I know some of those. :lol: To the OP you really should come for a visit. Drive down I5 and visit the cities and towns, and then drive up 101 because it is beautiful. ;)

For swimwear rinse out right after and hang dry inside. Also polyester swimwear lasts much longer.

I don't know their local laws so I couldn't say. That is why I said "if" they broke a law it should be dealt with and if not then they need to be left alone.

Presumably if they are walking to school it is a direct short path with a crossing guard and groups of kids. Also if they don't make it there you would hope that would be noticed quickly. To me that is completely different than just sending the kids out to roam and saying be back in a few hours. We live very close to an elementary and Jr. High. All of the kids in our neighborhood have to walk or be dropped off. The younger elementary kids I see walk with their parents. Upper elementary and Jr. High kids walk in groups.

I will clarify and say that it is sad that they were frantically looking for their children. From what I gathered their previous case is still open and has yet to be resolved in court. You would think they would want to lay low for a bit at least until that is resolved. Instead of knowingly sending their kids off in a neighborhood where they have already had problems and been warned by police not to do it again. I agree with what LucyStoner said a few posts up. It seems like a publicity stunt to me. I'm always a bit skeptical of these kind of one sided stories since we do not know anything from the police or CPS side. The story as told in this article doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If they have broken a law then this needs to be resolved soon. If not then the police and CPS need to leave them alone. If the parents don't like the local laws they need to either move or fight to change them the legal way. Not by using their kids to publicly go against them.

In my personal opinion I do not believe 5/6 year olds should be roaming out of their own yards/homes unsupervised by an adult or competent teen/sibling. Once again that is my opinion and I don't force it on anyone else. ;) If a situation where that occurs is against a particular law then that would be up to local police to enforce not me. I'm really not trying to offend anyone. This is why I generally stay out of heated topics because I dont like confrontation.

Actualy I believe that would be in a motor vehicle. Either way I don't leave my kids alone, but I'm most likely nuts. ;) They do play outside in our yard while I'm inside and checking in on them constantly.

We will have to agree to disagree on this it seems.;) I stand by my position.

People are often struck in cross walks. In fact the closest school to me has had more than one incident of children being struck walking to and from school.

I am more comfortable with the idea of leaving an older sibling alone at home with younger siblings for short periods of time, then allowing them to roam around the neighborhood. There are just too many risk factors to me out and about in the neighborhood compared to ones own home.

Being left in ones own home is completely different to me than walking around the neighborhood. Honestly I would be the most worried about kids crossing traffic alone.

No, I do not think that based on the info I know and I didn't say that. I just really don't feel that sorry for them, especially since they have already been warned. Now it is possible that the local police and CPS have gone overboard, but I don't know enough about the actual case to comment on that. I could see allowing a 10 year old to walk around alone but 6 is way too young. That is just my opinion anyways. Maybe I am overprotective but I can not imagine allowing something like that. :svengo:

:iagree: A 6 year old has no business roaming the neighborhood without a parent. I don't consider a 10 year mature enough to babysit. :leaving:

My 4th will be in K this fall. The plan is: HOD Little Hearts Singapore Essentials K R&S ABC AAR1

My 3rd will be in 2nd next year and she will use: HOD Beyond(we started this already but will continue and finish next year.) Phonics Pathways HOD Emerging Readers SM 2a/2b if we finish 1b before the end of the school year that is. R&S Spelling 2 possibly starting R&S English 2 Draw Write Now AWANA Swim lessons, Soccer, etc. We do a small family co-op once a week with varying topics and field trips.

My oldest will be in 7th this fall. The plan is as follows: HOD Rev to Rev complete no extensions R&S English and Spelling The Exciting World of Creative Writing Horizons Pre-Algebra(I just picked this up a few days ago. Hopefully it works out for him. He is finishing SM 6b right now) Khan academy Pre-Algebra DITHOR 6/7/8 Swim Team (Age Group). He swims at least 4-5 days a week for 1.5 hours. We also do a small family co-op once a week with varying topics and field trips.

For what its worth we live in a smallish town/city in Oregon(less than 25,000) and we have a youth orchestra. It is quite popular with the local homeschoolers but many PS kids are in it as well. You might not have to choose a large city to get what you want. ;) Of course you will have to figure out where employment can be found but smaller cities cost less.

Go with the US edition. It has been around longer, and honestly I think more people use it and/or have used it. It is an excellent tried and true program. 😉 I emailed Singapore Math and was told that the US edition will not be discontinued. Hopefully that is true.

My ds is using SM 6 this year. We use the U.S. edition and it is most certainly not all review there is actually a lot of new material and it is more challenging.

My 6th grader is reading Tales From Shakespeare by Lamb this year. He also went and saw 12th Night at a local community college. Other than studying some history of Shakespeare this year as well, I don't have plans for any more until high school.

I have used SM PM US from 1a-6b and we have not run into any leaps that I can remember. ;)

I do not combine my kids they each have their own HOD guide.

I prefer Reading Eggs. Starfall is fun but my kids didn't really learn any reading from it. 😉

Maybe Horizons?

I would recommend using at least the Textbook and the Workbook together. The TB contains the instruction part of SM and the WB is for extra practice after the topic is taught with the TB. Also the TBs contains Review and Practice sections.