Mandamom
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Posts posted by Mandamom
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I frequently shared a room with a particular mom and her daughter for gymnastics meets. We shared rooms several times over several years. I think the last few meets, we didn't have to pay for anything because she always got free rooms for future stays. Other people in our groups never asked and they didn't get comps. The experience taught me the value of requesting compensation.
I am the personality, though, that will probably not ask, even now that I know.
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I work for a private school for students with learning disabilities (reading/language/ADHD) and we get students coming in from schools reading (math/writing) anywhere from slightly above grade level to 6 or 7 years below level. We get students from local private, public and homeschools (we have a half-day program for homeschooling parents), and they have had a variety of educational experiences and in the end, learning has been very challenging. The older students definitely experience secondary issues, including low-self-esteem, related to the difficulty learning. Learning disabilities are no fun.
The earlier these students can get help the better it is for them. The older students need additional supports because many of decided that learning is not for them. The first goal is to change that thinking.
I'm glad to hear that you're interested in helping because much help is needed.
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My 6 yr old son is working his way through Phonics Pathways and it has been going well. However we seem to have a hit a wall as he's really struggling to remember the diagraphs 'ch, tch, sh, sk and th'. I've been over that whole section twice over 2 weeks but it's just not sticking. He tends to guess a lot too. It's funny as he seems to remember much better if the diagraph is in the middle of the word, for example 'duchy' but if it's at the beginning or end he gets really confused maybe 80% of the time.
What can I do to help him? Is this indicative of anything.
TIA
XXX
Digraphs can be tricky. I don't know how Phonics Pathways teaches but i would recommend that you teach one at a time until he masters each one and then add the next. i would separate ch and sh because those are the ones that are most confused.
Some ideas:
use salt tray or crayon and paper and have the child "write" the letter and say the sounds
use flashcards and have him give you sound and a word;
you give him the sound and he gives you the letters and a word
practice nonsense words with the particular digraph you are working (work beginning and end words before you get to two syllable middle words)
Basically, take 20 minutes (maybe less) a day and practice only the rule you are working on and see if that helps.
Good luck.
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NCIS (the original) -- I have watched it 3 times since last summer
Criminal Minds -- at least 2 times
Flashpoint -- 2 times
CSI (all of them)
When Mash was on in the 70s I watched that show sometimes up to 2-3 times per day so that counts.
Brady Bunch and the Andy Griffith Show
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I give Zinc to my teen girls. Not daily but hopefully enough to minimize any issues. They've been taking it for a while (several times per week) for several years so I don't know if they just have good skin (I don't have a big problem with acne but my husband did as a teen) or we were able to head off problems by adding zinc. I also have my 11 year old son taking zinc.
Also, tumeric is supposed to help. I take it, but due to the taste (even in the capsule) I can't get them to take it.
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My dh has glass in his leg from an accident 30 years ago. About 10 years ago, pieces worked there way out. He probably still has some there. you can't see it on x-rays because it is clear.
(I have a pencil point in my knee from over 30 years old).
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My kids (14, 11) are required to go 2 days per week and i have a requirement that they go 3 days a week for fitness.
In reality, they are both on Demo team so they have 2 extra classes per week on top of their regular class and spar 1-3 times per month.
My 14 year old is an assistant instructor and also teaches 4 classes per week.
So, we are there 4 days per week 2-3 hours per time.
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My dh and I recently decided, for many reasons, it might be good for our two sons (both currently 11 year old 5th graders) to go to a nearby private school. We submitted applications for the boys to start in August and they would be starting in 6th grade. Both boys have always been homeschooled (except for one week of public school in 2nd grade:) and had never taken a standardized test before. Also, we have been using Math U See for the past year and half or so (CLE before that).
Knowing they would be taking portions of the Sanford Achievement Test, I found a Sanford prep booklet to do with them so they would know somewhat what to expect and how to fill in the little bubbles and all that. I also started reviewing some math concepts that we had been over with CLE but they had likely forgotten or were very rusty on so they might be more prepared for that. So we spent the week before the test just preparing for the test and taking short practice tests.
The sections of the test the school gives are the Reading Comprehension, Math Problem Solving and Math Procedures. Son1 scored above average in all three sections, no problem there. Son2 scored in the 2nd percentile (2nd grade level) in Reading Comprehension, the 3rd percentile (2nd grade, 5th month) in Math Problem Solving and 43rd percentile (5th grade, 5th month) in Math Procedures. I am completely blown away by this and, I must say, quite disappointed. I am happy to keep homeschooling, so that is not a problem. But I am very concerned that son2 may have some sort of processing issue, although I also wonder if he didn't just get off on filling in the bubbles.
He loves to read and he reads a lot and always has. In second grade, he was fighting me a lot, so we put them in the nearby public school where they tested him as reading at a 7th grade level at that time. But, he has always had a very difficult time being able to tell me about something he has read or being able to tell me the basic plot of a story.
We are currently using CLE Language Arts for grammar and we are also using CLE Reading and have switched back to CLE Math. I switched over to Math U See because they needed some extra work with long division and I had not switched back because they kind of liked it. I have switched back to CLE now though and I think they will do fine with it.
I was thinking maybe he needs more practice with these kinds of tests (and being timed) so I will have them take the Iowa test with our co-op at the end of the year and I may give them another test that I can administer at home sometime during the summer or in August. We are planning to keep homeschooling another year and possibly try the private school again in for 7th grade.
Anyone know what would cause a child who loves to read and reads a lot not to be able to formulate his thoughts well enough to be able to tell the plot of a short story he had just read? Also, we use IEW for writing and he has always had a lot of difficulty using the key word outline to tell back the short story in his own words. He just really struggles to find the right words to add in to make it make sound good, if you know what I mean. He will put in the most basic words to fit the words from the KWO together in the simplest way. When he actually sits down to write/type, he can do a better job then when he is doing it on the fly.
Any words of wisdom, advice, encouragement, etc. is totally welcome but please go easy on me because I am feeling pretty low about this. Thanks.
Children/adults with language processing weaknesses (I have difficulties myself) are usually not diagnosed until later because they can read the words on the page very well. I really don't like using (I am a reading tutor) reading tests with students unless there is both a word recognition score and a comprehension score. Without both pieces of information you don't get the full picture as to what is going on.
Memory, attention and language are the three pieces that are usually the cause of comprehension difficulties. Word retrieval, difficulty comprehending and selecting simplistic words causes me to think that he is having language problems.
Some things that you can and should work on.
* Make sure that he has really fluent in phonics skills and that,missing phonics skills isn't the cause of the reading/comprehension problems. Does he read fluently, and accurately? Can he decode new words fairly easily? If he has difficulties here, you need to strengthen these skills.
* If you can, determine about what books that he does like, that he is comprehending. work with that level book for a while and have him do lots of narrations with your support. If you can get someone to test his levels that would be wonderful.
* Can he comprehend when he reads aloud as opposed to reading silently? If he has more problems reading silently, work on having him read short passages silently and then talk about them?
* Build up his speaking vocabulary. Also, his reading vocabulary.
Start with where he is even if it is a couple levels below where he is working now.
I really like IEW. Keep using it but stay on those KWO until he gets them. Make sure that he comprehends the story (talk about it) before he has to create the outline. Choose easier reading passages if you have to.
Also, play games with building sentences.
The boy ran.
Quickly, the boy ran.
The boy ran quickly across the field.
Make it fun.
Sorry, I have a lot of thoughts but I have to run out and pick up a kid.
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My daughter went to IGC, which is in the Poconos, and had a great experience.
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Our collective vote (we've read all four of the series here):
Percy Jackson v. the Olympians series
Kane Chronicles series
Heroes of Olympus series
Magnus Chase series
Trials of Apollo (which centers back around Percy Jackson, but has a lot of assumptions made about prior characters)
There was a minor debate among my boys about reading Kane Chronicles last as those storylines are separated to a greater degree, but we ultimately agreed on the order above.
If you want the chronological order of everything (including all of the short stories), read answer #1 here: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/127892/what-order-should-the-books-in-the-percy-jackson-universe-be-read-in
Percy Jackson v. the Olympians series
Heroes of Olympus series
Trials of Apollo
Kane Chronicles series
Magnus Chase series
My 10 year old prefers this order. I haven't looked at the true order so I don't know if it is the same.
I separated the last 2 because he didn't think it mattered which one you read first (at least he couldn't remember).
He absolutely loves all of the books.
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This wasn't my cooking but I was in the room.
We were at my parent's house and my dad, the main cook in the family, decided to make some biscuits. He looked up a recipe and we got everything into the oven. When the timer went off we pulled the biscuits out and realized they looked funny. They were far from tasty. After dad thought a little bit, he looked at the baking powder box and realized that it had expired 11 years prior.
In case it isn't' obvious, he rarely bakes.
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My daughter was a competitive gymnast (level 9) and had to quit due to injury this year at almost 16 years of age. She spent about 20 hours per week in the gym. She never had her period prior to quitting. Once she started cutting back and then stopped her cycle is now considered normal. Her doc told us not to be worried until she turned 17 or quit and if it wouldn't start up.
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I work in a school and mostly we are seeing the nasty intestinal/stomach virus thing. Dh got it two times since October -- missed a vacation/family reunion because of it.
I never got my kids the flu vaccine (although I got mine at work) which I try to do because of dh's heart issue.
Here's hoping to no flu or anything else.
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Does the van have a cassette player? You can buy a cassette adapter for under $10 that slides into the cassette deck and has a cord on the other end that plugs into your phone or MP3 device.
There are also FM adapters like this one
Again - it's under $10. You plug your music device in and it plays the music over your FM radio
We used the cassette kind (or rather my daughter does) with our old car. it worked really well but not well, if you don't like what she's listening to but that's another issue :glare:
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Is the issue of matching one's strength to your partner's ever addressed in class? I have my DD8 in yoshinkan aikido; she's tall for her age and is often paired with 10-11 year olds boys who are the same belt (green). Those boys throw /pull her much harder and I can see their technique is not as controlled as of the higher belts. Last class she was practically in tears because her arm was hurting from being pulled on it--over a dozen times in a row, as the boy was going through the technique really fast. At the end she didn't even get a turn to do the technique on him!
I get it that she should have told her partners to use less force and that technically they should have respected this. But she didn't.
I would really like if our Sensei not only talked about it every class as a reminder (he has NEVER said anything in the 2 + years we've been there) but also helped the younger ones to address their partners in class and watched out for this kind of uneveness. And it is not that DD is not forcefull--she can be. But she watches herself with smaller / yonger / lower belts.
When my kids talk about other kids in the dojo, I often hear, "Oh, he's the worst! He pinches hard / throws hard / hurts your arms" about certain kids.
It this how it is supposed to be, because this is a martial art and they are just supposed to suck it up? Or should the Sensei be attuned to those issues?
I find the Sensei is really not quite humble, and it annoys me. I've watched every class (most other parents leave) and some days I just cringe at how pompous he is. I used to think that I loved him, but now I'm more and more irritated with him.
We only have one aikido dojo for kids (more options for adults). DH has been very against TKD, as he says it is more violent and it is all about "blows to the head." He loves the philosophy of aikido (and I do too, but the kids aren't getting any "philosophy" that's for sure). But we have way more options for TKD here. I keep thinking, if this is so violent, why is it so popular? (Or am I missing something about martial arts lol). Should we try to look at TKD dojos as an alternative?
My kids are in a Mixed Martial arts that utilizes pieces of Tae Kwon Do and this would not fly -- AT ALL. The biggest requirement is control. Each person must have self-control or they won't be sparring at all. He will stick black belts against lower ranks because he knows that they have control.
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If she wants to...
1) etsy shop run by you. It is easy to get started. She'll be able to do most it herself.
2) creating a social media page (facebook, instagram, etc.) wherein maybe she displays her dolls in their outfits. Does she have enough dolls to set up some war scenarios, of the time? Spread the word and she could get some followers. That may or may not lead to something else. This is very easy to do, also.
3) talk to war reenactment societies to see if they have ideas.
If I think of anything else I'll post here.
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Younger dd was 13 when it was obvious that she needed a bra and period at 14. She started wearing a bra at 12 though.
My younger dd was 14.5 when needing bra and period at 15. She was wearing a bra at 12 when her peers in the gym started wearing one. She was a competitive gymnast which I think delayed things significantly. She's now almost 5'8" and fully developed at 16.5 years old.
Basically, they developed right around the same time given the 19 month age difference.
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My young cousin (8.5 months pregnant) was in the mall yesterday, in Chattanooga, where youth lit fireworks inside the mall.When they first went off, it was thought it was gunfire. She's now scared to go back to the mall.
http://patch.com/tennessee/nashville/shots-fired-hamilton-place-mall-near-chattanooga
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I had severe cramps like that for the longest time. Ibruprofen, sleep and heating pad helped the most.
A few years ago I started supplementing with D3 and noticed a decrease in cramping. It was enough that I started supplementing my girls in an attempt to reduce cramping possibilities for them. So far they don't have the same issue that I have. I also noticed that regular exercise helps a lot.
I would not go to the ER for it.
I hope she feels better soon.
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I cannot truly comment from experience but I would keep with the "Clear" wash that worked for him and Retinol but use Jojoba oil for moisturizing. Jojoba oil is very light. Could it be that the chlorine in the pool is the culprit or at least partially to blame? Does it clear up when he stops swimming for a few days?
Another course of action may be eliminating one thing at a time. Trouble is it takes a while to really see improvements. Swimming is healthy otherwise, it would be sad if the chlorine was a big factor.
ETA: Someone here recommended chelated zinc capsules as well. Perhaps this poster will chime in.
I am one that likes zinc for acne. My kids don't have a big problem with acme but when they don't take their zinc I do notice that mild break-outs occur. Once they get back on it, things improve again.
I use to have thick callouses on my elbows and ankles. They go away when I take my zinc regularly.
I use Vitacost Zinc (and other products) as I have used their products for 12 years.
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Yeah, I hate ER trips. Especially late night ones.
Meningitis is tricky that way though--kids can go from seemingly mildly sick to life threateningly ill in a very short time; the urgent care doc was right to be cautious.
Hopefully for your dd this is just a necessary precaution and it doesn't turn out to be meningitis.
Thanks so do It. My instincts say that there is nothing that seriously wrong but I know I can't trust that.
She is definitely looking better and she says now that the pain is gone and I know the fever is gone.
In case you didn't know, I really don't want to be here. :)
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The cases I am aware of were fatal--as in, child went to bed feeling mildly sick and parent found them dead in the morning.
Take her to the ER.
I'm here. Just tired of waiting. If she looked and acted really sick I wouldn't have any hesitation in staying. I wish there was an easier way to tell.
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Have your children ever had it or do you know of anyone?
I'm curious as to your experience. I took my daughter to the local urgent care clinic and he wants her in the ER because she has some of the symptoms of meningitis. She's on Tylenol, fever is down and headache is better and she still feels bad. She doesn't look like what I think a meningitis patient would look like. Of course, I really want to be home in bed so that is coloring my thoughts.
Thanks,
Well, I didn't do what people said. I did go home before seeing the doc. I.just.could.not.stay.
Given her symptoms and her overall behavior, we went home. The next day her fever fluctuated throughout the day and my husband took her to different clinic (Monday A.M.) . Strep was negative but when they did the eye exam she almost passed out so, they wanted to back in ER. So, my husband spent the afternoon there (he works nights) and in the end both docs said that she has a virus. She doesn't have enough of the meningitis symptoms and they saw no signs of the bacterial meningitis infection. He saw no reason to do the spinal tap. We are to follow up with her pediatrician in a day or so.
I do feel that this is the right diagnosis but we'll go back if something changes.
Thanks everyone for the help.
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In 2008 we bought a car with 146K miles ($1000) off of Craiglist and traveled about 2.5 hours to get to it. It finally died this year after reaching almost 300K miles.
Our replacement we found about 3 miles away off of Craigslist and paid about $1100. It had about 130K miles. We are hoping to get the same amount of miles this time -- not counting on it but hoping.
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Max dose of daily Vitamin D3?
in The Chat Board
Posted
How long have you taken that maintenance dose?