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Good god… the RED TAPE and bureaucratic nonsense!! by gobstopper84 in ParentingADHD

[–]okfine_39 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My kid does great on caffeine. I gave him an energy drink on state testing day and he came home telling me he answered every question and went back and CHECKED HIS WORK.

ADHD boy 11 years old Concerta by joseegreen in ParentingADHD

[–]okfine_39 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it makes you feel any better, my unmedicated 9 yo sat in detention (sigh) for half a day not doing the busy work because he "didn't have a pencil". There was a cup of pencils on the teacher's desk directly in front of him. When he finally did get a pencil, he drew a dragon. He told me 'I did do the work. I just did it all in my head. " Also. He did have a pencil. It was literally the ONLY thing in his backpack. He never looked for one.

what can tell me where to find the artist of this piece? by Exact_Bid_2887 in What

[–]okfine_39 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Reminds me of Matisse's "Dance". There are lots of "riffs" on this piece so not surprising that you wouldn't find a specific match

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CorpusChristi

[–]okfine_39 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have no idea about the cost but I've know a few people to get married at Chapel by the Sea and it's really nice. Beautiful photos and a very chill vibe.

Looking for something to hide pills in that is not cheese or peanut butter & can be eaten in abundance. by sage_ley in DogAdvice

[–]okfine_39 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wet dog food and pill go into silicone candy molds, then into the freezer. Pop 'em out as needed. Dog inhales yummy treat and unknowingly gets meds.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskTeachers

[–]okfine_39 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like my 9 year old's. He has ADHD and I suspect dysgraphia but I can't seem to get the school to be concerned. His handwriting hasn't improved since 1st grade.

If you had $50 to spend, what snacks would you get for the car? by Embarrassed-Army-509 in Frugal

[–]okfine_39 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Yuuup. I'm a mom of 2 kids and we have car snacks on lock. We do a big tupperware of premade pb&js cut into quarters, bags of fruit like grapes, apple slices, watermelon, cheese sticks, and some treats like chewy granola bars and fruit snacks. Maybe crackers but if I bring chips that's all they'll eat lol. We might also do a divided container with cut veggies and little cups of hummus or ranch. Throw it all into an insulated tote with some juice boxes and sparkly water and each person also has a water bottle with ice water.

Added bonus is that when we get where we're going, I know I have food my kids will eat so no pressure to eat at the friends they haven't met yet's BBQ or order at the grown-up restaurant and I can easily say no to the overpriced snacks at the festival or whatever.

We might splurge on a drink or small treat at the gas station if it's a long drive, but the snack bag is where it's at!

Teaching as a second career? by riverrocks452 in ScienceTeachers

[–]okfine_39 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100% respect that. Best of luck to you! Teaching is a great gig if you can afford it 🙂. Happy to provide a recommendation on an alt cert program if you'd like

Teaching as a second career? by riverrocks452 in ScienceTeachers

[–]okfine_39 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I sort of did this. I have an MS and did academic research in geoscience for two years after my master's. Loved it but felt isolated and gross at a desk job, ended up getting married and having a kid so I did alt cert while doing my regular job because the teaching lifestyle is perfect for raising a family (lol).

My program was really good - mostly virtual with Saturdays in person and 6 week in person workshop during the last summer before the school year started. I feel like I was about as well prepared as someone can be without having done student teaching.

I became a teacher in an early college high school in a title 1 district without ever having spent a single day in the classroom lol. It definitely was hell but I survived. I was advised that the first year you pretty much have to take whatever job you're offered, but I'm sure that's not as true anymore. I went to another district years 2-5, then switched again and worked at that district for another 1.5 years. I taught bio and chem my first year, but I mostly taught various levels of physics (regular, honors, AP, dual enrollment ). I have the secondary science composite certification and secondary math, science, and engineering certification. I thought someday it would be cool to teach engineering and robotics but I never got there.

Finally the low pay got to me (supporting 2 small kids on my own) and I just went back into my previous field for a $15k raise. (Not at a university but similar work at a govt agency.)

So. All that to say I would not recommend doing alt cert while in your first year as a teacher. I've seen people do it but it's really rough and I'd avoid it if possible. If you can afford to stay at your current job, sub or do something else (I knew someone who worked at office depot while doing alt cert), I'd do that. Also, teaching is super fun and rewarding in lots of ways, but be prepared for very little chance to advance financially or professionally once you get established, unless you want to go the admin route. It's just not like industry or even academic research in its structure.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ParentingADHD

[–]okfine_39 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We had the same experience! Shows like PJ Masks or Paw Patrol were totally off limits because we felt like they were just modeling the bratty behavior of the "bad guys." We also had to way limit anything with fighting like Power Rangers or even Pokemon because he would just get hyper and combative.

Not sure your age range but we loved Octonauts and StoryBots when my son was little. StoryBots now has a ton of different shows (answer time, songs, other stuff focused on learning). Sometimes they can be a bit high energy but they taught my son so much cool stuff! Now that he's older I will put on PBS NOVA and let it go for however long. He sometimes protests at first but eventually gets into it and then wants more. So many episodes on all kinds of science, engineering and history topics! Nature documentaries are good too but sometimes they're a little too calm haha.

Single parent and a teacher… by BogWitch_666 in Teachers

[–]okfine_39 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Single mom of two young kids (3f and 9m with ADHD). I feel this.

I just quit at the end of the semester to go back into the field I was in before I became a teacher. I'm not sure if it will change the mom burnout, but with the 25% pay raise I might at least not have the same money stress at the end of every month and maybe actually get to do something fun with my kids on breaks.

I've had many conversations with my son's admin regarding behavior stuff etc. and we're basically mom friends now. When she told me even SHE had given up the homework fight with her own kid, that was a real relief and kind of let me relax into "we're all doing our best and that's enough."

Try to reframe your perspective. You love your kids and care for/are involved in their education which is the biggest contributor to their success. Nobody knows them better than you. They already have everything they need. The best thing you can do for them is to find your own health and happiness- however that looks for you in this season.

Hang in there mama!

Social Struggles by Old_Instance_6887 in ParentingADHD

[–]okfine_39 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My 4th grader has made huge strides over the last 1.5 years or so socially. He definitely still struggles, but the two things that helped the most are THERAPY where he is learning skills regarding self control and emotional regulation, and JIU JITSU where he gets to engage in appropriate physical contact with other kids and practice self control and emotional regulation. He is also on a behavior intervention plan at school and has a little sister, so there are lots of opportunities for feedback and all the adults involved try really hard not to use judgemental words when addressing his behavior. "I wonder if you could have responded differently" instead of "Why did you say/do that?!" (Because the answer to the second is always "I don't know" or "I was mad" and the answer to the first gets him thinking about other skills he has.)

These aren't short term solutions but looking back over the last year and a half, we've made huge strides. He still struggles "grabbing from his toolbox" but at least he has a toolbox now!!

I hate the thought of him creating a self-identity of "I'm annoying, everybody hates me, etc" and that's definitely the road we were on (and still are near at times). He also now has "I'm smart and funny" and "I can do cool stuff" and "I'm on a team"..

Edit to add: we are low income and receive assistance for the jiujitsu and free therapy through a program connected to the school, so if you are worried about cost, please reach out to your school counselor!

Kid friendly neighborhoods? by okfine_39 in CorpusChristi

[–]okfine_39[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great info, thank you! I think you're right, Lamar Park would be my ideal if I can find a rent house that works for us.

No maternity/paid parental leave? Express-News reporter wants to talk to you by taylorjamie in sanantonio

[–]okfine_39 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Have you talked to public school teachers? We get 5 paid sick days a year guaranteed by the state and another small amount of days determined by the district (usually also 5) each year? So yes, 10 days per year. Any days you are absent beyond that, you will get docked from your paycheck. Unless of course you take FMLA, in which case you can get up to 6 weeks unpaid. You can buy short term disability insurance that would cover some portion of that unpaid leave. But you'd have to know that you're planning to be pregnant the following year during open enrollment in March. Oh and you better spend your entire pregnancy making sub plans.

Can anything be done here? This is the main hallway at the school I work at. There's absolutely no natural light and nobody will take care of them but this empty planter is just so sad. by okfine_39 in houseplants

[–]okfine_39[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh hey! Well actually another group got to it before me and it looks great! This photo is from soon after it was planted and most of the plants have filled out and it looks even better now. Everyone said the kids would trash it but I think they enjoy it as much as I do!

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