Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

EmilyGF

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,652

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by EmilyGF

    Thanksgiving with married adult children, wwyd

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by EmilyGF

    One year we did a "favorites only" Thanksgiving and found it really satisfying. Instead of doing a lighter meal on TG, could you do something like that? We found it was a lot less work but still felt special because everyone had their favorite. We had enough favorites overlapping that we could really cut down on the cooking. 

    ETA: I'd want to do something to accommodate the DIL but also do something special for the Navy son. One doesn't preclude the other.

    Emily

    • Like 1

    PSA Kitchen Aid Mixers

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

    I've never had a problem kneading with my Kitchen Aid. In their defense they clearly state that 2 minutes of mixing with the dough hook is equivalent to  10-12 minutes of kneading by hand. I think it's disingenuous of America's Test Kitchen to have left that out of their review.

    Many recipes call for "10-12 minutes of kneading by stand mixer."

    • Like 1

    PSA Kitchen Aid Mixers

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    11 hours ago, cintinative said:

    There seem to be a lot of bakers on here, so I thought I'd share this input from America's Test Kitchen:

    Recently, KitchenAid has advised owners of all of its stand mixers not to exceed speed 2 when kneading dough with the dough hook, not to knead for more than 2 minutes at a time, and that the total mixing and kneading time should not exceed 4 to 6 minutes.
    This is a concern. For years, recipes have called for much longer kneading times and higher speeds. We heard from readers that kneading longer has damaged at least one new KitchenAid stand mixer. With KitchenAid now insisting consumers use its mixers gently to protect their motors, we feel concerned about their durability and unsuitability for many bread recipes.
    Our conclusion? If you plan to knead lots of bread and pizza dough, consider the Ankarsrum; it sets no such limits.
     
     
    My Kitchen Aid is 23 years old and we've never had a problem. I read through the FB comments on this post and it seems to be a problem with the newer models. FYI.

    I burned out a Kitchen Aid in 2008 by following a bread recipe that called for 10 minutes of kneading. When I called Kitchen Aid, this is exactly what they told me.

    Emily 

     

    • Sad 1

    Reading: child to child difference or something more? (6th grader)

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    On 10/17/2023 at 4:59 PM, 8filltheheart said:

    He could be dyslexic.   Did he learn to read easily? Have you been concerned about his reading long before this?  For perspective, I knew in K which of my kids were showing dyslexic tendencies.  By 1st it was abundantly clear.  My 2 worst dyslexics struggled with reading on grade level UNTIL they older, but they improved in reading but were always very slower readers.  My dd who is dyslexic didn't struggle to learn to read as much as her brothers, but she always exhibited other signs.  Her spelling has always been atrocious.  Her reading speed slow, etc.

    I don't think that's the case because he did learn how to read alright, and he spells fine on spelling tests. He also went to a gifted kindergarten with an amazing teacher and I think she would have flagged him if he was outside the norm. (I recognize not all teachers would do that, but this teacher was exceptional.)

    21 hours ago, Porridge said:

    Also consider ADHD

    Could you be more specific as to why this would indicate ADHD?

    39 minutes ago, EKS said:

    I'd get him a developmental vision exam.  If that doesn't turn anything up, I'd consider dyslexia.

    Either way, I'd start working on his fluency.  You can do this by choosing books that are easy for him to read aloud (and it's ok if you have to back up several grade levels to get there).  Then have him work up to reading aloud for 20-30 minutes per day.  Gradually increase the reading level of the books until he is able to read aloud well at grade level (or at whatever grade level would be appropriate given what you know to be true about his cognitive level).  This could take a year or more.

    I'll look into that.

    I hear you about the easy-for-him books. That's a great reminder. 

    Thanks!

    Emily

    Reading: child to child difference or something more? (6th grader)

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I'm moderately nervous about my 6th grade son's reading level. I'm mostly nervous because he doesn't read for fun that much AND he reads pretty poorly aloud.

    Unlike older siblings, he's never taken to reading as a past-time, though if I find the perfect book he'll read it for fun. (He's currently into Blackthorn Key, Lexile level 630, so they are large books but pretty easy.) 

    When reading aloud, he'll scramble words and skip words. I'm going to start noting specifics in the future. 

    He spells well on spelling tests but that doesn't really transfer to his writing. This seems fairly typical to me, though.

    Suggestions on what to look into? Or is this within normal?

    Thanks, Emily

     

    Be grumpy! What do you think should be phased out?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Lady Florida. said:

    I just had a flashback to our homeschool days and Usborne books.  Ds with his raging ADHD loved all those boxes everywhere while they drove me crazy. I only used them because the style worked well for him.

     

    Sorry to be grumpy towards Hive members but this is after all the Be Grumpy thread. 🙂 

    I would like to get rid of the idea that ebooks aren't "real" books. Same with audio books. It's the author's words that matter not the medium used to convey them. There are times I prefer physical books (especially cooking, gardening, and crafting books), times I prefer ebooks, and times I prefer audio books. All are books and all are "real". 

    Researchers show that people retain more information from paper books than from ebooks. I find that is my experience, too. I first looked into this research when I realized how differently I talked about books I read on a tablet versus on paper.

    If I couldn't see the paper books, it wouldn't matter; I'd retain a lot more by reading the ebook than by not reading the paper book. 

    Emily

    • Like 7

    Embracing the chaos/ stress management etc.

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Soror said:

     

    It *feels* like it has been one stressful thing after another since fil's cancer diagnosis 6 years ago now. 

     

    I just wanted to pull this out because, in my household, things went crazy after mil died rather suddenly and in a traumatic way a number of years ago. I feel like we got busy and distracted in part because DH was traumatized and grieving and then he pushed that under for a while by being busy and stressed. He's lately been doing things to deal with it (rather dramatic things, including a full-family cross-country move) and things are getting better. 

    Emily

    • Like 1

    Be grumpy! What do you think should be phased out?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Shoeless said:

    I overheard a conversation between two librarians a few years back. They were discussing how adults like ebooks but the kids always ask for "a real book" when offered an ebook. 

    It's the eyes getting bad.

    I prefer real books, but older adults in my life tell me that they can change the font on an ebook to one they can actually see. 

    • Like 7

    Periodontal Cleaning

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I've had this and moved to the every-3-months cleaning schedule. I haven't had any cavities in the 7 or 8 years since I started doing this. 

    I really upped my flossing quality and haven't had anymore scaling, just more frequent cleanings since then. Apparently my insurance covers at least part of the cost of more cleanings per year if you've had scaling done before.

    (Just moved and need to find a new dentist as I've hit the 3 month mark.)

    • Like 1

    Best small pet--guinea pigs? Bunnies? Ferrets? Or...?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Gerbils!!!

    My daughters had gerbils for two years and they are great starter pets. They don't stink (unlike hamsters). They can be confined to a cage or played with, depending on the person's desires. You can literally care for them every three days if needed, giving the animals a scoop of food and clean water every three days. The cage only starts needing to be cleaned after two weeks. They did sift the sand more frequently.  

    I think the food came to $0.25/day or less for the two gerbils and we bought a new supply of sand and bedding every 4-6 months. We never took them to the vet. 

    The highest start up costs were for the glass tank (so the bedding doesn't spill out) and the tank topper so they had more room to climb. We enjoyed giving them chew treats every once in a while, but usually they just got cardboard tubes to chew on. It was fun to watch them build their tunnels.

    Emily

    • Like 1

    Italy--Cinque Terre, Turin, norther Italy in April

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Ottakee said:

    Should we plan one full day or arrange fo stay overnight?    Did you hike it?  That is our plan at the moment but some trails are closed and might not be open yet due to washouts

    We just did a day hike, but if we went back to Italy, we would definitely go again and try to stay overnight. But even a day hike is totally worth it! We only got to three (I think) of the villages.

    • Like 1

    Workout routine needed

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    48 minutes ago, Kassia said:

    I like her too, but boy can she talk!  😛 

    I find a workout leader's patter makes or breaks it for me. I used to do Beachbody TurboFire way back in the day, but I really disliked (and disagreed!) with her patter. At least I don't mind having Lindsey Bomgren's patter going through my head. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    Workout routine needed

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I really love Lindsey Bomgren of Nourish Move Love. If you don’t exercise regularly, I would start with her 4 week beginner workout one. Otherwise, I would use the most recent weekly workout. 
    https://www.nourishmovelove.com

    I love how encouraging her patter is. She focuses on weight training but also has barre and other workouts scheduled about once a week. She aims for about 30 minutes per daily workout. She has tips for goal setting, too, for things like push ups or increasing weight you can lift.

    • Thanks 1

    Meal delivery services

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    On 8/9/2023 at 7:24 AM, sassenach said:

    Factor are ready-made meals- quite tasty! My only caution is that they are pretty high in sodium, if that’s a concern. 
     

    Marley Spoon is a meal kit company that also sells ready made meals. I can’t remember how many offerings they have available each week. 

    They also have a lot of food! I think older people might make a Factor meal last 1.5-2 meals.

    Emily

    Learning Yiddish?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    So Yiddish is almost but not quite German written in Hebrew characters. I speak German and was learning Hebrew, so I was watching a Hebrew language Tv show (Shtisel) about a Haredi family when all of a sudden I could understand everything. Then I realized they had switched over to Yiddish.

    That said, I think Yiddish is as much like English as German except with a different alphabet. If she wants something not like English there are much better choices. 

    • Like 2

    Career exploration for super-extroverted, science-loving kid

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:

    Engineering only takes 4 yrs. Lots of fields to explore in that direction.

    So, my experience is that I was sort of herded into engineering because it was the "right" choice for women who were great at math and, well, I hated it and felt totally lonely. If I hadn't had kids and become a SAHM, I would definitely have gone to grad school after a few years and pivoted. So I bring some baggage when it comes to suggesting engineering.

    Also, engineering isn't a flexible field that lets you work part time unless you've done many years' work already, IME. She wants flexibility.

    • Like 1

    Career exploration for super-extroverted, science-loving kid

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Hi all,

    DD16 is a well-rounded, very bright, science-loving kid. She's also extremely extroverted. 

    She doesn't want many years of education, so Physician's Assistant might be OK but med school definitely is out, at least at this point. She adored Chemistry AP this year and spent most evenings talking about it. However, she also adored her Chemistry AP lab partners and that may have been what led to loving the class.

    Ideas of things to look into?

    Emily

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...