nd293
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Posts posted by nd293
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Facebook just gives me the creeps! I basically don't post because I don't want to take the rather drastic step of "unfriending" people that I used to know IRL, but feel odd about sharing any details of my life with since we have moved. They certainly would never bother to keep contact with me outside of Facebook - these are the people who might send me some sort of silly forwarded e-mail, but then not respond when I drop them a private line to say "Hi" - KWIM?
Then there's someone who I knew vaguely 20 years ago who sent me a friend request. What are my choices? I can let the request languish and seems rude, or deny it and seem rude, or accept it and have someone I know nothing about have access to me.
Like I said, Facebook gives me the creeps!
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We played around with the "diaper-free" approach, so ds always had a good sense of bodily functions. Nudity and pee on the floor also don't bother me too much. So let it be said, your mileage may vary, but here's what I'd do:
1) No underwear until he is well trained. Ds would have accidents in his undies long after he would use the toilet when he wasn't wearing underwear - I think undies interfere with the sensation of needing to wee somehow?
2) Naked butt in the house and garden until he "catches on" - weather permitting of course! It is pretty easy to see when they need a pee with a boy, and you can suggest they go. This is much less messy if ds has a regular time for bowel movements, as you can keep the nappy/diaper on until then, or put on before then. If you see him doing a pee, make a pssssss sound. Mop up if necessary, and suggest a more appropriate spot for the next pee.
3) When you think he needs to pee, take him to the toilet, and make the pssss sound. This is an Elimination Communication / diaper-free technique, and definitely works, although it's not an instant association, and may be different with an older child.
4) Skip the potty. Let him "go" wherever he wants (within reason) - water the trees, pee in the shower or empty bath or a bucket. It hasn't been difficult to move on from these as ds got more confident, in case you were wondering. Another favoured position is standing on the toilet seat (with me holding him) - he enjoys aiming into the bowl, I guess. Now he is tall enough to stand on a stool next to the toilet and handle it himself.
4) We dealt with BM separately. That took a bit longer, but he was completely trained by 3yrs (currently 3yrs 4 days, peeing in the toilet, pooping in the potty and wearing Thomas the Tank Engine undies!).
Good luck!
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I think it really depends on whether their values are abhorrent to you, or just not what you would do. For instance, for me, food issues and sleep issues are just matters of personal preference. But I feel much more strongly about crying-it-out and breastfeeding. I've been (good) friends with people who only breastfed for short periods of time, but I can't imagine being close to someone who things formula is best, or won't breastfeed because she thinks it asks too much of her. Our values would just be too different.
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Another satisfied customer here! We've done 2 units of Ruby, and dd9 who is an intelligent but unethusiastic student is actually excited about this. She'd definitely prefer not to use the workbook, and we need to work on how she answers written questions, but we'll get that right by the end of the year. I love the teacher's manual - it makes it so easy to work through the piece intelligently.
I'm interested to find out what Mosdos means. I'm also assuming it's Hebrew, given that Mosdos comes from a Jewish publisher, and googling the word throws up Jewish websites.
We are using Mosdos with the full MCT Grammar Island series, but it is expensive, and I might have to compromise somewhere in the future.
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If you are doing NZ, a campervan / motorhome is a really good way. Depending how happy you are to drive long distances, you might want to pick either North or South Island. We only managed the top half of North Island, but were travelling with a 5 month old who didn't do well in cars. There are also some train trips on South Island which sound pretty spectacular.
I live in Australia, but haven't travelled anywhere (except where we live) yet!
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I worked with a woman who swore by some or other potion that was used by chemo patients to aid in hair regrowth. This woman had shaved her hair on some whim, then regretted it. She had purchased this from a pharmacy, but not sure if it was commercially marketed or just something the pharmacy produced. I think it was something you put on your hair, rather than a medicine to be taken internally.
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I get similar headaches occasionally. I would not qualify for "migraine status" I think, but they are more than a "normal" headache. I've had all sorts of tests, and I think the neurologist came up with cluster headaches? Nothing she did helped, so I forgot the diagnosis!
Anyhow - where we were (South Africa) you could get a "migraine pack" over the counter at a pharmacy. It had 2 codeine tablets, something to dilate blood vessels and something for nausea. Worked VERY well, and didn't leave me with extra tablets around the house. Worth asking if your pharmacy has or can make up something similar for you.
Otherwise, try straight codeine. Best to go to bed though, as can make you very dopey. It also gives me a sort of "rebound headache" sometimes, but that is handled with aspirin.
Or how about just straight aspirin - I find different headaches respond to different things. Ibuprofen doesn't usually work for me, and the best I've found was an aspirin / paracetamol (aceta-whats-it in the US) combo which I've never found outside South Africa.
Good luck getting rid of this! I've lived with headaches most of my adult life, so i sympathise...
Nikki
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well, my kids thank you :)
maybe the real question is... what kind of a mother gives her kids a (thin) slice of cake at 8:30 in the evening? :D
/QUOTE]
A bad one. The good mothers give them a large slice of cake at 8:30 in the evening!
So think my kids, anyway. :D
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Sure. But I might skip my iron tablet for the day!
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We don't keep "school hours" because we're not at school ;-)
I set what work needs to be done, and it (usually) gets done. Today dd has the neighbouring kids over, as they are on school holiday. I guess work will be done this afternoon, although we also have a swim scheduled, so there might be some carry-over.
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I would never voluntarily homeschool without library membership! However, we have lived without a library, so I know it can be done. We built up a lovely collection of children's, particularly around world religions, mythology and ancient history while living without a library. If you share a car, it's worth checking if your library card gets you access to more than one library, and what their opening hours are. We can go to one of 5 or 6 libraries, and I use 3 of those regularly - one is conveniently near one of my dd's weekly activities, one is open on Sunday afternoon and the other has the best collection of the three.
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We lived for 5 years as expats in a foreign country - I would say it took at least a year before it felt like home. I guess that's when you really know your way around, know the roads, the shops, the "quirks" etc. By the end of 5 years, it definitely felt like home.
Now here we are as would-be immigrants to another country. We've been here a year. I am "happy" here. It is easy compared to where we were before. I know my way around, feel somewhat settled. But I still cannot imagine ever feeling that this is home. I think when the culture was very different from our own, it was somehow easier to fit in. The parameters of how we should feel were set - we would never be citizens, would always be outsiders, but within this framework, we were made welcome. Somehow here, I feel like I will be expected to feel like this is home, and yet, despite shared language, cultural similarities etc it feels very foreign. I still feel like an expat! I am OK with that, but I worry enormously about the children, especially because as homeschoolers they are not getting immersed in the local culture, and not picking up local accents and vernacular.
I once spoke to a woman who immigrated to Australia many years ago and married an Austrlaina. She said it took 16 years before she thought of herself as Australian. So I guess we still have a way to go!
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Dh and I were discussing the whole "incident" on this thread / the other thread, and agreed, that having lived overseas, it would be amazing to be tied permanently to a country we acknowledged as "ours" if only for a short time. Ds3 was conceived with medical assistance in that country, and has never been to his country-of-passport - he'll always remind us of our time there.
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I went with MCT and Mosdos for English this year. Both are brilliant, and I have no regrets, but I still can't believe the cost of just that one subject. Now try adding international postage to that ... Thanks goodness I already had Spell to Write and Read, or I might have keeled over from shock! I was interested in IEW, but there was no way - I went with one of the theme books and am very happy with that.
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I don't think I'd cover for her, although I do understand the issue. Dd9 and ds3 had a shrieking, hitting, screaming fight the other day, and the 5yr old neighbours asked if they'd been "naughty". I was more that happy to agree with their assessment, but dd was very annoyed that I'd done so. Tough. If you do the crime, you do the time (so to speak - actions have consequences, to put it more politically correctly). I might be happy to say "She is not allowed/able to go out this week, but she'll call you next week" or something along those lines. Then dd could explain as she saw fit when restrictions were lifted.
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It came up as an "extra" when I was being treated for chronic headaches - I think because continual use of aspririn makes it more likely? Anyway, they tested for it, I was positive, and I had one course of antibiotics, and that was the end of it, although I suspect at time I might still have it / have it again due to continuing aspirin use in the face of continuing headaches and occasional stomach symptoms. Not enough of a bother to investigate.
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Laurie,
I second the FlyLady idea - I also feel overwhelmed by the site and hate her e-mails, but if you just take away a couple of ideas, that's something. I don't wear shoes in the house, but I would get dressed and put on make-up, which immediately made me feel more purposeful.
I don't want to be too ridiculously practical here, but could you buy some new clothes and get them altered to fit you better? Or have them made for you? Feeling better about how I look always helps. I have recently become very disillusioned with looking like what I think of as a "sloppy stay-at-home-Mom in jeans", then bought a cheap colourful skirt, and I feel so much better whenever I wear it.
Wish I had more suggestions, I am struggling myself at the moment with depression and motivation. Keep wishing I could get motivated enough to make an appointment to get anti-depressants again! I know I need them, but last time I took them the first couple of weeks were hell, and I just don't have the energy to go through that right now.
Take care of yourself,
Nikki
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Still trying to figure out that question with a demanding three year old "prince" here!
I don't do parenting "gadgets" but if I did it over, I would definitely have bought one of those battery operated swings for him. He loved swinging, and it would have completely changed the dynamics if he could swing and relax while I got on with other things for a short while.
Good luck!
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Thinking of all those who are and will be helping in the massive job of providing aid to those in Haiti, and not forgetting those who are living through the unimaginable ordeal that must be life in Haiti right now.
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Glad I'm not the only one with a distracting younger one! We do try activities for him, and he is keen for his own "school work" but honestly, his attention span and need / desire for me to be with him doesn't make it a viable option to keep him busy while I am working with dd. We are doing Mosdos and MCT for English this year - both require me to work with her and discuss what we are reading. We have also switched to Singapore Maths, which is challenging at the moment, and also requires me to work with her. None of this is well suited to getting my time in 5 or 10 minute increments!
I really, really do see the negatives of TV. Dd did not watch TV at this age, and "did school", listened to stories on CD, painted by herself etc etc. Ds is sooooo much tougher. Given paints unsupervised he will paint the walls. Given scissors he will cut something he shouldn't. I have to limit the activites / toys I make available for him because he will routinely just tip all the puzzles out onto the floor. We fell into the TV habit with ds during an international ove a year ago, and I am finding it incredibly difficult to break. If she were in school, we would be out and about, and TV would not feature. One of my lines of reasoning behind the preschool option is to keep him away from TV, and to free up my time to keep him busy when he's home.
Relaxing on homeschooling is not really an option for me right now. I was not at all happy with our first year of full-time HSing, and stepping up the demands was a way of dealing with that.
I'm going round in circles, aren't I...
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I have a dd9 and a ds3, and really struggle to balance their various needs. I am using more demanding programmes with dd this year, and that is making things worse. Sometimes I feel like ds never gets out of the house, unless it's to traipse around after dd as she goes to various activities.
I have two specific questions:
1) How much "contact time" do you spend per child per week if following a WTM approach?
2) And do you think it's unreasonable to drag dd out of bed early (say 6am) to fit in contact time when ds is still asleep. At the moment, the only way we get time to work is by putting the TV on for him, and that is becoming a major problem, as he does not want to do things with me, only watch TV. We do sometimes work during his nap time, but that time often clashes with other homeschooling activities, or I really, really need to nap myself.
I am even considering sending ds to a playgroup twice a week and compressing all the contact time into those two mornings, so that we can get out and do more fun stuff with him on the other day. The current situation cannot continue - I am shortchanging him, and it is simply not right.
Any suggestions? Advise?
Nikki
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I have been meaning to ask something similar! We used Remedia Publications Outlining book, which fits in with how I outline, but introduced the number system formally (I just use whatever system is logical based on the information source). I really, really like this book!
Now we have started IEW, and I do NOT like their system. It might be fine for short term recall, but 3 words-per-sentence is certainly not going to cut it if you come back to a complex source 6 months or a year later. I also don't like that they "outline" every sentence. IMO, all sentences are not worth recording in an outline.
To the OP and the question of what to include in what points (A or B, 1 or 2): I think this is where you're bringing in another skill - that of internalising and processing what you read. When I outline, I am organising material I have read so that the meaning of the source is apparent to me. So where exactly I put the information relates to how I would convey it to someone else in writing or verbally, and not necessarily how the author conveyed it to me. This is certainly the skill that I used when writing university-level essays.
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It's already been said, but I'll repeat: there are good series and rubbish. Magic Tree House and Roman Mysteries have been wonderful additions to our history studies. The Rainbow Fairies series is not getting my vote as great literature, but yes, dd9 has read some of them. There are others I will strongly discourage, if she asks. I think the concern is that the "twaddle" becomes all that the child reads - this would certainly limit the opportunity for the development of reading skills.
How to move out of the "series phase" if the child is stuck there? I'd look for better series, but try for the trilogy type, rather than the churn-'em-out type. Dd has been introduced to some good books through audio books. She'll listen to pretty much anything I provide her with in audio format. I can then "stumble across" other books by the same author in the library.
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There's an Ikea advert where the kids are squabbling and the mother stomps up and says: "Someone needs a time-out!". Then huffs off to her room - which is huge and beautifully decorated with Ikea furnishings. Wish that was me.
are we the only family who never visits doctors?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Pap smears should be regular once you are "active". Recommendations vary from every year to every three years, depending on who you ask. I've gone annually for years and years, but someone told me that the recommendations where we currently are is every three years. I see pap smears as necessary. The same goes for prostate checks after a certain age. Here in Australia they also encourage bowel cancer screening (free and at home) after a certain age.
Apart from that (and so far only the pap smear applies to anyone in our family), we seldom see the doctor. Both children saw a paediatrician for a 6 week check-up. I probably would have skipped it with my second child except that we had problems (jaundice, breathing issues) after a difficult emergency birth. No regular checks thereafter.
I am not sure about general wellness checks. Asta makes a good point, but honestly, I am sceptical that the typical busy doctor who only sees you once a year will pick up many things. This has been coloured by my recent experiences: I have had some pain on my left side, and after a lot of expensive tests to rule out the obvious, the doctor just kind of shrugged. "Nope, there's no general test to rule out "cancer". Nope, no ideas on what might be wrong, but sure, we can keep running tests forever if you want." Not helpful! AND I still have the pain :-(