A few families are getting together to form an informal (meaning no fees and not lots of rules on paper) co-op this autumn. One parent will teach Spanish, another will lead a nature study and another an art project. There will be lots of time for free play/exploration and child directed projects. Another parent is going to guide us along in ongoing community service projects. We have all worked together well over the past year in similar endeavors and we have had a couple of meetings and easily come to agreement on the basic rules and schedule. We don't envision adding more people, just want to keep things small and add a bit of directed academic time to our already frequent playdates. So we're looking for a fun name for our group. Something that we can possibly paint onto tie dyed t-shirts and will give the kids a bit of feeling of group cohesiveness and set our Thursdays apart from other activities in their minds. We tried giving them the option of naming the group but so far they've been uninspired. Anyone out there feeling creative?

We've been shopping the past few weeks for a new car and are in a similar boat - we'll have two in large convertible rear facing car seats and one in a large, high back five point harness booster. My dh is very anti minvan so we have been looking at mid-size SUVs. We are almost settled on the Dodge Durango so I'd like to hear your issues with Dodge if you are willing to share. You can pm me if you want. If you like Buiks then check out the Enclave. It has the option of captains chairs or a bench seat in the second row and it fit all of our carseats. We really like it and it is running a close second in our decision making process. The Durango just seems to have a bit more cargo room. The Ford Flex also fit our seats well. I know everyone raves about the Honda Pilot but both dh and I found it very uncomfortable. The seats were hard, the head rests were tilted way too far forward, it didn't have the amenities such as rear view cameras that the others have at the same price point, and it didn't engage/respond with more power when accelerating or going uphill until the gas pedal was pushed almost to the floor. It did however offer the most room inside for the carseats and passengers.

Well, I'm officially eight months pregnant as of today and I just want to say that for climbing the stairs, maneuvering yourself into the tube, riding the slide and (I'm assuming since you didn't mention any faux pas) gracefully exiting the tube and pool you should be given some type of medal! I'm happy I can still get in and out of a chair by myself with some degree of grace. You're my hero this evening! And I agree, I'm sure there's no harm done. Sounds like a pretty low impact ride to me.

Praying! :grouphug:

Just because the office is open doesn't mean that all of the staff is present. They often take their vacations in the summer like the rest of the school population. I would ask the secretary when the principal will be in and then, if need be, find out if there is anyone else you can talk to about the situation.

Last autumn when the big east coast storms hit we lost power for eight days. We had decided to replace our very old woodstove with a pellet stove and were waiting for it to be installed the week the storm hit, so we had no wood. Our neighbors let us use all the wood we needed from their stack to heat our house and allow me to be able to do a little cooking. They are great neighbors overall and we both try to help each other out when we can, but this was a huge help during a stressful time!

One of my favorite children's books of all time is The Bee Tree. http://www.patriciapolacco.com/books/bee_tree/bt.html Love the message at the end of the book!

Yes, but you need to download an app that makes PDFs writable. I use Notability on my iPad. You can then import and write on/edit the files. I do find a stylus makes writing much easier, especially for my six year old.

Thank you both! I did remember the binder idea from a previous thread and it sounds like a great plan. Can't wait to get my hands on the book and check it out, but it's two weeks until my sister visits so I guess I better find something like math plans to focus on in the meantime. :tongue_smilie:

I have been interested in Konos for a while but the price tag has stopped me from investing sight unseen. Yesterday my sister scored me a FREE copy of Volume One at her co-op used curriculum sale, :party: but it is the 1992 edition. Just wondering if anyone knows what has changed in the current edition. Is it just the books lists? Or have the activities and information been updated as well? My thought is that if only the booklists were updated then if we like it I will know I can just look for other older editions at lower prices since finding supplementary reading has never been a problem for me, however if many other changes have been made then I will look for a good deal on the current editions. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

If the larger one dose of apple cider vinegar helps then you can also try mixing smaller amounts in water to sip throughout the day. That has helped me. The baking soda also works well, my midwife just cautioned that it is sodium so if you have trouble with swelling at all in pregnancy then monitor your intake.

I make a poster sized chart with all the room colors and room names identified and hang it in a prominent place so that the movers can check it if needed, but more importantly I hang a large piece of paper in the designated color on the doorway of each room. You could use construction paper or if you're using tape/stickers then cover a white paper with several of the colored pieces. Still write the contents on each box as that helps with organizing the actual unpacking, but for moving day and getting boxes to the proper rooms this system makes it much easier on everyone in my experience.

Assign each room in the new house a color. Buy a package of colored masking tape, or specially made colored label tape from the moving store, or pieces of construction paper affixed with clear packing tape, or a set of wide magic markers (you get the idea), and "label" each box with a color swatch of the room that the contents are destined for. On moving day tape a big piece of colored paper or tape in the assigned color to the doorway of each room. So much easier than hunting for written labels or trying to get everyone to remember which is bedroom 1 versus bedroom 2 or living room versus family room, etc. Set aside a suitcase or box for all the items you'll need on the first day at the new place. Telephones, Internet routers, a set of paper plates, napkins and utensils, soap, a pair of pjs for each kid, etc. Pack this box in your car, NOT the truck as it will invariably get mixed-up and set behind and under seven other boxes and you won't find it for three weeks. Good luck with the move!

Just to be sure it is clear - the router is a one time purchase. Like everything else tech you might want to upgrade to a newer version every 5 or 6 years, but it does not initiate/require an ongoing fee.

No, there is no ongoing fee, beyong the Comcast bill you are already paying, to have wi-fi at home after the initial investment of the router. The router just takes the signal you already have coming into your home and allows you to access it with your devices without hooking up a wire to each one. It can also help you network your devices - I can access my printer, my husband's desktop, and our external hard drive all wirelessly from my desktop computer. You could do this with a laptop as well, I just don't have one anymore as I have the iPad instead. I can also print wirelessly from my iPad although this requires purchasing a printing app (one time fee). Now, outside your home you can either find free wi-fi hotspots or pay a fee for cellular service (if you buy a 3G capable iPad). You can turn the cellular service on and off based on your needs, though you pay for a month at a time. So like others, I activate an account and pay for a month when we are going on a trip, but then deactivate it when we are at home. There are different levels of data plans with corresponding levels of fees for this. Not to bash Best Buy, but if you have Apple specific questions I highly encourage you to visit an Apple store if possible. They will show you everything and have the best info. For instance, I'm not sure why Best Buy told people, and I have heard this before this thread, that the first iPads required ongoing cellular accounts or other extra fees. This was not true. As long as your iPad is cellular capable you have always had the option to go month to month with service accounts. Another thing to consider - the lowest priced iPads have the least amount of memory capability and lots of folks are surprised by how quickly they top out on that capacity. I would definitely consider investing in at least the mid-level especially if you are going to use your iPad for homeschooling.

Some form of this looks easiest for tonight since I have all the ingredients. I'll have to keep this in mind for another time. My son is allergic to wheat though so I have to figure something else out for him. I'd love to grill but it's rainning and dh is a purist so we only have a big charcoal grill. My kids love it and eat a ton, too. Wish I could find a cheaper source for wild caught! Thanks for the ideas! Lots to experiment with in the future.

I have a nice salmon filet to make for dinner but I'm tired of my old standby recipes. I usually do either the stereotypical dill and lemon combo or I use lemon juice and miso to make a marinade. Anyone have a simple, tasty recipe I can try?

Well, I'm happy for the majority who are running faster, but for me the boards are much, much slower today. They were slow for me before but now they are excruciatingly so. :sad:

I really like the way the straps on my Maya Tie do fan out to cup my shoulders when I want them to. I am used to this because I use Moby style wraps a lot and the fanning helps distribute the weight. You may want to ask your friend if she uses her Moby a lot and likes that fanning option or if she usually folds or schrunches the shoulder fabric.

Sending prayers!

:iagree: Also, you said you made him apologize, so probably in his mind he believes he corrected the situation and avoided the consequence.

For those of you who may have said a prayer, Leah passed on today. She was surrounded by the love of family and friends. Eternal happiness for her, great sorrow for those who loved her.

Why not see if your Mom wants to go to the convention with you and make that your special time together? Perhaps she'd be very interested in learning about her grandchildren's educational path? Even if you spent just one day at the convention and the other of your two days together doing something else it could work.

Dh had unexpected time off this morning and took the kids to do some errands. Inspired by the decluttering threads here lately, but daunted by the amount of work ahead of me, I decided to start small and set about to declutter the bathroom drawers and cabinet. I really can't believe how much crap we have accumulated, especially since my "beauty routine" is pretty simple - soap, moisturizer and minimal make-up, usually just base. Well, I'm here to say that decluttering pays off! In the pocket of a travel make-up case that I haven't used in a couple of years I found the diamond and sapphire necklace that I've been missing for just as long! :party: I don't do much jewelry, just have a couple of simple pieces that dh has bought me, and this anniversary gift has been missed. In fact I had forbid him to buy me any more since I had lost it! I can't think of anything else valuable that is missing, but I sure am motivated to start decluttering other areas of the house now just in case!

In the homeschooled/playroom we have a small bureau next to the worktable. On top of the bureau is a basket with office supplies such as a stapler, hole punch, pencil sharpener, etc. The top drawer holds containers of markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors and glue. The containers have lids and and can easily be brought from the drawer to the worktable when needed and then neatly stowed away when finished. The second drawer holds various types of papers; blank white, ruled and colors. The third drawer holds supplies I don't mind the children using on their own, such as beeswax, clay, stickers, glitter glue pens, collage materials, watercolors, wikki stix, etc. The bottom drawer holds the inevitable scrap pile - papers, coloring sheets, bits of string and ribbon, etc. that aren't finished products but still have use. I REALLY like using the bureau instead of shelves as it keeps everything looking so much neater and less cluttered! I have hooks on the wall next to the table to hold art smocks. The children are pretty good at remembering to don them when they are going to undertake a messy project. There is an easle next to the work table with one of those continuous rolls of paper. I often put paints out and let the children work freely, and I usually say, "Yes" if they ask for them to be restocked, but they are easy to put away if we are having company or I want to limit the mess. In an adjacent room I have a small space with shelves where I store the messier and more expenisive art supplies. This includes the paint, the "good" watercolors and watercolor paper, the potter's clay, certain collage materials and other items that I want the children to ask permission for before using. Also, in our mudroom we have a set of small recycling bins inside a cabinet. In here we keep various pieces of cardboard, paper tubes, yarn, fabric scraps, empty plastic containers, etc. The mudroom is also adjacent to the homeschool room so the children can easily raid the bins for items they need for their projects, but again the cabinet door closes to contain the mess! I bought several large, thick plastic art mats from Discount School Supply a couple of years ago. They are about 2' by 3' in size. These have been awesome at protecting the table and are sturdy enough to hold and carry most projects when the artist isn't finished but time dictates that we need the table for something else. Like, you know, schoolwork. :001_huh: I don't see them on the site anymore, but I have seen similar at Hobby Lobby and Michaels. By the way, I have been very pleased with just about everything I've purchased from Discount School Supply and buy almost all my regular art supplies from them. They have super fast shipping, good prices and good customer service. I recommend them especially if you want to make a large purchase, like a whole set of tempura paint colors and several colors of construction paper. They also sell large lots of collage materials and I will often go in on a purchase with another family or two and split the price and the quantity. Have fun!