@maize I worked for Lindamood-Bell as a tutor for a short time. I had two weeks of (good) training and continual oversight from the people running the tutoring center. That being said, two weeks of training is SO short. If you want to have someone else do the tutoring, there may be someone who is really good at LiPS (like a center manager or something) that could do it for you. If you're comfortable teaching reading generally, you could get really good at LiPS and other LM-B programs pretty easily.

As I read your post, I was thinking... maybe LiPS would be appropriate here. It's great for articulation and developing phonemic awareness. With some of my students, trying to work on phonics (decoding the words) before addressing phonemic awareness (sounds in words), is a waste of time. It's 100% worth it to put in the work with LiPS first. Also, LiPS works on phonemic awareness AND decoding simultaneously. Once a student has a group of sounds they're solid with/can easily label and distinguish from each other, the teacher uses LiPS techniques to work on sounds as well as spelling/reading with those sounds. The SLPs I work with also like LiPS.

That is simply amazing!! Hooray!!! ❤️

I teach kids in elementary/middle school. They don't seem to be watching TV. Maybe movies sometimes. They mostly talk about youtube and tiktok. I'm pretty horrified at the grown up things they're now concerned about as a result of spending lots of time on social media. Not necessarily offensive things, but stuff like body image, relationship stuff, etc. Stuff that I thought about when I was in my 20s, now they're talking about it at age 10.

Oh, I'm so sorry. I lost my cat about a month ago and it just about ripped my heart out. Dixie Belle is beautiful. I love the purple harness. She was obviously so loved ❤️

Love your name, by the way!

I'm so sorry for your loss ❤️

I recently found a new, seemingly clean pet food brand. They have cats (Feline Natural) and dogs (K9 Natural). Something that bothered my cat was all the "gums" they put in pet food - guar gum, xanthan gum, etc. K9 Natural has no gums, and Rawz has no gums. Maybe it that would help. They also have a lot of different meats - lamb, lamb + salmon, beef, hoki + beef (what's hoki?).

I'd prefer an apartment over the garage. If you sell the house someday, it would be attractive to buyers as a guest suite, work from home office, etc. Personally, I think living in a tiny house, even by myself, would get on my nerves after a while.

Sending lots of hugs. I'm incredibly sorry for your loss.

It's about understanding your own wants, needs, and fears, and understanding the same in your partner. It's not a "how to have great sex" book. There is homework. DH hasn't read it but I got a lot out of thinking about myself.

Definitely recommend this one!!

I just went through this with my old cat. I waffled between thinking she wasn't feeling well, and then thinking, well, sure she's only lying there doing nothing, but maybe she's okay with it. My cat also started to lose her balance and was falling off of things, or wobbling at the edge of the couch. I talked to the vet and asked her to please be direct with me about when it was time to say goodbye. She did, and I was really grateful for her advice. I'm sooo sorry, it's just an awful choice to make. In the end I think I made the right choice at an appropriate time... but I still do feel a bit like I betrayed her, because she didn't make the choice for herself. 😞

That's ridiculous. How hard is it to add an email? Our secretary could to it in two seconds.

Sending hugs.

I have a billion pictures. I don't know if I want too many now because she's looking skinny and has no energy. I did take a few. What I wish is that I had taken videos over the years... current pet owners, you may want to do that starting now. She's not into food or doing anything at the moment. I did get her to eat some bacon.

OK! It may take a while - end of school rush. I'll get back to you!

Well... the time has finally come. She's 18, the love of my life. She's been my constant companion for the past 13 years, since we adopted her when she was five. The only thing that makes this okay is that I hope she doesn't know what's going to happen. The vet is being so kind. We're going in right when they open at 8. The room has a special door that opens to the outside, so we don't have to walk through the waiting room. We don't have to pay the bill that day. 💔 Updated: Thank you all so much for your kind words and hugs. It's really quite amazing to me that everyone cares so much. Anyway, it went as well as it possibly could. It actually wasn't as scary as I was anticipating. It was definitely sad... but it wasn't impossible, like I thought it might be. The vet tech was AMAZING, so kind, so compassionate, calm. So was the vet. It might sound crazy, but the whole time we were there (maybe 45 minutes), it felt like we were honoring Maggie's life and giving her some extra love at the end. They truly treated her and us like we were the most important family in the world. The house feels so empty without four paws and meows. I also don't know what to do with my time - over the last few months I was spending so much time thinking about her, preparing food that might tempt her, petting, talking, worrying... all the things. What to do now?? Not sure how soon is too soon to get another cat to love, but I think I'll be ready sooner than later. Maggie was my second cat, but our first one left us shortly after getting him, so she was the first that's been a longtime companion. I don't think I ever want to be without a cat again. Thank you all again! You've been a big part of why this has been bearable.

A colleague of mine who is in her mid-20s got COVID a few weeks ago. She said it was utterly miserable. She had a high fever for six straight days.

Sure! I'll try to find some resources for you, if you want.

I agree with this. Do you have an emotion chart you can use? My students also like using picture books to learn about emotions. We talk about the emotions the characters are feeling. Sometimes it's easier to talk about than their own emotions or the emotions of others. Lots of my students have IEP goals about identifying emotions in themselves and in others. The next-level goal is to reflect on a situation and identify the emotions that were present in an interaction, and then the motivations and reasons behind actions. Phew. It's definitely a lot!

Ugh, how awful. It's terrible when colleagues aren't team players. And some people are so touchy about their job titles.

Oh, so sweet 🥰

I had a cavity filled last summer, and it took months to feel normal. The dentist said that since it was a deep cavity, it could have sensitivity for a long time. Every now and then I still feel a little twinge. You might have strained your jaw/neck muscles, too... it's hard to keep your mouth open wide for a long time.

I'm looking for the name of this type of lock. When you hold the handle up or down, it extends a deadbolt, but when you let go, the deadbolt is retracted and the door is unlocked. Thanks!!