nd293
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Posts posted by nd293
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Oh, for a return to common-sense living!
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My littles do the same thing - believe something that isn't correct - but I don't spend any energy arguing with them over it. My olders, however, will engage my 4yo, and it drives me :willy_nilly:. If my 4yo wants to believe that cows are blue, who cares??? He's 4yo. Some day he'll figure out that cows aren't blue, but his little mind might not be ready to accept it today. What I will do is throw out leading questions so my 4yo can reason for himself that cows aren't blue. If he gets there today, great. If he doesn't, great. He won't graduate from homeschool or public school thinking that cows are blue.
My olders are disciplined for engaging in silly arguments with the littles. I see no need for anyone in my family to spend any energy in those little spats. I don't need to hear them or referee them.
:iagree:110%
Absolutely normal and how COOL, when you're 4yrs old, to have an adult so interested in what you have to say that they'll get themselves completely worked up arguing with you! What power!
I do not engage in ridiculous arguments with my ds4: I will explain once why the information he is working on is incorrect, and that's where it ends. It drives me crazy that dd10 will not take the same approach with him. Having her going on and on trying to convince him of some irrefutable fact is like being stuck in a room with a fly buzzing around my head. I won't have her arguing with him over where we live anymore than I'd have her arguing with someone over their religious beliefs - in what way does it impact on her well-being?
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Hokey-pokey
Black Forest
And good-old Cookie Dough!
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Go camping with friends. Done it 3 times now and its always a nightmare, camping on our own as a family straightforward and usually fairly enjoyable. Camping with other people is just disastrous.
Exactly my experience! Actually, any holidays with friends are fraught with risk to friendship, but camping takes the cake.
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Go on a family holiday with my sister - 2.5yrs and things are still strained.
Alter career goals because they don't fit with a partner's priorities.
Live in a house without ducted airconditioning (in a place that regularly goes over 35C / 95F).
Move country without properly sorting out all banking and other financial matters in the "old country".
Do anything related to tofu - cooking, buying, eating or attempting to feed to family.
Trim or cut dh's hair with scissors or clippers.
Make meringues in a plastic bowl that was last used to hold a kilogramme of minced chillis.
Put minced chillis in a plastic bowl that will ever be used for anything else ever again.
Let go of the bowl when using a wand-style mixer to make meringues.
Accidently enter a country without passing immigration control...
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... roll on deoderant ...
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It's interesting - we've been in Australia for two years, and in the past year or ten months there seem to be some Americans popping up on our local homeschooling board, or at homeschooling events, mostly people just in the process of moving here. Definitely not something I noticed in the first year. I assume that's a response to the economic situation in the US. So I guess some people see migration as one way of preparing for "very bad times".
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I can see how it would be a no-win situation for him. If he plays and he beats her, there's no honor. If he plays and he loses, he's in an equally uncomfortable position. If anyone is hurt, he's either deeply embarrassed or at fault. If he doesn't play, then perhaps he's out-of-touch or chauvinistic...
I have to agree. Honestly, I can't say that I would want my son wrestling against girls, nor my daughter against boys. It doesn't seem ... appropriate, somehow. I also think "equality" is sometimes taken too literally - or as they say with siblings - treating siblings fairly does not mean treating them the same.
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Why am I struggling with this so mightily? Why? I could just let it go, let them get on with their lives and counseling and "rehabilitation program." And say nothing to the powers that be, and let the pastor and his family save face, at least that much.
Why does this seem like less than right to me? Like more "sweeping it under the rug" -- again? I feel like I'm lying to the world by not letting the community know... Does that make sense?
Please don't pummel me too hard, it's been a rough month around here for us all.
Perhaps because you know that change is only possible if one acknowledges ones problems, and hiding something isn't doing that.
And perhaps because you've seen time after time how organisations (youth organisations, church organisations) who cover up heinous behavior simply allow it to happen somewhere else to someone else. This is obviously different, but it is still behavior that has hurt others.
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We weren't in a developing country, but we were in a non-English speaking country with no culture of public libraries.
Does Book Depository deliver to the country in question? That helps a lot. Is there an international school nearby? Could you contact the school (go right to the top) and see if you could arrange access to their library? If there is an expat community you will probably find a second hand bookstore of English books.
We afterschooled WTM-style without access to a library - I think it's definitely do-able in the early years at least, provided you are able to build up a solid personal library and have reliable Internet access. Without those, it might be easier to go with a complete programme-in-a-box. Either way, planning will make a huge difference - shipping costs will be high (except with my beloved Book Depository), and bringing books from home, or having friends bring them for you will save you tons. Shipping times can also be very long, and postal services can be unreliable.
Nikki
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Ds4 had this very recently - know the weak-kneed feeling of terror well! I hardly slept that night, I kept waking to check he was breathing. And when I mentioned it to my friend she said her ds had exactly the same thing. I went to the doctor, and as with my friend, it was diagnosed as swollen lymph glands. They can take up to a year to subside, apparently, and unless they caused discomfort or grew, I was instructed just to wait them out. The next step would be a biopsy, which is apparently not much fun... It's been a month or two and ds's "bumps" can hardly be felt.
Sure it will be fine, but get it checked out, for sure!
Nikki
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Great kids books make adults laugh ...
Dr Xargles Book of Earthlets (because every new Mom needs instructions on the mysteries of the alien lifeform she will soon be living with!)
Gorgeous! (because isn't everyone's new baby "Tip top gorgeous and brand spaking new" ? And because Big Zeb goes behind a bush, says "Ouch!" and then re-appears with her new baby. Wish it were so simple!)
Or warm the heart ...
Stellaluna (about a baby bat that loses it's Mom, and is raised by bird - as long as she is prepared to act like a bird)
Tatty Ratty (about a girl who loses a beloved toy, and her search to find it)
These are not for babies, but will be enjoyed by older toddlers and preschoolers onwards.
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I'm in Australia, but I thought I'd also mention Jolly Grammar, which is a follow on from Jolly Phonics. I found the level similar to First Language Lessons, but Jolly Grammar is more worksheet based (and the book also includes phonics work).
I use almost all US material, and haven't found the tweaking to be much of a problem - currency and weights and measures needs adjusting in maths, definitely, but as so many books use American spellings, there's no harm in teaching those alongside the correct spelling. :D
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What are the characteristics of those in middle adulthood and older who can successfully navigate and communicate within cyberspace?
It is definitely personality / willingness to try / ability to tolerate frustration, but I think having a "push factor" also helps: my friend's 60yr old mother can just manage sms, but doesn't use the Internet. When you live in a different country from your daughter and grandchildren, this is a massive sacrifice. My friend just shrugs, and says "Oh, she says she can't; she won't; that's just my Mom."
My Mom who is 65yrs texts, e-mails, uses Skype to read to her grandchildren and is on Facebook (I think, because I seldom use it myself). Sure, learning each new thing has been a hurdle, and she's been hesitant, but we've approached it with "Don't be silly, we'll set it all up for you and talk you through it." We've "talked her through" things by phone and by e-mail, and she has her "computer guy" on speed dial. :lol:
If I were you, I'd type up step-by-step instructions on how to open a Yahoo e-mail account, save an attachment and attach a file. Then I'd say that I will only be using electronic communications in the future. No chasing after them. Worth a try...?
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Just sympathy for now, but on the plus side, I can almost guarantee he will be a more-competent-than-average preschooler - he will be keen to do it himself, and will be ready to attempt tasks that other children expect parents to do for them.
Practically - I agree with moving the chairs out of reach and getting a footstool. You'll just have to accept that he wants to be part of everything, and focus on the positives in that! When I wash the floors I put the chairs upside down on top of the table, seat to to tabletop. This will work if you don't need the table during the day. Or hang them on the wall, Shaker-style. Or replace some of the chairs with benches for now.
All of these options seem annoying, but if it reduces your stress levels, it's worth it! I had to move ds's bookshelf from the family/playroom to my bedroom, because everytime he walked past he knocked them to the floor. And I had to remove all loose cushions because by the 20th time I'd pick them up each day I was having overwhelming urges to use them to smother someone. You can only work on solving the root problem for so long before you just need to find a practical work-around!
Nikki
P.S. Ds is now 4yrs, and we have two cushions on the couch, and although they still end up on the floor more often than not, he now picks them up when asked. The books live safely on the bookshelf in the playroom. And he helps himself to breakfast, water and sometimes luncg by pushing a chair into place!
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Sigh. And here I was hoping they'd release their Physics course first. :tongue_smilie: Hopefully it's next up to be released.
Just what I was thinking! But at least it's movement in the right direction. I keep checking the website, and there are no updates, and I start to wonder if they've done on holiday somewhere sunny.
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My first instinct was to say that this class is simply too much stimulation from him. It doesn't sound like fun for him, and his behaviour may be making the class less fun for others too. I've taken ds out of a toddler class for this reason - we were disrupting the class, and although he liked parts of the class (and I desperately needed to see other adults) he spent far too much of the time upset.
But I really like the response below. That would be worth a first try. Continuing to disrupt the class would not be an option, though.
Nikki
If it were one of my 6yos, I would continue to take the child to the gym class. We would have a discussion before class about how I expected him to behave (no fits) and that I would remove him from class at the first fit. At the first fit, I would pick him up and carry him out of class. Then we would discuss all the things he did right, a quick discussion of how to handle what set off the fit better, and more encouragement. We would have another discussion before the next class. I would watch the class for both what set him off, and what he's doing well/better. Again, calmly remove him from class at the first fit, and discuss his behavior both before class and after. :001_smile: -
Don't forget his jaw still has a lot of growing to do. That oversized tooth will fit in eventually! Even in the last 6 months, dd10's teeth have straightened considerably as she grew. The dentist told us not to worry, and he was right.
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I call it both, just depends on my mood... :)
:iagree:
The Brits I know always said "tea" when talking about the evening meal (say 6pm-ish) to their kids, but I'm not sure if the adults ate separately and called it something different.
To me tea is a drink, or a very fancy afternoon meal (as in "high tea").
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I would feel negatively towards her, but it would not be so much about greed (in the money sense) as about her willingness to put another person in an awkward position so that she could benefit (and the benefit is perhaps more emotional than financial here).
That said, I would have to take culture into consideration. I'm assuming she is a born American in my above response. If she was an immigrant from a culture where bargaining is a way of thinking, I might be more lenient in my assessment of her. When we lived in the Middle East there was a store which sold fabulous Indian furniture. Every single time I went in, they would tell me there was a sale on, and would deduct a percentage from the marked price. I eventually figured it out: The marked price is ridiculously high, because the owner knows that any self-respecting customer from the Middle East or Indian subcontinent will expect to bargain. Westerners, on the other hand, often find bargaining distasteful, or at very least, awkward, but love the idea of buying something on sale. If the Westerner should choose to bargain over and above the "sale price", they might get close to the price that the bargainer pays. If they don't, that's also OK, as they are probably earning expat salaries and can afford to pay more, and anyway, they got their bargain at sale price, and have left congratulating themselves on their good fortune and astute sense of timing. It's a win-win situation, and the thinking permeates culture, so getting a 25c discount actually does matter!
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Dd settled on "Nanny" for my Mom.
"Ouma" (pron. Oh-Ma) means "old mother" and is the Afrikaans word for Grandmother (Dutch and German too, I think).
My father had a nephew who was two years older than he was - there was a 20yr gap between my Ouma's first and last child, and my father's oldest brother was married with a child before my father was born.
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I like the "squeegy" mops with the sponge head that is squeezed out by rollers. I routinely "sweep" my floors with this, which does a good sweep and a basic was. I was with more water once a week or so. Also - the longer the mop head, the more area you will cover with each pass!
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White chocolate and lemon curd muffins are my personal favourite...
I am going to try out your recipe today!
Nikki
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It once took SIX MONTHS for a parcel to travel from Rainbow Resources to Oman in the Middle East, I lived there for 5 years, and can assure you there are daily flights in and out of the country, lots of them. The funny thing is, the same time that one arrived, another parcel I'd purchased off Ebay at around the same time arrived from the UK. I always suspected that a whole bag of stuff had fallen behind the shelf or something, and just been discovered by post office staff.
A book I purchased and had sent to my sister (within the US) once took 2 months to reach her, although she had admittedly moved state (with the mulitary) in that time.
The postal service really does exist in a separate universe, where time occasionally distorts!
Is this too steep a curve? Going to Singapore from Horizons.
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
We switched halfway during Horizons 3, and then repeated Year 3 Singapore. We bought the New Syllabus books, directly from Singapore. What I did was NOT use the standard "Primary Maths" set, but instead use two of the supplemental books Classroom Maths Workbook and Classroom Maths Problem Sums. The advantage was that the books in these series have full worked examples, so it was much easier for me to extrapolate the method that should be used.
It was a very tough transition, particularly in the area of problem sums, where Horizons is weak and Singapore very strong, but after several months we had the hang of it.
Interestingly, I think the Classroom Maths series are at a much higher level than the basic Primary Maths books used in classrooms - after finishing Year 3, we skipped a year ahead to Year 5 (to bring dd on-grade), but using the Primary Maths textbooks and workbooks. We are finding this year much easier than last year where we used the Classroom Maths series. Or it could be that we're just used to the "Singapore method" by now.