I really like Oliver. And Ollie still sounds masculine to me.

My great uncle's name was Everett. He was the only person I had ever known with this name.

- The Tale of Despereaux -The Trumpet of The Swan -James and The Giant Peach -Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

Dh says that there are certain words that become "buzzwords" in his office for periods of time. They become words that everyone somehow finds a way to use in meetings. He also has one person on his staff who tries to imitate "big words." He thought it would be interesting (and funny, since he's a bit ornery) to purposefully introduce a new word and see how long it took someone else to start using it. He decided to use "surreptitiously" as the test word. It wasn't the person he had anticipated it would be, but someone did pick it up and start using it.

I'm trying to survive on too little sleep this week because of a busy schedule. And I need to get myself into gear to clean my messy house. And I have no chocolate in the house. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I *need* something sweet and gooey and pastry-like to get me through this day. I live too far from town to go buy donuts or good chocolate or anything. The only thing I could get nearby is candy bars or snack cakes, which just aren't fitting the bill today. I love baking, but I don't even have any chocolate chips. I do have cocoa, pecans, walnuts, butter, sugar, flour, blueberries and strawberries. What can I make? I wanted to make pecan pie, but can you do that without corn syrup? Any ideas welcome!

I want to post a few items on the Sale and Swap board, but I've never sold used curriculum before, and I'm not sure about how to work out the logistics. Do I include shipping costs in the price of the item? Is it wise to accept only money orders? Any tips are appreciated.

:iagree: with all of that. We have "do overs" and "practicing it the appropriate way", also, if dc speak rudely. We talk about what would be the appropriate/polite/acceptable way of speaking and then we try it out. I think that when it comes to teaching our children how to speak politely, express their emotions in an acceptable way, and treat other people with kindness and respect, keeping our own failings/imperfections in view and really coming at it from the perspective of trying to help our kids change and be able to function more effectively in relationships over time is much more effective than thinking in terms of punishments/consequences. It does take consistency, though. If one of my children refuses to listen or cooperate with instruction, then I would think about removing them from the situation until they can calm down and cooperate. If this doesn't work, then I would think about imposing some sort of conequence. But only if trying to talk through it and turn it around had failed.

I think this is great advice. I ended up doing this last year for dd's b-day party when no one had rsvp'ed a couple days before the party, and I needed to come up with an alternate plan if no one really was going to show up. It turned out that almost everyone invited was planning to come, but just hadn't remembered or taken the time to rsvp. No one thought it was rude of me to call, either.

Most of the time it is "Mommy," and "Daddy." But sometimes I am "Mama," to both children. And sometimes we call dh "Papa," but mostly just for fun. Dd likes to come up with nicknames for us. She sometimes calls me "Meme," and dh "Dede," (both pronounced with a long "e" sound in each syllable.) Sometimes she calls me "Moo-moo," and dh "Doo-doo" (not meaning anything derogatory, just playing around with sounds!) And sometimes she calls dh "Dada," but it comes out sounding more like "Daduh."

:iagree:And isn't it ironic that sometimes these are the same people who have no patience with children who are still learning?:glare:

I would second the book by William and Martha Sears.

I don't really remember thinking about it much when I was very young, but around age 11-13 I wanted to be a poet, a psychologist, or an attorney. I ended up having very little idea what I wanted to really do when I got to college because I was too hung up on finding what I was "supposed" to do and trying to figure out "God's will". I really didn't know myself very well then, or perphaps I was afraid to find out what I really wanted. Anyway, I ended up starting out as an undecided major, then trying out social work (because I wanted to help people), then early childhood education (for a very brief time before I thankfully realized that classroom teaching was soooooooo not me. I'm not even sure I officially declared it as a major.) And then I finally declared Spanish as my major and Linguistics as my minor because I loved studying grammar, and acquisition of language was fascinating to me. I worked as a Spanish teacher at a private school for one semester after college, but I really hated every minute of it. Classroom teaching is just not me. I do think I would really like to be a college professor someday, becaue I think it has a totally different dynamic than high school, and I am an academic at heart. Right now I'm a stay-at-home mom, educating my own children, and it suits me well.

:001_smile:I had a suspicion that you might be joking.

I would highly recommend purchasing this book. I bought the first edition last winter, completely unaware that a second edition was in the works. When I found out the second edition was about to be released I submitted a purchase suggestion to my public library for it, and they are ordering it. But then I found out it could take a few weeks to a few months for the library to receive it and have it ready for circulation. So, I ordered my own copy from Memoria Press and received it in a few days. It has really helped me to feel prepared and excited about next year. It's well worth the price.

I love this analogy! I'm not sure if I agree until I have a chance to mull it over a bit, but I love it anyway!:001_smile:

I'll try that. :001_smile:

Ds4.5 was vomiting and nauseated all day yesterday. He was still nauseated today, but hasn't vomited. He hasn't had a fever. He started seeming better (getting up and playing a little) this afternoon. But, he woke up from a nap saying that his hands hurt and feeling restless, nauseated, and lethargic. He usually snaps out of stomach viruses so quickly that I'm a bit concerned that it might be something more.

:iagree: I found the lab notes very useful, as I am not naturally very intuitive when it comes to math. The rods are an essential part of the program. Have fun with it!

We usually work in one until we need a break and switch to the other. I do try to sit down periodically and see where each would complement the other and plan the switch, but sometimes we just need a break from Singapore and do Miquon for awhile because dd really enjoys it.

It is listed in his book LCC as available through Memoria Press, but I don't see it listed anywhere on their website. Has it not been released yet?

That would be terrific! Could you e-mail them? Thanks!

I might be chiming in a little too late, but I just saw your post. I, too, was wondering what we should do for spelling with LCC. My dd will be starting second grade in the fall. She is a natural speller who often remembers the spelling of words just from seeing them, but I thought it was important to do a formal spelling program with her to help her understand some of the reasons we spell words a certain way and to introduce concepts such as syllables, vowels vs. consonants, etc. We have been using All About Spelling, and dd loves it! Spelling is probably her favorite subject because of this program. It is much more than just memorizing a list for the week. Dd worked through books 1 and 2 this school year and began book 3. We will most likely be finishing book 3 in the fall. Level 4 is supposed to be released sometime in late 2008, so I'm hoping it will be ready when we finish level 3. Here's a link, if you are interested. http://www.all-about-spelling.com/spelling-products.html

Thanks, Plaid Dad. I tried to send you positive rep., as I did for the other helpful posters who answered my query, but I have to spread my rep. around a little before adding to your reputation again. Oh, and thanks so much for actually writing the book! It has been immensely helpful to my family.

Dd really liked it. It was very easy to use, and I am definitely not artistic in the sense of drawing/painting. If we can't fit in art classes next year, we will most likely use the next book in the series.