Transitions are tough...new school situation for my girls. - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Transitions are tough...new school situation for my girls.
We've seen some unpleasant writing on the e-school walls (personally and in the legislature) and DH and I have decided to pull DDs out next year and go to traditional homeschooling. I've done it before and I'm planning to use the same program I used with now-18yo, but it is a different animal. It's definitely a good thing/bad thing situation.
The girls are excited; they've been taking the placement tests and really like the layout of the curriculum (it's on computer, very user-friendly), but they will no longer have special ed services, so if anyone knows a good way to teach stubborn children penmanship/relating printing to cursive, I'd appreciate the tips! We'll lose the school computer and the free curriculum, but DH & I both think it's a better option in light of all that's going on. DDs are also a little nervous; they have never been in anything *but* an e-school, so are used to having a teacher to be accountable to, not "just mom". I did overhear 11yo talking to 8yo about it today and no, they won't have to call me Mrs. but they will have to "buckle down" and "show her we can do it because she already works so hard." I was verklempt.
Please send them some confidence pixies (and some penmanship pixies! ) as we venture into uncharted territory for them.
Sending you some but I have tell you that my 20something DD still doesn't write in cursive much. She prints almost everything and did all through HS and college.
Liz
I would look into just getting the special ed services (OT, I assume) though your local school system. I've been sucessful at getting local districts to provide certain services in a parochial school setting. I would think they would also provide them in a home school setting.
My kids also seldom write in cursive. All are accomplished printers (if they need to) and typists. We were able to get the schools to let DS2, who had very immature fine motor skills, to submit most of his assignments typed beginning in about 2nd grade.
As for printing vs. cursive....how many form do you fill out that say "Please Write in Cursive"? We're taught to do cursive, but in our adult life we either "Please Print" or type, or enter into a computer. When's the last time, other than your signature, that you really needed to write in cursive rather than printing? Everything you fill out requires printing - and let's face it, it's much easier for another person to read. There are times when I can't even read my own "writing"
About the cursive, it's not so much that they need to learn to write it as they need to learn to READ it. They both have had a very difficult time identifying cursive letters, can't seem to make the connection between that and print. It had never occured to me that it would be an issue, since older DDs never had the problem. 8yo still writes everything backwards. That's something the OT was working on with her, but I think there's more to it than just practicing the right letter formations b/c as soon as she leaves the OT's office, it's back to backwards and often full mirroring (THAT's interesting to read!!! )
You will do fine and find your own way. We do "regular" home ed here. DD18 has done a "mixed bag" of A Beka and BJUP and I am using mostly A Beka (including their handwriting) with DD11. With DD11, I have seen a strong improvement in her cursive but her printing needs work. DD18 prints most of her stuff.
As noted above, in the "real world" printing is what is most popular. I would not stress overmuch about it if you plan to continue to home ed. Bribery works here as well - DD11 will buckle down and get her stuff done if she knows she can get on VMK once she is done.
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Pennmanship in public schools is non-existent... drives me nuts! It'll be fine... bribery works best!
Oh I so agree. The only thing that made my 5th grade DS write neater was when I made him rewrite it when he came home, and Mom "the ex-teacher" knew he could do better and is much tougher than his classroom teachers. And when he started to get bad grades in spelling due to his handwriting he started to try and slow down.
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Janell
Exercise Challenges January 825/625
February 715/750
March 725/800
April goal 800 minutes
As far as the special ed services, you might check with your local school district and see if there is anything they may be able to help with.
I know my sister (who is a special ed. teacher) has kids in her program who receive services from the district even though they are homeschooled. Can't hurt to check in to it!
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I was verklempt.
) as we venture into uncharted territory for them.
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Janell
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