Me, too. Kids at my school are getting sick with something that sounds like what you've got. Ugh! If it's not "the flu" but a virus that makes you feel exactly the same... yikes. Hope you feel a little better tomorrow.

I use Gmail, and I "star" any emails that involve action items. I keep my inbox sorted so that the starred items are at the top, and everything else is under that. When I finish a task, I "un-star" it. I email myself things to do rather than writing them down, so I can use my star system. I keep a to-do list, too, but my star system makes it so that I don't forget things as much (a big challenge for forgetful me!).

I once found what looked like a piece of plastic wrap in a slice of frozen pizza... baked into the crust. And it wasn't a small piece either - about the size of half a sandwich bag. Makes you wonder about food safety big time.

I have some Steck-Vaughn math books, and I really like them! I appreciate that they're Level D or Level E, etc. rather than having the grade level on the cover 👍

Thanks for the info! I'm anxious to get her medicine. She has a bad tooth that needs to be pulled, but we can't do that until her thyroid levels are good. Poor Maggie! Hoping things will work out with the meds.

Oh my gosh! My Maggie was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, too! She starts meds as soon as they ship to our house. Are you doing the meds you rub in her ears? Your post made me think... Maggie has been doing a coughing/puking thing for a couple years now, that I thought might be hairball related. Maybe it's the hyperthyroid! I felt like a bad cat mom for not taking her in sooner 😞 So happy that Posie is feeling better!!

Every single Alexander McCall Smith book! 🙂 Harry Potter 🙂

I'm sorry for your loss 😞 Dogs are so special.

Agreed! And definitely look into all types of college, not just the "big names." My DH (now PhD in math) went to a small liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere, and had a glorious 4 years of absolutely loving learning. He hated high school, by the way.

English major here! Fully employed and making ends meet 😄 When I was finishing high school (with no career in mind), I chose an English degree because I couldn't think of anything I liked to do other than read. I had a great time in college! It was magical to wander the stacks and poke around in all sorts of old books. Careers aren't everything... we humans only have one short life, and it's important to find the special experiences that make life meaningful. If I had to do it again, I would still choose the English degree, but go to a cheaper school so I could have the fun without the debt 😂 No doubt your DD will get numerous scholarships based on her academic record. I could have gone to a state school for $5,000/year (and I was a "good" but not "great" student), but did I choose that option? No, no I did not. Oops! I had low-paying jobs after college for about 10 years. But... I didn't care! I was in my 20's! I was able to pay my rent, eat, buy clothes, and do things... I just had to be thrifty. I rode my bike through snowstorms, wind, rain, and heat, and never once wished for a car. I'm glad I had to be careful for those years, because it taught me to manage money. I had a desk job for a while (boring, but I got out at 5 p.m. with no responsibilities, so... freedom! Plus I liked chatting with the other desk job girls 🙂 ), and then I was self-employed as a tutor making something like $14,000/year for a couple years, and it was such a fun couple of years!! I finally got another degree and a "real job" in my early thirties. I kind of miss those poor but carefree years. I think your daughter needs a break. Graduating valedictorian from a good school is no guarantee that she's going to make bushels of money later in life. Being resourceful, hardworking, and flexible are skills that will help her succeed, no matter what her "career" is. Plus, people change careers all the time. Getting a certain degree from a certain school is not a guarantee of getting a certain job. And as an aside, plenty of people must be working as writers. I mean, every town has a newspaper at the very least! Best of luck to your DD. I hope she gets a full scholarship to a non-pressure-cooker college, and reads ALL the books, discovers ALL the strange and wonderful words she's never heard of, and writes ALL the things.

Sending hugs your way. I'm very sorry for your loss.

Primary Phonics is a great series. The books are really skinny, so you could take 10 or 15 of them in place of one actual book. They're long enough that you could practice 10 in a month 🙂 http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/literacy/phonics-word-study/primary-phonics/about-the-program

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!! 😍

For math, I think you should check out the Prodigy game online. It's free, unless you want to pay for a premium account. Kids at my school all have the free Prodigy accounts, and the game is seriously awesome. It's like a combo of a fantasy battle game and a math class. I'd guess it's about 75% math, and 25% game. It adjusts to a student's level, so if they get a certain number wrong, the game makes the questions easier. I was against Prodigy for a long time because I thought it was too much game, but I've since changed my tune. Maybe have her do 10-15 minutes of math with you (marching along on a curriculum), and then 30 minutes of Prodigy? If she's anything like my students, she'll want to play FOREVER. I have to boot them off each time. 🙂

Wow, I'm going to print this out and post it on my wall above my desk. I, too, struggle with decreasing demands to the right level. It can be hard to figure out just where the ideal level is. I suggest dropping demands WAY down, so she says it's too easy (or doesn't complain), and go from there. In my experience, when kids are able to do the work, they enjoy doing it - at least tolerate it with minimal fussing 🙂

Hooray!!!! Congrats to you and your daughters!!!! 👍😍😊

I love this!

Yes, definitely! Teachers are very open to modifying assignments, thank goodness.

Possibly - I'm already going to be in their classroom for another hour a day doing science/social studies/projects with them. I could use their classwork with me, but I'd rather keep it separate, only because time is so short. I often end up working on assignments during our separate time, which I don't love, but it has to happen sometimes.

I found marinated olives in packets, with no liquid. They're great! Maybe canned/jarred marinated artichokes? I'm sure he will love a snack package! 🙂

It doesn't include original writing, just dictation. I'm just saying that the kids, on their own, are only able to spell boring sentences, and they tend to write the shortest sentences humanly possible. I think they would be surprised to be expected to write a complex sentence. But with a model, like the elementary Kilgallon book that Pen linked, they could do it.

This intrigues me, because you're right, so many struggling writers have to make do with dull sentences just because they can't spell the words they would like to use, or because it takes them so long to write anything that they just go with what will be fastest, etc. All of my dyslexic writers have loved writing or dictating stories. Writing Wilson-esque sentences has got to drain all the fun out of writing! None of my students see writing as an art, more as a chore, but maybe this year will change that 🙂 I had these boys last year, but it was mostly triage. Now we can dig in more.

True - I've got a couple kids there, and a couple kids not. Will be interesting to see how things go this year.

I've experienced this, too. Boy, the difference between a dyslexic reader and the boy you describe. I had a similar experience with a student this year, and I couldn't believe that after 2 exposures to a sound combination, for example, she HAD it. No review necessary, HAD it.

This is interesting... I just looked at the preview on Amazon, and it looks a lot like the book I love, The Writing Revolution. I was always wishing there was a workbook to go along with TWR, and this looks similar! Yay. Thanks. Ordered it!!