It depends on how you define educational, and what level your son is on. For purely educational games we enjoy: 10 Days in the U.S.A. (geography) Sequence (standard, states and capitals) Flip Dice (not its real name but the game where you roll and flip the number can be used for number recognition, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing) SET (patterns) Quiddler Scrabble Scrabble ME Word on the Street Bananagrams (word creation/spelling) Batik Blokus (geometry/shapes) Squint Junior (visualization) Chronology Junior (history) Labyrinth Stratego checkers chess (strategy) I think most board games will teach kids something, even if its how to think ahead or tabulate (add) points.

Cattle panels make good vertical climbers. They can be bent to make arches. There's a book at the library (at least our library) about making garden items. You can make a lot of rustic arbors with branches and stuff, but it takes longer so I usually go with iron stakes (easy to set in the ground) and chicken wire.

It also may depend on what state you live in. We live in Wisconsin, a very hands-off state, but they specify that you are agreeing to teach reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and health.

:iagree: Ditto. DS2 was like that. Teaching focus, whole concepts, and other ways to get places is a little more challenging.

I don't know... maybe I have a different take on this. People under stress say stupid things, do stupid things. I don't know what kind of stress your relative is under. You said she had some medical things with family. Perhaps she feels unappreciated and you happen to be the safe person to dump on. I think you're doing the right thing (note apologizing and offering not to exchange gifts). If I knew this relative well I would call them up and apologize in person...and then ask how they're doing. Maybe they need to vent a bit. Life can be overwhelming. If I didn't know them well I would just send the note and hope when they calmed down the social faux pas would be obvious to them. God knows I've sniped the people closest to me out of all proportion when things were hard. I hope your relative is okay, and that they will live to see their error and make it up to you.

I think as we age we learn the rarity and fragility of friendship. I have a friend right now who is teaching me this. She goes on 'dates' with everyone, even her children. She calls people out of the blue to invite them to the free library movie or ice cream. She organizes get-togethers. We are not always in the place where I can do the same, but I do see that even if 95% of the people never become good friends I do need to make time and effort for getting to know people. I need to be open enough to try...and accepting enough to realize that most of those people won't be long-term friendships.

We freeze cheese all the time, including American. However, I've never used the Kraft variety or any kind of cheese food. We freeze frozen slices (not individually wrapped) from a cheese factory. Just make sure they are completely thawed before using (otherwise the slice tears).

I would probably suggest she sit and make a list of what she thinks Holden is like. What does he approve of? What does he disapprove of? When she has this list then she can watch Casablanca with it and see what fits in what she knows about Holden.

Travelogue Cookbooks: I like the books of Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. They are more cookbook then travelogue but you get a good idea of food regions within a larger country (such as China or India which are split into much smaller people groups and traditions). You also get real food from ordinary people. Mango and Curry Leaves Beyond the Great Wall Flatbreads and Flavors Hot Sour Salty Sweet The Seductions of Rice Biography Cookbooks Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet and NY Times Food Critic, has 3 biographies of her childhood in New York, her college years in California, and her time as food critic. Each contains family recipes. Tender at the Bone Comfort Me with Apples Garlic and Sapphires Book Club Cookbooks The Book Club Cook Book~I checked this out of the library because it doesn't just have recipes for foods used in books, but gets many of their recipes from the authors themselves.

10. Letters from Yellowstone by Diane Smith~historical fiction, a female scientist travels to Yellowstone in order take part in a botanical survey. Some niggling problems with stereotypes in secondary characters, but an openness about women's choices at the time and the use of different points of view on the same situations. Positive ending. 9. The Circus in Winter by Cathy Day~fiction, a book of inter-connecting short stories focused on the Indiana winter home of a circus in the early years of the 20th century. Not bad. Based on a real place (Peru, IN) and some real people (such as the author's great great uncle who was killed by an elephant in 1901. 8. The Alphabet in the Park by Adelia Prado~poetry, a grouping of several books by a Brazilian poet with a sensual style, but also a very deep faith in God. Translated into English. Interesting. A very real interest in family, the lives of women, and sexual attraction. "Poetry catches me with her toothed wheel and forces me to listen, stock-still, to her extravagant discourse. Poetry embraces me behind the garden wall, she picks up her skirt and lets me see, loving and loony. Bad things happen, I tell her, I, too, am a child of God, allow me my despair." 7. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman~non-fiction about the cultural difficulties of Amer medicine by a Hmong child with a seizure disorder. 6. One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus~speculative fiction about the Cheyenne request for white brides in order to unite the two cultures. 5. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Woods~a plucky governess tutors 3 children who were raised by wolves. 4. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester (read aloud)~boy takes a car through a mysterious tollbooth into a strange world. 3. The Alienist by Caleb Carr~Mystery, first US attempt at profiling a serial killer by a psychiatrist (known as an alienist) and friends. 2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton~Fiction, a small girl is abandoned on a ship to Australia with a white suitcase and a fairy book. 1. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt~Fiction, following several arty, progressive families from the late Victorian period through WWI. In progress: Fire Upon the Deep (Vinge) How the Other Half Lives (Riis) Ender's Game (Card) Victoria's Daughters (Packard)

Not at the University I attended in the '90s. I majored in Biology first, then moved to Communications and Education and was involved with tutoring people in the other schools. Easiest Schools: Art & Music Youth Ministries Physical Education Communications Psychology without a doubt. Now Education was not as difficult as getting a BS in Math, Chemistry, or other Science but the people attending at least had to pass a test in basic Math and Reading. You would not believe the people I tutored from either Music or Communications who had very little understanding of either of those subjects. People who had to take Algebra in college. People who couldn't write essays (no idea of what a 3-point essay was). For those in Secondary Ed, the specific theory courses were at least as difficult as the Math I took there, but the other courses depended greatly on the instructor.

I could never get a whole house to survive. It helps to start them indoors or by wintersowing, but eventually something ate most of mine. Other years I couldn't get more than one to survive. The best year (2 years ago) I transplanted the three plants closer together and had tiny little lean-to tied together with nylon. The youngest loved it.

Different states have different laws about this. A lot have mandatory reporting. Call the police (non-emergency) line and ask what you should do. Our dog bit a boy who raced his bicycle between me and my special needs child (the dog was leashed but I had my back to the street). We reported it ourselves, called the police. We had to call a special number to report it. Then we had to take the dog to the vet to be tested, twice (about a week or two apart). We did have rabies up to date. The boy did not need shots, but if the initial test had been positive he would have gone in for the shots.

Something similar happened to my sister. She was in severe pain for 2-3 years and on a lot of medication. Finally her opthamologist stopped her during an exam to ask her about her diagnosis. It turns out his wife had fibromyalgia and was controlling it with a celiac diet. My sister got an allergy test and cut out everything on the list including flour, gluten, oats, and eggs. It took 3-4 months but she made a complete recovery. She does eat the occasional piece of birthday cake, but she can feel that soreness in her joints the next week. Right now she's detoxing again. She got a little crazy at Christmas.

Most musicals from the golden age have some element of romance to them but my family has always loved: First Tier Favorites: Fiddler on the Roof-my father's favorite Flower Drum Song-not on any official list but a very sweet movie about arranged marriages/tradition in Chinatown during the '50s. One of my family's favorites The King and I-Yul Brynner never made a better movie and Debora Kerr is excellent My Fair Lady-hilarious take on the English classes Yankee Doodle Dandy-great biopic about the famous showman Meet Me in St. Louis-Judy Garland at her best, great family movie Holiday Inn-holiday favorite with Bing Crosby White Christmas-ditto Oklahoma!-great all around musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers-my mother's favorite Mary Poppins The Sound of Music Second Tier Favorites: On the Town-Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra Blue Skies-Irving Berlin songs Easter Parade-Judy Garland Funny Face-more dance Fred Astaire with the lovely Audrey Hepburn, plus glorious clothes Shall We Dance-more dance Fred Astaire The Harvey Girls-Judy Garland Silk Stockings-more dance Fred Astaire Naughty Marietta or Bitter Sweet-older and more sappy...also more of an operetta, Jeannette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy South Pacific Springtime in the Rockies-less of a musical and more of a movie with musical numbers Carmen Miranda My family was always a little obsessive about musicals. Everyone by my sister would watch them over and over. First tier are ones we would watch every time they were on. Second tier is greatly enjoyed but more occasional.

My dh invited the meat truck guy in 2 weeks ago. Meat comes in tiers: prime, choice, and select (I think). This meat comes from producers in major cities (like Chicago for our area) trying to get rid of lesser quality meat by selling it to companies that do this door to door sales thing. It works because most people don't know anything about meat. Dh worked for a butcher in high school though. He enjoyed the spiel and then politely declined.

If I'm going to be constantly in things (such as a baking day) I wear a tshirt with a flannel shirt over it or warm cardigan. Otherwise, I buy long-sleeved shirts that are better quality. Either they are 3/4 sleeves or they have buttons or straps for rolling them up or they are the quality which do not stretch out easily. I also find if I layer its easier to roll/push up my sleeves.

Try GardenWeb. They have a Far Northern Gardening forum and Canadian ones. I'm sure you could find someone similar to this profile. (You can also search people based on their zone.) The Canadian forum is a good one and the people are really friendly (even if most of them are probably 2s or 3s). I think most of the Alaskans hang out on the Far North Gardening forum. Be aware that US zones and Canadian zones are different, so you have to translate when talking to people who might be in the same zone but in a different country.

:iagree: Some of the most kind, spiritually-committed people I know attend AoG churches. I don't anymore. They can range from very large, pop-spirituality, seeker-style to old-fashioned fire and brimstone to vibrant community-focused spaces. The culture is very influenced by the people. The AoG culture of commitment can attract intensely honest, spiritual people and rigid nutjobs...often in the same congregation.

It depends on whether you mean plants which produce the most food in lbs. (such as cabbage, potatoes, and tomatoes) or plants which provide the most cost savings. For cost savings a lot depends on where you live and how you eat (organic, etc.). Usually fruit is expensive. Planting strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or other specialty fruits can be cost effective. They're even perennial so investment one year means continual output once they mature (2-3 years). Other ideas should come from what your family eats, and how much it costs in your area. Maybe you don't like zucchini that muc but love asparagus or bok choi or melon.

Pillows~I can wash cotton underwear or a swimsuit and dry on hot, but pillows don't react as well to the dryer, thus making it harder to really sanitize them. I didn't vote shoes because I have at least one pair of shoes I bought used, but they would have to be in great condition. Nothing that has been worn into the shape of the last user.

There have been entire years where I thought 'parents decide how important teaching and training their children is, and each makes different decisions' should be printed on a t-shirt to save me time. Now, I think they've accepted it (at least as a form of self-protection from my lectures). Otherwise Mom will start asking about the other 80% of the world and the fairness of living a life where people care for you as if you were unable to care for yourself. We work together because its my job to teach them how to care for themselves. We're a family team. I also trust that they can do these things. Lots of parents either don't have the time to do this, don't consider it important, or don't trust their children have the maturity to handle it. I'm raising them to be men when they leave here, not 3 years after they move out of my house and learn everything by trial and error at their own expense of money and time. Its not so terrible. Perhaps a unit study on childhood work practices over the centuries would be in order. ;) Now I have to keep them from saying someone is 'spoiled' when they learn something like this.

Are you north of Marshfield? I think Marshfield, Madison, and Milwaukee have them and I would be surprised if Appleton didn't as well.

We used a kangaroo korner pouch sling when they were little, and as they got bigger (a year or so) I liked the Ergo (I have the classic old-style). I don't really like the Ergo until they're very head confident, and its hard to get them on your back without help (their help or another adult). I was going to make myself a mei tai (one of the terms for a common East Asian apron-shaped back carrier) but never got around to it. Both of these were so helpful dh immediately bought his sister a pouch, bought us an extra pouch, and won't let me sell or donate either the pouch or the ergo. They are usually out on loan.

7. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman~non-fiction about a Hmong child with a severe seizure disorder in the '80s. Cultural dislocation and misunderstandings mean that things do not go well, but full of a lot of information about Hmong culture and history. Similar in scope to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Lots of interviews and research. Well done, although I doubt the author really understands the seizure disorder, my son has it as well so I really felt for the parents. 6. One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus~speculative fiction, what would have happened if the US government honored the Cheyenne request for white brides in order to unite the two cultures? The main character was sent to a madhouse for shacking up with a guy of whom her rich father didn't approve. A little too fawning over the Cheyenne and not a fan of Christianity, but finished it and it had some interesting aspects regarding the time period and Cheyenne culture. 5. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Woods~Youth fiction, a plucky governess tutors three children who were raised by wolves. 4. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester (read aloud)~Classic youth fiction, boy takes a car through a mysterious tollbooth into a strange world. 3. The Alienist by Caleb Carr~Mystery, first US attempt at profiling a serial killer by a psychiatrist (known as an alienist) and friends. 2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton~Fiction, a small girl is abandoned on a ship to Australia with a white suitcase and a fairy book. 1. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt~Fiction, following several arty, progressive families from the late Victorian period through WWI. In progress: Fire Upon the Deep (Vinge) How the Other Half Lives (Riis) The Alphabet in the Park (Prado) Ender's Game (Card) The Circus in Winter (Day)