GnomeyNewt
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Posts posted by GnomeyNewt
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My inlaws kept their ketchup and mustard out of the fridge, and still do ~ so I think its okay for those at the least.
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Thanks this is a great deal! Got The Usborne Science Encyclopedia.
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I've been meaning to make these for a while as gifts and for myself even, as they seem pretty sturdy for oven mits. They require felting but once you figure out felting you will realize how easy it is. Basically knit a really big mitten and than throw it into the wash or handbucket and let it swirl around. I check my felting about every 3-5 minutes and as soon as it is the size I want, I remove it from water and squeeze excess water out by hand. Here are the patterns I was planning on using, they are free:
http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516220
http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=50516221
OH, I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING I FOUND LAST NIGHT THERE -- Hexipuffs! Not that it's something you'd want to make for your situation, but shows you the incredible variety of things you run into over there. Also demonstrates that I spend too much time browsing the site, sigh.
I've seen a similar pattern to this on ravelry, but you use your excess sock yarn! You know those extra yards you might have at the end of knitting socks... you can turn all those different colors and types into a blanket. Its pretty neat. I don't think I have enough years of knitting socks to have that many extra bits around, but overtime I can see it adding up. I found the pattern:
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We had bought one with a "fence/gate" around it, but the poles that hold the netting up over time got bent out of shape so easily, that I personally felt it was safer without them... and it was kind of a medium trampoline so in the end I took it out of our living room.
I felt the need to have one though, because the kids love jumping! We got the following one at Costco during November sales and its weighted for adults too - 250lb weight limit. So everyone in our family jumps on it:
No cage, but its extremely sturdy and we have the bar that comes with it also, so the kids use it to bounce and its weighted enough that if they hang from it, and sometimes even climb it it doesn't tip the trampoline at their ages. This trampoline is used in gyms, so its a little overkill but I wanted to get a sturdy/long lasting/safe (as safe as one can get) trampoline that fit in our living room. Did I mention it doesn't have springs? That bit too was a concern, as I've been on trampolines with the springs flinging off, and its scary!
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My son had reactions to food since he was born. We did elimination diet etc etc... Nothing worked till we went in at 2 yrs old and finally got a blood test, to find out what he was allergic too.
He is allergic to most fruits & vegetables ... all citrus/orange colored fruits and most vegetables, expect for most of the green vegetables. It would be easier for me to list the fruit/veggies he is not allergic too, since his list is very long. In his case, without the test I don't think we would have figured this one out. Who would suspect their child is allergic to a carrot or potato?? Especially since there is no one else in our family that has this strange reaction to food. Thankfully he just gets runny poop or a stomach ache, he does not have life threatening reactions.
I know another little boy who is allergic to just about everything -- milk, soy, most of the foods considered "safe" and foods considered "not safe" too, wheat, etc. He was tested at about 6 months I believe ~ but in his case he was not happy little guy and he couldn't hold food down at all. He does have life threatening reactions to his allergens.
Any way to get him tested if you are sure he is reacting to food? The blood test consisted of a prick on the finger and dabbing on some paper. At 2yrs old he did not even cry.
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My DD is 7 and on MM2. She completes 2-3 pages in 10-15 minutes. I guess maybe I should skip some of this content if she knows it already. Are the tests, just the review questions at the end of each chapter?
NM I found some tests for each chapter!
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What is the healthy and environmentally friendly alternative? Palm oil has been replacing hydrogenated oils, which are horrible.
Coconut oil -- very sustainable. Grows in most soil (including sand by the sea) and bears fruits for over 50 years. Pretty affordable too, if you buy it in bulk.
We just had a falling out with our Camp Fire Group. It is kind of funny, they sell Almond Roca... and most of the group refused to sell it because of the palm oil. It was a big stink for a few weeks till the group disbanded from Camp Fire, because of the crazy fees you have to pay if you decided not to sell any candy. Group is still together and we have decided to fund our own activities.
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I've used AW, AS1, AS2 & their LA - AK (advanced kindergarten), and LA1. I liked the language programs, but we have gone mostly to Classical/Charlotte mason route now.
For the themes, I never really got into them myself. With AW, I replaced it with RSO Life half way -- too choppy for me. With AS1 I passed the bulk of it onto my hubby and we mostly ended up just reading the Read Alouds and doing a project once or twice a month. I even replaced the "Make Your Own" book with some basic notebooking pages. I decided to go with AS2 because I wanted to finish American History in the same format and we are mostly doing the same as AS1 - Read Alouds and some timeline work. I have supplemented with library books and some lapbooks.
I LOVE the books, but the schedule is too choppy for me. As an example, we would read about one thing, but the notebooking would be about something else. I want it to all relate to each other. I read about a topic and notebooking/narration is about that topic. Also, as we get into older grades -- if the guides are as they are now, with not much assistance on topics being discussed it might be an issue. It would be nice for a little heads up on the topics, the guides now are really just a suggestion on when to read what book. Perhaps they are meatier as the grades get higher?
As for customer service, I did have issues with ordering books taking a long time to arrive, so I just ordered exclusives since than and never had an issue otherwise. Chatted with them on the phone and they are very nice and accommodating.
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Lots of new ideas to think about now :lol: ... but still fun to share the *current* plan!
LA - Writing Tales 1, Queens Language Lessons for Very Young 2, All About Spelling 2-3, Copywork/Cursive, Typing, Readers from Sonlight or WP
History/Geo - Expedition Earth, Sonlight Core A Read Alouds
Science - Mr. Q Science - Life / Nature Portfolio / Discovering the Continents (Animal Study) (Finished all 3 RSO & matching Science with sibling for now)
Math - Math Mammoth 3 & Xtra Math
Latin - I Speak Latin or Latina Christiana 1 (undecided)
Music - Piano (though dd drew pictures of her self playing the violin last night :tongue_smilie:)
Art - Draw. Right. Now. & Home School In The Woods Artists/Composers Activity Packs
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How is your DD with these kind of things? Is she squeamish? If she goes in with the idea of doing local and she makes it through than your fine, but if she freaks out, than you know what your dealing with from than on.
I had all 4 wisdom teeth, which were fully grown in, done with local. Wide awake I was but I've never had problems with teeth or medical (needle) type situations. They just don't bother me that much and I prefer to see what is happening around me.
My DH on the other hand, you'd have to knock him out to get any where near his mouth... or near him with anything remotely medical looking. He is overly more sensitive to pain in general, which probably contributes to his squeamishness.
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My DD did Xtra Math on the computer for awhile. Thankfully she hasn't figured out that race the teacher count in the corner yet -- because I know she would feel the same way as your DD. I wanted to see what it was like on our tablet with a touch screen and it works great (they have a little number pad that will display on the screen -- you could probably open it up on the computer too if clicking numbers is easier for your DD. It's a little icon on the bottom right hand corner).
What I noticed when testing it out, is that she is just slow at typing the numbers in general even on the tablet. I decided to say the problem out loud while she looks at it and I type the number in for her. So we are using it more like onscreen flash cards. I even have covered the answer part on the bottom with a post it note (it gives the answer away after a few seconds) which forces her to come up with the answer herself.
It's free and well it's free! I personally do not like flash cards, but found that doing it on a tablet I am not so annoyed by the concept and it does seem to help with retaining math facts.
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I have been experimenting with different foods to try to color our sugary treats, but not always getting the exact color. Some colors are really hard! I found these natural food dyes at the Natural Candy Store:
http://www.naturalcandystore.com/category/natural-baking-decorations
They are a little pale/light in color. Mixing them doesn't really give the results I'm used to with the food dyes from the grocery store. I haven't been able to make the colors very vibrant or bright, but they have come in handy this past Christmas and my kids enjoyed having colored frosting to decorate with.
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Some people just won't like green drinks :) (including me for a long time), my DS won't go near green drinks but my DD & I love the following recipe:
2-3 bunches of spinach (steamed for 5 minutes or less, makes it easier to blend & gets rid of any inhibitors)
1 banana (better if frozen
1-2 tablespoons ground up flax seed
1/2-1 cup milk, almond milk, soy (your choice)
This is pretty base recipe and we add anything else we like at the time or just use the recipe as is. As is, you taste the banana and because of the steaming of the spinach you don't taste the green stuff. But if you don't do the banana or some other sweetener ... than you truly have a drink that taste like a green mobster...
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World cultures and geography. It was a lot of fun!
This is what we are planning on doing next year. Do you have any suggestions?
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We do kind of a loop schedule. We don't have a scheduled time when we start or end, but usually after morning chores and breakfast. We do them in any order we feel on that day. I do print out these list every week to check off as we complete each task (and add/remove things). In addition to our daily schedule, we also do Read Alouds throughout the day and at bedtime, along with any educational videos or youtube on Science and History.
DAY 1
Daily Reader -
RSO Chemistry (next lesson)
All About Spelling (1 Lesson)
Math Lapbook
Practice Piano (15 minutes)
Copywork (1 quote)
Language Lessons (next lesson)
Teaching Textbooks (next lesson)
Math Practice (1 page)
Xtra Math (10 minutes)
Mapping Skills Workbook (2 pages)
DAY 2
Daily Reader -
American History: Drawing/Art
American History: Lapbook
All About Spelling (1 Lesson)
Art: Little Annie's Art & Manners Book
Practice Piano (15 minutes)
Cursive Handwriting (1 line)
Language Lessons (next lesson)
Teaching Textbooks (next lesson)
Math Practice (1 page)
Xtra Math (10 minutes)
DAY 3
Daily Reader -
RSO Chemistry (next lesson)
Health Workbook (1 page)
All About Spelling (1 Lesson)
Math Lapbook
Practice Piano (15 minutes)
Cursive Handwriting (1 line)
Language Lessons (next lesson)
Teaching Textbooks (next lesson)
Math Practice (1 page)
Xtra Math (10 minutes)
DAY 4
Daily Reader -
American History: Draw Your History or Timeline
American History: Lapbook
All About Spelling (1 Lesson)
Art: Little Annie's Art & Manners Book
Practice Piano (15 minutes)
Cursive Handwriting (1 line)
Language Lessons (next lesson)
Teaching Textbooks (next lesson)
Math Practice (1 page)
Xtra Math (10 minutes)
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Here is my goto website for low carb/sugar recipes:
http://genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html
She has a little of everything and I've been able to keep some of my favorite foods in my diet. I have tried to stay low carb/sugar free for a few years -- I am addicted to carbs/sugar (honestly don't know a whole lot of people who aren't) -- so I get way too much of it if I'm not paying attention. Holidays are what sucks me back into the fold of too much sugar...
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I borrowed audio version from the library. I'm glad I listened to her read her own words, otherwise I seriously don't think I could have finished the book without hearing her tone. She is a good reader to, very easy on the ears.
Being raised in an Asian culture (I was 2nd generation, my dad was 1st generation raised by non-English speaking parents) by my mother who was Caucasian, I can say that Asian parents (my friends being a mix between 1st & 2nd generations) are a lot more strict when it comes to school and in general, however I did not know of any that went as far as Chua! They were stricter than my mother, but they still allowed their child to have a life and make some choices for themselves. I think Chua was trying to prove a point to somebody, but that "somebody" disappeared and the goal became unattainable as there was no place to level out.
I agree with her "ideas" but not on how she executed them. She certainly did cross the line in a lot of these stories she tells and I'm surprised her husband did not step in. I am curious about his point of view! The one thing I remember the most was about the Grandmother wanting to spend time with her Grandaughters and it was hard for Chua to find the time because they had to practice ALL-THE-TIME. Even on vacation, which in a sense is okay -- but for hours and hours and hours on vacation?
Anytime my DH or I feel we need to batten down the hatches, we say "Go Tiger Mom" at it, or you were a little too much "Tiger Mom" (though we've still never reached her level of over the top yet).
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Thanks for the heads up. Looks like a good read. Ditto on getting family to realize we need less attention and like it that way!
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WOOT! Yes its pretty awesome sharpener. First one I've found that doesn't break my pencil tips (which has always been my biggest problem). I like my pencil super sharp so I would over sharpen most of the time. Classroom Friendly Supplies Sharpener stops you from doing that, you can't over sharpen with it. Plus it has the sharpest tip I've ever gotten out of a sharpener. Win win situation.
I couldn't get that one to even WORK. I'd put the pencil in and the collar slipped right back to the body and it just wouldn't work. :glare:When you pull out the metal clamping area, it should stay open (even without a pencil in it). Than you can place your pencil in it. Once you turn the handle, it releases and will push the pencil against the blades. If the metal clamping area is not staying open on its own or won't clamp the pencil, I would believe something is wrong with the unit you have, as mine works as I stated above. I would contact them and find out.
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So these are not the kind of manual ones that need to be mounted on a wall? Now my interest is piqued even more...
It's not mounted! It's very handy and can be placed at the table while we work. Though little ones can wonder off with it if they get a little too curious about it. The trap door that holds the shavings is in pretty tight too, so we haven't had any accident spillings yet. They all love the pencil sharpener and it has a nickname "sharpy".
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This is the pencil sharper I decided to get and my pencils now stay sharp without me even touching them... we lost it yesterday for about 10 minutes and were lost.... 4 yr old stuck it in his stuff....
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I like #2 the best. My DD likes everything rainbow colored too...
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I prefer guides to be spiral bound. Binders are too heavy for my taste, but it depends on what you prefer. I am going to spiral bind both the EE student and guide.
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I decided to knit the "Knitted Flounce Scarf " up last minute (as in 4-5 days ago LOL):
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-flounce-scarf
QUOTE]
I am working on this scarf and having trouble with the casting off 3 stitches and still keeping the count correct. I get it right the first time, but the 2nd time I end up over or under a stitch.
Help!
What might help you at this point is to make sure you bind off till you reach the last yarn over. That should be the 3rd stitch bind off point. I always slip one than bind off 3, the slip one at the start also might be mixing things up. HTH.
Amazon: $10 gift card for $5 promotion
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Thanks for posting the deal!