Coming Out of the Closet

Everyone has a secret.  They try to keep it hidden from prying eyes.  Sometimes those eyes belong to strangers and family alike.  Some secrets are embarrassing and some will send you to jail.

When you have a secret, you go to great lengths to hide it.  You make up stories, omit parts of the truth, and if necessary, you change parts of yourself to protect that secret.

Sometimes, the secret becomes bigger than you are.  Involving multiple people, it becomes a delicate balancing act.  Who knows what, who is going to slip up, and what repercussions will it have?

You start to forget who you really are, because all that matters is protecting the secret.  And when  alone, you get angry at yourself, because the secret becomes more important than being true to yourself.

What secret, you may ask, could I have that is so damning?  What is this secret that eats at the very soul of my family?   What thing makes us stammer, and aloof, whispering in the shadows with co-conspirators?

Occasionally we find others with the same damning secret.  They become our allies against the world.

My secret lies buried in this sentence...My children are incredibly gifted athletes.  Does that make you cringe and look at me like I am alien? Are you interested enough to wonder which sports they are best at?  Did you relax when you found out this was all I was hiding?  Okay, then let us take away the hidden code and examine the naked truth.....My children are incredibly gifted.  There, I said it.

Your whole perspective has changed, hasn't it?  I am now repulsive, with a large ego.  How dare I think my kids are better than yours.  How dare I look down my elite nose at you.  Funny how leaving out 1 little word changed everything.

I do not homeschool because of religious beliefs.  I do not homeschool because I am afraid of what my kids will pick up from school.  I do not homeschool because I want to control my children and brainwash them.  I do not homeschool because my children have disabilities that make learning challenging. I do not homeschool because I am afraid of school violence.  I do not homeschool because I want to sleep in.  I do not homeschool because we are wealthy. I do not homeschool because I am lazy.

I homeschool because my children forced me into it.  I homeschool because schools cannot handle their abilities.  I homeschool because I had no choice in the matter.  And as I homeschool, I hang on for dear life, bewildered, as my children drag me along.

If my children went from high school to professional sports, you would probably support them and even hope for some comped tickets.  Perhaps you would seek out their progress in the sports pages and the TV news.  Maybe you would let it slip to your friends and co-workers that you know them.  After all, some kids just have the gift and they should go for it.

Some kids go from elementary school, pause briefly in high school and then are off to college.  But you say they are pushed by parents or are freaks. They are rich and have unfair resources available to them, unreachable by the regular blue-collar worker and his family.  Never could it be that their gift is just as creator-given as the professional athletes'. 

I have stories to back anecdotally what I say.  Test scores and awards given by impartial third parties for tests, taken years before they are supposed to be taken, litter my files.  One child won a scholarship that pays for her high school expenses and most likely her college and graduate school tuition, earned years before she reached high school age.  The other is beginning to display skills that are just as incredible but uniquely her own.

"Bragging!" you say.  "A swelled head!" you proclaim.  "Elitism!" you shout.  "Knock her back to her station in life!" you insist. Do you look at me in disgust?  Are you talking about me behind my back?  Are you challenging me and my "exaggerated" stories?  Do you direct barbs at me and my children, disguised as what you think are clever questions?  Why?

There is pain in my heart as I watch my children come home, exhausted from hiding.  Age and experience allow me to cope better, but I too come home exhausted from never being able to honestly speak.  Tired from watching every word, every slip of the tongue, every reference, for fear that someone will take me as a braggart or treat me as an untouchable.  I can never admit all that I really know.  Never sharing the excitement of what my kid did today, like every other parent.  Never posting their accomplishments or their witticisms on Facebook.  Allies are few.  We can only uncloak in front of a small group of people.  It is the only time I can slip out of the shadows and the walls around me.

But I have finally done the unthinkable.  I have come out of the closet and I am only telling the truth.  Can you handle it?

VocabAhead - TOS

There is nothing like a coming across a word in a book, in a conversation, or on a test that you don't know to make you feel, well, uneducated.  The average college graduate is thought to have a working vocabulary of about 20,000 words.  A person starts school with 4000-5000 words and adds about 1000 a year through college.

But just like trivia, not everyone knows every word that everyone else does.  The English language is thought to have around a million words!  So what is a person to do to be prepared for things like SAT vocabulary analogies?

The sensible approach is to add a core group of words to your vocabulary.  You know, the ones that are most likely to show up in places where you need to know what is going on.  And while making flash cards of each word and their definitions is doable, it isn't necessarily the easiest or most time effective way to increase your personal word bank.

VocabAhead has a variety of products designed to address this conundrum. The product I tried is the 1000 SAT Vocabulary Videos and mp3s.

This DVD-ROM contains both auditory (mp3s) and visual (cartoon) aids for increasing your vocabulary.  After inserting the DVD-ROM into my computer (it wouldn't work in my DVD player) and I could watch or listen to the files, which were listed in alphabetical order.  You can also download both the video and mp3 files onto an iPod, iPhone or iPad, but we own none of these, so I could not give that a try.

The mp3 files worked best for our family, as they could be put onto Dragonette's mp3 player and be mixed up with her songs.  She gets a word here and there, continually, instead of trying to memorize a long list at once.  About half of the word list she already knew, so she did not download those files.  She takes words off her play list as she learns them, allowing the ones she was struggling with to have maximum play time. 

The video files did not work nearly as well for our family.  The only medium we have to access these is a desktop, and it just was not practical to sit down and review words this way.  These are not moving videos, but instead a cartoon that was overlaid with the corresponding mp3 track.  For us and our available technology, a book would have been a more useful visual tool, as it is much more mobile.

Products Available:
Book containing 300 SAT essential words with DVD-ROM - $12.95 on Amazon
DVD-ROM with 1000 SAT words - $24.99 on Amazon
An app for iPhones and iPods available on iTunes - I am not able to access iTunes from my computer, so I could not look up the price for the apps

If you are looking for an SAT vocabulary resource that does not involve the internet, the DVD-ROM would be the VocabAhead resource to look at. However, if you do not want a book, mp3 files, or the ability to use on an i anything, many of the words are available for free on VocabAhead's website.  You can watch the videos, hear the audio, and in the Teachers' section you can set up custom word lists, use widgets, and make your own vocabulary videos.  The Study Room has quizzes and flashcards. And on the main pages you can sign up for a word of the day to land in your email each day.

VocabAhead provides a variety of ways to increase your vocabulary.

Roman Town - TOS

See below for coupon code.

Computer games play a very large part in the schooling of my kids.  With someone other than Mom challenging them, they look up answers and try, try again to beat the computer. They are exposed to not only the three R's, but to logic, perseverance, and thinking outside the box.

But with Dig-it Games' new award-winning title, Roman Town, kids are exposed to a concept that is generally only taught in a hands-on way, if it is taught at all: archaeology.

Awards

This game is set in 79 AD, the time period when Mount Vesuvius erupted.  Dragonette played the game all the way through and has wrote the following description.

"In Roman Town, you are helping the professor to excavate an ancient Roman house in the town of Fossura.  There are six dig sites, and once you choose your site, there is a dirt area where white flags will pop up.  Highlight a tool in the toolbar and click on a flag to make your stick people start excavating.  When a person finds something, a green speech bubble will appear.  Click on it before it turns red and disappears.  Then you'll get to use your trowel-cursor to uncover the object.  The professor (and /or his two ancient Roman friends, who lived in the house) will tell you about the item. You can find the same thing several times over (i.e. there were oil lamps in all of the rooms of the house).

Men Digging

    When you run out of new flags and all your men finish digging, you will sort your artifacts into four different boxes.  You'll then be taken to the lab--the professor's dig site tent--where you'll be able to play Calculi (an ancient Roman game), reconstruct mosaics, frescoes, or 3-D pottery, match the old Roman items to modern ones, or find what doesn't belong in the room.  The lab activities change depending on what you excavated.  You can also look back at what you found.  When you're finished with the activities, you can tour the room you just excavated as it might have looked in its prime.  After that, you help the professor with his dig site report by dragging words to the correct blanks.  Then you can start on the next excavation."       

Using the trowel-cursor to find object

The ages targeted by this game is 5th-8th grade, but that has nothing really to do with skills necessary for this game, as much as it has to do with education standards.  If you have a child that is interested in what archaeologists do, or has ever asked about Ancient Rome, this computer game will fit the bill.  It has very little sound effects and is reading intensive, so if you have a child that does not read well, you will have to sit with them.

Both my children learned more about the daily life of Romans with this game. Dragonette (14) enjoyed the games and while she did learn things, felt she was a bit old for it.  She feels she would have thoroughly enjoyed this game had it been available a few years ago. It was right on target for Flower (10), and while she did enjoy the parts she completed, she is not a big History buff and lost interest in the game before completing it.  It has nothing to do with the quality if the game, as it has to do with her interests (aka math) and personality.

In an age where so many things are available on-line,  it is nice to see a company that is still making quality educational software on disc.

Roman Town is available for $39.95 normally, but as a reader of this blog, you can get a large discount if you order before February 21, 2011.

If you enter in the coupon code TOS2011 while ordering you will bring your price down to $19.96.

Virtual Nerd pricing update -TOS

Virtual Nerd is a program I reviewed a few weeks ago.  The company is in the process of learning how to work with the homeschool community and I give them kudos for making the effort. :o)

Here is the latest email from the company.  If this was something you were interested in and the price was just too high, this may be the incentive you needed.

Thank you for your interest in Virtual Nerd!

The free-offer for Educators is intended for classroom-based teachers. We defined this approach because classroom teachers use our service as a supplemental teaching tool and then refer students (and parents) to our site, and they become paid subscribers. These referred, paid subscriptions provide the income we need to sustain our business.

We appreciate that homeschool parents are teachers as well, and want to establish a discount program for homeschool teachers that enables us to sustain our business. We are working diligently on partnering with homeschooling communities and co-ops around the country to offer special rates to homeschoolers. If you’d like us to consider your organization in our program, please respond to this e-mail with the name and contact information for your organization.

In the meantime, while we finalize these arrangements we want to ensure that you have the benefit of using our service. For a limited time, Virtual Nerd is offering 50% Off Monthly Subscriptions to homeschool families. When registering for service, please use the following promotion code:

homeschooldeal

Please note, this offer is exclusive to families who are homeschooling their children. So spread the word!

Thank you for your patience and continued interest. We look forward to seeing you online.

Speekee-TOS

I have never been a fan of time travel.  You end up spending your time thinking about what should've, could've, would've, instead of experiencing this daily life you already have.  And if you could time travel, imagine all the new decisions you would face; what do you change, (after all, why relive the past if you can't change it) and what consequences is it going to have?  There is also the dread of knowing what is going to happen.  All the life would be sucked out of life.

With that being said, sometimes I do get a little wistful.  And Speekee, a Spanish program for younger kids, is definitely a wistfulness instigator.

When Dragonette was 2, she was already a master of the English language.  She could talk your ear off and if that got old, was not beyond reading your other ear off.  So I, her earless mother, was always on the look out for something to pour into that head of hers.  I tried to interest her in French, after all, I had taken four years of it in high school and her father had taken two, so I figured we could handle the basics. But that stubborn streak (I won't mention where she got that) was a mile long and dear little Dragonette insisted upon Spanish.

Now let me just begin that a decade ago in a small town NE town in Ohio, Spanish was not in abundance.  Not in the stores, nor the population, and definitely not the library.  The few videos available were, to a 2 year old, insipid.  Needless to say, other than what Dora the Explorer taught, Dragonette did not learn Spanish.

What I would have done if SpeekeeTV had been available to us like it was these last few months!  Imagine a Sesame Street that teaches Spanish instead of English.  Complete with puppets, kids, colors, numbers, subtitles in English and Spanish, and catchy songs.

Speekee, Dino, and Lupi

Speekee is program that currently has 10 episodes that are 15-20 minutes long. There is a host puppet, Speekee, along with sock puppets Lupi and Dino, a human man named Jim, and a cast of human kids.  There is a loose format to each episode, where opening and closing songs are sung, along with visiting a new place each episode (the store, the playground, the zoo, the school, etc.)  Vocabulary is covered for each place, as is a review of numbers, colors, and vocabulary from earlier episodes.  Common phrases (like "Where are we going") are used repetitively and everything is captioned on your computer screen in English and Spanish.  That is very convenient for visual learners who need to see what is being said, and for parents who don't have a clue about Spanish.

10 episodes available

Activities to download/print

But what really sets this program apart is the activities found with each episode.  There are not only recipes and activities you can try, but worksheets to reinforce what is being said.  Some writing, some drawing, some coloring, but most importantly, you are learning how to write the language as you learn it.  I wish high school language classes had been this fun.

Now the suggested ages for this program is 2-10 years old.  I don't have any little littles around anymore, but I signed up for this program because Dragonette has finally got her wish and is enrolled in Spanish 1 and I was intrigued about what she would think about the songs.

We started watch on the computer, but four of us crowded around the monitor is not a pretty sight.  We were thrilled when the Wii option was added, as watching on our TV was much more comfortable. On the Wii, Speekee was more challenging, as there were no subtitles.  This would be true immersion for first time viewing, or a good way to test if you really are picking up the Spanish. If I had young children, I would have definitely let this run often during the day, but as a family with older kids, we often found ourself waiting for Dad to get home so we could watch as a family.  What other puppets do you know that inspire a whole family to sit down and watch?

Speekee and Jim

I like the puppets; I like that it is not dumbed down; I like the subtitles; I like the worksheets; but most of all, I love the songs.  All four of us walk around the house singing these ditties because they get stuck in your head. My Latin learner and my jobsite Spanish speaker are totally into it with Dragonette, and are always having to coach poor Mom, who gets her English, French, and now Spanish very, very jumbled in her head.

So if I had a time machine, I would definitely take Speekee back to that small NE Ohio town's library and deal with the consequences. 

Speekee is available in 2 formats, DVD and streaming (SpeekeeTV).

DVD

• The Speekee DVDs are produced in Europe and use the PAL format for colour encoding. US / Canadian systems use the NTSC format as standard. Many, but not all, North American DVD players are capable of playing PAL media. If you are based in North America, please check your equipment before purchase. Alternatively, subscribe for Speekee TV. 
• 4 DVD video discs, 34-track audio CD plus 70 page guide
• 30 money-back guarantee
• The price is in British pounds (95.00) so your price will depend on the current exchange rate

Speekee TV

• All 10 episodes plus the activities
• can be streamed on your computer with the subtitles or through your Wii's Internet channel without the subtitles (great for practicing to see if you really know what is going on)
• can subscribe monthly for $7.50 and yearly for $75.00

There is a free two week trial for SpeekeeTV.  You do have to enter your credit card number, but customer service has been excellent for the Review Crew, and not only put prices in American dollars with a yearly option at our request, but also talked to their tech guy and within a few days of being asked, had figured out how to make SpeekeeTV available on the Wii. I have very high praise for their attention to their customers' concerns.

Old Fashioned or Old Fogey

More and more, I am feeling very old fashioned.  Not Little House on the Prairie old fashioned, although I have daydreamed of living on my 140 acres off the grid, but old fogey old fashioned.  I like my news 7 days a week in my paper box on the street, listen to "oldies" from the 90's, and watch TV shows on Netflix way more than broadcast TV.

But it wasn't always this way.  I got my first computer when I was 17, a Zeos that only showed orange on the screen.  I used shareware to type things up for school and I jumped onto the 'net  a computer or two later with dial up about 1994.  I had two VCR's (both 4-headed!) for dubbing tapes and a camcorder that used VHS-C so you could stick the tapes straight into the VCR.

Today, I am a die hard fan of email, am subscribed to over 20 email loops, and spent two hours this December just to organize my bookmarks.  I started blogging in June for TOS and I joined Facebook reluctantly in November, after finding out it was the way to find out what my 27 first cousins and all their offspring are up to.  While I have a cell phone (I know homeschool moms that don't), the only smartness my phone has is to call the people that I tell it to.

So I guess my whole point here is that even though I don't Tweet and Facebook my every move, I am still in the loop.

Using my old fashioned methods, I am in touch with thousands of homeschoolers, locally and internationally.  I can suggest a curriculum or answer a question, without a stat counter or a blog follower.  I can tell you what worked and what didn't for us and our learning styles, tell you about new books, sites, and products I have heard about and who liked/didn't like them.  I can answer questions precisely and in real time, without you having to subscribe to something that might talk about everything else except what you had a question about.

Today's world is so full of people wanting to tell me what they think before I even ask. With 20 minutes of commercials in every hour of programming, news channels that blow everything out of proportion, reality shows about anything but reality, web ads targeted to you, and a mailbox full of things I supposedly need, I cannot be the only one who values being able to ask before I get an answer.
   
In other words, don't discount us old guys and our old fashioned ways.  We may snoop out the latest, and network it with thousands of people, quickly and concisely, in ways that cannot be measured by the latest google gadget.

New Year, New Things

I am fairly new to this blogging thing as it was thrust upon me if I wanted to take part in the TOS Review Crew.  The latest mandate from the powers that be is that I must have 4 posts a month, even if I do not have 4 products to review each month.  So I have been kicking this around, trying to decide what to do, without boring y'all and taking up your time with a bunch of drivel.

I wanted to add a page, similar to the Books We Like page, to keep the TOS review separate from my own adventures.  However, if I divide things up that way, those posts do not end up in the Archives, but instead are just a list.  If any of my technology gifted readers out there have a suggestion, I am all ears, even though it does make me look kinda funny. But gravity is helping with that already.

In the meantime, it looks like I am just going to have to mix things up willy nilly.  So from now on, if a post is for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Review Crew (TOS), it will say so in the header and my disclaimer will apply.  Otherwise, I will have received nothing for my opinion, except completing that four post minimum, and maybe losing the two cents I am sharing.