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HollyinNNV

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Posts posted by HollyinNNV

  1. Here's what I finished:

     

    #15 - Saint Maybe, by Anne Tyler. Typical; page turner; easy read.

     

    #16 - I'd ent or prove his point of view. Now, what really stands out about this book isn't so much the story, but rather that it is my first book read on a Kindle! Needed to learn to use Kindle for work and, while I much prefer to hold a real book in my hand, I can also see the benefits to using this. I'm planning to borrow another Kindle book before

     

    You can borrow a kindle book? How does that work?

    Holly

  2. I've never posted in the "book a week" thread, but I have been reading your conversations. Thought I'd finally share.

     

    21. I'm currently reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I am thoroughly enjoying it, and I am about 2/3 of the way through. I generally do not like novels when I dislike or do not understand the characters. This book is proving to be an anomoly though. I despise most of the characters, with the exception of Roark, but do really find the book thought-provoking. I hate Dominique (isn't her name similar to Dominate?). I hate Ellsworth with a passion. Keating is pathetic. But, I am starting to kind of like Gail Wynand. We will see if that lasts.

     

    20. I just finished Spillover by Quammen. This book was much more interesting than I thought it might be. The book is about zoonotic diseases/viruses , those that spill over from animals to human. The book covered diseases/viruses such as Lyme, HIV, Hendra, Marburg, and Ebola. The most interesting thing I learned was that many scientists now believe that the "spillover" of HIV from animals occurred around the turn of the century, and that HIV made its way to America 10 years before we discovered that it was here. The other aspect of the book that was interesting was that the author highlighted the work of veternarians and ecologists. He made the point that they have contributed in an outstanding way to infectious disease research, often on the frontlines.

     

    19. Lilith's Brood by Butler*****

    Oh..my..goodness. The last time I had such a reaction to a book was when I read The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Lilith's Brood is quite an odd book. It stretched my ability to remain detached and open. It was uncomfortable, yet compelling. I think I felt exactly like the characters in the book many times. What makes us human? What can I live without-or with-and yet still remain myself? How much loyalty do I feel to the human race? Weird and wonderful questions... A weird and highly recommended book.

     

    18. Microbe Hunters by de Kruif

    17. Cobra Event by Preston

    16. The Demon in the Freezer by Preston

    15. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Simonson

    14. Moonseed by Baxter

    13. Ark by Baxter

    12. The Cassandra Project by McDevitt

    11.The Passage by Cronin

    10. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Skloot*****

    9. The Wool Omnibus by Howey

    8. The Companions by Tepper

    7. Flame of Sevenwaters by Marillier

    6. Zoe's Tale by Scalzi

    5.One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Kesey

    4. Pandora's Star by Hamilton

    3. The Naked God by Hamilton

    2. Grass by Tepper

    1. The Neutronium Alchemist by Hamilton

     

    If I *****starred a book, I highly recommend it

    If I don't star it, I thought it was pretty good.

    If I give it a sad face, :( I don't like it at all.

  3.  

     

    I would not recommend this.

    This sequence will put a college bound student at a disadvantage, because she will need to have geometry prior to taking the ACT/SAT.

    Also, a good precalculus will cover trigonometry, which makes no sense if the student had not had geometry before.

     

    I second Jane's recommendation for geometry next. I would make sure to review algebra periodically throughout the year.

     

    I agree. You need geometry for the tests!

  4. I would like to hear feedback from those of you who have entered grad school after an extended absence from the collegiate world. How was the transition to back to college. How was the work load. How did other students react to you in college? What was your educational background, time away from school and then what field were you entering?

     

    Here's what I am trying to figure out. About twenty years ago, I received a Bachelors of Music in music education and viola performance. I would have liked to also major in prel-law or literature, but that wasn't feasible. I was going to go to grad school to get a MM in viola performance. Instead I married my husband (at that time a pre-med student) and had a lovely baby girl. DH's aspirations took us to Nevada, then Texas and back to Nevada. In the meantime I homeschooled our kids did a great deal of co-op teaching-mostly in reading and writing. I also taught in the public schools in Nevada while he was in medical school.

     

    During this time, my viola skills have dulled and frankly I've gotten older and I know my neck/shoulders could not survive a viola masters degree. I am also graduating my baby girl to college and have one 8th grader at home. I would like to continue my education that was cut short, but I have lots of questions as to whether I should.

     

    Can I handle the work? It has been awhile!

    How can I transfer over to a subject like literature, when I do not have the bachelors degree in literature already?

    Is a masters degree worth jumping through hoops like taking a foreign language for two years?

    Why do I want to do this at all? I've wanted to for a long time, but what will I do after I'm done.

     

    I told my dh that maybe I'm just past my educational prime......he said that now is the time to enrich myself however I want to, though it doesn't have to be college.

     

    I don't know what to do or where to start. Any experiences you would like to share?

    Thanks so much!

    Holly

  5.  

     

    For example, last year the Exploration Education Science program is woven in. It is part of the program and not cheap. It would be impossible to find all the parts and manuals for that program. A lot of her stuff is like this.

     

    You can order the logbooks and parts kit for the exploration education stuff separately from the EE website.

    HTH,

    Holly

  6. From the HOD website:

     

    As we moved forward into homeschooling, we had discovered some of the same philosophies that Carrie learned about through public education and some that she hadn’t. We were especially drawn to the ideas put forth by Charlotte Mason and found ourselves agreeing with much of her philosophy of education.

     

    We mainly focused on her concepts of short lessons and readings; selection of “living books†read purposefully over time; exposure to poetry, music, art, and nature; and her approach to language arts through narration, copywork, dictation, and memorization.

  7. My daugher took Mrs. Inspektor's class. I highly recommend it.

    Holly

    I'm sure there have been other posts like this one, but I can't find them! What are your opinions on the PA Homeschoolers AP classes? Particularly AP English Language and Composition? My dd is taking APUSH this year with Mrs.Richman and LOVING it!!! So we want to continue the trend with AP composition next year. Are the classes good? I've personally heard that Mrs.Inspektor is excellent, it makes sense of course since she is Mrs.Richman's daughter. :) Please tell me your thoughts!

     

  8. We took the expensive Kaplan course. I waited to post until I had the December data. Dh took the Kaplan MCAT many years ago and credits the score improvement with getting into medical school. Anyways here's dd's data-

     

    Took SAT as a junior in March. Took Kaplan course, then SAT in early fall of senior year. Score improvement was 70 points. Took additional Kaplan course and SAT in December. Score improvement was 210 points. So the total point improvement was 280.

     

    Breakdown

    Critical reading +120

    Math +70

    Writing +90

     

    Dd enjoyed the Kaplan course itself. She thought the tutors kept things funny, light, and quick. There was a lot of extra help available to those who desired it. She didn't have time to do all of the extra homework, but did her best. I will definitely do this with my son, but we will be starting the process about a year earlier!

    HTH,

    Holly

  9.  

     

    I think what is annoying is when someone decides a thread must immediately (or very quickly) be turned into a cupcake/kilt/whatever thread... not because the thread is heated but because they think the OP's opinion is silly. I find this annoying and unfair to the OP. Perhaps the OP didn't state things clearly but they should be given the chance to explain or clarify before everyone decides that their serious question is going to be turned into a joke fest.

     

    I don't mind if a thread actually becomes tense and people use humor to diffuse the tension. I think that's great. What strikes me as bullying is using humor as a passive-aggressive way to say "this thread is a waste of time."

     

    Anyway, it's not just you.

    Janie Grace,

    You read my mind! Your post is what I wanted to say! It is how threads are so quickly turned into jokes that makes me annoyed. And I agree that it is a passive aggressive disrespectful response.

    Holly

  10.  

     

    I disagree. The OP had multiple opportunities to show that her op was anything more than a very sideways attempt at a Hunger Games slam.

     

    This whole thing is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. Someone starts a thread insinuating a connection with a book series that has prompted many heated threads. Doesn't directly state her thoughts, just comes at it indirectly and others are now upset that posters indirectly tried to steer away from the illogical insinuation. Good gracious. If you are going to hold posters accountable for bacon and cupcakes than please hold OP's who start these types of thread equally accountable.

     

    Just pointing out that I never referenced this thread in my OP.

  11. Here's my take if anyone cares :p Those who truly want a genuine deep discussion will usually post a reasonably well thought out OP. It will involve a direct question. When someone starts a topic by coming at it sideways, in what can be interpreted as a passive aggressive approach to a specific agenda, humor is the best form of derailment.

     

    Juniper,

    I agree with you, but I also believe that creating a "reasonably well thought out OP" is really quite difficult. I taught writing for several years. One interesting writing exercise I always enjoyed involved bringing OP's to my class. I would ask my students what they thought of the post. Then I would ask if they found anything objectionable in the post. More often than not, they found the posts reasonable. Then I would let them read some of the responses that clearly showed how offended some responders were. Then we attempted to rewrite the posts. It was challenging! They began to see the power of each individual word and how certain phrases usually provoked anger.

     

    Getting an OP to express exact thoughts without enflaming or confusing readers is a truly difficult task.

  12. I generally lurk, but I have been kind of bummed at this trend lately. There have been a few threads that have been genuinely interesting, that have turned into me pawing through people's jokes so I can get to the content of the thread. If you think the thread will go hostile, can't you just go away from the thread rather than the endless bean dip comments? If you can't see the sense in the thread topic, ignore it and it will probably die. Why inhibit the rest of us from reading/replying? It is like bullying IMO.

     

    I am wondering if it is more annoying (to me) because of the new format of the forum? I can't blast through the nonsense as fast?

     

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