I dunno, you can have conservative views and not be a horrible person. Sounds like this guy crossed that line.

Hmm, I was very sad when I first read this. But the more I've read, he sounds like he was a narcissistic evil person.

I was hoping the course delivery would make him rather independent, but I think it is back to the kitchen for him (literally, lol). I do better with instruction when I have written materials available to me, so this will be good for me, too. I know Math Mammoth doesn't come with a teacher guide, but it might make it easier for him to focus with instructions on paper instead of video. He was going back and re-watching videos. Sadly, he had an A in the class---but it was causing major conflict anyway. So I am hoping he will move quickly through MM 6 and onto 7. He's never done great with classes that require a lot of output. He will sit and read a book for hours rather than feel inclined to do grammar or math. It's not the worst thing I tell myself. But he has to do those things! lol

Social media sure changes so many things. When I was about the age, we did have AOL instant messenger. I did go on dates, the kind where my parents dropped me off and picked me up or I walked if he lived in the neighborhood. I even kissed boys, lol. It never went beyond that. On the flipside, I have had a grown man grandpa record and post a whole video of my daughter's solo performance without my permission. He did that to every little girl. Fortunately, he was asked to remove it and did. We just don't have much privacy these days. 😞

Oh yes, I do, but we were printing Mr. D. math. I just assume buy it already printed. We will take a little reprieve. I actually decided to order the whole set from Rainbow Resource instead. I'll have to figure out what to do if the book is super jumbo....lol As for my kids, their rooms are not punishment. Cleaning the bathroom is constructive use of their time if they do not want to do school, lol. Or cleaning up doggy doo! Our homeschool has been in shambles between our schedule and my son/me. I think the change in math might help.

I have impacted wisdom teeth. I couldn't afford to have them removed when I was younger as my parents were not going to pay for it. They can cause problems, but my dentist has taken the approach if they are not causing problems, let's just leave them. I am 42.

I think I am going to order MM 6 on Amazon. This looks like it will be good for him, then he can move to MM 7.

I'm looking at MM 6 and 7. Some of 6 looks easy, but I think he could fly through it and get to 7 quickly. 7 looks, at a glance, to maybe be a better approach to pre-algebra for him? I didn't think MM would work for my next in line kid, but maybe this is a better fit for this kid.

Thank you all. We backtracked to CLE 5 to train him to show his work. It wasn’t a great fit— too much spiral and review with tiny fractions of new teaching, which to me, seemed to be in no particular order. He seemed bored of doing so much arithmetic, es especially from doing master books the year prior both grades, 5 and 6. I asked him if he would like to think about switching or sticking with us and we just do the videos together. We’ve had other people look at this math and claim it is way too difficult for pre-algebra for a 6th grader. Do not think the sample was indicative of what we’re getting. I assumed this would be even more gentle than perhaps it is.

He did CLE last year, then MB 5 & 6 the year prior. I hate the jumping around, but maybe we should look at MM 6-7. The pre-req was grade 5 math for this class. 😬

I’ll take another look. It’s been a bit! Thank you!

Thank you! I did think about watching the videos with him, but I think he might just be better off not in front of the screen. I can do the math, but when it comes to teaching it, I appreciate clear, scripted instructions I can give. So… we’re not opposed to switching. He is almost 12, so we have some time.

This is turning out to be more algebra than I thought. I think my son is having trouble focusing with video instruction, too. I thought it was great at first. He was strong in arithmetic. I felt it was time for him to move on, but now I don’t know what to do. Perhaps I need a scripted curriculum I can teach? I don’t want to go backwards. I was hoping video lessons would save time, but I think it’s taking him longer than ever to do math. Is there a scripted curriculum that would be easy to use?

I’m sorry. Your son is not a creep, and it seems her family might make this awkward for him. Hopefully nothing much else becomes of it, like many relationships that begin and end with 15 year olds. I’m not opposed to 15 year olds dating to an extent, but this situation isn’t ideal, given her family.

For me, I preferred a romantic atmosphere for a first date. Lighting and coziness. I did once bowl on a first date, and he told me I looked like his ex. Never saw him again. Lol

Well, we HAVE to go on THEIR trip that they've been going on since they were kids, so it is a little bit different. But when in-laws start making plans that affect entire families, it gets messy. A lot of people also have only so much time off or money for travel. I would definitely be upset if my in-laws were planning a trip without me, too. But I won't be shocked when it happens to me, too, lol.

Thank you so much for the suggestions! We should move in this direction.

Many partnered people do not want to travel apart. I think the trip sounds better if it’s just your husband and his dad. This sounds like a dynamic in my husband’s family, and it hasn’t been fun for us in laws. But it plays out every year by going on their beloved trip to the same place… not great for our marriages. So I’d probably let this one go.

Thank you all so much. I think a lot of rural people let their dogs go outside without a lead, fencing, etc. and expect them to stay put. Most of the time, I am sure they do! Twice in one week for me seemed unusual. Hopefully both owners are keeping a more watchful eye on their pets.

Last week, I encountered two teens trying to help a loose dog. I was able to get it into my vehicle, and then a township employee drove by and took the dog to a friend who works for animal control in town. The dog quickly made it home as it lives in town. Yesterday, my daughter performed at a college football game. It was a long day, and we ended up taking dark country roads home--a three-hour drive, ugh. I thought I saw another deer in the road, but it was a dog! The speed limit was 55, and I came to a complete stop. The dog jumped on our vehicle and started to cry and whimper. I'm sure there were a few houses on that dark road, but I am NOT comfortable pulling into driveways and knocking on doors. I mean, that is how some people get shot these days. So, we invited the dog into our vehicle, and I drove until I found the nearest open business, a gas station. The dog had a tattered harness, and it was only then that we could make out a phone number written in permanent marker. I may have taken the dog farther from home, but I honestly wasn't sure what I should have done? The lady working at the gas station called the number on the harness, and my daughter and I continued on our way home. The lady kept the dog at the gas station until the owner came. I hope I did the right thing. Maybe the dog would have gone back home? But it could easily have gotten hit.

Thank you so much for sharing! I really appreciate this! I have samples of my own writing, but sometimes I think expectations are greater these days. But at the end of the day, these are still children learning to write, even if it is 2023.

Some rules are not laws. My daughter goes to competitions that are 10-12 hours long sometimes. They say no outside food or drink. We almost always buy from concessions, but I still bring our own food and water.

Yes to all. Every time I want to go do something fun, I always feel it’s a gamble. I also hate the fact abusive men are still shooting their obsessions. My husband just says it’s best not to leave home or go places. What a way to live.

Well, maybe those two men who tried to charge the gunman might have been able to shoot him down. We will never know because that was not the scenario. I believe there are capable people of doing so; they're just not in that place at that time. Who really knows. We don't have full time police protection, so I understand wanting a chance to protect yourself. But the bad guys are still getting guns. And there are so many of them, even new laws are not curbing it. Illinois has a gun ban now....and... We had a woman shot dead in a nearby town that had been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend in Michigan. She was a nursing student, and he was a practicing OB/GYN. She had left the abusive relationship. Could he have been stopped sooner? Another woman was recently injured in a domestic dispute by her partner's gun. Oh, I am not supposed to genderize this, though women are 5 times more likely to be shot than men in domestic disputes if their partners have guns. Someone here also got shot by accident in a popular lunch spot. He did get a felony charge. These things all add up.

I don’t like the seals idea. I’m also not big on the high number of volunteer hours I keep hearing about; some kids want to or need to earn money for their hard work. Volunteering out of the goodness of your heart when you are able is great.