Just seeing this. I'm glad she's home safe and sound.

I need more coffee. I read this as "stack them in a shower in the corner." Not only that, for a brief moment I thought it was a revolutionary idea and wondered why I hadn't thought of that before.

My kids like these fraction bars as well. They're nice because they have fractions, decimals, and percentages on different sides. The kids enjoyed using a bucket balance to see how 2/3 compared to 4/5, for example. We also made a bucket balance from Lego and that was a fun project, but if you're looking at a lending library you're going to want to just buy a real one.

C'mon, put those lazy babies to work and make them earn their keep! :D

Jocelyn got back in touch with me and gave me permission to post her response here: She is going to have the course description changed. Thanks again!

Yeah, I love the Cloud White. We've got a real variety of mismatched lighting, one shady side of the house, one sunny, etc. and I love it in all those various lights. We used semigloss because it's our trim/door color but I've had friends use it on cabinets. Satin would work too. The semigloss is pretty shiny but easier to keep clean, which home buyers might appreciate. I would have gone one step down in sheen if I didn't have kids.

Thank you so much for getting back to me. I'll get in touch with Jocelyn. You have so many great plans!

I recommend chalk paint if you're going to do it yourselves because it's considered easier. If you're going to have someone paint them or if you're handy with regular paint, I recommend Benjamin Moore Cloud White semigloss to quite a few people and it's worked for all of them. It would be handy to see a picture of your kitchen. I guess this is my answer if you decide on white, but I don't have enough info to say whether gray or espresso would be better.

I had the same set as Arcadia when I was a student. I don't remember when I got it. Middle school? Anyway, it was fun!

Most of mine have been mentioned so I'll just add 24, Cuisinaire rods, Liberty's Kids, Attenborough DVDs. I might think of more later.

Don't you think the school will notice if we just show up? ;)

Wow, I love the sculptures. Before I get this book, I have to decide if I want to spend a week making paper sculptures with DD. She'll go nuts if she sees this. :)

OK, just got back from visiting Google. CarolfromIL is hilarious and I love that the threads were a mix of serious posters and people who were on to her.

Wow, I missed some fun stuff. I guess this happened when I took an extended board break....

I don't know if it works at all Dick Blick stores, but my local one was nice enough to give me an educator card when I asked. I get a discount plus they send me postcards for special sales.

Pastor-approved taxi service? What? Why? And was that the same troll as the triplets?

Yeah, the entire thread has become a bit of a rabbit trail, but as my dad likes to say, "That's the way the cookie crumbles." I was hoping, when I started the thread, to talk about class time, how people felt about free lunch for all kids, vs any food at all for low income kids. There was some discussion about that, at least. Another interesting discussion could have revolved around the low income parents who wanted to opt out because they felt it gave their kids less class time than wealthier kids. I also noticed the mom who said she fed her son a traditional Mexican breakfast. As a child of immigrants with lots of friends who are the same, I agree food is an important aspect of culture immigrant parents often wish to pass down. A few pages ago I asked what disadvantages the schools which opted out may have perceived, but I didn't see any replies to that. I found it interesting not only that the parents themselves came up with a way to avoid it, but that before the parents came up with the opt-out rules, the district was ready to feed all kids in all schools in the district. Devil's advocate: :sneaky2: Beverly Hills High is in LAUSD and in the 2012-2013 school year had 109 free/reduced lunch students out of 1877 enrolled. It's interesting to discuss whether lower or middle class taxpayers (and I don't mind paying taxes at all) should feed all these kids instead of the ones on reduced lunch. Most of them could have eaten at home, or are having a second breakfast. What if the same amount of money was spent on higher quality food for low income children, or to give them food to take home for evening? The average income in Beverly Hills is $197,000. And yes, BHHS is an extreme example but technically, as part of the district, they would have qualified. I don't know if they opted out. Probably.

:grouphug: It's good to hear from you. Thanks, Moxie, for asking.

I didn't answer the poll because I had a cleaner until this month and it felt disingenuous to mark that I have no outside help. :) I got a cleaner when my DS was born and I was very ill after DD was born so I kept her on longer than I had intended. Recently, though, we moved and I realized I could just set up new cleaning routines for the new house and apply those. Plus the kids are older and help a lot. They do laundry if you don't care about well-folded clothes, take out the trash and recycling, make the beds, vacuum, sweep, dry dishes, mop if you don't care about edges, clean bathrooms, etc. Not that all of that falls on them, but I can call on their assistance for any of those things and they can get it done. I've taken a modified Montessori approach with training them and getting them their own child-sized cleaning tools. DD still uses them but DS uses the adult tools now. It helped to simplify the materials. I've got it down to a bottle of diluted vinegar with pine essential oil for most cleaning, bleach cleaner for the occasional thing that needs sanitizing or bleaching, glass cleaner, and a shaker bottle of baking soda with pine oil mixed in. I made a cleaning tote with those bottles, sponges, paper towels, and microfiber cloths. I have a broom, a mop, and a vacuum. DD has her own smaller versions of gloves, broom, mop. That's it. If I had houseguests coming to stay over, I would probably call the service again to help me deep clean. My house is clean enough for people to stop by, but not great.

Since Laura is in the thread, it reminded me that if you want your last child to attend a UC school, there are different requirements than most states. It's not as easy as applying like a typical freshman for a state university. Take a look at a-g requirements and also admission by testing. The UC system is not very homeschooler friendly, although it's a nice path from CC to the UCs, better than many states. But for a 4-year admission, it can be tricky.

It's sitting on my coffee table, along with Inferno, while I try and finish April's reading to clear the decks. But don't let me keep you!

It's also nice in the area south of Ignacio Valley Park. I have some friends who have a nice house there. They are quite wealthy but also live modestly and are picky about safety. They could easily have lived elsewhere but liked the neighborhood.

I saw a large display for it in our local bookstore yesterday. It's a big book.

Another thought for some cities over others is whether you plan to use BART a lot. If you're planning to head into SF often, it's often better to use transit. Check the BART map for locations of stations. That would be a plus for Dublin, Walnut Creek, Castro Valley, and Hayward.