Good luck! When my husband was in Iraq, he was part of security for some organization trying to provide loans/grants for Iraqi farmers. They were supposed to get together with 3 or 4 neighbors to form a little co-op, because then they would have enough money from the loan to buy the big equipment they needed and could share it around. Unfortunately, they didn't get many takers. The collapse of the government and justice system meant that if one of them cheated, there was no way to take legal recourse. There wasn't enough trust in systems or their neighbors, so they stayed in worse conditions. It doesn't make sense in the surface, but looking at their whole situation, it did make sad sense. I would suspect there's some of that going on in Haiti. Partly lack of education but partly a situation that isn't safe enough to take any risks.

It depends on your climate. A clothes line doesn't really work where I live because it's too humid. Clothes get mildewy when its warm out and just stay damp when it's cold. When I lived in a dry climate, the clothes line worked great. If I lived someplace like that, I'd use one for sure.

For the curious, the Scholastic Children's dictionary has scruple, but not interlude or compunction.

I did a laugh reaction because I laughed thinking about my little ones trying to use a vaccine card to sneak into a bar. It would have to be one of those sit-com things with one kid on the other's shoulders, wearing a trench coat and fake mustache.

Yes, they like the money aspect of the study, but they also feel pretty proud of their participation. We've framed wearing masks as "doing our part" to help fight a terrible problem, and they feel like this is part of that, but a bigger deal.

Thanks for your help!

This thread is old, but there are lots of helpful people here still. Starting your own, new post might help you get more eyes on your question. I'm not from NY, so I can't help with that, but welcome to the forum!

I went to a "nerd school" so I knew lots of people with perfect or near perfect scores. None of us studied Latin, though we all studied a modern language to fluency or near fluency. We all read a lot, including complex works and works in other languages, and played lots of word-games, like making silly puns on a daily basis. To be fair, those of us who scored well all found the SAT far easier than our normal school work. One of my friends didn't speak any English until she immigrated here in middle school. She got well over 700, which is pretty amazing after less than 4 years of English exposure. She absolutely worked for it, doing lots of practice tests and working with a tutor. I knew other people who improved their scores immensely by using private tutoring, but none into the "near perfect" range. If the school had been more cut-throat, probably more of the kids scoring in the 650 range would have done extensive tutoring, but it seemed that the kids in that range were satisfied and focused on other things. That was all back in the early 2000s and everything has changed since then, I'm sure.

Phonics without context isn't much fun. One reason I like AAR is that it doesn't throw every sound of a letter at them at once. They first learn the short vowel sounds and spend a bunch of time reading stories with only short vowels, then they introduce more vowel sounds once the kids have gained a bit of confidence and enjoyment. I'm not sure how that relates to it being "like math" except that memorizing every possible sound for a letter and the rules before starting reading would be about as fun (and useful) as memorizing all math facts up through prime numbers before learning basic kindergarten level story problems about kids having some candy and then getting more candy. The stories make it fun, worthwhile, and imaginable, thus easier to learn. I've enjoyed doing Progressive Phonics with my kids. The reading is collaborative, with adults reading the more complicated words in black while the kids read the words they've learned the rules for in red. It's free, which is also a bonus.

My uncle in Tallahassee was talking about how tons of people are moving from New York down there. He ascribed it to political issues, but I think cost of living is a bigger factor (besides the fact that New Yorkers moving to Florida has been a stereotype for as long as I can remember.) We have a problem where any family with kids on our street seem to move as soon as the kids get big enough to play. They reach have good reasons that don't have anything to do with us, but it is starting to feel like we just be doing something wrong. Meanwhile, old people keep moving into these 4 bedrooms on the second story houses. They were clearly made for families, but young families can't afford to move in.

Some folks around here said they heard it, but I didn't notice. We get random booms from odd construction, or maybe film explosions, I'm not really sure, plus frequent fireworks at a nearby tourist location, so it's got to be pretty intense to catch my attention.

I only just saw this and it's been deleted so I don't know or need to know specifics, but I have to say I'm praying for you and your family, @BaseballandHockey. My husband is a LEO and a combat vet a few times over and one of my biggest fears is a personal tragedy that would be that final straw. I'd be scared for him, not us or the community. Blessings on you as you navigate all these issues you shouldn't have to face.

They stayed dry and got let out of the building the next morning. They should be packing up and heading towards home. Thanks for checking in.

I was pretty worried because my husband is at National Guard training in LA, and they are mostly outdoors in tents and things. Thankfully, he's to the west of the storm and don't even seem to be getting rain. They are all crammed into a shack for 24 hours as a precaution. Many, perhaps most, are vaccinated, but hopefully they don't spread Covid. I'm not sure how many will keep a mask on for 24 hours straight.

I just got back from the funeral. Thanks to all who prayed for me and encouraged me to find a way to go. I still haven't fully processed everything, but it was good to go and norm with others. Memories of our time together keep flooding back to me, and I had to block them out while driving. I drove through areas with not much radio that I wanted to hear, so I had to use SOTW 4, which is our current family listen, to distract myself. Her little kids look so much like her. I wish I lived close enough to be a real part of their lives, but I'm so grateful they live on what my friend called "the compound," a street full of their extended family. They have their dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to hold them tight. They moved back there before she got sick, and it was amazingly prescient, providential, or what have you.

Thankfully I have worked it out. My mom is going to stay with the kids while I drive halfway and then meet up with another old friend to go the rest of the way together. I'll get to go to the funeral, and this friend and I will have plenty of time to share stories with each other.

Thank you all for your kind words. I will send an honorarium to one of her chosen charities, and I think that will help me feel like I've done something. Not that a person has to do something, but it is healing to.

No, he's Guard. There aren't really spouses near me, and I don't know any because his drill location is 3 hours from our house, so I've never visited. On the plus side, being Guard means that we are near family. My particular extended family is wonderful at being physically supportive and terrible at emotional support, so they would babysit if I went, but I can't really mourn with them well.

This is going to be rambling and mostly pointless, but I need to write out some thoughts. One of my good friends from college just passed away this week after a hard fight with cancer. We were close in college, went on road trips together, worked and lived together over the summers, and were in each other's weddings. Once we had kids, the three and a half hour drive between our homes kept us from seeing each other very often, but before Covid we saw each other once or twice a year. She leaves behind a husband and two young kids. I can't talk about this with my kids right now, I just can't. They just lost a great grandfather and visited another great grandfather for the presumably last time. They've been torn up by that death and imminent death, but those have been old people, so they still feel safe about me and their father. My husband is in the military, and when he deployed a couple years ago, the oldest was six. They didn't realize until very recently he'd actually gone to war. Sometime they are going to put things together and realize that sometimes parents die and he's at a higher risk of it, but I don't need that now. Also, he's away for military training right now, so I can't talk to him after they are in bed or anything. I can't call anyone without them overhearing. Her funeral is Saturday, and I can't see how I can go. I probably could get someone to watch the kids alright, but I don't think I will be in an emotional place that will be safe for me to drive 7 hours. Prior commitments, plus the having kids thing, means I can't get a hotel in the area and spend the night. She has a wonderful, warm, extended family that she lived very near to. Her husband and kids are being wrapped in their love now. I'd like to go to be near other people who are also mourning her, but I think I'll have to mourn from afar and try to find a way to not do it alone. Life just really isn't fair sometime. She had a long life she should still be living, but it ended.

My almost 5 year old has trouble hearing /i/ vs /e/ (short sounds), and my 7 year old does too, to a lesser extent. Where we live, these are generally said very similarly. I literally had no idea that pin and pen weren't homophones everywhere until high school, and it took me hard work to distinguish the sounds once I discovered it. I don't know where you live, but it may be a good idea to consider if local accent makes it harder.

It is kind of the opposite of what I'm looking for. I think memorization is valuable, but I'd rather kids memorize poems and songs along with math facts that they know how to use. I home school so that my kids can move at their own speed, and CC seems unnecessarily inflexible. I'm also not a fan of critical thinking/logic curriculum with a pre determined conclusion. I understand having tenets of the faith that you teach and pass on, but it's misleading to pretend that they are the only possible logical belief. That, I strongly believe, is detrimental to the witness and long term faith of participants. There are other issues, but those are the top issues that spring to mind.

I had a first grader last year who I think is pretty typical compared to other boys his age as far as sitting still ability. His ability to concentrate improves when he is standing out doing something he really likes. He didn't like handwriting, so at the beginning of the year I had him do about 3 minutes of careful practice, plus spelling while standing at the whiteboard gave him more writing practice each day. By the end of the year, he could write/do written activity for 20 minutes at a time, no big deal, and could do a bit longer if motivated. As far as rude/crude language: he often added the word "poop" to the majority of his spelling words to make silly phrases. I just figure it gave him a bit more handwriting practice. I will not let my kids be rude to a person (no burping in faces or calling someone names), but when they are just being silly, I mostly ignore it and sometimes take pictures as evidence for the future. They'll try to get me to engage sometimes, and I'll tell them it's kid language and fine to use with other kids their age whose parents don't mind, but they shouldn't be surprised if adults think they are being very childish if they overhear. Also, I make clear that they shouldn't use them around certain kids because they don't want those friends to get in trouble.

If I were giving that sitter advice, I would summarize it as: Think of it not as a punishment/reward situation, but a teaching situation. Your job, besides keeping them physically healthy and safe, is to teach them to want to be good and to help them be good. For example, as many have mentioned, part of "helping them be good" is to not let that toy be available if it is not allowed to be played with and to not invite lies when the answer is already known. If I saw a kid open a toy they weren't supposed to have, I'd say "oops, that's for after the meal! Sorry about that. How do your fries/apples taste?" If a child I was babysitting started screaming from being upset, I'd come over, get on their level and say, in a friendly quiet voice, "Wow, something really isn't working, huh? I'd like to help you with it, but I can't when you are screaming. Let's calm down first and then work it out." I'd offer a glass of water and take the kid outside (assuming weather cooperates and there is a safe place.) Most kids calm down outside and it lets them choose how close or distant to be to their caretaker. I might try playing some favorite music inside or a short music video if I needed to stop screaming and couldn't go outside. Only after the kid is completely calm and has done something else pleasant would I circle back around to the initial problem. I'd find something to praise that they'd just been doing, then point out how much nicer it was when she wasn't screaming, and that she seemed to be having more fun, too. I'd see if she could put into words what the problem was earlier and help her to find those words. Kid might say "I said I was done and should have the toy, but you called me a liar and took my toy and put me in time out." Then I'd say, "Oh, you were done?" "Yes" "I'm really sorry I misunderstood you and accused you of lying. I didn't know you were done because there was still lots of hamburger left. It sounds like in the future, we need to work out what "done" means so that we don't have bad misunderstandings like that in the future. When we eat, it's important to eat enough that you don't get hungry again right away, but fun toys are super distracting, I know! What do you think we should do with the toy next time to make it easier for you to eat more?" Then I'd help the kid come up with a decent solution, even if it isn't my first idea. Like, I would say keep the toy out of sight, but the kid might ask to play with it for five minutes before eating, then set it aside until after food is done.

This is one of those things I wonder about a lot. My husband hates dentists. Not necessarily personally, but as a profession as he had a very aggressive orthodontist as a kid and then awful drill or yank everything dentists when he was young in the army. Now that he knows he can refuse treatments, he just brushes really well, gets his annual "look in the mouth" check up, and has fillings replaced as needed. He's had no professional cleanings in 15 or so years and no new problems in that time, either. It made me start wondering why there is this strong recommendation to get your teeth professionally cleaned every six months. Surely good teeth brushing is far, far more important as well as far, far cheaper.

We have liked All About Spelling to fit that need. My oldest learned to read very early and reads a lot. She benefits from the program because it causes her to slow down and think about spelling as well as gives her more tools to pronounce unfamiliar words correctly. We studied basic phonics when she learned to read, but she leapfrogged ahead and so intuited rather than learned more advanced rules. I don't want it to be too obvious which vocabulary she got from reading silently, so I'm glad AAS is helping her fill in the blanks. My second is more typical in his learning to read. AAS worked wonderfully for him by being an easy reinforcement of his reading. He's also been more typical in his attention span and ability to sit still, so the switching activities in AAS, plus the fact we do it standing up for the most part, has been super helpful. He actually memorizes the rules and applies them more consistently than his older sister. My third is a beginning reader now. He longs for attention and consistent lessons, so when I saw All About Reading super cheap at a consignment sale, I picked up levels 1-3. He's breezing through the first level. It takes him about ten minutes to do a lesson, but he enjoys it. I may start him on AAS when he finishes AAR 1, but it will depend on how the juggling act of 3 school age kids plus a toddler works.