AHASRADA
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Posts posted by AHASRADA
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We combined R&S 7 with LOF Decimals & Percents. I'm sure R&S 8 would be a good fit with LOF Pre-Alg., now that it is available.
This is a great combo, because they have totally opposite approaches. R&S provides the step by step, clear and straightforward mastery approach. LOF offers out-of-the-box problem solving that stretches the student's understanding and application of what was thoroughly explained and practiced in R&S.
HTH,
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The mom is smart . . . so there is no excuse. She aced college...She never missed a deadline in all of college or in her post college career.
Any time there is an external deadline, it's met with aplomb! Outside classes/activities? Deadlines met. Online classes? Deadlines met. Committments/obligations to friends and family? Deadlines met!
So why is it that when there is not external pressure to meet a deadline, they just can't be met?
Are you sure I'm not the friend in question? Oh yes, I have two dc, can't be me! :tongue_smilie:
Seriously, I think it is a personality issue. Some people are just more extrinsically motivated as opposed to intrinsically. This difference is starkly apparent in my home, where dh and dd are very self-motivated to "get the job done", just for the satisfaction and peace of mind of having it done. Ds and I, on the other hand, are the first ones to do a thorough, excellent job, as long as someone else has set the deadline and will be evaluating us. If no one else will notice/care/call us on it, it gets procrastinated until doomsday.
I would simply recognize and accept this aspect of your personality, and try to find ways to circumvent it. Find a way to make yourself accountable to an outside source. This could mean an umbrella or correspondence school, or another homeschool mom with whom you share your plans or agree to exchange student work for review and comment (preferably not a fellow-procrastinator). You could plan a desireable reward, such as a trip to a location related to your studies, that will only be valuable if you have actually completed the coursework leading up to the trip by the date scheduled, and make sure dh or another family member is aware of your plan and will help hold you to it.
You're not a bad mom or a bad homeschooler. You are just extrinsically motivated, and need to create those motivations in your homeschool in order to keep you on track.
HTH,
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We used FLL 1/2, which worked very well as a gentle approach to grammar at such a young age. However, when I ordered FLL3, I also promptly sold it, since it was too bulky and too much of the same. I didn't feel it had enough structure to it for that age.
We loved R&S 3, and have R&S 4 lined up for this year.
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I haven't been to any weddings lately, but my dd enjoys watching "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC. It is a bit flabbergasting that they can have 1,000+ different wedding dress styles, for all shapes, sizes and budgets, but no sleeves anywhere in sight :001_huh:. Very strange.
Even for those who aren't concerned with modesty (while I find that hard to imagine on such a sacred occasion attended by elderly relatives and respected family friends), not every woman's shape lends itself to wearing strapless dresses. Oh well :tongue_smilie:.
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Here is the best place I have found to purchase Pathway Readers:
http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Pathway_Readers/
They divide all the books by grade level, and show all the accompanying books, so you know what goes with what. They also have a lot of samples online, so you can get a good idea of what is included in each book.
We have used the readers alone (without any of the accompanying materials) as daily reading practice, but as a PP said, the workbooks, etc. aren't that expensive. After taking a look at the samples, you should be better equipped to decide if you need the complete set, just the readers, or some combination.
HTH,
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I'm so sorry, Kate. I know you just left recently after a summer visit home with your family. Did you discover your uncle's illness after you left? I know it must be terribly difficult, but at least you were able to be with your mom recently. Did you have a chance to see your uncle while you were back?
We have had a couple of experiences of "not getting around to" seeing certain distant relatives/close family friends during overseas visits, only to have that person pass away before the next trip, leading to terrible feelings of guilt and regret. We cannot see the future, and do the best we can in our circumstances, yet it is also a reminder to live everyday as if it were our (or their) last.
Thoughts and prayers to you and your family. :grouphug:
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I absolutely view homeschooling as my full-time job, not so much in hours per-se, but in priority.
I am actively teaching my kids for 5 hours per day, in addition to countless hours of curriculum research and planning. I definitely spend as much time teaching and planning our homeschooling as I did teaching and preparing lessons as a salaried ps teacher.
That said, even if I didn't put in "full-time" hours, I consider homeschooling my "full-time" as in "top priority/1st commitment" job. Everything else: housework, cooking, my paid tutoring sessions and helping dh with his work, all come 2nd.
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Top rack! And I throw it out when it gets that white scabby lookin' stuff on it.
Same here. I actually find that it is much more difficult to get grease, odors and stains (especially spaghetti sauce!) out of plastic by handwashing than other materials, but the dishwasher does the trick.
I always pre-rinse everything going into the dishwasher, to the point that there is not a single trace of food left on anything (afraid of something getting baked on in there!), so my purpose in using the dishwasher is for sanitizing, as well as removing oil and odors. This is of greatest concern with plastic.
I do not re-heat in plastic, but never thought much about the chemical issue with the dishwasher.
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Romaine and baby spinach, mostly. Once in a while we're bad and use iceburg in a mixed salad, but these are what we all like and agree on (in addition to cabbage for coleslaw, of course, but that's not exactly green :001_smile:).
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I would recommend Winston Grammar as well. There is also a program done by Sonlight called Grammar Ace, which uses the Schoolhouse Rock songs/cartoons on DVD to teach grammar concepts, along with a corresponding workbook. If you fear the act of writing might interfere with learning the grammar, you could always do the workbook orally. I know those Schoolhouse Rock songs really stick (I still remember many from my childhood) and have been very helpful to my dyslexic dd.
HTH,
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Yes. My dad is also a former firefighter. He and my mom never leave the house with the crockpot on, and always unplug both the coffee pot and the toaster as well. They also don't leave the dishwasher, washing machine or drier unattended. I, on the other hand, do all of these ;). In my opinion, my life is too busy and time too short to babysit appliances that are supposed to be a convenience. Yes, something could go wrong, but I won't be inconvenienced everyday on the off chance something malfunctions. After all, that's what insurance is for :).
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Dh's sisters are wonderful. Their entire family is extremely close, and while they each have their own personalities, of course, they all have a bit of whatever quality it is that makes dh so amazing, so I love them all. They are caring, not intrusive, non-judgemental, tell-it-like-it-is people, so we get along very well, particularly the sil who is only 1 year older than I and has similar-aged kids.
Dh's brothers' wives, on the other hand...well, we get along fine. Unfortunately, they are much more of the "keeping up with the Joneses" type, very concerned with their image, how successful their kids are in the "system", amassing symbols of wealth and prestige, etc. There is also a decent amount of passive-aggressive, manipulative behavior, toward their husbands as well as the rest of the family. We see each other reasonably often at family get-togethers, are cordial and friendly, and always do our duty in helping each other in any way when can when appropriate, but we have nothing in common on which to base a deep friendship. Oh, well. Could be worse ;).
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I also have a lot of experience with Arabic-speaking moms calling their daughters "Mama", or not so much *calling* them Mama, but adding it as a little afterthought of endearment when telling them they can't do something, or gently asking them to stop doing something, if they're injured and making them feel better, etc. Basically used when speaking in sweet, gentle, comforting tones; it's not something they would yell across the room or anything.
I have even come across a few of these women who do the same to their boys :confused:. That always sounded really strange to me, but I am assuming the women are just repeating what they heard from their mothers, not thinking about the meaning (calling a boy "mama").
As for calling a child "sexy", that is just disgusting. We don't even use that word in our house, ever, for anyone or anything. Commenting on anyone's physical attractiveness in that way is inappropriate and unacceptable in our family, period. You know the Swiffer commercials, where the broom gets kicked out but finds another "friend" in a feather duster or whatever, and they start playing the song in the background, "Who's that lady?...Sexy lady.."? Well, my dd either changes the channel or one of us starts talking over it. The word just makes us all uncomfortable. So, we'd be in for a major culture shock if someone we knew addressed their children this way.
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I don't think a one month ban is too long. And, if the PSP is broken, I think that the 6yo should lose for a very very long time the ds. At least as long as the 12yo has to wait to have the PSP replaced. In our house the ds would also go to the 12 yo so he can have games to play in the meantime and the 6yo would have none.
If I was upset enough I would also find a law that fits this - like malicious vandalism - and explain what can happen if he does this to someone outside of the family - fines, jail terms, etc. What he did is a big deal and I would make a big deal out of it in a matter of fact way using real consequences that have big impact.
:iagree: Yes, this.
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Thanks for the encouragement and caution on this subject. I will soon have a baby who is almost 11 years younger than my youngest, and I've been trying not to worry too much about this issue, but it is always there in the back of my mind. My dd10 is thrilled to have a baby sister to care for and play with, but I'm sure once the "baby" is an annoying toddler, and she is a young teen, she won't be so excited to have her tagging along all the time. Still, she told me the other day that it's a good thing she is homeschooled, otherwise she would miss out on so much of her baby sister's life, being gone all day, etc. What a great kid!
This leaves me wondering about the "only child" and "estranged sibling" phenomena in relation to homeschooling. I was an only child, and loved it. My mom and I were extremely close, and it was such a relief to come home to my serene escape from the insanity of the kids at school. However, I am wondering if a homeschooled only child would feel lonely and isolated? Certainly the "school" aspect would go more smoothly, but what about when mom needs to do other things (chores, cooking) and there's no sibling to hang out with? I remember nagging my mom to play with me and being insulted that she would "rather" do chores than spend time with me (not realizing, of course, that she had no choice).
On the other hand, I would suspect that perhaps the lack of closeness between older and younger siblings might be less of an issue in a homeschooling family, precisely because of spending so much time together. As my dd said, if she were at school all day, caught up with her friends drama, etc., she wouldn't be as big a part of her baby sister's life.
BTW, my dh has a sister who is 12 years younger than him (there are 4 siblings close in age, and the baby is 8 years younger than the elder youngest, KWIM?) They all played with and adored their baby sister, and while dh moved away when she was 6 and wasn't around much while she was growing up, he still loved and spent time with her when he could. Now that they are both adults, they are very close, talking on Skype for an hour at a time, laughing hysterically and sharing thoughts and dreams. I think it is their personalities that mesh well, despite the age difference, and the fact that their family has a "culture of closeness" in general.
So, I am hopeful, and cautious, that my kids will all be close in their own way, and that the baby won't be a lonely "only child" when the big kids move on :sad:.
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There must be something about 4 year olds, because when my ds was 4, he made a somewhat embarassing comment. We were walking home from getting ice cream, and there were two young Asian gentlemen who came up behind us. Upon seeing them, ds asks, "Are they going to do 'Ya, goosh!"? (Ya, goosh! being his immitation of karate chopping!) We were taken aback, but relieved that he didn't make any karate gestures along with his comment, so they likely didn't know what he meant, although we did. Once we got over our initial embarrassment, we realized that he and his dad had been watching Jackie Chan movies quite a bit, and that most of his exposure to Asian people was through these movies. He was making a perfectly logical assumption based on his limited experience and exposure. We just told him that not all people who look like Jackie Chan do karate, and in fact people of any color can learn karate. BTW, he has now been studying karate himself for 4 years ;).
I agree with not freaking out about it. If your family makes it clear in your everyday words and deeds that racism is not only abhorrent but illogical, I don't think you have anything to worry about.
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Dh is napping, the kids are playing Wii, I'm checking the boards, avoiding starting dinner. How's that for excitement?
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Considering we only have basic cable (no HGTV, no History Channel, no Discovery, which I'm sure would take up most of my viewing time if we had them)...
Most anything on TLC:
Hoarders (never miss, love it! Makes me feel better about my mess!)
Cake Boss (so adorable and hilarious, plus the cakes are amazing!)
19 Kids (sweet homeschooling family, cute and funny)
I also never miss an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I just love seeing deserving families get their dream home.
If I'm visiting someone with cable, I watch HGTV almost exclusively ;).
These are *my* "must-see" shows. If I decide to keep dh company while he watches *his* shows, these are the ones I somewhat enjoy:
The Mentalist
Criminal Minds
House
Yes, he watches all the CSIs, but I'm sick to death of them myself.
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My parents and I live in different countries, but that happens to be only 2 hours apart! I talk to my mom for about an hour 4-5 times per week, and see her in person at least one weekend per month. We also spent 2 weeks on vacation with them at a cottage on the lake in July. When we lived only 10 miles apart, we talked on the phone (slightly) less, but saw each other in person more, probably 3-4 times per week. I am an only child, my mom and I basically grew up together and have always been best friends. We comprise the majority of her "family" and she lives for my kids. We are sensitive to her emotional need to stay in close contact, and she supports our parenting in any way she can. It's a great arrangement.
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Hmm, this thread is eye-opening. When I was a teen babysitter in the late 80s/early 90s, I was paid $5 an hour for 1 or 2 kids. They were usually pretty easy gigs like the one the OP described. I realize that was a long time ago now, but I thought $7/hour sounded reasonable (I guess I was thinking $1 increase for each decade, LOL!)
I would think a young teen with limited experience should charge less than, say, a college student or young adult. I agree the best idea would be to ask around your local area among people in a similar income bracket to find the going rate.
I'm just extremely grateful that I have never, ever needed to hire a babysitter. When my kids were very little, my mom watched them any time I needed to go out without them. Since we moved away and they were no longer babies/toddlers, we just took them everywhere and only had time out alone when visiting family who could stay with them. Now that ds is old enough to babysit, we regularly leave them home alone to go to appointments, errands, etc. during the day, but it still doesn't seem necessary to leave them home alone in the evening just so we can go out and "have fun" without them. We still reserve those "date nights" for our visits to the grandparents.
I will definitely be filing away the babysitting rate info. for the benefit of my own kids doing the babysitting!
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So if you deck yourself out in something that covers most of you but draws a lot of attention, you may want to revisit why exactly you're dressing the way you are.
Thank you for explaining this concept of "too modest". I find it interesting. I suppose it is possible for a woman to dress in such a way as to purposefully draw attention to her modest dress. However, I don't feel this is often the case. If a person's standard of modesty is in such conflict with that of the society she finds herself in, no matter how hard she may try to "blend in", she will always stand out, by virtue of being more modest than the majority. She is not trying to call attention to herself, but she has to choose between lowering her standards and breaking her principles in order not to appear "different", or accept that she will attract a bit of attention through her modesty, while maintaining her convictions.
If we were suddenly transported to a remote village where women wore long skirts but were topless, those of us with a standard of modesty that does not allow for that style of dress would do our best to fit in, wearing similarly styled and colored clothing, for example, but with a top. Yes, we would stand out, perhaps even draw attention to ourselves, but that bit of attention would be preferable to going topless in order to fit in.
I believe most women who would wear these suits would do so out of true beliefs, not to "show off" how modest they are, but that's just me.
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I don't keep any bank statements or bills beyond a year. Taxes (and the kids' test scores, of course ;)) are the only documents I keep forever.
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I usually try to stay away from these modesty threads, since they often turn ugly, but this one keeps popping up so fine, I'll post :).
No, I do not find these suits "too modest". I can't even imagine what "too modest" would mean. How can one be "too modest"? Strange concept.
Anyway, this is the type of suit my dd10 wears. I would wear one also, if I had the opportunity to swim in a private area with only my immediately family or other women. Since it doesn't completely cover the arms, legs and hair, I would not be wearing this suit in public.
BTW, I have had many women ask about my dd's suit, where I got it, etc. Their reasons range from being large ladies who want more coverage, to having a skin condition that precludes wearing a typical suit. Everyone thinks it's adorable, and no one has accused her of being "too modest."
My ds (and many boys/men) wear swimming trunks down to their knees, so there is no logical reason why girls/women have to expose their behinds and/or thighs in order to swim. Never got that :001_huh:.
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I do my best to keep curriculum expenses below $2000 per year (last year it was $1500--yeah!) for my 2 kids. I buy as much as I can used, and usually make back at least $500 from selling books we are finished with.
We probably spend another $1500 per year on karate, homeschool swim & gym, soccer, and a few fieldtrips.
If money weren't such an issue, I would probably spend more on on-line classes, and full enrollment for ds in an accredited distance learning program. Dream scenario: K12 for dd10, and either Oak Meadow or Laurel Springs for ds13. Since that could easily add up to $10K, I'm sticking with my somewhat moderate budget.
Here's WHY I want to loose the weight (6 lbs./week) so quickly....
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I agree with all the posters. You have two options: vow to adopt a healthy lifestyle (good nutrition and appropriate exercise), and either accept that you will not loose the weight until postpartum, or put off conceiving until you do so, but at a healthy rate and in a healthful method.
I have also let myself go terribly over the past 2 years. Lots of stress-related reasons for not finding the time or energy to exercise, until it seems like pushing a boulder to think about starting again, lack of exercise=lack of energy/motivation, and the vicious cycle continues.
I attempted to "get back on track" several times, but it only lasted about a week before I was back in my rut. I did conceive while overweight, and am trying not to gain a ton during my pregnancy, and am becoming more motivated to get back in shape after the baby is born. I'm not getting any younger, and waiting to get to my "perfect weight" before conceiving would have meant it would never have happened.
From past experience, I also realized that, after putting in all the hard work, sweat and committment it takes to get in shape, I would not have been willing to "throw that all away" on a pregnancy. Selfish, I know, but that's how deprivation affects me ;). So, since I was already fat and out of shape, how much more damage could the pregnancy do? At least I have an excuse to be fat for a few months :lol:. Once I have my beautiful baby in my arms, then I can worry about getting my body back (and pretending the excess weight was gained in martyrdom to produce this wonderful child, not because I was lazy the past 2 years)!
Best of luck with whichever option you choose, as long as it involves making healthy lifestyle changes.