NancyNellen
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Posts posted by NancyNellen
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Like any other school day except my kids are more motivated to work quickly because they can have screen time when all the week's work is done. (We are screen free during the m-th.)
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A glass of J Winery Pinotage
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Killer Bunnies is a favorite here!
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I loved IEW's Linguistic Development because it has a specific plan, it's focus is poetry, and you learn the poems in a specific order progressing from quick simple poems to more challenging pieces. It is very open and go.
:iagree: love the IEW program! I have used it for 6+ years now and it has been a very worthwhile investment.
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I didn't vote because we have one of each in this family (the iPhone and Galaxy) and they are both great. Either of them would be a great choice.
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7 meatloaf lovers here, although like many others, I like my own meatloaf recipe most of all. It has ground beef and pork as well as sautéed (in butter!) red onion, yellow onion, red & green peppers, celery, carrots, garlic, and shallots. They are diced up very tiny and lend such a moistness and such an interesting flavor. I serve it with shallot gravy.
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We do get lots of free air travel and hotel rooms because of dh's travel.....
:iagree: This is definitely my most favorite perk from all of my husband's travel! He flies so much with Southwest that he earned a companion pass for me. I can travel anywhere he goes for free!
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The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg
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1. How hard is it on your family? (I'm talking about being gone 4 days/nights a week.) My husband flies out on Monday morning and returns Thursday evening. We have been doing this for 20 months now. I will say that, overall, it has not been too hard. My kids are older, though. It is definitely toughest for my youngest.
2. Under what circumstances would you consider this? For us it was because of the nasty L.A. Commute. My husband had a good job, but was commuting 90 minutes one way, 3 hours per day, to work in awful rush hour traffic. It was sucking the life out of him. When this job came up, we decided to give it a shot. He is much, much happier/healthier with this arrangement.
3. Is the extra income and relief of acute financial stress, worth the sacrifice of him being gone? It would be for us, although that wasn't why we chose to do it.
4. What do you do to make it easier on you and the children? (i.e. skype etc.) We Skype a couple of times while he is gone. He calls every day. He texts me periodically, and he emails me and the older three consistently. He works hard to stay connected.
5. If you are a Christian, what are your thoughts. It's not optimal...we would all love to be together. But given the circumstances, everyone is happy. All the kids notice how much happier dad is without commuting 15-20 hours a week.
6. Any other thoughts, warnings, advice, opinions? :bigear: We put a limit on the amount of time we would be willing to do this. Our two year limit is approaching and we are considering a move (if only house prices would come up a bit!) Communication is key! I need to remember not to let things get to me and become bitter. I've learned that addressing issues immediately is crucial for making such a choice work out. I would also agree that the transition from single parent to co-parent every week can be tough. But it gets easier with time.
Thank you so much. I will eagerly await your responses :001_smile:
Renee
:001_smile:
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No. "No presents" means no presents. I'd bring a card though, and write something nice in it.
Yes. We always ask for no presents because we really don't need more stuff. The kids consider a party a big deal because we usually don't have them. But a card is always welcome.
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These two verses were so helpful and comforting for our family when my FIL passed away last June.
Is. 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
Is. 25:8
He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces.
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http://plantoeat.com/recipes/600543
I made this one a few days ago and it was a huge hit. Carmelites onions and bacon! I added some butternut squash soup I had on hand and added the cream cheese and cheddar, and I imagine you could do the same with the sauce.
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Well, my very talented composer husband has a new CD out called A Soul Alone Before God. It is a collection of six original works for orchestra, soprano, string quartet and piano, including a collection of pieces written to accompany a children's pop-up version of Pilgrim's Progress for ipad, due out later this year. Right now he is very interested in having some honest reviews of the collection. He thought of all of you! If you are interested, you can follow the link below and download the cd for free. Here is the link to download:
http://gustavhoyer.com/blog/audio/asoulalonebeforegod.zip
If you would like to leave a review you can do so at the following link to the cd on cdbaby.com: A Soul Alone Before God
Here is his website if you want to check him out:
Thanks for your help! My husband works a very challenging full-time job which requires a ton of traveling and he still manages to make time for his music. I am very proud of him!
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Very content. It has been a great week thus far.How do you feel about your choice to homeschool? That it was most definitely the right choice.
Are you happy you started homeschooling? Absolutely.
Are your children happy to be homeschooled? Yes.
What do you feel is your favorite part of the school day? least favorite? When we are all schooling/learning together...memory work, poetry, read alouds. Least: sometimes the juggling between 5 kids makes my head want to explode.
What is your favorite part of the school year? least favorite? I actually really enjoy when we have long, unbroken times to dig into school. I don't like when we have holidays/vacations, etc. when things feel disjointed and rushed. (Of course, I love holidays and vacations, just not from the perspective of homeschooling :lol:
What is your favorite subject to teach? Your children's favorites? My favorite: literature/poetry. My kids: 15 yo: history, 14 yo: writing, 12 yo: science, 9 yo: science, 5 yo: math.
How do you feel inside when you tell people you homeschool? Uncertain, since I have no idea what their thoughts are.
This exact moment in time....what are you feeling when you look back on your day (or yesterday if your day hasn't started yet)?
:001_smile:
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Modify. Skip totally redundant lessons. Double up on the easier ones. Since you're doing this with your kid, you'll know best where he needs review and where he can just spit the rule back at you and move on.
If he can do the lesson blindfolded with an arm tied behind his back, tell him his grammar lesson is over for the day.
When I see "repeat 3 times" I start by asking my kids if they can tell me the definition of verb. If they get it right we move on; if they need review, we say it together a few times and move. Mine all had those definitions down pat long before the book stopped saying we ought to work on them.
Consider the book a tool to use as you see fit, not something that must be adhered to strictly.
:iagree:
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We have had a Sedona for 14 months now and I adore it. It is roomy (I have 5 children, including a nearly 6-foot, 160 lb. 15 year old and one still in a carseat, so roomy is necessary.) The warranty is stellar, gas mileage is very decent (24.3 mpg combined), interior has held up very well. We did 2 huge road trips this past year...L.A. to Boston and back, and L.A. to TN and back. Everything held up great.
My only con is that the arm rests are a little flimsy. But it hasn't been a problem.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
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I have used this for 6+ years and love it. It is a lovely collection of poems...some classics as well as some that were new to us. It is very, very easy to implement, which frankly means it gets done consistently (and isn't that the best test?) We do it at lunch every day.
My oldest two have completed the entire program, and have a great collection of poetry memorized. We all enjoy it immensely.
I can say honestly that I think it is among my all-time favorite curriculum purchases.
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We are currently going through this as a family devotional at breakfast. It is very, very well done. Biblical, thorough, well written....a great jump-off point for further conversation and study.
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Way to go! :001_smile:
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When my kids were younger we usually all sat together. It's just not practical now. My 15 year old prefers his room. His work gets done, so I have no issue with that. My 13 year old bounces around. She always does math while sitting in the same stool at the counter in the kitchen. She sits at the kitchen table for Biology and prefers to do her reading in the family room or her bedroom. My 12 year old likes the couch. The two little boys do most of their seatwork at the table with me, but they are allowed to read wherever they are comfortable.
My 12 year old shakes her legs constantly, my 5 year old is ALWAYS humming, my 13 year old REQUIRES silence... It just would not work to insist that they all be together
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This is a perfect day, which seldom happens :001_smile:
6:30amWake, quiet time, drink coffee (which I set the night before)
7:30amfamily breakfast. Everyone is required to be dressed and at the table at 7:30. If not, they forfeit some of their weekend screen time. Yeah, I'm mean like that. We usually do a biggish breakfast (eggs and toast, oatmeal and smoothies, pancakes, muffins, breakfast burritos. I make many of those things ahead of time and freeze them.) We also complete our family devotions, some reading aloud, and memory work at the breakfast table. As the kids head off to chores, I usually start laundry.
8:15am: Big four kids do chores, I do school with my K-er.
9:00am-12:00noon: I bounce around between my older four, completing most of the 3 R's. My oldest two are pretty independent, but we have scheduled days and times for discussions, Biology experiments, and reviewing writing, etc.
12:00-1:30pm: Lunch Break. This will sometimes include a short show or more reading aloud.
1:30-4:00pm: Content areas...history/science. I correct and review work, etc.
4:00-6:00pm: finish work or free time.
6:00pm: Chores for the kids, I make dinner.
The rest of the evening we eat and have free time. Sometimes we watch a movie, or read, or play games. The youngest are in bed by 8:30...the oldest are in bed by 9:30pm.
Throw in there piano lessons, horseback riding lessons, fencing, orthodontist (currently 3 in braces), Young Marines, and voice lessons (all either in the late afternoon or on the weekends.)
I use Plantoeat.com to plan meals a month at a time. I do one big Costco run and have a grocery delivery the first week of every month. Then I shop about every 10 days for perishables. I go to Target once a month for paper goods, dog food, etc.
There have only been a couple of days that my kids have been sick enough to do NO school....we are a pretty healthy lot (and I'm mean, did I mention that?) If that is the case we just shift the plan by a day for them.
I plan by term - 6 weeks at a time. I keep weekly excel spreadsheets for each child. They cross off everything they complete. I change/update at the end of the week and file a clean copy of the spreadsheet in my records.
I use the computer to place all of our needed books on hold two weeks before we will need them. I have spreadsheets that have been put together before the school year begins so I just need to put the info. into my library's search function.
We have a mid-morning snack and a mid-afternoon snack. I keep a snack box stocked with granola bars, dried fruit, almonds, peanuts, crackers, etc. They have the option of something from the snack box, a piece of fruit, or a cheese stick. This means snack time is super easy, fast, and creates no dishes.
That's all I can think of for now....hopefully this is helpful in some way. I don't expect everyone to be quite so Type A, it just is what I NEED to do in order to be satisfied with my work.
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I know this is rather unpopular here, but after five pitocin-induced labors (my water would break and I would not start contractions on my own), and over 60 hours of active labor, I would choose an epidural every single time. I have no regrets at all. One baby was posterior with horrendous back labor, one was 10.5 lbs....I am an epidural-loving mama! :lol:
And I know I am an anomaly, but every time I got an epidural, my labor sped up. I think I have issues with relaxing!
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I don't know why, but I have the same problem. Not much help, but a little bump in case someone else knows the problem.
Books to build fluency
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
:iagree: