To Dye or Not to Dye - 42 and Growing Grays

So, I colored my hair last night.  No, not a different color, exactly…  See, I have really dark brown hair naturally – the problem is that I'm starting to see grays creeping in.  And…  They are multiplying.

My mother colored her hair for as long as I can remember.  Even as a child, the ritual stuck out to me.  She went with black.  I tried to explain to her that we are Caucasian, so, black, not so much.  But, black it is.  She was old-school though – ask her and she will swear up and down it’s natural.  She’s in her late 60’s now, and from what I hear, it’s still black. 

My father has this gorgeous, soft silver hair.  Since we live so far apart, I remember the first time I visited and the silver had taken over.  Very distinguished on a man…

So, now I’m going gray.  As far as I can tell, it’s that beautiful silver my dad has; however, it’s not soft.  It’s wiry.  Like stick straight out of my head wiry.  Like run your fingernail along it and it curls up like a bow wiry.  Urgh!

So, for now, I’m electing to color it albeit just dyeing it to match the hair that hasn’t succumbed to stress and old age. 

What I don’t know is when it is time to commit to gray?  I mean, I’ll be forty-two in July.  That seems young enough to stay in denial.  50?  60?  At what point do I give up all pretense and let it ride? 

And how exactly does one go gray?  Slowly, just let it happen.  Or, overnight?  Like buy a silver dyeing kit and go for it?  For that matter, what hairstyle is apropos for wiry?  Short?  Will I look like I’ve stuck my finger in a socket?  Or long…  Hoping the length will keep it under control? 

I guess only time will tell, but if you have advice, I’d sure love to hear how you grew gray gracefully!

Review - Rainbow Sentences IPad App

Rainbow Sentences

by Mobile Education Tools

Web Site: http://mobile-educationstore.com/apps-for-ipad/rainbow-sentences

Cost:  $7.99 (downloadable to IPad)

Ages: 3-6, 6-10 or Special Needs

As an English teacher, I was interested in reviewing an IPod app that would help young students with sentence development.  Even though my boys are out of the age range for this product, I did want to see what types of apps were available for beginning writers.

Rainbow Sentences is a simple application that helps young students learn how to place words in proper order to construct sentences.  Per the developer, the features of Rainbow Sentences include:

FEATURES

-168 images to create sentence from
-Intuitive drag and drop to create sentences
-Words are spoken as they are being dragged for non readers
-Words can be color coded for added visual support
-Word groups can be selected to simplify sentence construction
-6 levels of sentence complexity
-Pictograph lessons to help students learn proper sentence construction
-Record feature allows students to record sentences in their own voice
-Save and email recorded sentences
-Students earn puzzle pieces during play to encourage continued play
-Puzzles come to life once level is complete

Visually, this is a vibrant app.  The are three levels of play along with helps including audio and color coding.  The ability to toggle audio assistance, color coding, word grouping , etc. gives this app the ability to grow with your child.  The more options you turn off, the more complex and challenging the game becomes.  The audio is engaging as well.  Audio instructions are articulated clearly, and the “help” does assist the youngster with understanding how the sentences are being constructed.

I found the application easy to work with; however, some of the menuing could be confusing especially for youngsters.  Because colorful buttons are included on the application screen, it is easy to not realize that the IPad option like Info, Settings, and Play at the bottom of the screen are available as well.  It just takes a little getting used to.

As an introductory sentence structure app, I think this would be fun for kids.  I could see using this with my children when they were in early elementary.  Kids love to touch and do.  The drag and drop function of the sentences is fun for kids.  I have not worked with special needs children, but noted that several reviews on the web site indicated it was a strong application for this purpose as well.

At just $7.99, I would call this a good investment for youngsters who enjoy technology and are beginning to learn basic sentence structure.

To see additional review by the TOS Homeschool Crew – click here.

Disclaimer: I received this application free of charge as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest review.

Finishing our Fourth Year

Summer is upon us!

I can’t believe that we are already finishing up our fourth year!  It feels like we just got started.  What is even scarier to me is that in three more years Middle will graduate and Youngest will be a Junior.  If four years went by this quickly, we’re going to blink and it’ll all be over.

The biggest blessing of homeschooling so far has been our time together.  The boys and I spend so much time learning, exploring, investigating, and just being together.  I can’t tell you how much I value the relationship that this time has allowed us to develop.

Another big blessing, for me, has been being a part of the Homeschool Crew for TOS.  When we started homeschool, I had no idea what was good curriculum and what wasn’t.  By trial and error, we made it through our first year and determined what styles worked best for us.  Mostly, this was good because it gave me a foundation to work from when teaching.  In the third year, I joined the TOS Crew.  At that time, I began getting all sorts of curriculum to review.  Some of it I never would have tried without the Crew, and it’s been wonderful!  Not all of it, of course, but we’re tried different programs and really grown in ways we couldn’t have without it. 

A final coup when it comes to homeschool blessings has been our co-op – TLC.  We lucked into becoming a part of the Teen Learning Center in the middle of our first year.  It’s a group of now over forty families who work together to ensure our teens have the best academic options available to them.  The women who participate are so talented!  I teach writing, and in return have access to ladies who excel in areas like physics or economics.  The school-based format allows my boys to not only receive instruction and accountability from someone else, but to establish friendships and participate in clubs like Student Government and Yearbook.

We are looking forward to summer; the learning doesn’t stop, but the structure changes.  We’ll be doing fun things like hiking, canoeing, going to the amusement park, and geocaching.  There are also those learning opportunities like shortened lessons, driver’s ed, online Spanish, the church retreat, and a trip to Cherokee.  Part of me wishes it weren’t summer because I love our routine, but the other part recognizes the boys love their summer break.  Personally, I can’t wait to get the next year rolling!

New TOS Homeschool Crew Review Site

As most of you know, I've been blessed to be a member of The Old Schoolhouse magazine's Homeschool Review Crew for the last two years.  I cannot express how wonderful it has been to work with this group of people and to use and review the wonderful products they provide us with.

The Crew's website has been totally revamped, and it looks great!  Check it out - just click the button to the left!

If you're like me, you are in the middle of looking for that perfect curriculum for your homeschooled children for next year.  The Crew's reviews are a great way to find out how curriculum is used, and the ins and outs of the positives and negatives of each.

Rare Siamese Cat-Dog

Our cat and dog generally tolerate each other well, but do their best not to really cross paths.  They both must have been very tired, and the bed looked really comfortable. 

Mutitasking is the Enemy of Extraordinary

My husband came back from a leadership conference two weeks ago and brought with him several ideas for “family improvement.”  I have to say I haven’t been all that on board as he keeps telling me “read the book!”  Apparently, the keys to personal success can be found within the pages of a book part of his seminar was based on. 

So, when he kept telling me and the boys that multi-tasking was the enemy of extraordinary, I didn’t take that terribly seriously either.  I do somewhat agree.  When we are not really focused on any one thing, but are attempting to do too many things simultaneously, none of them turn out extraordinary. 

One focus he keeps telling me about is on stopping to really listen when someone is speaking to you.  I agree, this is essential when the topic is important, but when it’s just conversation, I didn’t think it mattered all that much until…

We were at the lunch table yesterday, and my youngest son was telling me a story.  In the middle of his story, I handed half of my sandwich to my hubby, and he made a comment.  My son stopped talking, his eyes dropped and his lip quivered a little.  My heart dropped.  What message had I sent – that what he was telling me wasn’t that important.  That HE wasn’t that important.  Ouch!  I apologized and told him I was in the wrong and that I was very sorry.   He rebounded quickly and finished his story with a smile.
I don’t ever want to make my children or anyone else feel that way.  I’m a classic scatter-brain – my head is going in ten different directions all of the time.  However, I now see exactly what my hubby was trying to tell me.  Make the moment count, pay attention and what happens can be extraordinary.

From now on, I’m going to strive to give my full attention.  Even when a conversation seems unimportant to me, it just might be very important to the one telling it.  If I don’t really listen, I’ll never really know, and with teens I just might miss something that is critical. 

Come to think of it…  Where did I put that book?

Thank You to All Who Serve!