Find or start a FIRST Lego League Robotics group. http://firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2012seniorsolutions We program and build robots using Lego mindstorms to solve real world problems. The teams also research and develop their own innovative solution to an identified problem.

In the area where I am there is a huge push for pre-school starting at age 2. In our area it is such a competition and a status symbol of where your child is going to pre-school that the mere concept of walking around with a child 2 years old or older and not being able to say where he/she goes to pre-school or that he/she is wearing their school shirt is emotionally draining. In response to this yes, I have looked for a homeschool pre-school group and found none and no groups even willing to consider the idea. Am I looking for a co-op day long course, rigorous academics and curriculum? No. I'm looking for a few like minded parents who are also planning to homeschool their children who want to get together once a week for a Playgroup that includes a learning center (slow and steady, Montessori,etc) as part of the options and maybe a busy bag swap. I want the chance for my child explore the world around her with another child and for me to learn together with other parents.

Our library has the Johnny Tremain DVD which our kids watched and we compared and contrasted the book with the movie. Also, if you are really not feeling well read aloud's are read aloud's what about picking up the book on CD so that all of you can listen to them.

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I also am paid only once a month and we live on only my salary for a family of five. With the rising cost of gas my family has also experienced this place. While you are sitting on a wonderful food stash that will last most of the month, the end of the month is going to look pretty slim and the anxiety about what that will look like is scary. I have family and friends who know the end of the month is rough for us, particularly if there was an unexpected bill that month. Maybe instead of asking mom for money if she is close would she treat you guys to dinner at her house? Would family and friends be willing to exchange meals, they provide for everyone at the end of the month you provide a meal at the beginning of the month. We have close friends that this is what we do on a regular basis. It is one less meal for me to stress about and she knows that I will provide a meal for all 11 of us once I get paid. Have you looked into once a month cooking? We live by this now, I have my month's meals planned out and sitting in my freezer. That little extra stash frozen and safe is my deposit in the safe that I can feed my family. Sorry I can't offer much help with the menu but wanted to provide some emotional support!

We have a pre-paid verizon phone for the exact same reason. It is a dollar a day the phone is used and once used is free to call all verizon cell phones without a plan.

Rather than running try biking or swimming at least an hour a day. Running is a passive activity, biking requires concentration, coordination, attention as well as balance. Swimming requires the same using multiple parts of the brain.

My 15 month old DD is allergic to latex and can not have anything that contains latex or she will stop breathing. We have had to be very careful with cloth diapers that are not 100% cotton, BumGenius contains Spandex in some of their fabrics for the stretchability. The rash you are describing is very similar to how she breaks out when her skin contacts latex. Only with her following the rash she starts to squeak.

We are not in this position...yet as DSS and DSD are 9 and 11 although this type of situation has been something we have discussed. I would say this as a stepmom, stepmom relationships are different and as such we learn to see beyond the biology. If your DSS is treating the child as his own (DNA or not if he accepts the child as his, then he does have an obligation to that child) then I absolutely would treat this child as if it was my grandchild. It would be even harder for me to have a relationship with one grandchild and then not with the other when DSS has made the decision that he recognizes both as his. I immediately lump that into treating bio kids and step kids differently.

DD is 11 and in 6th grade at PS, she is struggling with reading the assigned book report books which are 4.2 and 4.3 grade level equivalencies. We just did a simple Wide Range reading test for kindergarten to college with her and her raw score was 43 or 4.3 so the books are on target for her while she is reading two grade levels below her current grade (almost 3) as we approach the end of the year. How would you recommend addressing this? Return to basic phonics? Continue with current reading and reading aloud for fluency and pronunciation?

The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter Absolutely amazing children's picture book about the Navajo Code Talkers from the perspective of a young boy and his grandfather.

There are two key words in this article that have me questioning the validity of the article as well as the HSLDA for representing this case as well as seeking donations based on this case. "Hershey Medical Center - a government hospital" Hershey Medical Center has not be a public or "government" hospital since 1997. At which time the hospital merged with a private health care company.

DH has 50/50 custody of his two older children. We have them every wed, thurs and every other weekend...Friday afternoon through Monday morning. Every week I am playing catch up, reteaching, corrected and reviewing the earlier in the week homework which they need as the foundation for the end of the week homework. The kids are missing basic building blocks so on top of trying to tread water and keep heads above water I would also love to be able to go back to the beginning with phonics, grammar and basic math skills. We do require 30 minutes of reading each night, which becomes a challenge as well. Explaining that the 30 minutes a night is not for school assigned reading but their own reading. Any suggestions on how to fill in the blanks...We have activities in the evenings on Wed and Thurs as well since that is the only time we have available. Is every other weekend to work on a top without reinforcement too long of a gap? The kids are 9 and 11. Thanks!

Walmart has actually been on saving grace in this department. They have in their girls section fruit of the loom sports bras, they are all cotton, sized 32 AA and up. No underwire, simple, modest cuts and works great for 11 year old. They look like a cami that has been cropped and a band sewn in.

This exactly for us! We love the 27" the price difference between the 21 and 27 inch made the bigger screen the obvious choice for us. It lives in the living room so we have the added ability to see what the kids are doing from a distance.

A family friend has given us the complete Hooked on Phonics set for DD which we will not start using for another couple of years. The set is the level 1-5 hooked on phonics learn to read with all of the flash cards, story books, and map with Cassette tapes. How much has the program changed over the years? Looking at the set we have it looks like there is only one volume for each level not two as shown on current website. If it worth buying the DVDs or should we just stick with the cassettes and hope they work? We still have a cassette player.

We use Shurley 6 for after schooling with 4th and 6th grader. Skip Level 5 of Shurley, Level 5 and 6 cover the exact same material (6 adds a single concept). I love how detailed it is and for me as an adult who has struggled with Grammar it is a great program for me as well.

Don't do it! We are in MD as well. We live in a home that is just shy of 50 years old. It was an estate sale purchased after the death of the original owners. It was and is a fixer upper. The repairs needed for your home are not at all consistent with the prices you are being given. Our entire bathroom (only one in the house) we completely re-did (including ripping open walls, replacing/reinforcing studs, concrete backer board, green board, new tile, new fixtures) cost us $2,000. We have completely redone our basement from wood panel to drywall, laminate flooring, light fixtures, etc for under $2,000 as well. Each year we are picking a project and updating/fixing that issue. We are approaching these remodels as our family of 5 lives in this home and we want this home if/when we sell to be in good condition for any family that moves into this home.

We are a biking family. We have a 22 mile ride next month, a 24 hour century (100 miles) at the end of summer and a full century in the early fall. Little One is 15 months, 30 inches tall and yesterday wanted a 12 inch balance bike. She can climb onto it and straddle the bar and walk the bike but is not tall enough to sit on the seat. We're looking into it for Christmas. Older kids bike history 12 inch bikes with training wheels - pedal brakes progressed to 16 inch with training wheels, then no training wheels - pedal brakes progressed to 20 inch, no training wheels, hand brakes progressed to 24 inch, gears and hand brakes 20 inch is the decision factor point...at that stage based on the child's abilities you can get a bike with or without hand brakes. Also, almost all 16 inch bikes come with training wheels which can easily be removed since many parents don't start their kids on two wheel bikes at the 12 inch size. Take little one to a reputable bike shop and have them fit him for a bike. Ours has an entire ruler on the wall with what height of child is, what size bike will work and what options are in that size.

My daughter had a milk and soy allergy for the first year of her life. The only reason it was diagnosed in our pediatrician has a child with an extreme form of protein intolerance. She was screaming after feedings and every feeding required a change of clothes and shower/bath for both of us.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE call stepmom first and talk to her! I am the stepmom to a 9 and 11 year old. Do not use your ex as the middle man...they are ex's for a reason and often the communication becomes such a game of telephone. Acknowledge your DS's stepmom as an adult in his life and that together all of the parents in his life need to be on the same page. You are concerned about what your DS has told you about her and her actions and would like to meet with her for coffee and discuss DS. Allow her the opportunity to express what she is seeing, observing or dealing with in regards to your DS. This is a very tough step to take but your family will be better for it. I am also stepmom the scapegoat and am blatantly lied about and misrepresented on a weekly basis by step-kids to their mom. (50/50 joint physical and legal custody) I have out of frustration yelled at my stepchildren am I proud of it...no. Do I love me step kids, yes. Are there days I hate them and wish they weren't in our home, yes. Does that make me the evil witch of west? Yes and No. I hate myself and how trying the situation becomes but thankfully the kids mom after 5 years has realized that the stories she used to believe wholeheartedly (they are her children after all) was in fact only 20% correct. I have started e-mailing kids mom every time that I raise my voice to them or get frustrated and yell. I explain the situation that occurred, my feelings and how I reacted and then proactively dealt with the situation. This also no longer provides the wiggle room for step kids to change or misrepresent what occurred. There is much more going on here than meets the eye. I just last night had a breakthrough with my step daughter, she was lying about me, blaming me for breaking her things while she wasn't at our home, purposely ignoring any instruction or direction that I gave her. Purposely leaving me out but would invite dad and step-dad together to events with her. When I finally got through to her with lots and lots of calm discussion she admitted that if she included me, loved me or showed she cared about me that she would be hurting her mom. Her answer to ensure that she did not hurt her mom was to always make me the bad guy. By treating me badly she guaranteed that she was not betraying her mother or hurting her mother's feelings.

Yes, you should have been given a copy of the Tdap CDC vaccine paperwork at a minimum. It is required to be provided to patients for all vaccinations. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-dtap.pdf You can request a copy of the medical records from the ED where he was seen to confirm if you did or did not sign consent for the vaccine administration.

There is a tetanus only vaccine for children under 7, it is a special order vaccine as most hospitals and clinics are now carrying only Tdap particularly in California due to the high incidences of pertussis. You should have had to sign an informed consent document stating the exact vaccine your child was given. If you did not sign this informed consent for Tdap and it was still administered to your child then yes you would have a course of action to pursue.

Sorry, no not talking about now for a baby. We know she is a baby and we have several years. The reason I am asking is for my DH who is the stay at home parent and the one who will be home schooling. It is easier for him to have an idea of what will be expected in the school years so that he can start training himself. He wants to know what recording keeping he would need to do so that he can work his way into it. For example he likes the Slow and Steady Get Me Ready and has been doing an activity each week but he also likes bouncing around and is frustrated that he doesn't remember which ones they did and which ones they haven't. Right now the two of them spend their days doing what ever interests them, walks in the park, gardening, etc.

Thank you! That makes me feel a lot better. Our state does require formal reporting up to three times a year. Sounds like we just have to keep a log of what we do already and she's only 1.5 years old. We talk about health foods, eating a rainbow plate, brushing teeth, hair, taking a bath. PE is also something we do already. She is getting a trailer bike hopefully this weekend and spends hours outside each day with DH running, playing and hiking.