zaichiki
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Posts posted by zaichiki
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He does have a week trial, so we will take the chosen one to our first lesson for the teacher to hear and approve.
Can you bring BOTH violins in to the teacher this week and talk about the pros and cons of each with her? This is what we do before we buy. (Or maybe take one the first week and the other the second?)
I'd definitely try each before choosing. It sounds good to go with the cheaper violin, but then, you might hear both and just REALLY prefer the more expensive one. And you (and your dd) are the ones who have to listen to it every day...
Good luck!
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Donna,
I had to look at your youtube videos! Wonderful! I love it when siblings play together. Our dds are about the same age and mine is also into music in a big way. She plays Suzuki viola.
Your dd is SO ADORABLE by the way!
:)
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We have an unfenced pond and a pool that isn't fenced well enough to keep bantams out... but our hens are not interested in swimming. Actually, the standard sized hens like to stand at the edge of the pond and take a drink. They never fall in.
Enjoy those bantams. Bantam chickens are my kids' absolute favorite of all of our pets/livestock!
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Singapore also does not use the > < signs until NEM, so American students who will be tested need to be introduced to those symbols.
This is not true. Dd is using Singapore Primary Math 2A right now and has been taught the greater than/less than symbols. It comes up in the reviews every once in a while, too.
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I want 2 - 3 dozen eggs a week. I'm trying to figure out if that's possible.
We have about 20 standard-sized hens and get about 14-16 eggs a day. (Two are currently broody, so are not laying, and a couple are breeds that are more ornamental than laying chickens.)
How much room do you need to make your chickies happy?
Ours coop themselves at night (we usually go out and close the door before bed). I'd plan at least 4 sq ft per bird. Ours free-range during the day.
Can you tell me how much it costs to feed 1 chicken? (So I can figure out how much I would need to the chickens I get??)
I think this depends on where you live and what you plan to feed them. In New England, layer pellets currently cost about $13 for a 50lb bag. I buy two a week, but that feeds 20 hens, two roosters, five bantam chickens, 7 turkeys, and 15 guineas. We also give them food/veg scraps from the kitchen. In the winter we add corn scratch for about $11 per 50 lb bag. And they eat more layer pellets (while laying fewer eggs) in the winter 'cause there's nothing to free-range on...
What kinds of chickens do you like best??
I love the funny-lookin' ones (polishes, turkens). For layers, we buy what sells. People like the green eggs, so we have Ameraucana hens. I like the dark, chocolate brown eggs, so we have Marans. Personality? The bantams: they're like tiny little doggies. The kids love whichever chicken allows itself to be picked up and held (currently the white rock and the dark cornishes). My oldest loves his Golden penciled Hamburg because she won him a ribbon at the fair .
Any opinions on if this is harder than you thought??
Chickens are EASY! They practically take care of themselves. Just be careful to avoid the breeds that are known for aggressive (with other chickens) behavior. They can really do a number on each other. Make sure to separate out any bird that gets injured, 'cause the others will kill it if you don't (survival of the fittest and all that).
Chickens rock!
Have fun!
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Sarah,
I agree with you: it's not about how fast the progress comes. But, not all of us can afford to spend so much time and $$ (for us it is nearly $3K per year per child) unless more is gained. Of course love of music and some sort of progress is important, but it's possible for those things to be taught using MUCH cheaper and MUCH less intensive methods.
The only reason we started Suzuki lessons in the first place is because our children were constantly asking to learn to play the instruments. It was not our idea. In fact, our third has not started yet because I'm not truly convinced it's HIS idea. Also, three kids in Suzuki lessons might just break our bank right now. He can wait another year or until he's "dying to play" like his siblings.
Sorry. I didn't mean to imply that Suzuki lessons are only worth it if a certain speed of progress is being made. I know we're happy with the Suzuki lessons, even if signing the check does start dh spinning.
ETA: My kids still don't have PERFECT intonation. That one is a lifetime work in progress, I think. Dd can play anything she hears once or twice, but still works on keeping those third and fourth fingers at just the right distance for half-steps in the upper registers. :)
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Ds would probably recommend the Lightning Thief and sequels, which has been suggested several times already, and the Redwall series. There are a bunch of Redwall books (by Brian Jacques) and they are a real hit over here. The first in the series is about how an abbey of small animals defends itself from attack by a rat/gangster/criminal. It kept ds on the edge of his seat for hours straight. Couldn't hardly get eye contact from him all day.
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He *could* have dyslexia. I was surprised to find out that my dd, who can actually read a year above grade level (but reads with the classic symptoms), has dyslexia. You might consider getting him tested or at least using resources for people with dyslexia. There's so much info out there nowadays.
We're using AAS Level 1 (after learning to read with Hooked on Phonics) and she has really improved quite a bit in the last few months. Can't promise it's the curriculum that's doing it. Might be just more attention to teaching her strategies?
Good luck! :)
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Mental illness in my family, too. Do you ever wonder if it will happen to you too? That it could be genetic? That's SO scary! Sounds like you are too busy to wonder, though. :)
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Ds started cello and 5.5 and dd started viola at 3.5. Some say that the earlier you start them, the slower they progress at the beginning, but this is not universally true. Dd completed book 1 before she was 5. (As I say this, I must admit that dd has a friend who started violin at 4.5 and has only now, 3 years later, gotten to the midway point in book 1. All kids are different.)
The two kids have been progressing at a fairly equal rate until recently, when now 7 y.o. dd outpaced her older brother. (Thank goodness they now play different songs or we'd see huge competition issues.) The kids have played for 4.5 and 3.5 years and are both in book 4 of their Suzuki repertoire.
Depending on the child's interest level, beginning at 3 or 4 can be completely worthwhile. If I had a child who was progressing so slowly that (s)he couldn't complete the first book after 3 years, though, I don't think I'd continue spending the money. I don't know. It's really a stretch for us, economically, but it's been worth it so far. The kids have learned so much that I couldn't have taught them (and I don't just mean musically).
Have fun!
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So you are saying that the goal of school is not to prepare a person for entry into college?
I didn't find college work to be much of a leap after I finished high school.
Wendy,
In general, the goal of the public schools is NOT to prepare a person to enter college. (That's why parents can choose to send their child to a "college prep" private school.)
The American public schools developed on Dewey's system, I think, and the Kaiser's German system of public education. The goal is to encourage conformity and prepare the population for the factory work of the industrial revolution time period. Anyway, I read that somewhere. John Gatto maybe? Or perhaps it was William J. Bennet or E.D. Hirsch?
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We did the Core K without the IG. The books don't need to be read in any particular order like they do in Core 1+. I was completely comfortable discussing the books as we read them without the suggestions in the IG. That said, I have used the IG for the higher cores. Wouldn't even try doing them without the IG. Great maps, background info, narration/discussion questions etc.
Have fun!
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My kids don't play the guitar, but they have friends that do. Suzuki teachers/schools will start kids on guitar at 6 (or younger) with no problems.
Here's a link to check out for info:
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Sonlight Cores (with a little tweaking) and Singapore Math hands down!
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It is not true, across the board, that early reading leads to the need for glasses. Two of my children are reading. The one that DOESN'T need glasses started reading chapter books at 5. The one that is just getting to chapter books now, at 7, is the one with glasses.
My early reading kiddo would sit and read for hours at a time, so I don't think there is a definitive link between focusing close up for long periods of time when young and the need for glasses. My guess is that we could find one kid with no need for glasses for every one that ends up needing them (after reading lots and early).
Doctors (and others) come up with all sorts of theories. But can they prove them? :)
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If you're in the Northeast, try Johnson Strings (near Boston). They have a good supply of rentals and apply the first year's rental payments to the purchase of a new instrument. Their sales people are top notch and know what they're doing. They supply instruments to schools, music schools, etc. as far away as New York City.
Website address: http://www.johnsonstring.com/
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Dd would be a second grader in the fall.
Singapore Math
Sonlight's Language Arts
All About Spelling
viola lessons (Suzuki)
Meet the Masters art curriculum
either RS4K books we already have or R.E.A.L. Earth Science
perhaps Prima Latina or Rosetta Stone Russian (Russian used in the home)
I'm still not sure about history. She's tagging along with big brother's SL Core 3 this year, so we could go on doing that with Core 4 next year or do a Winter Promise American history part two year with her. Or maybe we'll start her with Core 1 and SOTW 1. I'm not going to decide until the end of summer.
I'll probably change my mind several times before August anyway.
:)
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Did it show mating too??? :blushing: THAT would lead to a conversation that I don't think the girls are quite ready for! )
This is related to the farm life post. We used to live in the city -- and then the suburbs. We now live on a farm. One "perk" of living on a farm that I was just NOT ready for was the mating questions coming from my 5 year old. (We have female AND male varieties of several types of fowl. We have female goats that need to be bred in order to make milk. That kinda thing.) It just can't be avoided (along with the death and predator/prey topics) when you live on a farm. Sigh.
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No offense meant, but it seems to me, if your son is completing Singapore Primary Math 6B in the 6th grade, that he is doing fine with math. I know *many* families that use SM a grade level behind their child's actual grae level. The CWP problems are *supposed* to be challenging. Some of the problems (especially Take the Challenge) have been challenging for *me* and I'm an adult who was always good at math in school.
Anyway, I believe PM's 6th grade level is equivalent to a Pre-Algebra. Did you have your son take any placement tests? Saxon's placement tests put my ds (just completed 4B) into 7/6. It seems to follow reason that someone completing PM's level 6 might place into Algebra 1. Don't know... but you might try it.
Good luck!
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Baby goats rock!
Enjoy them!
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Very timely!
I didn't know of that site. Thanks for the link! I've already found a couple of interesting resources there.
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Oh, these are GREAT ideas. Thank you for posting the question! Now I know just what we need.
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How about Real Science 4 Kids?
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It's always cheaper to use the same curriculum for all the kids. Sometimes, though, you run into a kid for whom it just doesn't work well! This just happened to me with spelling. I was so excited about Spelling Power. It worked easily and simply for my oldest... and with the idea of using it through high school with the various activity cards for multiple learning styles, I was set. Or so I thought. Enter daughter who needs the spelling rules taught explicitly.
I kept reading about All About Spelling here on the board. We are trying it. So far so good.
violin--Which one would you buy?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I'm with you about being an e-bay chicken when it comes to purchasing instruments. I've heard too many "horror" stories!