PechaKucha January 2013

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Published: 01/23/2013

PechaKucha Night is an informal community gathering where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, experiences and thoughts in a standardized format. Each presentation features 20 images, which are timed to show for 20 seconds each. Each presentation is six minutes 40 seconds long.

PechaKucha Nature Night is this Saturday, Jan.26. Doors open at 6:00 PM (dinner), and the program begins at 7:30 pm at The Electric Palm (12745 Sea Ray Lane, Woodbridge). Sponsored by Lake Ridge Parks & Recreation Association and Prince William Conservation Alliance, this event is open to the public and free of charge; buy your own food & drinks. Please note the restaurant seats 60 people; after that it's standing room only. You won't want to miss this popular event featuring outstanding presentations by your friends and neighbors:

Kristi Smedley - Galapagos
Eli Hosen - Food for All Ages
Neil Nelson - Trail Projects in PWC
Marty Nohe - Off-road Hiking with Kids
Kelly Jimenez - Eggscellent Chicken Tales
Cindy Smith - Flowers and Bugs Make the World Go Round
Caryn Stein - Snapping & Trapping in Prince William Forest
Charlie Grymes - Open Spaces and the Tri-County Parkway
Uriah Kiser - Government Island: A walk into monumental history
Julie Flanagan - Spring Warblers are Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You

More information is online at http://www.pwconserve.org/events/ or call PWCA at 703.499.4954.

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12 Days of Giveaways: Little Pim Language DVDs

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Published: 12/17/2012

Thank you all for your patience as I let this space be quiet in respect for all of us as we processed the events of the last few days. I'll catch up on the giveaways, but sometimes we all need a moment to reflect, especially with such great tragedy.

I was asked to try the Little Pim series of educational DVDs and I was very excited to give it a go. We pay pretty decent money at a preschool that teaches a foreign language for our daughter, but since I speak (spoke, in college) Russian and French, I'm not much help with the German she gets at school.

As background, Little Pim was created by the daughter of Dr. Paul Pimsleur, who developed the Pimsleur method of learning languages for adults. They call the approach in the Little Pim series "Educational Immersion", and it is targeted at children ages 5 and under. For more about the development, methodology and approach, you can check out the Little Pim Website.

So, remember when Baby Einstein was a thing? (Maybe it still is, I'm a few years out from babies) This is a similar format with a simple animated Panda between footage of actual people doing things. It's all immersion, so there's no English, although there are subtitles for parents who need help with pronunciation. In German that wasn't an issue at all, but in reading reviews from other sites, some users complained that in languages like Russian and Chinese, the subtitles were phonetic and native speakers teaching their children often felt like they'd do the phonetics differently, or they wanted their child exposed to the alphabet of the language they were learning.

Each DVD is divided into 5 minute mini episodes, so if you are really trying to get a younger child to focus, they only have to do it for a brief stretch. My daughter sat down to watch this with my husband. She's 4 and he's in his 30s, and he did such a great job learning German, I'm very proud ;)
My daughter loved the DVD and at her age, she stayed focused intently for half the DVD, and then said her brain needed a break. She's already asked if she can watch again tomorrow. I assume that they use the same footage for each DVD and just put the language over the top because our first DVD was food/eating themed and we learned how to say "rice" and "chopsticks", but we also learned "strawberries", "kiwi", "cake", and "the oven is hot". I'm not an expert, but I know that this approach seemed to work quickly for my daughter (and my husband) because they could see the actual item being used and hear the words.

You can order Little Pim in gift sets like the one above, for $169, which includes books, DVDs, music CDs, a plush, a backpack, and flash cards, but only in French or Spanish. Other languages, including Chinese, Italian, German, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, English ESL, English ENG, and Portuguese, are available in 1 DVD or 3 DVD packs for $34.95 or $59.95.

(Shhh.....until the 19th you can get them over at Groupon, too)

Anyhow, I like the DVD concept. I'm not going really dedicated to the idea of being bilingual by age four, so I enjoy that I can provide my child with learning materials she can use on her own, working at her own pace. Could you really work these up into a language curriculum program for your toddler? Sure- but it's really nice to just pop in the DVD while you're making dinner, too. I think we might pick up a few other German DVDs for my daughter, but if you'd like to get your own starter DVD for free, enter to win! Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was provided with a DVD to try and with one to give away to one of you lovely lucky people. Shipping will be directly from Little Pim. PwcMoms is not responsible for your child walking around speaking a language you don't understand. Winner assumes all liability.

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Delegate Anderson to host "Future Delegates" Program

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Published: 11/13/2012

Dear Prince William parents and students,

At 7:30pm on Wednesday, Nov. 14^th, we will host an orientation for parents and students in grades 7 through 12 who want to participate in the 2013 51^st House District “Future Delegate Program” that we will host at the Virginia State Capitol in January and February. The orientation will be in the Board of County Supervisors chamber at the McCoart Government Complex at One County Complex Court in Woodbridge.

During the orientation session on Nov. 14th, I’ll brief applicants and their parents on the program, distribute application forms, and answer questions. Additionally, I’ll brief parents on the House of Delegates Page Program in 2014 so that interested students may apply in late 2013 for the two-month-long Page Program at the Virginia State Capitol in early 2014.

If selected for the Future Delegate Program, students will spend an entire day with me at the Virginia State Capitol. Students will accompany me to all sub-committee and committee meetings, press events, and the daily floor session of the Virginia House of Delegates. They will also have an opportunity to meet senior officials of the executive and legislative branches of Virginia state government.

All students who apply for the 2013 Future Delegate Program will be able to participate on a date that is convenient to the student’s family. The day will provide each student with a first-hand look at the legislative process in Richmond. All students are encouraged to apply and participate, regardless of party affiliation or viewpoint on matters of public policy.

AND IF YOU LIVE IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY AND KNOW OF STUDENTS IN GRADES 7-12 WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN THIS NEW PROGRAM, PLEASE FORWARD THIS INVITATION TO THEM. We are able to host a total of 68 students during the forthcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly!

I look forward to seeing students and parents this coming Wednesday, Nov, 14^th, at 7:30pm in the Board of County Supervisors chamber at the McCoart Government Building on Prince William Parkway. To discuss the 2013 Future Delegate Program before or after the orientation, parents and students may contact me at DelRAnderson@house.virginia.govor at 571-264-9983.

And if I can ever assist you in any way, please call our legislative district office at 571-264-9983, or if your need is urgent and can’t wait until the next business day, at my Woodbridge home at 703-730-1380. We’re here to help and are as close as your keyboard or phone!

Warm regards,

RICHARD L. ANDERSON

Delegate, 51st House District

Virginia General Assembly

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Help for Homeschoolers

Published: 05/07/2012

In the past few weeks I've had a few reader questions about homeschool resource groups/homeschooling in general/homeschool curriculum. I'm not an expert, but I'm sharing what I know. If you are someone that finds homeschooling offensive or dumb, you're welcome to stop reading 3 sentences ago :) For those of you that would like this information, please continue on.

This year I became one of "those crazy homeschool people". Yup, that's me. "Kristina That Crazy Homeschool Person". It's on my business cards.

In the process, I learned that a great deal of whether or not you succeed has to do with both your personal commitment to excellence, whatever your definition of excellence may be, and your successful implementation of a support system.

Without boring you with too many details we are primarily a classical-model homeschool family, although we do use a more worksheet-based math program (Singapore). If you'd like to hear more about how we homeschool (and please note that I'm not expert, it's only been 1 year!), or why we homeschool, I'm happy to share those details with you via email.

That being said, no matter your approach, there is a group of people out there that want to help you succeed and your child thrive.

I. Prince William County Public Schools

I actually cannot comment on whether they care if you succeed or not, but I can tell you that they need to be your first stop. PWC requires you to fill out an "Intent to Homeschool" form. This is NOT A MASTER'S THESIS or a senior dissertation. They just want to know how you're filing (parental ability, correspondence program, religious exemption, medical necessity, whatever) and what curriculum you'll be using. You don't need to submit a lesson plan, a manifesto on why you're homeschooling, or copies of your textbooks. You will need to provide proof of progress, and re-file each year. Additionally, you should know that middle and high-school students are permitted to partially enroll in up to two classes, and that partially-enrolled students who meet all other requirements may participate in after school activities and sports, excluding VHSL sports, but including Varsity Club.

II. Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers and Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)

Both of these groups offer support, information, and advocacy. HSLDA is a great resource if you run into resistance, or are interested in increasing homeschool access to tax-provided resources. I did not need to use my HSLDA membership this year, but had a friend who was very happy to have it in dealing with a particular issue.

III. Homeschool Groups, Christian

You don't need to be religious to homeschool, but I know that many people are. I'm breaking it down, therefore, by groups that you may want to include or disclude yourself from depending on your family situation.

**Classical Conversations is both a curriculum and a highly-developed and dependable co-op with paid directors and trained tutors. It's international, so if you move frequently, this may be a good option as the entire CC world is doing the same thing at the same time, so moving families can just plop in right where they left off. Fees vary by campus. There are several campuses in our area and the range from 4's-High School.

**FISHE offers soccer, testing, monthly meetings and more. It is inter-denominational.

**LDS Homeschoolers serves greater NOVA homeschoolers who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

**REACH is Christian-led but open to anyone, and focuses on field trips and conferences.

**WHEAT offers classes, testing, field trips, coops and parent support.

IV. Homeschool Groups, Religious, Non-Christian

**Heathen Homeschoolers, primarily for those that identify as Pagan, Agnostic, UU, but atheists and agnostics, and label-defyers are welcome, too.

**Jewish Homeschoolers of DC, MD, VA

**Online support groups are available for everything from Adventist-Zoroastrian (okay, maybe not Zoroastrian, but I needed a Z!) on the VA Homeschool Website

V. Homeschool Groups, Secular, Humanist and/or Atheist

**VA Eclectic Homeschoolers' only rule is there is nothing political or religious allowed, but anyone may join and there is no particular method or ideology required of members.

**VA Homeschool Resources is open to people of any background, and provides information about the entire state of Virginia and resources for various groups.

**VA Homeschool Atheists is open to any atheist, agnostic, or secular humanist homeschoolers.

**VA Gifted Homeschoolers is secular and inclusive for parents homeschooling gifted children in the DC Metro area

**NOVA TAG is a secular group for parents homeschooling "Talendted and Gifted" children.

**Quantico to Fredericksburg Homeschoolers is a secular group for families with at least one child over age 6. Younger siblings are welcome, but this is NOT a preschool playgroup.

VI. Homeschool Sports Leagues

**Virginia Homeschool Runners

**VA Lions Football and Cheerleading

This is by no means an exhaustive list!! Hopefully, though, there are enough groups on here to get you started! If you're a new homeschooler, my best advice is to read and figure out who your family is and what approach you're taking before you get involved in any groups so that you are staying true to your mission, and not being swayed by more experienced homeschoolers who can make any method sound perfect, which it may be for their family, but may not be for yours! Also, don't over-book yourself! In our area it can be easy to take a field trip every day, but try to start with one group and see if it's meeting your needs before you move on. Or don't, I could be wrong.

Have additional group or ideas? Leave a comment below.

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