domestic_engineer
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Posts posted by domestic_engineer
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4 hours ago, Jackie said:
The personal circumstances changing my work timeline are not happy. They are probably shading my attitude, as is a lack of excitement about returning to my previous careers long term. It will be a long term need for employment, so I would honestly like to find something that fits better for me.
Hugs to you as you go through a tough time. You have a college degree, which only 30-ish percent of people in our nation have. So I think that’s an advantage for you! Also from your posts in the past, I see you as a problem solver and one who is willing to research for solutions, and I think those traits would make you stand out from others.
Something else to consider to help narrow down job ideas would be if you like doing repetitive, follow-a-process work or if you want each encounter/project to be different than the last.
What about Pharmaceutical sales? If you’re close to a college campus, maybe look at manager or assistant jobs of research clinics. Informatics used to be an up-and-coming field, but I don’t know if it still is.
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I agree with what everyone else is saying, but also please know that this time of the year (jan/feb) can be mentally hard on us as homeschool moms ... and you don’t have to take my word for it; check out this other post....
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Bumping .... because I too was just wondering about this recently.
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some ideas that have been accumulating in my mind:
- Notepad from Shutterfly ... with or without a personalized picture.
- clards.com - dischcloth turned into a card
- stained glass creations that hang in a window.
- DIY music box kit. She might need help to crank the box (as the crank is small and it can be awkward) but she could punch the notes on the paper independently.
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A food box from universalyums.com
you could also just go the weird route (“I’m thinking of you and thought these items would bring a smile to your face; who knew you could buy this stuff from Amazon?!!!?”) .... bacon themed box , all things smiley-face, etc.
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What if you put it on a loop schedule? For week/assignment 1, we will focus our editing on sentences to use strong word choices. For Week/assignment 2 we will work to improve our paragraphs’ topic sentences. For week 3, we will work on adding strong phrases to our sentences. For week 4, we will work on strong supporting sentences within our paragraphs .... etc.
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2 hours ago, Amoret said:
I think that if my kids were that reluctant and were missing the mark by such a degree that I didn't know where to begin with helping them to revise, I would rethink what I am asking them to do. I would spend a lot of time thinking about what I want them to learn in terms of writing and how I could best engage their interest and play to their strengths in order to achieve those ends.
This.
It does sound like a daunting task for you to pick and choose what to focus on in such a big assignment. So maybe break it into smaller chunks before having the kid put it all together. In other words, don’t worry about the organization of the paper; don’t worry about the paragraph construction; just focus on making good sentences. Once they master that, concentrate on paragraph organization and focus. Once paragraphs can be constructed well then concentrate on how to organize these well written paragraphs. And so on. This is what I’m doing this school year and the results are still to be seen. But at least I’m not ruining our relationship over editing writing assignments, and I’m assuming we are making some forward progress on it writing journey.
Killgallon’s sentence composing and paragraph books may be helpful. They have the student observe the “masters” and learn what makes it such a good sentence. Then the student imitates those good things. And eventually creates their own imitation of the masters. Lots can be done orally. It’s one of my “keeper” curriculum choices.
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If your son is dyslexic, then I’d look at outsourcing lessons for the other kids before “outsourcing” lessons for the dyslexic. The dyslexic is going to need the personalized attention that a computer cannot provide.
You asked about holes to fill, but it’s difficult to identify holes without more information. Is he solid and fluent on what he’s learned in AAR? How’s his phonemic awareness (David Kilpatrick argues that we do not teach phonemic awareness to the level that we should, and this we have struggling readers.)
I’d be tempted to ease up on spelling and use that time and brain power to work on reading instead.
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4 minutes ago, Farrar said:
I firmly have come to believe that the ones kids make on those little looms are the best kind. They're so nice and thick and never wear out. They're way better than the fabric ones I've bought. I hate the silicone. Last year, I actually pulled that thing out and made a bunch with all the leftover loops because mine were all nasty from years of use.
I needed some new potholders too, so I bought looms for the kids to weave while I read aloud this school year. I thought this would be a win-win, but one kid REALLY enjoyed the activity and now I have potholders galore!! I’m waiting for said kid to catch on to my hints that family members would enjoy some potholders of their own.
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30 minutes ago, Bambam said:
When I bought the Cruisinart Griddler, and we started making paninis vs. sandwiches, happiness with eating paninis >>> happiness with eating sandwiches. Why? No clue. It really is just a warmed up squashed sandwich.
Haha. I was wondering if buying a Griddler would have this effect. If nothing else, it would be one less meal I have to hear complaints about since they made it themselves. But the-one-more-kitchen-appliance factor stopped me from proceeding. Maybe in light of your evidence I should reconsider ......
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- hard boiled eggs
- baked potato (made in the microwave or (if I'm on top of things) in the crockpot)
- bagged salad, sometimes fancy bags or if plain, then they could add croutons (when we went to DIY lunches, I decided to pay a bit more for some convenience foods or out of season veg that would be easier for the kids to manage - I think it's been worth it.)
my non-sandwich lovers can sometimes be bribed into eating it if it is accompanied by some kind of chip they love. In other words, "you can only have Doritos when you eat a sandwich . If you choose something other than sandwich, that's perfectly fine, but you don't get chips with your lunch." but I usually try to have leftovers available for my non-sandwich lovers.
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It’s a setting. You can choose to have it available or not from your profile page.
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1 hour ago, lulalu said:
Yes, I actually do this all the time.
After listening to a spelling talk by Mr. Puweda I started having ds spell words aloud forward and backwards. It has helped his spelling a lot.
Same here. We use it a lot here to keep the image in their mind.
I heard about it via Dianne Craft. I think she also suggests to have them visualize the word above them so that their eyes are upward. I also have my kids tap those imaginary letters above them ..... I don’t know if that’s her idea or my modification to try and use the whole body.
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38 minutes ago, maize said:
Two of my younger kids are working with Chinese tutors on Preply; they have lots of language options and price points.
I’ve never heard of Preply; why did you choose Preply over other options?
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33 minutes ago, Calizzy said:
I would love to do an Asian or Russian history study since these are often missed in more Western based curriculum. Does anyone know of one?
Russian History - No personal experience, but Professor Carol offers a course
Asian -
- Farrar's GPS curriculum has an Asian unit
- Oxford University Press has an Ancient China book and Ancient SE Asia book (Each textbook has a corresponding teacher manual and a student workbook.)
- Great Courses has some courses, but I would not classify these as fun history by themselves
...BUT if you thought getting through a cycle was tough in one year, studying Chinese History could have you covering 5000 years of history in one school year. (Just sayin' .... from a BTDT perspective that I didn't have until I was committed to the plan and knee deep in planning.) 😛
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Sometimes, too, there will be a book on eBay sold by thrift.books but not listed on the thriftbooks website.
Also, I’ve found bookfinder less and less helpful since it was bought by Amazon or eBay or some other big name.
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We, too, took 1-7th to get through the 4 cycles. 😆
ProfessorCarol.com has Discovering Music and other musical history classes.
Other non-music based ideas that I had:
- You could pick and choose books from the Oxford University Press’s Ancient World Series if you wanted to start in on cycle 1.
- history of the country of your ancestors
- church history
- history of science
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ETA: cultures of the world
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1 hour ago, lulalu said:
I just want to get school work done so I can move on to other things, and not need to be over ds all the time.
Just a comment about what you said above .... this is often how I feel, especially when I need to school multiple kids. However I’ve come to realize that this thinking on my part also feeds into the poor dynamics and impatience that evolves.
I am no expert on this topic, rather I’ve tried lots of things and failed, but I found that things flowed best when *I* didn’t feel pressured by the clock. When *I* allotted sufficient time for breaks and getting school work done or when *I* lowered my expectations for what school work had to be done.
another idea: plan on morning school and afternoon school where the schooling starts right after you’re done eating. This way there can be an expected long break for the kid but the start time is also known and is unlikely to get pushed aside for some other task.
another idea (did I mention I’ve tried lots?): create a music playlist for X minutes and when the music is up then break is up. Then the kid might be able to know that song XYZ means break is nearly over. You could also do this for independent study times and instrumental music, but iirc you have a younger child who’s probably doing mostly 1-on-1 work with you.
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There are seasons of life where we’ve done the pomodoro technique with decent success .... 20 or 25 min work + 5 min break. Once you do this cycle 3-4 times, then take a longer break (20-25 min). There are free apps that can time and pace you.
other seasons of life we’ve done 45 min work + 15 min break. (Or 50/10)
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Could you do Shakespeare as a family? Read through some retellings until you find one that resonates with everyone. Then go through the original text of the chosen play and have your olders read the parts dramatically.
ETA: I don’t have quite the same span of ages as you do, but bribery with snacks has worked well this year to keep the youngest at the table and content.
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I imagine you could dig through her blog and find resources. http://www.ordo-amoris.com
or listen to her Mason Jar podcasts.
But I think these will just help you form/add to your own morning time rather than following someone else’s plan.
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Have you posted them here?!?
Someone recently titled their FS post “hive favorites” and thought that was a smart idea. Favorite items here may not be as popular outside the hive.
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Everyone has given you lots to think about. But I think your DH has a valid point that you’ll want your current house closer to “ready to sell” condition when/if the perfect property pops up. I don’t think your research and his fix-it-up efforts have to be a linear process but can easily be done in parallel.
With so many factors to consider in the perfect property, it would be a shame to miss the opportunity because your current house isn’t ready to go.
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Thanks to the gift guide from The Kid Should See This, I found this puzzle last night: https://www.creativecrafthouse.com/safecracker-50-puzzle-2-tone-maple-cherry-premium-model.html
(All websites linked in this post are dangerous for your pocketbook or free time.)
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No advice here. I just wanted to say that that is beautiful handwriting! Kudos to your kiddo and to you for all the work, patience and perseverance you’ve put in!
ETA: what copywork book is that? I like the idea of it using Potter.
What do transcripts look like for elementary and middle school?
in General Education Discussion Board
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