The Morning

Last year, or maybe the year before who can remember, I made door hangers for the girls' chores. They had a morning routine and a bedtime routine. I can't find a picture of ours anywhere, but I got the idea from here and they pretty much looked like that.

They were awesome. Little Bit's were pictorial and Sweetheart's was a list. They could carry them with them to the bathroom and back to their bedroom. But, they weren't working anymore.

• First of all, they had the routine down and didn't look at them anymore.
• Secondly, Sweetheart has added a few things to her morning routine (washing face, deodorant, etc.) and needed a new list as she couldn't remember to do everything every day.
• Thirdly, they need to NOT be in the same room at the same time. When they are both making their beds, it turns into playing really quickly.

So we ran around last week taking pictures of every single part of the girls' morning routine. I printed the pictures on cheap photo paper and cut them out. Then I glued them down a LONG strip of construction paper. They are hanging in the hall right outside their bedroom. You can't see them from the living room. I'm too lazy to take a picture and upload it, etc. but here are some of the shots:

I have Sweetheart starting in the bathroom and Little Bit beginning in the bedroom. It works well so far. I hope I'm teaching Sweetheart a logical order to things (you get dressed BEFORE you fix your hair) that she can continue to use in her life.

And no, I don't make Little Bit clean the whole room. She can read "the" but can't read "your" so that's why I worded it that way. She knows just to clean her stuff!

However, now that they are actually doing all the things they NEED to do in the mornings, it is taking longer. Oh well. It's important.

So there you go Carrie.

My next step, after they are well established on this new routine, will be to help Sweetheart think about how she could shorten her morning work by planning ahead the night before. (pick up room quickly before bed, have clothes picked out, etc.) She likes having time to play before school so maybe that will help.

In the Dark

It's been nearly a year since we got rid of our TV service. This weekend we went to "the trailer" (my parent's country home, if you are new here) and they have TV there. The main thing we watched, besides football and some cartoons, was Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I wanted to watch that because it was about a homeschool family from Texas. OH how I wanted to see the beautifully done, totally wonderful homeschool space they would create.

But they never mentioned it. They DID, however, make mention of the girls liking "fashion" about 8,000 times. If you were watching, there was an alphabet on display in the old home where I assume they did some of their homeschool work, however at the new house they never even showed a room that would have been for homeschooling.

They did build a runway in the upstairs hallway so there's always that.

At least I don't need to be jealous of the awesome homeschool room now.

Anyway, MY POINT is that I was a bit shocked by some of the commercials that were shown during EMHE.

Here's one example: (don't watch if your kiddos are hanging over your shoulder. I unchecked "show related videos" but it still was so I'm changing it to a link.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoRbDm644E8&feature=related


Um. Wow. That used to be p*rn.

Also there were ads for Desperate Housewives which were inappropriate. That hasn't changed in a year's time.

And then today I read this summary of the new fall season.

Maybe it's because we've been away, but I'm not used to having to change the channel during commercials. Do you watch this stuff in front of your kids? Even if you are watching an OK show like EMHE...the commercials alone are not acceptable to me.

So, you guys with TV service, do you just DVR everything? Wait until the kids have gone to bed? Only watch cartoons? What? How do you deal with all the blatant smut on TV today?

Is is just me? Am I in the dark or have things gotten pretty bad?

I Have Some Questions

I'm having some issues with Sweetheart (age 11) and I need some help. I'm going to give you a quick run-down and then let you fire some suggestions to me. What I need are large heading suggestions of things I can look into-not specific strategies really because believe me, I have tried just about everything I have up my largely trained educational sleeve.

She cannot follow directions. What I mean is, the great majority of the time, one thing that I told her to do gets done and nothing else. I'm not talking about of a list of 5 things to go do--sometimes I just say 2 things and she only gets one done.

Is this an auditory processing disorder? See what I mean about big headings? Where do I begin to research?

And yes, I've given pictorial prompts, written lists, organized her areas multiple times, etc.

She isn't hyperactive. It isn't ADHD. Could it be ADD? I don't know....I'm not sure I've ever seen an actual case of it. It's so over-diagnosed it's hard to tell.

She is quite flighty. She flits from one thing to the next when she does have several things to do she does them in a really unorganized and inefficient manner. I KNOW. She's my daughter. But I really think we have an issue here.

A friend of mine has a daughter Sweetheart's age who has a lot of trouble with reading. Her mom had her screened and it was determined that she has trouble with her vestibular system (that stems from balance issues in the brain) and it manifests itself in learning disabilities. Hmm. I had never heard of the vestibular system but the therapy involves a balance board, etc. Interesting. The comment that got me thinking was the screener said her daughter had "a disorganized brain."

Ha! I don't need any screening to tell me THAT about my Sweetheart! But the thing is, she's a good reader. Math does give issues....as it did for me. But really I wouldn't say she suffers from any learning disabilities (although there are some in our family).

But the friend said it made so much sense to her to re-train the brain instead of just teach coping strategies. This really got me thinking.

Maybe it's "just  her." She's very artistic. Is she doomed to being one of those types who walks around with a paintbrush unaware that it's dripping everywhere and her socks don't match? I don't mind that but it would be so much easier on her if she could complete directed tasks independently!

Maybe it's really something I could fix.

Where, oh friends, do I begin researching? I need help....

I'm In Two Places At Once!

I finally figured out how to do that! At least in the virtual world, anyway.

I have a re-post over at Mrs. Fuentes' homeschooling blog today. Did you know she had a homeschooling blog too? You've probably read my post, but if you are so inclined, go check out her other posts there.

I'll be back later today with more exciting drivel!!!

Some Drivel Needs Dishing

I have a Facebook account. It is filled with (mostly) real life friends and family and church members. Most of you know my blog is sort of a secret to those real life friends and family and church members. A few know. I like it that they don't know because I can talk a little more freely about things. Because of that, I don't advertise my blog on Facebook.

But.

I do get real life feedback from those friends and family and church members on my Facebook status lines. And they made me doubt myself like... really.

"Brenda, you must not do anything but clean the house." (Note: stop talking about what I'm cleaning on Facebook)

"You must have the cleanest house in the world!" (Note: REALLY stop talking about housework on Facebook)

***crickets chirping***

Realize I don't have anything else to say.

So WHAT is a girl to do??? Why, unload my drivel HERE on my blog!!! Where there is comment moderation!!!!

"Brenda, all you do is clean the house." DELETE!

"Brenda, who cares what you ate for lunch?" DELETE!

I'M KIDDING!!! (I don't moderate comments!) :)

So, in case you need to know:

*I had a salad for lunch.

And I am angry hungry now.

*I completely lost my patience with Sweetheart this morning. I feel really rotten about it but I had had it up to here (waving hand FAR above head). Yelling isn't productive. Must pray and think about a solution. And I have some questions for you all. Maybe tomorrow.

*We've pulled out the fall and winter clothes to take stock. They are everywhere and it isn't pretty.

*My dining room table is never clean. I paid bills on it Sunday. Or I'm sewing at it. Or someone is playing play dough on it. If it's clean and lovely, it means we aren't getting anything done.

*I have realized that people who always seem to have really clean, picked up houses don't really DO anything. No hobbies. No homeschooling. No sewing or crafts. That must be the secret of a clean house. Just watch TV and don't do anything. Hmm.

*Speaking of TV, I am really glad we don't have one. (TV service, I mean--we watch movies) I really am. I would have sworn on my grandmother's grave a few years ago that Sweetheart did not watch too much TV like OTHER children. But now that we don't have one, I realize just how much she did watch TV when she was younger and all I have to say is yikes.

I really hope that doesn't have anything to do with the patience problem I had this morning and the questions I need to ask you later. Because there is precious little I can do to correct her brain development in her preschool years.

*We took pictures of the girls doing their chores today for a new chore chart thing I'm doing and I'm in a few shots and all I have to say is I really wish I had Photoshop because I have NO ETHICAL DILEMMA with trimming mommy's waistline a bit and touching up that double chin.

*I peeled ONE potato last week and shoved the peel down the sink instead of throwing it away like S has told me to. I usually peel my potatoes into a Wal-Mart sack and toss 'em. But it was just one lousy potato so I gambled.

And I bet you've already guessed I lost.

S had to take the sink apart and get all the potato out and now it leaks and he has to rebuild the p trap. Who loves me?

See? Carbs really are bad.