Thanks to everyone who dropped Lorena a note on her birthday. We had a good discussion about how great it is to be enjoy the age you are as opposed to pining for a different age. We are going to celebrate a little more this weekend when we go to Tennessee. I love this picture of Lorena that we took last night with her tulips. I was quite excited to find the find a special prize from Bryan. Special for Lorena anyway. That he did it on an Apple product has to do with the fact that he wants people to think he knows something about computers, but cannot really handle a real one. Click on the YouTube link below to see his brilliant performance. Take special notice of how skinny he looks. Good job Bryan! And thanks for the great video.
Kelly’s Pre-Calculus text books arrived in the mail yesterday. She will not start in on them until sometime in February. Still it is hard to imagine we have come so far. Math can be a struggle sometimes, but we have enjoyed it very much. We got off to a great start with the wonderful Singapore Math program developed by the Singapore Ministry of Education. We moved on to Teaching Textbooks when the kids started Algebra I. Pre-Calculus is the last course currently available from Teaching Textbooks, so we will have to move on to something else next year when Kelly gets to Calculus. I have decided that I will not try to teach the kids beyond Differential and Integral Calculus. After that I will send them to the community college for Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Equations. Those will be good solid classes for them to take in a college setting and will provide them with enough math to get through just about any undergraduate degree they chose with the exception of stuff like math and physics. I will write some posts here about our efforts to identify a good homeschool Calculus program.
Here is Lorena’s special birthday video from Bryan:
Something interesting for Christian: Ubuntu 9.04 Boots in 21.4 Seconds
Ken, I cannot imagine being that far in math. We do math, but I doubt ANY of my children will do pre calculus before they leave here. Well, maybe Michaela. Maybe. Joseph I think would be a whiz at math, but with his dyslexia he just thinks of things so differently from me I sometimes cannot even get what he’s saying and he gets the right answer. He does not like to follow steps. He likes to just “think” his way to the answer — so sometimes he right sometimes he’s wrong.
Anyway, I have heard so many good things about teaching textbooks. We have been with Saxon for so long though and I have so many Saxon products including the CDs, I’m not sure I should change, but I’ll definitely be looking at TT at the next NC Homeschool Conference.
Love the video. 🙂
Lynn
Thanks Lynn. I think I have the same feeling about writing as you do about Math. I am not very well equipped to teach it at all. When I read the things I write, mechanically they might be OK, but it makes me realize the only thing I am equipped to write is a technical manual. I do math and science for a living, so that is kind of my comfort zone. I have heard great things about Saxon. I am sure your kids will get a great grounding in math. We have the same issue with Christian on math. I keep trying to explain to him that the reason he has to go through the process EVEN on the problems he can do in is head is so he will learn the process so he can do the problems he can NOT do in his head.
We got a big kick out of the video, too. I grew up on the same street with Bryan and went to meeting and school with him for years. He is a great guy. He is a Macintosh/Apple guy. We are a Linux family. We have lots of fun fighting about that.
My friend Betty grew up in Singapore, and her father worked for the ministry of education there before retiring. I should ask her if she knows that those texts and guidelines are being used by homeschoolers! Betty and I first met in Ann Arbor when she came to do her master’s in linguistics, and I was a freshman. She stayed on to complete her PhD in record time and now is a professor of linguistics at San Diego State Univ. She can tell you in gory details about the absolute horror of education majors not knowing basic grammar. She usually has to spend the first few weeks doing remediation rather than teaching new material. She enjoys her job, but the ivory tower isn’t utopia by any means.
I like the Happy Birthday You-tube. I agree… whatever our age should be savored and lived fully. Enjoy your weekend!
Thank you very much for remembering my birthday and also for the video Bryan! It is incredible that you can play music on an iPhone! I love it! Come and visit us in NC.
Thanks Youngin! I hope your friend Betty comes out here some day. She sounds like she would be awesome to talk to about a TON of stuff. The Singapore Math was absolutely incredible for us. We especially liked the “Mental Math” they did. From what I understand about Singapore, Betty had a VERY rigorous education growing up. Even if the ivory tower is not a bed of roses, I do not think it could get much better career-wise, than living in San Diego teaching at a University. Don’t forget to post some pictures of your niece! Troy and Youngin’s blog is here.
We love Singapore math too! But I want to know (if you have time, Ken,) why you switched to Teaching Textbooks when Singapore math goes into a higher levels?
That is a question I get often enough that I think I will give it a post of its own! It should appear in a post or two away from this post. You can find it here.
Lauro Jr
Hola Lorena!!!
“Espero que hayas pasado Feliz Cumpleanios! ayer llegue de Bogota Colombia y hoy sabado, con mas calma, estoy en la casa tomandome un cafecito y viendo el blog”. I would like to take this opportunity to say hello to our dear friend Bryan! very original happy birthday video Bryan, I just downloaded the real piano program for my iPhone 🙂 this is a good toy!. Lorena, nice picture!
Greetings from all of us in Monterrey for all you: Our dear friends in Oregon and our dear family in NC!!!
Lauro.
Hola Laurin!
Muchas gracias por el mensaje! Que padre que ya llegaste de Colombia!
Sigue comentando, esta a todo dar ver tu comentario, acabamos de llegar de Tenasse.
Saludos a la familia
Hello Lauro!
I am glad to hear you have a real piano on your iPhone! We will have to have a concert together!
I recently sold my 1941 Packard automobile to a man that owns a limousine company in Monterry!
Soon an Oregon classic car will be in your fair city.
Greetings to all your family!
~Bryan
Lauro Hola!
Me alegra oir quo haya verdadero piano en tu iPhone! Tendremos que tener un concieto juntos!
Recientemente he vendido mi 1941 Packard automovil a un hombre que posee una empresa de limusinas en Monterry! Pronto un clasico coche de Oregon sera justo en su cludad.
Saludos a toda tu familia!
~Bryan
(so how’d I do? I used a translator program on my iPhone. 😉
Lauro, Bryan is in the tank for Apple! Any excuse to use his iPhone is a good one. Actually, it was pretty cool to here his Happy Birthday for Lorena. I am going to have to see what it sounds like on my new Linux based Palm Pre!
Lauro Jr
Hi Bryan, Ken and Lorena,
Wow Bryan! A 1941 Packard, this is a very nice classic car!!!…btw, hey Ken, I have an idea; this is the car that we can rent here in Monterrey for Kelly 15 birthday upcoming party! What do you think?
I am sorry it takes me time to respond 😉 Dayana and Dayanita went to Plaza Fiesta San Agustin, and I am here at home with Laurito and Benjas (the dog) drinking my coffee. I invited Dayana to have dinner here in Villa de Santiago, in the little plaza there is a good Italian restaurante a place we need to go when you come to visit us.
Regards,
Lauro.
EXCELLENT ideas, Lauro! Maybe we can talk Bryan about going down! The car would be very cool and we LOVE Italian food. We are dying to meet Benjas.