What can the Hive tell me about Lial's Introductory Algebra? Would this be a good fit for a kid who'd rather be working on her latest fantasy novel? 🙂 We've used TT in the past, but she thinks she'd benefit from somethiing wtih more review. I own Lial's already, but I'd be open to other suggestions.

My dd is about to begin TT Algebra I, but she complains that TT doesn't give enough review for her and I agree with her. My options are to switch to a different program or try to add review. She's my youngest and I'm familiar with TT, so I'm hesitant to switch it out entirely. Would All Things Algebra be a good way to add review? TIA.

Oh, that is sad. Praying.

It would irritate me, but the last time I was irritated because someone didn't respond to an email, it turned out that all my emails were going to her spam.

I agree that boys benefit from physical activity. As an aside, I had a family member tell me recently that he thought that his 14 yo dd was bi-polar. With all due respect to those who do suffer from mental illness, ummm, that's kinda normal for a 14 yo girl.

Undies or compression shorts.

Do a bit of research. Not all elderberries can be used for syrup, and the syrup needs to be prepared properly even with the right elderberries since some raw ones are toxic. I have two bushes -- an Adams, and a Johns. Both of those can be used for syrup. My elderberries sent out lots of new shoots around the base of the plants in the spring. I dug up a bunch of them and gave them to friends so that they could start their own bushes. If you don't want to wait for spring, I second Innisfree's idea of starting a plant from a cutting.

If you want to spend some money, the Gateway Clipper river tours are lovely. I especially like the sunset one -- you leave the dock during daylight and return a bit after sunset. Inclines -- I recommend the Duquesne rather than the Monongahela. It has better views. Strip District -- no nudity involved. It is several blocks of shops and restaurants along the river. Lots of different ethnic places. Reyna is great for Mexican food, Macaroni Co and Stamooli's are also fun -- sample olives and cheeses. https://www.discovertheburgh.com/strip-district-guide/ Oh, and please do get a donut at Peace, Love and Little Donuts. It's about a block off the Strip. Their donuts are amazing and only $1.50. Primante Brothers would be the classic Pittsburgh eatery (there's one on the Strip.) The Pittsburgh sandwich comes in several varieties, but all of them have cole slaw and french fries ON the sandwich. If you want your french fries separate, you have to pay extra. 🙂 I recommend the spicy sausage. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the Aviary, the Zoo, the Andy Warhol Museum, Frick Mansion tours, the Heinz museum are all great. Free -- lots of beautiful parks and old churches. I love old churches. There's a nice one near the Strip and right across the street from the donut place. Have fun!

I just "gather" all the credits together and plug it in as a full credit in one of the years, based mostly on where it fits into the transcript the best.

One of my sons used Guest Hollow. There were many things that we liked about it, but neither of us liked having all the reading on the computer. The one advantage was that there were videos to watch right in the reading, but we still both prefer real books. I'm hoping that a combination of Biology 101 and Friendly Biology will be a good fit for my next two non-STEM kids, but I'd love to hear from people who have used it.

I'd like to hear about it! I'm considering that as one of the options for next year.

I think it's easier to calculate if you think of it in terms of hours. For a one-credit class a student should put in between 120 and 180 hours with academic classes being on the top end and higher and enrichment/elective classes falling more closely in with the lower number. If you can calculate how much time your student put in between the class and any work that was done outside of class time, that should help you come up with a credit number.

Any experience with outdoor rugs? I'd like something prettier on my front porch as a runner from the stairs to the front door, but it's likely to get some rain on it and the dog will sit on it, so I'm wondering if it's worth spending much money for it. Does anyone have one that they'd recommend? Obviously, I'd like it to hold up for more than one season.

We bought a house with an in-ground pool that needed repair. We're pretty hard-core DIYers, but we were occupied with trying to make the house liveable, so we paid to have the pool done. New liner and new water = $5000. The pump and filter were working and my husband has purchased used pumps and filters for replacement parts very inexpensively. Ours gets used all the time and we think it was worth every penny.

Your class does sound amazing and the situation would upset me too. I think that I would suggest arranging a meeting with you, the mom and the student. Even if they don't agree to meet with you, you have followed the right course and demonstrated the correct way of going about resolving differences.

I have used the vinegar mixture for several years now. I mix one gallon of vinegar with 1/4 cup of dish soap and 1/2 cup of salt. It kills most weeds and grasses temporarily and the salt does NOT permanently damage the soil. You need to use a lot of salt to do any permanent damage -- believe me, I've tried. 🙂 (I have an area where I don't want anything to grow, and I've used salt on that, but you have to completely layer it on and even then, grass will come back after a while.) I'm looking out my window right now and I can see a section of weeds where I applied the vinegar mixture a few weeks ago. It was completely brown then, but after a few rains, it has come back. I was planning to mulch it all but didn't get to it quickly enough. The vinegar mixture doesn't work well on really tough weeds like thistles and poison ivy. I do use Round-Up for those.

Maybe. They can give you something that might relieve the inflammation, but I didn't find that it helped significantly. I've been fighting sciatica for the last nine months -- back and forth to the doctor; the insurance company wouldn't approve an MRI; lots of numbness and pain, etc. etc. Finally, I came across some stretching exercises that helped. I needed to be consistent with doing them and healing was slow, but it's happening. Try these: https://gethealthyu.com/stretches-to-relieve-sciatica-pain/ https://gethealthyu.com/stretches-to-relieve-sciatica-pain/

I've enjoyed using The Power in Your Hands by Sharon Watson. It's written in a conversational style to the student and instructions and assignments are clearly laid out. The teacher's guide includes a suggested schedule, assignments and a grading rubric for each chapter. You can get a sample here: https://writingwithsharonwatson.com/the-power-in-your-hands/

Yes! If I wear a knee-length skirt in fall or spring, my legs just look better with a bit of cover. And, I also hate the feel of bare feet in shoes and I think those little socky things don't stay put. Bah -- who cares what's in style? Wear what you want.

I'd keep going back to the doctor to tell them it's not getting better. Keep pestering until they refer you to a specialist who will help you. Just because they didn't find something the first time, doesn't mean there's nothing there to find. If you're still having pain, you need to find the cause. I've been struggling with sciatica pain for about 9 months and didn't get much help from the doctor, but trial and error with different stretching exercises has finally helped me. Maybe it's something like that for you as well.

Beautifully written.

All of mine have worked as teens, beginning in the family business when they were very early teens, progressing to doing lawn care or babysitting jobs and then a food service/grocery store position around 16 or 17. Since there's a large age gap (25 years) from my oldest to my youngest, I have definitely seen shifts in the teen job market. For my oldest, it was difficult to find part-time work, but my youngest could have her choice of four or five different places.

Happysmilylady, I think you nailed it. My schedule is pretty flexible so I can shlep my kids around, although it takes a huge chunk out of my day. If I had less flexibility, it would be pretty difficult. Another interesting factor is that most places insist that you apply online, but my kids who have worked at those places assure me that paper applications get first look. A bit of a disconnect there.

Praying for you, Katy.

See my reply above. The assistant principal confirmed that it was the complete list.