So I got Alexandria the Brock last year and we have USED it! In fact, we use it every week at COOP, and for younger kids it is far, far superior to other microscopes. They have digital uplinks as well, but kids that age want to do things themselves. They do not want to wait for adults to adjust and focus.:..and a huge benefit to the Magiscope is the ability to gather specimens outside and simply observe them. No slide prep needed. I really cannot stress what an awesome addition the Brock has been to our science education...

Perfect timing Jackie! We are also flying into San Diego just before Xmas, and are looking at options/) Maybe a meet up:) Thanks for the thread....

Ugh, I am struggling with this too, and my dd had a bday at the beginning of December to worry about too:) One thing I Did order and am really excited about is a cool chemistry game we played called Compounded. It is a strategy game where players are lab assistants. You try to complete chemicals before others do or your lab explodes:) it is fun and great practice. There is an expansion pack, as well as a Geiger expansion pack:) https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GEZAHYO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1446822516&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=Compound+game&dpPl=1&dpID=51wY5Dq88oL&ref=plSrch

Hilarious, as we own all of the titles mentioned:) let's make a weird club! A couple more offhand: the book Shocked is about the history of resuscitation and has the craziest stories of how attempts failed. Like blowing smoke into patient's rectums was a thing?! http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1617230227/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1446705994&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=Shocked&dpPl=1&dpID=51Zn1Gg0B0L&ref=plSrch Working Stiff http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1476727260/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1446706477&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=Working+stiff&dpPl=1&dpID=51D5IEyz-wL&ref=plSrch

We go through a ton of avocados in this vegetarian household! At the beginning of each week I make a huge bowl of guac with tons of lime. We eat it throughout the week with chips, with Mexican-style dinners, even on bagels. And yes, it does freeze well in slices, mashed into portion sizes, or as guac. LOL, If all else fails I would offer a class on how to check an avocado for ripeness at the supermarket without bruising and ruining the thing as a public service! Arg, a pet peeve of mine is opening an avo to discover somebody has killed it already with their thumbs:)

That is what my dd said!

Honestly? As much as I like Dinolingo, I can't recommend it for a 9 year old, except maybe as an expensive vocab supplement. They do speak phrases, but only the words are shown written out. I would, however, highly recommend the FREE Japanese lessons put together by Georgia Public Broadcasting! They have units to follow, as well as vocabulary. It is called Irasshai. http://www.gpb.org/irasshai/japanese-i

Life of Fred now has miniature Fred and Kingie dolls:) http://www.lifeoffredmath.com/lof-dolls.php Now if Beast would put out some! I DIY'ed a Lizzie, but dd says 'it just isn't the same, mom!'

I have a dd5 whose love of math really blossomed about that age. We did a lot of the things mentioned above, finding fun ways to incorporate math into just about everything. A couple of other things: There is an awesome set of math games called GiggleMath. It is a set of 26 steps, all games, by which kids master addition/subtraction. For example, first level is adding 0, then +/- 1. Then they memorize doubles, then doubles+1. Then 'monkey in the middle' where they learn to recognize that adding numbers two digits apart is the same as the double of the 'monkey in the middle.' They are all fun, simple games played with dice, cards, counters, etc., but my then 2 yr old LOVED them. Math Baths- we filled a box with anything mathematical that could go in water. Measuring cups/spoons, foam numbers and symbols, thermometer, ruler, plastic measuring tape, fraction bars, any and all mathanipulatives, foam fraction symbols, these really cool plastic geometric solids you fill with water to explore volume, and so on. A balance, counting bears, we even put the Mintessori Pink Tower in to play with cubes. Then we just let her play, with us chiming in or mentioning conversions. Eventually she even had a laminated formula chart because she wanted to not have to ask us:) She is five now and that is still one of her favorite things. They have gotten more elaborate, and we are always on the lookout for new math bath toys. ETA: We have a science bath too with slight spins if he is interested. So many cool things. I actually have a book called Bathtub Science. We just had a spooky Halloween bath where I dissolved B Complex vitamins in the bath and then turned on our UV light. Verrry eerie!

Hhm, I guess I would also consider the cost of repairs/cleaning for a longer-stay tenant versus the weekender. If you know/trust the person it might make a difference I guess, but someone staying that long will probably have guests themselves. If you end up having to paint or replace carpeting then you really would have been better off leaving it open with few or no customers. If you live in a Uni town I would bet you will get some parents at graduation time in Decemember...

I have a poetry tea time planned for this week and I chose poems from this great list: http://www.thingsthatgoboo.com/scarypoems/darkpoems.htm It has a really great mix of classic poetry. I can't wait to introduce her to the concept of 'Will you walk into my parlour, said the spider to the fly...'

Absolutely agree. Honestly, I would suggest the 3-6 year old group as the best target. It is primarily vocabulary.You could use it for slightly older kids if you just planned to quickly move through the vocab before moving on... ETA: I should have originally mentioned that I have the discs for my dd5:) she watched them beginning at age 3 for Spanish...

We have Dinolingo Spanish, French, and Latin DVDs, and Dd enjoys them. We just started an online subscription and find it much more convenient:)

Reviving this thread because we played a fantastic game and I wanted to share:) It is called Clumsy Thief. It is primarily a money game but has strategy, money, and a really clever way to practice all the combinations to add up to 100. I actually bought it to play with a mixed group of coop kids, and even the teens loved it. Lots of mental math to practice:) https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EBCDXCA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1445720777&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=clumsy+thief+game&dpPl=1&dpID=61hmYTJMfhL&ref=plSrch

I am totally making this next week! Thanks:)

Not QUITE the same but one my dd loves is Motion Math Pizza. I just checked and you can get it for android. It allows you to run a pizza shop, economics, math, money, it is really great:) http://motionmathgames.com/motion-math-pizza/

Ooh, so glad we aren't the only geeks to celebrate! We made little mole cupcakes for the chemistry department, and had a little party. Dad wore his ACS mole pin to work today with a special chemistry tie I got him. Not sure his students cared...they were much more worried about things such as the weekend university homecoming events:( Priorities, people!!!

I have decided this should be a real THING. Chronic asynchronous child fatigue or some such. We are only in the first few months of official homeschooling! I should still be floating on the impetus of initiation, right? Dd5 is just SO MUCH! Even with (or including!) a PANDAS diagnosis with all sorts of craziness including OCD and severe ADHD and a 6-mo-old baby brother that is threatening to follow in her footprints, she just doesn't rest. Today she corrected the cashier on how much I should pay after calculating both 15%off and adding (approx) 8% sales tax...yet I had to scoop her off the ground and bodily carry her to the car because her coloring page ended up with a bent corner. Total hysterics. Does it get better? Or do kids just learn to hide the asynchronousity a bit better?

Can I just recommend Bisto Onion Gravy?! Seriously. They are vegan and make an absolutely gorgeous pie. Never had Bisto until British hubby introduced me in the UK. We now bring back half a suitcase when we go, because it is so much cheaper to get there. You still can order it in the U.S., and it can be added to just about anything to make a lovely, thick, savory gravy:) http://veganchristmas.co.uk/vegan-gravy.html

I am so glad you said this:) My dd finished SM4B and has worked though the Key to series for Fractions, decimals, and is finishing Percents. We have SM5, and she will do it...but because we have always worked on 'fun' math we have covered SO much. Because of her age I kept thjnkjng we needed to wait for some time, but she wants to do some algebra work. We have already played with Hands on Equations. I bought the first couple of Key to Algebra books thinking it would be a nice challenge...I know they are so gentle, but honestly we are finding it really a non-event. If we find gaps, we will just address them. And if we get to a point where we need to back off, we can. I plan on spending years tackling the fun, problem-solving, patience-stretching. Right now she is desperate for the tools to try, and I am trying to follow her...

First off-the skip counting lesson looks deceptively easy! It is worth it to do it, and I can guarantee there will be challenging portions of it:) Many people, including us, run BA a year behind their math spine. Ours is also Singapore. I feel like the point of BA is not just to teach them how to do the math, but stretch them with ways to think about math. The long-term goal is in mind, not what grade level it is. I understand not wanting to fork over money for something he is 'past.' Or not wanting to waste time in something that is redundant! But BA is so different that it will only augment his understanding and challenge him in new ways:) As far as schedules, we do BA 3 days per week and Singapore about 6 days per week. BA takes her a lot longer each day, but she enjoys it more. However, I have a math-loving kiddo who would do math a lot more Than I am willing to! We also have a day where we add in things like IP, CWP, and Zaccharo math.

I once found mine after two days where dd3 had hidden it in the metal toilet paper cannister next to the toilet. The cannister suddenly started vibrating and rattling whilst I was attending to business. It scared the crap out of me! No, not literally:)

Thank you for caring enough to come out of lurkdom. I am not currently on Facebook but would be willing to join for that.

Sorry for the late response. The baby did not do well with his 6 month vaccinations:( I don't even know how to classify her symptoms. It HAS gotten much, much better. The day after I posted she was absolutely manic. Very scary. And she would just scream, high-pitched, on and on. She finally lost her voice and I can't say I was too upset by that. She is mostly herself, but is still suffering from OCD-type behaviors. Still having really vivid bad dreams, and lots of anxiety where she never did before. She is above and beyond crazy with movement. Yesterday I was looking at her handwriting and it has totally changed! She has had absolutely beautiful handwriting for a long time...and it is still good, but not nearly what it was. I am not sure what to make of that. I thought maybe it was an off day, but it has continued and she was upset about it. Also, she reads a lot, often aloud. She is very fluid, and reads with uh, extreme prosody:) but lately she will go back and read the same sentence over several times. When I ask her why she says she just has to:( I am frustrated because her doctor seems content to treat the strep and hope everything else clears up. I did but a huge supply of Strep A tests for home, but obviously this is only a tiny portion of it. Hopefully the specialists will have more for us. I feel awful. All those times in the past when we would see manic behavior for a brief period, horrid behavior that we thought was just a parenting issue. From experience, we usually knew these coincided with an ear infection (she never complains about being sick, ever). How much of this escalating pattern could have been avoided?!

He didn't, by chance, actually baptize a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey by chance?