Annabel Lee
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Posts posted by Annabel Lee
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My dd is 18 and a senior in high school. She gets good grades and is not a problem student.
Her teacher would not let her use the bathroom today. Even after she told the teacher that she also needed to attend to feminine hygiene, she was still denied permission. Apparently the new school rule (never in effect before) is that each student gets one bathroom pass per class per week. Dd had already used hers. (And she says the teachers are not consistent in enforcing this.)
She was told, however, that she could trade a visit to the bathroom for a detention!!! :angry:
I already sent a nasty-gram to the teacher, and I will be meeting with the principal as well. How dare they treat needing to use the toilet like a discipline problem!!
Dd said she learned nothing that class because all her energy was focused on trying not to wet her pants.
(And the reason that she didn't go between classes is that they only get 2 1/2 minutes, and she had to go from one side of the school to another, and dd figured it would be better for her to go to class and get the teacher's permission than to be tardy to class, which earns her a demerit.)
:willy_nilly: :cursing: :banghead:
That just stinks! Unfortunately it's the norm in school rules. Your dd might get a kick out of what my 16 yo dd did when faced with this. She told her teacher she would go right in her (the teacher's) trash can because she really couldn't hold it anymore. The teacher then let her go. It's maddening, isn't it?
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Sharon, I could have written your post verbatim! My 11 yr-old 6th grader is behind in writing due to me having the same struggle implementing WTM writing.
I can share my plan to move forward with you, but I can't suggest it yet. I'm all ears on what others commenting here think of it. My 6th grader is also in WWE 2 (workbook). We are going at an accelerated pace of "however much he can tolerate", from a whole "WWE week" per day to a minimum of at least 2 "WWE days" per day. To get up to speed and comfortable with other writing, I'm having him do the writing lessons from R&S English 3, 4, and 5 at a rate of 1 writing lesson every 1 - 3 days dep. on length. We skip all the grammar lessons because he uses FLL4 for grammar. R&S writing is blessed off by TWTM as a writing program to use beginning in 3rd grade & continuing into logic stage (along with content subject summaries, outlines, etc.), although I don't think SWB ever imagined anyone would use it for the writing alone.
I'm also implementing cross-curricular writing better this year using a concise framework of weekly instructions I typed up based on the TWTM. I need that list that tells me what step to do next, when to do it, etc. I've got him writing in history, science, and literature, but I have to rotate them weekly because of the other writing. My goal with all of this is for me to read the R&S writing lessons ahead of time and apply it to his content subject writing as often as possible, to streamline and not have this extra, seemingly arbitrary writing lesson in the mix. I haven't managed that yet, so we're just limping along with the R&S lessons as written.
He should be done with R&S 3, 4, & 5 writing by mid-Feb. At that point, if he still needs more practice before starting WWS1, I'll have to stop & evaluate whether Evan-Moor materials will do the job or if I should pop in some IEW-SWI A DVDs. I know we can't simply skip ahead, but I do feel the panic.
I'm curious if anyone knows whether the workbook or the WWE instructor text (hardcover) seems to require more from the student than the other? I vaguely remember that being said somewhere around here, but I could be wrong.
OP, I hope this helps give you some ideas on how to move forward after you get WWE2 flowing smoothly.
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I love the way Writing Strands teaches, so that would be my choice. :) No gimmicks, no making lists with a gazillion items to check off, just gently building writing skills. If I were hsing again, I'd do whatever it took to use all levels.
You know, I've read this same reply here from either you or Daisy (I think?) in the past and it stuck with me. I'd like to know what you know about "all levels"; what's in those higher levels of WS that those who chuck it early don't get to see? Do the lower levels build up to it, or can a child who has used other writing programs utilize the higher WS levels?
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Sounds like what you're looking for can be found in AAS, R&S, or How to Teach Spelling.
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does SWB recommend a specific year for the 4th ed.? When I type "Roget's International Thesaurus 4th edition" into amazon, the listings range from 1933 - the 1980's. Are they all the same?
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I've started on the gifts for my in laws. I have to make 10 sets of whatever I send them.
This year I picked fabric drink coasters. I started cutting them all out on Monday. Yesterday this was what I had finished. Took the day off today and will finish the other 3 sets this week sometimes.
Total Cost: $0.00! I had EVERYTHING for them on hand, including the ribbon and the cardstock for the tags!
Now that my dh seen the finished products he's asked for a set for our home and to have a set sent to his closest buddy and his wife. :tongue_smilie:
I just wanted to let you know how much I admire your fabric choices. Those could totally pass as Vera Bradley items! Matching placemats might be pretty simple to make... I think I'm stealing your idea. Thanks! :D
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Holy threads of wisdom, Batman! I'm subscribing so I can read it all later. Thank you so much, Kristina, for bumping this up! My husband & I were just discussing this today - very timely suggestions for our family.
Where did the folks who posted in this in 2010 go? I see names of people I remember & miss reading their posts. Are they on the high school board or just gone?
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Oh, Nance, :crying: :grouphug: I'm so sorry.
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They do exist! It's true that you might have a hard time finding the positive reviews on this board among the others. Does Cathy Duffy have a review for it?
My own 2 cents is that it works for my kids. They learn the rules and apply them, even though they are brief. SWO reviews the rules from year to year, not throughout each book. So, if you want a tighter spiral for review, just sit with your dc and look through a few previous lessons and discuss. The younger levels are on the simpler side, which might be why SWB has it scheduled out so fast (more than 1 level per year) in TWTM. I like that it gets into foreign roots and definitions of a variety of affixes in the higher levels. It's also easy to get done since it's mostly independent work for the child (once they're ready to be turned loose with a workbook). The lists are tied to phonics-based spelling rules, which I like. TWTM has suggestions in either the grammar or logic stage section for how to use a Spelling notebook to get the most out of SWO. These can be applied to any grade level. I make my kids write their words out for practice in their best cursive and call it penmanship sometimes, in alphabetical order, with vowels marked, or copy the "Tip" (spelling rule) for review. Instructions to do those things aren't in SWO, they are just ways I use it to suit my dc's needs.
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SFM, I'm so glad you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (previously crowded out by stacks of curriculum!). I've been through this as well, and posted in a thread in which another mom asked something similar:
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:hurray: WOW! That is a LOT of work! Your generosity is amazing. I'd love to have the Word version as well. Thank you!
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Cosmetics Cop and Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me by Paula Begoun are two good books to start with. She's written 20 beaty/skin-care books and you can find her sites by doing a google search on her name. She does have her own product line but doesn't push them in the books. See if your dd likes her sites or the looks of the Bobbi Brown book better. My dd reads the make-up how-to's in the magazines at the library or online (Pinterest, mostly).
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I already own WWS, so I pulled it down last night after watching TWSS. I think you won't need to worry about the headbanging if you do a couple of years of IEW. It will build confidence and skill. We have done WWE for years. Ironically, I think IEW provides a much more natural progression to the skills required in WWS than WWE. I think WWS is an extremely quick ramp-up for a kid who has only done WWE. I like WWE. And I like the looks of WWS. But WWE-->IEW-->WWS appears to form a fairly seamless path, where WWE-->WWS appears to create a stepping-stone path with a pretty wide chasm to hop across to get to WWS.
SWB has recently said that both WWE and WWS can be three year programs with the fourth year being optional. That said, I'm thinking I will probably do IEW with DS9 in 4th and 5th (at least) and WWS with him in 6th-8th. DD can probably join him, as she has a very early birthday and could go either way. We'll see. It would certainly make my life easier. :tongue_smilie:
PBI here about what I bolded above. WWE was written after TWTM came out, which includes instructions for separate cross-curricular writing in the form of narration pages/summaries in history, science, & literature. So, while WWE fills the need for some of the copywork, dictation, & narration suggestions, I don't think SWB meant for parents to completely ditch the content-subject written summaries. That piece could provide the writing experience also found in IEW, albeit without the explicit instruction offered by IEW.
Either one, or both, are (is?) fine. I just wanted to post it for those new to the whole entire WTM method. I was always getting hung up on "how much of this WTM writing does WWE count for?" I've had problems getting that non-descript "WTM writing" up & running smoothly, so IEW is my plan for "just in case". I'm giving myself this 1st quarter to either get Writing moving along steadily, and if not, we start IEW.
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Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions! I'll be looking at them with my dc on our next library trip.
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FWIW, I didn't imagine or vision that at all. I've offered my response based on what you *did* post, so I'll leave it at that. Except to say it's about the feelings, (self admitted) progression, and the thinking distortions.
The practical advice in this thread is great. And if you can access it and sustain the changes, great. If you find you can't, there might be an underlying mental health issue preventing you. If that turns out to be the case, it's quite likely very treatable.
Happy decluttering and purging. It's liberating. :)
Joanne, thanks for clarifying that; it is helpful to know. I found your posts insightful and didn't take offense - after all, I agree that clinical hoarding is an illness just like depression or cancer is an illness. After reading through the responses which included symptom lists of real hoarding, I don't believe for a second that I have it.
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I've noticed that, too. I mentioned a hiccup I was having with my MIL and the responses I got ranged all the way to completely cutting her out of my life. Which was crazy-talk. She's one of the sweetest people I know, and it would be insanity to cut her out of my life. But from what I'd written that people read through the filters of their crazy-MIL's, there were lots of jumps to conclusions that didn't make sense.
I wouldn't use the word "offensive" about how we all tend to see the "crazy" in each other's life. It was eye opening that when you throw a couple of paragraphs out there, it can be interpreted in such a range of different ways.
To the OP: I'm glad you were able to get rid of a bunch of bags and boxes! In your original post you wrote: "it bothers me unless I sell it or know someone who I'm positive will put it to good use." That is a classic sign of hoarding. The hoarder loves their stuff and they cannot let it go unless they know it will be loved.
But, since you got rid of bags and are still getting rid of more, you sound like you're not a hoarder.
Yeah, I talked to dh about it and he said people were probably imagining piles and piles of brand new stuff with tags still on, from the description in my OP. Oh my dear... what a picture I must have painted for some imaginations! No such thing going on here... we have no debt, and rarely shop for things that are not necessities. The "finances" thing is a single, limited income. Things have just built up for a long time - little to no purging/decluttering for too long. I just have to get used to thinking differently - the 3 categories I mentioned for sorting... the "selling" category has to shift. I can't hold onto stuff anymore just because I "should" put it on freecycle or try to sell it. I just don't have the time, but want my home to be different, pronto.
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Holy smokes, you guys! :lol: I feel a bit weird, what with others debating my mental state... But on a serious note, thank you all for your advice, care, & concern. :grouphug: Your collective advice is excellent; I knew I was asking the right group of minds.
It is whatever it is, mental illness or not, & I tend to agree with a PP that if it really were, there's no need to defend me from others' concern, but I appreciate where you're coming from. It's OK, really. Taking care of it, whatever my version of "it" can be classified as (or not), is what counts. I don't think the state of mind is a black-and-white, yes-or-no thing vs. how far has one's thinking has gone into it and how much will it take to reverse it. Maybe there's a spectrum of severity. Or, I could be completely off, and do want to know if I am.
We don't have a high level of "in-flow" - things coming into the house, except that grandparents have gone WAY overboard in gift-giving to the kids in the past. We're not big spenders, I just haven't gotten rid of much in a really long time. I wanted to wait until I found all the pieces of the sets for the purpose of selling them to the local children's consignment store, selling online on a local for-sale site, or even giving away. I can't do that with multiple partial sets of things - some could, but others are truly an unusable pile of pieces unless you have all the parts. It's letting go of the plan of selling these things and accepting that I just have to get rid of them that is hard.
If Garga's list is of any indication, after typing my OP, I bagged up some things (11 Walmart bags worth) that DH took to the thrift shop and I've got 3 big boxes to take to the consignment shop (and then drop leftovers at the thrift shop, like always) - no problem or anxiety about it. It's the perfectly good things like little kid's skis, or hundreds of dollars worth (well, originally) of Geotrax or Thomas the Train sets, furniture not currently in use but that can't be replaced, things like that I have a harder time with. I've always had 3 categories when sorting through stuff: Consignment (has to be in near-pristine cond. for the one in our town), Donate (stuff I can't sell anywhere), Sell (yard sale/online). I think I'm giving up on selling most of it because selling takes too much time, and the "stuff to sell" takes up too much space. The shed tears were over the overwhelming nature of the task - how much time it will take, I don't have the time, so it's going to take time & patience. I wish it could just happen overnight.
My dad was a child of the Great Depression, for further context. Yes, I think there are security issues to some extent. My own house is a money pit we are stuck in ATM (whole 'notha thread, but I'll spare you), so, yes, there's somewhat a feeling of "but it's all we've got" about stuff that could be sold, or especially about stuff we'd like to use but don't currently have room for.
I don't know if this makes me "certifiable", but I'm bound & determined to pluck it by it's root no matter how big or small. The bits about considering how my children develop their view of things & possible attachment to things are what I'm really taking to heart. Thanks for your kind words & advice. :grouphug:
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How do can I just toss out perfectly good stuff? For some reason, it bothers me unless I sell it or know someone who I'm positive will put it to good use. How can I get rid of sets (little people, geotrax, etc.) if I haven't got everything from each set all together yet? I store things until I'm sure I've got all the pieces & parts that go with something together and then I can get rid of it. I hate taking things to the second-hand store to drop off if they look like I could sell them. I've had no time for yard sales, no place for storage, and yet it's still hard to just let it GO. Talk me into it. Make me internalize that the square footage & decluttered house are worth more than I'd ever get for all this stuff. Our finances influence my thinking, but something my dad said has always stuck with me: "I already put money into this stuff and I can't afford to throw money away. I sure don't have the money to replace it [with current needs] so I'd better sell it." Of course, he's the one with storage sheds, connexes, and rental storage units (they're all clean & very nicely organized... but still). *sigh* I've actually shed tears over this. It's time; I have to beat this. I don't mean to make it sound like a Hoarders show, it's not that far gone, but it's steadily gotten worse over the years because I don't throw out "perfectly good" things. My house is tiny with no storage areas which magnifies the situation. The visual clutter is driving me nuts and I hate trying to homeschool (or anything, really) in the midst of a mess.
If you've been through something like this, can you offer any help?
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In younger grades, Magic School Bus picture books and then chapter books were both engaging & educational. Is there a series like that appropriate for logic stage/middle school?
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Let me start by saying, school is fine. I could use more "get up and go" but I don't expect to find that in a book (or could I?).
And yet ..
I'm highly distracted by all the options I'm not choosing (today) - and I'm mostly not talking about the forum but my own bookshelves. So many methods, so many styles, so many guides and how-tos and schedules and books and subjects.
Due to an upcoming big move, I've been paring down books and some of this process has been painless and liberating, some I've had to get rid of the way one takes off a band-aid, but some are like leeches and others have me bedazzled. For instance, I have no desire for a grammar program for my six year old who is already getting plenty of grammar from his Latin and writing to satisfy us both but I can't get rid of First Language Lessons or R&S English 2. They are both irresistibly beautiful to me in their own ways. How utterly absurd is that?! I've taken to hiding books from myself in an attempt to have my cake and eat it too. I always end up wanting (however briefly) to use them again at which point I'm glad I didn't get rid of them but I'm still ultimately vexed by having my hands full of options but only having time to really do one well but never able to make that commitment.
The ghost of What If..? haunts me. What if I don't read up thoroughly on every method available and then miss something key to my child's joy in growing up and success as an adult? Sure, we're content. But what if it's only because we're ignorant? What if I get rid of something and then find myself in a situation where I can't afford to get it back but have realized it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me and I blew it because I didn't recognize it at the time? Meanwhile, suitcases are limited, postage (with necessary insurance) is expensive and The Book Depository doesn't ship where we're headed.
I have several verses of scripture popping into my head related to anxiety and trust but I need someone to toss cold water on my head and speak sense into it .. just walk me through this.
Thank you for putting into words my disorder! :lol: I have the exact same "vexation", right along with the shelves & shelves of curricula & books, not to mention the bins in storage. (It probably sounds like more than it is, but it only looks like a lot because my house is small.) I've now got my blinders on and stopped all unnecessary purchasing long ago, but I've got an argument for keeping every single book in this house, by golly!
I think somehwhere in you, you already know the answer. You know you have to shed some books. It is painful to think of when they are attached to hopes, dreams, & plans. Here is the thought process I would go through to aid decision-making: What is my one true homeschool love that I can't imagine abandoning, that I always come back to if I stray and never really let go of even when I try to use other things - I just end up adding those things to it? What is that thing? For me, it is TWTM Writing. It's what resonated with me the most the first time I read TWTM, what got me excited to begin down that particular path because of where it promised to lead. So, all my resources I'm using to accomplish my definition of "WTM Writing" would be keepers. Then I'd similarly do this within individual subjects - if you had to pick ONE thing for history, what would it be? If you had to pick ONE thing to use for math, what would it be? And so on. As you make your lists or pack it up, limit the temptation to take extras. Then, if you have room, only take supplements that truly compliment and aid your teaching and your children's learning of those core favorites. Be realistic. The rest is stuff you merely like but likely won't have much time for without sacrificing things you really believe in or like the best. You didn't have time for it here, and if you plan to continue those core favorites, what makes you think you'll have time somewhere else? Pray your way through it, tell God you want to put your homeschool in His hands and to guide your decisions. He knows your children & the dynamics of your homeschool through & through, now and in the future, so He really knows best. When you find peace with a decision, let it be, don't take it back to second-guess or analyze it.
I had myself waaaaaay overscheduled, with too many fun, wonderful, and deeply enriching resources to ever move forward. The load I carried was so big, taking a step forward on our school schedule was painful. In order to simplify for this year, I had to think in terms of forcing myself to choose ONE thing for each subject. Those things are my core favorites that I'm at peace with if we don't have time to add anything else. I like supplementing, but I don't like feeling bogged down. If/when I add things now, I try to be very mindful of the quality and educational value of the supplements.
Just a side-note: IF you have a small enough house that all of these books are in your face constantly (i.e. you can see the shelves from many places b/c your home doesn't have many places), get shelves with doors, build some of your own with doors, or at least put up curtains on the ones you've got to hide the mess and allow your mind to rest.
Hunter once told me, in response to my "vexation", to go read Ecclesiastes. It roused more questions in my mind instead of settling it, but 2 points were clear by the end.
Blessings to you in this season of change.
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:grouphug: (((((Jean))))) Praying!
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If I can hear you chewing your food (I swear my family has hollow heads!) then it is all I can do to politely stay in the same room.
CAN. NOT. STAND. IT.
:iagree: Me too! Silent eating environments are the worst, because then you can hear every slurp and squishy food/mouth noise. Background noise (music, etc.) is a MUST.
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I don't have any practical advice, but as for your wondering about the previous owners putting up with such a smell, people get "immune" to smells they live with.
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to the tune of "I'm sexy and I know it"....:lol:
:lol: That's how I read it, too! We could make a frumpy LE-version music video... :lol:
Resident rates... worth it to switch state residency?
in The College Board
Posted
Is it even possible to switch state residency in order to get lower tuition? Do you just have to live in a state for a year and get your driver's license, car & voter registration, etc. through that state, or is there more to it? The tuition is more than double for non-residents at the uni my dd wants to attend. :glare: