Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Need some help...

SQD - don't know if you're familiar with Dave Ramsey but he promotes sound financial planning/budgeting etc [like, if you can't pay for it, don't buy it; spend less than you make, etc. - someone needs to mention that stuff to Congress but I digress...]

He has a program for kids as well as curriculum for schools etc. His adult program can be adapted to kids as well [my 7yo asks if something is in the budged and how much does the van 'pays' [costs] etc].

Thought of him when you mentioned your son and money .

Carol

Oh, my. Your son is 15 and didn’t know who Michael Jackson is? I’d suggest finding him / them a CD of Thriller - or a DVD of the music video if possible (it’s probably available on the internet, though). They’ll figure out really fast why MJ has helped shape the music world.

Ronald Reagan helped bring the “Wall” down.

Adolph Hitler was responsible for the holocaust. I’ve visited one of the death camps (concentration camps). It was very eerie and creepy.

I’d say the Osmonds have also helped shape the future of music in that they have shown that not all musicians / performers are drug addicts, etc or a “bad” influence.

Henry Clay was a great statesman.

I’d hope the kids know about Abraham Lincoln.

Of course, there is Superman. His invention by Siegel and Shuster was brilliant. At the time of his creation in the pre-World War II era, a hero greater than any other was needed, and Superman fit the bill. A similar reason has been given for the popularity of Smallville (post 911 world). Did you know that before the creation of the Superman that we know that they had a character that was a ‘superman’ and that that character was the basis for Lex Luthor? (Reign of the Super-man)


That might be because creation was of intelligent design and set the rest into motion. As is said, “What came first? The chicken or the egg?”


Ann mentioned them.


I don’t know if you can do any of those in only a week. I took a full year course in only classical musicians.


If they aren’t huge fans, how about just teach them to recognize a few constellations - Ursa Minor (The Small Bear), Ursa Major (The Big Bear), the Seven Sisters (The Pleiades), Orion, etc?

I can think of so many more people...

How about Laura Ingalls Wilder's series of books about her childhood as a pioneer girl in the late 1800s? Please don't substitute the books for the TV series. They are completely different. The books are about a family's loyalty, courage and love for each other as they struggle day by day to stay alive in a magnificent but dangerous and treacherous new land. The TV series is about a modern girl, dressed in old-fashioned clothing, playing pioneer and having a good time and fighting Nellie Olesen over the favors of Mannie Wilder.

These two takes on the story of the American pioneer family say so much about America then and America now. The members of the real Ingalls family were full of dreams and hopes about a better life in still unexplored parts of America. They were incredibly courageous and resilient. As Laura retold her story as a child, she lovingly described all those little details of the work that Ma and Pa did to ensure the survival of the family. And she described her own work too, as well as the play she found time for. The books speak so strongly of optimism and hope for the future and willingness to work hard and long to ensure that future.

The Ingalls family on TV were given a complete character makeover to appeal to modern-day kids, particularly modern-day girls. Few American girls today are hugely fascinated by the particulars and minutiae of day-to-day survival. That's boring, and someone else will take care of it. Instead they want to see a girl fight another girl for the boy she loves.

The way I see it, the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder describe how America became so great. The TV show describes how modern America has become slightly bored by the details of the struggle it took to become great, and instead modern kids want more romantic and immediately gratifying stories.

If you can get your sons to read just one book by Laura Ingalls Wilder - and I realize this might be a difficult task, since your boys are boys after all - then I would recommend "The Long Winter". Talk about struggling for survival! Amazing!

And speaking about fighting for survival, I really think your sons should have at least a passing knowlege of the story of Robinson Crusoe.

Ann

As to why Laura Ingalls Wilder's books are so different in their focus from the TV series, you know what I think? The Ingalls were poor, but the girls watching the show are rich. No, I don't mean that the Ingalls were dirt poor compared with most people in those days, because back then most people were poor. But they were poor, nevertheless, and they asked for so little. In one of her books Ingalls Wilder describes one of the Christmases when she was little, perhaps six years old or so. She and Mary got a tin cup each for Christmas, plus a tiny cake sprinkled with white sugar each, plus a candy cane each, plus a penny each. The girls were absolutely ecstatic because of their magnificently splendid Christmas gifts! They spent hours playing with their tin cups and their pennies, and they made their cakes and candy canes last for days! Can you imagine two little girls being so deliriously happy over such meager gifts today?

But now consider the little girls for whom the TV show was produced. The target audience. They were the ones who were supposed to ask their parents for all the luxuries that were advertized in the commercial breaks of the show. They couldn't spend too much time identifying with girls who were ecstatic if they were given a single piece of candy, because then they might be distracted from asking for new splendid dresses for all their Barbie dolls as well as for themselves. The poverty and hardships of the real Ingalls family had to be played down, so that the girls watching the show wouldn't be distracted from buying. And then Laura Ingalls herself had to become another person than the one she really was.

Ann

Actually, since they're boys, they might go "Eeewww, girl books!" Farmer Boy focuses on Almanzo Wilder's family as he grows up, so might appeal a bit more.

The 40th anniversary of the first Apollo Moon landing is coming up soon. A list of some events is at Apollo Moon Party you might see is any are near you. Or see is a local science center, museum etc is doing anything.

The references to Night at the Museum made me think of television shows that have taught my kids (now 16 and 20) about pop culture.

One of the best ones was The Simpsons. Although it is occasionally in poor taste, it is full of references and parodies that can lead to some great discussions.

Another favorite (from many years ago) was Quantum Leap. I still have the end of the first episode stuck in my head, because my son's obsession with Buddy Holly lasted for a couple of years. (The kid at the end was playing a song about "Piggy Sue.")

Ooh, I loved Quantum Leap when I was a kid--I've been meaning to get the DVDs for years, but haven't got around to saving up for them yet. And I liked Kung Fu with David Carradine.

See why I need to have this class!! And we'll definitely find a bunch of videos, news clips, articles... anything that might be related to whomever we might be studying. The History Channel and A&E are great places to find all kinds of gems. And we'll definitely be recording some of those A&E biographies this year!

Way ahead of you, Ann. I've already planned for those to be some of our read aloud books for this year. And for contrast, I'll show them the difference between the books and the show. (And I just got an email from another homeschool mom about Mars and Earth being as close as they'll ever be to one another in August. Guess we'll be doing a bit of astronomy then after all!)

Very familiar. Have read a lot of his tips and get notices all the time about the curriculum for the kids.

And thanks for the mention of Buddy Holly. Definitely have to add him.

Thanks again everybody!
SQD

If you're going to do Buddy Holly, don't forget Richie Valens and the Big Bopper. If they've heard Don McLean's American Pie, it will give them a bit more understanding of what the song is about.

Originally posted by SQD: I'm afraid that's the infamous Mars Hoax rearing its not-so-pretty head again, Squid!

Mars Hoax

The Mars Hoax claims that Mars will loom incredibly big in the sky in August, looking as big as the Moon. Unfortunately there is no substance to this claim. It is true that Mars came quite close to Earth in August 2003, which is when the Mars Hoax was born. Or rather, it was born the following summer, in 2004. It is extremely easy to predict how close the other planets will come to the Earth, since it has to do with simple orbital mechanics, and astronomers had announced the August 2003 Mars event well in advance. Apparently someone got the impression that Mars would come so close to the Earth that it would look as big and bright as the full Moon in August 2003. Well, nothing like that happened (and we are so lucky it didn't - the orbits of both Earth and Mars would have been catastrophically disturbed if Mars had come that close to the Earth). Mars was indeed bright in August 2003, but it looked like a bright star, nothing more.

When Mars didn't look as big and bright as the Moon in August 2003, the Mars Hoax rumor got started. This rumor claimed that Mars would indeed look as big as the Moon in the sky, and it would happen in 2004. When Mars in 2004 was a dud, a new rumor about Mars got started in 2005. Mars was bright in August that year, but not as bright as it had been in 2003. Now there is a new rumor, claiming that Mars will look as big as the Moon in August this year. But the truth is that Mars will not even look as bright this August as it did in 2003 or 2005.

This Mars Hoax warning may or may not be from 2009, because as I said, the Mars Hoax has been around for several years:

Mars Hoax warning

The Mars Hoax is a hoax, nothing more. Maybe you should take the opportunity to teach your sons that rumors are easily started on the internet, and you should be careful what you believe in?

Ann

As a Greek, I feel compelled to suggest a few famous ancient Greeks, although you may have covered them in History/Literature/their relevant fields.

Themistocles? Pericles?

Socrates? Plato?

Herodotus? Thucydides?

Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides?

Euclides? Archimedes?

Hippocrates?

Aristotle?

I just hope no one looks up at a harvest moon (don't know when exactly those occur) and think that it is Mars. When, as a child, I first saw the moon appear reddish-orange, I was totally freaked out....

(But at least I didn't freak out a few years ago when I first saw pink lightning. [Yes, I said, pink lightning.] I saw it several times in one night but have not ever seen it again.)