Mine still hesitates to read out loud, but he voluntarily spends hours during the day, and time at bedtime, reading. Some things we've done that I attribute to his love of reading: He's been surrounded with books and reading and audiobooks from toddlerhood. He's 10 and I still haven't given any assignments that require him to read a book and answer questions on his own. I view non-fiction, picture encyclopedias, and graphic novels all as 'legit' reading material. If I required him to read certain things (eg. books without pictures) he'd resist. That doesn't mean that I don't also seek out interesting looking books for him with fewer and fewer pictures. He does take the bait when the material appeals to him. DH and I both let the kids see us read. I have the tendency to react out loud to my books (laughing, gasping, etc.) - prompting DS to ask questions and allowing him to see how much I am enjoying reading. Nightly bedtime stories, even after he could read to himself - he gets exposed to advanced vocabulary and grammar, stories that are too long for him to read on his own, and comprehension/discussion takes place during the story time. Plus, it makes reading a habit.

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but what about 1001 Inventions (the children's version is mostly just pictures + captions, and the adult version has more details and explanations.) Lost Islamic History (AlKhateeb) is another you may find useful. I bought the book after seeing quite a few of their facebook posts (very interesting history/science). Haven't read the book yet though. It's probably too much for a middle schooler, but you might find it useful.

Make another email address. It's easy to do, and easy to switch between the two accounts without having to sign out of either of them - in gmail at least.

Have you tried a neti pot? It works like the spray, but without the pressure and surprise of a spray. It is a surreal feeling though.

I've noticed that stress weakens my immune system, so cutting that out as much as possible, or taking time to take care of ME when I can't get rid of the stressors helps. Vitamin D has helped the most. I used to get sick (1-2 week long colds) 6+ times per year. Since I've been taking vitamin D daily (5000 IU, especially in the winter) I've been only getting sick 1-2 times per year, and when I do get sick, it usually only lasts about a day. It's also had a significant impact on my SAD/depression-like symptoms.

Little House on the Prairie Anne of Green Gables The Mouse and the Motorcycle The little Prince A little princess The secret garden The Wizard of Oz The borrowers Indian in the cupboard Magic Treehouse series A to Z mysteries series The last two in my list are on the easier side. I read a couple from the series out loud then let DS read them on his own. The others are titles I read aloud to him that he enjoyed or that I remember enjoying around age 8. I would stop every few pages (or paragraphs even if I thought it was called for) to talk about what has happened. It was a natural stop - something was happening or about to happen and I'd ask who is doing what and why and what might happen next. I think using Writing With Ease also helped reading comprehension skills. But I will also say, Harry Potter was a mountain for DS too. I read it aloud to him, but he had a craving for it, and wanted to rush through it because it was so exciting. He ended up reading ahead and I, tired of reading aloud, let him and didn't re-read the chapters he claimed to have read on his own. But, by the end of the book, it was clear that he ended up just reading it for the action (or reading the pictures, since we had read from the illustrated edition,) and missing out on what was actually going on.

I have a winter baby and a summer baby. Babies under 3-6mo are so easy to just bundle up and carry out to the car. But I suppose they're "easy" for the entire first year. I didn't use a infant "bucket" car seat, so the carrying out of the baby in a bunch of blanket was significantly easier the younger the kid was. Those fuzzy "can't walk yet" snow suits with animal ears on the hood are soooooo cute. The cute factor is greater the younger the baby is. If the baby is due before the really serious ice comes along, there's less chance you will slip on the ice (made worse by the strange center of gravity while preg/balance issues). With my summer baby, I slipped and fell on an icy patch, and it was really really not fun. I was maybe 3-4mo preg then? But, winter babies like to be born during snowstorms, so there's that to worry about too...

Had a hard time deciding what to react with. that's insane! I wouldn't know a gang sign if it hit me over the head. So I googled it (not sure what exactly I googled, LOL) and it's not a rabbit hole I enjoyed one bit.

That's exactly what the "responds accordingly" part sounds like to me.

A note from an estranged relative to DS. Left in a children's book that was on hold under my name. Library holds are in a public area, and estranged relative lives in our city and visits our library. He thought it was hilarious that someone would leave a note from a relative in a book, and didn't realize it was written by his relative, or for him to read.

I think it's beneficial to always work towards increasing the time you spend being active. Housework certainly counts as "being active," even if I wouldn't necessarily count it as "exercise."

Does it get your heart pumping? I've had days with furious cleaning the house from top to bottom or lugging laundry up and down 2 flights of stairs constantly all day, literally running around with and wrangling kids, high-intensity meal prep paired with other work like running downstairs for ingredients, dragging a kid up to their room, etc. I consider those exercise. The regular or slow paced, clean up this, clean up that, cook this, put away that, stand and do this, walk over there and sit and do that - I consider that non-sedentary activity. Better than being sedentary, but not enough to really call it "exercise."

Pedophiles exist in public spaces. Youtube posts (or anywhere on the internet - even if they seem private and are password protected) aren't private. The article gives the example of things that are "benign" like makeup videos, gymnastics, and kids playing twister, but come on, it's quite easy to see how those things could be sexualized by someone who wants to take it that way, particularly if the videos are being edited or "screenshotted"(not sure if that's a word.) I'm sure any sort of video (even something actually benign like a video of a person giving a speech) can have screenshots taken in such a way as to sexualize the subject of the video. Just like being in public, we have to make a choice about how we present ourselves. It's a reason why many of us wont let our kids wear makeup until a certain age, or why we regulate what sort of clothing they wear. It's also why I don't put my (or my kids) pictures or videos online.

AOPS pre-algebra is a textbook, and they sell a solutions manual for it too. I've found the solutions manual very helpful. As others said, the student completes the work in a notebook. They also have a handful of videos that go with the book available for free on their website.

I'm teaching AOPS pre-algebra to a 7th grader right now. I'm loving the way it explains the math. So far (we're still in ch. 1), it has reminded me of Singapore. She needs a bit more practice with each concept, so I've been giving her extra practice problems when necessary. I *think* you might be able to start using it after 5b, but I'm not sure. I'm teaching a small class right now, and my 6th graders aren't ready for AOPS, but they've gone quite a few years without proper math instruction.

I agree with this. find out what materials, or at the very least, the scope of the materials that are used in the high school(and what they will have used in the middle school that feeds into that high school) that you are planning to send him to. My high school did integrated math, and it made things difficult for me, as a student coming from a middle school that taught with a different program.

Three minutes? That sounds... deadly...

This one, I think. It has stronger elastic in certain areas for support. https://www.amazon.com/Womens-Maternity-Comfort-Support-Pregnancy/dp/B01M6UHZHU/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549103859&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=maternity%2Bbelly%2Bband&dpPl=1&dpID=41snTZJJ8XL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

I had one that was sort of like a cross between the two. No hard pieces and none of this under the crotch business. Very comfortable all the time. Let me see if I can find the link.

I think of jello as "refrigerate or it will melt" not "refrigerate or it will spoil" I think she'll be fine.

Very good point. I'd ask the teacher for the materials in advance, and be able to explain to your kid (preferably before the school teaches it) that xyz is something that a lot of people in our community think is ok, but our values teach that xyz is not ok to do, or not ok to joke about (I think it's probably pretty likely that whatever happens in that class will lead to much immature joking on the subject for days, weeks, years after.) We strongly believe in abstinence only before marriage but you can bet that we will also be teaching our kids the scientific facts (as opposed to fear-mongering 'facts') regarding STDs and pregnancy risk, as well as about contraception/protection.

Right now I'm long-term subbing (a month or two) with the possibility of finishing out the school year (end of may) They want the kids to stay as close to grade level(doubt there would be any complaint if they advanced, of course) as possible and not have homework if at all possible. Probably not possible with these older ages.

I just started teaching a small class of 6th and 7th graders (4 kids total.) The classroom I inherited is workbooks and worksheets only. The school hasn't supplied any sort of textbooks or teacher's manuals, though it's possible I could have them order a new curriculum for them. (but what? saxon? AOPS? should I just get them set up with Khan Academy? But limited # of computers is a problem here too. My kid is only in 4th grade, so I haven't researched math curricula this far yet. The kids are coming from Singapore Math, I think, but were never given the Singapore-style instruction and were only given the workbooks to complete.) The kids seem to be able to do the math and are maybe even a bit ahead, but struggling a bit conceptually. Most, if not all, of them 'dislike' math. I chalk that up to lacking number sense/conceptual base. They've already worked through most of their workbooks, but the previous sub for the class said that even though they can usually solve the problems they are given, they don't really understand why. I want to start them on placement tests, just so I can get an idea of what they understand and what they struggle with (recommendations?)

I'm in the shower once or twice a week camp. But when kids are stinky from playing (usually happens more in the summer,) they're told to go shower. DS will easily end up taking 10-15 showers a week in the summer. DD, since either DH or I have to shower her gets a full shower about once a week, sometimes once every week and a half. She hates having her hair washed. But she's potty training, so she'll get bottom-half showers more frequently. I love taking her swimming in part because I can "trick" her into taking a shower in the locker room after swimming. DS has taken to waking up, showering, and putting his school uniform on. he probably showers a minimum of 5 days a week.

Until DS was 8, I didn't. I strongly believe that a love of learning is infinitely more important than drilling concepts and skills before a child is ready. When he was around 8, we started spending more time on memorizing math facts, for instance. And now, yes, I do give more attention to weaker subjects - it wouldn't make sense not to! But, that doesn't mean we're spending more time on one subject than the other. The max time block I assign to a specific subject is based on my kid's attention span for age. When math was something he didn't like that much, I'd put it in the beginning of the day, and give it 45 min, max. That way, his attention was fresher, and he could focus better on it for the whole time. When the concept of multiplication wasn't sticking, we got out legos, we drew pictures, we looked at the question from 6 different directions (figuratively speaking). We spent a few more days on it, and didn't move on until he either got it, or needed some time to work on something else before coming back to it. For example, we put away the multiplication and spent a few days on measurement instead, making a note to come back to the multiplication later. I'll give more attention to it by trying to bring the subject up in every day life. I'll do my every day necessary math out loud instead of in my head. We'll be out grocery shopping (or shopping online) and I'll say "hmmm, that cheese is 8 oz for $4, and the other package is 16oz for $6... which one is the better price?" or "$20... but it says 20% off... 10% of $20 is $2, and 10% + 10%=20% so $2+$2=$4, then we gotta subtract... 10-4=6, so the price will be $16" and even if it's not completely at his level yet, he sees that I need to do math for something as basic as shopping, therefore, math is useful and a grown-up thing to do (he craves grown-up independence.) But the same sort of thing goes for any subject.Handwriting/writing? I need to write a grocery(or chore) list, but I'm trying to finish washing the dishes, can you write eggs, milk, etc. for me? Reading? "can you read that page in the book for me? I gotta go put the laundry in the dryer real quick" History? "Man, I was reading this article the other day about xyz, and it was saying about [how the native americans were really treated by the first europeans in the americas]. How do you think they reacted to that? Why? What do you think they should have done? And do you know what? even after that, zyx was done to them and that made it harder for them to do yzx, and now many of them are xzy" But at 6, it's really not worth stressing over things like reading yet. Very often, pushing reading on kids turns them away from reading. It's the kind of thing that, given the support and incentive, will just click one day. I made a point of presenting the incentive to reading something that opens the gates to wonderful stories and interesting information, by reading to him, and allowing him to see, before he could read, that books are filled with wonderful stories and interesting information. At 6, my DS was just starting phonics. At 7, he was reading street signs and things like that. At 8, he could read books on his own if he had to, but preferred to just look at the pictures. At 9, he can read just about anything, though there's a few words that he struggles to pronounce correctly when reading. He does prefer to read books with lot of pictures - BUT he loves to read. He loves books. And I don't doubt that it's because we modeled that for him. DH and I both read a lot. We read to him, we read for our own education, we read for personal enjoyment. I laugh out loud when I read something funny. DH and I both share with each other and with the kids when we read something very funny or very interesting. More often than not, just about every horizontal surface in our house (and even the car) has a (pile of) book(s) on it.