You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Watcha Doing? Version 2015
KimeyDiann wrote: "Wow, this has been a busy thread! Congrats Pragya!
Keep up the hard work Peggy, you are almost there!
Stephanie, those pics are amazing. Where is this cavern at?
Pragya wrote: "If we have thr..."
Love the caverns, Stephanie.
Thanks, Kimey. Yes, of course, the emergencies function, the wards are open. I only meant the daily outpatient department.
Peggy, homeschooling seems to be a growing movement. I think it really depends on where you live, some areas have large numbers of home schoolers while other areas have less. Each state also has its own rules regarding homeschooling. I live in Pennsylvania and its gotten easier to do it here since i started 4 years ago.
With so much technology snd the interney I think it had reslly enabled to give a homeschool situation to give as good if not better education. Correct me of O'm wrong Tasha
We got about half our corn pkanted the first week of May. Last week we had a frost but got lucky the corn was on at 2 leaf growth which can survive a frost. Frost advisory tonught and Friday night. Its all 4 leaf now frost will kill. So fingers crossed we stay warm enough for no frost or scattered patchy frost. I was just thinking if I have to re buy that seed, should still be enough fertilizer in ground for replant still. But seed alone if it should come to that will equal approxinately 400 audible credits. Personally I'd rather buy audivle credits than replant seed I already planted, but time will tell.
As much as I've complained about the ridiculous amount of rocks that have had and still have to be picked, it almost seems a blessing that we been tied up picking rock preventing gettig the rest planted
Here, the hospitals don't close, but they basically "shut down". That means that no new or ongoing treatment happens. Nursing staff basically maintain the status quo over the weekend. There's emergency care with doctors on call, but there are no pt's, ot's, etc. When my mom had her strokes, it was very frustrating for us on the weekends. There'd be nobody around except for the nurses who administered her meds and monitored her status. Come Monday, there'd be 9 people standing around her bed reviewing what had happened over the weekend, assessing, and revising treatment plan. All I could think was God help you if you were admitted on a Friday night.
Even when I had my knee replacement, the only staff on the ward on Saturday and Sunday were nurses and LPN's. The doctor didn't even stop by. I made a fuss on Sunday and asked to be discharged. Why lie in that bed not even being assessed when I can recuperate better at home?
Perhaps that's a similar situation for Pragya.
Travis of NNY wrote: "With so much technology snd the interney I think it had reslly enabled to give a homeschool situation to give as good if not better education. Correct me of O'm wrong Tasha"You are completely right on. We use the internet/tech so much for so many things. It has opened things up so much.
Good luck with that frost tonight, Travis. We are feeling some cold here too in PA. I turned off the air and we have the windows open.
Home schooling is growing in the UK too especially primary school age because there aren't enough places. In the boating community it seems quite popular but I guess that comes down to logistics and the fact people move around frequently and don't fit in to a catchment area. Like with actual teachers, some parents will be great while others not. I wouldn't have got far being homeschooled- both my parents hated school and left age 15. They stopped being able to help with homework when I got to secondary school. some things I wish we'd learnt at school are budgeting for rent and bills, understanding mortgages and pensions, stress management, human rights, politics and voting. I'm sure there are more.hospitals work here the same as you mentioned Janice. Open, ran by nurses with some emergency doctors on. no operations or outpatient appointments, just emergency stuff.
Sarah, lots of good stuff you mention that I also wish I'd learned about more in school. Just balancing a bank account ledger - hello. What's up with the disassociation between schooling and "real life"?
I think home schooked kids end up better at independant learning though. Unlike regular school there is no one to help you. Yes your parents, but what I mean is there aren't any kids to copy homework or ask for an answer when you get stumped. You have no choice but to learn how to research or study to find the answer because you are in a grade by yourself. Most home schooled kids, in fact there has only been one time I've seen the kids end up dumber than a box of rocks, but I don't thinj they were schooled as much as kept home to work on the farm. But most of the time home schooled kids are super smart. At least book smart. There were some kids who came to school once a year to take the state tests who about hid in the corner, but it would be like anyone who one day a year got put in a class in a different school. It's an uncomfortable experience. Those kids knew rverything though. Probably all would have been valdictorian worthy. Same with my wife and siblings. They have all excelled in whatever occupation they have gone ibto. Not saying they are rich or presidents of conpanies I just mean whatever they chose to do they quickly become one of the best at it. My wife did a 7 year doctorate program, 4 years undergrad 3 for the doctorate normally, she did it in 6 years with and average gpa of like 3.98 or sonething. Several 3.9 and 4.0 semesters. She at home never listened to a teacher lecture for endless hours, they basically were given assignments and it was up tobthem to do the work. Obviously they could ask if they were stumped but most times they had to research to find the answers. They actually had to learn not just play the system. If you do it right you can really work public school. Public school has to keep kids moving on and they want good scores to look good. New testing policies have made schools look pretty bad but I've seen some of these questions and they are confusing for even the best of students. My friend was an honor roll/high honor roll student untik he started slacking. Thenthrough some series of testing theybdetermined that multiple concussions throughout childhood had given him a learning disorder.. No he just learned how to manipulate the system and went to remedial class where the teachers did most of the work for him so he didn't have to actually work. You'd just have a hard time manipulating the system with home schooling unless your parent really liked doing school work and did it all for you. But that would defeat the ourpose of home schooling since most peopme would have better things to do with their time than do their chikdrens work all day. In those cases I think there would jist be a no schooling situation.
No frost. Phew. Well our 11 chicks finally came in. Rather than getting bin run my wife ordered couple week old chicks so all hens since the roosters would be killed anyway there is no sense in buying young sex unknown chicks. Drives me nuts she bought 11. I hate odd numbers. Originally she ordered 8 easter egg chicks. I think these ones are supposed to lay green and blue but we'll have to waitto see what colors we get. I'm partial to Rhode Island Reds which lay brown eggs. She orderes 3 of them. Not 2 or 4 like I would have preferred to keep even numbers. But I'm not ocd at all. The dog is really not happy with a tub full of chicks by his couch/bed and is disgusted that we won't let him eat them. But it is funny to watch him watch them. And he didn't eat them while we slept. He also slept in a different room rather than on his couch. Soon enougj they'll be out in the coop. We have a huge chicken coop as last year we bought a play set and after they had it set up my wife found they had given us the demo from the yard when we paid for a new one. However it all went down they overcharged us originally since we bought it during a sale and then gave us the demo. In the end my wife got a $1000 chicken coop delivered for like $200. This saved them refunding us actual money and knocked the price down on top. In reality we paid full price for the coop and got the playset on sale at demo price but however it all went down the money had all left our pocket and everyone seemed happy in the end. For 10 months we've owned a brand new empty chicken coop. Although my son did use it as a play house. Perfect size for a kid. About a foot too short for me too really get comfortable in.
11 is my favorite number! that's pretty funny. I would order in even numbers though too. I plant plants in odd numbers though, at least that's what all the gardeners say to do. I love your thoughts on homeschooling travis. I agree with what you say. Of course, I'm partial to homeschooling but I feel my kids are really smart. They learn things quickly and are constantly learning from the world around them. They are learning "real life" stuff everyday. I see home shooled kids everyday who are so creative and smart it is impressive. My friend's son applied to Berkely School of Music in Boston this year and got in, he'll be starting in the fall. A friend's friend has a daugher in a NY Culinary Institute. Another is starting a local college next year. These kids are getting in with home school educations. Both my kids are very creative. My son loves to write and spends lots of time writing. My daughter is creative (artsy) but loves math type stuff as well. Because we learn without a curriculum they learn things at a different pace than the schooled kids but it's amazing what they learn from life and the things around them. I'm constantly impressed with them. :)
My sister in law went culinary as well and is now a pastry chef in maggios or maggianos little italy in nashville. They have restaurants all over the US.
Travis of NNY wrote: "No frost. Phew. Well our 11 chicks finally came in. Rather than getting bin run my wife ordered couple week old chicks so all hens since the roosters would be killed anyway there is no sense in bu..."LOL Travis. Easter Eggers are fun. You get Araucanas? The problem I have with them is that while you get a blue or green egg, you get one every 4 days or so instead of every day. RIRs are nice and friendly but our ones went broody a lot, and they were crossed with Isa Browns so they "wore out" quickly, as they are bred for pumping eggs as quickly possible, so die early.
My favourites now are Australorps. Never had one go broody, brown eggs like RIRs, lay nearly as much as the red hens, and pretty (even prettier) than Araucanas. And so fluffy and hugable. But grumpier than RIRs and Isa Browns. I mean... look at them... cuties
The one scratching her face is a RIR cross from the amount of red in her chest.
I've always wanted chickens so I'm jealous Travis. I'd definitely buy them in even numbers. we have a bank holiday here in the UK this weekend which means craziness on the canals.All the hire boaters will be out drunk, crashing in to things, being loud and abusing, and generally annoying. Oh joy. way too many stag dos take to the canals all dressed as sailors or pirates. we won't be moving our boat this weekend so we won't get stuck in any traffic jams. rant over.
Is there irony in my BIL being home schooled only to become a high school teacher. Always so confusing to oroperly use irony
Oh and my BIL is officially running for president of the United States. You can check him out on facebook for sure and I'm pretty sure youtube. I think hes a moron and won't be voting for him but it's Keith D Josephs for President 2016 I believe if you want to check him out. His big thing is education. I'm not promoting him but he is an official candidate on the ballot so feel free to check him out if you so choose
Love the photo, Rusalka!That's pretty neat, Travis! The presidential elections are what I pay any attention to in regards to politics:)
It is a lot cooler here today. The high is only supposed to be 59F (15C) but tomorrow is supposed to be 74F (23C)..our weather here is on drugs ;)
I think today will be perfect to gets some cleaning done and more than 50 pages read in my book :) I've only been managing 50 pages at a time because it is quite boring..I think that is why I gave up on Kathy Reichs a long time ago...her books have been quite boring at the beginning..
I studied the homeschooling option 3 years ago and I think is a great option. I know it could have worked for us in different circumstances. In Uruguay is not an option, since it's not legal. School is mandatory, so I never even thought about it. When we moved to the US 4 years ago we had 3 kids at school, in K, 3rd and 6th grade. They only spoke a few words in English. We moved in the middle of the year (since the school year in Uruguay finishes in December) and the started to go to school only in February. By the end of the year my son in K could understand English, and was starting to speak, but he couldn't read any of his sight words. In the summer I kind of home schooled them. I was actually already doing it after school. We worked hard to learn English and to go over many gaps because of the different curriculum, etc.
And it really worked. Those 3 months were really fruitful. That was when I though home schooling could be an option, but I finally decided against it. I think I would have done it from the beginning, "adding" one kid at a time, but all the kids at once looked like more than I could accomplish. It looked too challenging, at least for me. The truth is that I have permanently had a baby at home in the last 16 years (with all the work that means), and my life is so chaotic as it is right now...
My kids only start school in Kinder, though. And I can say I home school the little ones in preschool age. They generally start school knowing already a lot of stuff, probably more that they would learn in a preschool. I have 2 of those now (+ the baby).
Wow that is wild that some hospitals close down or have minimal staff. Our hospital I work at is open all the time, surgery's to X-rays happen all the time. On night shift at 3am we send people to the OR all the time.
My sister is a teacher so needless to say we don't really talk about schooling/homeschooling, we have very different opinions!Sandra, my first languages were Russian & Ukranian and I learned English from nursery school (that's what they called it so many years ago!) and sesame street. I was born here but my parents were immigrants. Yeah, I'm sure choas reigns in your house! I give you a lot of credit. :)
Rusalka, I love that your chickens are in the house!
Yeah our previous rir died wuick but pumped out like 8-9 eggs a week and the one gave double yolk eggs a couple times a week. That one lasted maybe a year. Not sure on easter eggers have to ask the mrs. Our longest lasting chicken was black with blue sparkles. Not sure breed off hand. Gave a small white egg anout 5-6 a week. That one died just last summer but we never had cooped it it just roamed free. Eventually we just nevwr got eggs as she wpuld lay them random places like fo to bale hay and have 2 dozen rotten eggs in the baler
We started homeschooling my 3rd grader because we were out of options. My son was getting so frustrated at school that he was shutting down. He would refuse to talk or do the work and actually was having full-fledged meltdowns. He was literally miserable. My very smart son was failing simply because of behavior and not ability. Our days are so much easier now and he can work at his own pace instead of everything timed and drilled. My state (Georgia) has very lenient homeschool guidelines and the transition was pretty painless.My other two still attend public school and are doing great. I know many people who homeschool for lots of reasons. One lady I work with, her son is a motor cross racer and travels all over the country for races. So homeschool is really his only option. He does an online program.
Tasha☺ wrote: "Wow that is wild that some hospitals close down or have minimal staff. Our hospital I work at is open all the time, surgery's to X-rays happen all the time. On night shift at 3am we send people..."Those services are provided here too, but on an emergency basis. Certainly, if someone comes in on a Saturday night with a broken leg, they'll get x-rays. Or if a child bursts an appendix at 3am, that child will get surgery at that time too. But x-rays, surgery and other similar services are not scheduled for the weekends. Nor will there be any pt treatments, ot treatments, assessments etc.
My wife is a PT and is on call every 6 weeks. Basically if a patient is on meducaid or is it medicare I can't remember. Whihever is for the elderly. Anyway in order for them to cover the expense they must get the required PT. That is the only time amd she gets called in maybe 2 times a year
Sarah, I have just heard that the planned UK rail strike on Bank Holiday Monday and Tuesday has been called off so you shouldn't have any problems getting into work :)
I meant to mention that I love baby chicks. I can visualize your dog watching them and wanting to eat them but knowing he's not allowed. The constant cheep-cheep probably had him searching out a quieter space to sleep.There was a chick hatchery across the street from my dad's gas station in the town where I grew up. My school classroom got a tour through it one day. Crates and crates of little baby chicks making a loud and constant din was about all I remember of it.
I recall getting a number of chicks (can't remember how many) a number of years back. There was something wrong with one chick and I wanted to keep my eye on it. We had a can of purple antiseptic spray for the horses and I figured a little purple spot on its back would help me identify it from the others. Big mistake! The others pecked at that spot and killed it. I didn't realize that was the nature of chicks - that they will peck away at something different that stands out that way. I felt so bad.
We have a nest box on the side of our house and we had a pair of blue tits nest in it this year. The chicks have just fledged these past few hours so we have about 5 babies flitting around our garden at the moment. So cute! I have tried to get some photos but they are in and out of bushes so haven't been successful yet. It's lovely to see them but it's also a worry because they can't fly overly well and we have 3 cats who have been kept in the house all day but are starting to get restless because they want to go outside.
I'm trying to buy a book online.. notice I said i'm trying to buy *a* book.. it's not working out so well. How do people do it? I can't choose, my cart is full!
Janice wrote: "Here, the hospitals don't close, but they basically "shut down". That means that no new or ongoing treatment happens. Nursing staff basically maintain the status quo over the weekend. There's em..."There are always doctors physically at the hospitals and on call at our local hospitals. If you are an inpatient at a hospital, a doctor will come to your room and check on you at least once a day everyday. Nurses are in and out multiple times every day. If a patient's status changes in the middle of the night on Christmas, there will be a doctor available to assess and manage the situation. Once, my MIL was taken for a scheduled x-ray after 9pm while she was in the hospital.
A scheduled surgery won't happen on weekends or holidays. But if there is an emergency and tests or surgery is required, it will happen at the soonest available time.
Yes, that's how it is in hospitals here. I am not sure about OT and x-rays, they might be open on weekends but out patient department is closed. Emergency is always open.
Samantha wrote: "I'm trying to buy a book online.. notice I said i'm trying to buy *a* book.. it's not working out so well. How do people do it? I can't choose, my cart is full!"What site are you using, btw if you don't mind buying used books, check half.com.. prices there are really cheap ;)
So, I set my alarm today at 0600 am, because I wanted to have some time to read
before going out. Is it that normal? :D Can anyone relate? LOL
Absolutely, Sara! I set my alarm 5:30, get up, prepare breakfast for everybody, but I have my breakfast with a book by myself until 6:15, when I wake up my kids for school.Probably that only means we BOTH are insane! :)
Sandra wrote: "Absolutely, Sara! I set my alarm 5:30, get up, prepare breakfast for everybody, but I have my breakfast with a book by myself until 6:15, when I wake up my kids for school.Probably that only means..."
hahaha, high FIVE! :D
Sarah and Sandra I do the same thing, I wake up before the kids and have some quiet reading time, did it this morning, actually got up at 4:30 , It is the best time and I don't feel a bit guilty about it!
I get up before everyone else too (usually around 6-6:30), grab my tea and sit down to read for a good hour. I love that time to myself. I read at night too but there are still too many distractions going on at night and/or I'm wiped from the day. So you are not alone!
I'm another one that gets up early and reads before the unruly horde awakens from their slumber. I find that this is when I get a lot of my more literary and non-fiction type reading done- no distractions. Hey, does anyone here garden? I have a few questions. First, do blackberries continue to produce flowers and fruit on an ongoing basis or is it supposed to be a one time thing? Ours has been flowering for about 6 weeks.
Second question, is anyone else missing bees? About 4 years ago, all was well. We had so many bees that you could see the swarm pulsing around the trees like a cartoon. Then three years ago, we weren't getting any squashes and pumpkins. I read that those are among the last things the bees will go after, so we had to start hand pollinating. Last year, same thing. This year, the amount of tomatoes and eggplants getting pollinated is down. And the grapes- the grapes are so bad that there are only about 3 or 4 clusters that will need to be thinned- probably 50-70% of the flowers went unpollinated. It's kind of disturbing because the bees aren't coming back and it seems to be getting worse.
We seem to still have bees here in Virginia:) I'm not much of a gardener so I don't have any gardening tips :(
@Bella, I think blackberries will make all summer, but I could be wrong. We had a very cold winter here for much later in the year than normal, so the blackberries should be especially yummy. Or so I am told anyway. What part of the world do you live in? We have lots of bees in Mississippi. There are a lot of "back yard" bee farmers (are they called farmers?) in the area though, so that may have something to do with it. Bugs in general are always plentiful in the deep south though. Especially mosquitos!
I haven't noticed a lot of lightening bugs yet this year though. It seems like they should be out a lot more by now, but maybe it is still too early.
I'm in Las Vegas, but where I live we have more bees and bugs because we're more humid. (According to our bug guy we have more and more types of bugs here.) It was a cold winter, but in March our roses went nuts and that usually starts driving the bees here. A few weeks later the citrus trees started blooming, but the bees seem to hit those first. So far, we have a normal amount of lemons, limes, berries, and pomegranates. (Although the lime produced fruit year round for the first time.) This is the first year the grapes have not produced well.
Yeah the bee thing is an issue around the world in places
Our apartment complex had a beach party tonight! Food, drinks, music and raffles :) was a lot of fun!! Some people brought their dogs (we left Blake at our place). Good thing we did because one gal had a Rottweiler (she said he is a therapy dog yet he was pulling her everywhere). It was a sweet dog but she kept letting her dog just go up to other dogs without asking the other owner's permission. I don't like that because Blake can be a jerk sometimes with other dogs. She is the only one I have met here that is like that though so that's good ;)
Beach party night sound fun, Stephanie!
Was so fun, Sandra :) it wasn't very warm out today but was still a fun time :) I'm glad we went :)
We are finally getting around to watching the new show Wayward Pines..pretty good so far..will be interesting to see how the story progresses and can't wait to start reading the books :)
Bees is a big problem, particularly in the States. It's why I'm getting a beehive. Plant lot and lots of flowers, along with fruits and veggies, to try and attract them.But unfortunately all our chemicals and pesticides have started killing the bees off. HUGE problem for our ecosystem and food supply. So not just you :)
We have a bee problem here in the UK as well. Their numbers have really declined over the past few years. We have a garden that contains lots of flowers, grasses etc, so we still get quite a few thankfully. I think people are starting to become aware of the problem now though. I remember reading an article in the newspaper last year which said that the number of people keeping bees in the UK has gone up quite a bit in recent years.
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (other topics)Gateway (other topics)
The Casual Vacancy (other topics)
The Thirteenth Tale (other topics)
The Fellowship of the Ring (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Isabel Allende (other topics)Enid Blyton (other topics)
Karin Slaughter (other topics)
How common is homeschooling in the US? I've never heard of anyone doing it here, I'm not even sure you could if you want to. Sounds like you found the perfect way to make it work Tasha :)