We just moved to a new state and have to get new auto insurance. We've always used State Farm, but the Progressive online quote is significantly cheaper for what appears to be comparable coverage. Would anyone like to contribute their positive or negative experiences with Progressive? Thanks in advance!

A dear friend of mine's husband is a physics professor there. I'll ask her about it.

What's a fluffernutter sandwich??

Well, that gives me a good start. So, your major components are: Memory Work - using CCM Science -are the leaders making it up or are you using something? Fine Arts - same question as science Two moms lead each class One director and an assistant Fine arts leader Science leader -all volunteers- How long are you meeting? How often? What is the age spread of the students? Was there a supply fee to cover the costs of the science and fine arts materials? What about a facility donation? I'm starting a co-op using CCM in October and am eager to NOT reinvent the wheel!

Okay, Kuovonne: I want to know how you all have set up your co-op using CCM! :bigear:

We've gotten ours from Sam's Club for years and had excellent experiences. Much cheaper than the mall!

I'd love to hear if someone has actually *seen* their materials! Anyone?

If this is your first year of Foundations, you might want to pull out the English grammar memory work from your Foundations guide and drill all three cycles instead of just cycle 3. I know it's extra memory work, but it will really give her a leg up next year in Essentials. In addition to that, you might want to find a way to watch the TWSS dvds (maybe with the Essentials parents in your community-ask your director!) and start implementing some of those skills with your daughter at home. That will give her a more solid foundation of grammar as well as some of the simpler writing tasks. Good luck!

My favorite Starbucks drink delivered to my front door by a friend who ordered me into the shower/bathroom/bedroom for at least 20 uninterrupted minutes while she dealt with whatever my kids were in the middle of, after which she handed me a clean baby and a contented older child and told me she'd be back at the same time tomorrow and then left. Now THAT would have been awesome. :D (I'd have been delighted at Starbucks home delivery, though)

I've had a couple of ruptured cysts, been to the ER for both of them, but now have permission from my gyn. to stay home and take vicodin when it happens again (I have two more, just waiting...). Just make sure you take your temperature, if you develop a fever then go to the ER right away (means it's your appendix that's burst or for some reason you've developed an infection). You might spot a little bit, that's normal. Your body should absorb most of it, though. So sorry you've had this happen, it SUCKS.

You could use http://www.signupgenius.com. When someone signs up for something, you can set it to automatically send you an email. You can autofilter those emails into a folder and you'll be able to see the time stamp that way.

I've been on a decluttering spree this week (we're moving 1,000 miles away in less than 4 weeks...ack!!!) and now my three year old's beloved "Brown Bear" is missing. Missing, I tell you. We've torn this house apart looking for him. We've retraced steps. It's bad. Very bad. :crying: Do you think if I keep on decluttering, the thing we need will appear? Maybe?

Paper, markers/paint/crayons/etc, scissors. Make a star stencil. Make 50 stars. Hang them up all over. Near end of party when kids are nutty, have them collect stars, see if they can find all 50. Sidewalk chalk to decorate outside.

In college was my first exposure to Russian, and I know now that my professor used a phonetic approach, at least in the very early stages. We were not allowed to progress until we had memorized/mastered the sounds that each letter makes. There was a simple chart with each letter and it's sound written in familiar script. To this day, I can "read" Cyrillic by sounding it out as I go (sounds impressive to a non-Russian speaker, but horrific to someone who actually knows the language!), just like a native English speaking child could sound out words, without knowing correct emphasis or cadence, etc. The book I still have on my shelf from my college days is V puti! (only not the newest edition!) for grammar. I kept the "language/culture" text that we used bits and pieces of, but as a whole it was not a good approach to language: Nachalo. My professor used it occasionally (mostly for the multi-media component), but for the most part she taught us the way she had been taught as a child, which was phonics and parts-to-whole. We had separate classes for conversational Russian, even at the early levels, later we took formal linguistics.

I clicked on this thread to see if someone had actually tried to turn an abbreviation for Teaching the Classics into a verb.... Definitely not what I expected!! :smilielol5:

Do your children sound like the people they spend the most time with? My kids are "Southern" due to birth and having lived here their entire lives, but they sound like me, their very Yankee mama. If they had gone to school, they would have picked up a Southern accent from their peers and teacher, easily. In fact, my eldest spent time in a PDO and came home drawling like her teacher. It was cute, but we corrected it. :D So, OP, if your children sound like whoever they spend the most time with, then I wouldn't worry about it. If they sound different, then yes, I'd probably go for an evaluation. As long as they are enunciating clearly and it doesn't bother you or them, I might not actually do anything about it. Just good to know what it is.

:iagree: DANG IT!! I responded, then realized it was an old thread...and just can't let it go, now. Off to find some donuts now....

Someone already mentioned that just because he's majoring in composition doesn't mean he won't be required to take music history, a variety of performance-based credits, electives within the department that don't count toward his composition requirements, not to mention the general ed classes he'll have to take in other departments of his college/university to satisfy the "liberal" part of his liberal arts degree. :001_smile: My husband was an organ performance major for his BA because that's what his scholarship was for. He has always worked in sacred music and continues to do so, regardless of that specialization. If the scholarship is an issue, your son can always minor in composition to satisfy his desire for mastery of that subject.

Mine does it, too. Is it some new USPS standard or something?

Me, too, on the daily packing. If I know we'll be out a lot that week, at the beginning of it I will make fruit salad (just a bunch of chopped up whatever is in season thrown together) and then split it up into various sized containers for the fridge. I put yogurt into smaller containers (I buy tubs usually, if the individuals are as cheap I'll buy them if I know we'll be out). We do the cheese/cracker/pepperoni thing a lot, too, so I cut up a bunch of cheese and make sure the pepperoni is in decent size bags (we buy the 5 pound bag from Sam's). I'll bring deli turkey or roasted chicken for mine. Crackers we just grab a box or a sleeve, depending on the cracker. I'll buy a big bag of pretzels or pita chips and divvy them up into smaller bags/containers. Nuts of almost any kind are a hit with my crew, but you couldn't give them to your 1 year old. Anyway, ditto on the ready-to-go containers at the beginning of the week!

Bathtub painting? Put 'em in bathing suits (or birthday suits, whatever :001_smile:) and let them use water soluble paints (brushes, sponges, stencils, the works!) on the shower/tub walls. We have a clear shower liner that mine love to paint and then look at the other side.

I don't know, Lara in CO...if I tell my girls we're moving to a place called "Castle" anything, I think their expectations might be a little too high! :lol: Honestly, though, we're going to Denver because my husband is a finalist for a job and this is the final stage of the interview process. I'm looking forward to seeing what is reputedly a beautiful part of the country. We're not looking at specific houses at this point, but hoping to get an idea of which neighborhoods we'd want to live in for cost of living/salary negotiation purposes and because the turnaround time won't be much if he does accept the position. I think Castle Rock would be too far from his job site, though, which is actually in Foxfield, if that means anything to you. We want to be within 10 minutes' drive regardless of what time of day it is (in our current town rush hour STINKS).

Neighborhood wandering is good, as we'll be scoping out the housing market next weekend. Nicoleandco, your suggestion is right up my husband's alley: musty bookstores and gorgeous old houses! Debbie in OR, I can't tell you how lovely that sounds (except the bbq part...I've had about all the bbq I could ever eat living in this town!!). Only trouble is, if my husband lets me up into the mountains I'm not sure he'll ever get me back down South again. :D

Thanks for all the suggestions! Since we'll be coming from the land of mosquitos and 95 degree heat, we're hoping to spend a little time outside Sunday afternoon...can anyone recommend a local park for a pleasant stroll near Centennial?

This is why I love the Hive! :001_wub: Any other suggestions?