--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00000Date: 09/30/96 From: CHRIS GILLILAND Time: 04:21pm \/To: DONNA RANSDELL (Read 2 times) Subj: Summer break?? DR> Six Flags Magic Mountain... That's someplace we've never been. DR> Evidently it has had quite a problem with infestations by gangs, DR> but recently we heard that it has been "cleaned up". Six Flags gang-infested??? :( LOVELY, *real* good... Isn't anything sacred?!! They want to put a Six Flags HERE! I am NOT thrilled! :( We already have TWO adult playgrounds (casinos). Why do we need MORE??? Chris ... Who says crime doesn't pay??? Already I got $1.50 and 2 bottlecaps... --- Blue Wave/RA v2.20 [NR] * Origin: Split Infinity 1-203-886-0239 Norwich Conn. (1:320/242) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00001Date: 09/30/96 From: CHRIS GILLILAND Time: 05:05pm \/To: LISA MCINTOSH (Read 2 times) Subj: OPINIONS STATED AS FACTS -=> Quoting James Prior to Donna Ransdell <=- LM> BTW, for someone with the education you claim to have, you seem to LM> have difficulty with the simple mechanics of composition. I would LM> assume that someone with a masters in education would be able to LM> write in complete sentences. All the more reason to support home-schooling! :) LM> I for one have tried to ignore your ignorant LM> rants which show that you know absolutely nothing about LM> homeschooling. If you are a product of public schools then all you LM> are doing here in this echo is giving homeschoolers more of a reason LM> to continue. Well put... good point! BTW, deliberately did NOT put into whole sentences! Chris ... The school of hard knocks is an accelerated curriculum. --- Blue Wave/RA v2.20 [NR] * Origin: Split Infinity 1-203-886-0239 Norwich Conn. (1:320/242) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00002Date: 09/30/96 From: CHRIS GILLILAND Time: 05:05pm \/To: DONNA RANSDELL (Read 2 times) Subj: update > I just question shifting the children around like that mid-stream. DR> I'm not much fond of the idea myself. As it stands right now, I'm DR> pleased with Jennifer's teacher but I'm still not pleased with the DR> program and the system. I also like Kristin's teacher (I hand-picked DR> him; Jennifer had him last year). But she (K) still hates school, and DR> that really bothers me. She even tried to beg Grandma B (a retired DR> teacher) to take her home and homeschool her! This is too bad. :( (K) is WAY too early to 'hate' school. Did you have a chance to find out why she feels this way? My oldest boy loved school in Pre-K, but hated (K). He hasn't had a good year in school until now and he's now in the 3rd grade. *I* feel that it doesn't say much for this school system if they let a child slip through for a few years! > the kids will want > to change THEIR minds once they start? Who knows? DR> Jennifer was hesitant all along, so her hesitancy right now hasn't DR> really changed. Is her hesitation behind knowing that if she didn't like the school that you'd pull her out? It just seems that once someone knows that there's a deadline on a certain thing, then they subconsciously give up beforehand. Years ago, before I married and had a family, I worked in the back-kitchen of a local fancy restaurant. I loved the hard work and felt challenged by the kid who I was replacing, as he had a unique way of explaining things and making them fun. This was summer work for him, though, as he was planning on furthering his college education. The closer the school year drew, the less effort he put into HIS work and I found myself resenting him as *I* had my work plus HIS to do! :( He gave up a few weeks before his deadline and his work suffered as a result. Maybe by setting a deadline on things made your daughter stop trying? Do you follow me? I'm not trying to criticize, just know that sometimes a better effort is made if things are left open-ended. Chris ... Self control takes effort. Cat philosophy --- Blue Wave/RA v2.20 [NR] * Origin: Split Infinity 1-203-886-0239 Norwich Conn. (1:320/242) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00003Date: 09/28/96 From: JAMES PRIOR Time: 03:00pm \/To: JOHN SANDOW (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: First fifty! -=>JOHN SANDOW Was chatting about First fifty! to ALL about First fifty! on 15 Sep 96 12:50:00<=- JS> I saw something today kind of interesting: JS> A McMillan .50 bmg bolt action. Not such a big deal except for the JS> serial number: 50001. First one made. Kind of put a warm spot in my JS> heart, even if i didn't get to shoot it. Strange, I always thought they ran serial numbers forward, not backward. My father has a McMillan .50 and it's serial number is 36256.....did I miss something here? James Prior ... OK, so 63% of my reply consisted of quoted text, so sue me...... --- * Origin: Serendipity - Kingman, AZ, USA - (520) 753-5336 - (1:314/23) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00004Date: 09/28/96 From: JAMES PRIOR Time: 03:15pm \/To: NOLAN PENNEY (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Howard Co. Gun Show NP> Allmost bought a smoke pole. The third booth we looked at had a NP> beautiful left handed blackpowder. I can't remember the name now, NP> (dave hampton?) but is was some name that my father in law recognized, NP> said was a very good shotgun manufacturer. The guns price had also NP> cought my eye. $150! NP> Well it had been refinished, polyurithane. Yech, but repairable. NP> Some of the screws were kinda boogered up though. I then noticed that NP> the nipple insert was really chewed up. It had been taken out with a NP> pair of vice grips. Hmmmm. The triggers action didn't feel all that NP> good either. Could have been just a lack of lube, but if felt rough NP> and gritty. NP> Stuck the butt on my shoe too look down the barrel. Uh oh. Bad news NP> here. It looked for all the world like someone had tried to do a NP> crowning job with a hand drill. The rifling was all scored up for the NP> first 1/4 or so. Not like it would be from a poor bullet seating NP> operation, but from machine. It clearly was crowned, although very NP> poorly. But I knew this could be fixed by having the last 1/2 of the NP> barrel cut off. My father in law also mentioned having it bored so NP> the last 1/2 or so of the rifling was gone. They do this nowadays, NP> and it could be done to this one without too much money. The dealer NP> was concerned, so he'd dropped the price to now $125. NP> I wasn't real keen anymore, but not done. Between wondering what had NP> been done to this gun, and the way it didn't really fit me NP> comfortably. But at $125... NP> But then I looked along the barrel from the muzzle up to the light. NP> Double uh-oh. Either the barrel had been dented or bulged about 1/2 NP> up its length. I think dented, as it was only on one side. Well NP> shoot, I decided I wasn't getting this particular smoke pole after NP> all. NP> Played around with several Remington target rifles. Pretty, heavy. NP> Fascinating balance and stability. Makes me want to go home and NP> change my shotgun around all over again. Those guns weighed a NP> ton, but were the most steady things I've ever held on a target. They NP> both balanced neutrally in your fore hand holding them. Yo Nolan, who you BSing...you think Jim gonna fall for that story about a "smokepole" blackpowder shotgun with rifling.....shotguns don't have any rifling...not even the new ones make yesterday for Christ sake....someone been teaching you wrong boy. Also, a "smokepole" is a reference to the old flintlock muskets, and they were smoothbore....unless it is a replica...but then it isn't a "smokepole" but a muzzleloader. Smokepole referes to the FFFF blackpowder blowback when it burns in the pan of a flintlock....the shooter cannot see what he is shooting at when he pulls off a shot. Course, now then a cap an ball rifle might have rifling, but it isn't a smokepole cause it don't "smoke" enough to blind the shooter til the smoke blows away..... The bulging in the barrel could have been caused by using a more powerful powder than the gun was made for.....sometimes they will bulge, but not blow, and a blackpowder will blow out one side only, usually the side of the nipple or flashpan/touchhole, and just infront of them. I have seen only one blow clear around the barrel, and that was because the barrel was made faulty to run some tests. Mostly they will blow just ahead of the flashpan/touchhole which is the weakest point of the barrel after the pressure has built up. Only an idiot would buy any rifle, shotgun or pistol that showed any signs of bursting, bending or twisting. And only a criminal would sell such weapons. Just my twobits worth...no offense meant, hope none was taken. Take care, luck be yours and God bless you and yours til next we met!! James Prior ... Tie a Yellow ribbon around the Old Oak tree. So it can be cut down!! --- * Origin: Serendipity - Kingman, AZ, USA - (520) 753-5336 - (1:314/23) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00005Date: 09/29/96 From: JAMES PRIOR Time: 11:10pm \/To: DONNA RANSDELL (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: vacation DR> (grin) I lived in Arizona. We've been to the Grand Canyon (that was DR> our first "major" trip with the tent trailer). There are a few other DR> things I'd like to take the kids to see in Arizona - Petrified Forest DR> NP, the big crater (I can't think of its name, but it's the one along DR> I-40), and perhaps some of the places around Tucson. DR> The road thru Lassen closes after "around" Oct 1st, I think, and then DR> has a varying opening date. The road gets to 8,315 ft elevation, so DR> it's often snowed under thru June. DR> That's a good idea. We looked at some books before we went, and the DR> girls had good ideas about what a volcano was. When we go to a DR> national or state park/monument, we also make the museum or visitor's DR> center one of our first stops. If they have a media presentation DR> there, we take the time to see it. (My husband often groans, but sits DR> thru it anyway - then is glad he did.) Hello Donna, live in Kingman, AZ along the W. end of I-40 in Arizona just before it dips S into Yuca and crosses into California about Topock. In California, I grew up in Modoc County which is the county that borders Lassen county on the North. Now, US395 that runs from Reno on up thru Lassen (begins about Susanville where it comes back into CA from the South. US395 runs into Reno from CA, and then right back into CA at about Susanville. This highway that runs thru the high Sierra Nevada Mountains is open year round. If you take US395 N from Reno to Alturas, CA and then take 299 out of Alturas to just past the town of Canby, CA and I believe the highway is 193, go N. towards Klamath Falls, OR you will pass thru the Lava Beds National Mounument. This is a large lava flow that has countless caves, some of them have ice throughout the summer (Ice Cave). These Lava Beds National Monument is where a Modoc Chief named Captain Jack and 24 or 25 braves held off Gen. Canby for months, inflicting heavy heavy casualties on the US forces while suffering only one slightly wounded brave. Finally when the US forces attempted to lure Cpt. Jack and his band out under the guise of a peace meeting, but in reality set a trap for Jack and his chiefs, they botched it bad. Cpt. Jack recognized the trap as soon as the meeting began in a tent. He and his men all escaped but Gen. Canby and a few other US troops were killed. From Alturas you can see the Cross that marks the spot that Cpt. Jack Killed Gen. Canby. Alturas is where I grew up from age 4 until I left to join the Army at 17, right after finishing High School. When I left there in the early 1960's, there were about 2500 people living in Alturas, and maybe 10,000 living in Modoc County as a whole. US395 and CA299 are the major highways that go thru Modoc County. In S. California, US396 is one of those big super- highways with 6 or 8 lanes in each direction. But from Reno thru Oregon it is a one lane each way highway....or was the last time I was thru there in '87. Growing up in Modoc County was different than in most places, first, the whole county is cattle country...very conservative and everyone in the county knows everyone else...literally. Every year there was a big shing ding over at Eagleview, CA on a ranch owned by Tennessee Ernie Ford...the Eagleview Bar-B-Que. Everyone, but everyone in the county attended. Then in Alturas they had the Rodeo and County Fair. Then Likely had their annual party, as did Cedarville and Adin. Hunting Season everyone would get ogether in small groups to plan out the annual Deer hunt, or make dates for duck and goose season. Fishing Season was a real biggie. Schools, stores, even the Courthouse and everyone else would be closed on opening Day of Deer season and Fishing season. Schools would close early on the day before either of the two seasons opened (always on a Thursday) and not reopen until the following Monday, three or four days later. It has been over 34 years since I left, but I doubt if things have changed much....well there is a state prison on Devils Garden, but it is way back in the hills N. of Alturas. The old Air Force base, which shut down just after WW2 is probably where it is located. Most of the kids I knew growing up there first learned to drive up on the old runways. Alturas, Likely, Adin, Cedarville, Eagleville, Davis Creek, Lookout, Canby....these are towns that to visit them is like stepping back into History...life in the 40's and 50's. If it was not for the change in the Automobiles and the clothing styles (in some instances) you could not tell the difference from 1945 or 1955 and today. Well, just thought you might like to know about that area a little. The best book about the Modoc Indian War would be the one every kid had to read in the 4th or 5th grade when I was growing up....called Capt. Jack and the Modoc Indian War. Read that book, and then visit Modoc County and meet some of the people there...you will be surprised, or think you have stepped back onto the pages of the book because the names of the families living there are about the same today as they were back in the late 19th ent. Flournoy, Dorris, Hickerson, Russel, Bishop, just to name a few. Take care, luck be yours and God bless til next we met!! James Donald Prior 1, Esquire, Phd Ed. ... If you have ever been to Modoc, you have never left..... --- * Origin: Serendipity - Kingman, AZ, USA - (520) 753-5336 - (1:314/23) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00006Date: 09/29/96 From: ZAYNAB RICHMOND Time: 06:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 2 times) Subj: Nature Walks Nature Walk ~~~~~~~~~~~ Topic: Science -- Nature Walk and Collecting, Seasonal Observation AIMS: ~~~~ To begin walks in the fall, pointing out the changes taking place, in the weather, the trees and small plant life. Choose a route that the trees and plant life depict the seasons, where in the fall the trees are losing their leaves, bare in winter and in full blossom in the spring. To collect rocks, leaves, branches, pine cones, etc. Materials: ~~~~~~~~~ Assorted Nature Nature Hanging Leaf Gathering Collecting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leaves An assortment of leaves Nature Collection Branches Wax Paper Wooden, plastic or Pine Cones Crayon Chips cardboard box, with Two large branches Newspaper divided sections Yarn Toothbrush Masking Tape Popsicle sticks Procedure: ~~~~~~~~~ Nature Hanging: Hold two large branches as far apart as you want your nature weave to be in length. Have a child begin winding the yarn from top branch and around and down to the bottom. Once you have the yarn wrapped from one branch to the other, tape branches to a table with masking tape and you are ready to weave your nature collection through the strands of yarn. Leaf Collecting: Have child place leaves between a large piece of folded wax paper. For color, sprinkle chips of crayon, using colors of the season; browns, yellow, and oranges for fall, blues, white and gray for winter, etc. Fold, press, and seal with a hot iron. Splatter Painting: Have child place leaf on a piece of construction paper. Dip toothbrush into tempera color (you do not want your paint too thick). Take a popsicle stick and while holding the dipped brush over the leaf, run the stick across the toothbrush in a forward motion. Once the child has the desired amount of paint splattered on the leaf and paper, remove leaf. Do this with a variety of leaves. Finding the Veins: Have the child place a fresh leaf on a piece of carpet (which has been mounted on a plank) and pound with an animal bristle brush. After a short while, only the beautiful network of veins will remain. Assorted Nature Collecting: When you return from your walk, have children lay out their treasures and decide what they would like to take home and what they would like to leave for the Nature-Science table. Once they have made their decision, discuss the items: pine cones, pine needles, snails, seeds, etc. New Words: ~~~~~~~~~ Nature, collecting, bits, pound, pine, needles, weave, network. Behavioral Objectives: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Following directions Hand and eye coordination Social and physical development To enjoy and appreciate the outdoors and nature To be able to identify To compare Recall and memory Teachers Information: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nature walk -- point out the importance of respecting other people's possessions. We do not walk on lawns, pick flowers, break off branches, unless we have first asked and have been granted permission. Display: ~~~~~~~ 1. Nature Hanging -- hung on the wall for all to see and enjoy. 2. Leaf Collecting -- A. Waxed paper, leaves and crayon bits -- hung in sunlit window. B. Splatter painting -- have a variety of splattered leaf pictures along with a variety of the same type of leaves used for the paintings. Have children match the fresh leaf to the splattered leaf painting. C. Pounded leaf -- (1) hung from stems and made into a leaf mobile. (2) mount on dark colored pieces of construction paper and display. (3) hang from stem and hang in sunlit window. 3. Assorted Nature Collecting -- place in collection box, label, and display. From: Los Medanos College / Pittsburg, CA / ECE Program / Instructor: E. Flynn ... Blessed the slumberer who is awakened by My Breeze. --Baha'u'llah ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- Renegade v10-05 Exp * Origin: Camphor Fountain*510-439-0712*California (1:161/19) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00007Date: 09/29/96 From: ZAYNAB RICHMOND Time: 06:47pm \/To: CHRIS GILLILAND (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: adhd Prior thoughts, found on this echo from Chris Gilliland to Zaynab Richmond on 09-12-96 05:43: Hi, Chris... it is me, late again, but I finally figured out which mail packet had my old h/s messages in it. :) CG> Here our school system seems OVEReager to medicate! :( I am just wondering, how does the /school system/ do this? Do they have a doctor on staff? Do they write letters to the children's doctors, or what? Here, the school system has /nothing/ to do with a decision to medicate. Even with Cimeron's very obvious hyperactivity problems, not one school teacher or administrator has ever asked me to get medication for her. Yet, I hear people in other states saying things like this all the time. Please, tell me, what is going on out there?? ZR> All the children in the class were expected to ZR> do the same kind of work and my son and his different drummer were a ZR> big challenge to the teacher because he was just refusing to fit in! ZR> (He went to Kindergarten for 1/2 the year because he requested to have ZR> the experience of it, and he ended up requesting to stop going because ZR> other kids in the class were being physically cruel to him and the ZR> teacher couldn't stop it.) CG> This is so sad. How old is he now? Did he take it personally? He is six now. I don't know if he took it personally, but he really loves that teacher... and is still very adamant about not wanting to be in public school. We go down to the school to use their library once a week... and he looks forward to seeing the teacher then. CG> started to entertain thoughts of home-schooling. It may still be an CG> option if things start to backslide! ;) Are regulations tough, as CG> I've heard? I've heard that they follow the same regulations as home CG> daycare! Would you know if this is true? What state are you in? I only know about California homeschool law, but might be able to find out something about other states from my internet connections. ZR> he did get the order right -- he just did the whole word backwords so ZR> it reads: "noolas". I didn't tell him -- he was so pleased with this ZR> project he went to sleep with it last night. CG> This is SO cute! He must've been SO proud of himself! :) Yes... since he made that wild-west town, he has also made quite a few other buildings. It started with his Taco Bell, which remains one of his best paper-building creations. Then he made an airfield complete with control tower, and a few other things. While we were reading _Norman the Doorman_ (read it about 4 times last week) he created a "Museum of History" which features a nicely-decorated back porch area. :) Then he found a broken video tape and used the tape for telephone wires. It is nice, but space consuming and messy. Oh well.. that's the price we pay for having creative kids. CG> That's one of the reasons (*too* many, CG> unfortunately...) that my husband feels that I can't homeschool. I CG> have a short attention span, "Huh? What did you say? Care to repeat CG> that?", can't concentrate,"Don't ask me to do that right now, I can't CG> think...", lose things constantly, "Where did I put those keys???", CG> and am occasionally short-tempered. Other than that... (shrug). Once CG> my daughter was diagnosed, I did some reading up and found a lot of CG> similarities between us and our 'behavior'. I'm STILL trying to get CG> myself tested! I don't homeschool for 4 hours straight anyway... perhaps I'm a lot like you... but we do little bits and pieces all day long. Sometimes we watch something on the Learning Channel late at night (ten-ish) and I'll add that to my list of things that count towards Aaron's schoolwork. He couldn't take doing it non-stop either. He does one project at a time.. then plays, and when I get myself back on task, if he is ready we start on another project. Somehow, during the day, we generally come up with enough hours of genuine learning activity. The homestudy office is supportive of this kind of teaching. Personally, I believe that my son is getting a /much/ better education than he would at school. I try to teach him at /teachable/ moments, taking into account /his/ mood... it isn't done by the clock or by teacher's schedule. It is the times when he is emotionally available for learning that we actually do things together. CG> Also, while we're on the subject, do parents find it necessary to put CG> a homeschooled child on meds.? Never heard of it... Zaynab ... It's not hard to meet expenses, they're everywhere. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- Renegade v10-05 Exp * Origin: Camphor Fountain*510-439-0712*California (1:161/19) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00008Date: 09/29/96 From: ZAYNAB RICHMOND Time: 06:47pm \/To: CHRIS GILLILAND (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: vacation Prior thoughts, found on this echo from Chris Gilliland to Zaynab Richmond on 09-12-96 05:43: DR> Donner State Memorial Park. The girls were as fascinated with the DR> Donner story and the park as they'd been at the Dam and Lassen. ZR> Have you ever seen the documentary that PBS has shown about the Donner ZR> party? It is a real tear-jerker... and very informative... it really ZR> gave me much more insight into the trauma these families endured.. CG> So, what is it about these families? I don't think we heard about it CG> on THIS end of the states! The Donner expedition is an infamous part of California history that we all have to learn about here. A group of immigrants back around 1850 or so tried to go over the Sierras rather late in the season and ended up getting stuck in the snow. It turned out to be a terrible tragedy. Men, women and children had to stay in makeshift cabins near what is now Donner Lake. As the winter wore on and food ran out and help didn't arrive, they eventually ended up eating the bodies of those who died. The cannibalism is what makes it such an unforgettable event. Only one family refused to partake of the cannibalism and as I recall, it was also the only family that didn't lose any members at all. I have no idea what they ate to stay alive. It seemed everyone was on the verge of starving to death. Anyhow, that's how Donner Lake and Donner Pass got their names. Zaynab ... Listen to the whistle of the evening train. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- Renegade v10-05 Exp * Origin: Camphor Fountain*510-439-0712*California (1:161/19) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 158 HOME SCHOOLING Ref: DDX00009Date: 09/29/96 From: ZAYNAB RICHMOND Time: 06:47pm \/To: CHRIS GILLILAND (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: So far... Prior thoughts, found on this echo from Chris Gilliland to Zaynab Richmond on 09-12-96 05:43: ZR> When she's not here, Aaron is a very quiet and easy going kid. CG> Zaynab, this is almost always the case with our 3 children. Our CG> daughter, who's ADD, drives everyone NUTS while on car trips, etc., CG> but get the boys alone and it's heavenly! Too bad my husband couldn't CG> see this! HE says it's because I'm a poor mother...! Grrr.... It's CG> virtually impossible to find enough things to keep HER distracted! CG> :( CG> How do YOU handle it when your daughter acts out? When my daughter acts out I say "That's one". Then she knows she must get her behavior under control or go to her room. If she continues to act inappropriately, I say "that's two". If it continues I say "that's three" and she has to "take five"... in other words, five minutes in her room. If she doesn't go willingly, if I have to carry her there, or if she opens the door, then she has to do an additional five minutes. Life has gotten a whole lot more bearable around here since I started this. Zaynab ... The favors of God are unending, limitless. -- 'Abdu'l-Bah ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- Renegade v10-05 Exp * Origin: Camphor Fountain*510-439-0712*California (1:161/19)