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My daughter is in girl scouts. Her tropp is through a school but they have no problem with homeschool girls joining troops. I know one girl in her troop doesn't go to the school. I think that it really varies but my dd's troop is not about cookies and fashion and makeup. Most meetings are not rugged outdoor meetings they are at the school but they aren't solely on things only girls like. The meetings are more focused on friendship and having fun. They also do some cool things like a first aid class, a women in science and engineering event and a spring camp out in cabins. Our troop might also do a summer camping event. The troop sells cookies but the meetings are not focused on cookies at all and there is no obligation to sell. I think it varies by troop whether girls meet in age based groups or if older girls scouts and brownies meet together.

I don't think that mainstreaming works perfectly in all cases but I also don't think that the blanket kids shouldn't be mainstreamed is the answer either. There is no one sized fits all solution. My friend has a son with CP who started out in a life skills class. He is very impacted physically including his ability to talk but he does not have a cognitive delay and no learning issues. When he was in the life skills class there were no other kids in the class that was similar to him cognitively. He finally got mainstreamed this year and it is going well. He does need an aide but he isn't causing a disruption and he is the only kid with an aide. The life skills kids visit the regular classroom on a case by case basis. I think it is good for kids to be exposed to all kinds of kids. When I went to school they lumped kids with physical needs, issues like blindness, kids with behavioral challenges and kids with cognitive delays together and we never saw them. In my area we have a school that has a program for highly gifted learners, we have a school for kids with behavior challenges where they go for as long as needed, we have life skills classes where kids do most of their learning but do get to go to the regular class at times and kids that get pull outs. There is a resource room for kids that need a break from the regular class for whatever reason but they are mostly mainstreamed. We have a multi sensory program for kids with dyslexia with no cognitive problems. One thing I don't like that they do is they sometimes group all kids with IEPS in one classroom and then send extra help for that classroom. The system isn't perfect. There are more kids than spots in the multi sensory programs and a lot of dyslexic kids get missed altogether because it is really misunderstood. The schools seem less aware of things like dysgraphia, audio processing issues, dyscalculia etc. I'm sure there are kids with behavioral problems that aren't extreme enough for the special school but who are causing issues in the classroom. I think mainstreaming needs to be looked at on a case by case basis. I'm sure there are cases where it doesn't work just as there are cases where kids don't get educated to their full potential because they are not allowed to be mainstreamed.

I like 2 plus 2 does not equal 5 for math facts mastery. My 7 year old really struggled with math facts. Once she was really quick at using strategies like counting on I started the book. There was a few she struggled with at first but with the consistent practice where new facts are learned and old ones are practiced she has made a lot of progress.

My kids all have very different taste in what they want to read. I pick one chapter book I read to all 3 but I pick something both my older two will enjoy and let the little just listen in even though she probably isn't getting much from it yet. During reading time at night we divide and conquer. If my husband is home he will read to either my younger two or my older one or my oldest will read to one of us. If it is just me I have my oldest read herself while I read to the younger two. Sometimes they listen to the same book and other times they have their own ideas about what they want to read and we take turns.

I like Margot and a lot of the other names on your list that your dh rejected. We have a similar style. I don't think it sounds old ladyish but all my kids have old fashioned names so I may not b the best judge on that. ;)

I definitely don't think kids should be left in a room like that for hours with no one around. In my area we have a school for kids that have severe behavior problems and they pose a threat to other students safety. At this school they go for as long as they need to until they are ready to go back to a regular class by providing behavior intervention. In this school they do have a room where they use special holds and put the student if they are a risk to themselves or others. These are kids that are throwing desks, biting or stomping on others feet etc. I don't think these kids are like this because of bad parenting although maybe in one or two cases it is I think for the most part they have issues where they have very poor impulse and emotional control and they need help. There was a news article very down on using these rooms until the kids calm down but what else would you do? To me that is the best way to handle a kid who puts others at risk. I heard a teacher stands outside the door. I guess I can see them using it too much but parents were bringing it up as horrified that this room existed and little Johnny had to go in it until he calmed down. I know if it was my kid who was putting others at risk I would have no problem at all with them using a room like that. I am sure any parent of a child at risk because Johnny was throwing heavy objects their way would not have a problem with that child leaving the classroom until they cool down. I am guessing there are incidents where this room is used too much or where kids are thrown in there to way long while no one else is around. I'm guessing though that most times it is used in cases where other students are putting other kids at risk and they are placed there for long enough for them to be manageable and not longer provide a threat. I am not against the concept but I can see it being abused.

The school my kids go to has its issues but I do love how they teach writing. They don't do lots of creative writing. They don't do quantity over quality allowing creative spelling. The school uses a method similar to WWE and First Language lessons although it isn't quite that. They teach them to write through lots of dictation and copy work and give regular grammar lessons. The kids learn about spelling, punctuation and capitalization and the structure of a sentence. This year in 1st my dd barely gets any creative writing and when she does get assignments like that it was given as homework because it isn't expected that they can write a paragraph completely correctly all on their own.

I had the biggest crush on a kid in my 3 year old preschool class and then on a 4 year old from the place we went on vacation every year. I am actually surprised my kids haven't had crushes yet and they are still pretty young. ;)

Thank you so much for that!

Yea I am getting there too. My dd isn't advanced but she is a strong reader and a natural speller. I don't think she made any progress in reading when she made rapid progress last year when her day was much shorter. In math she is doing okay but she gets very careless at times. I think she would benefit from more one on one time in math. It isn't her strong point. Science is barely a passing note and there is no history at school. Her handwriting is the weakest in her class and she is getting in trouble a lot for add type of stuff. I do like what her school is doing in writing and spelling though and it is really working for her so at least there is that. My son starts next year. He is all over the place in his skills. He has definite strengths, some areas where it is hard for him and he is REALLY behind in his handwriting skills. My plan was to send him to dd's charter school for kindergarten and evaluate from there if he could handle 1st. The school has a very short day so I still have plenty of time to work with him at his level and they use Spalding phonics which he needs not what they neighborhood schools cobble together. I ran into the kindergarten teacher who I like a lot and told her my concerns about his handwriting and she thinks he will have a hard time making it through kindergarten. She was very concerned and told me to meet with the principal which I will be. This school has high handwriting expectations and he at this point has a long way to go before he can form a letter neatly in 3 lined paper. I tried to get him OT through the school but because he has no cognitive delays they can't help him even though they do see that he is struggling in that area. So much for a charter having good scores if the kids that are struggling don't make it there. I wanted him to go to at least kindergarten there and make my own decision on where he should go the next year and now I am getting the vibe that they don't want to handle him.

I'm sending positive thoughts. I hope he opts for the transplant and everything falls into place for it. Your family is in my thoughts.

Thanks everyone. My son learned his letters and blending simple words very early but 2 years later and he still isn't reading so learning them really early didn't really matter much. I think I may wait and then try the letter of the week approach when she is 4. My oldest didn't do good with this approach and needed the video approach. My youngest is different than her so maybe they just need different methods. She is a little chatter bug and makes friends easily and she is the least emotional of my kids. She likes being read to and has her own interests and just developed an imaginary friend. She is just 3. Maybe it will be a struggle later for her to learn or it could be that she just doesn't care about letters and numbers when she a little older she will get it with no problems. I might get a vision exam for my middle child because he has some fine motor and other issues going on but I will wait for her until she is older.

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In my area there are rentals but the rental market for the decent priced stuff in areas that aren't bad is very saturated. It is hard to find stuff and what is there costs quite a bit more then buying. When we lived in California it was the opposite. Renting was way more affordable then buying.

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Common Core isn't a curriculum. I hear a lot of people claiming that because of common core kids are crying and spending hours over homework. I think that is more about a poor curriculum choice then the common core. There is nothing in there about marking correct answers wrong. In my area they actually switched away from a really bad curriculum after common core (Every Day Math) My dd goes to a school where they use different curriculum but from what I have seen from my friends who go to the neighborhood school I think the new program the school district chose is much better (Go Math). Kids are not given hours of homework and they are not marked wrong for correct answers. There are probably some crazy curriculums out there that are common core approved but good curriculums Signapore are also approved. I wouldn't worry about your child being ahead if she is in school just work at their pace. If something happens in the future where she isn't being challenged in the future deal with it then.

80% of women business owners and 2/3 of women members of congress were former girls scouts. Here I have met people that went all the way through but I am not sure if finishing makes a difference. I know it does for scholarships and such.

I had the SOTW Volume 1 audio cd I put on in the car a little over a year ago. My oldest daughter wasn't even really listening to it at all and got nothing from it but my son liked it. Recently I got the regular book and started reading it to them at bedtime after we read our other bedtime books. I thought maybe if I was reading it maybe she actually would listen a little. She actually started to look forward to reading it every night along with my son. In one of the chapters it asked a question and she asked for more questions! I decided since she was so enthusiastic about answering questions to buy the activity book and they both really enjoyed it. I think I will only do the questions and narrations and coloring the maps and pictures not the crafts. A year ago I thought that SOTW just wasn't a fit for my oldest. Now she and my son are actually excited about history!

On this topic I don't quite fit in with either side. I don't like all the pressure out there for kids who may just not be ready or interested in letters, numbers reading and math but they are certainly learning. There is a lot of pressure on 5 and 6 year olds who may just need more time. Not being precocious doesn't even mean that later in life that person could become advanced. At the same time I actually don't have a problem at all with early learning or think it is detrimental like I see a lot of things claiming. I did start early learning with my youngest when she was a toddler and she just didn't take in letter sounds or numbers. At times I admit I can get worried when I see what others who did early learning with their children and they learned to read and do advanced math. I know though that she is probably fine and that not really getting all that excited about letter sounds and numbers at 3 and my son who is really struggling in the same stage of reading he was in 1.5 years ago doesn't really say much about where they will end up later in life. I don't have a problem with teaching kids early and catching things early but I am not a fan of all kids that are in such a such grade should be doing this and if they aren't then they are failing. I think it is crazy to test not yet kindergartners on if they know all the sounds of multi letter phonograms because most have not been exposed to that? I like using phonograms to teach but most schools around here don't even use them. I also not a fan of what they do with the kids that are struggling. There is minimal help in my area for kids without cognitive delays who have learning issues like dyslexia, dysgraphia, discacula, audio processing disorder, etc etc. A lot of time kids are just given more time using the programs that they are not successful with with rather then using methods for those specific conditions. Some kids need more time for their brain to mature or have different strengths and weaknesses and others have learning disorders.

I still think of it as a boys name but in recent years it has become used on girls a lot and is used for girls more now. It is kind of like Riley, Avery or Finley. It used to be a boys name but it then got taken over by girls. There are still boys being given the name but it ranks higher as a girl name.

I have been thinking on this too and I am also an afterschooler at the moment. I have been just doing interest based science and Magic School Bus and Peter Weatherall dvds. My kids do not pick topics in any sort of logical manner. Right now my oldest daughter has been reading human body books and my son has been sticking with technology. He likes reading about how planes, trains, cars and boats work. They aren't really big on biology or astronomy science except for dolphins and whales and rockets for my son. My son likes earth science related stuff but my daughter isn't big on that topic. Everything I have been doing is pretty random and not at all organized.

I prefer an attached garage where I live because it is so cold and I don't like a freezing garage. If I lived in a different climate even a 4 season one I would not mind a detached garage at all. When I lived in a condo we had to walk quite a ways from our garage. I would be super psyched to have a house with renewable energy and that would be a major major plus for me and even here I would definitely b okay with an attached garage if it meant that there was renewable energy.