Home Schooling Part 1

As a home schooling mother, I have often been asked “what about socialisation?” My answer to that, is that my daughter has friends... She has friends of all ages in our church, both children and adults, and she has a couple of friends that don't go to church! But for some of my critics – that answer is simply not good enough! So then I go on to tell them that when we go fossicking she gets to meet and greet all the people that join us, and that is how she has met many of her friends! Granted, we only see some of these people once a year because they live 6+ hours drive away! But, she has friends, and they are many and varied!

The main reason that I was first interested in home schooling, was the fact that I could oversee all aspects of my childs education! And as a result, I could see to it that she didn't slip through the cracks as many institution schooled children seem to! I, myself, was one of those children that slipped through the cracks... And I wanted a half decent education for my child! I also believe that it is a parents responsibility to teach their children, not the governments responsibility!

With the school program that my husband and I do with our daughter, we have flexibility and the peace of mind, knowing that she is doing the best she can and the subject isn't being changed or advanced beyond her level! We have noticed, that if she was in a school, then we would have to work twice as hard to keep her up to speed! While she is a bit behind the average, for her age, her general grades are A's with one B! Her overall percentage is 97% - yes, there is room for improvement! But, I am damn proud of her progress! (And knowing that I have no official qualifications, means that she is doing brilliantly!)

I enjoy the flexibility of the system. It means that if, like last Friday, when I had a tooth pulled out and my husband was away, no school happened! I didn't have to worry about organising someone to drop her off at school and then pick her up after school, nor did I have to worry about organising her a lunch! She came to the dentist with me! She sat with our friend in the waiting room, and they were talking about all kinds of animals and other interesting stuff... And because I was kinda not there with the codeine, I didn't have to worry about school for her! She had a day off! Kind of a sick teacher day! When Monday came around, she did a little extra work!

Another good thing with the flexibility, we can take holidays when we please! It doesn't have to be on school holiday time when things become so much more expensive! And a supermarket suddenly becomes a classroom! A trip to the pet shop, for a toy for the puppy, becomes a small lesson on fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, various birds and whatever other weird and wonderful animals they happen to have! Trips to the vet become lessons on how to care for the puppy or cat (whichever animal happens to be visiting this time around!). The park is a place to run (that is bigger and more fun then the half acre backyard) and a place to potentially meet new friends! Learning doesn't just happen in a classroom with 30+ other students!

She gets one on one teacher/student time, as opposed to one teacher to the average sized class of 30-35 students! In my high school English class, my teacher had approximately 30seconds per student! So if you had a question, it had better be a quick one otherwise you risk taking another students 30seconds of teacher from them!

Another plus of home schooling – no home work!! It's all been done and once school is finished, that's it until tomorrow!

The biggest thing is, the children that are home schooled have no peer pressure or bullies (unless they have older siblings)! And they tend to learn what no means from mum and dad! They learn in a safe environment to say no, or yes!

If the parents set it up correctly, then the child/ren get plenty of outdoor exercise and plenty of socialisation! The government has a set of curriculum guidelines, which makes sorting out what on earth to teach a little easier! And there are many private schools that offer curriculum to home schooling parents! And then there is the internet, where you can find many helpful and potentially unhelpful resources! You need to be a little more creative, in the area of teaching! But, once you sort out the childs particular way of learning, it flows smoothly!

There have been many studies on the pros and cons of home schooling! I will get to them, next time!

Why does my dog stink?

Have you ever bent down to hug your dog and nearly passed out from the smell?? I have!

We got a dog given to us once, she scratched madly as though she was covered in fleas... she had none! She also smelt horrible! It wasn't just her breath, it was all of her! Poor dog! Within a week the smell was almost gone and the scratching had almost stopped! Why? Because I dramatically changed her diet!

Now I have nothing scientific to back up any of my claims, so if you feel like trying to shoot me down, I guess I'm an easy target! The only thing I have to back up my claims - is experience!

What I did to stop the scratching... I fed my poor sad dog brewers yeast! Yup, that smelly stuff that people put in home brew beer! Brewers yeast fixed the skin condition that the dog had! This wont solve all skin conditions, because sometimes that skin condition is caused by mites! You may need to have your dog checked over by your vet! And if the problem is mites (or some other problem), follow your vets instructions! They normally know what they are talking about!

Now for her smell... My poor sad dog came to me with several problems. The first one that I addressed was the dog poo on her head and back! Yes, some other dog had parked its poo on my dog! So she scored a bath! That solved part of her smell!

From there, I addressed her diet!

This poor dog had been fed tinned food and biscuits! And it showed! Her coat was dull and lifeless! So I introduced her to fresh raw meat! You see, dogs that live in the wild (like the African hunting dogs, or wolves...) they eat fresh, still warm, raw meat! They don't have can openers to open tins that they chase around! It is raw meat that they eat... So that is what my dog got! And her attitude started to change! Instead of being a sad looking dog, she looked liked she was starting to smile in that usual doggy way! Her tail also discovered that it could wag, instead of just hanging limp at her bum!

The next thing I did was introduce her to bones! These are a dogs natural tooth brush! And they love them! This did wonders for her teeth and gums! When I took her into the vet the first time, it was suggested that I either brush her teeth or let the vet do it! I said I would do it! But I didn't tell the vet how I would do it! I poured on the bones... the soft brisket bones that you get from the butcher are the best doggy tooth cleaners! And they don't normally leave bits behind! The next visit to the vet, and her teeth were checked again, and the vet congratulated me on the marvellous improvement!

Now, some vets advise that you don't give bones to your dog! However, I believe that you should be wise as to what kind of bones to give your dog! NEVER give any cooked bones, especially chicken! Cooked chicken bones have a nasty habit of breaking into long skinny sharp bits that will pierce any dog! Actually, I prefer to keep chickens and dogs apart! I wont even feed my dogs chicken meat – raw or cooked!

After a few days on this new diet, my now happy dog was stinking less!

Dogs are supposed to have a smell! However, it is not supposed to keep you or the neighbours awake at night!

The one last thing I did for my now happy dog was to include a little bit of apple cider vinegar in her diet! This stuff has a lot of claims attached to it! I added it simply because it makes a dogs coat shiny and glossy! Its health benefits both for humans and dogs is a long list, but I only did it to make her shiny!

I also added fish oil or olive oil to her diet! This helps stop dogs skin drying out! Don't bath your dog too often, you'll wash away their natural skin oils and cause dandruff or flaky skin! I'd recommend the annual or biannual bath (once or twice a year)!

If you really don't want that bad doggy smell, get you dog onto a more natural diet! Study what wild dogs eat (go watch a few documentaries), and stop feeding your pet pooch tin crap! If you wont eat it, why should you make your dog eat it??

Remember, vets went to vet school because they typically have a genuine affection and love for animals! It is wise to get your dog regularly checked by a vet! To make sure it is the healthiest it can be! They are not your enemy (nor mine for that matter)! Most vets are smart and know what they are talking about (otherwise they wouldn't be vets!)! Take your beloved pooch in to visit your local vet at least once a year! And exercise wisdom... if you cant afford food that the vet recommends – do some research, ask questions, or give your dog to someone who can afford it!

Mercury - amalgam fillings

This is my poor tooth... with a huge amount of amalgam in it! When I broke it, the dentist said that there was no sign of decay - which lines up with what mercury does to teeth! You can see that it is starting to go grey! And I'm very glad that the mercury is out! While I'm sad that I'm missing a tooth, I'm glad that the mercury is gone!

My reason for this study...

After having two of my teeth break, and the memory of a friend who's health went south, then after having the mercury removed out of her teeth, her health improved dramatically! So I began to wonder about my own health!

What have I found out?...

Firstly, there seems to be two points of view when it comes to mercury and your health! Although I don't understand this, because mercury is a poison!

I must admit, I am looking only at mercury amalgam that gets placed in fillings in teeth! I prefer to not be a walking talking mercury storage unit!

The following I got from holisticdentist.com.au... (yes, it is a direct copy – I don't see the point of re-writing it!)

How many times have your said to yourself "I think my teeth are affecting my health?"

Isn’t it time to get informed about your dental health?

• Do you have a metallic taste in your mouth?
• Have you experienced lethargy and fatigue?
• Have you experienced anxiety or panic attacks?
• Do you suffer from ongoing Candida or yeast infections or irritable bowel syndrome?
• Do you experience poor memory or a short concentration span?
• Do your teeth tend to break easily?
• Would you like to get rid of the grey-black appearance of your teeth?

Those are some good questions to ask yourself! If this subject is important to you or you are just wondering... I suggest that you do your own research! Don't simply rely on what I have found... because, this here, simply scratches the surface.

This next piece is another direct copy from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy

Dental amalgam controversy

The dental amalgam controversy refers to the conflicting views over the use of amalgam as a filling material mainly because it contains the element mercury. Scientists agree that dental amalgam fillings leach mercury into the mouth, but studies vary widely in the amount and whether such amount presents significant health risks. The effects of that amount of exposure are also disputed,.[3][4] The use of mercury in dental fillings is approved in most countries. Norway, Denmark, and Sweden have banned the use of mercury in dental amalgams over environmental concerns, and in Sweden's case also from concerns over its effect on human health. Those who advocate the use of amalgam point out that it is durable,[6] relatively inexpensive, and easy to use. On average, resin composites last only half as long as dental amalgam[7] (although modern composites are improving in strength) and dental porcelain is much more expensive. However, the gap between amalgam and composites may be closing.[8] Further, concerns have been raised about the endocrine disrupting (in particular, estrogen-mimicking) effects of plastic chemicals such as Bisphenol A used in composite resins.[9][10] Arguably, there is more credible evidence of a possible subclinical toxic effect of composite resins compared to dental amalgam.

Health effects

Peer-reviewed scientific studies have come to opposite conclusions on whether the mercury exposure from amalgam fillings causes health problems. A 2004 systematic review conducted by the Life Sciences Research Office, whose clients include the FDA and NIH, concluded that "the current data are insufficient to support an association between mercury release from dental amalgam and the various complaints that have been attributed to this restoration material".[3] A peer-reviewed Journal of the Canadian Dental Association article holds that "it seems likely that humans may have evolved with a threshold level for mercury below which there is no response or observable adverse health effects".[32]

Another review published in 2005 by the Freiburg University Institute for Environmental Medicine found that "mercury from dental amalgam may lead to nephrotoxicity, neurobehavioural changes, autoimmunity, oxidative stress, autism, skin and mucosa alterations or non-specific symptoms and complaints", that "Alzheimer's disease or multiple sclerosis has also been linked to low-dose mercury exposure", and that "removal of dental amalgam leads to permanent improvement of various chronic complaints in a relevant number of patients in various trials."[4]

And here is more direct copy... The point of this... well, I find it easier to have all my information in one place! I have come to the conclusion, that for me, I need to get rid of the mercury in my mouth! If this document helps someone, then great!

http://www.amalgam.org/

Dental amalgam mercury fillings are the greatest source of mercury for the adults who have them. DAMS (Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions) is a leading non-profit group educating the public on this issue in the US and Canada. While the dental amalgam filling, which is half mercury, has been banned in Norway and Sweden, in the USA, the American Dental Association and the FDA continue to defend the use of the amalgam mercury filling, despite the clinical evidence of harm caused by amalgams and the heavy weight of scientific studies that show that amalgams expose patients to unacceptably large amounts of mercury and tend to harm health. We have many books and scientific papers documenting the hazards of mercury and of amalgam fillings.

I find it interesting that people are willing to accept having mercury shoved into holes in their teeth! And if my children ever need to have fillings, then I will cough up the extra cost for them to have porcelain fillings! I have come to the simple conclusion that mercury is a poison and I don't want it in my mouth or any of my children's mouths!

Now, for your thoughts... (Please be nice/polite and remember all comments are moderated and any swearing even if it has symbols in place of letters it WILL not be published!)