Tag Archives: fight or flight

Home Study Interviews Part 1

When the application is complete, the references are in; the safety check is complete so now what? Now the fun begins! You will have a couple’s interview and an individual interview. When you process the application you will be asked to write letters individually about your spouse, your marriage, your extended family. In the letter they want to know about your spouse’s good features, and their bad ones. When the couple’s interview starts you will be asked about items that are in your letter. They will want to know who manages the money, which one makes the hard choices, who … Continue reading →

Math Games Are Fun

Math skills can only be improved with practice. Once you have spent time teaching a new math concept, the next step is reiteration. Many students become unmotivated when presented with page after page of math problems. Another, more entertaining option, is to use a math game. There are many advantages to using math games instead of math worksheets. It saves paper, because you wont be printing out a bunch of worksheets every time you want to teach a new math concept. It saves money, because you can avoid purchasing some workbooks. Many online math games are free to play. The … Continue reading →

Math on a Roll: Using Dice to Spice it Up

Math can be a very frustrating and exhausting subject for both the student and the teacher. So, let’s take a break from boring old textbooks and workbooks and have a bit of fun. Instead of abstract numbers in a book, let’s give them life and dimension by using manipulatives. Manipulatives come in many forms: counting bears, dice, dominoes, beans, legos, measuring cups, or whatever you use daily. A favorite manipulative and the focus of this article is dice. First, gather a variety of dice for your student to roll. Here are a few ways to incorporate dice based on age: … Continue reading →

Math Class and The Importance of Numbers

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Do you hate math class? Do you loathe numbers, fractions, division and multiplication, and/or the elusive “imaginary” number? I’d like to suggest that you learn to love them, or at least get along. One of the most useful skills to have, even in day to day situations, is the ability to think in and utilize numbers to your advantage. If the constant progression of humanity has left us anything at all (and it has) math is one of the most valuable of those skills. You see, numbers are important. I’ve recently been teaching my son to count (kind of) and … Continue reading →

one, two, three…

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From the first moment I changed my son’s diaper I’ve been counting to him. I know… I know… I should be reading to him but I’ve been counting to him because throughout my life I’ve found numbers to be an important thing to know. From my work as a spreadsheet guru for banks, roleplaying games, data manipulation, data processing and analysis I’ve found that numbers are important. So… if you’re sitting in a math class thinking “why am I learning this?” you should really think about learning it anyway. This comes from a guy who has worked as a caddy, … Continue reading →

An Interview with Writer and Artist (and New Mom) M.C.A. Hogarth

M.C.A. Hogarth is a renaissance woman: artist, writer, businesswoman, and more. I knew of her first for her art, which led me to her stories, which led me to an all around amazing person. I’m happy to be able to share her with you! Aimee: What kind of things do you write about? (Genre, subject matter, themes, what have you.) MCA: I like to write about encountering things that are strange and wondrous and out of your particular context. That could be meeting a unicorn in a forest… or meeting someone from a radically different country. I love learning languages, … Continue reading →

Interview with Wheatland Press Publisher Deb Layne

Writers aren’t the only people out there who have pets that help them work! I recently sat down with publisher Deb Layne from Wheatland Press. Deb and I share an interest in health — she’s the person who pointed out the recent Airborne lawsuit that I wrote about in the Health Blog. Aimee: What kind of things do you publish? (Genre, subject matter, themes, what have you.) Deb: Wheatland Press specializes in science fiction and fantasy short story collections and anthologies, although I have a couple of novels in the works. Aimee: What kind of things do you read for … Continue reading →

Interview with the YA and Speculative Fiction Diva Lisa Mantchev

Many of my writer friends have been gracious enough to agree to an interview here about their pets, families, and lives. In case you missed it, my first target was Jay Lake and my second target was Jim C. Hines. Next up is the divine Miz Lisa Mantchev. I had the pleasure of attending a writing retreat with her last spring and she is absolutely a fun, funny, wonderful person. It just so happens that she’s also a phenomenal writer with her first novel (of a trilogy) coming out in 2009. Aimee: What kind of things do you write about? … Continue reading →

Interview With Laugh-Out-Loud Funny Fantasy Author Jim C. Hines

The next victim… I mean friend… in my speculative fiction writer series is Jim C. Hines. Jim’s written some amazingly funny fantasy tales told from the other side — the main character is a goblin, usually considered a bad guy in that type of story. His first two goblin books made me laugh out loud, and the third one (just recently released) is sure to follow suit. I can’t wait to read it! In the meantime, Jim was kind enough to chat about writing, animals, and family. Aimee: What kind of things do you write about? (Genre, subject matter, themes, … Continue reading →

Frugality and Great Danes: An Interview with Author Carolyn Howard-Johnson

What makes Carolyn Howard-Johnson so frugal? Why her series of “Frugal Books” of course! (A listing of them follows the end of the interview.) But this author also has a passion for Danes –as in the Great variety. I thought it was maybe because she was a Scooby-Doo nut, but, nope, a real life Great Dane got her hooked on the breed. Read on to learn more about author Carolyn Howard-Johnson and the pets in her life. Courtney Mroch: What kind of things do you write about? (Genre, subject matter, themes, what have you.) Carolyn Howard-Johnson: I write about anything … Continue reading →