LOL!! That is awesome!!!

Oh my gosh!! There are sick, sick people in this world. I am SO glad that your DD didn't understand what he was talking about. I wonder if the police can (and will) do anything about it.

That sounds like a neat party idea!! Of course you can give silly bands as party favors. You can make silly band holders as a craft. If you google silly band holders or silly band crafts then that should give you some ideas. You could give the kids like 15 minutes of trading time. You could have a silly band hunt...hide them all over the yard, hanging from trees, etc.

I have been thinking about fostering....but I have quite a few questions. I know there are foster parents here on this board and that this board is a wealth of information on just about any topic. I was wondering if anyone could answer some questions that I have. 1. Can you specify an age range? My youngest is three and I really would not want a child over that age....just due to safety reasons. 2. How do my values anintertwine with foster care? For example, would I be able to take the child to church and put them in the nursery/kids program? Can I read the Bible to them? We have a family bedroom that our children sleep in with us. I know that foster children cannot do that, but would it look bad if my own children continue do it? Is homeschooling ever an issue? 3. Discipline - I know that you cannot use physical discipline on a foster child.....but we do spank our own children....only occasionally. But can we continue to discipline our own children how we see fit? 4. Vacations - Can foster children go on vacation with us? What about out of state? 5. What about babysitting? Sometimes we leave our own children in the care of my parents so that we can go out on a date night. I assume it is okay to leave foster children with the same babysitter? 6. Basic necessities - If you don't know what age child you may have come through your home, how do you know what to have on hand? Must I have a crib on hand? What about things like high chairs? What about clothing? I know that the states gives some money for foster children, but when you buy the clothing, what happens to it? Does it go with the child when they go home? What if you only have them for a week and they only come with one pair of clothing? Do you buy clothing and then send it with them when they leave? What about toys....say you have a child for a year and they acquire toys while living with you....does everything go with them when they leave? How do you work out the logistics of things like that? 7. I saw something online about a sibling group of two brothers that were currently in foster care. They had been in the same home for over 5 years and were seeking adoptive parents. Why couldn't the foster parents adopt them? Is that not an option? I've heard of foster to adopt, but what does that entail? 8. Are foster parents in any danger? I assume that a lot of times a parent is angry when their children are taken away from them. Do the parents know where the children are staying? Do the foster parents ever meet the real parents? 9. What about schooling? Are you allowed to homeschool a foster child or do they attend public school? If they attend public school and they previously attended a school that is far away from you, does the child continue at that school or do they go to the school that's close to you? Sorry about all the questions.....these are just things I've been thinking about that do not seem to be addressed anywhere.

My kids as like this too. Especailly my oldest. She would rather stay up till 11 or 12 and wake at 8 or 8:30. People usually think I'm nuts for letting my kids stay up so late, but hey, I'm a big fan of doing whatever works for each family.

It doesn't sound like too much seatwork, but each child is different in what they enjoy. My DD6 does not mind seatwork. In fact, if I don't have some sort of worksheet for her, she'll ask for one. :tongue_smilie: Then I usually have to pull something off the internet....even if it is just a coloring sheet pertaining to the subject at hand. Here's what we do daily: Bible - me reading, us discussing, usually a worksheet or coloring sheet, takes about 15 or 20 minutes Handwriting - usually consists of her writing some sentences or doing a chapter of Draw, Write, Now. I'll occasionally add a Bob Book or two into this time for her to read to me. This takes about 10 or 15 minutes. (We are doing no formal phonics right now as she is going to be evaluated because she has a hard time with it. If we were doing phonics, it would be included in handwriting time and would take an additional 15 or 20 minutes). Speech - I pulled her from speech therapy and we are doing it at home. So usually 10 to 15 minutes of a speech related activity, complete with correctly saying words. Math - We do the next chapter of Math U See....usually takes about 20 minutes. Then, we also do the following: Mondays - Literature, Art - We read a well known short story or fable and do activities and discuss (usally takes about 15 to 20 minutes). For Art we are working through Artistic Pursuits and do a new chapter each week (takes about 20 or 30 minutes to talk about it, answer questions, look at examples, and actually do our own piece of artwork). Tuesdays - Science, Sign Language - For Science we use Evan Moor books and do some worksheets, experiments, and reading (could take anywhere from 15 - 45 minutes depending on what we do that day). For Sign Language we watch a Signing Times DVD and review signs we have previously learned (takes about 35 or 40 minutes). Thursdays - Science - same as on Tuesday Fridays - Literature, Story of the World - Literature is same as on Monday just different story. Story of the World takes about 30 or 45 minutes and consists of me reading the next chapter while DD colors a corresponding sheet, then we do an activity pertaining to it. So DD has quite a bit of seatwork too, but she doesn't really mind it. Starting at about 3 years old she starting bringing worksheets to me for us to go together. She's always been a worksheet kid. Oh....we don't sit down and do all of these straight through. I'll do two or three subjects and then give DD a break to go play with her sister. So she gets plenty of play time.

I need suggestions on something to add to our curriculum. My DD is 6 years old and in "1st grade". We school four days a week and go to homeschool group one day (in which my DD takes classes and is there for 4 hours). Every day that we are home, we do the following: Handwriting, Math, Bible, Speech, and read-alouds. (I realize that phonics are not listed but DD is having LOTS of trouble with reading and we have an appointment set up for her to be evaluated....in the mean time, we are skipping it because it causes her lots of stress). Plus, we do these: Monday - Literature, Art Tuesday - Science, Sign Language Wednesday - no formal work due to homeschool group Thursday - Science, Friday - Literature, Story of the World See that empty spot there on Thursdays....after science? I need something to fill that spot. What would be a good subject to add there? I thought about letting my daughter choose somthing each week to learn about it do that on Thursdays after science. Or I thought of beginning to learn about all the states. Any suggestions would be really great!

My three requirements..... It must be interesting....with good writing. I don't like blogs that just say "well, we did this today, then we did that, and it was a good day." I like pictures. If I scroll down a blog page and don't see a single photo, I won't even read the blog. There can be posts that don't have photos, but majority of them need to have photos. Uncluttered. I'm reading for pleasure, I don't want to work to read a blog by trying to decipher it. I need to have something in common with the writer. Whether it be children, homeschooling, a hobby, whatever. My blog meets all of the above requirements LOL.

Last week I was wondering something similar. If you were my 3 year old's iPod Touch, where would you be hiding? In the bin of dollhouse accessories, of course. :D This I discovered after a whole week. So....look in the most unexpected place LOL.

Between the those two, I'd choose an iPad.

No....we kind of did that on Friday. We only did like 2 subjects that day. So today we must move on forward.

Yes. I try to update at least 4 or 5 times a week. My link is in my signature.

Honestly, if she only has one child, she probably just doesn't understand that love multiplies and not divides. Before I had my second child, I didn't fully understand it. Yes, I heard the phrase and heard people tell me it over and over. But when I was pregnant with #2, I was really afraid that there's no way that I could love another baby as much as I loved my first. I just knew that I was going to favor my first and this poor second baby wouldn't get nearly as much love. Crazy thinking? Maybe, but I couldn't grasp that concept until I was holding my second daughter in my arms and watching her grow day by day. Those comments would definitely annoy me.....but just look at it as she cannot understand unless she has another child.

I love it LOL! I was a teen when Jesus Freak came out and I was a HUGE DC Talk fan. I still know that rap! And I don't even like rap LOL!

Sprite.

An iPad could never relace a laptop/desktop for me. They are much too difficult to type quickly on (for me anyways). Plus, of course, you can't store data on them. I am a photographer and take TONS of photos. I can't edit them on there. I use Photoshop a lot and I can't put that on there. An iPad is nice for web browsing and for the apps, but it couldn't replace a regular PC for me.

Just a question....I've always thought about adopting internationally. But I do not fly. Seriously. I cannot get on an airplane. I know that in some countries this could be a problem because they require both parents to travel. But then again, I'm not sure I could imagine sending DH alone and picking up a baby he virtually knows nothing about and trying to comfort them and care for them on the return trip. So I'm afraid that my fear of flying is stopping me from adopting internationally. I know that for South Korea, you could get an escort. Are they still doing that? What about other countries?

I'm sorry, but I wouldn't send them a single thing. Your kids, your business.

Yes, I'd take him to an allergist. Is there any way that he can stop mowing the grass? I have a really bad grass/dust/tree/pollen allergy and if someone asked me to mow the grass, there's no way that I would do it. And I don't even have to use an inhaler. If it effects his breathing, I wouldn't want him doing it.

I only have one....and I use it every few months. I need to start using it more for dinners.

I've never seen the show, but Glee would be banned in our home just due to the commercials that I'v seen.

Yes! Our family takes our annual Disney vacation during the week of Halloween. We go to the Halloween party there and we all dress up in the same theme. Two years ago it was super heroes, last year it was pirates, and this year.....well, it's a surprise! Actually, I just posted pics of our last two years on my blog. Click the link in my signature and then scroll down just a short bit.

Congrats!!! I hope that your sweet little guy thrives! Please keep us updated!

Awww! I'm so glad that my parents let me trick or treat until I wanted to stop. I believe it was the year I got married....I was 19 LOL! I dressed up each year and it was so much fun! I definitely do not mind giving teenagers candy as long as they are dressed up and are being respecful and not rude. Just curious....if there's nowhere to trick or treat in your area, then what is the issue with your son wanting to go trick or treating? It sounds as though he wouldn't be able to even if you allowed him to.

I have found that DD6 does well with visually seeing how much work she has left before a break. So I start with sitting three piles on the school table. Today I set out a pile for Bible, a pile for speech, and a pile for handwriting. When those are completed, she gets a break to go and play with her little sister in the playroom. She can see the workload getting smaller because when we are finished with a subject, I put the books/papers back on the shelf. When break time is over, I call her back into the school room and have more piles sitting on the table.