredibly stressful - ALL my university acceptances hinged on them. That said, the sense of accomplishment when they were done and passed was phenomenal. I got full credits for my first year of uni (so went directly into 2nd year, saving a year of tuition) and a scholarship. It was well, well worth it. I had wonderful, dedicated teachers - the program really attracted the best of the best PS teachers - many of whom I still have great mentoring relationships with to this day. Is it for everyone? No. I wouldn't discount it for STEM students, though. It's definitely possible to design a course program with a HL STEM focus. As for average scores, you do generally need well over the 24 minimum to get into a decent school, IME. I had a 40, FWIW. I think most in my class had around 36-40ish, and the majority went on to Ivy/Ivy equivalents, many with scholarships and a great deal of advanced standing credit. Oh, and I did have a social life! :) I danced competitively until the end of Grade 11 as well.
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