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Lawana

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Posts posted by Lawana

  1. I'm going to tread carefully here because I am part of the same tradition as Melinda in VT's mom (that is, LDS) that opposes cremation but I, personally, am not all that opposed to it.

     

     

    The LDS church can't be that theologically opposed to cremation as they paid for my cousin's cremation but would not pay for a burial. My cousin, a lifelong member, was being supported by the church at the time of his death.

     

    Lawana

  2. We are trying to put more away each month. Dh felt compelled to pay off the mortgage a few years early which we did by taking out a 401k loan, and that's been paid off for a year now. No other debts or loans. I'd been hoping for a newer van because mine has 176,000 miles on it, but we want to pay cash of which we don't yet have enough saved. We do use credit cards for most of our purchases and then pay off each month. Based on what Leila said about credit card spending habits, I'm wondering if we could save money by paying cash for most things.

     

    Dc have been put on notice that if things get bad, dance, karate, piano and baseball would have to be reconsidered.

     

    Lawana

  3. I'm hopeful for you! I'm in intown Atlanta, and over the weekend a *bunch* of places were completely out, but this morning it seemed like everybody had gas again. I still had to wait in line at QT for a bit this evening, but I only noticed one station that appeared to be out as we were driving around today... Maybe by tomorrow, things will be back to normal up there too.

     

    Maybe it is rippling north. We did have gas this weekend.

     

    Lawana

  4. All of a sudden, my cheap sewing machine isn't sewing. I've cleaned it, oiled it, changed needles, changed threads, and quadruple checked how I threaded it. Everything is moving fine, but it's just not stitching! I have no idea what the problem is.

     

     

    What have you tried with the bobbin? Do you know which direction the bobbin should be inserted? Have your tried rewinding a new bobbin?

     

    Lawana

  5. Unless your dc has significant learning difficiulties or other issues, it would be expected that a child who turns 6 after September 1 would be in kindergarten; the following year he would enter 1st grade, regardless of whether he had attended kindergarten. I don't see where a child is "forced" to go through kindergarten.

     

     

    The way it works out in practice in Georgia is that a child enrolls in K as long as he/she is 5 by Sept.1, unless the parents opt to delay a year, which happens frequently for May-Aug birthdays, particularly for boys. Then the child is enrolled in K the following year. I have only heard of one case where a parent opted out of K, and that was a case back when the compulsory age was 7, and the Mom kept her kids home until 2nd grade. The homeschoolers I know declare their intent to homeschool the Sept. after their child has already turned 6. By the way, stating a child's grade is *not* required by law, and neither is stating their birthday. Name and age are the only things that are required by law, even though in my county at least, the declaration of intent form suppied by the local school district asks for grade, birthday, and special education status.

     

    Lawana (in Georgia)

  6. Ds (then 8) had 2 baby teeth pulled because his permanent lower lateral incisor erupted 2 teeth over by pushing out a baby molar. xrays showed this misplaced tooth was lying diagonally, with its roots under the 2 baby teeth (eye tooth and baby incisor) but above the still developing permanent ones. If left in place the erupting permanent teeth below the misplaced incisor would have caused that tooth's roots to disolve, resulting in the loss of the incisor. He now has braces to pull the incisor into the right position.

     

    Lawana

  7. Do you just send them to practice piano? or Do you sit with them and watch/listen to them. I never took piano lessons so I don't know what's best. Dh had piano lessons and he says it's best to just let him do it on his own (but he was older 8 or 9). Ds is 7 years old... usually I have him play for 15-20 minutes (I put 20 minutes on the timer and leave) but lately I've been sitting in (and getting frustrated). We started sitting down for 5 minutes to work on his notes (piano teacher's request). He plays well (great for his age, I'm told) but when you point to a note, it takes him a while to tell you what it is.

     

    Should I just not be involved? Dh says it should be the piano teacher's job and not mine. I sit in on his lessons, so I know what he has to work on. ack! I should just let him be... *I need some coffee* help me....

     

    I'll weigh in on the option to sit with a child during practice because from my experience, most young children simply do not have the skills to effectively structure their own practice session. I sit with my ds9 and stay in the room with dd11.

     

    But I think your decision should be based on your goals for your child. Do you expect him to become an accomplished pianist? Is he taking lessons to try it out to see if it's a good fit? Or somewhere in between? Another way to say it may be, are the lessons mandatory for him or optional. Is it important to you that he progress rather quickly, or would you be satisfied with a slower rate. Also, the personality of the child comes into play. Does your child have an internal drive to accomplish a set goal, even if the goal is not his? I don't know many 7 year olds that do. My dd needed constant instruction to "play it again"- she would give up if it seemed hard. Ds has more drive, but for efficiency, I still sit with him to make sure he doesn't learn it wrong. (I do have some piano background.) Your needs should also play a role in this. Do you have time to sit with him? Do you want to? Are you willing to if that makes his progress faster?

     

    If the piano teacher has not already addressed the subject of how to practice, I would ask him/her for very concrete and explicit instructions about how a practice session should be conducted. The teacher should be able to give you an outline something like -figure out the rhythm, then the notes, play right hand 5 times, left hand 5 times, then together 5 times. If the teacher writes this down, so much the better. If not, you could take notes during the lesson. I think teachers vary on how involved they want the parent, but from my experience the typical young child *needs* help with practice. If you don't have piano or music skills yourself, you could still help him structure his practice, making a chart with items to check off when complete, if the teacher doesn't already provide this.

     

    You mentioned that you got frustrated when you sit with him during practice. Care to elaborate?

     

    Lawana

  8. Dd begged and begged for rabbits so we finally got 2 supposedly female Netherland Dwarf bunnies for her 8th birthday. I'm sure you know what's coming- one was a male- had to get it fixed. Aside from that, what she wanted was a cuddly pet, and these two were fearful and shy. Dh and I didn't want rabbits with the run of the house, so we kept them in a cage in the garage, bringing them into the kitchen just for "pet time". They peed and pooped everywhere and bit through the mouse cord. Eventually, we built a 4'x8' pen outside for them. They are not friendly and are not the kind of pet dd had in mind. Maybe others have had more success with rabbits as pets. I do have to say they are extremely hardy- we've had them 4 years and they've survived everything so far.

     

    Lawana

  9. The day of the week figures prominantly into DD's birth story, so I'm not likely to forget. I was 35 weeks pregnant and DH had one last out of town work assignment before I was due. He left the house Monday morning about 4:00 am to catch an early flight. At 4:30 I woke up in the early stages of labor. He always left a travel itinerary, except this time he forgot. (And this was in '96, before he had a cell phone.) So I called the airline to find out which flight he was on and was informed they couldn't give out passenger information. I had held it together admirably until then, but at the thought of not being able to get in touch with him started wailing, "But I'm going into labor!" At that point the customer service person put me on hold, and to her credit, paged DH at the gate where he was in line to board, and put him on the line, all without violating airline policy. Dh's response when I told him I was in labor, "Define labor." That's an engineer for you. Anyway, all was well and he got home in plenty of time to take me to the hospital.

    DS was born on Thursday. I had to figure that out- DD and DS's birthdays are on the same day of the week, and since he was born in DD's 3rd year, that puts him born on Thursday.

     

    Lawana

  10. "What did you think about Alfred's? I'm getting that in the mail soon. Our MusikGarten teacher recommended it.

     

    I played piano for nine years (from ages 7-16). I used to perform too. Now I hardly play, but mostly by ear :tongue_smilie:"

     

     

    Dd only used one level (level C), so I don't really have an opinion on the series as a whole. From what I saw, it seemed to be at least as good as Bastien, which at the time seemed to be what *most* teachers locally were using. One thing about it I really liked was that it taught conducting patterns for 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 time in a supplemental book. (There are LOTS of suppl books). We have used conducting as a way of developing a steady beat, and also for my visual ds to *see* where the notes go, especially in syncopated rythms. I would not have thought to introduce conducting patterns so early. Sorry I can't be more help than that.

     

    Lawana

  11. First off, my background. I took piano lessons as a teen for about 3 years, reaching intermediate level; took music theory in school as well as music history. Piano is a high priority for me, and something I truly love doing- reading about, improving my own meager skills, passing on to my kids.

     

    I taught both dc using Music for Little Mozarts before they went on to take lessons from a "real" teacher. Interestingly, both dd and ds followed the same developmental steps, without any intentionality on my part. We started book 1 at age 5, proceeded quickly to book 2, then reached a frustration level as soon as the notes moved to the staff. Put it away for a while, then picked back up just as they turned 7. Neither of them thought the books were "babyish" and both enjoyed the stories and animals. I'm thinking that for my dc at least, the ability to read notes on the staff corelated to their reading ability; which aligns with the "traditional" age to start piano. That said, I think learning at home with a motivated parent has distinct advantages for young children over a once a week lesson format. In order to succeed with young children, parents must be involved with practice every session, and since you are going to have to learn what to do anyway, why not just do it yourself. Given, of course, that you get enough information to teach effectively. But I'm preaching to the choir.

     

    Dd (now 11) started weekly lessons (at 7 1/2) with a teacher while she was in MLM book 3, went on the Alfreds Young Beginner series book C, switched teachers (only for practical reasons), then went into Bastien level 1. Completed levels 1, 2, and most of 3, then the teacher switched her to Fabers' Piano Adventures 3B. She has now completed Level 4 of Fabers' PA and we are in the process of changing teachers again; this time because she needs more/different motivation.

     

    Ds (now 9) completed all 4 levels of MLM at home with me, then began weekly lessons (at 7 1/2) with the same teacher as dd using Fabers' PA level 1. He is now in PA level 3A, and we are switching teachers for him, too, as I think a male teacher would be good for him.

     

    I have remained very involved with their practice, usually sitting with them the entire time.

     

    Comparing the different series they have used, I have the highest regard for the Fabers' Piano Adventures. What makes them better, IMO, is that they explicitly teach technique. Also, the musicality of their pieces is much better than other series I have seen. Often I have thought that if I had used their books when I was taking lessons, I would have had a better foundation on which to grow. I understand that more and more piano teachers are switching to the Fabers' books. If I had to do it over, I would take a hard look at the Fabers' series for young beginners, My First Piano Adventure. Their web site has downloadable teacher videos. http://www.pianoteaching.com/myfirst/index.html

     

    That said, I think dc got an excellent background with Music for Little Mozarts, I found it highly teachable, and I don't think you can go wrong with it. For dd, when she reached the point of playing with both hands, she got a little overwhelmed. I used sticky notes to cover up all but the measure or staff she was reading. That seemed to reduce the complexity or "overwhelmingness" of the new skill.

     

    Other resources that I have read that helped me be a more effective "piano teacher":

     

    http://www.artistryalliance.net/

    I have a few of their books- excellent for practice methodology, rhythm teaching, and phrasing

     

    http://www.marthabeth.com/piano.html

    Tons of stuff here, for both teachers and parents, although she'll tell you that beginners should have only the best teacher.;) I think if we had used some of her ideas about "worm" and "snake" songs as an introduction to reading from the staff, we may have been able to proceed without a developmental break at age 5-6.

    http://www.marthabeth.com/teaching_notereading.html

     

    http://www.pianoeu.com/

    Only if you want info on technique and can wade through non-native English.

     

    Good luck with your piano journey.

     

    Lawana

  12. Is he doing the problems in his head or step by step algorithm? I think doing them is the head is desirable but if it leads to errors, it needs to be done step by step.

     

    It may be a motivational issue. He may not see any reason why he should be careful and get them right the first time. One thing that has worked for us is to use an incentive for accuracy. Assuming the work is mostly review/practice, assign a certain number of problems. If they are done with very high accuracy (I always leave room for *one* mistake) the child's assignment is done. If more than one is missed, then the next set is assigned.

     

    Good luck!

     

    Lawana

  13. Picking back up.

    Dd could tell when she was low immediately. She had symptoms such as shaking, blurry vision, headache, even though her BG(blood glucose) was only in the 60's. Now her symptoms are less intense, which I understand is normal. Her symptoms for high BG are less definite, often being just an unwell feeling.

     

    Dd tests her BG on average of 6 times a day, more if she is low or high. She is on Lantus and Humalog shots.

     

    We count carbs for each meal. We've settled into a pattern for most meals; for example, she usually has about 50g for breakfast, 60g for each of lunch and dinner. Her BG is most stable when she eats high fiber, balanced and healthy food. Surprize! At first we gave the shots AFTER she ate so we would know exactly how much to give. But you get better control if you give the shot BEFORE. We waited until we were pretty comfortable with knowing how much she usually ate before switching to giving the shot after the meal. There are plenty of times, though, when her ideal meals just don't happen because we are eating out, having a holiday meal, etc. Then we deal with less than ideal BG.

     

    Our experience has been that it is not possible to ALWAYS have BG within target limits. The biggest reason is that there are so many factors that affect BG- stress, growth hormone, activity level, illness, menstrual cycle all in addition to how many carbs are consumed. In addition, we were told "a carb is a carb is a carb" which clearly is not not the case for dd. But carbs are the only thing that you use to calculate Humalog, with adjustments for exercise. Especially at first, it can be very frustrating to measure your food servings, give just the right amount of Humalog, and then still end up with high or low BG. It happens. Don't take it as personal failure because it's not. The longer you do this, and the more observant you are, the more you will recognize patterns that you can adapt to.

     

    Dd reminded me about something else. She had a voracious appetite when she came home from the hospital because she had lost 15 pounds before she was diagnosed. She quickly regained about 5 or 6 pounds (she was a bit on the heavy side) then her appetite returned to normal. Also, she entered into the honeymoon phase within a week of being home, so her insulin needs were constantly being lowered, to the point that if she ate just right, she needed no insulin whatsoever. The honeymoon period lasted 6 months for dd.

     

    I am a one-track person, so at first, I needed to be able to devote as much attention as necessary to dd and learning about diabetes. I put aside much of what was distracting me and read, read, read. It was a good month before I could pick back up with the rest of my life. But of course, YMMV.

     

    Diabetes is a BIG deal, just as having a baby is a BIG deal. As time goes on, it becomes second nature to check BG, count carbs, give injections. But until then, give yourself permission to take enough time to adjust, read, talk, reach out, whatever it takes. You CAN do this, just ask for the help you need.

     

    If your dd is interested, she might like to correspond with my dd, 11. Just PM us.

     

    Lawana

  14. I just have a couple of minutes before I take my diabetic dd to horseback riding camp. It was extremely scary to let my dd go anywhere without me for the first several weeks. Because we homeschooled, we could put off that seperation for a while. I had a good friend that was very interested in learning about diabetes so she could have dd visit with her dd- that was our first separation.

    DD does not always have her insulin with her- if we're going someplace for a few hours that doesn't involve a meal, we leave the insulin at home. That said, there have been a very few times we went out without insulin and ended up wishing we had it if our plans changed.

     

    Sorry I have to run, I'll type more later.

     

    And generally, no, you can't just grab an apple and eat it without at least checking blood sugar. Maybe half an apple would be okay. My dd's biggset worry was that she wouldn't be able to eat mashed potatoes, which of course, she can.

     

    Lawana

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