We just do an eval and bring our portfolio. I just put samples of work and art and projects into a binder, separated into subjects. I keep a running list of books we have read aloud to her, anything she has read to us (will include books she reads once she is at that level), samples and lessons examples for math, history, science subjects we have covered, and field trip lists. The evaluator knows us well, and she just talks to my dd, does some reading evals to determine level, skims the portfolio, asks us questions, and it has been pleasant and informal thus far.

Yes, mine annoys me too. Also, when using your own re-usable filter, if you don't adjust the little rubber gasket that covers the needle, you get spray everywhere, weak coffee, and grounds in your cup.

We used to be able to do things like that, but as dd gets older, we simply cannot sneak at all anymore. She bangs on the door, wherever we are, and that is simply not conducive to performance. Dh and I get to spend about 45 minutes at night together after she finally goes to sleep, and that is generally not enough time to even make anyone want to dtd. We have an only child on the spectrum though, and no babysitters, so our lives are probably not normal.

Who took care of Caroline (and Mary, if she was still living) after Pa died?

Does she have curly hair that she wants to embrace? If so, a "black" salon is likely to be one that engages in a lot of hair shaming, unless they emphasize the new trend to be more natural. I would look for a curly salon or stylist, unless she wants to straighten. (If she is wanting to straighten, I might examine why and see how she would respond to trying another way for a while first.)

Who has time for all that teA when one has kids? We have zero time alone together.

Thank you ladies so much for your suggestions. I will try to put my hands on those titles.

Could anyone make any recommendations for books on the topic of the Civil War that are thorough, balanced, and don't insist that slavery was the sole reason for the war and that everyone lived happily ever after once it was over? (It should be appropriate for a mature age 8, who is accustomed to discussions examining the varied points of view for wars) The brief, biased, and overly simplistic recounting we read of it today in one of our books made me so mad that I threw it across the room, LoL.

Ahh, it is due to the "fiscal cliff" ting. http://20somethingfinance.com/2013-child-tax-credit/

I don't know, but am hopeful the $1000 is in place for this year, at least.

Momma2three, how do you know that Rose and Laura had a poor relationship? I am so curious to learn more about Laura and her family. I have read all the books, and read all but the last to my dd. Reading through them as an adult is definitely different, and I often found myself sobbing inside for the tragedy of Laura's life. To hear that she and Almanzo didn't really get along possibly, and then that her only child and she also didn't get along breaks my heart a little more. But, I would love to know more details. Her life was fascinating.

Yeah, we have no one.

We go through about 15 dish towels a day, as we must be a very wet family. I cannot wash dish towels daily, so they sit in a bucket int he laundry room accumulating for a few days. Yep, they often stink. I should maybe fill the bucket w/ peroxide solution. Hmmm.

I am 3.75 years my husband's senior.

All I know is I decided last night that I think I have PTSD b/c of the 8 years of sleep issues we have had w/ dd, that now seem to be escalating instead of resolving with age.

I wish I had spent more time with him the few months prior to his sudden, unexpected death, and most certainly, I wish I had gone over the night before or even that mroning as I had thought to do but didn't. Perhaps my presence would havechanged the outcome of events. :shrug:

We began SoTW when dd was 5 or 6. We have loved it. I am curious to the pp's, why wouldn't they be ready for SoTW at age 8? That will be when we do that one. (If it is due to the rather sophisticated and complex issues of modern history, including the violence of the World Wars, that is not a problem for us).

We have been struggling with OPGTTR for years, and I recently had this revelation that I have been going too slowly, awaiting 100% mastery before moving on to another lesson. In speech therapy, we have been doing an intensive reading program called LiPS, and the therapist covered the equivalent of 60 lessons in OPGTTR in a few weeks. Of course she hasn't mastered it, but i have been shocked at how well she is assimilating all of this new information and how she improves daily with practice applying the new skills. I believe I was making it worse by going so slowly - it was as if I was keeping it too abstract. So now we try to group things and do multiple lessons at once, such as all the ways to say the long vowel sound of a, then just review and practice, review andpractice.

Weird, never thought to find another Fogelberg fan, LoL.

We love hiking, but we do not go without at least two adults present.

My dd has loved this one for a while. It really is well done.

Yes, we always do, and it makes the best turkey ever!

Retire? LoL With dh being the primary provider while I homeschool dd and do freelance stuff ont eh side, we will need me working full time for probably 20 years after she goes to college. That will have me around age 73. I imagine I will drop dead shortly thereafter. Ha.

My dh is gluten free, and dd and I are gluten minimal. I don't use any special recipes, but do use some pre-made products, such as mixes or flours. Breakfast options: Gluten free oats (must be purchased - Bob's Red Mill makes good ones) Eggs w/ cheese and fruit Pamela's gluten free pancake mix is divine for making: pancakes, muffins, and biscuits Gluten free toast Lunches and dinners: Beans and rice Meat, salad, fruit Nut butters Gluten free pizza crusts and tortillas and bread are available Sweets: Gluten free muffins, ice cream, Bob's Red Mill makes an awesome gluten free brownie mix, key lime pie made with a toasted cocnut crust, fudge (made by you), sorbets *** Always read labels. Scrutinize labels for cheese, for sauces, for salad dressings, for anything pre-prepared. Even things like spices and seasoning mixes are notorious for containing gluten. Fast food/Eating out options: Outback steakhouse, Carrabba's, and Bonefish grill are very gluten-free friendly. They always have options, as they have family members who are celiac. Moe's has GF options - but do not eat the chips. Five Guys burgers will do a lovely GF burger (basically, a paleo burger, no bun) and their fries are GF, as they are not fried in oil that has had battered chicken or something in it. You cannot eat fries at almost any other restaurant, or torilla chips, b/c their oil is contaminated. Check online any time you have a question about a product.

If you have a struggling reader who needs to be explicitly taught each new phonetic fact and sight words, at what age/grade level would you introduce some of the stranger (for lack of a better word) suffixes, such as -tion, -sion, -ious, -ous, -cian, ? (I don't have the list in front of me, which would have been helpful.) This is not for a natural reader, but one who is struggling for fluency (probably dyslexic), still wrestling with (but making lovely progress) vowel digraphs, remembering silent-e rules, vowel teams, consonant blends, etc.. My personal instinct is to stick with the phonics rules we have worked on so far until we gain mastery, prior to adding these new rule-breakers. Before I did those suffixes, I would probably do things like silent consonants, -gh, and various letter combos that yield a long vowel sound (-ay, -ey, ee, ie, ei for long e). Also, from what I can tell from searching phonics programs, these seem to be third grade suffixes anyway, but that is probably where my question lies. I suppose I am attempting to determine at what grade level my dd is reading and whether introducing these would be a terrible idea or a good one. (Disclosure: She is receiving LiPS instruction from a speech therapist, who brought out this suffix list today, andit was farily shocking to me, really).