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If a pie gets eaten in the back yard and no one is there to hear the burp did it ever really happen?

I don't know how old your kids are, but we did a couple of activities with Fairy Tales:) I started when I found a cute picture book called 'A Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-be.' It tells the Princess and the Pea story from the POV of the pea: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0375873708?pc_redir=1405231619&robot_redir=1 I then started looking for familiar fairy tales with stories from alternate points of view. There are lots! But this website was a big help and has lots of ideas as well: http://www.readwritethink.org/resources/resource-print.html?id=30148

This is always a sticky situation. I did this the first year my dd was born and people were NOT happy. They still felt they had to bring gifts because others might and they would be uncomfortable, or they wanted to do something just because. I finally solved the problem by starting a book exchange. Dd''s bday is also just before Christmas so I hate getting a ton of presents for her then...especially when that is a hard time for many. So I ask that instead of a regular gift everyone bring a copy of their favorite book gift-wrapped. (under $20). We then do a book exchange, so everyone goes home with a book. Most parents even leave a gift receipt in the cover so it can be exchanged if necessary:) If they have asked for no gifts, definitely honor it...but small homemade gifts or cards I think are a nice touch:)

I hope things get better for you soon! My sister and her family always hover right there. In the off-season for father's work they are able to get assistance...but in the summer when he is working sunup to sun down they lose benefits. They hate being on it and hate being without it. There is no way to win and NO one, especially not in a country literally buried in excess food, should ever have to worry about running out of food. Ever. Policy be damned.

We had to slowly get our dd used to the new carseat at that age. We brought it into the house and treated it like a big kid 'special seat.' Invited her to sit, giving a reward of a goldfish after a minute...whilst playing with her. Then stretching it, oh, mommy is going to get your dolly... It was that extreme. When she still had to rear-face we used a large Velcro mirror so that she could see, and that helped too. We must have done that for a few minutes several times per day for a week or so before she finally was ready to try it in the car. Then we had a small bucket of special-only-in the car toys. Okay...an for my either brilliant moment or horrible parenting moment, depending upon how you look at it. After a trip to the pet store for inspiration, we made her a food-dispensing puzzle, lol. You know, like the ones for dogs?! We made hers out of PVC pipe...you turned the pieces so they were aligned just so and a goldfish would shake out:) kept her quite busy and she was fed and entertained:) *hangs head in shame*

Totally agree! A parent paying for college does not need to be completely hands off during Uni...but I see their job at that point as more of an advisor, a sounding board, voice of experience. By all means keep up on things-through your child and the relationship that you have hopefully built with them. If you are having to retrace every step, second guess their choices and analyze their progress/interactions with their advisors and professors? I guess I see that as either a failure to thrive or failure to launch. They need to be advocating for themselves. This includes keeping track of their graduation requirements, prerequisites, planning ahead for those, managing time and budget, and so forth. It DOES NOT mean that a parent should not be involved or help...but as an agreement between parents and young adult. Not between parents and Uni with the young adult a fairly passive party.

Yes...well, maybe a bit from an invasion of privacy stance, but that is between parents and their kids:) It is about helicopter parenting...contacting a professor to ask if student has been attending class. Asking about grades. Pleading 'special circumstances' in behalf of their child. Asking for a 'little bit of gray area' (happened!) in terms of a students final grade. Asking for 'extra credit' because their child really, really worked hard and deserves it. Giving a sob story to the prof at the end of the semester in hopes that the grade can e altered for the student. And otherwise attempting to manipulate or intimidate a teacher/prof into altering a grade, even in the nicest, most well-meaning manner. When I see hubby absolutely sick to his stomach because parents want to meet and convince him of the severity of the situation...every semester, because their special snowflake is going to lose a scholarship/work at McDonalds forever/etc., etc., I tend to get a wee bit exasperated. Helping a college student plan and organize? Okay. Micromanaging their college life and attempting to manipulate undeserved outcomes? Helicopter parenting at best...

Of course. And they would happily bring things out to me. I could send my hubby instead. I could even wait in the drive-thru or use another place. But my dd LOVES that she gets to do this, be a bit independent and help. I would not rob her of the opportunity for all the well-meaning interference in the world...as long as I have done everything possible to ensure safety. I just find it telling that my idea of HP is others idea of negligence and horrible parenting.

I agree 'helicopter parenting' will always be in the eye of the beholder... True story: this week I was literally yelled at by a woman who made it a point to watch for me just to come out and reprimand me for my irresponsible and dangerous behavior. Every week I take my impossibly independent dd4 to the drycleaners. Honestly, this is one of the highlights of her week. It is a very small place in a tiny strip of 3 small businesses. You literally pull up to the sidewalk right in front of the glass front and doors. Because of my wheelchair and their lack of a ramp, I used to call ahead and they would bring items out. Now I pull right up, open the door ahead and let my 4 year old take in the dry cleaning. She is sooo proud of herself, politely asking for pickup, turning in dirty shirts and handing over my CC. (No sig required). It is what she does for daddy. I keep the door open. We go during the day when the place is deserted. If there IS another car we wait until they are done. I keep the ramp door of the wheelchair van open. I am literally 6 feet from her, she doesn't even cross the parking lot! Oh! And did I mention I always call ahead to let them know she is coming in? If there is a problem or they have a question they can simply raise their voice and ask me as they keep both doors open. To me, this is the illusion of independence. I am totally helicopter parenting, setting the situation up for success and preparing her for the future in tiny increments. But in the eyes of a bystander, assuming I am just 'using my baby because I am too lazy to get out!' I am negligent and horribly dangerous. There is no way to win except push my ultra secret internal mute button to turn off ignorant and unwarranted invective:) Even within the hive I am sure there are a range of opinions on this practice, lol!

I can't multiquote from my phone, but as previous posters have said, it is never okay to contact the professor. The lone exception, as Kiana stated, MIGHT be to let a prof know that an accident has happened...but there are even channels for that, where the uni chaplain or dean would contact all the profs. And actually, it is against the law for the prof to even acknowledge that that student is in the class, much less give information. Hubby gets tens of emails per semester from 'concerned parents.' He is unable to answer them. No matter the person actually paying for school as he constantly hears:) Unfortunately, there is a form that the student can sign to waive their rights under the Privacy Act, in which case concerned mom and dad can be involved. There are legit reasons for this, but very few...it is sickening when you know the kid was pressured to sign it because of whom I paying the tab for education. This happened all the time when I was a student too:(

I don't have any suggestions for a book, but I hve a collection of Naxos audiobooks that are a similar style. The only one with Celtic mythology in the set I this one that we like: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/9626342048/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?qid=1406468673&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

Always looking for more audiobooks:) But I won't let hubby listen if it is that sort of humour, he is bad enough on his own:)

That is the line to my nerdy hubby's all-time favorite lame-o joke... Answer: a stick, to the obvious amusement of 8-year-old boys round the world. Today he introduced dd4 to this joke when we pulled into the driveway to encounter a large dead tree branch. I am not sure if I should be worried or proud that when the riddle was posed, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed: "Ooooh, CHOCOLATE!" And took at as a personal invitation to raid his stash of extra special chocolate:)

I thought it was a big PITA originally, but we did it at the beginning of summer when we set out on a long vacation. We actually only did it because the last time we went to Europe they froze our account and we had to make long involved phone calls from overseas to solve the issue. Low and behold, 5 long weeks into the trip I received both an email and a cell phone call at 7 am! It turns out someone had attempted to purchase a mountain bike using my CC hundreds of miles from where we were on holiday. Because we had informed them of our approximate whereabouts ahead of time, the CC company declined the purchase, saved us from dealing with any fraudulent charges, and overnighted us both new debit cards and credit cards to our hotel. So, yes. It definitely can be worth it/)

Anybody done this Coursera offering? Hubby and I are planning it as a family, adapting for the little one... https://www.coursera.org/course/thinkagain

So, last year was the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, and the documentary, challenge to learn it and watch a series of famous people and their recitations was announced. We chose to learn it as a family, but this summer dd4 again asked to make it a fun project. We told her she could choose a method of presentation and she opted to do a puppet show:) So, she will be reciting the entire Gettysburg address, making a puppet, and designing a theater. We will also be learning the context, so have been reading a handful of books as part of our summer reading program. Tonight at bed time she asked me if people around the world would be doing the project as well, as "it is so important to remember why all people are important to America. No matter what." We had a talk about how things that are important get lost in the day to day. But she didn't seem to get that, and was insistent that everybody should learn it and live it (did I mention she saw a billboard with that sentiment!) and decided she wants to encourage people to 'just try it, it's easy!' I told her I would help. So, any homeschoolers willing to do this? Memorize the Gettysburg address, make your own video presentation, and upload it to the site before November 19th? A gauntlet has been laid down...by my 4 year old:) Any takers? ETA: here is the site! http://www.learntheaddress.org/about/

We have gone with a couple of the ASK kits too, and love them. They are much more high quality and you will find that the components will morph into long-term use...as opposed to hitting the trash or recycling when you are done! http://www.academyofscienceforkids.com/rocks-and-minerals/rocks-amp-minerals-earth-science-101 We have done all of the different types of kits, although I have *almost-* given up on lots altogether. We did a subscription to MSB science kits and a few Young Scientist kits, and they were fun...when Alex was about 3! You will be hard pressed to make them worthwhile for a science-loving 1st grader, much less a third grader. That isn't to say there are not worthwhile experiments in them! They just tend to contain popular experiments with easily sourced materials. If you are not science-minded or have the ability/time to research then they would make a nice 'get it done' box for a preK-1st set. Honestly, we approach science in a build-your-own lab way now, so are looking for quality materials. Sometimes, for subjects of less interest, ASK, Science in a Nutshell, or Thames & Kosmos are great...if it is something you will be returning to, look to books of experiments and hit Home Science Tools:)

Huh, I guess it pretty much was. It wasn't anything formal, I just looked up a webpage with all the mottos ahead of time so *I* could refresh:) if I didn't know the info I looked it up so that when we crossed into a state I could provide the info! It then spread to all the states when we were doing Geopuzzles or the like. Good fun. Another way is to do a National Parks study...we went on a looonnng trip this summer touring them. Alex did a junior ranger program at all of them and earned badges from each. You can do something similar from the National Parks web pages, and they will send you a badge or pin in the mail. I had this whole amazing landforms/features unit picked out for fall that is now redundant because she learned it all hands-on in the parks!

[quote name="jaderbee" post="5812787" timestamp= Thanks for the replies everyone! I think I'm going to go the song, game puzzle route. If I can find that cookbook at the library we'll try that too. I really liked the idea of posters. We're they collages? I think having each child make a collage throughout the year (one does bird, one does flower, one does...I like mottos instead of trees) would be a fun way to review and be visually appealing as well. Not to mention I have a bird crazy 1st grader. I have to say, we did capitals, major landmarks, waterways, and mottos. I know people find them useless, but we actually used them as history memory pegs...my 4 year old now knows that Wyoming was the first state to allow women the right to vote (as well as all about cowboys!) and why that is important. She knows why Oklahoma is called 'the Sooner state' and we were able to learn a bit about westward expansion. And so on. They are great as a start...

You mentioned you hadn't fleshed out science and it reminded me of a set of CDs we listen to in the car. 1. Great Scientists and their Discoveries 2. Great Inventors and their Inventions 3. Famous People from History 4. Both volumes of Great Explorers And a couple more in this line. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/9626344199/ref=pd_aw_sims_1?pi=SL500_SS115&simLd=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/9626344407/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1406301849&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40 http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/9626342919/ref=pd_aw_sims_4?pi=SL500_SS115&simLd=1 I also just bought this volume on rulers of Ancient Rome to go with our studies: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/9626342870/ref=pd_aw_sims_4?pi=SL500_SS115&simLd=1 And so forth. They are great, very informative short 'chapters' with a bit about each person/topic. They also do a great job of piquing interest:)

My dd loves the Stack the States app, and this summer when we were traveling through so many of the states we bought the Brain Box USA game. It is a memory game where you look at the card with the main facts about the state...capital, nickname, bird, flower, a few major features, that sort of thing. You then compete to see how much you remember. It is fun and amazing for retention:)

Honestly Charleigh? I think it looks like you put a lot of time and thought into well-balanced and highly-nutritious foods for your family. If you are managing to eat that well on a budget of $1000 month given all the food issues you are really doing a great job! It is just really, really hard to eat inexpensively and well.

I take B12 supplements. When I first was tested years ago I went through a series of injections to restore levels, and then I began monthly injections. Just as a thought, I actually give them to myself at home. The doctor orders the Rx and I simply do it the first day of the month. The first couple of times the nurse worked with me to make sure I could do it properly, and that was that. One thing to note for those concerned above at how their healthy diet could manage to result in low B12 levels...typically it can't. The liver actually stores a three year supply of B12 so it is incredibly difficult to have a B12 deficiency from diet alone. There almost always is an underlying cause, as in it is not being absorbed. There are more than a few possibilities and you might check with your doctor to try to pin it down...but know that this is very common as we get older, especially as women:) Hope you feel better soon!

I will join your support group😊 We only have two adults and 1 child, and I am sure our food totals are about there. We have no Whole Foods close...so end up driving 2 hours each way a couple of times a month to stock up. I don't even have the excuse of buying meat! We are vegetarian. Although we do buy meat substitutes like Morningstar or Quorn, and those are pricey! It really is all the extra ingredients that add up when you are eating healthy foods and trying creative ways of getting in all the nutrients. And all those types of things like sun butters, nuts, alternative foods, etc., never seem to go on sale.