Has anyone here read Nurtureshock? I know someone has because I got the recommendation for the book on here, LOL. I was wondering if anyone has tried to implement the "Tools of the Mind" techniques described in the chapter on helping your child grow better self control? I'm trying to think of ways the method could be used at home with an only child... Thanks! Hailey

I thought Primary Lessons in Language wasn't until second grade and Elementary Grammar by Maxwell was for first. I also thought Grammarland wasn't to be used until second or third. I'd love to hear if someone thinks they are OK for first, because I'm thinking of using one for Grace. So is Elementary Grammar by Maxwell for later years then?

:rofl: :lol::lol::lol::lol: This reminds me of when my daughter shouted across the neighborhood pool to my husband all day "Daddy, I want some special private time with you!" This was because we had explained to her that sometimes mom and dad do things together by ourselves, rather than having everything be a total family event. She didn't understand why we might want to go to the movies without her. So, anyhoo, DH didn't know what to do so he just let her say that all day until he got home and told me what she said at the pool.

Maybe you should skip the "stop playing" part and just not play at all. Walk away before she says something nasty rather than after she says it. When you see her coming, find a reason to go the other way. You're not responsible for her marriage, her sad life or her feelings. Do not pity her into having to deal with something that's hurtful to yourself or your family. No reason to spread the emotional destruction any further than it needs to go...

Does it have to be one or the other? Can you take the best of both? We use some of their lit selections...

Do you have a link? What grades does it cover? Thanks!

I confess that I did not even know some of the things people confessed were bad. Ex. Macaroni for lunch- do it all the time. Wear a bra for a week? I only own three bras because I'd rather spend money ON books than on holding UP my books (I wear a size that must be special ordered and it's expensive). Not changing the sheets? I could go months- DH is the one that decides they're gross and changes them. Those are a couple but I seriously read some of those and decided that I must gather my guilt and recognize what I've done:lol:. I have had my spring clothes box in my bedroom floor for a week and still haven't summoned the energy to clean out the closet and change out the winter clothes. My daughter has captured a ladybug and is keeping it in a bug house and I think it's cute. There is a line of ants to and from the bug house (there's hummingbird food in it) and I haven't yet done anything about it. Now I have to go clean up those ants and my closet! I LOVED this thread. It's nice to know I'm not the only one out there who has things I wish were different. I feel more normal now. Like everyone who seems like they have it all together still has SOMETHING they wish they did better, so we're not so different after all.

Maybe you should personally return them to the girl's father who does not know she has them ;).

I've seen signs in banks (and I think a couple gas stations) recently that say you may not have a hat, hoodie, or sunglasses on while in the bank for security reasons. I don't remember the exact wording, because my thoughts went immediately to bank robbers rather than burkas, but now I am wondering how this situation would be handled in those banks. Would these ladies still be welcome in those banks? How would they handle that here in the U.S.?

Both my husband and I thought homeschooling was crazy when we first heard about it :blushing:. Eventually, as I realized how sensitive my daughter is, I started wondering how she might fare in school as well as remembering how I felt as a sensitive child at school. My husband continued to think I was crazy for a while, but eventually agreed to try it for a year because he has also noticed that our daughter is quite sensitive. Now he would never allow me to put her in public school because he's seen the difference between her knowledge and the knowledge of the other kids on our street. He's fully on board for academic reasons. So don't give up. Continue to research and plan. If you seem like you know what you're doing he might agree to try it out as an experiment for one year.

My daughter has the same type of thing as your child- eczema with just a few hives from time to time. However, she has very loose stools up to two days after eating too many allergen foods. She has a long list, but the ones I know give her issues are: barley, corn, rye, milk, pineapples and tomatoes all give her bathroom issues. All nuts and strawberries give her tiny hives that look like bug bites. The eczema shows up in the spring with all the pollen. We live in a high pollen area. Right now there's yellow powder coating the outside world at our house, LOL. I wish we could find the underlying cause of allergies. My DD's allergies change from year to year. I don't understand why. I have noticed that since she's gotten old enough to refuse her vitamins her allergies are MUCH worse than they used to be in the spring. I'm actually considering taking her back in for testing because she keeps telling me her throat itches when she eats apples.

BTW I was a late thumb sucker and had to wear braces for FIVE years. Yes, I was a college freshman with braces.

I HAD a five year old thumbsucker until one fine day when the American Girl catalog came in the mail. There was a page with a "slumber party" on it. One of the dolls had this strange looking metal contraption in her mouth. She asked what that was and I said it was a retainer of some sort that kids wear at night. She asked how your teeth get like that I told her that sometimes they just naturally do that and sometimes it was from sucking their thumb too long. She stopped sucking her thumb THAT day. Amazing what they can do with a little motivation.

We like a good, strong HOA at our house. Unfortunately, our neighborhood HOA is not as strong as it appeared when we moved into our house. The developers were floating the grounds maintainance and now that they've moved out the extensive common ground area looks awful. There's erosion due to lack of mulch funding, weeds, and a large majority of people who somehow think throwing trash out your car window is a reasonable action. We paid above average prices for our home thinking that the neighborhood would be run as it was when we moved in (beautiful, nonweedy common areas full of grass, bushes and flowers that are now dead). The lack of a strong HOA meant that once the developers were gone the neighborhood had a completely different feel. We feel ripped off. DH has joined the HOA and is trying to help get measures passed to at least stop the erosion due to lack of mulch, but it's just really sad. The dues were not set nearly high enough to sustain the amount of common ground in the neighborhood- so we have this great walking trail, pool and nature area but now it's run down and eroding (hilly area) just a couple years after the developer left. So that's our HOA story. I'd keep my garage door closed any day if I didn't have to pick up broken beer bottles along what used to be a gorgeous walking trail through beautifully landscaped common grounds. I think in an area without common grounds you'd have more leeway, but if you want a pool, clubhouse, and nature trails you better check out the strength of your HOA.

I've heard bad things about Hartz. They do have some all natural Frontline knock offs, but I can't vouch for them. We used them last summer but we don't seem to have any fleas or ticks in our yard, and my dog is old and doesn't want to leave the yard.

Yaaaah!

Thanks guys! After hearing all your stories I'm actually looking forward to DD getting dental sealants. It sounds very beneficial.

Trying hard to deserve this luck....

:grouphug: I think that is possible. :grouphug:

So do a lot of children have grooved teeth then?

I was just wondering if dental sealants are a common recommendation these days. Our dentist told me today that my daughter's teeth are very grooved and she will probably need sealants. She is not the type to recommend unnecessary treatments, so I was wondering what it means that my daughter has a lot of grooves in her teeth. She has so many food allergies that I often worry about her nutrition, but she is average height, growing and healthy looking most of the time. Is this a common thing? Could the grooves indicate any sort of nutritional problem? Thanks in advance! I'm sure I'm just worrying for worrying's sake, but it would be good to hear from some other moms on the issue- plus I'd LOVE to get some nonHAM related topics on the general board, LOL!:lol:

My DD is allergic to nuts so I feel guilty eating them with her around, but I did find a good recipe last week that I keep eating over and over... It's for low carb hamburger buns. Now, I think they make a lousy bun, but they taste really good toasted with cream cheese. MMMMMM! You take one egg and whisk it into a bowl that is the shape of roll you desire (It will puff up). Mix in 4 tablespoons of milled flax seed, a pinch of salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder (not soda). Microwave for one minute. Cool for one minute in bowl, then pop it out and let it cool on a wire rack. OK, I make this in the morning, then about "homeschool snack time" I toast it and add a layer of cream cheese---it's super yummy and I'm not hungry again until 1:30/2:00. As a hamburger bun though- blehhh.

Is this one of those things where they are asking you to speak for an entire group? I hate when I get into those situations where I am the "homeschool representative" and must explain (or defend) the entire lifestyle to a party full of people. Seriously, why are they asking you to explain something you did not participate in?

Can you guys post the dates and location again? I might be able to make it but with all the pages and what not I can't find the info...

Someone on this forum recommended a book called Why We Get Fat and What to do About It, and it was very interesting. The author talks about overweight as a SYMPTOM of poor health, rather than a cause. He gives examples of different societies that experienced rapid weight gain after having to rely on a western starchy diet. It's interesting, and helped explain to me why I have a carb issue. I'm OK as long as I don't eat unhealthy carbs, but if I have one piece of cake I will have to fight cravings for days. It's those festive functions that throw me off. I really can't have ONE piece of cake without falling off the wagon. I don't crave the cake, I don't want the cake, but it is a baby shower/birthday/Christmas/etc. so I feel that I MUST eat the cake. Then I go home thinking about white bread rolls and potato chips, LOL. That's how I fall off the wagon. Christmas gets me every year. I'm usually back on the right bandwagon by April- yes, that's how long it takes to get my act back together. So don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure we all have the same issue in one area of our life. Maybe for some it's not food but something else- wasn't there an anger thread on here recently? I agree with the PP about running too. I get depressed if I can't run. The sunshine and fresh air does wonders- and I hated it at the beginning too. It took about 3 months to like it but now I can't do without it. It seems like the cheapest exercise too. Good shoes and a sports bra get you into the game.