Enjoy! Can't wait to see pics of your pup. :)

DS3.75 wants to be Superman, which is fine except I'd been planning to make him a nice cape for playing superhero/knight/king/wizard for his birthday in late November. So I need to decide whether to make it for Halloween or not. DS1 will hopefully fit into a bat costume his older brother wore. If not, then hopefully he's big enough for a lion or dragon costume in our closet. I have fabric to make a cape for our dog too, which DS3.75 has been bugging me about, so she can be Krypto I guess. :)

Schnauzers are very bright and will take the upper hand if allowed. But they can be super dogs. We had one when I was young, and he was just fantastic. He and my baby brother adored each other and were inseparable. He could figure out how to open gates pretty easily and would go for walks, but he always came home right away. Hope it works out.

Mmmmmm. Wish I was in that group. Sounds heavenly. :)

My mom just gave us this, and we love it!

"Look, Peter Rabbit" is a lift-the-flap with a mirror at the end that both my boys love. "Peter Rabbit Touch and Feel" "Where Is Baby's Bellybutton?" This series of lift-the-flap books: http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Lift-Flap-Hinkler-Books/dp/1741579325/ref=pd_sim_b_2. Bought all of them on super clearance at Borders. My younger likes any touch-and-feel books, including all the DK ones and Pat the Bunny.

:iagree: My husband is a cop, and while I haven't run your situation by him, I think this is very important. Many hugs to you and your son. :grouphug: ETA: Nobody has to know you've made a report. It can just be a nice bit of ammo in your back pocket, and your son's. Should you feel the school doesn't take appropriate action, you can always bring it up. And if you don't need it, at least the police have it should anyone else ever have a problem with the kid.

Well, I'm in the midwest, and we're having lots this season too. There was a blip on the news about it, and they were connecting it to the high number of mosquitos since dragonflies eat them. And I must say, I much prefer dragonflies to mosquitos. :)

I subscribed my 3yo DS to Your Big Backyard thinking he'd love it because he loves animals and nature. But he's been kind of meh about it. When it arrives in the mail, he's happy to have mail but doesn't care to read it right away. He enjoys it well enough once we do read it, but not to reread it. And the recent issue kind of upset him with the use of buffalo instead of bison. Do your kids love it? Don't love it? What ages? Do they already know quite a bit about animals/nature? I guess I'm a little disappointed, and trying to figure out if he'll like it more later. Thanks. :)

I had a male pyr/lab mix. He was a rescue and amazingly sweet. He was shy and a bit scared when we got him. It was, at first, very sad, sweet, and amazing to watch him place himself between any strangers and my older son. He was afraid of the person but you'd have to kill him to get to his boy. We were able to help him with the fear - it just shows how strong the protective instinct is that it overrode the fear. He topped out at 85lbs. I also had a newf/st. bernard mix female. She topped out at 130lbs. I'd say training both was easy, as long as they wanted to do what I asked. :tongue_smilie: Due to their intended occupations, they have more of the "figure it out" intelligence than immediate obedience type. Which meant they could figure out how to open child locks on the cupboards guarding the garbage, get the lid off a tub of parmesan, and get a set of antlers down from shelves 7ft high. :lol: When my girl was a pup, she ate the couch one day. I needed a new one anyway. Just remember they do normal puppy things, but they're way bigger and so can destroy more. Everything at the vet is more expensive. Everything at the store is more expensive. But they're truly wonderful dogs. I miss mine dearly.

My older son loves these too! We just reenacted one today while out on a nature trail. :)

I had friends who had a raccoon open the door and let himself in. When they secured the door better, he opened a window and came in. :ohmy: Kind of scary.

I hope this isn't obvious to everyone but me. :001_unsure: How do you find out school stats (class size, teacher salary, expenditure per student, test scores, etc) for a private/parochial school like the ones provided online for public schools? If they aren't online, do you request them from the principal? or does the district the school is in have them? TIA!

I do many of the same activities already mentioned with my 3 1/2yo DS - lots and lots of reading, then more reading, playdoh, coloring, painting, crafting in general, puzzles, games, then more reading. We also do lots of counting - count the number of steps into a building, counting produce at the grocery store, count how many hops to the crack in the sidewalk, measurements when cooking, etc. I did buy a workbook for him to try if he wants to, and may start a bit of writing. But if he doesn't want to, I'm not pushing it yet. I do want to introduce more storytelling by him, with and without puppets, and more songs with motions. He has been resisting memorizing and reciting poems lately, but I'm hoping to have one ready by Halloween.

Our vet clinic offers tours.

Naxos does not always provide the best performances or recording quality, but some of their artists and recordings are fantastic. If you were buying recordings of major works by major composers, I doubt any Naxos CDs would be on my list of recs. They do have an extensive catalog which can be very helpful. And a number of universities use the service, although probably the more expensive version.

I like this show too. This past spring I decided I'd start DVRing a show for myself, and this is the one I chose.

:grouphug: Sorry you have to deal with this. I am not an expert, but here are my first thoughts: find another trainer at least to get a 2nd opinion if not to actually work with; 2 weeks is not long enough to expect much change; and try a halti or gentle leader head collar. Unless the dog is too far away from you on a leash that is too long, you will have absolute control with little effort. Also, if you believe the nipping is fear based, you may need to do some very gradual conditioning. It can be time consuming but worth the effort.

You might try criss-crossing heavy double sided tape all across the top of the planter. Also, I'm not sure I'm remembering correctly, but I think cats don't like cloves or clove oil - one of the main ingredients in those cat-off sprays. If you didn't change the dirt, he's not likely to stop. If you don't plan on changing the dirt, at least pour some nature's miracle or the like on it. Good luck.

I think the dot idea is a really good one, similar to the sandpaper letters to trace with a finger.

Mommyfaithe, I admire you greatly for turning around and going to pick up your girls that day 16 years ago. Greatly. I don't know any of the details of your experience, but it has always been a fear of mine that I will have such an urge regarding my own children, but not have the strength to do it. (Not just about school.) I haven't officially started homeschooling yet, but have thought these last couple of weeks that it is hard watching all of the back-to-school hoopla. This thread has been a little helpful and a little scary. I am definitely in awe of all of you who have graduated high schoolers already.

Bears!!! Love football season!

I'm reading this now myself. I haven't gotten very far, but I've gotten a few good ideas about approach. I want to finish before I come to a conclusion, so :bigear:.

I imagine I will plan our events around our curriculum too for the most part, and am seriously looking forward to it. :) But what if when you're schedule lands on Vikings, a travelling Pompeii exhibit will be in town? Pompeii is my example because I'm still affected by the exhibit from my childhood, so I certainly believe just having the experience separate from studies is worthwhile. But I can also imagine making a really fun unit from the experience for a few days. I wonder if it would it be too disruptive though? And yes, aquarium membership definitely counts. Aquariums always count in my book. :D

I'm thinking about such events as special/visiting exhibits at museums, for example. Do you try to work these into your plans and include studies around them, even if it means a detour or break from your curriculum? Or do you just go to the event and recall the visit when related material comes up in your regular plans?