My ZONE #9 - Mandolin

Mandolin is officially a 4th grader at her new school! They are already off and running. She is in GATE (gifted program) so we are always worried about her getting into it on a good foot with a positive attitude. It isn't easy but anything less would bore her to death. I know...bored=behavior issues. They are doing 6th grade work and will end up at close to 8th grade level in math this year...yikes! I better start studying.

She LOVES her teacher and is making friends which is a big deal to me so she has the confidence she needs to have a great year. Yea Mando-Commando! Her teacher has an economy and they have to earn enough money (like a credit card) to pay for their desk rent. If they are not going with the flow they don't get paid and if they can't pay rent they sit on the floor, homeless. If they make rent and have extra they get to shop at the classroom store for toys or treats. I think this is pretty cool. I should be in this class!

She has a solid before bed routine and after school routine - helps her a lot. Keeps me sane. Here are some pics for you all. FYI, I have not been on JumpCut in a few days while I was recooperating and getting the school year started. Be back soon!


All smiles and ready to go!


Ham bone.


She is all of a sudden into her hair and clothes. Uh-oh.


Jamison looking at "his girl." The bus stop is right outside this year. Yea! So this is what I see if I spin my office chair around. Tennis courts and park with cookie-cutter homes like ours beyond. And my cutie! I am warm inside having coffee...niiiccceeee.

How cute! She looks adorable (but a handful ) I hope she will really love school this year. That program from economy sounds fantastic. She will really get the hang of money that way. I wish we had done something early on, so maybe i would be better at financial things! How old is she?

Oke, lets see if i get this right. In America everyone gets the same education. No level differences, so if you are smart you go to a special extra program to make it challenging? Is that for all ages or from a certain age upwards?

Here we have childsschool (yes not a real word or translation) which is from age 4 to 12 and is one level. Then there is highschool. Here we have 4 different levels and depending on the level you are also in school longer or shorter. Lowest two from 12 to 16 year. 3one from 12 to 17 and 4d from 12 to 18.

She is just soo dern cute.. How can you not just grab her and hug the stuffin' outa her all day long! The kids did a economy thing in school here too... no sittin on the floor that I know of.. but the kids seemed to like it except they paired up one male and one female - and based on something or another - if they had kids, what kinda work they did how much they made. They had to come up with afinancial budget and had to get prices for groceries and makes lists for the store etc. The kids liked it. Hey at least they didnt have to carry around eggs for a week like they did "back in the day" (yes that would be MY day)

Its gonna be a fun year! I sooooooooo miss that!
Rhonda

Thanks! I do snuggle the stuffing out of her. She is 9 and already in puberty.

Natalia, I can't speak for every part of the US but generally the public education system is a bit of a failure here. Teachers are VERY underpaid. Plus, the teachers have to clean their own rooms a lot of the time (with their own money for supplies) and parents take turns working in the classes. The bus isn't even free anymore and we buy everything from paper to tissues. The kids have to sell junk to earn money for playground equipment. It wasn't this way when we were little - you just showed up and it was all ready.

We have lost all of the programs for humanities studies so the disciplines like music and art are gone unless parents come to school and teach them or the teacher has skills of his/her own to offer. The deciders wonder why the kids are doing poorly as a whole when it is proven that a prime link to learning the core academics are tied to humanities. And, the kids need creative breaks to learn! Music alone is a great way to learn fractions, history, habits, creative thinking, etc. But, no money.

There are levels for learning and special needs children are placed appropriately. We had her tested and applied to have her enter the gifted program which starts in 2nd grade. She has an IQ in the 140's and a mid-range class won't work for her or respectively for a child who needs extra time and attention. The excellerated pace she is at is "normal" for her.

Kids go to about 5th grade for Elementary school and have one teacher per year. Age 10 is about where human learning ability takes a dive so these years are the critical ones. Then Jr. High which, as far as I am concerned, should be limited to life skills, humanities and hormonal control because they can't think of anything serious. High school is until 12th grade - age 18.

Aaaccccckk!!!! I had just finished my reply thought here, went to preview to be sure I hadn't made any wacko mistakes, when it kicked me out to log in AGAIN! Obviously, I already was or I couldn't have written a reply. When I got back here, my reply was GONE. I know - NO big deal to one who types well, but recreating my thots as well as retyping them is a bummer for me - I'm lucky to think them thru ONCE & I'm a VERY poor typist. It's done this to me 3 times already!!?!! Driving me crazy! My point (finally!): is this happening to others of you?? ... or just me? ... is it the site, my IS, my old computer (1998 vintage) or what - any of the above or ALL of it ?! Help ?!

Is there any way to save stuff as we do our replies? ... so far, I haven't spotted one anywhere.

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So, back to Mandolin! ... what a delightful-looking 'lil girl & such a Gift you have, Heidi! Makes me wish once again I hadn't missed out on this part of our marriage. Nieces & nephews are quite fine & lovable. as mine can attest, but they don't fill the bill, so to speak.

Her eyes just sparkle with background activity - you must have such a grand time sharing with her. ... & her name, Mandolin, is so unique - what inspired that? I too am curious (nosy, I guess) abount interesting details. Are you musical, as well? What subjects appeal to her so far?

re: school study topics - The economy lessons sound like an ideal eye-opener for kids to the realities of financial survival. I think it's a wise inclusion - we didn't have a smidgen if this stuff when we were in school back before Rhonda's "back in the/her day"! Guess we were supposed to get it by osmosis. Sciences were my gig & the finance/business world just bored me - probably because I couldn't understand it - I needed to be shoved there. Whatever, I survived anyway!!

Thanx for the cool pics of your sweetie, Heidi

Marie

It may be an internet thing? Try typing your responses in a temp notepad window and doing a copy and paste. I do the two finger typing thing too and hate to lose stuff! JumpCut drove me insane at times with do-overs!

Thanks Marie! David is a musician and that is his passion. I have zero musical ability. Can't even dance. We didn't know what gender she was because she was shy for the ultrasound. One night when I was about to burst we decided that whatever name was the last name on the credits of the movie we were watching - that would be the name. It was Buster. Nope. That was when I decided to just pick a name on-sight, which I did.

BTW...her middle name is Marie.

Subjects: luckily I can't say it is all boys yet! She is into anatomy and physiology. Meteorology (the kid loves the Weather Channel). She writes music, poems and books. She likes abstract or aboriginal art. She invents things. All you have to do is expose her to something and she is like a sponge. Chores seem to confuse her. : )

I'm lucky because I have a lot of adults who are awesome support people and they dig teaching her things or hanging out with her. I worry about her dominating adult time a lot. Recently at a party I attempted to rescue a friend from too much Mando and he said, "No! If you don't mind I would like to talk to her more. I'm having a great time!" She wanted to know all about the Tsunami (he was in the big one) and about his work as a University Physics Professor. My mother plans vacations with her just to explore. My mom is like that and as a kid we were in caves, hiking up a volcano or climbing Mayan ruins more than at themeparks.

Oh yah...I have a job. TTYL!

Marie, the same thing happens to me, too (getting kicked off). I'm a good typist, so it must be that I am too long-winded (I can see all of you nodding yes).

Heidi, your Mando is indeed darling, and I'm sure adults are captivated by her. Keep us posted on all the neat things she does.

My DGD's school also had (insert school mascot name) Bucks the kids could earn for good grades and good behavior. They have a spirit shop where the kids can use the bucks to buy school T-shirts, caps, bracelets, pom-poms, jackets, etc. She's earned quite a bit already, as she is always a teacher's helper. She will be 11 next month and entering 6th grade. She always gets straight A's. In June, she announced that the final grade cards had arrived. With a straight face, I asked, "Were you promoted?" She gave me her best drop-dead look... "Grammy!"

She also loves weather, volcanoes, and nature. I have probably over 50 kinds of perennials. She and I will sit on the swing on the patio and she will ask me the names of the flowers in my biggest flower bed, on a bank going up the hill out back. I can tell her 10 or 15 names, then ask them back to her, such as "Where is the liatris?" She points to the right one. Or I point to the flowers and she knows the names. She's amazing. It pleases me because our Dad did this for us, taught us the names of flowers and trees on our walks through fields and woods.

Today's kids are sure a lot smarter than I was!

Bon

I've typed them in Word, and then pasted them in the window. Not because I was getting booted out, but cuz I was having to write responces a little at a time. You could try that. cuz if it loses your messages, you can just paste it again...
Rhonda

Grammy time is so special! And they know EVERYTHING. *nods* DDG sounds like a joy to spend time with. Your time with her is exactly what she needs. I think tech. advancements are great but I worry about good ol' outdoor play time and kids relaxing. Is it just me or are they are overstimulated and over scheduled as a group? Keep on sittin' and swingin' those afternoons away Bonnie.

Kids DON'T go out and play anymore.. and I think this is ONE problem.


Of course, they sit around watching mtv and nasty soaps which shows alot of things that are not based in reality.

Shoot, what happened to the days when you played outside... allday!?!?!

Rhonda
.. who came home when the streetlights came on!?!

I agree, Rhonda. DH has a 12-yo DGS who spends every minute of home time on video games, unless he is sleeping. When we have a big family get-together, he brings along his portable games. I've told him to go outside and play with the other kids. He won't. He needs to get a life! And I agree, TV (and video games) are a terrible influence on youngsters.

Last Sat. DH and I baby-sat his 4-yo grandtwins for 12 hours, and my DGD came over to help. She loves her new cousins and is really great with them. We all went to the pool for a couple of hours, which the twins loved. They have a little wading pool, but spend most of their time playing indoors or watching TV, too. They couldn't wait to tell their parents all about the BIG pool the next day! Kids miss soooo much being indoors all the time.

Mandolin is gorgeous! And, I love her outfit.

I will admit, DD loves her computer and TV time (she only plays/watches certain "approved" games and DVDs, unless we are watching with her)...however, at this age, she pretty much self-regulates. She will rarely just sit there doing the same thing (whether watching TV, playing on the computer, or what have you) for more than 30 minutes. Even then...if she is "watching" TV she is usually looking at a book or playing with building toys or something like that at the same time, not just staring at the screen. She'll go through phases where she wants to watch/play one particular thing over and over again, but within a few days she moves on to something else. She also loves to watch the History Channel, Discovery Channel, etc. when I do (I often put these on while I'm doing household chores) and is fascinated by astronomy and marine biology in particular.

My take is that TV and video games can be beneficial and educational, especially when they are a supplement to (not a substitute for) other activties, and when the parents make an effort to use them as learning opportunities rather than leaving the kids alone with the "electronic babysitter."

For those that find that their reply is gone: Before you click preview after typing, click ctrl+a and then ctrl+c, then its copied into a clipboard. So if you then find that your post is gone, you can click reply again, and then do ctrl+v and tada your whole post is back.

I have to agree with Fynn that games arent particularly bad. I actually hate it when people say that it is the games that make kids lazy (no offence to you girls) because the problem most of the time is the parents, not the games.

I was 6 when i got my first gamecomputer, back in the day that was very special (we are talking halfway 80s here) and i played as much as i could, BUT my mum regulated the time i was behind there. I needed to have done my homework first, and since i wasnt (and still am not) an outdoors person after a certain amount of time i still would have to go and read books, which i loved too. I did learn big amounts from both tv and games, just as well as books. So what i mean to say, it all depends on how parents handle it.

Oh and while we are on the subject, let me vent a bit more I also think its wrong when people say that tv or even more often, games, make kids aggressive. I am sorry but there are millions of kids that play videogames or watch tv every day and do not have an aggressive bone in their body. So it has nothing to do with the videogames or the tv, but with the personality of the kid, just like in the old days (and the fact that the USA lets people buy guns far too easily, but thats an whole other discussion that i maybe should not start with you texas girls ).

(stares at the soapbox)... do I?? hmmmm
Rhonda opens her mouth.... Rhonda shuts her mouth...

Rhonda wants to say something, but decides to just keep her mouth shut.

Still lovin' ya... but I'm just sittin on my hands right now.
Rhonda

Thanx for all the remedial reply inputs! You all are great problem solvers!

Heidi - where do I find the "temp notepad window"? Nope, I don't have a clue where it hides. Tune me in, please - I am so tech-uninformed!?

...& Rhonda, the Word thing is something I know & it sounds like a fine idea to use it here, too, especially when I run out of time to finish. Yay!!Good thot - thanx!

... & Natalia, just so I have LOTS of options at hand, I'm going to try your ctrl a/ctrl c for the magic clipboard doodad. Now, I'll be ready - let 'em dump me agin'!!

You guys are sooooo talented - Thanx!

Marie

P.S.: I, too, am leaving the influences of games, TV & guns issues alone. No, I don't have kids, but I sure have definite opinions & we might be here for a LONG time!?? Not!!

Note pad (for me) in under Start, Accessories, Notepad. Any wordprocessing application will work. Write, copy and paste here.

Hot topics = 10 foot pole, baby...ten foot pole...LMAO! I started it...whoops!

Thanx again, Heidi - I found it. Added it to my arsenal!! Boy, one digit at a time, but I'll get there someday!

... & what's "LMAO" ... laughing my ______ out ?? is as close as I can figure! What is it ?

Marie

Hmmm... Laughing My Ass Off isn't on the Flylady site? Who knew?!

Ahaaa, haha!! Dynamite!! Forgot to go to that one!! Way to FLY!! ... 1 darn digit at a time!?

Hihi, I will put LMAO on the translation abbreviations too. I forgot about that one

I'm slowly reading in this forum all the posts before I joined . I reached here to see home videos but here was a LOVELY surprise : Mandolines pictures. WOW ! This is the sweetest thread ever
I didn't understand much about her school but I'm sure she's the best ,like her mother ,GO YOU Mando

THANKS!

She only has 4 more days of school and then is off until after Thanksgiving (end of November.) We went from a traditional schedule to a track one so we will get three breaks instead of one long one in summer. All November home....eek!

Perhaps this would be a good time to teach her how to paint walls??

BRILLIANT!!!