From what I read, the Pearl way is not to encourage playing on a blanket. It serves a different purpose. I'm not against conservative families with mindful children, but I think we are associating it with mindlessness and control. I loved watching the Duggars when they had their series. I was glad to see the girls out of their prairie dresses. It seemed safe, happy, and loving. But it wasn't. I'm sure, though, there must be a way to achieve that without abuse and control. Nobody here seems like a terrible parent at all. Nobody is perfect--Mrs. Duggar tried to make us think she was. We are real.

That is usually how our things all happen, but even if we are home by mid-morning, it still throws us all off it seems. Unfortunately, even piano eats up 45 minutes in roundtrip travel time. I always try to bring something for the other kids to do, but I am not sure their focus is great. With my daughter's stuff, if we listen to something in the car, they are at least there a while to ponder a few things. I'm starting to believe this is why our society really centers a child's social life around the brick-and-mortar school, not that kids don't do things outside of school, either. But even my niece now dances competitively for her high school as opposed to a competition dance team at a studio.

When I think of blanket training infants, I think of Pavlov's Dogs. But potty training, habit training, etc. is more "teaching" than "conditioning." Of course, we want to keep our children safe. Our kids played on blankets, and we giggled when they'd grab a corner and try to roll up into a burrito. I also didn't wear necklaces for a long time because the children would grab them. Unfortunately, the term and idea behind blanket training is to condition children into blind "obedience." Cue Duggars, IBLP, etc. And that was so they could continue to blindly obey as they grew older. Many of us long for that perfect, happy family full of love and well-behaved kids. But when I started to hear the kids had to have infants with them in bed or that the girls' school work consisted of circling appropriate outfits, we learned it was all an illusion.

Well, my daughter is very close to being at the advanced level, and now I think she should at least see it through that far, but we did decide this year she would not be on the team. I think if I’d known we’d be homeschooling, our family culture would’ve been different from the start. BUT as for the rest, I’m going to try more after school hours. Our orthodontist paperwork says to expect to pull kids from school and that after school hours are for short appointments. I mean kids with braces have tests?! So that will be tricky, I have just learned. I think I may stop telling people we homeschool. My oldest just seems to be the one who needs this the most, and I’m concerned because he is getting older. Thank you all!

I just watched a tutorial on YouTube, and a few commenters asked if they could start blanket training past a year. 😬

Yeah, I don’t even know what to say here. But I do equate it with the sinister things such as teasing the baby and then swatting the baby into compliance. I know this post suggests you can train a baby to self contain, but even my dog hesitates to go into her crate every so often. So then what? Throw a few puffs or baby mum mums onto the blanket?

Thanks very much for this. Yes, there was just a tiny section regarding school work. Also, we are curious about him being on the spectrum, but lead poisoning mimics those symptoms, too. I'm going to see if I can research finding someone.

Thanks! They look a wee bit different from ones our dentist gives us? We've always struggled with them, lol. We will use them in conjunction with the water pick.

Thank you! I just realized I posted this in the wrong place, whoops!

My 11 year old is getting an expander and then braces, and he won't be the last in the family. Do you have one that you love? Would buying a cheap $30 one be good enough? We already use an electric toothbrush.

We tried MP one year and then used some of the materials last year. I just find it impossible to do everything in a full core with four children. It could suck the life out of you if you try, which I did. Another thing I dislike about the program is that much of it is a sequence that you need to stick with. With that being said, I also really like it and think it is a good classical program. Sometimes I regret getting away from it because we will always be off their path. I realize the students don't have to do everything in the books, so one remedy is just not buying the student books and using the teacher book. This year, I bought few curriculum pieces. I wanted to focus on just reading some good living books. I'm still struggling with output when it comes to their writing or developing written spelling skills, so I hope I figure that out. I also hope they can remember a thing or two---with MP, there is a lot of recitation and memory work. It was actually good for my student who struggles with reading comprehension to feel a sense of accomplishment. Anyway, I am rambling. I feel like any pre-planned curriculum has the potential to have the same effect. What I do know is that my kids seem to be enjoying our reading this year and the books I chose for them.

All it does is remove it from your blood. Lead stays in your bones for a very long time and puts you at risk for many other diseases later in life. There are foods that can help, so you can naturally chelate, too. My son was in tears two nights ago discussing his reading comprehension. My husband is skeptical of the upcoming appointment---most of the paperwork was to screen for anxiety, and there was an identical form for my son to fill out. He's a 10 year old, and I had to ask him question such as, "when you feel frightened, do you feel as though you are choking?" I feel like completing the form was traumatic. There was just one question on reading difficulty. ETA - I just checked out those National Geographic materials, and they do look great, even for my younger kids. We can wait a bit before experimenting with interventions.

@PeterPan so, when I was pregnant with him, we found out my oldest had a very high blood lead level through a routine screening—-so high, they thought it was a lab error. My level was 26 but got down to a 4 at his birth, and his level would’ve been a match. Now, it doesn’t take much lead to poison a young child. We think it affected him differently than it did our oldest. My oldest underwent medical chelation, but this little guy had his exposure stopped. I honestly think the forms were filled out are generic state forms. I’m not sure why a rising K kid would be dismissed from his IEP before starting to learn to read.. in the meantime, he has improved his reading, and we either popcorn read, or I read to him. Thank you so much for all of this. I read it all. I’m just not very eloquent talking about it all. I figure if he us at least listening, he is learning. But I also don’t want to do him a disservice.

Thanks so much! I do feel better reading this was lower risk. But the good masks are coming out again.

Thanks so much for your wealth of information again! I am not familiar with any of this and will have a look. I do think he struggles to be on grade level with comprehension, so we took some time after reading in our Canadian history book after each paragraph to discuss it, and I think that does help him. What I would love, though, is for him to be able to read on his own and understand what he's read. I feel like I cannot expect this from him at all. I would love to get there with him. Of course, as said before, I do not want to cover up a problem and not get a proper diagnosis. I am not sure how lead poisoning will be factored into all of this. But I also do not want to wait several months or a whole extra year of not helping him learn better, either. I did find a service that can do this privately for a fraction of the typical cost, and that would be $1500. I guess we can wait until our appointment next month to decide. We filled out a few forms, none of which seemed terribly applicable to the situation.

Thank you so much for sharing this. This is very helpful, from a brief look at the reading rope. I am just having a hard time figuring out what the problem is exactly. If he reads something brief, simple, and factual about an animal, it goes better. If he is reading about people or characters, then it seems to be more complicated for him to sort out details.

Thank you all. I was trying to gather information about when they were exactly sick. He said they returned to school after Labor Day, and that was the last day he had to mask. He is not neurotypical, so it was hard to understand. But I know they were all at taekwondo last week, too. His dad is a teacher, so he was working directly with my son and another student. I heard him cough. He is a pretty strong and athletic guy, and he had no problem being active last night. I just worry, so I guess we should be masking again. I know people cannot hide away forever. The other student's mom teaches in public school, so she was not worried at all.

I need to reply to you on an education thread, and I will when I’m less tired! I’m so sorry. I also believe that given a chance, young people will rise to the occasion and be understanding—maybe a questionable rule prevents them from having their devices, but your child has a need. I mean, schools hand out mini computers to all kids these days! They are tools for learning. They should be happy kids show up at all to be honest.

I had direct contact with someone who told me he was 9 days out from having to wear a mask at school after Covid. My son had contact with his dad today, who has a lingering cough. My son is in the tae kwon do class the dad helps teach. The kid is not neurotypical and said Covid isn’t serious anymore, bless his heart. Was this high risk? I masked for a long time and will probably start again after today. They seem physically fine otherwise and can’t lock themselves away, but my MIL has metastatic pancreatic cancer, and I live nextdoor to her. She’s doing maintenance chemo now. Thoughts?

Thanks very much! Would you suggest buying the basic teacher manual with the magnets for starters? I’m just now perusing the website. I haven’t quite found the complimentary items, but I’m searching using a phone at the moment.

Thank you! No, please don’t ignore me, lol. He had an IEP and was dismissed because they said he was just quirky. Yes, they used that word. But for the future, I’d like something. One diagnosis I do have is in utero lead poisoning. We have an appointment next month to start the process again, but we were told further testing wouldn’t happen until at least six months after that. We also waited over a year for this upcoming appointment. Until I can find private options, I’m just looking for ideas since we’re not getting anywhere too fast. I’m glad he’s improved, so I’m just looking for ways to help it along. I will check out Mindwing!

This question came up in a gymnastics group I'm in, too. I don't really care for the rule. There are no more payphones, and kids when away from their parents need phones. They should be taught by their parents how to properly manage them and be reminded it is impolite when someone is speaking to have their eyes on their phone screen, of course. I've been really, really trying to be firm on NOT getting a phone for my kids, but they are usually always with me, or I am close if I drop them off for a class. How about a sign: please turn your phones off?

My son has struggled with reading. He completed AAR last year, and we finished the year reading a couple of books from the 2nd grade Memoria Press literature list. This year, I decided to do a more Charlotte Mason - flavored approach with living books. We take turns reading together as a family mostly. My other two kids are capable of reading and understanding on their own, but though this child's reading has greatly improved (he reads faster, smoother, etc. with still some struggles), he still has trouble with knowing what he has read. He said he really cannot remember what he read. I am not sure if it is because he is still putting his energy into deciphering words? He can get knowledge from listening and following along when we do our reading, but he still struggles with comprehension and understanding. I don't want to do dry programs like AAR anymore. I thought about buying a book book study set from Blackbird and Company, where he spends time writing about what he has read, possibly at a lower grade level. Is there anything else you'd suggest? I am really just looking for a curriculum plan. Something small we can try, so I am open to suggestions on what to buy. (no suggestions on diagnoses, testing, figuring out what the problem is---his reading is improving---now we need to get him to understand it). Thanks!

I pay $70 per month for a weekly 30 minute piano lesson. I'm not sure if that is high or low, but we go to a music studio, and she is a wonderful teacher. Even if my son doesn't become a concert pianist, it is as though he has learned another language. His teacher does teach in private schools and also plays at funerals. I know she isn't exactly getting rich. It doesn't sound as though you are very appreciated for all that you are doing. Yes, many public schools are toxic. But some still pay well. Sometimes the band kids are some of the nicest! --Oh I always tell my husband that music teachers have to be so patient, listening to all the beginners, lol!

That is disgusting. I wish a police officer had been present.