October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. People mistakenly think that breast cancer is just a “woman’s disease”, but in fact men get it too! Breast cancer is the second leading cancer leading to death amongst women after lung cancer. And while breast cancer is relatively rare amongst men, the mortality rate is higher because of the lack of information about this disease in men.
In remembrance of my friends who have died, as well as those who have survived their fight against breast cancer I have a game plan for next month that includes:
Click for Breast Cancer (http:/www.thebreastcancersite.com): I’ve made this one of my home pages so that I don’t forget. By clicking on the large pink rectangle we help provide free mammograms for people who do not have insurance or a way to pay for this life-saving screening. The website also offers many goods that will net them more money to support this cause. They also have free e-cards to send to help promote breast cancer awareness. (And while you’re there, you might as well click on the other five charities as well )
Add the Pink & Blue ribbon to websites and blogs. As a show of respect for those who have suffered with breast cancer as well as the researchers dedicated to finding a cure. The more early detection techniques that are available will help to reduce deaths in both men and women. You can get your ribbons at:
http://www.johnwnickfoundation.org/pinkandblueribbon.html and
Sign petitions. Help stop insurance companies from setting up “drive-through” mastectomies as well as putting stumbling blocks in the path of women who seek breast reconstruction surgery. The Click for Breast Cancer andJohn W. Nick Foundation, Inc. have more information on these types of issues.
Patronize businesses that are committed to breast cancer research. More and more companies are joining the fight against breast cancer. In the past Avon, Mary Kay and other women’s products companies have been in the forefront. But now they are being joined by companies that have no “female” component to it. One such company is MasterLock. You remember them — every kid that ever had a locker used MasterLock. Master Lock is supporting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation with a $15,000 donation this year.But in addition to just making a monetary contribution they have designed a full line of pink security products. So now you can lock up your valuables and show your commitment to the breast cancer fight. So far they have locker locks, bike cable locks, as well as, luggage and backpack locks. And unlike those locks of “olden times” many of their new locks are “programmable” so you can set a code that you’ll actually remember! You can take a look Master Lock Breast Cancer Awareness Products (I’m loving my computer case lock and will be using it proudly this month when I travel to the Beach Retreat.)
Nag, beg, fight and annoy your family members (especially the women) to go have their mammogram and stop putting it off. Early detection is one of the keys to survival. This will be the first year that I’m having it done so I can’t speak from experience, but I even if the process is a bit uncomfortable, when you weigh the pros and cons choosing life is always the best choice. So make your appointment today — I am.
I have a 10 yr old son with Asperger’s Syndrome, and have had several years of nothing but problems with the public school system. I have thought about homeschooling him for quite some time now, and I was wondering what experiences people have.
There is a lot of information available on homeschooling and Asperger’s. Homeschooling is highly recommended because it #1 puts parents in control of the social instruction these kids need, which is very different from the "throw them in the pool and see if they can float" socialization the kids get on the playground; and #2 it takes the performance pressure on a child down a step so that they can actually learn.
In a classroom, an Aspie tends to excel only in the few narrow subjects that interest him and he becomes a behavioral distraction to the rest of the class for subjects that he sees no value in. That does not help socialize these kids at all and often further isolates them unless they are lucky enough to get a very understanding teacher.
If your child is one who is sensitive to light and sound levels, a classroom will not be able to accommodate his needs. There are some wonderful social training materials that have become available in the past few years to help aspies learn to identify social cues. But these are most efficiently taught in a home living situation or in a small group of other kids with similar struggles. They don’t get taught in a classroom because the social cues are things 90% of the kids will know intuitively, so the Asperger’s child falls through the crack.
In most cases, you do not need special curriculum although some kids benefit by eliminating bright, highly colored texts in favor of more black and white. It is an individual thing and you’d have to try to see if that is true for your child. Routine assignments that follow established procedures are often better that wildly creative things that change the "rules." Oftentimes a computer-based program works well for this reason, it is consistent..
Yes, go research what is out there because you will find things that help!
Lapbooking is a fun way to teach and teach and reinforce every subject. It’s also something that all members of the family can do regardless of age. Basically a lapbook is a collection of minibooks and/or facts about a subject. These minibooks are placed inside of ordinary file folders that refolded to create a master book that fits in your lap.
A Journey Through Learning makes lapbooking super easy for a beginner like me to get started. I have been familiar with lapbooks for awhile, but this is my first time actually assembling one. Doing the lapbook project on “Autumn” has been a real eye-opener for me in more ways than one:
Lapbooking is not complicated. I think this was one of the biggest points for me. I shied away from the activity because I couldn’t imagine how to choose what to include in a lapbook or how to put it together.
Children learn and remember facts easily. Since there is a three year gap between my ladies so I wasn’t sure if Alaya would get as much out of it as Jade does. The minibooks break each subject down so well that there are few questions from either child.
The organizational benefits. Jade had to deal with an immature auditory system and went to speech for a number of years. I mistakenly thought that once speech was over that was the end of her difficulties. But doing lapbooking has shown me that another quirk of her speech issue has manifested in her organizational skills. While her little sister had no problem organizing her book, Jade was all over the place. So I’m now incorporating lapbooking in every subject possible because she needs to strengthen those skills.
A Journey Through Learning really makes it easy for parents to teach and reinforce lessons in one step. Most of their lapbooks come with unit study guides. This means that there is a lesson before each crafting activity. So, you read the facts and/or story about the subject and then do the crafts. I’ve found that this has helped the children to remember the facts a lot better than through the traditional “read and regurgitate” method.
In addition to the minibooks being created, the A Journey Through Learninghas a variety of fun activities as well. For example, one of the activities in the Autumn lapbook was to pretend that we were birds and using a scavenger list we had to find the materials for making a bird’s nest. This led to many discussions, lots of memorable fun.
Their catalog contains lapbooks on all kinds of topics including science, history, biblical, literature and also preschool topics. If you’re lucky enough to live in Louisiana you can even take a lapbooking class with the owners. Their lapbook prices are very reasonable, especially when you consider that you can reprint whatever you need for all of the children in your family. The ebooks are $13, the CD version is $14 and the printed version is $21 per book.
Each book is chock full of stories, templates, charts, minibooks and activities. Many of the books are over 50 pages of information. And the activities are appropriate for a range of ages starting at the preschool level to the seventh grade. I’m finding this to be one of the greatest appeal of their products because I can work with everyone at the same time. Since I also do work at home, the more subjects that I can combine without compromising either child’s level is really important.
But don’t take my word for it. You need to head on over to A Journey Through Learning and get your free lapbook to try out. Once you signup for their free newsletter you’ll receive “An Overview of the 17th Century.” I think that once you experience the ease and fun of working with their products you’ll be hooked too!
This is the Challenge of the Superpowers! Lynn from Twittermoms is interested in learning about our Superpowers — are you up for the challenge?
I do not usually ask discussion questions but I might more often. I am so interested! in YOUR SUPERPOWER. What is it?
We all have a reason for being. A special skill that sets us apart from others. I think of this as YOUR SUPERPOWER (my good friend Lisa’s actual term – Props).
For some your Superpower is guiding others, for others it may be design, building, creating, art or music. Giving LOVE is a great Superpower. Being a Truth Seeker is another good one. Discover your superpower with these quick questions:
Here’s how to do it.
1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up your computer where you can type.
2. Write at the top, “What is my true superpower?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine. Write it out. Draw it, color it. What does your Superpower avatar or logo look like?
4. Repeat writing things out until you write the answer gives you energy, joy and vision. This is your Superpower. Yahoo!
Now say it out loud “MY SUPERPOWER IS…” Write it out, draw it out, then live it.
I am eager to hear What is Your Superpower let me know!
If you’d like to post your Superpower here I’d be glad to share it with Lynn. I’ll be posting mine (as soon as I have a minute to figure it out!)
Homeschooling and public schooling both have their benefits, as a homeschooled child receives a customized curriculum and a child attending public school gets to interact more with peers (Socialization). Watch the exclusive interview on Homeschooling Vs Public School, Channel Sahara.
Shemrock MD: Amol Arora
Contact: www.shemrock.com
Bio: Amol Arora (B.E. (Delhi College of Engineering), MBA (University of California, Irvine, USA) Doctoral Researcher in Education Leadership & Management (University of Nottingham, UK) is the young & dynamic Managing Director of SHEMFORD and member managing committee DPS Pinjore.
News Channel: Sahara NCR
Teach your children from home; learn the benefits of homeschooling in this free home schooling video from an experienced teacher and education curriculum expert.
Expert: Terry Neven
Contact: www.home-schooling.org
Bio: Terry Neven, founder and principal of the Sunland Christian School, is the executive director of the National Independent Study Accreditation Council.
Filmmaker: Traci Holsey
Wizz-e is a magical place where books come to life. They move, they shimmer, they speak and even give quizzes. The magic has touched the classics such as “The Three Little Pigs.” The magic has affected new books, such as “Hoop-La the Hippo.” Some books count and some books rhyme. But whatever else they do the children always have a good time.
My daughter (6 years old) is a beginning reader who lacks confidence in her decoding skills. She actually can read better than she thinks, but the second-guessing takes a lot of energy of her. So when I found out about this website I thought it would be a nice change from Starfall.com (another great reading site) since the reading material is for “bigger” girls and boys. Once I got the site up, she was immediately drawn to the site’s layout and book offerings.
The first book we read together was “The Three Little Pigs.” Actually, she opted for the narrator to read that one and I’m glad that she did. The narration was first rate. And the beautifully drawn illustrations really captivated her. They are beautifully rendered as well as animated. But unlike other sites that really go overboard when it comes to animation and music, Wizz-e is very subtle and calming. No flashing lights to distract the children from what they need to concentrate on — the Words. Even the music is soothing, creating a cozy and relaxing feeling.
Another great reason to visit Wizz-e is that although most of the books are for purchase, you can’t beat the prices. The books range anywhere from $1.99 to $8.99, are immediately accessible and available for use. The bookstore offers books that encourage counting, health, classic stories like “Old Mother Hubbard”, alphabet books and bedtime stories. Regardless of the genre, the illustrations brought to life are really a feast for the eyes. And each book comes with the option of reading the story outright, an “assist” mode that allows the child to click on an unfamiliar word and have it read to them and straight reading. At the end of each story there is a little quiz just to make sure that the children remembered the main points of the story.
Aside from the library, which is expanding each month, there are also games, free downloads and jokes for the kids to tell us a million times. The game section is also a work in progress, so the interface doesn’t always work as well as it should. My daughter and I both got frustrated with the “Seek and Find — Find the Teddies”. Once again the illustrations are beautiful, but when we tried to circle the bears the interface didn’t always acknowledge you and put a circle around the bears. And since this is a time sensitive game it’s very annoying to know you lost even though you found all of the teddies. So, I would suggest that parents with small children give this a pass for now.
The “Hoop-La the Hippo” puzzle worked very well. My daughter’s only complaint was that there wasn’t a greater variety of puzzles. By that she meant that you weren’t able to choose a 9 piece puzzle versus a 21 piece puzzle. She suggested that I tell the owners that they need to fix that so that older kids could play too without getting bored. So, if anyone from Wizz-e finds my review, please add more puzzle piece choices. It’ll make Alaya very happy.
I know that a lot of parents are wary of allowing their children to access the internet without close supervision, but Wizz-e has solved that problem for you. Once you purchase the book you can immediately download it to your hard drive for later use. Although you can’t transfer it from whichever computer you download it to, this is a good way to keep the kids safe. And it’s a great way to entertain the children for a few minutes while encouraging reading and reading comprehension. I think once you take a look you’ll definitely see it as a worthy addition to your teaching arsenal. You can visit their site and get more information by going to www.wizz-e.com.
Do public schools offer a college preparatory curriculum or just private schools? Looking at schools for my 1st grader and would like to know the difference. Thanks.
Both public and private schools offer college-prep curricula. In some public schools, students have to have high enough grades and test scores to be allowed to take the college-prep curriculum. A college-prep curriculum is usually offered in high schools and includes the courses that colleges require for admission.
As to a first grader, if you can afford a good private school, that would be better than most public schools, especially if the school offered a foreign language to first graders. The younger a person is when learning a language, the easier it is.
If it’s going to be a public elementary school and high school, try to find an elementary school where most students go on to high schools with good college-prep curricula.
For a 7 year old. Who is currently in public school but reads and does math at a 2nd-3rd grade level.
I see lots of different programs I feel overwhelmed.
Is there a site that gives me the refresher courses I need because I never went to college I am just a Stay at home mom .
Is there anything online that compares different homeschooling companies?
Please look at my other questions in the homeschooling section of yahoo answers. I am seperating the questions because I want to give lots of best answers!
Go get Cathy Duffy’s "100 top picks". It has a lot of great info in it on what to pick for your child’s personality and learning style and a lot of info on what is in each curriculum. Homeschooling is trial and error, we seldom do EVERYTHING the same from year to year, and sometimes we find things that are AWESOME!!!. Sonlight curriculum has a great return policy if you are not happy with something too. I pick and choose from different curriculums, I also try to focus on what me kids are interested in, there are some great Unit studies out there. Do not let it overwhelm you, your child WILL learn regardless of what you do!
I'm a homeschooling mom with seven children: 3 human, 2 feline and 2 canine. I'm also the wife of one very patient husband who seems to like the role of ringmaster to our circus. I am a virtual assistant who enjoys writing, crafts, music and laughter. I hope you'll visit often. Please be aware that this blog is supported by affiliate links, although every link isn't necessarily an affiliate program.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. People mistakenly think that breast cancer is just a “woman’s disease”, but in fact men get it too! Breast cancer is the second leading cancer leading to death amongst women after lung cancer. And while breast cancer is relatively rare amongst men, the mortality rate is higher because of the lack of information about this disease in men.
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computer-assisted instruction software
Homeschooling and public schooling both have their benefits, as a homeschooled child receives a customized curriculum and a child attending public school gets to interact more with peers (Socialization). Watch the exclusive interview on Homeschooling Vs Public School, Channel Sahara.
Teach your children from home; learn the benefits of homeschooling in this free home schooling video from an experienced teacher and education curriculum expert.
