I think it's rude. "Last year the google drive / technology / whatever gave us trouble'" would be softer. Also the please doesn't make e first bit less commanding. Would you please confirm? Or would you mind confirming? Or "could you let me know"? These are all softer. Email is tricky.

I was going to suggest Pandora, too. She could totally get into that and figure out what she likes. Count Basie would be a great starting point, I think, for a piano kid. Jazz is really fun, you might get hooked, too. :) All the old guys learned jazz by listening. You can get books and stuff, but depending on where she's at in term of theory and aural skills and stuff, she may be able to pick up things by listening. I would suggest that if your girl wants to play jazz, she figure out how she wants to get there. Is she more of a books kid, or more of a try-it-and-see kid?

Stack the States on iThing! Totally fun and painless learning. My kids loved this game and played it intensely until they'd nailed it (6 and 7 at the time) and then basically quit. But though it's been a good year since really using it, the information has stuck.

I'd totally answer the poll, but need a "none" category -- my peeps don't watch the television.

Probably any instrument is equally difficult to become an expert in - some are just easier to be decent on. Like oboe vs. clarinet - it's way easier to sound decent on clarinet, but both take practically a lifetime to be amazing at. Also trumpet vs. French Horn. Ditto guitar and piano. Guitar is easier to be decent at (non-classical, anyway) but the sky is the limit once you've begun.

Ugh, fundraising is no fun. Our troop does just one per year, a family movie night where they sell concessions and stuff. But the proceeds from that go to our service projects for the year. So it feels good to make it happen. Our troop has a supply budget of $10 per kid per year. So in my group of 10 girls, there'd be $100 available for supplies towards the badges they're earning as a crew. We also sometimes ask parents to bring stuff, if it's things they'd likely have at home. The badges are $4/per, usually. Some of the patches and whatever might be different. Honestly, if you ask, I'd bet your coordinator or treasurer would be happy to show you the books. Financial transparency is a big deal, and if there's anything you're feeling unsettled about it's WAY better to just ask in an upfront way and see what's going on with your money.

No, mercy! They do not have to wear skirts while camping. Our people wear whatever they want while camping, and the AHG uniform (worn to meetings) is navy bottoms (skirt, skort, shorts, pants, whatever) with a white shirt and the vest/neckerchief. It's not crazy. There are Christian topics in the badge work. There's a Bible Basics, which is just what it sounds like. And I can think of a couple of them (maybe a My Style) that have modesty sub-points. But they're not going to tell you to wear ankle-length skirts and long sleeves at all times -- it's more of a "what does this mean to you, in light of these Bible verses" line of thinking.

It's helpful to have the book new - it'll last your kids' entire AHG career, and it serves as a record keeping thing as well. So when your girl finishes a badge requirement, your leader will sign off on the completion. A used book would probably be significantly marked up it the previous owner had done a bit of AHGing. As for uniforms, our troop does not require the special AHG polo or skirt - just navy and white. You might check with your people before you shell out for the special stuff.

Rats! It said the same thing x2.

We loved the Penderwicks. My people (all girls, fwiw) adore the Hardy Boys, which are way fun though highly formulaic. We all are enjoying the Redwall Series.

I LOVE my fiesta ware. I've had it for 10 years, starting with the dinner sets and adding some service pieces and a couple of butter dishes along the way. And the cutest little salt and pepper shakers. I have a pretty wide variety of colors and love them all. After a holiday dinner or having friends over or whatever seeing all those colors lined up in my dishwasher gives me joy.

I just put 'em on the clothesline with the wet towels and stick 'em back in the swim bag for the next day. Unless something happened to the suit, I consider it good to go. Honestly, we're only suits for a couple/few hours anyway.

There are a couple of things (well, a lot, really) that we can all agree aren't good for us. White bread and other highly refined grains. Sugar. Anybody dispute those? And there are lots of things we know are good for us. Carrots. Broccoli. Spinach. Kale. Asparagus. Water. So if somebody is serious about making a change, remove the obviously bad stuff, add lots of the obviously good stuff and do what you want with the rest. It's totally possible that some folks' bodies respond better to vegan eating, and others thrive on a paleo diet, but both your vegans and your paleo folks will have common ground with those basics.

I've had a bit of a chat with my girl, informed by y'all's suggestions and ideas. She told me that sometimes she wishes she could play with the other kids but doesn't know how to get started and other times she just doesn't like the games they're playing or doesn't feel like a good fit with those kids. I told her that I like that she's making choices that work for her, and not just playing to please other people. And that if at some point she wants to, we can work on some social skills to make it easier to join in when she wants. We talked about how different things come more easily to certain people and other things people have to work on - she observed that she's going to have to work on the social stuff and that it's not that easy for her. But I liked that she agreed that they're regular skills and can be learned. Thanks for thinking through it with me, y'all.

Ooh, Jean, to tell you the truth I hadn't really thought about that -- maybe the kids in the groups where she doesn't interact just aren't the right kids for her? I'll have to give that some more consideration.

I think it depends on who you're asking. If I were to do that for a neighbor, I would feel embarrassed and awkward about them paying me. Though some sort of gift or gift card would feel different. As a teenager, I would have loved doing the work and being paid for it. If you're paying, maybe you could arrange that it's $15 per shovelling or some such rate? Or pay by the shovelling hour? Or would your neighbor just be whizzing down your walk with a snowblower?

I tend to think of whether my great-grandmother would've eaten the specific food. Or at least someone's great-grandmother. So milk, yes. Cheese, yes. Velveeta cheese, no. Tortillas, yes. Cheetos, no.

I'm totally on board with letting an introvert be an introvert, even on the playground. If she needs to recharge by herself, bless her sweet heart for recognizing the opportunity and making it happen! But maybe I'm wrong thinking she'd enjoy being with other kids more if she'd play? I've gotten that idea from the few times that she has played with other kids, and the fun that she has with the three kids she enjoys. And honestly, from my own experience in being with other humans.

Wow, Jean, thanks for your perspective! I really hadn't considered that she might be enjoying her sort of outsider situation in these scenarios. And I could be way off-base thinking she'd have more fun as someone who participates. Her report of whether she enjoys things like school and scouts is always kind of middlin', though, that she likes the activities/learning/whatever but is kind of overwhelmed by the "chaos" of the people.

Alright, I like hearing that it's probably fine. The report from the girl is that sometimes she'd like to play, but doesn't feel like she can and other times she'd just rather not. When she wants to play, but doesn't, she feels "awkward and kind of bad". I got the impression that usually it's that she simply wishes not to play. Is it possible, though, that she's making an un-informed choice? Not having ever actually engaged in play or companionship with these people (who truly are nice girls) she doesn't realize that her two scouting hours per week could be significantly more fun? Does that matter? Is it even my business?

I'll find out.

Ooh, thanks for that idea about the social anxiety aspect. I've never really known her to brood over social experiences, but I also don't know for sure that she wants to be social. I'm very sure she'd enjoy school and scouts and church more if she were social, but that doesn't necessarily mean she personally has a desire to do that.

Sure, yeah. She's 8, the oldest of four girls in the family. She's a delightful girl, bright and funny. Not super sporty, very crafty and arty. As far as interaction with kids, she attends school 2x/week in a class of 15 kids who are all very nice. She almost never plays at recess, preferring to walk the grounds by herself. The other girls have often invited her to join their games, but she says, "no, thanks." I've chalked this up to her needing introvert re-charge time after having been in class all morning and preparing to return for the afternoon. We also do a scouting thing, where she really hasn't connected with any of the kids but reports enjoying the activities (I'm one of the leaders). And she goes to Sunday School more often than not, but sticks with her younger sister in a 1st grade class. She has three friends. Two are family friends and one friend from school. When I say friend I mean kid she'll actually talk to, play with, and enjoy the company of. With these kids and her sisters she's really a regular kid who plays and laughs and runs around and whatever. For the record, I'm a mild extrovert and my huz is a pretty serious introvert. With anyone else she avoids eye contact and really only talks when absolutely necessary (like the "no, thanks" at recess). She'll answer questions and even ask questions in class -- she doesn't have an issue with talking to adults, really. My heart hurts for her because I feel like she isn't able to be herself - her sweet, kind, fun self - when she's with other kids.

Dear Folks, Can we talk about what these words mean and what the differences are? I have a kid (four of them really, but one that I'm concerned about) and I'm trying to figure out how to help her gain some social mojo for the times she needs to be around other children. I've read Susan Cain's Quiet and I'm totally fine with my girl being an introvert if she is. (I think yes, but I also wonder if she just hasn't learned the social skills she needs to thrive with people.) If it's some skill set she hasn't developed yet, I want to be able to help her or find someone who can help her. Thanks for thinking with me.

I second the xtramath. It's not a bit babyish, and seeing the scores improve and the boxes turn green with mastery is highly motivating. Also, emphasizing growth and improvement will probably help her feel better about the whole thing. I mean, yeah, it'd be better to have them down pat at this point, but every fact she cements into her mind is an accomplishment.