kareng
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Posts posted by kareng
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Yes! You can return by mail or even return at your local Sears store.
Yes, that is so true! If you have a Sears store near you, you can save on the postage and return things there even if they don't carry what you are returning. I found that to be really cool! :hurray:
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From what I understand and have experienced , Lands End is very easy in terms of returns. We have purchased quite a few things that we had to return and it was no problem what's so ever. So order away!
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I say AMEN!!! to all of the above :iagree: . I especially agree with this line from Ellie: "People are gonna do what people wanna do and of that includes giving me gifts". Most people LOVE to celebrate babies and they WANT to give gifts. So they will give gifts most likely anyway. Why not help them know what would be helpful (if they ask)? Wouldn't you like to do the same for another woman who found herself in the same situation (a miracle baby and no baby things)? Of course you would! So say yes to your mother :-) :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:
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I just wanted to say that it is possible to homeschool for a long time, enjoying it from beginning to end, without burnout. We did that with 5 children. I didn't see many people volunteering that as a possibility, so I just wanted to throw that out there. I think there were probably some things that helped us. But that's probably off topic for this thread.
ksva: I think it would be helpful to offer those things that you did that allowed you to enjoy it from beginning to end, without burnout. I'm sure that would encourage those who are currently wrestling with burnout or near the brink (or even help those avoid it in the future :-)
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I have two friends who are stay at home homeschooling moms to one 10th grade child each. Neither does any paid work at all. They are both pretty content. Small sample size, but it is quite possible that you could remain content and stress-free (mostly) during your entire homeschooling career with only one child. :)
I am one of those people (though my daughter is in 11th grade)! I have degrees in computer science as well being a certified math teacher in my state. I had two careers prior to this one: one in computer programming and the other in teaching math in public school). I knew when I was teaching math (prior to getting married) that I would stay home with our child(ren) to teach them. It turned out that we ended up with one child (and one miscarriage of twins). I could easily have worked and sent our dd to ps but I just couldn't do it. While being home all the time was a hard adjustment for me and changing our school at home into something that wasn't just a ps for one at home, it all worked out. DD has never been in an institutionalized school, only here and we've had a blast. It was not initially easy as I was used to teaching to a classroom of kids, but gradually we figured it out. My dd is dyslexic and has some vision issues but once we knew what was going on, it's been great. I love being her mentor and mother and teacher. If I was working I so agree
with what Moxie said, "When I try to imagine another life--the one where kiddo goes to school and I go to an office job--I get stressed out. I know what it would look like. It would mean scrambling on snow days to figure out who can stay home. It would mean spending weekends at the grocery store and evening time scrubbing the bathrooms. It would mean eating more junk because when would I have time to cook? It would mean exhausting days followed by the rush of evening sports and homework and undoing the damage and stress caused by teachers and long days of DS being bored at school. It would mean sticking him in boring day camps all summer, where he would be overstimulated and miserable. Honestly, everything would just be so much more stressful for everyone in the family. I think if anything it can be easy to overlook how much contribution it is to stay home, especially since mostly it just feels like play. :)"
And to those who have responded to this post and said that their houses are clean and spotless, I commend you. Cleaning is just not my strength but I know that if I was working and not home much, the house would be not at clean as it currently is, as I am organized but not orderly. I am so thankful to have had this time with my dd. I have given up having other careers for this one and it's all been worth it. We have been able to create a family where there wouldn't have been one and my daughter knows me and my husband. And we actually enjoy being together. I wouldn't trade any of it. I would do it all over again.
To those with young children (multiple children) these are the hardest years, when you're trying to meet all those physical and emotional needs. But please know, it DOES get better. I commend you for choosing to home school when, in many ways it would be much easier to just send them to school. I hope that you can hang in there to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is my sincere hope and prayer that you will see that all your sacrifices were worth it all. What greater investment is there than in your family and children, to train them up in the way they should go?
God bless you all for all your efforts.
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For me, it's a wash. I have a demanding career that I would normally do at home, but the distractions and noise and extra work of homeschooling means that I'm barely getting ahead. Mind you, I got tons more work done when they were toddlers and only had pre-school two mornings a week. They'd nap when they got home and Sesame Street was good for another hour of work time. Now, not so much. I assign documentaries sometimes, but I find I'd like to watch it with them so that we can discuss it. Perhaps I should move those movie times to the evenings?
I also live in the most regulated homeschool state. It'd be much better all around, I'd be much better all around if we lived someplace more lax.
Are you in PA?
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Thanks, OhElizabeth, I'll check out YouTube.
By the way, is the cover that I posted above the same as the book you are referring to or is it just a poster one hangs on the wall?
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OK, folks, so I just found out a couple of cool things. On the S'Cool Moves website, they state that
Click image to enlargeFocus MovesIntegrated Activities for CollaborationBy Debra Em WilsonFocus Moves is part of the S'cool Moves program, created to enhance collaboration between teachers and support staff. In today's academic classrooms, we need to remember to work on foundation skills along with academic skills for children who struggle.
Focus Moves poster activities help create a solid foundation for learning while integrating essential skills necessary for classroom success. These activities are perfect for resource classrooms, motor groups, literacy centers, physical education, adapted physical education, and home support.
This convenient ebook enables you to take our Focus Moves poster activities on the go. Now you can access the posters on your ipad, kindle, nook, or other mobile device, as well as project them on a Smartboard. You asked, so we delivered! Here at S’cool Moves, we're all about making your life easier.Included in Focus Moves is The Learning Pyramid and an observation checklist for children who may display challenges with different levels of The Learning Pyramid.
Focus Moves activities merge occupational therapy, physical therapy, behavioral optometry, and neuroscience techniques. The poster activities are easy to implement and user-friendly.
https://secure.mybookorders.com/Orderpage/1401
I am assuming this is the book some of you have been referring to?Also, I found out from this website that I can download the ePub generic version of the eBook and read it using a number of free eReaders on my laptop or PC.
One of the best eReaders is Adobe Digital Editions which is available for free download on the internet.
So if this is the same book y'all are talking about, I can get download it and use it.Way cool!!!!! -
I am interested in Focus Moves but don't have a Kindle or Nook or anything I can download an ebook to (just a laptop, a PC and a Tracfone).
Is there a way to download something to either the laptop or PC?
And, if someone finds a DVD of Focus Moves please send me a link :-)
Thanks so much!
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The BallavisX website has some exercises. We are just dipping our toe into it now, but it's a nice place to see what the philosophy is and to see some basic exercises. It's nice to see a first-person demo as well--our OT was showing us how with the beanbags and racquetball, you hear a distinct sound that reinforces the rhythm of the movements.
Our VT didn't use either of these programs, but she did use a lot of things that worked on similar skills--some therapy stuff, some things she picked up as games to reinforce therapy stuff. It was pretty eclectic (and effective!).
I like this idea, checking this method out and seeing how it all works. The reason I was pondering incorporating this into my dd's VT (at home) is that I am wondering if her issue with sports (not liking them when she was younger) was based on her visual issues prior to VT. Now that she has some VT under her belt and no longer has double vision and headaches, etc. she is interested in sports so I thought this might be a cool way to work on her hand-eye coordination and build her confidence.
What is the big difference between BallavisX and Focus Moves (Is that the same as S'Cool Moves -- I ended up there when I clicked on a link for Focus Moves & I just wanted to make sure I headed in the right direction :-)?
Thanks for everyone's help. I LOVE this forum. It has helped me with so many things!!!! :001_smile:
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That's great that he's making such fast progress!!! And yes, BalavisX is terrific. Also look into Focus Moves (ebook on amazon). Our OT recommended both to us and both have been useful. They're totally different. The BalavisX book has a lot of theory and huge print. Did your place photocopy the exercises or teach you? There are discrete lists, so if you've seen them and done them that's all there is, kwim? (Don't imagine it as more than it is.)
Is your place going to work on visual processing next? They're doing such a great job so far, I assume they will. Ask, definitely. Our place did them as separate stages but some places do them together. (accommodative and processing) We spent as long on visual processing as accommodation.
I've never heard of BalavisX nor Focus Moves (is that the same as S'Cool Moves) until reading this post. My dd has had VT for several years now and neither were mentioned. Are these things you can buy a book or go to a website and figure out on your own?
Just wondering...
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First of all, let me say that of course it's freaky. The first time it happened to me, I thought I had a brain tumor or some very serious fatal neurological disease or disorder.
Secondly, after many years of having them and checking things out on my own (my own research), I discovered that for me, it was definitely linked to my cycle. It would almost always happen on week 3. Found out they run in the family (after the fact.:-). Tried medication for them, but it only made it worse. From my own humble opinion and experience, the medical community lumps a whole lot of things together and calls them all migraines. The true cause of these can be very different for each person -- what they experience (aura, headache, or just visual, or a combination of all those). And, the triggers (some say that fermented foods can cause these -- wine, aged cheese, soy sauce like products, chocolate -- too much caffeine, not enough caffeine, hormonal changes, stress, not enough sleep) can be very different for each person. The list goes on and on.
As to the aura, it's a bit freaky in itself, especially when it's never happened before or even when it's a relatively new thing. It took me a while (years) to make the connection of feeling "off" just prior to the migraine experience. Finally, I got to where I could recognize what was happening before it happened and then be prepared for it when the visual piece came. I did seek medical attention for a while, just to reassure myself that all was OK and this was a normal thing for someone with migraines. But, I found that once that was done, I could do the rest (research & figure it out) by myself.
My suggestion is that you do your own research and keep a journal or at least a calendar as to when these happen (if they happen again), for how long, symptons of the event and what you did prior to the event. That way you can figure out what triggers are for you.
Stay cool. I'm sure you'll figure it all out :-)
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I am very Mathy but my dd is not (she's very artistic). I have tried Saxon & Abeka and both of those seem really good for those who are good at math, or at least for those who get Math concepts easily. I found there to be a "new" concept every day or very often, which works if you get mathy things easily. That is not my dd. We have found is that Math Mammoth (MM) to be very good as well as Teaching Textbooks but my preference is for MM.
Hope that helps.
P.S. I'm sorry I just re-read your post and I realize I didn't answer your question. Maybe there's something in what I wrote that you can glean anyway :001_rolleyes:
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OtherJohn,
Whatever you did, fixed it. Thanks so much! :hurray:
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Thank you, OtherJohn. I look forward to that day!
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My avatar (a photo I took of one of my chickens) disappeared and I'm trying to upload another one of my own photos. I've tried to upload multiple photos but even if it's the right size (50 KB or less) it's telling me it's failing to load. Why is that?
Any ideas or suggestions?
Thank you.
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So, it seems that I either won't be able to administer some of the tests or will have to get certified.
Well, I that just crossed those off the list LOL
SereneHome, I'm not sure which tests (or test providers that )you have to be certified for but I believe that you don't have to be for Seton Testing. I happen to be a certified teacher but an acquaintance of mine isn't and she was thrilled that she could use Seton Testing to test her children and not have to be certified or even need a bachelor degree. I administered the basic battery of tests (from Seton Testing) to my dd a couple of years ago and it was very easy. They do not report the results to anyone but you. I was glad to do the testing so that I could have some sort of idea of how she was doing. It is only $29 per test. I found that to be much cheaper than any other place I checked into.
I'm not sure if this link was posted above so here it is: http://www.setontesting.com/cat/
You can "chat" with the folks at Seton to ask them any questions you might have.
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My dd has donated her hair to Locks of Love (located in Florida). Here is their website: http://www.locksoflove.org/
I don't know much of them but I've never heard anything bad about them.
She has done it twice and her friend once. Hopefully their website will give you the information you need.
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:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:
Pick 2 core things to work on daily. Do some read alouds or listen to audio books while you all work on an art project. Add in some documentaries and maybe a science experiment when able to. Take time to get your feet under you. This is a very complex job. There is no competition where you get the prize for best homeschooler. It is a HARD job. It is time consuming and there is a tremendous learning curve. You are in your early apprenticeship phase while trying to operate at seasoned veteran stage. Take a deep breath. Cut way back on everything. Don't panic. It will be o.k.
I am sorry you are having a hard time. The first year is hard, and probably more so when children have previously been in school. I don't think it is a matter of the wrong curriculum or the wrong method. It just is an adjustment period so anything will be hard at first. And as wonderful as homeschool blogs and forums are, some women find it hard to read them because they fall into the comparison trap or begin to believe learning must be fun at all cost. (raising hand, I was guilty of this for many years. :closedeyes:)
Try to be kind to yourself, realizing this is an adjustment time. Maybe back off and do just the basics and get in a good flow.
I would have quoted everyone's responses if I could as they were all so good. But I especially agree with the above two.
Flukygirl, you will figure it all out, it just takes a lot of time to do that. I am a certified math teacher who taught in public school. When I began homeschooing our dd, I thought "How hard can this be? I'm educated, I'm a teacher." Well, I came to see that #1) this is hard. And #2) It's unlike anything else I've ever done. I saw that my job was very different than the one I had done in public school. I was now to be mother and expert teacher in all areas of her life. The first year was very difficult because I tried to make our school like public school. It took me a while to realize that I didn't have to be the expert in anything other than knowing my child and doing my best to help her expand her academic horizons and to assist her along the way. And #3) the lines between teacher and mommy can get very blurred. I came to realize that I didn't have to make every moment into a teaching moment. I could just enjoy my child :-)
Having been a public school teacher although I am not an "expert" in every subject, I still feel that I can do a better job teaching my dd because I know her, I care about her in a way that a teacher with many students (that aren't her own children) cannot. And, because there are so many resources out there for you to use, you can rely on others' expertise. I love that many of them are free. On-line and harcopy. That can be overwhelming at times but I love it because I know that if something isn't working, it could be the timing, my methods, my children or I need something else, Sometimes I just need to take a break and focus on something else.
You have begun on a new adventure, unchartered territory. Please don't expect you or your family to "figure it all out" (whatever that means) in a short
period of time. Enjoy this rich time of having your children with you and near you. Use these days to get to know each other better than you have had in the past. Find what you all enjoy and do that.
I have found that the beauty of home schooling isn't that it's public or private school at home but that it's what works for you and your family. It's strength is finding out what your children excel at and whay they need to work on (weak areas) and using whatever tools/curricula works to make the strengthens stronger and bolster up those areas that need bolstering. I love that we work school around life and that everything that we do is learning, from making Christmas cookies, to taking care of the chickens, to helping stack wood. It all supports what we do academically. Every trip we make is a field trip (in my mind). I thank God that we pressed through the first few years . They were tough but they have led to my dd saying recently, when asked by an acquaintance, if she likes home schooling that she enjoys it very much. And this is from a child who has struggled with dyslexia and vision issues!
I have come to see that every major change seems to take a good year to figure out how to settle in to a new pattern.
Please be patient with yourself, your children and schooling.
I agree with those that said you ought to kick back until the new year. It's a good time to enjoy the Advent season, make some gifts together for relatives and friends (maybe a gingerbread house!), celebrate Christ's birth and ring in the New Year with a better perspective.
I will keep you in my prayers. You can do it! :hurray:
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I remember the day when this happened in our house. I too thought it would never happen but it did!!!!!
I am so happy for you and your dd. Yea!!!!! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:
May this day come to all whose dchildren are struggling to read. :-)
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We are in the midst of using Powerbasic Biology. We began it in the spring last year and are continuing it this school year. There are a lot of activities associated with each chapter. I have my dd do some reading and then have her complete the appropriate activity or activities that goes along with that reading. I haven't always lined up the activities with the reading so that they correspond exactly. But, I pick and choose. I don't do all the activities. I have her do some and skip the others.
I hope that helps.
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My dd also has dyslexia and we have enjoyed many audio books as well as DVDs. We usually listened to the audio book and then watched various versions of the movie. That would give us ample material to discuss -- the contents of the book vs. what was done with that in the movies we watched.
I would ditto the Adventures in Odyssey, Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie Series. We just finished listening to The Secret Garden and am thinking of having us listen to The Little Princess as well. I have found that although reading was a big struggle a few years ago (not so much now), she could listen to and understand harder literature levels than she could read. That helped me a lot knowing that we could get through many books that she couldn't have read but could listen to and comprehend.
By the way,
there are quite a few FREE audio books sites. I'd check those out (as well as the library) in your area as well.
Here are some sites I just found when doing a search for free audio books. I haven't used them but thought maybe they'd help you.
http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/
http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video
http://amblingbooks.com/free_audio_books
http://www.freeclassicaudiobooks.com/
I mean why buy it when you can borrow it or download it for FREE? :-)
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I am naturally a night owl as is my dd. My dh is a very early morning person. I have to agree with Arctic Mama and Sheldon. As much as I don't like to admit it, when I get up early (7 AM), I feel better during the day, get more done and sleep better at night. When I do what comes naturally (stay up late and tackle projects after 10 PM), I feel very sluggish and never quite wake up until late in the day.
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I'm going to suggest something that you may think is outlandish. I would take your ds to get his eyes checked, preferably to a developmental optometrist. Why?, you may ask. Because I've had two kiddos that reacted the way you describe and they turned out to have vision issues. One was helped through vision therapy. One did not do therapy because the doctor didn't think it would help. The VT helped and for the one who couldn't do VT, a curriculum with a lot of white space helped.
Look for materials with clean, clear formatting and not a lot of information or problems smashed together in a small font.
With word problems, you may want to try putting it on another sheet of paper and breaking it up one sentence at a time.
You can call me crazy, but kids whose eyes aren't working efficiently can be overwhelmed in their processing of the visual world, especially when something is expected of them. Vision is our primary way of making sense of the world around us and if that's out of whack everything is harder and it can make us freak out. It can be very tough for these kids to break things down on their own so you have to do it for them and that will teach them so they can eventually do it for themselves.
I ditto what Tiramisu says. My dd is now 16 and we went through the most awful times when she was ages 3 through 11 or 12. It turned out that she has dyslexia and has major vision issues. I never knew any of that. She would approach her school work just as your child does. She would see everything as black or white, easy or hard, great or beyond anything she could possibly do. Reading was the hardest as was writing (the physical aspect of it). It was only when I finally realized that she had dyslexia that we ended up getting tutoring for it. And then OhElizabeth on these boards was always writing about getting kids with dyslexia checked for vision issues. We found out that she has all 3 vision issues: eyes don't track, eyes don't work together and she has difficulty focusing from close to far to close, etc. She had headaches and blurry vision which she never told us (because she thought that was normal). In the vision therapy testing it was discovered that when she was reading, her eyes would be all over the place, going back and forth (reading words), tending to focus outward instead of straight ahead. Tutoring for dyslexia helped her break down words into their basic sounds, phonemes and learning what syllables are -- she never knew, she would just guess, and especially vision therapy has helped her immensely. Not only did it take away the headaches, blurry vision and other issues but it changed her whole outlook on life and school. She went from having very volatile moods that seemed to come out of nowhere to having an "I can do it" approach to her daily tasks
What also helped was having our lives more structured and predictable for her. Surprises never went over well. I tend to be middle of road in terms of structured vs. unstructured. She functions well knowing well in advance what will happen, what's expected of her. It forced me to be more intentional and have a schedule printed out so she could see it the day before. My seat-of-the-pants approach to our days went by the wayside. Breaking things down into little chunks helped her to approach one thing at a time. Seeing it all (the entire assignment, whatever it was) totally overwhelmed her.
After age 12, things got progressively better. In fact, I was just talking with a friend from high school who was asking about my dd. When I mentioned that she is 16, she rolled her eyes and said something like, "I'm sorry to hear that!" to which I said that these are the best years yet. They really are. By age 13 or 14, my dd became quite pleasant and every year it gets better and better. Her moods are pretty stable, my academic expectations now match what she can do and we have fun together.
I understand what you are going through!!!! But you need to know, that there most definitely is hope. Hang in there :-)
Hugs to you and prayers sent your way!
cursive writing and reading
in The Learning Challenges Board
Posted
My dd has dyslexia and as a result, writing (as well as reading) have been a challenge. She has made great strides in both. When she was 11, she was tested for dyslexia and came up at a 2.5 reading level. Because of LInda Mood-Bell tutoring she improved greatly and after a year was reading at the 6th grade level, with decent comprehension. She loves to write creatively and so I've never done a whole lot with handwriting. I tried, years ago, with "Handwriting Without Tears" but mostly gave up on having her write cursive.because it was so hard for her and I didn't want her to avoid writing because of it.
Now she is 17 and has only one year left of homeschooling. She not only has difficulty writing cursive but reading other people's cursive, even if it's computer generated. I think it's important that she be able to sign her name in cursive. Is there any other reason she needs to know how to write it?
I am concerned that she cannot read it. Does anyone have any suggestions for helping her write it and read it? I had thought of using the Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting series because "they" say it's easier to learn and to do. We don't have
a lot of extra resources (as in money) to devote to this so any suggestions that are free or minimum cost would be great.
Thank you.