justasque
-
Posts
6,294 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by justasque
-
-
Can you barter with either the karate school or the piano teacher? At our dance studio, moms sometimes work in the office, or clean in the evening, or do other work that helps pay the tuition.
Getting the piano bill down seems to be the hard part. Can you take music lessons at your local public school? Or find a less expensive teacher?
Are you making your gluten-free foods from scratch? Can you move away from gluten-type foods in general by tweaking your diet (for example, no cookies/pasta at all instead of the expensive gluten-free versions)?
Can you get a job in the evening, to bring in a few dollars to pay for the karate and piano? Ten or fifteen hours a week would go a long way towards covering those expenses.
-
Woo Hoo!
Great job! Sometimes the hardest part is getting started - once you're in the groove, you can see the results and that keeps you going.
-
I use the timer function fairly frequently. When we have a field trip, I can put the bread in the night before and have it freshly baked and ready to go first thing in the morning. Since I'm not a morning person, this is a huge help.
I also have, at times, made up "bread mixes" for myself, to make it even easier. Add the water, dump in the mix, add the yeast, and it's ready to go.
I use the dough function to make pizza dough. If I put it in as soon as we get home from an outing, it's ready to be made into dinner in an hour.
ETA: I would take a look at the capacity. I usually make a large loaf but at times a smaller one is better. "Large" is variable depending on your family size! I also like the "rapid cycle", nice for unexpected guests, like a large crowd of teens.
-
High fructose corn syrup is no big deal. As the ads from the Corn Refiners Association say:
"High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn, has no artificial ingredients, has the same calories as sugar and is okay to eat in moderation."
Easy to debunk.
Enjoy the wide variety of parody videos on YouTube.
-
:grouphug:
I've moved a bunch, and it never gets easier!
First rule of moving - you need ONE room that is reasonably normal. So even if it means moving a bunch of stuff where it doesn't ultimately belong, create ONE room where you can sit and gather as a family and not look at moving stuff. I cannot tell you how much this really really helps.
Once you've done that, tackle the kitchen. You can make do with very little stuff while you clean everything to your satisfaction.
Take the kiddos out, once a day, even if it's just for an hour. I know that feels like you're wasting time that you should be using to clean, but in the long run you'll be better off. Remember: "Outside Play, Every Day."
Don't even think about school for quite a while. On one of your outings, go to the library and let everyone check out a handful of books. Yes, even if you already have a houseful (somewhere or other, in boxes). Let the kiddos read to themselves and each other - call it school for a while.
:grouphug:
This too shall pass.
ETA - Thanks for posting! My dishwasher broke the other day and flooded the entire kitchen and I feel very behind with things, but now I feel much better! :-)
-
Or maybe it's time to separate you and dh's email addresses. Most internet service providers allow you to create several accounts, or of course there are the free ones. You can create a new email address for yourself, and leave the old one for dh to use. That way, dh is free of the worry. It should be easy to change your FB email.
-
Lemonade:
1 part lemon juice
1 part sugar
6 1/2 parts water
(So 1 cup lemon, 1 cup sugar, 6 1/2 cups water will make about 8 cups of lemonade. Ideally, do it in a bottle you can shake up, otherwise stir well.)
I use the generic brand of "RealLemon", and it's really good. I always get complements, especially from folks who are used to store-bought or powder-based lemonade.
I have, however, cut back drastically on juice in general. It did take several days of not having any to get the kiddos used to water. Some prefer the filtered water, some are happy with the tap water. Now I buy one bottle of juice and when it's gone, it's gone. For me, any kind of sugar-water is pretty much a waste of my food dollars. If they're not getting nutrition out of it, it's not worth the cost to me. (We do lemonade mostly for parties.)
-
If you could give us an idea of what you had planned to buy, we could give you ideas of where to scrimp (and where not to!)
In your state, can you get textbooks from your school district? I've used borrowed math texts in the past, and they worked out well.
-
I agree with previous posters about the table. There just isn't enough room to do an interesting set-up. For my kids, building the track was half the fun, and a significant part of the learning. Think of the problem-solving skills - wanting to include certain parts of track, wanting most of it to connect up in some way, deciding which way up to use the double-sided pieces, etc. We take play seriously - it's one of the reasons my kids are home - so we didn't mind having a certain amount of "pre-school-ish decor" when the kiddos were little. We reserved a certain area of the room for trains, and like others we picked it all up now and again to vacuum. I agree that using blocks and other toys along with the trains is part of the fun.
We do have a train-table-sized coffee table, which we got at Ikea, which is perfect for board games - the boards fit! If you're not sure which way to go, a train-sized but normal-furniture table is a good compromise. You can always put a nice big basket underneath to keep extra parts in.
-
:grouphug:
My advice is to take the meds and be sure to get as much rest as possible. Canceling school is a good start. Go back to the doc asap if you need changes to the meds. My mom has been struggling with this for *months*, probably partly because she wasn't quick to treat it at the beginning and she wasn't able to rest as much as she should have then.
To everyone else, if you're over 60, consider getting the vaccine (if you vax). This is *not* something you want to get!
-
We've been working with DD, now 10yr, on her mutiplication facts for 3 years now. She still does not know them. Her math assignments are clearly showing it. It's STRONGLY affecting her division. She has spent 4hrs on her ONE math lesson today. 90% of the time has been on division.
...
We've tried flash cards, but it still allows her to do the addition in her head. I can't seem to get her to memorize them.
Some thoughts - take what you like and leave the rest.
I have found that more than an hour of math at one sitting is not productive. We can sometimes leave the math and come back to it; even then I would not do more than two hours a day, it just doesn't get us anywhere.
For a ten year old, I would make manipulatives available, and allow her to use fingers. I would also *encourage* using multiple addition or any other method that makes sense in her mind to figure out the answer to a multiplication problem. Rather than just focus on automatic parrot-back-the-answer memorization, I'd want to build a more complex understanding of numbers and their relationships with each other. If she can say "hmm, for three times ten I can count by tens, so (using fingers) ten, twenty, it's thirty!", that's fine. Things like "four times six is five times six minus a six, so thirty minus four is twenty four!" are even better. This will get quicker and more automatic as time goes on and as she adds more layers to her experience of numbers. Now if she is losing track of where she is in a problem because it takes her a bit to figure out the answer to the multiplication part, that's where notation comes in - encourage her to use either standard notation ("showing your work") or her own notation (if you feel comfortable with that) to help keep track.
I would not let other math wait until she has memorized the facts; I think other math, such as reducing fractions, can help her learn the facts.
If you want to focus just on facts, print out fact family pages from the internet and see how many she can do in five minutes. Not in a "hurry up" kind of way, but in a focused kind of way, if you see what I mean. You might not even mention that you are timing her, if you think that will be counter-productive. Keep track so she can see her improvement.
As to tricks, there is a thing you can do with your hands for the nines. Hold up both hands, if you're doing 9 x 6 take your 6th finger from the left and fold it down. You now have 5 fingers on the left, and 4 fingers on the right. The answer is 54! For 9 x 2 fold down the 2nd finger - you have 1 and 8; the answer is 18! This works for 9 x 1 through 9 x 10.
-
:iagree: And I would push this. The school probably has more stringent rules on sexual harassment.
:iagree:
And, if I'm right that this has been an ongoing problem, you might want to throw the word "lawyer" around. Kids who have been similarly harassed have sued, and won seriously big settlements. Your district would be foolish not to address the issue.
-
I have fake wood laminate, from Ikea; been there for 12 years and still looking good. I have hardwood in the rest of the house; I think the fake in the kitchen is nice because it's easy to clean, and I don't have to worry about scratches from chairs.
-
I found some varieties were way more watery than others.
I also found that some/most could actually be mashed if you want a non-puree'd texture, assuming you cooked it long enough.
You can also make up the pie innards and freeze that in one-pie portions, if pie is your ultimate goal.
Pie crust is incredibly easy to make in a food processor - use frozen butter cut into 1/4-1/2 inch chunks. It's so easy to make batch after batch after batch and put them in the freezer to use during the holidays. If you put it in a ball then flatten it before freezing, it will be ready to roll out easily when defrosted.
-
I was actually surprised at the wide variety of pumpkins that I ended up with from the pumpkin drop. (We did it with a group, and most folks did not want their broken pumpkins, so a friend and I took most of the pieces and I had a huge pumpkin-stuff-making extravaganza.) Some had hard shells, some were softer. Some stayed hard after cooking, some got soft. Some were stringier, some were sweeter. They were all smallish pumpkins, mostly of the round "pie" shape, but even then the variety was pretty amazing - much wider than most produce you normally buy. So yes, I'd say get a "pie" pumpkin, but don't assume they'll all be the same - most folks aren't using them for pie, so they're not sold or grown based on their eating/cooking qualities.
Again, I suggest using the crock pot for cooking the pumpkin. Easy to keep an eye on and doesn't heat up the kitchen. Just wash and de-seed the pieces, non-stick-spray the dish, and put in as many pieces as will fit, shell and all. Cook on low until you think it's done - it you wait until it turns a more golden color it's tastier than if you just wait until it's mushy.
I did find several recipes on the internet that were great for pies, especially one that also included a maple flavored whipped cream. We had a *very* tasty Thanksgiving last year!
-
I agree with previous posters - teach her. BUT - keep it fun. Never ever force it. Lots of games, manipulatives, activities. Smiles, cuddles, books, silliness. Slow down or even stop if it's not feeling right for both of you. You have all the time in the world - no hurry. One of mine read at 2, one not until 5 or so. They are all different.
-
It is a complete *grammar* course, but since it doesn't include any writing it wouldn't be a complete *English* course.
Yes, for us, it is grammar only. We also do vocab or spelling (depending on age), writing (for olders), and literature. I start EG at about 3rd grade.
-
Love it. Easy to teach, easy to grasp, not overwhelming, no tears. Good for late elementary and middle school. A high schooler with a language arts focus would want something that covers more technical topics, but for 90% of kids middle school and below I'd consider it a full curriculum. I've used it with three kids, through middle school. Deceptively easy, because it builds over time, little bit by little bit. My kids bang it out in a few minutes a day, but they learn it and retain it.
-
Gather friends and pumpkins, drop each from a great height.
OK, just to clarify, that's each PUMPKIN which is to be dropped, don't drop the friends! :tongue_smilie:
-
Ladies, remember we are HOMESCHOOLERS! You're missing the best part!
Here's how I did it last year:
Get a couple of pumpkins. Give them to hubby and dd. Instruct them that they must make an enclosure for the pumpkin to protect it when dropped, so it won't break. Enlist friends to do the same. Gather friends and pumpkins, drop each from a great height. Once dropped, check to see if they are broken. If not, congratulate child (and dh); use pumpkin for decoration. If so, gather pieces.
NOW - rinse pieces, remove seeds. Put them into the crock pot until mushy and golden. Remove shell by scraping - it's easy now that the pumpkin is mushy. Puree in food processor.
THAT, ladies, is how a homeschooler makes pumpkin puree!
:D ;) :lol:
-
Ah, yeah, that can be tough! Maybe you can start your own!
And then ask me to list it! ;)
(Actually, it takes me *months* to get to those requests, but eventually I do...)
-
If anyone is comfortable sharing, I'm always interested in gathering copies of folks' logs, summaries, objectives, etc. to put on my web site (or linking to them, if they're already on line), so that newbies can have examples to help them get started. If needed, I remove personal info (names, places) for privacy reasons. Just drop me an email if you have something you think would be useful. The more examples that are out there, the more we can all relax and focus on our kids rather than the paperwork.
--Pauline
ps - Nancex2, I pm'd you!
-
Ideally, you're going to have this in almost daily use for years and years to come. So I agree with the above posters - go for the most you can get. When you factor it out over the years of use, the difference in price isn't very much.
I have the Artesian and I like it a whole bunch, but it's not huge. If you're doing bulk cooking or have a large family, you'd want to go bigger.
And MORE POWER is always a good thing.
-
In theory, I (and/or my kids) keep a list of books my kids read, as we go through the year. When I started out, I kept daily records. As the years went by, I just wrote it up weekly. Eventually, I just printed out what we had checked out from the library (when it was time to return books) and noted which kid had read which book and kept the printouts in a folder, to be consulted before the evaluation when I made the actual list. Nowadays, I frantically bug the kiddos to remember what they've read the week before my evaluation, plus I go around the house looking at whatever printouts from the library I can find stuffed here and there, plus I write down all the books they've used for various co-ops or classes or whatever. Dd keeps her own records, 'cause she's like that, so that helps.
So it can work a variety of ways! :D I think each mom should read the law and decide what she's comfortable with, and what fits with her family's style of homeschooling. If you're consulting the same textbooks every day, that's a whole lot different than a "grab handfuls of books from the library each week" kind of approach, in terms of what logging style might work best.
I haven't ever turned in a daily log, though I kept one for the first few years as a back-up if needed. I do turn in a brief summary of what we did in various subjects, because I think it shows "appropriate ed" and isn't a lot of extra work for me the way a daily log would be, and I do an attendance calendar, because it amuses me that "attendance" is treated so seriously in a homeschool. :-)
Some turn in less, some more. People rarely have serious problems, regardless, so long as their <log + samples + test scores (if any)> makes a reasonable case for appropriate ed (days/subjects/progress) and raises no red flags.
where to buy good used clothing
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
eBay, Craigslist, local thrift stores, clothing exchange sales (at local churches or preschools usually), yard sales, flea markets, consignment stores. Let friends know you are open to hand-me-downs - they may not offer otherwise as not everyone responds positively to such offers. Some folks have regular hand-me-down paths. Some folks pay a small amount for quality cast-offs from a friend (rather than have the friend consign things). Ask grandparents for clothes at present-giving time.