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Everything posted by MolleenCarie
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CC-Tell me how you picked a local church....
MolleenCarie replied to HS Mom in NC's topic in The Chat Board
Category B. Our first tour in NC we went to the first one we tried. We tried it bc it was down the road a little way and we came back bc a family had us for lunch and we felt welcomed. We liked the preacher and congregation. We were there together only seven months. While stationed in Hawaii we sporadically visited and attended services, choosing the base chapel bc our littles were welcome in the service (the two off base churches we tried both made me feel unwelcome bc of my baby or toddlers) and it was within walking distance to our house. We were there three years. In Oklahoma we went to our friends' church, which caused us to become members of a different flavor of Baptist. We tried a few other places, but we went where we knew people. We were there three years. Second time in NC I really wanted to get back to our Southern Baptist roots and we visited one for a few months, really liked it and the congregation, but it was a longer drive and our friends had moved to NC a year prior so we felt pulled to their church again. We were there three years. Here in Okinawa we visited the church which was the type of Baptist as our last two, but it just didn't sit right. I'm glad we stepped out of our comfort zone to attend our current church home (it is much bigger than we were used to and the music was an adjustment). We will leave in two years, bringing us to a total of six years her. We love it here. Koza is our home, our family. It is special. The Lord has grown us in each place and I'm grateful. Some ideas for reaching visitors: our pastor makes sure we only reach 80% capacity per service. We have added services or been asked to shift to a less full service time to allow room for visitors. Two years ago we opened a second campus. He says if people come and can't find parking, seating, or room in the nursery for their child, they won't come back. He started a first impressions team to make sure every person who walks through the door is greeted at least three times before being seated, and to help answer questions and find classrooms, etc. Coffee is a big thing for him, too. Our big outreaches are focused on reaching the Japanese and the American military community and are linked to holidays. Getting people to come isn't the challenge we have, as we are the largest church on this tiny island, it's discipling and growing those that do. We've added three new full-time pastors / ministers and two volunteer ministers in the four years we've been here to help with that. We have community groups to make a big church feel small, and mission trips and ministries where people can serve. Last year we did Experiencing God as a church. It went over well and many people grew in their faith. -
Maybe. It depends on many factors. If you don't get all of your curriculum done, it will be OK.
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Indulging my petty side: Jinger Duggar has a boyfriend.
MolleenCarie replied to SproutMamaK's topic in The Chat Board
Don't mind me; I had been quietly reading along in this thread when my phone managed to post a quote from my pocket.- 394 replies
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Anyone ever homeschool mostly at night?
MolleenCarie replied to pinkmint's topic in General Education Discussion Board
I have. Evenings work for us when dad is gone, but when he is home, he likes us to have it done before he's off work. Most of my homeschooling years I haven't begun lessons until after lunch, though. A later start works for my dc if the morning/ daytime hours are spent doing engaging activities. If they loaf around, they're ruined for learning. Screen time has an especially ill effect on one of my children. Just twenty minutes and he's like a different kid. -
Most Memorable American History books
MolleenCarie replied to edeemarie's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
If you don't have it, I would highly suggest purchasing All Through the Ages by Christine Miller. It is the booklist to end all booklists. You can flip to the desired time period and find titles for your various children's ages. -
ugh...think I might have a slight case of baby fever...
MolleenCarie replied to ktgrok's topic in The Chat Board
I hope you have the baby you desire. -
My girlfriend chose a curriculum and stuck with it. She bought mostly used and sold everything at the end of the year to supply money for the next year's curriculum. She went in with friends to save on shipping when she had to buy new. When she decided her family's homeschooling days were behind them, she didn't have bins and boxes and shelves to unload, just one years' worth of books and texts. Keeping stuff would have been justified, since she has four evenly spaced boys of similar learning strengths and styles, but she needed the money each year.
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We got married at a courthouse 24 hrs away from our parents. They came, along with his grandparents and my "aunt". They threw us a small reception, inviting DH's work friends. I'm glad they came and made a party for us bc it was the only wedding I got. I had talked about having one at the five or ten year anniversary; at five years I was 2 days postpartum with our third baby and at ten years my MIL was in heaven, having just died six weeks prior. Our wedding day wasn't what I wanted at the time, it is just what we did. But now, I'm so glad for the memories our family helped to make. And we ended up becoming lifelong friends with one of DH's work buddies and his wife who attended our reception! Celebrate with them. Make it special. They will cherish the memories.
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I like on Okinawa and I rarely wear sunscreen. Instead, I have learned from the local ladies to cover up. I use a rash guard, big hat, long sleeve linen shirts, umbrella, etc. I am thinking about purchasing driving gloves; the Japanese kind that are loose and light and go all the way up the arm, not the tight leather kind that have little coverage. It's better to cover up, I think, bc sunscreens have chemicals. ETA: we put it on the kids' faces and arms from late April to early October if we're outside in the middle of the day for >45 minutes.
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Large family moms - can I do this?
MolleenCarie replied to Perogi's topic in General Education Discussion Board
You can do it all, if you have a good support system, realistic expectations, a sense of humor, and give grace; it will take longer to do it all, and you may find that your idea of what "it all" is changes after adding the little kids. I would advise you go on a long weekend before the placement to enjoy your easy big-kid family. Before our first placement, we had recently PCSd to Okinawa and spent a lot of time exploring the island. I was grateful for those easy memories when things were harder and my getting out of the house meant therapy and specialist appointments, and adoption errands and appointments. I was surprised to find I grieved a little bit of our old family of five, and thought of our lives in terms of before and after the new babies, but now, with the passage of time, it feels like it was seamless. And I absolutely do not regret or resent our choices and children. -
Large family moms - can I do this?
MolleenCarie replied to Perogi's topic in General Education Discussion Board
Agreeing with busymama7. You could continue your homeschool curriculum and focus, but you will have longer hours, say 8-4 instead of 9-2, and you will have a longer school year. You will need more help, from your husband, a baby-sitter, neighbor, family member, housekeeper, something. You will have to drop some things, maybe a ministry or volunteering or sports or lessons, depending on how full your plate is currently and transportation, etc. Adding three small children at once will change your life, but it will be worth it. We added two little ones to our family within 18 months and we are more now productive and time-efficient as a family than we were before they came. We also enjoy one another more. My kids were 5, 9, and 10 when we got our first new baby and 1, 7, 10, and 11 when we got our second. Last year was rough. It was hard. But now we are on the other side and I am so glad for the way our family was built, I am so grateful for each child, and I know the timing they were each put into our lives was perfect. Now the kids are 1, 3, 8, 11, and 13 and I am able to resume some volunteering and extras I had dropped. This upcoming school year will be our most rigorous yet and I'm looking forward to it! -
I believe it began in a discussion of Josh Duggar. A lady with "momma" in her userid said, "gag me with a spork." ETA: Nope, I was wrong. It was LucyStoner who started the trend. Mommaduck helped to spread it. Edited again to add: StaceyinLA was the first to take note of the phrase.
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General Homeschool Questions
MolleenCarie replied to kahlanne's topic in General Education Discussion Board
I had taken some time off of school the year that I became pregnant with our first child. Then during my seventh month of pregnancy we relocated, so I wasn't even working when I mentioned that I wanted to work part-time and go back to school soon after the baby was born. DH said he would like it if I stayed home to take care of him and the baby. I immediately said OK, which meant I wouldn't be finishing my degree, as this was before online for undergrad was a real option.* After about a week I realized that being a homemaker for the next sixty years would be mind-numbing, especially since I lacked any real domestic skills or a desire to learn them. I considered volunteering and home daycare. Neither would work at that time, as volunteering often requires childcare and we didn't make that much, and DH didn't want a houseful of other people's children greeting him at the end of his workday. I remembered the homeschooling families I had known and admired and thought that would be a cool way to fill my time. Then I considered the many other reasons it would be a good fit for our family: we could provide a religious education without paying exorbitant fees, we could provide a continuity in education unheard of in an active duty military lifestyle, we could spend our child's educational time more wisely by catering to his strengths and weaknesses, and we could have freedom to set our own schedule. It's funny bc I originally had to convince DH this would be a good idea, and now he is often the one convincing me to stick with it when I just want to put them on the magic yellow schoolbus. Before my baby was even born, I had chosen to use Calvert curriculum through eighth grade and then possibly dual enrollment for high school. I liked that Calvert sent everything needed in one box, even supplies. I ended up never purchasing anything from them; in fact, the only thing of theirs I have used is CHOW. I did learn a lot from the ladies that posted on their message boards back then. When my son was about three I heard of TWTM and it has been very influential in my homeschool. My goal has always been to homeschool at least through my oldest's tenth grade year, since DH will retire from active duty then and we may be more settled, but I am prepared to homeschool all of them through high school if that is what is best for everyone. *I did try to finish my degree, but being stationed overseas with two under two and a deployed spouse was enough stress for me, and I figured a degree with no work experience wouldn't do me any good; if I needed it in the future, I could always go back. My oldest starts eighth grade this year and I have no regrets about those big choices! (I do wish I had been more consistent with habit training in the early years, for myself and for the children.) -
Fill up her love tank first. Sing, read books, snuggle, make sure she's full and dry. Strap her into her high chair with a rotation of activities: markers, scissors, play-doh, shaving cream, cheerios, an iSpy glitter water bottle, stickers, etc. Do school in a room that can be closed so she doesn't wander all over the house tearing things up. Try the pack-n-play. Wear her. Use masking tape on the floor to create a space for her to play in. Make a game of being on the circle together and call it something interesting. Then she can have her place she likes to bring toys to and be in. She will end up containing herself this way. It's better than a blanket fort bc at her age she will mess up the blankets. Decorate a big cardboard box for her to play in. Buy a playhut tent or one of those rose cottage playhouses. Make her a little reading nook with forward facing bookshelves or a basket of books and a little cushion or bean bag chair. Do school on the porch and give her a bowl and spoon so she can make "bubble soup" out of water and dish soap. Give her an old iPod with little kid headphones and a fun playlist. Use the guided access settings so she doesn't disable the device or turn up the volume too loudly. Do school in her room. Hang a full-length mirror so she can talk to herself. Give her some simple dress-ups such as hats and purses. Give her the old digital camera no one uses so she can make movies. Look at Montessori ideas with the lunch trays to sort beads and things into egg cartons and the like.
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Has anyone used Gemiini Systems? (Nonverbal kids)
MolleenCarie replied to .Michelle.'s topic in Special Needs Board
Any updates? I'm thinking of purchasing this. -
8th Grade Planning
MolleenCarie replied to Chrysalis Academy's topic in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges
Well, I had planned to use a great books tutorial (gbt.org) for 8-12th grades with my oldest until I saw the time of the online course is midnight-2AM for us. He will be using Apologia Biology and Life of Fred Algebra I. Foreign language will likely be Japanese. I'm having to think about history, lit, and Bible now that the tutorial is out. I'm leaning towards MFW AHL since two of his younger siblings will be doing MFW CTG, but everything I've found online says not to do AHL with an eighth grader. -
Moms of 4 or more, what math do you use?
MolleenCarie replied to vaquitita's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
I have two in CLE and one in LOF. -
Math for an 8-year old new to math?
MolleenCarie replied to EliseMcKenna's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
I like CLE Math. I strongly recommend their flash card system, which can be used alongside another program. -
Agreeing with others. Play pretend and encourage him to mimic sounds you make; use signs if you don't yet; get him into audiology and the ENT to make sure there's no wax build-up or hearing loss. Sing songs! Play games; if he's only copying you maybe he hasn't learned that conversations involve turn-taking. So roll the ball, look at the book, put the car down the track, whatever, and take turns. Pat your chest and say "my turn," then when it's his turn help him pat his chest and say "Johnny's turn!" If he's having fits don't give him what he wants until he tells you, however best he can, even if it's just letting you help him rub his chest for "please." I imagine with so many people in the family it's easy to get what you want without having to request it. ;) The library has sign videos and there's this new thing I want to buy for my kids but I haven't but the bullet yet. It's called Gemiini DVM. It looks really good. I love that they remove the distractions, bc my guy is so easily distracted! I love our speech therapist. I only wish I had her more frequently. If you've never had a child needing therapy before, at first you might be frustrated bc it seems they're only playing with your son, but give them time and you'll see changes. Once I focused on interacting with my son (4th child) and talking to him about everything I was doing like I did with my first baby I saw some improvements in his communication skills. I hope some of this helps! And don't beat yourself up!
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Things I end up dropping: Crafty things Things with lots of flipping back and forth or requiring multiple books or materials Teacher-driven or teacher-intensive in the upper elementary and later years Not portable Technology-based (My kids figure out how to cheat the program or they/we become frustrated with it. Monarch was frustrating, XTra math was easy to cheat, MUS has the DVDs) My get 'er done: CLE Math (used/ using grades 2-5) Phonics Pathways (did the whole book w my first) MFW 1st phonics and Bible only (blue book and Bible reader) (this is what I did with my third; with the older two I muddled through and never finished the curriculum bc I tried to do all of the activities, science, verses, and student sheets and became overwhelmed) Life of Fred for my oldest (from the intermediate series through pre-algebra so far) My fifth grader is independently studying Apologia Swimmimg and HOD Preparing (history, Bible, and poetry only) this year and she's learning quite a bit. She and I are going through Our Mother Tongue by Nancy Wilson together and it is painless. My 7th grader is having success with his LA (LL7, all-in-one grammar, EFTRU cards) and Apologia General this year Christian Liberty Nature Readers (grades 1-5 have been used completely by a couple of mine) Last year I set out to read around the Little House series and it got done and we enjoyed it. This year I haven't read aloud as much literature bc I didn't set up a goal or list. I think we may go through Narnia next year. I like doing a good series.
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CLE Math & LA MFW CTG Piano Japanese
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I am also a fan of CLE. The teacher's manual isn't very helpful to me as the teacher, but I think it's helpful to have for older children to check their own work, since the workbook pages are reproduced in the TM. What I couldn't do without are the illustrated math dictionaries from Usborne. Those are my "teacher's manuals."