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Whirled Views 2.21

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Good morning!

Today’s quote is from classic literature: “No mercy, no power but its own controls it. Panting and snorting like a mad battle steed that has lost its rider, the masterless ocean overruns the globe.”

26 Comments to “Whirled Views 2.21”

  1. 1. Gravatar by momoffour 02.21.08 at 7:53 am

    Good morning. A question for the parents out there–does anyone have a book or website suggestion for study helps? Our oldest, who is in fourth grade, just has a very hard time staying organized and studying for tests. He is very intelligent, and he has an amazing walk with the Lord for a nine year old, but his school work is just so-so, when hubby and I know he is capable of so much more. I was going to google “study helps”, but thought I’d ask here too.

    I believe the morning sickness is now beginning! oh boy! MMacMurray-how is your little boy?

  2. 2. Gravatar by Joe B. 02.21.08 at 8:10 am

    Good Morning Momoffour, My wife is a school teacher. I would suggest that you have your boy tested for a possible learning disorder. My son had ADD. We ended up reading his assignments out loud. He could understand the material when he heard the information but he could not readily digest reading comprehension without hearing the words rather that reading them silently. Just some thoughts. Take care and God Bless.

  3. 3. Gravatar by mommy 02.21.08 at 8:35 am

    Momoffour(plusone)
    I would highly recommend books by Cynthia Tobias - particularly “The Way they Learn” and “Every Child Can Succeed.” She explains that it’s very important to understand each child’s “learning style” and allow and encourage them in it. Schools don’t have the luxury of being able to allow every child to function differently in the classroom, but you can do it at home. This will not only help him at home, but once you both understand his particular learning needs, you can come up with ways for him to cope when he’s at school.

    For example, I realized as an adult that I can’t stand classroom training. It is so intolerable for me that it distracts me from learning anything. I work in a field where continuing education is important, so I learn everything I can via other methods (thank heavens for the advent of web-based training). However, when I have no choice and must be in a classroom, I can acknowledge to myself that I’m miserable and then concentrate on trying to pay attention and learn something.

  4. Momoffour: Sometimes study problems occur because of study methods. I learned that I was terrible at rote memory, but learned by working problems or doing something with the data. That’s one reason I comment here often on things I read or encounter.

    I would advise strongly against any kind of medication unless there is a serious problem and at last resort. If you identify a problem to a doctor, he’s likely to think you want him to fix it. I’m not advising that you not mention it, but be careful.

  5. 5. Gravatar by michelle 02.21.08 at 9:36 am

    Got one! Herman Melville, Moby Dick.

    Learning styles is a great place to start. The other, sometimes easier one, is in his backpack. Does he need help getting organized? Does he understand the purpose of a binder and the importance of actually putting papers in it? Do you need to purchase a three-hole-punch? (Shocking how that helped at our house!).

    And remember, some educators, homeschool guru Raymond Moore among others, believe some children–particularly boys–are not physiologically ready to read until they are closer to nine. So, use the suggestions above, but love him, encourage him in what he does well, and listen closely to what he says about learning.

    And, really consider the value of books on tape–the library’s got lots of them and they can help until the decoding skills get up to speed.

  6. 6. Gravatar by Amphipolis 02.21.08 at 9:49 am

    Be patient. Maturity will kick in. But don’t lower the bar. It worked for me, I mean when I was his age.

    He needs to develop his own techniques to succeed. Give him every tool you can find, encourage little successes, but don’t dumb down the expectations.

    When dad shows interest in the specifics of what he is doing, sometimes boys will put forth more effort. It makes the subject more valuable in their eyes.

  7. I would have guessed Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, but was uncertain. It sounded so strange….

    Of course reading it like this didn’t help any:

    “Panting and snorting like a mad beetle steed that has lost its rider, the masterless ocean overruns the globe.”

    My reading skills are really going to pot. :-(

  8. #7 Make it Man,

    Oddy,

    they say pot can fix that :-)

  9. “Old Man and the Sea” by Hemingway?

  10. Or possibly “The Indomitable Hornblower” by CS Forester?

  11. MOMOFFOUR, others have given good suggestions so far. If you son is cooperative, you might need to do a lot of the organizing for him. When our son was younger, we had to help him sort his papers and put them in the appropriate places. He does it all on his own now (8th grade) with occasional lapses–like leaving his homework paper at home or leaving his lunch bag at school.

  12. MOMOFFOUR, if it is a question of effective studying techniques, I think Cynthia Tobias’s books would be helpful for you in trying to help him. Discovering his learning style will help him now how best to prepare for tests–copying things by hand, saying them aloud, visualizing them, oral quizzing by somebody else, etc. Above all, let him study in an environment that works. If he does better sprawled out on the sofa and listenign to music, then allow him to. If he does better sitting at a table in a quiet room, then allow that.

  13. Momoffour,

    TakeTenn Publications (Chattanooga) has a whole series of books on studying. They’re really made for the Christian-school classroom, so they have a teacher manual and a student workbook for each. (I edited them and did some writing for them, so I’m fairly familiar with them, if you want to e-mail me any questions. In fact, I could probably e-mail you a sample page or two.) They have an upper elementary edition and a junior-high edition, with the same topics covered in both: preparing for tests, taking tests, writing papers, etc.

  14. 14. Gravatar by momoffour 02.21.08 at 12:43 pm

    Thanks, everyone, for your great suggestions! Cheryl D–how do I find your email adress so I can send you mine? I’d love to see a sample of the books you mentioned!
    Thanks!!

  15. 15. Gravatar by mommy 02.21.08 at 12:51 pm

    Cheryl’s e-mail is in her “meet the regulars” entry

  16. 16. Gravatar by NJLawyer 02.21.08 at 2:23 pm

    We should pray for the Marines and foreign service personnel in our embassy in Belgrade. They have retreated to a “safehouse” within the compound and are surrounded.

  17. 17. Gravatar by llama 02.21.08 at 3:13 pm

    Thou Shalt Have Sex Every Day

    By CAROLINE HOWARD, AOL

    When debate turns to the value of marriage, attention normally goes to the religious sanctity of the union, the socio-economic benefits to the married adults and their children and even health pluses. Married couples tend to live longer, healthier lives and are typically less depressed or anxious than their single, divorced, or widowed counterparts.

    But one Ybor City, Fla, pastor has taken up the mantle of another marriage blessing. In an attempt to curb high divorce rates, Relevant Church head pastor Paul Wirth has challenged his married congregants to have sex every day for one month.

    “A great sex life is a challenge and takes focus, determination, and planning,” reads the church web site. “Some say it’s an unrealistic goal, but we disagree. We believe you can have a great sex life, in fact we believe God wants you to have a great sex life.”

    I think this pastor is on to something. Do you think he allows llama convertions?

    Anyone belong to this church?

  18. Did you miss the thread on this church Llama? It’s down a ways now…

  19. 19. Gravatar by Sawgunner 02.21.08 at 4:12 pm

    16 Wow… I just peeked out into the clinic waiting room.
    Serbia is going nutzo.
    I always said Clinton was wrong for ever committing the USA to that un-necessary un-declared war where we werent attacked first!

  20. 20. Gravatar by Karen O 02.21.08 at 4:33 pm

    Llama & MiM - That thread is now listed in the right sidebar, WOW editor’s choice, as “Church issues Sex Challenge”.

  21. 21. Gravatar by llama 02.21.08 at 5:17 pm

    Thanks. Its nice to know that WMB finally beat AOL at something :-)

  22. 22. Gravatar by kBells 02.21.08 at 9:59 pm

    I know it’s late and not many of you will see this, but I have a quick prayer request. Occasionally my son and I accompany my husband on the road just to be with him and to see someplace new. This weekend we had planned such a trip. But today my husband called and asked if I would be able to help out on the shoot. I was fine with that because it sounded like I would be doing some pretty easy mundane things. Now I find out I may be asked to do some actual TV stuff. It’s been two years since I’ve worked in the business, plus I will have the child with me, plus sports TV is a whole lot more intense than religious TV, plus my husband was told today that the client was not happy with the guy my husband is replacing so they are counting on my husband to save it, so I’m a little nervous. A little prayer that the shoot goes well and we both do a good job and don’t lose the kid in the chaos would be appreciated. I won’t be home until late Tuesday so y’all have a good weekend.

  23. Kbells,

    I saw your note and just prayed for you. May you be a good support to your husband on what sounds like a job he needs to do well.

  24. 24. Gravatar by mmacmurray 02.21.08 at 10:28 pm

    Praying, kBells!

    MomofFour, thanks for asking about my little guy! He seems to be back to normal now, though still a little tired. He had a procedure done last Thursday that ruled out a lot of not-so-good stuff and that should help in the longer term, and then came home on Friday. This is a school vacation week, so he’s had some extra time to recover before he goes back to his regular school schedule.

    My sympathies in regard to the morning sickness. :-) That nausea generally lasted until about 20-22 weeks for me. Cinnamon or peppermint hard candy, such as Altoids, helped some, as did increased protein in my (mostly vegetarian) diet. Hope all continues to go well.

  25. 25. Gravatar by kBells 02.21.08 at 11:12 pm

    Cheryl D., mmacmurray, thanks for the prayers, and mmacmurray, I’m glad your little one is doing better. I got an early day tomorrow, going to bed.

  26. Good night, kbells.
    I prayed.