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desertmum

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Everything posted by desertmum

  1. I started my 5yo with italic handwriting and we were doing ok. Once DS started school the handwriting was quite different and dare I say, childish looking. As a result my DS now has a combination which is neither here nor there and looks pretty bad. My only advice is, if you plan on HE all the way choose a handwriting which appeals to you, but if you plan on sending your dc to school later on try to find something they use locally. Starting with one penmanship style and then switching to another midway doesn't produce good results.IMHO
  2. I let my husband take over reading. I realised quite early in the game that there are sounds in the English language that I did not pronounce properly so I handed over the baton to hubby. Did I trust him? Well, he wasn't using the books I wanted to use but he DID have the patience to go over each word carefully...like a thousand times. Sometimes you have to delegate to get things done.
  3. My library doesn't have any of these books. The librarian told me that if found in another library in the country they might be able to get it for me for £3 ($5). Uhmmm...maybe I can find them second-hand in Amazon? In the meantime, brilliant thread. I can't believe how organised I was at work and now as I SAHM I'm a walking disaster. Edited to say: Library emailed to say they put one of the books GTD on hold. They own copy was checked out and never returned but they found another copy in another library so I'm in the queue to read it. Yeah!
  4. Nothing to add as I am chronically disorganised. Just to say that I will be checking these two books out...and thank you for starting this thread.
  5. First of all :grouphug: to all of you. We put our DS in PS for a couple of reasons, mainly to do with DH's views about the whole thing. However I am so unhappy with my boy's PS. My boy complains they don't do science (the love of his life). DS told me that during rainy days last week they were made to paint into the "rainy days painting notebooks" and watched a Sponge Bob Square Pants video. :eek: We used to do work on bad weather days. They send DS home with reading books quick are frankly dumb and I think in general they are not interested in challenging anyone. While I think a certain amount of discipline is good I don't believe in trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Whatever happened to respecting a person's individuality? Last parent/teacher meeting was all about how DS needs to learn to "stop standing out" because they other children "will pick on that". :blink: Oooh, I forgot to say that there is a group of mums at the gate that ignore me, to the extent they won't return a hello. They persist to look "through me" and they all compete in the wardrobe department. Ah, the joys of school runs....
  6. Wow. Thank you for the support. I spoke to my mum tonight and she agrees with me. She also said that I have to be prepared to be the "odd man out" but she also said part of being a parent is going with your instinct and sticking to your guns.
  7. This is my 6yo first year in school after being homeschooled for two years. Earlier this year DS had some stress issues (we moved back to the UK and DS had to face going to school, learn the rules, the routines, etc). He wouldn't let me out of the house to put the rubbish out if it meant staying by himself. After a lot of encouragement and praise we have overcome this problem. DS has never had any problems going to school and staying there without me. Anyway, the school has announced an overnight feld trip so they can learn about "transport" at XYZ place. To be honest, neither my husband not I are happy with a 6yo away overnight in a strange place without us. We think children should be at least 8yo before they spend the night out of the house. Our reasoning for this is that our 6yo may not be mature enought to handle certain situations or explain in great detail if something happens to him. The trip is not compulsory but when I asked around I was confronted by a great deal of hostility. Don't we trust the school to choose the right staff to chaperone the trip? Don't we want to foster independence in little junior? Don't we want DS to learn about transport? I felt we are being gangpressured into the trip. Well, DS has been to 3 different continents already by plane and boat, and train and car. He's an avid collector of model boats, model cars, model trains, and model space ships, etc. ....So, no, I don't think he is going to miss out on anything here. Are we being unreasonable in saying no to the trip?
  8. Can I please join in. My house is in dire needs of decluttering, cleaning, etc. My goals are: * Sell as much as I can on Ebay. * Get rid of boxes left from our move. * Take things to charity which are not saleable.
  9. We used to be middle-class. The cost of housing has gone through the roof. I don't mind living in a less expensive area, except that last time we did we had issues with problem neighbours and anti-social behaviour in the area. I didn't feel safe in my own house, let me put it like this. Because of the recession wages have not gone up but rather the opposite. At the moment DH is looking for a job and the salary would cover living costs and precious little else (but we'll still take the job is offered). I will be looking for a part-time to help out. Life has changed for us and I'm very much afraid we haven't seen the end of this recession.
  10. I'd rather go alone because both DH and DS turn into a (rude word) nuisance after about 10 minutes. Obligatory other: if for some reason I have to take someone I will go with DS because at least I can tell DS to be patient and hush up -I can't tell my DH to shut up!
  11. Cluttered. I'm in the process of decluttering so I've got everything on Ebay- everything but my son and my soul! I have made progress but no nearly enough. But I feel I'm getting there bit by bit. My biggest downfall is putting things away!
  12. I love your child's sense of humour. Of course children are so much more resilient than we give them credit for...
  13. SPOILERS!!! I found the episode very confusing at the end -and even harder to explain to my 6yo! It wasn't made clear whether the place Amy and Rory went was just as bad as it was in the beginning or somehow made better after they tried to change the paradox.:confused: Thoughts?
  14. I have a boy and I don't know if he will wait until marriage -it will be his choice. What I DO want him to do is not to take sex as a casual thing and if he chooses to have sex for fun make sure the girl is on the same page so no-one gets hurt, AND the biggest thing to teach him is to protect himself from STD and unwanted pregnancies by using a condom.
  15. I came back to the UK so our ds can go to school but dh stayed behind in the Gulf to work. We are hoping he will find a job in the UK but this hasn't hapenned yet. I saw dh last in July and he won't come home for a visit until Christmas. I have to say I hate being alone and I can't even go to bed at decent hour anymore. I have had lots of incidents where having ds around would have made my life easier and many times when I've been taken advantage of simply because I suck at DIY.:glare: Garages are not girl friendly either. Many times I feel nervous and anxious about ds in school (he's not having a good time there) and dh has always been my rock when I'm having a bad day. Many times at night I hear some noise and worry about being safe.
  16. DH talked me into giving DS a flu shot on account of so many people at his office coming down with...we,,. the flu. DS had a bad reaction to the jab. The GP said he should not be given the flu jab ever again. I on the other hand, get the jab every year because of my asthma.
  17. What an insightful post. Thank you. I do think: no daddy (DS is a daddy's boy), new country, new home, new school when ds had been hs from birth, new people and even new culture, might be a bit overwhelming. By Year 2 (US 1st grade) teachers expect children to be fully integrated so DS stands out like a sore thumb. I never thought about it but maybe you are onto something when you mentioned DS wanting to be interesting to other children. He is a total ham and loves to perfom for an audience. DH suggested I throw a party for the class as a way for DH to make friends.
  18. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Sorry. I've been where you are now. I'm praying for you.
  19. Oops -I need to update my profile. DS turned 6yo two months ago. I like the idea of waiting until Christmas to make up our minds. Also DH will be home for Christmas so he can see for himself what is going on.
  20. Yes, I could. DH doesn't agree that he should be pulled out yet. He says the main thing is that DS is gaining friends and he still loves school. He says I should relax and get involved with school and even volunteer to show ds that we and the teacher are on the same page. :ack2:
  21. WARNING: Rant :rant: We were homeschooling our ds and as far as I knew everything was ok. DH was never fully into the homeschooling. We've gone back to the UK and got ds into the local school. I wish dh had never talked me into quitting hs. Not good. Most kids there are used to the routine and all. Poor ds is not settling in and what is worse he is acting up -doing things he's never done before at home or anywhere else. He is being cheeky, if not rude (not to the teacher but the assistant and the dinner ladies). He's thrown food (raisins) up in the air, doesn't listen, has trouble putting his PE kit on and taking it off and asking the teacher to help him, called someone "idiot" :eek: and worse of all, he lies when confronted. This is news to me as this is the same child that last year, when asked about a broken glass baubble in a shop stepped forward and announced "Sorry, mum. I did it. I wasn't being careful. Sorry." Last week I went home in tears thinking I was the worst parent as I obviously haven't done a proper job raising my child. This week I feel disheartened. DS says he loves school and he loves having friends. He loves class and math and reading and all (maybe not handwriting :tongue_smilie:). The teacher undestands that ds has changed country and that daddy had to stay in the Gulf to work, and that he is knew to the school system and that he is sad about loosing his old friends and all, but I can see she is not so happy with him. For all I know she's given up on him. I am not loving the school experience. This past month I've felt: guilty, useless, angry, insecure of my parental skills, depressed, weepy, frustrated and anxious. I'm not saying my child is perfect (I'm not that delusional), or that he has never talked back, but I can't understand for the life of me what is going through his mind at the moment.:confused: Pick up time at school has become as dreaded as a visit to the dentist.
  22. I could have written this post myself. Handwriting has been such an issue during our homeschooling that it is a relief to hand it over to someone else. My husband is very keen on ds going to school...I wasn't so thrilled, but I can see the sense about not having to be on "teacher mode" 24/7.
  23. DS whines all the time. But then so does his dad (who hates running errands, and shopping) which is why I'd rather leave them BOTH behind while I run errands. However, if I have to take either one with me it is like running over broken glass while a tiger is chasing you: you do it out of sheer necessity but it is painful, painful, PAINFUL.
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