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Kidlit

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Posts posted by Kidlit

  1. Family of six here.  First trip to Disney--about a 12 hour drive--we flew because flights were cheap.  That spoiled me.  I can't physically tolerate being in the car for that long.  If we go that distance we MUST spread it out over days.  If we don't have that much time to spend driving on a long trip, we fly (& if flights are reasonable for our budget).  That is the criteria we have developed over time. 

    • Like 2
  2. 1 hour ago, Ottakee said:

    Not for paraprofessional 

    Got it.  I was confused.  Lol.  
     

    One thing that has happened locally to paras here is that they are no longer employed by the school system.  They are now hired through employment agencies and thus have lost their good benefits (like state retirement).  My sister worked as a special ed para for years and thankfully was grandfathered in, so she was vested before she quit.  Because of the low pay, the benefits were the draw.  I'm not sure now how they're getting or keeping paras.  

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  3. 7 hours ago, Terabith said:

    Okay, I have an honest question.  I love swimming, and I go to the pool at the Y almost every day, but I kind of don't understand the appeal of having your own pool in your own yard.  What is the appeal?  

    1. I always wanted one, though I have always had enough relatives and friends with one that we could usually swim most any day of the week. It's nice to be able to just walk out into our backyard and not have to pack up to go anywhere. 
    2.  It's HOT where we live--my younger kids swim almost daily (with the exception being bad weather or we're not at home) from mid-May until around the end of September. 
    3. We don't have a YMCA in our county, and the city pool has a pretty exorbitant membership fee (it's basically a country club). 

    the most important reason is I've always wanted one. LOL

     

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  4. 32 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

    Well, in our district it is purely by years employed.  There is no extra benefit for experience before your current employment started and no benefit for education.

    I have a teaching degree in special education, 8 prior years experience but I get paid the same as an 18 year old with no experience.  

    So a teaching degree is not required in your district?

  5. 28 minutes ago, Danae said:

    The district almost certainly has a handy chart that shows pay levels and what the increase is for education and for experience. 

    This, at least in my experience.  I recently moved out of the field of education proper, and one of the good things I can say about it is you KNOW what you're going to make.  In my state, there's a salary matrix for teachers, and I assume there's one for paras, as well. 

    • Like 2
  6. We have an in-ground, "salt-water" pool--with a liner.   It's our first and only pool, so I have nothing to compare it to, but we're happy with it.  It's just a regular rectangular shape 1/3 shallow-2/3 deep (ish) ratio.  
     

    my only warning is that beagle puppies and exposed pool plumbing don't mix 😩🤣

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  7. Just finished Homecoming by Kate Morton.  SO GOOD!  So many plot twists and turns.  I didn't see the resolution coming!  A must-read for fans or anyone who enjoys a gothic-esque mystery (though this one is set in Australia!).  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

    • Like 4
  8. I will say that I have noticed in working with "the younger generation" (this particular young adult is around 20) that there is a lack of either knowledge/skill (despite being taught the thing over and over) OR confidence, as well as initiative.  This youth has to be told every single thing to do in detail, and s/he is not new at the job. S/he needs many reminders and reassurances about whatever the task is, which makes the direct supervisor frustrated to the point of just doing the thing him/herself. 
     

    I'm not sure if it's a generational thing or a personality thing, but it's definitely A Thing. 

    • Like 5
  9. 8 hours ago, GailV said:

    I just finished All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny. I had read a review of it when it came out in fall 2020, thought it sounded interesting but thought I should read all of the preceding books first - it's number 16 in the series. That turned out to be a lovely project for the semi-shutdown world of late 2020 and beyond - books full of friends gathering for dinners or coffee or whatnot. I was running out of steam more recently as everyone in the books seemed a little twee and shallow. This one, though, restored my enthusiasm. It takes place in Paris, and involved much texting with one of my kids about Nutella crepes, Quebec vs Paris accents (she recently visited Montreal) and other trivia.

    Now I fell "caught up" with the series, but, sheesh, actually I'm still 2 books behind.

    I don't know why, but I can't for the life of me finish this series.  Actually, it's almost any series at this point in my life.  I will guess that if it were only 3 books or so (a trilogy?), I would have enough stamina. As it is, I feel the need to have a "palate cleanser" after every book, so I lose any momentum I had built every single book. 

    • Like 5
  10. When we quit homeschooling, we also moved.  I had a HUGE giveaway event at my house: think mountains of books piled on our pool table and in bins and on shelves.   (These were the leftovers of what I kept for sentimental reasons.)  I generally sold what I couldn't use with younger siblings as we went along, so by this point I really did just want to give it away to people who would use and appreciate it.  
     

    I was the recipient of this sort generosity from retiring homeschool moms when we started our journey, so it was nice to be able to pay it forward. 

    • Like 1
  11. I haven't  read the whole thread, so excuse if it's answered above, but what's the relationship between TeenPact and all this?  (I mean, I get the political stuff, but is there more?). I ask because while I only know this other stuff peripherally, I do know people who've sent their teens to TeenPact. 
     

    it didn't feel like it at the time, but now I see it was a good thing my older kiddos went to school.  I could never follow all the extreme conservative stuff (it was never why we homeschooled), and providing enough social and academic opportunities for my older kids got to be more than I could do.  I see now that maybe we dodged that bullet. I still miss homeschooling , though. 

  12. I feel this.   After being such an involved parent during our homeschool years, we all went to school (I as a teacher), and suddenly, I was making sure other people's kids had this experience or that party, and my own kids often went without my presence at their events. I hate it.  Also, I'm with you--how on earth do all this parents get off work to go to alllll the events at sxhool? 

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