Quarter Note
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Posts posted by Quarter Note
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"Light but not too cheesy" might be very subjective, but in addition to the ones mentioned earlier, you may also want to consider these:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Any of the All Creatures Great and Small books by James Herriot.
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Thank you to all of you! I'll definitely take the Xanax. I feel much better about going through with this procedure since you all chimed in with your advice. The MRI is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. I'll make sure to update afterwards!
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7 minutes ago, Alte Veste Academy said:
I am not claustrophobic. I've never had a problem with small spaces or any medical procedure. But a few different things about the upside down breast MRI just about sent me over the edge. I almost hit the escape button a half dozen times, and the only reason I didn't was to save myself from having to go in again. I'm not telling you my story to make you nervous, but to help you avoid my biggest stupid mistake. LOL Because I have dense tissue, I'm supposed to have an MRI every year. I'm due again now and I'm not worried because I know what to expect, and I will definitely have DH drive me and ask for a Xanax.
I do not sleep on my stomach (that habit was broken in my first pregnancy, lol), so I did find that position uncomfortable and awkward. But two other things made it particularly terrible for me. One is that I run hot all the time, so I should have known better, but because the room was FREEZING, I accepted when they offered me a blanket. Well things warm up quickly, and I ended burning up the whole time I was in the MRI, about half an hour. I ended up sweating so much. The worst thing though—made worse because I was so hot—was that the face donut didn't open up completely to fresh air at the bottom. There was a plastic tray(?) below it, and I was basically rebreathing all my hot air the whole time I was in the machine.
Here is a video of what to expect at a breast MRI.
Next time I will not use a blanket, and I might even see if they can pipe an oxygen tube into the face opening. Honestly, if they could blow fresh, cool air in there, that would probably be enough. Or who knows, maybe without being on fire, the rebreathing problem isn't so much of a problem. 🤣
Best of luck the day of and best of luck for great results!
Thank you so much for all this great advice! I'm sorry that you had to go through such an awful time, though. I'll definitely think of these things when I go in to see if I can avoid them.
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2 hours ago, Condessa said:
Ask if they have movie goggles at any location near you. At the hospital where my son gets his MRIs every three months, he spends his 1.5 hour scans watching a movie with the goggles and headphones. But the hospital system has only one location in the region with the goggles, so we always book for that location. It is (understandably) in high-demand, so we have to book far out and sometimes go in on a weekend or later in the night. But so long as he’s got the movie going, he can manage without anesthesia.
Pretty sure that they don't offer the movie goggles. Earphones were the only thing that was mentioned, and it would probably be hard to keep goggles from falling off or fitting in the little face opening on the table. But thank you for the suggestion - I hope that it helps someone else!
I hope that your son's MRIs get better and better every time!
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Just now, itsheresomewhere said:
The place I went to gives you ear protection to reduce the noise and pipes in music. I let the guy know I might get nervous and he was fantastic. Told me he was going to give me his own personal playlist for nervous patients. It was a hilarious mix of rap from the 80s to a symphony piece. Just let them know when you go.
I want that guy as my tech!
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2 minutes ago, Arcadia said:
I think most places do not have any CD players. Mine told me to bring my own music selection on MP3 player. Also they can play the radio. So I could ask them to play the 80s channel or classical music channel.
See, that just shows how out of touch I am. I still think of CDs as current technology. I don't even have an MP3 player. 😉
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2 minutes ago, KSera said:
They give you a button like you have in a hospital bed that you can push with your thumb at any point if you need some thing. I had to do that once for a reason unrelated to claustrophobia and it was fine. They just brought me out. I think it’s helpful just knowing that that’s an option.
Oh, that would make all the difference! Thank you for letting me know!😀
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Thank you all! I should have added more info: I know that I can not bring in my own CDs. I already asked the office staff because I thought that an audiobook or a nice long symphony would make the time fly. It's also a closed machine. My husband and kids will come.
Thank you all for the encouragement!
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Update 2/23: Thank you all for your encouragement, everyone! It went fine. I asked for the Xanax (though I don't think I will need it again next time), and asked them to put the classical music station through the headphones (hoping with all my heart that the station wasn't in the middle of The Philip Glass Hour or something like that!) As it was, the MRI machine was so loud that I couldn't hear the music at all. Next time I won't bother with music but ask for both earplugs and headphones. The hardest thing was that for the first few minutes I was breathing so deeply (to calm myself) that it was interfering with getting a good image. It was hard to breath shallowly for that long!
Special thanks to @Alte Veste Academy for the link to the breast MRI video. It helped a lot! (And I now know exactly what you were talking about when you mentioned the plastic tray underneath your face.)
And more special thanks to @Katy. The Xanax made me pretty dizzy, too, but your warning prepared me for it.
Now, on to the breast surgeon for the next step!
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Hello everyone. My first breast MRI is scheduled for early next week, and the nurse wants me to think through if I will need an anti-anxiety medication (Xanax) ahead of time or not. I don't think that I have claustrophobia, but I've never been stuck in an MRI machine before, and am a little scared of having a trapped feeling while inside (particularly since I'll be face down - that seems uncomfortable). I've also never had an anti-anxiety medication before, so I don't have any idea if it will actually help or not.
Would any of you give me your experience?
Many thanks!
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On 2/13/2022 at 11:36 AM, wendyroo said:
We do all memory work in Anki.
Art:
- Terminology (ie Chiaroscuro, Social Realism, etc)
- Famous Works of Art (title, artist, style/genre)English:
- Grammar
- Literary Terms
- Spelling (Most common misspellings)
- Poetry and Speech Memorization
- Vocabulary
- Words
- Greek/Roman Roots
- Idioms
- Latin PhrasesGeography:
- US States (identification, capitals, abbreviations)
- Canadian Provinces (identification, capitals)
- Countries of the World (identification, capitals)
- Rivers, Lakes and Seas of the World
- Famous Landmarks of the World
- Languages of the World (identify the dozen most common languages by sight and sound)Logic:
- Logical FallaciesMath:
- Decimal Equivalents of Common Fractions
- Conversions
- Convenient reference measurements
- Common Formulas
- Prime numbers up to 100
- Common Cubes
- Algebraic and Geometric Laws
- Factorizations
- SI Prefixes
- Exponent Rules
- Geometric DefinitionsMusic:
- Terminology (ie Sonata, Diminished Chord, etc)
- Famous Works of Music (title, composer, style/genre)
- Tons of Music Theory (key signatures, musical notation, etc) - Only the 8 year old
- Ear Training (identifying intervals and chords) - Only the 8 year oldProgramming:
- Python definitions and functionsSafety:
- Family members' full names and birthdays
- Address
- Important phone numbers (mine, DH's, grandparents', etc)
- Kitchen Safety Rules
- Poison Ivy identificationScience:
- Life Science
- Taxonomy
- Features of each biological Kingdom
- Anatomy
- Biology definitions
- Bird Identification (by sight and sound)
- Cloud identification
- Flower identification
- Geology
- Rock identification
- Types of Rocks and how they are made
- Periods of Geological Time
- Periodic Table
- Space
- Planets of the Solar System
- Moons of the Solar SystemSocial Studies:
- Presidents
- Holidays
- Government and ConstitutionSpanish:
- Easier Vocabulary (ala Fluent Forever, meaning they are shown a picture and need to produce the Spanish)
- Harder Vocabulary (ala Fluent Forever, meaning they are given the definition in Spanish and need to produce the word) - Only the 12 year old so far
- Idioms and sayings - Only the 12 year old so far
- Conjugations
- GrammarWendy, sometimes a "like" isn't enough. Your list is amazing!
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From my son to your son, "That's pretty cool!"
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On 1/19/2022 at 6:46 PM, WTM said:
My DD was angry much of the time over the last few years. This year has been much better, I think because we got a diagnosis and I better understand how to help him. Also, I learned (as @prairiewindmomma pointed out) that I needed to care for myself. When I was tired or lonely, I had no extra margin to deal with the kids moods, etc. I hope you're able to find a way to get some of that time or space for yourself.
Hugs, hugs, and hugs.
Is it possible to change the output of any of the subjects to be something in your child's "preferred" area? For example, DS's thing is coding, so for history, he's coding a timeline. All his narrations go into his timeline, so they feel less like schoolwork, and a little like something he's doing for his own interest. Is there anything like that that might enhance the "enjoyment factor" for your kids?
Thank you very much, WTM! I really appreciate the virtual hugs. It's so good to know that I'm not alone. I think that you and prairiewindmomma are right - I've been running on an empty patience-tank for a while.
I love your idea of coding for output! I'll talk to my husband and son and see if we can brainstorm a way to take this idea and make it work for us.
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On 1/19/2022 at 5:02 PM, Spirea said:
We did abandon most of MP and wow, it's like a vacation, school is so much better!
Wow - that's telling! I know that some families love MP, but no curriculum can be right for everyone.
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On 1/19/2022 at 4:43 PM, Green Bean said:
I have 2 SN (ASD) sons and what prairie said is true. Both were absolutely nightmares at those ages. It does get better around 16. Until then, major hugs and come share in the SN board.
Thanks for the encouragement to hold on and for the hugs, Green Bean! I do spend time on the SN Board, just haven't posted in a while.
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On 1/19/2022 at 3:20 PM, prairiewindmomma said:
FWIW, just as an aside tidbit for thought....5th grade was when things got rough with one of my own SN boys. Some early hormones flowing through him definitely contributed to some of the tension. I eventually got to the point I enrolled him in public school a couple of years later. I really wrestled with my own identity at that point--I knew I could homeschool him and educate him better than public school could, but I also know that my role as his loving mother was getting steamrolled by the hat I had to wear as his teacher. Our relationship is better now that he is in public school and in retrospect, I probably should have enrolled him a few years earlier. Ultimately he needed me as mom way more than he needed me as his teacher.
Philosophically, I really believe in the benefits of homeschooling, but in reality, as a real mom dealing with real kids, I have kids who I homeschool and kids who go off to public school and everyone is happier for it. My son also has easier access to a lot of transitional services as he moves into adulthood because he has a public school IEP.
I just want to share that because we don't do a great job as SN moms of talking about some of the very real grind we go through....and if someone hasn't shared about how difficult 10-12 is for SN kids, I wanted to give you a heads up....it's not you, it's them. 🙂
Oh, prairiewindmomma, you understand! Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. We have often considered public school for him, but it never feels like it's quite the right decision. We're taking everything year by year, though.
What I love about this forum (that I can't find in real life) is that those of us who are moms of neurodiverse kids can all commiserate: Our kids can be wonderful, talented, bright, loving, generous, cuddly... and HARD all at the same time! And we love them like crazy, despite how hard there are.
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20 hours ago, Noreen Claire said:
Looking ahead to next year, DS12 is very interested in taking Music History & Appreciation though the WTMA. (He's currently taking a different course there and is familiar/comfortable with the platform.) It's a one-semester course, and I was wondering if anyone knows of similar course that would be focused on NON-western music traditions? Or, alternately, if there are any other online/video music history courses that would include both western & non-western traditions that a musically-inclined, advanced 8th grader could handle?
This is a question that I have looked into in the past. I have not found any school-aged program that adequately addresses non-western music. There's a reason for this: Non-Western music is different from Western music on very, very fundamental levels in the organization of melody, harmony, and rhythm. It would be hard to do it justice in the same course.
What I've tried to do has been to expose my kids a little bit on my own, just with YouTube videos and the like. (One important caution to be on the lookout for: Much pop music coming from non-Western areas of the world is really based on the framework of Western music, just stretched a little bit to sound "local".) But even for me as an adult with a keen interest in the physics of music, since I've been steeped in triadic harmony and simple rhythmic meters all my life, it's hard to wrap my mind around the organization of non-Western music.
Good luck!
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13 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:
I have kids with SN also. I would often go walking at 6 am, before dh left for work at 7am. I think there is a tendency for SN moms to not get out and take care of our own needs, and if we aren't self-regulated and in good health then we aren't at our best to help our kids. Physical exercise helps us deal with our cortisol levels and if we have high cortisol levels for long periods of time (much like the chronic stress of parenting SN kids, it makes us prone to have weight gain as the years go on. I'm two decades into SN parenting at this point--I really wish someone had been blunt about this aspect early on.
Thank you, Prairiewindmomma! You know what it's like, then! Thank you for the reminder about taking care of our own health. You are absolutely right! My main exercise during the winter is our rebounder. At least with that I can stay at home while exercising.
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The Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters. I'm not a fan of mysteries, but I do love stepping into a medieval English monastery every time I pick one of these books up. The language is beautiful, too.
(For anyone who is intrigued, start with book #2, One Corpse Too Many. The first book has a completely different flavor, and some of the best series-long characters are introduced in book #2.)
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@Spirea, I know that Christmas is long over, but I thought of this thread when we discovered this beautifully illustrated version of Around the World in Eighty Days. (Sorry that the link is only to Alibris and you can't see the cover. The ISBN is 0304317691.) The illustrations are relevant 19th century paintings, drawings, photographs, and postcards. (I never knew that Edward Lear was also an artist!) We got it from the library, but we may seek out buying this book ourselves, it's so fascinating!
(I'm not sure how familiar you are with this novel, but I wouldn't feel right not warning that there are some attitudes reflected in the language that we don't hold in the 21st century anymore. For all that, we love the book as a great adventure story.)
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Sorry I was away from this thread, everyone. I realize now that I should have just trusted my gut: There was nothing wrong school-wise.
Sometimes being Mom is harder than being Teacher.
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On 12/22/2021 at 10:35 AM, Garga said:
But overall, I understand that you can’t relax until you are out of reach from each other. I do the same thing. When my house is empty, something inside of me relaxes that is always tense whenever someone is home. It’s kinda dramatic the sense of relaxation I feel when my house is empty compared to when it isn’t.
@Garga, you understand! Thank you!
On 12/22/2021 at 12:56 PM, Clemsondana said:These mini-breaks seem to help.
Thank you for your understanding, @Clemsondana!
On 12/23/2021 at 8:40 AM, Spirea said:We are using a lot of MP this year and dd is doing Famous Men of Greece. It's working ok because they can work independently and I think it's good depth of learning. However, every lesson is the same format (which could be an advantage because they always know what's required) and always has vocab dictionary searches and both my kids hate that part. I generally have to tell them definitions because they balk at it. It is a lot of writing. I gave up on having them answer everything in complete sentences because it is so much and takes too long. If you're just doing a couple subjects, maybe this won't be an issue, but it is very time consuming to grade all the workbooks. If you really need a semester escape, how about some video classes where you can just be completely hands off?
A real break/vacation with time away sounds amazing. I've never had a night away from my kids, except at the hospital delivering babies.
Thank you for your experience with MP, @Spirea. I'm with you on wanting a real vacation, too.
On 12/30/2021 at 5:21 PM, prairiewindmomma said:I very very very highly recommend noise canceling headphones...for mom. I need an auditory break from my kids.
I also highly recommend mom going for a walk and leaving the kids at home. Getting some sunshine and exercise away from the home is helpful.
I also have a no tolerance policy for bickering. If someone needs to be grumbly, they can do it by themselves in their room. I don't need to hear it. When my older kids were your kids' ages, I had punishment time in the form of chores. There are the chores that we all have to do because we are family members, but if someone was being super obnoxious they got to pull weeds, clean baseboards and light fixtures, and do extra things. Those were things that typically came out of my time budget of work when we deep cleaned.
On a more serious note, keep an eye out on emotional health....for everyone. If you think you've got some low level depression showing up as anger (in any household member), this time of year it's worth using a therapy light, taking some extra vitamin D, and seeking help if it doesn't resolve in a few weeks.
Hi @prairiewindmomma. Your suggestions are great, but one thing that I didn't mention at the beginning is that the angry kid has an ASD diagnosis. I can't go for a walk and leave the kids at home themselves. The usual consequences just don't work. But I hope that your suggestions help someone else in this situation.
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Sorry, everyone. I realize now that this is not a "General Education Discussion Board" question. It's just about trying to get Mom a restorative break from the challenges of parenting.
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On 12/20/2021 at 3:34 PM, caffeineandbooks said:
What about a "micro break"? The days when I send each kid to their own room for an hour after lunch I notice an immediate feeling of relief in myself. If they're separate, they can't argue and the noise level goes way down. I have been known to set the oven timer for an hour and leave instructions that when it goes off, they should get a snack and put on a video but that they should not come and see me before it finishes unless there is blood or smoke 🙂 Feeling like I have been away from them, even just for an hour or two, gives me what I need to come back and fully engage again. Otherwise I find myself existing in the same space, but not wanting to connect, just kind of phoning it in.
Caffeineandbooks, this is a great suggestion that I have tried often with my kids, but it doesn't work. They will find a way to yell through the walls. If I try to make them do something that they don't want to do, it doesn't result in peace for me. 😉 But I know your suggestion would be great for others.
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On 12/19/2021 at 8:20 PM, rocassie said:
I do feel like this sometimes too. Between being teacher and mom 24/7, I do need a rejuvenating break both from the teaching and the parent responsibilities as they go hand in hand for me.
If we can afford it, I will get a massage and go visit my BFF (who's out of town) or do a long weekend retreat away. This usually requires DH to take day(s) off work, but we have and agreement that 3 of his work vacation days were "mine" to have a "me vacation."
If I can't swing several days, either do to time or money, I still try and take a "me" day. I usually do things that I enjoy like a hike, meet a friend for coffee or lunch, go to the library, visit the art museum, take a fun class, walk around and window shop in a cute downtown, read a book in the park, etc. Occasionally DH will take the kids for a weekend visit with his family while I stay home to a quiet and empty house.
On 12/19/2021 at 8:55 PM, Frances said:I agree with all of this. In addition to doing things on my own or with friends, my husband always took our son away for vacation for Spring Break. Starting at age 8, he also flew by himself to spend time with our families in the Midwest for several weeks each summer. I’m sure the pandemic is making all of this harder, but I think breaks for homeschooling moms are critical for everyone’s sanity.
Rocassie and Frances, thank you for understanding! I realize that I really can't let out my breath with relief unless my kids are absolutely out of earshot from me. Your breaks away from your kids sound heavenly.
Deeper, open-minded homeschool curriculum
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
@hordol, just want to chime in with the others: You will be surprised what a broad spectrum of choices are out there when you start looking. You can find or make your choices work for you, rather than the other way around.
First of all, have you read The Well-Trained Mind? (I know you're here on this forum, but some people join the forum without actually reading the book!) If not, start there. If you would like some specific curriculum recommendations, just say so - and we will inundate you. 😉
About your extraverted child, my daughter is the most extraverted person I know! We find ways for her to be homeschooled and to hang out with other kids her age - and we do not live in a big population center. There are ways for extraverted kids to be happily homeschooled.
Please don't give up on all co-ops. I like what @lmrich said - you can make your own. Before Covid, we had a co-op that we loved. There was a very wide range of Christian doctrine represented, but we all respected each other. There were a few hiccups, but I think that we all loved each other's kids so much that we wanted to work through those hiccups. All the kids became each other's cousins. We moms were all extra aunties. It can work well.
Best wishes to you!