Carol | August 3, 2011
I LOVE THIS!!!!!!! You have a choice!! Let your kids stay home this September! We’ve been doing it for thirteen years, and will continue until the Baby graduates. Homeschooling ROCKS!!
No Agenda Homeschool – The Runaway Train
Carol | June 25, 2011
Saving Capitalism One Fifth Grader At A Time
http://biggovernment.com/driehl/2011/06/18/saving-capitalism-one-fifth-grader-at-a-time/
Carol | June 13, 2011
N17’s Book Rating System (His comments added in brackets.)
****** Tolkien
***** Epic, maybe a masterpiece
**** Excellent
*** Good. Worth Reading.
** Ok…
* Bad, possibly terrible.
-* Impossibly terrible.
Books Son N17 read this year homeschooling in Grade Twelve at ages sixteen and seventeen:
Phantastes: A Faerie Romance ~ George McDonald ***** (Superb!)
History of the Kings of Britain ~ Geoffrey of Monmouth **** (More legends than history but really entertaining and easy to read.)
The Prince ~ Niccolò Machiavelli ***
Childhood’s End ~ Arthur C. Clarke ***
Beowulf ***** (Essential reading)
The Alchemist ~ Paulo Coelho *** (I liked it more for its story than for its cookie-cutter ‘pursue your dreams’ message.) (A quick, easy, cozy read but not worthy of all its praise)
The Laird’s Inheritance ~ George MacDonald **** (Pretty good)
The Tale of Genji ~ Murasaki Shikibu ***** (Masterpiece) (One of the best, if not the best novel ever written.)
Letters from Father Christmas ~ J.R.R. Tolkien ** (A collection of letters that Tolkien wrote to his children, sometimes amusing, but I’m surprised it was published)
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal ~ Ayn Rand ***** (Excellent defense of Capitalism)
Fountainhead ~Ayn Rand *** (Read Atlas Shrugged instead)
Atlas Shrugged ~ Ayn Rand ***** (A boring, literary defense of Capitalism and Individual Liberty.) (Terrible and superb at the same time)
Anthem ~ Ayn Rand *** (I’d rather read Atlas Shrugged even though it’s a lot longer)
The Art of War ~ Sun Tzu **** (an ancient and famous military treatise)
Alfred The Great ~ Simon Keynes ***
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo **** (This is Tolkien’s translation of them)
Tales From The Perilous Realm ~ J.R.R. Tolkien ***** (Four short stories from Tolkien, enough said)
The Mabinogion ***
The Gammage Cup ~ Carol Kendall *** (a fun read)
Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves ** (not ‘bad’, but the real Faerie Queen should be read instead)
Gregory of Tours: History of the Franks ***
The Count of Monte Cristo ~ Alexander Dumas ****
The Complete English Poems ~ George Herbert *** (good but not worth writing a thesis on)
The City of God ~ Augustine ****
The Consolation of Philosophy ~ Boethius ***
William of Malmesbury’s Chronicle of the Kings of England ***
The Two Lives of Charlemagne ~ Einhard and Notker the Stammerer ***
The Divine Comedy: Inferno ~ Dante ***
The Divine Comedy: Purgatory ~ Dante ***
The Divine Comedy: Paradise ~ Dante ****
1 and 2 Corinthians
The Saga of the Volsungs: ***** (My favorite Norse Saga)
Le Morte D’Arthur ~ St. Thomas Malory **** (My favorite ‘version’ of the Arthur Legend)
Idylls of the King ~ Tennyson **** (Second favorite)
Leviticus
St. Thomas and St. Francis ~ G.K. Chesterton ***
Numbers
The Great Divorce ~ C. S. Lewis ***
1 and 2 Thessalonians
The Name of the Rose ~ Umberto Eco **** (Exellent!)
The Decameron ~ Giovanni Boccaccio ***** (100+ novelas) (Excellent!)
The Patriot’s History Of The United States ~ Larry Schweikart ****
The Real Benjamin Franklin ~ Andrew M. Allison ****
The Real George Washington ~ Jay A. Parry ****
The Real Thomas Jefferson ~ Andrew M. Allison ****
George Washington’s Sacred Fire ~ Peter A. Lillback ****
The Qur’an **
Summa Theologica ~ Thomas Aquinas ****
The Praise of Folly ~ Desiderious Erasmus *
How to Prepare SAT 09 24th Edition (completed five practice tests)
Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students ~ Crowley, Hawhee
Above material has been recorded in university portfolio. The following literature was read/studied/completed after February 2011.
Omnibus V: The Medieval World ***
Don Quixote ~ Cervantes ***** (Masterpiece) (One of literature’s finest works, it’s even funny.)
Canturbury Tales ***
Romeo and Juliet **** (Actually one of my favorite Shakespeare plays)
Othello **
A Comedy of Errors ***
History of the Franks ~ Gregory of Tours ***
Tartuffe ~ Moliere **
Crime and Punishment ~ Dostoyevsky ***
Summa of the Summa ~ Edited by Peter Kreeft ***
Monologion, Proslogion, Why God Became Man ~ Anselm of Canturbury ***
Two Lives of Charlemagne ~ Einhard and Notker the Stammerer ***
Consolation of Philosophy ~ Boethius **
The Travels ~ Marco Polo **
Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Francis of Assisi ~ G.K. Chesterton ***
Chronicle of the Kings of England ~ William of Malmesbury ***
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God **
Romance of the Three Kingdoms ~ Luo Guanzhong *****
Conquering Gotham ~ Jill Jones * (Not about Batman, sadly.)
The Tale of the Heike ***** (Samurai!)
The Worm Ourboros ~ E.R. Eddison ***
Samuel Adams: A Life ~ Ira Stoll **
Alfred the Great **
Disappointment with God ~ Philip Yancey **
Calvin’s Teachings on Jobs ~ Derek Thomas **
Freedom of the Will ~ Jonathan Edwards **
Don’t Waste your Life ~ John Piper **
On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State ~ Joseph Strayer **
Economic Facts and Fallacies ~ Thomas Sowell ***
Ethics ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer **
A Distant Mirror ~ Barbara Tuchman **
Giants: The Parallel Lives of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas ***
Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones ~ George R. R. Martin **** (The series is really good) (But very dark and gritty, not for kids)
Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings ~ George R. R. Martin ****
Song of Ice and Fire: A Storm of Swords ~ George R. R. Martin ****
Song of Ice and Fire: A Feast for Crows ~ George R. R. Martin ****
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio ~ Po Songling ***** (Collection of 100+ short stories, ranging from entertaining to superb)
Narrow Road to the Deep North ~ Matsuo Basho **** (Surprisingly good) (probably not for everyone though)
The Silmarillion ~ J.R.R. Tolkien ****** (A genius work of epic fantasy)
The Hobbit ~ J.R.R. Tolkien ****** (My favorite book of all time)
Dream of the Red Chamber ~ Cao Xequin ***** (the most acclaimed of classical Chinese literature) (extremely hard to approach but immensely rewarding) (probably difficult for some people) (Then again if you’re already interested in this kind of thing then you’re probably up for the challenge)
Paradise Lost ~ Milton ***** (Masterpiece)
The Book of Lost Tales I ~ J.R.R. Tolkien ****** (Fantastic as always)
The Book of Lost Tales II ~ J.R.R. Tolkien ****** (See above)
The Fellowship of the Ring ~ J.R.R. Tolkien ****** (Still a joy to go back to and read)
General Chemistry: Essential Concepts ~ Chang
The Feymman Lectures on Physics Volume 1
Rosetta Stone Japanese Level I (working on at present)
Let’s Learn Kanji ~ Mitamura
Let’s Learn Hiragana ~ Mitamura
(Some books are likely missing from the list. He also skimmed and read excerpts from many other books.)
(Click here for Grade Twelve schedule and curriculum that was loosely followed.)
Past three years:
Books N14 Read in Grade Nine
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/06/19/books-n14-read-in-grade-nine/
Books N15 Read in Grade Ten
http://parentingfreedom.com/2009/06/08/books-n15-read-in-grade-ten/
Books N16 Read in Grade Eleven
http://parentingfreedom.com/2010/06/22/books-n16-read-in-grade-eleven/
Carol | June 13, 2011
B12’s Book Rating System
***** Epic
**** Very Good
*** Worth Reading
** Limited Value
* Meh
Books Son B12 read this year homeschooling in Grade Seven at ages eleven and twelve:
Veritas Press Omnibus I: Biblical and Classical Civilizations
Genesis
Exodus
Gilgamesh ~ rendered by David Ferry ***
Code of Hammurabi ~ Translated by W.W. Davies ***
I and II Samuel
I and II Kings
The Odyssey ****
Histories, Herodotus ***
Aeschylus: Oresteia ***
Plutarch’s Lives ***
Chosen By God ~ R.C. Sproul ****
Till We Have Faces ~ C. S. Lewis ***
Magician’s Nephew ~ C. S. Lewis ***
Horse and His Boy ~ C. S. Lewis ****
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe ~ C. S. Lewis ***
Prince Caspian ~ C. S. Lewis ***
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ~ C. S. Lewis ***
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Minor Prophets
Sophocles **
Last Days of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology and Crito ****
Last Days of Socrates: Phaedo ***
Early History of Rome ****
Luke and Acts
Aeneid ~ Virgil ***1/2
The Silver Chair ~ C. S. Lewis ***
The Last Battle ~ C. S. Lewis ***
Best Things in Life ~ Peter Kreeft ***
Unaborted Socrates ~ Peter Kreeft ****
Galatians
Romans
James
Twelve Caesars ***
Julius Caesar ***
Revelation
Eagle of the Ninth ***
Screwtape Letters ***
The Holiness of God ****
The Old Man and the Sea ~ Ernest Hemingway ***
The Art of War ~ Sun Tzu ***
Don Quixote ~ translated by John Rutherford *****
Death on the Nile ~ Agatha Christie ****
The Gammage Cup ~ Carol Kendall ****
Hittite Warrior ~ Joanne Williamson ***
The Lost Prince ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett ***
America Alone ~ Mark Steyn *****
A Healthier You ~ A Beka Book ***
Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Ugly Truth ~ Jeff Kinney ***
Great Expectations ~ Charles Dickens ***
Gulliver’s Travels ~ Jonathan Swift ***
Clouds ~ Aristophanes ***
Childhood’s End ~ Arthur C. Clarke ***
A Little Brother to the Bear ~ William J. Long ***
Little Britches ~ Ralph Moody ***
Stonewall ~ John J. Dwyer ***
The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories ~ Dorothy L. Sayers ***
Unnatural Death ~ Dorothy L. Sayers **
The Nine Tailors ~ Dorothy L. Sayers *****
Clouds of Witness ~ Dorothy L. Sayers ***
The Fellowship of the Ring ~ J.R.R. Tolkien *****
The Two Towers ~ J.R.R Tolkien *****
The Return of the King ~ J.R.R. Tolkien *****
The Hobbit ~ J.R.R. Tolkien *****
Tales From the Perilous Realm ~ J.R.R. Tolkien *****
The Atlas of Middle Earth ~ Karent Wynn Fonstad ***
Tripods Series:
When the Tripods Came ~ John Christopher ***
The White Mountains ~ John Christopher ****
The City of Gold and Lead ~ John Christopher ***
The Pool of Fire ~ John Christopher ***
The Bartimaeus Trilogy:
The Amulet of Samarkand ~ Jonathan Stroud ****
The Golem’s Eye ~ Jonathan Stroud ****
Ptolemy’s Gate ~ Jonathan Stroud ****
Eragon ~ Christopher Paolini ****
Eldest ~ Christopher Paolini ****
Brisingr ~ Christopher Paolini ****
What Will Happen in Eragon IV? ~ Richard Marcus ***
The Fallacy Detective ***
The Thinking Toolbox ~ Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn ****
The Usborne Guide to Playing Chess ***
Science Detectives ~ Editors of YES Mag *
The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing ~ Jason Kelly ***
Guide to Investing in Gold & Silver ~ Michael Maloney ***
The Westminster Confession of Faith
Trial and Triumph Stories from Church History ~ Richard Hannula ***
Exploring Creation With General Science ~ Dr. Jay L. Wile ****
Essentials Canadian History Pre-Colonization to 1867: The Beginning of a Nation
The Overton Window ~ Glenn Beck ***
The O’Reilly Factor For Kids ~ Bill O’Reilly **
(Click here for Grade Seven schedule and curriculum which was loosely followed.)
Past three years:
Books B9 Read in Grade Four
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/06/18/books-b9-read-in-grade-four/
Books B10 Read in Grade Five
http://parentingfreedom.com/2009/06/08/books-b10-read-in-grade-five/
Books B11 Read in Grade Six
http://parentingfreedom.com/2010/06/22/books-b11-read-in-grade-six/
Carol | June 13, 2011
C9’s Book Rating System
***** I LOVE IT! AWESOME!
**** Really, really good.
*** Cool. Worth reading.
** Not bad.
* Bad.
Books Daughter C9 read this year homeschooling in Grade Four at age nine:
Where the Red Fern Grows ~ Wilson Rawls ***
Alice in Wonderland ~ Lewis Carroll ***
Bridge to Terabithia ~ Katherine Paterson ****
The Story of Helen Keller ~ Lorena A. Hickok ****
Helen Keller’s Teacher ~ Margaret Davidson ****
Thimble Summer ~ Elizabeth Enright ***
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle ~ Betty MacDonald *
The Story of the Amulet ~ E. Nesbit ****
Heidi ****
Aesop’s Fables ****
Cheaper by the Dozen ~ Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey ****
Jack and Jill ~ Louisa May Alcott *****
Ribsy ~ Beverly Cleary ****
Ducktails ~ Janette Oke *****
A Girl’s Best Friend *****
Best Christmas Pageant Ever *****
The Railway Children ~ E. Nesbit ***
A Week in the Woods ~ Andrew Clements **
The Report Card ~ Andrew Clements **
Sadie Rose and the Daring Escape ~ Hilda Stahl **
Ballet Shoes ~ Noel Streatfeild *****
English Fairy Tales ~ Joseph Jacobs **
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing ~ Judy Blume ***
The Tale of Despereax ~ Kate DiCamillo **
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm ~ Kate Douglas Wiggin **
Adventures of Pinocchio ~ C. Collodi *
The Secret Garden ~ Frances Hodgson Bernett ****
Baby Island ~ Carol Ryrie Brink *****
The Door in the Wall ~ Marguerite De Angeli **
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler ~ E.L. Konigsburg ****
Faerie Gold Treasures from the Lands of Enchantments ***
Gone-Away Lake ~ Elizabeth Enright ****
Return to Goneaway ~ Elizabeth Enright ***
The Indian in the Cupboard ~ Lynne Reid Banks ***
The Return of the Indian ~ Lynne Reid Banks ***
The Secret of the Indian ~ Lynne Reid Banks ***
The Mystery of the Cupboard ~ Lynne Reid Banks ***
The Key to the Indian ~ Lynne Reid Banks ***
Cherry Ames Army Nurse ~ Helen Wells **
Cherry Ames Verterans’ Nurse ~ Helen Wells **
Trixie Belden The Secret of the Unseen Treasure ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Mystery of the Missing Heiress ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Mystery of the Queen’s Necklace ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden and the Mystery on Cobbett’s Island ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Mystery of the Castaway Children ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Red Trailer Mystery ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Mystery in Arizona ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Black Jacket Mystery ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Marshland Mystery ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Mystery of the Emeralds ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden The Mystery of the Blinking Eye ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden Mystery at Saratoga ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Missing Millionaire ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden Mystery at Mead’s Mountain ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
Trixie Belden Mystery of the Ghostly Galleon ~ Kathryn Kenny *****
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe ~ C.S. Lewis *****
Prince Caspian ~ C.S. Lewis ****
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ~ C.S. Lewis ****
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ~ J.K. Rowling (again) **
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ J.K. Rowling (again) *
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ J.K. Rowling (again) *
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ J.K. Rowling (again) *****
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ J.K. Rowling (again) ****
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ J.K. Rowling (again) ****
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ J.K. Rowling (again)*****
Anne of Green Gables ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery (again) *****
Anne of Ingleside ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery (again) *****
Rainbow Valley ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery (again) *****
Jane of Lantern Hill ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery *****
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum (again) *****
The Marvelous Land of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
Ozma of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
The Road to Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
The Emerald City of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
The Patchwork Girl of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
Little Wizard Stories of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
Tik-Tok of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
The Scarecrow of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
Rinkitink in Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
The Lost Princess of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
The Tin Woodman of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
The Magic of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
Glinda of Oz ~ L. Frank Baum *****
Diary of a Wimpy Kid ~ Jeff Kinney (again) ****
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules ~ Jeff Kinney ****
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw ~ Jeff Kinney ****
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Gone Days ~ Jeff Kinney ****
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do It Yourself ~ Jeff Kinney *
Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Ugly Truth ~ Jeff Kinney ***
Mandie and the Shipboard Mystery ~ Lois Gladys Leppard ****
Mandie and the Midnight Journey ~ Lois Gladys Leppard *****
Mandie and the Cherokee Legend ~ Lois Gladys Leppard *****
and more…
Mary Poppins ~ P.L Travers *****
Mary Poppins Comes Back ~ P.L. Travers *****
Mary Poppins Opens the Door ~ P.L. Travers *****
Mary Poppins in the Park ~ P.L. Travers *****
Usborne Science Encyclopedia *
What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? ~ Mark Dinsmore **
The Great Dinosaur Mystery ~ Paul S. Taylor **
It Couldn’t Just Happen ~ Lawrence O. Richards ***
ABeka Song of the Brook ~ Matilda Nordtvedt **
Developing Good Health ~ A Beka Book ***
A Child’s History of the World ~ V.M. Hillyer *
Usborne Who Were the Vikings? ***
Early Civilizations Viking Life *
Viking Life ~ John Guy **
The Middle Ages ~ A Watts Guide for Children *
Famous Men of the Middle Ages *
Middle Ages *
Grade 4 Show Me Thy Ways ~ Gertrude Hoeksema *
(Some books are likely missing from the list. She also gave some other books a “three chapter chance” but didn’t like them.)
(Click here for Grade Four schedule and curriculum which was loosely followed.)
Past three years:
Books C6 Read in Grade One
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/06/18/books-c6-read-in-grade-one/
Books C7 Read in Grade Two
http://parentingfreedom.com/2009/06/08/books-c7-read-in-grade-two/
Books C8 read in Grade Three
http://parentingfreedom.com/2010/06/22/books-c8-read-in-grade-three/
Carol | June 6, 2011
How American children are taught to hate Humanity
Hat Tip: http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/016971.html
“There are armies of teachers who are taking advantage of their role in the classroom to indoctrinate your children and your grandchildren. Some of you are parents of those children who have come home to you and you don’t recognize them…” Ann McElhinney
Highly recommend Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers
Thankfully, I have not been replaced by teachers or peers in my children’s lives yet.
Carol | April 8, 2011
It’s that time of year again! Time to begin ordering homeschool materials! Remember, April is the month for free shipping on online orders of $50. or more from ABeka. I can’t believe I will not be ordering for N17 anymore!! And that means I have school materials for Kindergarten through Grade Twelve, so there are only a few consumable books that I must order from now on. (I likely won’t resist buying additional books that would be beneficial to our library.)
Grade 2
95842 Letters and Sounds 2 $14.50
95656 Language 2 $14.50
95672 Writing with Phonics 2 Cursive $14.50
104515 Arithmetic 3 $15.00
104531 Arithmetic 3 Tests and Speed Drills $6.00
Grade 5
134996 Language B $14.75
149497 Language B Answer Key
135097 Penmanship Mastery II $10.75
157368 Arithmetic 6 $15.00 167398
Arithmetic 6 Answer Key—New $21.50
Grade 8
138258 Grammar and Composition II $16.00
138266 Grammar and Composition II Teacher Key $21.00
Carol | March 27, 2011
The same old story: How children who repeat reading a book increase their vocabulary
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1359044/The-old-story-How-children-repeat-reading-book-increase-vocabulary.html#ixzz1HpzSo8Ve
Teenage literacy in steep decline as schoolchildren shun the classics and choose ‘easy’ books
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362459/Teenage-literacy-steep-decline-schoolchildren-favour-books-expected-reading-age.html#ixzz1HpzXsAr2
10-hour school day on the way to boost grades (and Saturday mornings too!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362752/Michael-Goves-secondary-school-shake-10-hour-day-way-boost-grades.html#ixzz1Hpzbiobr
82 percent of US schools may be labeled ‘failing’
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPmjfDMN5nHOpeSIZYLwkVfKAHGQ?docId=c7dc0757afd54b5ca2836c00de44535f
Educating Our Children: The Evolution of Home Schooling
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/09/educating-children-evolution-home-schooling/
Edited March 28th to add:
Stories From Main Street: Montvale School Ditches Books, Chalkboards For Laptops
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/03/28/stories-from-main-street-montvale-school-ditches-books-chalkboards-for-laptops/
Carol | February 27, 2011
February 24, 2011 – Day of the first tooth (GC 5 months, 3 weeks) and day of the first university acceptance letter (N17).
February 26, 2011 – “We got a crawler, we got a crawler, we got a crawler, hey hey hey hey!!” (Tune from Little Rascals dollar song.) Been off and on for a couple weeks now, because she still uses tummy lunges to gain distance. She will be six months old next week. We watched videos of C9 walking at nine months the other day. It is funny how all five children reached almost every milestone within about a month of each other. They all started as BIG babies with the smallest two at 8 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. and 8 lbs. 7 3/4 oz., a nine pounder (9 lbs. 1 oz.), and two ten pounders (10 3 3/4 and 10 lbs. 2 oz.). We missed the “infant” stage with ALL of them.
I was nursing the baby in my room, and L6 came in to say this (with a huge smile and giggle), “Mommy, I don’t know why I am so happy!!!” And he bounced away to play.
February 27, 2011 – Baby GC (almost six months) and Pippin
In the above video, she crawled a little way before I started recording… And yes she did grab the cat – by his foot – gently!
Hey, this is the song I mentioned above that I sing with different words all the time:
The Little Rascals: We Got a Dollar!
I laid the baby down on her belly and left the room for a minute, and when we came back, she was sitting up alone playing with her toys.
Carol | February 22, 2011
I believe the true test of teachers is how well their below average, struggling children improve under their tutelage. As I see it, for the average or above average child, a teacher (and the public school system) is a handicap. After attending school for twelve years and homeschooling for thirteen years, I am convinced public schools are nothing but a babysitting service. It is true that some families truly need the free babysitting, but surely we can’t pretend that the public schools provide optimal educational services.
I find it amusing when parents are pressured to be more involved and to help with homework, etc. (Why do they hire the teachers?!) If the parents only knew that homeschooling (on the parents’ part) need not take much more time than that. Without away-school, their children will also have more time to “just be children” and grow and play and learn.
When I meet a child who “failed” a grade, I tell him, “You didn’t fail. Your teacher failed.” (I have told that to several children, and you should see the look of relief in their eyes.) Maybe it’s not the children suffering from learning disabilities. Who’s testing for teaching disabilities?
Of course, the system is more to blame. Teachers may be nice, sweet, kind, caring, hardworking, and dedicated, but the system simply isn’t set up to support them. Forcing 15-20 children to be at the relatively same level every day using the same cookie-cutter curriculum will not work for every child. Why should ANY child fall through the cracks?
Sounds like those striking teachers in Wisconsin have been doing a great job. *sarcasm*
State’s black fourth-graders post worst reading scores in U.S.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/89007417.html
“Reading scores for Wisconsin’s African-American fourth-graders trail those of their racial peers in every other state…”
“Wisconsin’s eighth-graders matched their highest score of the last decade. Even so, only 34% of Wisconsin’s eighth-graders were considered proficient in reading.”
34% of eighth-graders proficient in reading?? And that’s good??
The above article was encouraging when it mentioned the Montessori schools and their phonetics-based reading programs, etc.
Low test scores worry districts
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/100953394.html
“The Class of 2010 posted Wisconsin’s lowest score since 1996…”
