zaichiki
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Posts posted by zaichiki
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I would wonder about pregnancy. A 3-4 month old male goat CAN impregnate a female goat. We have some houdinis over here... we've found evidence that they've jumped the fence and then jumped BACK. Would never have known about it without the evidence (a few berries hidden in the grass).
If she shows no symptoms of anything negative, why not assume pregnancy? :)
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What about helping her create a timeline using famous musicians as the anchor? Put detailed info about them into the timeline and then study the time period/ country they lived in and add that info, too... sort of "branch out" from there. We use manilla folders taped together side by side with the timeline in red down the center of the line of envelopes. They will fold accordian-style to be put on the bookshelf, or they can be attached to the wall (one long time line when they're all open). 100 years per folder? I saw the idea on-line somewhere... maybe homeschool in the woods?
We've found that starting with ds's interests often leads to rabbit trails that really flesh things out.
Have fun! There are SO many options!
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We always get our books from SL packed in boxes FILLED with packing materials. I've never received a damaged book from them. (That seems so surprising now that I think about it, but it's true.) We've only ever had good SL customer service experiences.
(I'm posting this NOT as an "in your face" response -- I'm truly sorry to hear about your experience -- but because I've been a SL customer for 6 years and I think it's good for others to know that there are also lots of positive customer service experiences with the company.)
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I have, several times in several different states, just called the rectory and spoken with a priest. I've never had any trouble. In one case, the church had four Masses each Sunday (tells a bit about size?) and only one priest. In the other case, it was a town of nearly 100K people and about six Catholic churches.
I bet I'd just throw caution to the wind and call. Or show up during confession hours. That's probably going to be a good time.
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Intensive Practice, definitely. You just get more for your $$. The IP books have more challenging word problems and you get the extra practice (with added thinking skills practice) in it too. Plus, if it's TOO challenging or if you want to add review of older topics, just use the IP from the level before the one you have for text/wkbk (ex: dd using txt/wkbk 2A and IP 1B).
Cheers!
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Are you teaching the concepts "the Singapore way?" I have found textbook teaches the concepts very thoroughly, with some workbook-type practice problems for practice included in most lessons. If ds/dd doesn't need more review, we'll skip the workbook exercise for that lesson, but never the textbook. Or we'll sometimes use the Intensive Practice exercise instead of the workbook exercise for that lesson.
Have you read LIping Ma's book? I strongly recommend it. You'll get a good understanding of why teaching concepts a particular way is beneficial.
Here's a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Teaching-Elementary-Mathematics-Understanding/dp/0805829091
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I see more of a trend over the past 100+ years to prolong adolescence more and more.
I agree. And I'm not so sure it's a good thing...
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We just lost all our birds last night :crying:
I'm so sorry! I hate to say this, as it doesn't make it any better, but it gets easier to handle loss when you've had more of it. Or... hee hee... get LOTS more birds.
The dc have been devastated when the birds lost (whether to predator or some mystery illness -- that's happened to one or two of our bantam chickens) have been pets with names, but when it's just one of a dozen identical unnamed layers, it's not so bad.
Yeah... that's my solution... MORE BIRDS. (lame joke)
I AM sorry. It does suck.
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I agree with MeganP. There are SO many options as a child gets older if you need to make changes. I like her suggestions of an enrichment year and a gap year. I also graduated high school at 17 with an experience like Megan's. If I had been held back a year (in K or 1st), school would have been very different for me. (I might even have dropped out.)
We're planning to do an enrichment year for ds. He's going to start 6th grade in school in the fall, as a grade skip. I want to put him into an academically vigorous private high school with age mates in the future. Our solution is to send him to a local Catholic school for 6th and 7th and homeschool him for 8th and 8th plus. He'll be doing high school level work (some of his work is already at that level), but I want him to be ready for the high school I have in mind. It's more than just academic. Of course, things may change and he may do just fine without the enrichment year. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm thankful we have the opportunity to tweak things as we go.
It really does depend on the child. My birthday is Sept 2, so I graduated high school at 17yo. I was also in the top 10% of my class, was in the National Honor Society, and graduated with over a semester worth of college credit because of the AP classes I took. So, academically, being the youngest in the class didn't hurt me at all. In fact, I graduated from college at 20yo because, with all the AP credits and a few summer classes, I managed to finish college in 3 years.Honestly there's really no way for you to know now how your dd will do in high school. If she's struggling with learning to read and basic math concepts now, then hold her in 1st grade, but if she's doing well, you may as well pass her up to the next level. If she completes 8th grade and you feel like maturity-wise she's not ready for high school, then keep her home with you for another year and call it an enrichment year or something. You could also give her a 'gap year' after high school if she graduates at 17 and you feel like she's not ready for college at that point. Almost everyone here in England takes a gap year before university to work or travel or both.
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Llamas are also good guard dogs, but they can get expensive.
And, being herd animals, they'd want to be with other llamas (or alpacas or goats or...).
And of course the chickens would have to stay where the llamas are... If the chickens fly over the pasture fences (like ours do), they're lunch.
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Do you have to choose now for some reason? When we homeschooled in MA, I wrote ds's birthdate on the "grade" line. The public school (who had the authority to permit us to homeschool) didn't like that and we went back and forth about it. I finally told them that if they REALLY need a grade level (to decide which filing cabinet to put the file in, they told me), they could use the one he'd be placed in by birthdate for their records. I emphasized that ds worked at several different grade levels and I would not label him.
Fast forward to this year. We will put ds in school in the fall. Although he would be 5th grade by age (not near any cut-off date), he will enter the 6th grade. It's just a better fit for him academically. He has had plenty of friends a year older than he is... and it's just a year. I have seen no significant differences between ds and his friends who are a year older (socially, developmentally). I don't think a year makes any difference, really, except that the academic placement would be a better fit for ds.
You could wait for the future and label your child then. For now, just educate the child at readiness level and don't worry about the number.
(Unless of course you absolutely need a grade level for some reason. Then, go ahead and use whichever one you want. You can always change it later.)
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The Animal Ark series by Ben Baglio is about a girl living in England with her veterinarian parents. Dd LOVES this series.
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Whoops. I was wrong about Penn Station! You'll be coming from CT, so you'll take the MetroNorth. Stacy in NJ knows what she's talking about. This train comes into Grand Central, not Penn Station. 42nd and Park Avenue... about 4-8 blocks to the Theater District. You could walk or take a taxi.
:)
Could you take the train into the city and then take a taxi? That wouldn't be too complicated. We'd probably drive in, but dh "grew up" driving in NYC and parking can be a bear, so the train would most likely be the simplest thing.NYC has two hubs/ train stations: Grand Central on the East side and Penn Station on the West. Amtrak (trains) coming from CT would go into Penn Station. From there you could take a taxi. You'd be about 10-12 blocks away from the Theater District, I think.
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Could you take the train into the city and then take a taxi? That wouldn't be too complicated. We'd probably drive in, but dh "grew up" driving in NYC and parking can be a bear, so the train would most likely be the simplest thing.
NYC has two hubs/ train stations: Grand Central on the East side and Penn Station on the West. Amtrak (trains) coming from CT would go into Penn Station. From there you could take a taxi. You'd be about 10-12 blocks away from the Theater District, I think.
I have no trouble taking the subway in NYC, but I used to live there and practice certainly makes it easier. For a one-time-only thing I'd skip the subway!
Enjoy the show!
We'll be visiting Connecticut later this summer. The town is about 2 hours from NYC.How hard would it be to see a play?
Dh is enthralled with Next to Normal. And we'll be closer than we've ever been to the city.
Of course, that would mean we'd have to leave our 5 children with relatives while we went. I can't see our 2 young boys with Asperger Syndrome on Broadway. I do have TONS of relatives and some of them have BIG families, so it *could* happen. And the children know a few of them from their visits down here.
If we've NEVER been to the city and NEVER taken a train or subway . . .
I used to look at new experiences as adventures. Now, with children, all the planning and preparation and obstacles keep us homebound lots of the time . . .
Would it be worth the trouble? I can tell what the tickets cost. But what about trains and subways? Or taxis?
Will I regret not trying to see a play while we're close to New York?
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Also, guinea fowl are supposed to be the protector of flocks. Because they are so noisy.
We've just found that we have a fox problem. The chickens were safe until we were down to 8 guineas. It seems the guineas were sacrificing themselves for the hens: they'd screech and approach the fox as a group. Fox'd corner one against the fenceline, guineas would panic and forget they could fly, fox'd get the guinea... but the chickens would run and hide at the first screeching.
The fox got two chickens (two of our favorites) and now everybody is in lock up. No more free-ranging until we get that fox. We've got live traps set up and my husband has cased the woods with a rifle. So far... nothing. Forgot some eggs outside the fence one day (kids left the basket out) and they were mostly eaten the next day. Fox?
Good luck with that coyote.
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How about just keeping a running "log" of books your child reads. This would be SSS (Sustained Silent Reading) or Reading Group time in the public schools. Then, you could talk with your child about what (s)he read and that would be reading comprehension and/or analysis. Perhaps your child could write a sentence or two about his/her favorite part of some of the books, or even draw a picture of his/her favorite character and you've got a really complete reading comprehension journal.
Easy peasy and it doesn't kill the joy of free-reading.
:)
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Anne's got the idea: visit someone near you who has the animals you're considering. There's a lot more involved with mammals than with poultry. Chickens are easy. They practically take care of themselves -- just make sure they have a safe place to roost at night, clean water, and some layer pellets for the hens. They give you delicious eggs and, if you can let them free-range, a lot of entertainment. We love our chickens!
We have a cello over here (and a piano and a viola which isn't ever on the ground anyway) and our indoor dog never touches it. I don't think house dogs in general are a problem -- you just want to make sure you don't get a chewer (no puppies for sure).
-Kate
We have/have had ducks, chickens, guinea fowl, turkeys, peafowl, dairy goats, angora rabbits, and alpacas!
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Dd memorized a few sentences (think those preamble words that everyone knows). First she used it as copywork, then I asked her to recite it until she had it memorized.
I'll tell you the benefit: she thinks about what the words means and she recognizes them (and remembers what the Declaration of Independence is) when she sees them in writing. It's a wonderful "hook" for her current and future knowledge of early American history. And it was easy!
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We decided to homeschool in fits and starts. When ds was 3 we didn't send him to preschool (like everyone else in our suburban neighborhood sent their kids) because I was home with newborn dd and hubby didn't think we needed to pay for a glorified daycare. The next year we skipped preK because everything seemed to be going fine: he had neighborhood friends, learned to ride his bike, took YMCA classes... I had never been to PreK, so I figured ds wouldn't be damaged by missing it.
His K year was when homeschooling really started, I guess. We had looked into private and public Kindergartens, but ds was already reading chapter books by this time and I quickly found out he wouldn't learn anything new in Kindergarten. A neighbor had a fluently reading dd in K and had shared the disappointing news that her dd had learned nothing that year but how to raise her hand and not talk to her friends in class. So, we homeschooled K.
We've been homeschooling ever since, though we do periodically investigate local schools. Actually, we WILL be sending ds to school next year. His younger sister and brother will be staying home, though. At least for now...
:)
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Chapter Two in Outliers: The Story of Success is entitled "The 10,000 hour Rule". Basically, the author makes a decent case in this chapter that a person who wants to become a world-class leader in any field needs to have 10,000 hours of training. What's pertinent to this discussion is a reference to a study involving many pianists. Basically, the finding in this study was that there were neither any prodigies (who attained world-class level without the 10,000 hours) nor any failures (who did NOT achieve world-class level with 10,000 hours). (I would provide an exact quote, but I only have an audiobook, so I don't have an easy way to come up with that.)
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not at all discounting motivation or physical characteristics, as those are important. But for argument's sake, let's ignore those for a minute. So at this point, I basically have three choices:
1) Provide ALL of my children 10,000 hours of training in their preferred field, providing assurance they will all be world-class in their field.
2) Provide SOME of my children 10,000 hours of training in their preferred field, making some of them world-class and others not.
3) Provide NONE of my children 10,000 hours of training in their preferred field, making none of them world-class in their fields.
If the case of no born failures and no prodigies in the world-class arena for some activities a child can enter, it seems choice 2) is harder to defend, since the cost of advancing one child's abilities is at the expense of the other children's abilities.
Do differing motivation levels justify choice 2)? Perhaps...
I think we really HAVE to consider the other factors. It's not JUST about the number of hours and the motivation.
There really are children who just achieve more in those 10K hours (or however many hours). There really are those children/people who have what seems to be an inborn talent for certain things. Some people might argue that what seems to be inborn talent is really just more interest and therefore more time spent, but I'm not so sure. Think about different learning styles. That's just a start.
I've seen kids of similar age and background go through similar hours of practice and lessons on the same instrument and with the same teachers (according to parents comparing "notes") and yet achieve vastly differently. There's gotta be something more to it than just the number of hours involved.
I don't believe that humans are all created exactly the same with the same potential in all the same areas. We're not blank slates. We're individuals right down to our genes, with different strengths and weaknesses that come from more than just our environment. At least... that's what I believe based on what I see in my own kids and in that example I gave above.
I do see that more can be accomplished with more time and hard work FOR ANYONE, but that doesn't mean the potential is the same.
Is the poster asking for advice based on what she considers to be superior potential? If a child has such potential in an area, would that affect the 10K hours theory? Would that affect the choices the parents should make? Does this child's (possibly God-given) potential cry out for encouragement and support?
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Hey Kate -Haven't we met in MA a few years back? I think you then moved away a couple of years ago?
Just musing here because I seem to recognise you!!!
Hi Nadya,
I think you all moved before we did. :)
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What if that same child needed special help to succeed, therapy and such? Why should a family have to give up so much time, money and energy for that but not for a child to pursue their passion? I am not being rude, seriously most of us would not give a second thought to finding the best doctors and treatment for a child that needed help. We have been in that position, and we did give up ALOT as did our other two children in order to save the life of one child. Having been through that, I would give the same money, time and energy to any of the kids to allow them to move on with something they love if it was truly their passion and they had the potential to be one of the best.
Interesting perspective. Not without its merits really. Many families move for a job opportunity or better health care for a sick child. Would a move inconvenience the family if it's a move for a single child's educational opportunities? I guess that depends on the family's situation.
We recently moved two hours from our previous suburban home in order to have more space for our kids (and pastures for livestock). It was a lifestyle change. Dh still works near our previous home. It's not convenient for him, but he had hoped to find a new job closer to our new home. Hasn't happened yet. Of course that possibility is not crossed off the list. Still... our move benefitted some of us more than others. Hopefully that will change soon.
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We currently spend a lot of money on her musical training and taking her to concerts, travel a lot (both her current fiddle and violin teacher live over 40 min away) for lessons, concerts, and so she can attend sessions in the city (which are for fun and allow her interaction with other musicians.
Donna,
Would moving mean less time in travel/in the car and less time taken from others in the family? Could it be better for your dd (better opporunities) AND better for her siblings (more family time/less travel time)?
Kate
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I know of a girl in our last Suzuki music school who was 5 and in the Piano book 5 (and she was AMAZING!). Her parents now drive three hours each way for her to study with someone at Julliard in the pre-college program. I think she's 9. I'm sure she has a good shot at a professional career in music. And she LOVES it. It's "play time" for her. (This girl is also very well socialized and gets along just fine with other kids.)
There's a girl in our current Suzuki school who is 6 or 6.5 and in Violin book 6, I think. She is also amazing. As far as I can tell, her parents don't do more than private lessons, group classes, orchestra (the usual Suzuki weekly thing up here) and summer Suzuki institutes. There are some really great teachers here, though, so maybe they just "lucked out" in living here already?
We don't have any prodigies here, but I don't know if dh would spend a lot of money even if we did. (He's very money conscious.)
I guess you have to ask yourself if this talent is something the child could ostensibly carry forward to become a career... and if they are interested in that. Some parents spend hundreds of thousands on college educations for kids to become lawyers, doctors... How would this be different?
If the child is really motivated, talented, and interested in a future career, I think it's an investment. (If you can afford it and are willing to spend the money, of course...)
ETA: Ds's previous cello teacher started at 2.5, played with a symphony in Detroit (Detroit Symphony Orchestra? not sure of the name) at 15, and now plays for the Boston Pops. Her childhood music education was certainly an investment in her future career. I know she appreciates the effort and money her parents were able to put forth. She LOVES what she does. And she is amazing. (I use that word only when appropriate. Promise.)
Smiles,
Kate
Goat people.... Maybe Soph? HELP....Graphic pic.'s included
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Yes. (But not at only a month along... I wouldn't think. I've heard of it at four months along, though.) How long has the male been on your property?
Check out this link: http://fiascofarm.com/goats/udder.htm#precocious