Hi, I'm looking for a grammar curriculum for my 6th/7th grade daughter. We loved FLL, and really want something that teaches in that style, and a that level. I've looked at voyages in English, but it's more then I want to spend on one subject. I'm looking at rod and staff, but not sure. We have on loan from a friend level 5 and it seems way too easy. I guess what I'm looking for is a rigorous grammar curriculum that doesn't require a lot of writing since we will continue to use writing with skill. Thanks! Cari

Funny you should ask this question today, there must be something in the air. All summer I've been struggling to "be more spiritual" or even figure out what that means for me. Today I actually sat down and started that journey. ~Cari

Hi~ I'm having a little trouble deciding how many books a month my 9 (almost 10) yo should be reading for leisure a month. She reads a variety of books so it's hard to gauge what is average for her. Some weeks she can pound out one a night, other times it takes an entire week or more. How many books do you have as a goal, or are you doing minutes? Thanks! Cari

LOL! My kids do, thanks to dh's old pick up know how to roll a manual car window down, however they ask if they can "scroll the window down" when in a car. ~Cari

I was a troubled teen, and really good at hiding it. I wish that my mom, or dad had gone in my room, or read my diary to find out what was going on. I would have resented my mom doing random checks, but if she had come to me and said "I was in your room (insert excuse like grabbing the dirty towels) and found (insert evidence of unwanted behavior)" I wouldn't have even thought twice about her being in there. At that point I don't think they would be out of line to do random checks with my knowledge. Part of why I was so good at hiding things was that my parents trusted me, until I was 15 I was very well behaved. They had no reason to suspect anything was wrong, until it was too late. So in my book, kids/teens don't automatically get complete privacy and complete trust. It only takes one small step in the wrong direction, even for a really good kid, to have things spiral out of control. And FAST. ~Cari ETA: I totally forgot to add that as a parent I do the declutter/ cleaning thing as well. My kids are only 9 and 6 so not too much they are going to do yet. We are pretty privacy free here anyway, heck right now the parents bedroom doesn't even have 4 walls, much less a door. I do knock before I enter their rooms if they are changing, or in the bathroom.

I agree with this. It sounded to me like she (mom of other child) was looking to pick a fight. Best to just blow it off and move on. Cari

They had some of the dyson brand on display at the store last summer. The wind coming off of them was pretty good, imo, and not a sound. I've never seen any other brand. :( ~Cari

I'm so excited, got my pre-order in this morning! Has everyone else preordered their copy, or am I the only one that nuts? ~Cari

We went through a similar "problem." How do you punish a kid for READING?! Sounds wrong doesn't it. We addressed the reading past lights out by having a talk with our dd about why it was important to get proper rest, then suggested that if she wanted to read that much at night she needed to get in bed sooner. With the other stuff like not doing chores, she got in trouble just as if she had been playing with a toy. However, free time is free time. It used to frustrate ds. I used that as time to have some one on one with ds. After a few months dd came around and now has a better balance. She still spends more time reading then a lot of kids. And will abandon her little brother to go read, but it's much better. ~Cari

I've been in a similar situation. It was very confusing, on one hand I knew it wasn't healthy for me (or my family) but the possibility that I would have nothing/no one if I stepped back from it was scary as well. Boy am I glad I did. It was rough at first, and a bit lonely. In the end with all that free time I was able to make other connections. Healthy, more meaningful connections that I might not have made with her still in my life. You know that saying, close one door and another one opens? Well life is too short to keep open the doors that only let in negativity. ~Cari :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Exercise. I know boring, but that would really improve my life a lot. ~Cari

ooo, sorry if I came off snotty. :) ~Cari

I was thinking this too. :lol: ~CAri

:iagree: Said much better then I could have, and much nicer when it comes to #2. ;) ~Cari

:iagree: ~Cari

"Originally Posted by Scarlett Wait, wait wait!!! I read that for a child to be red headed BOTH parents have to have a red head gene somewhere! Was the father full Korean? Can that be possible to be full Korean and have a redhead gene in the gene pool? Not really. I know of a mom who is white with red hair and an African American husband and they have dark skinned red heads. Also my sister has dirty blond hair and no one in my family has red hair, her babies daddy is a full blown red head and their baby has just as red hair." __________________ Somewhere in their gene pool there is a red hair. Just because no one remembers doesn't mean it didn't happen. It's not like interracial relationships were all that accepted in the past, or even relationships, kwim. http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=245 ~Cari

NP, my dd actually found it the first time our dog got skunked. ~C

Thanks for the tips ladies. I never thought about backpacks, they already have those! ~Cari

I get asked all the time where my kids get their red hair. I have two both redheads, me not so much. It's more annoying then strange and I often want to answer the same place people get brown or blonde hair. I find it funny when people do a double take and mumble "two redheads?!" Really? The worst/best was when one day at work I was nursing my then 6 mo dd. (Yes I had my 6mo at work and nursed her in the middle of the store.) A costumer not 6 feet from me asked my coworker if I dyed my daughters hair. When my coworker laughed the woman claimed that my dd's hair color was not something you could have naturally. :rolleyes: I should have asked her if she had been living under a rock until that day. ~Cari

http://dogs.about.com/od/caringfordogsandpuppies/ht/deskunking.htm It works great! I feel for you. My dog has been skunked a couple times. ~Cari

what do you do? We are moving in with my dad soon, and his house is very small. We won't have room to set up a school room like we have now. I will have the kitchen table to use during the day, but no where in that room to store books or other supplies. And of course it will have to be cleared for meals. I might have room for a small book shelf in the living room, but there is only one small table for the phone in there. I was considering having a milk crate (or similar size box) for the kids for all their books and a pencil box for smaller supplies like crayons, scissors, pencils, etc. Then a crate for my teachers books, and things that are shared like history. My issue is we have a bookshelf full of stuff we don't use every day, but I would like to have on hand. For example science books, how to draw books, books on a particular history event, etc. Should I just not worry about that stuff, store it, and then rely on the library more? We are only going to be there 6-12 months. Any suggestions on how to organize things? Thanks, Cari dd~9 ds~6

I'm sorry that happened to you. I can't say I'm surprised however. I've seen some carpy things go on at all three of the WFM I've shopped at, all while the employees smiled and were as polite as can be. I refuse to shop there any more. :grouphug: ~Cari

:lol::lol::lol: ~Cari

Hi, After reading this, I was hesitant to answer. However I know how lonely the life of someone not in a major religion can be, especially when it comes to the kids questions. I hesitated because religion can be such a touchy subject. I'm a Pagan as well, altho not Wiccan. What you are doing by saying some people believe this and others believe that is exactly how we handle things. Dh and I being of different beliefs and having close family with even more this was the only diplomatic solution. Plus we also felt it was very important for our kids to grow up judging people based on that persons actions, not what religion they follow. I've always told my kids the world would be a boring place if we were all the same. So just as my kids have learned about why ancient Egyptians built pyramids, they also have learned about why Grandpa and Grandma celebrate Christmas. We do spend a lot more time on Christianity because we live in America (it's a big part of American culture), and most of our relatives are one type of Christian or another. I'm very open with what I believe when talking with them, and generalize things when it comes to extended family. Also their grandparents talk to them about what they believe, and take them to church on occasion. We also do some things together as family that are religious in nature. There are also the times that kids just want an answer to things. When you find the dead goldfish it's not the time to have a long talk, they just want to be comforted, kwim. I read my kids needs at the moment and when they just want an answer I tell them what I believe. I look at things this way: Everyone has their own path they walk, when kids are young they walk with their parents because they aren't old enough to walk alone. ~Cari

Actually if you put a cup of apple cider vinegar in the tub it could help eliminate the UTI. It doesn't smell the best, but I've used it to get rid of yeast infections. Works wonders to reset things. ~Cari ETA: Let yourself air dry afterward. I get rid of UTIs by rinsing with warm water every time I pee, and then air dry. Sorry if that's too much info.