After more than 16 years with the same charter school, we are now flying solo. Really, it is not much of a change since we worked independently, but it is still a bit liberating to not have to contend with the pressure to conform to the Common Core Standards in curriculum choices. Waiting for math to arrive and plan to start school with all subjects on September 8th. Previewing/reading our first tandem novel of the year. Locating online spelling list rather than using a book. Following up on this thread about teaching civics and the election cycle: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/621779-xpost-us-election-study-plans/?p=7169665

thanks!

Foerster, Algebra 1 question: Do I really need Math Without Borders or is buying the solutions manual enough? DD struggled through Singapore's Dimensions Math at the beginning of last year, but by the end of the year her troubles were over. We only had the solutions from the text to guide us. I like the idea of Math Without Borders, but do I need the solutions manual too, or is the solutions manual more valuable than Math Without Borders ?? :huh: Thanks for your insight.

Have them join a swim team at the beginning level. Swim lessons are OK, but swim team teaches kids how to swim. Whatever path you choose, they need to learn water safety. Every year 2-5 people drown in the river near by. They fall out of inner tubes or out of kayaks and drown.

I read somewhere recently that pre-school does not have as great an impact if the family is struggling. Poverty does not necessarily make for a poor schooling outcome if a child comes from a stable home environment. Free food for at least breakfast and lunch might help too. Good teachers are a must. But why would America's best and brightest go into teaching when it pays so little? Maybe to pay off student loans? What happened to vocational training? We started vocational training in early middle school. Those were the best classes for everyone. Seldom were there behavior issues. Girls took woodshop and boy took home economic. The confidence I gained as a pre teen girl using shop tools was fantastic. Not everyone is college material, nor do many jobs require a college degree. Something neither presidential candidate is talking about is the future of jobs as our world becomes increasingly automated. Wages for jobs that do not require a college degree cannot support one person let alone a family. America has gone from an export economy to a service economy. Those service jobs do not pay a living wage. Food for thought--Probably on the left side of the political spectrum, Watch Creating Freedom: The Lottery of Birth.

I did not go to town. I did not shop online. I made food from scratch. I picked blackberries

Thanks! Wax cube warmer? Will have her look this up. Thanks. I make the dryer balls. Neighbor has sheep. It takes some time to make good, felted dryer balls. Useful and not just spa is a good idea. Thanks. Wow. A useful gift basket for the right older friends--neighbors-- might be the way to go. Thanks.

Bath tea with salts or salts in a jar? Sugar scrubs look nice. Bath bombs? I love the fizz but don't like sitting in the water. I bet she'd love making 'em. Thanks for the suggestions.

I see these and would not use myself. DD knows how to crochet. Great idea! I will tell her. Thanks

DD has been making soap. I put her soaps up on Etsy, but no one is interested. :huh: Everyone we've given the soap and body butter to love what she has made, but no one is buying online. I even tried eBay for her. No luck. She still likes making soap. Now she wants to make Christmas gift baskets for her friends, grandparents, etc. I want her to make stuff people will use. A lot of spa gift baskets include candles, I'd never use a candle so I don't suggest it. I don't want to limit her, so I am asking what you like and don't like in a spa gift basket. So far she is going to include soap and body butter. Thanks for your ideas.

8th grade literature with a selection of old and new classics, plus some nonfiction. My reader is not a fan of historical fiction . The Handmaiden's Tale & The House of the Scorpion Animal Farm & Lord of the Flies To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Sawyer Of Mice and Men Poetry Our Town & Romeo and Juliette Into Thin Air & Night Fallen Angels & Sunrise Over Fallujah I also bought Literature: and Introduction to Reading and Writing. DD is a strong reader and she should be OK with this if I modify it to meet her needs.

I have two college age kids. One is excellent with money. She has a credit card with her name on my account. Very responsible kid. No worries. Her big brother also has a credit card with his name on my account, and I have taken it away several times for overspending. Are these two related??? He has no concept of how much he spends using a credit card. It is a maturity issue. We get solicitations from banks all the time. I throw them away even for my good money manager. Only when my good money manager has a steady job, pays rent, and can float a credit card on her own will I advise her to get her own card in her name separate from my account. Good credit is too valuable to squander at a young age.

I bought these to travel in last summer: Clarks I like that these shoes came in a wide for my fat feet, had adjustable straps for flying, and are an easy on and off. The height is perfect for walking in all day and makes dress/skirt wearing enjoyable on vacation. I carried a backpack in train stations and walked up to 5 miles a day in cities wearing these shoes.

Totally agree with regentrude! Geometry, not algebra is a skill I wish I took more seriously in high school. It is a skill I use most for making-building anything from a house to a raised garden bed frame, to quilting and hand painting signs on a cylinder. Geometry matters!

Low-flow everything. Have you done this yet???? Bricks in toilet to displace water. Turn off water when showering. Soap up with no water. Rinse. Or 3rd world show with a bucket and a scoop. Wash dishes by hand with a basin. Limit dishes. One set each. No extras Wear clothes longer. Do you really need to wash after one wearing? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no.

Dispatches

Oh my! These are so cute. I always get Greenroom notebooks from Target for DD. It's the covers and nice quality paper that I like. Graph paper notebook for math Pencil/pen case. A new binder

This is a meaty book, but I do not think it beyond an 8th grader with good reading skills. Reading is not the hard part. The challenge is how to frame the chapters so topics can be discussed or written about so that reading does not become a passive activity. As I said in my overview, there are questions at the beginning of each chapter that could be answered by the reader. I am going to use this with my 8th grader because I found A History of US too busy on the page.

This book is big and heavy. More pages than either of the three volumes of The Human Odyssey. 1024 pgs. including index. 41 chapters from prehistory to 2008. Contents include primary source documents and historical close-up of an event. Ch. 1 overview: Key questions begin the chapter. Inset boxes with maps, images, or interesting sidebar information. Some boldfaced vocabulary words defined on same page. No end of chapter questions. All chapters follow the same pattern. Primary source documents are woven into the chapters e.g., diary/journal entries, observations, narratives, etc. Historical Close-up-deeper investigation of an event-"What Happened in Salem and Why?" "The Iran Hostage Crisis-Why?" Chapters are long and dense. This would be a good choice for a strong reader with good summary skills. Key questions at the beginning of the chapter could be used to assess comprehension. Using this book will take some planning to compete in 9-10 months. More challenging than A History of US.

My youngest of four (13) has grown up fully digital. She does not choose to read a book, rather she jumps onto a screen and the hours drain away. Reading for recreation is not happening, and pushing books only makes this teen turn away reading altogether. Thinking out loud: For reading this year (8th grade) I wanted to get her reading without the onerous task of dissection and comprehension. I've looked through numerous guided reading resources and none of them make reading seem enjoyable. Instead of guided reading, I was going to have her keep a response journal of sorts where she would annotate her reading in an effort to get her involved in the act of reading. This is easier to do with non fiction, but I am going to give it a go with fiction too. I am not going to ask that she write many formal papers on her reading. One of the problems I've encountered with my fully digital girl is she will read Wikipedia or Spark Notes and never read the book. She can talk with friends about the book without having ever read the book. This irks me! I know this girl can read at a high level and is very insightful when writing, but I am weary of how easy it is to borrow ideas gleaned online and incorporate them into you thinking and call it your own. The temptation to plagiarize for this digital generation is great. I am also going to read the same books with DD and keep a journal too. We would exchange journals and comment on each other's writing and observations. The idea being that my journal keeping would influence her journal keeping, and her journal would give me a window into her thoughts on what she reads. We spend long hours in the car so we will also discuss on our drives. Limiting screen time with a teen is not a battle I want to engage. Screen time for everyone is a challenge. I'd rather she learn to control the amount of time she spends online. Screen time is an an ongoing school topic and discussed frequently. Thanks for listening :) :tongue_smilie:

Amazon

Mini series: The Night Manager. Really good! Mr. Robot

In the past 20 years I've done paper planners, online planners-Homeschool Tracker free version, and OneNote. Homeschool Trackers was great, but it was a pain to change your plan when your plans change, which is often the case with my homeschool. My current planner of the past several years is OneNote on my MacBook. I can set up the planner by week, by month, have tabs for subjects, add links to video or resources online, and include pictures. When plans change, I can easily alter my plan by cutting an pasting or adding new sections. Very versatile program. Link to the most useful discussions on these boards about OneNote: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/540598-lets-share-how-we-set-up-onenote/?hl=%2Bonenote+%2Bplanner&do=findComment&comment=6181682

My DD-13 flew solo days after this story hit the news. We discussed how she should handle this type of situation should it occur. DD already has a public demeanor she uses. Many are put off by her demeanor, but it protects her. It is not just on airplanes. It is everywhere a young girl/woman might go that she needs to pay attention to what is going on around her and say something.