I voted no. My kids are over five years apart in age and different genders, so this isn't really an issue for us. But my mother made a point of creating space for my sisters and me to play apart from the siblings when one of us had a friend over. As the oldest, I think I especially appreciated that. I had one friend growing up whose mother insisted that her younger sister be allowed to tag along on everything she did. I didn't invite that friend over very often. Her sister was perfectly sweet, but I wanted to spend time with *my* friend, not baby-sit. I have been surprised, however, at the number of people who bring younger sibs along to parties and the like. I think part of that is a reflection of the trend in this area for parents to stay for the entire party. At dd's last birthday party, I mailed invitations addressed directly to her friends (if we sent them to school, we had to invite the whole class, and we couldn't afford that). I was shocked at how many people showed up with siblings in tow and stayed for the party, expecting their youngers to participate, even though technically they hadn't been invited. We had actually been hoping parents would drop off, because the venue, a paint-your-own pottery place, was extremely small, but they didn't. We had plenty of extra food, but we had to pay for each piece that was painted, and I had helped dd pick out the choices very carefully to offer the most fun pieces but stay within our budget. Only one dad asked if it was okay to allow his younger son to paint, offering to pay out of pocket for his pottery. I thanked him and told him that wasn't necessary, as we'd had one child who was unable to come at the last minute anyway. But I admit I was a little miffed at the others, who plunked their youngers down and stuck a paintbrush in their hands without even asking. I would never have wanted a child to have to sit on the edge of the party and watch all the other kids have fun, but I would have appreciated being asked, at least.

My aunt is the worst. She once talked to me for 20 minutes about her vacation to some resort called Laguna Keys... except she pronounced it "Liguana" the entire time. It was all I could do to keep a straight face. She calls mahi-mahi "maui-maui." I've seriously heard her order it in a restaurant. More than once. And the one that makes dd cringe the most: "Teenage Mingy Turtles."

You don't know how lucky you are. Like, go out and buy a lottery ticket this afternoon lucky. I, for one, am always up for a good rant. Rant away! I say yes! it counts... and and even bigger YES! you're right -- horrible book.

I despised Outlander, but I didn't finish it, so it doesn't count. You did better than me; I can't even think of one character I liked. You know, I didn't mind Moby Dick (although I admit to skimming the 37 chapters in the middle about different types of whales). The Notebook was ghastly, but I didn't throw it at the wall. The one I did throw was the last book in the Divergent trilogy. I'm embarrassed even to admit I read those. They just got worse and worse, but I was so invested I had to see how they turned out. Veronica Roth should be ashamed to call herself a writer.

Just for fun :D

This is very similar to my process as well. Our ILL can be hit or miss (books come from all over the state, so sometimes they arrive in a couple of days and other times it takes a few weeks) I try to request with plenty of time to spare (once a month or so). I also use Look Inside on Amazon as much as possible to determine whether the book will be useful, as a pp said. That's a big help. If I'm just using parts of the book, I can consult the table of contents and plan in advance what we'll read. We do pay $40/year to use a neighboring city's library system, and that gives me an extra outlet if I'm looking for something specific. That city doesn't participate in our county's ILL. But I am thinking of dropping that next year, as we use fewer books at a time now that dd is getting older and materials are longer and more in-depth.

In a manner of speaking. We homeschool for academic reasons; dd just wasn't being challenged in public school. I had been kicking around the idea of bringing her home since kindy, but I didn't have the confidence to do it. Dh would have deferred to me, but he wasn't sold on the idea either. At the end of her 2nd grade year, a student in the class across the hall brought a pistol to school. He allegedly pointed it at one student's head and another's abdomen, then threatened them with harm if they reported the incident. He then brought it to school a second time, where it was discovered in his backpack after a parent of one of the victims reported him. This same student had allegedly threatened another child with a knife earlier in the year. The incident itself wouldn't have precipitated our homeschooling. The gun was unloaded, no one was hurt, and things happen. However, the district opted not to enforce its own zero-tolerance policy and allowed the student to return the next day to the same classroom with the children he had threatened. Worse, they notified no one of the incident -- not parents of children in the class, not even the other teachers in the school. One teacher said she learned about it from her daughter -- a third grader! Long story short, we were not impressed with the district's attempt to CYA and felt that their first priority was not protecting its students but keeping up appearances. I still feel that the school is safe, and I wouldn't have any worries about sending dd or ds there if need be, but I was thoroughly disheartened by the lack of concern for students' well-being, as well as the lack of communication. In the end, the gun incident and its aftermath tipped the scales for us. I'm thankful for the push it gave us -- we love homeschooling and don't see ourselves changing course anytime soon!

Ancient runes and arithmancy?

:iagree: This has been our experience with my elderly grandmother with dementia as well. Reasonable cleanliness is all that's important. My grandmother is always cold, so soft layers (like a velour sweatsuit with a soft t-shirt) work well for her. If things truly need to be replaced, my mom or aunt switch them out without discussing it with her. She doesn't notice. You probably do this, but also make sure all your mom's clothes are labeled with her name. In my grandma's facility, the residents often end up putting on each others' clothes. At least when they are labeled, the staff can return them to the right room.

This is the first year we're doing "school lite" for the summer. Here's what we're aiming for: Summer unit study on astrophysics (dd's choice of topic) -- reading, experiments, more videos, etc. than we typically use for school to keep things light Math -- continue our usual pattern 4 days/week Latin -- review only, no new material Learn to type Free reading -- dd would do this on her own anyway, but we'll take weekly trips to the library and I plan to encourage her to try new genres Field trips -- one day per weeks, some educational, some just for fun School shouldn't take more than 1-2 hours on any given day. We'll be taking at least one full week off per month for vacations, etc. so our "summer term" is only 7-8 weeks. Also, ds will get daily phonics lessons (10-15 min), plus lots of read-alouds and directed play activities to keep him occupied while dd works. I find that if I don't give some direction my two just bicker all day, or ask for snacks or TV time. If I can get their juices flowing, they are much more likely to entertain themselves through the rest of the day. Plus, it keeps me from sitting on my tail reading the boards for hours! :p

DH makes breakfast at our house. It's usually cereal, waffles or toast with cheese or peanut butter for the kids. I get one scrambled egg and a slice of ham. The only person he doesn't cook for is himself... but he usually eats oatmeal at the office. The kids and I all wake up ready to eat, so breakfast is the one meal nobody complains about at our house. That probably isn't all that helpful to the OP, but there it is. :001_smile:

If my youngest sister had been a boy, I almost convinced my parents we should name her Seymour. Probably a good thing she was a girl. She got Suzanne instead.

Bethany was one of my top picks for ds if he'd been a girl. I love it. Not so great for a boy though! :)

Now that I might be able to pull off. Assuming I remember it!

Oh I LOVE that song!

Meh, not really. I don't hate it but I wouldn't choose it. Growing up, I always wished I was named Erin. Don't know why.

I mentioned in one of the other threads that people used to assume I was named for a singer who became popular when I was around 10. Which I always found odd, seeing as how no one had ever heard of her when I was born (and the name was not a common one). In actuality, I got my name because my mom worked in the medical records department of a hospital. She and Dad hadn't been able to agree on a girl name, until she came across one she liked on the record of a baby that had just been born there. So I got my name (first and middle!) from some random stranger whose record just happened to cross my mom's desk! I guess I'm better off than dh... he got his off the headstone of a deceased distant relative his parents had never met. Is there a story behind your name?

Mine was #297 the year I was born. It's #616 now. I didn't know anyone with my name for a very long time. I know very few now. There was a singer with my name who became very popular about a decade after I was born, and people always asked if I was named for her. Um, no. No one had ever heard of her 10 years ago. :confused1:

I'm a sucker. And a wimp. I usually wind up listening to their whole spiel while making lame attempts throughout to indicate I'm not interested. I need to put a few of you on speed-dial. :001_unsure:

Mine either. My Charlotte was 2005. I thought I had the perfect not-common-but-not-strange name. It will probably hit the top 5 or higher now that Princess Charlotte has arrived. Maybe we're just trendsetters? :glare: Actually, both of my dc are at #10 this year. But ds is named for a dear family member we lost, so I wasn't trying to pick a less common name in his case.

When she's comfortable with it, I'm comfortable with it. FTR, I didn't start using them until well after I was married. Just wasn't comfortable with the idea. Both of my sisters were early teens, though.

Our summer schedule includes: Math (continuing one lesson/day, per our usual schedule) Latin (review only, no new material) Read-alouds Independent reading (but dd would do this on her own anyway) Summer unit study (1-2 hours/day max, reading, videos, projects) The above are four days/week. One day is field trip day, since we don't get a lot of time to do those during the year. We will also take at least one week off in June and July and the first two of August for family vacations and down time.

Mine too. My grandfather died in 1959. She was 37 (wow... that's too close to my own age for comfort!) and will be 93 this year. Years ago, her doctor's office mixed up her records with another patient's, and they told her she had chlamydia. She said, "Well, I haven't had TeA in over 40 years, so that's got to be some kind of record!"

Probably not. He would say definitely not. Am I the only one who is bothered by the idea of her dh marrying someone else? Maybe it's because we were high school sweethearts and neither of us has ever dated anyone else. I definitely want him to be happy, and not lonely, but the thought of him with another woman still makes me sad.

We've used Sentence Composing for Middle School once a week this year (4th grade). DD has handled it fine. I've seen a real improvement in her writing. We use it to supplement separate writing (WWE4) and grammar (R&S) programs, but on Fridays (when she does SCfMS) that is the only writing she does. We will continue working through it next year as well.