I saw the video and all I could think was that he was also impaired, drunk or high. His driving was just like those drunk drivers I have seen on the road here in FL.

I would second the suggestion of doing both the WTMA Expository 1 and Creative writing - budget permitted... We are currently doing expository writing and my daughter loves it.. She also loves more creative writing so for the fall (budget permitted) will do Expository 2 and the semester course of creative writing 1 with WTMA - if not she'll do the expository 2 online with WTMA and creative writing 1 at home with me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi, You may want to consider the series Step by Step: http://www.amazon.com/Step-1A-Intorduction-Successful-Practice/dp/1589512022 I have used it with my kids (currently 2 violinists)... It has all the songs of the suzuki method. It has extra exercises and some "extra" songs to reinforce the technique... but the selling point (and help) to you is that when you have the book open on the left hand side is the song or exercise written out with string/finger (aka fingering chart style) and on the right side its written in regular music... The same ones.. This way To learn to read the notes - I recommend the I can read Series (2 volumes): http://www.amazon.com/Can-Read-Music-Reading-Students/dp/0874874394/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404249952&sr=1-1&keywords=suzuki+reading+music This is another book I have used... It teaches to read the notes (pitch) as well as rhythm (note value)... Again, another book written for suzuki children, so it takes measures (pieces) from the songs they'll learn plus the main benefit, it teaches the notes in the same order they'll find it as they go through the book 1 & 2. If you have any questions about these you can always contact me. Always check with your Violin teacher too ;-) Best, Kate

Hi, I would like some advice. I have samples of my daughter's work below (narrations) - 2 from history and 2 from Writing. She's 8 years old (almost 9 - just at the very end of the year). Grade: 4th grade. I'm looking for input on her narration work. We're working on Narrative Summaries (WWE 2). I have her write down her own narrations, without the intermediate step of my copying them down for her. However, I do have her to tell them to me first aloud. Sometimes she wants to include too many details, and at other times she's too quick and wants to move on and so then her narrations lack sufficient detail. So, I have her say it aloud, and we discuss if is too long, just enough or if it has enough detail. I guess, I'm looking for reassurance if this is normal writing for her age or guidance if we're totally off. When she makes errors in her writing we discuss the errors and review the corresponding rule. -- I'm copying exactly as she wrote them (including any typos, misspelled words, etc): I. From History: a) SOTW 3, Chapter 9 - The Thirty Years War: The Thirty Year War started when King Ferdinand II told his german princes to be Catholics. This led to the Defenestration of Prague. The War ended with the Peace of Westphalia. b) SOTW 3, Chapter 6 - New Colonies sin the New World: The Dutch were green with envy at the French, British, and Spanish colonies. Thy wanted their own colony too. The Dutch West India Company was to make colonies for the Dutch. After Peter Stuyvesant became governor the British took over and renamed New Amsterdam to New York. II. From Writing (WWE) a) Week 24 WWE2 - Oral narration & Dictation Louisa got some food for her friends because they were poor and hungry. Her cousin got mad, and sent her to the attic. Louisa thought it was alright, but she didn't realized that she did not ask for permission. a) Week 25 WWE2 - Narration The Elephant's Child wen to the Limpopo River to find our what the Crocodile ate for dinner. The Crocodile turned the Elephant's Child's nose into a truck by pulling it. Then being nice to his nose he wrapped it in banana leaves and ploppet it in the River. Thanks, Kate

My Oldest is 7.8 years old... ;-) Kate

Anne... True... And that was one of my concerns (burning out) - she has such a love for learning and for homeschool as do I - but I just didn't want to burn out ourselves.. So I think I'll just continue as we had originally planned for the summer - tons of experiments and field trips (she helped planned) and some history projects - you know unstructured fun things - seat down and read books - but not bookwork or worksheets or anything structure (like we do over the school year).... I think that sounds like a plan.. :glare:

Laura, Thanks... I feel much better about it - with the input you guys have provided... I guess "less guilty" is more of an accurate term... :) Kate

Yep.. I hear you... :iagree: Thanks - true statement around here as well - I need to write this as a reminder to see daily (to calm down those "A" tendencies" :D ) :lol: Thanks...

Hi, I have a question :confused: that's been nagging me for quite a while (actually the last few weeks since my daughter's yearly evaluation that only gets strong as the summer approaches). First, a bit about the situation: My personality - If you are familiar with the Type A :smash: / Type B :001_cool: Theory and know what I mean when I say that I'm a Type AB :biggrinjester:, then you have a clear vision of how I'm. If not, well Type AB is a profile for people who cannot be clearly categorized as either Type A or Type B - since they share traits from both profiles equally (So yes me = time-conscious, businesslike, meet deadlines, checklist, finish the book cover-to-cover kind of person, read the manual before hand - but simultaneously I can be quite the opposite... LOL) My oldest is finishing up "2nd grade." We're a fully bilingual homeschool. Although we do use materials from different grade levels, what we tend to do for school is to go for more depth in the subject (using supplemental material at higher levels and the core materials at the level she's "supposed" to be at) instead of skipping ahead... She's very advanced in reading (reading at a high school level), and in many areas (writing, factual knowledge, math, language) - some more than others - when all averaged out (according to her latest evaluation) it comes out to an almost 7th grade level (6.9 Level). My original plans for this school year was to NOT homeschool for the summer (I know it sounds bad but after a year long filled wit activities - work and requirements that I lead I need a break, with scouts, full time teaching job at a university, homeschool, plus many other volunteer activities - I'm looking for "Me time" or just simply "Fund/Down time")- We had planned to rather do "review activities" in the form of things she likes - Play Restaurant/Store a lot, do tons of experiments, go out on field trips, read books, go out and travel, maybe go to a conference or two (not just homeschool conferences but also the kind related to Mom's work), etc... However, we didn't stick to our schedule because of many reasons so we haven't finished ALL we had planned for the year. :confused: My question is - now if I opt to finish all (which I must say is my personal inclination mostly out of "fear" that I don't want her to miss something that might be important) because of two camps she's already scheduled we're talking of homeschooling for the summer and finishing up just one week before I was planning to start 3rd grade. OR :confused1: Do a Fast Version of things (if so how do I decide what to skip and what to cover)? How long (1, 2, 3 weeks)? then Back to back or with a week break in between? OR Do I simply sit back and relax :party: - let her have a fun summer - filled with lots of reading in various subjects and those experiments and History projects she wants to do rather than actual classes.... I have no problem "skipping" material - Hey I did not read all the articles or books when doing my PHD or my Masters and still did great getting As in all the classes- so skipping per se is not the issue. I just worry if I will be doing her a disservice by skipping a few (or quite a few) things? Thanks for your input. :bigear: Kate

This is a great idea - thanks for sharing... I'm here like "Why didn't I think of that?" LOL

I think it depends on the situation... This is how we use it at home: For Vol. 1 - I had both the Audio and the Textbook... we would listen to the Audio in the car, and I would read to her (during the beginning), mostly because she used to have questions or wanted me to repeat a "funny" part again.. but towards the end of vol. 1 - more and more was just the CD - mostly because she had heard the CD so often she already knew the stories... During Ancients we bought all of the Audio CDs - which we listen from Vol. 1-3 in a car trip... Now for Vol. 2 - we use the Audio only - mostly because I already had it, and because I have other history books (both in English and Spanish) that I use as read aloud for each chapter... Although I haven't bought the Book for Vol 2 - I do plan to... she likes reading it herself.. kate

Still interested. Hollywood, Florida

I second this (Program suggested by krazzymommy).... We are using Accountable kids - I think since my daughter was 3 and she's now 6.5 - she loves it (we love it)...... Now I know you (parias1126) mentioned doing it on your own, you could improvise your own materials for the charts but I would recommend getting the Book - is worth the investment to understand the program and then adapt it to your own family.... Kate

:iagree: I do this as well.... we have afternoon activities (Dance, Scouts, etc) so moving to the afternoon is not much of a choice for us... I ask my husband to text me, rather than call, this way I can call him when we're on our break... For the rest of the calls - I let the voicemail pick it up - unless I'm expecting a call (from work or from a Doctor's office or a co-researcher - but even those calls I arrange them to call me in the afternoons). Visits - our visitors know that we're unavailable in the mornings.... My biggest thing is myself - sometimes towards midterm and end of the term at work (@ the University where I teach, when I know I'm going to get tons of emails from my students) I tend to check my email more often - and this is an interruption (self-interruption) that I've been working really hard to get rid off... and getting better at it..... ;). Something else we had was House-guests, not so much this year, but there are times when our house seems to have a house guest every month: solution we have a Room & Hoe office - where we can go into, and have our class (or I can work and grade papers) and our guest does not feel s/he has to stay in the guest room until we're done... Kate

CleoQc, The sentence is grammatically correct as it is: ¿Le has comprado el regalo a tu esposa? Le - es un pronombre de objeto indirecto - reemplaza a una palabra o frase que, en la oración, cumple esa función. Los pronombres indirectos son: singular: me, te, le; plural: nos, os, les. Se ubican delante del verbo (Le dieron una sorpresa, ¿Te envío una postal?), excepto con el infinitivo (vengo a pagarle la renta; voy a decirte la verdad) y el imperativo (dale otra oportunidad; préstame diez dólares). Definición Oficial (Diccionario de la Real Academia): Le= Es una Forma de dativo de 3.ª persona singular en masculino y femenino. No admite preposición, y en ambos usos se puede emplear como enclítico. Si te interesa saber mas sobre el Dativo (pero creo que esto quizás va mas allá de lo que están estudiando ahora) puedes chequear el siguiente link: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caso_dativo I posted the answer in Spanish, since you asked in Spanish – if you need the answer in English I can translate it later… Kate

Julie, Two ideas: 1) The idea of picking up a Cooking book that includes different techniques not just recipe is great.. I"m doing this with my kids (we picked a mommy & me bok, a toddler book, and a Kids's cooking book - since I have a 2 and a 6 year old (now and 1/2 I need to update their ages - LOL) I decided to start off like that - each Friday we'll cook a recipe from the "Mommy & Me cooking book" until we're done with it, then we'll move through the Toddler cooking Book and so forth - as their skills (cutting, sifting, separating, etc.) improve and we go through the books, we'll continue and pick books that continue to challenge them... You can do something similar with your child - and start off with a book that has some skills he already knows and many that he should learn - but again focus on making sure the book covers skills not just recipes... 2) Look for a professional Cooking school many have one day classes open for the public and kids your child's age are usually welcome when accompanied by an adult (the adult also has to register)... By my house we have Le Cordon Bleu - and they started this series this year, the classes are one saturday a month- you don't have to come each saturday - you just register to the one you want - since each month they have a different theme - this month was all about french cooking and the month before that was all about grilling... The classes are from 10-1PM and are taught by the same instructors that teach the chefs and right at the cooking school - and focus on skill... and considering all you get and the experience they are fairly priced.. If you do not have a Le Cordon Bleu in your area then take a closer look at the cooking school that is in your area and see if they have Community Classes or a similar program.. Kate

I echo the sentiment of many here - do not feel bad... The OPOL approach is very sound, but in our case it was just not "us".... What I've done with the kids since birth when it comes to English and Spanish is to speak to them in both languages - simultaneously... Yes it makes long conversations... But here is how we did it - when they were younger (non-verbal) we also use baby signs to communicate - so I would bring them a glass of water and say "Water" "Agua" - if they pointed at something (let's say a cow for sake of argument) I would say "Si, mira la vaca - que linda" "Oh yes, look at the cow how pretty it is" and so on... one right after the other… in the beginning I made a conscious efforts to not use the same language to start off – but rather to alternate, and that also became second nature… It might sound confusing but is not (at least not to us, and what was has worked)- and talking like this became second nature to us (me and my husband) - once my first born started talking she would talk like that many times, but pretty soon (sooner with the 2nd and other) they realize and pick the word that gets the point quicker or faster... for example - my son will say "Hot! Hot!" instead of "Caliente! Caliente" - how ever he would say "Agua” instead of "water" and then eventually they find their middle ground.... By having done this, they understand both languages - they could have their preferences - and that is ok... I speak more than two languages- and I can tell you that when I'm all alone "in my own head" like my daughter say - the language in my mind does not happen to be my native tongue most of the time... From understanding (& vocabulary) - we then work on reading, writing, grammar - more vocabulary and so on... Disclaimer- Two things: 1) I have worked as an interpreter (for English & Spanish) both with written word and simultaneous translation – so it might have been easier for me t be able to quickly do this at first.. but my DH has never worked in that – and he was able to do it as well…. 2) when I first moved to the States and I had a bit of an accent speaking English, I was a bit self-conscious, speaking about it with a schoolmate he told me "You have nothing to be ashamed for having a bit of an accent, even if it were the worst case scenario and you had a heavy one....- an accent is a sign that you are lucky enough to speak more than one language, and that is much more than many - so never be ashamed and wear your accent proud knowing you are in a very special group of people" - he himself, only spoke English and expressed how he would love it to be able to speak more than just English- I took those words to heart, and learned a couple more languages afterward - his words still inspire me today and that's the philosophy in our house... our goal is for them to be able to understand and be understood... If they have a bit of an accent or not when they speak, is ok - with practice the accent goes away (speaking from experience) ;-) Wish you the best.... Kate Best of luck..... Kate

Jennefer, Thank you for sharing this - I was so inspire by reading your post (and the one for last year) - I'll be doing this for myself (Hope you don't mind if I join you and copy the concept). We were not able to go to any Conference this year - and although sometimes we tend to think that the purpose of the conference if the Curriculum purchase, we actually enjoy the workshops and lectures they offer here at FPEA- they help us to stay motivated. I found that Rhino Technologies has Lectures & Workshops recorded for many of the conferences, and many of from 2010 are on MP3 downloadable (no need to wait for the CD) and I do have some favorites at home I can always listen to (i.e. Teaching the Classics, Susan Wise Bauer's and Puweda's) and I can always review my notes and the handouts from the lived ones I attended in the past... I think the summer time is a perfect time to do one's own conference for motivation.... so a great idea for a planning retreat... Best, Kate

Cleo, Do you have the links for the MTH in french? This is something I would love to read myself - and maybe save them for them later down the line.... Also for the Asterix in Latin - Thanks.. Thanks, Kate

HI, We see them each year in the Homeschool Convention we go to - We follow Suzuki Method for Violin, but I did purchase their Year 0 and Year 1 (or Volume o and volume 1 - can't recall what they call their level) a few years back... They are interesting and complement what we're doing - but we pick and choose from them not use them as our sole violin curriculum... Kate

I Agree with Ester... when we watch foreign films at home we watch them without any subtitles.... mainly because: the mind will focus so much on what's written that will tune out the spoken word - the goal is to expose the ear to the sounds of the language - so even having Italian subtitles can be an disruption... Now, sometimes the plot can be understood by most of the action of the movie - sure there might be some things and nuances that are missed - that's what makes watching the move a few weeks/months later so interesting.... If knowing the plot is really important - then watching a familiar movie (Say "The Little Mermaid" in Italian or French) or an Italian version of a play o book that one has read - should take care of this... and the focus then is on training the ear... Best, Kate

Excellent point....

Lara, I had never heard from them before... just went to their site and downloaded the demo and tested it (all Demos) - I liked it.. is very interesting.... Kate

Cathmon, Actually I have the actual book - is not sold online - but when we go to the Dominican Republic is sold there... W go often - and get our Spanish Text Books there for the kids... The version I have is the "Dominican Version" of the primer - as far as I know (because I have seen the version for Honduras, Puerto Rico and another country) the Publisher made a different book for most counties- tweaking the Cover and some things on the inside - because some of the final readings were related to the country's independence, to showcase poems of national poets, etc... As far as I know most versions are discontinue he one for Dominican Republic is still published because another company purchased the rights to continue publishing the book... The number of levels available change also from country to county - I know in Puerto Rico they used to have Level 01, Level 1 and Level 2... in the DOminican Republic they used to have Level 1, 2, and 3 - 1 and 2 can still be purchase at the local libraries in the Dominican Republic, but Level 3 is no longer in print... The difference in the levels: 01 - learning the Alphabet 1 - Primer for reading 2 - Grammar book: verbs, adjectives, nouns, etc. 3 - More advance Grammar Book In Spanish there are certain words that are not the same from country to country - this is another reason why the book was published in various countries.. the Title of the Book is Nacho - so you would have Nacho Dominicano (for Dominican Republic) - Nacho Hondureño for Honduras and so forth.. This is the front cover: Image Source: Blog.. - Now I looked on Amazon for you - apparently some 3rd party sellers do have it - used - but it doesn't say anything about the version and the Version subtitle has been removed from the picture: http://www.amazon.com/Nacho-Silabario-Lectura-Inicial-Coleccion/dp/B000G1LWKU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1279628829&sr=1-1 and for level 01 for Puerto Rico: http://www.amazon.com/Puertorriqueno-Preescolar-Coleccion-Iniciacion-Lectura/dp/B0015YDFC0 Just keep in mind what I said about certain words being different from country to country - and thus version to version... Kate

Laura, Our Home Languages are English and Spanish (no particular order) - we speak both, we use both.. Not Spanglish.... I do speak all 4 - I read to them children books in French and Italian - we listen to children songs... I exaggerate the words... As we started Latin on the first day of Latin I pointed to her how all these languages (Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, etc) came out of Latin and how you can see Latin has influenced the English Language.... and we did this whole thing where we would choose a Latin word and see how much of it was maintained in the other languages: Amicus (Latin) Amigo (Spanish) Amico (Italian) Ami (French) Amigo (Portuguese) Friend (English) --> So we know this word did not come from Latin... when doing this the colors come in handy... And we did this with a few words - including some words that <b>DO</b> have a Latin base... she loves when we do this (we do from time to time as review to show how the languages are linked together - and how much you already can know about another Romance Language just by knowing Latin and Spanish - pronunciation might be off but reading you can understand)... French and Italian - the focus is exposure - so I read to them, they watch French / Italian cartoons or DVDs (watching the Little Mermaid in the French Sound Track a whole new level)... In first the focus was more on exposure and vocabulary building... I tried to have a tutor - but it didn't quite worked out (she's only a few weeks of the year in town here) - Now in 2nd we'll move more towards More vocabulary but I want to incorporate a syllabic method primer for learning to read such as Leo et Lea or Méthode Boscher for French or use a a syllabic method primer for Italian..... but she has expressed interested in going more in depth with French so we might do that.... although family heritage would scream: Focus on Italian First.. LOL - Now I would go forward with this only (and only if) if I can get find a good amount of reading material at that reading level for her to practice- if not, we'll do another year focusing on vocabulary building and training the ear for the sounds of the languages... **** Disclaimer **** I only do this because of her reading level in English and Spanish is well establish and well above her grade level - if it where at Grade Level - I might put that off for another year, two, maybe three.. Now, she does Watch Ni Hao Kailan - and LOVES the Chinese language - so every day she teaches me a new Chinese word - I'm not doing anything for that... but we did go to China a few years a go, and I do have some chinese words handouts she plays with and such... and she listen to some Chinese CDs I had - we bought her and her brother two children songs in Chinese CDs and she listen to them on her own - when she wants... For Latin we have been doing School Song Latin - (geared to K-3) we're almost done and we'll be moving to the Lively Latin.... We started Latin towards the end of K.... but going slowly - no rush.... during 1st grade we did more, and more - but still the book is very gentle... Best, Kate