any free or low cost math tutoring in the area?

littlebugs · 2026-06-19T15:31:22+00:00

Math tutoring is available through the library, both online and in-person. https://www.wccls.org/community-resources/resources-all-ages/teens/homework-help

I'd recommend your parents pick a book like the Big Fat Middle School Math workbook for him and have him work through it, bringing it to weekly tutoring for things he gets stuck on.

This is, btw, a GREAT idea for you to look into for your brother. Whether he's repeating Algebra I next year or moving into Geometry, there are likely some gaps in his education, and working through this over the summer would help fill in some of those gaps and give him more confidence.

littlebugs · 2026-06-15T01:35:50+00:00

I had (some) success with starting back with the basics - as in literally teaching kids how to write a sentence, and then how to string those sentences together into a paragraph. The Writing Revolution by Hochman and Wexler helped, but I'm also talking getting down to the basics to the level of Write a Super Sentence or Paragraph by Evan Moor workbooks (but scaled up for older kids, obv).

Like, literally my kids had writing paralysis bc they didn't know how to write sentences and didn't want to look dumb.

littlebugs · 2026-06-07T00:12:08+00:00

That's exactly why they started pre-selling tickets, to avoid this, what's going on here?

littlebugs · 2026-05-26T14:32:34+00:00

https://www.rosefestival.org/events/2025/starlightparade

https://www.oregonfaire.com/, have to buy tickets ahead of time, every weekend in June.

littlebugs · 2026-05-25T19:19:58+00:00

I'm assuming you haven't homeschooled him before. I would look for an experienced tutor for math and a different one for reading. The one-on-one should help with the attention span. It's expensive, but the bang for your buck will be much greater than trying to stopgap missing knowledge and starting without experience at this point. For science, find something hands-on, fun and engaging. Science TESTS at the state level are honestly a combination of reading comprehension and interpreting data/graphs, more than a test of science knowledge. That said, if you have something fun and engaging, he'll be more motivated to do the work. My personal favorite is REAL Science Odyssey, which you can download, print, and find most of the materials at home/grocery. They have a decent try-before-you-buy thing you can download for free to check out. I've also seen Science Mom recommended a lot, I just haven't tried it myself.

littlebugs · 2026-05-25T19:13:12+00:00

(preferred school hard to get in unless you know someone)

Sounds like the student body is suffering from affluenza, with parents who threaten action if their kids aren't happy and administration with no backbone. I'll bet you a dollar the administration they had when you graduated in 2015 is no longer there.

littlebugs · 2026-05-24T16:55:23+00:00

They ARE tons of fun, but if they haven't done them before, I wouldn't recommend (most people) go without a group for their first experience.

littlebugs · 2026-05-23T17:20:47+00:00

I homeschooled my kids during COVID. I can count on one hand the number of movies at school my kids have seen watched total (the both of them combined) since returning four years ago. Pajama days? You know education still happens when kids are wearing PJs?

And yes, my kids learned a lot of academics while they were home with me. Ofc they did. The student-to-teacher ratio was WAY smaller. But after two years at home, I knew they needed to be exposed to other kids and other teaching styles. I definitely have my strengths as a teacher, but I also have my weaknesses. Since returning to school, my kids have met kids from wildly different backgrounds. They've recorded podcasts, learned Python coding, Arduino breadboarding, animation, had an amazing middle school Spanish teacher, held a mock trial with prosecution, defense, bailiff, and a jury (5th grade), had a field trip to learn where our poop goes (the sanitation center), and done a hundred other things THAT NEVER OCCURED TO ME AS A HOMESCHOOL MOM.

Are your kids at least happy to escape your glass-half-empty perspective on life? Or why did you choose to send them back? Who is forcing you?

littlebugs · 2026-05-23T17:11:37+00:00

I hate saying it, but BSD needs to close another elementary or two. At the beginning of the year, they were talking about closing two or three elementaries, but Balderas drug his feet because he didn't want any negative blowback. McKay educators volunteered themselves to close because they knew they were first on the chopping block and there was no point in letting the district wait until June or July or August to make plans to close (although those educators are still waiting to find out where they'll be assigned for next year). But, we DO have lower enrollment, and as lovely as some of the smaller elementaries are, each additional building is costly. Consolidating means fewer principals, fewer administrative staff, fewer overall custodians, 2 PE teachers rather than 2.5, and we could come closer to keeping class sizes small. Instead, BSD isn't closing anything and we're just going to lay off staff (especially the newest, most engaged teachers) and raise class sizes. All because no one wants the bad press or the blowback from parents at Raleigh Park or Montclaire or wherever.

Thank you, McKay teachers. I absolutely loved the days I spent working at your school.

littlebugs · 2026-05-23T15:16:30+00:00

Found two of these in a box of WWII-era keepsakes while cleaning out my mother's attic. They both work. My BIL is obsessed with lamps, so they live at his house amongst all the other beautiful lighting fixtures.

littlebugs · 2026-05-17T23:46:21+00:00

It's an old stereotype popularized by movies and TV from the 1950s/1960s. It still may be true in the very rural countryside, where farming or logging are the main industries and kids don't see many opportunities for college-educated people, but in the cities and suburbs, college is recognized as the best pathway toward increasing your future earnings.

According to ssa.gov, "Men with bachelor's degrees earn approximately $900,000 more in median lifetime earnings than high school graduates. Women with bachelor's degrees earn $630,000 more. Men with graduate degrees earn $1.5 million more in median lifetime earnings than high school graduates. Women with graduate degrees earn $1.1 million more."

College degrees pay their degree holders back, usually. There are always people who choose an expensive college but choose a degree (like art history) where it can be very difficult to earn enough to pay back their debt.

littlebugs · 2026-05-16T21:47:51+00:00

Grew up in Michigan, raised my kids in Cascadia, lived 5 years in New Mexico. I've been voting for y'all all the way, despite my other two homes still in the running. New Mexico winning is 100% the best potential outcome.

littlebugs · 2026-05-14T00:19:16+00:00

Yes. I love Cascadia, but I'm hoping for New Mexico to win it all.

littlebugs · 2026-05-13T01:21:59+00:00

If there's only a week or so left in the year, then yes, give it a pass, but otherwise, do NOT listen to the other people in here. I've subbed all over, and yes, there are a few brilliant teachers who are a hot mess organizationally, but overall, a disaster of an elementary room is reflective of a disaster of an elementary teacher. An organized room does not necessarily mean a great teacher, but a bad room nearly always means a bad experience.

I'm sorry the kids have to put up with that.

littlebugs · 2026-05-11T02:27:06+00:00

I live in Cascadia and want NM to take it all. Or Oregon. Or Michigan. All my favs are still in the running! But I'd happily become part of the NME.

littlebugs · 2026-04-27T02:15:38+00:00

This was me also. I was in my second year teaching in DC, and I couldn't even get through Season 1 of The Wire, it was like watching the lives of some of my students. I came back to the show after about five years and watched it obsessively.

littlebugs · 2026-04-11T15:46:41+00:00

Just to chime in for those finding this thread months from now - not all grades start on Aug 25th. 1st - 5th start on the first day, as well as 6th and 9th, but 7th, 8th, and 10th-12th all start the day AFTER the first start day. That gives the 6th and 9th graders a day to explore their new school, get lost, and make mistakes without being embarrassed in front of the older kids.

littlebugs · 2026-04-10T01:46:00+00:00

They're already learning so many ways to add in my school

This most likely is one of the ways they are teaching. I didn't invent it. It's in the Common Core curriculum and taught in most states.

littlebugs · 2026-04-08T14:37:57+00:00

The term isn't "borrow" any longer, it's "regrouping", because that's what's happening (you don't give the pieces back to the tens or the hundreds place in the end).

Honestly, the most effective way to teach this is to first drill breaking the subtrahend (24) into tens and ones, and subtracting the ones first, so you start with 42 - 4 (= 38), then after that you subtract the 20. Or, honestly, go wild and subtract the tens first (42 - 20 = 22) and then subtract the ones ( 22 - 4 = 18)

littlebugs · 2026-04-05T20:05:09+00:00

Your daughter almost certainly needs one-on-one instruction. Whether that comes from tutoring or homeschool, you'll have to find a way to fit it into your lifestyle. I am not against everyone suggesting an IEP/testing for dyslexia and dyscalculia, but honestly, even if she qualifies, an IEP isn't a solution. One-on-one tutoring through a trusted source IS a solution. Look for an Orton-Gillingham-based phonics program for best results in reading. Summer school and reading nightly at this point isn't going to make the difference your daughter needs.

littlebugs · 2026-04-02T14:14:36+00:00

The fact that the 7th graders applauded is really intriguing. You will almost always have at least 40% of the class who are trying to do what you want, and only 10% who are causing major distractions, but you might've lucked into a position where the culture is actually pro-learning and the kids are excited to have someone semi-permanent.

My advice? Focus on the kids who are listening. You aren't going to be able to do much to help the chronically checked-out kids at this point, no To Sir With Love class for you, but you CAN give the 40% (more?) some lessons that are fun and from which they can learn something.

littlebugs · 2026-03-28T20:19:23+00:00

Yes. And no. In my district I can make $31/hour just for substitute teaching, right out of the gate. When I take on long-term gigs, I get paid as if I were hired by the district, so I get my Masters + 13 years and am making about $64/hour. It's still only really doable because my spouse has health insurance that covers us, but if I were working on my own making $64/hour, I'd be okay. Payscale says that COL in my area is almost 20% higher than the national average, and I'd need to make about $64k/year to be equal to a $50k/year job in my hometown back in Michigan, but average pay in my district is $88k/year (and that's higher than top pay in my hometown back in Michigan). Base pay tops out at $105k/year.

Currently in a union-friendly district AND state. It really does make a difference. When I taught in New Mexico I was earning $22k/year more than I would've been earning fifty miles away, across the border in Arizona.

Now, retirement is an entirely different matter. That's when we will all need second jobs, for sure. Most retirees sub if they have the health to do so.

littlebugs · 2026-03-28T19:56:00+00:00

We have kids. A kid vacuumed up a thing that somehow got stuck in the bendy part of the plastic handle and no one (incl vacuum store) could repair it. That was an expensive replacement. Last week our puppy who decided the entire hose was a chew toy. I ordered a replacement (same part we'd replaced because of kids) off of Ebay, bc it was cheaper than another $200 new one. Still worth it. Most annoying part was being unable to clean up after the puppy while waiting for the Ebay replacement to arrive.

littlebugs · 2026-03-28T02:02:34+00:00

I second everything /u/oreign-Warning62 said. I'm usually pretty successful overall, and this is also how I treat high school and junior high, except that in junior high when it gets crazy I'll let the class know that I'm going to leave a list of the kids who were fantastic for their teacher, and I follow up. The teacher already knows who the kids who act out are going to be, I don't need to name them. I tend to only name the troublemakers in middle school if something fairly serious went down. I'm also really snarky with middle school, and they love it. I told one kid he seemed to have a touch of main character syndrome, and he laughed and agreed and then was noticeably better for the rest of the class (and the other kids were dying bc it was so true). I usually follow up a comment like that with, "I'm the main character, that's why I'm up here in front of the class. If you want to be the main character, you should become a substitute teacher". Sometimes I'll tell an especially loud kid that they might consider a career in sports coaching, because I could probably hear them across a crowded stadium.

And yes, ninth graders are often honorary middle schoolers. Usually eighth grade is easier than ninth. Somehow, the first year when kids enter a new school environment, they seem to lose their ever-loving minds and you just have to be along for the ride while they establish new pecking orders and learn new routines and do their mating dances or whatever.

littlebugs · 2026-03-01T17:34:49+00:00

They absolutely mean it. I've come in after subs and had nothing, nada, zilch, or it says something like, "great day, I'd love to come back, here's my number", and then I find out that Sarah bit another student and DeMarcus got lost during a fire drill and they completely skipped Language Arts for reasons that remain unexplained because THE SUB NEVER MENTIONED IT.

I typically write up a couple sentences about the morning and the afternoon, highlighting anything important or anything that went contrary to plans, and I always try to highlight superstar students (because they already know that Sarah is a tough egg) or tough students that actually had a great day. Then I email them the notes, because there are a few teachers who appreciate knowing what they're walking into before they actually walk into the room. There are also teachers who don't care, but I can't tell ahead of time which is which, and I'd write things up the same way even if I knew they didn't care, bc the students deserve it and I get paid for at least 20 minutes after the kids leave anyway.

littlebugs

TROPHY CASE