Sooooooo bad. I feel like I'm back in Florida. :confused: TRY THE SHEETS!!! Your hubby won't regret it! Though, actually, my own DH refuses to use them....:tongue_smilie: He doesn't know what he is missing.....

I'll have to try the aromatherapy. :lol: I saw the prediction for cooler weather. I so HOPE so. At least for it to be less humid.... Actually, it has been strangely humid here, which is why the heat has been extra-oppressive. Even with the humidity, my sheet dried within an hour or two. I actually had to re-wet it during the night. So, nope, no mold! You know, that is where I get the hottest, too. Sometimes, I spritz water directly on my feet and prop them in front of a fan. :001_smile: I only wet the top sheet and it dried so quickly that I don't think it caused problems. I thought the concept of wet sheets was so strange that I held off on trying it. Wish I had done it sooner!!! Sweet air-conditioned cocoon!

The idea is more popular than I thought, then! It really, really works. I did have to wet the sheet again in the middle of the night, but man, what a difference it made! It IS going to cool down here soon, right??? Right?? Soon??? :)

Thank you!!!!!! I live in So. Cal and really can't complain about the weather....mostly. But this past week has been miserable and our house does not have air conditioning. After several sleepless nights, I finally tried the strange idea of sleeping with a damp sheet. I ran my sheet through a cold speed wash and high spin. Once done, I placed a fan to face me and crawled under the wet sheet. Ahhhhhhhh - sweet relief! It was like a tiny cocoon of air-conditioned heaven. Thank you!!!!!

It will be my birthday, too! :blush5: I LOVE sharing my birthday with Harry....it always hurt with a pang when his birthday was ignored. :)

Thank you, ladies! Those are really good ideas!

Thanks, folks! Hmmm - I actually tried R&S last year. While it is a really solid program, I think that FLL might cover more topics in a year. I'm wondering if I should use FLL 3 this year as a base before starting the Islands Level. If I did that, would the jump between Islands and Town be easier....if it ended up between 4th and 5th grades instead of 3rd and 4th? Or is it still a significant jump? Thanks!

Hello! I just asked a question about MCT, but now I have another! :) Placement - could my third-grader daughter handle MCT Island or should I wait a year or two? She is bright and reading at a very high level, but I don't know that she is "Gifted & Talented". The program asserts itself to be for such a group, which makes me wonder if I should wait. Thanks!

So then, to use MCT is to simply take a very different approach? Do I need to let go of my diagramming desires? :lol: They will essentially still be learning what they need to know in the world of grammar? I guess I'm asking for reassurance that this is okay.... And yes, the vocab and poetry look wonderful. How everything ties together is a BIG draw to me. So I guess I would do Daily Grams....daily? :tongue_smilie: This won't be overwhelming? I'm not being snarky here. I genuinely want to know from folks who have experience with this. Also, why Hake?

Hmmmmm.....thank you. You've both given me some food for thought. So I'm getting the idea that to add FLL would be too much... So with the mechanics, what is the easiest program to go with? Crimson Wife, since those are daily programs, how did you manage only twice each week? Also, does MCT include any diagramming? Is that something I would eventually need to add? Or does MCT make the need mute...as in just a completely different approach? For what it's worth, my daughter used R&S last year. It was solid and she did well, but it was dry. I'm looking to light her fire... :)

Hello! Soooooo - I've been contemplating MCT. I really like the approach the program seems to take; providing a way to really see grammar in action. (You may have just "seen" a poor example, LOL!) However, I've been seeing lots of threads lately that state MCT is incomplete as a grammar program. Is it really just a supplement? I get that I would need to add writing and spelling, but would I really need to add grammar as well? If so, exactly HOW does one fit in all this LA???? Here is the LA line up for my third-grade daughter this year: FLL 3 WWE 3 Sequential Spelling 2 American Cursive and for latin, GSWL. MCT looks so fun and I KNOW my daughter would totally love it, but would I overwhelm her with it? How do you juggle this??? Is it worth it? :001_huh: Thanks!

I just bought a globe at Costco. They have the choice between blue and antique-colored globes. They are $26 and pretty nice! Mine has a wooden base and metal frame thingamabob...you know that thing that holds the globe.... :)

I pulled an abdominal muscle when pregnant with my youngest - it hurt so much to walk! I ended up wearing a maternity belt and it was WONDERFUL!!! It helped so much. For me, it was instant relief, so I wonder if you have the wrong size. We bought the size that I was before pregnant. Also, my belt was just a simple single band that would stretch across my abdomen right below my belly. HUGE help and very safe. I hope you find one that works for you and get some relief!

I like that! It is certainly a more affordable option than individual classes. Are these mostly homeschooled kids that partake? Is the atmosphere friendly? I must admit I have horrid memories of my own gym class....:tongue_smilie:

Thanks everyone - I'm still trying to figure out the CA homeschool waters. You've been helpful! I think I'll look up that sports option... Thanks Missmoe - I think you've helped me before, when we first moved in January! I had been considering the charter you mentioned, but decided to go the private route. Hmmm...but I might need to rethink that eventually....

For those of you living in CA, I have a question. Is it possible to enroll in the enrichment portions ONLY for public school? I know some states will allow you to be part of Art, Music, and PE, or part of after-school enrichment, without having to be a student at the school. Do they do that in CA? I'm wondering because I'm not sure we can afford our extra-curricular activities this year. Currently, we are signed up for a homeschool class, ice skating lessons, and piano....but we might have to drop all of these. I'm wondering if there are free options out there. Or, can someone encourage me that it would be okay to not be involved in anything for at least a year? I'm feeling bad for my girls..... Thanks!

I'm checking out air conditioners too - it's getting hot! I don't know exactly what the term BTU means, but I do know that the higher the number, the more power your a/c unit will have. What # you need depends on the size of the room you are looking to cool. For instance, we are looking for a/c in the bedrooms. A 6000 BTU will efficiently cool up to about 150-200 sq feet, so that is the size we are looking for. However, for something like a living room or large open space, you would want the higher BTU...like the 10,000-12,000. Sometimes the a/c product info will tell you what size room the unit will cool, but the larger the number, the bigger the room. Hope that helps!

I KNOW!!!! That Christendom class hooked us in as well and I only have a 3rd grader. My husband spent all his time speaking with the graduates at the info meeting and returned to me, saying, "Yea, let's enroll them!". Those upper classes look GREAT! So it sounds like you'll be in the same boat as me....I have a 5-year-old tagging along during that school day.....what to do, what to do...... So, I'll have to PM you about this and about Long Beach - we've only lived here for 5 months!

I think this is a brilliant idea. My 5-year-old is now entering Kindergarten in our little homeschool....otherwise, I'd outsource her. :D

Hey, I think my daughter might be attending the same PSP next year! Riverbend? We just enrolled our daughter in the 3rd Grade Christendom class. I think they are using a combo of SOTW and TOG for our class - we are very excited! So excited that we are willing to travel from Long Beach. And thankful for this outsource - yay!

Okay, I have something similar to this that I've never mentioned to another living soul.... If a male stands too close to me, invading my perceived personal space, I get really afraid that I'll reach over and spontaneously.....KISS them! This has NOTHING to do with attraction! It happens with ANY male and I have to step away from them in horror of the thought! The poor male has no idea what is going on in my head and is simply trying to have a pleasant conversation....and accidentally leaned in too close. I almost want to scream, "Watch out!" Truly, my husband is the only man I actually WANT to kiss. But I get terrified that I'll reach out and kiss anyone, should he stand close enough. Weird, I know! :leaving:

I actually just recently posted about our switch to Singapore. We had been using a spiral/incremental math for 4 years and just finished our first week with Singapore. My daughter is about to enter 3rd grade, but only placed in 2A. And that is after using our previous curriculum an entire year ahead! So, yes, this happened to us as well. When I posted, I received many assurances that this was to be expected and that it would be fairly simple to "catch up". So far, I'm seeing that as true. I can tell there will be portions of 2A that we won't need to rehash in great depth (i.e. measurements), though there are others that we need to re-learn entirely. Still, I'm feeling much better about the placement and our ability to forge ahead. AND. We've only been at this for a week, so take what I say with grain of salt, but we are LOVING Singapore. My daughter and I have had many "aha!" moments in this week alone and we, so far, are delighted we switched. Hope this helps. :)

Thanks! Right now, I am REALLY appreciating the weather. Cool breezes! No humidity! We moved from FL, where we would be baking in a very wet oven by now. :) Woohoo for ocean breezes!

I just moved to So. Cal myself and have a quick question about all of this. When do we file the private affidavit? We moved in January. When I tried to file online, there was a message that said affidavits were only accepted in October. So, even though we're now finishing our school year this summer, we actually haven't filed yet. Do those of us that just moved need to do something now or just wait for this next coming school year and file in October? Thank you for letting me butt in and ask this!

Oh, yay! Lots of suggestions to check out - thanks! Several of you have asked my fitness level and I guess I would have to say "Not Fit". :lol: Eight months ago, I was playing racquetball regularly and also taking the occasional step class. But then a cross-country move came into play and I haven't done anything since. Well, I take that back - last week I spent 4 straight hours kayaking and snorkeling and seemed to hold my own. BUT, I just went jogging 30 minutes ago and about died. Exactly how bad is it if I intentionally avoid blocks where there are leisurely ladies pushing strollers because I'm not sure I can jog fast enough to pass them????? :D So, that's where I'm at. Does that impact anyone's recommendation? Could I handle P90X? Did I say that right???