Tween girls

[Wisconsin Beth]

Aug 29, 2019 9:44:35 GMT -5 anciana said:

Beth, is there no advanced math class in 6th grade? They only start with advanced classes in 7th grade?

Not that I'm aware of.  I'll be talking to the school, probably next week, to see what our options are.

I know there's another family in the same boat, because our girls are friends.  Plus when I asked the principal last night about the filling of the substitute positions; the mom immediately followed up with a question about the math teacher. I'll share any useful info I get with her. 

[anciana]

I guess I don't understand what they're planning to do with all the kids that did advanced math classes before coming to 6th grade. It doesn't make sense to me to put them in regular 6th grade math class if they've done that already and then offer advanced math in 7th grade.

[azucena]

This can be a huge drawback to the immersion school situation. Should math or science be taught in a foreign language?

Khan academy is great for supplemental math to keep her engaged.

[oped]

Aug 29, 2019 8:56:44 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

I'm also not sure that skipping 7th grade math to go from 6th to 8th is good either.  I'm assuming there are concepts in 7th grade math that she'd need to be familiar with in order to succeed in 8th grade math. 

oped ?  Other teachers?  Can you chime in here? 

In a lot of homeschool curriculum and in districts I've looked at, there can be much overlap and sometimes little distinction between 7th grade, 8th grade and pre-algebra (whatever they choose to call it... ) ... sorry I can't help much more than that... look at your school's specific curriculum, they should be able to show you texts and scope and sequence for the different courses. 

In my experience though it is not necessary to move through them all... lots of repetition. Just different names and paces. 

[azucena]

Shaving is happening and she's all smiles. Wet/dry electric was the way to go.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Thanks Oped.  I'll check into that. 

K seems happy to have had the talk on shaving but isn't actually shaving yet. 

She's also asked to be registered for the Kids Ninja Competition at the gym for 9/14.  We're kind of late for registering so we're going to be soaked on the fees but oh well.  She's excited about it and I suspect she's going to want to spend more time at the gym so she can practice. 

I need to buy her long pants too.  Her current long pants are more like capris! 

[taz157]

Sept 2, 2019 19:18:43 GMT -5 azucena said:

Shaving is happening and she's all smiles. Wet/dry electric was the way to go.

Which wet/dry electric did you get?

[Wisconsin Beth]

My older sister agreed to keep K and C overnight last Saturday so DH and I could close up the land in Rhinelander.  Among other things, my younger sister came over too and they took the kids shopping.  K got shorts, a pair of long pants and some shirts.  I've texted asking who do I owe and how much.  I'm grateful they did this because the girls section at Target wasn't cutting it anymore but now I feel like a crappy parent - that my sisters had to take my girl shopping to get longer shorts and shirts that don't come to her thighs.  Their girls are all in college or graduated from college and so do their own clothes shopping.  But damn, I feel like a sucky parent.  I'll get over it.  This is a me issue, I know that. 

[azucena]

We're shopping at Kohls and old navy now. DD11 wears a women's size 6 shorts/pants since her body has blossomed past junior sizes.

Your sisters probably had fun shopping with her and K probably liked the attention and cooperated better if she's anything like my DD.

[azucena]

Sept 3, 2019 12:09:42 GMT -5 taz157 said:

Sept 2, 2019 19:18:43 GMT -5 azucena said:

Shaving is happening and she's all smiles. Wet/dry electric was the way to go.

Which wet/dry electric did you get?

This one www.target.com/p/panasonic-close-curves-4-blade-wet-dry-women-s-rechargeable-electric-shaver-es2216pc/-/A-10696867

I wouldn't say it shaves super close, but DD has yet to cut herself and she's happy with it.

[gs11rmb]

Sept 9, 2019 11:09:43 GMT -5 azucena said:

Sept 3, 2019 12:09:42 GMT -5 taz157 said:

Which wet/dry electric did you get?

This one www.target.com/p/panasonic-close-curves-4-blade-wet-dry-women-s-rechargeable-electric-shaver-es2216pc/-/A-10696867

I wouldn't say it shaves super close, but DD has yet to cut herself and she's happy with it.

Do you need shaving foam?  My 11 year old has been asking about shaving her legs.  

[azucena]

Sept 9, 2019 11:49:16 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

Sept 9, 2019 11:09:43 GMT -5 azucena said:

This one www.target.com/p/panasonic-close-curves-4-blade-wet-dry-women-s-rechargeable-electric-shaver-es2216pc/-/A-10696867

I wouldn't say it shaves super close, but DD has yet to cut herself and she's happy with it.

Do you need shaving foam?  My 11 year old has been asking about shaving her legs.  

I haven't bought shaving cream in years since one of the old coupon hounders mentioned using conditioner as shaving cream.  I let DD pick out one of the giant suave conditioners in strawberry for <$2.  Will see how long it lasts her but still has to be cheaper than shaving cream.  Leaves my skin super soft too.

A friend said her DD12 goes thru a can of shaving cream per week, and she's only doing her armpits!  Yikes!

[raeoflyte]

Sept 9, 2019 12:26:15 GMT -5 azucena said:

Sept 9, 2019 11:49:16 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

Do you need shaving foam?  My 11 year old has been asking about shaving her legs.  

I haven't bought shaving cream in years since one of the old coupon hounders mentioned using conditioner as shaving cream.  I let DD pick out one of the giant suave conditioners in strawberry for <$2.  Will see how long it lasts her but still has to be cheaper than shaving cream.  Leaves my skin super soft too.

A friend said her DD12 goes thru a can of shaving cream per week, and she's only doing her armpits!  Yikes!

That's crazy! I went back to shaving about a year ago ago and just emptied my normal size bottle of barbasol...and I have to shave a lot.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I shave in the shower, after I'm done scrubbing.  It didn't occur to me that K might want shaving cream.  Although I can see C playing with it and using it up that way...

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Sept 9, 2019 12:26:15 GMT -5 azucena said:

Sept 9, 2019 11:49:16 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

Do you need shaving foam?  My 11 year old has been asking about shaving her legs.  

I haven't bought shaving cream in years since one of the old coupon hounders mentioned using conditioner as shaving cream.  I let DD pick out one of the giant suave conditioners in strawberry for <$2.  Will see how long it lasts her but still has to be cheaper than shaving cream.  Leaves my skin super soft too.

A friend said her DD12 goes thru a can of shaving cream per week, and she's only doing her armpits!  Yikes!

Probably time to stage an intervention and see what she's doing.   That's a lot for just your pits.   

I know I make a giant mess when I use shaving cream, you'd think at 35 I could get it on my legs instead of the toilet, sink and bathroom floor.

I stick to shaving in the shower.

[azucena]

Her DD is definitely convinced that more shaving cream equals less chance of cuts.  My friend is just glad that she's showering regularly.

Most nights we text back and forth random tween tidbits, and it's so nice to know that neither my DD or myself is crazy.

[taz157]

Sept 9, 2019 12:26:15 GMT -5 azucena said:

Sept 9, 2019 11:49:16 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

Do you need shaving foam?  My 11 year old has been asking about shaving her legs.  

I haven't bought shaving cream in years since one of the old coupon hounders mentioned using conditioner as shaving cream.  I let DD pick out one of the giant suave conditioners in strawberry for <$2.  Will see how long it lasts her but still has to be cheaper than shaving cream.  Leaves my skin super soft too.

A friend said her DD12 goes thru a can of shaving cream per week, and she's only doing her armpits!  Yikes!

I do use hair condition in a pinch, but I prefer shaving cream (I use Walmart's brand equivalent to Pure Silk) because I can see where I've shaved before. I did used to use Skintimate shaving gel, but I found I don't like it anymore. I'm use to shaving cream now.

My DD is 8 and isn't shaving and no plans to start anytime soon (I'm hoping to wait until 6th or 7th grade for her).

Using a can of shaving cream per week is alot, especially for the armpits!

Thanks for the razor recommendation too!

[Wisconsin Beth]

K's middle school is about 6-8 blocks from C's grade school.  So we've agreed that on M, W, and F (unless it's raining) she will walk from her school to his, so he can play on the playground more.  Yesterday was the first day and I and the other mommies were keeping an eye out for her.  She gets out later and it looks like it takes her about 10-15 minutes to walk it.  So I've got a baseline for when to start to worry about her now.  That's good.  We still haven't given her a phone, which I was regretting yesterday while I watched for her! 

Once she got to the playground, the younger girls mobbed her.  She had 2 fourth graders, 1 second grader and a 3 year old hugging and hanging on her.  She was flustered.  It was cute to see. 

[Wisconsin Beth]

K did really poorly on a health and human behavior quiz.  It was 5 fill in the blank questions, with a list of 10 word options.  I guess I need to talk to her about body image and eating disorders as well as test clues like "an" is going to be a word starting with a vowel.  Because I think she got 1 correct.  The rest of the quiz she did ok on. 

She's also struggling to focus in her Science class.  They're covering earth sciences right now (erosion, glaciers, that sort of thing) and it's not a subject she's interested in.  We've talked with her a bit on doing her best even though she's not fond of the topic, which she seems to get.  She's got decent enough study habits, at least by my lazy ass study habits, so hopefully the next section they cover will interest her more. 

[TheOtherMe]

I wish she had my college Earth Sciences professor.  He had made a model of a volcano.  When the volcano went off, he always ended up saying "uplift and erosion, it's such a beautiful site".  I still remember that 45 years later.

Now when we got to rocks, I could not tell them apart and you really can't study that.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 19, 2019 8:15:12 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I wish she had my college Earth Sciences professor.  He had made a model of a volcano.  When the volcano went off, he always ended up saying "uplift and erosion, it's such a beautiful site".  I still remember that 45 years later.

Now when we got to rocks, I could not tell them apart and you really can't study that.

Yeah, I thought Earth Sciences were fun classes but I don't remember most of it anymore. 

[Wisconsin Beth]

I took K in for vaccinations yesterday afternoon.  School had sent out a reminder for her.  She got 3 shots, including a flu shot.  We got back in Oct. for annual physicals for both kids so she's getting the HPV one then.  The nurse really didn't want to give her 4 shots. 

C was there and got a flu shot, mainly because he was being an ass to K.  Plus we were there.  But not one of my prouder parenting moments...

[TheOtherMe]

Sept 19, 2019 8:20:56 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 19, 2019 8:15:12 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I wish she had my college Earth Sciences professor.  He had made a model of a volcano.  When the volcano went off, he always ended up saying "uplift and erosion, it's such a beautiful site".  I still remember that 45 years later.

Now when we got to rocks, I could not tell them apart and you really can't study that.

Yeah, I thought Earth Sciences were fun classes but I don't remember most of it anymore. 

I only remember what I remember because the professor made the class so much fun.  It was one of the most popular courses on campus.

[azucena]

Turns out shaving wasn't as much fun as she thought and in fact way more work so she's stopped LOL.

And now we are back to arguing about how she needs to shower every day. And if her deodorant falls on the floor and shatters, she should tell me she needs a new one instead of going without and lying when I ask if she forgot to use it. Your sml proceeds you darling and gives your lie away.

[Wisconsin Beth]

K told me this monring that she'd dropped hers repeatedly.  She likes having 2 - one to keep in her locker for gym and one at home.  But she couldn't figure out how to get the new one started.  It was a gel and I think the last one was solid.  I let her pick out whatever one she wants but I don't think she realized it was a gel until then.  I'm not sure she even knew that gel was an option. 

We did our last camping trip.  The place was doing a Halloween theme, including pumpkin painting, trick or treating and a haunted barn.  DH took the kids to the haunted barn while I hung out at the pool.  The kids came back really scared.  K was crying.  I think we're done with haunted houses/barns for a few years.  We had lots of drizzling type rain going on but played in the pool anyway.  I told the kids we'd be done if there was thunder and/or lightening.  They loved the pool, mostly because they had it to themselves I think. 

[Wisconsin Beth]

Yesterday I got a robocall from K's school, saying K was absent from a class.  I immediately called the school back and talked to someone.  K wasn't marked absent on anything the office person saw.  Her thought was that K was either late to class or missed by the teacher, who then rectified their error.  I asked K about it when I picked her up.  She was given an excuse note to give to her 6th period teacher and she was to report to room 104 for advanced math!  She had a sub for gym and we're assuming that the sub is the one that made the mistake. 

But the school takes the 10-15 kids who did best on the STAR 360 math testing and turns them into a math club type thing.  They meet every Tuesday during 6th period (sadly, it's not during K's boring math class) and in Feb. they will have some kind of competition with about 200 other schools.  K's excited.  We're excited for her.  She'll miss her German Culture class and gym class as the school runs on an A/B day cycle.  We're ok with that. 

[azucena]

advanced math sounds fun - I'm being totally serious and wish I had those opportunities starting that young

Since I'm constantly negatively venting about the tween stuff - here's a positive. I'm really enjoying the times that my van is full of DD11 and her friends. They are hysterical. DD's BFF last night said "so this one time, I ate too many bananas in one day,...that did not have a good outcome" which was met with several seconds of complete silence and then a whole vanload including me laughing. Last night I didn't even mind them ribbing each other about crushes because it was so sweet...they each clearly know who others like and one particular girl who is crushing bad on Felix would just keep talking about him and every time she said Felix the other girls would simultaneously go 'ooooooooooo' - it was sweet, good natured teasing and clearly this girl didn't mind.

[TheOtherMe]

DN3 is teaching advanced math, 4 class periods a day.  

He was in advanced math from the time he was old enough to be in the class so it's a good fit for him.

[thyme4change]

Sept 25, 2019 7:20:57 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Yesterday I got a robocall from K's school, saying K was absent from a class.  I immediately called the school back and talked to someone.  K wasn't marked absent on anything the office person saw.  Her thought was that K was either late to class or missed by the teacher, who then rectified their error.  I asked K about it when I picked her up.  She was given an excuse note to give to her 6th period teacher and she was to report to room 104 for advanced math!  She had a sub for gym and we're assuming that the sub is the one that made the mistake. 

 

I got a call like that one day. Turns out the bus was late (the school bus) and they just marked every kid on the bus absent and had robocall give an entire busload of parents a freaking heart attack.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Yeah, I did get scared.  Then it took 15-20 rings for the office to answer the phone, which didn't help me any.