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Berta
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Posts posted by Berta
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My FB page is not open to family or "in real life friends". I have 18 people on my friends list and they are from an adoption group that I belong to. None live near me, most I have not met in person. I never had a FB page until the adoption forum decided to go to to FB instead. It's a closed group, and only these 18 people are in it. So it's not like my "real" friends are saying these things. I like these ladies, I don't want to leave the group so I think when it comes to them I will just keep quiet on this subject from now on.
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Is there any way to lower your rent?
We weren't in debt, but we recognized early on that we could not sustain the lifestyle we were living on our incomes once my business went belly up in 2008. Closing my business allowed me to stay home and start homeschooling. We lived in an expensive area and our income wouldn't be able to support it in the long run.
We put our house up for sale and found a house 600 miles away that was much more affordable. It took 2 years for our house to sell and in the mean time my DH and I were living apart. I was in the new house with our girls, he was in the old house until it sold, or until he could find a job here. I took a full time job (barely over minimum wage) working from 6am-4pm to afford the second house. I had a two hour lunch break and that is when I would come home and help my older daughter with her school work. I had no choice but to put my younger daughter into public school. She spent the end of first grade and all of 2nd grade in PS. My older daughter got my little one up, ready for school and got her on and off the bus.
My DH stayed at his job and in the old house until it sold. He moved here when that finally happened and was able to find a job within 6 weeks. (In an area where jobs are hard to come by). He has to commute 45 mins each way, but the pay is actually a bit more than what he made while living in our old house. We went from paying $2,000 a month in a mortgage to paying $457 a month in a mortgage. I was able to quit my job and my daughter is back homeschooling. It was REALLY hard, but we did it and now finances are not really an issue. We cover our bills and have a bit left over at the end of the month.
If you can cut your housing expenses, that would be a good start.
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A few of my facebook friends are posting how their kids are already a target for a bully or ousted by cliques and already don't want to go back to school. I'm seeing comments like "he has to go through this", "it will make him stronger", "that's part of childhood"...etc.
I'm sorry, but kids do NOT need to be targets of bullies and cliques to make them stronger. I posted that and got lambasted by people saying my "over protected" kid is going to grow up not knowing how to handle aggressive adults in the workplace.
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BIG Hit:
Trail Guide To Learning: Paths of Exploration. After the second day we were ready to send it back. My daughter is an avid reader and sticking to the guidelines of reading 2 pages in one book and 4 pages in another book almost threw her over the edge. Once she got past that she absolutely loved it. She cannot wait to sit down and see what is next. I have to say, I'm VERY pleased with POE, and I too look forward to our school day.
Hit:
SpellWell Bb. This is our first year using SpellWell. I was a little worried at first because the booklets looked kind of cheap and I wasn't impressed. Spelling is not my daughters best subject but she seems to like it and that is half the battle.
Jury is still out on Editor in Chief.
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We are pretty rural and last year my kids didn't do anything outside of the house. This year my younger daughter has joined karate and takes the homeschool classes. It's $65 a month for three classes per week.
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One of my sons has autism. I think the workboxes would help immensely! You can put the work in there, and he knows what is expected of him. He can work as he sees sit, choosing which subject to do first. I totally understand what you mean about having a routine, but not repetition. This is why the workboxes could help him. All of the work is in front of him, and he knows what to expect. My son would freak at not knowing what is coming next. If I put it all in front of him, he could SEE what needs to be done all at once.
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We have an Aldi that is 45 mins away in an area that I never go to, other then to go to Aldi. I make the trip once every 3 months or so, and fill up 2 or 3 carts. I stock up on all my baking basics, canned and dry goods. I have never had a problem with their produce or meats.There are a few items that we have bought and didn't like the taste of, but 90% of what we buy is good. My normal shopping at the local supermarket is basically fill-in's for Aldi doesn't carry. I don't shop weekly though, I have an extensive pantry and we eat from there.
I have never looked at their eggs because we have chickens that supply us well.
They do not carry generic brands. They are name brand items under an "alias". That is how it was explained to me. The manufacturers put a different label name on their product to sell at Aldi. So their "Berry Hill" peanut butter and jelly could actually be Jiff, Skippy or Smuckers.
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I lived in Jersey for 46 yrs and I had a lot of comments, but not that one yet. I think I would say in a strange voice "School?? What is that??"
I had a lady tell me that she could never homeschool, while her two "angels" were tearing up the aisle and being complete monsters. All I could say was "I can see why".
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We have had an awful fly problem this summer too. I hung FOUR of those fly stickies in my kitchen window and my husband calls it the Window Of Death.
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OMG it's in your fridge???? I would have to throw out the fridge! My DH wanted to put a container of earthworms in the fridge once and I just about divorced him. Needless to say, I'm not a snake fan. I would be the one running out of the house, refusing to step foot back in until someone killed it.
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AAS was too much for us too. My 3rd grader is doing SpellWelll this year. So far, so good.
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My daughter has a heart condition and cannot walk far. When we went to Disney I bought a Joovy jogging stroller. It was the only thing I could find at a "reasonable" price that held up to 75 lbs. She was 5 at the time and is now 8. We are going back to Disney in October and the stroller will definitely come with us again. It's very easy to push and has plenty of space for a larger child.
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You could probably pick up a used copy of Teaching Textbooks within your budget. Worked like a charm with my daughter.
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My older daughter used to have crying fits and major hissy fits when it came time to learn algebra. We wasted a full year trying different programs and even hired a tutor. Nothing worked. Then I found TT and she sailed right through it. She used TT for all four years of high school and her test scores were on the college level. She took the Iowa test and scored a 13+ (highest scored level). It teaches differently then other math programs, but in the end the kids learn what they need to know. My rising 3rd grader is more than half way through TT4.
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You can make grain free Oopsie rolls. I make these and use them as hamburger rolls, toast them and cut up to put in salads, make french toast etc.
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I haven't used Rod and Staff so I really don't know how it will compare, but this year we are using SpellWell for 3rd grade. Spelling has not been my daughters best subject but she doesn't seem to mind and never complains about doing spelling like she has done previously.
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I rec'd a full set of Pfaltzgraf stoneware in the Village pattern as a wedding gift over 20 yrs ago. I wasn't crazy about the pattern, but the quality was great. I had no chips or scratches in the set. When we bought this house 3 yrs ago I wanted a new set of dishes, canisters .. the works. I went back to Pfaltzgraf and found the Napoli pattern that I just loved. I spent a fortune on everything from dishes, glasses, silverware holder, canisters, coffee holder, placemats and even the curtain valance and kitchen mat to match. Not one week after using them they started to chip. I called up Pfaltzgraf and found out that the set I purchased is NOT stoneware, but Earthenware, and it chips easily. I wish I had done some research before spending 1K plus on the set.
We also figured out the hard way that if you microwave earthenware, you will get burnt and blistered from touching a plate or coffee cup. It gets incredibly hot. My husband literally had blisters on his hand after taking a mug out of the microwave.
So now my beautiful Napoli sits in the china cabinet and comes out for holidays and special occasions. I really want to buy the melamine set in Napoli for my daily use, but right now my everyday set is Corelle. I love that IF it breaks I can go to Walmart and buy a replacement cheaply. I hit a Black Friday sale a few years ago and got 2 sets for $13 EACH.
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I have the Shea Moisture Deep conditioner that I use once a week. At first I didn't like it because it didn't make my hair feel soft in the shower. But I was keeping a hair diary and I noticed that my best hair days were always on Sunday, when I used the SM. I use the word "best" loosely, I have yet to have a really good hair day. I really need a Deva Cut, but I want to wait til my hair is a bit longer.
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Will you have a car?
If you are willing to get yourself to the parks, you can get a 2 bedroom condo for that price (or cheaper!)
That is what we do. We have paid as little as $149, but those days are gone. Typical cost now is about $250/wk plus a $20 processing fee. That is it though, no taxes or additional fees.
Dawn
Aren't the parking fees somewhere around $15 per park? That would add another $100 or so for a week.
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We are going to Disney World in October for their homeschool days. We got the Homeschool day special price park tickets. The 5 day premium package which includes hopper tickets and tickets to the waterparks, for $209.40 per person. So that was a total of $837.60 for the four of us.
We have been there many times and we have stayed off property and on property. This trip we will be staying off property at a cheap hotel that has free shuttles to the parks. We are staying 7 nights at the Rodeway Inn and it's only $282.72 for the entire week. It's close to the parks and a friend of mine stayed there last year and said it was good enough. Nothing fancy at all, but clean and safe. Last year we stayed in Disney at the Old Key West resort and it was gorgeous, but expensive. Way too expensive for the amount of time we spent in the hotel, which was sleeping and showering.
Price is a factor this year and we need to go cheap, or we won't be able to go. The hotel has a shuttle and once you are in the park you can take the monorail to get to any of the other parks. We drive down (we are in SC) so we do have our car, but we park it and do not use it. We take advantage of the free shuttles.
https://www.studentguest.com/homeschooldays/ticketselect.php
October is a great time to go weather-wise. It is not crowded and the lines are short.
I bought these shirts for my girls to wear:
http://www.shopgreatproducts.com/disneyschooling/
We have never used a dining plan before.
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My oldest used TT for all four years of high school. My upcoming 3rd grader does TT4 and is finishing up CLE math 2. Between both she gets plenty of practice with her facts. We switched to TT in the middle of 2nd grade because I was working and I like the self-grading aspect of TT. My daughter prefers workbook style math and she asked to go back to CLE, but still wants to do the TT, so that is what we are doing.
Christianbook.com coupon code
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I rec'd a green coupon with a promo code on it with my last order. I thought I threw out the one that had expired but apparently I threw out the new one and kept the expired one. Does anyone have a promo code that they won't be using and would be willing to share?