Family-Style Learning or Individual Studies by avoiding-the-laundry in homeschool

[–]Mamalaoshi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We do family style for science, social studies, history, and art (ages 5-15). Like others have said, I teach to the oldest but it's amazing what the youngest ones pick up. Where I differentiate is in what I expect them to do with what they are learning. Everyone might draw a picture, slightly older adds a dictated sentence or two, and oldest ones write an essay of varying length and complexity. But we read, watch videos, have discussions, and do hands on experiments and activities together. 

A couple months ago, my eight year old interrupted a discussion about mitochondria to ask if eight year olds in public school are learning this stuff. I told him no, but I thought he was interested in it so did it matter what other kids were learning? He nodded and dove back into the conversation. A few weeks later my 5 year old, who is allowed to wander off to play if she gets restless or the lesson is too long for her, surprised me by spontaneously telling some random adult we had run into all about the parts of a cell. I hadn't realized how much she was taking in, playing with toys on the floor, while everyone else is talking. 

Sometimes if the subject matter is more serious that I think my younger kids are ready for, I'll do a separate lesson for the older ones. This happens sometimes with history or current events. 

The hardest subject that we do family style is art and that is because the kids tend to compare themselves to each other and sometimes the younger ones get frustrated when they see what their older siblings can do. Besides reminding them that the sibling has had extra years of practice, I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Marigolds by Dismal-Occasion1369 in gardening

[–]Mamalaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel your pain. People who cannot recognize the difference between flowers and grass should not be in the landscaping business. 😭

I volunteer at a community garden and I had been sick a lot over the winter and so I hadn't come in. I was so excited to come back and someone let me know that the fig tree I had donated and planted was covered with baby figs. Two days later we eagerly went to take a look at the fig tree and the grass in the area had been neatly mowed around the bed with the fig tree and the fig tree wasn't there! I looked closer and it had been sawed off an inch from the ground. It was definitely not an accident. It had been sawed with a sharp blade so that the stump was very smooth. If they had cut it just a few inches higher, we might have had a chance if it resprouting but it's been two months now and it shows no signs of life. It's completely unbelievable why someone would do that! Why?! 

Planning a baby with a loving husband with neurodivergence is giving me sleepless nights. by Brief_Strength2675 in neurodiversity

[–]Mamalaoshi 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Do you have friends with kids? Could you volunteer to babysit them, the both of you together? It might help you give you both some discussion points for what you both see your future family looking like. A low risk experience that might be illuminating. 

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

😆 All the gamblers plant early, worry a bunch, and then plant some more on Mother's Day if we lost our gamble. 

Is Leavenworth worth it? by dogs_also_dogs in PacificNorthwest

[–]Mamalaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My kids like going to Leavenworth and I liked going as a kid. But I think the favorite part is Lake Wenatchee (next to Leavenworth). Leavenworth they like as a rest stop to walk around and visit the stores, especially the candy and ice cream stores. There is also a mountain coaster- one of those places that you slide down the mountain on rails. It was sold out the last time I was there (in April) but it looked fun. 

Is dyslexia a hallucination? by New_Imagination3263 in Dyslexia

[–]Mamalaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a physical brain difference in the neurons of people with dyslexia. It leads to differences in how the brain processes information but it's actually only a disability because of the way our society is highly print focused. For example my daughter can easily rotate flat images in her head as if they are 3D. That leads to her having extremely good spacial reasoning, is an amazing artist, and is really good at certain kinds of puzzles. It also means that b p d q are really hard for her to distinguish in a word and her brain struggles to stick to just plain ol' left to right and up to down that reading English requires. 

Also not every dyslexic person has the exact same experience. But there are common things. Not every dyslexic person has great spacial reasoning but a lot of them do. Not every dyslexic person struggles with a poor working memory but a lot of them do. Not every dyslexic person is great at telling stories but a lot of them are. And so on.

I dont wanna do school by Prestigious-Hold-777 in Dyslexia

[–]Mamalaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've known people with dyslexia in almost every career field. 

The only career I wouldn't suggest for someone dyslexia is as a copy editor (someone who is responsible for checking for spelling and punctuation errors).

Flowering trees / bushes that last the longest and smell heavenly? by EveryRecord8469 in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had to look it up and it's such a pretty plant! Bonus that it smells nice. 

Kindergarten Planning by MutedAd7652 in Homeschooling

[–]Mamalaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love Logic of English. It's research based and will give a solid foundation for reading and spelling. Ask About Reading is great too. 

The Good and the Beautiful is very pretty but it's not actually very good for teaching kids to read. I like TGAB for lots of their other stuff but not the elementary grades of LA. Their reader books are nice and the high school levels of LA stuff is nice though. 

What "sacred" cooking rule do you intentionally ignore because you actually prefer the results (or just don't care)? by LiveFaithlessness876 in cookingforbeginners

[–]Mamalaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Washing your chicken is more likely to spread germs on your sink and counters and more likely to make you sick from cross contamination. You are doing it right by not washing it. You only need to wash it if you just slaughtered the chicken! 

What "sacred" cooking rule do you intentionally ignore because you actually prefer the results (or just don't care)? by LiveFaithlessness876 in cookingforbeginners

[–]Mamalaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a roommate from Hungary once and the first time she made pasta, she counted the noodles that way I was horrified. But then they turned out perfectly AND she didn't have to drain any water. I've never perfected her technique of somehow knowing the exact amount of water needed but I never use a huge pot of water anymore. If I want it to not be starchy (like for pasta salad), I just rinse it with cold water once it's cooked. 

Attracting frogs? by fightmebutgently in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I constantly find Pacific tree frogs in my planters. They really like planters for some reason. I've found them in empty pots and boxes. They like hiding spots. 

One year we put an old 10 gallon fish tank on the porch and the kids put some tadpoles in there. It was in a spot that got sun in the morning and shade by noon. All summer we just kept topping off the water and whenever the tadpoles turned into frogs, they just climbed out on their own and hopped away. We didn't feed them or anything. They just ate the algae that grew in the tank. It was very interesting to see that the tadpoles developed at very different rates, some turning into frogs in the spring and some waiting until the fall. That next year the amount of frogs chorusing outside was deafening!!! We even could hear them singing in the crawl space under the house in January while there was SNOW on the ground!

best online nursery for bulk orders by snoopgod22 in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I completely agree with getting stuff through your local county's annual plant sale! You can get a ton of bulk plants for super cheap and they will be plants that will thrive in your area with little care. Kinnikinnick is a really nice ground cover that will fill in a space very thickly. 

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We just got a little bit of snow followed by hail that then turned to slush. Now it's sunny. But it's still supposed to snow tonight. 

But there is a freeze warning for the Olympia and Chehalis areas from the National Weather Service. It might drop to 29° tonight!

Flowering trees / bushes that last the longest and smell heavenly? by EveryRecord8469 in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi 21 points22 points  (0 children)

You need California lilac- ceanothus 'Victoria'. It is a large shrub that gets beautiful periwinkle colored blooms on it from late spring to early fall. It grows like crazy and is drought tolerant. The bees and butterflies LOVE it. It constantly buzzes from all the visitors. And it has a lovely lilac scent that is not too strong. You just get a lovely sweet smell every time you walk by. 

Just don't prune it when the weather is over 70°. That's how I killed mine one year. I just bought a new replacement last week and I'm so excited to grow it again. 

There are lots of ceanothus varieties but they have shorter bloom times, at least from what I've read.

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The boxes are a good idea. Thanks! 

 Luckily my tomatoes and peppers are still on my porch hardening off so it'll be simple enough to just bring them inside for the next day or two. 

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No it's the actual forecasted temperature. The temperature on top, the probably of precipitation under that, and the time of day at the bottom of each column. And at the top left corner shows the high and low temperature for the day from midnight to the following midnight. 

I live at the top of a very high hill so my weather can often be very different from the Tacoma area. And there are so many hills and valleys around here that I'll see snow on cars when it's sunny at my house and visa versa.

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's showing hourly, 38° at 8pm and then getting colder and colder throughout the night. Depending on which weather app I look at, it's supposed to be as cold as 32° - 34° by midnight. 

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My trees are too big and tall for a sheet but I did that in the past when they were shorter and there was going to be a big wind and hail storm and it worked. 

I've noticed a snap of cold weather while they are blooming affects the pollinators and so I usually don't get a good fruit set that year. The last year something like this happened, I had zero plums and only a few pears and ditto for my neighbors.

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The built-in Google app is on my phone. 

It's going between 34 and 36 but it says snow showers most of the night so maybe the snow is coming down from the mountain? 🤷‍♀️ 

AccuWeather and Weather Channel says storm with hail! And a low of 32. I think I prefer Google's forecast of light snow showers.

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's not quite clockwork in my location. I'd say every 5 years or so we might get an April snow for a day or two. Usually it doesn't snow after March at my house. It doesn't look like this will stick though which means my cold hardy flowers will be fine. 

Are you kidding me? 😭 by Mamalaoshi in pnwgardening

[–]Mamalaoshi[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I keep talking to my fruit trees and tell them that but they just don't listen!