[Fixing damaged wall and installing a baby gate at the top of the stairs?]

We want to install a swing style baby gate at the top of our stairs that mounts to the wall. It seems like a pressure gate would not be secure enough. The problem is that the wall has had so many nail and screw holes in it that it is damaged. It won't hold the new screws even with those plastic pieces designed for the purpose. I've been googling, but must not be using the right terms as no solutions are coming up that do not involve replacing the entire drywall section. Is replacement of the drywall the only option? Is there some kind of spackle that dries really hard, or something? :tongue_smilie:

[There's a TODDLER in my home!]

I dunno. It could be very helpful to moms who are on the fence. Maybe you're 35-40, your IUD is ending its lifespan, and you are wondering if it's too soon to take a permanent step. Or maybe your youngest is school-aged and your thinking that Just One More would be nice. You are rested and up for adventure, so you borrow the nearest toddler for a day.

 

Still, I doubt anyone would charge to loan out their toddler.

Getting the loaner would be free. Doing the loaning on the other hand would cost an arm and a leg!

[Brainpop - free access]

Thank you!

[ACE or Hebron School Spanish curriculum?]

I didn't ever try either of them, sorry!

[Would you buy this life science resource?]

Please, please write it!!!!! I would love a secular science that is done a la SOTW. My oldest is 7 so I have time while you write it. :D

[LDS Moms ~ It's that time of year again!]

I went to our stake activity and the new presidency is so awesome. I liked the old one too :) The emphasis on the atonement was so amazing. It was nice to hear them talk about adjusting to their new responsibilities since I just got called as a counselor in our ward RS. I worry about being able to do a good job. I'm so excited for General Conference.

[Just what are you teaching the children????]

Lol! :lol:

[Do I need/want an iPad and a Kindle?]

I really like the e-ink instead of a backlit screen. Have you tried reading on the kindle? I noticed a big difference right away.

[Baby finally came! 41 weeks 5 days.]

Hooray!!!!!! You're awesome! I'm glad you're midwife was able to help so much. Welcome Jack! :D

[Math Mammoth pacing and Miquon]

Dd1 does 1 and a half pages of MM 2A and then a page of Miquon each day. :)

[Help! My 6 year-old wants to do LOTS of Science Experiments....]

We really liked 365 Simple Science Experiments by Churchill, Loeschnig and Mandell in addition the the books already posted.

[If you use Miquon]

wooden, no unit mark, no joint

that is what I believe is the standard

 

This is what we use too.

[Loving Miquon]

Yay! We love using Miquon here too and I have my eye on BA as a possibility in the future. :)

[We actually had a really great first day!!!]

Yay! We had a good first day earlier and I've been pleasantly surprised that we are getting everything done in a timely manner everyday.

[iPads and School]

My 4 yo plays a Spanish letter app. Dd1 reads the Spanish books from pacoelchato.com on it. She also does MM, Rosetta Stone, writes her AAS words and sentences, and I teach from BSFU and RSO. We have Grammarland worksheets with the audio as well as SOTW on audio. We also use the free brain pop apps, regular, junior and Spanish. I also just bought the Miquon PDF to use on the iPad. I really like using the iPad for school! I wish WWW and AAS had PDF versions. :)

[Free Classics Audiobooks]

Thanks!!!!

[Help! My 5 yr old says she hates school!]

I'm not walkermama, but I believe the video she means is by Leapfrog. Letter Factory was a huge success here, huge! My kids easily learned the short vowels and letter sounds in a week and it is very fun.

[D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths is coming in audio CD again!]

Thank you! I know what one of dd1's Christmas presents will be now. :) She LOVES the book and loves to listen to audiobooks to fall asleep.

[SOTW1: chapter books for read-alouds]

Classical House of Learning Literature has free lit guides to go along with SOTW. If you google the name it comes up. I can't link at the moment. :). It includes shorter picture books and chapter books.

[My daughter was baptized yesterday. :)]

:D. How neat that her blessing and baptism dress were made out of your wedding dress! What a wonderful day! My oldest dd will get baptized in April. :001_huh:

[Anyone else doing Dressing Your Truth?]

I bought it last month and am really liking it. :D I'm still waiting to get approved for the type 2 facebook group. I'm really looking forward to the parenting book too!

[Free Spanish readers (printable pdfs)]

Thank you! I'll be loading them onto our iPad too.

[Has anyone used MCT and NOT liked it?]

http://www.ellenjmchenrydownloads.com/Excavating-English-Digital-Download-EEDD.htm

 

It says it's about the history of the English language for middle school ages. It doesn't look like it would have much grammar, but I thought it might be good for the history part. My 7yo already asks me why English is such a pain compared to Spanish so I may buy it soon as a fun resource. :tongue_smilie: I majored in linguistics, but I'm hoping this program would help me teach things on a child's level rather than a college level.

[Has anyone used MCT and NOT liked it?]

Sharon, are you still using Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Approach? Any other recommendations? I've also been wondering if Excavating English is a good middle school option or not.

[PR to AAS]

We switched after PR1. I would skip AAS1 all together. AAS3 would probably be the right level. Some of it will be review and then some new. I agree that PR1 covers AAS1, 2 and part of 3. Have you looked at the TOC for AAS? That gave me a good general idea of what is covered in each level. We breezed through levels 1 and 2 since I was able to borrow them from a friend. AAS 3 does use the cards from level 2 so it might be a good idea to get those if possible.

 

We much prefer AAS as it is open and go with no videos to watch and the all in one approach just wasn't working even though I really wanted it to. Also, it is cheaper and we will be able to use MCT this way. :)