One of my friends took her very picky eater to an OT. The change is amazing. Her daughter would eat next to nothing and what she would eat was so nutrient deficient it could not have sustained her. (but was always hungry) I was very close to that growing up and eventually learned to like all the stuff that put weight on but set me up for major struggles as an adult. I wish I had had the OT therapy my friend's daughter had.

I had to post that one on fb! I'm still giggling!

I think it must be a new requirement for insurance. I say that because this yr is the first year our group is asking and I know it has to do with facilities we use and possibly that it's a drop-off type of co-op.

If it is used in settings like offices you can probably call Office Depot or similar and ask for their service technicians. You might have to explain its a small business type of equipment. I know when I worked for a large company our service technician was through Office Max. I'm betting if it's not a simple drum replacement type thing you'll be forced to replace. I think it's pretty rare to maintain 10 yr old equipment.

Ugh. I feel your pain. Mine are 8 and 5(just turned 5). It's excruciating!!! My oldest CAN do her work by herself for the most part but she doesn't want to be secluded in her room all day while sis and I play play-doh....she's too easily distracted to sit with us while we do preschool stuff. The little doesn't want to be alone for as long as older and I school but is too busy to be with us. I know your pain. :). I hate telling either of them to go play alone (I don't mean ever and I do do it....but they don't want to be alone when the are the only one alone. Apparently only *I* like being alone while others play. :001_smile:) So, on paper it seems like you just need to do this or that...in reality you need a third kid. :) I basically have to use tv some. I try to schedule around what I need. We haven't talked science much lately? Great, I'll work with oldest while Sid is on. It ends, younger comes to get me and it forces me to give older the break she needs that I never want to take. This year, I gave younger a timer set it for the 15 mins I'm supposed to do spelling and tell her to read books in her room until the timer goes off (she rarely cracks a book, but who cares as long as she stays occupied for 15 mins....generally speaking....this wasn't always true of this little monster.) This year I learned to take better breaks. I'm ADD and it's a huge problem for me to constantly break...but I was still having to break to tell one or the other to do whatever, at least if they were pre planned I accomplished more. Puzzles are working better...so there is hope. An art box with normally unavailable stuff. They have lots of art stuff they can use any time....but I kept fabric pieces, googly eyes, etc in the school-only box. I wish I was the type that could work with older during nap time. Unfortunately, I need to nap...or at least be alone. I do assign homework to the oldest. So we go over the new math, she does the work during her alone time, turns it in, I check it, we go over the mistakes the next meeting. I'm able to do most of her subjects like this so it does cut down some on the time we need uninterrupted. I take advantage of times I feel like doing extra work. Like tonight, I had a bug to do something, so I did a math lesson with her. She doesn't care what we do when we're together so she still enjoyed it...and I'm building a cushion for days that I just can't make separation work. Does any of that help?

As someone who has only eaten vegetables for a year....I'm mortified that I might have to rehome caterpillars from my broccoli. Ugh. EWWWWW. But I'm glad I had a heads up!! How big are they??

We used it this year and had the same experience as the others. I didn't like the power up pages because there were no answer sheets and I grew tired of having to do them. :glare: Dd hated having to write them out and would have LOVED having that workbook! It wasn't available when I ordered. Does 5/4 have a workbook like that? My only dislike was the amount of review. I mean the first 60 or do lessons were reviewing concepts from the year before. (spiral I'm fine with) And it looks like 5/4 will be the same. But, Saxon works so we're doing it anyway.

I'm on Adderall and agitation is a big side effect for me. So things being out of my control would really bother me. I'm listening in here too, though, because I think we are nearing this point with my dd. I would give it longer and at least an adjustment or two before switching.

We are on our first set of tadpoles so I haven't been successful yet. Ours haven't gotten their legs yet, but my understanding is that if you put a cricket in it should last a couple of days. And a place to climb out on. Ours are outside so I don't have to worry about travelers.:001_smile:

I always said I wanted 3 because 1 or 2 would be too hard to hs. :).

I empathize with you. I have 2 also. Girls, but this year was 3rd and pk. I think having 2 kids (or an only) is harder in hs because there is no one to send them ofF with. Lots of people can say "I school one and the middle reads to the youngest" and they always have someone to shift with. My pk'r loves workbooks, but that doesn't help me because she's just going to ask every page "what do I do here?" and it's just not a good way to teach a 3rd grader FLL. :) I could put Legos and other things out but she'll want to show us, or not be interested long enough (maybe 5 mins). I can get some milage with mud (can see her in window), playdoh, etc....but then guess what? 3rd grader can't focus because sister is having fun and she's not. It's exhausting. I did put little sis is 3-day preschool, but not just because of this. I loved the school. They did all the "things" I would never really focus on. Cutting, pasting, movement and music....things I think are vital to development but I knew I'd likely not do as much. I there is a program you can appreciate in your area I'd say do it! Ours was pretty close to us, but there were shorter days where older and I would bring a subject or 2 and work At the park or chick fil a. I just used those days to get ahead or catch up. Otherwise, we'd school normal+. Mine couldn't do school at night (well, honestly it's me who can't) either. But about once a week I would pick one subject and do something with that at night. Sometimes I would take her under a tree and show her the new math for the week...this would make math a bit more independent that week. I did resort to educational tv. I've seen the value of it in my oldest honestly. I didn't cover skip counting as much as she knew it at 5. It was from tv. So about 1 or 2 days a week I can check the show line up and get Sid/BubbleGuppies/Dora all to work for me. I'm telling ya, those kids know facts I'd never tell them. I had never heard of a 3-toed sloth before my oldest watched Diego at the age of 3. I'm just saying. I do show them the schedule of tv school so they feel like its not a screen free for all. My oldest loves the screen to a fault so I make her watch Alton Brown or science type shows before she's allowed Wild Kratts (which is still valuable to me, but to push her up a level they become reward). At the very end of the year (she turned 5 last week) I was able to give her a timer and she had to spend that 15 mins on her own. Sometimes I gave chores, sometimes a room to play in, or a basket of pens/paper)....point was, she came back at the end and I'd do a workbook page with her, no hesitation. This went against my ADD brain, but I learned to just open a workbook and do it. Older knew to work on something if she could or color...she was not allowed to get up though. Usually little would go play after that or it was a good natural break anyway. I did not have a great year...we were too busy with outside stuff and that made our mornings high stress because of knowing we had to do x by y time. And that I had a 4 yr old that couldn't work indepently and had no one else to be with because the rest of her class (me and sis) were busy with each other. Sooo, as one who understands, I think it will have to be you and big brother that adapts...at least for a couple of years. And I don't like to plan a bunch of activities either. I just want to get done! :)

We've done CC, 1-day-week, and next year 2-day-a-week....that's as high as I go though! Our one day program was a great enrichment day for my daughter. They did art, music, a little Latin, history, science, logic.... Absolutely nothing was required of us other than showing up and a science project. She loved it. I'm switching to a different program this year (2 day) simply because my dd is the type that thrives with external motivation. If a room of friends is learning Latin, she's going to push to do well. Not so much the case when she's just at home. She's bright (not gifted) and just enjoys competition. So this year they assign each week's assignments. The biggest downside is big for me....their control over our curriculum. I didn't mind it as much for subjects like Latin or logic....things that might get set aside at home. But I'm pretty confident in my grammar and math (FLL/r&s and Saxon having to switch to Shurley and Right Start *shudder*). You will be on a school calendar. Our one day program was completely optional, whether or not she was going to miss wouldn't matter. She never ever wanted to miss. At the new school....it is less flexible. We don't expect a lot if travel so I'm ok with the calendar. But I will miss not getting to ditch reading for a week because I know we'll catch up during the rain next week. So those are my big things.

I said 7, but she can stay up with a flash light reading until 830, then lights out.

I LOVE Calengoo!!! It works on all Mac devices but I've never looked in regards to Droid.

:lol:

My 4 yr old spiked a 103.4 fever last night. No other symptoms. I did medicate with Advil. I usually let them do their thing too, but that's high and I worry about damage (just mom feeling). I make sure it goes down, then note how long it stays down. Hers would only stay down the 4 hours. And right back up to 103 The nurse made us come in. Strep, negative. Too active for flu. Must be fever virus. I gave her another dose and we are at 5 hours since med. so we shall see. How old is yours?

I always wondered what the malt vinegar was for at Five Guys....doesn't it make them soggy?

Ranch!

I, too, think the office staff did what they should have. I can totally imagine the exact opposite post getting everyone fired up too. "my son told them he was having an attack and they would not call me! How dare someone not allow Johnny to call!" kwim? I remember growing up knowing that if I called home I had better need serious rest and time alone (or a doctor)....because there were no illusions I'd sit and watch PBS all afternoon. And, believe me, I never called home unless I thought solitude was better. I was completely cared for, mind you. I do understand the position your job puts you in. And I think that's what Ds will have to understand. Even with the wet clothes...I'd be like you...make them sit in them. But I also have seen enough nut job lawsuits to see why the school won't do that for you. I think your only choice now a days is to take time off and pick up wet Ds and take him home and let him sit in them until school would have been over. Too many parents with too many parenting philosophies have made it impossible for schools to do common sense disciplining. But I do appreciate that it is annoying to you, even if it was right what they did. And, btw, I thought snippy front office staff was part of the school experience. :) Isn't that how we prepare for rude retail staff?? (I worked retail a LOOOONG time, so that's not a dig at anyone....just life.)

I would say conditioning, terrain, shoes or any combination of the three. I've started doing ankle strengthening because having weak ones will but more stress on other muscles. I would definitely take a break and ice and be sure it's "healed" before trying again. And then decide if you want to go out gung ho and risk worse injury or take time to build up. It's funny...a year ago I would have been thrilled for someone to tell me to stop running. I finished my first half marathon last weekend and would be sad to be sidelined with an injury. So I'm all about take it slow and take care of those legs!!

Check the Classical Conversation website under testing. They administer the SAT-10 and are open to anyone.

I love CalenGoo. It uses google calendar. You'd never know it though, it's so clean and pretty. :). I tried Cozi but don't like the looks of it. Oh I just love love love Calengoo.

It's also on YouTube in 5 parts.

We can't live without it (yet) but I really really want to live without it.

Number 2 with Phonics Pathways. We use ETC too, but always as reinforcement. Dd5 just read her first pyramid today!! Whew!!! My first was a natural reader...I'm pretty sure I didn't teach her anything. So my 2nd has made me really work for it!