I had a student last year with autism. She was very extroverted, loved talking to people, and was also extremely sweet, loving, and empathetic. She also had extremely rigid thinking. We had a tiff because I called the putty "silly putty" (what it was called when I was a kid) and she was like, "IT'S JUST CALLED PUTTY!!!!!" We had to talk through things like that all the time, and generalizing things was really challenging for her. She could shut down if she got too stressed out with language. She missed things in movies and books because they weren't explicitly shown/explained. But yeah, she was super social. And wonderful 🙂 Edited to add: She also had really great language skills in some areas, and scored in the above-average range on lots of academic testing. When you averaged all her skills together, she was above average, but that included many high scores, and a couple rock-bottom scores.

I KNOW, time is over before I get to half of what I want to do! HELP! All right, y'all have convinced me to bump up the Wilson and bump down the other stuff 😄

Definitely a game!!! Yes 🙂

Good question. They have IEP goals for writing. At my school, if they qualify for SpEd and they scored below a certain number on academic testing (WIAT-III), they have to have an IEP goal for it. I've got mixed feelings about writing. On the one hand, like you said, it's so important. They also have really heavy writing requirements at my school. Too heavy, for EVERYONE, in my opinion, but oh well. I work with the teachers to modify assignments. Perhaps I'll have certain days to work on writing, not every day.

Definitely, lots of things need to happen quickly to keep attention. It's like being a magician on stage! Yes, definitely, there are a lot of discrete pieces in Wilson. From what I can tell, it's similar to Barton. I think I'll bump keyboarding down, particularly since it can take a few minutes to get computers up and running.

More like book 6-7....

Agreed. Wilson has writing sentences, but man... the writing requirements for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders these days... it's a lot! I need to help them cope with the requirements in the regular classes.

Sigh, this is probably what will happen. I was pondering doing 1 sentence in September, 2 in October, 3 in.... maybe.....

Good idea. I'm planning on using Touch-Type Read and Spell, so that's phonics + keyboarding - that is, unless another keyboarding program is better.

...with two dyslexic 10-year-olds, what would you do? They're reading at about an early-mid 2nd grade level, and one's a bit further on than the other. Even though we're a group of two, I'd like to keep a schedule because otherwise things go sideways. I get them for an hour a day next year (woo hoo!!!!!!), and they still have the "comprehension" part of ELA in their regular class. So I need to cover decoding, spelling, basic writing, and I'd also like to have them learn keyboarding. So far I've got: - LiPS/Wilson (20 minutes), covers decoding/spelling - Keyboarding (10-15 minutes) - Writing of some sort (15 minutes) - Reading with me (10 minutes), separately, while the other does something different Anything I'm missing that could be great? 🙂

Posie is beautiful! Have you tried grain-free food? My cat gets sick if she eats wet food with "gums" in it - guar gum, xanthan gum, etc. It's very hard to find wet food without it, though. I finally found grain-free, gum-free cat food in a log (like cookie dough) in a refrigerated part of the pet food aisle. Not all of the varieties were gum free, but I found one. Another thing you can use is meat baby food (no gums, cornstarch, etc., just meat and water). My 14 year old cat is able to keep both of those down. Thinking about it.... you could probably puree meat and water and make your own equivalent of the baby food. Although I've heard that just meat doesn't have enough nutrients for cats, because in the wild they'd eat the bone, skin, etc. So maybe some grain-free, gum-free dry food plus either baby food or the refrigerated food? We use Orijen dry food: https://www.orijen.ca/foods/cat-food/ And FreshPet (from reg grocery store) beef + chicken variety wet food: https://freshpet.com/cat/ There are still occasional pukes, but it's not often now 🙂 Good luck!

I've also made a dal-inspired recipe that's super simple. 2 cups of dried red lentils 3 cups water (or broth if you want) 1 can coconut milk Bring everything to a low boil, then turn to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. I like mine on the thinner side, so I add more water till it's how I like it. As for spices, sometimes I just do salt, sometimes I add some turmeric or curry powder. You can puree it to make it silky smooth. It's delish, and really inexpensive 🙂

Oh, your poor dad 😞 I didn't even know that tonsil cancer existed. Yikes. Yay for the remission though!! I had to stop making this "smoothie" because DH and I both gained 5 pounds. Lol. 1 banana 2 tbsp peanut butter Cocoa powder to taste (usually 1-2 tbsp) Either canned occonut milk or regular milk (start with 1 or 2 cups, maybe, and add more to get it to the right thickness) You can also add 1/4 of an avocado, which will be tasteless - but avocados thicken things, so you'll probably have to add more liquid. Blend it up and enjoy! This makes enough for 2 full-sized glasses. You could also refrigerate servings for use later in the day or the next day. Sorry it's not an exact recipe... I just pour stuff into the blender and hope for the best 🙂 It's hard to mess up smoothies though... you just add more liquids or solids until it gets to the consistency you want.

Jeans have been on my mind for a few days, thanks Hive! I was at TJ Max and found these jeans by Lucky: https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Brand-Womens-Lolita-Skinny/dp/B07K2S2PHH/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 They're labeled as skinny, but they're not tight around my ankles, and they're not skin tight either. I would say they're quite slim, closer to skinny than boot cut. I'm not sure if Lucky is a brand that a 14 year old girl would approve of, but the OP might want to check them out. 🙂

Kinetic sand is fun for kids and adults alike 🙂 Slime and squishies are also popular with the 11 year olds around here!

I think you're right about that!!! 😂

I can't believe I'm considering buying jeggings! I have the Rockstar skinny jeans and love them... the black jeggings look like they *could* be good for work. I'm always standing, kneeling, sitting... yikes, jeggings!

Maybe he'll be so interested/motivated with algebra that he would be willing to put in the work to understand fractions, for example. There's no way to know unless you try! 🙂

Another plug for Boden (seriously, I should be sponsored, I talk about Boden to EVERYONE!). They have lots of bootcut/straight jean options. Expensive, but they last forever. https://www.bodenusa.com/en-us/womens-jeans#nav 🙂

I just don't see the "utility jumpsuit" catching on... at least I hope not... and with cropped legs, no less!! https://www.gap.co.uk/gap/utility-jumpsuit/000493756.html?dwvar_000493756_fit=regular&dwvar_000493756_color=000493756001&cgid=w-clothing-newarrivals#start=1

Oh no! Seriously? I saw that "cropped flare" pants are coming in, too. That's just confusing!

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I was out of place, fashion-wise, all through school. It was miserable. I spent a lot of time thinking about it and worrying about clothes. Looking back, I think I would have been more outgoing, developed more friendships, etc. if I had felt like I fit in. Even as a adult, I think about clothes way too much. I've always said that if I have kids, they're going to be allowed to wear whatever's in style, as long as I can afford it. What about skinny jeans that aren't so thin? Or maybe a few pairs of black ones and dark blue ones? Somehow the lighter blue ones look skimpier. The girls at my rural school all wear skinny jeans or yoga leggings.

Soups might help. You'd still get your fiber and veggies, but there would be an automatic dose of water in there, too!

Men's 5-blade razors are way better than anything for women. The store brand ones at the grocery store work fine, as long as they're 5 blades.

A long time ago, I read that having too few carbohydrates can slow down your thyroid, making you constipated. Maybe have some rice along with some meals?