I had to Google what this was. I made it to 46 seconds on Youtube and not impressed.

I love spritz cookies. My mother use to make them for us. I've been searching for a metal spritzer without luck. A bit OT but if anyone know where I can find a nice one I would be so grateful.

Those Magic Cookie Bars look like something I would love. :)

I am not a dance mom, but was a dancer for many years. I'm not current with books or DVD's out. The NY City Ballet use to have a DVD (possibly several) of actual classes. They were advance level classes but very good IIRC. For Christmas you could take your DD to a professional performance of the Nutcracker, ballet sweaters are nice to have, a Degas replica or calendar if they sell one, maybe some new clothes or shoes. Currently Living Social has a 20 for 40 Danskin offer going on that might help. I'll update if I can think of any further ideas. Needed to add this book. It was one of my favorites growing up. It is about a ballerina in the Vienna State Opera during Nazi times. http://www.amazon.com/Waltz-Ending-Emma-MacAlik-Butterworth/dp/0590444409

I need to make some cookies for my husband's work and would love some ideas. What is your favorite recipe? http://allrecipes.com/recipe/big-soft-ginger-cookies/detail.aspx These ginger cookies are ever so unhealthy, but delicious.

The snow is falling quite heavy today here. This is our first winter in a cold area, and my son and I are loving it.

My son used Shurley English (up to level 4 or 5) followed by Rod and Staff (he is now on book 8) prior to CC Essentials. When he took Essentials I remember thinking it looked like a blend of the two programs. We are no longer in CC but continue to use Rod and Staff with great results. We still use the sentence questions at times when DS gets stuck on diagramming, but R&S has given him a far greater grasp on the English language than I was ever taught. I would highly recommend it.

DS usually goes to his room about 10:30 and falls asleep around 12-1. He is awake by 9.

My grandfather, who has now passed, never could get my youngest brother's name correct. It was a family joke. He meant no harm just couldn't hear well enough. Your comment brought back sweet memories. Thanks :001_smile:

Oh my! I can't believe I've actually caught it. It's 4am here. lol

My son turned 13 in August. His gift from me was stock in Disney, which he absolutely LOVED and has bragged about to just about everyone he knows. lol We will continue to add to his portfolio as he gets older, but I thought this was a great way of moving toward adulthood. You can purchase stock through Disney for a single transaction of $250 or a monthly direct deposit of $50/month. (these are both minimums) I'm not sure if other children would be as excited, but he has taken a strong interested in business and finances. My husband purchased a manual on computer building and is working with DS to build his first computer. My son has read the manual and recites from it regularly. He enjoys searching for inexpensive parts and spending time with dad creating something useful. I'm watching this thread closely as I'm at a loss of what to buy for Christmas for him. :)

:iagree: This

I'm on my second pair now, but my first pair lasted close to 10 years. I had to repair the back strap once because the elastic wore out and the sole wore down from use, but the top was still in really good shape. I was pretty rough on mine as well. I'm no longer working so I can't imagine how long they will last minus the abuse.

:iagree::iagree::iagree: I totally agree! Why in the world does the door need to be locked, and why aren't parents welcome? What is going on behind those closed locked doors? I wouldn't trust someone who is trying to alienate my child from his family. That is what abusive people do. Alienate, brainwash, and keep secrets. In no way would I allow my child in that situation and I would be VERY VOCAL as to why he is not attending.

It all depends on how off I'm feeling. If it isn't too bad, I take a bit of Tylenol and some Vit. C and carry on with my day. If it is something more, I will probably take care and rest. I try to keep our school planner at least a week ahead just in case life gets in the way. DS is older and pretty independent school wise. If he comes across a problem or lesson that stumps him while I am resting he knows to just leave it until I can explain it to him. When he was younger we had Netflix days when I was ill. I don't get ill very often anymore, but when I do it is bad. If I can catch myself early, I can usually give my body a little extra love and avoid something serious.

I'm glad to see some longer day schedules. Ours is as follows: Math (Saxon)-1 hour daily Science (BJU Distance Learning)- 1-2 hours daily Geography (TOG)- 30 minutes T, TH Grammar (Rod and Staff)- 1 hour MWF Logic (Critical Thinking Co.)- 30 minutes T, TH Vocabulary (Online list or from reading)- 15 minutes daily History (TOG)- 1-2 hours daily Writing (IEW)- 30-45 minutes daily Literature (TOG)- 1- 1 1/2 hours daily Bible (TOG)- 30 minutes- 1 hour daily Art (TOG and adding God and the History of Art)- 30 minutes-1 hour WEEKLY Music (We are looking for a tutor still since moving, but he will have 1 hour weekly lesson along with 15 minutes practice daily) Foreign Language (We are ordering Rosetta Stone in January to be studied as a family) We start school at 9 or 9:30 and work until finished or until 9:30 at night, whichever is first. Most days DS is capable of finishing by 5 or 6, some days he drags the work out until 9:30. We school year round. We allow 3 hours for catch up work on Sat. and Sun. with the remainder of the weekend for free time. I've always wondered how many homeschoolers were able to complete so much work in so little time, but eventually just accepted this is how it is for us. We honestly can't fit much more into our day without my son having a miserable childhood. I'm not sure if things will change once high school age, but I really can't imagine adding to our already packed schedule.

I think as long as your child is not overwhelmed and is learning there is no reason to limit what you are using. It seems like you have a little one who has a natural curiosity for the world around them, nurture it. :)

I think it would probably depend on just how young my child was and the context it was being used. Since my son is 13, we have far bigger things to worry about in books beyond name calling.

We did not start out using "boxed curriculum" although I had planned to use Sonlight. I had already read TWTM and Cathy Duffy's book and had an idea of what I wanted to use, but was afraid I needed more hand holding. I purchased SL and flipped through it a number of times before becoming discouraged by the massive IG which seemed to have no logical setup. It was just too overwhelming for me. I put it aside and bought separate programs. We ended up using Shurley Grammar, Saxon Math, Abeka Science and Health, SOTW with Activity guide, Handwriting without Tears, Spelling Workout, Prima Latina, and tons of books from the library along with those from Sonlight. It was probably our best year. As my son has grown and our lives have changed we have used a variety of material. I am probably closer to boxed curriculum now than when we started. We rely heavily on TOG of a number of subjects. We use BJU with distance learning DVDs. We use teaching DVDs with attached books for a number of things. It just works for us now in this stage of our lives. I don't feel the need to recreate the wheel if what's available works for our family, but I'm confident that if things were to change I'd be capable of moving to something different.

I was shocked and excited to see we fell below the thrifty plan. I cook the bulk of our food from scratch and shop sales/buy reduced when possible. We do not eat red meat or pork, and I tend to only cook using meat 2-3 nights a week. Most of our meals are vegetarian. We eat beans or lentils once or twice a week. I'm not a big pasta fan, so we might eat that once every other week. My husband comes home from work for lunch and we generally eat leftovers then. Our other lunch time regulars are tabbouleh, wraps, homemade soup, or grilled cheese. For breakfast my husband will have a bowl of Weetabix, and my son will eat either a bagel, oatmeal, muffin, or bowl of cereal. I for the most part skip breakfast, but eat toast with wholenut peanut butter VERY late at night. For snacks we have fruit, nuts, cheese, yogurt, baked goods I've made, and occasionally chips. We tend to snack 2-3 times a day. For drinks we mainly have water and tea, occasionally a half glass of milk or soda, and rarely juice or wine. We try to eat fairly healthy, but we still enjoy having the occasional treat. This week we are eating: Pizza (wasn't on our menu, but DH wanted it last minute, not our norm) Pav Bhaji Masala with rice and naan Chicken Pot Pie (not a true pie, no bottom and more of a dumpling/biscuit top) Pasta with spinach and mushroom Mole De Olla Zucchini Feta Casserole Lentil and Caraway Soup with greens or Orzo Vegetable Pie

LOL I love the Big Bang. Perhaps she is doing experiments in the kitchen. I don't recall her being diabetic. Or maybe she is taking fertility drugs, so she and Sheldon can bless the world with their superior genes. (Not in the messy way of course) :D What kind of scientist is she again?

Louisiana Chicken Pasta and Red Velvet Cheesecake.... mmmmmm

From what you have said your daughter seems to be doing well with Saxon. Practice problems and mixed practice are for the introduction and reinforcement of concepts. Time is needed to practice and concrete these. I would definitely place more weight on the tests because they show retention. (If additional practice is needed there are problems in the back of the student text to help.) We quit Saxon halfway through 5/4 and moved to Rod and Staff because it was clearly not working for my son at the time. He was getting D-F with no retention even after we went over everything. Clearly this is not your daughters case. We are back in Saxon and its working ok so far, but I'm not so sure it will be a permanent home for him. I wouldn't be fearful of switching if needed, but I wouldn't switch if things are going well. I'm sure there a small gaps due to switching, but I haven't noticed anything major.

We ended up months behind due to illness and major changes in our lives, so I just moved our school year Jan.-Dec. Slowly we have been making headway to get back to a September start. Now we are really close I have this feeling we are behind where we should be. I'm go crazy to get us back on track for Sept. (perhaps a little too crazy) What we did to catch up was drop subjects which DS seemed to have master. Ex. Handwriting We combined subjects. Ex. Vocabulary and Spelling. We counted outside classes as school. Ex. Music Lessons, Swimming, Sunday School and RA We schooled year round and worked weekends when needed so we did not fall further behind. Ex. School work not complete during the week, or prior to and after vacations We've had to make some sacrifices, but I think it's been worth it.

Government rate controlled apartments are about 500-700 here. Regular apartments 1000-1500 easily. Nicer apartments seem to 1700-2000+++