Assuming that all proceeds go to charity, and that the items are of a reasonable quality: $3-5 for a collar about $5-9 for tutu. I don't know much about pet products and their prices, but since your friend has no real reason to be trying to break even/turn a profit (and presumably can't do much with the items after the event) why not price them to move?

Okay thanks. Without thinking it through I had promised my sister that would get her to all of her usual events/activities: Morning PreK 3x a week, play group 2x a week, library story time 1x a week, etc...I didn't think about how I would get her to Church/Sunday school. Is there anything that I should know before going to church--like dress code or any 'unwritten rules' that a Christian would know from experience? Clearly I wont be bringing a cell phone or talking loudly. Instead of my bible--I don't own one--is it okay to bring a notepad and pen or is going to be taken as being 'distracted' or 'not paying attention' and thus equate to being rude?

Hubby and I considered adoption several times and when we've spoken to some of acquaintances who were adopted, one dad mentioned this. He had been adopted as a small child and his daughters were fascinated by the idea of having 3 sets of grandparents: Biological maternal grands, adopted paternal grands, and then biological paternal grands. It was something they talked about often and they even tried to make a family tree poster to reflect this--I never saw the finished product/found out what came to be of it, but I have heard of this

I am going to be watching my sisters 3yo daughter for a few weeks and something just occurred to me: The matter of church/Sunday school. Please know that I am not religious, we weren't raised as Christians, my sister became a Christian as a young adult--I have never been to or inside of a Church--and she takes her daughter to a local church and the little girl attends a Sunday school program at said church. My sister + bil will be out of town for an extended period and we would both like her daughter to maintain as much of her routine as possible. The sunday school program is actually a little after the Church service but I know that my niece is used to going to Church and then Sunday school, the Christian faith is a big part of my sisters life and its important to her that niece go to church. ---In general may a person visit/sit in on the service even if they are neither Christian nor a member of the congregation? I would be there only to supervise my niece because she's much too young to go alone or be dropped off. --What do adults do during kids Sunday school? If the service is over, may I leave, run an errand or even just wait outside or in the car during Sunday school time?

I had prepared this long and thoughtful reply that held a comment directed at nearly everyone and then lost it! Will it suffice if I just a big HUGE thank you to everyone for their advice, guidance and resources. Jr. and I are going on some errands tomorrow and we're going to the tea shop and the tea section of the market!!!

This is an interesting topic, so thanks to the OP for bringing it up, but now I'd like to ask a some-what related question: What should parents of 'average' children teach their children to say/do when they encounter someone different? What is a polite, non-offensive way that I can teach Jr. to inquire about someones differences? I don't want him to be the blunt, loud kid who gapes across the room at others, with an embarrassed mom trying to shush him. But if he wants to ask or inquiry, is it okay that I let him? Can I teach him a 'right way' so that he doesn't follow his impulses and do it 'wrong'? I plan to teach him to say excuse me, may I? and please. What can I teach him to say if/when he wants to ask others about their differences/disability?

Review the concept, daily until it sticks. After they are familiar enough with the concept to talk about and explain it (even if they forget every two days and have to be reminded) begin drilling the concept. Make time each day to review the concept and drill the skill. If they are doing math facts for 6 and down, give them 6 counting props that they can manipulate and a clear work space. Have them set out the 6 items in front of them and manipulate those items as they answer the questions. Later do a shorter stint with the props and a short stint without them. After they have manipulated scenarios illustrating 6-4 = 2 a few times, they should be able to be guided to or get the answer without the props. Continue through all of the math facts until you've covered them all.

I will be watching my 3yo niece for 3 weeks, she is coming over after church on Sunday and she is staying with us until after Halloween. What do your 3 year olds do for fun? I don't want a bunch of messy crap toys, so no paint or glitter! But I have stamps, crayons and art paper, some blocks and a couple of puzzles. She is bringing her own doll, bike and dish set. Is that enough stuff for 3 weeks? We'll be home everyday unless we decide to go somewhere. It is getting cooler and we have a nice yard so we can, in theory, spend a lot of time out doors but I don't know any physical outdoor games that 3yos play. Most of the ones that I know are useless for just 2 people or really little kids. We have plenty of sticks, leaves, nuts and stuff. Should I get anything else out of storage or should this be sufficient?

I use online calendars to write out pacing schedules for classes that I teacher regularly up to 2 years in advance. Saves me the trouble of constantly shifting topics forward/backward all the time.

Counting on your fingers isn't wrong, but they should be used as a tool. Teach her to be efficient and purposeful about her counting, no matter what prop she is using. Encourage her to 'work smarter--not harder.' and take time to study the relationship and spend time thinking about the numbers and. The end goals is to be weaned from using her fingers (or any prop, really) and to move on to knowing the math facts.

I am not intimately familiar with Singapores math program, but counting on is a perfectly acceptable and reliable technique. It shouldn't be the only technique learned, but it is definitely helpful and it is valid no matter what math book you use for a child. It would seem that there is either a--an issue of semantics going on, or b--Spy Car has counting confused with subitizing.

Which books are you reading or have you read about child development and growth that you would recommend? Useful to any parent of a child age/stage birth to age 5. Right now I am reading Growing a Reader from Birth: Your Child's Path from Language to Literacy by Diane McGuinness and while I am only on the first chapter I am enjoying the book enough to take notes, though I can't say yet if I will be able to recommend it whole-heartedly or not just yet . For me, the book is useful because prior to being pregnant, I wasn't a big recreational reader. We have always known that a language rich environment was very important for our child to have. So books on language development are neat to read. Next up is Baby Read Aloud Basics by Blakemore and Ramirez and then we're looking into books on bilingualism.

I agree that you can raise a writer without a writing program. But probably not in a linguistic and literature impoverished environment. I think that its possible, even in un-ideal environments but less likely.

They may think that, but perhaps the father helped his son to experience empathy--perhaps his son is, at last, able to understand what it feels like to be humiliated/bullied. Some kids really, really struggle with empathy. The ability to put ones self in another persons shoes isn't instinctive for everyone.

I don't know what country your husband comes from, but sadly, I can believe it! Many of the school math texts I've seen weren't much better than...I honestly can't think of anything that is a just comparison. I was a HS math teacher many moons ago and it was...painful, sometimes to watch what the kids struggled with. If you have to count--on your fingers, and double check--to add a single digit and a double digit number, then clearly, something, somewhere has gone very, very wrong.

My Dr. told me to give up tea because I was having so many fertility struggles. I could get pregnant, but I wasn't able to stay pregnant for years. I had several miscarriages and failed attempts. It was more of a precautionary thing, I guess. But I gave them up because I wanted a baby. Now I've been advised against nursing while drinking teas. I have never cared for coffee really. So, what now: can I have tea or can't I?

My parents would tell us not to do something the first time, offer a reminder and/or an alternative the second time and then smack us when we disobeyed or 'forgot' as my brother was wont to do quite often. (We had a 1-2-3 You're Out type policy at home.) It depends on the individual kid whether such a policy would work for or against your agenda though.

Oh. I wasn't aware of that. Though I do have to say that I have never cared for euphemisms that referred to sex. I get that there are slang terms that are just more pleasing to the ear, rather than a lengthy description of specific sexual acts, but when I am talking about sex, then I say sex.

Well the good stuff is expensive. Try Charmin.

Am I missing something? What is so confusing about the word 'tea'?

I'm glad that some folks have found my initial reply helpful. I wanted to add one last bit of advice, but this one is targeted at you mama! You need to use this time to beef up your math skills or math explanatory skills. I don't know so much what is helpful to how you learn, but I should think that there are plenty of video lesson plans on youtube for grades K-5 about math. Now is the time for you, mom, to learn how to teach various math topics and skills. I have recommended S. Blumenfields' How To Tutor and T. Carpenters Making Sense: Teaching and Learning Mathematics with Understanding. To students who tell me that they want to teach mathematics or be elementary teachers. LiPing Mas' Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics is required reading for students in the Math Education majors. I think you could find all of those books on Amazon for good prices. Take this time to make things easier on yourself and study up on how to better introduce and explain mathematics. My mom was a math teacher and she ran a tutoring business as a side job so she always included a bit of 'teacher prep' into our math education, she made us 'learn how to demonstrate and explain' math before we were allowed to work for her. It was very nerve wracking to me at the time, when I would be called on to illustrate and explain a process, demonstrate the algorithm and then defend the algorithm against my moms query. She would give us problems that students had messed up on and have us find their mistake and see if we couldn't find the break in their logic. It was fantastic preparation for when I wanted to get into the math program at university, and later when I wanted to become a teacher. But more importantly, it taught us math. We really had to own the concepts and skills to pass my moms standard. Knowing the steps to solve a problem wasn't good enough for her, and I have come to appreciate what a powerful preparation that was for us later in life.

In my pre-pregnancy days, I was a bit of a tea-fiend. I had at least 3 cups a day and I drank a wide variety of them. I gave up virtually all of my teas during my pregnancy and had planned to resume tea after I'd given birth, but since I am breastfeeding, it's not quite that easy! What are some teas that I can safely drink while nursing/breastfeeding. I keep finding all these lists of teas to avoid! But where are the teas that I can drink!!! I keep being told to stay away from all herbal teas 'just to be safe'. Aren't there some teas known to be safe for nursing moms? I have had nothing but mothers milk and a couple of fruit teas for a long...long time now. I'd rather be safe than sorry, since I am nursing and don't want to do anything to jeopardize Jr. nor myself, but I'd really love some tea! Help!

Prealgebra is a myth! There is a discrete set of skills that students need in order to do well in algebra. Proficiency in arithmetic using integers (signed numbers), proficiency with fractions, and I would strongly encourage that many students also be good with decimals and percents, but more important than decimals & percents students should be good at recognizing when they can use distribution and how to do it, as well as order of operations. I haven't seen many Algebra texts that don't start out with just about all of the review that you could need. I won't be so bold as to 'all Algebra 1 texts' but I will say that most Algebra 1/Beginning Algebra/Introductory Algebra texts that I have seen, begin with the review of fractions, order of operations and quickly establish all of the basic skills that one would need to do well in the course. If your student is doing well in your current math course, I would try them in the first 1 or 2 chapters of the Algebra text that you have on hand. They should be just fine, if they are stumbling/struggling, just get more practice in their weak spots. I don't really recommend 'Prealgebra' as a full course of study unless a student is truly struggling with the basics of Algebra, and even then its just more time to address a weakness.

I don't know. But I change my tooth brush every month, like clock work, I have some cheap-o toothbrushes that I keep on hand for when I am sick. I use them, clean them with boiling water and bleach and use them again--until I am well. Then I throw out the cheap-o and return to my beloved 'brush of the month' toothbrush.

We never had many toys, but I jump roped, played those old hand clapping rhythm games and played street games such as stick ball, hide and seek, etc...with the kids on my block until maybe the summer of 10th grade. I wasn't the only "older teen" who played these types of games either. I grew up in the poorer part of the city and there wasn't a lot to do. Boys went to the dump to get stuff to play with such as tires and old wheels. We used plastic jugs and coat hangers to make play things when we were in grade school. Mama made us a variety of games out of household boxes and things--almost all of them had an underlying math theme. We used chalk more than pen and a paper when at home. We played games like hangman other drawing/crowd games at our house because we had several chalk boards. Bikes were as much a method of transport as they were a toy. Everyone in middle school and high school had a bike. That was how we got around since mostly no young kid had a car and the more you spent on the bus, the less there was to spend once you got to your destination--which was often the arcade or the strip malls. I wasn't a big reader or anything but we used to some times listen to this one pair of siblings do dramatic readings from stories and that was neat.