Friday, January 21, 2011

4 Sons On The Prairie: Managing the Pain

4 Sons On The Prairie: Managing the Pain: " Need chiropractor, traction, massage, accupunture! I was diagnosed with degenerative disc diseas..."

Managing the Pain

      Need chiropractor, traction, massage, accupunture!  
I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and my back is slowly deteriorating.  I've been dealing with this since college, but wasn't diagnosed until after Cody was born in 2003.  After Cody was born, I could barely walk and would drag one of my legs.
     It was then the doctor sent me for epidural shots and then physical therapy.  While the shots brought relief from the pain temporarily, I still looked like the hunchback dragging my limb behind me.  Then my doctor started talking....SURGERY!  It was at this point I decided to exhaust all my options before I had to go under the knife.
     In came Dr. Hiatt, my favorite doctor in the world!  I was a little sketchy about going to see a chiropractor, especially in believing that he could help me.  What did I have to lose?  Well, after many visits, I could walk normally and felt great!  I became a believer!  
     Here I am now, 7 years later, and while I've mostly been ok, I'm starting to go a little down hill.  Dr. Hiatt said at this point it's about managing the pain.  There's no cure, nothing to stop it's progress, it is a degenerative disease.  So, going to go back to doing yoga and maybe start pilates as a way of strengthing my stomach and back muscle in hopes that it slows the progression.  
     I try not to complain too much about it, but with 4 energetic and needy boys, some days are difficult.  They are however helpful and bring the all the heavy laundry baskets to the laundry room and bring me the basket of clean clothes to be folded.  
     Going to go ice up for a while! 
Later, Aims

 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

4 Sons On The Prairie: Homeschooling Resources

4 Sons On The Prairie: Homeschooling Resources: "So, homeschooling....when I use to visualize people who homeschooled, they were very religious. The women all wore long dresses, never..."

Homeschooling Resources

So, homeschooling....when I use to visualize people who homeschooled, they were very religious.  The women all wore long dresses, never cut their hair, and the family consisted of at least 12 kids.
Yes, I'm guilty of stereotyping....but boy was I wrong.  I was one of those people who thought that people who homeschooled their kids were off their rocker...until one day when I was forced to consider homeschooling as an option.  I won't go into the details of why, for everyone it's different,  but I also felt my oldest son disconnecting from me and I did not like it at all.


On my homeschool curriculum researching journey, and I call it a journey cause it felt physically and emotionally draining , I realized there was a plethora of  options.  Secular, non-secular, Charlotte Mason, Classical, online, parent-led, pieced together, boxed, unschooling, accredited, non-accredited....ahhh, what was the best fit for my family? 
The first year was not too bad, although I was ruling with an iron fist the first half of the year, I was terrified we would miss something.  I found as I began to relax, the kids relaxed, and the learning came a lot easier.  We did use a religious, boxed curriculum the first year because like I said, I was terrified I'd leave something out.  It was so-so.  The science and history were dry (text book led), the math was a spiral method and did not work well for my kids (homeschooling is a great way to discover how each child learns and taylor the curriculum accordingly). We finished the curriculum that year but I began my journey of researching for new learning resources for the next year.

This year, our 2nd, wowsers what a difference! I'm really happy with what I've chosen.  The history  and science are hands-on, and the history starts from the beginning of time instead of just concentrating on American history.  You mean there's more to the world than just the U.S.?  Reading, I don't have readers from a company that writes stories just for that purpose.  We use the classics.  Albeit they are kid versions, but nonetheless they have gotten my 9yr. old excited and wanting to read, yes wanting.  I talk with them about the books and we discuss the chapters.  They read at least a chapter a day and they record what they have read in their language arts binder.
Math....we use Math Mammoth, love love love it!  It's mastery based and there is a lot of mental math!

Anyway, I know homeschooling is NOT for everyone, but I'm happy our family has chosen homeschooling.  It has brought us closer and I'm learning, and re-learning right along with them.  And math, I'm thinking I might actually enjoy it this go-round....well, let's not get too crazy yet....
Here are some links of the different curriculum I've chosen in the past and the present! 
 Later Gators!  Aims

Curriculum we're using this year:

Classic stories for kids
More Classic stories for kids
Math Mammoth
First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease
R.E.A.L. Science and History Odyssey
Handwriting Without Tears

Last year:
BJU or Bob Jones University


p.s. we'll talk about the  latin curriculum  next time.....yes, I said latin :)



 

Monday, January 17, 2011

4 Sons On The Prairie: Confessions

4 Sons On The Prairie: Confessions: " Can you feel the warm breeze on your face...the salty air tickling your nose? Digging your toes in the hot sand and listening ..."

4 Sons On The Prairie: Cooking/Baking

4 Sons On The Prairie: Cooking/Baking: "Thank You E-mealz! You have been a life-saver for me time wise and financially! If you have been like me, staring at the p..."

4 Sons On The Prairie: Jake the Cow Dog?

4 Sons On The Prairie: Jake the Cow Dog?: "Hello, my name is Jake. I'm suppose to be a cow dog....what's a cow? I've just opened my eyes and everything is big and blurry.&..."

Jake the Cow Dog?

Hello, my name is Jake.  I'm suppose to be a cow dog....what's a cow?  I've just opened my eyes and everything is big and blurry.  I've been living in a kiddie pool with my brothers, sisters, and mom. 
 I'm not really sure what I'm suppose to be doing but I love to lay around all day and sleep, eat, sleep, eat some more, and snuggle with my family.  Sometimes people pick me up, UGH,  I'm pretty sure this guy had no idea what the heck he was doing. PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME!
Wowsers, I'm exhausted now, I think I'm gonna roll over and take a nap.....I hope those people leave me alone for a while....I wonder what adventures lie ahead for me....zzzzzzzzz.....
.

Total Pageviews