rutamattatt
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Posts posted by rutamattatt
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I homeschool our two youngest kiddos. Ds13 went to spend the week with my parents up north, so for one week I have only DS11. I'm trying to come up with some things he and I can do during the day while DD17 is at school that are more out of the box, etc. We've already done the zoo, science center, several historical places, the state museum, parks near here. There are a few other spots we can hit this week, but we've really done a lot of the tourist-y/educational stuff where we live. I have a hip problem that is going to limit the amount of walking and driving I can do for tours or day trips.
We are going to try the "escape" game around here one day, documentaries, snuggle time reading his literature, some movies, cooking. What else might be fun to do just one on one? It feels like such a great opportunity, and I feel unprepared to make the best of it!
(If it matters, we live in middle TN.)
Ideas?
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Our DD came to us at 13 with multiple learning challenges (including ESL), so I can relate to having a student that is not anywhere near "grade level". I don't know what state you are in or what the requirements are there, but for us (in TN and using an umbrella school), we repeated "grades" for her. We enrolled her in the lowest grade we could and we "held her back" (I hate that term!) once to give her another year of laying foundations. It was no problem. We focused on English (obviously) and math and let her dabble in the other subjects as our other kiddos worked on them.
Just want to add a disclaimer: We had our DD tested through the school district after three years of homeschooling because I could see we were dealing with more than ESL issues. She has multiple LDs along with some other learning challenges. Because of her testing and services offered for her, she is enrolled in our local public school in their life skills program. So I can't tell you if anything I did helped with high school credits.
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My kids have a slightly unnatural exposure to theater and musicals in particular. Part of that is because I really like it, but also because when I went off to college I had little to no working knowledge of the arts (and I was a theater major!). I didn't know Phantom of the Opera (the big one at the time), I had not been in a large theater to see a live show, and I didn't know any of the "big names" in the arts world. I try to take them to see a live show several times a year (although it is expensive!), and what we can't see live we watch on DVD.
Right now we are watching West Side Story and learning about Romeo and Juliet, choreography, racial and ethnic stereotypes, discrimination, how law enforcement is portrayed, the idea of love at first sight, and how the gangs got their names. ;) I know none of this will be on the SATs, but we have had some of our best discussions after watching a musical. (Except for the discussion about Potiphar's wife in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I'm still scarred from that discussion…) :huh:
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I am so sorry for your losses.
I always wanted a larger family - maybe four or five children. After our second son was born, DH told me he was done. Just announced it. I was shocked. It took me several years to work through that frustration and sadness and for him to understand what deciding this for us felt like to me. I wanted to adopted, but DH really, really didn't want to do the baby stage again. Like EVER. I prayed about adoption for five years before he slowly considered it, and four years ago we adopted our DD who was 13 at the time. (So we really avoided that baby stage!)
I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am just someone who will always want more children. Really - I would be the old lady who lived in the shoe. I love children (I am learning to appreciate teens) and I love being a mom. I have also come to appreciate that my husband's choices are out of love and concern for our family and for me, and not just selfishness on his part. But it's been a process, and there are still times I grieve not having more children. It does seem to get easier as my kids have gotten older and a bit more independent. But I don't think I will ever not have the desire for more.
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The thing I am most excited about is that we are not doing our one day a week co-op, so I can actually plan all their work out AND have an extra day to do it!
I'm hoping to focus more this year on literature and writing. We are going to use Brave Writer for the first time, and I am really hoping it is a good fit (especially for youngest DS). I have also started working on our schedule for first semester and what I hope to get accomplished, and I think I will use homeschool skedtrack again to keep us on track...
I have also spent an embarrassing amount of time stressing about oldest DS's math. Here's hoping I chose well!
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Oldest DS is starting 8th grade this summer. When we first started homeschooling we used Saxon for math, but found it wasn't a good fit at all. We switched to Singapore and used that for several years. Last year oldest DS took his math through a co-op and they used Math Mammoth for 7th grade math. We are no longer doing the co-op and now I am trying to decide what to do for his math curriculum this year.
I like Math Mammoth well enough, and would just go with that for continuity, but I see they only have 7A out right now. Looks like SIngapore also ends at middle school. What does everyone do for high school math - algebra, geometry, pre-calc, etc? Mostly online classes? I would ideally like to go with a curriculum this year that we will use on through, but I guess in all my looking I am missing some options that go all the way through high school.
I also worry that since we switched several times, I am going to miss the magic of a continuous curriculum.
Any suggestions? Also feel free to talk me down. For some reason I am really stressed about this and have gotten myself stuck in the thinking that if I don't get this choice right he will struggle the whole way through high school. (I know. I know.) :huh:
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I also use the Flip Belt. Just like your DD the armbands made me CRAZY, so I broke down and bought a flip belt. LOVE IT. I always carry my phone, key, sometimes a chap stick along now.
The only downside so far (and it isn't a big one) is that my Lifeproof phone case doesn't always slide super easily into the pocket, but it isn't any huge deal. Well, the other down side is that when I forget to put it on before I leave home, it feels like I am putting on my underpants when I have to step into it in public. :laugh:
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I actually heading out in an hour or so to go see the touring musical live!!! (I got tickets for three shows while it is in town. I also saw it once on Broadway and once in Louisville last fall…I know, I know. I have issues.)
The stage show is just slightly different than the movie, but I like it better. Not sure where you are located, but your kids might enjoy seeing it live! It is crazy good!
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Thank you all for your replies - it helps to have other brains to pick.
I am super duper excited - I just signed up for three classes on TWTM online conference! I really think they will be great for where I am at and some things we are struggling with!
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OK, ladies. I need some fresh ideas and wise counsel. We are finishing up our fourth year of homeschooling, and while I think the boys are learning plenty and I'm mostly happy with our curriculum choices, I feel so…stuck when I think of starting again in August. I feel like we muddle through the days, and we've lost the fun and interesting aspects of homeschooling that I wanted for my kids when we started.
My DH feels most comfortable when we do something similar to "school at home" (working through textbooks, keeping to a general schedule, making measurable progress), and I agree with him for the most part. The boys do do better with some structure, and DS13 is now into academics that require more textbook work, etc. But it has become so…stale. And the sad thing is I have become so stale too that I can't even think of how to get out of the unexciting rut we've been in. We just do the next thing. Woo. I get that not every day has to be fun and imaginative and exciting, but I long for more than where we're at now. But I don't know how to get there.
We already decided not to do the homeschool co-op we've done the last two years, so that frees up our Tuesdays for us. I have five days now for HSing, and I desperately want to breathe some new life into our time together in August. Any ideas? Any book recommendations? Any little tips to help get us jump started to something a little more…dynamic than what we're doing now?
I'm not excited to start another year, and that makes me think we need some changes.
TIA.
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I am the daughter of retired public school teachers, so homeschooling wasn't ever really on my radar. I had one good friend who homeschooled, and while I didn't particularly adhere to her personal philosophy of education, it got me thinking about homeschooling.
Oldest DS had a rough kindergarten year, did great in first grade, and then had a third grade teacher who (in my humble opinion) needed a good firing. ;) About that same time we adopted our daughter from overseas, and because of the lengthy adoption process, we were granted guardianship of DD, but she was here on a Visa that wouldn't allow her to enroll in public school. Meanwhile, her home country required that she be schooled. For family bonding purposes (and to shush me up) DH agreed to let me pull our sons out and homeschool all three. It was and continues to be a year by year decision, but even my husband who was initially opposed to the idea of homeschooling has to agree that it is working well.
DD has since been diagnosed with learning and intellectual disabilities and is currently enrolled in our public school's special education program. She is flourishing. As of now, we will homeschool both boys again next year.
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With kids ages 17, 13, and 10 we are having these conversations A LOT lately.
DH and I don't drink - not because we are against it, but mostly because we don't have the time. ;) I used to drink a glass of wine in the evening years ago, and DH would have a beer with dinner, but we got away from that for whatever reason. We are not opposed to drinking in moderation once they are of legal age, but I am militant that ANY alcohol means NO driving. (I just have a thing about that after my sister was hit by a "buzzed driver" who wasn't charged.)
Conversations became much different when our daughter joined our family. She comes from a background of trauma due to alcohol abuse, and she has a physical and emotional reaction to alcohol that is unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I was sipping a rum and Coke at a family wedding when we discovered that social drinking was not going to be in the cards for our immediate family. To SEE a bottle of alcohol is a trigger for her. Weddings, restaurants with bars, etc. are difficult for us to navigate.
It has been a dance to frame appropriateness with alcohol in a situation where there was zero modeling of that for one of our children. She is emphatic that she will never be around it. Our boys say they will maybe have a drink once in awhile when they are of age. My response to the boys is that they will have to make that decision for themselves as adults, but that they must make the best personal choices with all the information available to them. I do not know how DD will navigate the adult world in regards to others and alcohol. We are working with her through counseling, etc. to help, but I fear this could always be a trauma trigger for her.
Pot is not really a thing here. (Yet.) Our stance is that if it is illegal where they live, they ought to not do it.
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I am an almost exclusive tampon user. I tried the Diva cup several years ago, but couldn't get it to feel comfortable. I have a tipped uterus and wondered if that was why it was so uncomfortable. It was almost like I couldn't get it up into the nether regions well enough - I even cut the bottom part back a little to see if that would help. Not sure if it is worth trying again if it is a "structural" issue with me more than an expertise issue. Anyone here use the cup with a tipped uterus?
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We've always been Netflix folks, and we use it quite often for documentaries, etc. But I am wondering if Amazon Prime streaming has a larger selection. Does it swap out what is available like Netflix does? Worth the money?
TIA.
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We love Presque Isle when we get back up that way! But right now I am thinking it isn't quite beach temperature there. They had a covering of snow yesterday!
There is an indoor watermark in Erie - Splash Lagoon I think it is called.
Don't know much about Buffalo, except that they have a terrific Sweet Adeline's group there. (My mom sings in it. I am perhaps biased.)
Hope you have fun!
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We are about 30 minutes north of Nashville. My DH and i are originally from PA and spent 5 years in OH. We've been here now for 10 years and we love it.
One thing that we had to get used to is the state sales tax - it's like 9.75%. So that takes some getting used to. The upside is we don't pay any state income tax.
The ice warning above is true. We have fabulous weather most of the year, but every so often we get an ice storm and it can be brutal. As Northerners, we scoffed at first, but the truth is no matter how used to snow you are, driving on ice is not safe. Heck, walking on it is crazy dangerous too.
In the spring we tend to have periodic severe water - tornado warnings, strong storms, straight line winds. Several years ago a tornado touched down where we live and several people were killed. It can be freaky, but once you are used to it and know how to prepare, it just becomes part of spring (and sometimes fall) life.
Traffic in and out of the city can be heavy at rush hour, but is still better than the city we used to live in in Ohio.
Although Nashville is known mostly for country music, there is a lot of other great cultural things here as well. TPAC (TN Performing Arts Center) brings in great performers and tours. The symphony is great. If you like sports we have the Titans (OK, they have not been great, but one of these years it has to turn around, right?) and the Predators. We also have the Sounds - a AA baseball team. The sporting events are usually very fun and pretty family friendly. Lots of parks and historical places to visit.
Feel free to PM me if there is anything more specific you want to know about up in our neck of the Nashville woods!
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We use Netflix a lot. Not sure if they have more history than Amazon Prime as we don't have that, but there is a wide variety of documentaries on Netflix. We also hook up the computer to the TV and use History Channel's website or You Tube for some science and history.
(But we are the folks who watch an amazingly wide variety of documentaries - not just history or science - so perhaps my enthusiasm for Netflix is a bit skewed by that!) ;)
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We're starting here!
We finished December with a bit of a whimper, as four out of five of us had the flu as the boys and I were supposed to be finishing some semester work, so we have that to tackle and wrap up this week. Also have to work around an orthodontist appointment and the boys need hair cuts. Badly. As in someone might mistake them for sasquatch.
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So sorry to hear this about your son!
I had a concussion from a martial arts accident in Nov of last year, and we didn't receive much help as far as recovery from the ER either. My primary care doctor was a wealth of information. Most of this I think PP have covered.
Brain rest is a MUST. It made me crazy, but no reading, no electronics (video games which require lots of eye movement and have bright lights are awful), no audio, no TV. Pretty much I was told if it has a screen or makes a sound, avoid for at least two weeks. Dark room and quiet. I ended up wearing one of my husband's giant hoodies for almost three weeks because the hood came down over my eyes and helped with light, which was very painful for me. I was obviously not allowed to drive for awhile - your son may find that riding in a car is difficult initially as well.
I would definitely follow up tomorrow with your family physician. I had to go in once a week for two weeks, then I got to skip a week, but at my next check in I was still having trouble, so back to brain rest and once a week check ins. I think it would really be helpful to have a doctor follow your son like that as well - at least for your peace of mind and to make sure he is progressing and not doing too much too fast. I ended up being diagnosed with post concussive syndrome. I wished I had taken things slower (and it felt like overkill at the time).
I was on prescriptions for pain and zofran for the nausea, and I took it as soon as I could on schedule for the first three or four days. Did they give your son something for pain/nausea? It helped tremendously for that first little bit.
I was told lots of fluids also. And when my homeopathic doctor found out, he recommended hyperbaric oxygen if it happened again, as it really speeds up the brains ability to heal. (I told him I'd rather just not get another one.) Lots of sleep. If he gets bored, bribe him to take a nap. I was told the more I could sleep, the better for my brain. I had heard you wake people up periodically, but I guess that is old thinking now. The more sleep, the better.
I found that even a month or two out from my accident, I still struggled with things like remembering where I parked my car (more than usual), finding the right words, recalling something that happened just prior to the incident, explaining things clearly. I carried post it notes around to help for months. It was scary. You don't realize just how much work your brain really does...until it needs a break from doing it!
Praying your son has a restful night! (And you also!)
ETA: I also did not lose consciousness and could remember exactly what had happened to cause the injury. I thought that meant it wasn't so bad, and that is partly why I rushed to get back to my regular activities. Just because a person stays conscious, doesn't mean that there isn't a significant injury.
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Our DD17 is in public school for the first time this year while our two DSs are continuing with home schooling. It has been an adjustment, but not as bad as we'd anticipated. The school schedule is a bit of a downer in that we can't take off for a few days to go see my folks, etc. anytime we want to, but because DD is in a specialized special ed setting, her teacher is very good about us pulling her out for important family things that have come up.
The pros are that DD is getting the specialized educational help she needs, while the boys are now able to move at a better pace academically for them. DD is loving the social aspect of school, and she is in a small enough group setting that she is very successful socially. (She has social and relational challenges.)
While we don't deal with this because of DD's life skills educational focus, I would think that dealing with the hours of homework after school hours might be tricky and a bit exhausting for the parents who do both. But that's just my guess.
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For us, some of our changes are logistical. For instance we are rearranging our school room and moving to one large table in here instead of two student desks. I think we're going to change up our routine a bit too - my parents bought us a gym membership for CHristmas, so I think a few mornings a week the boys and I will go work out/run/shoot hoops for 45 minutes before we start school and hope the extra activity gets minds moving a little bit better.
For DS12 we need to focus on math attitude...and math. ;) Also going to try and do at least one research paper so he has some exposure to that.
DS10 I need to work on getting him to read more often. He probably needs a little more challenge in some areas as well.
Wish I could find the perfect balance of pursuing both academics and passions, but this is a continual work in progress. Next year I hope to stop the pendulum from swinging so far back and forth! ;)
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I know this is a terribly personal question (please forgive me!).
I am having issues with my "lady parts". A hysterectomy is one option - and may end up not being an option, but a must. We are finished having children, and DH has had the permanent snippage. While I am not really excited about the thought of a hyst., I am needing relief, and menopause is probably a good 8 years off. I have never done well tolerating hormonal solutions (birth control pills, the Nuvaring, etc.), and don't feel very confident going that route again.
I am wondering about how the procedure was done, recovery time, and how satisfied you were with the decision.
Have heard from the doctors, but am wondering about personal experiences. It feels like a huge decision, and I'm not sure I have thought about all the angles having not been through it before.
TIA.
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I'm so sorry for the loss of your sister. :grouphug:
I cannot imagine how difficult that experience is, having not been through that personally, but I have to say I could not imagine sitting through a wedding on such an emotional day for you or your parents.
I agree with previous posters - if their intention was to honor your sister in some way, that is a question to be asked of your family and not assumed by anyone else.
Sending hugs.
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When do you exercise?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I usually go mid morning with the boys. They are 13 and 11 and they use the time to run and shoot hoops/practice for basketball. Around 10:15 the gym we use is mostly empty and I can get a work out in, get home and eat, and get right back to homeschooling without too much hassle.