Kidlit
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Posts posted by Kidlit
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5 hours ago, wendyroo said:
Roy G Biv is a fun They Might be Giants song about the colors of the rainbow that stars a leprechaun. Plus it hits on a little bit of science, a lit bit of phonemic awareness, and it is highly danceable.
Thanks for sharing! I'm going to look this one up.
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19 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:
Maybe a book about rainbows? You can have a small treat for the kids (gold coin from the party store?) after a small hunt to find the leprechaun's gold at the end of the rainbow. I'd work in something like the Bear Hunt, where kids need to go over, under, around, through...all the prepositions in some sort of rhyme.
They might like making their own rainbow to take home, or using the milk/dishsoap/food coloring activity to work on their fine motor skills and make colors move.
We had a local author come read her book that centered around colors and the rainbow a few weeks ago. Our craft that week was cutting small squares/rectangles from strips of construction paper to make a rainbow collage on a rainbow outline on cardstock.
I must like squares of color. Lol
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I'm a children's librarian and I do Storytime twice a week, and my crowds skew pretty young. Instead of focusing on St Patrick's Day, I'm reading the picture book Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley (cute book about a bear and his friend mouse looking for four leaf clovers) and Green by Laura Vacaro Seeger (concept book about shades of green with die cut pages--won a Caldecott honor). I always have a craft because the precedent was set before me, but honestly the moms mostly do the crafts due to the age of the kids. I do try to make it something that the kids CAN do (those who are closer to preschool age than toddlerhood) with help. For this week I copied outlines of a four leaf clover on cardstock. I cut out little squares of different shades of green tissue paper. The children will scrunch those into little balls/wads and fill up the shamrock outline with the shades of green using school glue. We have our standing songs we sing. I might look for something about St Patrick's Day to sing, but I'm leaning toward keeping up "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins (using scarves for our kites) for the rest of March. It was a hit last week!
another idea I had when I was at Trader Joe's was to buy a pot of shamrocks to share with them, but I decided my participants are generally too young to notice.
Hope this helps!-
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Just finished the award winning YA novel All My Rage. It's the first book I've read with trigger warnings listed on the flyleaf. It turns out the warnings were justified, but despite the difficult subject matter and the huge volume of trauma the main characters suffer, it is a beautiful and tightly written story.
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Everything already mentioned about Huntsville and Decatur, plus if you're willing to drive about 60 miles north, you could also visit (among other cool things)
*the birthplace of Helen Keller (Ivy Green in Tuscumbia)
*the birthplace of WC Handy (Florence)
*the Rosenbaum Home, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (Florence)
*the birthplace of Jesse Owens (Danville)
These places are actually kind of between Nashville and Huntsville
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19 hours ago, mindinggaps said:
Dear all - to everyone who has continued to be a wonderful source of support, guidance and information I wanted to share a quick update. It's now been over a month since my daughter started Prozac and we had an interesting check-in with the psychiatrist. Our daughter continues to do very well with the medication and is performing the best she has in her entire life. With her symptoms more under control, the psychiatrist wanted to do some further testing and exploration to confirm the diagnosis of GAD. In this process, she once again ruled out ASD but did say she thinks a combination of OCD and GAD could be the root issue. In terms of immediate treatment, this doesn't change much, although the optimal form of therapy to be used in combination with the medication may be adjusted. However, she did say that the longer term prognosis for OCD is a little different - medication for life is typically required and she formally recommends that our daughter stay on the Prozac essentially indefinitely.
For me, this doesn't change much. I am thrilled she is doing well and is happy. Many people have primed me for the realities of longer term medication and I am happy to have a clearer understanding and plan. However, for my husband this has been his nightmare. He views this as a worst case scenario and is not coping well. He is engaged in therapy though and I have told him that he must focus on this and at least now we understand the picture. In some sense I view this as good news for him because it gives clarity, now he just needs to accept and process things.
Edit - not too relevant, but also going to try capsules rather than liquid medication and see how that goes.I'm PMing you, OP
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On 3/4/2023 at 2:49 PM, Lady Florida. said:
These flowers and that sunshine might be used as a "relocate here!"ad for FL! (Though really, does FL need any help in this arena? 😂). That's saying something--I live in AL. 🤣
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36 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:
Following.
I also wish they’d give some background info sometimes. Some people just be blessed with good genetics and childhoods. But I’m also interested in how people not so blessed are aging healthily.
I’m also curious how aging healthily is defined. I’m working on that ever elusive balance between living healthily and living life fully.
I’ve found that optimistically I have about 30 years left to live and that’s really affected my attitude about how to approach many things from body maintenance to finances to relationships. Call it midlife crisis or whatever I don’t care. But it is very different from what I would have imagined my perspective to be when I was 38 vs 48. I kinda fell like the there’s a mental/physical development leap in late 40s similar to the development leap in late teens/early 20s.
I'm following this conversation with interest. I just turned 49, so I feel all this. I'm curious about how your attitude toward all of the things you mentioned has changed if you're willing to share.
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My 9 yo dressed up as The Wild Robot for book character dress up day yesterday. He told me, "I was the only one with a homemade costume," which made me both happy and sad. (It wasn't much--just a big box painted silver, those dryer vent hose-thingies for arms, and a silver spray painted bucket for his head.)
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I've never taught second but have been a system-wide STEM teacher before, and I did enjoy the second graders I had. I'd move down, given all the reasons you cited.
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35 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said:
To be honest, nutritional coaching is a red flag, IMHO. (I know that some will disagree about that.) What is their expertise in nutrition? The nutritional advice that I hear from fitness coaches is generally terrible. What does nutritional coaching mean? Weight loss is achieved through a caloric deficit long term. If they tell you what to eat, they're essentially providing a diet that has a caloric deficit instead of advising about nutrition.
When they say "nutrition," it's generally code for weight loss.
There are so many scams in the wellness industry! It can be very frustrating.
Another red flag is the idea that fitness has to be complicated and "no pain no gain." Most people would benefit from regular walking all by itself. Nothing else. But you can't sell walking, KWIM?
Along with that is the idea that exercise is about weight loss. Exercise alone isn't enough for weight loss for most of us because we'll never burn enough calories.
And if your interest in nutritional coaching is about weight loss, then look into the world of GLP-1s. Unfortunately that can be the wild west and your own doctor may not know much about these meds. There is plenty of good information online but there are also many scams out there. Weight Watchers is even getting into the telehealth GLP-1 game. https://www.joinsequence.com/a-quick-note
They're definitely about weight loss, as I'm sure that's one of the initial goals of most of their clients. (It's mine, too, though not really my primary goal. I hope it's a side effect.) They say that up front, and I'm okay with it (to a point) because I do need to lose some weight.
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2 minutes ago, GoVanGogh said:
I have young onset Parkinson’s. Prior to my diagnosis, I was very physically fit, ran half marathons, did 2 cross state bike rides, etc. About six years ago, I started having neurological issues, balance issues, extreme fatigue, progressed to point where I couldn’t roll over or sit up in bed, etc. After several years of medical testing, second opinions, worsening of symptoms, I was diagnosed with YOPD. My neurologist sent me to physical therapy and was adamant that I needed to use a stationary bike daily. PT was dreadful, as they only wanted to show me how to use a cane and walker. After insurance wouldn’t cover any more PT sessions, I decided to drag my butt back to the gym. I was more than 50 pounds heavier than I had ever been and was so weak. I ran in to a trainer that I knew from years ago. This was right after Covid lockdown lifted and I think there were maybe ten people in the entire gym. I sat down and chatted with this trainer and hired him on the spot. I still work out with him once a week for an hour. I went from needing to use a railing to do stationary lunges to doing walking lunges with 75 pound barbell and running a half marathon. We are banking on the $ of personal training paying off longterm by keeping me up and mobile. My personal trainer is also certified in nutrition and has been very helpful with my diet. He keeps me motivated and accountable. I tell my trainer weekly that I hate him, because he pushes me so hard. But we all know that he has been such a blessing. I hate to think where I would be today without him.
The gym I go to offers one on one personal training and small group team training. Years ago, I did the small group training and loved it. If I didn’t have the health issues, I would probably go back to that to save some money. I don’t have good spatial awareness anymore, so benefit from being one on one.Thank you for sharing. This particular training involves nutritional coaching, too. I have never been in great shape but I am much, much worse off than I was even a decade ago. It's a lot of money, but if it can help me remain mobile as I age, it will be more than worth it.
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4 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:
I have benefited from a personal trainer in two stages of my life. Without a doubt, having a personal trainer has been one of the very best decisions I have ever made. The short answer for why is that I have back/neck issues and connective tissue issues, and strength training is the best way I have found to cope with that.
Years ago, I was having neck troubles and connected with an amazing physical therapist for that. We did all the official PT stuff and I graduated out of PT much improved, but scared that I would not maintain my new-found strength. In that case, the PT was willing to come to my house once a month and give me a workout. I then repeated the same workout 2-3 times a week until the next time we met. Knowing I would have to show progress at our next session helped me stay on track. It was a great system and saved a lot of money. This approach will only work if you will actually do the workout on your own 2-3 times a week.
Years later, I experienced a serious illness with a hospitalization and long recovery (and have spoken about it here before). My body was badly deconditioned by sepsis, and the illness changed my metabolism drastically. I also have a connective tissue disorder that was exacerbated by my illness. I struggled with balance issues and fatigue, and my doctors minimized those concerns for two years, advising me to rest more and one offered me antidepressants. (FTR, I was not depressed. I was happy to be alive. I just wanted to be able to walk like I used to be able to walk.) Finally when one doctor insisted I needed a cane for my balance issues, I had had enough. I was way too young for a cane and would not consider it without at least trying PT. I did do PT for 5 or 6 months, and I paid for quite a bit of it out of pocket, too. When the PT was ready to "graduate" me, I was chagrined because I still had real balance issues and a lot of weakness. That's when a good friend dragged me kicking and screaming to a private gym and insisted I talk to a friend of his, who then connected me with an athletic trainer who also works as a PTA.
I thank God for that trainer. Honestly, she put me back together and she gave me my life back. She is very gifted at incremental steps. There was no goal that she saw as unattainable. Whatever activity I wanted to be able to do--including martial arts!--she would figure out a way to help me do it. For a while I worked with both the trainer and I took private martial arts lessons with an instructor who saw my limitations as a nifty puzzle to solve. At first the plan was to get up and running for three months and then maintain on my own, but after three months I was still struggling. I signed on another three months. I was in way better shape after six months of meeting with her weekly, but by then I was addicted. My trainer's attention and her meticulous rotation of strengthening all over my body brought me whole new vistas of health and strength. Plus I'm not all that disciplined in exercising on my own--I need accountability of some sort.
At this point, that wonderful trainer actually moved on to teaching gyrotonics. I take classes with her and really love it. I meet with a different trainer for strength training--I consider weightlifting and core work essential for managing pain and mobility with my connective tissue disorder and back problems. Some people take piano lessons or have pets or indulge other hobbies. I choose to pay for a trainer.
Thank you for sharing your story. This is very encouraging. There are a lot of women age 50+ at this gym, so I am encouraged by that and the questions the owner asked me today that they are, indeed, cognizant of women's issues.
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39 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:
So, I have considered this. I have gotten to know three personal trainers over the years, personally, as part of business networking groups. I liked them a lot personally. But when I heard testimonials about them, it was people saying, Wow, a great workout, I still hurt. Which, I want to start gradually enough so that I’m not doubled over 3 days later. So to each one, individually, I put the question, “I have specific physical issues that are serious. In the past I have had frozen shoulders, plantar fascitis, and hip bursitis. I am afraid of triggering any of those to come back, because the recovery time is long and during it I have to restrict my activity. Ideally I would like to avoid serious pain beyond a norma muscle tenderness at all, as well. Can you train me in such a way that none of these will happen? Or if not, that the worst case is serious muscle pain for maybe a week?” And none of them could say yes to that question.
So to me, it’s not the way to go.
Thanks for pointing this out. I will be careful of this.
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10 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:
I hired one who was a former PT. It was worth every penny. She showed me different ways to work on areas I was trying to work on.
8 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:My best personal trainer is a PT assistant. She is so much better than a random person at a gym for me. (Though I have very tricky muscles and can get tendonitis just looking at an exercise. 🙂 )
I also have been in PT recently for plantar fasciitis and I actually have had that dream--to have a PT as a personal trainer. This gym has a PT on staff, and based on my discussion with the owner today, I do feel like this is something they are cognizant of (he referenced my plantar fasciitis and mentioned that he thought it was something we could also help there.)
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37 minutes ago, Ottakee said:
Do you have a planet fitness near you? It is $10-25/month with unlimited classes. I do 3-4 a week…so 12-16 a month for that price. So the 1/2 hour training sessions are $1 or less each.
if they have a good trainer, might be worth it. The one at my PF is very good and personalizes all the classes for whoever shows up and often it is just a friend and I in the class.
If you can do mid day classes you might Even get 1:1 attention.
We do have planet fitness and my teens actually go, but I am not aware of any classes they offer. I have even asked my girls, and they said they didn't know of any. Obviously, the thing for me to do would be to go in and ask, but I do wonder if it differs from location to locations.
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3 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:
I have never hired a trainer but I have thought about it. I guess the reason I have not is that I have known some trainers in other settings (like homeschool moms I knew through co-op, etc) who I thought were woefully unqualified and had less knowledge/experience than I did that did personal training through local gyms. I also have been working out on my own at a local Y and have observed the trainers and personal training sessions and it is super unimpressive. So I think it is a good thought but maybe just see if you can get reviews from friends or find out what qualifications one needs to be considered a trainer at any particular gym? Sometimes it is just someone who happens to work at the gym and sometimes it is someone who actually knows what they are doing. Now I do also think that someone that just happens to work at a gym could also be really helpful and motivating so I’m not entirely discounting that.
I guess I am just wary because quality varies so much. Maybe seek recommendations or at very least ask for trial classes or a small package to start with while you try someone out?
Good points. I actually met with the gym owner this morning and talked about goals, etc. I will meet again with a trainer on Thursday for some evils and then a trial session. I am pretty confident that this is a legit place in terms of qualifications.
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I'm considering hiring a trainer at a gym that operates as a personal training place with some small group circuits (5-6 people with trainer), etc. If you have positive experiences to share, I'm especially interested in those. This is not exactly a JAWM, but the cons of "I can do it at home" and "I can research this and figure it out" are really not true for me because, well, I I haven't had I don't. I would be interested in hearing any red flags for "bad fit" trainers if you have those.
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My mother recently got hearing aids at Sam's Club. They weren't cheap, but I do think they were less expensive than ones purchased at a standalone audiology place. She has been pleased with hers, and she is now able to hear her grandchildren. That's a glowing recommendation.
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I kind of fell off the face of the earth last month. I've been in a slump. I'm hoping my latest read, Master Slave Husband Wife, will rejuvenate me.
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N AL here, too. I watched the straight line winds gust through the portico of my work building, and I commented that it looked like a hurricane. We are accustomed to tornadic weather (though does one actually ever get used to it?) and we've had F1s sit down close to two different homes. The 2011 tornado super outbreak definitely made me look at severe weather in a new light, but today was quite different than anything I remember.
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20 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:
Personally?
kill-a-watt energy meter
cake pans (Bundt, children’s character shaped pan)
beginner violin with dvd instruction
snap circuits
board games
air fryer
knitting needles and a beginner stitch book
Museum membership passes (set up with the community)—these have a long wait list
some outdoor camping equipment
magnatiles
Food processor
There are some things that have hundreds of people on the wait list that I haven’t even tried to get in queue for…like the radon detector…but are very popular.
I'm a public librarian and in our library of things, the metal detector is the most popular. Well, it comes in third after WiFi hotspots and Fire sticks.
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Just before I resigned from my last teaching job, I had a parent who was angry at me because her son had plagiarized an assignment and I gave him a zero, per our school's policy and after discussion with the academic principal. She said she was angry at me because I didn't communicate with her about it. However, I updated the online gradebook with an explanatory note, and I also expected some level of communication with the parent and the high school student. She admitted that she did not check the online gradebook. (This was also not the first time her son had cheated in my class. The first time he denied it and though I was 90+% sure he had, I gave him the benefit is the doubt.). Anyway, our conversation was on the phone and she ranted and raved for many minutes. I finally just told her that I didn't think there was anything else I could do to help her, so I hung up. Not even thirty minutes later, she was at the school in person complaining about me. Thank goodness for our academic principal who ran interference for me and handled the mom! One of my few regrets about quitting involves being a little aggravated that this mom might think I quit or got fired because of her complaints.
Parents. . . They often do make an already tough job twice as hard as it needs to be.
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Thanks to everyone who responded! I've fallen down the rabbit hole of influencers and stylists on YouTube. So far my favorite has been Kay Harms of Dressed for My Day.
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Worth it to hire a personal trainer?
in The Chat Board
Posted
I wanted to give a little update. I did it! I just completed my first week (two sessions) with my personal trainer, and I love it! The one-on-one instruction and attention have been fantastic for me. The emphasis has not been too heavy on nutrition so far. I think this might be the best investment I've ever made ! Thanks to everyone who shared experiences--you helped me decide to go for it!