That if Dolley Madison hadn't taken the portrait of George Washington out of the White House before the British burned it in 1814, that we would have nothing from his presidency?
That there are 312 rooms in the White House, but tourists can only visit 7?
That the statue on top of the Capitol building is called "Freedom" and weighs 15,000 pounds?
That the expansion of the Capitol was carried out mainly by slaves?
That Abigail Adams hung her laundry in the unfinished East Room to dry?
I'm loving our TruthQuest History. I love not having to pour through the library catalog to find books that are meaningful and appropriate. And the kids are loving it too!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Now What?
Ever feel like you work so hard at something and that it's just too late? You spend all this time researching, planning, implementing and revising and still, nothing has worked.
Holland is now in the 5th grade. Physically, he's 5th grade. Academically, he's about 1st grade. Do you know how frustrating that is? To not be able to teach him so he can learn something? After feeling like I hit a brick wall when he was in 2nd grade and enrolling him in a special education class through our district, only to pull him out the following year, it feels like I'm on a moving walkway that is going nowhere. I have tried so many different reading programs with him. He's on an IEP that would seem to indicate he would get the help he needs to manage those deficits. It hasn't made one smack of difference. The only assistance he's received is speech and that's shoddy. We'd get better speech services if we paid for it ourselves. But that's not something we can afford right now. I had to cut out Occupational Therapy and his counseling he was receiving because of our reduced income.
His three year evaluation for his IEP is coming up and there are certain tests I want done to determine if he is dyslexic. Guess what? The school district does not test for dyslexia because they don't recognize it as a learning disability. The school district is only required to do testing to determine eligibility for IEP services. The method that I've found online that will help a dyslexic child is very expensive. Holland's struggles match almost exactly to the warning signs listed on the Bright Solutions for Dyslexia website. One of the things that scared me is the emphasis on early intervention. That children who struggle to read and write shouldn't be dismissed as "late bloomers" or that they will outgrow the struggle to decode. If a child doesn't have intervention by 3rd or 4th grade, it will be 4x's harder to overcome those delays.
The charter school we are involved with doesn't have a resource room available. They don't even have an on-site teacher to help with reading or writing issues. Then the school he would attend if we were doing public school says that it's the charter school's responsibility to provide accommodations. So I can't get the district to admit that he's (probably) dyslexic and I can't get the schools to provide any services. See? Brick wall.
Holland is now in the 5th grade. Physically, he's 5th grade. Academically, he's about 1st grade. Do you know how frustrating that is? To not be able to teach him so he can learn something? After feeling like I hit a brick wall when he was in 2nd grade and enrolling him in a special education class through our district, only to pull him out the following year, it feels like I'm on a moving walkway that is going nowhere. I have tried so many different reading programs with him. He's on an IEP that would seem to indicate he would get the help he needs to manage those deficits. It hasn't made one smack of difference. The only assistance he's received is speech and that's shoddy. We'd get better speech services if we paid for it ourselves. But that's not something we can afford right now. I had to cut out Occupational Therapy and his counseling he was receiving because of our reduced income.
His three year evaluation for his IEP is coming up and there are certain tests I want done to determine if he is dyslexic. Guess what? The school district does not test for dyslexia because they don't recognize it as a learning disability. The school district is only required to do testing to determine eligibility for IEP services. The method that I've found online that will help a dyslexic child is very expensive. Holland's struggles match almost exactly to the warning signs listed on the Bright Solutions for Dyslexia website. One of the things that scared me is the emphasis on early intervention. That children who struggle to read and write shouldn't be dismissed as "late bloomers" or that they will outgrow the struggle to decode. If a child doesn't have intervention by 3rd or 4th grade, it will be 4x's harder to overcome those delays.
The charter school we are involved with doesn't have a resource room available. They don't even have an on-site teacher to help with reading or writing issues. Then the school he would attend if we were doing public school says that it's the charter school's responsibility to provide accommodations. So I can't get the district to admit that he's (probably) dyslexic and I can't get the schools to provide any services. See? Brick wall.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Cooking Fool
For some reason today, and maybe it was because I finally finished watching "Julie/Julia" last night, I felt like doing some cooking today. I found a website dedicated to gluten free cooking and was inspired by the recipes. And with Super Hero's big snag the other day of 50 pounds of millet gluten free flour, I felt the need to dispose of some of this flour.
The pizza crust recipe called for 6 different types of flour. And in all craziness, I actually had all 6 kinds. No special trips to the store. Millet flour - check. White rice flour - check. Sweet rice flour - check. Tapioca starch - check. Tapioca flour - check. Almond meal - check. And I even had xanthum gum which any gluten free baker knows you absolutely cannot do without if you're baking something that has no gluten. Gluten is this great binder that is missing in all GF flours. So you need a binder. If you look on the list of ingredients for bread products, most likely there is either xanthum gum or guar gum. Thank goodness for Bob's Red Mill. This tiny bag of about 8 ounces cost me $12. But usually a recipe only calls for a teaspoon, so this bag will last me into the next millenium.
The pizza crust was a success. I even had a piece and it wasn't all bad. It's a taste you have to get used to. But the almond meal gave it a nice nutty flavor. I'm going to bag up a bunch of dry ingredients and have them at the ready whenever Holland feels like eating pizza.
I also ended up making dough for an M&M cookie. He got so excited when he saw the picture. The dough is in the fridge and should be ready tomorrow morning. I find nothing wrong with cookies at 10 a.m.
The pizza crust recipe called for 6 different types of flour. And in all craziness, I actually had all 6 kinds. No special trips to the store. Millet flour - check. White rice flour - check. Sweet rice flour - check. Tapioca starch - check. Tapioca flour - check. Almond meal - check. And I even had xanthum gum which any gluten free baker knows you absolutely cannot do without if you're baking something that has no gluten. Gluten is this great binder that is missing in all GF flours. So you need a binder. If you look on the list of ingredients for bread products, most likely there is either xanthum gum or guar gum. Thank goodness for Bob's Red Mill. This tiny bag of about 8 ounces cost me $12. But usually a recipe only calls for a teaspoon, so this bag will last me into the next millenium.
The pizza crust was a success. I even had a piece and it wasn't all bad. It's a taste you have to get used to. But the almond meal gave it a nice nutty flavor. I'm going to bag up a bunch of dry ingredients and have them at the ready whenever Holland feels like eating pizza.
I also ended up making dough for an M&M cookie. He got so excited when he saw the picture. The dough is in the fridge and should be ready tomorrow morning. I find nothing wrong with cookies at 10 a.m.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Super Hero's New Hobby
Since money's been tight, Super Hero has taken to stalking Craigslist. He makes it a point to check every few hours since people add new things all the time. We've come close to snagging several things but people seeking free things are mighty quick. Recently he came home with a piece of wallboard. We actually needed it to fix a hole in Romania's room where the door knob had smashed into the wall. He had to cut a big hole and patch it with a piece about 12" X 12" so it could be attached to studs.
Today before leaving work he checked the freebies section and someone was giving away gluten free flour. Now, if it was a person, I probably wouldn't have wanted this. But there is a new bakery in the Portland area dedicated entirely to gluten-free baking. I checked out their website and it looks delicious! Holland was so excited when he saw baguettes and cookies and pizza crust and pretzels! It's called new cascadia tradtional and they're located fairly close to OMSI. I can't wait to go there and try some of their baked goods.
Today before leaving work he checked the freebies section and someone was giving away gluten free flour. Now, if it was a person, I probably wouldn't have wanted this. But there is a new bakery in the Portland area dedicated entirely to gluten-free baking. I checked out their website and it looks delicious! Holland was so excited when he saw baguettes and cookies and pizza crust and pretzels! It's called new cascadia tradtional and they're located fairly close to OMSI. I can't wait to go there and try some of their baked goods.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Need Some New History
I've been scouring blogs and homeschooling sites to find a good history curriculum. No offense to Story of the World, but I'm tired of it. It's too much information scattered all over the place. Sure, it focuses on a specific time period and it seemed to be "creation-centered" in the first two volumes, but by the third installment of "Modern Times", Holland has lost interest. He is unable to read it for himself and I want something that focuses on American History.
I was looking around and found a blog that mentioned a curriculum called TruthQuest History. I went to the website and was reading parent's reviews of the curriculum and how they are using it. It is unlike any curriculum I've found so far. I almost didn't even bother checking it out at Exodus Books. But this one review had me laughing out loud because she was describing her boys and it sounded exactly like Holland! Here's an excerpt of what she had to say about it:
"I will try to give you a peek into our TruthQuest History adventure. I have BOYS that are ALL boy. They are not the kind who sit nicely at a desk and work away quietly at their copywork. No, no, no. These are the kind who crawl behind the furniture as if they were preparing for an ambush while I am reading aloud. They are the kind who can make anything out of paper. I do not jest. My 8-year-old made a working musket out of construction paper, with the ball, rammer, and a little hook place for the rammer. While we do have parameters, don't think that our children sit in 'Circle Time' and listen quietly while I read War and Peace!"
This really piqued my interest because I am constantly (as you know if you faithfully read my blog) intercepting inventions, creations and contraptions. This history curriculum is actually an extensive list of living books pertaining to a specific time period in a specific geographic area. There are no 'lessons', no 'workbook activities' and no 'tests' that are included in the book. The activities that are suggested are called "ThinkWrite" exercises and all you do is READ. What can be more simple than that? I'm so excited about this and really think that this is exactly what Holland needs. We are going to be reading rich, living literature that is God-centered and not elevating man above his right place. I can get on board with that!
I was looking around and found a blog that mentioned a curriculum called TruthQuest History. I went to the website and was reading parent's reviews of the curriculum and how they are using it. It is unlike any curriculum I've found so far. I almost didn't even bother checking it out at Exodus Books. But this one review had me laughing out loud because she was describing her boys and it sounded exactly like Holland! Here's an excerpt of what she had to say about it:
"I will try to give you a peek into our TruthQuest History adventure. I have BOYS that are ALL boy. They are not the kind who sit nicely at a desk and work away quietly at their copywork. No, no, no. These are the kind who crawl behind the furniture as if they were preparing for an ambush while I am reading aloud. They are the kind who can make anything out of paper. I do not jest. My 8-year-old made a working musket out of construction paper, with the ball, rammer, and a little hook place for the rammer. While we do have parameters, don't think that our children sit in 'Circle Time' and listen quietly while I read War and Peace!"
This really piqued my interest because I am constantly (as you know if you faithfully read my blog) intercepting inventions, creations and contraptions. This history curriculum is actually an extensive list of living books pertaining to a specific time period in a specific geographic area. There are no 'lessons', no 'workbook activities' and no 'tests' that are included in the book. The activities that are suggested are called "ThinkWrite" exercises and all you do is READ. What can be more simple than that? I'm so excited about this and really think that this is exactly what Holland needs. We are going to be reading rich, living literature that is God-centered and not elevating man above his right place. I can get on board with that!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Sneaky Cats
I'm going to catch those cats in the act. They've made a huge mess of the cat food. I used to have a huge container of cat food securely in this empty plastic litter box. But then I made laundry soap for my sister for Christmas (like that, huh?!) and I didn't have another container. I found a smaller plastic jug with a lid that had a pour spout. I put what I could in the container, put the container under the sink and the rest of the food in a drawer in the laundry room. There was no way this cat was gonna get this food.
She is not hard of smelling. She found the drawer with the bag of food and was scratching at it. She was able to open the cupboard under my sink and dump the container over and knock the lid off. Tonight I put it in another container with a snap lid. And guess what? She opened the cupboard again, knocked the box out and was scratching at it. I got video, but she never got it open. I was hoping only for viewing purposes that she would get it open so I'd have evidence of the craftiness of this cat. She is so not underfed. She must weigh 10 pounds. I gotta put her on my postage scale and see what she weighs.
She is not hard of smelling. She found the drawer with the bag of food and was scratching at it. She was able to open the cupboard under my sink and dump the container over and knock the lid off. Tonight I put it in another container with a snap lid. And guess what? She opened the cupboard again, knocked the box out and was scratching at it. I got video, but she never got it open. I was hoping only for viewing purposes that she would get it open so I'd have evidence of the craftiness of this cat. She is so not underfed. She must weigh 10 pounds. I gotta put her on my postage scale and see what she weighs.
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