I bought it a few years ago on HSBC. We decided not to continue with Right Start, but still use the card games. :)

Yes. Roentgen never patented x-rays, and donated the money from his Nobel. Polk never patented the polio vax. Glad she made it public. No doubt a few more women will get tested who might not have....and some lives will be saved.

CBD carries it and it was included in their homeschooling sale in March or April. (Can't remember which.)

We used ABF. Went to MovingHelp.com to find people to load/unload. Worked great. :)

DS1 had nighttime enuresis up until this year (9 years old). Wet the bed every single night. Alarms didn't work at all. Taught him to strip the bed, and give himself a shower in the a.m. if necessary. Turns out he also had chronic constipation which was playing a part. Nobody knew. Once that was fixed, his night time wetting went away about 2 months later. Now, he has an accident maybe once/month.

I'm assuming I'm not the only one on the board with a Honda Odyssey. Well, we haven't updated the navigation DVD since we bought the thing over 5 years ago. I keep eyeing them...and then declining. They're $50 off now, so only $99.00 if you're interested. Cheapest I've seen them! http://hondanavi.com

His height is the 50th percentile or so...so no, it's not like he's tall either. He is definitely quite overweight, and it bothers him, more than me, to be honest. He wants to do something about it. I hear him talking about dieting and such, which worries me.

In cub scouts, they start with soap. (Bear scouts can first earn the whittlin' chip badge...3rd grade/9 year olds usually). You could get one of those mesh gloves for him to wear as well, if you're really concerned, but honestly I've been impressed with how careful my son is. I think most boys "get" that knives can harm them.

What about Calvert for boxed? Brave Writer?

Got some software from Critical Thinking Co. using the voucher. Way psyched! :laugh:

Pink Martini's "Sympathique"

Just a reminder for those of you out there who procrastinate on sales that the Educents 30% off deal for Math Mammoth is ending in 2 days https://www.educents.com/national-deals/deal/math-mammoth-packages?utm_source=Educents&utm_campaign=08bcccef06-5_11_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8da5a224bb-08bcccef06-81515641 Maria sent an email saying that her own sale is starting in a week or so, but it will only be 20% off. Of course, I have no idea if HSBC will be offering Math Mammoth anytime soon.

DH went through a period of about 2 years without a job. We were living off of my 401k, and help from my family. It was very tough on him. We had three kids, I was 39/40. and I became pregnant again. When I first found out, he wanted me to go get Plan B to try it. He drove me to the pharmacy, but I refused to go in. I was so mad at him, because I wanted that child--even if it wasn't a good time. I just felt that our family wasn't done...be it through birth or adoption. About two days later, I miscarried. About a year later, I got pregnant again. (Wasn't trying and we used birth control, but I am extremely fertile. 4 kids, all after 35.) DH's attitude to the pregnancy was completely different, even though he had just started a job and we didn't have health insurance. I asked him what changed his mind, and he said he felt guilty because he was happy when I miscarried the last time. (Was he still hoping I'd miscarry? No idea. Didn't want to know the answer to that.) During that pregnancy, my Mother was horrible to me. She said truly horrific things. (Not a fan of more than 2 kids.) My Dad, however, who comes from a family of four, was completely supportive. Now, my Mom and my youngest are thick as thieves. She denies she ever said those things that everybody else remembers her saying. Finance-wise, going from 3 to 4 was not a major deal...however, I'm sure it will be when we have college to pay for. :) Now...if it involved requiring a larger car... or something else major... it might have taken more compromise, but we had made the move to a minvan when we had our 3rd child. Time-wise, it wasn't a big deal either. DS3 has actually been super easy--and since my older kids are 9, 7, and 5, they really love helping with him. He's truly everybody's baby, and sometimes I feel like I don't get enough cuddle time because everybody else wants to cuddle him. My DH is a completely hands-off, married to his career type person...so adding another child really hasn't affected him at all.

Thanks. I think we'll stick with daily swimming and the cub scout and tae kwon do camps that DS wants to do. :D

"According to Florida Statute 1003.01(13) , all children ages 6-16 are required to attend school regularly. If your child turns 6 sometime between the beginning of the school year and February 1, that child is required to attend the entire school year, and you are required to notify the superintendent."

Science should be reproducible and repeatable. So, if you do radiometric dating on a dinosaur bone, and it's 85 million years old. It should be 85 million years old when Karl Michel does radiometric dating on another fragment from that same bone 3 years later in Germany (or whatever). If I do a study that shows that the MMR vax causes autism... then, if others do similar studies, they should come to the same conclusion. (That's why Wakefield was discredited...nobody could reproduce his data. Like not once.) We have a lot of evidence that implies that the Vikings were in North America prior to Colombus. Thus, saying that Colombus "discovered" America is rather dubious (not going into the whole "how can you discover a place when people already live there"?) thing. If we're going to talk about Jews in Kentucky and Tennessee as they relate to American history, then saying that Gen. Grant expelled them during the Civil War would be accurate. It can be backed up by historical accounts (the decree in 1862, newspapers of the time, personal diaries, etc.) However, saying that they lived in that area in ancient times, cannot.

I bookmarked this many moons ago. It's a free, literature-rich American History curriculum. As far as i can tell, it's secular... at least the books are. Might be of use to some. :) http://www.guesthollow.com/homeschool/history/americanpdf.html

There are plenty of people who have rather low criteria for what constitutes science as well. There are science curricula that promote that dinosaurs and people lived at the same time, even though the dinosaurs died out roughly 65 million years ago (save for their ancestors the birds), and the earliest humans show up around 2.5 million years ago. There are plenty of people who doubt global warming, even though 97% of scientists believe in it, and there is ample evidence to support it.

My eldest son has always been in the 95th percentile since birth... even as an exclusively breastfed infant for 7 months (he nursed until he was 2). He has always seemed to have a satiety issue. Even when he was breastfeeding, sometimes he would eat so much, he would vomit. Did that a lot as a toddler too. Doesn't happen often any more, though. He loves fruits and vegetables. The kids don't drink soda... usually only water, milk, and juice maybe once/day if that. He's active, but not as much as his younger brother. We eat out perhaps once/month if that. All of our meals are eaten at home, at the table. Yet, he's still overweight. It may just be who he is. I've been obese my entire life, and have had two bariatric operations. His Dad is naturally skinny. Two of our kids are super skinny. One is still a toddler..so who knows what will happen... but he's right in the 50th percentile. They all eat the same foods--yet he's the one who loves fruit and especially veggies. He told me he was so excited that I made brussel sprouts and aspargus so he could try them. I don't want a "diet" camp to ruin that love, KWIM? My general philosophy has been to follow Ellyn Satter's advice...and just provide healthy foods, some treats, and leave it at that. But he has been complaining...asking about diets, etc. I don't know what to do. A school in the area sent a flier for a weight loss camp that they offer over the summer. It's a day camp run through this organization http://kidscountcof.com I never attended any diet camps myself, but always wished I could have. Yet, I also think that if I hadn't done so many strange and weird diets, I never would have ended up as obese as I did. WWYD? Thoughts? Experiences?

OP here. I just have to give a GIGANTIC thank you to everybody who suggested different books and brave writer itself. :hurray: I thought the HSBC deal was already over, but it goes until the end of May. Last night, I bit the bullet and bought "The Writer's Jungle" as well as five of the Arrow issues. ("Detectives in Togas", "Harriet the Spy", "How to Train Your Dragon", "Because of Winn-Dixie", and "By the Great Horn Spoon.") The book is wonderful. I was up half the night reading it. I kept nodding my head and thinking, "Yes! This is how writing should be taught." (And how I wish I had been taught.) Truly truly wonderful. Thanks!

If you have a family physician who you like, and who will do the exams, why not? If they find something that needs referring to an OB, they will.

Looks good. Do you have a handwriting program picked out or is that part of LA?

Yes, it might be the heat...that's a good idea. During Ramadan, people basically stay up all night, and sleep all day... but even in other months, it's not unusual for people to be out at 10/11 at night with kids. Food wise, breakfast is simple. Some people eat fuul (stewed fava beans), some eat cake (kind of like pound cake) or some cookies with tea, others eat cheese, cucumbers/salad, and bread. Lunch is always the main meal of the day, and at least in my husband's time, kids would come home for lunch. It's usually around 1 p.m. or later. Then dinner is leftovers or something simple, around 7-8 p.m.... later if you're going out to eat or over to somebody's house. Another thing that I found interesting is that eating fruit is really a production. :) It's often offered after the main meal...and might be dessert or dessert might be offered as well. Apples are peeled with a knife, oranges peeled....everything must be arranged "just so".

Back in the 70s when I attended camp, the trampolines were placed in holes dug in the ground...so that the tramps were level with the ground. Not sure if it helped reduce injuries (one could still jump high), but in the days pre-safety nets, it seemed like a good idea. If we were to have one, there would have to be a one person rule. Also a safety net. And heck, maybe for safety, I'd dig a hole too. :) If I were to allow two kids, they'd have to be of similar age/size. Don't want a big brother sending a little brother flying.

Whenever I visit DH's family in Egypt, the hospitality thing is tough. Arab hospitality (or Egyptian hospitality) is such that you will be offered tons of food...and it's impolite to refuse. You have to refuse like three times before they'll even consider believing you. Also, the culture is that leaving any food on your plate is completely wrong/offensive. So, while their piling all the food on your plate you need to figure out a way to eat it. :) People seem to stay up very very late (to me), and will stop by very late to visit. Kids included...even if there is school the next day. Not sure how they manage. It does seem to be a very child-loving culture, though. Kids seem to be included with many things (at least that I saw). One thing that bothered me is the lack of seat belts, car seats, and the like. Seat belts were added to the front seats of some cars maybe10-15 years ago. Car seats are virtually unheard of. I think part of it is the whole "Insha'Allah" (God-willing) culture. One's fate is predetermined, so why wear a seat belt? (Although there's a saying, "You should still tie your camel." (Kind of like still hitch up your horse...don't trust that God will keep it there for you.)