A few weeks ago I dropped a pyrex measuring cup and then proceeded to cut my wrist on it. It was a pretty deep wound that probably should have been sewn up and made quite a mess. My ds came into the room and the first thing he said was "hang on mom, I'll get the microscope and slides! Let's see what those blood cells look like!" um, no. Not this time. I had him hold pressure to stop the bleeding instead. :)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was probably our favorite this past year.

What levels do you need? I have an extra teacher edition for level 1, I think. I would send it along for shipping cost if you want.

Author Betsy and Illustrator Giulio Maestro wrote/illustrated a series of American history books, starting with exploration and ending with...I'm not sure where they end. We are on "Liberty of Death- The Story of the American Revolution". They are very good. I use them as a spine and then I just add other books for readers or read alouds for each topic.

I'm a nurse, and my older patients (and some younger ones) sometimes call me "honey" or "sweetie". It doesn't bother me. I live in the north. I don't call my patients honey. I think that could be condescending.

I am also 39, took home ec in junior high, and haven't sewed since. My mom recently gave me her old sewing machine. I took an intro class to learn how to thread the machine, make bobbins, and sew a very basic bag. DD (8) also took an intro class. We are now both able to sew napkins and pillow cases. I found a great tutorial on youtube for a hotdog pillow case method. It's super easy, and the pillow cases are very nice. I also made a couple sets of cloth napkins. :) DS (6) is just getting started with using the machine. I'm really excited to try making some jammie pants for the kids next. I think it's such a great skill to have, and my kids both enjoy it. And we got a free machine.

We are also enjoying the Maestro books. My kids are 1st and 2nd grade. We supplement with dvds, story books, etc. But the Maestro books are a great spine. The pictures are nice, the readings are age appropriate for the most part (we came across a mention of rape in one- the one about American Revolution- I just skipped that word because my little ones don't know about that yet).

The Peter and the Starcatchers series was our favorite series ever. I think. We listened to the audiobook- read by the fabulous Jim Dale. My son (6) has listened to them over and over since. They are really fun. They are much scarier than the original, though. There are some very dark characters, so you might want to preview it first. My Father's Dragon is great. We also love all of the Roald Dahl books. Some of those can be quite dark as well, but they are also pretty funny.

We are just doing our own thing for American history this year. It has been an amazing success! I have taken reading suggestions from several sources recommended here on the boards. We live outside of Boston, so we have tons of field trip opportunities. We have basically been reading through the Maestro books as a spine and adding in Liberty's Kids, Schlessinger media dvds, field trips to Plimoth Plantation, Sturbridge Village, Lexington, Concord, Boston, etc, and read alouds/ audio books. My kids are 6 and 8, and this has been great. I'm enjoying it as much as they are.

I haven't btdt because I don't want to be tied down to an activity four days a week. However, if your kids are early risers, it seems like a good way to start their day. And it's early enough that you could still do a lot with the rest of the day. They will get some social time, get to run around, have a music class- it sounds like it could be great. For us it wouldn't work. My dd likes to sleep in and start her day slowly. My ds would probably enjoy something like this. At our local school, the specials are later in the day, so it would be too disruptive for us. Can you try it out for the rest of the school year and see how it goes?

She's so sweet! Congratulations!

It sounds like AAS might be a good fit for dd. Do you have an iPad? We use an app called Montessori crosswords ( I think). It has a moveable alphabet that the kids use instead of tiles. They like that. They do the phrases and sentences on the white board. I have started using the tiles recently when I am teaching. Dd doesn't really use them and ds never uses them. We do use the cards but only for my convenience. They aren't necessary.

We are going to work on a some experiments from this really cool book from the Ben Franklin Institute. We will continue with American History- The revolution and go on lots of field trips related to that. We will garden and do some simple botany studies. And we will read.

Our library is able to get most of the DVDs by Schlessinger media. They are great. About 23 min each.

Still free. :) thanks!

I just thought of two more... "Sara Plain and Tall" The Lighthouse Series by Cynthia Rylant.

What about the Dear America series? I haven't read these yet, but I wonder if they might be good for someone who has read and enjoyed all of the American Girl books. My kids love the Who Was series. We have recently enjoyed most of the Roald Dahl books, but if she's sensitive, you might want to preview them first if you aren't familiar with them. They are fantastic, imo, but they can be a bit...odd. We recently read and loved the My America books about a little girl named Sofia who comes from Italy. There were three in that series, and I saw that our library had other ones as well. How about Beverly Cleary? Ramona, Henry Huggins, Beezuz? My kids really loved those, and there are about ten of them, I think. Has she read "The Trumpet of the Swan"? Or "Stuart Little"? My dd is 8 and just starting the first Percy Jackson. I haven't read it, but I do think it's probably a bit over my dd's head. But she is enjoying it so far. We have listened to all of the HP books on audio though, and she's ok with the fantasy in them and doesn't get scared. We also listened to the Chronicles of Narnia. Again, those might be too mature for a more sensitive child.

My kids like to write the facts on the sliding glass door in the kitchen. They just use those window markers. They write one fact in each pane, so it's big enough to see from all over the kitchen. We have been doing one set every week or so. Then we review them when we are out for walks or playing at the playground. We will count by whatever number we are currently studying. My dd likes to jump rope and count by different numbers too. Oh, and we write them in side walk chalk.

Cool idea! My dd is 8 and learning cursive. She is doing really well, and she might agree to write a short letter. If you want to pm me with the name and address of where to send it, either she or I will write a letter. :)

We did the entire series this year. Ages 6 and 8, and we loved them!!!

"George vs George" is a great book about the Revolutionary War. I'm not sure about activities. We haven't done any- just tons of books and movies. Liberty's Kids is great. We also ordered Schlessinger media's DVDs that were relevant from the library. We live outside of Boston, so we plan to visit several historical spots this Spring. We did have a tea party. There's a recipe in some book for Revolutionary war tea. It was made from something other than tea, but I can't remember what! We colored maps of the 13 colonies.

I have three. First was when I was 18- a small lizard. Had meaning at the time. Not so much 30 years later. Next was a Chinese symbol for happiness and good luck on my ankle. My best friend and I got them on spring break when we were 21. Matching. We planned the idea and picked the symbol when we got there. Last is a larger, more detailed mermaid on my back. Planned and drawn for me. I do love it. It doesn't really have any specific meaning that I'm aware of, but I have always been drawn to mermaids. I don't regret any. If I could make one disappear, it would be the lizard.

I've always used 50,000. Not very impressive compared to some of your numbers!

We watch it via Apple TV through my phone.

I also use Dr Bronners. I dilute it with half water as well, so it does last a long time. Also, one doesn't need much. And it can be used for dishes, laundry, hand soap, body soap, and hair soap as long as you don't color your hair. I add a couple drops of essential oils sometimes as well. I can't do fake fragrances, but real oils are fine. I love adding lavender to my bath soap and peppermint to the laundry, hand, and dish soap. :)