Too many to reply to - but I really appreciate all of the thoughts and book suggestions. I have occasionally run into my library's 25 book hold limit, and it seems like I'm about to do that quite a bit more ...

So apparently I am due for a re-read. That sounds like it would be a great read and discussion for junior high or high school. Yes - I like that list from Read Aloud Revival, and we get 10 to 15 picture books from the library each week. I agree that there are a lot of good picture books. Where is the unicorn list of Diverse Chapter Books and Novels that are Appropriate for a 7 Year Old? :confused1:

As I'm working on a second grade reading list for my oldest, I've had these ideas bouncing around in my head, I'm having a hard time making sense of it and finding someone IRL to really engage in the topic with. I like the idea of classic books for kids - many lists I've seem have books from the late 1800's and early to mid-1900's. I like how many of these books are generally wholesome and sweet and times seem simpler, with one major exception: I cannot stand the ridicule of different people groups, and to a lesser degree a lack of diversity (white, Christian, able-bodied is the assumed default). I get that times were different, and I can handle kids doing things that we just wouldn't even dream of today in the US (carrying their pocket knives everywhere, going around large cities alone, among other things). And I get that it was near-universally accepted and scientifically supported that certain groups of people were just inferior, but the lack of respect for people different than oneself is one thing that I feel the need to point out as unacceptably wrong, no matter how common it was. I think it's especially challenging with a young advanced reader - she easily handles chapter books and this is the point in reading ability where many of the classics would fit in. But many of the ones that I've read to potentially add to our reading list, I just don't think are appropriate (I'm looking at you, Mark Twain and Hugh Lofting). I'm not for banning or censoring books at all, but I'd rather wait until my kids are older and have more background information and a stronger moral compass, to maintain a sense of outrage over the injustice, and not become desensitized to it. With my oldest being 6, I'm saying, "Maybe when she's 9 or 10," but part of me wonders if once she hits 9 or 10, I'll be saying, "Maybe when she's 12 or 13"? It seems like the issue is compounded by modern books that reflect our global diversity being decried as "pushing a liberal agenda." I don't really identify with either major political group (conservative or liberal), and do think that there are plenty of modern books that introduce topics for children inappropriately early. But I find dehumanization of other people to be equally offensive as four letter words and explicit adult content in books for young adults (or older children). Plus, I'd like to think that respect for all people is not limited to one political party. It seems like the best I can hope for from many of the classics is that they simply don't mention minority groups? Maybe I'm reading the wrong books? I'd really love to hear others' thoughts on this and also book recommendations for a second grader with an advanced reading level.

That's rough and unfortunately, I don't have any advice that would help your current situation. For the future with medical expenses, you may want to look into an HSA. My understanding of it is this: - you have to have a high deductible plan to be able to use an HSA - you can use it for any medical expenses incurred AFTER the HSA was established - you can pay for the expenses yourself, however you normally pay, then make a contribution to the HSA, then submit a claim to reimburse yourself - the contribution deadline for the previous year is April 15 - any contributions to your HSA are tax-deductible, whether you itemize or not I am not a tax professional, so obviously you should run this by someone who is, but how this works for us is that we do our normal health stuff throughout the year, pay our portion. Then, in the early part of the next year, I look at our insurance claims and total up what we paid out of pocket. I contribute that amount as a previous year contribution to our HSA. Then I submit claims to reimburse ourselves for what we paid. The net affect of the contribution/distribution on our checking account is neutral (spend $xxxx throughout the year, contributed $xxxx to HSA, get $xxxx back from HSA), but the amount that we contributed is then a tax deduction. It saves us from over-contributing and ending up with money tied up in the HSA. edited to fix acronyms ...

Yeah, I don't think I worded my answer very well. It sounds like sports is a very good thing for your family, and that's fantastic. I was trying to get at the second part of the title question - how to make decisions? And for me, acknowledging that we will miss things because we have finite time and money, emotionally/mentally frees me to focus on our priorities and make decisions with more confidence and less waffling.

I've found it helpful to consider things in light of their opportunity cost - no matter what we choose, we are closing a door (or several doors) for something else we could be doing during that time. A family that chooses to participate in a high level of sports has closed the door to spending that time together as a family (that's not to say that they don't ever spend time together, just that it's physically impossible for one member of the family to be participating in an activity while the entire family simultaneously spends time together). And a family that chooses to have dinner together every night has closed the door on activities or sports that have practices or games that would interfere with dinner. I look at this not as a judgement on other families, but how I think about decisions we make for us. There are too many good things to do, and there's no way to do them all. So we choose a couple of priorities and realize that means that we will not be participating in other good things.

In the midst of a slower-than-expected renovation (aren't they all?), I got upset with a contractor because I couldn't put up my d*** Christmas tree ... ironic much? That was over a year ago and I'm still not sure if I really feel bad about it.

Thanks for all the feedback and ideas y'all. I'm feeling much better about not doing a spelling curriculum next year, continuing to pay attention to what she needs, and looking into the suggestions above. It's easy to fall in to the idea that doing something is always better than not doing something.

TL;DR Am I crazy for not doing a spelling curriculum at all for 2nd grade/a 6/7 year old? My goal for DD6 during school right now is to meet her where she is intellectually/academically and help her make progress, while leaving plenty of time for her to play and just be a kid. In my limited experience she seems academically advanced, though not necessarily gifted. With spelling in particular, I haven't noticed anything especially concerning, but do want to meet her where she is and help her make progress. I'm planning for next year, when we'll mostly be doing 2nd grade level work and DD will be 6/7. Background on where we are: She reads and comprehends very well (Magic Tree House and research guides, Little House series, lots of non-fiction), and she often tells me things she's learned from various books/magazines. We did 100EL a couple years ago, and everything else she has picked up on her own after that. I haven't done any formal evaluations lately, but I suspect she would be several grade levels ahead of her age. We've been doing SWO A since the fall. She doesn't have any problem doing the workbook pages and the amount of time it takes is reasonable for us, but there is often very little difference between her pretest and final test performance, seeming to indicate that the workbook pages and extra practice we do (spelling words out loud, repeated writing of words missed on the pretest) aren't very effective. Through the first half of SWO, she would miss just 1 or 2 words on the pretest (including the bonus words), and there were even a few lessons where she got every word correct on the pretest; that has changed in the second half (especially noticeable with various spellings of the same vowel sound). There have been a few times when she's missed a word on the final test that she got right on the pretest. All that to say, SWO just doesn't seem to be a great fit for her. She does not enjoy creative writing, and when she does want to write something on her own, she usually asks for help with each word, meaning there's very little invented spelling to analyze. When she asks for help spelling words, I try to guide her through thinking about them on her own, and she's able to get much of it right; for the parts she doesn't get right, I provide the correct spelling. She seems to have intuited many phonics/spelling rules and is naturally averse to spelling mistakes - I try to praise her effort, talk about the content, and not even mention mistakes on the non-school things she writes. Her spelling mistakes seem to mostly relate to vowel sounds, which are admittedly tricky. I plan to finish out the SWO book we're in, because at the very least it doesn't seem to be causing issues, and she enjoys doing it. I'm going to incorporate a couple adjustments into the rest of our year to see if they help: Instead of using the writing prompt at the end of the lesson, creating a short story using all of the list words, to provide context. I may let her help with the story if she can come up with something concise enough (she's long-winded and her speaking stamina is lightyears beyond both her and my writing stamina), but I plan on helping quite a bit with this part. "Toss It" with tricky words (ones she got wrong on the pretest and additional ones that I suspect may be an issue on the final test), where I hold a bean bag, say the word, spell the word, and then toss the bean bag to her, and she does the same thing. Looking to next year, I'd like to have a better option. Here is what I've considered and my thoughts on them: SYS - Looking at the levels and samples, I think Level C (Wild Animals) would be closest to where she is. I like the context provided for the words in the story/rhyme, the ability to visualize "chunks" that relate to phonics rules, and the use of dictation as a final test. I'm not sure about my hesitancy on this? Maybe the difference between spelling an entire paragraph correctly and a handful of words? Maybe jumping into the third(?) level of a new-to-us system? I am concerned with expecting her to write that much and how long it will take us. Last year she was very reluctant and slow to write, and we've been taking it a bit easy this year. We currently do a penmanship exercise once a week and the copywork included with FLL1, plus her spelling workbook. Even using the longer copywork sentence from FLL1, it seems like a big jump to the entire rhyme/paragraph for SYS. But she does need more writing and I plan to use WWE next year, so she will definitely be doing more. CLE - this seems overly involved and time consuming for a 6/7 year old, plus if we did this, I would have to jettison a couple other pieces of my plan. We've really enjoyed FLL1 and I've seen progress from her, so I was looking forward to doing FLL2. Also, though she doesn't do a ton of writing, her penmanship is really very good, and she's interested in learning cursive, so I was planning on doing Zaner-Bloser 2C; CLE level 200 would obviously cover this. So maybe it's worth it to drop FLL2 and Z-B 2C? I might purchase LightUnit 201 to try it? Not being familiar with CLE, the Teacher's Guide seems pretty integral - would a single LightUnit without it be worthwhile? All About Spelling seems to have too many fiddly bits for my personality and the time we have for school (she's a slow mover sometimes). I think I'm leaning toward skipping a spelling curriculum this year and trust that she's going to continue to pick up on spelling the way she has reading? Continue to use "Toss It" a few minutes a day with words from commonly misspelled words list, sight words list, tricky words that have come up in other school things, etc. To address vowel challenges, maybe get this vowel chart package from TPT (https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-a-e-i-o-u-Posters-Sounds-that-Vowels-Make-Helpers-1601977) and referencing it as we work on words. This spelling non-curriculum would be in addition to FLL2, Z-B 2C, and WWE. Maybe include beginning-of-year and end-of-year spelling assessments, to make sure she's made some kind of progress and isn't terribly behind grade-level? Am I crazy?

Hare-brained idea on the cabinets and soffit - remove the soffit and re-install the cabinets at the ceiling, then put an open shelf under the cabinets - like this https://www.google.com/search?q=open+shelf+under+upper+cabinets&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS657US657&hl=en-US&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXq8aun_zRAhUrwFQKHREOCtgQ_AUICCgC&biw=375&bih=591#imgrc=n9kgEAsr3kdrpM: