I don't think any stage is harder than another. There are pros and cons to each developmental stage...including pregnancy! :001_smile:

Nope...too personal.

I just finished the Southern Vampire Series aka Sookie Stackhouse, minus the last book.

Didn't read all replies, but Stephanie Plum series makes me LOL!

:iagree: read, read, read, and have a drink with no worries every night! :D ETA: I'm sure the HIVE recs would be...cook in the crockpot, eat cupcakes, drink tea, watch movies with men in kilts!

Time with the family/vacation, for sure...and I am very frugal. Family is so important, as are the memories of time spent with them. :grouphug:

Loved them at that age, and years after!

:thumbup: Love it!

:thumbup1: Love it! I love that black cabinet!

My up and down are all laminate. Bissell steam mop 1-2x per week for 9 years. No problems.

The pedestal vs legs does make a difference for space and placement of chairs.

:thumbup:

Are you kidding me???? So the trend of poor customer service in industries, lack of quality products, etc. is acceptable because that's what people are told to do???? :cursing: I think I need to take a :chillpill: and step away from this converstion.

Bill, I think we will agree to disagree. If you have a wonderful school that you are happy with, and or you are someone who still believes in the system, I say do what you can do and be happy! I taught in the system, sent my kids to the system, and was told by my conscience and teachers of several schools we tried, to "get out of the system!" Even our charter school (public funds..private run) told me she wants to hs her children and she was so happy for us, when I pulled my child out. I never planned on anything but ps for my kids, but the system was so appalling, as was the charter we tried, that I really felt I had no other choice. HS is steadily growing because of the schools, not other reasons. It makes me terribly heartbroken, as I believe the system can be great.

I believe going to ps "back in the day" and being a parent involved in your kid's ONE school, does not give one a good perception of the US school system. Each school, system, state, etc. has differences. What I look at and is important to me, is the overall picture of what is happening in the majority of the US. I also don't think limited, appropriate family bonding time..no matter when, is evil. So, there is no choice, for me.

It could potentially cause chaos, but in reality there aren't a lot of parents pulling kids for week, so it's not a big deal. Also, it's chaos for the teacher only because of the pressure the govm't has put on them, and the pressure of limited parenting, leading to poor academic and social skills. Though, those who parent poorly are often not the ones pulling their kids for a week of family bonding. The caring/educating parents who pull a kid out for a week are not to fault...society and our innapropriate teacher/student/achievement/school expectations are what cause chaos. ETA: and we shouldn't even have 30 kids in a classroom...chaaaaoooossss!

Please, a kid leaving for a week is nothing compared to the behavior disturbances, teaching to the test, limited material and staff, and innaporpriate legal placements, etc. etc. etc., going on all over the country!!!! I was an EC/reg teacher for 10 years in several states and all grade levels pre-k-21 yrs. My mother, aunts, cousins, neighbors, friends are teachers all over the US, and we discuss the system to great lengths, so I think I know what negatively affects the "educational mission" (ie getting high test scores) of our esteemed ps system. I apologize for sounding snarky, but your statement leads me to believe you have very little knowledge of the US ps system.

I'm of the mentality that all experiences are learning experiences. You don't always have to have direct instruction or be making connections. We can make connections to things just by doing, seeing, experiencing. I think that mentality goes along with school field trips/sports trips, as well as family vacations. We went on lots of school field trips/sports trips that they excused as learing experiences, that had little school oriented learning going on, and little connection to what was going on in the school. We walked around NYC or Boston buying food and items, and hanging with friends! I don't think that is different than pulling your kids out for a family vacation where bonding, memories, and connections are often made that are important to a child's development. Also, I pay for my child to go to school with my taxes, so why do I need permission to take them out, within reason? I wonder if the same people, who are against vacation pull out, have the mentality that learning/school is not going on unless they are sitting down doing the 3 r's? I disagree with that, as well.

:thumbup1:

Like him as an actor, but no attraction to him. I bet I will like him in Bourne, though. I have no attraction to Matt Damon, either, except for his Bourne role.

:grouphug:

You go woman!:D

My guess is people don't know order of operations! ;) terms inside parentheses or brackets exponents and roots multiplication and division addition and subtraction

I agree with Saxon Phonics...though time consuming. All about Spelling and/or Reading..less time consuming, but still O-G method. I also agree with videos like leapfrog to really drill those sounds home. My kids loved and learned well from them!

I second all about spelling or all about reading!