Ha, that is hilarious, and brought back memories! When I was very young my mom made a very similar meal... But she baked the hotdogs in those pre made rolls in a tube, like a wiener wrap. Noodles and brown gravy on the side. Of course, four kids on a single income probably encouraged this:) Oh...did I mention I went vegetarian at age five?!

I have a 19 year old college student who literally arrived in country 2 weeks ago. I am paying her to come over once per week to work with my dd on Soroban. She speaks very little English, but This may well be what your dd needs:) In fact, I know this girl is looking for opportunities to practice English, so maybe they could trade off. She is here for this full year I know, but lives in the Dorms and doesn't get much of a chance to really see off-campus. We are trying to include her in our family trips to give her a chance to see some things. She is scheduled to come Friday, so I could ask her if she is interested. If you would like me to, please send me a pm. Of course, all I can do is ask, and the rest is up to her:) If not, you might check with your local Uni as I think a year exchange program is quite common.

I give my kiddo yogurt-covered raisins as treats... She also really likes honey-roasted nuts.

Thanks for this! I kept the email from Amazon, just in case, but I think that we will hold on to the box for a couple of months. If nothing comes of it by then, I think we will sell it on eBay and donate the money to charity for Xmas as I can't see donating these particular items as is. It just feels weird to keep them! And what else would I do? Regift them to others? Even more strange! Mamaraby, in the process of attempting to quote you from my phone, I managed to do something strange with first liking your post, then changing it. Lol, please disregard:)

Thanks, Maybe I wasn't searching properly for it. Looks like others have received things in the past...but little things I can see it not being worth the cost of shipping it back. This is nearly $1000 worth of stuff, according to the matched item numbers I found! I am just cynical I guess. I can't see our neighborhood being prime area for something like this. We live in faculty housing for the largest private Baptist University in the world. VERY low crime rate here, and our street is highly lit, patrolled by campus security, and is all Uni faculty.

Okay, that absolutely tops my experience😄 I am still laughing at the thought of opening a package like that!! At least that would seem like a big cosmic joke! I hope your kids weren't in the room:) My husband opened up the wine carriers to make sure it wasn't some strange drug deal gone bad...I think he has seen a few too many episodes of Breaking Bad, and he IS a chemist!

Yikes! That makes me feel even better:((( Off to search through old threads...

Oh! And UPS confirms Amazon shipment. Their take on it is 'nothing to do with them' if Amazon doesn't want it back.

That's the strangest thing. It is Amazon! And with no packing slip. No anything, guess who would have to pay shipping for a hugely heavy box about 4 ft x 3 ft x 2 ft!

A couple of weeks ago I received a huge box from Amazon. Regular Amazon box, packing, even sealed with Amazon tape. But no invoice, and definitely not something I (or anyone on my behalf!) ordered. Inside the box was nearly $1000 in merchandise in the form of random items. The bulk of the package was wireless blue-tooth speakers. There were a couple of insulated wine carriers, for 3 bottles each. Totally random. So thinking there was a mistake, I first checked my online orders...nothing. I was able to match up the product numbers on individual items, further ensuring they did indeed come from Amazon. I sent an email and had a live chat, upon which I was asked for the tracking number on the box. After I provided it I was informed that the tracking number does not exist in their records (someone had to have paid UPS!) and that I did not need to send the package back. HUH?! This just seems SO strange, an somehow dodgy. Maybe I should just consider it a very strange early Xmas present, but it just feels too strange...and I am too cynical! Anybody had this happen to them or had any experience similar?

Corduroy- Glad your kiddo likes them! They have to go on every car ride with us. Fair warning though, you will get some odd looks when your child starts explaining, in great physiological detail, body systems that your average adult doesn't know/remember! Especially when it happens to be be say, the digestive tract, in a public bathroom. Loudly. :))))

Anna's Mom, Not Korrale, but I know we bought the entire set from Peter Weatherall's website. Honestly, my dd watches all of them. Her favorite is the entire set from the Human Biology DVD. That being said, probably what you are looking for will be on either the Simple Science DVDs. These include Simple Science, More Simple Science, and Simplest Science. Not all of his videos are on YouTube, but if you go to his website you can play samples. On his YouTube channel I just had a look for a few in this level. It will be things like The Photosynthesis Song, The Rock Song, A Push or a Pull, The Space Song, etc. There is also a separate (awesome!) DVD/CD for math that has kept my math-loving kiddo going. I am always amazed at what tiny children pick up from these:) Hope that helps a bit!

Hubby is British and he sometimes asks for a casserole-style dish called 'Toad in the Hole' that is made with sausages...we are veggie, so make a few substitutions, but here is a recipe: http://britishfood.about.com/od/eorecipes/r/Family-Toad-In-The-Hole-Recipe.htm

Oh Corduroy, I have a dd about the age of yours, with that explicit need for information and less cutesy. Don't get me wrong, she loves a good princess story at times...but when it comes to reality? The more literal the better. There is a scientist in New Zealand, Peter Weatherall, who puts out fantastic videos and songs for learning. The one you should definitely take a look at is the one titled Human Biology, for which I am including the link. But you can also get a very, very inexpensive bundle, especially the science set, that will keep you kiddo learning for a long time. The Human biology DVD has so much information that you could use it a supplement to HS or even entry Uni-level course...but is done well enough (a lesson, then the lesson put to a clever song) that the littles love it. My dd still asks for it several times per week and she has been watching it for over a year and a half. Hope you like it. You can also find some of his videos on YouTube. http://www.kidsinglish.com/video_clips/human-biology/human-biology.htm

A friend sent me a link to this PDF from the math learning center site for more complex patterns using attribute blocks. It comes with lessons as well, for grades 3-5, but it might give you a starting point: http://catalog.mathlearningcenter.org/files/pdfs/PBLCCSS35-0412w.pdf I also have a great set from Learning Resources that are mosaics you can take a look at. I will see if I can find them on the website. They are called Pattern Block Activity Cards, grade 2-6. ETA: this is the set I have. It even has really great questions about symmetry and units... :http://www.learningresources.com/product/intermediate+pattern+block+design+cards.do?from=Search

I truly hope everything is okay! It is a horrible experience and a horrifying feeling. And goes to show that even when you think you have everything to keep them safe?! I have powerful medications I have to take...we keep them locked up, in a high cabinet AND in a locking box. I am extremely vigilant, but to be on the extra cautious side I practiced with my child. She has seen lots of different pills, and we did an exchange (starting at about age 2). ANYTHING remotely resembling a pill or medicine she finds can be exchanged for a mini m&m. I have exchanged lots of random crumbs and bits, and do think she takes advantage here and there... But about 1 month ago she actually brought me a pill!!! A tiny white one she had found on the floor in the kitchen. It turns out, we had brought in a appliance repairman to fix the dishwasher. Apparently, in the course of him rolling around on the kitchen floor it had fallen out of his pocket. The pharmacy identified it a a strong dose of nitroglycerin! We all do the best we can, and hope that our kids are well and safe. My thought are with you today....

I agree that AAS is a very lovely and gentle start to spelling. My dd3.5 has completed the first level and is slowly, gently going through level 2. When we started she wasn't writing easily enough to not get frustrated, so we did a mix of tiles and the Word Wizard app on IPad. And I know that there are a lot of mixed opinions on whether a child that age should be asked to spell, but I have to say she absolutely loves it! She asks for it all the time. I try to oblige her a few times per week, and she now loves to write the words. For this a give her a marker and a dry-erase board, and no correcting of letter size or shape...plenty of time for penmenship during other activities, although she is a bit of a perfectionist so really does try. As a reward for the lesson, she will ask me to set a timer for 15 minutes to see how many words she can write/spell correctly in that time, and she tells me the 'rule' that goes with it. ( I have shuffled all the cards from level 1 so as to let her 'play') it isn't unusual for her to get 18-20 words done in the 15 minute time frame, giggling all the while. I am sure this will go much faster as her writing speed increases. As long as she is having a blast, so am I:) I say this, because spelling is a lot of fun for her, more of a game. I think AAS is awesome for this, and can easily be done so even the youngest kiddos, provided they are reading at about a 1st/2nd grade level.

I absolutely have to mention my dd''s favorite audio cd for education. And mine, because the songs are sung well without that horrible forced quality rampant in educational songs! The album is called 'Montessori Minutes' by Shelley Murley. There are tracks on just about all basic material you might like a young child to learn, things ranging from planets in the solar system, the water cycle, 50 states, continents and oceans, famous inventors/inventions, that sort of general information. https://www.amazon.com/gp/dmusic/device/mp3/store/album/B0019W16J2?ie=UTF8

I purchased a few of the Daxos Junior Classics sets for this very thing. There are several sets, but in our house there are a few of clear favorites: Famous Scientists and their Discoveries Famous Inventors and their Inventions Both albums of Great Explorers Famous People in History Here is an Amazon link to the first, and further links on the same page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9626344199?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links There is a similar set for composers that we have not done yet:)

Ooh! I do and I don't...I am away from home for the weekend, but do have some of the earlier photos on my phone and IPad, when it was about half done!I have no idea if it will work to attach them, but here goes. These are taken before the rest of the roof was completed, and things like the ball pit, more gymnastics equipment, etc were brought in and I installed...but you can get the idea. It is actually quite simple to do, and one could build it in such a way as to still get the car in if so inclined! We just had too many things we wanted to include. As it is, dh has just put up a small Zipline and Slackline setup in the yard adjacent:) When I get home I can take some more recent photos that include most of our newer additions and ideas...it is a never-ending project as new ideas hit!

I have MPH and I really just don't like how it is presented. Even for the early years, it just is not a cohesive flow of information. I also feel like it cherry-picks topics (rather, parts of topics!) but does a poor job of presenting them. When we do use the pages, it is more as a side note. I recently bought the R.E.A.L Science Odyssey Life, Earth/Space science, and Chemistry books and I really love the layout. I am adding in a bit of structure and the approach of BFSU to really focus on the process and the scientific method, as well as some fun worksheets from the Evan-Moor Big Book of Science Resources. And LOTS of experiments! We are chemists in our house and my kiddo seems to require large daily doses of math and science to function. And because my dd is young, we have time (and no pressure!) to cover it all with lots of rabbit trails...but I love the combination. Btw, Pandia Press is having a 25% off sale all September!

We live in Texas where it is too hot to do much outside much of the time...or too humid, to mosquito-y, you get the idea. I am also in a wheelchair, so we need easy access for my little ball of energy. We turned our 2-car garage into a climbing wall (really cave, since it is three walls and the roof). We added monkey bars, a trampoline, a balance beam, ball pit, swing, trapeze, mini basketball hoop, foam ramps and pads ala gymnastics, rings, and have just ordered a bar. On the inside of the automatic garage door we have a long ballet-style bar and long mirror. Huge fans keep the air circulating, and the kid (and parents!) can play for hours! Of course, our van is always filthy and covered in leaves, but who cares?!

Interesting article in ScienceDaily this morning about bullying, and how anti-bullying programs in public schools can exacerbate the problem. At the end of the article they have outlined some risk factors: including the lack of support or action from parents! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130912203337.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

A great 4-book fiction series called 'The contest:Everest' By Gordon Korman I bought the first for my nephew (4th grade) and he couldn't put it down. He immediately read the others as well.This for a kid who considers any reading akin to blunt trauma. Apparently, it is on a list at his school for their 3rd grade-level 'exciting challenge' program. Here is the Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24073.The_Contest

One specific websites I know of is the Amazingkids e-zine: http://mag.amazing-kids.org/ And I was recently looking for places that my nephew could possibly publish some of his writing and found this list of magazines that publish student writing. The Cricket magazine people even do it, so I will give you the link in case your daughter wants to have a look. Different age restrictions apply per magazine, of course. http://www.newpages.com/npguides/young_authors_guide.htm