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mom2att

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Everything posted by mom2att

  1. Dh grew up in a small town in Alaska. After one year of college there, he transferred to Indiana University on a whim. Never having gone to church growing up, one of the first things he did upon arriving in his new college town was look in the phone book for a church. He chose one at random, based on the unusual name of the pastor. He walked into the Sunday morning college class, sat in an empty seat, and looked at the guy next to him. It was a friend of his from high school. Coincidentally, or providentially, as I like to think, that was the church I grew up in. We got married in that church 7 years later.
  2. I had this come up recently when a casual friend had surgery and was hospitalized. I kept up with her via text but did not even think about visiting, because if it was me, I would want privacy--I'm in pain and recovering, leave me alone. After she was home she expressed disappointment that no one had visited her in the hospital BECAUSE she was in pain and it would take her mind off it. So completely opposite of what I would want. She is a total extrovert and I am a total introvert, so I suppose that explains a lot of it, but I was still taken aback that she wanted people there while she was in pain. I have never been hospitalized outside of childbirth, but unless I was dying I wouldn't even want my family there. I have a phone--I'll call you if I need you.
  3. To both of the previous posters: Consider psych testing for the purpose of getting a diagnosis that can help your student get accommodations. If the student is able to do the work but takes an amount of time that goes way beyond what is expected for the average student, there's a good chance there could be issues that will earn accommodation. I don't mean goofing off and just not doing the work, but spending hours and hours working diligently and doing the work well, but just moving at a pace that is beyond slow. I have one like this and two that are neurotypical--for my child with learning challenges, it is NOT just that he's dawdling, he is working his hardest but it just takes him a million times longer to stay focused and get through the material. For my student, the issues are processing speed, working memory, and ADHD. He has a diagnosis from a psych, and from there we have gotten SAT accommodations for extra time, which made it possible for him to get a decent score, though he still struggles with the math (working memory issues and higher level math do not make a great combo!). Fortunately, mine is a super hard worker--he has to be. I know he will go far because of it. It sounds like both of your kids have high goals and are willing to work hard--the right diagnosis/accommodations will help them achieve their goals. Just like a kid with poor eyesight needs glasses to accommodate vision, some kids need extra time to accommodate processing or attention issues. In the absence of learning challenges, sometimes it's a matter of instruction in time management, for which someone to help with planning for awhile can really be beneficial--you have this many assignments this week, how are you going to break them up so you have enough time for all of them? How can you work in downtime as well? Don't forget to study for that test! I know folks for whom the passage of time is an enigma--they can work on something for an hour but think it's only been 10 minutes. In this case, a schedule and an alarm can be very helpful. It's not always easy to get on the right track and make time for everything, but it is helpful to look at time as a limited resource of great value. Hope this helps. I certainly understand where you're coming from!
  4. We meet weekly for 2 hours of classes. Families are required to either teach or assist for one of the two hours. We have a few paid teachers that we bring in for specific classes, but most of the classes are taught by member families. We are a large co-op that has been meeting for many years.
  5. My son has SAT accommodations. He was evaluated by a psychologist just prior to his freshman year for the specific purpose of getting accommodation recommendations on record. He had been evaluated earlier, but not formally diagnosed. The psych conducted a number of tests, but probably the WISC-IV and the Woodcock-Johnson III were the most helpful in pinpointing why accommodations were needed. The results indicated deficits in the areas of processing and working memory, which definitely required accommodation. In addition to the testing paperwork and the psych's diagnosis and recommendations, I also submitted ways that we had accommodated the difficulties in our homeschool. I gave specific examples from various classes, including virtual programs and co-op classes, in addition to what we did at home. I had a co-op teacher write up a short letter of her observations of my son and how extra time would benefit him. All in all, it took about a month after submitting all of the paperwork for the accommodations to be granted. Testing would have been a disaster for him without them, so it was definitely worth the effort. If your son is an 11th grader, you need to start the process immediately (and hopefully have a psych office that can expedite the process--ours took months). Good luck!
  6. The second, and I have actually taught it because ds has a name that ends in s. So we have Thaddeus's rather than James's. But same idea!
  7. Fascinating. My interpretation of this cliche has always been something along the lines of focusing on the details to the detriment of seeing the big picture. Not a personal insult, just an observation that the perspective is different than it seems.
  8. Kudos to you for taking on this responsibility. I've been in homeschool group leadership for many years, and it's been a very rewarding journey. A heck of a lot of work, but worth it nonetheless. That said, I agree with the others about some kind of financial commitment. No skin in the game = no commitment, and homeschoolers are already flakey enough. I understand the library's policy--ours does that, too. Can you make it so the classes, specifically the events that are using the library, are free, but there is some kind of enrollment/registration fee? It seems you are trying to keep this really casual and not an official group, but IME belonging to something raises the commitment level and the spirit of community. So you make a small, informal group with the purpose of holding free classes at the library. Families interested contact you, receive a group agreement containing the items you've outlined, sign it to indicate agreement, and pay a $20 fee. At the end of the year have a party at the park where you spend the money on food for everyone. $20 isn't much, but it's way too easy to say, "We just won't go today, it's raining" when you've put $0 down on the experience. I love expectations in writing, and yours are good, but perhaps too wordy (and I'm the queen of wordy, so I ought to know). How about: *Families must commit to attending each week. *Families must attend all classes, not just those that interest them. *Completion of outside work is expected--students must come to class prepared. *Classes are for K- 2 students ready for a classroom environment. If your child is not ready, don’t sign up. *Families with children who have difficulty adjusting to classroom expectations will first be asked to have an adult stay with the child, then removed from enrollment if the situation does not improve. *An adult must stay on the premises at all times for liability reasons. We are not a babysitting service. *Class begins at _____ o’clock and ends at __________ o’clock. We expect prompt arrival and departure. *Disrespectful words and actions are not tolerated. *Families are responsible for providing their own books and supplies. *Communication is done via Facebook. It is the responsibility of the family to check it regularly for information and updates. *We reserve the right to discontinue enrollment if these expectations are not met.
  9. I second the Carl Angel-5. Bonus that it's red. Gives a super sharp point quickly, very sturdy sharpener, easy to operate.
  10. What Lori D. said is exactly how I would handle it. I read the post while I was out and was going to come home and comment with a very similar response, but since she already said it, I'll just go with "I agree with Lori D."
  11. We switched from AT&T (after10+ years) to T-Mobile this spring. We needed to add a 5th phone and just could not justify the cost with ATT. With T-Mobile, we are paying less for 5 lines than we were with 4 with ATT, and it's a better plan to boot. Not to mention that we just took a trip overseas and paid a grand total of $1 additional (made 2 phone calls--texting and 2G data are free with T-Mobile). This would not have been possible with ATT--you have to purchase an international plan with them. We were on a purchase plan for our phones with ATT--we just paid them off before we left and took them with us on the T-Moblie plan no problem. It's just a matter of new SIM cards, which were like $4 each.
  12. I love yellow, so bright and cheerful. My homeschool room is yellow with red accents, and it just makes me happy. To me a yellow front door says, "Welcome to my happy home." I bet it's perfect!
  13. Nostalgia, indeed. MP was a big part of my childhood, that and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Pretty sure I could sing through both soundtracks, since we played the albums over and over.
  14. I think a lot of depends on your major, too, and whether or not you need to get your gen ed requirement classes taken care of. My dd just graduated from our state U of 50,000 students. She was not in the honors college, but she knew from the start that she was majoring in Linguistics, plus she had most of her GE classes already done through DE. She was able to start taking classes in her major right away, and did not have any classes with 100s of students. Most were 20 or less.
  15. Ok, we did a very similar trip to this last summer. Took 4 days to drive there, seeing things along the way. Spent 6 days in southern Utah, a short drive from both Zion and Bryce. We drove to the North Rim, then the kids decided they wanted to see the iconic view of the GC, so we drove to the South Rim in the same day. I do NOT recommend this--I'm glad we got to see both, but the drive was killer. We saw Zion (did a few short hikes but mostly took the shuttle and walked around the various stops), we hiked down among the hoodoos in Bryce--and this was one of our favorites. We also went to Cedar Breaks in UT and Antelope Canyon in AZ. We spent one day renting ATV's and exploring the various trails around the area where we were staying--there was so much amazing scenery around, that was so worth it. But to answer the question--for us 8 days of travel for 6 days staying in one place was too much. We saw and did a lot, but for me a couple of more days on site in Utah would have made the trip more enjoyable and relaxing. And there was so much in Utah that we did not see--we stayed in the very southern part and did not venture up to Arches, though we would have like to. We ended up driving over 6,000 miles that summer. It was a long drive to get there and back, but we also put on over 1,000 miles just driving to the various sites once we got there. It was a fabulous vacation, one I'd do again if given the opportunity. Utah was absolutely stunning. We were there in June. This is where we stayed. It was a great location and a beautiful place. https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p305186vb?uni_id=305186
  16. I agree with HomeAgain--9 is young to master this, particularly for kids with executive function issues. I suggest one place to turn everything in when he is finished with it. Then YOU file it where you want it to go. And you may have to supervise the turn-in process for a while yet. It's more difficult than it seems for someone like him (I have one similar), so making things as simple as possible is easier on everybody, such as "when you are finished with your reading/writing/math/etc, put your paper/book/pencil on THE TABLE." Not in this folder or that folder, on that shelf or this one, just one specific, easy, always the same place. And prompt him a million times--if he's been reading and is now wandering around the house, ask, "Did you put your work on the table?" Trust me--keeping it simple will make it easier and less frustrating for everybody.
  17. I think you were right to refuse and that you explained your reasons clearly and objectively. It's great that she's excited about what she learned and wants to share it with you, but that kind of help is not what you need right now. Drop this off your guilt plate. You handled it well!
  18. I am a big fan of his and was looking forward to his return after a long absence. I am saddened to hear of this news--such a brilliant man, and apparently an all-around nice guy as well.
  19. You fill out the paperwork, pay the fee and file one time. After that, it renews automatically every 5 years, provided you have filed your 990 form every year with the IRS and kept your corporation status with your state (that's what will have an annual filing cost--ours is about $70/year). You need an EIN to open a bank account in the co-op's name. Liability insurance is what will protect you in the event that someone sues. The non-profit status is for tax-free purchases and fund-raising. I second the homeschool cpa website. She also has a book that his helpful. https://www.amazon.com/Homeschool-Co-ops-Start-Them-Burn/dp/0982924585/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525257580&sr=8-1&keywords=carol+topp
  20. You have gotten a lot of good advice, but having BTDT and felt the exact same way about surviving vs. thriving, I wanted to add that for me it was helpful to lower my standards and remember that thriving is a long-term goal, while a lot of times the day-to-day default IS survival. And that's ok.There were lots of days when my kids were small that it felt like mere survival, but now that they are bigger and even beginning to launch on their own, I know that we have thrived.
  21. My ds with various processing issues has done well with Math-U-See Geometry.
  22. Most kids don't naturally have the skills to organize their belongings and keep them orderly, nor do they have the natural inclination to do so. I like Garga's idea above of developing a system of organization and access so that everything is not out all of the time. That's kinda what we did when my kids were younger--I'm definitely an "everything in its place" person, so we had specific bins for specific toys (and we were not skimpy on toys!). The bins were stored out of their reach until they were at an age to manage the rule of "don't get a new bin out until you've put away the first" on their own. My boys were big on making "sets" with a variety of different toys, so there were exceptions to this rule all of the time, but only as long as they were willing to put everything away properly after. I will add that this meant I did a lot of cleaning and organizing alongside them for some time, because really, it's a learned skill, and some kids/people pick it up easier than others. I know plenty of adults who still struggle with it, and it's not for lack of being taught, it's just really hard for them--that's why "professional organizers" are a thing. Anyway, my point is to create a system and then help your kids stick to it. They really are young yet. As to the picking up stuff that is seemingly invisible to them, yes you have to keep drawing their attention to it. I think you can go overboard with this and drive them crazy by pointing out every little thing, but I don't think it's unreasonable to say to a kid, "Hey you dropped a candy wrapper there, please pick it up and throw it away," or "You left your dirty socks on the couch, please take them to the laundry basket." You'll have to repeat this process over and over, and sometimes you will just go ahead and pick it up yourself, but even if it's never important to them to keep stuff picked up, they will see that it's important to you.
  23. I list by subject on the transcript, not by grade, with a column indicating "Semester/Year Taken." Credits earned in 8th grade are listed right along with everything else.
  24. Oh please tell more, I was hoping for a trip report! I'm making a similar trip with dd in the near future, so I am all ears for any tips you can share! And Happy Birthday!
  25. Dd is a Linguistics major. The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences department under which she will graduate at her university requires 2 maths, 4 sciences (2 with lab), and 2 years foreign language. Plus a bunch of humanities.
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