MSNative
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Posts posted by MSNative
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Wow. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, esp. at a Christian school. That is def. not right. Thank you for sharing it though.
Apryl, I agree with you that people expect newcomers to reach out to them, not vice versa. I found that when we moved here and I'm sad to say that as I've gotten busier thru the years, I've fallen into the same bad habits.
We are so looking forward to camping, hiking, kayaking and rock climbing. Kinda hard to rock climb in the corn fields, kwim. :)
Thanks for the great info. Please keep it coming.
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FYI - homeschooling and having your house on the market are two mutually exclusive things for me at this point. How does anyone do that? I feel like I spend all day cleaning up. We get maybe 3 hours in on a good day. So ready for someone to just buy this house already! Whoops, where did that whining and venting come from? Sorry. :)
On to the next question - what do you wish you'd known before you moved to (or near to) Knoxville?
Thanks!! Jackie
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Thank you for all the great info!! I can't wait to get our current house on the mkt and get to the fun part of looking for our new home. I appreciate all the help!! :) Jackie
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Hi,
We are very excited to be moving to Knoxville in two months. I'm planning a house hunting trip in two weeks. Anyone have some good recommendations of places to live? DH will be working downtown. We'd like something within about a 30min. drive and on an acre or more.
Also, I'd love recommendations about any homeschooling groups.
TIA!! Jackie
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Please, please tell me that was just a joke. If not, yikes.
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I definately agree. Their are two many of those. I wish peeple would chose to proofread. (yes, tongue is firmly in cheek on those errors above. Any below I will blame on poor typing or a wild two year old.)
What about the grammar errors? Any favorites that drive you bananas?
"he thinks he's better than me" or "Joe, Jim and myself are going...?" or "We don't have no apples."
Arghhh
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This article was a little shocking. Here are a few excerpts.
"Because so many people in their teens and early 20s are in this constant whir of socializing—accessible to each other every minute of the day via cellphone, instant messaging and social-networking Web sites—there are a host of new questions that need to be addressed in schools, in the workplace and at home. Chief among them: How much work can "hyper-socializing" students or employees really accomplish if they are holding multiple conversations with friends via text-messaging, or are obsessively checking Facebook"
"More schools are now allowing students to use their cellphones between classes, or even as a learning tool in the classroom. Some teachers are having students text their friends during classes to share feedback on what's being taught. The mantra among educators who try to be enlightened: It's no longer about attention span. It's about attention scope—being able to concentrate on many things at once."
So many things spring to mind. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this, too.
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I have not signed my kids up for one of the classes, but a good friend of mine had her son in one. They were very pleased with it. In fact, she has signed him up for two more courses next semester.
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I just ran across this and am interested also, so I'm bumping it up. Looking forward to reading the responses.
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We also do a mix of MUS and Singapore. I think of MUS as giving you the tools and Singapore makes you figure out how to use the tools. MUS teaches the concepts solidly and my kids can rewatch any lesson if they don't get it. He presents it much more clearly than I do. Singapore didn't work for us for teaching, but it is fantastic for applying what we've learned and stretching our boundaries some.
Both are very cheap, so I'm content using them together.
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I feel like I just asked this question, too. Multiply your problem by two and throw in a rampaging two year and you have my house exactly. I concur with the advice of no electronics on school days.
I also got great advice that has worked - a homeschool conduct contract. Basically it's a set of rules that you write. Your kids read and sign it. None of the rules are necessarily difficult, just good attitude, do best work, do not rush through, etc. I started this last week adn it has helped.
Lastly, I'm trying to combine more of our schoolwork. Writing bible verses and grammar exercises are our dictation and handwriting work. My kids think it's a perk because they "get out of" doing the dictation and handwriting official work. I can correct and nitpick and they are ok with it because they still think they are getting a good deal. It has worked wonders on their attitudes - and handwriting.
Good luck. I'm also excited to read other posts and learn some more!!
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Methinks Bill is missing out on a business opp here. Perhaps you should become a Cuisenaire sales consultant. With just one post you made at least three sales.
FYI - I second MEP. We heard about it a few month ago and love it. :)
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We say the pledge at home (not daily) and once a week at a co-op. We come from a very military family--almost all males have served--and I was in the Reserves for about 10 years. We also go to Memorial Day parades, 4th of July parades and show our love for this country every chance we get. We went to Washington DC last summer and watched the changing of the guards at Arlington. I want my children to be appreciative of the sacrifice of those who came before them and the freedoms they enjoy. We listen to patriotic songs like the National Anthem, America the Beautiful, and Hail to the Chief as well. For me, it's about respect--especially at sites like Arlington National Cemetery. It's hard not to get teary-eyed at a ceremony with grizzly old War War II vets saluting the flag as they too get teary-eyed. I see nothing wrong w/paying tribute to a symbol of our freedom--esp. when I see the image of the Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima or the firefighters at the site of the WTC bombing.
Laura
:iagree: I could have written this post (though not as well). We also come from a very military family. My kids go up to veterans and soldiers, shake their hands and thank them for their service. I can't tell you how many times I've had one of the veterans tell me that it was the first time they've been thanked. :(
To all veterans, soldiers and their families - thank you for your service and sacrifices.
I agree with the poster who said that she says the pledge in honor of the ideals of this country - not some of the realities. The USA isn't perfect, but no country is. I do believe that it was founded on some pretty incredible ideals and principles, though. I respect and treasure those.
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Ever have one of those moments when you feel like the least productive homeschool mom in the world? Can y'all come homeschool me?!!! :)
We do Latin and Spanish. I think your proposed schedule sounds good. I would suggest one language a day though. That helps us. If I do two in one day they start to get a little confused.
Hobbes will be working on his fourth in the autumn. Currently it works like this:The boys do about an hour of French first thing each morning - I teach them, then they usually complete an exercise. We also do about an hour of Mandarin together at some point in the week (we just pick a time that suits us). In addition, they attend Chinese community school every Saturday afternoon for two hours.
Hobbes does Classical Greek twice a week, for half an hour each time - usually on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. One period is spent on memorisation. During the other, we work together on new material/exercises. Our pace is deliberately slow, as he has a lot on his plate and there's no obvious next Greek programme for him to move on to after this.
Calvin does Latin whenever it suits him. He does around two or three exercises a week (down from four - he has a very full schedule at present). We do English to Latin translation orally together. He does Latin to English on his own.
Best wishes
Laura
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We have used Art Basics for Children. Very good for learning about art skills. I recommend it highly.
We also use Mark Kistler online. My kids love it. He teaches how to draw all sorts of different things in a very fun way.
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I just wanted to say that I think this is a difficult topic, but one that is obviously quite interesting to many of us. These are difficult questions and anwers. I appreciate everyone taking the time and thought to respond in thoughtful ways. Please remember that electronic communication is imperfect. It is easy to misread people's motives. Let's all try to assume the best about the other posters' intentions. That way we can keep the discussion and learning open - and isn't that what we all want?
Thank you again to everyone for sharing their thoughts and knowledge.
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I've been following WTM for three years. In the beginning, I was fairly flexible with it. We didn't do everything that was suggested. When it came time to evaluate the year, I found some holes. Wouldn't you know, when I reread WTM, I found that had I followed it more closely, the holes mightn't be there.
For example, when my kids were younger, I didn't have them keep a reading notebook. They loved reading and did it just fine, so why bother? Then one night my husband asked one to tell him about the book he was reading. My son was all over the place trying to recount even just a brief summary. He just couldn't organize his thoughts.
After that, I started paying a lot more attention to the recs in the book. It has helped keep our school work more balanced. I still wouldn't classify it as "rigorous" though. My kids spend a lot of time reading, being read to, exploring, etc. Except for spelling, they love it. (can't blame that on SWB or WTM) :)
I'm not saying that you have to be a slave to the book. However, take time to think about what each suggested activity is trying to accomplish. Then you can make a more informed decision about whether to do it, ignore it or put it off til later.
I sure hope some of that made sense. Must find caffeine...
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The kids learn the names and then we learn selective dates. Basically, if it's someone they'll run into a lot - Eliz I, Henry VIII, etc. I made them learn the dates.
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Thank you for the very informative and thoughtful post. I enjoyed reading it and learning more. I would like to ask a question that I hope will be taken as just that - a question, not an accusation.
You stated :In particular, the abject falsehood being propagated, that Muslims somehow worship a different God in 'Allah', than that of the God worshiped by Jews and Christians.
If all three groups worship the same God, then why do Muslims perceive Jews and Christians to be infidels? I don't mean that in any pointed way. I'd really like to understand what is the critical part in worshipping the same God that moves you from the infidel category to the faithful.
Also, I have never heard that Muslims were awaiting a Messiah and certainly not in the form of Jesus. I am intrigued. Can you direct me to any resource where I can learn more about this?
I have to quickly share that I am so excited about this post. We had a guest speaker at our church just a couple of weeks ago. He was from Syria and worked for the Crescent Project. He shared stories about the people he knew and how beneath all the differences we see, we're all God's creations - looking for hope, love, answers to life's big questions, etc. He then challenged us to go out a invite Muslims to our homes, playgroups, whatever, just to get to know them. Hopefully, if more people are willing to take the time to learn more about people than what we see on CNN we can break thru the animosity that seems to be growing.
(sadly, that animosity seems to be growing between all sorts of different groups. Boo.)
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You are not at all the worst mother. FYI - have you ever noticed that when you feel that way, you are probably doing something right? Teaching your kids to be giving is incredibly good.
It's also hard. A few ideas - try getting him excited about what he could get his grandparents and friend, rather than just the concept in general. Also, you can discuss how happy it would make them, how much they mean to him, etc. Get him thinking beyond himself.
Moving beyond that - is there a charity or non-profit that he might be interested in? Research it, get him researching it and seeing what sorts of tangible things can be done with his donation. The more he realizes that he is doing something good, the more likely he may be to part with some of his cold hard cash.
Hang in there. You are doing the right thing trying to grow a giving heart in your son.
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I'm noticing lately the my children's work is getting sloppier and that they are needing a little (or big) push. I'm also realizing that I need to reign in the old homeschool. I'm getting way to lax in what I am accepting and expecting from my kids.
What are the rules of your homeschool? To what standards do you hold your children? How do you enforce these? On a related note, what do you do to inspire your kids to achieve, explore, learn and work harder?
TIA!
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moved to general board. Sorry. :)
I'm noticing lately the my children's work is getting sloppier and that they are needing a little (or big) push. I'm also realizing that I need to reign in the old homeschool. I'm getting way to lax in what I am accepting and expecting from my kids.
What are the rules of your homeschool? To what standards do you hold your children? How do you enforce these? On a related note, what do you do to inspire your kids to achieve, explore, learn and work harder?
TIA!
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I haven't used AIG so I can't answer that part.
We are creationists, but I started teaching my kids about evolution around 1st-2nd grade. Their friends were learning about it and I wanted them to be knowledgable.
I tried to teach them Darwinism the same way I teach other subjects. We went back to original docs - Darwin himself - and read what the man himself said. Darwin mentions some problems with his own theory - primarily the lack of transitional fossils when there should be millions. We then investigated that to see if any had been found, etc.
I focused on the fact that reasonable people can disagree on this and that they can debate respectfully. (Seems to be working. Overheard them discussing with evolutionist buddy and they were all very calm and sharing)
:)
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We like Pioneer times. My kids and I devour any book about pioneers. Fun to imagine what life was like then.
We also like Colonial times. It is amazing to think of what the colonists risked to get here.
Moving to Knoxville - seeking advice
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Wow! Lots more rules homeschooling in TN. So, in a spin off, do you use a CRS? If so, which one and why?
If you don't, does the DOE interfere or are they fairly laissez faire?
Thanks!!