tuesday talk

sappy · Guru

RE: tuesday talk

Juanita · Guru

apies wrote:

oh, another one, sara...

i've struggled for a long time with the idea of cash for grades, but i've sort of come around to the idea of positive reinforcement for success at school.

if you don't want to pay him cash ($10 for As, $5 for Bs, etc), "pay" him with freedom. like an extra hour on his curfew for a night for each A, or an extra hour of wii or whatever.

i just really find that so many kids need some sort of push outside of the actual grades b/c they can't understand the long term consequences early on. kwim? as a freshman, he doesn't see how much poor grades now can affect his long-term GPA and chances at college, etc.

That's a GOOD one April! I love the "freedom" thing.

Not that I need it now of course, but it just went into my mental bank for later biggrin

apies · Guru

sappy wrote:

apies wrote:

sappy wrote:

this is actually so good to hear.

any more tips? for example - what's your opinion on us sort of being all over him when it comes to homework, grades, etc...? you know we've struggled with this in the past and we're a little concerned this year. he has english, algebra, biology & drafting (along with gym, study hall).

sara, i can only respond (obviously) from my teacher perspective b/c my own kids are so little, but i will share how i envision things running when they're older...

homework HAS to be priority. if his teachers are giving homework, he HAS to do it. kids don't realize how much 0s hurt their grades. i would make him carry an agenda (or planner or whatever they call it at his school) and have him write down his homework. until you know you can trust him, i would look at it daily and check to make sure his hw is done. make him PROVE to you that he is responsible before you give him free reign (sp?).

does his school have online grades that you can access? if so, check them daily. make him accountable for what you see. if they don't, figure out a way to see his grades regularly. even before i had online grades, i had software that would allow me to print progress reports for parents and i was MORE than happy to do so anytime it was requested (it took 2 seconds).

email his teachers - i love getting emails from parents and am always willing to share/help/etc in anyway i can.

lmt to think of some more.

super helpful info. we weren't sure if we should be on him like that - his middle school teachers sort of told us we shouldn't be - that he should have to learn how to handle things himself before he got to high school.

in an ideal world, yes, the kids would fend for themselves.

in reality? most of them can't. and the long-term repercussions of that are huge. so not worth it.

Alicia · Senior Member

sappy wrote:

so i just sent jake off for his first day of high school.

he's so excited. he's nervous about finding his way around but he's really excited.

i really hope he loves it.

he's so social that he won't have trouble making friends - i worry more about his academics.

This will be Stephen's second full week and so far he loves it. I take him and my niece(and next door neighbor) to school and both have got lost several times. Apparently if you don't take the correct turn you end up going in circles. Last week we were waiting forever for my niece to come out. She ended her day in the computer lab instead of her regular class and ended up getting lost. She found her regular class and then left the school from there.

Alicia · Senior Member

Hot fudge cake is probably my favorite.

Alicia · Senior Member

apies wrote:

sappy wrote:

so i just sent jake off for his first day of high school.

he's so excited. he's nervous about finding his way around but he's really excited.

i really hope he loves it.

he's so social that he won't have trouble making friends - i worry more about his academics.

gm sara!

he's going to do awesome.

i'll tell you the same thing i tell my parents at BTS night - they are not grown and need to watching their every move. they can go from "doing ok" to drowning SO FAST.

i know you're all over it though.

That is nice to hear. Makes me feel better because I am all over him when it comes to school.

dorian · Senior Member

apies wrote:

jake is doing really great. i really could not be more proud of him.

last night about 15 minutes after i put him to bed, he was SCREAMING up there. i went racing up there and ran into his room.

when i asked him what was wrong, he said, "my penis HURTS mom!"

i told him that it was going to hurt for a few days and he needed to sleep on his back (not his belly which is how he ALWAYS sleeps). he was just like, "oh." and i'm sure he was wishing i had told him that sooner.

anyway, as i was straightening his blankets, he said "i fall down on rocks hurt my penis, mom." holy crap, lmao. it is hilarious that he has no idea what happened and this is the story he came up with. works for me!

sweet little jakey dude

hope he's feeling better super fast

apies · Guru

:wave: dorian!

how was your houston overnighter???

dorian · Senior Member

apies wrote:

:wave: dorian!

how was your houston overnighter???

omg, that emoticon is tooo cute

we had tons of fun

came back to a shit storm at work though

walked into a company wide meeting where they made an announcement which essentially eliminates my position effective immediatly

and so today i'm polishing my resume and praying for the best

Juanita · Guru

dorian wrote:

apies wrote:

:wave: dorian!

how was your houston overnighter???

omg, that emoticon is tooo cute

we had tons of fun

came back to a shit storm at work though

walked into a company wide meeting where they made an announcement which essentially eliminates my position effective immediatly

and so today i'm polishing my resume and praying for the best

glad you had a good time!!

and i'm

too!

apies · Guru

dorian wrote:

apies wrote:

:wave: dorian!

how was your houston overnighter???

omg, that emoticon is tooo cute

we had tons of fun

came back to a shit storm at work though

walked into a company wide meeting where they made an announcement which essentially eliminates my position effective immediatly

and so today i'm polishing my resume and praying for the best

omg, are you serious?

holy sh1t.

please keep us posted. i will definitely be thinking of you. :hugs:

Alicia · Senior Member

apies wrote:

oh, another one, sara...

i've struggled for a long time with the idea of cash for grades, but i've sort of come around to the idea of positive reinforcement for success at school.

if you don't want to pay him cash ($10 for As, $5 for Bs, etc), "pay" him with freedom. like an extra hour on his curfew for a night for each A, or an extra hour of wii or whatever.

i just really find that so many kids need some sort of push outside of the actual grades b/c they can't understand the long term consequences early on. kwim? as a freshman, he doesn't see how much poor grades now can affect his long-term GPA and chances at college, etc.

Totally agree. Stephen gets a game if he has all As and Bs. Usually a $20 at gamestop and 40 for the year end grades.

sappy · Guru

dorian wrote:

apies wrote:

:wave: dorian!

how was your houston overnighter???

omg, that emoticon is tooo cute

we had tons of fun

came back to a shit storm at work though

walked into a company wide meeting where they made an announcement which essentially eliminates my position effective immediatly

and so today i'm polishing my resume and praying for the best

oh crap.

i'll be praying.

Jennie · Guru

Favorite dessert is cheesecake- hands down- homemade- Can't be store bought. Has to be store bought.

I've spoiled DH.

And I won't share the recipe.

Next on the docket- Upside Down Brownie Cheesecake. I've been envisioning this cheesecake for months. I've been trying to get the time to make it.

And the willpower to eat one slice and not blow all the weight I've lost.

Tonight we get to go meet Samson. I'm so excited. I've been researching St. Bernards and it really sounds like with their temperments, etc that this could be a good fit.

Will my child ever stop eating? He does nothing but eat.

Dddiii · Guru

dorian wrote:

omg, that emoticon is tooo cute

we had tons of fun

came back to a shit storm at work though

walked into a company wide meeting where they made an announcement which essentially eliminates my position effective immediatly

and so today i'm polishing my resume and praying for the best

Oh goodness. I'm so sorry! Is there a possibility they'd be able to fit you into a different role?

Saying tons of prayers for you.

Dddiii · Guru

apies wrote:

so for a few years now, i've been thinking that it's so weird that emily doesn't get out of bed when she wakes up.

since we went to my mom's, that's all changed.

she now gets out of bed when she wakes up and typically she's not quiet about it - yelling for me as soon as she's out of her room.

this morning at 6:45, she came in my room (i was SOUND asleep and dreaming) and she yelled "hi mom!" i about sh1t myself and JUMPED i was so startled.

so now we're up.

and i feel like she screwed me out of an hour of sleep (since most days she sleeps until 7:30 or 8).

i guess it's good warm up for next week - i have to be at work at 8 on tuesday, wed, and thursday. then the following week i'm back to my 4:45am wake up call.

Meghan doesn't get out of bed either and Mike decided to tell her one day that she can get up and play quietly in her room. Yeah. So the next morning she was just like Emily. Ran into our room and was screaming "Mommy!!" right in my face at 6:30.

Luckily, she just went back to staying in bed again and calling us when she wakes up. I figure why push something else when she's fine with the way things are right now. The time will come soon enough when she wakes up earlier and refuses to stay in bed.

And 4:45???? That's crazy talk!!!

Hopefully she was just excited to be able to get up by herself this morning and will sleep in for the rest of the week.

Dddiii · Guru

apies wrote:

jake is doing really great. i really could not be more proud of him.

last night about 15 minutes after i put him to bed, he was SCREAMING up there. i went racing up there and ran into his room.

when i asked him what was wrong, he said, "my penis HURTS mom!"

i told him that it was going to hurt for a few days and he needed to sleep on his back (not his belly which is how he ALWAYS sleeps). he was just like, "oh." and i'm sure he was wishing i had told him that sooner.

anyway, as i was straightening his blankets, he said "i fall down on rocks hurt my penis, mom." holy crap, lmao. it is hilarious that he has no idea what happened and this is the story he came up with. works for me!

Awww! He is so precious. Poor little thing! That story is too cute. He must be so confused!

Dddiii · Guru

sappy wrote:

so i just sent jake off for his first day of high school.

he's so excited. he's nervous about finding his way around but he's really excited.

i really hope he loves it.

he's so social that he won't have trouble making friends - i worry more about his academics.

Yay! He'll do great. April had some fantastic advice! I need to start keeping an "advice for future use" notebook handy. smile

apies · Guru

Jennie wrote:

Favorite dessert is cheesecake- hands down- homemade- Can't be store bought. Has to be store bought.

I've spoiled DH.

And I won't share the recipe.

Next on the docket- Upside Down Brownie Cheesecake. I've been envisioning this cheesecake for months. I've been trying to get the time to make it.

And the willpower to eat one slice and not blow all the weight I've lost.

Tonight we get to go meet Samson. I'm so excited. I've been researching St. Bernards and it really sounds like with their temperments, etc that this could be a good fit.

Will my child ever stop eating? He does nothing but eat.

um, rude.

i have the barefoot contessa recipe that is to DIE for.

idk that i will ever find a recipe that i think is better.

so there.

happylib · Guru

apies wrote:

sappy wrote:

this is actually so good to hear.

any more tips? for example - what's your opinion on us sort of being all over him when it comes to homework, grades, etc...? you know we've struggled with this in the past and we're a little concerned this year. he has english, algebra, biology & drafting (along with gym, study hall).

sara, i can only respond (obviously) from my teacher perspective b/c my own kids are so little, but i will share how i envision things running when they're older...

homework HAS to be priority. if his teachers are giving homework, he HAS to do it. kids don't realize how much 0s hurt their grades. i would make him carry an agenda (or planner or whatever they call it at his school) and have him write down his homework. until you know you can trust him, i would look at it daily and check to make sure his hw is done. make him PROVE to you that he is responsible before you give him free reign (sp?).

does his school have online grades that you can access? if so, check them daily. make him accountable for what you see. if they don't, figure out a way to see his grades regularly. even before i had online grades, i had software that would allow me to print progress reports for parents and i was MORE than happy to do so anytime it was requested (it took 2 seconds).

email his teachers - i love getting emails from parents and am always willing to share/help/etc in anyway i can.

lmt to think of some more.

As a parent that has gone through the struggle of academics in hs with a child that was really bright and really unmotivated I second everything April wrote! It does not take long for them to go from fine to in the depths of failing grade hell.