My dd called EVERY meat by it's animal name and would ask which animal was in every.single.dish. If she asked what I was cooking, she only wanted to know if it had pig, cow, or chicken, lol! Hamburger was really confusing to her and she would say, "So it's pig?" She finally decided that was a bad name for it and we say meatburger to this day! (Somewhere along the way 'meat' came to always mean cow. :001_huh:)

My ds had a funny substitution, too! He would often sub /sh/ for /qu/. Like your story, it's not a problem for queen (sheen) and quick (shick)... but when you yell quit it doesn't go over quite so well - especially when talking to an annoying classmate in Sunday School! Thankfully that sound has changed to a /k/ and we're still working on the /qu/.

:iagree: I really struggle with this and my dd. Her room has WAY too many toys that she doesn't really play with anymore, but is severely attached to them. I let them stay because for the longest time it was a battle just to get obvious trash thrown away. She came to tears over a brown paper towel from a store bathroom!!! :001_huh: I tried the get rid of it in secret route and that caused a LOT more problems because she missed every.single.item and would cry about missing it and it being lost. Thankfully, now that she's 9, she's starting to see the value in a little bit of decluttering.... but it's coming VERY slowly. She still has papers she did in preschool that she won't part with. She has a paper drawer and we have the same rule about when it gets full, but somehow she manages to cram even more stuff in there. Oh, one thing we do with artwork and such is to send it to family whenever the piles get too much to handle. We spread it between 2 sets of grandparents and one great-grandparent.

My dd used to put on her swimsoup to get in the pool and always wanted a warm glass of nuk (rhymes with book) before bed. She also liked to watch bidwoes (videos) we recorded of Daddy playing with her. Ds would go to nack-nack (gymnastics) and at night would fall fast afweep.

I LOVE this! I might have to steal it and use it with my dd. Now that she's 9 it seems like every request is open to debate. :glare:

When I was in high school, we had an open campus because there was no cafeteria. My friend had been cleaning out her garage and had a bunch of dusty boxes in the back of her station wagon when we all went to lunch. What I didn't know was that there was a scorpion in those boxes and it caught a ride in MY HAIR! I was back in the classroom before a classmate noticed it and I freaked! We somehow got it knocked out of my hair without beating my head too much and squished it on the floor, but not before it had stung me on my neck and finger.... and I had to finish out the rest of the day at school.:glare:

"Does (insert name of whoever is crying) look like he/she's having fun? Then stop!" "Is that yours?" Followed closely by, "Did you ask?"

I use those plastic grocery sacks I get to take my stuff home in whenever I buy something... at Walmart.:leaving: Honestly, though, Walmart's sacks are the biggest and they fit better than any other ones I've tried.

I remembered a few more, too. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. More ___ than you can shake a stick at. I'm gonna hang you from the clothesline by your toenails.

We like most of those mentioned, too. Here are some others: Andy Griffith Jane & the Dragon Dog Whisperer Upside Down Show (I don't know if this is still on Noggin since we haven't had cable is over a year, but it was GREAT!) Super Friends MacGyver

For the most part I do. But I do not require them to share things like a Leapster or DS (they just don't get brought out unless the other kids has something similar or just likes to watch it being played). Now, if it's a kid I'm just watching occaisionally I normally ask them to put away anything they're not willing to share until they go home. I also tell my dc when they're getting ready to go to a friend's house that anything they take over needs to be shared or it's not going! Of course, I assume you're just talking about sharing with your 8 yr old and not the youngest, right?

I've always heard, "That's about as useful as a screen door on a submarine." Also my mom would tell us whenever we would do something that made her nervous: "If you fall and break your leg, don't come running to me!"

:iagree: Me, too! My dd just makes me shake my head and chuckle to myself sometimes.

Oh... and our student council plans field trips that happen on days other than group meeting days. No one is required to attend, but the option is there. We've done lighthouse tours, plantation tours, theme parks, ice skating, aquarium with a behind the scenes tour, etc.

We haven't had our yearly planning mtg yet, but we do have a general schedule and standing events that happen every year so here's the basic yearly stuff: We meet from 10-2 once a week from Aug-May and most of those days are at parks like you mentioned. One mtg is a general play for the kids and mom's time to talk. One works on Presidential Fitness requirements. One is a 1st Friday event at a local skating rink. The owner lets us skate for a discount and we hold public speaking (show & tell for the littles), chess club, kid's crafts, student council mtg, and honor society mtg on that day. We try to have at least one main event a month: Field Day - usual relay races, games, contests, cook-out with ribbons for prizes Historical Character Day - around Halloween where each student researches a person from history, dresses up like them, delivers a 1st person presentation and everyone tries to guess who they are Sand Sculpture Day - my town is near the beach Art Fair Science Fair International Day - research a country, do a display and presentation, and cook a food from that country to share Camp Don Lee - a whole day at a local camp for a team building challenge course for the olders and a craft/natural day for youngers Christmas Crafts Valentine's Party - everyone makes their own box to hold valentines and they get judges in age group categories Thanksgiving Celebration - traditional Thanksgiving meal (most years) with games and fellowship Every family is in charge of at least one event during the year and can do with it whatever they wish. Our group is not large either. Last year we had about 10 families, but we had a BLAST! HTH

:iagree: It always irks me when people can't seem to describe another person except by color of their skin or nationality!

:grouphug::grouphug: A former member of my homeschooling group is going through something similar with her daughter, except that the daughter was already in her 2nd year of college. Also, this former member's dh IS the pastor of their church. They, too, thought they had raised her to be different from the world and wait until marriage. I won't say it hasn't been tough for them, but the child is born now and she absolutely gushes with joy over this grandchild! The mistake was made and could not be taken back; the only choice was to accept it and move forward. You say your daughter knows what she did was wrong and is repentant.... this is the perfect way to minister to others about Jesus. We are ALL sinners and fall away, but He loves us still and desires us to repent and come to Him for the forgiveness He freely bestows! I pray you and your family find the strength to love as Christ loves and to keep your heads high in light of His grace!

Daisy and ereks mom... :grouphug: for what you each had to endure in your childhood. I am a PK, too, but had a far different experience. Yes, my father worked amazingly long hours and I spent as much time at the church as I did at home, but he also made sure to spend time with my sister and I. We would ride our bikes to the park to fly kites on a Sat morning or simply get up extra early on Sun and all walk to church as a family even though it was about a half mile or so away. Even if he had evening mtgs or other commitments, he would make it a point to be home for supper together and then leave again after spending time talking with us at the table. I distinctly remember him refusing to even buy an answering machine, let alone a pager, because of not wanting to be innundated by requests when he returned home. He would borrow one once every year when he needed to take in certain reports from some associational thing and then return it to whomever lent it. I will say that he expected the best from us as kids... but it was always OUR best, not some preconceived idea of perfection. As long as we were honest with him, ourselves, and others and owned our own mistakes, he was satisfied. Of course, I say he ruined me in a completely different way. I grew up with a father who was endlessly patient, never raised his voice or hand in anger, always took time to listen even when he was exhausted, disciplined with grace and love, and daily sacrificed his desires for the needs of his family and friends without regret or self-rightousness or complaint. The most you would hear from him is sometimes a tired sigh or a shaking of the head. I thought that kind of man was normal and expected... not the exception to the rule and have had a VERY difficult marriage partly because of these expectations of how a husband and father should behave. I was 3 when my father entered his first full-time church position as youth minister/assoc. pastor/minister of ed., but Mom says he started preaching at the age of 17 when he first felt the calling. In these 32 yrs he's only been on staff at 3 separate churches. I think back on my childhood and fervently wish that my dc could have a father like mine. I won't go into details, but "d"h and I have been separated for over a year and he has only spent about 8 days total with the kids since Jan (while only working part-time and living less than an hour away). We went through pre-marital counseling and I thought I was marrying a man who viewed things the same way I did and who was on the same page spiritually, but he was one of those who simply knew all the right answers and was a completely different person at home than in church within 1 yr of our wedding.

I don't know really know about how long an avg 9 yr old should be able to read since my dd is still struggling in that area, but you might want to post the same question over on the special needs board. There are MANY knowledgable people there who may not frequent this board. I will say that a developmental optometrist would test for lots of different issues besides just visual acuity. I believe my dd would benefit from vision therapy, but it's not covered by our insurance and we don't have the available funds to cover it right now. Hope you find the answers you need!

I haven't read all the replies, but having grown up the daughter of a pastor I felt the need to chime in. When my father became the associate pastor of my home church, he was also the youth minister, the Sunday school director, and the Minister of Education. He had already received a college degree and gone to Seminary for a Masters. He had two small children to care for and school loans to pay. He probably worked more than 50 hours every week with his ministry duties. He made nursing home visits, hospital visits, shut-in visits, planned the curriculum for every single Sunday School class, organized committee meetings (and attended most of them), counseled families and youth, organized and led mission trips, attended to the business of the church (researching and buying office equipment, meeting with those who requested help with bills or food, etc)... the list goes on and on. On top of this he also volunteered his time working as the boy's camp director for the entire association, was on the state leadership board for our denomination, and was on call 24/7 for anyone who needed his help. There was NO time for what you would call a regular paying job. Our church was not an exceptionally large church either. We would average about 300 in attendance on Sunday mornings. Of course, our church also paid its other workers as well. The secretary, janitor, groundskeeper, and nursery workers were all paid a small wage. All wages were voted on yearly and could be increased or decreased according to how much money was being given in tithes and offerings. The whole church body voted and the people serving in those positions were asked to leave the business meeting so that others could speak freely without worrying about hurting feelings. I can certainly say that he could have made a LOT more money if he had worked an outside job because there were many, many months if not years where we were barely scraping by as a family. He felt, however, that he was called to ministry full-time and made many sacrifices to be able to fulfill his calling.

It was an unusually cold and long winter that lasted through spring. Now summer is unusually hot and dry where I'm sitting. I was able to keep my ac off last summer and just keep the windows open, but not this year! I keep my thermostat set at about 83 and it still runs most all.day.long... but at least it's cooler than outside.

I've read this whole thread and honestly I think that auto makers need to make their seatbelts more adjustable so that they properly fit smaller bodies! According to the height restrictions and the five-point test... I (and many friends and family) would have needed a booster through at least 1 yr of college! There are still vehicles I get in where my feet don't sit flat on the floor, the lap portion rides up to my stomach, and the shoulder belt is on my neck. My mother would prefer that I drive a car w/o a driver's airbag because of how close I have to sit to the wheel in order to reach the pedals - which of course makes the seat belt ride closer to my neck, too. She's afraid that the force at which it comes out will be too great. Small adults need to be kept safe as well as children! I have been in many car accidents over many years (none my fault btw), but was hurt worse in those where I was buckled in as opposed to those where I was not wearing a seat belt at all. :confused: And for the record, my dd was in a 5-point harness until she was almost 5, but my ds was in a booster with a back at just under 4 yrs old.

:grouphug: I don't know of any specific forums or whatever.... but I am on a very similar road and perhaps the same one. Feel free to pm me if you wish. I may not always respond quickly, but I will respond. I, too, often think of what I had envisioned and what is becoming reality, but I always go back to my grandfather's favorite hymn: When peace like a river attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well, with my soul

My ds is about the same age and he doesn't like to play outside by himself either. He will stay out for hours with his sister or a friend, though. I think he just likes the companionship. When you say he won't play while you're gardening, how close is the garden to his play area? Is it close enough for him to look over and see you watching him from time to time or to talk to each other without stopping what either of you are doing? I've found that ds is more than happy doing his own thing as long as we are close enough that he can talk to me about what he is playing/imagining. If he has to stop playing to come find me in order to let me know about some important part of his game or some discovery, he'll just stay hanging around 'till I'm done and ask about going inside. But if he can yell out something quick and get a response, he'll keep on playing. HTH

I just wanted to chime in about the enlisting with a GED. My "d"h was homeschooled from 5th grade on in a state with absolutely no homeschooling requirements. He decided to take the GED test at the age of 17 and did receive it. He decided to enlist after 9/11 and had no problems entering the Marine Corps at the age of 22. Granted, he did have some college credit by this time, but no diploma of any sort. As long as your ASVAB scores are good, I don't see where having a GED would cause a problem. Good luck!