NatureMomma
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Posts posted by NatureMomma
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When I lived in California, we lived in SoCal, yes. People commented. Only poor people had thrift-store clothes. "Where did you get that, Goodwill?" Uh.
However, prior to that and ever since, I've lived in the Northwest and no, it's not a stamp of poverty, not here. Most kids come over with thrift-store clothing. People will even tell you they got something at Value Village when you compliment their work wardrobe. Like, at work.
So I guess it depends on the culture. I've been told again and again "Oh not all Californians are like that" but honestly that was my experience. From primary (3rd) through part of eighth grade. We lived in Orange County and there's a lot of poverty there and a lot of money. We have money up here but nothing like they have in California. They have so much money they put up gates up to keep poor people out. I'm forever traumatized by the brand consciousness and the gates. Well, trauma isn't the right word. I will never really get over it and I could never imagine living there again. It creeps me out. And then you can't even drink from the water fountains. To me it's just a whole different idea of what it means to be in a "nice place" or "have nice things". Clearly we have different values from the people making decisions there.
My kids have "real" PJs that I got as hand-me-downs and some that were bought with credit card rewards. They mainly sleep in their clothes for tomorrow, though.
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Well my moms Mexican, and we used it a lot growing up, but she never said it with the Spanish accent?
So we always pronounced it come-in. It wasn't until several years ago that I first heard it pronounced the other way that I had no idea what was even being talked about!
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They do smell very clean to me, like bleach, but you all have convinced me to wash them separately. Thanks for your input! :)
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We dont use paper towels, but use washcloths for cleaning everything, including really gross nasty jobs. I use Thieves cleaner (essential oil based) and vinegar for cleaning. They get put in the wash with all of our towels and washcloths for showering and I'm wondering if it's sanitary or clean enough. I use detergent from Whole Foods and bleach. They smell clean and fresh, (smell like bleach) but what are your thoughts- is this gross? yay or nay?
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What is their website?
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I too am in the fence about this and would love some feedback. I have a going into 9th grade and I like less rigor and more Charlotte Mason overtones, and would also like to be able to pick and choose other stuff.
The tutor I talked to in depth with, said it all depends on the family. It's designed to take over what's typically done at home, but not all students do all the work.
I'm considering it because my daughter really wants class time with her peers, and it's the only thing around, but I just don't know...
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My daughters going into 9th this Fall, and the charter school she's with will give her $2700 to spend on curriculum and supplies.
In the past we've used the money for classes, but this year we are moving to the very outskirts of the counties they support and there's very limited selection of classes they'll pay for in the area and I'm not into driving far away so that means we get to spend the money on either curriculum or consumable items like Art supplies, science kits, etc.
So help me spend please.
They have a huge resource center already, where I can find almost any curriculum we'd like including books, microscopes, full science kits, maps, etc! So I'd rather use the money on things that I can't get there and that are also consumable.
Next years plan:
Classical Conversations (they won't pay for)
Science- apologia w CC (also won't pay for)
Teaching Textbooks (have it in the Resource center for free already)
History (SCM, they won't pay for)
Grammar- Queen (won't pay for)
Artistic pursuits (free from Resource Center)
Latin
Lots of literature (can get them in RC and library)
So please help me spend this money $$!
We aren't interested in online classes, and they won't pay for field trips or passes anywhere. I'm not sure about iPads, but we have enough of those too. We have a ton of books already...
I'm thinking REALLY great art supplies, (which ones?) and then I'm pretty stuck there.
Ideas please? 😊How should I spend this money? Thanks!
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I haven't read the article yet... My daughter had PANDAS for years. It was living h***. She's doing much better, but when she gets sick, we still see the symptoms Come back.
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Roxoboxen every single time. Bridge to Teribithia, where the Red fern Grows
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There's so many book lists out there I've been having a hard time picking out which ones to choose from. I have a going into 9th grader in the fall, and I'm trying to come up with MUST reads for the high school years. I'm looking mainly for classic literature recommendations. What are the most important books that you absolutely want your child to read before graduating?
No religious books please- got that covered. :)
How many books would you choose not including history? I'm thinking maybe 40, or should I do more or less?
Tell me what the best of the best- your top, absolutely essential, have to read before leaving your house would be!
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I was just at their site 2 days ago and it worked fine for me.
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I make pork pazole but this chicken pazole is super fresh and easy.
Start with chicken broth, add cooked chicken, large can or two of hominy, some diced onion, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and a bit of chili powder.
Let simmer 30 minutes ladel into bowls and add:
Fresh cilantro, avocado, sliced radish, squeeze of lime, salsa and tortilla chips. Add more salsa or hot sauce for heat.
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This is an old family favorite- it doesn't have a name.
Brown a pound of hamburger, add a whole diced onion, several garlic cloves, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, add a few diced potatoes with a can of tomato sauce, a whole large, can of Hatch green chilies, (diced) let simmer and cook till potatoes are soft, and add cheese when done.
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Do you have a link to this recipe? Sounds Delish....Do you make a shepherd's pie? That and chicken pot pie w a bisquick crust are two of our favorites. I don't use canned soup in anything so I'm super happy that neither of these need it.
There's also a really good white chicken enchilada recipe on Pinterest. It's two cups shredded chicken, 8 ounces shredded jack cheese, mixed and put into flour tortillas, then a sauce is poured over it. The sauce has butter, flour chicken broth, sour cream, and a can of green chills. Lately I have added some frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe's the the meat and cheese mixture. It's heavenly.
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It was never her strong point to begin with, but with several years of critical foundation learning lost, it's been a real struggle to consistently teach her and retain the skills. She's very motivated to catch up though, although she struggles with the content.
I would say on all other subjects she on par or above typical 'grade level'. When she was in PS briefly a year ago, they evaluated her reading level to be above 10th grade level (currently reading The Tale of Two Cities) and her writing to be at a 9th grade level. She loves learning, she taught herself Greek at age 9, and can read it well now.
This wouldn't be as much of an issue if there wasn't the possibility of sending her to public school/and or KEEPING her in the public charter she's now at. Would they even allow me to bump her up a grade??
I don't see the benefit of waiting now maturity wise. Even 8 months ago I would have strongly felt that it was best to keep her at this grade with her being slightly older, but now I'm not so sure.
But oyyy... The math... IF she goes to public school where would they place her? Do they have remedial programs? And who's to say she's even caught up In a year if I keep her on the current schedule?
She's very right brain and might be one of those people that a strong basic understanding is really all that she will be able to do.
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So long story short, my daughter was sick for several years and missed almost all of 6th grade due to sickness and being in the hospital for months. Last year when we were trying to move back to Ca. We put her in public school briefly (3 months) so we could sell our house and focus on leaving. They thought because of her experiences and always being homeschooled and in a minority school she would do better if they placed her at 6th rather than 7th, which was fine with Me at the time because she missed almost a whole year and we don't really do 'grades' anyway.
So here's the dilemma and issues I need to think through. She'll be 14 in just a few weeks (in 7th). I I felt it was fine if it helped her emotionally heal with another 2 years before high school- If I continue her at this schedule, she won't graduate from school until she's 19 😳Which she's not happy about, assuming we stay with the public charter school I have her signed up for in Ca. They give a generous stipend of 2700 to high schoolers which is a big help!
But here's the thing- we don't know if we are going to continue homeschooling her, put her in public school (how would I even do this) or do a dual enrollment with community college. Here in Ca high schoolers can dual enroll at age 14. So if she continued Homeschooling, going into 8th next fall, she'd have to wait another year to dual enroll which she really wants to do.
She's very behind in math because of being sick for so long- math was pushed to he side. She's currently working trough Teaching Textbooks 6 which I know Is already behind as it is. She's very motivated to catch up- but math is NOT her strong suit. She's had a Charlotte Mason Ed since Kindy so is above grade level for literature and writing.
So how would I go about moving her back to her level (going in to 9th) and would you? She emotionally matured a lot in the last year, and is really wanting to take her education seriously. She is not planning on going to college other than a vocational school, she thinks she might like to be a flight attendant. She's thinking if she can do dual enrollment starting at 14, (that's if she moves to 9th in the fall) she can graduate early when she's 17 instead of 19, and have college credits to boot.
If I homeschool her independently I don't see a problem- but if she's going to public school (a possible scenario) or continuing through the public charter school how do I do this? I can't exactly just ask them to move her up a grade can I?
And would you skip a grade based on the fact that math is seriously lagging? This will never be her strong suit- and she will be lucky if she can pass Algebra with a C when she finally takes it.
Did she really miss something crucial this year when she was technically already supposed to be in 8th preparing her for high school?
Like I said, she's really motivated, but very stressed at the possibility of being out of school so much older than her peers and so many plans she wants to attain to if she were to stay this current course.
Please advise!
*** sorry for the typos and bad grammar! Typing on my phone!
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I'm trying to plan our trip to Europe for this September or October- and could use some serious help and feedback. My husband has been to Spain, Paris and Amsterdam for months at a time for work, and we've been to Amsterdam (a month together, he worked, I played) and Paris for a week together.
What's your top choices and must sees? Help me plan please! We will have our 14 dd with us this time, and not really sure where exactly we want to go, my hubby thinks it might be too much to see both Italy and Paris, but I think it could work. We are also trying to do things on the cheap as possible, so suggestions for places to look at staying, flights, trains, food etc... What are your best travel websites for finding cheap flights or cheapest cities to fly in and out of?
We know we want to see Paris for sure, and probably Amsterdam again, but hubby also wants to go to Verdun for a day and spend a day outside Paris in Meaux where his great grandfathers statue is. Any suggestions for either of those day trips? How to get around? Bus or train?
I would also love to go to Italy, but know nothing in terms of traveling and getting to and from there to Paris. Do we fly from one of those cities or take a night train and if so what's the cost? How does the eurail work as far as traveling to different countries?
If we flew straight to Italy what city would be best for cost wise? I'm assuming it's more expensive than flying to Paris?
Here's what I'm thinking- please give me feedback, as I know nothing about the ins and outs.
1 day plane travel to Rome
4-5 days Rome
1 day travel to Venice (or some other city??)
3-4 days Venice (is this enough time?)
1 day travel to Paris
4 days Paris
1 day Verdun (doable?)
1 day Meaux
1 day Versailles
1/2 day train to Amsterdam (or where??)
4-5 days Amsterdam
1 day home
First of all does this even sound like a doable schedule or is it too jam packed? We can possibly add more days as well, and we don't want it to be too rushed, but on the other hand see as much as possible.
Whats your top must sees in each city? Mostly looking for feedback on Italy, and any other places in between or worth stopping at (if we have a train pass). We love history, architecture, museums, art, nature, food, although we plan to eat very cheaply for the most part. Last time we went to Paris we stayed in an Airbnb and cooked breakfast at home, and picked up a loaf of bread, cheese and wine each day for lunch, and dinners were very simple meals I cooked at the bnb.
We don't plan on doing any shopping, just experiencing the surroundings.
So whats your dream tour and what would be your not to miss places? Any and all suggestions welcome!
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Yes. In San Diego County alone there are 120 charter schools. Only 38 of them are non-classroom site based programs, meaning some sort of homeschooling program. The other 82 are regular typical schools.
I get really tired of the nasty comments this forum about homeschooling with a charter school. It's getting old.
Getting tired of it too. I've homeschooled my daughter since K privately, and this year we decided to use a charter. There's no class instruction, I use the same curriculum I've been using for years, and they give me $2200 a year for doing so! I meet once a month with the nicest lady for about 10-15 minutes. I sign my name, email her work samples, chat about what my daughters doing and what she likes and that's it. This allows me to pay for her ballet and jazz classes, gymnastics, her all day Homeschool Forest class once a week, and her weekly homeschool class day (taught independently by a homeschool teacher) in addition to any art supplies or curriculum of my choosing I want them to order.
I wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise, and I'm literally doing NOTHING different learning wise with her. I'm greatly appreciative of this, and really don't like the implication that I'm somehow not homeschooling my dd.
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I'm a descendant of Pedro de Acevedo (sunk the Santa Maria)
My husband is a desecndant of Thomas Edison, Benjamin West, his Maternal Great Grandfather lived next to Monet and was an artist himself and painted the same bridge and ran in the same circles of Impressionist painters.
His other Great Grandfather is Frederick MacMonnies, who built the Liberte de France, and has work in the Met and museums around the world.
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The last time JWs showed up at my house (a couple of years ago) they asked in English if any of my neighbors were Spanish speakers. Um, no. Granted I'm in AZ but people who only speak Spanish usually live and socialize in neighborhoods where there are other non-English speakers or with a large population of the bilingual adult children on non-English speakers. My neighborhood was the wrong part of town for that. Weird.
Hopefully I can figure out how to quote this on my phone!
I'm a Witness, and although my native language is English, we were in the Spanish congregation for a while. We would go to different neighborhoods in our area to find the Spanish speaking people, and a lot of times they don't look Spanish speaking at all. Sometimes they were quite light skinned, or maybe it was an older person who's native language was Spanish and didn't leave the house much, or a live in maid, etc. We always tried to reach a person in their native tongue and you'd be surprised how many people we found in the most unexpected places this way.
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My husband got a job downtown in San Fransiscos Financial area, and right now he's commuting and it's tough on him. We currently live a couple of hours South of SF.
We know virtually NOTHING about any of these cities at all. I'm not thrilled about his job there, and don't like the Bay Area, but after being out of work for over a year, this was what was available.
Im not sure of the pros and cons of living in the city, versus something like Alameda, other than the price difference. I also really don't know if logistically I would do well in a city. We have 2 cars, and his is a lease, so unfortunately we have to keep his, but it's an electric car and just doesn't go very far - so I want to be able to take off outside the city often, but I hear parking is extremely difficult, so not sure we could even keep mine.
I'm also worried about housing. He's making 135k a year, (not enough I know for the area) and we have a 13 year old, who wants some space, but we also don't want to spend all of our money on rent. We have a lot of debt to pay off, and also traveling is a big thing for us. We just don't want to sink our money into outrageous prices for rent!! We are the type that's very creative when it comes to housing. Right now, we live full time in a 100 SF Rv so small spaces don't bother me if they can be worked with, or divisioned off.
Do any of these cities have RV parks? Or tiny home living, or other creative outside the box options for cheaper rent?
I also don't want to spend all my time lugging laundry, groceries, etc around a city, and to tell the truth, the Bay Area in general just doesn't appeal to me, it's so industrial looking and cold.
On the other hand, we like walking, cultural things, history, architecture, we like fun things to do that are easily accessible, and good restaurants, lots to look at, etc. so it could be rather fun living in SF.
Is there families that live in studios? And is there ways to put up temporary walls, so that we can still live there if that was out choice, but not pay so much for rent for a 1 or 2 bedroom apt?
But tell me options for Alameda, Berkely, and Oakland. What do you love or not about these cities, and which would you choose to live in? I have no experience with any of them- and have only visited SF. He could take the BART train in to work, but does NOT want to commute by car. What would be the most ideal for cummute time?
My husband could also take the ferry to work from Alameda- any personal experience with the Island itself? I would still be able to have my car living there, and have access to more stores potentially, and the housing is cheaper there, but does it feel like you're 'stuck' and is traffic bad getting on and off? Does it feel confined and too separate?
What is Berkely like?
I also like sun, and green spaces, and beautiful nature spots to visit, so that's also something that's important to throw in the mix. And we don't like traffic, and he really doesn't want much longer than a 25 minute commute...
My daughters in 7th right now, and we aren't sure if we are homeschooling her next year or not. What areas have the best schools? And my searches are not pulling up ANY homeschool centers in the area. She wouldn't be doing any co-ops, park days, etc. but the area we live in now has charter schools, and also private homeschool centers where she can attend a few days a week. Are there not as many homeschoolers in the area?
All these decisions, and we just don't know how to narrow the choices down. I'm trying to put all the pieces together with not knowing anything about the area at all, and it's such a hard decicion to live in or out of the city. My dh would prefer to live in SF because of the lifestyle, and accessibility, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. We have a couple of months to make our decision, and we don't really know what each area entails, so please give me the scoop!
Thanks!
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I'm one of Jehovahs Witnesses, and I can tell you I very seriously doubt that they are, or else they may be just studying or not active, or raised around it. A JW would normally NOT send their child to a preschool at a church, and would also not let their child participate in a holiday party. For instance, my daughter attends a charter school a couple of days a week, and when they have a holiday party, sometimes I pick her up early and other times, I send her with special treats and activities to keep busy while the other kids are doing their thing. She gets plenty of treats, parties, presents, etc, and doesn't feel deprived. She knows our beliefs and why we don't celebrate the different holidays.
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I would definitely do Fort Sumter if you can swing it. Not only do you get a ferry ride that allows you to see the Harbor but the Fort is really cool. Charles Towne Landing is also cool if you have the time.
Do you dress like a Mom?
in The Chat Board
Posted · Edited by NatureMomma
I'm 38, have a 15 year old, and look young for my age too and still get carded all the time. I definitely don't like the mom look, and for the last few years I've struggled with my clothing identity. I used to live in graphic tees, jeans, shorts, and 'hippie' skirts, but have changed my style and get a lot of inspiration from sites such as http://www.puttingmetogether.com/?m=1
She's cute and trendy without looking like a teenybopper. Accessories really do a lot to tie the outfit together, and my go to stores are now Gap, Old Navy, H&M, Modcloth, Jcrew, Madewell.... trendy but not mom or teen and I do wear skinny jeans, but not the skin tight ones!