It. Is. Christmas. :sad: Colossians 3:12 - Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Go and celebrate, Scarlett.

We have a few of those in our house. The head is removable on ours. Yes, I've used them for wet messes, dampening the head to get the last of the mess after cleaning with a towel or throwing the whole head in the wash after I'm done with it. The amount of animosity and name calling for a simple mistake makes me feel very uncomfortable. Perhaps this is not the best job for you, especially if you see it as more of a favor.

Mine learned to play through getting to know the pieces: the army of pawns, the skittish horses the knights ride, the sneaky bishop who moves at an angle, the castle walls that are straight and true (rooks)... There's a movie that does a similar thing called A Little Game. It's about a girl learning the pieces through small stories. If something like that appeals to you, it's worth checking out.

:laugh: We are not the most solemn people. Death is a fact of life in our circles, lol, and it's met head on with jokes and reminiscing. Even our kids have already thrown in their .02, trying to decide what will go on our memorial stone in the garden - everything from bad puns to inside jokes. (They've also divvied up the good stuff, deciding who gets what from the house. Good to know they'll be all set. :lol: ) The bbq is totally going to be one last bit of fun, and something his friends will most certainly appreciate. :D

Mine liked activity books that went along with books he knew - Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus, Phineas And Ferb's Guide To Life, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. I didn't set aside a time for them, just put them in his room and he came around to them when he could write words from memory instead of just copywork.

The no doorbell thing is driving me nuts, too. Our weather is unpredictable and I'd rather not have something soaked because it sat on the porch overnight. Just, ugh. I'm waiting on a book today and I'm really hoping I catch the driver.

Dh and I have discussed this at length. I will be holding a bbq for him after his cremation, inviting all his old friends. For myself, he will be planting a tree over my ashes. Neither of us are big on ceremony, and I never liked to be the center of attention so that will be honored after my death. A small gathering, perhaps, but no big funeral/viewing.

I feel the same way. I am constantly grateful for the diverse community my children have grown up in. Ds18 never saw women as unequal: in his world, they ran large organizations, were lawyers, mathematicians, olympians, leaders. All people he personally knew and respected. It was much different than my childhood, where I railed against being told 'no' by community leaders because I wasn't a boy. I've always tried to keep women more in our history and science studies and consistently point out the women who made a difference. Ds came home on break a month ago and he and I got into a good discussion about what he thought gender inequality was and what it actually is - he grew up sheltered from that sort of thing because he was always surrounded by strong women. He had no idea the struggles women have, right down to not even having the equal rights amendment ratified. I gently reminded him that when I point out the women who do things, it is to always cement the idea that no matter what the books say, it's what they don't say that counts. Women did it too.

I have never heard of ham gravy. :huh:

Dh gets me a new book every year: a leather bound edition of a favorite. So far he's given me things like Peter Pan Fahrenheit 451 A Tree Grows In Brooklyn To Kill A Mockingbird They're all stories I absolutely adore. Things I have worn out paperback copies of. We refer to them as my "jewels", because I don't treasure diamonds and such like I do my books. :lol: This year he told me he was branching out, getting a locally based story since I have so many of my favorites already. I'm anxious to see what he will pick. There are a lot of good books written about the area and I think I'd like any of them.

Okay, well, I might have to eat my words. I think the kids are more equal this year than I thought. The toy I found for $15 on clearance last year is selling for $100-150 at places like TRU. Yay for shopping wisely? :lol:

We're mostly ready! Dh found that we were down to the dregs in the orange juice bottle, but neither of us really wants to go out. We're expecting freezing rain in a bit and not much better than that through Monday. Looks like we'll just do without if we keep trying to get the other to take the trip. :) We are doing noshy bits on Christmas day, but a ham on Sunday. Somehow it just seems wrong to celebrate the birth of a Jewish child with a large piece of pork, but there you have it. Family voted and that's what we're doing this year. As far as plans this weekend, ds has skating lessons, but that is it. Hey, maybe I'll pick up the juice on the way home! :D

They're not the greatest pieces of literature, but Usborne has some illustrated collections that might work - we have their volumes of Aesop's Fables, Adventure Stories and one other, but there are several. https://usborne.com/browse-books/catalogue/series/1/507/illustrated-story-collections/ We also have some older collections that include the James Baldwin stories, so looking for something like older readers (Elson, maybe?) might be an option, too.

I think you do want to help him, Scarlett, but I think you're continually shooting yourself in the foot. You don't see it worth your time on your days off to go to the gym with him because encouraging should be enough. You don't see it worth changing your eating habits because changing his should be enough. He should do it, because it needs to be done. Right? And if he doesn't that's on him. Lack of solidarity is a big deal. I hiked 70 miles with my kid last year. Not because I wanted to. It was what he needed. He needed someone to expect something out of him (Eagle scout), and expect him to put a plan in place, and be that accountability partner when he couldn't get his troop to do that badge with him. It is like that with a lot of things. I do chores at the same time as my kid because it's holding him accountable for that bit of time. It's not "you work, I'll do mine later" because it doesn't say that the task is important. During the warm months we pack everyone's bikes on the rack and take them to the trail. It's not a clear option to not ride. We don't ride *together* (dh trains for long races, teen ds rides for speed, I work with the 7yo), but we make that the expectation of the morning 3 days a week. In the cold months, I set out ds's yoga mat next to mine in the morning. It becomes clear that the expectation is that he will follow the beginner's video to the best of his ability. You can't choose not to set the model if getting dss healthy is important to you. Otherwise your actions are speaking something your mouth isn't.

Ugh, yes! Dh just had back surgery a few weeks ago and after the first few days he would moan and complain about the pain, but wouldn't voluntarily take the meds. DS1 is the same way - came home with a cold. "DS, there's Nyquil, Dayquil, Tylenol Cold & Flu. Even Zarbees. Take something!!"

No. You should expect to set the tone on your days off. Make it a habit that you are going to the gym/riding a bike/swimming/whatever and expect the boys to join you. Your dss doesn't need to spend 7 days at the gym. He needs to get into the habit of going and someone needs to help him. IIRC, the last time this subject came up you had reasons why you couldn't possibly exercise as a family. I think that's one of the mental shifts you are going to absolutely have to make in order for your dss to develop new habits and replace the old.

If it was, he'd be there already. Don't be surprised if he doesn't go on his own and you fall right back into the same cycle of you wringing your hands and expecting him to just have the fortitude and gumption to change 16 years of a lifestyle. On his own. Teens need the extra guidance. They need handholding sometimes when it comes to big things.

I think your best bet, Scarlett, might be to simply tell him "we're going to the gym in half an hour. Get ready." And do it all with him. Sometimes teens need that extra support - even if we think they should be handling the information themselves. Not encouraging, but simply expecting that a, b, and c will happen because you are doing a, b, and c as well.

Mindbenders are traditional logic puzzles. They're well loved here. We alternate through a few different activities: Mindbenders Sudoku ThinkFun games Think-A-Minutes Red Herrings Encyclopedia Brown/Two Minute Mysteries At 5th, you might also look into Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery. It's a storybook style introduction to reasoning and beginning logic. I have a paper version, but I know there's a free ebook version floating around, too.

The two that I think will be the most favorite gifts for my 7yo cost me $1 and $15, respectively. The one I think my college kid will most enjoy cost $180 (waterproof boots). We don't try to do gift equity. We try to do joy equity. When each person is filled with contentment, there's no comparison to be had.

Dorothy, I'm so sorry! :( This has to be hard on your dh. We are on break here. The big child came home from college, and except for outside lessons (skating and music), we have quit doing school entirely. Even the music lesson I canceled next week - told his teacher it wouldn't even be worth it so close after Christmas day. Dh is still not as well as he would like to be so both of us are enjoying having another set of adult hands around to give me a hand with the heavy stuff. Between me and the teen, we got the garage and storage room cleaned in no time at all today. There's a threat of snow followed by ice coming up, and it will be safer for dh to have his vehicle in the garage than outside. Better safe than sorry, no? Other than that I've spent the day cleaning bathrooms, doing the never ending laundry, and getting all of January's lessons together so I don't have to think about what to do next. Can I add a horrible, selfish Christmas complaint here? Yes? Good. :laugh: Every year, ever since the big child was small, we have had a book basket with the same holiday readings in it. Every night I would sit and read from chapter books and picture books, up until the 19th, when I started A Christmas Carol and followed it with A Visit From St. Nicolas on Christmas Eve. Every year. The teen loved it. In fact, this year he crept upstairs on the 19th when I started the Carol and sat there to listen. I spent years being trained to tell stories. It is a quite decent reading, I'll tell you that. The small child.....Oh! The small child! He has no interest. Even my book-hating nephew was captivated by The Best Christmas Pageant Ever when I read it. The small child of this house politely told me I didn't need to continue because he read the book earlier that afternoon. :glare: Fine. We got to A Christmas Carol in our annual reads and last night he took the second copy off our shelf. I thought he was going to read along. Halfway through, I hear his book close. "I finished the chapter. It was good." And that was that. What do you do with a child who doesn't want to be read to?? I'm so sad. I don't know how to change the tradition or if I even want to. Maybe in another year he'll sit for it? Though, doubtful. He has a near-photographic memory when it comes to information. I just.... :crying: I love these stories and wanted him to love them- with me.

One other thing you might want to consider is that in case of an emergency, those vehicles need to be able to get to you. If your property is not well maintained to that point, then regardless of how beautiful the trees are, they are becoming a liability.

My son attends a themed book club meant for 2nd-5th graders. The children are responsible for reading the monthly book on their own. When they get to book club, they take their notebooks (kept by the leader) and draw/write after discussing the book. Then they do activities like a nature hike or comparing prints or whatnot. For starting from scratch, I would use Litwits, Homeschool Share, or Moving Beyond The Page as a jumping off point. Use the questions to discuss, but then spend the time doing activities that go along with it. For example, if, say, we did Mr. Popper's Penguins, I'd set up activities like this: -listening to a dramatized radio program of an expedition -creating a list of penguin attributes described in the book and then have the kids hunt through pictures of penguins to find one that matches the description. -the "notebook" portion being 12 pages and a map - one for each month so they can follow the story and the map to track the traveling show. My goal would be to maximize the time we have there by doing things together - making the reading portion homework.

We live in a wooded area with a long driveway. In your case, I would put a sign at the end of the drive stating that it has low overhang.

Sweets, this is your on the job training. :laugh: My family was talking last night over dinner and the 18yo and I laughed about him being the guinnea pig - for EVERYTHING. We bumbled our way through school, found our footing, slipped again, found it again.....but all those 8 years made me a better teacher. I read more, listened more, and filled my toolbox slowly with different techniques. I branched out to working with other kids, and tutoring, and now have a whole different set of issues to deal with when it comes to my youngest. We are taught the same way our kids are. We fall, we make mistakes, and we learn from them. There is nobody who will be perfect at the beginning (except maybe Mary Poppins :lol: ) You grow as you teach.