Caribbean Queen
-
Posts
988 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by Caribbean Queen
-
-
Do not buy any special detergents. Save your money.
When your children take off their stained shirts in the evening, have them place the shirts in a basin of soapy water. Make sure the stained part is in the water. It doesn't matter what kind of detergent you use to make the water soapy.
When you are gathering clothes to wash, always check the basins. Squeeze water out of the shirts and put them in with your other laundry.
Wash your clothes the normal way. You do not need any special products. Cheap laundry detergent will work just fine.
You will not have stains. Stains do not set if the clothing is soaking.
-
I really do live in the Caribbean. We don't have squirrels or chipmonks or racoons, but we do have iguanas and other lizards. We also have wild parrots, although none live in my yard.
People here sometimes keep turtles as pets. We have one in our yard and we consider it a pet, although it is native and can take care of itself. Parrots are not popular pets, but there are a few people who keep them. They are noisy, messy and get unhappy being caged and their capture and transportation is often cruel, so I don't recommend you get a parrot either. We also have a couple pet goats. They are surprisingly good pets. They are quiet. They find their own food and you don't have to clean their poo if you give them enough room to roam in. Dogs and cats are popular pets. We have one of each. No one has an iguana as a pet here. No one. I think this says something about whether or not they are good pets.
-
We have iguanas living in our yard. They have long tails - like 5 feet long, or so. They like to climb trees. In order to give them a nice life, you would need a very, very large cage. You would have to search through the cage to find their little "iguana presents and clean that up. I have heard that their feces can carry salmanila (I don't know how to spell it) As far as I know, they don't do tricks. They aren't cuddly. I can not imagine it being very fun to hold a fully grown one. Their feet grip tree bark, so I would imagine it would not be comfy for them to grip you. Honestly, I think the novelty of having an exotic pet will wear off. I don't recommend them as pets.
On a more positve note, they eat many different plants so I don't think feeding them would be a problem. They are not aggressive. The ones that live near tourists will go right up to people hoping to be fed. The more 'wild' ones run away from people. When cornered by a dog, or something, they whip with their tail or bite. Any animal will defend itself, so I don't hold that against them. They are quiet.
-
You could try giving her a spot to sit on that is a few feet from the other children. You might need to mark the spot with tape to make it obvious to her where her spot it. Explain that since she has a hard time keeping her hands to herself, she will need to sit away from the other children. If you don't make too big of a deal of it, and put her closer to you than the other children, she will probably be pleased, rather than disapointed.
As for the caressing herself - Could speak quietly, directly, to her, and tell her what to do with her hands? "Fold your hands and put them in your lap." "Hold your book with both hands." or something like that.
If she still moves over to the other children, or touches herself, you could gesture to her with a stern expression on your face. Just pointing to her spot or folding your hands might get the point across.
-
three (there)
u (a)
sch (such)
theeng (thing)
im (am)
hnge (hungry)
ca (can)
et (eat)
liv (live)
noth (north)
poll (pole)
sumtheng (something)
inetheng (anything)
Thanks for any help evaluating this.
It looks good to me. He missed some vowels. Those vowels are tricky. He missed a few other sounds, but he is only starting first grade. He misspelled some words because he doesn't know all the spelling rules yet.
eat has a silent a because "when 2 vowels go a-walking the first one does the talking.
Pole and poll sound the same, but are spelled differently
Some (in something) and sum sound the same but are spelled differently
live has an e at the end because words in English don't end with v
You know what I do with my son? I have him try to say all the sounds (not letters) in a word. So can would be said c a n. Hungry would be said h u n g r e. We do this as a little game sometimes to help with phonemic awareness.
-
My son is mostly doing copywork, but he has done a little dictation. I just pick his copywork from our books. I resisted doing that for a while. I thought, "I don't know what to pick." Once I finally tried, it was easy. I keep all our books we use often on a certain shelf. I just go to the shelf and open one up and read any paragraph. I pick a part of that paragraph to use as copywork. Classic literature has beautiful sentences. You're bound to pick a good part.
One problem I thought I would have with picking a dictation passage is that the literature passages are too hard for my son to write. "Can someone give me the easy ones, please?" I thought. This is what I do to make it easier for my son:
When we do dication I search for a sentence I think he can spell. I let him see the sentence first. I may say, "I know you know how to spell "the, is, in..." You know the word "barbed" sounds like /B/ /aR/ /B/ /eD/. Remember "ar" is spelled a r? You will know that it ends in ed, right? Do you think you can spell that? Once you start trying to write the sentence I will let you take a peek at it once." This works for him. He writes the sentence I dictate.
-
Oops, I forgot to say what we read.
We start at the beginning of a book and read a chapter. The next day we read the next chapter. We read Genesis. It was great. Now we are on Exodus.
I have not gotten through Leviticus myself and I won't make him sit through it. I haven't planned exactly how we'll go through the old testament. I know he'll like to hear about David, Jonah, Daniel and other famous people.
I have read to him from Matthew before and he did not "get" the big ideas and metaphors like an adult. His narrations were iffy. A whole lot was going over his head. It seems to me that the New Testament requires more maturity to understand.
-
I read a chapter from the KJV and my 6 year old son narrates. His narration is usually retelling the passage. He does very well. Sometimes I let him draw a scene or make up a few questions to ask me. If he is lucky I ask him questions. That is easier for him than Charlotte Mason style narration.
He has listened to the New International Reader's Version before and I think that really helped him. It is a bit easier than the NIV. It is a very good Beginners Bible. It is not a Bible story book, but a Bible. I used to read him only the famous stories. We'd skip parts I thought would be boring or too graphic. Before we used the NIrV, he enjoyed story Bibles. We sang songs with actions. He has always paid close attention and enjoyed Bible Time.
My 4 and 2 year old are not able to understand the KJV. They do not even try to pay attention to it. They like story Bibles with pictures.
-
I wish this thread would die.
Part of the problem with this thread is that I live in a different culture than many posters. Where I live people comment on my children's intelligence. People make comments about all kinds of things here. These comments just come out of people's mouths. My children hear them. Since most of you are from the US or Canada (right?) maybe you don't know what it is like to have people all-up-in-your-business-and-ready-to-make-comments. If I still lived in the states, I bet I would not be hearing all the comments I hear now.
Another issue is whether or not it is okay to say a 4 year old is not gifted. I have no problem with it.
I don't think we need to think our children are gifted to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I don't think we need to wait until we have done IQ testing in order to say so. I think I know what is normal behavior and what is extraordinary behavior for a 4 year old. I could be wrong, sure, but I am sure enough to say what I think here.
I don't think we need to say our children are gifted for the children's self esteem.
I understand that most gifted children have gifted siblings. Most, not all. I guess we are in the minority.
Perhaps my daughter will start displying gifted traits in the future. Well then good. But for now, I think it is safe to say, she is not gifted. Perhaps my son will have a unpleasantly surprising slow-down in his learning and end up average. Well, okay, but that doesn't mean I can't call him gifted today.
I understand that some do not agree with me when I say my daughter is not gifted. I think you are well intentioned and I hope you understand that I do not have bad intentions, I just think of the subject differently.
Some people posted that gifted children can be lazy and go no where in life. :confused: I thought that this wouldn't need to be said, but perhaps it does: I love all my children. I love my daughter. I don't think any less of her than my son. My older son is not a better person or loved more or anything like that. In real life people a few people have tried to guess which child is my favorite and the guesses were spread among the three children (I really don't have a favorite child.) I do perceive a difference in my children's intelliegence and skill. Please don't read a lot of extra things into that. It is what it is. Nothing more.
I do not want to talk with my children about their intelligence. I don't think that is necessary or helpful. It is other people who keep bringing the subject up, which is what I was saying in the first paragraph. I wish I could shut them up. Some posters have suggested some "bean dip" type comments I will try.
-
My 9yo still has a tendency to get herself worked up quickly over things that look the least bit hard in schoolwork, immediately going to the whiny crying upset "the world is ending" stage without passing go (or passing the "come to Mom and ask a question" part of the equation). She has tended this way all her life. I also have tried being compassionate, understanding, etc, but it just feeds into her pity party.
It is work she is entirely capable of doing. It's primarily that she can't see immediately how to get to the end and, rather than think about or attempt to work her way through it, she implodes. Math is particularly bad for this because it is more challenging for her than reading, etc. Once this starts, she can't even seem to remember how to pick up a pencil, copy the problem, do anything. That she is as stubborn as the day is long (gets it from me) and somewhat perfectionistic doesn't help.
What my daughter needed (and YMMV) was to learn that she is responsible for her actions *and is capable of controlling them*. It is part of her responsibility to learn to recognize when things are tough and how to take steps to handle the problem *other than* melting down. We have repeatedly discussed that Dad doesn't get to cry if his boss asks him to do something he doesn't want to do or if he is a bit confused about some aspect of his work. He has to ask for clarification and assistance. I have discussed with her what the likely reaction of her friends at church or in the homeschool group if she pulled this in a class there (she doesn't, btw, so she is indeed capable of control). We have discussed that when she is working herself up this way there is no way I can help her because she *can not* listen or process anything if she is so engaged in working herself into a tizzy. It's not really all that different than when she was a toddler and threw temper tantrums from frustration, unfortunately.
.
:iagree:
I went threw this and have come out on the other side.
I consider this a socialization issue. We have to teach our children how to act. The fact that the child wants to do something doesn't make it okay. My son was so bad he embarrased me and was making himself miserable.
I used to think maybe my son could not help acting the way he did. Or else, maybe if I didn't let my son express his feelings he would bottle them up, put on a happy face for me but and have secret rage. Balony!( Or is it Bologna!? I am not good speller) He was just a whinny, negative, spoiled kid. Instead of thinking of training him as stiffling his feelings, I started thinking of it as teaching him how to behave.
"Your voice sounds whiny, can you tell me that again?"
"Mommy already said no. You are not to ask me again. That is nagging."
"When I tell you to do something you may respond with, 'Yes, Mom." or else be quiet. You may not run away screaming and crying. Let's do that again."
"When someone is trying to be nice to you, thank them. Do not complain."
"When someone else wins a game, be happy for them. Don't cry because you lost. Stop crying, uncross your arms, and fix your face."
*Cringe.* I know. I know. So old fashioned. I tried the more "in" methods. Telling him to go elsewhere until he had calmed down just gave him time to stew in his misery. It made him worse. Asking him to talk about his feelings just gave him an audience for wallowing. Ignoring him didn't work either. He could keep a funk going until he was sure I must have noticed.
When I got fed up with it and got serious about him not doing it anymore, he stopped doing it. Can't act like that. Not allowed to. The end.
I only doled out punishments a few times. One punishment for having a temper tantrum over a game was that he was exluded from games for a while. I said nonchalantly, "Games make you cry, so you won't be playing with us." When he saw that he had consequences, he knew I meant business. He shaped up. And he is happier now.
-
How about using the HWT teacher's manual for ideas to teach your child to write on normal paper? You wouldn't have to stick with HWT script.
I used HWT first grade teacher's manual to teach my son to print on blank paper. He had a hard time tracing and writing on lined paper so this arrangement was great for him. (I got the manual on PaperBackSwap, so it was a cheap method too.:D) Eventually he wrote on normal, wide ruled paper. Teaching this way worked out so well I plan to use the HWT teacher's manual to teach him cursive. I won't use the workbook. I don't like the lines and font.
-
Genesis
It is full of can't be missed stores. Adam and Eve, Noah's Arc, Father Abraham, Joseph's multi colored coat. Start at the beginning and read a little every day until you come to the end. Don't use a story Bible, use a real Bible. The NIrV is easy. The King James Version is beautiful.
Exodus
Baby Moses in a basket on the Nile, God gives Ten Commandments. The beginning of the book is the most important part for you, I think. You may not want to finish it.
Matthew
Read it all. Jesus' birth, actions, teachings and death. Essential.
-
I don't think little kids have to write on math worksheets.
Ray's arithmetic doesn't require first graders to write at all.
You might use Singapore text books but not the work books. That is what I did with my son a year or so ago. My son learned concepts easily but did not want to write on worksheets. I used games, Songs that Teach Addition, and other things to teach the math facts. It worked out great.
Handwriting Without Tears is a nice program for learning to print numbers and letters. It is gentle but gets results.
You may notice that in my signature I say that my son is doing a first grade workbook. That is not because he didn't learn from my homemade, hodge-podge, non-workbooky lessons. That is because the Math Made Easy 1st grade workbook has pictures of Go Deigo Go and stickers. :D
He wanted that workbook. It is fun, easy way for him to get used to worksheets and practice writing numbers. I wish the 3rd grade one wasn't covered in strange Marvel Comics characters. My son said they are ugly.
-
I didn't start until 1st grade, so manipulatives were not needed. However, the Teacher's Manual at that age IS the program. You CAN do it without, but you miss a lot. The TM has wonderful ideas for teaching, and often a little storyline that goes with the letter--for example, the letter g--the tail curls under the letter to "catch George" who is falling out of the top part. My dd talked about catching George for years, and it cemented how to form that letter quickly.
Merry :-)
:iagree:
-
1. Why do you think people here are saying that everyone has a gift or talent that is superior to the average person?
...Why do you feel you need to gush about her being an amazing star, or correct somebody by telling them that she really is average or below average in dance? :confused:
I liked your post. I just quoted the parts I want to clarify.
People keep saying that even thoguh my daughter appears average, she must be gifted. That is why I asked if people here think all people are gifted.
I do not gush about her being an amazing star. Other people do because they are grasping at straws trying to come up with some amazing talent she has - "Since her brother is gifted she must be too." is what they are thinking.
If I say "Yeah, she is a star." I lie. Saying, "No she isn't a star." is the truth, but I see from the responses here that many people find that to be insulting and harmful to children's self esteem.
Changing the subject as much as possible sounds like a good idea.
-
I want my children to socialize with other kids (and adults), but I have learned that just being near children does not always turn into a great time for socializing. Sitting on the porch while our cousins watch TV is one example of the socializing not panning out as I had hoped.
My children have great social skills. I haven't known many homeschoolers in real life so I regular examine my children to see if the "weird unsocialized homeschooler" bug has caught them, and I am happy to say, my children are cool. (edited to add: I am being silly about the weird, unsocialized homeschooler bug. Really, homeschooling has been the best way for my children to be socialized. No problems there.)
My sons don't seem to need their peers much. My daughter seems to want more playing with friends. She wants to see her friend "Sue" that moved away and have "Lea" come over again. I want to get her into a few play dates.
I am going to keep going with the activities that give my children a real chances to socialize and have fun. I am not going to bother with the activities that are not worth our time. If that means we aren't doing as many activities as some others, so be it. There is no award for the homeschooler who is in the most classes and clubs, ya know? If I stuck with the activities that are not reallyu doing anything for us, I would just be doing them for show, and no one but Grandma really cares how many activities we are in anyway.
-
So is every child equally (but differently) gifted? Are all adults gifted too?
What about people who are obviously far below average, like people who are mentally retarded. How do they fit in to this picture of everyone being equally gifted?
Assuming that all of us are not equally gifted, wouldn't it be best not to base our worth and self esteem on giftedness? Is so, there would be no need to pretend that someone is gifted in order to give them (a false) sense of self esteem.
-
I think if she works hard at something she can become very good at it.
For instance, she likes ballet. If she told me she wanted to be a ballerina when she grows up I would tell her, "Yeah! If you keep at it, and work hard, you can do it."
Now imagine a well meaning adult says that based on her brother's intellence, my daughter must be a "natural" "quick study" "full of grace" a star, and better than even the older girls etc.
What am I to say? "No, she is just an awkard little girl who will need to work very hard if she really wants to get good at it." ? That is the truth.
Impress with her other amazing skills, "Let's not talk about dance. Just yesterday she drew a person with arms, plus she found a nickel."
Or should I lie and say "Yes she is an amazing star." and then tell my daughter later that I lied because I didn't want to explain how she is not all that good?
Or should I always pretend I think she is a star, since some lady brought that up and the truth is too insulting for my daughter to hear. Maybe my lies will fool my daughter for a few months.
And no, she is not a secretly gifted dancer, so don't even go there. :lol:
-
Thanks for the responses.
When I do things for social reasons and come home thinking, "What in the world? That wasn't worth leaving the house for!" I wonder why the whole world seems to think the same activities are the best things ever and if kids don't do them they'll be weirdos. I'm glad other people "get" that those particular things I tried were not what we need.
Since my children like the children's club and I already told them they could do it (where is the kicking myslef smilie?) we will try to scrape up the money to let them continue. I'll take them to the park and if I run into a nice girl who would like to have an occasional play date with my daughter we can do that. I will not worry about impressing anybody with my children's social calendar.
-
I just read your responses. You ladies are almost as bad as my mother. Expecting the gifts to pop out any day now, huh? :) (I am not really mad, just teasing.)
Hmmm, so you too think my Princess is a closet Smarty. I guess I just have to goodnaturedly accept the accusation. What else can I do? :001_smile:
-
If we see an adult aquaintance my son might say to him or her, "I remember you. We say you at XYZ. I'm Fakename." and start a conversation with them. If they ask him what grade he is in he might say, "I don't go to school. I homeschool. It's going well." He is so talkative and cute. It delights adults. Oh, and don't let him get started talking about one one of his many interests. They say, "He is so smart!" I have had strangers tell me they overheard him talking, and they have to tell me he is smart.
The culture where I live is not one to stay quiet and mind one's own business. My mother is normally reserved and polite, but since we are close she feels comfortable being frank. People comment about my children's abilities. I don't tell people about my son's skills. I don't even tell my mother. I don't encourage them to speak about how smart my son is. People bring it up.
When people get to know us they expect my daughter to be the same as my oldest son. She must have a certain area she excells in, right? Maybe she has an undiscovered specialty. Maybe I have failed to tap into her mental powers. I just need to teach her more, maybe.
Or maybe not. Maybe she really as average as she appears. Some people have four year olds who can't speak or walk. Thank God I have a normal, healthy, average girl. I am not at all disapointed in my daughter's skills. She isn't disappointed either. Her self esteem is not based on being better than most people, or better than her brother. It is other people who have a hard time accepting it. Expecting her to wow everyone with giftedness since her brother is a Super smarty is not fair to her.
Perhaps this is what I should tell my mother. I have tried explaining this to her before but she doesn't "get it." Maybe I need a snappy "Say that again and I will spit bean dip at you." response.
-
This is my first time posting on this board. I know I can be frank with you.
My oldest son is smart all around. He isn't an amazing genius at one thing, like Math, and then just average or below average in every other way. He is good at everything - from academics, to beating cake batter, to singing, to making friends. If he took an underwater basket weaving class he'd probably be good at that too.
My daughter is average. A few of her skills are a little above average, but none of her skills will knock your socks off.
After gushing about how impressive my son is, sometimes people will say, "Your daughter is just as smart as your son. She is just younger than he is so of course he is doing more. She is smart in a different way. Maybe you haven't had time to teach her as much as you taught your son at that age because you have three kids now. Why don't you teach her to do the stuff your son did at age four? She's probably really good at something. Why don't you get her in (insert activity they guess my son would not be good in)"
If my daughter competed with my son she would lose. If she based her self esteem on being better than others at something, she would lose. There is no way I can keep my daughter from noticing that my son is advanced and she is not as able as he is. Everyone is not equally able. That is a fact of life. That is just the way it is.
What am I supposed to say? "No, he is smarter than she is. She can't do the things he did at this age. She isn't very good at anything. Thanks for drawing attention to it right while she is in earshot." :glare:
I need a pat response to this kind of thing.
-
Kids need to be around other kids, right? I try to give my kids a chance to socialize with other children. Here are my problems with the social things we have tried:
Sunday school - Lethargic, aloof children. Absent or late and unprepared teachers.
Cousin's house - Cousins watch TV 95% of the time we are visiting. Since I limit the content and amount of screen time my children get, we sit on the porch by ourselves.
Homeschool Group - "Those kids are rude!" my children reported. :tongue_smilie: Locations and times for meeting were a pain for me.
Church children's club (similar to Boy Scouts)- $300 for uniforms which will be worn 8 hours total. I didn't know that before I told my kids we could join. We can't afford that. Where is the crying smilie?
The only time my children get quality social interaction with other kids is when we go to the park. They play with the other kids who happen to be there and have a great time.
Why am I having such a hard time finding worthwhile social outlets?
-
If my son was acting wild and crazy and chopping off his hair to impress his classmates, I would take him out of the class. I only allow him to be in classes if he behaves properly. If his siblings were in classes, and he had to wait for them, he could read a book or twiddle his thumbs.
I don't know about #4. It seems a bit much.
Am I paranoid?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
No, you don't worry too much. I keep my children out of cub scouts and Sunday school because someone might report us to the authorities for homeschooling. My children stay home all the time. I don't want them to draw attention. I don't want people frowning at me for homeschooling.
Just kidding.
:chillpill: