Liking this post was not enough. I love this board for the reasons Ruth articulated so well, and appreciate the wisdom and experience that is generously shared.

Sierra Nevada, please keep us posted on how your son progresses. My 5 year old is also chomping at the bit to take a Minecraft Mod class. All the ones locally have age minimums as well.

Given that we live on a sailboat and space constraints are an issue, I would love other suggestions for quality iPad games of this sort. Thank you so much for the great suggestions!

Too bad the unsaved are just sh*t out of luck. Gah, how can people spout this hurtful garbage and think it is somehow motivating?

In short, I didn't believe 1) that Jesus was the messiah or the son of God (Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophesies or embody the personal qualifications of the messiah), 2) that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected, 3) that non-believers were not saved/went to hell 4) in original sin, 5) in the Virgin birth (the messiah must be descended from King David), and 6) in the Trinity. I also found a lot of inconsistency between the God of the OT and NT, such that it undermined the immutability of God. However, I don't blame Christianity for Christians. (I was raised Catholic, but converted to Judaism in my late 20s.)

Another enthusiastic vote for LL Bean!

Oceanside is lovely. Enjoy your stay. It's currently 79 and gorgeous in Mission Bay.

I grew up in Southern California and have been to most every beach from Santa Barbara to San Diego. To put things into perspective, when I was in elementary school, our YMCA camp took us to different beaches every week. There were usually lifeguards, but we were generally unsupervised by today's standards. I was out in the sun all day and learned to be a strong swimmer. Yes, I've been knocked around a bit, but it was good for me to learn and experience. I still live on the water, on a sailboat, and am raising two young children around the ocean. It's good to be cautious, but, if your kids are good swimmers, I would set limits, supervise, and then try not to pass on your fears to them. The ocean is an incredible place. Enjoy and welcome to CA!

We do talk about the OG rules, as Progressive Phonics does lay them out and he has had exposure to all the OG phonograms through PP, RLTL1, Nora Gaydos, and the LOE phonogram app. I'm just not sure where to go from here for phonics reinforcement. I like that DB uses word chunks. I think that will really appeal to him visually and help him to expand beyond ccvc, cvcc, and compound words.

My oldest (technically K in the fall) has been making steady reading progress over the last year with Progressive Phonics and the Nora Gaydos books. He has almost completed the entire series of readers in both programs. I was planning to use ETC with him as a phonics review and gentle introduction to spelling, but, after several weeks of it, I have been feeling some of the misgivings that were articulated in another thread, I am now considering curriculum hopping to Dancing Bears, but has anyone used this program with a non-remedial student? He would seem to slot into the Fast Track program. For some reason, I feel like the morpheme approach might be more appealing to him going forward. Although he is making progress, and while I think that he will hate the cursor (because he has a nasty habit of guessing), I am just not sure if O-G is really clicking for him. Any feedback is appreciated.

Miss Manners can stuff it. We live on a sailboat. Space is an issue. We generally have "no-gift" parties. On the invitations, I generally write, "The honor of your presence is the perfect gift." It isn't rude; it's completely normal and appropriate for both our lifestyle and in our social circle in Southern California. And we graciously accept any gifts that are given.

We are in book two and I am starting to feel similarly. I would love to hear what others would recommend as an alternative in hindsight.

My oldest has played soccer since 2.5. He's currently on a competitive U6 juniors team, but tryouts don't start here for the travel team until U8, as I recall.

I have used coconut oil and still burn. I trust Safe Mama's recommendations: http://safemama.com/cheatsheets/sunscreen/

Sacha's eyes have gone from hazel to green in the past year. He is 5.

I was this student, but I don't believe that it was because of where I went to school. Many gifted students struggle with perfectionism and never learn to be gritty in the face of failure (my massive "failure" was that I didn't do well enough at Stanford Law School to be a Supreme Court clerk). Throughout my life, I have been praised for my achievements. And I learned very early on that I needed to continue to perform at increasingly competitive levels in order to receive that praise. The perfectionism-achievement-praise cycle can be like a drug, and I was seriously hooked until I hit rock bottom, so to speak. I still struggle mightily with these issues today -- giving up on things if they don't come easily to me, doing things because of their perceived prestige/the opinions of others, etc. -- but I am at least aware of the issues (and praise my children for their efforts/pursuing their passions instead). In my experience, students at elite schools, by and large, exhibit the type of intellectual curiosity and emotional grit that the author describes. However, a small subset of these students struggle with crippling perfectionism and anxiety issues into adulthood, as I did. But I saw no evidence of causality to support the author's thesis.

Raise happy and healthy young men Grow old with my husband Join the mile high club Publish a novel Take cooking and wine classes at the CIA Get my private pilot's license Travel: Israel Cinque Terre, Italy Easter Island Greek Islands Turtle Island, Fiji Galapagos, Ecuador India Egypt China Safari in the Serengeti Machu Pichu, Peru Thailand Argentina/Brazil -- Iguazu Falls Panama Canal Australia Niagara Falls Have a garden, a vineyard, some chickens and horses Run a no-kill animal shelter Read a bazillion books, mostly fiction Learn Latin and Hebrew Complete an Ironman triathlon Re going to space, I would do it in a heartbeat

The people who parent my children for me; my children's independence seems to frighten them.

My undergraduate degree was a BA in Russian and PPE (Politics, Philosophy, & Economics). My first job out of college was in management consulting -- a very competitive field. My degree did not matter; the reputation of the school that conferred my degree and my class standing did. I also have a JD. I worked in investment banking and securities litigation after law school. Where I went to school absolutely made all the difference in getting hired. I agree that you should stick out getting your degree.

I can't believe that we are still talking about people's hangups with breastfeeding. Sigh. I've nursed two kids in two countries (one in Southern California, one in Puerto Vallarta). I was never very discreet about it because I had to use a nipple shield, but no one ever batted an eyelash at me. I wouldn't have cared anyway; my babies' need to eat trumps other people's issues.

We are starting the Tuesday after Labor Day.

Done. Thanks for sharing!

I got a cut, color and highlights last month and it was around $250 with tip. I tip 20%. ETA: I agree that 30% sounds high to me. I used to go to Jose Eber in LA and still never tipped more than 25%.