Discovering Used Book Sources Around The Woodlands Texas

I didn't shop for a used book until I'd lived here for 18 months. I was on book overload, having moved perhaps 4000 books long distance at sixty cents a pound. I was so booked out that I wasn't even curious let alone exploring my new area.

Then the time came that I needed some books. I ordered them new on Amazon. Some that I purchased over the Internet sight unseen, disappointed me, so I wanted to see a book in my hand before purchasing it. When I realized I needed some, and wanted them on the cheap as well, I began exploring, while at the same time, taking my own discarded books around to the shops trying to resell them.

I discovered Once and Again Used Books in December, just before they stopped paying cash for used books. I cashed in multiple boxes. Most of the books in the shop are used but a small number are new, especially the classics and required reading literature and study guides. I used the credit to buy one fun book for myself about the history of my town with many photos (and the places don't look the same due to subsequent development). I purchased mostly Shakespeare guides such as No Fear Shakespeare. There was a section on education and some were homeschooling how-to and mixed around with things like workbooks for schooled kids was some homeschool curriculum. There was a section near the restrooms of discounted books and I spotted Video Text Algebra there (most would never find it stuffed back there.) They had a section of textbooks up front and some were homeschooling.

I also visited Good Books in the Woods located in Spring, Texas, in a renovated house (circa the 60s or 70s). It is clean and neat and classical music plays. The books are priced "as marked" which is sometimes more than half of original retail. Some books such as art books can be $20 and up, the perceived value. Their children's book section is small, there was little on education or homeschooling. I found one book on an art topic of interest to me and nothing for our homeschool. They also didn't want to buy anything, they didn't even give my books a glance as they said they are overstocked at present and children's books are an afterthought. I was hoping they might like to purchase my out of print Landmarks and Signatures, collectibles, but no such luck.

I checked out Goodwill on Sawdust Road in Spring and found perhaps the smallest selection of books I have ever seen in a Goodwill! They are sorted and the textbooks and educational books are in one certain area which is helpful. Their pricing is always mysterious and erratic, but for the most part what I find there are college textbooks and private school textbooks, most for $2.99 but sometimes for $1.99 (paperbacks). These books fetch up to $150 full retail so they are a bargain if you can find them. On subsequent visits I figured out that the good books move quickly so the book I hesitated on buying was snatched up on the next visit. Lesson learned. I should have gambled with that $1.99. We have community colleges in the area and I suspect some of these texts are from those students.

I perused the Hand Me Up charity thrift shop on Reyford Road in Spring. The main focus of this shop is on clothing, jewelry and accessories, home décor and limited kitchen stuff (no appliances or electronics just dishes, vases and the like). There is a section of books. In the children's section you may find classic literature and required high school reading or a Cliff Note here and there but mainly there is popular fiction for kids and young adults. The adult books seem to be mostly fad nonfiction books or beach reads. Since I have been purchasing literature for our homeschool on eBook format I bypass the penguin classics with foxing on the pages with microscopic font.

The Friends of the Library runs a little shop in the South Montgomery County Library in The Woodlands, Texas. They usually close at 4 o'clock so that's not too convenient for me since that's the time I'm done with homeschooling and sport practice schlepping. However I check it out on random days and am happy to see a reference and textbook section with reasonable prices. We have private schools in town and I assume that some of these middle school and high school texts ($1-$3) are donated by those families. As I said we have community colleges and a university in town so there are also college level textbooks for $1-$3. I have stocked my shelf with a few American History texts from 1600 to the present, original source material books, and American government books. There are reference books constantly such as the MLA writing guide. Since I'm living in a high achievement area the place is always stocked with study guides for the SAT, ACT, SAT subject tests, and AP tests. The pricing on those is uneven, ranging from $1-$3 and not based on whether the practice tests have been ripped out or whether every test has been written in and is unusable. Given that my son needs practice it is a bargain to buy multiple SAT prep books, rip out the original and use it instead of buying multiple new books for the same purpose or having to deal with photocopying them which technically is copyright infringement and illegal. They also have a constant selection of typical high school and college literature and also Cliff Notes to accompany them.

I also checked the Mitchell Library in The Woodlands, the Friends operate a shop as well. I did not find any textbooks or anything educational for high school or middle school level, or college level texts there. The times I visited it had mostly pop fiction for all ages and nonfiction books such as gardening and cookbooks. This room is a smaller space than at the South branch library.

I am still on the hunt for local thrift shops and used book stores. If you know of any in my area please leave a comment!

Started a US History Course by The Great Courses

I was looking for something to round out and make my older son's US History course more complete. Given his present challenges with learning disabilities I was not interested in loading him up with a ton of reading.

I decided to go with The Teaching Company / Great Courses course: Turning Points in American History with Professor O'Connell at College of the Holy Cross.

Because I want to learn also, I am watching each of the 30 minute lectures with my son. The DVD came with a book of notes and two questions per lecture. My son is writing out the answers to those questions. There are 48 lectures in all.

I have purchased other courses from them and will discuss them in other blog posts as we begin to use them.

One of the things I was trying to figure out was how to make a complete course from one of these DVD lecture courses. I read good advice on the forum of The Well Trained Mind's site as well as advice I got by asking a question over at hs2coll Yahoo Group.

In case you are wondering my son has already done a lot of reading of books and watching documentaries. He needs to round out his course by doing more textbook reading, especially since he is hoop jumping for the NCAA and he will also have some essays and a research paper assigned to write. His learning will be at least 120 hours before I call this homeschool-mom designed course complete.

Every Day in Tuscany Book Review by ChristineMM

Title: Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life

Author: Frances Mayes

Publication: Broadway Books, 2010

Genre: Memoir

Summary Statement: Nowhere Near as Good as Under the Tuscan Sun

My Star Rating: 3 stars out of 5 = It’s Okay

Frances Mayes is a gifted writer, a person who is highly sensitive and aware of the world around her. Her heightened powers of observation and her ability to feel deeply are what makes her writings so descriptive and enticing, and enjoyable to the reader.

I read Under the Tuscan Sun and thoroughly enjoyed it. I later saw the movie and hated the movie.

I was looking forward to reading anything else she wrote but when I began this I thought it was mediocre. In chapter three I was completely turned off by the boring account of viewing historical art that I shelved the book for two years. I then picked it up again, could not get through that chapter, and left it alone for another entire year. I decided to push through and read the whole book in order to come to some conclusion and write this review.

I was happy to see that the book picked up once that chapter three was over but the book is just mediocre. As Mayes describes, she chose to write this to remember her experiences and to document her memories. The chapters are unconnected to each other. This is a hodge podge, a jumble of stories and experiences. The only unifying theme is food is discussed then recipes are shared throughout the book.

I was disappointed in this book, which did not hold my interest. I rate this book 3 stars = It's Okay.

Disclosure: I received an advance reader's copy of this book for the purpose of reviewing it on Amazon.com for the Vine program. I was under no obligation to review it favorably or to blog the review. I was not paid to do this.

High School Courses Done in Junior High Count

I had an ah-ha moment when reading some ebooks by Lee Binz recently: Delight-Directed Learning and Creating Transcripts for Your Unique Child.

I remembered that my older son did do some high school level academic work in grades 7 and 8. In thinking about the NCAA's requirement for what must be done between grades 9-12, with incomplete information, I have been focusing just on what happened in the calendar years that began in my older son's 9th grade year.

Last month I heard a lecture about NCAA compliance and eligibility with their clearinghouse and learned that high school level work done in junior high does indeed count toward the NCAA GPA and their core requirements.

I can't believe I was being so rigid and intense to have blocked out the work my son did in those other two years.

English:

In co-op A, he had taken an English literature course for a full credit, in grade eight, Hero's Journey.

Conceptual Physics:

In co-op C he did work on conceptual physics using a popular textbook and we supplemented at home using another text and trade paperback books on conceptual physics. That was the year he and his friend won the gold medal in the state at the Science Olympiad for optics (physics) and in which he learned some trig equations, in grade eight. He did a semester of hands on physics in co-op A with a paid teacher with a master's in education and majors in astronomy and physics at a co-op. I will count this as one half credit in science.

Astronomy:

He also did a time intensive astronomy course with lecture and observation at the home of a homeschool father then took a semester long astronomy course at co-op A, taught by the same teacher who he did the hands-on physics course with (an astronomy major and a certified teacher). He had additional time in an observatory with that teacher. One night his group confirmed the location of a suspected star and they were published in some astronomy star guide (something over my head)! Our family also had multiple field trips to planetariums including the small one in Bridgeport, CT, the Museum of Science in Boston and multiple visits to the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. The hours he clocked justify one credit of high school science.

Biology:

In grade 8 he did a biology with lab course at co-op B. He did home study of biology in grade 9 with a textbook. He plans to finish that course this summer. I have hired a bio-chemist who is now a college professor to oversee his studies.

I feel so stupid to have been worried of reduced coursework in the calendar years for grade 9 and 10 due to medical issues when in fact he did some credits in grade 7 and 8.

I am a perfectionist and a rule follower. I don't like to bend rules. My rigidity in that area and my intensity to do a thing completely sometimes backfires when I realize that I am not giving my kids enough credit for the legitimate work they did do. What an idiot I am.

I am off to rewrite the transcript. This summer I will flesh out the course descriptions and see that the book list is complete.

Link: Homeschooling During Loss

I found this post Homeschooling During Loss a moving summary of one family's experience with death and dying of a grandfather.

Sometimes I have trouble figuring out how homeschooling is a lifestyle but this is one of the times when it is clear. We had the same experience while living through the death and dying of my father-in-law, my paternal grandmother and to a different degree, my maternal grandmother. Most of those experiences were too raw for me to blog about.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Book Review by ChristineMM

Title: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car

Author: Ian Fleming

Illustrator: Joe Berger

Publication: Candlewick Press, 2013 (reprint with new illustrations)

As a 40-something mom my knowledge of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was the 1968 musical movie starring Dick Van Dyke, which I watched annually as a child. I had not read the book as a child or as an adult, although it would have been a good read aloud for my sons, I now know.

This is the only book that Ian Fleming has published for children, a story he wrote for his son, originally published in 1964. If the name is not familiar, he is the inventor of James Bond, 007. This story is typical of a boy story of its time, with a focus on action and adventure. Here the main character is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a supposedly magical car who has abilities that its inventor crackpot owner did not put into place or know about until various crises occurred. Actually the car is a genius of engineering so kids interested in cars or cool machinery will enjoy it (not far from the cool gadgets of Fleming’s James Bond character.) Two are its ability to fly and to float atop the water as a boat. The adventures occur in England and France.

Some differences with the movie are that this is about a happy, intact family with mother, father, and twins, a boy and a girl. There is no grandfather (and no pretty girlfriend named Trudy). The movie seemed to be more about the human relationships while the book with its short page count and high action and adventure focuses on that action not on getting to know any of the human characters much. In the movie the Dictator of the country of Vulgaria stole the car out of envy and in this tale there is a mobster with a gang of thieves who the Potts family discovers and leads to a kidnapping of the children, as was a feature in the movie.

I enjoyed Fleming’s storytelling style and his unique voice. Some of the terms are old-fashioned and others are England-centric, this adds to the story’s tone and style. I liked it when the chapters ended on a cliff-hanger, these are loved by boys especially and also they draw in reluctant readers (especially boys). I think this would make a fun read aloud to children. This is a good vs. evil story, the good guys versus the criminals.
Candlewick Press issued this new edition of the old story with new illustrations by Joe Berger. They also have published two sequels penned by a different author, Frank Cottrell Boyce: CCBB Flies Again and CCBB and The Race Against Time. All three are illustrated by Joe Berger. I have not read those two sequels yet.

This would be a great read-aloud or a book that kids ages 9-12 can read to themselves. I feel this would be interest to reluctant reader boys who like action tales and the idea of cars that can do cool things.

I rate this story 5 stars = I Love It.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book for the purpose of reviewing it for Amazon.com's Vine program. I was not paid to review it nor was I under obligation to review it favorably or to blog the review.

College Board Accommodations Request Outcome

I shared here that we applied for some accommodations from the College Board for high stakes testing.

My son did get some accommodations granted. Funny they seemed most open to the ADHD requests and the processing speed issue anor hte working memory deficit, because they granted his request for small group testing (not huge classrooms), extra breaks, and for 50% extra time. They granted the request to not use bubbles for the answer grid. We are grateful for those.

I was shocked that they did not approve the request to use a computer for the essay for the SAT or other tests with an essay. They mentioned what tests were acceptable for dysgraphia and I did submit one of those tests. Back at application time I didn't read clearly enough to see that two tests are required.

I had blogged previously that he was on a waiting list for occupational therapy for dysgraphia. An appointment slot opened up and to start the therapy, in May, and at the first consult more testing was required in order to make a plan for the occupational therapy. So my son has already had more testing to diagnose the dysgraphia, by the time I got the letter from the College Board.

The Beery VMI test showed his fine motor skills in two tests rated at age 8 and age 11 (he is aged 15.75 right now).

I am awaiting the official report in writing from the occupational therapist then I will send in these additional tests for more proof of dysgraphia and the disability in written expression. This would apply to the SAT or to AP testing. He probably won't take the SAT until spring of 2014 so there is no rush.

The College Board denied some of the other accommodations for visual issues. I thought the prior diagnosis of visual processing problems would suffice but realized later that (derp) I never submitted written expert's evidence of those. Those are not the most important things anyway, I think I'll let them go, because he'd have to go for new testing to have a current medical evaluation report. We are burned out from seeking consults and therapies, with no fewer than five visits a week, not to mention the many thousands of dollars we have spent out of pocket on evaluations, testing, treatments and therapies.

Article Link: Working Memory and the Classroom

Article: Keep It in Mind: Understanding and improving your working memory: Working Memory and the Classroom: Why it is important to assess Working Memory in an educational setting

by: Tracy Packiam Alloway, PhD

in: Psychology Today

date: 6/11/12

**See left sidebar for additional related articles**

"Research to date indicates that teachers’ awareness of working memory deficits in the classroom can still be quite low. In a recent study, the majority of teachers interviewed only picked up early warning signs of working memory failure in their students 25 percent of the time, often thinking that the students were unmotivated or daydreaming instead."

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"Once the specific strengths and weaknesses of a student’s working memory profile are known, specific and targeted accommodations can be made to support learning. The aim in supporting students with learning difficulties is not just to help them survive in the classroom, but to thrive as well. Strategies can provide scaffolding and support that will unlock their working memory potential to boost learning.

Recently, there has been an explosion of research investigating the potential benefits of training Working Memory. In a recent study of students with learning difficulties, a computerized working memory training programme (www.JungleMemory.com) was found to significantly improve verbal and visual-spatial working memory, IQ scores, as well as language scores as measured by standardized assessments."