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redsquirrel

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Everything posted by redsquirrel

  1. We allow them, both allowing our kids to spend the night away and having other kids here. We don't do it a huge amount but I have no problem with it. We've been lucky in that we haven't had any families in our circle where there was an adult who set off our alarms. I mean, there have been, but none of those families were close enough that a sleepover would happen. All the families that have hosted sleepovers have been families that I felt very, very comfortable with and have known for years. If I didn't know a family very well, meaning I hadn't been to their home, spent time with the family, considered the adults in the family to be friends of mine, not just parents of my kid's friend, then no, I wouldn't do a sleep over. Fortunately, that hasn't ever come up.
  2. I have a razor blade in a holder that I use for just that reason. It does help to soak it for a while..even in water. But that's not always possible depending on where it is. I will sometimes pour some boiling water on the stove top, maybe add a couple drops of dish soap, let it cool and then use the razor blade scraper. Works really well.
  3. having heard enough invisalign stories, I would only let my teen get them if s/he was paying for braces themselves. They have to take them out to eat anything and they get forgotten/lost and need to be replaced, they forget to put them in for a couple day, have a sleepover and forget them at a friends house...blah blah. No way.
  4. 6,500 for braces, retainer etc, etc. FWIW, I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock in how long they say the braces will stay on. We were told ds1's braces would be off in 2 years, they were on for 6. He did have some specific issues, but those things stayed on forever, lol. He got them at 9 and got them off at 15. Once he got his retainer he only has occasional appts, maybe 2x a year. But the payments were not extended or anything. We paid monthly with no interest, and once we were done paying the 6500 we were done, no matter how long the treatment took. I am pretty sure they lost money on ds1, lol.
  5. I don't have experience with needing oc to control menstrual pain, but it's absolutely 'not how it used to be done'...it's how it's being done right now and has been for a long time. FWIW, I am about to be 50 and I knew girls in middle/high school who were put on oc to help with menstrual pain. I have friend's whose daughters are currently using it for just that reason. I actually feel like the majority of women I know who use oc do so to help with non birth control issues. For some it doesn't work, that is true...but that is going to be the case with a lot of things. But for a lot of women it helps them to function. I've known a couple women swear up and down that an IUD was more helpful than oc for menstrual pain, but I don't know much about IUDs why that would work. I mean, I know how an IUD works, lol. I just don't know what it can do or not do for periods.
  6. It would never occur to me, but this summer, at the height of the drought we did use paper. I used it mostly for little things, like toast and we would even reuse if the plate didn't get that dirty. It did allow us to seriously cut back on our dishwashing. And yes, I know paper production is wasteful in terms of water and electricity, but it was less use in terms of the actual reservoir that was running out of water where I lived. We also reused cups and silverware as much as possible. We would keep our plates, bowls spoons and cups together with initials on them, that way everyone reused their own. But paper plates were helpful to stretch that as much as possible. Sometimes we used paper towels instead of a plate. There was also much hanging of damp towels outside to dry so as to avoid having to launder them and febreezing and rewearing of dirty clothes etc. Not a fun summer/autumn.
  7. boys? I think it is a difficult age for humans, lol. I have 2 boys and that is the beginning (for us) of the argumentative, hormonal foggy brained, always hungry, always sleepy, doesn't want to do anything parents deem productive years...but I don't seem to have a different time than my friends with daughters. We frequently commiserate. I try to remind myself that it's hard for us as parents and it's just as difficult for them as growing people. Growing up is full of challenges. Oh, and sometimes I feel badly for my younger boy...imagine being stuck home at age 12 when your mom is also going through her own changes..that make her foggy brained, quick to snap, always tired etc, etc. I bet my kid could write his own post about my pain in the butt-ness these days.
  8. I have chosen to outsource writing. My kid takes writing class through the WTMA. We started in 5th grade and it has been SUCH a relief. It's weird because knowing me it should be math that we outsource...and we might in the future. But, getting rid of the arguments over writing, having someone else set the deadlines etc...it's been wonderful. And WTMA uses WWS, which I would use anyway, so it's a win-win. I like the program but I don't have to teach it, lol.
  9. SWB has a really good presentation on what goals for the middle grades should be in preparation for high school. I bought it maybe 5 years ago? I remember it being very helpful and it did change some things we did in middle school.
  10. I think it's fine. I always let people know that if they can't bring something, for whatever reason, they are still absolutely 100% welcome. I say explicitly that what is important to me is their company, not their contribution.
  11. My son is now on his second WTMA class. It does tend to be mostly audio, but his teachers have always put the relevant passages or questions or etc on the screen to look at during discussions. I cant say it is never a blank screen, but it's not the usual state, and he has had two different teachers. Would it be possible for you to ask the teacher to throw up the question being discussed etc? They can type and have stuff show up pretty easily. I am sure there are many students who could benefit from a visual to focus on during discussion.
  12. My son went from WWE3 in fourth grade to WWS 1 (or Expository 1) in 5th grade. He LOVED it and learned a lot. We are doing Expository 2 this year and he insists he will do Expo 3 next year. I taught WWS 1-3 with my older boy and it was fine. WTMA wasn't around then. I was literally just telling dh how happy I am to not have to teach that class, lol. It does take some time and ds2 does have homework on the weekends...but not for meeeeee! lol. I was constantly giving ds1 extensions or skipping sections to stay on track. My boys are ballet dancers and there is always a ballet or a show to prepare for. It can be so easy to for me to rearrange their school to make room for dance. But having ds2 in the class keeps us both honest. So far ds2 has had two different teachers, each with very different class style and both times ds2 has liked it. He was convinced he would NEVER like another teacher as much as he liked his first one :svengo: But after about three classes he conceded that it might be possible to think that both teachers are "the best ever" lol.
  13. There's no problem. I personally found middle school chemistry to be such a PIA (that is NOT saying you will...ok?) that I did 'general science' in 5th, and now in 6th we are doing earth and space, 7th will be life science and in 8th we'll do physical science...that has a strong chemistry component, btw. I did the 5th grade life science, 6th grade earth and space, 7th grade chem... with my older boy. It was fine but nothing bad is going to happen if we flipped the earth science and the life science, kwim? The one thing that I personally think is important is that as you go along with science it should become more math based, that is why I save physical science for 8th grade, by then my kid has algebra and can do science based math. In high school science becomes very math based, so it's good to get their feet wet in the middle grades. But again, i am just speaking for myself. You do what works for you and your kid!
  14. I've had to testify once or twice due to my job, once for a street crime I witnessed in front of my house. I was a court advocate so I've prepared...gosh... lots and lots of children and teenagers and a few adults for court both family and criminal. (I've had to train a few brand new ADAs as well, lol)
  15. I loved the Beyonce performance and the Adele performance. I thought they were both powerful and beautiful. And of course there is going to be political statements when a bunch of artists get together. That's what they do.
  16. At least in my house 'free time writing' mean like if my kid wrote his own story for his own amusement. I didn't correct those. What are you using for grammar? WWE doesn't teach grammar, it teaches what will become composition. For a full Language Arts in elementary grades I used WWE for composition, First Language Lessons (FLL) for grammar, and Spelling Workout for spelling. If he is a third grader he can just start with FLL 3, even if he is using WWE 2. They don't have to be matched up. My boys did it that way. They did FLL 1 in first grade but didn't start in WWE1 until second grade.
  17. Not since I was 19 or so, lol. I worked in a victoria's secret so I had a good store discount and owned a LOT of underwear and bras, lol.
  18. I do a lot of shopping online, but we also have a nice commons..a downtown area with a pedestrian mall. There are a few things I regularly buy there.
  19. except for that one older relative who sends me the yearly Christmas card, no one has ever, ever called me "Mrs Any last name" in my life. I've never been introduced as that or even had anyone ask me what my marital status is or anything. I have been introduces as "DH's first name's wife" (This is John's wife, Sally) but never as Mrs Last Name. I've always introduced myself as just my first and last name. I just shake hands and say "my name is Sally Smith". I wouldn't ever say I'm Ms Sally Smith or Mrs Sally Smith. It wouldn't occur to me.
  20. Everyone finds what works for them. I agree that science just takes time. It really does. For me, personally, I NEED to have my stuff all ready to go. I don't have multiple kids to teach these day (I have two kids, five years apart and the older is at public high school) so what works for me won't work for you. But, the best science advice I ever got was from a mom of four who was a great science homeschooler. She suggested finding a family and making a science afternoon...but it involves a commitment to actually doing the science. They would get together and plan out the topics and the year and split up the cost and the teaching. I didn't have a science buddy, but I did learn to plan out my science topic for the year and I plan my experiments and I buy and assemble everything before school starts. Yes, it is a huge pain in the butt, but I have a big storage container, and some boxes and a few shopping bags in a pile in a very easy to access place. In it I have EVERYTHING I need for a year of science. I have balloons, I have foam balls, rocks, a rock testing kid, a compass, a flashlight with fresh batteries, a globe, a bag of sand, a bag of potting soil, some empty 1 liter bottles, some clay, a set of density cubes, sand paper, rulers, a scale.... you get the idea. For me, personally, I need to have every freaking thing down there, down to the index cards or I won't do it. I just won't. Knowing I have it, that the $$ was spent and it is sitting in a nice pile in the basement means I MUST do science. I also do it early in the day, before lunch. Oddly enough, it never takes as much time as I think it will and I am always so happy when we get it done, lol I also plan 'make up weeks' in our school year. Those are weeks where I get all caught up on everything that i haven't done yet. I also give myself the occasional 'make up day' for science. We sort of alternate science or history, so sometimes I turn Friday or a random Tuesday into a make up day and make sure to cover what has been missed. I put it right in my weekly planner 'make up day' whenever I feel like I've not had on in a while. For actual science this year I am using CPO earth and space, next year we will do CPO life science and in 8th it will be Derek Owens Physical science. I also like 'open and go' and for us, CPO really works. I have the teacher's book and it has a nice schedule all laid out for me, lol..only I can do it much quicker because it's just us.
  21. With younger boy, we did WWE 1-3 in years 2-4 (does that make sense, lol...WWE1 in second grade, WWE 2 in third, WWE3 in fourth) and then he did WWS 1 in 5th grade with WTMA . He's now a 6th grader doing WWS 2 through WTMA. With my older boy we did WWE 1-4 in years 1-4. In 5th grade we did writing across the curriculum as in the description in TWTM logic stage. Then, when he was in 6th grade WWS 1 came out and I jumped on that, lol. So he did WWS 1-3 in years 6-8. Having done WWS 1-3 once with my older boy I was super happy to outsource that particular subject.
  22. well, when it was 17 below last week, I did appreciate having the mall to get my steps in. But I do that once or twice a year, and only when I also have a reason to go to the mall to begin with. I needed some stuff from Target and it was freeing out and if I don't make a conscious effort I won't get more than 1500 steps in a day. So, I went up, ran my errand, and walked around the mall three times until I got my 10,000 steps. And I like that my 71 year old mom, who lives where it is even colder, has a warm dry place to walk...instead of slipping on ice. Now, is that a 'reason to keep them open"? Nope. But it is nice to use them for that when the opportunity arises
  23. no issues the kids have my last name, not his. Again, no issue at all. No problems with forms or enrollments or taxes or insurance. I have occasionally got mail from an elderly relative addressed to Mrs his last name, but everyone gets the kids name correct, which makes me laugh.
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