I've had Costco memberships and lived without them. I personally waste more money on unnecessary things when we have a membership. I also buy more convenience and junk food. It does have good deals and some nice things - I am so glad for the flashlights we have from there, for instance. There are some things at Costco that are cheaper, but I don't really NEED two year's worth of ziploc baggies in my closet, and I am quite sure with the way the food is so bulk that we ended up wasting more food too. I've never had Amazon Prime, but don't feel like I've missed out not having it anyways. It doesn't really matter for where I live, and I can always wait for an Amazon order to be over the minimum shipping amount. In general, it is cheaper for me to shop at a local chain grocery store than either Costco or Amazon. I do miss the artichoke asiago dip, though. Yum.

I'm so sorry!

We're in the process right now. If you decide which avenue you are pursuing (domestic infant, through foster care, international), there are a lot of specific resources to look through. We're pursuing adopting a child with medical needs from China. There is a very good website No Hands But Ours that has a lot of information on the different medical needs there are and what that is like for the child/family. They also have informative blog posts about a lot of aspects of adoption, although it is from the "adopting from China" perspective.

I used to live in that world too. Where I live now, people do not generally dwell in the world of ideas and books. I'm sure people here generally go by "friendly, approachable, and interesting" too - but what makes someone appear that way? Here, it seems to me that clothing plays a part in it. FWIW, I feel badly that my description makes the people around me sound petty. I don't think most of them are. I don't think they'd say it matters to them - but in observing them I see that it does. I wish I knew where that NPR "article" was - I'll look for it. Well, this isn't the thing I heard on NPR, but it is one of many articles talking about the concept.

There's truth to what you are saying, but that is more of a mini-culture of acceptance of various deviations from the norm. Through high school it was more about brand names and such. After, it is more about fashion and trends (and subtle nods to brands/quality of items). I can guarantee you that I am treated quite differently if I wear my jeans and hoodie compared to if I wear my more trendy mom-type clothes. It is much *less* pronounced in the homeschooling world, but it's still there too. I never bought into the tall boot trend, and I set myself apart from about 75% of middle aged women by not doing so. They don't hate me or mock me for it, but it does affect relationships. ETA: I don't know that they would even recognize the issue as such, but it is underneath the surface. And it does go both ways for me too. I often wonder about the people who do seem to keep on top of the trends. I don't actually find it a positive attribute - I tend to find it shallow and feel like it signals to me a possible discrepancy in values in relation to $$ and self-esteem (some current fashions seem to me like they are trying too hard to show off bodies). But not out loud or all the time or anything. I have plenty of people I like who aren't out of fashion, and I suppose if I lost a few pounds I'd be more tempted to buy a few new tops myself. ;)

FWIW, I think *this* perspective/attitude is what *is* different about a lot of homeschooling families (and it is often reflected in the kids). Like it or not, the world *does* judge based on what people wear and how we do our makeup (or not). Personally, I tend to forget that fact. I forget that whatever my opinion is, I am stuck in "the game" where what you wear and how you style your hair does classify you to those around you. It isn't just about being relatively clean and presentable, it's about being fashionable. I heard an interesting piece on NPR a few months ago about it (sorry, don't recall the show). It really drove home to me how naive I am in this area and how important appearances are to a lot of people in the world. ETA: Oh, and for things people have said to me - one I really didn't know what do to with was that her son was off at a Bible college, but wasn't finding anyone decent to date because the girls were all homeschooled girls. So they were nice and everything, but all too weird to date. And this person knows we homeschool.

We have this book, which has a lot of neat pictures. It was one of those $10 coffee table books for sale at Barnes and Noble when I got it. These are books compiled by First Nations people themselves, so they are likely to have the best perspective. You'd have to dig through to find what you are looking for. I don't know of one in particular.

:grouphug: Thoughts and Prayers.

Thank my lucky stars I never agreed to convert my account over to Canada! They keep asking me, and I say no. I still have a US address too, thankyouverymuch! If you have a US account and are in Canada, it does work. I don't know about a Canadian account, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't. We've had such a hard time getting our firetv to work properly. When I last called Amazon about it they said it was because we are in Canada.

Our library has a number of the disks from the Animated Tales version. We didn't watch Othello, but many others. They are about 30 minutes long, IIRC. Summaries intermingled with original language, IIRC. It's an introductory version, but I highly recommend them.

Roughly 1 lesson is completed in a week. If there is more writing, it takes a bit longer. Less writing, shorter. We don't do it 5 days a week, though. I'd say 3-4.

Moving up doesn't really sound like it will solve the problems. The other kids will be in the same class again fairly soon (as they will be older also). I am not sure what the answer is. Would it work for the current Sunday School teacher to just do direct Biblical study on the passages that correspond with the curriculum for the week? They could dig deeply into word meanings, related texts, etc.

I'm so sorry.

How do they do that? Have a bouncer at the door? Telling someone they aren't welcome doesn't stop them from coming if they choose to. In the situation I knew of, there was no particular recourse the leadership of the church could take, as the person chose to continue attending out of spite. Sure, they didn't have any leadership roles anymore (etc.), but attendance is open to the public. ETA: I understand grace for sin and repentance, this situation really included no repentance and continual spite and vicious behavior. Nothing illegal, though.

FWIW, I was aware of a situation where someone had done some pretty awful things, but still attended the church. It was frustrating, but the staff explained that the church is a public space, and anyone who is not breaking the law is allowed to be there. The staff of the church doesn't really have control or power over those who attend - they only have the authority that people choose to give them. They can't make anyone do anything. They can't force anyone to do counselling, or not come anymore. From what I was told, it is not legal for them to do so. They can make suggestions and encourage things, but they can't actually "do" anything about situations like this.

I have one of those too - the easy is hard and the hard is easy. It's very puzzling, but once you get your mind around it, quite freeing. Higher order thinking is more fun than rote memory work anyways. :)

Well, when we got our scores, I was told that they would not calculate a FSIQ with scores as far apart as ours (and there was less of a spread than you mentioned, as I recall). They said it would be a meaningless number and an inaccurate reflection of anything. They said the GAI was a better reflection, but still tinged by issues of perfectionism and anxiety. (If it's 100 C in the pot of boiling water, and 0 C in the freezer, it doesn't make it 50 C in the room - averaging things out doesn't always make sense.) Also, FWIW, if a child has very high scores in an area, it is worthwhile to find out if they maxed out the test ("hit the ceiling") because this actually means the high scores would have been higher if the test went further. This can also affect scores, and not everyone will take this into account. ETA: For math, it would be interesting to consider what areas of math come easily to your daughter and what is hard. Perhaps she has very good mathematical reasoning, but the memorizing of facts is difficult.

So, for the IQ, are you looking at a Full Scale IQ score or the GAI? If it is Full Scale, that shouldn't even be on the results with the spread you have. Anxiety can lower scores, if it causes a person to not show their understanding or abilities. FWIW, Algebra in 8th grade isn't an insane idea for a child who is decent at math. No need to be profoundly gifted to do it, just need to have the foundation and be ready. I think it is even fairly standard in some places (California, maybe?) for kids to all do Algebra in 8th grade nowdays.

If your DD is 9 and has good phonics understanding and comprehension, it is not a big deal. Just point out the word, get her to fix it and move on. I have a child who does this A LOT and it was/is a problem. I have another child who does this sometimes - it is actually just an effect of fairly fluent reading when the child is far enough along/ good if they need to be. It means they are reading along/ahead as they go, so they can have good intonation and anticipate where the sentences are going. It's good to catch them when they are reading aloud, but not to make a big deal of it. Just fix and move on.

Beast Academy Zaccoro LoF (with drill book like Rod and Staff)

My kids and I loved Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. We liked the sequel too. I'm actually quite excited, the third book is coming out this fall. FWIW, we listened to them as audiobooks, so that may have altered how we experienced them, but we have listened to them multiple times (to see how the different parts from the different stories fit together).

If something is going on, I don't think it is particularly public, even if other known people will be at the hotel. An easy - "oh, just chatting with our neighbor" and it is cleared. It's not like people hang out watching other people go to their hotel rooms. FWIW, the textingneighbor says that the whole family is going to be there, but that is not a known thing. IF this is something fishy, textingneighbor is just as invested in having this be covered up as lyinghusband. Just to bring it back to the beginning - the initial text, its response, and subsequent lies point to it being more than a family overnight at the hotel in conjunction with a business meeting.

I'm sorry. It sounds so stressful and chaotic. It is good that you are able to be helpful to others in the midst of it all.

Wow, sorry to hear about the fire, Barb. It sounds like one of those situations where there are so many things to do it is hard to figure out what to do first/second/third/etc. I hope it comes together without too much stress, and that your insurance company is supportive and helpful.

Not "how to" books, but Temple Grandin is autistic and high functioning, and has written a number of books which give insight into the perspective of someone with autism/aspergers. Additionally, one I found interesting is "Pretending to be Normal" by Liane Holliday Willey. And pretty much anything by Tony Attwood.