Mommy Notes

Math and Slavery

mommynotes — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:23:46 +0000

This actually happened in my county. I was appalled to hear about this going home with 8 year olds and very shocked it would have gone home. At our school in the same county each grade has the same coarse work. If third grade is leaning multiplication they were all doing the same worksheets and tests. This teacher did not follow proper protocol. This is in appropriate on every level. There was no social or moral context to these questions. This teacher or any one else that approved this assignment to go home should be fired.

This has made the local, state, and now national media. I saw it mentioned on Fox News, Parents magazine and now the Talk, a new celebrity talk show. It is just absolutely appalling and I really do hope that this teacher will be fired. The slave question was bad enough but there was a question about how many beatings Fredrick Douglas received and that is outrageous. I hope this national attention will put pressure on the school and county to fire all involved.

Girls and Puberty

mommynotes — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:07:44 +0000

Well, over Christmas I’ve noticed some tiny changes in my 9 1/2 year old daughter. She is in the early stages of puberty. Before I can wrap my brain around all this she brings a letter home that her school is going to be watching a video on sex education. Wow! We’ve had numerous discussions on puberty and body changes for her since she was 3. However, I have not delved into the world of sex education yet and thought I had a little more time. Now I’m reading books on how to approach the subject. A friend recommended a book by Kevin Leman, called a chicken’s guide to talking turkey about sex. I am impressed just by reading the first chapter. I wasn’t sure if it would take a bury your head in the sand approach as a good number of Christians and adults seem too but it is very blunt and I am getting very helpful parenting advice.

My parents never really said anything about puberty or sex other than “don’t have sex before your married.” So when I became a parent I spoke with my husband and we decided we were going to be open, honest and delve into this as a family conversation. I want her to be comfortable with her body through these changes and understand it’s normal. I want her to feel she can come to us at any time and ask any thing she wants. I feel like as a parent you need to research, learn and grow. This is a topic that is so new to me as far as teaching my children so I want to get it right.

Almost everyone I have spoken with said their parents never said anything about sex or puberty we all learned it from TV or our friends. I want my relationship with my daughers to be different. So I am very nervous but I will it’s important and hopefully it will get easier when my now five year old goes through this in a four or five years.

Our school allows us to watch the video they are showing before our children will view it so I am going to do that. If it lines up with our values and what I would be discussing with her then she can view it. I definitely do not want her getting wrong information from her friends.

I cannot believe my first born is old enough to be learning and going through this already. Time flies so quickly and she’ll be graduating high school before I know it.

Auditory Processing Disorder or something like that

mommynotes — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 02:37:00 +0000

I had a meeting with my oldest daughter’s school. She has difficulty following multistep directions which is reflected in her math scores. Her grades are straight As so she may not have APD but she has symptoms of it. Her school has come up with a plan to get her to advocate for herself and follow threw on directions. As of now her learning has not been affected but I do get concerned as she gets older. Parents I say this all the time you have to be observant of your kids and reach out and ask for help. I can have her tested for confirmation of this disorder but they are doing what they would do to help her whether she has this or not so I’m going to wait. Our doctor said it usually isn’t covered by insurance and is rather costly. We are racking up bills for PT so this will have to wait. Know if your child has this or issues with following multi-step directions that they are still smart and creative and talented. They just have to work extra hard to follow threw with routines. I am thankful she is grasping her materials at school and she has phenomenal teachers.

Dentists

mommynotes — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 02:24:25 +0000

I heard recently that a friend had a popular pediatric dentist that was filling children’s teeth with fillings that had no cavities all due to the economy and the all mighty dollar. We had a horrible experience with the first dentist we took my oldest too. She had just had surgery so she freaked out when we went in. The dentist was so rude to her and called her names in front of us. She also said my princess had three cavities without doing x-rays. I found a another dentist that I had heard great things about and we had a very pleasent experience. My princess had NO cavities. Can you imagine if I let that horrible woman strap my baby down give her happy gas and fill teeth that did not need to be filled. Parents get a second opinion and be your kids advocate. If you aren’t, no one will be!

Couponing

mommynotes — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:02:36 +0000

I have always couponed but now I’m getting them to work for me instead of saving a few dollars here and there. Today I had two coupons for Oral B tooth brushes so I got them for free. The store had them marked down to 2 for $2. It is just recently I started getting free items. I now have a small stock pile of laundry detergent, tooth paste, toilet paper etc. I look at the local grocery store putting detergent or toilet paper on sale and I think I wish every knew if you just look around and clip coupons you could save so much money. I will never pay over $ 5 laundry detergent or over $3 for toilet paper. When you use coupons and sale prices you can save so much money.

Physical Therapy

mommynotes — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 03:48:07 +0000

My oldest daughter is going through PT. To think I almost became a PT. I could be saving a lot of money if I had. She has one leg shorter than the other as well as her hip so PT is supposed to loosen up her hamstrings and heal cord. Praying it will help her!

Auditory Processing Disorder

mommynotes — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:34:37 +0000

From the time my little pookie started preschool which was 2, we were asked if she had hearing problems. She has passed all of her hearing tests even the one the school gave her a few months ago. Her grades are all A’s and an occasional B. Her test scores are through the roof. She exceeded above the national average on every area but math. Math she met the expectation on. She baffled her teacher this year because she takes almost no info in through her hearing and 98% visual learner. She is above grade level in reading and writing. She was almost placed in gifted but didn’t quite pass their test required to get in. I spoke with her pediatrician about it and she said Pookie may have a disorder called Auditory Processing Disorder. I am not going through the school to hopefully have her tested. It is very frustrating year after year to hear teachers ask if she has hearing issues. This would explain so much if she does have this. To have her tested I will have to have the teacher bring her up on SST. Hopefully, we can get some answers. While she is doing well now, I’m concerned about upper grades. She had a very patient teacher this year who worked with her but some teachers may not be so patient and understanding with 30 kids. She absolutely cannot follow multi-step directions. You physically have to stand in front of her and repeat each thing one at a time. My four year however can get a list of instructions audibly and follow them with no issues. Praying they will still test her since her grades and test scores are so high.

Growing up

mommynotes — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:07:49 +0000

My oldest daughter just turned 9 and her pediatrician recommended a great book about your body and puberty. It’s by Lynda Madison and part of the American Girl Collection. The book is The Caring and Keeping of You Collection. The only part I did not care for is the eating disorder section. Otherwise, I think it is a great book through a kids point of view on how your body changes and ways to take care of your body. I have talked to Pookie since she was little about body changes but it would be good for her to ease her mind about the changes that will be going on.

Gluten Sensitivity

mommynotes — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 02:14:00 +0000

I’m on a journey of researching Gluten sensitivities. I don’t believe my daughter has Celiacs Disease but she has so many of the symptoms of gluten sensitivity. One on the list was unexplained anemia. Since she was 1 years old when I started her on regular foods her levels have always been 10.5 or lower. She has been tested for every blood disease and no explanation as to why she has anemia. Shes had chronic sinus infections this is another symptom. Now I have cut some of the gluten from her diet by accident. She and her sister are lactose intolerant too so I have been looking closely at labels for years. I finally found waffles without dairy and they just happen to have no gluten. The real kicker is she has her third UTI and it is severe. She was vomiting because the pain was so bad the other night. My friend emailed me and said I should check into this. We are now seeing a pediatric urologist. This is a new journey for me but I want my baby well and it would also explain when she eats certain things she starts complaining her tummy hurts all the time.

If you have children or experience with gluten sensitivity, please comment. This is a new journey for our family!

Defund Planned Parenthood

mommynotes — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:03:01 +0000

If you have read any of my posts, you will know I’m pro-life. Here is a thought provoking commercial for defunding planned parenthood.