I bought one for my college daughter. I had been eyeing it for a while. I hope she uses it a lot, I think she will.

Thank you. I bought the IP, passed on the plan.

I was surprised to see Black Friday (written as such in Spanish) deals this year in Spain's media. It is a fairly recent phenomenon and I don't really know how extensive it is.

I am ready to buy. Do we need the additional protection plan?

Yes, this has definitely been an issue for my kids. My oldest has a very hard time adjusting, even in her late teens. Some people just seem to adapt more easily than others.

This is what I ended doing. I was hoping there would be a cheaper way but I didn't find one.

Thanks for sharing. I had not heard of Math Monkey. It seems they base their methods on Vedic math, which is an ancient math system from India. They have been established in Singapore for a few years. That's all I have been able to find out. Good luck with your daughters being open to working for mom.

Sorry to hear it didn't pan out as you expected. It is disappointing when you think you found the right activity to help your kids only to be let down. Was this at a Mathnasium by any chance? I wonder because the class description sounds like what they offer. I have been tempted to try it out with my kid.

I think prompt number 4 could definitely be used if you so wish to write about your homeschooling experience. 4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. But if you don't want to do that prompt, then the Additional Comments section seems the best way to go.

Looking around in the UC site, I see that you are actually expected to write about your homeschooling experience in the Additional Comments section, not as the answer to one of the prompts. Please see below: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/personal-questions/writing-tips/index.html

The four 350 word essay is new to this year. It's a change from the previous two 1000 word limit essays. My daughter is a current UC student but was not homeschooled so I can't address directly your question. I know there are some moms here whose homeschooled children are also UC students. I would edit your post title to reflect that you are specifically asking about UC admissions.

I am in California and I am ok with it. I already brought my own bags to a lot of stores. The 10 cents per bag will help me bring them everywhere else too. I grew up without them so even though they are convenient, I know I can live without them.

This is exactly what I would do too. Then I would also calmly state what to expect from January on, it is a logic consequence of the events. This way, you are not blaming or singling out anyone, but everybody gets to see the whole picture. I would not apologize. You did nothing wrong. You are the person who should be receiving apologies!

Wow! You guys were definitely meant to have Peek-A-Boos in the family!

Peek-A-Boo was our Guinea pig!

We have a black chihuahua mix named Luna. The girls named her: short, it means moon (we are Spanish speakers), and they also like Harry Potter's Luna Lovegood.

Haha, i feel the same as you. I have a traditional stovetop pressure cooker, a Fagor that I absolutely love. I thought about an instapot but those run on electricity, gas is definitely cheap. Convenience versus cost.

I need to send my college kid her passport. She is only 90 minutes from us but I cannot take it to her neither can she come to us this week. She needs it for Wednesday. Thanks.

Google maps? I would start small, with what is real and the kids can touch and see. Let's say you start with the kid's bedroom, it is part of your house like other rooms. The house, like other houses, belongs in the street; the street, like other streets, belongs in the town; the town belongs in the county or the state like other towns, and so on and so forth. I would relate all this to places they already know, the store, the doctor's office, vacation spots, or to people they already know, friends, family, who live somewhere else etc. My kids were pretty quick to pick it up but we are a multinational family. We have traveled across states and continents since they were very little. It also helps that dad also traveled quite a bit for work and we would follow on the map whenever he was away. As an anecdote, when we relocated from the U.K., my husband's company put us up in long term hotel accommodations. The second day or so, we went out to explore our surroundings. After a bit of a stroll, my almost 3 year old insisted she wanted to go back to America. My husband and I were amused, and on further investigation, it turned out she thought the hotel where we were staying was all of America! We talked about how America was a really big country, that you would have to spend days just to fly from corner to corner etc. We still tease her about that! Maps were always our friends.

I lived in the U.K. for many years. It would be next to impossible to live there and not know.

Our district has adopted a new textbook and it's supposed to be discovery, lots of discussion, etc. Now, I am sure it can be a good approach but as you mention, most kids will still need drill and a knowledgeable teacher. I personally think too much emphasis is put in students demonstrating understanding by explaining. I just think that they are being asked to do that prematurely, before they have achieved mastery. My 7th grader is not doing well right now in her math class because her class lacks drill and a knowledgeable teacher. I am afterschooling because we have come to the conclusion that she is not getting the instruction she needs. My daughter is receptive but it is unfortunate to have to do this. We are very happy with pretty much all the other classes and teachers, but math is just the subject that seems to have a lot of weak teachers.

Yes. I had to get all sorts of vaccines as part of the immigration process too. The only one we were allowed to skip was the tetanus shot because there was a nationwide shortage at the time. I was due for a tetanus booster this year, so I got the dtap and the flu vaccines earlier this month.

I would like to know too!

Update - I am in disbelief, but she has made a remarkable comeback. I said "walk?"and she immediately perked up. I took her for a walk, she pooped, and peed. She sniffed and was happy. We came back home, I prepared some chicken in broth an mixed it with her breakfast kibble. She gobbled it up. She went out to the back yard and chased a lizard. She peed again and then drank some water. I watched sitting in a garden chair, she jumped onto my lap and is fine. What on earth?? My husband says it could be the rain yesterday!? I mean, I know she doesn't like the cold and rain, but we are in Southern California! It doesn't ever get that cold! We had some drizzle yesterday and we only got up to the low 70s, but come on! If she continues to be fine, I will postpone the appointment to another day for a more convenient time. She is due for a checkup anyway. My 4 year old Chihuahua mix has not been herself since yesterday. She had breakfast and acted normal in the morning but then in the evening she was not active and she had only a morsel of chicken I hand fed her. She has not gone to the bathroom since before lunch yesterday. She didn't eat anything today and I haven't seen her drink since yesterday morning. I have an appointment at 4.00. Should I look for an earlier appointment? Any other advice?

So I just answered the other thread saying today I wore my yoga pants to a semi dressy event. It was an afternoon outdoor event and I needed comfort. The venue was a public location with a mix of people; some were dressed up because they were staying after the afternoon session to attend the evening event, and others very casual as it is a popular tourist destination. I was somewhere in between so I didn't stand out in any way and I had my comfort that was important to me. I dressed the outfit up with a nice top and some costume jewelry and I wore some dressy comfy sandals. I have been blessed with a tuned body so yoga pants fit me very well. I do work out for the health benefits but my body looks the way it does thanks to extremely good maternal genes. I look much fitter than I really am.