As others have said, I would rather attend a cake and punch wedding than a potluck. We have friends who originally said they were going to have a potluck reception, probably for about 200 guests. The reality of the logistics of that set in before the final invitations went out, and it changed to this: Wedding at church around lunch time, followed by a reception in the church hall. They put out deli platters for sandwiches, plus some fruit and veggie platters and some chips, and followed that with cake and punch. There were multiple cakes made by friends and family. They announced at the ceremony and again in the hall that everyone was welcome to come back to the couple's house that evening for a potluck dinner if they wished to continue the party. I am guessing that maybe half the guests chose to attend that after-party, especially relatives, and far-flung friends who wanted to visit a bit longer before heading home. We stopped at a Thai place on the way and grabbed some takeout to share.

Art classes, either at the museum, or with a local artist who does classes for homeschoolers Visiting the science museum with friends. NOT science museum classes, as the material presented to her age group is a bad fit for her knowledge level. Theatre Dance Fiddle Aquarium camp Zoo camp Math circle

I pronounce it close to this, but sometimes it even sounds like hellaween. I am an Army brat with vowel issues.

DH has sweet potatoes with breakfast about every other day. We bake a bunch on the weekend, and when he wants breakfast, he will take one out and slice it up and heat it up in the skillet along with his egg. I like to make a double batch of quiche or frittata at least once a month, basically cleaning out leftovers in the veggie and cheese drawers. I recently got something yummy at Wegman's hot dinner bar that I saved for breakfast: wedges of baked cauliflower au gratin. I don't have a recipe, but plan to try to recreate it.

I guess now I know why my father (who lives in west Texas) sent us all that Texas history material! DD definitely knows more about Texas history than most other New England kids.

less anxiety less noise more sleep more time to read "real" math (AOPS) "actually learning"

When she referred to her "daughter's competition," I believe she meant the competitors from another dance group, not her daughter's own group. I first (mis)read it as the competition her daughter was in, as opposed to those she was up against.

Take a nice picture, then pack it up for donations, though if he wants to make some money, the sets could be worth selling. If he or you want to save anything sentimental, allow one box of stuff. I don't think I've ever met a bookcase I didn't want, and have used them for shoes, clothes, art supplies, etc. The Ikea bookcases might still work in a minimalist setting, if he organizes it just how he wants it. Maybe drape a simple set of curtains in front of them.

I will have to ask dd to see what she says. She now attends a public charter middle school, after homeschooling grades 4/5. One reason we picked this middle school is because it is an Expeditionary Learning school. Her class recently returned from a 3 day camping trip, where they visited geological sites to gather information for further study in their science class. In the spring, they will go on another camping trip, which will include white-water-rafting. They seem to have gotten the kids quite engaged.

Can't sleep. My schedule is flipped day/night this week again. Watching episodes of Dr. Who online.

Looking at your counter top, I would go with gray if I HAD to pick a neutral color. I hate tan. In choosing the color, I would look for grays that are misty sky tones. My current bathroom is painted aqua, with black and white tiles on the floor and walls, a black cabinet, and a white sink. My new bathroom (after we move) will be a very pale gray-blue-green, with white wall tiles, dark gray floor tiles, and a gray speckled marble counter, and a white sink. And we will have aqua towels. :001_smile:

Due to lower gas prices, there was no increase in Social Security Disability income based on COLA for 2016. My medicare deduction went up though, so I get less each month.

I don't think I would laugh at a question, but the OP didn't refer to a question. Rather, how to respond to a an odd declaration made about homeschooling. I don't expect people to be familiar with homeschooling, but would be surprised by them making statements about what is involved if they don't even know. In my surprise, I might let out a laugh. Not so much at their lack of knowledge, but at their presumption.

Date night with DH. Going out for sushi, probably.

I figured that one out using repeated subtraction of multiples, something we saw in second grade math, I think, but I am not sure which book. 240-140=100 100-70=30 30-28=2 With 2 left over, add 5 to get to 7

dd would work through the introductory problems, then usually watch the videos before doing the exercises. She REALLY enjoyed RR's videos too.

My dd is one of those kids that started AOPS PA after starting but not finishing BA, as they only had half of 4 done before she begged to move forward. I guess you could take a look at chapter 2, and see how that goes. It is a definite jump up in challenge. If he does fine with that, then I would press on.

Some kids do seem to become quickly fluent in mathematical thinking without much direct instruction, like the way children absorb much of their primary language without being explicitly taught. At that age my dd enjoyed Zaccaro's Primary Grade Challenge Math, discussing interesting math topics and doing problems from Mathematics, a Human Endeavor, and going to math circle. Eta: BA3 first came out when dd was 7, and she loved that too. She was so impatient for each new book to be released!

I learned from someone on the wtm forums that I could put my kindle in a zip lock bag to keep it dry and still swipe the screen to turn the page. Heh.

In elementary school, the best public schoolteacher my daughter had was someone who did not understand math as well as my daughter did, but the teacher was happy to provide higher level resources and get out of my daughter's way. I knew enough about math that I caught the teacher's erroneous information and redirected my daughter as needed. It was a bit of a lesson for dd, at 7, to realize her otherwise fabulous teacher was not all-knowing. It also gave me more courage to try homeschooling.

I heard a conversation on NPR yesterday that seems relevant. The host was talking to a child psychologist and author, who has just written a book on the science of parenting, I think called "The Gardener or The Carpenter," or something like that. They were discussing the trend of parents trying to "build" a certain type of child, as if the parent is a carpenter, who, if they can just get the plans right, they will achieve the desired result. The other type of parenting, being "The Gardener," was more about creating a rich, nurturing environment, in which a variety of results could occur, depending on the child. The auther discussed some of the science regarding how young child learn. One study at her clinic involved giving a child a toy with many different ways to use it. In one scenario, the child was given the toy, with no instructions, and then the child was left alone with it. In another scenario, the child was given instructions on one way to play with the toy, and then left alone with it. Observers saw that with no instructions, children played with the toy in a wide variety of ways, and those children who were given instructions only played with it in the way they were instructed. Last week, my daughter's science class just did the "spaghetti/marshmallow tower challenge," where small groups of students were given dried spaghetti, tape, string, and a marshmallow, and then told to build the tallest tower they could build in 30 minutes, using just those materials, and placing the marshmallow at the top. Historically, the type of student who does the best on this challenge is a kindergartener, basically because they have limited preconceptions, and they are very hands-on in their model-making. The are more likely to create a variety of prototypes, and develop a successful building method. The type of student who does worst at this challenge is a graduate business school student. Anyway, my point is, I think you are wrong in your plan to pick a fixed curriculum and follow it. Work with the child in front of you. Play, question, discuss, explore. If you have just 30 minutes a day to devote to math, spend 10 minutes doing something interesting together, then you can take 10 minutes to assess where she is, and to pull out a relevant math assignment, and she can spend the final 10 minutes on whatever assignment you came up with. A standard math curriculum is not always a good fit, and a fast learner will have you scrambling to rework the curriculum plans all the time anyway. So unless your plan is to teach her, at 5, that math is all about being focused on the goal, until she gets through calculus, I hope you will be open to less efficient options. It sounds like you and your spouse are capable of embarking on a great math journey with your child, given your backgrounds. Bon voyage!

I was just going to post that you should rename the closet, calling it "the alcove" instead. "Hey DH, we are so lucky to have a built-in crib alcove!"

I have never called the police about an accident, but I have filed accident reports with the police. You can keep blank reports in your car, and fill them out as needed. You drop a copy off at the police station to get a police report number, for insurance purposes. I would call if there was a dangerous situation, or if there was any hostility from another party, or if they refused to provide info.

hmm... I guess I don't see "the goal of learning 4th grade math" as a particularly meaningful goal for someone who is capable of doing such a thing at the age of 5. Around that age, my daughter asked for more "complicated" math, so I spent time covering all of the elementary math topics in a logical progression, using whatever materials seemed appropriate as we went along, at a variety of levels and from different perspectives. I am not sure what you mean by "overly complicated story problems." Math is a great tool for understanding lots of things, both simple and complex. When dd was 6, she told me, "math is life."

You will have to keep an eye out for the new Uber self-driving taxis, launching in Pittsburgh this week. That's a wild card! :)