DD will be 4 in November, so we'll be doing some preschool-y things if she's interested. She has table time with her big brother in the afternoon for 30 minutes while little brother settles for a nap (they keep each other up if they start rest at the same time). Starting in the fall we'll do a letter of the week/AAR-pre mash up and play with c-rods and some Gattegno math thrown in + lots of fine motor work and hand strengthening. We'll see where she is as the year progresses. We might start I See Sam and RSA later in the year, but I'm not in any hurry.

AFAIK, Pre-AP has no approved curriculum, although that might have changed in the past 5 yrs. I taught a Pre-AP English class when I taught 8th grade, and I taught mostly the same materials as my core classes with different expectations about output and discussion. I didn’t have to get my syllabus approved to call it Pre AP.

My DH is a super taster, and it’s hard for me. I love cooking and trying a wide variety of recipes, and I miss having a partner in exploring foods. But I try to respect his food boundaries, because like you, the experience of tasting some things is painful. Right now it appears my kids are normally picky for their ages and stages, but none appear to be super tasters.

I just want to jump in and say that that particular reading program is not affliated with UCA (or any university). It’s not research based, and your teacher will most likely have had a very brief training - and only in this specific program, not reading or teaching.

Interested

First and foremost - and take this with a grain of salt, because my oldest just turned five - I think it's really hard for loving, well-intentioned parents to totally screw up their kids. You are going to make many mistakes along the way, but kids are flexible and adaptable. As for what you are doing now - awesome, if the kids love it. We've been doing table time since my two oldest were similar ages. It started as a way to keep them happy and purposefully occupied while my then youngest napped in the morning, but everyone loves it so we've kept it up. I have tried to focus on skills that are adaptable to ages and stages, so everyone can do similar activities at their own level. My oldest is reading fluently; my third is barely speaking. Table time at our house (with a newly 5 yo, a 3.5 yo, an almost 2 yo, and the 3 mo old hanging out or nursing or napping) looks like this: math lab (Miquon worksheets for the oldest, c-rod play with a little Gattegno mixed in for the middle; c-rod or other manipulative play for the little) fine motor work (coloring, play dough, cutting, tweezers, etc.) We do letter of the week things here often, with the oldest now actually practicing letter formation in addition to the fun stuff, and the younger two playing with letters while working on their fine motor skills. memory work: this caters to my oldest and what I'm working on with him, the younger two are welcome to whatever they pick up. We usually review 10 phonogram cards, days of the week or months of the year, and a poem project: science demonstration, Ivy Kids kit, art project, sensory play. This often doubles up with the fine motor work. We do this most days, but not all. The math is fairly directed by me, but the rest usually looks like play. We do the memory work while I'm setting up or putting away supplies. On a long day, we're at the table for an hour, but only because the kids get engaged in a project and want to continue. Usually it's more like 30 minutes. The rest of their day is spent in normal house things - following mama while she does chores, running errands, but mostly unstructured free play. I feel no guilt sitting them at the table for 30 minutes doing some guided play that's also focused on building skills. My now 5 yo has 30 minutes of school time doing his kindy/1st grade work before his afternoon rest, but that just started after he turned five.

I am over winter. I remember commenting to someone during our unseasonably warm October that we would probably pay for it in the spring, but I'm not thrilled about being correct. Ugh.

Look at those rolls! I love roly poly babies.

Nope. I would occasionally have coffee/ breakfast snacks or lemonade/afternoon snacks, but I had the same crew at my house for several months.

1) Jerked awake at 5:17 because the baby (very unusually) shrieked. Took her to the living room to nurse her. 2) Figured out how to get the 21 mo out of the crib while nursing baby at 5:20. Tried to distract him from breakfast with Yup Yups on YouTube. 3) Gave up on distraction when the 3 and 5 yo emerged from their rooms at 5:31. Took demands for breakfast from 3 yo and 21 mo. 4) Checked e-mail and skimmed FB while burping baby. 5) Changed diapers and sat in the bathroom reading a story to encourage newly potty trained 3 yo. 6) Made breakfast for 5 yo and second breakfast for middle two; baby fell back to sleep, so I finally had two hands. ETA: Happy birthday, Quill!

I was in a wedding 2 summers ago with four bridesmaids of widely varying body types; I had a 2 month old and was breastfeeding, as an example. We bought our dresses from here: https://www.azazie.com/all/bridesmaid-dresses Most dresses are over $100, but many styles are under $125. The bride picked a color and fabric, and we selected our own style from there. They were easy to work with. For my own wedding, I did necklaces and earrings from Easy. I think I spent around $75 per girl? But that amount could easily be modified by choosing just one piece or different styles. Most of my girls have worn the pieces since; I have worn jewelry given as a bridesmaid gift far more frequently than I have re-worn dresses.

Here’s my 10 week old wild thing :-)

I WAS a (private school) teacher in OK. I support the teachers, although I empathize with parents who are dealing with childcare. Most teachers I know are walking for funding - supplies, student support, facilities. Oklahoma has a long history of showing that they don’t value education, and certainly not public education. While I think the whole system needs extensive reform, it is the system we have, and we can’t spend decades not investing in our children.

There is a blue dot next to the thread title that will take you there.

Lemon chicken, mashed celery root, and green beans

My great grandmother was Lola (the baby name I didn't get to use :crying: ), and everyone called her Bowa. I love that. Just pick something. I was the oldest grandchild on my dad's side of the family, and I was supposed to come up with some cute toddler speak (like "Bowa") for my grandmother, so we all just called her by her first name, not even Grandma FirstName. If grand baby comes up with something, you'll love it, of course. Otherwise you'll at least have a name you like. My step-mother is Sisi, which her best friend's kids have called her for years. My mom is G.G., which is short for Grandma Lastname. My MIL is Nana.

That looks familiar to me, too. At the very least, a good place to start.

It’s the longish storage paperwork that gets me: taxes, medical bills/records, etc. I struggle with filing them efficiently and knowing how long to keep them. My ADD husband and his paper piles does not help. I need a better system for me and proof for him that every receipt does not need to be kept indefinitely.

Someone in some thread (<----- helpful, I know) posted a link to a system for organizing paperwork that they have been utilizing and loving. I think it might even have been something to purchase. Other suggestions welcome. Visits to come and do it for me even more welcome. I'll cook! Help me tame my paper clutter AND be productive during the Great WTM Blackout, pretty please.

Thank you for the warning. I used to teach it to 2nd graders (it was on the booklist before my time), but I'll skim my copy with my "parent eyes" now.

Thank you, Lori! I just set him up with Ozma of Oz for rest time, and he’s very excited. Mary Poppins and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are on my read aloud list this year, so I’ll definitely check out the others for read aloud or audiobooks.

DS newly 5 and I just finished reading Wizard of Oz aloud, and then he's followed it up by listening to it on audiobook. I've only read the original, not the sequels, but he's asking to listen to more Oz stories. OK for a 5 yo? Should I preview? He's sensitive to "scary parts" in movies, but he doesn't seem to be overly so to books.

I’m a huge fan of the thank you note, and I neither expect one nor write one when food is delivered for challenging times. Someone suffering grief or an illness or mama welcoming new baby has hands already full. If the person dropped food off on the porch and didn’t see a member of the household, a text or an e-mail is probably appreciated so that they know the food was received.

But, but, but... what will I do when I’m nursing baby in the middle of the night?

Congratulations! Beautiful name! Enjoy your baby snuggles and hopefully get some rest.