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School was done today. Housekeeping was done. All cat litter boxes were taken out and scrubbed. Trash is down at the road for tomorrow. I previewed the bee lecture on nectar flow. I had a lovely bowl of the homemade stew for dinner. I ordered more French and Key to Decimals for the boys. I was feeling pretty good about myself.

Then I made the mistake of traipsing over to the high school board.

Y'all tell me not to go over there at night, okay? It's too scary. :scared:

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School was done today. Housekeeping was done. All cat litter boxes were taken out and scrubbed. Trash is down at the road for tomorrow. I previewed the bee lecture on nectar flow. I had a lovely bowl of the homemade stew for dinner. I ordered more French and Key to Decimals for the boys. I was feeling pretty good about myself.

Then I made the mistake of traipsing over to the high school board.

Y'all tell me not to go over there at night, okay? It's too scary. :scared:

Don't take unnecessary journeys! Don't swim in the sea!

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We have like three more documents before submitting our loan application.

 

I am choosing to believe that our patience and hard work and care for our families is finally going to bear some fruit. We waited a long time to find a house with a seller who would choose a family (investors, or in Russian, spekulatori, speculators--they pay cash, and families cannot compete). I finally accepted help from my mom. Thanks to creek land for that... the threads on how to make it... accept help. Okay. I accepted it.

 

I am going to believe that good things can happen to me after a long slog through the recession, about 7 years. I am going to believe that I am worth it, not because that makes it happen, but because I am so tired of pessimism. We don't deserve this any more than anyone else but why not us?

 

There is a trail through the woods to the swim club. :) So they can ride their bikes along a trail all the way. It's a 10 minute bike ride. Why not us, right?

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Rusty bunny was hopping along for his evening family exercise time when the unthinkable happened.  Somehow, Rocky dog was not shut up tight in the bathroom after all.  He came up to Rusty and sniffed his butt.  Rusty was unconcerned.  I freaked out and grabbed Rocky because while I see that he thinks of Rusty as family and not prey, I don't trust that this particular dog can always stifle his prey drive.  :svengo:

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Good Morning Extension-of-Yesterday-Since-I-Never-Really-Slept! 

 

 

 

Ds8 no longer wants Mommy Kissies.  He's too grown-up for that, he says.  And two nights ago at bedtime he decided he much preferred Mommy to Tickle and Wrestle.  

 

So two nights ago we did Mommy Tickle and Wrestle.  It was a smashing success with rave reviews.

 

Then last night we did Mommy Tickle and Wrestle, and  DS8 got broken.   :crying:    

 

Seriously.   :crying:

 

After 8 years of accident-free insane wall-smashing bed-breaking Wrestle-Mania with Daddy, I go in for my first tickle of the match, and the boy gets his foot caught on something and snaps something in his knee. :svengo:  We think, anyway.  Daddy took him to the ER after hours of howling immobility and we are still awaiting the radiologist's official report, but he is being outfitted with a brace and crutches as I type because of something suspicious in the images.  

 

What's worst is that today is our CC Valentine's Party (postponed due to a snow day).  So if we miss that long-anticipated event, I'm definitely a shoo-in for Worst Mommy Of The Year.  

 

My only broken-hearted consolation is the hope that maybe, maybe DS8 will now resign himself to Kissies instead of Wrestles. :crying:

 

 

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Good Morning!!!

 

:grouphug: ducklings ds. :grouphug: duckling too. How very painful and terrible! I hope everything is ok.

 

Today is our homeschool day at the library, and our late Valentine's party as well. I don't want to go, but we will.

 

I'm grumpy, I think. Well, I feel grumpy. I haven't really said much to anyone yet. I woke dd16 up, but I wasn't grumpy. Maybe I am just disappointed that my dreams (if I had any) was not visited by the Great Snapping Turtle and nice cabana boys. I even thought about it before I went to bed. Well maybe tonight.

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Adds to list of warnings: Do not wrestle ducklings! :grouphug:

 

Chez nous: I now have the cold DS has; he's a grumpyface; we need groceries; and DH came home from work last night with what appears to be food poisoning.

 

On the up side, the cat is pretty delighted to have me hanging out on the couch with her.

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Good morning all!

 

Quackers, I am so sorry! Hope he feels better soon.

 

Whitehawk, I hope you all feel better soon, too,

 

Hooray for the run, Lynn!

 

Today, I get to take 7 year old dd for a tooth extraction. :( it's a molar that the roots dissolved. We're working on flossing better those back teeth.

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Good Morning Extension-of-Yesterday-Since-I-Never-Really-Slept! 

 

 

 

Ds8 no longer wants Mommy Kissies.  He's too grown-up for that, he says.  And two nights ago at bedtime he decided he much preferred Mommy to Tickle and Wrestle.  

 

So two nights ago we did Mommy Tickle and Wrestle.  It was a smashing success with rave reviews.

 

Then last night we did Mommy Tickle and Wrestle, and  DS8 got broken.   :crying:    

 

Seriously.   :crying:

 

After 8 years of accident-free insane wall-smashing bed-breaking Wrestle-Mania with Daddy, I go in for my first tickle of the match, and the boy gets his foot caught on something and snaps something in his knee. :svengo:  We think, anyway.  Daddy took him to the ER after hours of howling immobility and we are still awaiting the radiologist's official report, but he is being outfitted with a brace and crutches as I type because of something suspicious in the images.  

 

What's worst is that today is our CC Valentine's Party (postponed due to a snow day).  So if we miss that long-anticipated event, I'm definitely a shoo-in for Worst Mommy Of The Year.  

 

My only broken-hearted consolation is the hope that maybe, maybe DS8 will now resign himself to Kissies instead of Wrestles. :crying:

 

 

jaw-dropping.gif

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:   times a million.

 

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With this style statement, I don't think you need to worry about wearing tennies all the time.  :hat:

 

:lol:  I know, right???

 

Good Morning Extension-of-Yesterday-Since-I-Never-Really-Slept! 

 

 

 

Ds8 no longer wants Mommy Kissies.  He's too grown-up for that, he says.  And two nights ago at bedtime he decided he much preferred Mommy to Tickle and Wrestle.  

 

So two nights ago we did Mommy Tickle and Wrestle.  It was a smashing success with rave reviews.

 

Then last night we did Mommy Tickle and Wrestle, and  DS8 got broken.   :crying:    

 

Seriously.   :crying:

 

After 8 years of accident-free insane wall-smashing bed-breaking Wrestle-Mania with Daddy, I go in for my first tickle of the match, and the boy gets his foot caught on something and snaps something in his knee. :svengo:  We think, anyway.  Daddy took him to the ER after hours of howling immobility and we are still awaiting the radiologist's official report, but he is being outfitted with a brace and crutches as I type because of something suspicious in the images.  

 

What's worst is that today is our CC Valentine's Party (postponed due to a snow day).  So if we miss that long-anticipated event, I'm definitely a shoo-in for Worst Mommy Of The Year.  

 

My only broken-hearted consolation is the hope that maybe, maybe DS8 will now resign himself to Kissies instead of Wrestles. :crying:

:scared:

 

No wrestling here.  We are accident prone enough.  Seriously. A bunch of klutzes.  :grouphug:

 

I am a walking commercial for a cold.

 

That is all.

:grouphug:

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My daily lament: 

Writing (personal narratives, opinion papers, etc) has got to be the hardest thing for me to teach. I truly despise it. 

I really do not feel like I have the ability to coax some of these students into writing something even remotely interesting. Right now, I'm trying to get some of them to come up with an opinion/persuasive paper about having a third recess at school. It's mind-numbing and redundant. Each main point is the same thing with them - "We get to play more" or "We get to run more". 
I.JUST.CANT. 

I think it's hard for me because, while my writing on these boards is haphazard at best, I really do come by writing naturally. It was never an issue for me. I can BS in a paper with the best of them. Teaching someone to do that does not seem to be in my toolbox of teaching tricks. 

 

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Last night, when ds13 tried to get the kid cell phone away from little dd due to her reading curse words from a chat he was added to erroneously by someone he didn't know, they managed to break the desktop computer.  :confused1:   The power cord is missing now so there is no power. :confused1:  Dh could not even figure it out.  Words completely fail me.  I have already yelled this morning (mostly at little dd) because this is the computer that ds13 uses to attend online Spanish, which starts in 18 minutes.  I have little patience for tearing things up out of stupidity.  Now I am angry and cranky, and I haven't even had any coffee.

 

How the....??? I don't even know how that can happen! 

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It's truly amazing how kids can break things in ways that seem incompatible with the laws of physics.

 

Dh told me yesterday, after hearing about my day and my to-do list, to call this week spring break because my to-do list is incompatible with accomplishing school.  And it's February.  Dh apparently has been through enough February despair in previous winters that he gets it.  

 

The kids have all been given chore lists and a list of acceptable play activities for today so that I can get stuff done!

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I really do not feel like I have the ability to coax some of these students into writing something even remotely interesting. Right now, I'm trying to get some of them to come up with an opinion/persuasive paper about having a third recess at school. It's mind-numbing and redundant. Each main point is the same thing with them - "We get to play more" or "We get to run more". 

I don't know--that seems to be a pretty logical opinion for a bunch of young kids. Why would we want this? So we could play more. Open and shut, end of story, goodbye!

You might get more than that if you narrow the topic. Why should we have third recess after this or that? You could have all kinds of fun brainstorming about the advantages of having it after lunch. It's a longer break from school. More time to talk with your friends or play games with your friends. Then the cons--playing on nausea inducing equipment after lunch makes you sick! It's not fun to run with your stomach full. More time for bullies to annoy you.

I find that often original thought needs some priming, you know. :laugh:

 

 

 

I.JUST.CANT. 

Where's the "just keep" swimming video?

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My daily lament:

 

Writing (personal narratives, opinion papers, etc) has got to be the hardest thing for me to teach. I truly despise it.

 

I really do not feel like I have the ability to coax some of these students into writing something even remotely interesting. Right now, I'm trying to get some of them to come up with an opinion/persuasive paper about having a third recess at school. It's mind-numbing and redundant. Each main point is the same thing with them - "We get to play more" or "We get to run more".

I.JUST.CANT.

 

I think it's hard for me because, while my writing on these boards is haphazard at best, I really do come by writing naturally. It was never an issue for me. I can BS in a paper with the best of them. Teaching someone to do that does not seem to be in my toolbox of teaching tricks.

 

 

How old are the students?
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How old are the students?

4th grade. 

I have a few that can do it. The others? They are so used to being spoon fed EVERYTHING. (ETA: Not by the 4th grade teachers, but by every grade before them. I understand that younger kids need a bit more spoon feeding, but you should be gradually weaning them and letting them think for themselves.) They can not make decisions nor think on their own. 

I can give them 2 projects, both with step by step instructions, and they still can not figure out what to do because I have given them choices. 

It's incredibly frustrating. 

 

But, if you have any suggestions, I am all for it! 

Edited by Southern Ivy
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Dh found the power cord, which was somehow ripped out of the back of the computer and shoved in the side. ??? Yes, defying the laws of physics.

I expect that my walls will be dinged and dirty and my furniture reduced to kindling, but I do not accept wrecking the computer.

Edited by texasmama
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4th grade.

I have a few that can do it. The others? They are so used to being spoon fed EVERYTHING. (ETA: Not by the 4th grade teachers, but by every grade before them. I understand that younger kids need a bit more spoon feeding, but you should be gradually weaning them and letting them think for themselves.) They can not make decisions nor think on their own.

I can give them 2 projects, both with step by step instructions, and they still can not figure out what to do because I have given them choices.

It's incredibly frustrating.

 

But, if you have any suggestions, I am all for it!

It sounds pretty typical for the age, actually. Their thinking is linear and straightforward. It is a simple time for them. They are on the verge of abstract thinking but many or most are not there yet. I think it's developmental. It's one of my beefs with public school, the requirement that teachers assign writing that is not developmentally appropriate. And teachers seem to get little choice in the matter, even though it is ineffective. I would be frustrated, too.

 

Even some of my co op students struggle to find their own opinions and write about them. I have done a lot of in-class modeling of how to brainstorm, take notes, and then craft a paragraph or essay. I don't want bs from them. I want them to find their own "voice" in writing. The curriculum I'm using is formulaic, which provides support for struggling writers.

 

I don't know how much leeway you have, but in a perfect world in your classroom, I would model in the board how to come up with opinions and points and turn them into sentences and organize them into a paragraph. I would do this a lot. Even my high school students need good models so I would hand out an example of a 4th grade-appropriate model for am opinion paragraph.

Edited by texasmama
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It sounds pretty typical for the age, actually. Little dd is this age. Their thinking is linear and straightforward. It is a simple time for them. They are on the verge of abstract thinking but many or most are not there yet. I think it's developmental. It's one of my beefs with public school, the requirement that teachers assign writing that is not developmentally appropriate. And teachers seem to get little choice in the matter, even though it is ineffective. I would be frustrated, too.

 

Little dd is doing Writing Tales, which relies on the retelling of Aesop's fables, adding her own fun changes. She is a natural writer, but she would be lost with an opinion paper at this stage. That is more a middle school developmental task, IMO.

 

Even some of my 9th graders struggle to find their own opinions and write about them. I have done a lot of in-class modeling of how to brainstorm, take notes, and then craft a paragraph or essay. I don't want bs from them. I want them to find their own "voice" in writing. The curriculum I'm using is formulaic, which provides support for struggling writers.

 

I don't know how much leeway you have, but in a perfect world in your classroom, I would model in the board how to come up with opinions and points and turn them into sentences and organize them into a paragraph. I would do this a lot. Even my high school students need good models so I would hand out an example of a 4th grade-appropriate model for am opinion paragraph.

 

This.

 

 

 

 

ETA:  It's a Homeschool BA, public school-bashing, Educational BOOYA!

Edited by JoJosMom
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4th grade. 

I have a few that can do it. The others? They are so used to being spoon fed EVERYTHING. (ETA: Not by the 4th grade teachers, but by every grade before them. I understand that younger kids need a bit more spoon feeding, but you should be gradually weaning them and letting them think for themselves.) They can not make decisions nor think on their own. 

I can give them 2 projects, both with step by step instructions, and they still can not figure out what to do because I have given them choices. 

It's incredibly frustrating. 

 

But, if you have any suggestions, I am all for it! 

 

I think it might seem that way but the reality is that kids slowly develop this.

 

My step-son has not been spoon-fed. He's an intelligent, voracious reader. He simply can. not. think. critically. It's not there yet. He thinks he can, but at most he can ridicule. I promise you, his mother, his father, his step-parents, his teachers, we all will point at essay answers and say, "This doesn't give me new information. You need to connect a specific detail in the text with a thought you have about it, not an opinion but a what-if statement, or a value statement, and explain why."

 

We keep telling him. We keep saying over and over "I liked it because it was good" is a fine opinion to state at dinner when we asked if you liked the movie, but that is not critical thought. You need to explain why. You need to make connections.

 

In the seventh grade he's just starting to get there. He is getting to the logic phase. Pre-logic phase he was 10,000% parrot phase. I think that the girls, being more verbal, were able to construct parroted logic very creatively. Like I don't see my older step-daughter or DD1 making any original connections, however they were always able to use the formula to insert the appropriate bull honkey. DD2 is actually pretty original. She makes nuanced connections, more than some of the older kids do, actually. But the others? Nuh-uh, that came in middle school.

 

It's just not developmentally appropriate.

 

I would agree with Texasmama.

 

I think many boys, but also girls, deal with this.

 

Each main point is the same thing with them - "We get to play more" or "We get to run more".

 

 

Give them more formulae. I know it feels like spoon-feeding but I think it is helpful for them. The words don't come easily to many.

 

We get to play more and that makes me feel like a: 

 

We get to run more and running makes me feel like:

 

Before I run, __________.

 

When I run, __________. (Give an example.)

 

After I run, __________.

 

I like to play _________.

 

When I play, I think about __________.

 

Etc.

 

The blank page is so scary for some of them.

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Last night, when ds13 tried to get the kid cell phone away from little dd due to her reading curse words from a chat he was added to erroneously by someone he didn't know, they managed to break the desktop computer.  :confused1:   The power cord is missing now so there is no power. :confused1:  Dh could not even figure it out.  Words completely fail me.  I have already yelled this morning (mostly at little dd) because this is the computer that ds13 uses to attend online Spanish, which starts in 18 minutes.  I have little patience for tearing things up out of stupidity.  Now I am angry and cranky, and I haven't even had any coffee.

 

Tex, it's time to line them up for duct tape and other disciplinary measures from the Elephant Ninja Disciplinary Brigade.  :toetap05:

 

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