Wow! I agree with all of the red flags Harriet Vane mentioned. I would change packs.

We attend gatherings like that. My kids *love* to sing. Dh and I like to visit with friends and be around people having fun. It sounds like fun, even for people who don't love to sing.

My 6th grade dd has a teacher/leader who is also a mom of teenagers. I know her, and would trust her to advise my dd in appropriate ways. I think she would tell me if my dd shared a problem with her. She has no way to contact my dd privately since dd doesn't carry her phone, but I'd let my dd email her or talk on my phone. I suspect anything my dd would share with someone else is something she has already shared with me. That being said, if you feel weird about the communication, I would talk to the leader about it. I definitely believe in following your gut in matters like this. I agree with Sassenach. Everybody has different expectations of a church. It has to be hard for a church or youth group to meet everyone's needs or desires.

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None, but my mom isn't really one to share her opinion.

Oh yeah, I should have mentioned that my 9yo usually splits her 30 minutes of practices into two 15 minute blocks.

Mine are 12 and 9. They each practice piano for a minimum of 30 minutes every day. They each put in extra time on many days. I'm not creative about it, I just remind them if they haven't practiced by dinner time.

We have a variety of colors. The only color I regret purchasing is ivory. We now use them for plant saucers. It shows silverware marks more easily than the other colors. It also looks pretty blah with beige foods: chicken, rice, bread, etc. I would buy whatever colors make you smile. My personal favorites are peacock and plum. Tangerine makes me smile too.

If you start up a FB group of people who've been ripped off, you can call it "Well Planned Victims" :tongue_smilie: I'm so sorry this happened to so many of you.

Their FB page is basically a collection of disappointed customer comments. I'm actually surprised they haven't deleted more of them! I'm sorry so many of you were burned. This obvious lack of customer service would prevent me from buying another of their paper planners, which are quite pretty.

Really? We are not vegetarian, and my kids have never had to eat nuggets. They do eat burgers, but not generally from fast food places. When we have had to stop at McDonalds, my kids ate salad, fries, fruit or yogurt. No, it isn't a healthy or filling meal, but in my opinion it beats the alternative choices.

No!

Your commentary made me :lol:. Sounds like a vacation to remember.

We have a friend who works for Amazon and lives in Maple Valley, SE of Seattle. He spends most of his time out of town, so I don't know that proximity to the office matters to him.

How perfect! I went to a cupcake party just last night. :001_wub:

If she can handle a 3.0 reading level, several of Gail Carson Levine and Sharon Creech's books could work. You'd have to look at each title to see the level. Here is a website with some links. I agree with the pp about doing a search on hi-lo books.

I usually google the title of the book along with phrases like "discussion guide", "reading guide", or "discussion questions". Sometimes I find a synopsis that includes the main theme, plot, characters, etc. These help me figure out the important questions to ask, or where to dig deeper with my questions. If it is a book dd is reading for fun, rather than school, I ask generic questions. "How do you like the book?" "What is going on in the chapter you are reading?" "Tell me about the characters." I seem to ask a lot of questions about what motivates characters. My oldest dd loves to discuss books, so it doesn't take much to get her talking. My youngest requires more coaxing.

So, did you hear back from the principal today?

This is a refreshing way to look at a year! I'll have to give it some thought before I can post. I bet I can guess some of what you are planning to use next year. Your plan bears a striking resemblance to something I have on my shelves. :laugh:

It sounds like they are trying to avoid families with truant children who hang out causing trouble all day.

How about the My Side of the Mountain series? Dh enjoyed reading those as much as our kids enjoyed hearing them.

Sounds delicious! Now I want tacos. :laugh:

I used to consider Chick-fil-A a decent source of emergency food until dd read the brochure that lists ingredients! :eek: MSG is all over that list. In some foods, it appears on the ingredient list more than once! I'm not sure where their wholesome image comes from. I miss their chicken biscuits though. :(

Granted, I haven't eaten there in 6+ years, after an unfortunate incident of being served something rancid. The thought of Taco Bell as millennial and edgy makes me :smilielol5: Taco Bell always reminds me of the middle schoolers I used to teach, who used to brag they could eat 12 tacos. :ack2: This made for an interesting read. I laughed out loud at the mention of modified corn starch being derived from corn, a staple in Mexican food culture. It may be true, but it is a bit of a stretch to compare the two. :laugh:

I like to keep a regular bedtime routine, so our kids (9&11) rarely go out on errands after dinner time. There are special occasions, dinner with friends, or sometimes regular activities that keep us out later, but it isn't the norm. My kids just finished a week of camp that ended at 9:20. After showers and a snack, they weren't in bed until 10:30. It was worth it, but it wasn't a pretty week at our house. :scared: