callapidder
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Posts posted by callapidder
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This will be my first time homeschooling high school. Since he's essentially an only, incorporating outsourced options with opportunity for interaction is important. This is all subject to change, of course.
Math: Geometry (Most likely AOPS just from the book. He has enjoyed AOPS Pre-Alg, Alg 1, Number Theory, Counting & Prob, so hoping this continues to work.)
English: Lit & Composition through Potters School
Social Studies: Civics & Economics, 1 semester each, still deciding on source/curriculum
Science: Biology (Most likely through our local Co-op)
Language: Probably Latin III through WHA
Electives: Health (probably Apologia?), and still trying to decide on another
Extra-curricular: Continue with piano. He's considering trying martial arts or adding saxophone as well. Various co-op "enrichment" stuff.
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I went on Friday. The following were completely gone: TP, flour, yeast, ice cream, pasta, rice, hand sanitizer, disinfectants, shredded cheese. These things were very low: eggs, paper towels and tissues, laundry detergent, milk, bread, sugar, oil, butter, chicken, ground beef.
I'm trying not to go often, but between purchase limits (which are good), shortages, and the fact that I'm also shopping for my elderly mother who has underlying conditions...I'm finding it hard to get what we need in one trip. For example, we needed eggs and so did my mom, but there's a purchase limit of one, and the only eggs left were the 6-packs. That's not going to go very far in this house.
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Don't show my 7th-grader this chart. He spends at least 6 hours/day.
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5 hours ago, Kuovonne said:
In his heart, Kyle is frustrated by his mother’s mood.
In his heart = prepositional phrase modifying “is frustrated”
Kyle = subject
is frustrated = simple predicate, action verb in the passive voice
by his mother’s mood = prepositional phrase identifying the agent of action, modifies “is frustrated”
She feels upset by the mess from the day’s work.
She = subject
feels = linking verb (not action verb)
upset = predicate adjective
by the mess = prepositional phrase modifying “feels”
from the day’s work = prepositional phrase modifying “mess”
Thank you! This lines up very much with what I was thinking.
For the first sentence, our answer key has frustrated as a predicate adjective, which I'm okay with. But then it has "in his heart" modifying "frustrated." If we classify frustrated as a PA instead of part of a passive verb, I think that prep. phrase should modify the verb "is."
For the second sentence, the answer key has "by the mess" modifying "upset" instead of feels.
Thank you again. I'm feeling less unsure of myself now. ?
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Usually, I love sentence diagramming and have no problem understanding it. But my son's current English class is making me second-guess myself.
Wondering how you would diagram this sentence (or just describe parts of sentence / what is modifying what):
In his heart, Kyle is frustrated by his mother's mood.
And if you'd like to do another one:
She feels upset by the mess from the day's work.
Thank you!
-Kat
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Bunny Kingdom https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/184921/bunny-kingdom
Today Logan (11) and I learned Bunny Kingdom, a game which has been sitting on our shelf for several months. I've been meaning to get it to the table, but it didn't happen until today.
At first glance, you might think this game is going to be light and "fluffy." After all, there are piles of adorable plastic bunnies, castles with towers, and amazing, cute artwork on all the cards. But then you get into it, and realize that Bunny Kingdom is rife with strategy, tension, and hard decisions. We had a blast!
In Bunny Kingdom, players are "bunny lords" seeking to build, expand, and connect fiefs throughout the kingdom.
Players draft cards in order to claim territories on the board, build farms and cities/castles on their territories, and tuck away cards that will earn them bonus points at the end of the game. It is played over four rounds, and at the end of each round, players score their fiefs based on "strength and wealth." Strength is represented by how many towers exist on the cities/castles the player has built in that fief. Wealth is decided based on how many unique resources each fief produces. Then at game-end, the bonus cards (called "parchment" cards) are brought out and final scoring occurs. The parchment cards allow you to score bonuses on a wide range of variables -- for example, how many carrots your territories produce, or how many territories you control along the edge of the game board, or how many separate fiefs you own. These bonuses can have a huge effect on scores and can launch a player in last place into the lead.
Our first game took us over an hour to play, but mostly because we were still figuring out how things worked. I think future games should come in around 45-60 minutes. I also think this game will play better with 3 than it did with 2. It was a strong game with 2 players, but the card-drafting was a little fiddly and it could also lean toward being a more ruthless game with 2 than with 3. Either way, we both loved it. I eked out a win, but not by much.
What we loved most:
- The artwork. Seriously cute and funny, too. The time we spent admiring the cards we got each round probably added to our play time. ;)
- The difficult decisions. Every turn, there was always more we wanted to do than what we were allowed to do. Choosing which cards to play was excruciating.
- The various ways to score points. The good news was, if one strategy just wasn't working, we could always switch our approach and pursue another path. The bonus card options really opened up opportunities to collect points in all different ways.
You can see a few pictures I took of our game HERE.
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I appreciate this thread. I need to get one this year (am actually late for my first one), but I have a bunch of dental work I want to get out of the way first. Not a fun year, but judging by this thread, the mammogram won't be as bad as the dental stuff, so that's something.
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I have a college freshman currently pursuing a history major. Although he is unsure what direction he ultimately wants to go, he is considering law school, teaching, and working as an archivist.
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DH, DS11, and I played Charterstone (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/197376/charterstone) for the first time last night.
In Charterstone, players are competing to earn points as they "colonize" lands, creating a unique, shared village. Charterstone is a "legacy" game, which basically means that as you play game after game, you are discovering new rules, new aspects, new goals, AND you are making permanent changes to the game. Because of that, I don't want to give any spoilers. Besides, every game is unique and depends on how each group makes decisions. I will say that as of our first game, we have already applied stickers to the board AND have written on various components in marker. It was a little stressful to me (not playing the game, but just making those permanent changes), but still a really fun idea.
Charterstone is essentially a worker placement game -- meaning, you place your little worker dude on a location, and then take the action indicated by that location. Through building and using locations, collecting and spending resources, and pursuing other goals, you earn victory points. There is a winner for each game, but there will also be a winner for the all-over campaign, which I believe lasts 12 games.
After playing 12 games, which is the game's "campaign," you are left with a board unique to your group's experience, which you can then continue to play with. You can also buy a "recharge" pack, flip the board to its other side, and do the campaign all over again.
After game 1 last night, we found ourselves having just gotten the hang of things, and eager to play more. Unfortunately, my husband is traveling for work this week, so the next game will have to wait for the weekend, but we are excited at the prospect of seeing how this game plays out. This is our first legacy game, and I really think we'll love it. My 11-year-old caught on easily as well. The game says age 14+, but that is more related to game/toy regulations in Europe (pretty sure Europe...could be wrong on this) than "ability to play." 10-12 is probably a good starting range, depending on how much they game.
Some considerations if you are interested in this game:
* It's best to stick with the same group of players throughout the campaign. Although the game gives instructions for adding/dropping players, I think the "story arc" of your game will flow better with a consistent group, and maintaining an even experience level with the game will help things go more smoothly.
* Definitely watch the "How to Play" video before playing. Although the game makes it sound like you can just take out the first card and GO, there is definitely a learning curve, and the teaching video helps tremendously.
* There is a Facebook group for the game where other players, as well as the designer himself, are quick to answer questions and help out. Just be careful; you might see spoilers if you are not judicious in which posts you read/click. Part of the game's fun is discovering things as you go along with your group. Charterstone Board Game
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More reviews!
Viticulture Essential Edition - https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/183394/viticulture-essential-edition
Basic concept is that you're trying to establish a vineyard over several years; you're planting vines, harvesting grapes, aging and making wine, and filling orders. You're also giving tours and other actions to help with cash flow. It is a worker placement game with two phases each year/round and you have plan to use your workers appropriate - you start with a couple and can train/pay for some more. Each year, all the workers get to select their turn order based on a chart that offers various bonuses, you have to decide if the bonus is worth more than going earlier. Each action on the board has a bonus for being the first one to take that action and there are limitations to how many people can take a specific action. The game ends when someone reaches 20 points, though everyone is able to finish out the year so just because someone gets to 20 points first, that doesn't mean they'll automatically win. You get points from different actions on the board, filling wine orders, and bonus cards.
I love the theme of this game; I love worker placement games. Viticulture offers different ways to get points and win, which is also nice. I like that you're mostly working on your own plan though it's good to always have good backup ideas if you were hoping to take an action (or specifically one with a bonus action) and someone else takes it first. There is enough going on that I wanted a note pad to keep track of my plans - I lost the second game because mistook one of my planned actions and notes would have helped. The game moves along at a good pace, mostly people don't seem to get stuck trying to decide their next actions though sometimes it moves quick enough that you're not quite ready to take action when your turn rolls around.
It sounds like there are a couple editions of Viticulture and this is a newer version that combines some elements of expansions that were added to the first printing. From other players, they all say to go with Essential Edition to get the best game and also best bang for the buck. The multiple versions may cause some challenging in finding clarity on rules because of the different versions. All the components are great - little wood figures, plastic markers to track grapes and wine, and nice cards and player mats. From a crafty perspective, I want to make an acrylic overlay for the player boards to help hold pieces in proper place, it's easy to bump the board and accidentally shift all your grapes and wines.
I really enjoyed this game. I managed to win the first time we played and, if it weren't for one mistake, I would have come close to winning the second game too. This one will be going on my Christmas list this year.
We got this one recently, but it's still in shrink-wrap. I think my husband and I will both enjoy it quite a bit. Thanks for the review -- your enthusiasm has motivated me to push to get this to the table. :)
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Lime chicken tacos w/fixings. Probably some random fruit.
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Yes, I just saw this! DS and I just learned to play Cytosis last week (same publisher/creator) and enjoyed it. Seriously thinking about backing this one.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Next up was Cottage Garden with my husband. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/204027/cottage-garden
My son beat me at this game earlier in the week and chose to sit this one out. However, he couldn't resist popping in and offering my husband helpful hints, since it was his (husband's) first time playing.
In Cottage Garden, you work to fill up "garden plot cards" with Tetris-type pieces (polyominoes). As you complete garden cards, you score points based on how many visible flower pots and how many visible plant covers are on the card after all the squares of dirt have been covered with the polyomino pieces. There is an interesting selection method for the polyominoes. They are chosen from a grid in the center of the table. On your turn, you may only choose from a given row, the row being determined by a marker that moves predictably around the grid, one space per turn. This allows you to plan ahead as you fill your garden cards, but can cause me to freeze up a bit as I try to plan too far ahead.
Cat tokens and flower pot tokens can help you fill in stranded dirt squares as you go.
I love this game and play the app on my iPad regularly. My husband wasn't too sure about it, so we'll see if he gives it another chance or not.
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A couple games played today...
First up was Fabled Fruit with my husband and 11-year-old son. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/203427/fabled-fruit
This is a game that will change each time we play it, which fascinates me. I look forward to seeing how it evolves.
In essence, you place your player token on a card (called a "location") in order to take the action written that card. All of those actions are aimed at obtaining or trading for various "fruit cards" -- the currency of the game. For example, "Draw two fruit from the deck" or "Give a banana to a player of your choosing. That player must give you two other fruit of their choosing."
Over time, you collect fruit cards with the aim of using them to purchase "fabled juices." A juice might cost 3 coconuts and a strawberry, for instance.
Game ends when one player has purchased four juices.
The interesting thing is that as juices are purchased, new "locations"/action cards are introduced to the game and old ones are gradually phased out. These alter the game more and more over time. So for example, after we play two more times, we might no longer be able to choose the action "Draw two fruit from the deck," but we will have new, different actions from which to choose.
This is a short and light game, but one we look forward to playing quite a bit.
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Where did the Geneology chart come from? I want to obtain one of these myself.
And, P.S., I haven’t seen you here previously but I love your user name! I am imagining it is a child’s pronunciation of “caterpillar†and it is adorable.
We ultimately went with this one from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0131UD0CK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I had seen more decorative charts (on Etsy, that I specifically remember), but I thought he would appreciate something a little more simple and utilitarian.
Oh, and YES, "callapidder" is how my now-19DS used to say caterpillar. :)
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These are so fun to read through!
Hits here:
DS19: Really liked the nice sweater and leather gloves I got him. Also, he's a genealogy buff, and we got him a 9-generation chart to fill out that we will then have framed for him.
DS11: Minecraft Legos, Super Mario Odyssey for the Switch, and a crazy scooter-type thing -- all hits.
DH: I framed some National Parks posters he's had for years, just thumbtacked to the wall. He was surprised and thrilled. He also appreciated the cycling shorts I grabbed last-minute.
Me: My people got me books, board games, and quilting notions. Couldn't be happier!
No misses that stand out
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My husband, 11-year-old son, and I played the first one— Exit: Abandoned Cabin— over Thanksgiving and really enjoyed it. It took us about 90 minutes and we all were able to contribute. We have the rest of the series and are looking forward to playing more!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I can do both as well. In general, I feel more comfortable with crochet because: 1) I'm much faster with crochet than with knitting, and 2) I can easily fix a crochet mistake, while trying to fix knitting mistakes always leave me confused and frustrated.
However, I really like a knitted result better than a crocheted result. So I end up doing both, depending on the project.
My mom has been crocheting forever, and taught me when I was 7 or so. She constantly has several afghans/throws in progress. She also crochets for charities, and is part of a crochet club. As for knitting...I'm self taught, through books, youtube, and Craftsy. Perhaps if I had more one-on-one mentoring in knitting I would be faster and/or would be able to fix mistakes more easily.
They are both enjoyable and practical skills to have, and can be a great way to meet or spend time with people.
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Where can I find this podcast??
You should be able to find it via a search for “Grammar Girl†on most podcast apps (standard iPhone podcast app, Stitcher, Overcast, etc.). Also, the website, which includes transcripts of the podcast episodes, can be found here: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl
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I just asked my 5th grader and he was able to explain the difference. But this is a kid who complains about doing grammar, yet asks to listen to the Grammar Girl podcast when we are running errands.
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They run everything through a secret FB group and through a club on chess.com
Can you tell me how the FB part works for the kids? Do kids just use their parent's account?
Thanks!
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Still working through options, but this is where things stand right now:
Bible: ??? Either Bible Study Guide for All Ages or some kind of personal devotional guide
Handwriting: Reason for Handwriting E
Math: Singapore Standards 5A/5B and hopefully Beast Academy 4C/4D/5A
Reading: BJU Reading 5 plus literature selections
Spelling: ??? (This one is always hard for me and my natural speller.) Thinking about Megawords this year.
Vocab: Vocabulary from the Classical Roots?
Grammar: R&S 5 OR Advanced Language Lessons
Writing: Writing & Rhetoric 4 & 5 (Chreia/Proverb and Refutation/Confirmation)
History: Notgrass Adam to Us, first half (his pick; he loved America the Beautiful this year)
Geography: Legends & Leagues North (done independently)
Science: Sonlight E (Physics focus) plus some Lego robotics and bird study
Latin: Latin for Children B
Health: Abeka probably (to check this box for Pennsylvania)
Art: ??? Mark Kistler lessons for part; not sure what else. Artist study?
Music: ??? Private piano lessons and something else. Composer study? Squilt?
PE: Hiking, biking, bowling, swimming
Other, as time allows: Mind Benders, Life of Fred
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DS1 (18, high school senior) -- planning on majoring in History and going into teaching of some sort. Currently undecided as to whether he wants to pursue History with a secondary education track, or do the grad school route and aim to be a college professor. For a while, he felt like he "should" pick something in business, and said he wanted to be a Marketing major. But he loves History, Church History, etc. and is currently planning to pursue that passion.
Our approach has been "study what you love, learn how to learn, and learn to work hard (in and out of school)." Most of my friends and acquaintances didn't know what they wanted to be when they were 18 and changed direction several times along the way, so we haven't stressed too much about him knowing his college major early on. He's a hard worker and will find his way.
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...naps. :)
Also, Amazon. And the Internet.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Most women who are married are going to end up widows
in The Chat Board
Posted
I feel like this is something I've always subconsciously expected to be the case for me. I only ever knew my grandmothers (both grandfathers died before I was born). My mom was widowed at age 60 and lived 27.5 years as a widow (my dad died from cancer at age 66).
I'm now 50 and my husband is 51. I think I *expect* to be a widow at some point, but at the same time, my husband is in very good health and has great genetics. His parents -- both in their 70s -- are in very good health as well. Meanwhile, my parents both had cancer, and spread between the two of them, had heart disease, diabetes, glaucoma, kidney disease, liver disease, and thyroid issues. SO...I guess I also won't be surprised if I'm NOT a widow some day. 😉
Practically speaking, I try to take care of myself so I can be as healthy as possible, given the genetics I'm working with. And we are trying to be prepared for either one of us living longer than the other with our financial planning.