Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

Alicia64

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    6,418

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Alicia64

    I don't exactly have a solution, but thought you'd want to know about this

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    9 hours ago, Slache said:

    What do you mean by essential calendar dates? Like the upcoming important dates for college events like the last day of registration?

    Right! Or. date like when to drop without a problem kind of thing.

    Some of what I wrote above is tongue-in-cheek, but I do wish I'd taught them more about getting through the obstacle course of bureaucracy! 😊

    • Thanks 1

    I don't exactly have a solution, but thought you'd want to know about this

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by Alicia64
    their vs. they're

    Hi Everyone,

    My two are 18 and in college. They're wonderful, I'm not complaining.

    For various reasons, the last year has been really red tape-y. I handled it, but it was a lot of stress.

    Last week a bunch of red tape came at us re: their college, scholarship money etc.

    I delegated one piece of dealing with red tape to my son and touched bases w/ him a couple of times.

    Boring story, short: I wish I had known to teach my kids how to deal with annoying bureaucracy and red tape.

    In retrospect I would teach them:

    • how to put the phone on speaker while they're on-hold. (In other words, don't just hang up and forget the whole thing.)
    • how to "dog" a detail until it's completely managed.
    • How important it is to get a confirmation that important info. has been received.
    • How important it is to memorize your social security number.
    • How essential it is to know key calendar dates.
    • How vital it is to track down all of the requirements a college might need.

    Okay, I'll leave it at that, but you get the idea.

    I'm not saying that we should create Bureaucracy 101, but I am wishing that I'd sprinkled in these lessons as I worked w/ my high schoolers.

    Like I did one day: out of the blue we were driving and I pointed out where to find the VIN number on the car. I just mentioned it in passing. I kept it short and I could tell they were listening.

    I'm trying to share stuff I wished I'd done, before I get any older and start forgetting what I forgot!!

    Wendy                 p.s. I wrote another post about what I wished I'd instilled re: cleaning the house and cooking. I put that in the elementary age forum.

     

     

     

    • Like 12

    How did you teach your child to read?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I have twins. At five, one picked up reading quickly in various ways.

    But his brother didn't read until he was seven. He's doing beautifully today so there was zero long-term damage. 😊

    I taught him using the I See Sam "books." They're short. (It looks like they're free here. This is news to me.) To me the only downside to printing them out, is that the bought ones come in different colors as you advance in reading. So the first set are on red paper, the second on orange etc.

    It was so much fun. My son loved it and responded really well. I saved all the books to hopefully teach grand kids one day! (Okay, I'll be ancient, but I have hope.)

    • Like 1

    Is this normal (sleep)?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I had real sleep problems when I was pre- and in menopause.

    I know this sounds woo-woo, but a friend who was into herbs recommended lemon balm tea. After I determined that it was totally safe -- and it is -- I found a health food store that sold loose lemon balm tea.

    I'd make a cup before going to sleep and it seriously cleared up my terrible insomnia. (I remember telling a friend, "Don't drink this stuff and drive.")

    Just a thought: you might make the tea, put it by your bedside and drink it when you wake up in the night.

    Maybe it was all placebo, but it really helped me.

    Menopause is so different for everyone: I never had a single night-sweat. Instead I was seriously claustrophobic. Elevators were a real problem. I wouldn't get in one if "too many people" were already in it. My poor kids and husband. On trips they'd see people in an elevator and all turn to me with faces asking, too many or are we good here?

    This was entirely new for me, it's gone now. I'm 57.

    And I had bad insomnia. Everything went away at some point. Definitely by the time I was 51 or so.

    Hang in there -- I know it's hard.

    Wendy

     

    • Like 1

    Best info. you learned from SWB or Jessie Wise?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by Alicia64
    My "s" button doesn't seem to work.

    On 8/8/2021 at 4:31 AM, LMD said:

    I had a similar burst of wistful anger when I read wtm the first time. How different things could be. Susan and Jesse gave me a vision and confidence to go for it. 

    Well said re: confidence. I never would have even thought to take a homeschooling approach seriously without TWTM. When I pulled ours from Kindergarten, my dad didn't speak to me for over a year. Dh would drive the two hours w/ the kids to see the grandparents.

    Without Susan and Jessie, I never could have withstood his anger. My mom was more like, "but you wont homeschool them for high school, right?" Um I hate to break it to you, lady. . .

    Now that they're 18 nobody is more astounded than I am at how spectacularly home school was for us.

    On 8/8/2021 at 10:10 AM, cintinative said:

    It was helpful for me to hear SWB say that although they wrote The Well Trained Mind to help us to craft our own version of classical education at home, she did not follow it completely nor did she expect us to. 

    I loved hearing this too.

    • Like 4

    SOTW - If you could add one more chapter...

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    It's been years since we read SOTW, but Churchill was left out of everything I was exposed to as a student. Other than a quick mention.

    I can't remember if he was included in SOTW, I'll check.

    For now, this book The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz by Erik Larson completely changed how I thought about WWII.

    Forever, I'd thought the U.S. was the reigning good guy -- and in many ways, yes  -- but Churchill held the Nazis back on his own for years.

    England and the English people were bombed and attacked again and again.

    The book just came out, but I wish I had read it as a teen.

    I highly recommend reading. It's a page-turner!

    • Like 1

    Help me complete a grandkids visiting activity basket

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I found so many baby gates at a second hand kid's store.

    You might want to get baby gates to keep them out of certain rooms.

    Where are you in Florida? Just wondering if you're anywhere near Legoland? In Winter Haven. Holy cow, that was my boys' Mother Ship.

    One of my sons suggested origami so that they can make something a little more intricate.

    Also, he said that you might want to buy a stack of colored construction paper that they can use up for planes etc.

    Outdoors, my boys were happy with a small kids' pool filled with water. And sand! They loved a sandbox.

    I LOVE bubbles for outside and water guns!! My kids LOVED water guns. And they never forgot the time we did water balloons -- they still talk about that.

    • Like 2

    Best info. you learned from SWB or Jessie Wise?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    On 8/5/2021 at 9:55 PM, Zoo Keeper said:

    From SWB's audio on Burning Out..I'm paraphrasing...

    "Anyone can be your child's teacher; only YOU can be their parent." 

    My take on this...

    This is such a good reminder that my relationship with my child is more important than my role as The Teacher of All Wisdom. 

    Relationship is more important than history cycles.

    Relationship is more important than what math program.

    And on and on and on...  I put sooooo much time and effort into my role as homeschool mom. 

    BUT

    So many things we stress about here in homeschool land are really not THE Big Deal of parenting.

    preaching to myself here, folks....

     

    This is awesome!! And so true. ♥♥♥

    On 8/6/2021 at 12:29 AM, ScoutTN said:

     

    With teens: shower, snack, nap. 

     

     

    I always loved this one! She also said something similar about chocolate and getting the squirmies out by running around.

    I wish I could remember. The chocolate enticement always made me feel better: because I did that too!

    I remember her saying once that her dad could look from his house into hers and see the kids running.

    • Like 5

    Best info. you learned from SWB or Jessie Wise?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by Alicia64

    3 hours ago, Quarter Note said:

    Alicia64, what a wonderful idea for a thread! Thank you!

    It was TWTM that cemented our decision to homeschool our kids. After only reading a few pages of the book, I turned to my husband and said, “You have got to read this.” SWB described everything I had longed for (but didn't get) as a kid in public school. What she wrote felt so right for our family. I've mentioned this on the forum before, but when I read her words about teaching K-4, “Spread knowledge out in front of them, and let them feast,” (chp. 3, 3rd ed.) I was hooked. Happily, TWTM recommendations always seem to work for our kids, too. SWB has never let me down!

    Both of my kids learned to read with OPGTR, by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington, and they are both very strong readers. When my then-8-year-old son, with diagnoses of ASD and ADHD in the future, independently read The Hobbit, I was in awe. I really couldn't have done that on my own. Thank you, Jessie and Sara!

    I'd also like to put into the Internet-air thanks for a long-gone woman, Jessie's Aunt Meme, who cheerfully taught young Jessie according to the way she knew was right, despite all the nay-sayers who predicted failure for young Jessie. What a brave woman! As I look into the high school years in the near future with my kids, I hope that I will have the same courage that Aunt Meme, and Jessie later, did.

     

    (Psst, @Alicia64, just a friendly recommendation to change the title:  SWB's mom's last name is Wise.  She didn't take on her daughter's married name!)

    Thank you!! Fixed the name. Long, hard hot weekend. I'm still recovering. 🙃 I happened to pick up TWTM the night before Kindergarten and was too far on the K path at that point, but I also told dh, "you've got to read this." Dh -- who hadn't been on board at all -- wanted them pulled by Thanksgiving. But then I was panicking so I didn't pull them. By Christmas they were home for good (pun intended). They're 18 today and doing beautifully. Susan and Jessie deserve an eternal standing ovation for what they did for my family.

    2 hours ago, Michelle in MD said:

    I began homeschooling in 2001 when I had six children, ages 10 and under.  I wrote to the WTM website, wondering if such a thing were advisable or even possible.  I don't know that I really expected anyone to read my message, much less reply, but a day or two later I received a lengthy, heartfelt response from Jessie Wise, full of ideas and encouragement.  Wow, it still gives me goosebumps to think of it! Unfortunately, I was also rather new to Internet communications at the time and didn't save that email.  But I've always treasured that gesture in my mind and had the greatest respect for SWB, her mother, and their influence on the homeschooling world.

    I hope they see this thread.

    That's a beautiful, beautiful memory. ♥♥♥ Made me teary.

    • Like 4

    How do you accept your spouse?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I haven't read everyone's comments, but just wanted to say that after years of bickering it finally dawned on me to treat dh the way I hope my sons will be treated by their spouse's one day.

    That really turned things around for me. (We're married 21.)

    The other thing that has helped a lot: I act very respectful of his time. I might need something that only he can do and I might say, "I know you're swamped with a, b, and c, but could do blank by Tuesday night?

    Adding: there's a lot to be said for growing older. I look at problems very differently than I did twenty years ago.

    ♥♥♥

     

    • Like 3

    Suggestions for a business curriculum please.

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by Alicia64

    I don't have a curriculum suggestion, but listening to the Tim Ferriss podcast would be an excellent beginning and middle. I've been listening for years. So good. The perfect episode to start with is #351.

    On episode 351: "First is Allen Walton (@allenthird), founder of SpyGuy, an online security store based in the Dallas, Texas area. Walton struggled in high school and spent a few years playing video games before his mom made him apply for a job at a local surveillance chain, where he worked from 2009-2011. He became interested in starting his own business after being exposed to The 4-Hour Workweek. In 2014, he went out on his own and started SpyGuy, his current business. He built the business to $1 million in revenue on his own, relying on what he learned in books and podcasts, and it now brings in seven-figure revenue with five employees."

    I also highly recommend reading the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss.

    Let me know if you want more ideas. Very cool that he wants to start a business!! ♥♥♥

    • Like 1

    Best info. you learned from SWB or Jessie Wise?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by Alicia64

    I would love a thread on the biggest lesson you've learned from SWB and/or Jessie.

    Mine was this.

    It was 2011 or '12 in Richmond, VA when I saw Susan speak in person. I'm paraphrasing, but at one point she said, "If you're an engaged parent, there's very little you can do to harm your children, but saddling them with student loans is one way to harm their future."

    Mine were only seven at the time, but I never forgot this info. ♥♥♥

    Re: Jessie. She has an audio called What I Wished I'd Known or something like that. I listened to it two or three times. She tells how she and her husband put 16 year old Susan in a freshman dorm, and Susan returning home with scary stories about dorm-life.

    I can't remember if Jessie recommends against student housing, but that was -- for sure -- my takeaway!

    Mine are 18 today, in college and living at home.

    What are your takeaways from SWB or Jessie?

    Wendy

     

    • Like 2

    So what is productive?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

    Thanks for the book list. I have read a few, but not all of them.  I normally have 3 or 4 books I read at one time.  I normally read a good 100 books or more a year.

    It sounds like you're staying safe.

    We're reading twins -- do you have a favorite book list that you can send?

    So what is productive?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Wow. Such good ideas.

    I love the idea of fostering a dog (I'd teach a few commands too).

    And the Meals on Wheels idea is great. I have nice memories of volunteering at Meals on Wheels with my grandparents in the summer. ♥

    When we first locked down in 2020, I started a blog.

    I'm also a huge reader. Here are my most awesome books ever list.

    I'd also train myself -- I'm doing this now in Atlanta -- to get up each morning a bit earlier w/o feeling awful. That way I can walk the dog outside in the early hours before the heat gets bad.

    I need my sleep or I'm a total zombie. I just moved my alarm back every 15 mins. since late May.

    I feel dumb, but I hadn't realized that Texas was in lock down again until your post.

    Wendy

    • Like 1

    How do you accept your spouse?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    9 hours ago, TexasProud said:

    Perhaps, but it is also the way people are wired. We did a remodel and the contractor played a joke and twisted a star just a millimeter off and we wondered how long it would take my dh to notice. My dh came in and was talking to us about I don't remember what and as he talks, he walked over and twisted the star back.  Like, I would NEVER have noticed it. Ever.  I am not observant.  Part of my husband's make-up is noticing what needs to be fixed. That seems like a character trait and not a habit.

    This is my dad EXACTLY. My parents have a pretty display of pitchers in their dining room window. We moved one pitcher like an inch over to see what my day woul do. Yep, he walked in and fixed it within thirty seconds.

    • Like 1

    Midlife adventuring

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    The title of this thread sounds like a great book title.

    Well, we did a cruise before Covid. And we've been to Savannah twice to see family, but stayed in fun hotels.

    My sister, though, is flying from Tucson to NJ and then leaving out of NJ for a cruise around Iceland. She goes w/ her mother-in-law!!

     

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...