I selectively/delayed vaxed my first and second when they were very young. I waffled back and forth and couldn't decide on what I felt was best. There were two main factors that eventually swayed me. The first was the what-ifs. What if my child either had a vax reaction or what if they were seriously ill from a vax-preventible illness? Which possibility was I more willing to take the risk of? That's ultimately the decision we're all trying to make. The other factor was my youngest being in the hospital with pneumonia at 7 weeks old. I knew then, without a doubt, that I wanted him to have all the protection he could get. Of course, there was research involved here, too, but those things were the bottom line of it all.

Either allow milk only at certain times a day, or temporarily keep it out of the house altogether. Offer water. Expect her to go thirsty for awhile! Tell her that she has to take just one sip. This is what I did with the little boy I babysat. He started coming here at age 3 and did NOT like water. He would rather stay thirsty. He got used to it, though, because it's what I offered. Eventually, he would guzzle down a cup and exclaim, "I love water! It's delicious!"

Cuisenaire rods or just something to count with. I often just grab a pile of whatever's handy, like pencils. You have 11 Legos. Now take away 5. Just play with different ways and see if she gets it. My kids did better when I said "6 take away 3" rather than "6 minus 3". If it's too confusing, take a break and go back to it after a little while.

We put in Pergo laminate in the kitchen/livingroom/hallway when we built our house 6.5 years ago. I don't have any strong complaints. We DO have a small area with water damage. Rain was leaking in our back door for a time and a few boards bubbled up. I haven't had any water damage from normal use. When we first moved in, it was bright and shiny, I noticed every tiny new scratch, and it was more slippery. Now it's evenly worn and scratched all over, so I don't notice!:) It really doesn't look bad and people often comment that they like the flooring. Vinegar and a microfiber mop works best for cleaning (for me!). Oh, and though it's not as slippery as when we FIRST moved in, it is still a little slippery. You may find a better option for you, but if you don't want real wood, it's not a bad option.

If you decide you don't want to use it, I'll buy it off you for the remaining pages;) It was great for us, but each kid is different! Book B moves into addition and might still be worth using.

Sounds like a perfect first day! :)

We use the iPad for three of our school books (Word Mastery, First Book in English, and Graded Studies in Great Authors - all from the early 20th century). I could print all of these books, but I'm confident that I would NOT. We snuggle in bed at night, I check the Satori Smiles Bird Book Companion to see which birds we'll be reading about, look up those books on our bird app, then read the Burgess Bird book on the Kindle app for iPad. Love that I can hand the iPad to my preschooler and say, "Go play!" while I do work with the other two kids. I have purposely downloaded only educational-type games, so they are forced to still play (and enjoy) them by choice (they keep wanting me to get Angry Birds, but in its absence they play Monster Physics and Math Bingo!). Math Mammoth on the iPad was a flop for us. DD couldn't manage it without making stray marks and all manner of difficulty, even with a stylus. She's a lefty, so I don't know if that made it trickier. That's all I can think of off-hand that's school-related. Time to get off so we can read another bird chapter before bed!

Thanks! I emailed the site that sells tests to see if they can provide a sample.

I've started making my own tests, but if there are some already in existence, that would be awesome. This would be for my 3rd grader. I know it's not necessary. I'm just looking for a simple way to assign a letter grade at the end of the year.

Thankfully I have not encountered such craziness in any thrift I've been to! I am glad! There was that time, though, when that awful mother reached down to pick up her cranky 4 year old and scratched the poor kid in the eye with a hanger and had to leave the store and take him to the doctor because he was screaming and clutching his eye. Wait... that was me... it may be awhile before DS and I can shop in the thrift store without feeling traumatized! (he was ok, btw!) :)

PMing you

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!!!!

Definitely not, but we might get tornadoes instead. Super exciting. :tongue_smilie:

I made a phone call at work today. Does that count? I had to psyche myself up for a good 30 minutes first, till I ran out of excuss. Pretty sad. I hate calling people. I'd trade for the dead mouse any day.

I am not voting, as I don't know what would be considered "normal". However, I still call my ex-MIL "Mom" and live right next door to her. She considers me her daughter and we love each other very much. I think I would actually feel hurt if I remarried and had more children and she did NOT call them her grandchildren.

I voted before I saw this, and I voted for Charlotte Janae. :) Very pretty! I was going to say that my other pick would be Charlotte JoAnne, but I guess it's a moot point!

:iagree: I am giving my kids a big box of clearance Playmobil that I bought in June for $50 (thanks to a thread here!). They will share it. I bought them a nativity book to share. And I'll snag a few small things for stockings, about $10/kid. Works out to approx. $30 per child. They have so much stuff already! They will be getting other stuff from their dad (we're divorced), but from me, that is what I can afford, so that's what they get. :)

LOL!! How funny! You'll get used to those claws;) I always know it's time to trim my nails when I am I scratching my kids. Oops! Congrats on successfully growing out your nails! I'm going to start a new thread in the new chat forum, since they are shifting us over there. ETA: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/442485-social-group-exploring-orthodox-christianity/

Sparkle, I just noticed your sig... honk 40 times... :lol: Happy Birthday! I didn't post earlier, but I thought of all of you today and said a prayer.

I say ay-men and DD8 says ah-men and she ALWAYS looks at me sideways after we pray. :) Hey, I'll say it my way and you say it yours, kiddo, but I'm not changing for ya!

:grouphug: That stinks about the class. My church is starting one up on Tuesday. If you're up for a good commute, you could come!;) (It's in Alabama...). This is probably not theology sound advice - so mostly just ignore me - but I think you need to go, for now, where your heart longs to go. Things will sort out in time and you'll find your place.

They do not break the fast at my OCA parish. I, however, am only attempting to fast from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays right now (I'm slow with this fasting thing).

Hi folks! I've made it in and am glad to see you all! It's been soooo looooong! ;) BeatleMania, I'm not familiar with the book you mentioned. Let us know how it is! I have nothing of value to add here. Just wanted to pop in and say hello and goodnight! :D

Luckily for me, I will out of my house from 8 am till almost 7 pm, so I'll hardly notice. Otherwise, it would be almost traumatic! :D

I was just telling someone that I have stayed away from Pinterest because I don't need more things to feel badly about not doing!! I have a long enough list already! And welcome to the boards!! My son is also in 1st grade. He can add like a pro! But everything else? Oh me, oh my. They learn at their own pace and it sounds like your son is just fine. Focusing on those subjects is GREAT. If you would feel better about it, why not add science once a week? You could do something really simple, such as learning about reptiles this month via library books and youtube videos. :) That's just one idea. You could add any simple "extra" thing. BUT - and this is important - DO NOT GO TO PINTEREST FOR IDEAS!! :tongue_smilie: