The first few rows need attention, after that the pattern is clear. For moss stitch, when you look down the columns there should be two knit, two purl, two knit, etc. Looking across the rows it should alternate, k p k p k p Sometimes if I'm not sure I k p k p a little bit, then check to be sure the columns are lining up the way they should be. It sounds more complicated than it is. Don't over think it. :-) Find time to get the pattern established in peace, the rest will become apparent.

For a scientist, with young kids I would recommend Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (BFSU) by Bernard Nebel. It interweaves science topics, so you aren't studying life science one year, earth science the next, rather you can go back and forth at will between 4 topics: nature of matter, life science, physical science, and Earth and space science. Book one is geared for K-2. We did it in 1st and 2nd. We just started book 2 this year. Cons - the black and white format means it is cheap, but there are no pictures. Internet image search will be your friend. The text is written to the teacher, is a bit chatty, and sometimes spends a lot of time setting up arguments you won't need (i.e. my kids did not need to be convinced that air was made of matter) It requires some prep work. Back on the plus side, the author is really active in the Yahoo groups and will answer questions. There are flow chart suggestions out there too (although I just made my own). Somewhere you can get an e-copy of the book for $5, but if you are considering it, I highly recommend the $20 hardcopy. In the end, if you do want to try it I would be happy to share my flow chart and more implementation details. Just pm me.

"Oh no, Mom, you're not fat! Your belly button is just - deeper." Great.

Full disclosure: we haven't used GSWS, although we are using GSWL. In 2nd my dc liked Salsa, from Georgia Public Broadcasting. Tin Man Press has a set of active worksheets we have enjoyed that involve logical thinking, small art, and lots of vocabulary. We are also slowly reading through Sapo y Sepo (Frog and Toad) a page or two at a time and then translating and talking about verb conjugations. We do each of these maybe one day a week for variety. Oh, you and your dh might enjoy listening to News in Slow Spanish - discussion of current news, a little grammar, and an idiom. I think the podcast is about 20 minutes long. ¡Buena suerte!

Oh, but I will ask! The idea freaks me out, so perhaps it is something we should study...

Benedict Society is looong and has sequels, should keep them busy for a while. It is also not as dark as the Series of Unfortunate Events books. Time Warp Trio? Whipping Boy? My son assured me it isn't as violent as it sounds Hatchet - there is divorce, and a fatal heart attack at the beginning. It is like a more on edge take off My Side of the Mountain.

I've never tasted back-up-back. The rainbow chard is pretty, but the color usually goes away as it cooks. I often plant the rainbow version because I enjoy the colors and it is in the garden a long time. I've never noticed the dry mouth thing with chard. We rarely eat it raw, though, and I think I notice it more with raw spinach than cooked.

Must ask, how could you tell??? :-)

When I was a kid, I lived looking through the coffee table book my grandparents had about gnomes. It was a "scientific"study of gnomes in Holland. Wonder if I could find a used copy (wistfully), my kids would enjoy it. Anyway, it looks like is called Gnomes, the Deluxe Book and the authors are Huygen and Poortvliet.

"I've been searching for days but haven't found anything (ridiculous, why is there not a big, long list of math experiences?)" You have the longest list I've seen, unfortunately you have reasons to eliminate most of them. I basically gave up on Saxon K when we got to the lesson teaching what a triangle is. I don't know enough about your student, but if Saxon suits you, I, too, recommend starting with Saxon 1. It reviews everything from K, and you can skip ahead if you like. Sorry I don't know anything about Math by Hand.

If you want to start some trade books check out Harriet Ziefert's Wet Pet and others. My dd read us that one recently. In general, your ds will be ready to tackle trade books - with some guidance from you.

I've had this problem at the eye doctor. When they ask the examinee to read the letters, I always have to remind my other eager beavers to stay quiet. :-) Don't let it stress you too much. She'll still learn some by hearing it. In many learning situations she would not be the only one answering questions. Funnily enough, I have more of this trouble with dh when I have an impromptu opportunity to do some educating when he is home. I haven't figured out a good answer for that either. I guess I'll watch this thread! Me, icily, "thank you for demonstrating your abilities at mental math, but could we let the THIRD GRADERS take a turn?" Ha ha ha.

Holy cow. Corporate conspiracy?

I had an heirloom silver spoon show up 4 months later with a computer label saying "this was found in what was thought to be an empty bin" It was almost like a personal apology. Almost. P.S. OP, those people are riding you. Do the certified mail thing PP suggested. Politely mention the deadline is approaching (or had passed) and that the court route would be a hassle for everybody.

If you have a printer, MEP is free for printing, or CSMP (I skipped the calculator lessons). Or print them at a shop, surely less than $20. I alternate 100EZ with Progressive Phonics books, also free for the printing. Save up and buy some Cuisineaire rods. Our if it is burning a hole in your pocket, Kumon has some cute cut and paste workbooks for fine motor skills.

Do they realize the teacher will be the same for the WHOLE YEAR? Does it take that long to learn that lesson? I've learned that in one Dr. visit, or one discussion with customer service. "I would be concerned that they won't be around children their age..." said be supportive friend after relating a negative peer-pressure scenario.

Soup books by Robert Peck would fit in this category.

Gladly. That is exactly what we did for the first book also.

It is hard to keep her out of the room, so sometimes she hears stuff. "But most people move into that district so they can send their kids to school!?"

This book is WAY meatier. It is a step change from book 1. Unlike the first book, for this one I am making worksheets for my third graders to use as we go through the lessons so they can keep up. We just spent a month on A-15 learning about density. Very different pace for us. I'm assuming it will take us the full three years to get through. The A thread starts with a lesson that just uses the microscope to see Brownian motion. If you find a video on the internet instead you could do that thread sans microscope. We are almost done and I have worksheets for all those...

My dh says NASA Glenn used to have a good website.

Looking at the middle of page 253, I feel compelled to note that aircraft are designed such that if the engines stop functioning the aircraft does not "drop to the ground". Remember the bird-strike incident in New York when the passenger plane was successful glided down Rio a safe landing on the Hudson? My kids are worriers, I have to watch these random, anxiety-inducing comments.

I hear you about the intimidation factor. They always seem friendly, though! First, I haven't done C-8 yet. We're just starting A-17. That said, dh is an expert on "how things fly". Power-to-weight ratio is one way to compare different engines. When you are adding an engine to an airplane, you are adding the weight of it also, and the engine needs to produce enough power tolift both the aircraft and the engine off the ground. A "high" power-to-weight ratio is close to 1. Is that what you were asking about? I'm (often) trying to straddle the difference between the in-dept, detailed data dh provides and the level Dr. Nebel and my dc are looking for.

Also, diesel fuel gels when it gets that cold, so the buses might have trouble functioning. I assume there are work-arounds, but if you rarely have temps that cold, why bother.

We generally don't encourage slang. The Scrabble dictionary wants to keep people buying their product, so they try to put in as many words as possible (corporate plot against high standards for English). If any of us cared enough to start to get up and get the dictionary, the point would be conceded, but you would have to listen to snide comments about it for a while. :-)