lewelma
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Posts posted by lewelma
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My older boy was tested at the age of 6 as gifted with an auditory processing disorder. For him it presented as 1) garbled speech that was very difficult for people to understand, 2) massive spelling issues (due to learning to read with phonics while mis-pronoucing all the vowels and some consonants in words - so truck would be chaat), and a complete inability to hear and repeat a tune (he was learning violin or at least trying to lol). This is my kid who went to MIT, so the gifted part was pretty obvious even at that age.
We did 3 things. 1) he went to a speech therapist for a year, 2) we used SWR for spelling which is an incredibly intensive program based on Spalding. 3) We had him learn the violin. The violin just about did my head in -- he was that bad for like 10 years. And it required my dh to learn the violin with him and help him every single day for the first 4 years. But this effort was incredibly useful. He had to listen to and tune the notes every single day for 30 minutes from the age of 5 to now 23, and he had to deal with metronome and rhythm issues. It was by far the best thing we ever did for and with him. He is now quite accomplished, loves his violin, and has absolutely no indication of any auditory processing problems. The brain is plastic, and we rewired it.
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We used ABRSM. They have a graded curriculum that includes performance (with accompaniment), sight reading, aural/oral skills, scales, and theory. It was very good for my kids to develop these 5 skills concurrently so that they were not over-weighted/under-weighted in one skill to the detriment of all. There are books to buy at each level, and if you want you can pay to take exams and gain proper qualifications. My older boy has a university-level diploma in music from ABRSM.
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My dad is completely against alcohol. No alcohol in his house, ever. His two aunties were hit by a drunk driver. One was killed, and the other maimed for life. This had a profound impact on him from a young age.
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Glyphosate was considered a much better herbicide than DDT, which it replaced in the 1970s. Glyphosate does break down over time, whereas DDT doesn't. In 2023, in Europe, they tested soil for the different herbicides, and number 1 was still DDT! Number 2 was Glyphosate. The main problem with Glyphosate now is that it is so widely and heavily used in the 2 specific industrial farming practices - desiccating the wheat crop and roundup ready crops. Glyphosate with limited, targeted use is generally OK.
Me personally, I use a paint-on application of glyphosate to kill the stems of noxious weeds (specifically blackberry here in NZ which is spreading like wildfire and killing off indigenous plants). This is a safe use, and very different than the wide-spread industrial spraying of fields.
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29 minutes ago, Corraleno said:
Pro-glyphosate organizations also like to claim that residues in food are not dangerous because the level in one serving of any particular food is below the FDA maximum, but the levels set by the FDA are probably too high to begin with, and they do not take into account the cumulative effect of having a huge percentage of the food we eat (including baby food) containing glyphosate residues. So the residue in your morning bowl of Cheerios may be below the FDA maximum, but then add the residue in the bread you have for lunch, and the hummus and tortilla chips you snack on, and the pasta you have for dinner, and even the trace amounts in meat, dairy, vegetables, etc.
In addition to killing off your gut microbes and causing cancer, it's also a neurotoxin:
"In this systematic review, we investigate the current state of our knowledge related to the effects of this pesticide on the nervous system of various animal species and humans. The information provided indicates that exposure to glyphosate or its commercial formulations induces several neurotoxic effects. It has been shown that exposure to this pesticide during the early stages of life can seriously affect normal cell development by deregulating some of the signaling pathways involved in this process, leading to alterations in differentiation, neuronal growth, and myelination. Glyphosate also seems to exert a significant toxic effect on neurotransmission and to induce oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction, processes that lead to neuronal death due to autophagy, necrosis, or apoptosis, as well as the appearance of behavioral and motor disorders. The doses of glyphosate that produce these neurotoxic effects vary widely but are lower than the limits set by regulatory agencies. Although there are important discrepancies between the analyzed findings, it is unequivocal that exposure to glyphosate produces important alterations in the structure and function of the nervous system of humans, rodents, fish, and invertebrates."
The assessment of glyphosate is archaic. They are currently testing glyphosate in isolation, not how it exists in the different formulations that are on the market (like 500 different herbicide formuations). The 'inactive' ingredients are used to increase the glyphosate uptake. So when they test glyphosate in isolation to evaluate its negative impact, the herbicide is not being taken up to the extent that it does in the real product formulation. This obscures its true effect. The assessment methodologies are simply wrong.
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39 minutes ago, Wildcat said:
I asked my relative if they would be willing to experiment on themselves with organic flour and received an affirmative, so I started baking right away. The short of it is that the relative can eat all the organic breads, cookies, pastas, AND imported baked goods from Italy & France (where glyphosate is banned) they want without issue, but a single slice of traditional glyphosate-laden bread causes a major GI issue lasting several hours.
The link between glyphosate and gluten intolerance is not strong in the literature, but there have not been a lot of studies. But it absolutely kills your gut bacteria, that is strongly established.
My dh has asked if I want to try organic flour, to see if it is the glyphosate that does me in. But I'm a bit skittish. Glad it worked for your friend.
FYI, I don't think glyphosate is banned in Italy and France from farm use, only domestic use is banned as far as I know. However, the laws are nuanced, so it would be hard to know what crop they were using it on, how much they were using, what the half life is (this varies quite a bit), and how long between application and when you eat it. The half life is key. You don't eat it, if it has been long enough to half about 6 times. 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, 3.1, 1.5%. If the half life is 30 days, that is somewhat reasonable depending on the crop. If it is 180 days, it is not.
My take away from my research is that the impact on human health is sort of bad, but the impact to the environment is catastrophic.
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35 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:
Farming family we know 3/3 women all have had either thyroid cancer or lymphoma. My uncle who was on a farm then worked as a gardener most is his life has non-Hodgkin lymphoma. My DH doesn’t really believe me and still uses it though he’s becoming more cautious and is being very thorough in clean up process. I can’t say for sure that it’s linked but anecdotal evidence points that way here.
yup. Its horrific. But they are currently not winning in court in the USA. 😞
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2 minutes ago, popmom said:
@lewelma I am so grateful for the work you are doing!Thanks! It did feel good to be doing something valuable outside of my little family. I'd post my research paper here so you could read it, but I don't know if I would get in trouble.
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Just now, prairiewindmomma said:
Was aiming that at popmom; sorry your shopping is limited, lewelma.
yup. me too. But if we can ban glyphosate!!!! We are an island, so its not blowing in or crossing borders in the ground water.
Crossing fingers. I'll let you know if we win. Not likely, but they lawyers plan to litigate it in the Environment court if we lose. They've got a billionaire backer, so we have the money to fight!
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1 minute ago, popmom said:
A bit of levity to the discussion...
My dd just ask me if I'm going to bed, and I said no I'm discussing the dangers of GMO and glyphosate in our crops.
She responded, "Sounds like you'd be better off going to bed."
lol
Boy, when I was doing all the reading and writing the scientific summary for the application to get it banned, it was all I talked about. Very distressing. Very.
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Just now, prairiewindmomma said:
While a small portion of dent corn goes to making masa, the majority of it goes to animal feed, plastics, and ethanol.
Maseca has tested positive for glyphosate before, but there are organic masa harinas out there for purchase. King Arthur has one, and there are also heritage varieties than have been nixtamalized (is that how you say it in English?)
I have very limited access to products here in the back end of the supply chain. It is maseca or nothing for nixtamalized corn. So I've switched to quinoa.
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Yes GE = Genetically engineered. There are many types of GE. Roundup ready is just one. GE crops are not a problem for human health; rather it is the industrial farming practices used with GE crops that are the problem.
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2 minutes ago, popmom said:
Wait...So does this mean that the organic label means nothing? Because it is not technically a pesticide?
Oh wait, I'm reading this differently once I reread it. Pesticide vs herbicide is kind of not a word used in the lit. They use Biocide, because chemicals like glyphosate kill plants, microorganisms (like worms), and bacteria, but do NOT harm animals directly. If organic says no pesticides, they also mean no herbicides I would assume.
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Just now, popmom said:
Wait...So does this mean that the organic label means nothing?
I don't know about the organic label in the USA. 98% of corn in the USA is roundup ready, but that leaves 2% for organic. That is totally possible. Organic in NZ is not GE by definition, and roundup ready is one type of GE.
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6 minutes ago, popmom said:
Thanks. Just today I added organic whole corn to my Azure Standard order for this month. I am so glad now. I will be milling my own corn meal and grits.
After all the research I did (I read about 500 articles out of the 50,000 available), I went and looked at Maseca masa. I can't eat wheat, so eat corn masa. Maseca is a Mexican (but also international) company, and GE corn in Mexico is illegal. So I was hoping they were sourcing their corn from Mexico so it was not roundup ready. But it is really hard to tell, unfortunately. They do say they source some corn from the USA but they claim they use the non roundup ready corn crop. But roundup ready corn in the USA is about 98% of all corn, so I kind of doubt their claim.
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3 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:
Yes. It’s there. Hummus, cheerios, protein bars…it has shown up everywhere in testing.
Plus drinking water and dust in the air. You are not escaping glyphosate, but you can reduce exposure.
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5 minutes ago, popmom said:
What about canned beans? Same thing? I am so glad legumes came up. I knew about the wheat and only buy organic wheatberries. But I hadn't even thought about beans. 😞
I don't know about beans. Just that if you are worried, store them for a while before using. Roundup-ready crops are the ones I listed: corn, wheat, canola, sugar beet, and soy. (plus cotton and alfalfa which we don't eat. Alfalfa is used for feed, so humans not eating it directly so the half life can make it disappear).
Basically, if it is Roundup-ready, they don't have to worry about how much they spray because the crop is immune. But if it is not Roundup-ready, they have to be careful with spraying weeds, because if they spray the crop, the crop will die. So basically, they use way less glyphosate on the non-Roundup-ready crops. They still use it, and you are likely eating it, but just way way less compared to the biggies of wheat and roundup ready crops.
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16 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:
A general heads up that glyphosate is often sprayed onto beans and other legumes as well. If you buy dried beans in bulk, it’s something to watch out for.
Half life is 30 to 180 days (depending on all sorts of stuff). So the longer it stays on your shelf before you use it, the less you are eating. So leave dried beans in your cupboard for a year before use.
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26 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:
A general heads up that glyphosate is often sprayed onto beans and other legumes as well. If you buy dried beans in bulk, it’s something to watch out for.
The top crops that use glyphosate in the USA are:
Corn, soy, canola, and sugar beet. This is because they are "roundup ready" GE crops so they spray the crop without worry because the crops are immune. This means they use LOTs of glyphosate.
And wheat. It is not GE, but they use it to dessicate the crop.
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2 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:
Did the study look at colon (and/or other GI) cancer correlation? Because eating that stuff for years…😳
There is lots of data on cancer including colon/GI, but the relationship it is not super clear because of the time delay between consumption and cancer. Basically, some studies find Yes, and other find No for cancer. However, it is absolutely Yes that if you eat traditionally grown wheat, you eat glyphosate, and it is absolutely YES that it kills your gut bacteria because it is a biocide - it kills plants and bacteria by design.
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I've just finished the scientific literature review for the application here in NZ to the Environmental Protection Authority to reassess glyphosate (Roundup herbicide) and potentially ban it. (My first big side hustle since starting to reorient my career after homeschooling). I summarized the impact to both the environment and human health, and the problems with the archaic assessment methodology they use which masks roundup's effects.
In short, Roundup is used in the USA (and most countries) to dessicate wheat to make it easier to harvest. About 90% of the wheat crop in the USA is sprayed. Because it is sprayed at harvest time (rather than during planting), glyphosate is definitely still in wheat when it is eaten (the half life is somewhere from 30 to 180 days, and that is HALF life). Glyphosate has been found the food we buy and in human gut, urine, and feces. Glyphosate is not denatured by cooking. Glyphosate kills not only plants but also kills bacteria, including the microbiome in the human gut.
So if you are having trouble with wheat, it could be because your gut bacteria cannot tolerate the impact of glyphosate. After doing this work, I have switched to organic wheat for my family.
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You guys are so inspiring! I don't have a scale, but I might borrow my friends to see how well I do on most days.
I don't eat fruit or starchy vegetables, so reaching 800g would be a lot of vegetables! Do you guys count beans and tofu?
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My city has a kombucha bar. You buy the bottle only once and then bring it back to get it refilled. Lots of different flavours, and it is made in the back room.
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I get aching legs from too little water and/or too much salt/sugar. Basically an osmotic pressure problem. It can also be caused by too much coffee/tea as caffeine acts as a diuretic and takes water out of your body.
Critique this plan please.
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted · Edited by lewelma
I'm in the Southern Hemisphere. We run a Jan to December calendar because our seasons are obviously 6 months off. When applying to American schools, I shifted our schedule by 6 months to align with what was 'typical.' Sure they would easily understand why my ds's schedule was shifted, but I wanted to make it easy on them. A kid can study any time you want (year round, summer intensive, etc), but then you as the 'councilor' list the courses in the traditional school year in a way that both represents the work they have done and also represents this work in a way that admissions people are used to seeing things. I added a phrase to my transcript, something like "courses are listed in the year that the majority of the work was completed." This covered off many problems I had with creating a transcript, including courses that he did over multiple years and summer courses that ended up making one year look too busy and another too thin. Personally, I would suggest that you shift your *transcript* so that your kid graduates in June. This does not, however, mean that you have to completely shift your *schedule*, maybe just small to moderate sized tweaks to make it legitimate in your mind. Homeschoolers have a lot of flexibility in how they represent a child's work.