Washingtonians

[Breshcandra]

I have yet to hear of any curriculum that keeps up with state standards by itself. I know many, many people who have home-schooled and most of the kids I know have grown up struggling in high school or college if they stick with one curriculum. There was this one family, where both the husband and wife owned a very successful businesses, that I thought had the home-schooling plan down to a tee. Turned out, her oldest couldn't get into a college, and was struggling with passing classes in his vo-tech school. They were beginning to realize their other two were going to struggle, as well.

I supplemented my kids early education with Abeka when they were smaller. There was no way that curriculum even came close to what they were being taught in the Public School they were going to at the same time - and they were in a special needs class in the public school.

I grew up in an A.C.E. school (Accelerated Christian Education). Both my brother and sister completed every Pace that had ever been written, and aced most of every test, too. They had to graduate one year early because the curriculum had nothing else for them to do. They went on to attend NNU (Northwest Nazarene University) - the only college my parents could find that would accept them. Both of them struggled. My brother had to switch his degree to a ministerial degree just to get through and graduate on time, and my sister had to go to NNU for a few years, before she could switch to a state college. She ended up having to go to college for 10 years to successfully get the degree in finance that she wanted. My brother did not become a minister, but he had a degree that helped him get a good job in the work force. He spent years being disappointed that he was never able to get into the architectural field he wanted to be in. I was switched to a public High School in 11th grade and the school counselors told my parents that I was so far behind academically, that they could not ever imagine that I would ever make it into a state college. I did get it into a state college, but my 11th and 12th grade years were brutal. Gratefully, I had very sweet English and math teachers who were willing to have me stay after school to help me.

My recommendation to any homeschooling parent would be use multiple curriculum and make sure your child is keeping up with state standards. You can pull them from the Internet here: http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/learningstandards.aspx . They are huge documents, but it is worth making sure your child keeps up with what the Public School system teaches. I've seen far too many kids, from well-meaning parents, come into the public school system after being home schooled and really struggle. The child's ability to get into college in the future will rely on the kid's being able to pass college entrance exams and those exams are based on what is taught in the Public School system.

Edited to fix the link.

I don't think its just with keeping up with the school. I know of several home schooled children that did excellent in college. I know of one lady who graduated from collage at the age of 16.

What I think happens with homeschoolers is that they never get a chance to learn how to tell what different teachers want when they do tests because they are all taught by the same parent.

My husband was home schooled and he still aces most of the tests he is given.

I am planning on homeschooling my child but I also am looking into programs where I can let another mom teach a class so she gets taught by different teachers.

 

[Breshcandra]

I had the cutest dream lastnight.....
It started that we were haveing a BBQ at my house and by we I mean all of you BYCers and my family. Funny thing is that all of you had BANDANAS on your faces except for the few of you that I have met. Every one was out side looking at my coop (granted the house was completely different from what it is and so was my coop) and talking chickens when I decided I needed to go inside and make something that called for eggs. I looked in the fridge and there were not enough so I walked over to the wall next to what seems to have been the back door in the kitchen and there was a box on the wall about waist high. The box looked like ya'lls nest boxes that are on the outside of your coops so you can get eggs with out going in. KMHunter came into the kitchen to talk for a minute and I was showing her this box. I opened the top and it was nest boxes IN THE KITCHEN WALL so that I could get the eggs from the coop right from the kitchen!!!! It was the coolest thing ever. In the middle of makeing what ever it was I was making, I had some scraps for the chickens, so I opend the back door and holly cow the door led right into the coop itself. Next thing I knew was we were all outside again and and some balloons got lose off the table, we all tried catching them but could not and just watched them fly away. Then one of my kids showed up and said there was someone who had a basket full of our chickens and he was running for his truck. Now I am not sure what he drives in real life but in my dream it was a truck, but I think it is safe to assume we all know who the guy is that was stealing my chickens! The dream ended when HE got into his truck and drove away, the tailgate to the truck fell open while he sped off and gallons apon gallons of water rushed out. It looked like someone opened up. So it ended very weird.

You know I have had some pretty weird dreams but that one is almost at the top just because ya'll were there with covered faces!

I like this dream.....

 

[lovinchickypoos]

The next two Saturdays are gonna be filled with mourning. Tomorrow I have to take my daughter to a memorial she was invited to for her friend's dad. So sad for her, especially for one so young, to lose her dad (her and my DD are 12). Next Saturday I'm going to my friend's memorial. My heart is still very heavy over the loss of her.
SO, I need some good to come my way to help me pull myself out of this pit of despair!!!
Hopefully we'll get some miraculous amounts of rain to help put out all those darn fires. The smoke has made for some very unusual sun sets and sun rises, though! A couple days ago I chaperoned my DD field trip to Eastern Washington University. When we drove back, from Ritzville to past Othello the smoke was so bad it virtually blocked out the sun! I thought it was bad at home until seeing that!! Those poor people can't even go outside much and it has to be so rough on those with asthma and allergies! We even noticed ash on our cars here at home. Seems like most of the state is on fire! Then to the east there's all the Idaho fires. We're surrounded!!

In chicken news, I have some youngsters that I'm probably gonna move to the big coop. They are outgrowing the brooding pen and make terrible messes out of their food and water with their spazziness. I really need a grow-out pen!!!! I put them in the bigger coop area when my Silkie cockeral was the only one in there. I think he was excited to be around chickies HE could boss around!! All the others had just begun ranging at the time. It might be good for him to have some newbies to pick on, haha! Ugh, I have another crower in the making. My hatchery Welsummer is apparently a dude. Of course, I find out AFTER I got him that they can usually be sexed as chicks by their eyeliner and head stripes. Info I wish I had before!!!

CR, I hope you have fun in Enumclaw. I've said it a million times but... I WISH I LIVED CLOSER TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

 

[suziedavis]

Thank you so much for the information. I will look at the real estate in those areas

 

[FirewifeJess]

Well I finally got what's coming to me by bringing in new birds. Tilda is sick. I think it's Cocci even though I don't have solid proof; nothing else makes sense. She's huddled and weak and can barely walk, when she leans forward to eat or drink she falls on her face. Or rather, that's how she was last night. I was up late syringe feeding her medicated amprollium water mixed with Pedialyte. She also hadn't eaten in a long time, her crop was empty so I fed her a scrambled egg and a mash of her feed with the medicated water. Didn't want to overdo that though so we finally went to bed. She woke up at 8am thirsty and I gave her another cup full of medicated water; she drank 6 ounces of water and won't eat her mash or egg yet. She is now standing and drinking out of a cup without falling down, and occasionally she talks quietly to me. Her poops were yellow water with a tiny bit of black solids in there. She's breathing about half the time heavily with her mouth open. I suck. I know I should quarantine but I just don't have the setup. This is final for me now, no more new birds, except day-olds and hatching eggs! Grr. I think she'll recover I'm just mad at myself. If she doesn't recover, those will be two expensive new chickens!

The only thing that doesn't make sense is that "incubation" period for new cocci strains is supposed to be 5 days, and she'd only been exposed for 3.5 at the most by the time I found her. OK we're doing school now and I'm wasting time. Gotta go check my peeper (she's in a crate on the table) and finish up with John.

 

[Chickielady]

Cloverleaf: I haven't been following the posts lately so I don't know the back story, but.... we're coming down to the swap in Corvallis in Oct.. We're near Port Orchard, is that of any help?

Crimany...Einstein just left to drive down to NorCal..........................................

 

[Chickielady]

Do you both not have predators? No raccoons who would decimate your flock?

I do !
Mink, raccoons...possums, skunks...you name it.
But so far, NOTHING ate the dead deer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess the predators just prefer chicken.

 

[Chickielady]

Do you have any pictures of the chickens you are selling?

Yup.

 

[Chickielady]

I have had eagles attack my chickens. I have learned to love the crows that warn me.

We also have had crows steal baby chicks, feed and we also have HOOT owls...love their hooting...
We also have rats...and they will crawl all over & INSIDE the coop & eat eggs and feed and spread their lovely germs & fleas...........
I caught a BIG rat in a Victor's rat trap last night who has been eating tomatoes in the green house.....he actually peels the maters before he ate them.
I put 6 whole bars of "Rat Candy" baite sticks (5" long) in the green house in 2 days...and every one has disapeared over night.
Must be having a big party in the green house every night...........YUCK.
I am prepared for more dead animal stink now.....hey, what's a few dead rats rotting when ya got an entire adult deer stinking ????

 

[Chickielady]

Here's mine. If you look at the 2x4s attached to the side walls you'll see that they are notched for roosts on two levels. Sometimes I leave the girls on the bottom level without a poop board but most of the time I have the roost on the top as shown and use a poop board with a sheet of vinyl resting on the lower wall 2x4s. I ran the lower 2x4s all the way to the front so that I can slide the poop board closer to me for cleaning. I did not attach the vinyl to the board. This way it's easy to take out and hose off or replace as needed.


I also put down a piece of vinyl on the floor and ran it up the back. It is only attached at the back. This makes it easy to lift and clean when I hose the whole coop down. (There are very small drain holes in the marine plywood base under the vinyl.)

The nest boxes are painted dark and are below the roosts so that the girls don't sleep in them. It might be hard to see but the lip in front of the nest boxes is actually about 1 inch away from the nest boxes. In other words, I left a gap big enough for me to sweep out the nest box into the main coop but not so big that eggs would roll out into the main coop. (I hope that makes sense.)




And, since I'm so chatty tonight, here's a photo of my feeder. My goal was to have it under the coop so that the girls couldn't sit on top of it. At the same time, I did not want to have to go into the run (and get my shoes dirty) just to refill the feeder. The fix was to use kitchen drawer slider thingies and attach them to a board from which the feeder hangs. Love love love my slide out feeder.

So nice !!!!