I don't live in the Chicago area, but my sister does and we visit her. The Museum of Science and Industry has a Mythbusters exhibit right now (until Sept I believe). I know you've been there, but it could be worth another visit. My son (he's 10) really enjoyed the Garfield Park Conservatory (it's big!). It was a good thing to go do on a rainy day, parking was free and it was just relaxing. I agree with PPs about the Shedd, we plan to go back soon as we haven't been there in several years. We enjoyed the Adler planetarium too. And the Field Museum. They are all great choices.

Wow!! Congratulations! Are the kids excited? :001_smile: I can understand the mix of emotions, I think anyone would need some time to get used to the idea.

Classy person. Sincerely, c/p

In that case is there something you can give instead? I don't give my son a reward to take showers, but if he had other issues and/or it was a big struggle, I would consider it. I don't think it's a bad thing to be able to be rewarded with a little something after doing something you don't like. I know I reward myself sometimes (usually with a pot of tea or watching a dvd or something). Also, and maybe you already do this, it helps my son if I get his shower ready and then he can just hop in.

Same here. Don't tell me, I don't want to know!

That was clever! I've only watched one episode of Hoarders and it was more or less like that.

We listen to them in the car. When I read aloud to my son he usually plays or draws while he listens, so it would be the same if I put on an audiobook.

Well, it is the Daily Caller. You can't really go by what the first paragraph states, you have to go by what the actual proposal states.

I also wanted to say that even though I didn't have much trouble with the quiz, I didn't think it was super easy. You need to have a good general knowledge of religion to answer the questions correctly and that requires some curiosity and interest in what other people do and believe. Was anyone else disappointed there weren't any questions about Norse or Egyptian mythology? I got excited when I saw the Greek one!

I could see it encouraging an interest in reading because sometimes the hardest part is picking up a new book and starting it, especially when there are other things to do. They pay-off starts as you get drawn into the story. I don't think that gets lost on them just because they receive a little pocket money for spending part of their day reading. I'm not sure how not reading leads to a love of reading either (though I'm fine with the idea of providing lots of reading material to be picked up or not) and I'm not sure requiring reading for pleasure would have better results than offering an incentive.

31/32, I also missed the Great Awakening one. I knew it wasn't Graham, so I had a 50/50 chance of guessing right and I did not.

They are probably quite used to it and might have been dying inside of embarrassment, but what is showing that or questioning her behavior going to buy them? Probably more problems. eta: That question wasn't for you, Audrey. I didn't think you were saying they should have said something, just that they seemed to think it was normal. However, I bet they know it's not.

Sears is worth trying. eta: oops, just re-read the PPs and see Sears was already mentioned.

Both Nimes and Carcasonne (and the Pont du Gard as a PP mentioned) are worth seeing. I lived in and around Marseille for 8 years and there are too many beautiful places in the south of France to list, so you really can't go wrong with whatever you choose, IMO. Aigues-Mortes, Arles (my son liked the Roman ruins museum there), Avignon... etc etc etc

If someone at the table were piling up bits of food on their napkin I don't know if I'd be able to eat. It would likely make me sick to my stomach. That alone would mean they'd never get invited back. The whole of her behavior leaves me speechless, so I thought I'd comment on just the one thing!

I went with my son (age 10) and he liked it. Mirror Mirror had action, but none of it was gory. There were some tense moments, but everything turns out OK. If they are familiar with the story of Snow White I don't think they'll find it too shocking. There is a bit of romance, but no sex. The most is a kiss to break a spell.

If the school had no choice but to have the police come and handcuff this girl and haul her off to the police station, then something is very wrong. I'm guessing what the parents are referring to is a mood disorder, which does involve mood swings. This girl needs help. There's no way this incident is going to make her think twice before she has another tantrum--that's part of the problem, she can't first think about the consequences or calm herself down. Her brain doesn't work that way. I just hope she gets the help she needs. 6 years old is so young, I can't imagine her having such a scary experience at such a young age. I understand that she needed to be restrained in the moment. This should have all been worked out between the school and the parents at the start of the year.

Yes, it would bother me, but a hijab would not. I don't think such an extreme covering is appropriate in a public school. I don't think that makes me anti-Muslim or anti-religion. I also find the idea of covering women's mouths to be disturbing, but I suppose that's a separate issue.

I've been to that area twice and it's very beautiful and Barcelona is a pretty neat city. It helps that you know people who live in the area. I would say go for it. Everyone seems to be happy with the plan, but I'd make it known that you still want to go to England on a subsequent trip!

I am glad he posted because no one else had mentioned that this is a Christian fundamentalist book. This is helpful information and Bill's post saved me the trouble of looking further into it.

I understand not wanting to leave everything math-related to be figured out (or not), but it's pretty cool when kids discover some stuff themselves. I remember my son realizing you just add 2 each time you add two of the same number together when he was 4, figured out out odd and even numbers when he was 5 ("some numbers have middles and some numbers don't have middles") and square numbers when he was 7. I didn't start any formal math with him until he was nearly 9 and we don't overdo it.

You are in my thoughts, Kari. :grouphug:

Maybe she could get a college student (or even high school) who is strong in math to work with him. I know around here there was a young man (math major) doing this for $10 an hour, which is a lot less than Kumon or Sylvan. I think a few hours a week could do wonders to catch him up and just make the transition to PS easier for him, which is really the goal here.

Kind of weird, but one of my favorite characters is Narcissa Malfoy, at least once it became clear at the beginning of book six that the only thing that really mattered to her was her son. Plus, she had to put up with Lucius, so I cut her some slack. My very favorite characters are Snape and Sirius.

I notice them, but for some reason I can't think of many at the moment, even though there have been many I liked. I like the Moss avatar and quote in the sig (veritaserum). I also saw there's a member here called Honoria Glossop. :D