LauraL
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Posts posted by LauraL
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I love all of these ideas--thank you! Here are a couple more: bath bombs and eye pillows.
For the eye pillows, cut a piece of material into a rectangle about 7 and 1/2 inches by 6 inches. (You can really do whatever size you want, smaller for children. The idea is that when it is folded in half, stiched and stuffed, it will cover your entire eye area and block out the light.) Fold the rectangle in half so you have 7.25x3--wrong side of material out--and stitch 2 of the three open edges closed. Turn right side out and fill with flax seed and dried lavendar (or lavendar oil works too). Then stitch the remaining edge closed, folding the seam under. Someone gave one of these to me and then my girls all wanted one. We love them--very relaxing!
Bath bombs--there are various "recipes" I'm sure you could google. If you want, I am happy to send you the one we use. We make one that fizzes. We pack the mixture into various shaped soap molds (frogs and turtles are the favorite), but a half of a plastic Easter egg works great too. Kids love these, and I like them too (guess I can't speak for other adults, but I've given plenty to adults as well). One year for Christmas I took them around to all of the 3 yos in the church class I taught with a little message about being clean on the inside as well as the outside.
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Yes!!!!! You are great to be even trying--I'm proud of you! A few years ago I was not a runner, but after a a chunk of time went by with some consistency, I honestly started to look at my running shoes with love. I commented to my friend that I actually looked forward to putting on those shoes and going for a run. While that isn't always the case, there is hope for more enjoyment. The thing that worked for me when I first started (and still works when I haven't been for a while) is to take it really, really easy, doing one minute at, say, a level 5 (out of 10), the next at a 6, then 7, then 8, then 9, then back to 6,7,8,9 and repeat until at the end of your run you might do a level 10 for the last minute. The lower levels are not pushing it, and at the higher level of effort, I just tell myself that I can do anything for a minute. Of course, what constitutes a level 5 or 6 or whatever might vary with any given day.
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I understand exactly where you are coming from, and I can't say that I've found the balance myself. Balance, ultimately, is what it's about, right? I don't have any advice as to what will be the right answer for you and your particulars. Things I have found helpful are revisiting my long term goals/priorities (the real biggies that are the very most important to me--the ones that, ultimately, I will feel like I haven't accomplished my mission in life if I don't meet them) and determining how each of these other things fits in with those priorities. That, along with a lot of prayer for guidance . . . .
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DH I don't consider that reading the book. Instead, I like to think of it as someone read it to me.
That's how I've always thought of it. Years ago, before I was very familiar with the book-on-tape idea, a coworker told me about all the different books that she had read recently. I was amazed and asked her where she got the time to do all of that reading, and she explained to me that she used the time during her commute to and from work. I was surprised, because I didn't know that the bus came out our way and I wasn't aware that she carpooled with anyone. (I didn't know how she could "read" without someone else driving.) When she said that she just pops the tapes into the cassette player in her car, I had a hard time not laughing and explaining to her that that is called "listening" to a book. :001_smile:
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I empathize with your habit of taking on too much. In the past, I've tried to juggle teaching my children with a lot of my own "growth opportunities" as well as some part-time work from home. I found that my children were usually the ones who got the short end of the stick. I hope it's okay to post here some thoughts from a mom from another homeschool list I'm on. Her perspective sunk into my soul and spoke to me.
>> I've learned a lot in the past six months through personal trials.
I've had a lot on my mind, and after talking this through with
another home educator, I thought I'd post my thoughts. Feel free to
read my ramblings or delete. :)
>
> As mothers, we do a LOT. As home education mothers, our loads
are heavier, though filled with a wonderful joy that help to lighten
that load. Our needs and challenges are unique in comparison to the
rest of the mainstream world, and we meet those needs head on.
>
> Because we choose to educate our children in the home, we face
additional pressures. Those pressures may come from doubting
relatives or spouses...or ourselves. They come from the *school*
world society that believes children can only turn into *normal*
adults if they follow the *normal* pattern most of western society
takes.Peer pressure takes on a whole new meaning for the home
education parent. It relates to us, and not our children.
>
> The doubt we have in ourselves, coupled with the doubt, and
sometimes anger, by those around us, have led us into placing more
pressure upon ourselves. Many feel the need to offer as many
opportunities as possible to our children to meet those doubts. It's
something I've warned many a new home educator. We have so much
going on that it's easy to run out of time to get in any academics.
Is this warning only for new home educators?
>
> Over the summer, I've had the *forced* opportunity to slow
down. I was warned by that still small voice months earlier to slow
down....but I didn't have time. lol How often does that happen with
us? While I'm doing well now, it's been a time of discovery and
personal revelation.
>
> I've discovered the joy in taking care of my home-I've not
experienced that in a long time. I've discovered that I had not
*played* with my children as much as I used to. We all missed that,
and have enjoyed a coming together and closer relationships. I've
discovered that that it's okay if I say *no* and step back. Things
have fallen apart, as I feared, in certain home education aspects if
I didn't personally hold it together. I discovered that it's not up
to me to be responsible for everything if no one else steps up. I've
also found that others can get quite upset when I have said no, but
still others have understood and stepped up, realizing that they can
do their part as well.
>
> I'm not alone. After much discussion with other home educators,
I've learned that many of us need to come home. We go and do, and go
and do for our children. We run out of steam in ourselves, and have
nothing left in us of ourselves to give to our children as we've
been so busy driving them to classes, clubs, field trips, and so on.
>
> Am I saying to stop it all ? No, of course not. What I'm saying
is that it's so easy to get caught up in it all, and lose sight of
what we really wanted for our children in the first place. What I'm
asking is for every parent to look at their children's schedules and
ask themselves what is truly needed, and what can wait a year or
two, or really isn't needed at all. What do YOU want in your family,
in your children's education? Are they learning what you think they
should be? Are they getting enough time or is it trying to learn in
between classes? Are they being cheated by being given so much to
do? Only you an answer that.
>
> After four years in dance, driving all over creation for
classes, I noticed my daughter had lost her focus...her desire. We
had much discussion until I finally asked her the question, "If
your friends were not in dance, would you still want to dance?" Her
answer was no. We ended up having a very good time talking about
choosing your own opportunities according to your own goals, and not
someone else's.
>
> We are home more often now. It turned out to be a difficult
transition for me. I never thought it could be so hard to slow down.
Since beginning this new route in our journey, though, our focus has
been better as a family. My kids still have lessons and clubs they
attend, but we are much more careful about not loading up our
schedule. Our children have their entire lives ahead of them, and we
don't have to provide every single opportunity all at once.
>
> What my husband and I DO have to provide is time as a family
and a good quality education. To get that education, they need the
time at home--the chance to have the *time* to explore and learn
without the pressures of a schedule....whether a public school
schedule or the over-scheduled home education family.
>
> Our children are with us for such a short time...I don't want to
miss any of it.
>
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This looks like the recipe an uncle of mine used to make. I actually prefer the homemade rootbeer recipe that uses dry ice and not yeast. (I don't like the yeasty smell.) I suspect, Jean, given the alcoholic content from this recipe (negligible, but still there), that your Mormon missionaries in Japan used the dry ice version as well (no fermentation, no alcohol).
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he's your children's father and that trumps her any day.It would be different if he was a young single man. But he's not. He's a husband and father.
:iagree: I think that you owe it to your immediate family--husband and children--to spend that time together alone. Your primary responsibility is to each other. Parents and siblings (yours and his) need to take a back seat.
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I love it! What a good feeling to at least have that new space organized for your sweet baby's learning. I got the bug, too, and moved the furniture around in our schoolroom. My kids loved it because it was something "new," and I am really liking it because it seems to function better now.
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I picked it up from the library on my dad's recommendation and skimmed/read through a good portion of it. Our family is already into more grains, ess meat (cheaper too), so no problem there. The difficulty for me is the milk protein. Haven't really jumped into following his recommendations there, yet. Although dh has. I often have protein shakes (milk protein isolate) post exercise and sometimes at other times during the day in connection with my triathlon training, and hubby will come in and say--"are you trying to get cancer?" He really is concerned about it. I'm not sure how/if to balance the recommendations in the book with all the stuff I've read and studied re exercise nutrition and the need for protein. Soy protein as an alternative seems to have its own set of potential problems.
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Thank you--this looks like something our family can use.
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Nope. Couldn't use one. It draws MORE attention to the fact that you're nursing!! J
I received one as a gift with my third baby, and after using it a few times I just reverted to what I'd always done. It felt too conspicuous for me.
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Stickies, aka post its, and mechanical pencils.
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Aaaaack! Back when we were first married we lived in a duplex. The previous renters in the other side, unbeknownst to us, had a boa constrictor that went missing and was never located before they moved. (No pets were allowed, so they hadn't bothered to mention the missing reptile.) I think it was about two or three months later that said snake was located---in the laundry room in the basement under the water heater. Yes, the same laundry room in which clothes were piled in baskets, in which ironing was done, and in which a substantial amount of time had been spent over the last few months by a very much non-snake-lover. Took me a while to feel comfortable venturing into the basement again.
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I have to add A Little Princess, by the same author as Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy. (Francis Hodgsen Burnett--not sure about the spelling there.) A sixth grade teacher gave me the book, and it is still my favorite!
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Years ago, my husband and I started saying to each other, "Ten good things." That is code language to remind each other to explicitly identify and praise 10 good things about each child that day. (For a while, we also tilted one of the pictures hanging on the wall at an angle as a reminder to find 10 good things.) And it generally is the smiles and positive recognition (and hugs and high fives) that get the most mileage--not treats and trinkets. Although we do have a "prize basket" full of stickers, trinkets, and stuff from the dollar store. Very randomly--certainly not every time--I'll call out "prize basket" for someone I catch doing something good. They know not to expect it every time.
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No advice - just wanted to say that this is wonderfully generous of you.
:iagree:
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Yes! Homeschooling is a great excuse to collect books! Seriously, I am envious of your bookshelves. Part of my problem is that I can't remember about the items stacked in shelves in the closet. They have to be in front of me on a shelf.
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Well Trained Mind
Ruth Beechick's 3 Rs
The Doman books "How to Teach Your Baby to Read," etc.
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Good to hear that all went well. Continued prayers for your recovery.
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Don't remember how old dd was when she said "That's an ugly woman" about a man with long hair we passed in the grocery store.
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I am still in the fill-the-totebag-with-all-of-the-books camp when we do school-on-the road--an "everything and the kitchen sink in case you need it" kind of gal. Also, I think that maybe I have "resell value, resell value" too much ingrained in me to cut books apart. (Although in reality, it seems that I am holding on to an awful lot of educational materials that I am not using and still not reselling.)
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Typically whenever my youngest daughter puts her leftover cup of milk in the fridge. One of us generally manages to knock it over, requiring us to actually wipe it--and the numerous other unidentifiable objects in the fridge--up. It used to occur fairly regularly, which made for a consistent cleaning schedule.
Slightly changing the topic, I've found cleaning the fridge easiest if I just do one shelf at a time, starting from the top down. Maybe you all have always done it that way, but I grew up emptying the entire fridge at once, and it seemed an overwhelming task.
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We use Rod & Staff as well, and I have really liked it; but I have noticed what you explained here about the advancing difficulty level. I have observed in my own children that they don't seem to truly grasp the concept (whatever the concept being taught is) until they have to utilize it in their own writing or come across it in their own reading. So, in addition to taking longer to do one level and adding in the additional worksheets, you may want to consider creating some writing assignments that, coincidently enough :), require the use of the exact same grammar concept being covered at the time. Good luck.
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I have to laugh--I reading your post as noises are coming from the end of the room. Turns out it is the sound of said laminated map slipping from its oh-so-beautifully-taped spot on the wall.
Startwrite??
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I got this several years ago and never used it much. I'm sure there's a newer version now, but the one I had didn't seem that user friendly. OTOH, maybe the problem was with the user. :) After reading here how others have used it, I might just dust it off and give it a try for my younger daughter. Thanks for the ideas!