Dyslexia

I've learned a lot about Dyslexia this summer. I've learned what it is, and what it isn't. And I learned Clayton has a form of dyslexia. (He was professionally tested in May.) Wow. This has been a real game changer for us. It explains so many things that I attributed to laziness, being a boy, and being left-handed. As we have begun the remediation process this fall, and I see the progress he is making, I wonder how many other parents are in the same boat. So let me share a little of what I've learned about dyslexia and maybe something will click with you, too.

1. Dyslexia has very little, if anything, to do with turning letters around.
Surprised? I was. One of the reasons I never considered the possibility of dyslexia is because I thought that's all dyslexia was--turning letters around, making it harder to read words. Letter reversal can be a symptom of dyslexia, although not all dyslexics reverse letters.

2.  Dyslexia is not an intelligence problem, laziness problem, or a vision problem.
Dyslexics tend to be quite intelligent and hard working. They've actually had to figure out how to read and spell using unusual techniques they've figure out on their own, because traditional techniques didn't work for them. But those techniques can only compensate so much. And a person doesn't just "get over" dyslexia by trying harder.

3. Dyslexia is ultimately caused because a dyslexic's brain works differently than a non-dyslexics. The way we typically teach reading uses a specific area in the left side of the brain. If a person's connections to that part of the brain are weak, that person will struggle with the process of seeing letters, making them into sounds, and blending them together to form a word. That is dyslexia. Once a word is memorized, however, that information is stored in a different part of the brain. Dyslexics many times can read a word, not because of the sounds associated with it, but simply because they have memorized it. Imagine learning to read without learning phonics. That's what it is like for a dyslexic.

4. There is no "cure" for dyslexia, but there is help.
Because dyslexia's cause is a differently-wired-brain, and the way their brain processes information, dyslexia is a life-long condition. But you can create new connections to that part of the brain and compensate with other parts of the brain. However, new connections and compensation are never as fast or accurate. For example, if you have to take a detour on a road trip, you will still reach your destination, it may just take longer. Same way for dyslexics. Information can be taught to travel down different paths, but those paths are longer. This is also why professionally-diagnosed dyslexics are often given more time on standardized tests.

5. Dyslexia is more common than you think. Some studies say up to 20% of the population all over the world has some degree of dyslexia. That's 1 in every 5 children. Additionally, dyslexia is hereditary. It is not uncommon for a dyslexic to have an immediate family member who is also dyslexic, or siblings who are dyslexic.

6. Dyslexia and the public school system.
Most of you know we homeschool. Therefore I have no experience with my dyslexic child being in the public school system. However, I feel compelled to share what I have learned in the course of my research just in case it applies to you: Your school may be ill-equipped to diagnose and remediate dyslexia. Research indicates most public schools typically don't have specialized training to diagnose dyslexia, and don't have the staff, resources, or time available to work with dyslexics to help them learn to read in a way that makes sense to them. I respect public schools more than you know. I think their job is insanely hard with little to no true and solid support. But, if your child is struggling and you think your school would surely identify dyslexia if that were the cause of their struggles, you might be wrong.  If your child is in remedial reading and you think they know just how to help your child, you might be wrong. Might. Do your own research and decide for yourself.

There are hundreds of websites and books devoted to the subject of dyslexia. If your child struggles with reading, reading comprehension, spelling, punctuation, and/or capitalization, do some research and read through the indicators. I'm sure not every child who struggles has dyslexia, but I'm also sure there are lots of children with some degree of dyslexia who will continue to struggle until someone stops and says, "Hey, maybe..."


Related Links:
37 Common Traits of Dyslexia
Understanding Dyslexia (from Understood.com)
Understanding Dyslexia (from KidsHealth.org)

Walls!

The framers arrived last Friday and by Friday afternoon, we had this:

Today is Wednesday and they are already starting on the outside walls of the upper floor!

Decisions, Decisions

Someone not too long ago asked me why, when a person builds a new house, do they paint every room the same color? Simple. By the time you get to the pick-out-the-paint-color discussion, you're done with making decisions. DONE.

Because up to that point, you've had hundreds of conversations like this. (Excuse the incorrect punctuation.)

"Let's pick out your front door. I'll narrow it down to one company to get your started. Here's the catalog.

Do you want steel or fiberglass? (fiberglass)
Do you want mahogany grain, oak grain, or smooth? (mahogany)
Do you want glass in the door? (yes)
How much glass--a sliver (in several different configurations), half, 2/3, or whole? (whole)
Do you want privacy glass or a pattern? (pattern)
What pattern--there are 17 different ones to choose from? (Saratoga)
What size of door? (3' x 6'8" is what the blueprint says)
How about sidelites? (yes)
On both sides or just one? (both)
How wide? (blueprint says 16")
These only come in 10", 12", and 14" widths. (ok, 14" then)
Half glass, 2/3, or full length? (full length)
Clear glass, privacy glass, or the Saratoga pattern? (Saratoga)
How about a transom window above the door? (yes, the blueprint shows a curved transom window)
That pattern doesn't come in a curved option but you could do clear or privacy glass instead if you really wanted a curved one. (no, let's stick with the Saratoga pattern and we'll just do the rectangle)
If you do a transom window the sidelites can only be 12" wide rather than 14". (fine 12" it is)
What color of handles and hinges--8 options. (Black Nickel)
What style of handle--5 choices? (Venture)
What color of sill--4 choices. (Bronze)
Do you want a multi-point locking system? (yes)
Do you want the composite sill and trim so it never rots. (absolutely)
Do you want it to come with a stain kit? (no)
Ok, that's it."

And that's just the front door.

Last week, in addition to the front door, we also picked out the fireplace, started wading through the garage door options, chose the other exterior doors, the front porch concrete color, decided on insulation, and met with the cabinet people. And that's just what I can remember...

So if my family asks me if I want butter with my roll or sugar in my tea at Thanksgiving this week, I might just crawl up in a fetal position in the corner.

Brrrrrrrr!!

The week started out with beautiful weather that Monday night turned COLD. Really cold. Wanting to make our newly poured concrete nice and comfy in our new house, we (the Binder family) tucked it into these insulating blankets...in 25 mph wind. No joke. A 3-ring circus has nothing on us. 

Now to wait for this cold weather to GO AWAY.

Concrete, Sweet Concrete

Our backyard has seen significant changes since this... (click on photos for larger view)

We have finished hauling in and grading the dirt...


...formed the footings...


...poured the footings... (Clark Concrete, St. Joe)


...formed the cement walls (only the walls against the dirt will be cement)...




...poured the cement walls...




....all under the watchful eye of some pretty mean supervisors.


Then they took the forms off.


Placed drain plumbing and filled in floor with rock.


Laid down foam sheets and ran orange water lines for floor heat...


...and placed rebar on top of that.


Then they poured the concrete floor...at 6am! (Advantage Concrete, Hiawatha--best crew in the business!)



The kids loved watching the power trowel...and wanted to try it out!


These guys are top-notch.


With the exception of the piece of lint in my camera lens...doesn't it look sweet?



And now...we're ready for just about anything.



I've finally figured out how to email pictures to this blog, so maybe I can get things posted in a more timely manner!!

Stay tuned, pouring the suspended cement garage floor is next!

The Mountain, Mudballs, Mosquitoes, and the Man

...and MUD. August has proven to be the wettest August anyone can remember around here. Ever. With 600+ loads of dirt in our backyard, I think it is safe to say we have the biggest mud pile in the county.

MOSQUITOES...I also think it is safe to say we have the biggest mosquitoes in the country. Anyone who has visited us in the last month can attest to that fact. Seriously, I took these photos today at 1:45pm, temp around 75ish, full sun, and got bit 3 times. The worker crews are going to love us.

THE MOUNTAIN...Many of you have asked for an update. There's not much to tell, other than this stage of the dirt work is done. I'm anxious for the cement work to begin because, let's be honest, it looks a little crazy around here.

View from the garage door

View from the southwest

View from the end of the driveway

View from the top of the mountain

Most people think we are building on TOP of the mountain. Now THAT would be crazy. No, we are building in FRONT of it. And right against it. The purpose of the dirt is so our garage can be on our main floor, which is technically the upper level. Think of it this way--we are building a one story house with a walkout basement. Except we built the hill first. That's ok if you don't get it. Stick around and I'll keep posting photos.

MUDBALLS...The dirt for our mountain came from a hill we own about 5 miles away. This is some unique dirt. It has ZERO organic matter in it, which is terrible for growing things. (I mean really, we've had 10+ inches of rain in the last month and do you see a SINGLE WEED growing??)  But it is fabulous for drainage and foundation. Wonder how we're going to grow grass? Don't worry, Dustin will lay a foot of good dirt on top when we are done. Anyway, this dirt has another weird feature...

 ...petrified mudballs. These things are everywhere. I could go out and collect 100 of them in probably 5 minutes. But you don't find them unless it rains and then they wash out of the dirt like little treasures. I have no idea what they are, and no one else does either. At first you think they are round rocks, but if you throw them against the cement REALLY hard, they will break and reveal...

Someone did tell us the indians used to collect them and make necklaces out of them. Guess what my family members will be getting for Christmas this year...

THE MAN...More specifically, the UPS man. And the Fed Ex guy. They don't even know where to start with us. This is our driveway.

You just can't get much past the blue box before the dirt begins. And the grass to the left has had an inch or more of water for most of the month of August. So it's sort of like the bear hunt song..."You can't go over it, you can't go under it, you can't go around it..." except the song, for us, ends, "You just can't. Sorry."

PROGRESS...Things are progressing but only on paper at the moment. I'll update again when cement work starts, hopefully in a few weeks!

The Building of a Mountain

I've come to the realization that blogging must be a stress-reliever for me. In 2011 when we were threatened with massive flooding on every level, I blogged about it. Now in 2014 I have a new self-inflicted source of stress: building a new home. In our back yard. If you'd like to follow along on our little adventure, this is the place to find updates.

We have known for about 10 years that we would eventually build. Although our current home looks nice on a surface level, it has some significant structural problems--foundation, mold in the crawl space, rotting wood everywhere, and I do mean everywhere...not to mention FREEZING COLD floors in the winter. Oh yes, and the skunks. But basically, the house is just worn out, from the inside out.

We have been meeting with an architect and builder to design a house that will fit our specific needs. Search as I might, I was unable to find an online house plan that remotely worked for us. For one, we live in the river bottom, and although our home has never flooded (we live 5 miles from the river bank with several levees between) we cannot guarantee how the Army Corp of  Engineers will manage (or mis-manage) the river. We had to prepare for the possibility. (That and the fact that there are rules about new construction in the river bottom...which is a different story all to itself...) Secondly, no house plan I've ever seen includes a master bedroom, an office, and a school room all on the main floor. And try as I might to tweak anything that was remotely close, it just wasn't happening.

After a couple of months of working on the plan, our architect is finishing the final version this week. While we have been working on the paper side of things, we've also been hauling in dirt. Around 600 loads of dirt, to be exact.

Doesn't look too daunting from this view. (To see what it originally looked like, view the previous post.)

This is the view from the garden. You can barely see the roof of our house on the other side.

And this is the view from the barn. Which looks kinda crazy. It IS kinda crazy, although this angle does make it look worse than it is.

Cement work should begin in a couple of weeks. One stark realization we made recently is that our sewer line from our existing house runs right under this mountain. Apparently it has not been crushed under the weight of 600 loads of dirt, but we are worried they might cut through it when they trench the frost footings.

Let's hope my next post is not a picture of an outhouse recently moved into my back yard...

The Beginning

I am in awe as I look at our back yard. Let me show you why.

July 12, 2014

This is the view diagonally across our back yard, shooting from about 10 feet behind the house towards the garden. This (above) was the day we started removing the asphalt behind the garage.

THIS (below) is the exact same shot but taken today, August 3. After several hundred loads of dirt. And this isn't even the best angle. I will try to get some photos that show it a little better. Needless to say, our yard is under some major transformation. More later, but I wanted to get these up for you all to see!

Here is slow transition from one to the other.

2014

The last 6 weeks of 2013 seemed like a literal whirlwind. Worse than our normal whirlwind. There was our homeschool play the end of November, then getting caught up on all of the things that got neglected for the play...workbooks that didn't get checked, lessons that didn't get done, logs that didn't get recorded... Then it was mid-December (!!!!!!) with Christmas preparations, packing, ordering, packing, wrapping, packing...a trip to Colorado for skiing and family Christmas time. PHEW. Then end-of-the-year financial bookkeeping that had been neglected....well...let's just say all year long for a while.

And now it is January 1, 2014. All of that stuff is over, and I'm wondering what to do next. (Dripping with sarcasm!) But the coming of a new year is a good time to reflect on the past and make plans for the future. So, these are my somewhat-lofty thoughts for the next year...

1. Slow Down. When I don't have time to minister to others on a spur-of-the-moment basis, I'm too busy. This is hard for me because apparently I love to pack my schedule full-to-the-brim-full. And I often forget that there are seasons to life, and I am no longer a foot-loose 25-year-old with no children.

2. Read a book. Yes, just one. But one that is not geared for ages 8 and under. Some of you will think this is hilarious because you read ALL::THE::TIME. Well, so do I. But mostly I read my Bible, blog posts, Fox News, and my kids' assignments. I research the best vacuum cleaner to buy and what devotionals I could teach to my Sparks group. I read instruction manuals and put-it-together booklets. And I read tons partial books. You know, like the first 3-4 chapters? I just want to finish ONE book, beginning to end. (Last year I read The Insanity of God by Nik Ripkin, which is excellent and you should absolutely read it if you haven't!) I already know what my 2014 book is: Good and Angry. (See point #3.)

3. Yell less. Don't get the wrong impression. I'm not one of those hysterical angry-eyed Moms that you avoid in the mall. But I do spend almost every day, all day, with all of my children and I get frustrated from time to time. Often that frustration vents in the form of yelling. "I TOLD YOU GUYS WE HAD TO LEAVE AT 3:00 AN HOUR AGO AND NOW IT IS TIME TO WALK OUT THE DOOR AND NO ONE IS REMOTELY READY??? THIS IS VERY DISRESPECTFUL AND WE'RE GOING TO YOUR THING, NOT MINE, AND NEXT TIME I'M GOING TO WALK OUT THE DOOR AND LEAVE YOU ALL HERE AND YOU CAN JUST CLEAN HOUSE WHILE I GO TO YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY." (Don't we say the dumbest things when we're angry?) Don't judge me. I'm just being honest. Yelling doesn't work very well anyway. A sweet friend recommended the book Good and Angry: Exchanging Frustration for Character in You and Your Kids by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller. I'm through the first few chapters and it has been EXCELLENT so far. So if I can accomplish #2 and read this to the end, maybe I can accomplish yelling less!

4. Simplify. I read a blog post recently about getting rid of 2014 things in 2014. That's like 5.5 things a day! It got me to thinking with 6 in our family, if each person "purged" 1 thing a day we'd have this thing almost licked by December! But I want to be realistic. Not that we don't have 2014 things to purge, but I thought we'd start small and see how it goes. So we are getting rid of 6 things a day (1 per person) for the month of January. We'll evaluate after that.

5. Document more. My goal is to scrapbook one simple layout a week (digital scrapbooking, of course!) Did I just write that? One every week?? This will be a challenge. I've done tons of project in the last year, but actual family documentation in the form of scrapbooking has been almost non-existent. So, this is the year to get my booty back in gear!

6. Grow. As a Believer, this goes without saying but I'm going to say it anyway. Every week God pricks me to know Him better, and share Him more. To forgive, to think of others more than myself, have patience, prioritize, be a peacemaker, root out bitterness, not replace Him with other things, practice self-control, not be distracted by the cares of this world. Just to name a few. I'm incredibly thankful for a church that challenges me every week to be more like Jesus, and for friends and family who hold me accountable. I am a work in progress.

Are these resolutions? Not really. Just things to strive for. What are you striving for in 2014?

You did WHAT today??

You'll never guess, in 100 million years, what we did today. And since you'll never guess, I'll show you. (I knew you'd never believe me, so we took a video of it!)



The kids rode a boat through the garden! How's that for redneck gardening??
Here's more, from the other perspective...


Okay, so you're probably wondering what on earth we were doing this for. You didn't think we did it just for fun, did you? Well, Dustin planted cereal rye as a cover crop in the garden last fall. Cereal rye looks similar to wheat, and is supposed to be good for the garden. Plus, you let it get so tall, then you "mash it down", and it dies and magically becomes a bio-degradable, all natural mulch! We thought we'd give it a try in our garden this year, particularly where we plant the pumpkins since they have to be spaced out so far, and the weeds tend to take over that 50' x 50'+ area before the pumpkins do. So how do you "mash down" cereal rye? Well, with a 4-wheeler, a boat, and 4 kids, of course!

Here's hoping it works!!

Before:

After:

Summer Punch Cards

Summer seems like such an unstructured time. And before I know it, it's August and we have accomplished two of the 58 things I wanted (needed) to accomplish in the summer. Solution? Summer punch cards. Or at least I hope so. I'm really good at setting up a new creative system, but the follow through is usually where the cookie begins to crumble.

This is Version 1.0. I made them small enough that I can reach all of the areas to be punched from either the top or the bottom of the card. (approx. 5.25" x almost 3") Print on cardstock, one card per child per week,  grab my handy dandy star puncher, and set the kids to work.

What does it mean?
Gross confession alert: my kids have a hard time remembering to brush their teeth in the morning. This baffles me. And it is WAY past time for them to remember this on their own. So the top row (teeth) is brushing their teeth in the morning. If they don't have it done by the time I call them for lunch, no punch.

The second row (Bibles) is remembering to do their daily devotions. Dustin gives them a small passage to read and a question or two to answer. Then we talk about what they have read and learned at our family devotional time in the evening.

The yellow row is a mix of reading and journaling--M/W/F they read (I'm not asking them to read an entire 400 page novel, just a chapter or two in a book that is age-appropriate and that they enjoy.) T/Th they will be writing in their journal--a letter-type journal that I reply to. So, they write something, then I write something, back and forth. This is a fun thing to help improve their writing skills and learn something about each other.

Green: Math Facts. My kids know their math facts, they just don't know them FAST. I blame this on the fact that they have never had to "race their neighbor"--when you have one child per grade, that happens. So I've got some creative games and contests to help them get their math skills up to speed.

The blue row (sneakers) is exercise. I'm not talking about running a marathon, just some purposeful exercise. They can even count baseball practice or swimming lessons.  (Or they can do Zumba with Mom!)

The last row is showering. What is it about summer that increases a child's ability to stink, and decreases their visits to the shower? Never mind, I don't want to know. All I want is for my kids to remember they need to shower every day.

On the right side at the top I have 5 "Men At Work" images. These are for 5 work projects to be completed sometime during the week. They will be different every day and can be things like weeding a flower bed, cleaning out their closet, picking green beans in the garden, or sorting out their too-small shoes. Hopefully this will get more of those projects I hope to get done in the summer, actually done. 

Because I'm not a total slave driver and I know summer is a time for FUN, they are allotted 1 hour of computer time per week, which is shown in the bottom right corner of the punch card. Also, they get a reward if their punch card is all punched at the end of the week. It could be getting to have a friend over to play, going on a Saturday adventure, or something else they want.

"No TV?" you ask? As much as I would like to outlaw TV altogether, I do let them watch one (Mom approved) show per day (they must agree on the show) on Netflix IF (and ONLY IF) the house is all picked up. Every room. This helps keep things tidy.

So, that's our summer punch card program. I'll let you all know at the end of the Summer if it worked, or if we fizzled out on it by the 4th day!

Our Year in Review

My Shutterfly "Year in Review" book for 2012. I do one of these every year as Christmas gifts for the Great Grandma's.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Parental Rights Threat

I don't normally forward political things unless they are really, REALLY important, and this one is. I have been closely following this 2-part issue for several years, and one of the two parts is coming to a vote TOMORROW (Wednesday) in the US Senate. If you want more info, read here , or feel free to talk to me.

Bare bones, here's the deal--if you believe responsible, law-abiding parents should have the final say in the rearing of their own children, please call your 2 US Senators TODAY!! and ask them to oppose ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which will be voted on in the Senate tomorrow. Most parents are surprised to know that parental rights (in this case, of children with disabilities, but all children will be included in the next treaty that comes up for ratifications--this one is just the first step)...anyway...parental rights are not written down in the text of the Constitution, it is up to judges to decide on a case-by-case basis. Scary?? Absolutely. If you don't want to take the time to thoroughly research this issue for yourself, then just trust me--if you believe in parental rights, call your Senators today.

I called today and this is all I did: Gave my name and zip code. Said I was calling regarding the vote that will take place tomorrow on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. And I said, "I urge Senator Blundt/McCaskill to oppose ratification of this treaty."

That's all I had to do, they thanked me and said they would pass the info on. No question as to why or support my argument, and they were congenial.

If you're unconvinced of the seriousness of this matter, here are two things:

Overruled trailer A 3 minute trailer for "Overruled: Governmental Invasion of your Parental Rights". The trailer is just 3 minutes, Overruled itself is actually 40 minutes, but if you have time for that, even better.

Also, here's a short "quiz" that will probably surprise you--parental rights are already being challenged in the US and passage of this treaty will just make things much worse.

Thanks--sorry I seem all alarmist, but as I've followed this issue, now is the time to be alarmed.

j

Below is the contact info for Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska (just contact YOUR state's Senators)--a phone call is best, but if the only way I can get you to do something is contact them via email (webmail), I've included their contact webpage as well. Please encourage your family and friends to call, too.

MO:

Roy Blunt

Telephone: 202-224-5721

http://www.blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-roy

Claire McCaskill

Telephone: 202-224-6154

http://mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=contact

KS:

Pat Roberts

202-224-4774

http://roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EmailPat

Jerry Moran

202-224-6521

http://moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-jerry

NE:

Ben Nelson

202-224-6551

http://bennelson.senate.gov/email-issues.cfm

Mike Johanns

202-224-4224

http://www.johanns.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorJohanns

31 Days of Order/Disorder, Day 18

ORDER:

 I think I've shown this before on my blog, right after I hung it up, but sometimes systems I think will work for us really don't. This one did, so I thought it was worth throwing out there to the internet world again. Admittedly, it is not the most tidy looking thing, but I can do "tidy" when the kids get older and are more capable of maintaining that type of system. Right now, if they have to put it in a drawer or cupboard, and in a specific spot, bin, or container inside said drawer or cupboard....well, let's just say "close enough" is their philosophy.

This system solved many of our school supply organization problems, except for one--illusive scissors. It didn't seem like it mattered how many pair of scissors we started the school year with, by about the 4th week in, they had all vanished into thin air. Thin air, I tell you. I consider myself a fairly patient person, but when it comes time to cut out the picture of Noah's ark and not ONE of the SIX pair that should be in the bucket can even be located, I get a little testy.

So I tied two pair of the scissors to the bucket. I realize you might be thinking "does this lady not realize she tied the scissors to the bucket with ribbon...that they could simply cut with the scissors??" Oh yes, I do. My kids are not (normally) diabolical. They're just forgetful. So this simple physical reminder works. (That and the promise that things will not go well with them if they EVER cut that ribbon.)

DISORDER:

This is from a teeny tiny room under our stairs that houses our furnace. It is all of those weird miscellaneous things you might need to maintain an old house--our miniature hardware store, of sorts. There are some things in this little room that are quite organized, but the battery basket....yeah, not so much. I think it is partially because the kids tunnel thru this basket looking to replace the batteries in the Wii, a flashlight, or any number of their battery-sucking toys. I haven't come up with a better way to store these. Any suggestions?

31 Days of Order/Disorder, Day 17

Ok, so I should re-title this series and not call today day 17 since I've missed the last 5 days....but I don't want to do that much math today.

I have two "order" pictures for you today, partially because I want you to believe I have twice as much order in my home than disorder (don't talk to my husband about this) and partially because my second "order" picture will probably only excite the home-schoolers in my audience. I don't like to leave anyone out.

ORDER:

In Little House on the Prairie days, each family member owned one pair of mittens, one winter hat, and one scarf. In 2012, apparently each family member owns enough of these things to outfit an army.  At least it feels like we do. To keep these at bay, I hung an Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer on the inside of our stand-alone coat cupboard and we stick a (hopefully) matching pair in each pocket. I like the ones that have the mesh pockets like this rather than the solid canvas pockets (that you can't the contents thru) or the clear plastic pockets (that won't allow slightly-damp gloves to dry without molding first.) This is also a good place to stick the kids' sunglasses or other miscellaneous things you (or they) need to grab while walking out the door. 

This next one is for the home schooling crowd (the rest of y'all, you may want to just skip right down to my lovely disorder picture...)

ORDER:

I mentioned this on facebook this week--our paper grading desk. Click on the photo to enlarge. I placed 3 of these  Mesh Desk Organizers (which, for the record, weren't as expensive as they are now) side by side and filled them with each student's teacher's manuals. As soon as they finish a lesson and the accompanying worktext page, they bring it to this desk and grade their own work. The magnetic holder on the white board to the left holds grading pens, markers, and highlighters, and the bucket below it holds a couple stamps (star, thumbs up, etc.) and and stamp pad. It is their responsibility to grade their own work and then put everything back in place. Of course many times they will need me to grade a part of their work when the teacher's manual lists the answer as "answers will vary", so they call me over and we get it done. No more not-getting-to-grading-papers-for-four-weeks-and-they-learned-three-things-wrong-since-then at this house. Don't worry, we have other issues to contend with.

Speaking of which....

DISORDER:

I ought to have my head examined for showing this picture to the internet world. No, this is not some rice or pasta recipe. This was roast, green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes. That white stuff? Mold. I can't even claim that this was some homeschool experiment. What this was is me procrastinating cleaning out the fridge for 3 weeks. I'm sure none of you have found such disgusting-ness in the deep depths of your refrigerator. Uh-huh. 

Now who wants to come over for supper??

(To view all of my posts from most recent to oldest, click here.)

31 Days of Order/Disorder, Day 11

Are you wondering if you missed day 10?? No, you did not. I missed day 10. But hey, I lasted 3 days longer than I thought I would!!

Not wanting to completely disappoint my plethora of fans....

ORDER and DISORDER: (yes, together)

This is what we affectionately call "The Cube" at our house. And it is organized in a disorderly fashion. With 4 kids, this is how we keep track of everyone's shoes and coats. (Everyone under the age of 12, that is.)  As you can see, it gets a little messy at times. And even without the extra items and with everything put in its place, it doesn't portray that all-neat-and-tidy feel. But at this point, if the kids can locate their shoes and coats in 2 minutes or less when I say, "It's time to load the car!!", I won't complain.