I've had some strange problems lately - high bp, numbness in legs and just feeling "blah", so I had some bloodwork done. The dr. said everything was perfect except my B12. It was very low and she wants me to take a supplement daily for 30 days and then retest to see if I need injections. Anyone else had issues with this? Is there a food / foods that can help? I've been taking them for a week now and notice no difference and I would really like to find a way to help this along without the shots. TIA!

I am so sorry for your loss. My dad and brother passed due to a car accident. I got my mom a necklace that had their birthstones and she wears it everyday.

My 4th grade dd is working through A Beka 4th grade math and is bored. She is picking things up much quicker than I anticipated - the book is mostly fractions and she seems to naturally understand. Yesterday she actually told me she wanted something more challenging. When we pulled her out of ps she hated math and now its her favorite subject. They were pushing critical thinking skills on her in 2nd grade and because she struggled she actually called herself stupid. Now everything is clicking and she's zooming. I haven't really looked at other math programs so I don't know what would be a good fit to use along with A Beka. I was thinking we could alternate days with A Beka and ______. I don't want to abandon A Beka because its worked so well for us and we plan on sticking with it through pre-algebra. I just need something to use in addition to it so she's challenged. Any suggestions would be very welcome! Thanks.

My stepdad just had a kidney removed. He's in his 70's, is a long time smoker and is also on med's for BP. He had never had surgery before and had no problems at all. HTH

I'll have to second (or 3rd or 4th) legos. My dd's love their legos. We just got the new catalog and they are begging for the Medieval Market. They keep saying how it is educational since we're studying the middle ages. :001_smile: They also love their American Girl dolls they got for Christmas last year. My younger dd considers non drying clay to be the best gift "ever"!

I'm starting to wonder what's up with the area as well. We used to live in this Orange Park area - we moved about 20 miles south two years ago. This year it seems so many young ones have just disappeared. Afterwards all you hear about is all the offenders in the area. Yesterday on the local news there was someone who stated that the number of offenders was not uncommon in a suburb of a large city. I am disgusted and horrified. I cannot help but be a little more watchful of my dds.

My 4th grade dd is zooming through Abeka 4th gr. math. It seems like "busywork" at this point. She is already several weeks ahead (acc. to their schedule) and we are going to do about a weeks worth of lessons tomorrow. She keeps asking if anything hard is coming up, but so far it seems its just review or easy. Should we switch programs (if so, to what?) or should we try Abeka 5th grade? Anyone here have any suggestions or use Abeka at 3rd to 5th grade level? Would it be too big of a jump to go to next grade with Abeka? This was my dd who in public school at 2nd grade thought she was stupid (at math) but is now zooming through math. I don't want her to be bored or start to dislike it again. Thanks for any info.!

Thanks for the link. I'll let my dds see it tomorrow - and I will also let them know its called 'Punkin Chunkin'. :001_smile:

We just studied Delaware yesterday and one of our resources was the Klutz Wacky Atlas. My dds most liked Lewes, Delaware where they hold an annual pumpkin catapulting contest. A few years ago it states they tossed one over 4,500 feet. They also enjoyed that Thomas Edison was a judge in the first beauty contest held in Rehobeth Beach. These may not be very educational but my dds really enjoyed learning about Delaware.

:D Now I really must find them! We don't have many THAT good here.

I will not get the flu vaccines for my dd's. We got the seasonal flu vaccine a few years ago because my younger dd was dx'd with asthma and other respiratory problems- and that is the only year she got the flu. We haven't had the vaccine since and she hasn't had the flu since. We may be wrong but it works for us and our dds so we're sticking with it for now. Will I feel responsible if she gets the swine flu - oh yeah! I will also feel responsible if we get the vaccine and she gets sick. Everyone has to make their own choice and it's not easy. I wish others would realize that it's not an easy choice for everyone and respect their decisions.

When my dd was in first grade they taught her to write it as 10-09-09. I thought it was strange and worked with her at home to make sure she understood what she was doing. I think he'll be fine.

Thanks! I think the Roman Mysteries and the Raiders from the Sea will be a good fit. My library has none of the Roman Mysteries, of course. I'll try to find these and see if they're something she'll be interested in.

Thanks! I'm getting it through Netflix tomorrow and was worried. We've seen a lot of duds lately. Now I'm looking forward to movie night with dh tomorrow!

We liked it here. My dd's have been sneaking up on each other with paper balls and saying "snowball" for days. :001_smile:

My 4th grade dd has always been a reader. Lately, she's been into series. Recently she read the Lemony Snicket and Percy Jackson series. She's found other series that she would like to start but they are all sci-fi or magic. We don't have anything against these but I want her to try something new. She has been reading these kind of books for a while. She would like action / adventure stories. Someone had recommended The Shadow Thieves (my dh skimmed through and he said there was a particularly bloody scene) and the Septimus Heap series (magical, again) so I was wondering if you had any ideas. She can read right around a sixth grade level. She likes historical / biographical stories if that helps. Thanks!

My dds like Animal Crossing, Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman, Club Penguin and NintenDogs (sp?).

the movie, not the series? Is it any good?

I asked for help earlier in the week about teaching the middle ages and the replies I received all said to go with SOTW. I checked out a copy at the local library and really liked it. I found older dd reading it and she begged to do it this year (we had just started US history) so we're going to jump right in. I bought the book and activity book this afternoon at the local bookstore. Both dd's are excited so its got me excited, but I have a question. Has anyone used it over the course of 2 school years instead of one? There are 42 chapters and I am guessing it takes at least a week per chapter and I can already tell there will be several chapters that my dd's will want to spend more time on. They are in 2nd and 4th grade and I thought we would stick with SOTW and use volumes 3 and 4 later (but hopefully just a year on each of those). Also, if there's anything to go along with SOTW that you've used or if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them! Thanks!

Thanks! I didn't know there was a Star Wars shop. I usually try to find things in stores and honestly haven't put in a lot of effort into online stores. I'm sure I can find something that she'll enjoy on this website.

My dd, 7, has enjoyed Mr. Popper's Penguins and the animal stories by Bill Wallace.

a Luke Skywalker action figure? My dd, 9, has wanted one for a year now and I can't find one. I wanted to get her one for Christmas but every store I go to has every Star Wars figure but Luke. We looked for Leia for a while but finally found her at Target ( no such luck w/Luke). Thanks for your help!

What state are you in?

Both of my dd's have one and they love them. If you watch the AG website they have a lot of sales and usually during the holidays they have shipping specials. We've gotten the outfits for the dolls from Target and such - the clothes fit fine but we sometimes have a problem with the shoes. My dd's love the books, especially my older dd who loves history. The end of the books always have a lot of tie in historical info that she likes.

Have you tried using graph paper? Sometimes it helps them keep things lined up and cuts down on errors.