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Jenny in GA

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    https://seinfeldswimmingandstrawberries.blogspot.com

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  1. When I saw this thread I thought that you literally cut off all your hair -- ie, that you shaved it. :) Looks cute! :)
  2. I went through menopause at 38. Ten years later, I'm still waiting for hot flashes to start. I don't know if I was lucky enough to bypass them because I was so young, or if they'll be kicking in soon ...
  3. My always-homeschooled son will be starting third grade at public school tomorrow. Today we were able to visit the school and briefly meet his teacher for the first time. I asked her if I could see the books they were using and have her tell me a little about what they were doing in each subject. Rather reluctantly (after I asked her twice), she brought me into the classroom and showed me the math and science books. I told her that I was particularly concerned about writing, as I wasn't sure if he was where the school would expect him to be (my son is currently at the beginning of WWE and struggles with and balks at that). She explained that they had just finished narrative-writing and that she would expect him to show up when he starts (which is tomorrow!) being able to write a good narrative. I thought to myself, "Okay, so that's not too bad ... he can tell me a good narrative from his SOTW lessons, he just never writes the entire thing himself, so that part will be something new for him." Then the teacher continued, "A full three-paragraph narrative with three, good paragraphs is what I would expect from him right now." Well ... she is probably going to faint when she sees the writing samples from WWE 2 that I left her, because I don't think he's ever written three sentences, let alone three paragraphs! She also said something about how they use Lucy Calkins' Writers Workshop. I am sorry to say that I made a visible face when I heard that. I read some of Calkins' stuff when I was working on my M.Ed, and if I remember correctly, it could not be more different than the WWE approach! I get the impression -- although I could be totally wrong -- that the Writer's Workshop stuff is all about "write about your feelings, write, write, write, it doesn't matter what, it doesn't how, just write lots and lots" and the kids write pages of garbage (or worse, spend a lot of time doodling and goofing off, since they can't or won't write for an hour every day!) (Anyone know more about it than I do?) Anyway ... other than the fact that I probably totally got off on the wrong foot with my son's new teacher ... I'm wondering if anyone has any advice about how to make this transition. How can a kid go from complaining and struggling with copywork and dictation of a sentence or two to suddenly writing three paragraphs off the top of his head?? Any ideas what we can do to make this easier for everyone involved? Thanks!
  4. Thanks for all the feedback. The more I'm thinking about it, the more I'm particularly concerned about writing. My son is just starting WWE2 and he really struggles with it -- and complains about it. I have no idea what kind of writing a third grade public school class does, but I'm quite sure it will be different than what we're doing. Anyone know anything about typical writing expectations at that level?
  5. I don't understand this. So I have to re-teach the same math lessons at home myself (why?), and then we also have to homeschool math using a different curriculum?? :confused1: Please explain. Thanks.
  6. I have three kids who have always been homeschooled. My husband has been saying for some time that he thinks that our youngest, an eight year old boy, would be happier in school. (Mostly because of social reasons.) To make a long story shorter, this weekend we all agreed to give school a try for him for one grading period (nine weeks) and then make future decisions based on how it goes. Our local elementary school has a very very good reputation. First of all, has anyone else ever done something like this? Second, whether you've done school as a "trial" or just entered public school for the first time in the middle of a school year, what should I know and advice do you have? I'm so out of the loop -- my older child asked if we needed to go shopping to get him a backpack, and I was like, "Oh yeah ... I guess so!" Thanks for any insight or stories.
  7. Excuse me for sounding so negative, but do keep in mind that many many women truly do go bald, and there's not much they can do about it. The reason I say this is because I know how frustrating it is to spend literally years trying to take vitamins, change your diet, read about how to help thinning hair, change your shampoo, imagine it's temporary, etc, etc -- while watching your hair get thinner and thinner because none of it does any good. Even doctors and hairdressers had nothing to offer me other than, "Try this expensive shampoo" or "sure, try a multi-vitamin, see if it helps." Finally, I found a doctor who gave me a scalp biopsy and discover that I had female-pattern baldness. This may very well not be your situation, but I wanted to throw that in because it seems like on these hair loss threads all anyone does is recommend [debatable]products to fix it. But some things can't be fixed.
  8. Also, here is some information from Freedom Hair, the organization I bought my hair from. If I understand correctly, there will make sure that all donated hair goes to someone who needs it for medical reasons. http://www.freedomwigs.com/subsidies-information/Hair%20Donation%20criteria.pdf
  9. Yes, please donate your hair, but not to Locks of Love! There are many, many, many women like me who rely on donations from people like you in order for us to have any hair! Locks of Love, I have heard, will take excess hair, or hair that is appropriate for an adult and not a child, strip it and color it (which totally destroys it) and sell it as hair extensions. There are so many people that need your hair -- especially if it is blond or light brown.
  10. No, we're not expecting that at all. Instead, we're expecting people who have never been to a place before, don't know anybody and are maybe even unsure where to go and what to do, to butt into your conversations, chase after you while you're retrieving preschoolers, and pester you when you're unloading equipment and signing in. From your earlier post, it sounds like you saw and recognized these particular people looking new and confused and trying to make eye contact with people. That doesn't sound like "expecting a Welcome Wagon" to me. That sounds like someone doing the best they can, especially if everybody else is as busy and oblivious as you described. Then you scorned them (at least in your own mind) for their lack of social skills and initiative and considered it a burden to do something to help them out. Sheesh. :huh:
  11. I used to be very involved in the unschooling community, so I thought I'd try to answer that one. It is a very fine line. The idea is that is someone is truly unschooling, they are providing good learning opportunities. They may very well not be instructing them in basics, but they aren't just ignoring them. Where it gets sticky is that many unschoolers firmly believe that playing World of Warcraft for 8 hours a day is a fabulous educational opportunity for a teenager. No, I'm not making that up. I know this family personally. But at least the intent is there, even if it's different choices than what I would make. To me, that is still different than, "Huh, we can't be bothered with my kids, and we're not even around them most of the day." (Notice that I said "we" and not "I.")
  12. This is getting off-topic a bit, but one of the "Biggest Names" in the unschooling community had a child who was not reading at age twelve because "kids are ready at different times." This woman claimed that the child went from not being able to read to reading and understanding a Stephen King novel in less than something like four months because she was suddenly "ready" and "interested." Is that educational neglect? Is that unschooling? Dunno. But people that write unschooling books and speak at unschooling conferences claim: 1) No 2) Yes
  13. I have such a love/hate relationship with WWS. I love the way it's laid out, I love the structure, the way it breaks things down, the really quality instruction ... BUT I can't stand some of the reading selections. Worse, my 8th grade daughter (who is on week 5 in WWS Level 2) says it is SO boring -- and sometimes difficult to understand -- that writing is her most hated subject, and she dreads doing it every day. That isn't good! Especially since she is a kid who generally likes to write. I don't think she would like the MCT writing books we have on the shelf because she is a very step-by-step, checklist type of kid. I know some people say they use WWS concepts with their own reading selections, but to me that would feel like writing my own curriculum, and I really don't have the interest to do that. Can anyone suggest some writing curriculums for this age that are similar concepts and structure to WWS but with examples that don't make us want to kill ourselves? Also, any suggestions for note-taking and writing a research paper in particular? The lessons in WWS about those looked so awful we didn't even want to go there, and skipped them entirely. Thanks so much!
  14. I have a memory of my MIL visiting us when my oldest was four or five. We were going through toddler clothes and packing them up to give to a charity. My daughter said said, very seriously, "But if the clothes are torn, then don't give it to them." My MIL implored, "Oh, no! Still give it to them! They'll still be happy to have it! They'll sew it if it's torn!" She said this not because she had disdain for the poor, but because she has been poor, her family went through the depression, and you could tell that she appalled at the idea of clothing going to waste just because it had a tear in it. Just another thought to throw into the mix. (And a way for me to procrastinate this afternoon.)
  15. But "every other kid" doesn't have it. I think that was their point. We have never spent $500 on our entire family's Christmas presents, let alone one person or one present! My twelve year bought herself an iPod with babysitting money, and we have a Wii only because my mother died and we inherited hers. None of us have ever owned an iPhone, or smart phone, or whatever they're called. So yeah, it would make me feel "weird" to think of buying a stranger a $500 toy too, just because that's so different from how we operate ourselves. That being said, I like what you said about the older kids in the giving tree. I will be sure to remember that.
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