Thanks everyone! I was not planning to continue SM after 6B. I have not decided for sure what direction we will take but I am leaning towards AoPS. Assuming this is what we do, what do people recommend? We are using the SM Standards version. Should we do 6A and 6B then go straight to algebra? Or do 6A and 6B and go to pre-algebra? Or skip SM altogether and go staring to pre-algebra? In my mind, I assumed SM 1-6 was your regular basic "math" 1st-6th grade then on to pre-algebra. It sounds like that assumption was not correct?

I was reading in another thread that many go straight from SM 5B to pre-algebra. I was planning to use SM 6A and 6B this coming year with my 6th grade dd. I had no idea it was somewhat "optional." Can people give me pros and cons for using it before going on the pre-algebra. My dd is good at math but gets frustrated easily and often rushes her work. It is not her favorite subject. So, I would be happy for a low-key, confidence-building year.

Post-its. Carry them in your purse and put over the sensor. Then take off when done. I had a auto-potty-scared kid too:) I did have to show her how the post-it worked. We did many hand-waving sessions t before she was convinced that she was "safe."

We use Giovanni too. As others suggested, shampoo only the scalp which cuts down on the amount of shampoo needed. Then only condition the ends (not-scalp) parts which also cuts down on conditioner. Check around for natural food stores or co-ops in your area that sell these in bulk. You bring your own container and refill. It is about half the cost. In the summer, we only use apple cider vinegar (1 part ACV to 10 parts water) for conditioner which is obviously far cheaper. It does not leave your hair as "slick" feeling afterwards but is just as detangled. I have used it for years with my very long and fine hair. It works equally well with dc's also-fine but curly hair. It does not work as well in winter when we are constantly in the drying forced-air heat. We switch to the conditioner during winter.

I never learned this stuff in high school either. However, I did not take AP anything. It was getting smacked around on my university science lab reports that taught me how to write. They were more than happy to give me Ds and Fs on my lab reports until I figured out how to include all of the necessary components. I now teach engineering classes at a university and have sadly found myself devoting half of a class period to explaining what an executive statement (the equivalent of a thesis in technical writing) is and why it needs to be part of their reports to me. Luckily, most of my students figure it out after a few examples and threats to take 10% off their report if they neglect to include it.

I think it is very interesting how much opinion has changed on this subject in the last few years. We are early-adopters of the no-gift party. I am usually a stickler for etiquette rules but this is one I choose to break. Etiquette takes a back seat to my ability to manage clutter and stuff in my living space. Luckily, our requests to not bring gifts has always been respected. And I always respect others' requests for the same. If dd really feels compelled to bring something, a homemade card fits the bill. In real life, I have never encountered anyone who has a problem with it but just five years ago this subject was ripe for full-blown chat room war. I believe that the custom will continue to change and etiquette will eventually catch up. Until then, I will be "rude" and request no gifts and honor others' "rudeness" happily.

I am a bit of a risk taker because I do use the regular jars for freezing too. The worst that can happen is that you get a cracked jar. I have had that happen a couple of times (out of hundreds, probably thousands, of frozen jars). But only when I did not cool in the fridge first or I overfilled the jars. I obviously had to toss the food and the jar. I always check the jars the day after they go in the freezer so that I don't have a dinner emergency on my hands and a cracked jar. I have discovered improperly sealed home-canned goods on a far more frequent basis. They seemed sealed at the time of canning but turned out not to be months later when I went to open one. So if people have their hearts set on mason jar freezing and do not have the freezer safe types, there is hope.

We have an OLD Coleman Roanoke. It is tiny and light which is what we needed because we will never have a tow vehicle hat can pull more than 1500 lbs. This is about as small as they come unless you count motorcycle pop-ups. And because it is so small, dh and I are both too tall for the double beds on both ends. This is solved by sleeping diagonally on the beds but means that only one adult can fit one each side. And we are not tall.... The dinette folds into a "double" bed but it is considerably narrower than the already-dubious "double" beds on the ends. On top of that, our 11 yo dd is too tall for it. We fixed that problem by taking out the sink we never used so her feet have lots more room to grow. I have a love-hate relationship with our pop-up. It is far far FAR more comfortable and easy to camp in than a tent. We do both every summer and it is just so much easier. I love that we can store our gear inside making packing super-quick and that we can cook indoors during bad weather. Even our tiny one is quite roomy when stuck inside during rain. I also really like sleeping in the screened in ends. It is very relaxing. I like having power so I can turn over and flip on the coffee maker from my bed:) The best thing about it though is that it fits in the garage and we do not have to store it. The things I hate mostly have to do with age and general "cheapness." Pop-ups are rarely made "well." So you have to learn the quirks. Ours has a very annoying quirk of not popping down all the way. Especially during thunderstorms when we are in a field and need to be somewhere at a certain time. We have always eventually gotten it to go down (since you cannot very well drive down the freeway like that) but it has taken up to an hour of messing with it. The awning, as someone above mentioned, can be a pain. It is always flapping when we get wind or storms. We have added additional guy lines which has helped a great deal but also means more to trip over. We do generally set it up anyway because it is nice to have that tiny square to get into our out of wet rain gear. The indoor sink is useless. Just useless. We didn't bother after the first attempt. Because ours is old (20+ years), it is not super easy to set up or take down. Everything is rusty and it just takes a lot of elbow grease and sweat to work with it. This would not be the case with a newer one. All that said, I do recommend them to people who want to get out of a tent on a budget. We really do love ours. Keep in mind how big your kids will be in a few years and factor that into your decision. Our current set up does not allow dd to bring a friend unless they sleep in a tent.....which is something we would never of thought of 10 years ago when we bought it. Also, get the whole family inside when looking at them. Lay down and make sure there is the space you need.

Thanks! Lots of good stuff there. I have many of these coming to me via inter-library loan.

My dd is turning 11 and she is having her first slumber party. We would like to have a handful of movies for the girls to watch if they run out of other things to do throughout the night. Dd does not really watch a lot of movies and we do not have TV so are a little clueless as to what is out there. Some of her guests come from conservative families so anything they watch really needs to be PG or G. The ages of the girls span 9-13. Anyone have movie recommendations that are not lame (the 13 yos are not going to want to watch cartoons for instance) but also suitable for kids as young as 9? The movies can be older or current.

Well.....statistically one has a MUCH bigger chance of being in a car accident than being abducted by someone in a van (or otherwise being harmed while walking around a relatively safe community). And, wearing your seatbelt is not "driving in fear." It is being as prepared as possible in the event that something unfortunate happens. Just like teaching children what to do if they feel uncomfortable or are approached by a van driven by a psycho kidnapper. In either case, the seatbelt and/or teaching is not 100% guaranteed to prevent injury. But it sure doesn't hurt to employ both. I actually think that it is not outside of the realm of reason to decide to never drive/ride in a car due to the risk of injury. It is not a choice I make myself. I have weighed the risks and decided that being able to go places in a timely manner is worth the risk. But I am far more worried about my dd being injured in a car accident than while walking to our local park. And the statistics verify my concerns. I am in no way nay-saying those who have different rules for their own kids based on safety of their community and maturity of the child in question. No one can make that call better those in the situation, obviously. I do think it is important, though, to take a moment to evaluate the real risk and safety of a given community before allowing fear to unnecessarily limit a child's activities.

This does not happen where I live. But we have discussed it because it has happened at various places we have visited. We have taught dd to make eye contact and simply say "Sorry, no," then to keep walking. If the person persists or she otherwise feels uncomfortable, she is to go into a nearby store/bank/whatever or seek out another adult to walk near until she is far enough away to feel comfortable.

Ah. I misunderstood your original post. In a situation like that, I might give more pause. Especially is young girls are the target.

In my case, I mentioned "college town" because that means many things are within close walking distance and motorists are used to driving around pedestrians.....which does make me feel more comfortable allowing my 10 yo to walk around. But now that I have chewed on the above for a moment, I have to say that I would never tell my female child that our town is "a target for guys who want to hurt young women." What a sad thing to say about male college students! While I suppose college towns have varying degrees of "safeness" as do any other towns, I think each person has to assess the safety of where they live and take that into consideration when deciding what your kids should or should not do.....college town or not. One guy in a van 10 years ago would not make me live in fear for the rest of my life. Sorry. I just find that incredibly sad. Anyone can look up the crime statistics for their area. In my case, it is extremely low and very seldom involves the local college population. I would much rather take the minuscule chance of something awful happening rather than live in fear.

We are in a a very similar situation. My dd is 10 (almost 11) and we started allowing her to walk/bike around our smallish college town this summer....both with a friend and on her own. She is required to take certain routes that avoid difficult road crossings, she must have her cell phone, and must keep us informed anytime she is on the move. While I believe I am a bit more lax than most on this board, it seems to be the norm for my area. All of her friends are also allowed the same freedom. I would be less comfortable with the movie situation. Ours is frequently almost empty which makes the possibility of needing help and not having anyone around too high for me. I think that would have to be closer to 12/13 before I would be comfortable with it.

We visited the Chicago store when dd was 9 while in the city for a vacation. Overall, it was a good experience and dd remembers it fondly. However, she has no interest in going again. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for her, I guess. There are a few things I tell people who are planning to visit, even if much of it does not apply to many. 1. The store is huge and overstimulating. My dd (and me for that matter) had what I call "IKEA brain" after 15 minutes. We do not frequently go to malls or even box stores so it was all a bit much. Poor dd had a $30 gift certificate to spend and ended up not spending it because there was just too much to pick from. She still has it! 2. We did the hair salon. Dd was really happy to have it done and the "stylist" gave her some pointers. Dd has a very old Kirsten doll so her hair needed special treatment which we did not know before. HOWEVER, they are pretty rough with the dolls while brushing and styling. I thought dd was going to cry as she watched her precious Kirsten have her head yanked around. She ended up closing her eyes for much of it. 3. If you are vegetarian, be sure to tell them before you put your name on the cafe list. We were there for "tea" and they had a hard time accommodating us. 4. Be prepared to witness all sorts of truly awful child behavior and equally awful parent reactions.

It sound alike your basement is furnished? That makes it more of a problem. We have water running through ours year-round. It is normal in my area. And because it is not furnished and we have a drain, mold is not a problem. The cats love it.

I must be living under a rock. Until this thread I had no idea that it would be considered against "common sense," let alone unsafe, for a woman to walk somewhere relatively "safe" alone. Not that I am dismissing it. I am just truly shocked. I walk all over the place by myself. So does my 10 yo dd. And all of her friends. Nor would it ever occur to me to arm myself to go for a walk. And I agree that driving/riding in a car is statistically far more dangerous.

Nope. I think I would rather live in a box than have dh commute for one hour. I know lots of people do it and it is starting to be "normal," but I personally think (and dh agrees) that spending two hours in a car every day is something to be avoided if at all possible. Aside from the actual time lost to the drive, there are so many other "costs." The wear and tear on the vehicle, the gas money, the stress from driving, the increased risk of accident/injury, etc.....

Also, from a gas mileage standpoint, my CR-V and the Escape (both of which we researched during our last car hunt) get better mileage than the Subaru Outback. We get about 30 mpg highway. For comparison, this is the same that we got with the Sable and our current Toyota Camry. I cannot really fairly report a city mileage because we have sort of unusual weather and terrain circumstances that make ALL cars get really bad mileage. I hope we will see all of the numbers go up int eh next few years. There is really no excuse for the poor mileage that new cars get today.

Many of the "crossover" SUVs (like CR-V, Escape, RAV-4) are really more like station wagons than SUVs or trucks. For many years I drove both a CR-V and a Sable, both older. I can say I had better visibility, both forward and back, in the CR-V than the Sable. The newer CR-Vs are even more car-like than the older one I currently drive. I hate driving bigger cars, vans, and trucks, but I really feel comfortable in the CR-V. It is nimble, like a compact car, but just big enough in a station-wagon sort of way to fit people and groceries easily. It does very well in the snow. I think it would be similar for any "crossover." But really, any front-wheel drive car with good tires is going to be fine in the snow. We drive on snow/ice covered roads for about 6 months every year and I olive on a VERY steep hill so I really roll my eyes when people say they "need" 4WD. I am sure there are situations in which it really is ideal, but if I can drive a front-wheel drive car in the conditions I face with no problem, 99.99% of Americans should be able to. I find ABS far more necessary than 4WD.

I think I am a bit more lax than most parents, so keep that in mind. We started leaving dd home alone for short periods (less than 2 hours) during daylight at just-turned-10. With a friend (another 10 yo) even a little longer and into the evening. We live in a "safe" neighborhood with people nearby she can go to if she needs to. We are never more than a ten minute drive away and she has a phone. She is also pretty responsible for her age. I our area, 9-10 seems to be the usual age for starting to be left alone.

The worst is the restaurants that serve easy-mac (the stuff that comes in a foam bowl that you heat in the microwave). Seriously? If I want cheap junk and it only takes 60 seconds of my time, why am I at a restaurant anyway?

I second the Honda CR-V. We also are 2+ hours from the nearest dealership. We bought ours new and it never needed a repair while under warranty. But we were told that if it did, we did not have to bring it to the dealership. It could be fixed locally. We have had it for 10 years now and have had to have routine work on it and it was no problem finding someone local to do the repairs. The only time we have to go to the actual dealership is if it is recalled for any reason. This has happened once. It was not a life-or-death kind of recall so we arranged to have it fixed while on vacation in a town that had a dealer.

My state does not allow homeschoolers to participate in any sports if the team is going to compete with other public schools. Other extra-curriculars and partial enrollment is allowed but is up to each local district. Ours does not allow any. Ever. No matter what. I have asked why and was told that it was allowed in the past and was a huge headache for the district so they quit allowing it. Knowing some of the homeschooling families that may have been involved, I can see how this happened. The whole thing stinks because my dd would like to participate in a particular sport that has no non-school options locally. So she never will be able to participate.