The substance of capitalization and punctuation is this: you must be able to comprehend what the speaker is saying; that is, when it has written on paper.
Envision if I were to say that sentence again, but this time, devoid of all the punctuations and capitalizations. It would be extremely confusing, and very hard to understand.
Otherwise, look at it this way: Pretend you are reading the Bible. Without punctuation and capitalization, the Bible would sound a lot like a bunch of nonsense. God’s name would sound like just a simple word with no real significance. It would be extremely aggravating, and bewildering.
In addition, what if people would just randomly come up to you and start speaking without pauses in their speeches. Imagine your parents telling you something important, but their words were together without a pause.
It could be really, really irritating, or you could mishear and do something you weren’t supposed to do.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Observing President's Day
Until 1971, both February 12 and February 22 were observed as federal public holidays to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22). In 1971 President Richard Nixon proclaimed one single federal public holiday, the Presidents' Day, to be observed on the 3rd Monday of February, honoring all past presidents of the United States of America.
GEORGE WASHINGTON (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799). Early in his life George Washington became an experienced surveyor. Following these years, he fought in the French and Indian War. After the war he returned to Mount Vernon in 1758, married Martha Dandridge in 1759, and became a planter. That same year he became involved in politics when he was elected representative to the Virginia House of Burgesses. He was a representative until 1774 when he became a delegate to the Continental Congress. In May of 1775 George Washington was appointed Commander of the American army during the Revolution. He was the first President, (1789 1797) governing the 13 states.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865). Abe Lincoln was born into a poor family and had little formal schooling. He basically taught himself to read and write and walked long distances to borrow books. He failed in early business and political ventures, yet became President in 1861 and guided the Union through the Civil War. He shaped his own character and education as was evident in the simple language he used in his speeches. His famous Gettysburg Address was delivered in 1863. LincGln was assassinated on April 15, 1865 during a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington just a few days after General Robert E. Lee and his army surrendered.
GEORGE WASHINGTON (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799). Early in his life George Washington became an experienced surveyor. Following these years, he fought in the French and Indian War. After the war he returned to Mount Vernon in 1758, married Martha Dandridge in 1759, and became a planter. That same year he became involved in politics when he was elected representative to the Virginia House of Burgesses. He was a representative until 1774 when he became a delegate to the Continental Congress. In May of 1775 George Washington was appointed Commander of the American army during the Revolution. He was the first President, (1789 1797) governing the 13 states.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865). Abe Lincoln was born into a poor family and had little formal schooling. He basically taught himself to read and write and walked long distances to borrow books. He failed in early business and political ventures, yet became President in 1861 and guided the Union through the Civil War. He shaped his own character and education as was evident in the simple language he used in his speeches. His famous Gettysburg Address was delivered in 1863. LincGln was assassinated on April 15, 1865 during a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington just a few days after General Robert E. Lee and his army surrendered.
President Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America.
I do not know where to start so I might as well start, well where it all started. Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 inside of a log cabin. The cabin presided in Kentucky, and he was born to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. When he was eight they had moved to Indiana where Abraham would help his father to build another log cabin. Sadly, Abe’s mother died only a year later. The cabin seemed bare with his mother gone. Soon his father would remarry, and to add on to the family they had three more kids.
Lincoln had only a little over a year of schooling. Books were as scarce as paper and it made it difficult on Lincoln. As inventive and resourceful as he was he simply worked all of his arithmetic problems on a board and used a knife to clean the board.
This family owned a bible as well as spent hours reading it. Abe would copy parts of the bible so he could memorize it line by line. At times if he wanted a book, he would walk many miles Just to borrow a book. His all time favorite book was “The life of George Washington.”
By age seventeen, he wanted to be a lawyer. He wanted to figure out how to be one so he would walk more than seventeen miles to watch the lawyers at their work. He would sit at the back of the courthouse to watch them work Yelling, Screaming, and Faces turning red, winning cases. When he was finished at the courthouse he would walk another seventeen miles back to his home to think about what he had seen.
When he was twenty-one, he spent his time on a farm in Illinois. While on the farm, he and the man he worked with had split more than three-thousand rails in 1830 alone. On top of this, he also managed a flat boat on the Ohio River.
Every time Lincoln got a new job, he would try to be as honest as was humanly possible. This was a skill, which he believed would help him as a lawyer. While he was a Shopkeeper, he shortchanged a woman six cents. He followed her home just so he could give her the money back. As a postmaster, he learned to get along with people very well. As a surveyor, he made near perfect measurements.
Although he had done many different jobs in the past, he still wanted to be a lawyer. With the perseverance, he would study throughout the night. Because he did not have many books, he would borrow them from a neighbor in the evening and return them in the morning. In 1836, he passed the test and became a full-fledged lawyer.
During this time, the Whig party would elect him to the Illinois legislature. He became elite when it came to debating and public speaking. He had countless debates with John Calhoun regarding the tariff. The spoke before large audiences for hours at a time.
Lincoln had only a little over a year of schooling. Books were as scarce as paper and it made it difficult on Lincoln. As inventive and resourceful as he was he simply worked all of his arithmetic problems on a board and used a knife to clean the board.
This family owned a bible as well as spent hours reading it. Abe would copy parts of the bible so he could memorize it line by line. At times if he wanted a book, he would walk many miles Just to borrow a book. His all time favorite book was “The life of George Washington.”
By age seventeen, he wanted to be a lawyer. He wanted to figure out how to be one so he would walk more than seventeen miles to watch the lawyers at their work. He would sit at the back of the courthouse to watch them work Yelling, Screaming, and Faces turning red, winning cases. When he was finished at the courthouse he would walk another seventeen miles back to his home to think about what he had seen.
When he was twenty-one, he spent his time on a farm in Illinois. While on the farm, he and the man he worked with had split more than three-thousand rails in 1830 alone. On top of this, he also managed a flat boat on the Ohio River.
Every time Lincoln got a new job, he would try to be as honest as was humanly possible. This was a skill, which he believed would help him as a lawyer. While he was a Shopkeeper, he shortchanged a woman six cents. He followed her home just so he could give her the money back. As a postmaster, he learned to get along with people very well. As a surveyor, he made near perfect measurements.
Although he had done many different jobs in the past, he still wanted to be a lawyer. With the perseverance, he would study throughout the night. Because he did not have many books, he would borrow them from a neighbor in the evening and return them in the morning. In 1836, he passed the test and became a full-fledged lawyer.
During this time, the Whig party would elect him to the Illinois legislature. He became elite when it came to debating and public speaking. He had countless debates with John Calhoun regarding the tariff. The spoke before large audiences for hours at a time.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Dew point Experiment
Experiment
Science
Lysa
Why must the metal can be shiny?
So you can see the perspiration.
Why must the ice be added slowly?
So the water can adjust to the new cold, therefore creating water on the outside of the can.
What advantages would be in repeating the experiment several times?
You would be able to see if the information you have drawn from the experiment is correct or not.
What is the average dew point?
Sixty degrees Fahrenheit.
If possible, compare your findings with someone else who did the experiment.
How are your results similar or different, and why?
They are similar. We both got around the sixty-degree range, although they did not add the ice in as slowly as I did.
What did you find out from this investigation? Be thoughtful in your answer.
I have found that the dew—perspiration on a metal can, in this case—comes in at about sixty degrees. It came just about when the can got extremely cold. It was not a thick sheet of perspiration, though. It was actually just a thin sheen of moisture.
Science
Lysa
Why must the metal can be shiny?
So you can see the perspiration.
Why must the ice be added slowly?
So the water can adjust to the new cold, therefore creating water on the outside of the can.
What advantages would be in repeating the experiment several times?
You would be able to see if the information you have drawn from the experiment is correct or not.
What is the average dew point?
Sixty degrees Fahrenheit.
If possible, compare your findings with someone else who did the experiment.
How are your results similar or different, and why?
They are similar. We both got around the sixty-degree range, although they did not add the ice in as slowly as I did.
What did you find out from this investigation? Be thoughtful in your answer.
I have found that the dew—perspiration on a metal can, in this case—comes in at about sixty degrees. It came just about when the can got extremely cold. It was not a thick sheet of perspiration, though. It was actually just a thin sheen of moisture.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
How long does it take?
How long does it take to homeschool every day? That all depends on your child and you. Some kids just naturally grasp things quicker than others. If you have in mind the seven-hour "school" day that your child is getting in the public school setting, let's discuss that a little bit. On average? I would say if you asked 10 different homeschooling families, you would get 10 different answers. The answer to that question is unique to not only each family but to each child. Guesstimation? I don't know, but it will not make you end up looking like this. Let me see if I can shed some light on the subject.
First of all, the State of Alabama does not give a legal definition of how many hours makes a "school day", but to put it in perspective for you, let's get a visual of an average middle/high school level "school day" in a public school setting.
•Hold up seven fingers in front of your face. You can use two hands if you need to. The seven fingers stand for the seven hours in a "school day":
•Take one finger down for the hour it takes for the car/bus line in the morning/afternoon along with homeroom time. When my son was in public school, he was brought out to the car line promptly at 2:30 p.m. every day. Why? I don't know. Moving on...
•Take one finger down for the embarrassing, sweaty hour of P.E. Let's don't even talk about the immense joy of dressing out.
•Now take one finger down for lunch (if you can possibly call it that)/study hall.
•Let's see, we are down to four hours a day. Hmmm...four hours. That's not bad. I think four hours a day is a reasonable amount of time to expect to homeschool every day. Don't you?
•But wait! Don't forget to take one hour away for the 10 minutes in between each class period to go to lockers, be bullied and pushed around, buy/sell and/or talk about those who are buying/selling drugs, and get to the next class.
•Take one hour away for the time it takes in each class to take roll for that class, take up homework, hand out papers, answer the same question three or four times, break up fights, potty breaks, etc.
•That leaves you with two hours. Two hours out of seven.?????
•Okay, so we are down to two hours, but wait! Don't forget about the hour of (mandatory) electives that your child has everyday which is usually art, chorus, band, etc. So...now we are down to just one hour a day.
•Let me suggest to you that it only takes half the time to teach one child something as it does to teach a classroom full. That leaves you with about one-half hour of actual learning that your child is getting in a school setting. That is on the days that they do not watch a Disney movie, go to a pep rally, have a fire drill, sit in the principal's office, etc. Don't even get me started on that whole "No Child Left Behind" crap. Did you not ever wonder why your kids had so much homework to do when they got home from school? Now you know why when you ask your child what they did that day at school they almost always inevitably say, "Nothing."
Let me make clear that I am not discounting the fact that your child needs to eat lunch, have physical education time, study music or art, etc., but I am sure that is not what you were referring to when you asked the question, "How long does it take to homeschool a child each day?" Let me also make it clear that I am not putting blame on the school system or on the teachers. That's just the way it is, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Now that we have a little perspective, let's get back to your original question of, "How long does it take to homeschool every day?" There are many different variables that can change this answer such as:
•How many children do you have? Obviously it is going to take more time with five kids than it is with one. How much more time? Again, more variables such as...
•How old is your child(ren)? Younger children who are not reading and writing yet take more one-on-one time teaching them everyday skills. Older children can largely self direct themselves with your main job being to provide them with the resources that they need. If you have children near the same age, you can combine learning going a little more in depth with the older children. You can also combine reading time, videos, field trips etc.
•Are there a lot of outside disturbances? Pretty self explanatory.
•Is your child very focused or have the attention span of a gnat (which is actually a misnomer by the way)? If you have a child with a short attention span, try breaking up their day into small bite-sized blocks of learning. Try doing some book work followed by taking a walk and doing nature studies, etc.
•Also, you should take into consideration what "lessons" are you doing? For instance, my son has a love of politics. I know that he is going to watch every political show, read every book, discuss politics as often and as in depth as tolerated (don't get him started, please!), and research it until his eyeballs fall out. He knows FAR more than I would ever CARE to know. Of course, I provide him with resources to delve into, but I don't actively count this as his "school" time because I know he is going to get it anyway. Does that make sense?
All of these are things to take into consideration. As you begin homeschooling, a lot of this will become clear to you. Your days will become a natural ebb and flow of learning if you will let it. You will find learning in places you never even thought of. Each day will be different and full of all kinds of learning opportunities. Be adventuresome and creative. Homeschooling should be more about learning and life and nurturing the LOVE of learning rather than fulfilling a daily time quota. (I'm just sayin'!)
First of all, the State of Alabama does not give a legal definition of how many hours makes a "school day", but to put it in perspective for you, let's get a visual of an average middle/high school level "school day" in a public school setting.
•Hold up seven fingers in front of your face. You can use two hands if you need to. The seven fingers stand for the seven hours in a "school day":
•Take one finger down for the hour it takes for the car/bus line in the morning/afternoon along with homeroom time. When my son was in public school, he was brought out to the car line promptly at 2:30 p.m. every day. Why? I don't know. Moving on...
•Take one finger down for the embarrassing, sweaty hour of P.E. Let's don't even talk about the immense joy of dressing out.
•Now take one finger down for lunch (if you can possibly call it that)/study hall.
•Let's see, we are down to four hours a day. Hmmm...four hours. That's not bad. I think four hours a day is a reasonable amount of time to expect to homeschool every day. Don't you?
•But wait! Don't forget to take one hour away for the 10 minutes in between each class period to go to lockers, be bullied and pushed around, buy/sell and/or talk about those who are buying/selling drugs, and get to the next class.
•Take one hour away for the time it takes in each class to take roll for that class, take up homework, hand out papers, answer the same question three or four times, break up fights, potty breaks, etc.
•That leaves you with two hours. Two hours out of seven.?????
•Okay, so we are down to two hours, but wait! Don't forget about the hour of (mandatory) electives that your child has everyday which is usually art, chorus, band, etc. So...now we are down to just one hour a day.
•Let me suggest to you that it only takes half the time to teach one child something as it does to teach a classroom full. That leaves you with about one-half hour of actual learning that your child is getting in a school setting. That is on the days that they do not watch a Disney movie, go to a pep rally, have a fire drill, sit in the principal's office, etc. Don't even get me started on that whole "No Child Left Behind" crap. Did you not ever wonder why your kids had so much homework to do when they got home from school? Now you know why when you ask your child what they did that day at school they almost always inevitably say, "Nothing."
Let me make clear that I am not discounting the fact that your child needs to eat lunch, have physical education time, study music or art, etc., but I am sure that is not what you were referring to when you asked the question, "How long does it take to homeschool a child each day?" Let me also make it clear that I am not putting blame on the school system or on the teachers. That's just the way it is, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Now that we have a little perspective, let's get back to your original question of, "How long does it take to homeschool every day?" There are many different variables that can change this answer such as:
•How many children do you have? Obviously it is going to take more time with five kids than it is with one. How much more time? Again, more variables such as...
•How old is your child(ren)? Younger children who are not reading and writing yet take more one-on-one time teaching them everyday skills. Older children can largely self direct themselves with your main job being to provide them with the resources that they need. If you have children near the same age, you can combine learning going a little more in depth with the older children. You can also combine reading time, videos, field trips etc.
•Are there a lot of outside disturbances? Pretty self explanatory.
•Is your child very focused or have the attention span of a gnat (which is actually a misnomer by the way)? If you have a child with a short attention span, try breaking up their day into small bite-sized blocks of learning. Try doing some book work followed by taking a walk and doing nature studies, etc.
•Also, you should take into consideration what "lessons" are you doing? For instance, my son has a love of politics. I know that he is going to watch every political show, read every book, discuss politics as often and as in depth as tolerated (don't get him started, please!), and research it until his eyeballs fall out. He knows FAR more than I would ever CARE to know. Of course, I provide him with resources to delve into, but I don't actively count this as his "school" time because I know he is going to get it anyway. Does that make sense?
All of these are things to take into consideration. As you begin homeschooling, a lot of this will become clear to you. Your days will become a natural ebb and flow of learning if you will let it. You will find learning in places you never even thought of. Each day will be different and full of all kinds of learning opportunities. Be adventuresome and creative. Homeschooling should be more about learning and life and nurturing the LOVE of learning rather than fulfilling a daily time quota. (I'm just sayin'!)
Awarding High School Credits
Confused about how to award high school credits to earn a high school diploma? Don't worry, you are not alone! Since my son will be in high school next year I wanted to figure out how to calculate his credits without going insane or worrying if I could even do it. So this is what I found.
First, a little perspective... It is important to remember that you aren’t taking classes just to get out of high school. Knowledge is power and is its own reward. It is also important to keep in mind any post high school plans you may have. Students planning on going into the military or attending a trade school, certificate program, community college or a four-year public or private university should research the credits needed for entrance and to be well prepared for success once there.
There are generally two different methods used to determine high school credits; curricula completion and Carnegie Credit Units or a combination of the two.
•Curricula Completed: If you are using a set curricula, a general rule of thumb is that you can award a credit in that subject upon completion of at least 75% of the curricula.
•Carnegie Credit Units: One credit of high school equals 120 - 180 hours of class work, labs, research, independent reading, review, and field trips.
•Combination: Most homeschoolers award credits using a combination of curricula completed and Carnegie Credit Units. Carnegie Credit Units awards credits on time spent and not material covered. Most homeschoolers award credit by the quality of the work completed, not just the time spent. Some students work at a fast pace, while others take more time. Many homeschool students are bogged down using the traditional school methods for awarding credit. Their goal is knowledge of the subject taught, not just to spend a certain amount of time on the subject.
First, a little perspective... It is important to remember that you aren’t taking classes just to get out of high school. Knowledge is power and is its own reward. It is also important to keep in mind any post high school plans you may have. Students planning on going into the military or attending a trade school, certificate program, community college or a four-year public or private university should research the credits needed for entrance and to be well prepared for success once there.
There are generally two different methods used to determine high school credits; curricula completion and Carnegie Credit Units or a combination of the two.
•Curricula Completed: If you are using a set curricula, a general rule of thumb is that you can award a credit in that subject upon completion of at least 75% of the curricula.
•Carnegie Credit Units: One credit of high school equals 120 - 180 hours of class work, labs, research, independent reading, review, and field trips.
•Combination: Most homeschoolers award credits using a combination of curricula completed and Carnegie Credit Units. Carnegie Credit Units awards credits on time spent and not material covered. Most homeschoolers award credit by the quality of the work completed, not just the time spent. Some students work at a fast pace, while others take more time. Many homeschool students are bogged down using the traditional school methods for awarding credit. Their goal is knowledge of the subject taught, not just to spend a certain amount of time on the subject.
Tim Tebow Bill
Welcome! We are a group of citizens of the great state of Alabama lobbying for our state public education establishment to allow homeschooled students equal access to sports and extracurricular activities. Legislation which would provide this access has been introduced into the Alabama Legislature.
Our bill derives it's name from Tim Tebow (with his family's permission). Tim has attained the highest level of success of any football player in history at this point in his career. He was a homeschooled student who played football for a public high school team in Florida, led Neese High School to the 2005 state championship and played in 2006 as a true freshman on the National Championship Florida Gators team. As the Gators' starting quarterback in 2007, Tim lead his team to a very successful season. For his performance and character, Tim, in addition to the Heisman Trophy, also earned the Maxwell Award as the nation's top football player, the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback, and the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's most outstanding amateur athlete in any sport.
Also, 24 other states support some form of equal access for homeschoolers. It is time for Alabama to step up and support our hard-working homeschool educators, students, and student-athletes as well. We are urging the House and Senate Education Committees to bring these bills out of committee so that a full vote can be taken in the legislature. The passage of this law will not only benefit homeschool athletes and musicians, but it will also benefit the entire system of education in Alabama. The ultimate goal of any educational system should be to provide the services needed for all students to have a well rounded education. Extracurricular activities are one of those services, beyond academics, that help today’s children learn the skills they will need to be tomorrow’s leaders. USA Today said in a 2003 article that supporting homeschool choices “benefits children, their parents AND LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS.”
Our bill derives it's name from Tim Tebow (with his family's permission). Tim has attained the highest level of success of any football player in history at this point in his career. He was a homeschooled student who played football for a public high school team in Florida, led Neese High School to the 2005 state championship and played in 2006 as a true freshman on the National Championship Florida Gators team. As the Gators' starting quarterback in 2007, Tim lead his team to a very successful season. For his performance and character, Tim, in addition to the Heisman Trophy, also earned the Maxwell Award as the nation's top football player, the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback, and the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's most outstanding amateur athlete in any sport.
Also, 24 other states support some form of equal access for homeschoolers. It is time for Alabama to step up and support our hard-working homeschool educators, students, and student-athletes as well. We are urging the House and Senate Education Committees to bring these bills out of committee so that a full vote can be taken in the legislature. The passage of this law will not only benefit homeschool athletes and musicians, but it will also benefit the entire system of education in Alabama. The ultimate goal of any educational system should be to provide the services needed for all students to have a well rounded education. Extracurricular activities are one of those services, beyond academics, that help today’s children learn the skills they will need to be tomorrow’s leaders. USA Today said in a 2003 article that supporting homeschool choices “benefits children, their parents AND LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS.”
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