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PhotoGal

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  1. I don't know. What could everyone possibly be doing that is not "wasting" their lives? You could be a CEO making millions - you might live in comfort, but you can't take it with you when you die. You could be a great doctor - but your patients will all die eventually. I mean, fast forward 100 or 200 years... 99.9999% of people will be forgotten. I'm not trying to be depressing, I'm just saying that it makes no sense to view life as a *destination* that you must reach. Like if you only got such and such degree or had such and such career, you would reach the finish line of "success". That isn't what life really is. You are worthy right now. You are a worthy human being. You have inherent worth. You make the meaning in your life. It doesn't matter what people say at your funeral (you won't be there to care!). Other people don't make the meaning from your life, you do. And you don't need to "achieve" anything to have that meaning. You aren't going to find it traveling the world or getting a PhD or making a million dollars. You can only find it within yourself.
  2. Ha ha! I don't get it at all. Maybe because I don't cook? But who cares what other people are eating? I couldn't care less. I also don't care to see the route people took while going for a run. Why? What's the point? Luckily most of my feed is pictures of people's kids, which I do like seeing. :)
  3. I wanted to add that the state I grew up in had a good state school (not a "public ivy" level, but a good school). I would have no problem with my kids going there. Obviously, some states have awesome state schools as well. It varies so much by state.
  4. I just finished reading all of the comments. Thank you for your thoughts so far! I am definitely NOT saying these kids should be going to ivy league schools. That is not what I mean at all. I would just like to see that a few of them go somewhere more academically rigorous. Someone mentioned GPA and that could be a factor. The grading is very tough at this school - it is harder to get A's. That may affect what their options are. It is definitely not sports scholarships, since there are no sports at the school. The two main state universities most kids are going to have a 6 year graduation rate of about 65%. That makes me wonder if people are saving as much money as they might think they are.
  5. I hope I didn't offend anyone by saying the word "mediocre." What I am getting at is maybe a college that focuses more on football than academics or in general doesn't offer rigorous academics. Many people in this area went to those colleges and are doing great! They are solid schools. I just mean that I don't see why the high school kids are running themselves into the ground, with 3 hours of homework per night, and then attending community college or these state schools. If that is where they are going, they might as well enjoy their high school years a bit more. :) There is not one student even going to the east coast. I think the farthest anyone is going is one state away. No one is going to the "colleges that change lives" college that is nearby either. I know these kids are bright and well prepared, it just surprises me. I haven't finished reading the comments, but I will come back and respond. I agree that money is probably an issue, but many of these students would qualify for excellent financial aid packages (just based on average incomes of the area of the school). I do think there is a culture of staying close to home. But why not go to your neighborhood high school - not choose the super academic high school that is enrolled by lottery?
  6. I'm not homeschooling high school, so I hope it is okay to ask this here. I just know you all have so much knowledge, I thought I would ask! The high school we were planning on sending our son to is consistently rated the top public high school in the state. It is ranked well nationally. It is known to be rigorous and almost all students graduate with an iB diploma. However, when the list of colleges that the graduating seniors are going to came out, most colleges are community colleges, the local state schools (which are okay - not really great - but probably a lot of the parents in this area went to one of them), and a few others that aren't rigorous or known for academic excellence. Why would this be? Why wouldn't any of these bright and hardworking students from a rigorous high school be going to a top school? I'm really confused! I think the high school is excellent, but it doesn't make sense to me to work that hard in high school, only to go to a community college or a school that accepts over 50% of applicants. I would rather that college be the more academically rigorous place. College shouldn't be easier than high school. Does anyone know what might be going on?
  7. Almost three is still young. I would keep him in the preschool that you like. Here in Oregon, the early intervention/early childhood special education will have the speech therapist come to the preschool where you child attends. Is that available where you are? They work with the preschool to arrange it. The other thing I would suggest is to check your health insurance and see if they cover speech therapy. I think often private therapists (through a local hospital or private organization) are more successful for cases that don't resolve more easily. It sounds like his language skills are great and it is mostly articulation. I don't know how effective group therapy is going to be. I think group therapy might be more effective for general language, but articulation should really be one-on-one. I'm not an expert, though.
  8. I tried to convince dh to move to somewhere like San Luis Obispo, but he thinks it is too far from everything. To be fair, it would be nice for him to be near a major airport when he travels. Also, if his company does decide not to let him work from home anymore, we would need to be somewhere he could find another tech job.
  9. Dh still has his job from San Jose. They are letting him work from home with travel about once per month. Technically we could live anywhere, which is not helping my bad decision making skills. ;) This timezone is probably best because he does a lot of work calls. I do have a light I bought when we first moved because I was worried about SAD. I think it is more like the weather makes me want to curl up with a good book and a cup of coffee and a snack or two or three. Not that I have time to do that (other than coffee/snacks), but that is the feeling. One set of data on the side of moving is that I gained more weight in one year living in Portland than I did in 16 years of living in California. So that's not a good sign. I agree that moving is expensive and we paid a lot to sell our house in CA. We bought our house here after the first (mild) winter. We thought this move was forever, but I can't face a forever of this weather, so it is going to have to be sooner than that.
  10. Two years ago we made several bad life decisions that I now truly regret. One of them was moving from California to Portland, OR. We moved to be near family, to afford a nicer house/neighborhood, and for the schools. There are some great things about Portland that I really appreciate, but I am just not cut out for the months (and months and months) of gloomy skies. I just get all unmotivated and pessimistic. The kids have great schools here and have made friends. However, even they have gotten used to staying inside all the time vs. in CA when they always played outside every evening. They miss CA, but mostly our old house which we obviously can't buy back. I wish we had rented it out rather than selling it, but I have no time machines, so... Anyway, we are thinking of moving back to CA someday. I would like to move tomorrow! But for the family as a whole that would not work. We've had a lot of changes in a short amount of time and I think we need a year or two to settle down first if we do move. Our oldest is finishing 6th grade, so one idea is to move right before high school for him. That would mean that UCs and CSUs would be in-state tuition (yay!). Or, we could wait until our two oldest are done with high school (move during the gap before the younger kids start). But that seems very far away and I might be a total blob by then... I don't know if we can afford to move back to the bay area (sniff!). We were thinking about San Diego? Maybe north county? It sounds like the weather there is perfect and I would love to live somewhat near the beach. My husband worked there long ago and is familiar with the area. It is still expensive, but not as bad as the bay area. I am a little scared of southern CA because I lived in L.A. for a little while and really didn't like it. I don't like to live in urban areas or where people really judge you on your looks. :P Anyway, I am asking here because I no longer trust my own judgement about decisions. So maybe you all have some wisdom for me. I don't want to try to fix my original bad decision with another bad decision, kwim?
  11. This sounds just like my 5 year old boy (turning 6 in September). However, I think he really does have a visual memory/processing issue due to his medical condition. He is now getting really close to knowing all his letter names, and sounds seem to be coming more quickly. I remember how frustrating it was just to teach him the letter A. It took him about a month (no pressure, just pointing out the letter, coloring the letter, apps, DVDs, etc.) He did get it with lots of repetition. Did he learn his shapes/colors fairly easily or was that difficult as well? Our little guy had a lot of trouble with those as well - basically anything visual (drawing a shape, doing a puzzle) is difficult for him, but slowly getting better. Something I should have done and still should be doing is more kinesthetic stuff - make letters out of playdough, write letters in sand, etc.
  12. Hi there, I have an extreme auditory learner (possible visual processing learning disability). He is slowly learning his letters, but has trouble copying and even tracing them sometimes. I was wondering if anyone knew of any songs that teach how to write letters. I am imagining something that would describe how to write each letter (like "make a big circle, then a little line"). Does this exist? :)
  13. Does anyone have experience with a child like this? Our son, adopted from China last summer, has spina bifida and hydrocephalus. He is 5 1/2 years old now. Kids with SB often have "nonverbal learning disabilities" - showing up as issues with math and reading comprehension starting around 3rd grade or so. However, for most kids, reading is a strength in school. Our son is learning English very quickly and was already speaking in phrases after just a couple weeks with us. He definitely can learn at a good rate auditorily. However, we have noticed that he has a lot of difficulty learning visual things. It took a LONG time for him to learn colors and shapes. He does still not consistently remember his shapes if we haven't reviewed for awhile. (I am talking shapes like circle and square). We have been working on letters for several months in preparation for kindergarten. We have used ABC books, environmental print, DVDs, apps, ABCmouse, AAR prereading, an ABC chart, and even flashcards. It took him about a month to learn the letter A. Then, it took another month to learn B (still not solid on B...). He knew C and D, but now we are working on E and he has no idea. I can show him, talk about this letter being in his name, tell him the letter - then a few minutes later show it to him and he has no idea. He will guess "A!" "B!" "N!" or not say anything at all. I don't make a big deal of him not knowing, just say "This is letter E! E for elephant!" or something and move on. The kindergarten he is enrolled in is a Mandarin immersion school. He came to us fluent in Mandarin, but has lost most of it over the last 7 months. I am sure he will pick the language up again (listening/speaking). But I am very concerned that he will not be able to learn characters. Of course, I am also concerned about learning to read in English as well, because some words you just need to know as sight words. I am hoping (HOPING!) he will learn his letters and sounds before kindergarten starts, but now I'm not even sure about that. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has seen a child like this and how did they learn to read?
  14. I'm so glad you brought up this topic. I am currently making the very same decision with one of my kids. I would love to think that natural consequences (using real money and seeing how fast it was gone) would work, but natural consequences NEVER work with my kids! Like they refuse to wear a jacket and get cold, they should wear a jacket next time, right? Nope. Never. :huh:
  15. Say you have a new stepchild, or your MIL moves in with you, or some other situation where you are going to be living with someone for years. Let's imagine the person is just a regular person (no major issues) and you really want to love the person. Could you make yourself love someone?
  16. Also have him checked for sensory issues. Some of what you said sounded like that to me. Hang in there! It is tough when people don't believe you when you are trying to get help for your child & for your family.
  17. My two older kids homeschooled through 3rd/5th grade. They are now in public school and doing well. They are both bright kids and picked up a lot fairly quickly. I now have three preschoolers at home and want to get started with some explicit instruction, especially for the oldest (age 5). He and one of his little sisters was just adopted from China last summer. We are starting from scratch! He is learning English quickly, but seems to have a block about learning things like colors and shapes. It has taken many many (MANY!) repetitions to teach him basic colors and the shape circle. We've used books, real life conversations, super repetitive DVDs, ipad apps, curriculum (Beginning Thinking Skills), whatever we could think of. He still does not know squares/triangles/etc. - I think we finally got circle down. :) Anyway, these three are not going to learn letters, numbers, etc. just through play and conversation. They are going to need more step-by-step and repetitive instruction (while still being somewhat fun, right?). Our 4 year old knows her letter sounds and can sound out two letter words (up, in). Our 5 year old only knows the first letters of their names - even the letter factory DVD did not work with him. :D Our 3 year old has a major speech delay and global delays. I think she also knows the first letters of their names, but does not understand that the letters could be used for other words. For example, when she sees "C is for cat" in a book, she says she is a cat because her name starts with C. ;) She also thinks no one else can have 3 of anything, because SHE is 3. I was thinking of using either AAR or LOE with our 4 year old. Maybe AAR Pre for our 5 year old? The kindergarten we want our 5 year old to attend next year (he will just be barely 6 when he starts) in a Mandarin immersion school and they use Singapore Math. I'd like him to be at least counting by then, and it would be nice if he could write his letters, since I remember Singapore K expecting that. Singapore was great with my older two, but I think he would probably do better with Saxon (not that we have a choice, just saying what he seems to need - more repetition and practice). Sorry I didn't mean for this to be so long. To summarize: 5 year old ds: - adopted from China last summer (still learning English) - learns conversation quickly, but abstract concepts slowly (possible learning disabilities? too early to tell for sure) - preparing for a fairly academic kindergarten next fall - goals: knowing letters/sounds, counting, writing letters/numbers, writing his own name, knowing colors/shapes, fine motor skills 4 year old dd: - adopted from China almost two years ago - learns at a normal rate - preparing for the same kinder, but the fall after next - goals: read CVC words, counting past 10, writing letters/numbers 3 year old dd (almost 4 yrs old): - adopted from China last summer - major speech/global delays, but good at puzzles and some non-verbal things - preparing for the same kinder? or maybe our neighborhood school? or maybe homeschool?, not sure what year we will start her - goals: speech, cognitive skills, counting to 10, knowing more letters and understanding the concept of numbers/letters All three would benefit from learning more about the world in general to strengthen their background knowledge/vocabulary. The two new kids need things explicitly taught. So far we are doing: - reading a lot of books - DVDs with letters/shapes/colors/numbers/stories (while in the car dropping off/picking up siblings) - O.T. for 5 year old, S.T. for 3 year old - toys that help with problem solving (puzzles, stacking blocks) and pretend play - random preschool workbooks and Beginning Thinking Skills (they wanted "homework" like their big siblings) - DD4 did "Get Ready for the Code" book A - cutting, pasting, glueing, coloring, playdough - all that stuff ;) - learning to share, take turns, cooperate, etc - lots of practice there We mostly need: - help learning letters/sounds/colors/shapes in a way that sticks - help learning to write letters/numbers - practice with things like patterns, rhyming, other concepts such as this - drawing skills? Ds can draw a wonky smiley face, but that is about it. - reading instruction for 4 year old? No need to rush, but I think she is ready for this If you read this all, I thank you ahead of time! Obviously the most urgent is getting the 5 year old ready for kinder. I know there are people here who are very knowledgeable about curriculum! Our big kids didn't need curriculum for preschool, so this is new to me!
  18. My kids both wear watches every day! I've been really surprised. They take them off for showers and put them right back on after. If I had known they would love them so much, I probably would have bought them nicer ones. :)
  19. I remember this coming up with one of my kids as well. I started asking "Who has more?" first, then "How many more?" That seemed to make it clearer.
  20. That's a good point. I think our older one really will have quite a bit of homework and I don't know if we will be able to squeeze much more in. I was hoping to keep up with languages, but that might be tough because it is time consuming.
  21. Thank you for the advice! I will check out that book for sure. What a great idea to paint the brass - at least the fireplace should work. I was trying to explain to dh and I said, "Imagine if I was wearing a hippy skirt with a really modern necklace like just a circle, and vintage glasses. That's my style. And then the house is like a polo shirt. Nothing wrong with polo shirts, it just doesn't really 'go'," He said he thought that would look fine. LOL! I think Pier 1 is a good suggestion (love Pier 1) as long as I don't go too rustic. It may be time for us to move away from Ikea a bit anyway, since we have relied on it so heavily in the past. ;) We are hoping to paint next weekend, so hopefully that will help a bit, too! :) Thanks again.
  22. I just wanted to chime in that WWE helped my kids listen to stories more easily. At first, I had to read a bit at a time and remind them to picture what I am saying as I read (like a movie playing in their heads). We didn't start WWE to improve listening skills, but it did have that effect. It was really helpful!
  23. Hi all, The kids are going to school in the fall and I would love to hear your ideas about ways to keep their learning going at home as well. However, they are very reluctant to give up any of their free time for anything that looks like school. What are some ways to weave learning into our everyday life? Here are a few that have worked for me in the past: - I just start watching a documentary or Ted Talk when they are in the room - they usually come over and start watching. - Listening to different types of music in the car or around the house - Cooking (some fractions, measuring) - Read alouds (we would do this anyway - even if we weren't homeschooling)
  24. We recently bought a house and while it is a perfectly nice house and works for our family practically, it is not my style at all. It is very traditional. I don't think my mix of modern/antique (that is my favorite "style") is going to work there. But I don't want to buy furniture or decorate in a way I don't like either - I think that would make it even less like home. Any advice? Here is an example - the fireplace has marble and brass with a very traditional mantle. The whole house has a lot of brass, actually. And the master bath has tile with shiny brass colored lines. All the bedrooms have big ceiling fans with glass light covers that are scalloped. My style is more of a Pier 1 meets Ikea (my budget as well... LOL). Most Ikea stuff will not look right in most of this house. Even the laundry room has sparkly counters and BRASS! LOL We are taking out the carpet and putting in hardwood, so I don't want to spend too much on furniture, etc. - though we are planning on replacing our old couch. Anyway, I am rambling! Any advice on adding rustic/modern to a traditional house without it looking weird?
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