Hello- car seat tech here. You have some good info given, and some misinformation. A lap belt is not a safe option for anyone. A booster can NOT be used with a lap only belt. All it would do is lift the center of gravity causing more damage in a crash. A lap belt alone isn't safe either because there's no upper body protection- for anyone, IDC if you're 8 or 80. If there's any possible way to buy a different vehicle I highly recommend it. A van that old is likely to have high maintenance costs. It would cheaper/safer to get a smaller vehicle with at least outboard shoulder belts. If you do get this vehicle, then I would look at getting a top tether installed and at least one retrofitted shoulder belt. If you list the make/model/year I'll try to help. These are both good options. These backless boosters ALL need a lap AND shoulder belt to use. Correct. To use a booster you need a lap AND shoulder belt so they can work together to protect the occupant. At her age, She's not likely to fit in a harnessed car seat like the Nautilus or Radian. Even if she's under the weight limits, she's likely too tall. I'm here to help, and have other resources I can contact. Post here or PM me. Blessings.

Love it! What a great room! :D

Ours range from newborn (born just before midnight! :D) to a few in their upper 80s. We might even have a 90 y/o thrown in there. The only group we really lack is teen boys in the 14-19 y/o range, but that's simply because we have a lot of families with girls. Our biggest group is probably 30-50. The nice thing is our ages mingle really well. We also have quit a few hs'ers, and we're in a bi-state area so we have folks from all over. We range from 400-500 on most Sunday mornings. We also have quite a few teens and youth that attend on Wed night that don't come on Sundays.

True. My struggling reader loves them because he can successfully read them and they're interesting. We have tons of other books too, but if you ask him to pick he'll pick an AAR book every time. And, thanks for the head's up on the divider cards. I had no idea they didn't still come with the student sets. I've bought both of mine used and they had the cardboard dividers included.

You can listen here: http://www.goodnewstracts.org/sites/hymns.for.kids/

AAS level 1 TM and student kit are a must. Other than those it depends on your needs and $. I love the tiles so for my family those are a must. If you think you can teach the sounds without the CD then it's optional. I find my ds does well listening to someone other than "mom", but I'm sure we would have been fine without it. The student kit will have plain paper dividers, I love the stronger, color coded one from the interactive kit. I use a recipe box for storing and my own stickers. I love the readers, but bought them used. They are, however, very hard to find. hth.

:iagree:

My ds loves it. I don't use it to teach. Just something fun that is also teaching him something. He loves the spelling vault and playing the games too. My day care boys also love it (3, 4, and 4.5). We do it together to work on sounds.

I agree. By the time they get to the w/b they should be able to write it fairly well because they've already did it several times. If you didn't buy a chalkboard (and don't want to), I'd at least use dry erase crayons so there's some sensory going on when writing vs a dry erase marker. HWT might not be exciting, but it's an excellent program. One I am very thankful to have found from the beginning.

You can look online at samples of R&S English, or they'll send you samples. If he fits in 3, then by all means use it, or your own. We use AAS because my ds needs it. It already has dictation. If/when he needs HOD dictation we'll add it. That's one of the wonders of HOD. You can make it work for you and it doesn't really change the program.

A book basket full of picture books is always a good addition at that age- with any curricula, imho. It doesn't have to be part of "school", just read and enjoy them. I use the library, keep an eye out at yard sales, etc.

I agree with the others. He's still young. Read to him, let him play on Reading Eggs or Starfall, watch Leap Frog, play games, let him enjoy reading. He'll read when he's ready.

We do this with a jar of salsa, can of drained corn, a can or two of rinsed black beans and some taco seasonings. Serve over rice or in tortillas.

I microwave on high about 30-45 seconds at a time. When it's puffed up let it cool, then crumble. I have a lower wattage microwave and it takes 3-4 minutes. 2 minutes should be plenty for bigger microwaves.

1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap, microwaved, cooled and crumbled 1 1/2 cup washing soda 1 1/2 cup Borax Double, triple, etc to make enough to last a while. Mix well, store in a dry container. I use about 1/8 c on regular soiled clothes, sheets, towels, etc, and 1/4 c on heavily soiled clothes. Vinegar in the rinse dispenser. Every now and then I'll give the whites (especially socks) an overnight soak with some added OxyClean. Toss in at the start of the wash and it dissolves even in cold.

I love my 8 y/o Whirlpool. It was the biggest at the time, no clue if it is now. It's a great washer, gets used everyday, lots of cycles. Love it. I have the matching dryer too. I would say go look at some, come home and check reviews and prices, then decide. GL!

IDK. It says R&S or your own. IDK enough about PLL to know if it would be too much writing. Can you do some orally (that's how we do a lot of R&S)?

The storytime books are for you to read to your student(s). You can pick boys, girls, classic or a mix. I try to buy these used or get from PBS when possible. ETA: You also don't have to do the books listed. You can pick your own from each genre. It's just that the books listed are GOOD books. The science add on is needed to do the science portion of Bigger. We haven't started DITHoR yet. If you use it you'll need the TM and student book. The books you use can be in a pack from HOD, books purchased elesewhere, your own collection, the library, etc. Whatever works for you. These books the child reads. hth. We'll start Bigger in August. :D ETA: I bought all the emerging readers used or from PBS.

I switched to HOD because I was soooooo tired of all the planning, and we LOVE it. BUT, I'm only schooling one. That makes a big difference on time and $$. Have you looked at SCM for ideas? http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/narration/ http://simplycharlottemason.com/store/samples/Spelling-Wisdom-Sample.pdf http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/manucopywork/ Start with oral narration before moving to written. hth.

If it's working well for my child then I stick with it. If we're both hating it, I try to make it work. If that doesn't help then I drop it.

We love it too (sorry :tongue_smilie:), it just makes sense. And, I don't really think it's pricey. When I look at others, if you get the full set they're $$ too. I buy my TM/DVD used, bought my blocks used, and hope to find a used set of fraction overlays.

Me too.

:iagree: :D

I buy used or get from PBS when possible. I spend maybe $250 or so a year. But, I have an 18 y/o and a TON of books (various reading levels, classic lit, history and science). Plus, we use the library for quick reads.

Since you have AAS you could add the readers. My ds loves them. They are fun stories that built his confidence and fluency. There's a recent thread about using AAS for reading then spelling. Good info in it. ETA: Here ya go. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=358257