Where did you locate the space/s for your kids to do homework?
whaas_5a
8 years ago
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how to get kid to turn in homework
Comments (16)This story is painfully familiar, so I will tell you mine and hopefully it can help you. Hindsight does help here. I went through the same thing with my now 19 DS. He was always an A student, very bright and scored very highly (98th%) on standardized tests. He was identified as gifted in second grade. Socially had some problems all the way through school. He was the "nerd" if you will, not the popular kid! Anyway, his junior year we started to see his grades take a severe tumble. At about the same time, I received a phone call from a teacher who was concerned because he hadn't turned in any assignments and the teacher had warned him. The end of the semester was approaching and rather than fail the teacher was willing to accept his assignments late and grade at 80% instead of the 100%. Better than nothing. I talked with DS to find out if anything or anyone was bothering him and he said no, but wasn't able to articulate why he wasn't able to follow through with handing in his homework. He took his semester exams and scored 96, 98, etc on all of them! He also received a 33 on his ACT exam yet was practically failing in school! Something didn't add up! There was such disparity between his everyday school work and his exam grades. Depression came to mind, but I was at a real loss as to what was going on. Nothing was changing even after speaking with him. I was so concerned and frightened. Ironically, my husband had received an invitation from his boss to attend a fundraising dinner for a private school in our area that educates and supports kids with dyslexia and ADD and ADHD. MY DH's boss gave a very moving speech that night about his own son and the struggles they had had. They had sent him to military school, and also had an intervention of sorts where counselor's actually came at 4:30 in the morning to take him away for treatment. The reality of all this was that their son was not 'bad' or 'acting out', but was instaed finally diagnosed by a neuropsychologist with ADHD. Not something that the parents had ever considered. I sat listening to this with tear's in my eyes because EVERYTHING sounded just like my DS! I started going to websites to learn more. In the back of the program from that fundraiser was the name of a psychologist that specialized in adolescents with ADHD and he was in my area. Until then, I had never considered it because my DS was not loud and hyper but rather passive and quiet. I made the appointment and after some diagnostic tests and talking, my son had the diagnosis of inattentive ADHD. And boy, did he fit the bill! Inattentive is a great word for him. The next step was finding a medication that worked for him and this took some time. Not always easy, but we spent the better part of a year trying to find something that worked. There are lots of categories out there! I tell you my story because just like the night I attended that fundraiser, I had never considered ADD either. In fact, most teachers don't either. They don't always have the time with so many kids to teach. Things DO jump out at me now about him. He is extremely forgetful, a big hallmark of inattentive ADD, thus forgetting assignments etc. I even told the Dr. that when DS was little we nicknamed him "The absent minded professor"! His reaction was "BINGO"! His senior year DS applied to 5 colleges. He was rejected from all but one! Today he is in his sophmore year at Case Western and we take it one semester at a time. So far so good! So, just like the night the angels led me to that dinner or our stars were aligned or whatever you want to think, I hope you will consider my story and start a conversation with your family doctor. You have nothing to lose! Good luck to you and your DD!...See Morehow much real estate do your kids own in your home?
Comments (24)Fun, did you have more than one living space growing up? We had a formal living room and a family room so the family room is where our toys were kept. However, we didn't have nearly the same amount of toys as kids do nowadays! The way our family room was laid out, there was a corner where all the toys were kept. I shared an average size room with my sister, so we didn't have much room for playing in there. I'm sure we did a bit but for the most part, we were in the family room when we were young or outside. I also can't imagine having kids' toys in every room. That would drive me nuts! Most of the houses around here have basements or more than one living area so the basements store the bulk of the toys and then the family room, which is typically open to or next to the kitchen is where the main floor toys are stashed. Having four kids has relaxed my anal tendencies but I still go a little nuts with crap laying around. The peninsula in my kitchen becomes the drop zone but I can't stand having that clutter. And dh is the worst b/c he will leave his stuff there and never come back for it but then get annoyed if I move it or ask him to. He's used to clutter from his childhood. I used to have complete order in the house b/f I went to bed, but now I'm so exhausted by then that I have slacked off a bit and then get all stressed when I come downstairs the next morning to clutter and have to clean up b/f I can function. I'm like that with cooking too - I can't start cooking unless the counters are clear, no dirty dishes out, etc. DH looks at me like I have two heads. Am I the only weird one like that? Oops, sorry, I have a habit off going off on a tangent!...See Moreanyone have a functional desk for kids homework
Comments (4)Having a good homework space for kid's has been a priority for me for all of my three kids. The manner in which kid's do homework and the volume that they need to do changes a lot between the elementary and middle/HS years. Not only that but the advent of laptops has changed the way and location in which kids work as well. What remains the same, though, is the need storage space for all of their school supplies, completed work, books and binders. My oldest two we bought expensive computer desk/hutches--but guess what? They do most of their homework on their beds. Probably because it is just more comfortable that way--esp. late at night. Wht I don't like about their desks is that they each have a bottom filing cabinet drawer. I thought it'd be more useful than it actually turned out since it just becomes a catch-all space for all their stuff. I'd have preferred three drawers instead. Our 9-year-old has a vintage keyhole desk with lots of drawers and a deeper (21") desk with a clear glass top. I find the deeper desk works well to allow her to spread out her supplies. As far as organization, I find IKEA and Office Depot to be good places to purchase bins and containers to store all of their stuff. I also recently purchased some baskets to store some of my elder DD's stuff. Hope these pics will help. Senior DS's desk: Soph DD's desk/bookcase (for her the bookcase/baskets is key to keeping her organized). This pic was taken just prior to start of school so very neat, but on daily basis, text books/binders may be scattered all over--but at least she has a place to put them): 9-year-old DD's desk (vintage keyhole desk): stackable storage boxes from Office Depot (still there last I looked):...See MoreI want to lay pavers where kids bbq is located. what’s best way if ne
Comments (5)There's not necessarily a need to "break up" the concrete, but no reason not to, either. Adding pavers instead of more unadorned concrete brings an opportunity to add a decorative element to the patio. Depending on the details, some ways of doing it could look better than others, as if designed to be that way from the beginning. One possibility is to add pavers that are plain concrete color. Thus, you would have an overall same color patio but with a patterned mid-section. Another possibility would be to have a contrasting color and use that same paver to border the existing slabs. There would be additional possibilities for the infill area of using a contrast color field framed with a light grey (concrete color) border .... or the reverse of it ... or some similar variant. Play with possibilities on paper first (or using Microsoft Paint.) Once something likable is achieved, get paver samples to view on site. In MS Paint, you can draw a rectangle with the rectangle tool in a split second. You can draw another rectangle inside it. Use copy and paste to many copies of the plan. Then you can use the colors and paint bucket tool to change the rectangles into any color you want in another split second. Literally any color is available in the "Edit Colors" menu....See Morewhaas_5a
8 years agowhaas_5a
8 years agoILoveRed
8 years agoILoveRed
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8 years ago
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