nd293
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Posts posted by nd293
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Could you get dd12 a loft bed and arrange shelving and cupboards way-up-high?
If this is a temporary arrangement and not practical, I agree about limiting the little one's access to the room. Neither of my children really had a room of their own when they were that age - dd had a room which was used to store toys (she never actually played there, but in the living space) and ds's room housed his changing table but was otherwise just a spare room for guests.
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I swore a couple of weeks ago that the kids will not see the inside of a grocery shop this year. It's not the shopping that gets me, it's the shopping-with-kids. I just can't do it anymore. Our city has recently stumbled into the 21st Century, and the shops are now open until 9pm 5 days a week, so it's now feasible for me to shop in the evenings when dh is home.
Nikki
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"Thanks so much for the invite, but it's our family policy not to attend unsolicitated product demonstrations or talks. I'm glad to know you sell ................ . I'll research the products on the Internet, and if I want anything, I'll let you know."
We have been burnt making a purchase of something where the seller approached us, and I've just turned down a "free" carpet clean which I had "won" in a "promotion" when I realised that they were actually not a carpet cleaning company making their name known, but a company selling carpet cleaning machines - "free" meant "watch our demonstration".
The above is now my official policy - I'll take a pamphlet, and add the product to my research list, but I won't listen to product sales pitches.
Nikki
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We have loved Mosdos! It is definitely my pick for best choice that we've made, and when we have talked about dd going back to school, she has mentioned that she would like to continue afterschooling Mosdos.
I find it very easy to use - each page of the student's reading is reproduced in small format in the teacher's book, with number notes around the other edges. These draw attention to theme, plot, metaphor etc etc. It makes it very easy to be a "professional". I either interrupt dd's reading to comment, or I comment on several issues at the end of the page. This is very much the procedure I recall from high school literature studies.
There are also a number of questions for each page of the student book - these are either literal questions, which simply test attention, and a few are analytical question, of the "what/why do you think" variety. As dd has good recall we generally skip the literal questions.
There is a lot of additional info for dedicated teacher - I must admit I generally don't do any pre-reading, and just open the book and work through the basic material.
The stories are enjoyable, and all show solid values, which is a core aspect of Mosdos.
We used Ruby last year, and Coral this year.
Great programme - I really can't speak highly enough of it.
Nikki
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I look forward to reading!
Taking a year off and travelling around the country seems very common here in Australia. At least, in the two years I've been here I must have met or heard of a dozen families who have done so, are doing it, or have plans to do so in the next year. In 30-something years in South Africa I don't ever remember hearing of a family doing that.
I know of one family who are going to combine fly-in-fly-out work with travelling around Australia - he will keep his regular FIFO job, and pay the difference to make it back to his home city, while the family wait out his work period in a nice spot. I like that idea for down the line - I can't see either dh or I doing fruit picking!
Nikki
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I read a very unsettling article years ago about "guerilla missionaries" - the general idea was that Christian missionaries went into Muslim countries, mixed with the community, going through the physical motions that accompany Muslim prayer, then telling people they were "Jesus Muslims", and working at converting people.
Going into schools claiming to be a tutor when you are actually a missionary is only slightly less distasteful.
As others have pointed out, if you are honest with yourself you have to reverse the situation: what if this scenario involved a religion or philosophy with which you were not comfortable?
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This one depends on the type of infection, but it worked for my husband when he had an earache. You soak a washcloth, nuke it in the microwave until it is steaming, super hot, and then put it in a glass. Press the opening over your ear so it forms a tight seal (be sure to tilt your head to the side so the water doesn't drip down and cause a burn) and wait. The steam loosens things up, and the heat will form a suction that draws out fluid trapped in the ear.
I was trying to remember how this was done - I heard it recommended for use on aircraft when ear infection etc prevents equalisation and results in ear pain. Worth a try...
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Enjoy the rest - but get someone to bring you better food, books ... and some shoes. Funny, but I nearly posted for your son to take shoes for you. When I was in hospital with ds we were in such a "let's not die now" rush that I ran out of the house without shoes on, and walked around the hospital barefoot for a day.
Glad you are feeling better.
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Thinking of her...
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When we bought our house the floors were black slate-look vinyl. This never looked dirty, but the house also has a huge sandpit for the kids, who were always tracking sand into the house. In late afternoon, when the sun was low the white sand would show up starkly against against the dark floors. It drove me crazy.
We ripped up the vinyl to uncover white tiles underneath - these show up every bit of dirt, especially if the kids drop something stick on the floor, which they invariably do.
When we refloor, which we will soon, we'll go for something at the darker end of the scale, but not too dark.
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One idea I saw in a home magazine particularly struck me: the family had to refloor their home, which was open planned. Along one wall they created a furrow or gutter at the edge of the floor. Dirt was swept into the gutter, then vacuumed up. I love this idea - I often sweep dirt into a pile in the corner of the room, then get busy with something else before I get the dustpan and broom to collect up the dirt.
Spaces under things just collect dust - so a bed or kitchen cupboards that goes all the way to the floor are better than ones on legs.
Our rented house had slatted blinds - they were a nightmare to clean, especially in the kitchen where they got gunky. Never in my house!
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1.) Why have you chosen homeschooling?
Predominantly because I want to be the primary influence in the lives of my young children. Also because I want a quality academic education with focus on areas that are increasingly de-prioritised in the school system.
2.) What is your perception of the public school systems?
Varies. Predominantly poor.
3.) What do you think your child gains by being educated at home?
Greater attention to academic fundamentals. Time to pursue her own interests.
4.) Is there anything that you think your child is missing out on by not being in public school?
Yes. Access to resources in specialist areas - art, PE, music, Science. The benefit of working in a group setting on "fun" projects (i.e. enrichment activities).
5.) What do you enjoy most about homeschooling?
Being able to choose the very best available materials, both in terms of quality and suitability for my child's specific needs.
6.) What have you found to be challenging?
No time to myself is exhausting. Inefficient in terms of meeting social needs - time travelling between activities is excessive.
7.) Is homeschooling expensive?
Much more expensive than public school, but cheaper than private school. Being an overseas homeschooler with a preference for US materials presents an extra challenge, as overseas postage costs are very high.
any additional points
Homeschooling is not necessarily the best option for our family, but it is the best available option. My fantasy school situation would be some sort of flexible community school which would allow for a combination of home and school.
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No, definitely not nuts! Do you have a plan for how you would make friends, or are you OK with your own company and only casual contact with other adults (shopkeepers, housekeeper etc)? Or are your family close enough to fill that need?
I think it would be an amazing experience. (I have "started over" in two countries, although as an expat/immigrant and do have some inkling of the challenges. I still think it's a fantastic idea.)
Nikki
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We are still a good way away from that, but I will encourage dd to take a gap year to the point that I don't think I would be willing to support her financially if she went straight to Uni.
I think it is bizarre that an 18yr old with no experience of the working world should be expected to decide their future. I did my under-grad degree through correspondence while working full-time, then went on to do my Master's full-time, studying mostly with students who had left school and been studying solidly since then. With a few exceptions I found them immature in their approach to studying, and more interested in getting out of work than doing it properly. They simply did not value the opportunity to study in the same way I did, having studied part-time and worked full-time. I found the attitude frustrating, and my experience has certainly coloured my views on this.
I wouldn't encourage a gap year before high school graduation, at least not the travel-around-the-world type of gap year. A work-experience gap year might be a different situation, but that could just as easily be done after graduation.
Nikki
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For us it is definitely Michael Clay Thompson's grammar series and the Mosdos literature programme. Both dd and I love these - they are the only things we really love to do. Lively Latin, despite some "teething problems" in the development of the programme has also been a great choice for us.
Nikki
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I use their moisturizer in the morning! I love it! It's simple and it works. No shame here. :D
Same here. It is also a sunscreen, and suites me well.
I honestly don't believe expensive means better, at least not at the upper limits of my price-range!
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I finished The Red Tent, which I loved.
I am back to non-fiction this week, reading Everyday Blessings, which I have had for years and years but only ever skimmed.
I am still one book behind ;-(
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Thinking of you and wishing you a good outcome on this.
Nikki
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We used a humane trap and dropped the mice off in bushland. Sometimes we used cheese, sometimes (and this was most effective) simply put the trap against a wall we had seen them run against. Once we found the hole they were coming out of we simply left the trap against it. Once mice stopped coming through it we sealed it up (we were never sure if a mouse had got in and made a nest, or if the hole connected to the outside somehow, and we didn't want trapped mice dying and stinking up the laundry!).
I think we tapped 11 before the problem resolved. I also found a baby one at the foot of a mattress my dh slept on one night when I had a sick little one in bed with me. And one leapt out of the dishwasher at me.
I DO NOT think mice are rather nice ;-)
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I am pretty sure there are instructions on how to build a crate on ana white's website...
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I should be making dinner, or at least ordering the take-out. I should be doing paperwork for one of the two committees I committed to this year in a fit of apparent madness. I should be answering an e-mail my cousin sent 2 weeks ago about finalising arrangements for a holiday in Bali later this year. Instead I'm here...
In my defence, I drove 2.5hrs to take dd to a carpentry/electronics class today, got (slightly) lost on the way there, and lost my keys as we were due to leave. After 30 minutes of frantic and dedicated searching they were found in a gap between where the wrap-around deck joined a short ramp leading to the house. I was away from home from 8:45 to 4pm, and if anyone looks at me wrong I am going to burst into tears. That's whyI'm here instead of doing all the stuff I should be doing.
Nikki
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I took Effexor for depression for 6 months, and did not have any nasty side-effects, apart from the first week or so, which were pretty bad. I was exhausted and had some creepy "out of body" type experiences - where my mind felt separate from my body, and I was thinking very unrational things very rationally. (I remember driving and being so tired, and I could hear myself thinking "If I just drove into a lamp pole, I wouldn't be sleepy anymore." - I didn't want to, and I was always in control of myself, but the thought was decidely unnerving.)
Coming off Effexor has to be done very, very slowly. I think I was weaned off over 8 weeks on a complicated schedule (every second week involved alternating days of current dose and a lower lose). Doing it that way I had no side-effects.
This doesn't really answer your question, of course, but does (somewhat) counteract the negative views about Effexor posted by others. In my experience, it was very effective for what I needed, and once my body adjusted to the medication I had no problems, but I would caution that the first couple of weeks might be rough and you might need extra support (e.g. if you are as sleepy as I was, it is hard to function at normal levels).
I wonder if you could wean yourself onto the medicine as you wean yourself off it? Might be worth asking your doctor.
Nikki
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Hoping it goes OK for you. What a strange country this is. Weather-wise, of course, the people are perfectly normal ;-)
Two days ago we were all on cyclone warning, way down out of the cyclone area, but we got nothing - barely any wind, and no more than a mist of rain.
If only we could average out the weather...
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I have to remind myself that it's my responsibility to check dd's work daily. At school the teacher would be checking daily, and as a conscienscious parent, I would be checking homework, yet somehow as a homeschooling parent I sometimes forget that I need to follow up!
If I discover work that is undone, it would need to get done in free time, i.e. no TV time today etc.
Things I Will Never Like
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
LOVE your son's list. It works for me, with some ammendements: