Is your dishwasher detergent etching them? It sounds like it is too late now, but don't use more than a tablespoon of dish soap and don't pre-rinse the dishes.

Used the Writing with English William H. Maxwell text with my son last year (7th grade). It is filled with excellent descriptions and models from classic literature. We read through it concurrently with WWS 1, and it matched up well. There is one 1900s hardback copy on Amazon for 4.99 plus shipping, and it is probably available online for free. If your child is comfortable with classic literature, this could be a useful supplement. If not, skip it. It sounds like your child is having the most trouble with the prompts themselves, in this way might be similar to SWB's brother. SWB says that some people (usually "engineering types" like her brother" really don't do well with writing prompts and often really don't have any opinion at all on them. One of SWB's downloadable lectures covers this very topic, but I am not sure which one. There is also a book filled with unusual writing prompts for kids available on Amazon. It is called Unjournaling and is designed to offer an alternative to the standard writing prompts used in schools. http://www.amazon.com/Unjournaling-Writing-Exercises-Personal-Introspective/dp/1877673706/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390129085&sr=8-1&keywords=unjournaling

You might also want to consider Ellen McHenry's Mapping the World with Art. Several posters here have preferred it to Mapping the World by Heart. You might be able to search out some comparisons. Mapping the World with Art was used with great success by my 7th grade son, it does cover the whole world, though. Probably too much money for just the US portion.

I'd love it if there was a grammar curriculum that didn't start over at the beginning with the 8 parts of speech each time when the child is ready for phrases and clauses. To this end after we finish FLL 4, I am going to cobble something together that includes Practice Town from Michael Clay Thompson (we will diagram each sentence as well as do the 4-level analysis) and Sentence Composing for Elementary School (this focuses on phrases and clauses). I know this will leave out those little grammar lessons that are tucked into a regular curriculum: "like" vs. "as", punctuation of complex sentences, possessives, their, there, and they're, etc. If anyone knows of a resource that includes just these sorts of "little" grammar tips and hints, I'd love to add it to the other two to make sure we don't end up with a kid that can identify and diagram an absolute but keeps using the wrong "their/there/they're"!

Oh that is so freeing! My sister is also legally blind and cannot drive so I understand what a wonderful opportunity this is for you. Plus, right now, my family and I aren't able to drive in the country we are in, and it is maddening not to be able to run to the store to pick up some milk or decide to spend a quiet afternoon at the bookstore and just go without calling anyone to take us. My husband and I actually mourned our loss of independence when we moved here. People do not understand how important it is for everyone to be able to have transport in order to meet their basic and (and frivolous) needs. If they did public transport would be greatly expanded.

I think that is a great idea! Ken Burns has a film series on the national parks: The National Parks: America's Best Idea http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/ The Jason Project has highlighted national parks in their annual curriculum. http://www.jason.org There are two very expensive (even used) textbooks on the topic. (I would use them for mommy education then distill for the kids) http://www.amazon.com/Parks-Plates-National-Monuments-Seashores/dp/0393924076/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389424815&sr=8-2&keywords=geology+of+national+parks http://www.amazon.com/Geology-National-Parks-Ann-Harris/dp/0787299715/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389424939&sr=8-1&keywords=geology+of+national+parks

These three vintage nature books are great read-alouds for the elementary years. Plants and their Children by Mrs. William Starr Dana (Theodora Parsons) http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Their-Children-William-Starr/dp/B000GT0ZZK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389192623&sr=8-1&keywords=plants+and+their+children http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nc01.ark:/13960/t8pc43975;view=1up;seq=2 Dame Bug and Her Babies by Edith Marion Patch http://www.businessinsider.com/things-americans-should-know-about-india-2014-1?IR=T# http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924018276554;view=1up;seq=13 Middle School Wild Season by Alan W. Eckert. (Narrative on the food chain. Be aware bunnies get eaten by a snake in one part!) http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Season-Allan-W-Eckert/dp/0316208574/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1389207217&sr=8-1 Insect Ways by Clarence Weed http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Ways-Clarence-Weed/dp/B000M14SFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389192683&sr=8-1&keywords=Insect+Ways+Clarence+WEed http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89031172018;view=1up;seq=10 8th/High School I am reading this one aloud to my 8th grader. It would work well for 8th through high school. Galileo's Commandment: An Anthology of Great Science Writing edited by Edmund Blair Bolles http://www.amazon.com/Galileos-Commandment-Anthology-Science-Writing/dp/0716730359/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389193219&sr=8-1&keywords=galileo%27s+commandment

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey

Plants and Their Children links. Hopefully they work. http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nc01.ark:/13960/t8pc43975;view=1up;seq=13 http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/012189152

This book is a delightful, vintage read-aloud, perfect for the ages of your children. The book is available online somewhere as well, but I have misplaced the link http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Their-Children-William-Starr/dp/B000GT0ZZK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389099714&sr=8-1&keywords=plants+and+their+children+mrs+william+starr+dana

The Vihart channel on Youtube might be good for your eldest. It is mathematics seen through the lens of art. Some of the videos are far more complicated than the others, you may have to figure out the best order. The woman who produces it works for Khan Academy, I think. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=vihart+channel&sm=3

Re: personal space: I am an introvert who likes a wide circle of open space between myself and the next person, so in some situations India has been difficult. This is most often the case when lining up. Everyone who has been to school in the US has been drilled endlessly that line etiquette requires taking turns, forming a straight, single file line, asking if you are unsure of your place in line, and never never cutting in line. As far as I can tell Indian line etiquette has no requirements but takes several forms: the perpetually flowing line (people from the back of the line skipping ahead to the front and pushing those in the front backward); the line of great width and little depth (15 people two deep horizontal to the counter); and the "I don't recognize your position in this line, so I am going to get in front of you" cutting method (this one happened to me ALL THE TIME until I realized I could allow NO space between me and the person in front of me or between me and the counter). Interestingly enough, if you are in one of the perpetually flowing lines, no one touches you, people just slip into the tiniest spaces imaginable and the spaces magically expand to accommodate them (driving, too, operates exactly on this theory--much to the horror of the "1 car length between you per 10 mph" adherent!).

My close up vision tanked last year (44) too, probably out of spite as I had recently been extremely frustrated with my cousin who suddenly couldn't read the map on our big road trip. He'd just turned 45, and it happened just like that. I can hear him now, "What the heck, I could read the map last week when we planned this all out!" Two of my friends also mentioned on FB this week a sudden need for reading glasses. I guess our reading eyes have a 44 year warranty with no extension plan! Anyway, I picked up a pair at Rite Aid as I was fortuitously in Rite Aid trying to read the small print on some OTC medicine when I realized that no matter how close I got to the bottle I wasn't going to be able to read the words. The ones I have are Foster Grant and a very cute pink. I do imagine prescription ones might be better, I have to constantly adjust the distance in order to be in the "sweet spot" of magnification.

My son has loved and learned enormous amounts from documentaries, especially in history and science. He began watching them at three (I think it was a piece on the Mars rover) and hasn't stopped since. My daughter, on the other hand, is bored out of her mind by them and so I have used them sparingly. I do believe my son had significantly more background knowledge in science and history due to the documentaries at the same age as his sister is now. Maybe I should have forced her to watch them, LOL! Frankly, their value as an educational tool depends on the quality of the documentary and the temperament of the kid.

May not be relevant to your situation, but nausea following the consumption of certain fats was my first symptom of gall bladder problems (gallstones leading to the removal of my gall bladder and a much happier me). It felt very much like pregnancy nausea. Eventually the symptoms began to include pain in the right hand side of the abdomen just under the rib cage. Certain types of fats or combinations of fats were more likely to trigger it than others. Just something to keep an eye on.

Re: hacking and spitting: I see a lot more spitting (mostly by men) on the street here than in the US. But both here and in the US, I have often wondered why as I have never, ever--even when sick--felt the immediate need to spit, but perhaps that is just me or just a girl thing. My husband suspects that the high level of pollution and dust may have something to do with all the hacking and spitting. These things are quite irritating to the nose and lungs. Re: compassion: I am probably getting myself in trouble here, but I have seen a general cultural trend that makes me believe that in India a definition of compassion would most likely include more giving living things the opportunity for life rather than a guarantee of a good life. There are religious groups here including the Jain, that definitely sacrifice their own "good life" by extending compassion and respect to life to all things for example, insects. They would not kill mosquitos even though mosquitos can carry malaria and dengue fever, they do not eat root crops because insects may be disturbed by the digging process, etc. Re: Cats: My husband keeps saying that Indian people aren't fond of cats and his coworkers and driver keep correcting him and saying that they do like cats! Probably some do and some don't! It could even be regional. There are lots of stray cats that are fed by the people in our community. I think that if people do keep cats they keep them indoors and so we don't see them generally. From my firsthand observation, cats are in great danger from the street dogs and that would be one reason they seem rare here. Maybe if the dogs numbers were reduced, cats could take over the rat control? p.s. for Cammie: my son "did the dig" too for several years with Dr. Geoff Purcell. He focuses on a different ancient culture each time. Lectures and prepares the site by having the dig's hosts bury the artifacts in a particular arrangement in different strata. It is an amazing (and probably one of a kind) program, however you can take (and probably have taken) your kids to visit the real archeological sites at Mahabs and Chitradurga and Hampi that our archeologist can only lecture about.

We are currently living in India, but know far less about it than Cammie for sure, but our experience with the street dogs has been quite negative. My impression is, and Cammie will correct me if I am wrong, the dogs are differing degrees of semi-feral to informal pets. Some dogs seem to attach themselves to business owners or security guards or other people who feed them. These dogs are used to people and activity and generally seem to ignore passers-by on the streets. Other dogs live in parks or empty lots and while people may feed them, they mostly rely on garbage in the streets, rats, and other animals for food. These dogs I would consider feral. An American might be shocked at the sheer numbers of street dogs. In the Bangalore region, they are everywhere, on every street in the city and in villages. Some of them even sleep in the streets with the traffic flowing past. There are organizations that spay and neuter them before releasing them back to the streets, but clearly they can't keep up with the situation. In some areas, like Bangalore, the street dogs are protected by law. I can understand this from a compassionate standpoint, but from a public health standpoint I just can't see how it can be justified. Rabies is epidemic in the street dog population, they are adding even more bodily wastes to the streets and water runoff, and some of them are dangerous. My cleaning lady's four-year-old daughter was bitten in the face by a street dog; my husband was approached by two, ears-back, growling street dogs he was certain were going to attack him--a swift kick in their direction made them hesitate long enough for him to get away; and I had the unfortunate luck of observing a pack of street dogs tearing apart a live cat. So it makes perfect sense that Indian people might be wary of dogs, and ironically especially friendly pets as those dogs often approach people directly. In general, Indian street dogs walk along as if on their own mission. As they pass you are pretty sure that they are taking no notice of you. In contrast, a big friendly American golden retriever bouncing up to an Indian ex-pat might indeed inspire terror! If an Indian street dog demonstrated that behavior, you would be right to assume there was something very wrong with it or that it was going to attack you. Basically, if I were in charge (which I am not) all the street dogs that weren't claimed as informal pets, would be removed from the streets. However, in general, the society here is flexible enough to live with them, which is a very compassionate approach.

Regular table salt has anti-caking agents in it such as sodium aluminosilicate or aluminum ferrocyanide. Maybe you can taste the aluminum? Table salt is also bleached with chlorine bleach. Buy sea salt and you will be happy again.

About 20%. We eat a lot of organic and pastured products.

Richard Headstrom. Adventures with a Microscope. http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Microscope-Richard-Headstrom/dp/0486234711/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388581887&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=richard+hedley+microscope

We've used the Duralex glasses for 16 years now and are only on our second set. I am incredibly clumsy and drop things daily. The Duralex usually stay intact unless they hit something at just the wrong angle. Currently we are living abroad and have broken 10 regular glasses in 3 months! Gosh, those things even break when they tip over! I would be interested in trying the Duralex plates with the good experience I've had with the glasses. Currently we have the white everyday restaurant porcelain plates from Williams Sonoma and we have only broken a couple bowls in the past four years, so I recommend those too. Porcelain is much tougher than stoneware. These are just the plates. They have all types of dinnerware. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/everyday-restaurant-dinner-plates/?pkey=e%7Ceveryday%2Brestaurant%2Bdinner%2Bplates%252C%2Bset%2Bof%2B6%7C2%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C2&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-search%20term%20-%20plates-_- A cheaper option than Duralex (if you can stand the ridges around the opening) is to use jam sized canning jars as glasses. That doesn't help with plates and bowls, but does fit in the almost-unbreakable category.

Matt's Wild Cherry tomato (Johnny's Selected Seeds carries the seed). They are tiny, delicious cherry tomatoes that take almost no care, produce a great deal per plant, and sometimes self-seed for the next year!

Here's a new trend you will like. Developments that come with their own farms! http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/12/17/251713829/forget-golf-courses-subdivisions-draw-residents-with-farms

Surprisingly there are actually rules about what your mail carrier is allowed to accept as a tip. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/12/what_can_you_give_the_mailman.html

I think a few people fear to venture over to the Chat board because it can be contentious so if they want to post off-topic they tend to do it here where presumably discussion would be less contentious. Either that or they totally forget that the purpose of the Chat board was to allow the general education board to remain about education especially for the benefit of newcomers (so they won't get scared away from classical education because of posts on teA and bOOkshelves and cupcakes and kilts).