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Everything posted by kolamum
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I actually need to be sure he's getting the right mix. Not using the right mix means they won't work. That is why I asked if anyone had taken the course. :)
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Yes, this is something we are considering, :) He needs more then just the rescue remedy, that on it's own isn't enough unfortunately. I did spot a website that had them at a great price so purchasing them & mixing myself is an option. I was curious why the organization out of the UK was offering training & thought that having it might be wiser.. perhaps not..
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We pay $15 for them. I'm sorry they didn't for for you. Clearly you shouldn't waste time on this thread. However, the mixture is not just booze & water. I'm happy to send you a bottle next time they spoil. They smell & taste like heavily spoiled fruit. I'm seeking genuine help & if you're not here to give it ignoring the thread is wiser.
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She might be able to, but the life expectancy on the drops, once mixed, is only good for 3-4 weeks, & shipping from where we are to where we'll be going can take up to 10 days. I think she'd be happy to aid me but her method of choosing is a bit.. unique.
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Ahh, see I didn't miss your point. I understand your view point, I can even respect it. But my son witness the death of another person & was hospitalized proceeded to have to wait 3 months before he could get a psych eval thanks to the way things work where we are & in the mean time could get no medical help for his situation. We opted to give this remedy a try as a, "We doubt it can help, but it can't hurt." It has worked for our child. The bottom line is I have a child who was labeled with PTSD & anxiety by a councelor who isn't authorised to give him medication at this stage. Bach Drops worked for our kid. For me, that's all that matter. My child went from non-stop nightmares, incapable of leaving our home, falling behind in school, & a whole lot of other horrors I won't get into. Sure, you can argue it's a placebo or concidental that it all worked out for him, but then perhaps you can also explain why my child fell right back into that situation when he stopped taking the drops. The same drops he despises taking because he doesn't want to have to need medicine. He wants to go back to being normal. He wants to unsee what he saw. Knowing that, science proven or not, wouldn't you do what you could for your kid if it worked? What I'm looking for is someone with experience in the method. I can understand that homeopathic remedies are not everyone's cup of tea. That's fine. I am not asking for a debate, I'm asking for help. If you don't have that to give, that's fine, but please don't waste time mocking my choices or debating the fact that you find it a foolish endeavor. I get it, I really do. I'm with you in thinking that some things are an absolute eye roll, waste of time, pathetic use for money, but I also get that what works for one family doesn't always work for another.
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Do you find it easy to hit the right mix on the first try?
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Are you familiar with them? ETA: They expire once mixed together at a faster rate then before being mixed. Therefore, we do purchase them pre-mixed from the local shop, but they are mixed on location based on our specific needs at that time. They have a duration/life of about 3-4 weeks depending on how much saliva ends up hitting the dropper when they are taken. I can't find someone in the new location I will be moving to who sells them pre-mixed because they clearly don't mix them on the spot, & as the new location isn't in the country I currently reside in.. ;)
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Anyone here taken a course or happy to be a pro at the BFR System??
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Thanks for the suggestions, I'm noting some to check & see if my rather feeble library has, others he's all ready read. Yes, he use to read tons & tons of Graphic novels, I'm trying to expand him away from them though. ;) We own most of the Tintin books, all though we've had one in French on hold for AGES at the library. I should check on that {for me, not the child in question!} :lol:
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Yes, we do audio books, LOTS of audio books.. No e-reader for this child. While I do know it can be beneficial in regards to the bigger font, different coloured backgrounds, etc he reads worse on an e-reader then he does in a book. With an e-reader he becomes overwhelmed quickly that there are SO MANY PAGES in a chapter. With the actual book he can see where he's at & where he has to go. All though at this stage we don't require an entire chapter, or a required anything. While his brain is in the healing process we set a timer. We started with 10 minutes because he was struggling for a while there. The doom & gloom of winter months can be hard on all 3 of us in the home with VPD. I actually thought I was in need of new tints myself, but with spring's arrival came the bright days again & things evened out, my eldest who is on the severe end of the VPD spectrum has had his nose in one book or another for the past week and a half. When someone commented on it he said he was making up for lost time now that the overcast days were gone & he could see properly again. :lol: It may mean that with the better days things will be easier for the younger one who is new to the whole process. He's a newly turned 13 year old in 7th. Last year, prior to his tints he was barely able to read for any length of time, but level of reading wasn't an issue because he could read what was put there if he understood where the words started & stopped. He tested, with the specialist, easily at a 4th or 5th grade level at that time. He's moved up in books himself so there could be a rise in levels, which we'll know in another month or so. Over all he listens to plenty of books both from me reading aloud to him, to the use of audio books. We seem to always have one on in the car. If I'm not up to a read aloud we stick on an audio book & all listen along each day at some point. I just need HIM reading. I'm not REALLY worried about what level the book is, but he's noticing that the books that are simplistic to read have very bland vocabulary & mediocre stories. At a younger age he'd have appreciated them, but now he's ready to read meatier stories. Maybe I just need to encourage him to read for short bursts of time as his brain continues to heal & he builds up the strength for longer sessions..
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Yes, he does very much so love Sutcliff's Black Ships Before Troy. We own a beautiful oversized copy of this book with illustrations on every page. :) I'll have a peek for A Father's Promise, it sounds similar to The Silver Sword in which the father gets separated from the family during WW2, but he's actually in a concentration camp & manages to escape. He has a few exercises from his specialist to do, but in general with his filters on {coloured glasses} his symptoms are not present. We also copy his textbooks {math, writing, etc} onto coloured paper {he needs a light grey} & that fixes that problem. I really think the biggest issue is being burnt out from the rivers he was dealing with, & now that they aren't there & things are easier he realises how simplistic the reading he was doing was & he feels a little flat about it.
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We live on a small island & the specialist comes x2 per year, sometimes more if needed. He doesn't need to be seen more often, I think we just need to find that book that captivates him, kwim? He has all the skills, we just had no idea he was seeing classic rivers when he read. Poor kid. It made his comprehension when reading solo very weak. He grasps whatever we read aloud or listen to. I don't use a Kindle with him because he feels overwhelmed not being able to see how many physical pages he has ahead which means he reads less then normal! :lol: He does listen to audio books, both together & on his own. We've been audible members for 10 or more years now so we have an ample supply. The big thing is that because he "doesn't like books.." he suddenly doesn't want to have audios on either. All though, despite his sudden affliction for even audio books we have a Tom Sawyer book on in the car & I've heard him tittering in the back seat over one thing or another as it happens, without squeals of, "You know how I feel about books Mom."
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We had one batch that was terrible & learned that it was likely where they made. Very frustrating when we have to import them so we can't peek at where they are made prior to purchase. I actually need to purchase more, but I'm nervous. :lol:
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Do you HAVE to read aloud? No way. If it's not something you enjoy & your children aren't gaining anything from it then it's not worth the stress & strain you're putting yourself when you could be doing things you enjoy. Having said that if you see value in it & you think you should keep doing it, then it may be time to reevaluate the standards you have for read aloud time. While playing quietly, drawing, building, playing a card game & more have been permitted for our read aloud time, being louder then the reader was never allowed. My children were not allowed to leave the room either, but then they'd usually shout out, "I need to go to the toilet, wait for me!" before leaving. I wonder if because you're heart isn't into it the kids are picking up on that & thus they could care less too. We've read aloud for years upon years, but we've also had times when it didn't happen due to time. The big key is picking books that interest the children & deciding exactly how much they can handle, based on their ages, at each sitting. When my children were 8 & 6 we read shorter books like Olga da Polga & a chapter was more then enough unless we were in the car & then we listened to whatever we could while traveling. As they've gotten older {both are teens now} reading bigger, deeper, books has been possible. Sometimes I read to them, sometimes we all listen to audio books while we each become busy with our hands. I think, though, that the bottom line is anything that causes Mamma excess stress isn't really worth it. :)
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Just scanning posts.. I feel for you. We once had a home that was 6' from our neighbour's garage. They used the garage to drink, smoke, play loud music, & do other unsavoury things. Our masterbedroom was RIGHT there. We couldn't have the windows open for the smell of cigarette smoke coming in. Ugh. However, if it was happening outside my fenced in property I might put a sign up on the fence that says "no smoking with in x of fence.." However, I'd also be tempted to speak with my local council about the situation. I don't know about yours but mine is pretty good about responding really quickly when we've had issues.. like the time the construction workers thought they were SUPER amusing & put their stupid sign on the edge of my driveway so I could either hit the sign or the neighbour's car because said neighbour doesn't think they should bother using their rather large driveway. I digress.. ;)
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I have a child who "hates books". I think there's a lot more to the story like the fact that while he could read without much issue he had undiagnosed visual processing disorder. Basically he had to sort out where the spaces between words were which was difficult. He's also more a non-fiction person because he doesn't like unimaginable stories, as in "fairy tale" type stories. I'm really struggling here to find books for him. He's read what I've required of him, all though at times slowly while we've worked on allowing his brain to heal. This has also meant books that aren't very interesting because they are relatively below him intellectually. His latest, "I didn't really care for that book.." boiled down to, "The story was fine, but it felt babyish." Not really surprising. So I'm pulling books off the shelf at home that I think he should be okay to read & having a gander through them to decide if they'll fit. I'm looking at The Cooper Kids Adventure books next as we own a few of them & I can acquire more if need be. I've debated The Sugar Creek Gang series as well all though we don't own them & I'm not really keen to spend money on books he may or may not enjoy. I'm looking for suggestions for a child who's on a 5th grade reading level. He is not in 5th grade {higher} which is what can make some of it more difficult. The last book he truely loved that he read was Darling, Mercy Dog Of World War I. It was one book in a series which he was given for Christmas. I think he loved it on 3 counts: 1, He is very very passionate about anything regarding either WW, Civil, Or Revolutionary War. He knows less about WW1 so that was a huge huge draw for him. 2, It's main character was a dog & he's equally passionate about animals. He accepts that sometimes you have to read through the bad portions of what happens to them to get to the other side. This is the kid who was on the edge of his seat the whole time we read Old Yeller to him & still, knowing the ending, wanted to watch the movie. ;) 3, The level was a little bit below him, but the story was realistic enough & fact filled enough with things that it captivated him. There is one more book in that particular series {that I've spotted} & I was planning to surprise him with it for Christmas because he goes on AND on about that first story. In the mean time I need to have books that will encourage him to read. He doesn't have to love every book he encounters, but he does need to read. He sees a specialist annually for his VPD & his reading level is tested each year. We prefer to see an upward climb which won't happen if he's stagnant with the reading, kwim? In the mean time I need books that will bowl him over from the get-go. I don't mind if they are above a 5th grade reading level {to be honest his specialist measures him by level, I tend to use Lexile #'s because they are easier to acquire..} He read some Beverly Cleary books recently & while he didn't hate them he didn't love them either. They were below him, just to give you an idea of where he's at. However books like War Horse, which he's familiar with overwhelm him a little bit because of the length of the chapters & the amount of small print on the page. We're kinda looking for something between those 2 types of books if possible. He loves funny, & he's not above stupid funny. He loves animals & he's read or had read to him many animal stories {Poppy & Ereth Series, War Horse, Old Yeller, Christopher Mouse, Ribsy, etc.} He doesn't dislike non-fiction. This kid has often been found curled up with DK style books about WW1, WW2, Civil War, Weather, etc. And yes, he's really reading them & announcing funny facts to us. I think he prefers those to some degree because of the smaller amount of writing in one space it's easier on his VPD. Okay, so now that I've been SUPER PICKY {I sound like my child now} with what I'm after.. what suggestions have you got?
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Mine is closer to 16. When it comes to school he may leave things laying around, but in general he's good about putting it away. His art projects are another story. However, we have a system which we've had in place for a long while. A desk is in his room, but he doesn't store school things in there. Each child has a a shelf in the library. It's a top shelf about chest high so they can easily reach it. Each shelf has 1-2 magazine holders which are where subject notebooks go, math books, etc. Literature books are stored in either a clear shoe box or a wicker basket on those shelves. They each also have a clear shoe box on the shelf for storing their pencil box{es}, Bible, clipboard, etc. Do the shelves always stay neat? No, but then I ask them to tidy them up because I tend to be a bit of a neat freak. Writing assignments are done on the computer so there's no lost papers there. We print them out at the end of term or the best ones at the end of the year. We take work at the end of each 10 week session & we put it in a transparent coloured plastic envelope. Basically each child has one for the year that we stuff things into clipped together. It's saved until we get our next round of homeschool approval. My 15 year old {he's closer to 16} also has his own planner. I do not hover or demand he stay on task. The planner is loaded with his work for the week & he knows it needs to be done. He leaves math on the table for correcting, brings in science notebooks to verify his answers for OYOs & does his quizzes online. He often comes forward to discuss his lit or asks questions, all though we may do a little more with that this year we'll see. Basically, he has full control of his education, & he's willing to do whatever work is required to maintain that control. He's learned that if he has control his days go much more smoothly & quickly compared to having to wait for me My younger one is another story & a work in progress.. we're working with him this year to become as equally independent & take control of his learning. What I will say is that it's far easier for them to take control {in my minor experience} when they enjoy the studies then if they don't. My eldest enjoys his courses, he enjoys his curriculum, & he had a lot of say in what was picked. When I asked him if he wanted to change anything this year he was firm that he did not. My youngest is harder because his drive & desire are not there. We had him shirt-tailing with the older for a little too long & it stole some of his joy for learning. My hope was with the new selections I made for him this year {he didn't want any say in it} that we'll rekindle some of that joy. He does understand that there are base things that must be completed if he wants privileges so that helps too.
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If you don't like Apologia..
kolamum replied to kolamum's topic in High School and Self-Education Board
Wow, a lot of choices here, thanks!! :) I'll have to explore them over the week. -
Thanks Debbie. I suspect that to be the case, but it's nice to hear that from someone else who's used it! :D
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I'm shaking things up for my youngest student this year. He's in a learning slump & my objective is to present him with lots of fun material mixed with things he must do. I went with the Timberdoodle kit for his grade level, but I'm not sold on the writing. He's done WWE & benefited well from it, but his age/grade I'd say he's behind. It's not a surprise as my child was diagnosed only last year with Visual Processing Disorder which made doing a few things, like writing hard for him. The writing book that came with the kit was very very inexpensive & I'd never heard of it so i figured nothing lost if I didn't like it. I'm not saying I don't like it as I'm completely unsure of it. It just doesn't seem meaty & all most seems below him which is an interesting thought. I don't want to waste a year though either, kwim? So I decided to finally take a good look at WIR & I'm quite impressed with what I'm seeing, hearing, & reading {sample}. I think the incremental approach all laid out will be something that he will respond well too. I've snagged the Module 1 Download to have a hard look before placing an international order. What about RIR? Anyone using it? I see it's not in stock yet for CBD, but it's on sale & available through Apologia directly if I was so inclined. My boy is also a slow reader, part of the VPD. Reading was such a struggle for him prior to the glasses {all though he managed it well} that he's completely turned off reading. It's taken a lot of effort to get him to read anything to be quite honest. I purchased him a WWI book for Christmas which he was smitten with, I mean WWI & Animals, he was in love. I had him read Henry & Ribsy last & while he endured it he claims he didn't enjoy it. When I plagued him for more information his response was, "The story was fine, but it seemed very simple." That made sense & was a fair response, but this is the issue I have with him quite a lot. Truth be told we've had to give him easier books to let him reinforce skills he learned prior to getting his filters, but also because we needed to allow his brain some room to heal. This means the books we're offering him are on his level for reading, but maturity wise are below him. See my struggle? So I'm now looking at RIR & wondering if it will be a good fit for him. If I see correctly it looks like Sarah Plain & Tall, Charlotte's Web, & Winn Dixie are the books in Volume 1, is that right? Am I missing any others? Would you use this with a child who's not keen on reading? I don't want to continue to make reading a chore for him by any means, will that happen with this? Is using RIR & WIR too much? How much time do these curriculums take per day? I noticed on the FB page that RIR isn't going to have a new release next year so that's something to consider as well.. Ho-hum. Opinions?
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Good literature selections to tie in with earth science?
kolamum replied to sweetpea3829's topic in K-8 Curriculum Board
Excuse me if I'm repeating anything because I only briefly scanned the first couple of replies: Journey To The Centre Of The Earth {loaded with geology; contains evolutionary content if you're opposed..} It Couldn't Just Happen {obviously Christian if you're opposed} Wind In The Willows {seasons, river, etc.} The Secret Garden {gardening & the life it restores, discusses how to tell if plants are alive or not, I suppose more botany, but anyway..} One Small Square Books {not lit} have ones for all sorts of biomes Jean CraigHead George has also written a few books about various biomes which might work, titles like: One Day In The Woods, One Day In The Rainforest, etc. My Side Of The Mountain would be fantastic with earth science. {same author as above} -
If you don't like Apologia..
kolamum replied to kolamum's topic in High School and Self-Education Board
BJU uses video/audio lectures? -
If you aren't keen on Apologia but need a science with an audio or video lecture, what do you use?