Laurel
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Posts posted by Laurel
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I would continue to learn the letter sounds, but drop the sounding out words part for a month or two. It sounds like the concept of blending hasn't clicked yet, and that's okay and normal. But when it does click, she will be better prepared if she knows all the letter sounds.
(We had the same issue, at almost the exact same age, and I backed off for a month or two, and came back to it, and she's done great since.)
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For brands of tea, I prefer either Republic of Tea, or Tazo. I grew up drinking really fruity herbal teas (tissanes, actually), but depending on my mood, I like fruity herbal teas, or green tea, or white tea, or a strong spiced chai. I would just experiment, buying whatever kinds strike your fancy. (Starbucks carries Tazo, so you could try a cup before buying the box, though it's not that much more expensive to buy the box.) If you find a place that carries Republic of Tea (random places tend to carry them, independent coffee shops, health food stores, gift/specialty stores), they have small samples with a few tea bags that you could try.
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:seeya:
I'll keep you and your son in my thoughts tomorrow. Hope all goes smoothly.
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In your User Control Panel, it will be a red square instead of a green.
They do need to leave a comment to leave neg rep. (That doesn't mean they have to "justify" it though. They can write anything, I think. But administrators do have the power to delete neg rep if it's not warranted/spiteful, or something.)
Do you have a gray rep square with no comment? That means that someone with less than 50 posts tried to rep you (positively).
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Faline,
Looking at your past few posts, you might consider picking up the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. It's cheap and will tell you all about dehydrating things, making your own ketchups, jams, etc.
This recipe is from the Blue Book. I haven't tried it, but am planning to in a week or two, so no guarantees, but it sounds good.
Spiced Apple-Pear Freezer Jam
4 cups chopped peeled cored apples
4 cups chopped peeled cored pears
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1 pouch freezer jam pectin
Combine apples, pears and water in a saucepot. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Lightly crush fruit. Measure 4 ups cooked fruit. Combine cooked fruit, sugars, and spices in a medium bowl. Let stand 15 minutes. Gradually stir pectin into fruit mixture. Stir 3 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Ladle jam into freezer containers. Label and freeze.
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I'm clueless. Can someone please explain how to rep? Thanks.
In the right hand corner of each post, there is a scale. Click on that, leave a note (including your name, otherwise people won't know who repped them), and then click submit.
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Last year I gave them long underwear and socks (big skiiers). And books.
We (my parents and siblings) made very specific Christmas wish lists last year. It may be boring, but we all got what we wanted/needed.
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But suffice to say, I am scared enough of HFCS that I spent $47 plus to guy ONE gallon of maple syrup so that I do not have to feed my family regular syrup (which has HFCS in it). We are not wealthy. That $47 is outrageous. But when I factor in the cost to our health of eating poison, it is worth it.
I love real maple syrup, and growing up in Maine, it's what I was raised on. The gallon I brought back home (to OK) a few weeks ago cost me $66! (Organic.) But it does last a while.
Second, where can I find similar foods without HFCS. My kids can do without chocolate milk but they will not eat unsweetened applesauce. I already limit soda at home but my oldest dd usually has soda, ice tea or some kind of juice at her high school for lunch. Is HFCS in all of those?Organic foods usually don't have HFCS. HFCS will be in sodas and teas, and juice-cocktails, or juice-type drinks. Encourage your daughter to drink 100% juice if she must have something sweet at lunch. (Ideally she would bring her own bottle with water, or homemade tea, but I'm guessing that wouldn't go over too well...) Try different kinds of unsweetened applesauce, especially ones that are made with different fruits. (I'm partial to apricot applesauce, kids like berry applesauce.) Or look for organic sweetened applesauce.
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I personally don't like the BOB books, but the first set was great when we were first starting to read. As others have mentioned, all other readers had words that she wouldn't be able to read, and I didn't want her to get discouraged right off the bat, thinking of all the words she couldn't read.
I much prefer the Nora Gaydos readers, and after we finished the first set of BOB books (or after we read the first few at least), we started reading those. The illustrations are better, and the stories are better. We are on the second set of Nora Gaydos readers (long vowels), and we are reading those as well as other easy reader type books. Slowly.
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Yum! I make a similar dish, a white sauce with chopped spinach over pasta. No fancy name though. ;)
I understand strange kids who like vegetables though. It is incredibly difficult to get the 3 year old to eat meat, but he will ask for 2nd and 3rd helpings of broccoli. As a baby (8 months), I would give him a piece of raw asparagus to keep him quiet while I made lunch. I only wish his sister were the same way...
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I enjoy reading aloud, and I do try to do the voices, though my problem is that they are not consistent. A character's voice changes throughout the story. But I try.
I cannot read aloud for hours on end, however. My voice/throat wouldn't be able to handle it. So we spread it out over the day. We always read aloud after lunch (usually for about half an hour), and a few days a week after quiet time, and then whenever else we can fit it in. If they are coloring, they like for me to get down on the floor with them and read.
One thing that has worked well lately, during our after-lunch sessions, is for me to read a bit, then for them to read a bit (aged 5 and 3 - the 3 year old tells us about the pictures in a book), then for me to read some more. Gives me a little break in between.
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I'm so sorry. :grouphug: I get so frustrated/upset/down when things are ruined like that. It feels like it shouldn't be such a big deal, but it is.
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Sounds like they should make YOU cookies. ;) Here's a whopping big :grouphug: for ya, Quiver. If it gives you any little teensy boost, I want you to know that you're SUCH an inspiration to me. Really. Every time I even just see your username--forget that knockout avatar!--I think, "She can do this with a TEAM of kids?! I can certainly manage these TWO little varmints."
You amaze me, woman, you really do. :001_smile:
:iagree: Really, you are such an inspiration to me (and I'm sure many others). 10 kids (and even when you come here to "vent" about them, you're still going to make cookies!), and your commitment to healthy eating, etc.
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Oh, ALL RIGHT. You've made my children's day. I don't think it's a good idea, and I will be most annoyed if the blocks get lost, but I will let them play with them as long as they stay at the table and pick up ones they drop. SIGH.
I can be a mature adult about this. Yes, I can.
I am on the messy side, and if anything makes it into the kids' room, it is lost and gone forever. But, I do allow them to play with math manipulatives, as long as they stay in the living room, and they clean up immediately when they are finished. With things I don't want to lose, I need to follow through each and every time with making sure it all gets picked up. It does take more effort on my part, especially at first. Now they know to pick up and put away the math manipulatives on their own. (Read: the 3 year old and I only get in a fight every other time he plays with them.)
It is hard sometimes to be a mature adult. Yuck.
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You are not eating enough food and/or fat, and your body is overcompensating. The body holds on to weight because it's pretty sure there's a famine that will kill us all, so every pound it can hold or pack on is a bonus. Your metabolism has made sure you don't die during this famine, that you live for another season when there's probably food.
As to the fats, well, I'm convinced by my own stellar cholesterol (with a history of borderlines back when I was a low-fat eater) and my family history of astronomical numbers, that a diet rich (to the point that you are satisfied) in good fats and a decent portion of saturated fat from moderate amounts of whole dairy foods and butter (about 1 tsp per day on average) is a wonderful way to eat.
Couple that with everything else you are doing so wonderfully well, and I think you'd solve your dilemma.
:iagree: You need fats, lots of good, healthy fats, including animal fats - butter, whole milk, whole milk yogurt and cheese. Nuts, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil.
Read Nina Planck's Real Food, or Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food.
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Yum! I made grape juice earlier this summer (from grapes we had picked), and loved it so much I had to go back to get more grapes.
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I never knew there was a stigma attached to the color black, though I do think black can look odd on young children. Children need color! That being said, I think the cut and style of the clothes matters more than the color.
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Sounds like you've already been convinced, but I agree with Julie. I've found no need for a formal double boiler, and just use a bowl that fits on my saucepan. My mother has an expensive copper double boiler (she's a chef), but she would agree that it's not necessary, and a set up like Julie said works just as well.
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That was one of my deciding factors in trying it out. It has been very successful and obviously has many, many members. I'm going to go ahead and place an order in the morning. What's the best time?
If you want to get eggs, 8 AM sharp. There is also such a low supply of chicken that you'll need to be one there first thing to get one. Last month there were two available at 8:05. I ordered one, and tried to order the other, but someone else beat me to it. (I am such a dork that I have my phone set to remind me every month that the order is open. We like our farm-fresh eggs.)
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I also seriously doubt that the co-op will be in existence very long since I can't imagine many who would pay those prices.
Not disagreeing that the prices are expensive compared to Walmart and conventional food, but the coop has been around since 2003, and it just keeps growing. There are over 2000 members, and they do $60,000 - $65,000 in sales a month. I understand that many simply cannot afford to eat local and organic, but the coop isn't going anywhere.
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Yes, they come with a bowl. The product description says that it comes with a bowl. I do think it's weird that they ask if you want to buy a bowl, but it looks like it's a deluxe sort of bowl, and perhaps that's why.
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Friend and I are having a massive canning weekend. Friday we made Barbecue Relish, Sweet and Sour Sauce, and Chutney. Today, we made it all again, minus the chutney (with extra sweet and sour sauce). Tomorrow we are going to make two batches of tomato sauce.
In the cupboard I've got peaches, tomatoes, peach jam, grape juice, grape jelly, blackberry jam, blackberry liquer sauce, and more tomato sauce and barbecue relish, etc. Freezer is full of fruit: blackberries, blueberries, and peaches. And pesto, and some veggies. I made some homemade raisins as well. We have a few dried tomatoes, and will hopefully dehydrate some more next weekend.
I have a big box full of apples that are waiting to be made into applesauce, and perhaps apple juice and apple jelly. Would like to dehydrate apples as well, but we'll see.
I still have a long list of things I would like to process. Pickled Bean Salad, Roasted Red Pepper Spread, Ketchup, Salsa, etc. We will see what gets done in the next few weeks.
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Is the normal amount one can expect to pay for a pasture fed whole chicken? I was going to join our local co-op but the prices seem awfully high. Hamburger meat runs $6 + per lb.
The milk that is only pasteurized and not homogenized is $7.50 per gallon. The eggs are over $4 per dozen. The pasture butter is $7.50 for 1 lb. Does this seem too high? Seems really expensive to me.
I should of never read Nourishing Traditions that explained all the bad stuff in our food supply. Now, I am torn as to what to fed my family. Making out the grocery list is a nightmare.
Is it THAT bad to drink milk from a regular dairy (not pastured)? Or eat eggs from a regular store like Walmart? Am I freaking out over nothing?
*sigh*
The prices through the coop are pretty standard. Wagon Creek charges $4/8 oz. of butter at the Farmer's Market (but no sales tax at the farmer's market, so it evens out). Eggs run $3.50 a dozen or so.
I understand, the price of the chicken when I saw it in the store the other day almost gave me a heart attack. But I bought one last month (not paying much attention to the price when I did my coop order), and I have to tell you that the chicken was SO good. And chickens have been in short supply here lately, so I was just happy to get one.
But there is no comparison in quality between what you will get through the coop and what you can buy at Walmart. The eggs are so good. They taste so much better, and the yolks are so orange. (If you place your order early enough, get Emerald Acres eggs - theirs are the best!) The butter and cream from Wagon Creek is to die for, and so different than conventional butter. (Anything from Wagon Creek is fabulous - we love their garlic yogurt cheese especially, and their cheddar cheese.) Oh, and if you like pecans, try the local ones. Yum!
I've been a member of the coop for about a year and a half, and I have been incredible pleased with it. I like that I am supporting my local farmers, I like that the food is (generally) organically grown/raised, I like that it is better for me, and I like that it tastes better. It is more expensive, but it's very worth it to us. (And we are hoping that soon we will be able to become producers...)
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I don't know what to think about all of that. There are a lot of crazy people out there and it is hard to say what was/is being planned.
Hijack: Can someone link me to the stats about previous presidential assassinations and attempts? If I recall correctly, there was a big to-do about how GWB was next due to the year he was elected. Does that ring a bell with anyone.
No links, but ever since Lincoln (I think), and up until Reagan, every president who has been elected in a multiple-of-20 year has died while in office. And there was a serious attempt on Reagan's life, but it seems like he broke the "curse."
Hijack aside, I do worry about the safety of the candidates. There are a lot of crazy people out there.
Should my 1st grader be writing?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I agree with Cadam. Add some copywork (integrate with TOG, or pull short sentences out of books she likes), and you're good to go.