I'm debating whether or not to sign my 9 year olds up for swim team this summer. They want to participate in the developmental team. There wouldn't be any meets, just DAILY practice from 9-10AM. It's pretty affordable, but it is about 25 minutes from our house. It would be great practice, but I'm not sure it's worth the drive. If we don't do swim team, we'd be driving to that pool 2-3 times a week to swim anyhow, which we'll still probably end up doing either way. I like that it will get us up and going all summer and I like that it will get my more sedentary child moving every day. What do you think? Do your kids do swim team?

Seriously. If you have creative kids, these are the way to go! My girls played with these for our entire two day car trip one time. I kid you not. We store them in a plastic ziploc bag. They were a life saver. My kids don't do movies very well, so we need to stay busy. Also, take headphones. One of my kids listened to the pilot's station for hours on a cross country flight. Weird. ;P

We live on the east cost and my family is in Santa Barbara, so I look for flights quite a bit. I read that you are supposed to do your searches Tuesday afternoons and be prepared to travel on Wednesdays. I've found the best prices about three months out. Jet Blue only flies out of Long Beach, but they never seem to have the cheapest flights, at least to D.C. My mom usually flies out of Burbank, but we usually fly into LAX. Either one can be cheaper depending on your needs. I hear that Frontier Airlines is supposed to have good deals from LAX to DC. When I search for LAX to the airports around me (DC, Richmond), $320-$370 (with taxes) seems like a good price, round trip. Travelzoo just sent out a deal from DC to LAX for $160 each way, so if you consider that's a "deal," you are probably better off just doing your own searches if you have a few months.

I love the name Oliver, too!

Well, if it matters at all to you (no judgement here, everyone has different opinions), I'm a big fan of adopting animals since there are so many that need homes. We got a 6 month old border collie from the Humane Society and, while we survived the chewing phase, she's been the best dog. It's hit or miss with an older dog, but honestly, it can be hit and miss with a puppy too! ;) Adopting a dog was a wonderful bonding experience for my girls because they really felt like they were giving a dog a home that wouldn't otherwise have one. It was very meaningful. They love her! (The truth is, our particular dog would have been adopted very quickly regardless, so kudos to those of you who take on more difficult ones!)

Ooooh, I never thought about freezing them. Ok, so I fully cook them, and then how to you store them in the freezer and how long will they last?

My dd just finished The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew and she wants me to print off some "activities" for her to do with the book. I think she means some lapbook type pages, not summary worksheets. Any ideas? My Googling was unsuccessful. Thanks!

I make baked meatballs, but tonight we won't be home from soccer until 6:00 and I want to eat right away. I can make the pasta when we get home, but how should I do the meatballs? If I bake them ahead of time, can I throw them in the crockpot on low with some sauce, so that they are ready and warm when we get home, or will that overcook them? Should I bake them now, then put them in the fridge, then reheat them in the oven while I cook the pasta? What should I do? (We don't have a microwave, FYI)

Lately we've just been doing penmanship, math, FLL, and history (with narration, writing, and mapwork). Then we've been spending a TON of time outside, playing, and going places. I see all these cute ideas on the web that I know my girls would enjoy doing BUT I also feel like they learn a lot when I don't plan anything. It gives them more time to be creative and dive into their own interests. I am torn. How much of your day is "mommy directed?" How much do you PLAN crafts, lap books, "extras" (not just the ones that happen spontaneously). I used to be a planner...

We LOVE LOVE LOVE Dreambox!!!! It will place him at his level and monitor his progress. It's super easy to use. I cannot say enough good things about it. It's worth every penny and then some. www.dreambox.com We also use CLE, which we love. Dreambox just offers a different input. Plus, it's fun!

Well, I did teach first grade and while I NEVER would have said "I'm not much of a reader," in an interview...I wasn't much of a reader-for pleasure. Why? I had NO time for reading for pleasure as a young teacher. Every spare moment was spent reading children's books, teacher books, etc. I LOVED reading to my kids and scoured professional books. But, I don't think I read a book for pleasure during the first two years I taught. In fact, I've read more in the last two years being home than I did in the six years I taught. I poured myself into my classroom and profession. Perhaps a follow-up question could be, "What's the last book you read related to teaching?" Or, "What's your favorite children's book?" If she was fantastic in all other areas, I'd hire her. If she was just so-so and didn't even offer a professional book, then no. I think it's a weird answer for an interview, so she would have had to wow me in other areas. I've interviewed several people and I think you should go with your gut. It's usually right! FYI- We've not hired people because of mistakes on their cover letters. You have to start somewhere, especially when there are a lot of choices.

Well, you are on a homeschooling board, so we of course all believe in homeschooling! But, as a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, I'll tell you that there are a lot of very happy, well adjusted, shy children who do just fine in school. There are some very outgoing children who do horribly in school. I just wanted to throw that out there. I'd just read up on the other benefits of homeschooling and make sure it's something that jives with your goals for your kids. I'm just thinking it might be good to identify some other reasons besides having shy kids. At least, that's how I'd tackle it. I'd need a little more to make such a big decision, especially with a husband on the fence. Also, I wonder if someone could offer some advice on running a daycare while homeschooling. I know there are moms on here that do it and it presents its own unique challenges. Good luck! We love homeschooling! (I have twin girls, too!)

Wow! Awesome! Thanks so much! And boosting my fertility would be a BIG plus, since we've tried for so long (DDs are adopted). I'm just using the Nature Made brand.

At the writing conference, SWB mentioned that FLL 4 was a "bridge" between 3 and ALL, and that not all kids would need it (correct me if I'm not remembering correctly). So, I think FLL 4 would be a great place to start and would probably provide a review, but also an introduction into the way the program works. There's always a learning curve when you switch programs. And, FWIW, I had a fabulous elementary education and a good middle and high school education and I NEVER learned most of what is is FLL 3. Although, my elementary school was still very much into whole language, so maybe that's why.

I was in SUCH a funk last week, and have been on and off for a while. Well, this week I doubled my Vitamin D supplement to 2000 whatevers instead of 1000, and I feel so much better! It's also been very sunny and warm. Does Vitamin D really have that much influence on your mood, or is it just a coincidence or more weather related? Does Vitamin D make YOU happy?

Ooh, I have a good one! Today we were reading about the English language in Story of the World 2. It wanted the kids to know that the word "video" comes from the Latin word meaning "to see." In SOTW fashion, it was asking the reader something like, "What is the word for a movie you can watch from your home TV?" My girls looked at me and said, "Uhhhh, Netflix?" We don't use the word "video" anymore. Do you? Maybe if they had more exposure to You Tube, although that wouldn't fit the bill for SOTW!

We're in a small town in Virginia. It takes about a week for us to get mail from Utah. Sometimes a little quicker, but usually a week. I would expect to see it toward the end of the week.

Wonderful advice, both of you! This is of course what I should do. Why is it SO hard to see the light sometimes?! Thanks!

My DD (executive functioning issues, developmental delays, ADHD, dyspraxia) has always had a problem overeating. She never feels "full" and has food issues that stem from early life (we adopted her when she was 5). She's 9 now. We've worked really hard on appropriate food behavior while at playdates, but I can never seem to get it right. Once, they (she's a twin) were going to playdate right after lunch for only two hours, so I told them they didn't need to ask for a snack, that I would pick them up before snack time. Well, the hostess offered them a snack and my dd told her, "We aren't allowed to eat here." :( So today, before a 1 hour playdate immediately after lunch, I told her it was going to be a very short playdate and she didn't need a snack, but if the mom offered, they could say yes and be polite. Well, apparently the mom offered, but none of the other kids wanted a snack, so she asked my dd what she wanted. My dd told her a sandwich! She had JUST eaten lunch. So, she had a sandwich and two glasses of milk. Sigh. I want her to learn to be polite, control her eating habits, etc., but I don't want to give her a complex! Do I just let it go? I've hosted NT kids who are weird or rude about food, so maybe I just let it be and expect her to gorge (not that that's what she did today) at playdates. Should I just be grateful that she'll eat just about anything, and stick to working on good habits (portions) at home? How do you manage issues like this when they go to a friend's house???

Good for you!!

That's a fabulous idea.

Thanks. Maybe we'll just try to have a fun day tomorrow. We do have a playdate scheduled, so it will be nice to have some adult interaction. My husband has been traveling a LOT lately.

For no reason! I've been angry all week! (No, it's not THAT week...yet.) I wish I had someone to dump my kids on a for a few days because they are bearing the brunt of it! We got out of the house today, which helped a lot. I just don't know what is wrong with me this week!!! Any ideas for snapping out of this funk?! I've been sleeping well, eating well, taking Vitamin D, etc. I can't think of anything else!

Also, if they haven't provided a DI training, they need to, and he can ask to be sent to one.

We had to include differentiated instruction in our lesson plans for at least one lesson every week (first grade). The biggest thing to remember is that you don't need to plan a bunch of separate activities/lessons for one class period. You just need to plan one lesson that allows kids of all abilities to access and demonstrate knowledge in a meaningful way. Bloom's Taxonomy is helpful for planning. Here are some helpful sites I found for high school: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/8-lessons-learned-differentiating-instruction http://www.internet4classrooms.com/links_grades_kindergarten_12/sample_units_lessons_differentiated_instruction.htm http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm http://www.learnerslink.com/curriculum.htm http://www.duvalschools.org/newteachers/DI%20Tool%20Box.htm http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/different.htm