Posts by milligal

10

Preschooling at home any good sources or guidelines?

by milligal in

this year my husband and i decided to keep our 4 year old home to preschool him at home.

partly because of expense and frankly because the area we live in is not known for a strong school system or high standards : ( so i am going to tackle this, but if i am going to do it i want to do it right.

i do have some background in child psychology and early childhood development, but i am wondering if anyone has done this before me and has any advice or resources.

milligal

Wow what a lot of information thanks to everyone!

I actually am not a 'pro home school' advocate, I only think it's for those very dedicated, and skilled parents (like some of you seem to be). The reason we are choosing to home preschool this year in addition to the other reasons listed, is that my son has some developmental delays that he sees an OT for as well as speech therapist. He has such trouble with loud noises and a lot of visual stimulation that I felt keeping him a controlled environment until he completes his therapy (at which point he is expected to be 'normal') would be easier on him and the rest of our family

I remember the constant social struggles of sending my aspergers boy to preschool -that was of course before he was diagnosed. The poor guy, he had such a hard time, it was heart breaking. Nine months of behavioral therapy and medication for impulsive behavior and he is doing SO much better. He has made huge strides socially. I just want my younger son to have a chance to develop before we put him in a publc school situation.

By the way, both my boys attended Montessori preschool. It is a great setting and I had planned on using the 'nido' setting at home with separate work, eating and play areas.....Good advice....

18

My story

by Newborn in

jw
friends

dear all, thank you for your warm welcome!

this is my story in short (pls excuse wrong spellings, english is not my native tongue and that it still became quite long).. i'm 34 and was born into the truth by parents who in their turn were baptist in young age.

i have one older sister who is currently serving at bethel with her husband and a younger brother who never embraced the truth (which was my big sorrow for many years).

milligal

Welcome and thank you for sharing. I hope you find acceptance here as so many others (myself included) have gone through similar situations. Best wishes.

10

Preschooling at home any good sources or guidelines?

by milligal in

this year my husband and i decided to keep our 4 year old home to preschool him at home.

partly because of expense and frankly because the area we live in is not known for a strong school system or high standards : ( so i am going to tackle this, but if i am going to do it i want to do it right.

i do have some background in child psychology and early childhood development, but i am wondering if anyone has done this before me and has any advice or resources.

milligal

This year my husband and I decided to keep our 4 year old home to preschool him at home. Partly because of expense and frankly because the area we live in is not known for a strong school system or high standards : ( So I am going to tackle this, but if I am going to do it I want to do it right. I do have some background in child psychology and early childhood development, but I am wondering if anyone has done this before me and has any advice or resources. Right now I am putting together a schedule which includes:

Hands on learning

Social learning with other children

fine motor skills practice

alphabet, colors and basic counting

Any other ideas? Any good experiences or sources you've used? Thanks!

45

Is Pedophilia Really A Huge Problem With Jehovah's Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

jws say they are clean and pure and undefiled and not like the world but in reality there are those that do very evil things and they either have fallen through the cracks, have gotten disciplined or disfellowshipped.. we realize that just because a person says they are a christian, it doesn't mean they will always act like one.. regarding pedophiles, do you believe that jws have a huge problem involving an infestation of pedos?

.

milligal

It's not just that they think they are above it, it's that they try to cover any tracks leading to them that would reveal their own fallacy over this issue. Not only that but they also teach aspiring young witnesses that sex is frankly, dirty (don't touch it or you'll go blind) and should only be enjoyed by those that are married. So what happens to all those who aren't married? Not a far cry from the fate of the preisthood in the catholic church...

13

Death and JW's

by Wordly Andre in

jw
friends

in regards to other posts about people dropping dead during meeting and assemblies, it has been my belief that jw's have a pretty weird way of dealing with death.

i'm not sure if its just my family or what but none of my brothers or sisters ever go to visit my dad's grave.

i know this for sure, because no one in my family burried him, i took his ashes and placed him in a cemetery, none of my jw brothers or sister ever asked where is dad located, and by that time my mom was already married to another jw.

milligal

Ironically I just called my JW mother who is hanging onto the ashes of my younger brother who committed suicide. I want his ashes so that when my parents pass on, I know he'll be taken care of. She was sure that any one of my witness siblings want the same thing....we had a conversation about how they all threw out his belongings after he died thinking he was demonized (when he was really most likely schizophrenic) and I was forced to quote the watchtower against my own mother on this one-regarding how JW's treat the df'd. She was just silent and then she said she'd talk to my dad about getting my brother's ashes to me so they can be buried...

Argghhh....

14

Just when you think you are getting better...

by Princess Daisy Boo in

i have been thinking that i am over it - i am ok - i am not angry anymore, but after a conversation with one of my best friends today, well i am not sure.... my husband comes from an anglican/catholic background.

we, however, as a couple are not religious at all and have never tried to take our kids to church or sunday school etc.

i sometimes feel that we should be giving them some attempt at a christian education, but i cannot bring myself to go to a church.

milligal

You know what though? I have been to several therapists and I almost have my psych degree now (I know just enough to be dangerous :), the thing is that as long as this issue isn't interfering with your day to day life than you are functioning normally; an occassional meltdown? Even people who have never been through this ordeal suffer those.

Don't be too hard on yourself, and if you feel like you want more support or need to talk some things out-then you could find a qualified therapist. I do agree that this issue follows us for the rest of our lives, particularly if we have family or children who are raised around the witness environment as with ex-spouses. It comes and goes...

17

I'm freaking out.....

by whitman in

jw
friends

so...blah blah blah - car accident - nerve damage.

the medication i have been on for almost three years to control the muscle spasms due to the nerve damage has some rather interesting side effects.

the medication was an anti-convulsant.

milligal

I don't have anything great to say: just I'm sorry about what you're going through-hang in there!

9

Tolerating Intolerance

by hamilcarr in

jw
friends

us jehovah's witness are reported to be least tolerant toward other beliefs and homosexuality.

muslims score much better.. some on this board have argued we should stand up to intolerant religions.. how far should we go in tolerating the intolerance, without becoming intolerant ourselves?.

or is intolerance part of the diversity that every modern civilzation needs?.

milligal

Well, Burntheships and I CAN agree on something

I think this is an interesting idea posted on this thread, and my personal take on it has something to do with the idea of social contract and utilitarianism. You have a responsibility to do what furthers the existence of your society. Intolerance should be acceptable as long as it is an exercise of freedom of religion but not so far as it inhibits any national goal or peace that might exist within a society.....

7

Hold them accountable but with human decency

by milligal in

jw
friends

recently i wrote, and re-wrote (and re-wrote and...you get the picture) a letter to my entire family 8 living siblings, 5 of them jw and my witness parents one of whom believes himself to be anointed.

before sending it i asked my older sister who is also df'd like me, to critique it.

she decided that she would like to add her name to the letter also, a little more bang for the buck coming from two of us.

milligal

Thank you all for your comments; you know the things I think you try to convey is like JeremyC said -some reference to reality that they (those still on the inside) will listen to. My sister and I carefully crafted our letter to be subtle at first and try to draw them in so that they might be tempted to read the whole thing-we packed our punches at the end. But the battle is trying to find a way of communication that has a chance of being heard.

The true success of the WTS is their ability to cut off active members from any outside influence or reasoning....arghhh.

7

Hold them accountable but with human decency

by milligal in

jw
friends

recently i wrote, and re-wrote (and re-wrote and...you get the picture) a letter to my entire family 8 living siblings, 5 of them jw and my witness parents one of whom believes himself to be anointed.

before sending it i asked my older sister who is also df'd like me, to critique it.

she decided that she would like to add her name to the letter also, a little more bang for the buck coming from two of us.

milligal

Recently I wrote, and re-wrote (and re-wrote and...you get the picture) a letter to my entire family 8 living siblings, 5 of them JW and my witness parents one of whom believes himself to be anointed. Before sending it I asked my older sister who is also df'd like me, to critique it. She decided that she would like to add her name to the letter also, a little more bang for the buck coming from two of us. Anyway, she added this paragraph and it was so appropriate and well put that I wanted to share it with everyone here. Maybe someone else will find it helpful:

" So you may say, you two have made your decision, and must live with the consequences. Yes, we have made a decision and have been removed from the congregation, and have been shunned by the family, and have had our names and reputations ripped to shreds in the witness organization, and have had our children shunned....are you seeing a trend here?....We are treated without respect or human decency at every turn. The message to us is one of punishment, we know you will never let us forget we are disfellowshipped. The difference is that we made a decision and accept the consequences no matter how unreasonable they may be.

Those who are witnesses feel they are above any consequences for their actions (against those who do not agree with them) and that they can continue to punish in the most vindictive way and we will continue to take it and give back our love and kindness. However, as you may have guessed that is not the case. We are good decent people, who would not leave you standing stranded on the side of the street as you would us. We may hold you accountable for your actions, but we will not do so without human decency."