For what it's worth, my 6.5 year old and I did the skip counting chapter, and he loved it. He already had multiplication exposure in Singapore, but liked the BA chapter much more. And he's not some sort of math prodigy either.

All four were bony impactions, removed under general anesthetic at age 18.

86 in the last 6 months.

Aquarium of the Pacific is great. That would be my vote.

Perhaps something about Latin for the New Millennium vs. Wheelock's.

http://classicalacademicpress.com/french-for-children-primer-a-bundle/#.ValzjvlVgoJ

It seems that, especially in the logic and rhetoric stages, people are moving more and more towards online homeschooling classes. I would definitely expand on the many options people have in this regard. There are great lists of all the online providers on the Logic and High School boards.

Hi! I lost 10 pounds, and then it just sort of petered out. My appetite is still much less, which I have been using as an opportunity to eat a more plant-based diet. I feel really good about my diet, but that hasn't translated into weight loss. Granted, I haven't been doing much physically (my 2 year old pretty much wears me out every day), and my body is always very resistant to weight loss, but I had hoped to see better results. On the plus side, my mood has been dramatically improved (I have bipolar disorder) -- so much so that my psychiatrist and I have been talking about decreasing my meds. I don't know what the exact mechanism is, but, for me, there has always been a direct correlation between my mood issues and obesity/insulin resistance. I don't have an updated A1C yet -- I go back to the doctor in a couple of weeks -- but I imagine that it too has been improved. My doctor may also have some other ideas about how to kick start weight loss again. Anyway, I hope that is helpful. I have nothing but positive things to say about Victoza. It's been great for me. ETA: I have been maintaining the 10 pound loss for several months now.

My husband was scheduled for a V when my oldest was 3. We thought we were one and done. Two weeks before his surgery, I got pregnant with my second son. My husband made sure that we did not have a third. He had his V done at Planned Parenthood under local anesthesia. He had the surgery on a Friday, but was feeling pretty good within a few days. He has had no residual pain or any sexual side effects. It is fabulous not to have to worry about birth control anymore. Get the V.

As WMA mentioned, I do have a toddler as well. I haven't mentioned him much re homeschooling because my husband watched him while I schooled last year. We own a business and my husband has a flexible schedule. I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle the toddler and manage to get school done. I know others manage, but I'm just not that competent. Next year, Ronen will go to preschool 2 days/week. My husband will watch him the other 2 days. I won't really have to manage two kids in our homeschool until Ronen is five or six, depending on when we start K. By that point, Sacha will be nine or ten, at which point, I imagine that he will be more independent (relatively). If you have 3 kids, that is a much more challenging homeschool situation. Thankfully, there are experienced moms of many here who graciously share their tips.

Bumblegum, with the little bits of gum in it.

Not sure it this is helpful, but mine is also going into first grade this year. Last year, we schooled 3 days per week. He also took 3 days of fun classes at his charter school -- stuff like art, music, Lego, etc. All of his "core" classes were with me. It went really well -- much better than I expected, actually. This year, we will be schooling 4 days per week. Our charter school is moving to a smaller facility, and will only have classes for his age 1 day/week. We will see how it works out. My son really prefers routine. He likes to know what is expected, and adjusts accordingly. If we were all over the place with our day, I am sure that we would have more struggles. We always do math first. Some days, if the math is light, we add in logic. After math, we snuggle in bed, and I read aloud to him. Then, he reads aloud to me. After reading, we move back to the table and he does his writing and foreign language for the day. Then, we switch gears, move back to the couch, and do either science (usually reading books and/or watching documentaries) or history (audiobooks). So, seat time is really just for math, writing, and foreign language. The rest of "school," we do from the couch or snuggled in bed. We start school whenever we wake up, and we are done by lunch. The rest of his day is his. We accomplished quite a bit last year with very minimal drama. I've thought about being more unschooly in our approach, but I honestly think that there'd be more head-butting if we were loosey-goosey with our schedule.

Another: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120950/courts-have-upheld-governments-constitutional-right-vaccine-laws

I'm not a First Amendment expert, but I don't think it's a cut-and-dry answer. There's some discussion here that might be useful: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/vaccination-religious-exemptions Sorry, I'm mobile, and not feeling well at the moment.

My son and I loved it! http://www.amazon.com/Green-Ember-S-D-Smith-ebook/dp/B00QZ6BYNA/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Don't feel guilty. My parents were very old school, free-range, pick-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps types, and I still am a wilting flower under stress and suffer from crippling depression. Some of it is certainly environmental, but you also have to deal with the genetic hand you are dealt (tons of mental illness in my extended family). We do the best that we can.

I've never seen this series mentioned before: http://giftedparentingsupport.blogspot.com/2015/07/finding-age-appropriate-books-for.html http://tumblehomelearning.com/shop/

“Do you think parents at your school would rather their kid be depressed at Yale or happy at University of Arizona?†The colleague quickly replied, “My guess is 75 percent of the parents would rather see their kids depressed at Yale. They figure that the kid can straighten the emotional stuff out in his/her 20’s, but no one can go back and get the Yale undergrad degree. "When parents have tended to do the stuff of life for kids—the waking up, the transporting, the reminding about deadlines and obligations, the bill-paying, the question-asking, the decision-making, the responsibility-taking, the talking to strangers, and the confronting of authorities, kids may be in for quite a shock when parents turn them loose in the world of college or work. They will experience setbacks, which will feel to them like failure. Lurking beneath the problem of whatever thing needs to be handled is the student’s inability to differentiate the self from the parent." http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2015/07/helicopter_parenting_is_increasingly_correlated_with_college_age_depression.html

Has your income influenced your child's choice of study? http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/07/college-major-rich-families-liberal-arts/397439/?utm_source=SFTwitter

We have two in San Diego. I think we might do this with some friends for our anniversary in August. I've only played these online, so thank you for the recommendation!

Respectfully... you are incorrect. 120338. Notwithstanding Sections 120325 and 120335, any immunizations deemed appropriate by the department pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (a) of Section 120325 or paragraph (11) of subdivision (b) of Section 120335, may be mandated before a pupil’s first admission to any private or public elementary or secondary school, child care center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center, only if exemptions are allowed for both medical reasons and personal beliefs.

You're right, there is much more to the top end here. It's not like those crazy nice La Jolla homes are in limited quantities. You can find the same type of homes, at similar prices, in Del Mar, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Cardiff, Coronado, and Rancho Santa Fe -- and likely many other cities in SD County. My husband worked on a boat at this house in Coronado: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Coronado-CA/house_type/17150779_zpid/17587_rid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/32.629924,-117.100589,32.612719,-117.141273_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/?view=map "Normal" for Rancho Santa Fe: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Rancho-Santa-Fe-CA/house_type/16732634_zpid/13436_rid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/33.016311,-117.186978,32.99918,-117.227662_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/?view=map Encinitas: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Encinitas-CA/house_type/99539162_zpid/45164_rid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/33.083847,-117.172022,33.015357,-117.334757_rect/12_zm/0_mmm/?view=map And I think the mid-range, normal homes have internalized some of the styling -- likely due to proximity -- of the higher-end houses in the area. Here's another "meh" home down the street from us. I think few people born and raised in So Cal would consider this a "pretty nice" home. It's just ok. http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/16933875_zpid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/32.797394,-117.175906,32.780221,-117.216589_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/?view=map

I want to play the links games! A "normal" house in our older neighborhood in San Diego (not what I would consider "pretty nice"). It has "meh" schools: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/San-Diego-CA-92110/house_type/16933852_zpid/96652_rid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/32.799288,-117.158074,32.764939,-117.239442_rect/13_zm/0_mmm/?view=map A "normal" house a few miles away. Better schools: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/16855636_zpid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/32.819685,-117.235043,32.802516,-117.275727_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/?view=map Some nicer homes in the same area. There are many more of these than the "normal" houses: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/2109842353_zpid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/32.829025,-117.233026,32.811859,-117.27371_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/?view=map http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/99603129_zpid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/32.829025,-117.233026,32.811859,-117.27371_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/?view=map http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/16856426_zpid/3-_beds/2-_baths/days_sort/32.830324,-117.228863,32.813157,-117.269547_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/?view=map

This is about the same for us.