[Chef Hive: camping meals - heart healthy]

Sloppy Joes:  canned chili over hotdog buns

Sausage stir fry:  Shelf stable cured sausage slices stir fried with onions and peppers, with rice or bread

Sausage on a stick:  Same shelf stable sausage in chunks, cook on the end of a stick over the fire like marshmallows

Ramen noodle soup with tofu and whatever vegetables are leftover.  My kids like this with wakami seaweed also.

Grilled cheese sammies with veg.

Boxed mac and cheese with canned tuna.

 

I usually pack a few commercial freeze dried instant backpacker meals for just-in-case.

 

[s/o Is it appropriate to take a concealed weapon into someone else's home]

Canadian here.  This thread is just mind-boggling. 

 

There was a recent thread "What is American Culture".   This is.  Completely and utterly outside my experience.

 

 

[Science Video Ideas?]

Eureka! videos noted upthread are brilliant.

 

ASAP Science, Crash Course Science, and Crash Course Kids (all on youtube) are also very good.

 

 

[Simplified plan for Kindergarten]

We just finished a K5 year that consisted of OPTGR, a HWOT workbook and MUS primer.  Easy peasy.

[changing a tire]

Before they start driving.  Like checking oil and pumping gas, it's a skill every driver should know how to do - even if you never acutally have to do it.  AAA isn't always immediately available.

 

I learned in my early teens.  My kids (aged 6 and 7) help with swapping out the snows each spring and fall.  DH is a car guy and likes teaching them this stuff.  (They also may or not believe that DS is The Stig)  There is no way they could do it independently though.   Tires are too heavy, cars are too dangerous for a 7 year old to jack up without close supervision.  But they could coach an un-trained adult through the process.

[Camping help]

My boys are the same age as yours.  We use a 6 person tent, which we've used since they were babes.  We bought it because we could fit 2 playpens.  There is more than enough space for a sleeping pad apiece, laundry baskets for stuf,f and bags of clothes.  We can stand up and move around easily.  It's quite luxurious and more space than we really need.  A ten person tent would be overkill for us.  We tweak the comfort level by lining the floor with interlocking foam floor tiles.

 

If I were in your position, I might consider a second small tent instead as bolt suggested above - it really depends what you think will work for your family. 

 

A dining shelter has been what's really made the difference.  If I had to choose a small tent plus dining shelter vs just a big tent, I'd choose the former.  It's brilliant to have a sheltered space to hang out in when the weather is damp.

 

I agree with PP's that you need to set up the old tent and do a trial camp in the backyard. 

[2010 subaru outback wagon...anyone have one]

No experience with the Outback.  But my 2004 Impreza hatchback has >200 000 km with no issues, still going strong.

[Camping]

How cold will it be?  The trouble with air mattresses is that they don't provide any insulation.  If the temperatures are anything but balmy, you'll be cold on an airmattress.

A simple closed cell foam pad is your best bet for beginner camping - cheap and warm. 

[Is he right or left handed?]

Hand dominance is fascinating. 

 

Both my sons are lefties.  One is very left dominant (age 5), which was obvious from young todderhood.  His handwriting is lovely.  The other has much more mixed dominance - he writes left, eats with either, throws and plays hockey and opens jars right.  He has struggled with writing.  It's coming along, but slowly, slowly.   He was also late to choose a hand (kinder) for writing.

 

I also have very mixed hand dominance - writing, eating, sewing, shovelling and sweeping right; but throwing, jar opening, needle threading, golf, hockey left.  Volleyball overhand serve left, but underhand serve right.  DH is a righty for everything. 

 

Sounds like your son may have mixed dominance.  He'll choose whichever hand is more comfortable for the task at hand.  With my messy writer, we've continued to train the left for writing because it's what's comfortable for him (even if it'n no neater than with his right.)

 

Stanley Coren's "the left hander syndrome" is a very interesting read (though some of the science is out of date).

[If your partner works nights/needs to sleep during the day...]

I work nights. 

 

I don't have any trouble sleeping through regular kid noise.  However, Really Loud Noise is not allowed while I'm sleeping (piano playing, bicycle horns, musical instruments). 

[What does your "schedule" look like for 1st?]

Deskwork takes an hour or less per day (barring dawdling), six days a week:

 

Math: Math U See, daily, 10-20 minutes

Writing: Writing With Ease 1, daily, 10-20 minutes

Spelling and Vocabulary are daily, alternate weeks, Spelling workout B alternates with Wordly Wise 3000 level 2, 10 minutes.

Grammar:  FLL one to three days per week,  5-10 minutes.

 

He is a strong reader and reads good books 1 - 2 hours per day without any prompting from me.

 

Read alouds aren't on a schedule.  Probably about an hour a day.  Sometimes more, sometimes less, often audiobooks.

 

We follow an unschooling inspired approach for content subjects.  History, geography and science are woven into our daily life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[What led you to homeschool?]

My province has full-time public Junior Kindergarten (age 4).  My kid was not ready for full time school at age 4, so I didn't send him (which is highly unusual here.  While not compulsory, it is generally expected that all elligible children attend JK).   I started some gentle schooling at home, loved it, and haven't looked back. 

[Lego storage ideas]

My boys (5 and 7) are happy with a big bin for the bulk of the collection.. They have separate smaller bins for 1 )wheels and axles 2) technic pieces and 3) people, animals and their tiny accessories (hats etc).  Precious creations have a shelf.  Sets that were gifted to one or the other child are the personal property of said child until they get wrecked/dissassembled.  Once they've been dissassembled, the pieces go into the big bin and become communal.  My kids tend to wreck their sets pretty quickly, so in practice almost all the LEGO in the house is shared.

 

 

[Runners in the group, weigh in please]

Decent shoes AND a good bra are essential.

 

Start with a few weeks of walking only to get you body used to weight-bearing endurance exercise.

 

Pace yourself slowly, slowly, slowly.  A heart rate monitor really helps with pacing.  It reinforced that to maintain my target heart rate, I had to run more slowly than I thought (than even seemed possible).

 

I loved "The Lore of Running" .  Nerdy, data-packed.

 

 

[Where to find chapter books for K?]

My DS, at 5/6 enjoyed Magic Tree House, Flat Stanley, Magic School Bus, Geronimo Stilton, Encyclopedia Brown, Beverly Cleary books, Judy Blume's Fudge series, etc.

 

When they can read that well, that young...it is difficult to find appropriate material.  DS could have read Harry Potter at 5/6...but the content was not appropriate.  

 

 

For him to read indepedently, or as read alouds?

 

Independent reading:  List as quoted above plus:  Mercy Watson (Kate DiCamillo series), Moongobble (Bruce Coville series), Sophie is Six (part of a series by Dick King Smith), My Father's Dragon and its sequels, Cam Jansen series.  Also, some  easy reading books that feel like short chapter books:  Houndsly and Catina, Frog and Toad Series, Geroge and Martha.

 

DS was an early reader, and very sensitive.  None of the above are intense or scary.

[Winnie the Pooh, Audible daily deal, .99]

We own this set (Peter Dennis) on CD.  The BEST Winnie the Pooh audiobook ever!

 

 

[Toronto Canadian Friends]

Good suggestions above.

 

WRT keeping warm:  Many of the downtown buildings/attractions are connected by an underground pedestrian walkway.  It's bright and cheery, much like a very large underground mall.  You can walk from, say, City Hall to the Eaton Centre, to the CN Tower and Aquarium without actually going outside.  The subway system is also excellent; clean, safe and warm.  I used to commute from my childhood suburb to the University by train and subway without spending more than a few minutes outside.

 

You'll want mitts, hats and jackets.  But so long as you aren't planning outdoor activities (like skating at city hall, which is lovely, they rent skates) you won't likely be outside for more than a few minutes at a time anyway.

 

ETA: Rush hour traffic is terrible, terrible, terrible.  Public transit is excellent.  Make good use of the TTC for within the city and the GO train if you'll be commuting from suburbs.

[Math help for 1st grader]

DS7  (jan b'day) stalled in alpha when starting subtraction.   I think it was simply that he wasn't developmentally ready.  I switch to a completely different type of program for a few months (JUMP).  JUMP takes a completely different approach, much of which doesn't involve computation.  Lots of time on estimating, measuring, patterns, symmetry, logic.   So, we spent a few month doing mathy stuff that wasn't computation.  Finished the first JUMP workbook, then went back to MUS alpha and it all just clicked.  I think he just needed the time to mature a little.  He is on the last lesson of alpha now, and what used to be so tough is suddenly simple and he flies through it.

 

I chose JUMP because it's inexpensive, was locally developped, has some data to support the method, teachers manuals are free online. 

 

MEP is free on line, and looks somwhat similar.

 

 

[Wanna explain What color is this dress? To me?]

I liked

[Peanut allergies and a possible way to avoid them]

I don't think is is really news to the medical community.  Rather, it more robustly confirms what was suggested by a 2008 study.   Our allergist advised us to introduce peanut "early and often" when DS5 was an infant based on the 2008 isreally study.

[Rice Cookers any]

We love our Zohirushi.  We eat rice pretty much daily.   And the porridge setting makes a mean batch of steel cut oats.

 

 

[Snow Days?]

No.  Snow from Nov-Apr is just a fact of life here.  If anything, we get more school done on snow days because extracurriculars tend to get cancelled.

[plastic or glass??]

Glass.  Snap-lock style.  They stack.  They still take up significantly more room in the cupboard than plastic though.  I have a few plastic Rubbermaid containers for rough use - trips to the beach etc.

[Teaching Writing to Lefties]

Re scissors:

 

My leftie father manages righty scissors just fine.  For my kids though, lefty scissors with reversed blades have been indispensible.  So much less frustration!!  I keep a pair in our outings bag for use for crafts at Beaver Scouts and the Library.    DS7 can now handle righty scissors if he has to, but still much prefers lefty scissors reversed blades. 

[Teaching Writing to Lefties]

If you've never used a handwriting curriculum and been successful, I don't think you would need anything special to teach you leftie.

 

As a new homeshooler with no real teaching experience, I wanted a curriculum for handwriting.  Both my boys are lefties.  I chose Handwriting without Tears specifically because it is leftie friendly.  Examples are across the top or in the middle of the page rather than on the right where a lefite can't see them.  There are also a few pages in the TM that address teaching lefties:  direction to slant the paper, crossing t's and other horizontal  strokes right to left, hand position under the line rather than hooked posture.  All of this might have been obvious to somebody with experience teaching handwritng, but wasn't at all abvious to me!  We've had very good success.  The 5 yo has nice printing, and the 7 year old is working on cursive.