I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope that your wonderful memories will be a comfort through this time.

I would devote a few hours to cooking up a few big batches of meals that freeze well, plus bread, muffins, etc., for days when you have less time on your hands. Then I'd curl up with a pot of tea and a good book:001_smile:

I second the idea of loading up on books. Try to choose a range of levels so that there are some that are easy for him to handle on his own (picture-heavy), and others that are the highest level he'll sit through a reading of. That way he'll have chances to explore on his own as well as to be introduced to expanded vocabulary and more advanced concepts. You might want to look into trying a unit studies approach to allow him to delve into some favorite topic during the summer break just to see how you both like it.

Singapore has been an outstanding fit for my dd. She's 5 now and does not have any trouble with the writing, but I still try not to let it get to be too much for her. Sometimes I'll write the answers for her or just go through things orally, especailly on days she has a lot of writing to do in other subjects.

We used ETC and Headsprout. DD knew her letter sounds, so we started ETC with book 1, and got through books 1 - 4 and all 80 Headsprout lessons in K. We took a couple of months off in the summer to focus on fluency, and she's almost done with the ETC books now, in 1st.

Singapore worked well for us in K, and was very inexpensive.

Have them do lunch with you or have a conversation with you "in character," down to an appropriate costume that they make or choose. This is especially fun with historical fiction and biographies, but can be adapted to any genre. I still have fond memories of doing this sort of thing in school (although it was not fun to stay in character as Gandhi and miss out on tacos while explaining that Hindus don't eat beef!). Another fun idea is to play journalist, and interview them as a character of their choosing.

I'm a few pounds under my happy weight, but I wouldn't be unhappy if I matched it. Still, I see areas that need improvement, at least as far as fitness goals.

My dh is Filipino/Puerto Rican (with some Navajo thrown in) on one side, Slovak on the other. I'm of totally mixed white European ancestry on one side, Eastern European Jewish on the other. But the state of Pennsylvania simplifies matters, and classifies our kids as Hispanic! They will have to choose for themselves when they are older -- for now I call them multi-racial.

I can totally sympathize! My dd will be 6 in July, and we are about a third of the way through 1B. I was just discussing my dilemma with dh tonight. She understands everything in theory, and actually does quite well with the lessons, but we have not spent any time drilling facts. There is something that seems exciting about a 5 year old who can figure out a multiplication problem, but something that seems sort of pushy about drilling those facts with a child that age, IMO. So we are going to finish up with 1B, since it gives some nice breaks for money and time lessons, which are very useful at this age, then stop and drill until those basic addition/subtraction/multiplication facts come easily. We like Singapore and intend to stick with it, but I think it will become frustrating if she has to keep figuring out sums instead of just recalling them. So I'm planning on lots of math games and worksheets, and that means putting Singapore on hold for a bit.

We are going to watch a short film and read a book on Bookflix, which we get through our library website. I had hoped to select some nice books last week, but the weather and illness kept us out of the library.

Public school followed by private for college and grad school.... But I was afterschooled, although we certainly didn't call it that. Tons of academic enrichments, down to writing book reports during my summer vacations.

My dd gets very picky when it comes to what she'll accept for her silent reading. I offered her things below her reading level, I offered twaddle full of ponies and princesses, and what it has come down to is that she wants nonfiction above her reading level. This means I hear a lot of her shouting out spellings of words she can't decipher, but at least she's motivated to work through it. She always enjoys fiction and nonfiction read-alouds equally, but for her pleasure reading, fiction just doesn't do much at this point. The funny thing is, I personally read about 90% nonfiction, so I do understand her preference.

I think you are fine. We have forgotten the car insurance before (so hard to remember the quarterly bills!), and they mailed us a notice with a date the coverage would expire if payment wasn't received. We had to pay a late fee, but the coverage remained in effect.

I'm sure you'll want to give her something that she'll have to keep, but in addition to that, you might send her flowers. My stepdad was out of town for work when I turned 16, but he sent me flowers, and it was the first time I'd ever gotten them.... it was a little thing, but so adult at the same time, and I've never forgotten it.

We have cracked down on the name-calling sort, and "shut up" gets under my skin, so those are the big ones here. After watching one of the Charlie Brown holiday specials, the kids started using "blockhead," and my 5 year old pointed out that I had never told them not to say that one before..... They really know how to push boundaries. But I don't really have limits on body parts or bodily functions, at least not yet.

This happens to my dh unless he eats first, so he has pretty much gotten out of the habit of taking them.

I switched browsers a couple of months ago, and now I am totally hooked. Just wondering if anyone else has made the switch and has an opinion.

Plates of cheeses, produce, and fish not assembled to make a dish, just separate. And when I did cook, I could add the massive quantities of sriracha as I went, instead of waiting for just my portion. Lots of curries, and lots of cabbage stuff that the rest of the family gets sick of easily. And I'd probably have eggs for dinner pretty often, even though they are already my breakfast staple.

I'm pretty casual about science because it is the one thing that always gets done around here! We have access to such amazing science resources that for me to add a formal curriculum on top of them would be overkill. I am trying to make sure we don't have any obvious gaps, but I mostly just focus on exposure and keeping the excitement going. If we lived elsewhere, I'm sure I'd go for something much more formal to make sure we covered all the bases.

Incredible! Thanks so much for that list!

Bake them with a can of diced tomatoes mixed with curry powder. Serve over rice or couscous.

I made baja fish soup the other day, one of dh's absolute favorites -- and he usually loves lots of fat and meat, so this recipe is very helpful to me! I saute a diced onion and a couple cloves of crushed garlic in a bit of olive oil, then add in a couple of cans of diced tomatoes in juice, usually one 28 oz. can of plain, then one smaller can of either fire-roasted or the kind with chilies. Then I pop in a frozen fish filet (any sort of white fish works pretty well, I tend to use cod, pollock, or whiting) per person, cover, and simmer until the fish is cooked through. I add a dash of cumin and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro at the end. Great served with salad (especially with avocado!), and some bread or a baked potato. Start to finish, the soup takes about 20 minutes, and that's with frozen fish. Another very easy low-fat meal is to saute garlic and mushrooms (my dh loves sliced baby bellas for this) in olive oil until the mushrooms release their liquid, add some sea salt and black pepper, and toss with linguine. I serve this with salad and roasted or steamed veggies.

I never even thought to look for a WTM group on Facebook! I just added the group.

I have a family history of spinal issues that meant a higher than average risk of spina bifida. I had the blood screenings with both pregnancies (I was 28 and 30 for them) because if a problem had been found, there was a very good chance that the baby could have had surgery in utero that would have lessened the severity of the condition. I also had additional ultrasounds done and genetic counseling. Both times things turned out just fine, and I was glad to have that added bit of reassurance.