Momof3littles
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Posts posted by Momof3littles
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Thank you! We are woefully lacking books in this area of history :)
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Always!! My family laughs because pre-smart phone days, I always had a little notebook with me that contained info for well-rated restaurants, bakeries, places to visit, things to do. I always research before vacation in a new place :)
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Yes, EI services often look like play, but really, it is therapy :) I worked in EI as a PT.
Has anyone expressed concerns about a pragmatic speech issue? The not reciprocating sometimes just made me wonder. Does he do anything like echolalia?
I would continue services for sure, and consider having a dev. ped consult, even if only to rule out some things at this point. If hearing hasn't been tested, I'd see an audiologist. I'd start there, then get on a list with a dev. ped possibly (wait lists are commonly very, very long!).
Yes, many kids have just a speech issue, but a bit of what you describe would make me want to have a more thorough evaluation to rule out some other concerns.
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<1500 sq ft, but that isn't because I think it is "small" in an unlivable sense. That # just is small IMO as compared to the average home size in my region. Anything smaller than 1500 is kind of an outlier in my area anymore.
However, I think there is a lot of value in small space living, I have enjoyed things like the Tiny House movement for years, and if we needed to, I think we could drastically downsize.
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Decent SD just in case, and for resale
Level lot of decent size (where I am, that's a half acre unfortunately. Previous home was 1.3 acres and backed to green space). This is a pretty important thing for us.
Lot drains well
quality construction (in my current home that meant sacrificing a lot of cosmetic preferences. Sometimes I regret that, but, I know it was a good decision for us overall. Most construction of similar newer homes in my area is markedly worse. But they have very nice interiors, where ours needs some updating)
prefer a cul de sac type of street if I have to live in a suburban subdivision ;) We've owned two homes in cul de sacs and prefer that for a subdivision lot.
We both grew up on acreage and would like more privacy than available in our little subdivision. However, in our price range that would make DH's commute much longer, or we'd be stretched substantially more financially. Or we'd have a really small house, and I think I would possibly lose my mind.
Tidy, well-kept houses, prefer no HOA or one that is not ridiculous.
Prefer decent buffers between some of the houses. We don't have much in the way of trees between our neighbors on the sides, but there are tall trees and a nice privacy buffer at the rear of our property.
I have never lived "in town" with kids, so when we were presented with houses that were more walkable but in town vs.a subdivision, I wasn't sure. Where I am, most subdivisions are not really walkable to anything at all. I like the idea of walkability, but haven't lived in a place that offered that with kids. I know the ins and outs of suburban subdivisions, for better or for worse :/
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I haven't done it, but trimming out billys with base molding, molding between sections, and the top makes an enormous difference. It gives them much more of a built-in look. Pinterest and Google have many examples of bloggers who have trimmed them out. Big improvement if you are handy.
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I live in a state that requires testing, but not annually. DS1 ceillinged out most domains (or was close to it) on his PIAT-r the first time. This past year was not a required testing year for us, but we opted to do the EXPLORE through Duke TIP. It was DS1's first group test, first timed test, first time to self-pace and bubble in. I found the results fairly helpful. I also know in two domains (science, reading comp.) he did very well, but was limited by the fact we really never do those types of questions at home (read a passage, answer mult. choice about it). I will practice that a bit with him this year if he retakes the test.
It was worthwhile and informative for us. The ceiling was no longer a limit, and it was interesting to see his percentile scores compared to 8th graders. (DS1 is a 4th grader)
I don't know what we'll do next year. We will have to do a state-approved test, but the talent search (like EXPLORE this year) don't count as a testing option to fulfill our requirements. I don't really want to do both talent search testing and testing to fulfill our HS requirements, but we might. I'm not certain.
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We start in July.
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We had boundary issues with the ILs. I didn't have any issue with MIL/FIL until pregnancy and kids. It really got rolling when MIL found out we were using a midwife. I did not advertise this to her, but it came up in a conversation and I couldn't avoid it. She went on to not say a word to me, but to call my *mother* and complain that I was using a mw. FWIW, this was a CNM, and it was a hospital birth, so not all that out there. My mom was very uncomfortable, but did let me know. Not to stir up trouble, but she thought maybe I wanted to address MIL's concerns, which fwiw were never vocalized directly to me. When I asked mIL what she thought a MW was, she said "someone who delivers Amish babies." It just kept going from there. We went through infertility treatments to conceive, and they were annoyed when I held the baby too much. They didn't like BFing. I know MIL was a product of her time, but she flat out said that was "only for people who can't afford formula." It went on and on from there. Every visit became an open questioning of our choices. They were annoyed with everything we did. MIL was annoyed that we weren't using hard soled baby shoes with DS1 when he was 9 months old, because he'd be "walking by now" if I was. FWIW, I worked as a physical therapist in early intervention, so um, you'd think maybe they'd think I had a clue? No. (edited to add that while my parents sometimes weren't sure why we were doing things differently, they also understood our answers. They understood that times change, advice is different, etc. When ILs would "ask," it was in a passive aggressive or blatantly aggressive way. While things are different today, they would not accept our answers. Their questions were just an opportunity to make digs or voice their disapproval.)
It got to the point that visits gave me major anxiety. We finally had a huge blow up (I don't recommend), but boundaries were put in place. It took time for the damage from the argument to heal, but 1-2 years later, things improved. And I went on to have a fabulous relationship with MIL and FIL. DH and my kids were the first grandkids on that side, and I think they just had a steeper learning curve. My parents had many grandkids already at that point, so they just knew when to bite their tongue.
I understand MILs walk a difficult road, and as a mom to two sons (and a daughter), I do worry about navigating it myself. But the undermining, constant criticism (and it was criticism and judgment, not "well meaning" advice), etc. really were detrimental to our relationship. DH's family culture is just different, and while I respect that, as an adult I was not about to sit through situations over and over again that were filled with negativity, judgment, and overstepping.
Thankfully DH had my back. He didn't really want to confront his parents, but we did it together. No one else in their family ever pushes back, so it was a shock to them when we did. But you know, I think it really helped long-term. SIL and BIL also do some more alternative parenting (used a midwife, had a waterbirth, breastfeed, cloth diaper), and MIL never said much at all to them about their choices. I think we paved the way a bit, so when they had kids, MIL and FIL had learned a lot of restraint.
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We use the AG primarily for mapwork, discussion questions, and supplemental reading suggestions. They often did the coloring too, but just as something to do while I read, or just as a kind of easy, relaxing thing to do :) We do some activities, but I focus on the ones I feel are worth the time, mess, effort, etc. to complete. We do some activities of our own (for ex, making a map out of clay for a particular area we are studying). We spend quite a bit of time on the supplemental readings. I have my DS1 (finishing 4th) write a paragraph about certain events, people, etc. that were covered in SOTW, and that goes into his history notebook. Typically we cover history about 3x a week.
This year we did Ancients for the first time for my 7 yo, and it was my 10yo's second time around. We spent a lot more time this cycle on Greece and Rome than I did during our last Ancients cycle with DS1.
edited to add that this is our first year using the PDF for student sheets. I really like having them printed and in a binder for each child. They insert their own papers as needed (for ex, DS1's written narration paragraphs about various topics). I live in a state that requires record keeping to be turned into the SD, so having a nice binder with writing samples, mapwork, etc. makes that much easier.
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Oh goodness, many healing thoughts and wishes coming your way!
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we do about 20mins. I call it morning board, though we don't do it first thing in the morning! Board is because i put everything for the month on a pinboard so they can see it anytime. Daily items are calendar, q & a a day book, memory verse, Latin (gswl), and 1 other thing. We do devotions in the morning, i wake the kids with hot chocolate. 1 other things are artist, composer, country, math facts, phonics practice, hymn. We do one a day and rotate through them. I change the subject of each thing each month.
Works for us!
Do you use a trifold board or something else? I've toyed with doing this a few times. I'm curious what you have found effective. We just started gswl, and this would be nice for review for that too.
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I'd set the boundary that if she is compelled to express her concerns, she should address them with you in the future. And if you don't really want or need to hear it from her directly (I would not, frankly, especially if this was already something you've discussed with her, or if she has a history of overstepping), then it is okay to set a boundary that it is not up for discussion with you either. I would give it a pass this time, address it with her, and if she does it again, perhaps she doesn't spend time with him alone. I dealt with IL issues for years that were only fixed by boundary setting. It caused some tension and unhappiness for a period of time, but in the end, long-term it has helped our relationship tremendously. I have had a very good relationship with MIL for years now. FIL passed away last year, but we had a solid, much-improved relationship in recent years as well.
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Wishing you the best in the coming weeks, Luanne.
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Can you craigslist or ebay anything extra at home without a major hassle?
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I think I will try the level you suggested with him, and if it isn't working out I'll back up to Narrative book 2. I think what you suggested sounds appropriate for him, however. One of the successes of the past year is that my reluctant writer is now telling me paragraph writing is "easy," and we no longer have handwringing and teeth gnashing over writing assignments :) He's always had the ability, but his perfectionism was a major obstacle.
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Back to ask, when you say Narrative 2, that is not Narrative 1, book 2, correct? For some reason I find the numbering system a bit confusing, but I'm very new to exploring this as an option.
This is narrative 2, correct? (book 3?) http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Rhetoric-Book-Narrative-Student/dp/1600512356/ref=sr_1_3_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401976831&sr=1-3&keywords=classical+academic+press+writing+and+rhetoric
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Thank you! Very helpful.
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Probably 6 years ago we went to this place http://www.rioz.com/ and it was great at that time. I have no idea if it is still excellent. eta: they have sushi, etc. on the salad bar, but not much in the way of straight up seafood like you may be looking for.
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I've tried electronic, but have been back to paper for years. It simply just works better for me. I just set up my first discbound planner and am liking it so far.
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Poem, art appreciation, maybe a non preferred read aloud (naturalist essays, Shakespeare if not a preferred RA, short biographies?). Memory work.
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We sometimes have one, sometimes not. However, when we do it consistently, I often find it one of our most productive endeavors, and wonder why I let it lapse sometimes. I am not at all an expert, I probably don't do it correctly ;) , but I do find it very useful.
In the past I've done things like some of our current read aloud, some picture study/discussion of artwork (often something we've already talked about and we're cycling back around to), reading a poem (sometimes going deeper than just reading it). We don't do much geography outside of SOTW, and I would like to incorporate some of that in our morning. We are doing more consistent memory work, and that's a good time for review, recitation, etc. for us.
Mine is likely totally not done correctly, but I do find it to really make a difference for us when we do it consistently.
edited to add: can you try alternating something seated with something more hands-on or out of their seats? Do you think that would help? Thinking putty? Modeling beeswax?
Oh, and back to add, there is no singing in our morning circle time. Ever. Will not happen ;)
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I am planning on starting WWS with DS1 (10 yo, will be a 5th grader) this year, but I've also been contemplating adding something in like W&R after reading so many threads. I did a search, but would still like to run a few things by those experienced with these books.
My DD is almost 7.5 and I think would enjoy Fable.
DS1 can write a strong paragraph, and has completed the Town level of MCT. He's pretty advanced in language arts, but only recently has really come to enjoy creative writing. He now tells me paragraph writing is "easy." He has written short essays in the past.
Would you recommend starting him in Narrative 1? Higher? Does it matter where we jump in? FWIW, he's never completed formal outlining. I would like to touch on this some with him this year for sure.
Does one need both the TM and student books for these? I am hesitant to shell out more money than necessary, as we have loads of LA resources (MCT materials, WWE 1-3, WWS, Jensen's punctuation, Killgallon sentence composition, FLL, you name it). Can I use the TM and the student writes on their own paper?
Show me your small homeschool room!
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
No pics, but we are big fans of the Expedit system. I find the books don't topple over in a giant cascade because of the dividers . I have our books fairly divided up by subject, and I keep my materials, reference books, etc. on the top shelves.