Kids here seem to go with Mr/Mrs/Miss Last Name, unless the adult is introduced to them by first name or asks to be called by it. My kids are usually in the situation where they can just go along with whatever the other kids are calling people, so they've picked up on the fact that Johnny's parents are Dr. Johnson and Dr. Johnson, while our next-door neighbours are Dr. Smith and Mrs. Smith. I noticed recently that sports coaches who don't have a kid playing (whether they're 16 or 60) are called by their first name, while fathers who volunteer to coach are Mr Last Name. When I was a kid, they were all Mr Last Name.

I have to agree with this. I started my Ds5 in Spelling Workout A, then switched to All About Spelling, which has been a much better fit.

We used Handwriting Without Tears for printing, but I really don't like how the cursive looks. After some research, I decided to go with A Beka, because it's pretty and very close to how I learned cursive. Ds6 only started it a few weeks ago, but so far, so good!

The basics: Math: Beast Academy, Math Mammoth, Life of Fred Language Arts: MCT Island Level, Writing With Ease, A Beka cursive handwriting Science: Mr. Q Chemistry, Ellen McHenry The Elements, maybe The Brain History: Story of the World 2, Famous Men of the Middle Ages We'll try to do a little math, science and geography in French, as well as continuing lots of reading and some WWE-style writing.

I learned up to 15x15, but my kids will learn up to 12x12.

We mostly buy. Our library is tiny and looks like something out of the 70s. The only books we've borrowed have been a few old children's series, like the Boxcar Children and the Hardy Boys. Our local university has a fantastic library, so we should be able to make good use of it in a few years.

With older kids, I would skip level 1 and just use level 2. Everything from level 1 is reviewed in level 2 at a faster pace. I went through level 1 with my 6yo in about 4 months (1-2 lessons per day, he didn't mind the repetition), then skipped ahead to level 3 without any issues.

I'll second this. My son got stuck near the end of the first chapter, but got through it pretty easily when we came back a few weeks later.

Our pool has a special needs changeroom, not a family changeroom. I have seen a few women take their older boys in there, but it's mostly used by disabled adults and their families/caregivers. I'd ask the management if they'd consider switching the name and directing same-gender families to the appropriate changerooms.

Next to a food court, I probably would have found him a table to sit at to wait. I wouldn't think anything of a 10-year-old sitting alone for a few minutes. I think a lot of this depends on where you live. In our city, I wouldn't have any trouble sitting my boys at a table and asking someone nearby to keep an eye on them. When we were in Ireland last year, a woman put her 7-year-old granddaughter on the train in Waterford and asked us to watch out for her until her mom picked her up at the station in Cork. But, when we stopped in New York on the way home, I tried to convince Dh that our kids were young enough for leashes. :p

My 5 and 6-year-olds go in together, and I've sent my older guy in alone a few times. The swimming pool we go to has a sign that says boys ages 6 and up must use the men's change room, so I assumed 6 about average.

:grouphug: Sending good thoughts! Does this league have a fair play rule? If it does, I'd bring along a copy of the rulebook to back yourself up.

I got a cute craft - a flower made out of construction paper and two Hershey kisses. :) I have a feeling that a "Mother's Day Tea" at our school would have been made up of mostly nannies and grandmothers, but it's a cute idea.

My boys are both big Asterix fans, in French and English. :)

Early readers are very unusual in our area. My younger son is currently the only fluent reader in his kindergarten class, and the teachers I've spoken with say that only a handful of 1st graders are reading chapter books.