Diet Alert and other news

For the first time in my life EVER, I have found a diet that I can stick to!! It hasn't been easy, but I have been pretty successful. It's called "Cracking the Fat-Loss Code" by Wendy Chant.

Fat loss is acheived by varying the diet so the body does not have a chance to adapt to the diet changes, causing a plateau.

AND, here's the best part, you don't give up any foods! Not that you are able to pig out on junk everyday, but you do get to have days where your favorite foods can be included. It is part of the cycle that helps the body think it is getting plenty of food.

That is a mistake I have made in the past with diets. But it is unrealistic to try and give up birthday cake, pizza, etc. for the rest of my life.

I can do this! I don't feel hungry, but I still want to pig out at night. But I don't give up because I know one of my free days is just around the corner.

And in other news...

in a constant uphill battle to have some sort of enjoyable-ness(for student and teacher) when it comes to school and differently-abled learners, we took the day off the other day to watch the inauguration. JD and I had a knock down, drag out stand off, when I foolishly tried to coach him into answering "Bush" when I asked the name of our last President. I knew he knew it, but was just blanking out. At some point he hollered out, "Why couldn't you just move on when I didn't know the answer?!!"

To which I answered that I should have.And that he should have pointed this out to me, minus the freak out. :)

Talking like this is totally improving our interactions. He honestly misses the cues that others are being upset by his behavior, he is so caught up in managing his own feelings.

And I am so not a saintly mothering type, and sometimes I just get so weary of managing emotions and behaviors that I argue back instead of taking charge the way a leader should. So after addressing the issues I had w/ his behavior, I explained that I didn't choose the best way either and would do it differently next time too.

Still on the hunt for some school time that isn't completely painful to one or more parties involved, I took out my Five in a Row(fiar) stuff and found 1 lonely fiar book on my shelf. It is hard finding a good match for my 4 kids and their needs PLUS the neighbor whose needs are completely the opposite!

Fiar is aimed at ages 4-8,which would probably be a comfortable comprehension level for the neighbor and my 8 year old JJ. The neighbor is totally inexperienced in making connections so this would be good for him. My kids have done fiar before and are old pros at noticing details, predicting, etc. Would it be too easy for them at ages 10 and 11? Or would they enjoy it and still be able to take something away from it?

I decided that it wouldn't hurt to try out a few lessons. At first glance, I think the concepts are still valuable for older children, but at this age can be explored in more depth. It would be very easy to "beef up" the lessons, esp using something like enchanted learning to do extra activities w/ the concepts covered in the lessons.

The other night, I consolidated some scrapbooks so each child can have a scrap book to put their projects in.

Yesterday, I read Mirette on the High Wire to everyone. I pointed out France on the map, sang the Geography song, printed a map for them to color, and we talked about the artwork in the book, which was done w/ watercolors. We looked at the last illustration in the book and discussed the color choices of the illustrator.I talked about the color wheel and then they created their own paintings.

I was very satisfied; the neighbor did not seem overstressed and tuned out and my kids remembered the Eifel tower and Madeline, and recalled learning about the color wheel previously.I hope the neighbor will one day make such observations!

Connecting two ideas together, associating one thing w/ another...I am convinced that is what learning is, realizing that "OOOOh, this is just like ____________!!"