In my school district, kindergarten is viewed as a "social experience in which children learn how to function in the world outside of the home and family"...yes, that was actually in a brochure that one of my nieces came home with years ago...Nothing was said about the academic expectations or the quality of instruction. No, it is just socialization...:001_huh: Of course, they assume that every child has spent at least 2-3 years in a day care, preschool or head start program. They give each child an assessment at the beginning and end of their kindergarten year to see if they are "on track". Basically, it is their way of weeding out the more immature kids and placing them in carefully coded "helping" classes with names like "resource learning", "paced instruction", or "one-on-one time". Unfortunately, the children that are placed in these "helping" classes rarely grow out of the labels. My oldest niece (who is now 20) was labeled as a slow learner and placed in "helping classes" at the end of her kindergarten year. She was diagnosed as a dyslexic when she was 12 years old!!! Yes, she spent 6 years in these so-called "helping" classes before they figured out that she had a legitimate learning disorder that was causing 90% of her problems. Our family had been saying this for years. My sister and her husband brought it up to teachers for years, only to be told that she was in the "helping" classes and making good progress...so "don't worry." Pft. My opinion is that the schools don't feel that it is worth their precious time to teach every child to read using phonics. Some kids will be taught phonics by well-meaning parents and siblings; others will learn it at the afterschool tutoring center that their parents shell out $$$ to teach their kids the basic skills that the local ps has deemed unworthy of their time. A few brave souls will conquer the puzzle by themselves. The other 80% will learn their sight words and cheat read their way through school until about 7th or 8th grade...when suddenly they can no longer fake it convincingly enough to avoid being labeling as "slow" and placed in the lowest track at the local ps, or worse yet, shipped off to an alternative school that deals with slow learners and problem kids. The public schools deal with this problem as little as possible. If your kid has problems, it's probably your fault. If your child is a boy, they will tell you that little Johnny is very active/spacey/imaginative/disruptive/inattentive/whatever and bring in a school social worker to "discuss his issues". That's how little boys end up on Ritalin, Risperdal, Concerta, Intuniv and all of the other meds for ADHD, ADD, ODD, OCD, and pretty much every other D-disorder there is. (And I'm not knocking everyone who medicates their kids. Boo takes medications for his ADHD and has for the past two years. I'm ok with that decision for the time being, but it is done to help him function and NOT because the school says so or else.) If your child is a girl, they will say that she is lazy/too social/not focused on school/too emotional/immature/showing signs of LD/whatever. They will bring in the school social worker and arrange for testing. Then they'll tell you that she needs some extra practice and some counseling to resolve her "issues". They'll put her in the aforementioned "helping" classes (if she's not there already) and that's that until she gets to middle school and discovers that she can usually con her teachers into thinking she understands by quizzing her friends, borrowing notes, cheating on her quizzes and skipping class. I know these things because I went through the ringers with both of my nieces after my sister endured a grueling divorce when her girls were 11 and 5. Her oldest still cannot really read at age 20. She was sent off to an alternative school at 15, and dropped out at 16. Her youngest eventually went to live with her dad in another part of the state after elem. I homeschooled her for 5 years (ages 7-12) after the school district attempted to force her into the same mold they forced her older sister into ("helping classes" and all that jazz). The youngest was a young kindergartener (just turned 5 when she started) and really struggled in the classroom. They thought she had ADHD from the get-go and were very upset that my sister had chosen not to medicate her. First grade was a real struggle for her. She is a bright child and very gifted with verbal skills and music. She was the type of child who could memorize entire songs by hearing them once or twice. She taught herself to play the piano over the course of a week at her great-grandmother's house just by banging on the keys and trying to match the piano in some of her favorite songs. The teachers thought that she was slow because she couldn't read the sight words and wanted to sound things out like we did at home. They couldn't understand her careful spelling, her slow, methodical handwriting, her inchworm pace when it came to written math drills. If they had bothered to do oral exams, they would have known that she knew the material better than most of the class...she just had difficulty expressing her thoughts in writing. In my opinion and experience, I don't think that kids are learning very much in public school. Kindergarten and first grade are social affairs with varying amounts of academics sprinkled throughout. My local school district is very academically rigorous and expects a lot, even from the little ones. Other school districts are more relaxed. No matter the climate, I have yet to see any phonics in my local school and that's why I teach my kiddos to read using the old school phonetic ways that I was taught.

I'm doing a gardening unit in the spring/summer as well. Here is my research/project links that I've amassed so far: Grow a Carrot Top (simple starter project that teaches basics of plant care) The Great Plant Escape (nice unit of plant science/gardening stuff) Grow Your Own Mushrooms (a neat kit...plus I love mushrooms. I'm envisioning a marinara sauce making lesson here. :D) I've also been considering doing a wildflower planting project and doing some butterfly observation as well. So far, that's all I've got. :bigear:

Have you considered using a devotional book for prompts? Or maybe just pulling key pieces of scripture and using those are writing prompts? My kiddos are too young for journaling yet, but I've helped with some writing projects for the middle school/high school kids at my church homeschool group. One of their units last year was scripture based. The instructors used passages from The Message translation of the Bible and discussed the passage with the kids, then asked the kids to write about the topic discussed in the passage. Some of the kids really enjoyed it; others were a bit lost without a straightforward prompt. They all had interesting journals and end-of-the-unit essays and presentations though. Overall, I thought it was a pretty productive unit for all.

Buglet is still in a finger food stage...when he eats. I think that he is surviving off of air, apple slices and canned pears...with the occasional piece of meat to tide off starvation, lol. Before he became the amazing no-feed kid, he adored Ella's baby food pouches. His favorite was broccoli, peas and pears. I also remember him being fond of Squash/carrot/apple/prune and the Red One. He was WAAAY into banana slices and Vermont Village applesauce. I would put the applesauce into an ice cube tray and freeze it overnight. He loved eating for a snack in the summer time (and so did Boo and Princess). Frozen yogurt tubes were another favorite treat, as were frozen peach slices and strawberries (fresh and frozen...bonus points if covered in chocolate, lol.) He loves asparagus (what a weird kid) and honeyed carrot "buttons"...and the only time I've ever been able to get him to eat anything bread-y was when I made a mini version of the pancakes from this book. If I remember correctly, her cornbread was also a hit here...) Applegate Farms hot dogs are also a big deal around here. I cut Buglet's hot dogs into a chunky dice when he was first starting off with solids, but once he had a decent set of teeth, he graduated to hot dog "circlies" as Princess calls them.

I don't think that a 6th grader should be going on a field trip geared for younger children UNLESS: 1) They have younger siblings going on the field trip. Then it may possibly be a family affair and so I'd be more tolerant...but not 100% ok with it. 2) They have mental/emotional/other issues that may discourage them from pursuing more age-appropriate activities or trips...still not 100% ok with it. 3) They were going along with the understanding that they were going to be treated as a young adult and expected to behave accordingly. I'd also expect them to help out with the younger kids to an appropriate extent. 4) I'd also explain to the mom that IF her son comes on the field trip, perhaps she should plan a mini-lesson just for him so he actually gets something out of the trip. A grocery store math lesson, a meal planning and shopping lesson, or a nutrition label comparison lesson would be appropriate for most 11-12 year olds and wouldn't be too distracting to the rest of the group as long they were discrete about it. But really, I think this mom needs to seek more age-appropriate activities for her son. There are TONS of opportunities for kids in this age range...music lessons, band, orchestra, sports, boy scouts, youth groups, foreign language clubs and classes, book groups, teen movie nights, library activities...WAY more free/low cost options than for younger kids too, so if he doesn't like something or isn't thriving, no worries about pulling him out.

I'd be weary of this "perfect" charter school. The school district where we currently live is always starting new "initiative based" (whatever that means) programs that are supposed to help x or solve y and never really pan out. The program my oldest attends now is one such initiative based experimental program. This is his second year and so far, I'm ok with it but not over the moon. Perhaps it is because they seem to assume that Boo is "speshul" and shouldn't be expected to work at his level, let alone above his level, in ANY areas. No, the child should always work at a "comfortable" pace...which to me means that the child should do as little as possible and be endlessly praised (or harshly denigrated) depending upon the quality of the work and his behavior in the classroom. I do agree with some of the posters above that the expectations for public school are quite different than for home school. Our district expects second graders to write 4-5 sentence paragraphs (granted, grammar, spelling and punctuation don't count, so as long your kid can throw about 20-30 words together on a page, they'll be ok.) By fifth grade, the kids are expected to write "sandwich" essays (3 paragraphs, with a topic sentence, an introductory sentence and a conclusion sentence...grammar and spelling still optional.) The math curriculum here is also pretty rigorous. Boo (who is in second grade) often brings home worksheets that require me to go back to my roots in the computer science/programming field to figure them out. We quit doing math homework in the fall because I had a falling out with the maths teacher in his program. I told her that the homework was pointless because Boo wasn't the one doing it, I was...because he didn't comprehend the concepts such as 3-4 step word problems and substituting "x" for missing numbers in problems and such. I'd say that if you are going to plan to send your kids to public school in their later elementary years, you'd better work on penmanship, math (plan on having your kids ready to take pre-algebra by 6-7th grade imo), and writing (your kids need to be writing coherent sentences by 7-8 years of age, paragraphs by 8-9 years of age and 2-3 paragraph essays by the 5th-6th grade year).

My rule of thumb is this: Do they have a fever? Yes or No. If No, send them out. If Yes, is it the triple digits? Yes or No. If Yes, stay inside. If No, buh-bye. Zip your coat, wear a hat and gloves and REAL shoes (NOT crocs, slip on vans, dress shoes, slippers or bare feet, for the love of cheese...)

Boo is 8 and one of the sweetest boys you're likely to ever meet. Now, that doesn't meant that he can't be goofy at times. Most of the time, he is a real sweetie who is very, very hyper. Some people find his "boing boing I love you! boing" attitude very difficult to handle (such as our church's children's ministry workers, may God bless their souls lol.) Personally, I think it is one of his strong suits and a part of his personality that I would like for him to keep as he grows. Hopefully he will learn to reign himself in as he gets older and not be so "la la la-spin in circles-boing- bounce off wall-sing into a pretend microphone-push brother-give someone a hug" as he gets older. Most men find Boo to be odd. I often hear comments such as "he acts like a sissy" or "he needs to learn how to be a boy/man". I think that men have a hard time understanding that even though my boy is 8, is more like a 4-6 year old neurologically and doesn't really grasp that the finer points of typical boy behavior. He's still very sensitive to teasing or harsh language, cries at the drop of a hat (mostly over nothing) and has trouble making friends with kids his own age (which is why most of his friends are Princess's age.) I'd say that being goofy is a) a boy thing and b) perfectly normal for an 8 year old boy (or a 6 year old girl, lol). If you are really concerned that perhaps your son is not grasping the finer points of boy socialization on the team, talk to the coach and perhaps move him to another team where he would be one of the older kids. If that's not possible, maybe the coach could have your son do some extra work, like helping set up/take down practice equipment. Maybe dad could shoot free throws with him some time or start taking him to the gym, pool or b-ball court 1-2 times a week so he could be around big guys in a sports setting?? Maybe that would help him learn how to act in that setting.

Uhm yes, I'm addicted to shopping for my kiddos. Especially Buglet and New-baby (who has yet to reveal its gender to us). Buglet has a whole diaper box full of winter clothes that he has not worn yet. Mostly because we've had a pretty mild winter here and haven't really had a reason to break out his tiny Carhartt bibs or the several pairs of lined pants and thermal tops and onesies I purchased in the fall. Here's to hoping that #4 is a boy...because I have so much barely worn/lightly worn/like new stuff for a baby boy that it isn't even funny. Not that I'd mind shopping for a girl but I have two good sized Rubbermaid totes FULL of stuff for a boy. Except for newborn-6 mo stuff, which I stupidly left in storage when we moved last spring and it got ruined. I'm a total consignment hound, thrift store diva and yard sale monger. I also have a love affair with Craigslist and ebay. Haven't tried thredup, but maybe that's a good thing. :tongue_smilie:

Super Nanny has the Paci-fairy come and get the pacifiers...which might work with a kid who actually falls for that sort of stuff. ;) Buglet does not fall for such gimmicks. I tried using that sort of trick with the bottle a few months ago. "Look Buglet, Jesus came and brought you special new cups to use at night. He loves all little boys. He especially loves it when little boys act like big boys and give their babas to him so he can give them to babies who don't have babas." He gave the side-eye, threw two of his babas in the "donation bag" and promptly ran off to hide the other 3 that were sitting on the floor next to him. To this day, I have only found 2 of 3...the third one is gone to the sands of time, I suppose. The whole thing with the bottles and the pacifiers is that I know he only does it for comfort and self-stimulation, which makes me feel like a bad mama. I do sit with him at night, we read, I rub his back and legs. During the day, I try to keep him busy so he doesn't think about the paci or the baba, but some days (like this past week or so), it has been hard NOT giving him them every time he cries. He and Princess have both caught the flu that Boo had the week before last. As soon as Buglet got over the flu, he got an ear infection. :glare: (And Princess is still a miserable mess of a sinus infection + general crabbiness.) All of that being said, my mom recommended using a safety pin to poke holes in the nipples of the baba and the paci to change the sucking experience...I'm just concerned that if I don't actively deter him from wanting them, he will take them from the new baby when it gets here.

Anyone have any suggestions for getting rid of the paci and the night time bottle? Buglet is almost 2 and I think it's time for the paci and night time baba to go, preferably before the new baby gets here. I've considered putting something like this on it to deter him, but it says not to use it for children under age 3. Maybe there's an herbal alternative that would be safer? I've tried using sippy cups instead of a bottle at night time like we do at naptime, but he won't have it. I hate to hear him scream for hours on end...so I give in after about hour 3 or so just to maintain some peace. He also shares a room with my oldest boy, who has to get up around 7:30 in the morning, so Buglet's screaming effects Boo too. I've even resorted to slipping small doses of melatonin in his night time sippy cup to get him to sleep without the bottle, but if he wakes up during the night and can't find his baba, he screams and we're off... All of the needless sucking is having an effect on his teeth and ears, which is very concerning. He has a serious overbite already. His four front teeth are beginning to push out and have gaps between them, while his bottom teeth are beginning to tilt backwards and are very crowded. He also has frequent ear infections and upper respiratory infections. (The pediatrician hasn't said anything about the bottle/paci being a culprit, but I'm fairly certain that it is.) I suppose I've justified giving him the paci and bottle this long as a way to get things done around here. My older two bottle broke themselves around age 1 or so. Princess took a paci but only for brief periods of time, usually in the car or when she was sick and it really wasn't a big deal when I threw it out shortly before her 3rd birthday. Buglet is very different, he has a deep attachment to both things. PLEASE HELP, HIVE!!

Reminds me of the scream factory in Monsters Inc, when Mike and Sully are chasing Randall in order to take Boo back home. Row after row after row of doors...endless. That being said, I like the picture. Very intriguing.

You've obviously never met my toddler. The only shoes I've ever been able to consider putting up are his slippers and one pair of "supportive" walking shoes that a well-meaning grandma purchased for him last summer. Every other shoe I've ever gotten for him since he's been walking has been fairly well-worn.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot -- Weird and wonderful book about a lady who changed history...and died without knowing it. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison -- Of personal interest to me since my oldest has Asperger's...but it is also a pretty cool story.

I've had good luck with Stride Rites as well. Geox are another dependable brand, as are Tevas and Keens. Stride Rites are my favorites for another reason: custom fits. If your boy has a really wide foot like my youngest, have a wide or extra wide width shoe can really make a difference how the shoe fits and wears. If he's wearing the toes of his shoes out, it may be that his shoes don't fit him properly. He may be compensating by sliding his foot forward inside the shoe when runs and jumps. My older two have skinny feet. Boo is a toe walker and the toes of his shoes always wear out asap. This is the first year we haven't bought quality shoes for him and I'm regretting that decision as I type this. His shoes are utterly decimated and I've resorted to letting him wear his old slip on Vans most of the time until we can make it out to the Stride Rite store for a fitting. Princess is a very active girl who wears her shoes out long before her brothers do. I've accepted that as a fact of life for now and I get most of her shoes second-hand through consignment sales so I don't have to pay as much to keep her in decent shoes. I still prefer quality shoes, but I've been settling for whatever brands for the last year or so until she quits wearing them out so fast. If you're looking for boots or heavy duty outdoor play sandals, go with Keens. They tend to run a size big, but trust me, they will last as long as your kid's feet fit them, lol. Tevas are the opposite. They run small and narrow so I recommend buying a size up. My oldest had a pair of these last spring/summer and they lasted long enough to get donated. :D...which is pretty amazing for a size 2 boys shoe!

Right now, I won't drive far. Maybe when the kidlets are older and can handle being in the car for more than 20 minutes without turning into car gremlins, I will consider it. I have driven further for activities and medical needs for my oldest, but that was when he was younger and we lived in an area that didn't have much for kids like him. Now that I have 2 (soon to be 3) young children, I can't even fathom long trips. We live about 20 min outside a major city, but our town is one of the bigger towns in the suburban area where we live, so the store, doctors, church and all of our activities are fairly close by. Their piano lessons are a 10-15 minute drive and if we can ever manage to save up for a piano, I will be eliminating that drive as well since our current piano instructor also does in-home lessons for a slightly higher fee. Then our only drives will be Boo's guitar lessons (a 15-25 minute drive depending on traffic) and church activities 1-2 times a week.

Our family schedule is pretty different than most hsing families due to the fact that both of my older kids go to school part time. Boo goes to a program for kids on the autism spectrum 4 mornings and 1 afternoon a week. Princess goes to half-day kindergarten 5 mornings a week. That means that Buglet and I have the mornings to ourselves 4 days a week and one day a week, brother is home to entertain him. Our afternoons look like this when all 3 are home: 12:30 - Boo gets home. 12:50 - Pick Princess up. This requires a 4 block walk to and from her school on most days. On nice days, we will stop at the park for 30 min or so and Buglet goes down for a late nap. He will usually sleep longer on those days and we get more accomplished. 1:10 - Buglet goes down for nap. 1:20-30-2:30 - Older kids do school. We try to get reading, copywork, penmanship, and math done during this hour or so. If nothing else, we will do some reading, they will do quick narrations, and Boo will do 15-20 min of math while Princess plays or watches educational programming on Netflix. 2:30-3:00 - Buglet gets up. We do a family project together (art 2 days a week, science 2 days a week, and a library visit OR volunteer work at our church the remaining day.) Buglet usually sits on my lap or stands around the area where we are working. I also keep a special bin of activities (not toys) for him to explore while we work. I have a Latch Board, a Hide and Seek Barn Board, several large floor puzzles, a magnetic fishing game, a Little People Barn, a shape sorters and some Rescue Heroes (sans small pieces) in the bin. Sometimes I will turn on a Veggietales movie or Yo Gabba Gabba for him to watch while we work on our project. 3:45-4:15 - We wrap up our project. The kids get a snack while I get our stuff together for evening activities. Wednesdays we eat an early dinner and all 3 go to the children's ministry program at our church. Mondays and Tuesdays, Boo and Princess have music lessons. On these days, Buglet is expected to sit with me in the waiting area on his tractor blanket (we call it a special time blanket.) I have a drawstring bag full of small toys that he only plays with during this time. Right now, it's full of Little People toys and small tractors, along with a few small stuffed animals and board books. However, I think that Buglet has benefited from our unique schedule. Having me to himself all morning lessens his whining and clingy-ness in the afternoons and evenings when I have to be involved with the older kids. I'm also a strict enforcer of routine. We adhere to a pretty strict schedule, and I require downtime for all of the kiddos, but especially Buglet. He is also a prolific napper. Some days he will take 2-3 hour nap in the afternoons...and he is 2, so that's pretty good, imo.

I have been going back and forth over a phonics program for my two older kids. They are 6 and 8, the oldest has is a highly auditory individual with fine motor skill issues. He struggles with writing, gets bored and frustrated when asked to write more than a few words at a time and has a hard time reading to himself. The 6 year old knows some sight words and the alphabet. She can "best guess" spell some words and kinda-sorta read books that she knows by heart. She is more visual than my oldest boy and likes to do some book work. Anyway, I'm considering starting them with a phonics program over the summer. I'm getting tired of having to spell everything for my oldest (who is incredibly anal about spelling everything he writes "perfectly right" as he says). I'm also getting ready to add #4 to the mix in the spring and would like for my oldest to not be so dependent on me when it comes to reading. I think that he should be able to do short reading and writing assignments without my direct supervision and hand-holding. My needs for a program are that it needs to be something that is easily customizable and includes an audio/visual component for my oldest. I'd like something that is very engaging and not just a bunch of book work. So far I've considered: Sing, Write, Read and Spell, All About Spelling + All About Reading, Reading Reflex, and BJU K5 Beginnings or BJU 1 English/Spelling (I would have to heavily modify or replace the spelling component for my oldest). I've already tried 100 Easy Lessons and Explore the Code, neither of which held my childrens' interest long enough for them to learn anything. I've also tried cobbling together my own phonics curriculum from internet resources and SuperWhy episodes. While they enjoyed the games I thought up for them and my oldest learned a lot of new words, none of this transferred over to the actual reading/writing process. Any thoughts, Hive Mind??

Crayola 150-Count Telescoping Crayon Tower -- We love ours. We've had it for almost two years now. Some of our crayons are broken or missing, but man, we love it. Crayola Model Magic -- The perfect, non-messy, no baking required "clay". Great for a carpeted house with active little ones who think that the dog would absolutely love to wear a hat and booties made from clay, lol. Drawing Pads - I purchased several of these at Target during the Back-to-School sale this past fall. They've held up surprisingly well. Sketch Pads - I purchased three of these sketch pads (one for me, one for each of the olders) and they really love them. These are great for heavy duty sketching and illustrated journaling (which my kids love to do). Crayola Giant Coloring Pages - I've bought several of these over the years. They are large enough for everyone to color a single page together, but are also just the right size for a young child to engage in some epic coloring projects all by their lonesome. Prismacolor Colored Pencils - A good set for kiddos, especially boys who like to play drums with pencils. He broke about 3 dozen cheap pencils before I finally decided to invest in good ones...and gave him the shoebox full of old ones to use as drum sticks as long as he promised not to drum with the new ones... Pastels -- My oldest has fine motor issues and loves to use his fingers to smear paint and chalk. Pastels were probably the best thing I purchased. Sidewalk chalk -- Can't beat it for outdoor art. Also good for shadow tracing and outdoor timelining. Not really art supplies, but good to keep on hand: scissors tape glue sticks 2 liter bottles 1 liter bottles coffee cans (both kinds) rocks (my kids like to paint rocks and decorate them) plastic cookie cutters (great for tracing and cutting shapes from clay, playdough and Model Magic) all purpose cleaners (I like Goo Gone, Bar Keeper's Friend, and Magic Erasers)

If you happen to live in one of the states listed on this page, I highly recommend hitting one of these sales. I did last fall and got fall/winter wardrobes for both of my boys for about $200. Not bad at all considering my oldest is a beanpole who is super rough on his clothes and the youngest is in the "growing like a weed" phase of toddlerhood. (He has gone from a size 12mo to a 2t/3t in the course of 6 months! :eek:) My oldest is just really tall for his age and hates anything that is "too tight", so I have to buy a size up or else he complains and moans about the waistband pinching him...Elastic waistbands are a godsend, especially in jeans. However, finding jeans with an elastic waistband that are bigger than a 6/7 is a real challenge. My opinions: Faded Glory (Wal-mart brand): Jeans are too baggy in the legs and wear out quickly. :glare: Kohls: I found some pants at Kohls that he really likes. They aren't jeans, but they are lined cargo pants that zip off into shorts. They are elastic waisted and have adjustable straps at the waist and the bottom hem...perfect for getting that "just right" fit.:001_smile: I can't find them online though. The brand is Urban Pipeline. Lands End: Now, these are some pants I can get behind! I really love Lands End pants. I picked up a pair of these at a consignment sale and bought a few more off of ebay last spring, including some jeans. He is still wearing them. Yes, they are bit expensive ($25-35 a pair online, I paid about $15-20 a pair on ebay after shipping)...but they are so worth it. They will last a long time and look nice enough to pass for church attire if need be. The waistbands are adjustable too, which is nice. Old Navy: I like their sweats and track pants for my oldest, but they can keep their jeans. :glare: Children's Place: Seem to run a bit small. Haven't bought any of these in awhile.

I've been considering working on sewing with Princess, but I've seen her with scissors and can only imagine the havoc she'd wreak with a needle and thread, lol. I've been considering starting out with knitting instead. Finger knitting seems like it could be appealing for both of my older ones and a good way to keep small hands out of trouble. If there's an interest, maybe a loom. Needlepoint may be a good place to start as well. I enjoyed needlepoint and so did my nieces when they were younger. They are lots of kid-friendly needlepoint kits out there. As far as making a gift for Mom's day...maybe a drawstring bag would be a good beginner's project once she learned how to use a needle and thread? She could sew it and then fill it with small items or some homemade potpourri...

Here's a free-writing sample from my oldest, who is a 2nd grader: "Once upon a time, there was a boy named Peter Pan. and it was Christmas. There were presents. Peter got some arrows and he shot arrows at a apple on a tree. he won the contest and won some presents for boys and girls at home. What a happy time for boys and girls. Then Peter flew off into the night time sky by the stars and moon. Wendy went with him far, far away but the lost boys came too. Peter told the lost boys to go home but they don't listen. So Peter chased them off fast with his magic sword. Wendy said no not to use the magic sword but Peter said I know better than you!!" And he used it anyway. The End!!!! By me!!!" This is a writing sample from my 6 year old, a first grade girl: " This story is called Alice and the Mad Hatter. And the Chesaire Cat. When her mama was reading her lesson on the tree branch with her cat Delilah. She put a crown on her cat. The cat took off the crown and jumped on mama's head. After that she was laying in the flowers. She saw a rabbit with a clock. She followed the rabbit into a hole with Delilah. She went down the hole. She fell on her head. After that she went through a lot of doors. She was having a hard time with the door. She couldn't get a key. Then she found a key and opened the door. Then she met ? She went to the woods and met her friends Twinkle and ? Then she went to a tea party. Then she met a mad hatter and a rabbit. After the tea party she was full of rabbits. Then she left. She met a queen who had cards. And she met a king. The queen was mean and bossy. Alice was doing her duty. She told the queen to stop being bossy. Then they played golf with flamingos. The king tried to stop them. Off with her head! They chased her across the ocean. She was home at last! wake up Alice! The End." My kiddos dictate their stories to me, although my oldest does do some of his own writing. He has poor handwriting and tends to obsess over spelling things correctly. I let them narrate/dictate about whatever they are interested in. Lately they have been re-visiting books we read in the fall and movies they've been watching on Netflix since we've been taking turns being sick since Christmas. Sometimes Princess does her own thing, talking about whatever strikes her fancy. Boo writes a lot of journal type things about music. I also have him write down his thoughts whenever he is getting angry, frustrated or bored. He likes to do copy work too, which has improved his spelling and punctuation use. I made a little game using index cards that I use to help my kids organize their sentences and also to teach some basic grammar and punctuation. I will post an example of this later if anyone is interested.

Kumon workbooks are awesome. "Let's Fold Paper", "More Let's Fold Paper", and "My First Book of Tracing" were big hits with Boo. Princess has liked every one I've ever given her, but is especially fond of "My First Book of Mazes" and "My Book of Alphabet Games". So are Ed Emberley books (my kids really like his "thumbprint drawing" book). Another cool thing I found that my oldest really likes are these Star Wars paper action figures. Here's Luke and here's Leia. He has drawn the rest of the cast himself...and taped the drawings to craft sticks so he can set them up to re-enact scenes from the movie. :001_smile: Model Magic is a good, clean art material that he could safely use while you watch from the couch. Plastic butter knives and cookie cutters can be used to facilitate creativity...aka help the process along without mom's steady hand. If he's good with math and likes to play games, I'd suggest dominos, mancala, checkers, Scrabble Slam (if he's good with reading/spelling), or Chutes and Ladders (I only put this because my kiddos love it and will play it for hours.) Otherwise, read, cuddle, sing, play and just be there as much as you can.

Bentos are definitely a good idea. I've been using To-Go Ware for years. I have the 2 tier container and the 3 tier container. I usually use the 2 tier for family picnics and packs things that are in individual packages or use ziploc baggies or foil to minimize mess. The top tier is good for sides and dessers; bottom tier is useful for sandwiches, salads, or whatever else your heart desires as long it's not liquid. The 3 tier is good for packing snacks for playgroups, church outings, or other functions. I like to keep ziploc baggies full of stuff stashed in ours. Things like dried fruit, fruit ropes, cheese sticks, cuties and other kid friendly fare. EasyLunchbox containers are good too. I prefer these for prepping our lunches ahead of time when we're going to be eating at home. If you purchase the carrying case to go with it, you could take them with you on a picnic.

When it's nice out, we picnic a lot. Our favorites include: homemade lunchables: gluten-free crackers, lunchmeat, cheese slices or cubes jell-o cups yogurt tubes (freeze them and you can use them for additional cooling) grapes (for the older ones) applesauce cups or gogo squeeze packs ella's organics fruit squeezes (the younger two like these) bananas baby tomatoes (only if we're eating outdoors) sliced hot dogs (I buy organic, uncured hot dogs, cook them ahead of time, slice and sit them in the fridge. My kids love cold hot dogs.) I also mix up smoothies using full fat greek yogurt, orange slices, frozen fruit, and coconut oil/butter, along with liquid vitamins and probiotics. I pour kid-sized nalgene bottles about 1/3 way full, freeze them and pour the remaining smoothie in the bottle before we go. I only do that for morning trips though, because my kids can't eat most quick breakfast foods like cereal, bagels, toast, etc due to the gluten issues. I'm a bit of a health nut and we eat a fairly restrictive diet. Both of my boys are gluten-sensitive and the oldest is extremely picky to the nth degree. On a side note, I wish it were picnic weather here....:glare: