Homeschool Software, Tips, and Curriculum

Why do people drive their kids to public schools when adequate bus service is provided?

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:39:07 +0000

My husband commutes 25 miles each way from a rural area outside of Huntsville, AL to a job in the city. On weekdays when school is not in session the roads aren't particularly crowded so his commute only takes about 25 minutes. When school is in session the trip can take him up to 45 minutes. Most of the extra traffic he sees on the road are parents with one or two kids in their cars, pulling into PUBLIC schools. Its the same way all over the county. When we rented a place in the city my husband's 10 minute commute could take up to 30 minutes due to the congestion on the roads from school traffic. We've talked to neighbors who have kids and they say the bus service isn't bad around here so I don't know why people are wasting time and money driving their kids to school.

I say that its a real waste of resources to drive your kids to school if they go to a school that offers a decently efficient bus service. The bus is going to run anyway so why not use it? Before my parents took me out of public school to homeschool me I rode the bus every day. They figured why waste their gas if the school district will provide transportation for free. My husband also rode the bus to school and he turned out fine. Its not like kids are harmed significantly by riding the bus.

These parents are causing a major hassle to commuters who have no other option but to drive to work. There's no public transportation outside of the center of the city of Huntsville. Carpooling is also not practical for him because the software engineering firm he works for only has 20 employees, none of whom live in the same area of the region. He rides a motorcycle to work to save gas so the extra traffic also causes an increased safety risk to him and the several other motorcycle commuters in our area.

We live outside of the city because housing is significantly cheaper thus allowing us to achieve the dream of owning our own home. It seems like parents are teaching their kids the wrong thing from an environmental and personal economical standpoint by driving them to school when they don't have too.
By the way, I'm a full-time homemaker and I only drive my 1992 Pontiac Bonneville 1 or 2 times a week to run errands. Otherwise, I stay at home making repairs and improvements to our 1500 square foot, 20 year old rancher.

You are so right. I live really only three blocks from the high school and two blocks from the elementary schools. The kids never walk. The parents clog the streets and it is very congested. We can not get around this community for one hour in the AM and again between 2:15 and 3p.m. because of the traffic. Now, being that this is Southern California, I really do not understand why the kids can't walk home. I survived just fine using the bus and walking when I was a kid.
p.s: The only time I ever picked her up was after the earthquake, during the fires when we were being evacuated and during the El Nino storms when the streets were actually flooded and dangerous. other than that, what is it with this?

Problem with VAIO VGN-N250E DVD/CD-ROM Drive?

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:21:15 +0000

I have a Sony VAIO laptop VGN-N250E. It’s 1 1/2 yrs old. It appears the DVD/CD-ROM drive has failed - at first, I started having trouble with it reading disks (would have to open and close drive multiple times and repeatedly click on the program icon to finally get it to read) - now, I can’t even get the drawer to open.

Replacing the laptop or sending it to SONY for repair is out of the question (699.00 to replace DVD/CD-ROM drive through SONY). I have a disability and I simply can’t afford it. But, although my knowledge of computer hardware is *very* limited, I do have some mechanical aptitude and am very good at following instructions.

Would it be possible for me to buy a replacement DVD/CD-ROM drive and install it, if someone were able (and willing - hint, hint!) to walk me through the process? Where can I buy a replacement (eBay)? How much do they cost? I have tried to find one on my own online, but didn’t have any luck because I wasn’t able to locate one with the exact same name as the one that was factory installed, and I don’t know enough about them to understand which others, if any, may be compatible with my unit.

Here’s all the info regarding the computer and DVD/CD-ROM drive:

Computer: Model # PCG-7X1L
DVD/CD-ROM: SONY DVD RW AW-G540A ATA Device

If you need further information to answer my questions, please ask.

I would appreciate the help any of you might give me, more than you know. I homeschool my daughter (due to medical issues *she* has), and with the drive out of order, she cannot use the software that is part of her curriculum.

Thank you SO much for any help you may give me!

TwirlyGirly
I would rather *not* purchase an external DVD/CD-ROM drive. That would definitely be a "last resort" solution. It just gives me more things to have to carry around and risk dropping!

the best option for you at the moment is to buy an exrernal dvd rw from any computer store, they just plug into a usb slot and are ready to use. i hope this helps, also they are not expensive

Exactly how important do you think writing is?

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:19:05 +0000

I homeschool my daughter (10 yrs) who is mildly dyslexic, ADD, and has a neurological problem affecting her hands (mirror movements). She hates writing, doesn't even like to type. She can tell a wonderfully creative story, express herself verbally without trouble, but when it comes to writing a story on paper (or WP) I am lucky to get 3 sentences. I would like opinions on whether you think I should start allowing her to use dictation or voice recognition software or force her to write. In every other subject she is above grade level, so I'm not sure if making her write will hold her back or if not making her write will hold her back.
One more thing I should mention- she does know "how" to write. She can print legibly and can write in cursive very nicely. She also understands grammer and punctuation.

One of the things found in some recent studies (actually, not that recent, maybe 5-10 years ago) was that when they forced kids who had bad hand-eye coordination to write, rather than improving their physical writing skills, it decreased their storytelling and essay writing skills. In other words they did the same thing as your daughter: they made their stories/essays fit their coordination level, rather than the other way around. This is not healthy or helpful.

By all means, let her use the technology available to get her words out. It is foolish to risk damaging her writing (storytelling) ability in order to attempt to improve a mechanical skill. Try instead to work on that in other contexts.

Some ideas:
-Have her spend 5-10 minutes (no more than that unless she prompts it) a day copying from a book. Try to make it an interesting book, so she enjoys the work (those Uncle John's bathroom readers are good for something like this).
-Let her spend extra time playing games on the computer if she plays games that require some typing-like skill
-Encourage her to draw, or, better yet, paint or even fingerpaint. They are similar movements, just different enough that it might help.
-Try not to worry. In this day and age, she will never be unable to use the constantly improving technology…and if anyone ever questions it, she only need say "I have a hand problem, but I have lots of ideas!"

pen mouse and tablets?

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:56:05 +0000

ok might be a silly question but if i dont ask then i wont know will i
so here goes… I am looking for something similar to this product WACOM PEN MOUSE AND TABLET …does anyone out there know of a product that is similar to this product but is durable enough for a child…or is this product durable enough for a child…basically I homeschool and thought it would be a great device for my daughter if i could find compatible educational & drawing software to go with it…. oh well if not someone should really consider putting one together because Im certain it would sell like crazy…
thanks in advance
can anyone give me an idea of what to type in my search bar
I looked at Microcenter but couldnt find one made specifically for kids
also Im wondering if most pc software is compatible with the tablet
such as coral,photoshop,

I have a Wacom Graphire older tablet, and to tell you the truth, this thing is a monster. I've dropped it, scratched it (it has a replaceable shield cover), I've put food and spilled drinks on it, it is just as sensitive as it was when I got it (I don't use it all that much, so most of the time it just sits on my desk covered in junk). The pen on the other hand is the more important part, mine got stepped on and cracked in half, I snapped it back together and it works great. These things are really hard to damage, so I'd say, just get the biggest, cheapest one you can find. As for a kids design, I've seen some in Microcenter, it was the exact same thing, except it had a lot of colors :P. The only reason they're not popular for that use is their price. they usually run at least $100 to $300, so not many parents want to get one. So, get any one you like, just make sure it has a really sturdy pen, that's the key (replacement pens are about $20-$30). If you do have the money to spend though, keep in mind that they're not as easy to adjust to as the mouse. I'd imagine a kid would only like a display tablet and those run in the $2500 range.
Tablets are usually used by professional artists, but if your kid likes art and you get him/her to like using this, the possibilities are endless. Every air brush, every tool of any graphics program you have will change completely, and the artwork does as well.
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Edit: I tried looking around for one, and I really couldn't find anything. What I did find though, is that they market the regular tablets on kids sites, which makes me believe that what I saw might have been the design of the actual box, rather than the tablet. They all seem to be pretty neutral greenish-grey and white.
As for your second question, yeah, they work with all software that supports sensitive brush adjustments (the only one that doesn't that I've used is MS paint).

Does anyone have Dragon Naturally Speaking Essentials? Why the Big Mystery about it?

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:29:28 +0000

The other day i was in Target and i was looking to see if there was any Movie to PSP converter like i saw in Best Buy awhile back. But i saw a speech recognition software. It was in a purple box and said Dragon something on it. I got home and looked into it, i didnt even know this kind of technology existed, or maybe i never much thought of it.Either way i looked into it and the things these guys claim to be able to do, like writing documents and browsing on the web, and even writing things like this right now that im writing could be done with your words. But i saw the Standard Version the Preferred Version and the Professional Version. The Version i saw at the store cost $40-$50 These Versions i see advertised in Ebay and Amazon at least are like $70 for the 10 Standard Version. I saw advertisements for Version 9 Essentials but i cant find anything about Version 10 Essentials, no Reviews of it or anything. I looked to target and the Dragon Naturally Speaking site. Their sites hardly acknowledge its existence. I also dont remember it saying Essentials anywhere on the box at Target. So what im wondering is a few questions

Is there a Naturally Speaking Essentials 10?

What does it NOT do that the Standard Edition 10 Does do?

Would the Essentials kit (9 or 10) be enough to do simple things like Writing Word Documents, Email, and Surfing the Web? (I dont need the Wireless capability or the other document forms like Excel, Powerpoint and such.

There was one little letter from someone to some review site i did see, they had a email from the customer service rep from the Dragon Naturallyspeaking people and they said that the Essentials package is a Target exclusive item. I saw a similar thing when i was looking at Rosetta Stone Software there was a Regular Version and then a Homeschool Version of the same software but the homeschool Version was for much less.
Why do Software companies do this? And i mean why do they make one cheaper version and then one more expensive version? I know why they bury it but i dont get why do it in the First place.
Any help on my questions would be appreciated!
Oh i forgot to mention that i didnt extensively read the back of the software at Target, i assume the item there was the Essentials kit because every picture ive seen of the Version 9 Essentials is Purple. I notice a trend they keep the same colors. Because Version 9 of the Standard Version is a orange color and so is Version 10's Standard Version. The Same with the Preferred Version and the Green scheme they have.

You can do all that and possibly better if you are running Vista.

Vista's tool is called Windows Speech Recognition Macros.

It is a wonderful tool, check it out.

Windows Speech Recognition Macros.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=fad62198-220c-4717-b044-829ae4f7c125&displaylang=en

The reason they make a more expensive version is because they make the product better, and all the time and work spent on making a better software version needs to be paid for.

Some companies make a minor adjustment and charge A LOT more just for the profit.

So it all depends on the type of company.

Where can I find a good software for making logos for organizations or clubs?

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:24:13 +0000

I am forming both Science and Math clubs with my local homeschool group, and need logos for both. Do you just have to draw it up yourself?

I hope this helps:
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu_TDYylKMC0BoEJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB1NjUwM2lrBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA01BUDAwMV84MQ–/SIG=13uic886d/EXP=1244312899/**http%3a//images.search.yahoo.com/search/images%3f_adv_prop=image%26va=organizations%2bclubs%2blogos%26sz=all

Or this:

Considering Moving from Indianpolis to Orlando?

admin — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:33:08 +0000

Considering moving from Indianapolis to Orlando to work for Disney as a software developer. We have 2 kids. Some people say that Orlando is horrible, but then it doesn’t sound like they have salaried jobs. Can we get a decent house for $200K in a good neighborhood? If I don’t mind dodging tourists, is it a good place to raise a family? (we homeschool so don’t care much about the school system)

I know someone who lives there and visit often. There are numerous smaller communities nearby with great roads into the area. WDW has great perks and I would say it is not a bad area to live in, just not downtown Orlando.

Please help me choose a homeschool program - I am new !?

admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:44:04 +0000

I don't know anybody who homeschools so I need your advice in helping me choose a program for my son.
I prefer an online school (satelite) because I like the idea that my son is in a private"school" and he gets legal paperwork from them if I will decide to send him back to public school . I also like an online school or a satellite school because it gives me more accountability .
I cannot use K12 because my son is 2 weeks short to be eligible for Kindergarten this year (he will be 5 in Sept) , however I consider him advanced and I want to start K this year.
He started to read short vowels words( cat , sam , men, pig ,work , will ) .
He loves books and listening to stories.
He has a very long attention span but he does not like too much writing . A little is ok. though . So a program with a lot of writing would not work for him.
He likes educational software and computer sites w/educational games.
He doesn't like crafts,painting,drawing,etc
He can count about 15 items and counts to 30.
I live in Fl but I am originally from Europe. My English is good but my accent is heavy .I choose to homeschool him because I AM NOT happy with the PS System here and I cannot afford private. I am not too organized and I am afraid that if I go without a satellite /umbrella school we will not accomplish much. I can afford 240/year — that's how much is to enroll in Christian Liberty Academy.
ANY Advice will be greatly appreciated.
I really don't want to pay over $300 for the school,including the curriculum .I don't think is worth , especially for Kindergarten.

Got your email. While I have never followed a program like what you are looking for, there are some that I've heard of or just found that you could look into:

http://www.connectionsacademy.com
http://www.thecambridgeacademy.org/
http://homeschoolacademy.com/

That's all I can find that has an online format. There are others (just try a search for "homeschool academy" which have a correspondence type approach where you mail things in rather than do it online; you could try that, too, if you are open to that style).

To stay away from:
Anything by Mimi Rothschild, a woman who's got a questionable reputation. Here's just one thing about her. http://aha.typepad.com/aha_news_blog/2005/05/is_there_a_lawy.html

This includes all of her schools:
http://www.learningbygrace.org/ Why does she have so many? Ah, now THAT's a question to be answered, isn't it?

ADDED: Just saw your addition. Other than an online public/charter school, you will not find something for less than $300. What you pay is tuition and shipping costs and everything. $300 for a year of that just isn't going to happen. Take the $300 and spend it on resources that look good to you, membership to a museum, or something else. It sounds like you know him well–you would easily be able to create a program for him that matches his needs instead of being accountable to an outside school. Besides, the paperwork from a private school is often meaningless to public schools because the curriculum is often completely different. There's no advantage in that regard.

SECOND ADDITION: I just had a look at Christian Liberty. I guess I have to take back my words about nothing out there being under $300! I have never, ever heard of a program that costs so little. If they meet everything you are looking for (and Christian Liberty is a highly regarded company–I've used some of their wonderful resources), then I'd say go for it.

I am looking for a laptop do you know of anywhere to go?

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:03:05 +0000

I have looked on dell. I want it to surf the web and take my homeschool exams. no games. What kind do I need. How much should I spend. I have somone that has all of the software that I am going to need so I just need the hardware. Please help me. I have been looking for months and havent came across anything because I dont know what I am looking for. Can you tell me how much memory will i need the numbers to look for in processors all of that.

http://www.walmart.com/search/browse-ng.do?ic=20_0&ref=125875.126124+500500.4294295865

Help with using AIM on a school computer?

admin — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:03:12 +0000

Topic..I'm on a homeschool computer and I've tried so many things to get on aim. I've downloaded it, tried downloading on another computer and sending the file already unzipped, sending the file to unzip, using aim express, using proxy servers to get on aim express I can't do it on this stupid computer, it's just ContentProtect software to block what I'm doing can anyone help me get on aim?

I know you don't want to hear this, but you shouldn't even try because that is against the acceptable use policy at your school. They have sites blocked for a reason and trying to bypass their security is called hacking and will get you banned from using any of their computers and probably even suspended or expelled.

They can see and track everything you do so you WILL get caught. Not being able to use the computers at all would suck way worse than just using them to view allowed sites - wouldn't it?
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