This has to be the only thing that I vehemently disagreed with WTM about. The book recommends Prismacolor pencils for young elementary students' picture narrations. I bought my Kinder a big set of Crayola pencils and we were happy with them for two years. Now, my second grader is in need of new colored pencils. Should I just get another Crayola box or are the Prismacolor pencils really that much better?

I buy NASA mission patches and sew them onto polo shirts for dd, who wants to be an astronaut. (I also had to sew Velcro onto her cargo pants...)

For the kids? Smelly pencils and fun erasers! Very thoughtful!

I looked into it (attended some informational meetings) but eventually decided against it. For me, the problem was that their schedule had them doing WWII that year with all kids. Mine would have been K/1. Maybe I'm sensitized to this (our ancestors left Europe - kids sent to US alone, or were killed) but I couldn't fathom how they'd teach this stuff to little kids. I much prefer the SOTW approach - ancients first (abstract slavery) then progressing to modern atrocities as the kids get older. Or maybe I'm just a procrastinator!

We're planning on Chemistry for the Grammar Stage this fall for my super science-y kid. We're also planning on reading The Wonder Book of Chemistry (Faber), and young reader versions of The Radium Girls (Moore) and The Disappearing Spoon.

Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George

Something Piggie and Gerald. Perhaps Let's go for a Drive!

American Girl: Luciana - their family adopts a baby girl Strangeworlds Travel Agency - the baby is a minor character, but the main character (10ish?) does have a baby brother

We bought large owl pellets from Rainbow Resource. One had FOUR skulls inside!

I used a pink linoleum carving block for the stamp base. For the elephant, I just grabbed some clip art from online. The letters were the tricky part - getting a reverse image. I create my lettering on thin printer paper, then when it looks right I go over it with Sharpie, which bleeds through to the other side. Flip it over and viola! Reverse letters in my font! Carving is the fun part.

I made a stamp to make bookplates for dd7! Her favorite animal is the elephant.

Our previous house had a bathroom like that. It had saloon style swinging doors. We looked into putting a regular door on it, but it turned out that the opening was a weird width. We just ended up living with the saloon doors!

I got a men's pair of Carhartts from TSC and added some darts. NASA astronauts wear Cabela's, you could try those. Just skip the Velcro!

Dd7's reading has completely taken off. She's been inhaling "early" chapter books and I'm struggling to figure out what to give her next. It doesn't help that the library is only open for curbside, so I can't browse the shelves. Suggestions? She's enjoyed: Kingdom of Wrenly Galaxy Zack Dino Mike Sophie Mouse Mango and Bambang Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet Never Girls Fairy Ponies Zoey and Sassafras Toys Go Out Misty Inn Dragon Masters Adventures of Finn Caspian

Totally second this. We read the entire series last summer. Usually, I'll only read one book in a series then take a break, but this series was that good.

I have just a second grader. We've read the Growly series, some Mary Poppins, Dr. Dolittle, Toy Dance Party, Misty of Chincoteague, Howl's Moving Castle, some Enid Blyton, some Hamster Princess, Return to the Hundred Acre Wood (a new, authorized Pooh book!)

Mine have the word "KITCHEN" written on them in sharpie. This morning they were in hubby's study.

"This special offer is only valid... Any attempts to work around the system via meddling with the actual fabric of time are strongly discouraged but not technically disallowed." Am I the only one who actually goes into my SPAM folder looking for these entertaining nuggets?

We're being ultra-COVID conservative (let's not debate how insane we are) So dd7 is not doing summer camps for the second year in a row. Unlike last year, when many of our things went virtual, it seems that most camps are trying in-person this summer. So, I'd like to get her some fun, sciencey things to do this summer. Flipping through catalogs, we've come up with some STEM kits from Lakeshore. She says she wants to do discections (but I'm not sure I believe it) Any other ideas for fun summer camp replacement things?

For my grandmother, the issue was a fear of being stuck at home. We figured out where she wanted to go and bought her a bus pass. Rode with her a few times so she experienced what it would be like. Does the facility provide shuttle service?

Huh. My dd's dress up rack contains an Indian sari, Spanish flaminco dress, and an Elizabethan dress. Hubby actually bought the sari while on a business trip to India. I never thought about it possibly being culturally insensitive, I was just trying to avoid the Disney princess thing!

I crocheted before dd7 was born. During lockdown, I decided to get into it again. I made this "Don't Eat the Daisies!" afghan and am now working on one with rainbows and unicorns.

After two years, I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of this homeschooling thing. I'm comfortable with my reading, math, and history choices. Science and art is still up in the air. Math - Saxon 3. English - Lots of chapter books. Pathway readers grade 3 and workbook. CLE language arts 300 for grammar and spelling. History - Story of the World. I've promised dd7 that we'll add in the American Girls books once we get to Columbus, so she's really excited about that. Science - We have a really great nature center with awesome programing. They've switched to virtual, but have announced that they'll be back to in-person in the fall. So.... plan is Chemistry for the Grammar Stage. Art - Will be trying Artistic Pursuits. Spanish - Through the public school.

I liked FIAR, but couldn't get over the cost. Highly recommend Wee Folk Art. We also did Weekly Virtual Book Club for kids. Same intent as FIAR, but free and someone else creates the ideas for you! https://m.facebook.com/groups/159517497822475/?ref=group_browse

Ditto the boys section. Mine wants lots of useful pockets, a la cargo shorts.