She could just use some sugar. Just take it in a plastic cup into the shower and use it. It rinses down the drain just fine and no oil is necessary. I personally prefer these https://smile.amazon.com/Salux-Nylon-Japanese-Beauty-Yellow/dp/B007IAE5WY/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1484791849&sr=8-3&keywords=korean+washcloth They seem to last indefinitely. Due to the fabric they just rinse clean. You just use them with a body wash or even a baby shampoo or anything she likes. But they exfoliate really, really well. But she can also just use plain old sugar or salt or baking powder

Oh, and FWIW, I have tested my kids using either the PASS test or the CAP. I think we switched to CAP a couple years ago. In my state we either have to write an end of year assessment or test, with testing being mandatory every other year from grades 4-8, and then every year in high school. I had a good friend who told me not to shy away from the testing b/c homeschool kids get so few chances to be tested. I found she was right. It has turned out to be a really good decision for my kids. Just doing it at the end of the year really took away some of the test fear they had. And it also made them MUCH more cooperative when it came to doing test prep, lol.

I use old regents exams http://www.nysedregents.org/ They have test going back years. And they also have exams for kids as young as 3. I like to use them on as a weekly thing. On a day that we have an outside activity and can't fit in a lot of school I have him do like 10 science questions, 10 math questions and a reading comprehension section. I usually go a grade above if possible, but not always.

I haven't heard a thing, so I am starting to suspect this isn't a bad flu year. I specifically asked at the doctor's office if they had heard about the efficacy of the shot and was told there had been zero cases reported of the flu in our county. I have a friend who says she had the flu last week, but she never saw a doctor. I also know she didn't get the flu shot.

We had an easier time with WWS 2, but that was more because my sons (one used it years ago, one is using it now) were very comfortable with the format of the book. WWS 1 had a big learning curve for both of us, but by WWS2 they could more focus on doing the assignment, rather than how to do the assignment.

we just get deer and occasionally a cow in the schools. And once a deer in the library

There has been a promise to remove no gun zones from school areas and they were checking to see if the secretary of Education would agree to implement that promise. That's really what that particular line of questioning was about. It made for an amusing sound bite, but if I were a parent of a child with special needs, I would be very, very afraid right now. There are already HUGE discrepancies in access to services in schools. My son was able to access any and all special education services he needed as a homeschooler. I was amazed at how easy it was and how smoothly it went. I should add that I live within a block of my local public school, so it was a quick walk for the services. It would be very different had I lived in a rural school district. But my district and my state take their responsibility to all students seriously. It wasn't easy, I know for a fact that there have been several landmark lawsuits in the state. But, when I see other parents here talking about how limited services are, that many people are told they can't access special educational services if they homeschool, well, I am not sure it can get much worse in some states.....but it will. How is that an equal education? And they were barely able to get into the whole 'if you are taking federal or state money for your charter school then you should have to disclose all the same info public schools have to disclose and meet the same standards' but from what I did see, it is clear she doesn't think charter schools should have to do so. And frankly, as a taxpayer that annoys me. But, again, it doesn't matter.

That whole thing was just...bizarre. I am going to have to assume she was just refusing to answer with her true beliefs and decided it was better to sound ignorant. These candidates were subjected to what were called 'murder boards', marathon sessions of training for the hearings where they were ripped apart by media people. She must have been prepared for those questions and been told that looking ignorant was the best tactic. So she has a bad hearing, she'll be confirmed and hopefully everyone will forget all about it. She still gets to run the dept, so she wins. I mean, how could she not really know about IDEA or testing standards? She has made education policy her career of sorts.

I just liked what was in FLL and the lists in TWTM. I also count dictation in with memory work because it is all part of the same thing.

My pregnancies were always so planned that I liked having the surprise of not knowing the gender before they were born. Picking out 2 names etc wasn't a hardship for me, it was fun. And I've never been one to worry about what colour a baby wears, so I just had some sleepers that I thought were cute and that was good enough.

I've got some from Home Science Tool and also Rainbow Resource. When I got them, about 5 years ago, the better buy for what I needed at the time was at Rainbow, but YMMV today. I did get my rock testing kit from Home Science Tools

So, are you looking for a complete science curriculum or are you looking for just a textbook in which you can assign reading on your current topic?

I just want to clairify, when I say that you can't exercise more to make your knees feel better, I am meaning someone who is in at least average acceptable shape and healthy. Someone once said about why their knees hurt, "your knees always know how much you weight'. In his case he COULD exercise for less knee pain, but that was because he'd put on 40+ lbs and it was too much for his health. He needed to lose the weight to help his knees. But he lost that mainly through dietary changes. The exercise was for health and fitness. And he didn't just help his knees by losing that weight, obviously. It's just that his knees had sent out an SOS and he could no longer ignore the weight gain. But for someone who is in 'good enough' shape who finds their exercise routing is taking it's toll on knees, doing more of the same, or the same amount of the same, won't make the knees better.

When I saw this, I assumed you were a new exerciser, but training with Crossfit since October does not make you new. Crossfit is notorious for encouraging overtraining to the point of injury. Listen, I looove DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). I swear I do. I love that little twinge in my butt or my abs that reminds me that I worked out hard yesterday and I have more to look forward to today. But, you shouldn't be sore every single day and it shouldn't be anything more than a slight soreness. It should be something you can get rid of with a couple of motrin and/or a warm shower. And you shouldn't NEED the motrin to function, it should be a convenience, not a necessity. And the knee pain.... you are stressing them out. If your knees have gone from no pain when squatting to pain then something has to change. You need to rest them, cut back on impact and look at what you are doing that might be causing the pain. But, definitely give them a rest. My sons are ballet dancers and knees are very important and get discussed a lot. You can't exercise more to make your knees feel better. Even when you aren't exercising you need to consider your shoe choices etc to baby your knees until they feel better.

you are correct, it is an "intelligent design" curriculum. Part of the issue is that for young elementary aged kids, science textbooks aren't going to be all that good. Many schools don't really use texbook for kids that young, they tend to focus on handouts and hands on and the kids make their own science notebook etc. If you are looking for just science reading assignments on discrete topics your best bet might be your public library. Ours has literally thousands of short readable books on every science topic imaginable. I recently saw some books on DNA and genetics written for young elementary aged kids. My son is a 6th grader and does have a textbook (CPO) but I still supplement with reading from the library. I have used Science Daybook, it is a complete science curriculum if you want, or it can be supplemental. But, I've never seen the ones for young children, I used them in middle school. It is reading on a topic and then you answer questions in writing on the reading. It also had stuff in there like 'write a poem about sound waves' which IMO is totally stupid, lol. My friend suggested them as a 'perfectly good science for when life is so busy you can't get science done'. She also warned me that kids hate science daybooks, and she was totally correct, because it's boring. It is boring! But she liked it for when she needed science to happen and it just wasn't. It's a workbook, and you just open and do the next thing. There are hands on demonstrations in the book, but they are very basic.

If you are having a difficult time finding the crimped pan, you might consider trying baking it in a pullman pan. A pullman pan is one of my favorites. I use it for pan de mei, but you can absolutely find cinnamon pan de mei. A pullman pan has a lid so the loaf comes out perfectly square and rather dense. It makes perfect sandwich bread. It is the opposite of what all the cool kids are making these day. Everyone is making the no-knead in their dutch ovens, with more cracks the better. A pullman loaf gives you beautiful straight sides, even on top. Oh, and don't think you can just put a baking sheet on top of your bread pan and it's just as good. Yeast is strong, it will knock off a pan or ooze out the sides. Here is one that calls for raisins, but you could absolutely leave them out http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cinnamon-swirl-raisin-nut-bread-recipe

I buy cheap cinnamon for 'everyday' cooking. We go through a lot in the autumn, winter and spring. I add it to smoothies, I put a dash in ground coffee and hot chocolate, I make cinnamon toast for the boys..for that I buy a large packet from the indian spice section of my grocery store. It costs maybe 3$ and I use a couple a year. But if I am baking something that needs a strong cinnamon flavour, like a coffee cake or this christmas I made bread stars, which is a sweetened cinnamon sugar bread, I used the 'good' cinnamon for that. It has a better taste.

I do sometimes shave. Sometimes I've been putting off waxing and it's quite noticible and we're running out the door somewhere and I grab Dh's razor and take it off. When it grows back it is slightly prickly, but I know some women say it can be quite coarse. I think that would make a difference to me, in terms of how I handle it. The good thing about waxing is that since I've been doing it for years the hair is quite thin. The funny thing to me is that on my left upper lip, the hair stopped growing back at least two years ago. I only have to wax the right side of my upper lip these day. But, that right side is stubborn, lol. You would think if the waxing made one stop make hair the other would follow suite...but no. Face shaving, shaving the whole face to make it smoother, is a whole nother ball of wax..or razor, lol. It uses a totally different and specific razor. It removes vellus hair, the very pale and even colourless hair that all people have all over their body aka peach fuzz. It seems to be having a moment of popularity on the Asian skin care blogs and boards. There are some youtube videos about it. I get my eyebrows threaded and I really like that. The person I see is very good and very conservative in what she takes off. I told her I want a very natural but groomed look and she has been very careful. And it only cost 10, which is fine by me, lol.

reminding is different from instructing. I will ask anyone if they want a coat before we go outside. My kids, 12 and 16, might tell me no, heck dh might tell me no, lol. We live in town, at most we might be driving a couple miles at most. The worst thing that will happen is that someone will get cold and complain while I tell them not to complain, lol. If we are going on a longer drive out onto country roads I will remind everyone to bring their coat and boots because it is cold and we have to always be prepared to walk if we get stuck. I expect everyone in the family to do it because that is part of living in a cold climate and we don't want to die.

Something like this https://www.amazon.com/Harcourt-Science-Marjorie-Jones-Robert/dp/0153264527 that is a fairly standard science text that is used in many public schools. I have looked at many of them and they are all pretty much the same, so just pick one that is a good price.

I used TANF as an example but everything I said about the problems with block grants apply to block grans regarding mental illness treatment. Somehow that 'wiggle room' seems to mean some of the $$ ends up in the snowplowing fund.

I use these https://smile.amazon.com/Nads-Hypoallergenic-Facial-Strips-strips/dp/B001ET701I/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1484456060&sr=8-1&keywords=upper+lip+wax+removal You can cut them in half and they last twice as long. I've had to wax my upper lip for about 8 years and I think I've needed one box of these things, lol. It's dead easy and it doesn't hurt that much at all. I'm a serious chicken who almost faints from a flu shot, and this is nothing. If you are really nervous have a glass of wine first, lol.

If some random box with stuff showed up at my house addressed to me and I had no idea who sent it, it would seriously scare the crap out of me. For real. It wouldn't be whimsical, it would be scary. and as for the gift that was mistakenly left on your door, I would just put it away for a while and forget about it. If no one ever knocks on your door looking for it, then, when you find it again in 6 months or whatever, keep it or donate it. But I would hold onto something for quite a while before I tossed it, just in case.

My kids would like a dutch baby with a raspberry compote. The only problem would be that I wouldn't get any, lol

I said I think that when someone is on the streets they become everyone's responsibility. I didn't say we are meeting that responsibility.