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black_midori

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Everything posted by black_midori

  1. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Wow - this is the exact second thing I thought of when reading OP's question!! (The first being how to balance a checkbook). My roomie in college used to do EXACTLY the same thing - and she was actually living on her own (in an apartment with me) and feeling ready to face the world. I almost died the first time we got together to go over our monthly budgets & she listed minimum balances due as what she owed each month...
  2. :iagree: This is what I meant as well. I am sure that there are many high-quality online schools that give a superb education. That was not, however, what I was referring to in my post. If you list an online school on your resume and do not have good, solid, job-related reasons ASIDE FROM the online school you went to, you are likely to be relegated to the side-pile. Fair or not, most employers use such broad generalizations in their employee selections. I recently did the prelim resume checking myself for a client looking for a bookkeeper and we received some 200 resumes for the job!! I ended up tossing to the side anything that didn't say something related to bookkeeping and Quickbooks at the very start (since those were two things we specifically referred to in the ad as wanting - people should always change their resumes to reflect the ad!!). Then I went back through the still-large stack and set aside anything not mentioning inventory (another specific ad item). I can easily see someone concerned about college education quickly setting aside anything with an online school, just to help in making the pile manageable (although I'm sure that wouldn't be ALL they would look at!). I was only allowed to give the client 5 or 6 people to choose from, after all!
  3. Sounds like we are doing a lot of the same stuff!! :) How do your kids like the Atelier Art? Is it actual lessons in lines/designs/etc or is it more like plans to do projects? I am so NOT arty, but my 5yo has always enjoyed it - I'd like to get him something focused on his likes, but haven't really looked into it much :) I actually had to schedule in a monthly "specific thing" for art (sculptures, bridge building, etc) just so I wouldn't keep falling back on "here, color this". Urgh!
  4. Is she 7yo then? I have my 7yo doing the following (I consider him as 2nd grade, though - and he was borderline 3rd but hadn't had experience in certain things so I dropped down) (PS - we are definitely secular!!): Writing with ease (WWE) - level 2 All About Spelling (AAS) - level 3 Right Start Math (RS) - level B Math Mammoth (MM) - Level 1a/b & Level 2a/b (we are rushing to finish 1 so we can move into 2! - we use this as a supplement, because I LOVE LOVE the teaching in RS but it doesn't have the worksheets - this fits pretty well) Shurley English (SE) - level 1 (but probably should have gone with Level 2 - I wanted my next to be able to start this next year, though) Usborne Encyclopedia of the World - I use this for History for both kids - we just do readings in it, but they REALLY enjoy it and always want to take extra time to read more. Later I plan to add some crafty things! Rosetta Stone Spanish - both kids (and me!!) Handwriting without Tears (HWOT) - cursive, because he really wanted to & I'd rather write in it anyhow. What your 2nd grader needs to know - just to make sure everything is covered! Real Science 4 Kids - haven't started it, but I should get it in this week Young Scientists Club - experiments, plus I bought the living books to match (he's very sciency!!) Harcourt Health & Fitness - both A few other odds & ends!!! The 1st grader (5yo) does most of the same things at the lower levels - WWE1, AAS1, RS A, MM 1a/b, WY1st grader needs to know. He doesn't do a separate science right now - he'd rather do art! :) Wow - I'm tired just listing that. Occasionally I think it would have been SO NICE to go with a boxed curriculum, but I am entirely too picky & love being able to tailor-make my curriculum to match MY kids! :) Then, if we don't like it we can drop it easily & change it up. We went through several math programs before finding the best fit, and also a science program. I also wavered for ages on history. Currently, I am totally loving the above and will likely stick with the next level up for next year (although I'll probably skip to Level 3 on SE, as I've heard it is very repetitive in between). At some point I will likely change out RS to Saxon Math (but the lower grade levels I've heard aren't as nice as upper on that). We'll have to see on History and Science - I really want these to be the top 2 subjects that the kids WANT to do & learn, so I'm trying to keep it as deep as they want it (surprisingly deep!) and as casual & fun as I can.
  5. :iagree: I'd kind of like to be in the "It is now 9:30 - please be seated and open your books to page xx" group - but we are SO NOT THERE!! :) I tried to start with sit-down-on-the-couch read-alouds for awhile, but it seemed like they were too easily distracted and not really in the "school swing" of sitting and paying attention when I did that. I also tried to start with pick-your-favorite-subject and pick-the-easiest,least stressful-subject - both of those ended up the same as the read-alouds, though. Somehow, it seems like if I don't just say "Come here. Sit down. Start doing this particular subject." then we don't get into the groove very quickly!! Once we've really buckled down to do stuff, it starts to go pretty quickly and we can move into more fun, hang out together, do interesting things world.
  6. For any online university, experiences with accounting firms doing hiring both for themselves & for clients indicates that it falls in between nothing ("well, it's better than nothing...") and far below traditional university ("oh look - they went to a real college!"). I'm sure you can get a great education at one if you so choose (you could get a great education at a library, if you worked at it!!) - but just to point out that any online university is likely to be considered just "alright" when put on a resume...
  7. My biggest gripe with the LoF is that I would be using it as a supplement - so that would be a huge price for a "fun extra"!! Too bad - it looks neat, but just not meaty enough. I love RS, but I already supplement with MM - and that works great for us! LoF would just be a "cool" sort of thing. Everyone I have talked to about it indicates it is really more useful as a supp rather than a main, anyway, so then the price becomes a HUGE issue! :)
  8. Paypal used to have this thing where you could get a temporary cc type number and use that to make purchases from places like Amazon. I think they might have discontinued it (or replaced it with some similar option?) but I used to use that for places that didn't actually take Paypal...
  9. I actually meant that as my personal rule, rather than a pool rule - but I can see a pool rule for the under-5 crowd. Like anything, though, it should be fairly common sense - if your 5yo is a soon-to-be-olympic swimmer then probably they should be able to test-out of such a rule :) My 5yo can go in the pool without me right next to him now, as long as he is wearing his vest, but only with a lifeguard and me watching. My 7yo is a confident and capable swimmer - keeping him in arms length as he dives of the diving board would be ridiculous. A 2 year old, though...
  10. I came home from work one night around 6:30-7pm and my sitter pointed out the pizza sitting on the counter and said we might want to have it for dinner. It was from LUNCH!!! EEEeeeewwwwwww!!!!! She seemed astonished when I gasped out "WHAT?!?!? We absolutely won't eat food that has been sitting out since lunch!" (or something like that - I was too surprised to have tact). Meanwhile, her son has a piece of it in a plastic baggie to take home... so I tell her they can take it if they want, because I will just be throwing it away anyway... I wouldn't necessarily get into a discussion about the situation at all (unless you just want to). Just say "no thanks" if you are offered food!
  11. We also use AAS & WWE for both a 1st & 2nd grader and I haven't had any problems with feeling they are over-writing. In fact, I'm wondering if the 2nd grader is UNDER-writing, but he writes so well that I'm not really that concerned... :)
  12. I agree. My boys wouldn't be doing ANY of those listed "things they enjoy" until they had earned by completing work in a reasonable & pleasant manner. If they are genuinely having trouble learning, then by all means she should switch curric - in fact, at their ages, I would have them taking a heavy hand in learning what style of learning they enjoy and what curric they want to try. But they MUST try - period!
  13. I kept my younger son in a backpack for most of his early years - his brother was only 2.3 years older (and not schooling yet), but was always ON THE GO - so I needed to be able to race to catch up (literally!!). If I had been schooling at the time, I pretty much would have just done all my teaching standing up bouncing on my toes with a baby attached to my back :)
  14. At 2 years old, mine weren't even allowed in the main pool without me or another adult within arm's length (swim vest or not). Kiddie pools only, and even then only when I was there watching! Unbelievable that a teenager that old would not be devastated by such an obvious error made. :(
  15. I flipped through the examples of the "elementary" up through D - even at D, it still doesn't look far enough along for my 2nd grader :( :( I really wanted to do it, too, but we aren't ready for the fractions. Too bad we are already past the stuff that it looks like the book holds!! I am tempted to get it anyway, but I wouldn't be using it for a main curric (we use RightStart with a Math Mammoth supplement) - so it is really just too expensive for a "neat reading book". My understanding of the more advanced ones is that they are a good read and helpful to kids who like to read stories, but not really considered an actual math curric by anyone I've talked to. From what I read of the "sample text" on the website, the elementary ones are the same.
  16. I would highly HIGHLY recommend that someone without any horse experience NOT OWN a horse until they have gained a reasonable knowledge of them (through lessons & participation in horse activities) or have someone immediately and constantly available to assist. There are so many many things that can make your experience with horses terrible if you don't know much about them... Even if the horses are evaluated and the trainer says "wow, these are the most awesome horses EVER" - you can easily MESS THAT UP by not treating them correctly. Something as simple as allowing a horse who has never walked off to walk off a little while you get on can easily lead to a situation where you pretty much never ride the horse because "the durn thing won't stand still for me to get on" (I've seen this happen!). Also, horses can be sensitive medically to things that would surprise you - I've had supposedly high-quality hay growers sell me bales of hay that are riddled with weeds (or mold!) that could cause serious health issues. You need to know enough to chuck it (even if it means "eating" the cost of the original bales so that I can buy replacements) - or at least to be able to determine if you have to or not. I recently spent $400+ on PREVENTATIVE medical care when my FIL, who generally feeds the horses for me several times a week, accidentally threw the hay to them that I had specifically pulled out to put in compost due to mold. He's been around & helping with my horses for years, but it didn't occur to him that this was an issue :(. Fortunately, they all ended up being fine - but it could easily have gone the other way. All that being said, I also wouldn't choose to buy or not buy depending on the horses! :) If you do end up with them and decide to keep them, please work hard to get educated on basic care and on riding. As I am always reminding my friends & their kids when they come to ride - my horses are VERY MELLOW - but still weigh about 1200 pounds and stand tall enough to cause serious damage whether they mean to or not!
  17. I agree with the people who are astonished that it would even come up these days... I am strongly right-handed, but my dad, brother, MIL & BIL AND one of my sons (5yo) are all left-handed. I was "almost" concerned about how to teach my now-5yo how to write a couple years ago (although it never even so much as occurred to me to force him to do it right-handed - he has been obviously left-handed since an extremely young age). Then he pretty much just taught himself, with me giving a few guidelines. Now, he does WWE1 with beautiful writing (at least as good as his 7yo right-handed brother, who often starts to write very sloppily even though he knows better). It was/is such a huge non-issue.
  18. I agree with all above (but I don't know how to do the smiley!! hehe) that you are overreacting. I also want to add that when you send a child off to have a meal with someone else, you are IMHO generally agreeing to have your child abide by their rules and understanding that these may be more lax (or more strict!!) than your own (within reason, of course). Therefore, expecting her to finish dinner before dessert as she would if at home would be "not your call" in this situation. FWIW, I am the "mean mom" when other people's kids come over to our house to eat - I cannot STAND it when kids get their own food and then don't finish it all (especially when they expect some snack later). I totally understand that in THEIR house this may not be an issue, but in MY house, I will flat out tell them "no". I also, however, will often give some special "treat" just because - something we don't normally do - like last night I was sitting for a friend and we had hot chocolate with peppermint sticks with dinner! :) Learning how to see and acknowledge teasing is a life skill - as is learning how to let things slide :>
  19. I don't have twins, but I always figured that dressing them the same and having them do exactly the same thing was just trite - they are NOT the same person. So, the only reason I see it as any different than allowing your daughter to go instead of one of them is because she is a little older and they are the same age. If you are terribly opposed to not just using some fair split (straws, coins, whatever), why don't you just send the 5yo? Mine is playing in the next room, and he'd LOVE to go on a Disney cruise!! I think he'd remember enough to know it was awesome fun - and Disney cruises are MADE for younger kids to have fun! I think it would be fairly rude to make MIL eat the ticket when she is apparently bending over backwards to try and make this easy and pleasurable for you and your kids. In fact, I think it is rude of your daughter to prefer doing some happens-all-the-time competition instead of a once-in-a-while just-for-your-enjoyment cruise with the grandparents (but then, I am not a big fan of any overly-organized, overly-involved sport, period).
  20. Depends on the agreement you made with the buyer. Generally speaking, I would assume yes. Most people are set to take possession upon closing - if you plan to stay after that, you often would be expected to pay rent. If, however, you have worked a deal with the buyer to let you stay until xyz date, then make sure you get it in writing.
  21. If you are still concerned about it, then a second opinion is ALWAYS a good idea! I agree with above poster, though - I also have a swollen one my neck (not sure how long it's been there for, though!) and have never had any problems or concerns...
  22. Drop it :) They are too young to talk with you about it very clearly, but my 4yo got him point across (finally) last year! I tried him in his "first big-kid swim class" last summer and it was a BOMB. He was already perfectly at ease in the water & enjoyed the games sometimes, but after about half the classes he just decided he did NOT want to do it anymore. He started a few minor tantrums, which he normally doesn't do, and I pushed and pushed and made him keep at it. After forcing him to go & dealing with "issues" for 2 classes, I left early one day & took him home & put him to bed. The next week, I asked him "do you want to go to swim class, or would you rather spend the entire 1.5 hours of the class/driving time sitting quietly alone in your bedroom?". HE CHOSE THE BEDROOM!! This from a boy who HATES to do that sort of thing and generally LOVES to swim... he'd rather sit in his room for excruciatingly long (for him) periods of time than suffer going?? He must REALLY not like it! I just didn't even make him go to the last class, and I'm not blowing my money on ANY more of that sort of thing until he actually asks me to let him be involved (he really wants to do cubscout camp with bro next year, but that he the absolute first thing he's ever genuinely wanted to do).
  23. Sounds like you and your kids knew the guy and were on friendly terms with him, so I wouldn't have been surprised about the kids letting him in... For the other, I'd have either excused myself to go finish getting dressed, started actually making supper, or just said "sorry, can't talk, let me help you out the door". If you feel strongly about something, you have to make it brutally, painfully clear - not rudely so, but I know plenty of people who wouldn't get the more subtle hints. FTR, I'm not above just leaving someone standing in the main hall while I go finish what I feel like finishing... if it is not dressing, they are welcome to follow me around like a lost puppy... :)
  24. Ah! We are only on lesson 11, so we haven't gotten there. I probably will only do a small portion of the writing assignments, just enough to be able to say "oh, THAT's what they mean", as we are using WWE 2 and I think that is the way I want to go for learning to write. For me, the Shurley English is just a way to learn about the parts of a sentence, basically. We do the journaling, but at this point it is pretty much him drawing a picture (which takes a relatively long time and often multiple pages!) & writing 2 sentences (which are very very short). He has so much fun with it that I got his 5yo brother a notebook to "journal" in as well (so he wouldn't feel so left out!). I don't correct anything sentence-related in the journal, although I do sometimes correct or provide spelling help. It is just a way to get in the habit of writing for fun!! :)
  25. I just wouldn't let mine go where there is hardwood, period! :) I eventually kicked them out of being allowed to go in my bathroom - they either go in theirs or (rarely, and with fussing if done badly) in the guest room down the hall. Even if they are IN my bathroom playing with the new kitty, I require that they LEAVE and go somewhere else. They are just too unable to keep it clean & yuck-free for me :) ETA - I also make my boys go in and clean up after themselves. I have been just having them spray 409 & wipe with papertowels (and wash hands well after), but the clorox wipes is a great idea, and I have those!!
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