Have you tried lard?

Yes, I think the boy answered rudely. But I think not getting an immediate reply and then forcing the issue wasn't the best plan for getting a polite reply. It was *in my opinion* a set up for the rudeness. Not that it excuses his rude reply. The boy is a guest, and no matter how much you don't like someone else's parenting, you mustn't take it out on their kids. If the boy didn't give an immediate reply, probably best to let it go in the heat of the moment. Later, when the mood is changed you can talk about how "in our house we do it this way." If the boy and the host have an issue between them that puts the host in a position where she feels ill will towards him, then perhaps she should reconsider hosting him. I know I have feelings about one or two potential guests that preclude me from inviting them without their parents. Do you know what I mean?

This is the part that confuses me a bit. I'm not trying to be confrontational, this is a genuine question. If the boy was pouting, and in an emotional moment, when you asked him your question and he did not immediately reply, why did you not give him a minute and then come back to it? I mean, perhaps he was processing a moment of anger, frustration or what not. Do you think that if you gave him a minute of space he might have responded differently? Perhaps he didn't know exactly how he felt right that minute and moreover to explain it to a person who isn't his normal confidante was a bit overwhelming?

We have people dropping by all the time and we don't have an unlimited food budget. I have one child with multiple food allergies and oral motor issues so I am used to not everyone eating the same meal. That doesn't mean I always prepare a whole new meal, but if someone doesn't like what I've prepared, I am happy to make a pbj or a cheese tosti or a quesadilla, or serve some yogurt or something like that. I have one little guest who likes mayo on bread. I keep a can of hot dogs around for those kids who like them (mine don't).

My son is definitely an audio learner and so we listen to lots of audio books. One nice thing is that he often listens to a favorite section of a book over and over again. More often than I would be willing to reread it. He often memorizes sections of books verbatim. I think the audiobooks are very comforting somehow to him and I know that when he's grown he will look back at his time listening to audio books with great fondness.

Whenever we have guests I go out of my way to prepare food that they like, even if it's something we wouldn't normally eat. I wouldn't prepare a dish and say, "eat it or leave it" to any guest young or old.

I think my husband would fit this bill.

One of my children is the orally sensitive, overactive gag reflex, would rather starve than eat, multiple food allergy type. It is a tough row to hoe and I wouldn't wish these kind of food issues on anyone.

Was there any way that she could have gone under the supervision of a friend's parent? Perhaps the younger children could have an exception to their bedtime now and then to accommodate their older sibling's schedules. Parenting is hard isn't it?

For second grade (starting in July) I will have my second grader doing Singapore and Miquon Math Lively Latin Logic Links SOTW 2 HWOT Cursive Read aloud to Mommy for ~10m his book of choice. We aim for about an hour a day excluding history. History is my son's favorite and it has a life of it's own in this house. ETA: I was going to start with spelling but have decided to wait until the handwriting becomes more fluid and second nature for my son.

Totally ok. At that age, I wouldn't expect them to play "together" very much.

Same here.

In addition to the great ideas previously mentioned, I would like an area with a large sink and counter for wet projects.

Most people like to talk about themselves so I would start by asking questions. ;)

Your son sounds like a dream friend for my 7 yo if he's willing to talk on an on about history and science. I don't have any advice, but I think I'll be in your shoes in a year.

Me too.

I don't measure my child's success with school standards. My son is exactly where *he* should be. We keep his work level just at or a little above to provide challenging yet attainable goals *for him*. Period.

That was my favorite book of all time when I was young. I can't wait to share it with my kiddos.

How about a really nice pasta bowl or a really nice bread basket?

I don't think there is a pc aspect to dealing with bullyish behavior. But I don't think it gives a parent the right to be a bully back to the child. I don't think there's anything wrong with telling a child to stop. Our children need to see that we will advocate for them when they feel it's out of their hands. But our children don't need to see us being bullies to even the score.

Thank you for posting that.

I have a 3 year spread between my kids and I've decided to wait until the older starts again with the ancients before starting the younger in history. That way they're in sync with each other. So the younger will be 7 when he starts his history rotation with the ancients.

Naxos Audios has some Greek Myths and the Illiad and the Odyssey. My kids love their cds. Actually, I buy them from audible.com as downloads. You can also listen to samples of them either at the naxos website or at the audible.com website.

That's what neighbors are for ;)

I don't have a mac but are you clicking the "print" function in the open pdf window?