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Julie in Monterey

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Posts posted by Julie in Monterey

    Does anyone have a tradition they use in place of Christmas stockings?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I would discuss this with my children, especially the older ones. I'm sure they'll come up with a fantastic idea that everyone will enjoy. Just ask them.

     

    I to tire of the "Christmas frenzy" of gifts, etc. However, I do appreciate the joy my children experience when receiving a handmade gift or for that matter making a gift for someone they care about. I can't control my extended family and their gift habits (they go way overboard ) but they do enjoy sending things. Over the past few years we have gradually moved to giving and receiving gifts of consumables. My mother in law last year bought our family the Rossetta Stone Spanish package and the sister in laws got together and purchased a family membership to the Aquarium. They can still be generous and promote a healthy attitude without adding to the "stuff" in our lives.

     

    Some things we do are : wrap Holiday/winter related books and have the children unwrap one each day before Christmas. I have about 24 so they unwrap one on December 1 and end with Christmas Eve. It is our read aloud each night before bedtime during that season. Our children now act out and read "The Night Before Christmas" on Christmas eve and get a real kick out of it. This idea was of course one I poached here on these boards. It's been fun for the kids to unwrap. Even though they know it's a book, they don't know which one it is. Even I admit, it's fun to unwrap presents.

     

    We also bake all of our friends Gingerbread families and deliver them in the days leading up to the holidays. Just our little way of saying, "you mean something to us, from our family to yours".

     

    So, I didn't give you an idea of a container. I do love the boots or shoes idea. Forever, my favorite gift was my stocking even until I moved out of the house. My mom took so much care to fill it with things I loved. As I got older it might be an embroidered vintage hanky or a special pair of earrings.

     

    Let us know what you come up with.

     

    Julie in Montery

    If you had extra money to put towards debt.....

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    The one with the highest interest. If you can, double or even triple that payment while making minimum payments on the others. Once the first cc is paid off, make the same payment you made on the one you paid off plus your minimum on the next cc with the next highest interest. It keeps snow balling until you are making huge payments (because once you pay one off you keep making that payment and applying to the next card in need) and paying off quickly. Oprah.com has a great page with similar financial advice.

     

    Good luck!

     

    Julie in Montere

    Grown up costumes?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Dh and I are invited to an all grown up Halloween party. We are both really looking forward to it. Costumes are mandatory and acting the part is more important than the costume. I'm just not in the creative space to think of something fun. Any ideas? We don't have to be a couple just need ideas. What have you always wanted to dress up as but haven't done yet?

    Inspire us!

     

    HHHHHhhhhheeeeeelllllllppppppppp!

     

    Thanks in advance for any help!

     

    Julie in Monterey

    Music alternative to Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    It depends what she likes. We love the Beach Boys, The Beatles in terms of grown up artists.

     

    There is a wide variety of artists that are just for kids that our whole family enjoys. You know the stuff that is "clean" and even educational and fun in content but zippy and fun enough for grown up ears. I'm amazed at the quality of kids music now days. I just remember Burl Ives and Alvin the Chipmunks.

     

    My 9 year old still loves all this music (most we found at the local library);

     

    artist albumn

    They Might Be Giants- No! - really zany lyrics

    Dan Zanes Hello, Hello!

    Dan Zanes Nighttime

    Dan Zanes and Friends Family Dance

    Banana Slug Band Adventures on the Air Cycle

    Goin Wild

    Wings of Slumber

    Buckwheat Zydeco ChooChoo Boogaloo

    Howard Hanger and Jazz Fantasy Dog Breath and other songs

    Jessica Harper Nora's Room

    Laurie Berkner Victor Vito

    Buzz, Buzz

    Under a Shady Tree

    Whaddaya Think of That?

    Lisa Loeb Catch the Moon

    The Persuasions Good Ship Lollypop

    Taj Mahal/ Linda Tillery and Shakin a Tailfeather

    the Cultural Heritage Choir

     

     

    There are some soundtracks that we also really enjoy;

     

    artist albumn

    Jack Johnson & Friends Sing-a-longs and Lullabies for the

    film Curious George

    various Because of Winn-Dixie

    various O Brother, Where Art Thou?

    various Mary Poppins

     

     

    We also have downloaded several Jackson Five tunes for our "family dance" nights.

     

    I hope this helps. Don't forget to use your local library. We've downloaded quite a bit to our Itunes and to Ipods.

     

    Julie in Monterey

    Fun Halloween/Trick or treating idea

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Last year while trick or treating, we passed out little cards that said "Happy Halloween" with thumb print artwork on them. They were about 3/4 the size of a small note card. We made thumb print spiders, pumpkins, and witches.

     

    It's always felt funny to me to have the kids knock on a door and ask for a treat. Personally I don't like all that candy in our home but I LOVE the opportunity to chat with so many of my neighbors, especially the elderly ones. Our neighborhood is filled with activity on Halloween.

    This way they give a little "thank you" back. 99% of the houses were THRILLED by this little token. All people said that in all of the years kids have been coming to their homes, they never received anything from them. At the end of the evening, the kids talked more about how excited people were at their cards than they cared about all the candy they received.

     

    We sort of stumbled upon the idea while fooling around with our thumbprint art book. Anyhoo, it's a good opportunity to practice handwriting and give a little lesson about thanks and appreciation.

     

     

    Cheers!

     

    Julie in Monterey

    3 year old who doesnt speak words....

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    You said he is not autistic. I assume that means he's been evaluated by a professional.

     

    Many people with children who are late talkers find it beneficial to use baby sign language to communicate. It builds reception and expressive language skills even if the child is not vocalizing. It doesn't delay talking. It is relatively easy to do. you can do it in conjunction with language development ie you do the sign while saying the word. Try to get the child to at least make the first sound of the the would while doing the sound.

     

    Make the airplane sign when outside and a plane flies over and make the "pah pah pah plane" Make the sign for car (it is like using a steering wheel) and say "Let's go get in the car. Can you say kah? Car."

     

    This child needs Speech Language therapy. If he/she is unintelligible then he/she needs intensive phonological therapy. The big question is; Is this child frustrated by the inability to communicate? If so, get him/her therapy right away! If not, the question is why not? Either way, "Baby Signs" is a great bridge to oral communication as stated above. There is a GREAT program called "Signing Time" that has a series of 10 DVD's. I three year old could quickly pick up on many signs after watching them a few times.

     

    I understand many kids speech can be delayed and eventually do fine. However, if there are underlying problems, these need to be addressed now before behavior problems develop (due to the inability to be understood). At three, a child should be speaking in 3 word utterances and intelligible at LEAST 50% of the time.

     

    Julie in Monterey

    Speech-Language Pathologist

    Children and independence

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Wow! I love hearing from you all. That is the beauty of these boards..I'm able to get perspectives from all areas (of the world and country) and from different parenting philosophies. I love it! I've got two books on my list to take a look at now.

     

    I'm going to mull over this info you kind people have provided me. I think I fall somewhere in the middle about "roaming". I agree that it isn't always the best thing to be able to roam the streets/woods. My sister and I did get into some pretty sketchy situations but we did figure them out. Not sure if we told our mom or not. I did grow up in a home that the children did a fair amount of "work", we always cleaned house on the weekends with our parents, washed our own clothes, cooked most dinners by around age 10 and 12 (my sister), and had the responsibility of the yard. So...I'm thinking for us, keep up those life skills, teach them to be "street smart" and "country smart", and gradually let go and foster that independence.

     

    I guess I'm hoping for the best of both worlds,...grow responsible, independent children who know how to be alone, how to stay safe and also let them "discover" an area for themselves. I think the root of my issues with this stem from wanting them to be able to discover nature on their own terms without me over their shoulder. Some of my most treasured memories as a child are being outdoors with my sister or alone exploring and playing in the woods. Hmmm...lots to think about.

     

    Thanks again for all of your input!!!!!!!

     

    Julie in Monterey

    Children and independence

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I've been thinking about this a lot lately...independence with my kids. My oldest just turned 9 and she is beginning to branch out a bit on her own. Just this past year she started going to the bathroom by herself (at the library or Costco) which was a big step. Slowly, my husband and I have been nudging her on the path to more independence. She's begun to ride her bike to a friend's home with her younger sister 3 blocks away (a route we've gone a million times as a family). I've dropped her off at the library a few times.

     

    I already had so much independence at her age when I was young. It really allowed me to stretch my wings...to discover. Many of my friends have a hard time with this issue. At some point we need to trust our children to make good choices. At what age is this? I'm just wondering what kind of impact hovering over our children will have upon them as a generation. Will they learn as easily to "trust their guts" or will they not pay attention because their parents do it for them? Are we creating children who need to be constantly entertained because they don't spend all of those hours outdoors exploring that we did? What are the long term ramifications of being under constant supervision?

     

    Is it like this everywhere or just urban communities? I live on the coast of central California in a town of 14,000. Do kids still roam about in the country? I grew up half my life in rural Arkansas and we came in when it got dark. The other half, I lived in Phoenix and we came in when the street lights came on. At any given time, my parents figured we were either playing in the street(or in the woods in Arkansas) or at one of 4 or 5 houses. Do kids still do this? What's changed? There has always been crime, etc. Do we hear more of it or is it really worse?

     

    Just really rambling here and thinking out loud (on the computer). I want my kiddos to grow up strong, safe and free to discover. Heck, they have never been out of my sight in the woods. How can I work on this? What do you do? Thoughts? Ideas? Insights?

     

    Julie in Monterey

    Update on dh's opinion of homeschooling- long

    in Parents' Forum Afterschooling Board

    Posted

    Sounds like you have a long road ahead of you. I hesitate to say this, but...you can't do it without his support. The kids will feed on this and feel his lack of support and it will have ramifications for all of you. After schooling is easy at this age. It gets harder when your 4th grader has 1.5 hours of homework everyday. I would try to find a home school family that might be interested in talking with you and your husband or seek out an older home schooled child that might be willing to talk to you and your husband about his or her experience. Often it takes someone who doesn't have an personal investment in your choice to way in. Perhaps you could ask his specific concerns on these boards and encourage others to share their experience with you/him. You could print these and offer them as viewpoints????

    Do you spank your children?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    :iagree:

    I was spanked as a child, as was my husband.

    Spanking is not a part of our disciplinary toolbox.

    I can't reconcile the hypocrisy of hitting my children as punishment with my responsibility to teach them not to hit others.

     

    I've discussed it with my father, and he protests, "But we didn't spank that often!" Perhaps not, but I remember it vividly. It has a prominent place in my childhood memories. That isn't how I want my children to remember their parents. For my family, I'm confident that there are always non-violent alternatives.

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