Does anyone know, is Little Bear's friend Emily a vagrant? A Gypsy? A new-age hippie? Why does she live in a tent by the river? In Rumpelstiltskin, did the king stop requesting the poor, hapless daughter spin straw into gold? Why did three days of gold satisfy his greed? WHY DOES THE MAN WITH THE YELLOW HAT LEAVE GEORGE ALONE, TIME AFTER TIME? Time to hit to playground. Storytime is over.

Another great source of cooperative games: Peaceable Kingdom. We have Lost Puppies and Hoot Owl Hoot, both of which a 4YO could play.

My son has a milk allergy without any obvious symptoms. We were trying to get to the bottom of some of his health issues, and we were eliminating food from his diet. When we eliminated milk, he became a different child. In retrospect, we could see the signs of his allergy: suppressed immune responses (he'd get every virus, longer and more severely, than his siblings); allergic shiners; low energy; small on growth chart; small patches of eczema. His reaction isn't life-threatening, but his quality of life dramatically improved when we eliminated dairy from his diet. Good luck with your little one!

Gladly :) (And I'll point out that I quickly conceded that I was way off base in my outrage.) The first email I received after sending totals was - all caps "NO INFANTS ALLOWED. We cannot permit this." This frustrated me for some of the reasons i expressed above (children's theater, younger-child aimed production, I haven't slept for 9 months, this changes my plans and I'm grumpy - reasons good and bad). I asked for clarification on this policy, since it went against what another agent had told me, verbally, when I called to see if tickets still were available. I pointed out we were accustomed to attending as families, as per the policies of other local theaters. I received a second, clarifying email after my first post, in which the theater director explained that not only infants but anyone under first grade would not be admitted. But before this point, without the ability to bring the baby, we couldn't attend. My oldest has health issues which makes it difficult for him to be left in the care of anyone else without training, and he's not exactly comfortable asking for help from others right now. Any other restriction the ticketing director could have imposed (ages, chaperones, etc.) would have been irrelevant. So: two conversations, story changing in intensity as it happens, but I still stand by my basic tenet that it would be more welcoming to homeschooling families if all ages were able to attend. (Or, more pointedly, it would be more convenient for me.)

I'm afraid if I move the "little pieces" toys to the kids' bedroom, I'll never see them again. Which may be a good thing, now that I think about it... I like the idea of gating off baby-safe sections, but I can't help but wonder if the baby will want to be with her siblings. I'm thinking a rotation might be helpful. We rotate some toys, but try to keep the creative ones (Legos, dollhouse) out all the time. I'm thinking it will be a great season for puppets and giant blocks. Thanks for your feedback! As always,I'm thankful for the variety of opinions and experiences.

I've been thoughtfully reading through these replies, thinking about our experience and why I had such a strong reaction when I found out that the little ones weren't allowed. I agree that business owners are free to make their own policies. And I respect that many performances have been ruined by screaming babies and jumping toddlers. I had cleared (with someone not qualified to do so) that the infants and preschoolers would be admitted, and the ticket director who worked with me stated over and over how they really needed to reach out to the homeschool community (their performances were under-attended, they were losing funding, etc.) I was taken aback with the directors' somewhat hostile tone that the little kids wouldn't be admitted. "Children under first grade are absolutely prohibited to come to the performance. Their presence is a distraction, and there is no reason I can think of that they should attend. Under no circumstances would this be permitted." Do I think that little kids need to come to every event? No. Do I think that a struggling children's theater's performance of a children's play (the read-aloud of which my preschooler enjoyed) may be missing out on an opportunity to expand business? Yes. Frankly, I was surprised that this was the policy, given that no other theater in the area has such a policy. I should have suspected that there was something inhospitable about the theater when I'd not ever seen a field trip planned for their plays. I don't necessarily think that the whole family attends is a critical part of the homeschooling experience, but among our co-op of homeschooling families, it is one of the chief reasons we've decided to homeschool. The family relationship is first. The bigger kids help with the younger ones, the younger ones learn patience and grace by example, and for the most part it works out well.

Even though I have four kids, this is the first baby where I'm worried about the tiny Legos and Playmobil and dollhouse pieces around the house. The other three were so close together, and no one was at the tiny pieces stage yet. We've been working very, very hard on establishing play spaces and keeping the tiny pieces away from our about-to-be-crawler. The older two get it. The 3-year-old gets it, but in that haphazard 3-year-old way. So, for parents with babies and big kids: is your floor always clean? Are there toys afoot? Have you fished Legos from your baby's mouth? Background: we have an open floor plan, so the kitchen is the dining room is the living room, and that's where all of our toys, homeschooling, and living goes on. Bedrooms are used by the kids for necessarily quiet times during the day.

And my husband just told me I'm insane to even think this should be an issue. Sometimes, you really miss the mark, and apparently I did with this one. Maybe it's because I've been dragging infants and toddlers along to everything for the past 8 years? Sometimes I forget there's a world without little ones strapped to your body.

Wow, I didn't realize I'd be such a minority. And there was a hostile tone in the reply re: infants from the ticket manager that I wasn't expecting. Plus, this is a children's theater. I think it's the blanket rule that rubs me the wrong way. My infant and preschooler are perfectly able (quiet, non-disruptive, attentive as it allows) at church three times a week. It seem simplistic to assume that theater manners necessarily come with age, or that a parent would be unable to judge whether a performance would be manageable for his family. I wouldn't try to attend this performance if I thought that my children would be disruptive. We've attended several other performances in the area and both have done well, perhaps better than their older siblings. Maybe I should be frustrated with the parents who have come before, who perhaps shouldn't have brought their little ones and have set a bad precedent for me. I guess this is just a "waaa, waaa, suck it up buttercup" situation.

I've been coordinating with a local theater for tickets for a production of Charlotte's Web. The box office manager has been so friendly, telling me over and over that they always wish more homeschoolers would take advantage of their school-day programs. As we came to the end of our email conversations, and I submitted our final attendance numbers, I listed our students, chaperones, and infants. Back comes the quick reply: NO INFANTS ALLOWED. Which I understand; I really, truly understand why. Infants are disruptive and don't understand inside voices, cry and are fussy, poop at inconvenient times. But infants and preschoolers are totally part of the homeschooling package, right? So if you *want* homeschoolers to come to your underattended events, you may need to adjust expectations. Ugh. Now I have to do this difficult calculus: not go to the play (disappoint bigs); go to the play and loiter in the parking lot (super fun!) leaving my bigger, somewhat emotionally nervous kids alone (sad).

If he's not ready to write, I don't think ETC would work well for him. It really is writing intensive, but I believe the writing reinforces the reading. You'd probably be best off with a different program.

Thanks for all of the great recommendations! Now to request some audiobooks from the library...

Our librarian recommended Clementine for our audiobook-loving family, and it was a big hit because we all loved the performance, not necessarily the book. Some audiobooks are great because the books are interesting and the narration is good (Stockard Channing's narration of the Ramona books comes to mind), but I'm interested in finding more of these unexpectedly entertaining performances. Any suggestions? If I have to listen to David Pittu read another A to Z Mystery again, I might drive off the road!

We do this now, for our 4 kids all under 6 years old. Its our plan to keep them all in one room until someone feels uncomfortable. (That sounds much harsher than it is...) I really like this solution because it means that we have more space for living. Then again, our kids aren't the types to retreat into their own private spaces. We also keep no toys in their bedroom.

Did they just do an US or did they do a HIDA? Did they scan your pancreas too? Agitate for help. You shouldn't be in pain. Ask for solutions to the problem. I'm battling gallbladder issues, but am putting off treatment until I'm done nursing. My attacks/low level pain don't correspond to diet in a clear way. I find if I do a daily ACV regimen things tend to be better.

It sounds like it is embedded perpendicular to your skin, not parallel alongside. If my reading is correct, I'd call your doctor tomorrow morning and see if it's something they can remove in the office. It will need to come out, and it's better to do that before it gets infected.

I think I'd be more sympathetic to this view if were coupled with a sense that parenting is a vocation and something that should be done well. Or, maybe that being a human is some inspired calling and that we should all strive to live our lives better. I do think that if we offer more social supports for parents (extended parental leave, parental credits, etc) this phenomenon would diminish. I think part of the problem is that many women feel marginalized economically. (I'm speaking to the U.S. experience.) So, for example, if I were to do what I do as a hands-on parent as a nanny for another family, given the area where we live, I could add 50K to our family income. That's not insignificant. Instead, I'm offering zero obvious economic benefits to the family, plus in some circles I'm considered a drag on the family resources. And interestingly, among our SF Bay Area friends, it's an important point to make that you're a SAHM by choice, not by poor job prospects. ETA: In my personal experience, I've found troubling changes of attitudes toward me from professionals (doctors, especially) once they find out that I have a math-based doctorate and/or spent many years at a well-known research institution. No one has said "oh, I thought you were just a mom, I didn't realize you were smart, too," but that subtext is there.

This is the brand we always used as kids. It's green, right?

I LOVE outdoor play. My kids are so much happier without their "stuff" and rules for their pretend-play games, and I'm much happier without the nag of cleaning or unfinished projects or other things we "ought" to be doing that always weighs on me while we're at home. I HATE going to the playground. Two of my kids have SPD and could swing for hours. Literally. The third likes swinging to a degree but would much rather play, and gets pouty and frustrated when his siblings refuse to get off the swings. I do tire of the mess. We live in a sandy area, and there's always dirt everywhere. It's overwhelming at times. That's why I tend to spend most of our time outside!

Our favorite audiobooks at that age were: Frog and Toad books, read by Arnold Lobel (he has such a friendly voice!) the Frances Books a collection of Maurice Sendak stories We also were able to find some of our favorite stories in audiobook format: Henry and Mudge and classics like Make Way for Ducklings,from our local library. You can download free stories from Storynory, although my kids initially had trouble with Natasha's accent.

We have six people in our family. Even when we're visiting parents, we will bring food or stop at the supermarket. It's part of being good guests when we're visiting. (Plus, we do have food allergy issues and tend to eat much more cleanly than our parents do. And my father is a widower and very nearly literally has NO FOOD in his house, and while he's happy to do a shopping trip for us before we arrive, it's much easier for everyone if we do it ourselves.) I'd not be upset if someone brought their own food to my house. We sometimes don't have food to feed our guests because of our weird diet. I would feel a little awkward cooking with the imported flour, though.

It would bother me, and this is why: it's thoughtless. It's knee-jerk. There's nothing in the comment which addresses anything about your daughter, other than that she exists. I have higher expectations for grandparents and others who claim to want a close relationship with my children. I find, sadly, that my MIL is more interested in having the children around as extensions of her vanity than do to the hard work of fostering a close relationship with them.

I'd let social pressure and accountability do the dirty work for me, and I'd make a "volunteer sign-in" sheet a each meeting, where parents were required to sign in and detail volunteer duty and time. Email warning to families that aren't doing their share. It's fair, it's transparent, and it should subtly pressure parents into making the right choices. If this doesn't work? It might be time to practice some tough love and cancel the events that don't have enough warm bodies for it to take place. It might take a few disappointed kids to get their parents into action. It also does not seem unreasonable to declare the event space a "NO SCREENS ALLOWED" space. Parents would probably be more willing to chip in if they weren't trolling Facebook all night.

Once the kids learned all of their letters and consonant sounds (which they just learned without my teaching, although probably mostly through Starfall, now that I think about it), we started with Explode the Code. They're pretty self-directed learners, so they really liked the fact that they could "teach" themselves how to read. I definitely waited until they were asking to learn how to read, which probably helped.

My MIL is a narcissist. My husband was her Golden Child - that is, until he married me. How do I know? She told me. It takes a lot to unhear something like that, and frankly, she's never put forth the effort. We're now the scapegoats. We've moved far away as a point of self-preservation. What really stinks about the situation is that the grandchildren of the new Golden Child are so clearly favored that even my 6YO can see it. He doesn't understand why, or what it means, but he certainly noticed their large pile of Christmas presents and the fact that Grammy was always holding/reading/taking picture of them.