not at middle school level yet. This year will be our first year trying Wordly Wise 3000. I think it looks good.

This is the most active group I'm in. I have posted a few times on a time4learning forum and secular homeschooler forum. I'm in a few facebook groups as well.

Today Siri heard me correctly because it spelled my address (different place) correctly as I spoke, but when Siri repeated it back to me it was all wrong!! Right on the screen you could see it typed right and wrong. How do you teach Siri??

We have to make conscious choices in the grocery store. Once it gets in the house all bets are off. I don't do much cooking. I can eat healthish without prep, but healthy is relative. Is it organic? Often not. Is it from my own yard? Nope. I will make parfaits for myself (plain Greek yogurt or a mix of plain yogurts), fruit, possibly a little granola, some sliced almonds. The fruit can be sliced myself or come from those Dole containers with presliced peaches, pineapples and/or tropical mix. We try to buy strawberries when they are cheaper (compare stores). We might eat frozen stir fry with riced cauliflower (also from the freezer section). Is it great? No. But I feel a bit better about eating that than some meals. If it's not full of veggies I add my own. If it is, I still might add more. I started eating bread from Sam's of all places that is multi-grain, organic, GMO-free. It's affordable. It's thick so it's more filling. I struggle with salads. Bagged salad goes bad too fast most of the time. The huge bags from Sam's can't be eaten fast enough. But when dh buys romaine lettuce and we wrap it up separately and cut when ready to eat it seems to last. I'm lazy so I hate the extra work but we should do it again because it does stretch. Keeping less drinks in the house is one of the only ways I drink more water. We have a ways to go with our eating habits. There's always the rotisserie chicken you buy and add to something to make a meal. I like to do that with the bagged soups sometimes and then toss in extra veggies.

For K we did time4learning.com math. You can do it at your own pace. It's a pay per month program so if you don't want to keep it you could just use it long enough to get through their math section. They have online lessons and printables (optional). For first grade we did MM. Back then I think I would scribe for ds a lot.

I can usually find a coupon code for Math Mammoth. I didn't use the homeschool buyer's co-op sales because they wanted me to buy in sets (ie. grades 1-6. Not sure if that is always the case). Directly on the site you can usually find a Thanksgiving sale in Nov. Sometimes they have a sale through another seller like CurrClick. I believe Kagi is no longer an option. I clicked through my old emails and I got sales in January and August. So maybe something in August will be the next sale.

On the iphone I have a picture of a microphone in my chat box for both regular texting and facebook messenger. But if you don't have the icon you have to enable it. It's not totally accurate. It's kind of hit and miss. As for Siri, well, it took me literally about ten tries to get him (I have the male) to understand the name of a city I wanted to navigate to. I don't think it's my fault. It's a weird city name. You can say, "Siri, send a text to so and so" and Siri will say, "what do you want to say?" and then you can talk. But I don't know how well that works for longer messages. She might think you are done before you are done. She will say, "ready to send?" though. When something messes up in a text (not the siri mode) I just delete. Sometimes the feature freezes up and says loading but when I hit done no text appears. I don't know why that happens. I tend to skip punctuation but I guess I can try saying, "period" next time lol.

Does this mean he will be on a bus with other students he will see at the picnic? Maybe they won't be strangers by the time of the picnic if they have spoken on the bus.

Your approach sounds like mine... just anticipate and avoid lol. I don't like to wash clothes around my in-laws because I'd get a speech about the "right" way to use the washing machine settings (I've never chosen casual/permanent press in my life but that's how they wash a lot of stuff). So I'd do laundry when they weren't in the house. This kind of backfired last visit. They got a brand new washing machine and I didn't know how to do anything!! The door even locks. I had to ask for help lol. Packing enough to not need to wash is maybe best.

are they living at home? I'd have a low tolerance for any smoking (regular cigs, cloves, etc.) I don't know if I'd say zero, but definitely low. When smokers visit our home they have to smoke outside, but I would rather them not smoke at all because when people smoke it wafts indoors or clings to their clothing and hair. Living at home I think I might tougher. If they want to live at home then they have rules to follow. If it makes them feel shunned, then, well, it isn't any different than some other house rules people have. I guess if they weren't doing anything after smoking, I might prefer the marijuana. I used to spend a lot of time around potheads and I know in general I didn't consider it a danger but if say someone has to drive they might drive really slowly. So I might question their soberness for lack of a better word.

I don't know where you live but dh sometimes buys shoes for the kids at Shoe Carnival. They seem to always have buy one get one 1/2 off when we go. We have bought Sketchers a few times, but I can't remember their lifespan. I prefer not to buy him two pairs at once because he tends to outgrow them before wearing both pairs enough, but you could buy two styles (dressy, casual) or get for mult. children.

If I could have done things differently I would have sent ds with a notebook/planner from day one for homework assignments. We tried some variations of this. I have a feeling your 4th grader will do fine, though. Find out how the meal plan stuff works if they will ever eat in a cafeteria. The school allowed parents to order in advance or not. Sometimes ds would order junk we didn't want him to (like I don't know, just fries and a drink lol). I never did the meal prep but we did have a discussion about ordering a main dish or whatever. The school expected us to pack a snack each day and sometimes that threw me off because I was not used to that. We left snack or lunch at home a few times by mistake. For me personally I needed to ask things like, "do you have enough notebook paper? Enough sharpened pencils?" because things would disappear or he'd run out and tell me after he'd been borrowing paper from classmates for a couple days. So just keep on top of that stuff lol.

I was given a crossbody bag for Christmas. I like that the strap is adjustable. The fabric is probably faux leather. It feels sturdy. The label inside is Scarleton. I have a small frame. there are probably smaller crossbody bags, but I'm pretty content with the size. I use it on a regular basis. You can find them on Amazon. It would be in your price range, actually cheaper based on the results I got.

Oh and if you do want to get a baby carrier... I would suggest you try some on first. See if there's a lending library in your area or maybe a store that will let you try on. Every person is different. I own a Lillebaby All Seasons (no infant insert required) and a Kinderpack (standard toddler). Both are part mesh. I tried an Ergo knockoff and did not like the back panel was so low. I only knew it was a knockoff because of the stitching. The one I tried was also all canvas which is really hot. The ones I own are also ergonomic. If you have a maternity jacket, hang onto it for babywearing. I bundled us up over the carrier. (LOL). http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/gothicpunker/public/ergoknockoff_zpskyucchw3.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/gothicpunker/public/lillebaby_necksupport_zpslryymrvl.jpg (this one had a neck support feature I liked) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/gothicpunker/public/toddlercarry_zpsg0dqzcjk.jpg

pumping bra if applicable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00295MQLU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is the one I own but it has two zippers, not one like pictured. Baby bottle brush/nipple brush I like these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007I6WOLM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/Simba-Sponge-Nipple-Brush-Orange/dp/B00LMM9BMS/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1498350666&sr=1-1&keywords=simba+nipple+brush Drying rack. I like this one because it was good for both pumping parts and bottles: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002A9JCVW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I bought it twice! lol One for my house, one for my parents' house Baby bathtub. We got this one. Mainly liked that we could hang it. One bathroom and no storage: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JBYNKWG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Cushion for knees at bathtub. We found a very plush one on clearance at Target. (not a NEED now but came in handy a lot. I use a cheaper thinner one at my parents' home). If you choose to use a pack n play, for either sleep or naps, I highly recommend a sheet for it. Can just toss sheet in washer that way. I like this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KZH692/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I like these swaddles: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016LSUE6O/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Keep an eye on them, the prices seem to change. They also make a premie size. Obviously, you don't need all these items, but might remind you of something you need/want. :)

Wow, I didn't know you could do slaw like that. And I am not a fan of the cole slaw from KFC which was the only idea I had on quick prep. lol. Let us know how it went. Hope it worked out!

Would he have to lug his computer to camp? Does he have somewhere safe to store it? I wouldn't want to have to bring my computer to camp unless I had somewhere secure to store it. Depending on the layout of the store, maybe he feels like people will be staring at him. Maybe he doesn't trust the security of the internet connection. Is there a library anywhere? I wouldn't be thrilled about it, but I can see why it would make sense to kill time there. Maybe he could get another camp worker to join him like halfway through his visit??

I would blow off the reception under the circumstances without any guilt. Do what you gotta do.

I don't think I've ever not been there, but that's just the way it's played out. I could understand staying behind. Dh has not always been there and thus I had to take both kids. Or something happened to dd (youngest) and we decided to just take the whole family. Sometimes we need two adults to handle dd (one to hold her down, one to distract her or whatever). Breathing issues? Like wheezing or something? I hope he's okay. Does he have asthma or is this an isolated thing? They might give him a nebulizer treatement or steroid.

Tries to run away like in the parking lot or at the house? I would see if you could arrive a bit early each day to give him a moment to gain his composure or relax a second? You might already be doing that. Not the same thing, and it doesn't happen much anymore, but ds used to fall asleep in the car on the way to places and wake up so cranky and didn't want to cooperate at all so I had to try to wake him up sooner/arrive earlier. Has he elaborated at all about why he's not keen on going?

Congrats. Thanks for sharing :) Beautiful!

Just curious, would it be any cheaper to see a psychiatrist for this? I just started meds and my visits are basically every 6 weeks right now. I pay a co-pay at my visits. I don't know what is typical for how often someone is seen, but I imagine in the beginning it's normal to be seen more often to check on dose and symptoms.

I just joined a FB group about vision therapy. Someone recommended this book: Active Baby, Healthy Brain-135 activities to do from birth to 5 1/2' by Margaret Sasse. I know it's not for tweens, but I wonder if it would help at all. I saw that the kindle version was $2 so I bought that a min. ago. https://www.amazon.com/Active-Baby-Healthy-Brain-Development/dp/1615190066/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498276116&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=Active+Baby%2C+Healthy+Brain-135+activities+to+do+from+birth+to+5+1%2F2%27+by+Margaret+Sasse

Is a trundle an option? I don't know if any leave adequate room for bedding. I think they may be used for sleepovers more often.

I like zoobie's ideas, especially adding fruit. Someone might find the other food a bit too heavy or whatever. I guess if you have a membership to a warehouse store you could easily get large bags of salad mix, but I don't know how complicated it would be if you are adding a bunch of toppings and dressings to choose from. I might find another drink to keep in the house in case I have a group of people expecting something other than water and liquor to drink before 5:30. It could be something easy, a bottle of soda or store made lemonade or something? Are you going to bring some of the bottled water to the pool side? That might be nice.