Category: CREATIVE EDUCATING

World Spine Day: A Look at Scoliosis

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Left x-ray is before surgery. Right x-ray was taken during surgery.

My grandmother, my mom, my sister, myself, both of my daughters, and my nephew all have scoliosis! I guess you could say we’re one twisted family. LOL 🙂

Exactly what is scoliosis?

Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral or side-to-side curvature of the spine. It can present as an S-shape or C-shape. Scoliosis can also be associated with a rib-cage deformity. It can progress rapidly during the growth spurt just before puberty. However, it can also occur in adults. Scoliosis can cause pain, disability, and an inability to perform daily activities.

“In writing this blog, my hope is to heighten awareness, especially within homeschool families, to routinely check your kiddos for scoliosis.”

~ Domestic Chick

In the school system, along with checking the students’ eyesight, they are regularly checked for scoliosis also. In my particular case, it was indeed the school nurse who found my curvature when I was in the 5th grade. Following her discovery, I was braced for about 18 months and ultimately headed for surgery at age 12. At that time my curves had progressed enough that the doctors were concerned with my “S” curve interrupting the placement and function of my organs.

Only 2-3 percent of the U.S. population is diagnosed with scoliosis.

Source: National Scoliosis Foundation, June 2007

While definitely not a diagnosis one hopes to hear, we can all be thankful for modern technological advancements in medicine and the doctors who have contributed their studies and practice in this type condition!

How do you check you child for scoliosis?

With you seated in a chair, have your child stand in front of you and bend forward as in the illustration above. Their hands should be in “divers” position. Bending over, get your eyes level with their back and check for the points listed above.

What to do if you think your child has scoliosis:

  • Do not over react! Scoliosis is extremely treatable and those affected go on to live normal, productive lives.
  • Make an appointment with your family doctor. Have him/her make the diagnosis.
  • If possible, consider chiropractic care before looking to surgery. (My personal suggestion is to contact: Dr. Marc Lamantia with Scoli-Fit.)
  • If your healthcare provider believes surgery is imminent, seek out a children’s hospital where the procedure is done weekly. (My personal suggestion is: the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.)
  • An additional resource: The National Scoliosis Foundation

The takeaway!

There is much to learn and understand about scoliosis. As with my own personal story, it’s easy to see how strong the genetic component can be, even through multiple generations. The GREAT NEWS is this: scoliosis is treatable! And, there are many medical professionals across the globe working daily in this area to continue studying and developing better solutions for patients with scoliosis! Also, those of us with it, can still go on to live normal lives. What a blessing. 🙂

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~ Domestic Chick

Does Your Teaching Measure Up?

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QUESTION: Do you ever wonder if your supplemental education at home measures up to that of the public system? If you’ve found yourself asking this question, (or perhaps someone close to you may inquire) then what I am about to share may help you navigate the answer to this common inquiry with more clarity than ever before! Please keep reading…

To be fair, comparing the two is as apples are to oranges, right? Education in general is a heavy topic in almost any circle. But certainly, we have all wondered academically speaking, “how we’re doing.” And we absolutely should be asking this question and chasing down the facts, keeping the best in mind for our students. To help in discovering the answer, I share this post.

Personal Note: I would be deeply amiss if I said ALL parents should educate their children at home. Yikes! I do not hold that opinion, so I want to be clear on that right up front. I do, however, believe that if you feel strongly led to do so AND can approach home education with a fully devoted heart, a healthy balance of self-discipline along with an attitude of self-sacrifice, always being willing to evaluate what is best for each student, then I definitely believe you can and should pursue this worthwhile adventure of home education.

That being said, recently I had the opportunity to discuss the climate of the present-day public school system. On 3 separate occasions, I spoke with 3 separate individuals. Our brief conversations were shocking, eye-opening and worth passing on to you. Yes, 3 is a small number. With such a narrow group, I was driven to look deeper into other sources as you will see below. Here’s what I learned:

A public middle-school teacher shares…

  • There are entire districts that have removed the common antibacterial hand gel from all classrooms due to the trend of 7th & 8th grade students sniffing and eating it for the alcohol. 🤢
  • Foundational elementary skills in math are being taught so rapidly focusing on the standardized tests, that middle school teachers are forced to allow calculators because there is no time to go back and teach how to add, subtract, multiply & divide by hand. 🤯
  • Some administrators now expect the teachers to pick up all their materials, laptops and planning materials to meet corporately several times weekly with other teachers in a general area (not their classrooms) to “make sure they are actually working.” 🙄

A public high-school senior shares…

  • Students make phone calls AND “FaceTime” friends throughout their class time …while class is going on. (excuse me, what?) 😲
  • Keeping headphones in this senior’s ears as often as she can at school is purposeful because she admits: “I want to hear as little as possible of what’s going on around me.”
  • She also tells of a time last winter, when two kids were having sex on the side of the building at lunch and “a lot of us saw it.”
  • Also during lunch, kids cannot even be seen through the glass in their car windows because of the smoke filling up the inside.

A public high-school freshman shares…

  • “If your grades are important to you, you just have to ignore the distractions of others playing games, watching YouTube, and making calls on their phones and just pay attention to the teacher, but a lot of kids just don’t care.”
  • “I try not to go to the bathroom because of all the smoke from marijuana, vapes & e-cigarettes in there.” 🚬
  • This same straight A student tells a friend, “I wish I could do all my work at home. I hate school.”

Those conversations led me to dig deeper.

As I mentioned above, home education is not the right choice for everyone. I am both a past graduate and educator from the public school system. I will freely admit there are tremendous teachers and even top-notch programs within the public school system; however, I do believe in a broad sense, the system is in need of reform, and to that end, there is little argument.

That being said, I will state the obvious here: because three conversations is hardly a cross-section of the country, I began to dig for more. My findings all point to the success of homeschooling (done well, with intentionality) and gave me CLEAR answers in “how we’re doing” academically speaking compared to the public schools. And well . . . LOL, “how we’re doing” socially speaking too! 😂 Take a look . . .

Digging Deeper…

Here are a few statistics from a study in January 2019 * alongside additional data:

  •  Homeschooling/ home education is now bordering on “mainstream” in the United States. It may be the fastest-growing form of education in the U.S. *
  • The home-educated students typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests.*
  • From April 2018 to April 2019, days teachers/staff spent on strike within the public schools.
  • “These Kids are Out of Control”: Why we Must Reimagine “Classroom Management” for Equity, a 2018 publication points to addressing critical classroom challenges.
  • An opinion article in the New York Post (2018) written by a former substitute teacher titled: “Failing public schools should be blamed on out-of-control kids” shedding light on the climate in the classroom.

The Answer…

ANSWER: YES, home education has the potential to measure up! We have every potential to offer our kids #1 – a great academic education and #2 – a healthier climate than many other choices. Stay the course, friends . . .

  • with a fully devoted heart
  • with healthy self-discipline
  • with an attitude of self-sacrifice
  • and with the willingness to evaluate what is best for each child

Be encouraged, home educating moms, YOU CAN MEASURE UP! 🎉🌟

~ Domestic Chick

Public educator many years ~ College instructor 12 years ~ Educator at home

The Plan vs. The Relationship

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The journey is brief… enjoy every moment!

Homeschool friends! 🏡

If you’re like us, mid-September finally brings a little more predictability & routine jumping back into the swing of our school days…yes! 🙌🏽 📚. It’s a welcome return, for sure.

Being type A, & a go-getter kind of girl, though, I have made some mistakes along the way 😫. So, I’ll just be transparent enough to share with you what I have learned NOT to do as you start a new school year.

I deeply relate to the drive of “getting the lessons done”… I love the PLAN!! And, I spend hours preparing & painstakingly counting out the upcoming school days, pouring over the calendar to make sure we can “fit it all in”, right? I carve out time for math, literature, foreign language, sport activities, music lessons, etc. And I think there’s little question, those all have their importance … BUT being blessed with the title of both teacher and momma, we have an additional challenge to prepare within OURSELVES! Here’s where I have made the mistakes & had to be teachable… 😬👇🏽

Don’t ever let the curriculum & the “plan” become more important than the RELATIONSHIP with your kiddos! Friends, education is important & you will get to the subjects, but please, please remember those real-life moments with your precious ones are priceless. When they need to talk in the middle of the school day (or any other time, for that matter), don’t miss it! You cannot go back. Those times may be some of the best opportunities to teach … deeper & more meaningful conversations than any lesson you had planned! Love your kiddos, invest in your students, and enjoy the journey you have been called to! 🏡🙌🏽📚

~Domestic Chick

3 Teaching Musts before Fall

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As educators, it’s an incredible benefit to have knowledge of the array of curriculum choices and options for the school year that we have before us! To serve our students in the best ways possible, we must give attention to these 3 tasks before summer draws to a close.

#1: SELF-REFLECTION

Reflecting back on what worked well and what did not should be top-priority as we think seriously about the school year that just passed.  Make lists, brainstorm, and be honest as you mull the answers to questions like the ones here…

Questions to ask yourself about last year…

  • Did my students master the content from last year?
  • What areas do I need to cover again?
  • Did we like our curriculum choices last year?
  • What subjects might he/she take online?
  • Are there any community college class options for my students?
  • Does our curriculum fit our schedule needs? For example, do we need more digital learning for on-the-go?
  • How much time do we allow for extra activities like sports & music lessons?
  • Have I asked my students what they are excited to do & learn this coming year?

Perhaps it’s been a few weeks since you considered the finished school year. If so you’re not alone! This is the perfect time to consider these questions! Gather up each student’s books to make room for the new items you will purchase for the upcoming year. As you do this, take time to look through their work and materials giving special consideration to the questions above. Make some notes for yourself. For example: “Michael Scott did not master multiplication this year.” Keep these notes close by to use (in steps 2 & 3, the planning & purchasing) as you select the best homeschool curriculum for the fall.

#2: PLANNING

This is the next crucial part of facilitating successful learning and a successful next year. Have any notes you made close by! These notes will be of great help to you as you browse the array of curriculum choices before you. Make sure to look specifically toward satisfying the needs of each student. For example: If Michael Scott will be working on mastering multiplication, make sure to select a math curriculum/ supplemental item to accomplish that goal for him in the upcoming year. Please keep this in mind, though: No teacher will ever plan a perfect year… a good educator will monitor and adjust along the way. The exercise of planning simply gives you a roadmap to start another academic year with direction. It’s a must and there’s no better time than these longer summer days to do it!  There are many, many curriculum choices and the process can be quite overwhelming. I suggest investing a great deal of time on the review website linked below:

curriculum reviews

#3: PURCHASING

Finally, let’s entertain the PURCHASING part of this refreshing season! After choosing your curriculum (part of the planning stage mentioned above) its now time to shop. Yes! Once you have discovered the curriculum that serve your needs the best, there are plenty of ways to seek out good deals.  I will share some sites below! In the days that follow purchasing, packages will begin to arrive… and, if you’re like me, these deliveries are as exciting as Christmas morning! Smile big and be thankful for the blessing of providing a QUALITY education of your precious students. High five, teach! 🙂

Here are a few sites I suggest to buy curriculum:

I hope this is helpful to you. Each year, I too, go through the musts of SELF-REFLECTION, PLANNING & PURCHASING for the upcoming year. After that, we can all take a deep breath, kick back & relax to enjoy the long summer days we have left knowing that your future self will thank you! 😅

~ Domestic Chick

Please follow me on Pinterest where I have many educational boards & ideas
 to share!

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Book Lovers Day🥰📚2019

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“Books, Books… I need my books!” 🤣~ Jerry Seinfeld

Yes! What a fun day to celebrate… National Book Lovers Day! If I had to choose my biggest purchasing weakness, it would no doubt be books. So, in light of this celebratory day, I’ll share a few of my favs with you. 😍 To start, here are my personal favs & GREAT PICKS FOR MOMS…

My FAVS for Moms 🙂

Ok, ladies! At various times in life, we all just needed a book on THAT topic… whatever it happens to be at a time. You know what I mean. Mine have been on struggles or some self-improvement topic I wanted to know more about. Heck, sometimes I’m simply drawn to a book ’cause the cover looks so beautifully intriguing! Take a look and browse these titles I include in my personal favorite GREAT PICKS FOR WOMEN…

My FAVS for women 🙂

Friends, if you happen to be married, these are for you! Eventually I will take time to write many more posts on marriage, but for today, I will share the books that I find tremendously helpful during all kinds of seasons relating to marriage. With almost 25 years hitched to my college sweetheart, I believe I’m a credible source! 😉 With that, I highly recommend the following GREAT PICKS FOR WIVES…

My FAVS for wives 🙂

Alright teachers! I saved us for last due to our serious obsession in this department, I had little doubt you’d read all the way to the bottom! 😂👌🏽 I love my teacher friends! 💕💚 I won’t exhaust this list… there are so many we could highlight here. These have made recent impressions on me. So, I hope you’ll take a look at my GREAT PICKS FOR TEACHERS…

My FAVS for teachers 🙂

Hopefully you will find one or two titles here to enjoy as I have! I’ll just go ahead and say the obvious…perhaps we should grab a glass of something happy along with a new book, & celebrate National Book Lovers Day, y’all! Enjoy 🎉💚

https://www.crystalstorms.me/
~ Domestic Chick
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Diversity in education

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As I began this journey years ago, I held teaching certificates.  After spending several years in the public school system, I knew how to teach classically and enjoyed it.  By most standards, I was even quite good at it too!  As the day approached to drop my daughter at the kindergarten door I just didn’t have a peace in my heart.  So…

After a lot of prayer, and a considerable amount of furrowed brows from family and friends, I began the part-time journey of supplementing education at home.  It was a leap of faith, for sure, but today I can confidently say I have no regrets in making the decision.

Coming from the school system though, posed unique challenges.   It takes some time to realize how quality learning can be accomplished without a bell schedule, but a very flexible one… maybe sleeping in a bit longer won’t hurt anyone either… and best of all, nobody has to sit in a classroom with nice, neat rows all day!  Early on,  admittedly, I tried to force the classical school mentality at home, thinking we had to “look” like school as most of us remember it.   This simply wasn’t necessary and soon I realized that much of the beauty of homeschooling lies in the blessing of daily DIVERSITY!  You might wonder: What does diversity in education look like?  

Diversity happens when we allow our deeper learning to be fueled by curiosity, life experiences,  & exploration…instead of the clock. 

~ Domestic Chick

During a typical week,  we don’t look like a classically structured “classroom”.  At any given time, my girls  may be playing the piano, laying on their bed working on grammar, sitting at their desks writing in their journals or completing daily science experiments in the kitchen or sometimes even the garage!  They love working with typing software on the computer and earning mastery percentages on our #1 favorite website for math: www.khanacademy.org.   My personal favorite activity is snuggling up to read our Bible and history on the sofa.  And, don’t forget learning in the kitchen! We often include baking & cooking too.  Making cookies was a fun way to learn more about the Periodic Table of Elements… and eating them is even more fun!   When kids are excited and active, that’s when the real learning takes place.  For example, our older daughter enjoys taking photos. Her enthusiasm of capturing a bee on a flower just makes me smile. We definitely work hard & take our learning seriously; but, we make sure to have fun along the way.  During lunch many days,  we enjoy using the Apple TV to watch videos from www.youtube.com, www.DiscoveryEducation.com or www.BrainPop.com to go deeper in a topic we’re studying while we eat.  We all enjoy this time!

While covering the curriculum remains a top priority, we would be missing out if we forgot to include social time as well ! Yes, we are quite social and make it a priority to be part of groups and with friends every week having fun, sometimes every day …haha!

When the beautiful weather is here, it’s a great opportunity to serve in the garden at our local Food Bank or at Hope+Choice, a local crisis pregnancy center.  These experiences are time well spent learning to work hard with friends serving others. Raising our kids to look outside of themselves and serve the needs others will certainly help to develop within their own hearts an extra measure of compassion & thankfulness!

So, there it is.  That’s what a week of diversity in education looks like! I do want to mention that the school system has many incredible educators with hearts for the students. The decision regarding the education style and location of every child should be made on an individual basis according to what is absolutely best for that student.

I am thankful to have choices!  It fits my girls well and I am happy to report that many of those original furrowed-brow family members now see that student at home can indeed still achieve an extraordinary education!   🙂

~ Domestic Chick