When my twins were new, they strongly preferred to be swaddled TOGETHER - aka, swaddle Baby A, then swaddle Baby B, then put them shoulder-to-shoulder on their backs and tightly tuck a blankie so they're "tucked" right next to each other. I initially worried that then one would wake the other, but I can't count the number of times I'd go in there, and one would be wailing while the other would be sound asleep. ❤️ (YMMV, just sharing ideas.)

Another perspective is that kids grow up quite a bit between 9th grade & 12th grade. ❤️ So - themes that ARE inappropriate in 9th grade, can be handled with more wisdom (by the student) in later years. For our teens, it wasn't so much the THEME itself that mattered, but more the author's TONE toward that theme - ex: the difference between referencing / discussing murder vs. a celebration or diminution of murder. (Same for - rape, prostitution, etc.) There's also not a required "canon" of classics - it's okay to have robust conversations with kids about books that some folks consider a classic but others consider "not classic." 🙂

Eating and peeing / pooping and not still-hungry after feeding were the goals we worked for, with twins. They were small, but fine. (They were 35w delivery but only 2 days at hospital, not preemie. I can't remember if yours were preemie or not?)

In my state, a citizen has to request an absentee ballot (show ID, give reason for request, fill out application for absentee ballot, which is then counter-referenced with voter registration). It's possible to deliver this absentee ballot by U. S. mail, but locally is not called "mail-in voting." Locals here call "mail-in voting" a system where ALL registered voters are mailed a ballot, and those ballots can be either mailed back in return, physically dropped in a drop box, or given to another person to return 3rd party. Our voter registration and vehicle registrations are not handled by the same office (though they WERE in a state I lived in previously).

Mail in ballots and absentee ballots are very different things in my state, and many people feel pretty strongly about those differences. (That info may or may not be helpful to your son.)

We have backyard chickens, and it IS a concern, so we take the precautions we know how to take, and leave the rest as it comes. (Where we live, backyard chickens face a HOST of potential disasters - predators, harsh winter, avian flu, you name it. We do try our best to care for them to the best of our ability, but our chickens are livestock, not pets, and we do sometimes suffer losses. Have not had any flu-related problems this year - not sure if it's thanks to our precautions or just dumb luck. Hatching new chicks this week.)

[Intentionally didn't read any prior comments.] As a mama who DID nurse twins, I will say that giving 1 of them 1 bottle each day was actually the thing that made it possible for me to actually nurse them. They had 1st solid food at 6mo. It was HARD. I know that baby-feeding is so controversial, but . . . please hear from another twin mama, that SHE matters, too, and there are MANY right options for this. It's not exclusively A or B. She will find a way. ❤️ Hang in there. Twins are one of the sweetest gigs going, and . . . nutrition is important, but NOT the most important of all, kwim?

When I was nursing twins, a kind friend encouraged me to join Weight Watchers with her. (My answer now would definitely be different than then, but - eh, it didn't harm me, and I found it mostly amusing. Plus I *was helping my friend.) Anyway . . . my caloric "points" intake was the exact same # as a 450 pound MAN. It was awesome.

I am also a gardener, and when it's my time, my fellow gardener sis-in-law knows my wishes to hand out small printed cards with the flower seeds embedded into the paper. ❤️

And you could include a "dance card" at each table that people could sign their names to, or write a short note? (That might be corny / inappropriate. Please ignore if so.) I think personalizing the tables is a lovely idea. ❤️

A lot of first-time SAT / ACT kids think that learning math or reading will help them score well on the test, but in reality, learning how the test asks questions is the most useful way to score well on the test. (I tutor locally, sometimes for the SAT & ACT, and seldom teach kids math & reading. Well, that has changed post-covid, significantly, but - for kids without an educational gap, learning the test is much more helpful than 1-2 more semesters of math.)

I'm probably opening myself up to more tears than I'm ready to shed, but . . . give me some recommendations for read-aloud books / special essays / meaningful poems for high school seniors? This is not our first graduate, but - I need something . . . different than I already have . . . meaningful . . . love & respect & well wishes & hope. I know you folks are full of treasures.

(Apologies if I'm attaching photo incorrectly. I couldn't find anything either, likely because I don't know which search term to use.) The top number is the product of the bottom two - it's just a graphic organizer of what most people probably intuitively understand, but as someone who benefits from graphic organizers, it stuck in my elementary-school mind. 😉 Example: Tom's average score after 6 basketball games was 28. How many points does he need to score in the next game to raise his average to 32? (These questions were usually about sports games scores, or financial investment returns, or test grades.)

Tangentially related (I realize not a direct answer to the questions) . . . 1. Mnemonic that helps remember once the concepts are understood: "Hey, diddle, diddle, the MEDIAN's the middle; You add and divide for the MEAN. The MODE is the one that Most Often occurs, And the RANGE is the difference between." 2. The circle diagram for moving averages (I can't put a drawing here, but the top half is the total, the bottom half is divided into 2 quarters - one quarter is the average, and the other quarter is the number of things. Just seeing it drawn out like that (when I was a kid) helped me understand what was happening in questions like . . . "How many points does Tom need to score in the 5th game to raise his average from 26 to 32?")

February Garden Notes: - tapping maple trees, and syruping is well under way, woo-hoo! (I know maples aren't technically a "garden," but we count this as 1st harvest each yr) - winter sowing . . . got quite a few out, and will add to them throughout Feb - vermicomposting worms surviving winter just fine, and I'm collecting & drying the compost little by little. Considering offering worms at our summer farmer's market this year. - seeeeeeeeeds! ❤️ more and more and more seeeeeeeeds! ❤️ (received Orange Hat as a special gift this year - have never grown indoor tomatoes!?) - sprouted fodder for chickens, 1st time this year - they like it, but it seems a bit boring for the gardener - eh, will likely continue - learning winter foraging - planning / moving raised (ROCK!) garden beds . . . sweat equity ahead! hoping to get some home schooling students to assist . . .

We have EAB here, too, and the trees are fine to use as "regular" dead wood within the contamination zone, as long as they fully compost within that zone and do not move elsewhere (especially north). This from my cooperative extension agent when I asked same question a couple of years ago. We are dragging our feet to spend $$$ to take down some huge dead ones here. Ugh.

Hahaha! This is awesome. We just burn them.

(I definitely read this thread title as "LEGOS moving at night" and was SUPER interested! Haha!) OP, I'm sorry I don't have any useful knowledge to add.

Our state cooperative extension sells extremely inexpensive excellent quality small trees (along with other plants). It's a limited selection and time window, though, so more frequently we go to local nursery. ❤️

https://monarchwatch.org/bring-back-the-monarchs/milkweed/free-milkweeds-schools-nonprofits/

I know a couple of lovely boardie-children at Bob Jones University in SC, in their ABET engineering programs. Both reporting good experience there. And I know a mid-40's-surgeon who graduated from there years ago with no issues getting into med school and beyond.

Bumping this thread in search for any recent reviews of AP Physics (either 1 /2 or C)? Ideally: online but with live teacher / interactive course student will be in Derek Owens' AP Calc AB . . . (does this mean he should look for AP Physics C? we think yes, for an engineering-minded kid?)

This is how honors pre-calc (and calc) work. Interesting to note @8filltheheart's comment on the textbook - I have not been tuned in enough to notice that, but we DO have the textbook, and I'm going to offer it to current precalc student. (Thank you, 8!) Edit to add, re: screen distraction: My current precalc student DOES sometimes struggle with screen distraction, so we have the computer set up where I can sit on a couch behind the student and glance up any time to see the screen; we did this at the student's request, and it has worked quite well. Different things for different folks, I do know - just an option that worked here. Student prefers non-screen school subjects in general, but has made the exception for DO.

Houghton / Dolciani here until precalc, where we switch to Derek Owens (honors). The kids say precalc is easy, but not review.

Our first greenhouse was made from an old trampoline! (like this) @Ann.without.an.e will you keep stuff in your hoop house all summer? Do you have to run a fan? (We have a much smaller but similar setup and currently use it only for extending both shoulder seasons . . . we'll have a LOT more space in it once the maple syrup project gets relocated . . . but we don't use it well in the heat of summer, and I'm interested to learn more.)