I don't have any experience with life-threatening allergies, but I couldn't read without giving you a hug. :grouphug: I'm so glad he's okay!

:iagree: I offer my kids wine/beer all the time and they just turn their noses up at it. My husband and I model responsible drinking, and hope that rubs off. I would be much more upset at habitual binge drinking than if they decided to enjoy a glass of wine with us at dinner time and join the discussion with input on the color, tannin levels, or finish. ;) And, as I think it goes without saying, my reaction to a kid smoking a joint would be very different than if he were shooting up heroin.

I did none of those things. I wish I could say it was from a strong moral compass, but it was more because I was afraid of feeling out of control (drugs and alcohol) and didn't want to be intimate with anyone I wouldn't spend the rest of my life with. I do hope my children make the same choices, since I do feel I saved myself a good deal of heartache. But if they choose differently it wouldn't be a major crisis and we would deal with it.

Praying!:grouphug:

Swimming, soccer, playing, reading lots of books, one week of VBS, and one week at the shore. I can't wait! And I will be planning for next year, which is one of my favorite things to do. :D

:iagree: I'd start with Town but read Sentence Island first. Mud the fish was a huge hit with both my boys. And we refer to lessons from that book all the time.

Right. And in this case the weaker swimmer gets more tired out from having to do extra push-ups in the middle of practice, thereby swimming more and more slowly, while the stronger swimmer is more rested and continues to swim faster. If the weaker swimmer wants to improve, push-ups or sit-ups could be done at home between practices.

The Christian one gave me a little chuckle, but the homeschooling one is hilarious!

:iagree: I swam competetively for 14 years and I never heard of such a drill. Swim etiquette is such that if one swimmer catches up to the one in front, the one in front allows the faster swimmer to pass and then stay in front, unless someone catches him/her. There's enough reward in getting to be at the front of the line and staying there, and enough humiliation with always being at the end - without adding push-ups into the mix. But I am sorry this kid jumped on your son. I'm glad he is okay.

Just adding another voice to the cry of outrage and insistence that you call the home office IMMEDIATELY!

I held off on trying WS for soooo long because most people here hate it. DS1 did fine with WWS the first half of the year, but as the work got harder, he became more and more frustrated. I finally decided to put it aside for a year and got WS instead. He loves it. I think it's going to help fill in the gaps and boost his confidence. Every child is different, so don't let other people's opinions determine what you use with your kids! HITS: MCT SOTW Wrting Strands Spelling Workout MISSES: Matin Latin Elemental Science Chemistry TOLERATED: WWE/WWS

According to the puberty pamphlet we just got at the doctor's office any time from age 9-16 is considered normal. It happened here at age 10.

That's a really good price. Abebooks has had this one for awhile, but for $59.95 + $3.99 s/h. I have had searches on a few of these sites for many of the Houghton Mifflin Teacher's Editions and Solution Keys. When the 1978 Geometry Solution Key popped up for $12, I just had to grab it. I've been searching for the 1972 Solution Key for over a year and still haven't found it anywhere. I hope the OP has better luck than I did. (And if I do find it, I'll let you know, since I'm happy with the 1978 edition.)

I have known about Monsanto for 13 years and avoid all food with GMOs (except on the rare occasion we eat out). In addition to growing your own produce or buying from a local non-GMO farmer, you can buy whole foods at any grocery if you know what to avoid. Corn, soy, canola, sugar beets, zucchini, and cotton are the biggest GMO crops in the US. Buy those foods organic only. The biggest key really is avoiding processed foods because they contain many of those ingredients. If you must buy processed foods, look for the GMO Project Verified label, or shop at Trader Joe's. All TJ's brand products are GMO free, according to the website.

Now, see, if we had done this at my house, there wouldn't have been any cats. :lol: When I saw your post I just had to laugh. I hope they can get a new form sent to you before June 14th. Keep us posted.

Do you want something more devotional or factual? Victor is great, but it is more like a Bible encyclopedia. Our children's pastor recommended Long Story Short, but we didn't get past the first few lessons. All of us (my husband included) thought the questions were annoying repetitive and obvious. I have not used the others you listed. Have you considered Telling God's Story?

Jane - did you bring him to the boards or did you just bump into him here? He has been so helpful. :D

The Teacher's Edition is ISBN 0-395-13103-0. There is a Solution Key that was published in 1969, but it was not assigned an ISBN. That's all I know about that Geometry book. I used the Pre-Algebra from that series, but am planning to use the 1978 Jurgensen Geometry (the next edition released by Houghton Mifflin) since it has as good a reputation and I found the Solution Key (with help from Jerry Matrix). He knows all about the Houghton Mifflin books and had pictures on his profile page.

You all are making me feel a lot better. Mine thoroughly enjoyed the Dahl books but could not get into the Wimpy Kid books. I am working on paring down my list. They have read a number of ones suggested, but not all - not by a long shot. Maybe I will post my current lists when I get a free second this afternoon and you all can help me decide how to prioritize. :D

Wow. I figured the thread would die out and I come back to all these responses. Thanks everyone. I was ready to quit because I clearly felt like I just wasn't communicating my request effectively. I have lists - wonderful lists - that I made from many of those sites recommended. I love to read and devour books quickly, so I plan ALL these books I want them to read and they just putter their way through them. I want to take my enormous lists and pare them down to the most important books to cover, just to make sure we get those in. That's why I was hoping everyone would pick their 5-10 most important. The ones that came up the most I would make a priority. Matroyshka - I think your youngest would get along with my boys. I take them to the library children's section and set them loose while I look for books. I come back and ask what they picked out. Nothing. They did go through the Captain Underpants, Encyclopedia Brown, and the Magic Tree House books a while back; and currently the older would pick out Hardy Boys books, while the younger is waiting for the next Bunnicula book. But other than those, they won't CHOOSE anything. They only read what I tell them to read. When I assign them books, they truly do enjoy them (well, most of them), but they just read so slowly. Thanks for sharing your experience - it makes me feel a little less crazy.

I truly appreciate the time everyone has taken to respond to my thread. Obviously I must not be expressing myself clearly because I am looking to pare down a list of books, not get suggestions on other ways to encourage or improve reading. Please, let's just let this thread die and I will try another way. Thanks again for your time.

I am looking for a list of independent reading for each of them. I think they read on grade level, but slowly. The 5th grader is reading through The Chronicles of Narnia and Madeleine L'Engle's Kairos series right now. The 3rd grader is currently reading The Trumpet of the Swan and The Bridge to Terabithia.

When we've tried audio books in the past their eyes just gloss over. I am really just looking for the top 5-10 books everyone thinks are must-reads for 3rd and 5th grade. Thanks.

I appreciate your input Holly. Yes, they do seem to read faster when it's something they like. And we do some read-alouds too. I guess I need to clarify. Because they read so slowly, we just can't cover that many books in a year and I want to know what 5-10 books people would absolutely want to cover for 3rd/5th grade.

Praying for them.