So last night ds12 had a tackle football game...third game of the season. They have won the games 24-0, 19-0, and were winning 28-0 last night. My ds12 is not a natural athlete, isn't the best player by any stretch of the imagination...but lives & breathes football, remembers & knows all of the plays, has been to every single practice, works hard, and wants to play so badly. Admittedly, it is his first year of playing tackle and most of the kids have played previously on this same team. Last night, he didn't get put into the game until the last three minutes of the game...for one drive (he's been playing as 2nd string quarterback). The other two games it was similar--end of third quarter, a little in fourth quarter (these times as some offensive line position or something...). I was SO mad! I'm sitting there the entire game watching my son stand there, looking at his coach, hoping beyond hope, that he gets played. And he was thrilled that he got to play one drive--four downs--as quarterback and give it a whirl. But I was so ticked off, I could hardly control myself. I calmed myself down...then walked directly over to the coach and said: I'm just wondering what we can do to help my son so he can play for more than the last three minutes of the entire game. He said: Tell me his name, and I'll make sure he doesn't play at all the next game. I said: Are you kidding me? You were winning 28-0...and there is no way you could allow him to get into the game any earlier? What can we do here? He walked away. Okay, the whole way home I was bawling, my son was upset, and I feel terrible because he may not get to play at all now. Ds of course just wants to be on the team and is excited they are winning and doesn't seem to care he never gets to go in. I guess that should be telling me to let it go, but it breaks my heart! I am feeling the 'Mama Bear' instinct and can't believe that my son is being treated this way...and I want to take the bull by the horns and fix it. Not gonna happen, I know. Seriously, anything that I do will probably only make matters even worse than I've already done. But the priniciple of the matter is what is really getting to me! Dh says to just let it go and ds will learn from the situation. But how in the world is he supposed to get any better if they never let him play? It's like a catch-22...they'll only play him if they know he makes good plays; but he has no chance to get in there and try to make the good plays to show he can do it. Okay, I'm not trying to be an obnoxious mom who thinks her son is perfect or even great at everything. As I already said, I know he's not the best player. If the game was a battle and the score was 14-10, I'd totally understand. But with a complete blow-out, how could it hurt if they rotated people out a little bit...and what if the score was only 21-7? They'd still win. And besides, isn't there more to playing than just winning? I'd rather my son be on a losing team and get to play than on the sidelines of a winning team. What is wrong with these dads who are so wrapped up into this game that they can't see beyond the win? Alright, thanks for listening to me. I think I just had to get it all off my chest. I'm feeling badly that I might have screwed up my son's chance at ever getting to play. Here's my real reason for posting: Has anyone else felt this 'Mama Bear' and do you have any tips on how I can control it? I'm not so sure I need to hear any of you tell me how wrong I was to go to the coach, I'm already regretting it & wishing it didn't happen! But if you have any ideas on what I should do from here, I'd love to hear them!

I don't have any experience, but I think it sounds like a great idea! In case you are interested, there are some free lapbooking resources on American Girl books at www.homeschoolshare.com/American_Girl_Lapbook.php and they look like a lot of fun! It seems like I read on here within the past year of someone doing an American Girl club...so maybe search in past threads and see what you come up with. I found this blog when I did a quick search, so maybe it would be helpful to you: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema/685140/ Have fun!

I can see how it would be frustrating to always be having to answer questions and feeling like you need to defend your every move! Maybe you could start a blog and refer her to that if she'd like to see how your days go. I think she may just be really curious about how your days are spent, what you are doing, what ds is learning, how it's going, etc. Maybe she wants to be involved somehow and you could invite her to teach ds to do something specific once a month or something.

I just discovered spellingcity.com from a suggestion on here--but it's not a curriculum, it's online games to practice with your student's spelling list. You enter their list and then there are several different activities she can do with her words. My ds7 loves it and I'm going to start my dd10 working on it this week. If your dd doesn't have a list, you can just enter words she often mis-spells. Hmm, multiplication practice--I've just bought a bunch of different kinds of practice games (flashcards, dominoes, wrap-up, multiplication bingo) to keep in a basket for my ds7 to play with...everyday he chooses one afterschool to work on. There are also a lot of different online games. And I found a CD that has multiplication facts to music so we listen to it in the car. I think it also helps to use a multiplication table to figure out which ones are the trickiest for her to remember--you write out the whole table, then highlight the ones she already knows (zero, one, two, five, ten, for example...let's say she knows her threes, and fours, too...), then you can highlight in a different color the ones that are left...and when you look at it that way, there aren't very many left at all (especially when she sees that 6x7 is the same as 7x6 so only counts as one to learn!). My ds loved this--it helped him to visually see that it wasn't that overwhelming to finish it off. Hope you get some more suggestions on here!

:iagree:

If you baked the scrambled eggs, could you put them in a muffin tin? That might be easier than cutting it into squares. I'm going to try this...thanks for the inspiration! (I've done breakfast burritos before and frozen them...but this sounds like another great idea for an easy breakfast).

Christmas tree ornaments Fleece scarfs, mittens, hats Baby quilts (rag quilts are popular and fairly easy to make) Stitchery pillows Snowmen decorations Kids craft aprons (I just saw a cute one tonight being sold on a website called Accountable Kids....I tried posting a picture, but it didn't work...it was a cute denim one...but there are many patterns of easy ones you could make) Recipes in a Jar Kids Craft or Science Kits--with directions & all materials, packaged a cute way FWIW, when I go to craft fairs, I'm looking for inexpensive neighbor/piano teacher/type of gifts ($3-4 each), cute/creative things for my kids for Christmas, and snowmen to add to my collection (looking for unique and creatively used materials). And I always buy an ornament or two! Hope you find something fun to do together--I think it is a great idea for you to do with your kids!

But how did you know that this speech is just going to be normal 'do good at school' blah, blah, blah stuff? That's the issue. Did you look at the original lesson plan? The questions were very leading and very much focused on Barack Obama--how inspiring he is, what a great example he is, setting goals of how we can help him. That caused red flags to go up in my mind...hmm...what is he trying to do? Since when is this all about him? Sure, it's great to have people encouraging our students to work hard & do their best...and asking them to reach out to others to make the world a better place. But man, I gotta tell ya, that's not what the lesson plan led me to believe his speech was going to be about.

I second a look at 'Jump In.' I used this last year with my ds12 and thought it was great. He enjoyed it--it's written to the student in a relaxed way, so he found it funny at times. I felt like it covered things well. I seem to recall there were sample pages somewhere...and I've seen a few threads about it on here, so you could try a search.

But the 'hoopla' began before it was announced that the text would be available ahead of time...having it released so parents can review it changes a lot and takes away most of the 'hoopla.' (I think I like the word hoopla...never used it much before, but it's wonderfully descriptive!):)

Actually, I think that the speech itself has been toned down...and so it will be a whole lotta hoopla over nothing now after all of us conservatives got wind of that lesson plan. I can almost guarantee it will be a safe speech now. The problem, in my mind, is not so much about President Obama wanting to speak to the children...the problem is that the whole reverential, worshipful attitude in the lesson plan presented by the Dept of Educ freaked some people out. And at the same time, in our area, as a preface to the speech, some principal showed the youtube video of people pledging to be a servant to President Obama. Combine these two things, both of which may not have been the intent of Obama, and you have a lot of conservatives unsure of what the intent of this speech is...and concerned about what direction all of this is headed.

I think it's great that the text of his speech will be online so parents can read it ahead of time. My kids' school will be showing it, but will also provide different educational activities in a different room for those whose parents prefer they do not view it. I'm glad they are being sensitive to parents who might oppose. I agree that I think it's not so much that President Obama is speaking to students that is the issue...it was the poorly worded, slightly concerning lesson plan that has gotten parents worried about the intent. It looks like the lesson plan has changed and I'm anticipating the speech itself will be watered down a little from the original plan.

It's great to hear that you are able to bring changes to your school...it is always frustrating when things don't happen as quickly as we need them to though! Let's think outside the box for a minute...maybe it doesn't have to be all or nothing...or all or half-day. Are there any other ways to get what you want for your ds? How willing is the teacher to think outside the box? Could you choose just one of those subjects (perhaps the most important one to you right now), talk to the teacher, and have your ds do alternate assignments/independent study with your choice of curriculum (that you happily provide)? For example, if you're going to choose math...at home, you teach the lesson (instead of him doing homework during homework time, you teach the concepts), then during schooltime, he does his homework independently. If it works well, you could add in another subject in a few months. In my opinion, if the teacher is willing (you are the boss, afterall, right? :)), and if you both set up guidelines, it can work. For example, your son is not to call attention to the fact he is doing different work, is not to ask teacher for help but save questions for later, is to be on task, knows what to do if he's done early (pulls out a book or vocabulary workbook). Another option is to see if the teacher will accept a different assignment for homework...may not work in all cases, but is a possibility. For example, my dd10's teacher gives them a reading comprehension worksheet every single week...I'm considering talking with her to replace this with a narration writing assignment instead (as it would still show comprehension, but work on needed writing skills at the same time). Then you'd have more time to afterschool a subject or two...using whatever curriculum you want. Last year I brought my ds11 home for M-Th, he attended school only on Fridays (which was a half-day). He brought his own math and writing assignments, but joined the class for read-aloud, spelling test (we never even studied it, he just took the test on Fridays), orchestra, recess, and lunch. It worked well--because the teacher and I were in frequent contact and working together to make the best of the situation. Good luck in your brainstorming & decision-making! I'd say do what you think is best for your son...

To go along with the napkins, you could make a coordinating table runner to go down the center of the table. I made several of these for my mom last year--for different holidays. It was really easy and she was thrilled with them. A friend had shown me how to do it, I'll try to describe it here. I'm not the most amazing seamstress, by any means...so when I say they were easy, I'm very serious. :) You get 1/3 of a yard of fabric and 1/2 of a coordinating fabric. Sew them together so you have a big loop (hmm, can you visualize this?) Then when you 'flatten' the loop, you'll have the 1/3 of yard on top, with a small border of the 1/2 yard fabric showing down each long side. I took some ric-rac or ribbon and sewed down the seams on either side. Then you take the two top corners and fold them back to make a point...sewing it on the wrong side. And then do the bottom. Then turn them right side up and you have a table runner with a point at the top and bottom. You can add tassels to the end if you want. That description might be as clear as mud. If you're interested and it didn't make sense, let me know and I'll try to explain it further! I always start thinking about Christmas at this time of year! A few months ago I saw a fun Family Yahtzee game on a blog--where you take photos of family members and put them on the sides of 1 1/2 inch blocks to make dice. I'm toying with the idea of making these, but trying to decide if they'd be worth all of the trouble! Or if it would just get shoved in a closet. One thing I did last year for gifts that someone might be interested in is to put together a 72-hour emegency kit or a car emergency kit. A small backpack with water bottles, granola bars, flashlight, poncho, emer blanket, etc. The other gift I like to give is a first aid kit...most people can always use an addition to their home kit or in a car.

Breakfast Burritos--Tortilla with scrambled eggs, cut-up sausage pieces or bacon, shredded cheese (can add salsa)

I think the suggestions for changing the presentation a bit might be helpful. Here are a few more: What about covering part of the page with a piece of paper/index card, so he only sees a few problems at a time? Last year with my ds6, I would have him tell me when he finished a row of math problems, then I'd tell him to do ten jumping jacks; then he did another row, and I'd have him run around the couch six times; etc. It really helped him to move a little bit in between and he loved it when I came up with crazy things for him to do. And then with my ds11 last year, I would sit with him, we'd both use a small white board to work the problems...sometimes we'd race, sometimes we'd just see who got the answer right, etc. But for some reason, if I was working out the problems at the same time, he loved it. And the white board was always better than writing on the paper.

I would be a little nervous, so I think the cell phone suggestion is a good one. If it were me, I'd want get to know the driver a little bit first--maybe you can arrange a meeting and/or telephone visit prior to the start of school. Then I'd just trust my gut feeling. :001_smile: Maybe you even know someone who wants the job...and they could get paid for driving your dd. I think I'd probably be uncomfortable as the student, too...especially back in my high school days, I would have felt stress at having to carry on a conversation with an adult I hardly knew that frequently! (Of course, as time goes on, it would be more comfortable). I'd send an ipod or mp3 with books to listen to...let her claim to be doing homework during the drive or something! Best wishes!

The report I just read said that she was kept in a compound in the backyard. That doesn't sound like she would have been able to walk away. Then they reported that she is 'alive and well.' Hmm...grateful to hear she is alive, but if you've been imprisoned & abused for twenty years, I'm not so sure that 'well' is what I'd describe it. Poor girl... Of course, I'm happy for her family--I can't imagine how much joy they feel at finding her again after all of these years...but I feel much heartache for what she's been through (not to mention how it affected her family!).

Sue, I've read several of your recent posts and can tell it is hard for you to have your kids back in ps. :grouphug: I only homeschooled my son for part of last year and he is back in ps this year for several reasons...so I can relate in a small way to how you might be feeling. It is hard to overlook the shortcomings of ps...but I think it is helpful to look for any benefits, focus on those, and then do our best to deal with or overcome the shortcomings. We have three situations we've dealt with recently--charter school, homeschool, and now the public school--neither one is a perfect fit for this ds...if only I could take the best of each and put them together! But instead...I have to make the best of where we are now. My ds12 is also having to repeat the math class he took last year (which was an accelerated class at the charter school; then completed at home). It is very hard for me to accept it...and I was ready to fight the school tooth and nail to get him moved up. I think I could have won...but before I started the battle, my dh and I talked it over for awhile, met with a high school math teacher we know, and really tried to determine what was the best situation for this ds12. The high school teacher we talked to got us thinking of things in the future that we hadn't really thought of yet. What was our goal in accelerating him? Where did we want him to end up? Why are we wanting to make sure he's pushed? How important are high school transcripts & high grades to us? Would it be better for ds to progress through more math levels or to have strong A's in those math levels? Will he possess the maturity & study skills needed to take Calculus when he's only 14 or 15? What happens if he needs to retake a course? Is it better to do this as a 7th grader or later as a junior in hs? In the end, we realized that it has been important for our ds to be accelerated to this point--because he needed to be challenged, to stretch & learn...this ds just needed that. But we didn't necessarily want him to graduate early, although we would like him to take some AP courses or concurrent enrollment courses his junior or senior year. As this math teacher reminded us, colleges look at the grades...they don't care so much if my ds was only 13 when he took Algebra 2...they'd just care about the C that he got. If we re-do Algebra 1 now...it would lay a stronger foundation for the coming years...and so when he gets to Algebra 2, he might be 14 or 15...but he'd understand the concepts better and have an A instead. The teacher also mentioned that it would be a lot easier/less stressful for him to take Algebra 1 over now than to really struggle in calculus & take it again in high school. I'm not saying this is all exactly like your situation...just offering some things to think about in the long-term plan for your dd. So, if she takes this year and repeats what she already learned...is she still on track to get through the levels of math you want her to get through in high school? Okay, another thing that weighed into our situation...we felt it would be better for our ds to have schoolwork be a little easier so he can focus on other new things at this stage...junior high, 7 different classes, new social situations, study skills/personal responsibility. Those are all areas where he struggles...and perhaps a lighter load will allow him to put more effort into solidifying those necessary skills at this time. Having said all of that...he brought home his math book and I know he is going to repeat everything we did last year. It bothers me...I can't help but feel like all of our efforts last year were wasted! But no...we layed a great foundation...and it will help him to have a different perspective (from a new curriculum) and a bit more practice to really solidify these concepts. I'm just going to remind myself of this over and over and over again this year! I'm not suggesting that you don't fight for your daughter to move up...simply offering some things to consider in determining your course of action. If you feel strongly that you want her in a different class...I'd fight pretty hard until it happened...even if they had to do things 'outside the box' a little. (Is she in the highest math class offered at the school? Sometimes this can be an issue. Could you perhaps teach her math at home in the evenings--instead of her doing homework, you go over the assignment--and then during school she goes somewhere and does the homework assignment? Just an idea I tried a few years back.) I'm a big advocate for fighting for what I want with my kids...I know I am viewed as the squeaky wheel or neurotic parent at our school. Teachers probably groan when they find out my kids are in their class! :D Another random thought: I think afterschooling with a different level or curriculum of math than she takes at school would be so challenging--for her. But what about keeping her in the same math class...and supplementing with Life of Fred at home? Maybe not even requiring too many of the problems to be written out...but more of a supplemental, enriching kind of assignment. My kids have loved this! Or something like Zaccaro's Challenge Math...it wouldn't be a full curriculum, but enrichment. Okay, one more random thought: When I was younger, our family moved when I was in 8th grade. I had to repeat Pre-Algebra because it was the highest class at the school (and my parents didn't know enough to fight for anything else!). Looking back: it was an easy year! I loved feeling so smart! Everyone in the class thought I was brilliant! I think it did great things for my self-esteem. Now, as an adult looking back, I think of how I could have been a year ahead and taken an AP class or something (not that it was offered in our dinky town)...but it was a wasted year! Good luck, Sue. Hang in there...(sorry for such a long post!)

Not necessarily a factory, but Kennecott Copper Mine just south of Salt Lake City is pretty cool. You can watch the huge trucks going into the enormous hole, there is a visitor's center that shows all the different ways copper is used, and a movie that my kids liked.

Perhaps your oldest daughter could teach for a bit while you go play with the grandkids!

Tea Time, Thank you for your comments and clarification. No hard feelings. :grouphug: If you wouldn't mind, I'm wondering if I can ask a favor? If/when you start your new thread, would you be so kind as to leave 'LDS' temple out of the title? Then I won't get my panties in a wad every time I get on this forum! (Of course, it's really no business of mine what you title your thread....)

KingM, I have noticed that you have been the one to come to 'our' defense a time or two...much appreciated. I have struggled with feelings of offense a time or two, but have tried to remember most are not intentionally trying to offend. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me...in fact, I enjoy learning what others believe and I do want to have a greater understanding of different religions/perspectives. I think that helps us all to become more tolerant and accepting of others and our differences. And heaven knows we need more tolerance in our world! I guess in my mind, a helpful, informative discussion would include a little bit more of: I see it this way. Oh, interesting...I see it that way. Hmm, now I understand where you are coming from. What do you think about x, y, z. Oh, that makes sense, but I see it like h, i, j. Ah, I'll have to think on that some more. Kind of a share and share alike type of thing. So I guess that was my bad...I was anticipating a different kind of discussion; and found myself in a debate--but I also suddenly found myself not able to walk away without defending myself. I now know not to get involved in religious debate on here in the future. :D I will run away and hide! Julie in Austin, That's the exact type of analogy I've been thinking of since this started. To take it a little further, let's say every time you opened up the forums, there was a thread titled, Homeschoolers aren't intelligent. Judgment/opinion statement? Yes! Overgeneralization? Of course! Accurate statement? Possibly in some cases...I might even be able to site examples to prove it. Do you think this might possibly bother some homeschooler to see this? Probably. I'd bet people would get their shackles up and come out in full force to defend themselves...to say how dare you make such a comment...to prove that I don't know enough about it to make such a statement. And perhaps every time they saw it, it would bug them. Perhaps this little analogy will help others to see how this thread has felt from my perspective. (And btw, the analogy example is purely fictional and not my opinion!) I think I'm ready to move on to discuss other things! :001_smile:

Man, this morning I felt relieved that this thread had finally gotten lost! And here it is...back full steam ahead. Only so far, I've only seen nonLDS debating about how wrong we are to have temples. :001_smile: I don't have the energy to deal with it anymore. I suppose my naive purpose in the beginning was to correct misconceptions and share in a discussion to increase understanding; I have never been interested in a debate for the sake of 'proving' my religion is right...especially not in this type of avenue...for in my perspective logic doesn't convert...the spirit is the one that changes hearts and lives. Any chance I could get one of you to start a new thread and continue your debate there...with, perhaps, a different, more respectful title? I realize it may seem like a strange request, and I ask this hesitantly, but perhaps I can explain...every time I open these boards and see the bolded title implying Mormons aren't Christians...well, it just bothers me and it seems to be going on forever. Okay, obviously I can choose not to open the thread...but I fight this internal battle every time I see the title. (The internal battle between wanting to stand up for my beliefs and knowing that no matter what I say, opinions will not change...) Of course, I could always just stay away from the boards...but I really do enjoy most of the discussions here--I am learning so much, and would probably go through withdrawals. (Hmm, on the other hand, perhaps it's just what I need...break my addiction).