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My six year old reads quietly to himself during quiet time. Before he could read, he could look quietly at books or listen to an audiobook.

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Truly, if he still complains about his fingers hurting, I don't think he gave guitar enough of a chance. Can you and his teacher find a goal for him to work towards and once he reaches that goal you revisit switching? Can you commit to practicing with him as he works towards that goal?

I haven't done any strength training since I was in high school. Three kids later, I want to ease back into it. I can't fit a gym membership in the budget. I'm more than a little intimidated. Couch25K got me into running, and I would love an easy to follow program like that. Help?

You need a lawyer. I have a brother who is a professional educator who got arrested for a DUI. It's no joke!

A neighbor lets her dogs run free in the woods behind our house. It drives me nuts. These are big dogs that are not well trained. My kids are terrified of them, because they jump up on them and knock them over. My neighbors think my kids are being brats, because they freak out whenever they see those dogs. Whatever. Leash your dogs!

Kindle edition is $20 while the print version is $30, at least on Amazon.

I must have missed the thread on this. I can't decide between pre-ordering the kindle edition or the print edition. I love reading things on my kindle, but I worry a book like this would be difficult to use on the Kindle. Thoughts? Which did you all order?

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My six year old is saving money to attend a Suzuki Institute next year. He really wanted to go with his friends from his music school this year, but I don't have the money. I feel bad about it, but mostly because I can't make it happen this year. I don't think it's mean asking him to pay for it next year. If I didn't, he wouldn't be able to go. I think it's the same for your daughter. Letting her pay this year means that next year you have the money to let her go, even if she doesn't make as much money.

I really miss the old mothering forums.

Florist

I don't think showers are about helping a new couple get on their feet. Maybe it used to be. But when I had my first kid young, and then I got married young, no one threw me a shower and I didn't have the space or money to host one (plus it's kind of looked down on to throw your own). Most showers I have been to are extravagant affairs for people in their late twenties/early thirties, probably because they have the income to throw a big party. It's definitely worth celebrating! Get them a gift that's not on their registry. Think of it more like a birthday present.

Congrats! Hoping for a sticky baby for you!

Unless you have a Dugger size family, if you make $200,000, you are rich. If you can afford to live in a high cost of living area, yes, you are upper middle class. You might not have the same lifestyle as someone living in a lower cost of living area, but being upper class is what allows you to live there. A lot of people just are priced out of that area. Median income in this country is about $50,000, with a standard deviation of $35,000. Upper middle class starts at $85,000. I say this as someone who is not uppper middle class but lives in an affluent, high cost of living area. My county recently was in the news a lot because of the upward mobility low income people experience in this county, because even if the family isn't affluent, the advantages of living in the area (the schools, libraries, general infastructure) allow kids to escape poverty at much higher rates.

My kids have hyphenated last names. They get insurance through their dad, so for all their medical records they use his name. All legal documents have the hyphenated name. I wasn't married when we had our first, and now I'm separated. I'm glad I didn't capitulate and give her just her father's last name. Women change their names all the time. I won't be offended if she takes a partner's name or chooses to use just her father's name as an adult, and I hope she knows that. However, right now? All of us sharing a last name (or at least one of them) helps us feel like a family, which is especially important for my family right now.

I am thinking about giving each identical twin the same gift. I don't know either well, so I just picked something my kid that age would like. Is it rude to pick the same thing for both of them? It's the kind of toy that isn't conducive for sharing but I think would be fun to do together.

One of my biggest fears is my toddler drowning. If I could find someone to teach this, I would do it, even if my two year old hated it.

Thanks everyone!

I feel really embarrassed about my kid telling everyone we don't do school. She's nine years old. Whenever anyone asks her what she's learning in school, what her favorite subject is, etc..., she answers, "Oh, we don't do that." It's summer, so our school is lighter, but we are still doing a few hours of school each day, more than half of that looking very schooly (Writing with Ease, All About Spelling, Beast Academy, etc...). She often resists doing her schoolwork, so I don't really want to add more schoolwork, especially during the summer. I've talked to her repeatedly about this, pointing out how the public school kids don't even do school this time a year, all the stuff we are continuing to do during the summer, etc... and she still does this. I worry someone is going to report me for educational neglect. (There is almost no oversight for homeschooling here: I don't even have to register, but in a couple counties over, there have been issues with homeschooled kids being declared truant.) How do I handle this? Or should I just shrug this off?

I plan to do WWE4 with my rising fourth grader this fall. She just finished AAS4, but she struggles with some of the spelling in WWE. If you use both these programs, what level of AAS and WWE are you on? What level of AAS do you think encourages spelling success in WWE4?

My top scores were Beast Academy, Miquon, and Rightstart. I have never used Miquon, but I happily use Rightstart for my middle kid and Beast Academy for my oldest. Score for Beast Academy: 9 Score for Math Mammoth: 6 Score for Math U See: 0 Score for Mathematical Reasoning: 6 Score for Miquon: 9 Score for RightStart: 9 Score for Saxon: 6 Score for Shiller: 6 Score for Singapore: 6 Score for Teaching Textbooks: 6

My six year old gets up around 4:30AM, give or take half an hour, every day. At this point, I told him that he's not allowed to wake me until he's dressed and finished his morning chores. If he gets that done before 6AM, he needs to bring me coffee. I am not a morning person. We still don't start homeschooling until 8AM or 9AM, because I'm not a morning person. I lay things out the night before.

Sorry, I think you should call a plumber, which would probably be even less popular with your husband. I know you said you had your pipes scoped, but if your home inspector didn't point out the water stains, I don't trust your home inspector. Evidence of shoddy workmanship like the toilets not getting caulked makes me wonder about the plumbing in your house. How is the water pressure in your house?