Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

jeri

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    774

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by jeri

    Do you feel homeschool curriculum often lacks basic skills?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Actually, I never would have thought about this. But I have an ESL daughter (home from Ethiopia 2-1/2 years) adn in June she had a screening with the ESL teacher at the school. Basically, she bombed the "life skills" part! That means that she couldn't find food on a menu, read a bar graph, read a map, handle a budget, etc. So then I thought maybe my other (bio) kids might be having problems. So, I bought a map skills book and a great book called Real World Math by Carson-Dellarosa. I also talk a lot more now about the news, geography, current events, reading subway maps when we travel, etc. I *think* it's helping. They really like a lot of what we do also.

     

    jeri

    Help choosing WWI documentary

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    but good.

     

    The Lost Battalion (not for the squeamish--but my war loving boys loved it)

     

    Sargent York (or something like that)

     

    Flyboys (but I had to fast forward through some of the "adult" parts)

     

    Bonne Noel (about the temporary Christmas truce--had to fast forward through a mild bed scene, but at least it was with a marrried couple)

     

    Not sure of your kids ages but mine were 13 and 10.

     

    Jeri

    Question on Significant Digits

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    DD is doing Apologia Chem and although I *think* we have this down, sometimes I'm not so sure! Basically, when doing a two or more step problem (e.g. solve for something, then take that and solve for something else), do you deal with sig fig at all steps, or do you only deal with them at the end and use the fewest sig fig of any number throughout? Also, when dealing with "canned" numbers (such as 32 deg F or 1000g = 1 kg), I guess you don't include these in finding sig dig, right? Thanks.

     

    Jeri

    How long to leave mult tables on the wall?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I have a just-turned-8 yo, a 9 yo and a 10 yo and they all know their multiplication facts. We did it like this: do the 0s, 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s first. They should be pretty easy to do, especially with repetition. Then you can show them that they actually "know" the reverses, such as 8X2 and 9X5. Now show them the 9s with the nines trick (subtract one and add up to 9). Once they know these cold, do the 3s and 6s (because they are related: 3X4 is the same as 3X2 + 3X2). You may need to write some down, but I would just orally drill and only write the ones down that they stumble on. Then you can fill in a multiplication chart and they can see that in reality there are only a few that they don't yet know (I think it's 6 or 8 but I don't have a chart in front of me). Those you write on the white board or on the wall and encourage them to look at them and not count on their fingers!

     

    I did all this memorizing with them with flashcards. I separated out the first set from above and only worked on those. They were surprised to learn how easy it was to memorize about 1/2 the stack in a short time! Then I continued with those and added in the 9s. Gradually I dropped out the 0s, 1s, 2s, etc. since it's a lot of work for a little kid to go through a huge stack! But as I dropped them out, I added the new ones in. Pretty soon they were thrilled to find that they could do all of them except the last few.

     

    This will take you a few weeks, 10 min a day.

     

    Good luck!

    jeri

    Adopting a child older than bio children?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I will first say that I have three bios (13, 10, and 7), and three adopted (13, adopted almost 5 years ago, from eastern Europe), and 10 and 9 (adopted two years ago from Africa). None are older than our bio eldest, but you can see that they were not all that young when we brought them home!

     

    Do I have crazy times? Is this the hardest thing dh and I have done? Have I put one or two in ps for a time because I can't have them at home? Have we had things happen that I was sure would put me over the edge? All the answers here are yes.

     

    I will say that we are so fortunate that we don't have RAD kids or se*ual abuse. But it is something to definitely consider when adopting older kids. It is definitely a risk. Honestly, I would be concerned with having other children that young, and an older boy. But I will not give you a horror story because we have not had that.

     

    Go in with your eyes wide open, realize that what you see isn't necessarily what you get, realize that everyone has "baggage" (some good, some bad and some unknown, even to the person) I agree with other post-ers that sometimes you can do so much more by sponsoring a child long term in their own country. But I wouldn't characterize every adopted child as RAD.

     

    Jeri

    Errors in Lively Latin and Answer key

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    For my 10 yo ds, I love LL because it is ssoooo incremental it borders on slow. But for him, that is very necessary. He is an unwilling Latin candidate and LL is something that I can slow way down on. Now for you, and a sharp willing student, you can just pick up the pace and go! It won't hold you back!

     

    Another like about this is the amount of Roman military history. This is wonderful for my ds, who is all boy in that department.

     

    Honestly, I don't even use the answer key, except for the Roman history questions. I'm fortunate in that my dd (13) is way ahead of ds, and as of last year, even way ahead of me. So, if I have a question about an answer, I will ask her instead of going to the answer key.

     

    Re. LfC: We used this, many years ago, and I remember really liking it and it being a very solid program. So, I think between the two, you can't go wrong!

     

    jeri

    Homeschooling in Germany...

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    We have a number of expat families at our church and several of them are disappointed that we can homeschool, and they can't. (They work with a variety of companies: GM, consulting firms, banks, etc.) Most of them have deals with their company paying tuition bills for the schools the kids attend. If you go that route, make sure you discuss with the company since they are very expensive schools! So, I think the first step is to ask the company if they have SOFA status. But I do have a friend whose dh is a contracter and they homeschool. I will ask her how they worked that and let you know.

     

    jeri

    A Little Unhappy with Okla. State German

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    DD did German 1 last year adn is doing 2 this year. First, for hsers, it's only $250, so I don't think we are paying a lot for the course, especially since it is equivalent to one year's high school credit. However, I do agree that the "tutoring" (and I use the term loosely) is lacking. I would prefer someone who (in German) goes over the homework or discusses in German with dd. But, given that I don't want to drive her into school, and that I think the cost of the course is very reasonable, and that I do want the emphasis to be on the grammar, I'm ok with all that.

     

    BTW, it helps that we are living in Germany and I have hired a tutor (starting next week) to do nothing but talk with my kids! Can you find another tutor to work with?

     

    jeri

    Taking a family trip to Germany

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I beg to differ with you, Asta, but we've found the police to be very fair. DH parked our van in a temporary "do not park" zone (street construction where we usually park). Someone let him know that there was a police officer right next to our van, he went out and apologized and explained that he doesn't read German. The police officer tore up the ticket he had written (which you will never see in the US) and dh moved the van.

     

    Second time, I pulled a uturn where I was not supposed to do so (again, it's knowing what all the signs mean in German and knowing the European road signs) very early on a Sat am when it was still dark. Pulled over, the officers switched to English when they realized that my German was limited. I apologized, explained that I had misunderstood the sign and they let me go with a warning. Very considerate, I thought.

     

    As for demonstrations, I've never heard of anyone getting killed in one and we've been here for 1.5 years. I do listen to the German news (don't get all of it but I know the words for demonstration, killing, shooting, etc.) and it doesn't happen here!

     

    Other than those two things, I will agree with most of the suggestions that Asta made. But we've found people here to be kind and helpful (well, except for the checkers at Aldi's but *no one*, even Germans, find them to be considerate!). So stick with your plans!

     

    Jeri

    2 part question: Lively Art of Writing, and is this ok for 9th grade English?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Just got the LAoW and it looks really good! DD did CW up to Diogenes before both of us burned out, so we never really got beyond expository writing. I can tell she is struggling with what I am trying to have her do this year, which is to write an essay on the prompts in Omnibus. So, I am now thinking that I will continue to have her write an expository essay on one the chapters in the History of the Ancient World (swb) and to use this first semester to go through the LAoW. The question is, have you used this as part of a course on essay writing for high school? If so, how did you do it? I am thinking about having her read the chapter, we discuss, then she answers the questions at the back. What do you think?

     

    Part 2: She is in 8th by age but is doing pretty much all high school work. Here is what I am having her do this year and I will count it as one English credit:

     

    --R&S 8 (I know it's 8, but I think it's at least equal to the Warriner's complete that I used way back when in 9th grade)

    --Vocab from Classical Roots: She just finished Book A, and is starting Book B. I think she will finish Book C (which is listed as 9th grade) and probably Book D by the end of this year. It helps that she has taken lots of Latin!

    --Omnibus for Lit--reading through adn discussing choice works in Omnibus. This won't include everything it lists, but I think it will be a good selection of ancient literature.

    --first semester will be LAoW and second semester will be essay writing to put this into use (maybe one essay/two weeks on something in ancient history)

     

    Anyone have any input? Remember, I'm trying to make this a general 9th grade English class. Any ideas for anything else?

     

    Thanks!

     

    Jeri

    Two Part Question re. Lively Art of Writing, and is this ok for 9th grade English

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Just got the LAoW and it looks really good! DD did CW up to Diogenes before both of us burned out, so we never really got beyond expository writing. I can tell she is struggling with what I am trying to have her do this year, which is to write an essay on the prompts in Omnibus. So, I am now thinking that I will continue to have her write an expository essay on one the chapters in the History of the Ancient World (swb) and to use this first semester to go through the LAoW. The question is, have you used this as part of a course on essay writing for high school? If so, how did you do it? I am thinking about having her read the chapter, we discuss, then she answers the questions at the back. What do you think?

     

    Part 2: She is in 8th by age but is doing pretty much all high school work. Here is what I am having her do this year and I will count it as one English credit:

     

    --R&S 8 (I know it's 8, but I think it's at least equal to the Warriner's complete that I used way back when in 9th grade)

    --Vocab from Classical Roots: She just finished Book A, and is starting Book B. I think she will finish Book C (which is listed as 9th grade) and probably Book D by the end of this year. It helps that she has taken lots of Latin!

    --Omnibus for Lit--reading through adn discussing choice works in Omnibus. This won't include everything it lists, but I think it will be a good selection of ancient literature.

    --first semester will be LAoW and second semester will be essay writing to put this into use (maybe one essay/two weeks on something in ancient history)

     

    Anyone have any input? Remember, I'm trying to make this a general 9th grade English class. Any ideas for anything else?

     

    Thanks!

     

    Jeri

    Taking a family trip to Germany

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    We live near Frankfurt right now and you will have a great trip. My only concern would be the cost of schlepping 8 of you around. We have six kids and often find it difficult and expensive. Not bad, you just have to double what a "normal" family would pay. Also, hotels are set up for a max of four people (and that's for a "family" room) so you will have to ask for two "family" rooms. (We would try to stay in Residence Inn type places in the States but I don't think they exist here.)

     

    I think that homeaway.com (as Lucy mentioned) is terrific if you can find a place to settle down for a few days. We did this in Rome and in the Netherlands when we traveled there and the complete kitchen and the apartmnet style living was so worth it! We do a lot of bread/jam/cereal/hard boiled eggs for breakfast (bought the night before from an Aldis or a Lidl), an Aldis lunch (bring plastic forks, spoons cups and buy rolls, yogurt, cold cuts fruit to eat on the way), and then dinner is often at a donner place (Turkish, big food, not a big price) or pizza, or even (last time we traveled!) at Ikea! We have found that everywhere you go in Germany there are people doing the picnic thing with their families, and they will carry their lunches in with them to museums, etc. Another option is brat stalls which can be found anywhere--a brat with a roll and french fries for 4 euro. Buy dinks adn lots of fruit/carrots at Aldis. (I would even pack a lunch kit--plastic cups/cutlery, plastic plates, a jack knife, hand sanitizer, and a peeler in a zip loc bag to bring).

     

    *Always* ask for the "familiekarte" at museums, attractions since many places will allow two adults and X number of children (sometimes all of your own children--yipee!) in for a reduced rate over individual tickets. Great deal for large families living here!

     

    Our biggest beef is the lack of public water. For us to go out to eat, you cannot just ask for tap water like inthe States. You have to buy bottled water, which costs as much as the soda and beer. Last time we went to a really inexpensive schnitzel place (70 euro for the 8 of us), almost 1/3 of the bill was for drinks! I think each child had a soda (10 oz is std) and dh and I had a beer (3 euro ea). (In France we found it was perfectly normal to ask for a pitcher of tap water, Vive la France!) But for long day trips you will need to haul around bottled water since there is no such thing as a drinking fountain here.

     

    You really should bring or rent a gps while you are here. I have a really good sense of direction and had never used one in the States, but I use one all the time here.

     

    You may be able to save money by renting two cars. We didn't have a van when we first moved here and looked at renting one but it was very expensive. We never felt the trains were worthwhile for us when traveling partly because of the size of our family.

     

    If you come after Dec 1, you may get to visit some Christmas Markets which are wonderful! Your ideas for the castles and Rottenburg are right on. Rudesheim, which is on the Rhein route, is a great town to get off in and to take the chairlifts up over the vineyards. My friend just got back from Wittenburg on a tour with her church and really liked it. You will have a great time here! We love living here and there is so much to see and do! For your kids, try to visit some of the public German playgrounds--so much more fun than the American ones!

     

    jeri

×
×
  • Create New...