Me, too!

This one time, on a pregnancy and parenting forum I used to be a long term member of before I migrated here, we had a candy exchange. People from the US, England, Australia, etc signed up and were assigned someone to exchange addresses with via PM, and we each shipped boxes of candy from our areas. People would say whether there was anything they really liked or didn't like or if there was anything they'd ever heard of that they really wanted to try (like Tim tams lol). But a lot of it was just a surprise. It was neat getting to try things you couldn't around here or seeing how different the "same" candy bar tasted from somewhere else. And the kids' faces when a box of candy arrived in the mail! :D that's cool that Rosie sent you that! :)

Yes, I would absolutely start over. Explain to her that you started her too young and that it was your fault, and that you don't want to rush her ahead and have things be difficult and frustrating for her, so you're going to put her where she should have been and do 1st grade again this year. Just like you're having problems now, if you just forge ahead with 2nd grade etc., you may continue to have problems later- finding that when she hits late elementary and/or middle school, that she may have gotten more out of all her research, literature, and writing assignments if she'd had that extra year of age and maturity. Or finding when she hits high school that you don't want her "finishing" school and going on to the next phase of her life a year younger than her peers. It's just 1st grade, it should be enjoyed, and not rushed. Just my opinion. :)

I think she should be able to choose her friends, just as you do. If she doesn't want to play with this child, she shouldn't have to. As long as she isn't rude or cruel to him when she sees him (which I'm sure she's not), that's "kind" enough IMHO. She shouldn't have to play with someone she's not interested in and doesn't have anything in common with out of a sense of obligation.

Let them play all day! And maybe Google how to make Snow Candy while you're at it! :D (Maple syrup tastes much better than molasses IMHO when comparing "recipes")!

Definitely. If there's a movie that's age appropriate for one or more of my kids but not the others, I would go see it with that kid. I do different things with my kids at different times. Often we do fun outings and day trips together, but sometimes there's something that's appropriate for a kid my daughter's age, but not my son's. Other times, there's something that is fun for a younger kid my son's age but would be boring for my daughter. We play it by ear and I'm sure it all evens out in the end.

:iagree: A ridiculously stupid term, but I settled for "crude." :D

I don't think it's weird/gross/whatever to post a picture of the test as an announcement (or to keep them, even- I kept mine for a while to compare the darkness of the test lines)...but the kids chewing on them etc? Ick!

I'm not Christian, I don't go to church (or any religious type services), and I do not think you are being overly sensitive. In a place where children under age 13 are known to congregate, NO-ONE other than a parent has a right to decide to expose them to scenes from PG-13 or R rated movies. Not appropriate, and yep, I'd be ticked off (whether it was a church, a school, a camp, or whatever).

haha, me, too!

I would tell my daughter that her behavior was perfectly acceptable and that it was rude of the relative to tease or insult her because of a simple request that should have been answered with an "Of course," or an "I'm sorry, I don't have any ranch, would you like another type of dressing?" Then I'd let it go. :)

:iagree:

In a neighboring town, we have the tackiest funeral home. It's like a Victorian house, and the trim is painted pink and red, and they decorate the front windows according to season or holiday with things like stuffed bunnies with stuffed carrots, big pouffy paper flowers, mini turquoise Christmas trees, witch dolls around Halloween time, and so on.

I recommend "Teaching Poetry, Yes You Can!" by Jacqueline Sweeney.

I agree that you should read Gavin de Becker's book. There's also one for kids (prob a bit older than yours though) called The Safe Zone which is great to read with your kids and seems to follow a similar line of thoughts de Becker's book.

We do annual check ups each year. I even still take my special needs 20 y/o just because.

I love stuffed peppers! And also sweet Italian sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions. You can put them in salads, on sandwiches, use them as pizza toppings, chop and add to spaghetti sauce, etc.

I would ask the director to tell them not to do that anymore. I'd be really ticked off, a lot of kids that age are still too young/sensitive/impressionable for that sort of thing and I know it would affect my kids at bedtime, too!

Wow. Extra glad for the great customer service I've always received from Oak Meadow and Teaching Textbooks! I wouldn't use SL because I go with secular curricula, but I'd never use a company with such horrid customer service!

My daughter asked me what was my favorite part of parties. I asked if she meant now, or when I was a kid. She said when I was a kid, and I said opening presents. My 6 y/o son piped in with, "Now, as a grownup, she loves drinking down the wine!"

You're not missing out on a big milestone. You're thinking of K the way it used to be when you were a kid. When my daughter (who I didn't start homeschooling until toward the end of 3rd grade) went to K, it was a long day of deskwork, with only 15 minute recesses, "silent lunches," and she was constantly losing said recess for talking too much in the classroom. And she brought home homework, at age 5. You can still make your first day of K special. Buy little first day of school gifts to give him. Make a "back to school" wreath to hang on the front door or some other first day of school craft. Take first day of school pictures and print one to put on a piece of posterboard and include his height, weight, age, handprint, etc. Wrap up the day with a special treat, going for ice cream or baking cookies or going to the park. Or do school outside that day if it's nice out. On the first day your district goes back to school, go on a fun field trip instead. I actually thought this was going to be a rant about how people on Facebook are saying how they "can't wait" for their kids to go back to school and counting down the days lol. That always makes me a little sad, like they can't wait to get rid of their kids. I'm glad to not count days until my kids are gone from me all day, every day. I like having them here. :)

My husband and I both switched to a crystal one pretty recently and I am quite impressed with how well it works! My daughter already uses a natural deodorant I ordered from CJ's but it's been discontinued, so when she's out of her current stick, I plan to start buying the crystal for her, too. (And my older dd who is with her dad for the summer).

:confused: But it WASN'T a junior high student at lunch or girls giggling at a sleepover. I wish it was, rather than it being a grown man having a random conversation at the pool. I also don't know why you are referring to him as "a young parent" like he's 19 years old or something. He's old enough to have a 14 year old daughter, so likely in his 30's, and certainly old enough to know better than to talk about such an adult topic with my 11 year old.

You would have a hard time believing my 11 year old daughter didn't know about genital piercings just because her dad is a tattoo artist and piercer (who doesn't even DO genital piercings and certainly doesn't talk about them to his young children), and because she's interested in being a tattoo artist like her dad? Uh, okay. But the "relevance" of my husband's business does NOT make it okay or appropriate for a grown man to mention genital piercings to a young girl he doesn't even know. That was just way beyond inappropriate no matter how the conversation came about. Katilac, I did answer her question truthfully, and while, no, it isn't the end of the world for her to know that some people get their genitals pierced, the way she came to know that was just flat out wrong in my opinion. I don't have piercings anymore but if I did and an 11 or 12 year old boy I didn't even know randomly asked me about them and asked me if there were any piercings I wouldn't get, I wouldn't go, "Yeah, well, I wouldn't get a hood piercing"... sorry, but that's just freakin' weird to allow a conversation to get on that sort of track with a child!

Right, she asked ME that, not him. She just asked him what it was and when he said something about ask your dad, maybe he'll tell you when you're 18, she sort of figured it out and asked me to confirm.