Reducing an exercise set or compacting the curriculum is fine if there is nothing to be gained. One has to skip knowledgably, though, or the student will not develop insight or valuable knowledge. An example from prealgebra is factoring and exponents: do enough and you'll realize how powerful 2 is and easily know your factors of 2. Skip a lot b/c the exercise is repetitive and you'll have trouble in algebra because you don't know all the ways 64 (for ex) can be made with primes and squares. An example from algebra is factoring trinomials...skip the few later exercises that have the student factor a negative number out first and he won't develop a key insight that will be valuable in the years to come.

This was my fave for this year, but it sold out so fast I didn't get a set. Basic Bricks Deluxe # 6166 is a nice starter set as it has a good color mix. Add the House Builder Set #5899 for one set of wheels and 2 minifigs or the Car Building Set # 5898 for 2 sets of wheels and 1 minifig you're good to go. Your gals might also enjoy mosaics: http://club.lego.com/en-us/news/newsdetails.aspx?id=40786 Lego used to sell a kit for this, but you can use any plate and pieces you have. My kids enjoy making them and hanging them on the wall.

9 was fine for us - this is what ds did in 4th grade and he's still loving it. The book gives you a good idea of the possibilties; Borders here carries it.

Magic School Bus The Littles Bobbsey Twins Riverside Kids series by Johanna Hurwitz Harry the Poisonous Centipede Carolyn Haywood's Betsy series Cam Jansen possibly CatWings The Ink Drinker

>>We've had this disagreement about things before. Like there was a book in the old Sonlight Sci 5 called AN INTRODUCTION TO WORD PROCESSING. She had already been using Microsoft Word for some time. The book is very basic. It starts with "This is the power cord to the computer...this is the keyboard...this is the mouse." We skipped to the first thing that I knew she didn't know how to do and started there. He said then that I ought to make her do all the other pages too, even though once I showed them to him, he knew she knew how to do them. There's your answer, right there "I showed..."...your husband needs to see, not hear about what you're doing. Sounds like a good excuse for coffee and dessert while you have your parent-teacher conference and show how you placed her, the portfolio and plans... I would acknowledge his extremely valid point - the 'use it or lose it' point - and show the plan for retention of skills, whether it is in the current math series, the review, a semester exam, or whatever. I'd also show acheivement test results - they should be very high if true mastery was acheived. With us, we use Dolciani which is very convenient because it includes cumulative review sets in those skills that students tend not to use in real life and it builds...i.e. whole numbers are not used for everything once pre-algebra arrives. They have to use fraction and decimal operations as they learn new material, which totally beats doing a page of review. We also do math counts problems. He may also be kinda sorta asking about fluency - the ultimate mastery - , maybe remembering back to his own schooling. Usually working all the problems helps a non-math brain child build fluency once they've mastered the concept. I prefer to do this in lesson , rather than review mode. Math brains don't need to do as many to attain fluency. One can judge fluency by the time taken to solve the problem or work the exercise as well as by the ability to easily explain the concept and the procedure, in both symbols, pics and words. Your dh might need to see how you judge mastery and fluency in order to be comfortable with your child skipping problems. It's great that he is so concerned about an excellent math education.

I would call the Dr. if your dd's skin was cut and ask if you need to do anything more than disinfect the wounds. Fingernails are notorious for harboring germs. This person should not be supervising children ever again. I would file a written complaint, including photos, with the provider of the class. Should you have to make a Dr.'s visit, you may be able to recoup your costs in small claims court -- here the judge will award you your costs for dealing with dog bites, so I"m sure it's just as easy for human attacks.

You could use heavier paper to make the boards and then take them to a teacher/learning store to have laminated. Could then glue to a heavier backing or just roll up. The laminator will have a thickness maximum, so the paper and attachments would have to be chosen with that in mind.

My son's best friend unexpectedly passed recently..I was so in shock I needed to just sit down and have several hours for myself and my son before I could move on and do the other things that needed to be done. If your V-P could take over on this one, it would be helpful.:grouphug:

When I was at that age, free reading and band were the only in school answers. However, once pre-algebra was reached, independent study was an option - what worked for me was to take the math class period and do what I could, rather than just do the suggested short assignment and quit very early. My district was using a Dolciani type of text so it was very easy to do independently, with occasionally consultations w/the teacher. How about adding in problem solving in Math? Free problems are available at low cost: http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/curriculum/Math%20Superstars/mathsuperstars.htm https://mathcounts.org/Page.aspx?pid=1537 Life skills, such as cooking and sewing could also be added in instead of waiting until Gr. 6. Health, art and other P.E. skill modules could be added in.

tools multitool (leatherman knockoff) crafting tools (pliers, wires,beads) wallet or billfold purse cute hat/glove combos for gals backpack or courier bag swim cap or goggles, tennis racket, tennis balls, bball, skateboard bearings weights, lacrosse stick bike tube repair kit, multisport helmet hooded sweatshirts or sweatpants w/high school name (the local bigbox discounter here sells them for all the neighboring school districts)

6th is a very busy year here as it's the year honors selections are made. The homework for a kid that is on top of things & makes the honors cut takes about 2 hrs a night, 4 and usually 5 nights a week. Add about 15 min per night in for studying. A kid that's struggling will not have time to study during the week and will use the weekend to catch up. Social Studies: taught by lecture/discussion/class activities maps of physical features and major cities needs to be memorized vocab words usually assigned to be defined as homework text not used although issued; notes are given in class end of section questions only assigned on the rare occasion class has sub project or paper for each unit of the 8 units; projects are usually chosen from a list - could be a paper, a poster, an artwork peice showing certain things, a model w/descriptive paragraph, etc. and will involve a graded oral presentation. Science: text reading optional although necessary if top grades desired or missed class taught by lecture/discussion/class activities/lab review worksheets are used must study and understand to do well; cannot memorize through this class Math: 4-12 problems for h.w.; class is taught as monkey see, monkey do..i.e. they are shown an algorithm and enough demos to catch on. sometimes they will do board work; no notes given, no text used, teacher generated worksheets; text available if student wishes to use it for study or add'l problem sets Writing: across the curriculum...science has labs, ss has essay, narratives, or project, reading will have summaries, a book report, and at least 75 paragraph responses to questions over the six+ novels read, computer lab and music will have paragraphs, English will have one research paper, and teach the five paragraph essay. WriteSource for Gr. 6 was a perfect description of what is taught in Gr. 6 here for writing.

Candy cane sleds...the bell on top will make it tie in to the music theme!! http://www.shavkin.com/candysled.html Hershey kiss mice: http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/mice-ornaments-661236/

I'd have to disagree. Many folks in this position think the money goes further if they buy the junk rather than the milk b/c they get more servings and it's more filling. If they thought they had enough $$, they'd buy the milk and the formula. I don't know the price by you, but by us milk just went back down under the price of a gallon of gas (mainly b/c gas just went up in the last month)..about $2.39 /gal for milk. Formula has always been pricey. Soda, on the other hand is 79 cents for 2 liters. Don't worry about it...fruit juice - watered down or 100% - is off the list these days. Empty calories plus tooth decay - they are better off with water and if they are truly thirsty they'll drink it. I wouldn't eat a veggie burger either! No offense, but there are so many more tastier ways of combining bread and veggies. With kids though, a lot of it is the approach..some kids you'll never sell into taking a food adventure, but others will. Try peanut butter/honey dip with the fruit and veggies in a nonconfrontational manner..most hungry kids like this. The ones that aren't hungry and are dead set against veggies won't try. Anyone that's truly hungry will always take the alternate lunch of pbj or cheese sandwich. Well, she's not having a kid all by herself and the idea that it's right to parent this way is probably modeled in both their family environments. There's nothing wrong with extended family caring for children - many cultures do this. There's not much you can do other than be a role model and a safe haven when necesssary, unless of course your dh has some influence over the dad and you can spare him to exercise his influence. Put downs won't help, but respect and friendly assistance will. Soon enough the little ones will be out fishing too. At least they'll know one way of getting food, which is better than none.

We've found SQ3R to be worthwhile for courses that are mostly reading based (social studies, biology). http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/college-success/26666.html

bike rack or trailer camping gear bbq lawn furniture lawn games balls - kickball, tennis balls, volleyball, practice golf balls, wiffle balls, etc outdoor lighting good quality toaster pancake griddle pet

Gas is one of the biggest expenses for us. Carpooling, schedule changes, and work from home are ways to cut the gas consumption. I know several people who switched to motorcycle or moped and a few more to Prius to get daily commuting costs down. Others carpool to do the weekly grocery shopping. Even though you mentioned not being able to cut rent or utilities, it may be possible. With rent, some landlords will negotiate a reduction if market conditions are right and if you are a tenant they want to keep. Here it is quite common to get a discount for paying promptly on the first of the month. You might also get a reduction in return for labor - perhaps they have a common area or laundry that needs to be kept clean and presentable daily if you're in a multi-unit or perhaps yardwork or maintenance if you're in a house. My mother, for ex., was out vacuuming the carpet in the stairwell by her unit, when the rental agent came in..she was offered a rent reduction on the spot in return for agreeing to continue vacuuming daily during the week. If the rental people are paying the utilities, you might negotiate an arrangement where consuming less than they assume gets you a share of the savings. On the utilities, if you are paying for them, or you're looking to be in a position to negotiate a rent reduction, there are many ways to save. Aside from the standard suggestions, we use the mellow yellow procedure so we don't run up the sewer & water bill flushing a few ounces every few hours X # of people. Low flow waterhead and timer on the shower. With clothing, just like coats, we don't automatically wash everything after one wear. With electric; up with the sun and be in the room with the sunlight or outdoors rather than using artificial lighting..CFL everywhere else. Unplug the vampires. Turn the water heater setting down; setback the heat at night to 50F. Plasticate any window that the landlord needs to replace; it'll cut down drafts as well as get the heating use down.

I can sympathize..a relative that is a nurse was the first to hand my toddler a can of soda. The belief is that if you feed the child meat and sugar he will grow big and tall. Tall and big are seen as good b/c less people mess with the kid. The child will change the diet towards healthy if he gets involved in sports (typically football) and the coach pushes healthy. The parents will support the change b/c they are looking for a scholarship. Occasionally I've seen a teen change b/c they become aware that thinness is desireable in the opposite sex...but parents don't usually support it. I would guess that there are money issues if the baby never has formula or the older children never have milk. Fruit juice, by the way, is now discouraged by the pediatricians b/c it adds calories to the daily diet that really should have come from nutrient dense food. The change to a better diet can come from anywhere...snacks the children have enjoyed at other places such as preschool or relatives, 4-H, scouts, etc but the children are stuck if the parents won't bring nutritious food in the house and get the children out for exercise. With 5 little ones, mama is probably very busy. Perhaps the extended family would have time on Sunday afternoon to cut up veggie snacks for the little ones for the week, and watch the children while someone helps mama thru the weekly meal planning and some preparation? If the older kids can reason and inquire as to why you're not chowing down on junk, you might tell them why soda is sooo attractive to the brain and what the effects of aspartame and nutrasweet are. Don't give up on leading by example...it will become a part of their life to realize that the healthy relatives can moderate their diet and choose to say no to the junk food mania etc and enjoy real food and one day they will realize that they can choose to have that power over themselves also. In the meantime, I'd find out what type of forumula the baby is supposed to be having and have it on hand when sitting. You can also introduce the baby to appropriately textured real foods if you're sitting during meal or snack time as it will help the baby acquire the taste for them.

Our nuclear family IS important. Our relationships as husband and wife and parents with children ARE important. Some relatives cannot accept this and use the idea of 'family' to negate our nuclear family relationships in favor of perpetuating their childhood and/or avoiding aging. It is not healthy for our nuclear family to pretend that our relationships don't deserve as much or more time as the extended family relationships. We have run into the living too close problem. Every single inlaw is over for something or , most frequently, asking dh over for something that 'only he can do' every single weekend that there is not a 'family' party. None speak to anyone other than their blood relatives. It seriously impairs the relationship of the children to their father, and to my teen's ability to develop appropriate skills that his father should be teaching him - but instead their 'dad time' is robbed because of the demand on his time from his 'real' family. My son's scoutmaster has done more with my son this year than his dad, due to the needy/greedy 'family'. Let's see - 6 siblings, 2 grandparents - all are ticked off because he can only give them each 1 weekend day per month and he works a non-gov't job so doesn't get home as early as the non-disabled ones do. The nuclear family gets no weekend time. So I have no problem taking Christmas morning for us and am looking forward to moving. Were I to continue going over on Christmas morning, it would be the same dysfunction as usual - I'd rather sit in my chair at home with a cup of tea while my kids enjoy themselves than in someone else's kitchen working as the servant while my kids are ignored in the back room. I had one SIL that set her law down when she turned 40 - "I am NOT sitting on the floor...I will be gone with your son or he will be divorced if you cannot be civil and provide seating to the nonblood members". My status as a wife and mother counts and should be respected as well as my hubby's status as a father and husband. He is not just a child or a brother. And dh was not dragged around to the grandparents on Christmas as a child nor were any of his cousins.

You might find some inspiration in this list: http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/serviceideas.shtml My kids volunteer at the library annual yard sale...many folks need help moving their goods to/from their vehicle, especially with lifting things into and out of the trunks. They also help with the summer reading program and the used book sales.

MegaWords 1, just the spelling part, was the fix for us. Ds simply needed the rules that he had not inferred for himself, since he was a self-taught reader.

Need to lift and tote heavy things. Need to wrestle. Inability to put dirty plate in dishwasher rather than sink. The smell...my bros showered at school after sports before coming home...never knew it was that bad. The sensitivity.

Make two ornaments - one to keep and one to give away. String popcorn and cranberry garlands & put on a tree outside. Go ice skating or tubing Carol with our youth group Attend a community holiday concert Donate used or new toy

The in-laws had a rough time..they wanted us to be there every moment on Dec 24 & 25, but did not have the inclination to provide for our family's needs. Several nasty things were said and done and I just took my kids home (sometimes for the attacks by their cousins, sometimes the lying about dinner time leaving my preschooler with nothing to eat for hours, etc etc), leaving dh to enjoy the dysfunction. After a few years, dh had enough and left with us at a pre-arranged time. We now enjoy real food at our house, we have time to set up our presents under the tree, leave Santa his snack, read Christmas Stories to our children, and enjoy our day. We still do visit FIL&MIL on Christmas Day, but we don't show up at 7 a.m. and we don't stay until the wee hours of the a.m. One of their greatest concerns was their gift giving protocol...it is as dysfunctional as the rest of their holiday, but they chilled after we assured them that we would make sure their precious gifts would be there to open even if we weren't. This worked out very well for me, as I now don't have to explain the dollar store vs. very expensive gift choices. My feeling is that the years the children are young are short, and I'm not about to let the grandparents steal my stable homelife and enjoyable holiday from me.

Sounds like son has forgotten his U.S. History. Many children have grown up healthily with just the family around for long lengths of time. A once a month or a seasonal trip into town was fine for childhood. I do hear these things from my teen about his sib. I remind him that introverts and extroverts are different, and that being at school doesn't mean he'll meet compatible people. The pool to draw from is relatively small, b/c of the location we are in and my inability to welcome violent or mean children into our home.

Have you thought about nursing homes, residential homes, and hospice and respite providers? Also night security here is usually available...not a lot of teens want the weekend detail at the mall for example.