There are 3 parks in our vicinity that we walk to that are about 2-3 miles in round trip distance. My 5 yo has no problem with this--and we don't do it regularly. One of the parks has quite a steep hill that makes for a decent workout and it's still not a problem for her. Heck, IF they want to rest, they race ahead and sit down until I get close and then take off again. Mine do like to take their scooters sometimes and this could be a good option. Bikes are too fast for me, lol! I don't think your son is going to have a problem with this...:D Kudos to you for getting in shape! :cheers2:

Las Vegas. Great show...It was probably the first time I had seen *real* dreadlocks.

What are your favorite? I have a struggling reader and an emerging reader. My struggling reader (9 yo) has been through phonics until we are both blue in the face—it’s making the connection of bringing it together that’s a bit of a problem. She can read, but is not what I would consider fluent. We have used several programs—HOP, ETC, some reading workbooks, and now we are using T4L (2nd grade level). T4L has so far been the best—or maybe I’m just able to see where the struggles are specifically. The thing is T4L doesn’t always get the best reviews, so I’m concerned. Reading Assistant seems to be geared towards dyslexic kids, but I’m not sure that is what our problem is…but if someone had great success with it, I would totally be willing to give it a try! She knows she struggles; she has friends the same age who are reading very well. Of course, we don’t focus on this, but I would love to get her to a level where she feels competent reading in front of them (as in a Sunday school setting). Also, my Ker is doing T4L 1st grade (reading) and ETC workbooks and is doing well with it. I had signed her up for Headsprout and she got a bit a bored with it—but I’m thinking of trying it again. I love the “when finished, your child will be reading at a mid-2nd grade level†guarantee. She seems to be picking up reading pretty quickly, and so far I don’t see the struggles her sister has. I don’t want to mess her up! So, what are your favorite on-line reading programs? Has anything been specifically inspiring? In looking at them, many seem essentially the same. Homeschool Buyers Co-op has a couple of them listed right now that I’m thinking of trying. Again, I’m looking for better reading fluency for my 9 yo and learning-to-read for my 5 yo. I do read with them, but I also work, so I really like the help of an on-line program in this area. And I’m kinda scared of messing up my K’er like I feel like I did with my 9 yo struggling reader, and I want to help my 9yo get to where she needs to be—but in a fun way. Any opinions on Destination Reading, Headsprout (more for my K’er), or Reading Assistant or good reviews for T4L or any other program? Thanks so much!

I'm SO glad there are people like you in the world! Catherine and Terabith: Those are awesome stories...

Lion: I'm not sure. It seemed from my class that EMTs would not be covered under GS Law. Our instructor was a paramedic in NYC and now here in LV, and brought up the GS law several times and made it sound like I was the only one in the class with whom it could really apply--the others worked in a healthcare setting; I do not. You would probably know more about it than I! Perry: You would think not, but...well, I've seen people sued for crazier things! The instructor made it clear that cracked ribs were very common. Whether or not it would get thrown out in court would be one thing—AFTER some poor healthcare provider has went through the anguish and expense of the court system/hiring an attorney/dealing with libiability insurance for ‘saving’ someone’s life. I have a good friend right now that is going through completely nonsensical litigation for something he had NO part in. I guess this topic could jump over into tort reform. Again, I don’t work in a healthcare setting; my job is administrative in nature, so there is a good chance I don't know what I'm talking about, lol! :D Our instructor also mentioned that healthcare providers ALWAYS needed to ASK the victim first before they started anything--OR just wait until they pass out if they were not agreeable. :001_huh:

Most hotels on Strip are going to be nice...esp on the south end of the Strip. Excaliber and Circus Circus wouldn't be my top choices, but I really, really like the rooms at the Venetian! And you can see Phantom while you are there! :D I'm really surprised that the Luxor would have not-so-great reviews.

I just went through BLS training a few weeks ago. Here is an interesting tidbit concerning AEDs: When deciding on a good demographic area to test them (risk factors that might cause sudden cardiac arrest), someone decided that Las Vegas Casinos would be a good test market for AEDs. As it currently stands, all casinos have AEDs in them. Our instructor said the BEST place to have heart attack, if you can chose, is a casino. J Evidently, casinos have high success rates with CA/MI. (Living in Las Vegas really does have its privileges.) Our instructor also assured us that being a non-healthcare-provider ‘standbyer,’ we would be protected by the Good Samaritan law if breaking a rib during CPR. But you are a healthcare provider and break ribs, well, get an attorney. Or liability insurance. Crazy world we live in! People who work in healthcare truly are heroes.

This is awesome! God is AWESOME! I'm so happy for your family!

I bought the Artpac 1 for my 5yo and 9yo (just so they would be doing the same thing). They are nice and simple to impliment, with tips for different drawing, shading, cutting and folding projects...and even a few poems thrown in. It sounds like what you are looking for. I like them and will probably continue with them.

Thanks Liza Q! I'm thinking it might be easier with them...

I work part-time at home and am going to school myself, plus my DH is a minister. It is busy and it is tough, but doable. My DH does devotionals with the girls, but I do all the HSing. Just food for thought: I think one of the things I have done wrong with both my children is thinking that I could get by with doing too little. My oldest has struggled with reading and I feel my lack of consistency has to blame--because of the lack of balance between work and homeschooling. With my youngest, I'm trying to be much more consistent about school and especially with teaching her to read. However, you seem to already be off to a great start. I also agree completely with a previous poster about finding a HS group! We have a local one that is awesome--it's great for support as a HSing parent and great for my children!

I'm thinking of ordering TT4 in a couple of weeks. My DD doesn't really struggle in math, but I struggle getting math done. :blushing: We watched the demo and she really liked it, so we will give it a shot! Is anyone thinking of ordering the workbook too? I'm going back and forth on that...

I haven't gotten one from FB, but I used McAfee on all our computers and have gotten the Vundo virus on 2 of them in the past 3 months--and it's a nasty bugger. Had to reformat one and worked on the other for several hours. I was on a our local homeschooling board when I got one of the viruses, of all places. Needless to say, I'm not using McAfee anymore. (I keep my computers updated, too, but it seemed to knock McAfee right out!)

I'm in! I lost quite a bit of weight a few years ago on a diet forum--it was great because a group of us were all in it together. It was lots of fun. My DH and I are starting today--mostly a low carb diet and doing the Leslie Sansone walking DVDs (for me). I lost about 13# over the last couple of months and was able to keep it off during the holidays. I jumped on the scale this morning to be sure! :001_smile: I would like to lose about 30# more.

Five yo is still up...it's 11:34 here. She just did the "Daddy, read me a story..." and he did, so hopefully she'll :sleep: soon.

I just made white chocolate peanut clusters in my crockpot and had chocolate heating in the other crockpot for pretzels. Yummy!

We don't have time requirements in my state, but when we were using a charter school we had to track our time. There were specific minutes for each subject. Walking to the park was PE (or any karate, dance, gym, swim classes). We considered church 'social studies,' cuz they were learning about different cultures. :D You will find you can fill up 4 hours pretty quickly! Really, anything could count!

We took our 9yodd and 5yodd on Friday. They really liked it and didn't get to freaked out. My children generally don't have nightmares, but if they did I wouldn't have wanted them to see this. I didn't like the voodoo stuff, but this didn't seem to bother them or DH. I don't really like anything that seems occult in nature, but I didn't feel this was necessarily sinister. Evil loses. It was a 'classic' Disney movie. DH took them to see "Where The Wild Things Are" and that was a complete mistake! My 9yo was quite disturbed after watching it and still talks about it.

Have you tried using Cascade dishwasher soap? I used to always use this when I was a cake decorator/baker. (Think lots of oily buttercream/whipped cream/fryer oil.) Throwing in some Cascade (or probably an dishwasher soap) seemed pull this gunk out, and I think I head about it from someone's wife who was a mechanic.

You know, I really liked the first season, but it seemed like it got pretty sleazy after that, IMO. :001_smile:

Meatballs: I cheat and buy the frozen ones and throw in a jar of spag. sauce. I set it at high for 3-4 hours. Great for meatball sandwiches or spag. sauce. Chili: Again, I cheat and buy a canned chili. (That sounds so yummy right now!)

:iagree:

Thanks for the info!

I'm totally cheating by baking cake mix cookies! Generally, it's a cake mix adapted to make cookies (very simple: Cake mix, 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup of oil). I have made Macadamia nut cookies with a french vanilla mix, double chocolate chip/white chip cookies, cho. cake mix with Reeses/Andes mints and similar stuff for Thanksgiving. Haven't started on Christmas yet!

Some things in the book will probably go over her head, but is a good reference for young girls. We haven't even read through the whole book, but just a few sections of it. For most topics, it has a two-page spread with tidbits of info and illustrations. I was concerned about my dd starting early and freaking out, and when I tried to explain about periods she got freaked out anyway. Somehow, the book explained it better and calmed her down, lol! It's a pretty popular book; I found it at my local B&N if you want to look through it first.