My first thought is PANDAS/PANS. Throat swab and antibiotics would be on the top of my list!

There are lots of good tips, including video links, in the comments for the pattern. It's beautiful!

Beast Academy level 3 (sorry, I don't remember which book offhand) has a fabulous method for quickly calculating square numbers that end in 5. DS8 really enjoyed having people quiz him to see how fast he could do it. It might not be useful to learn just to learn, but the mental math practice that it required was great IMO.

I'm trying to nail down down the lit reading list for DS8 (3rd grade). I'm looking at the reading lists in the WTM and I want him/us/me to read them all! Of all the great titles - how do you narrow it down? Gah! Tell me it's not possible to read them all...

I often request several different editions through interlibrary loan and choose from those that I can actually see in person.

Going into 3rd with SM here, and we aren't giving tests. :-)

My DH is a public high school teacher by day and a college professor by night (twice a week). We eat dinner together as a family every night he's home; on the nights that he's not home, my mother is usually over and she eats with us. DS21 is here less and less but, if he's in the house, he's at the table with us as well. (I need to get a bigger table!)

Thanks for all this! I have been listening to a history course this summer, in preparation for SOTW3 (history was never my strong suite) while DH has been listening to one on Greek philosophy. I don't drive much, and rarely anywhere that takes 30 minutes for an entire lecture, but I'll start a chemistry one as soon as I'm finished with history. I'll put it on during dinner prep in the kitchen! I've preordered the 4th ed. of the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia, and can't wait to give it to DS when it arrives in October. I'm looking into some chemistry board games, too. Thanks for the video/lecture/website ideas!

I've never heard of this before - off to check it out! Thanks!

For those with an Android phone, Libra does the same thing. Happy Scale is only for iPhones. :-(

Thanks!

My DH is always listening to Great Courses lectures - philosophy, history, religion, etc. It is a format that DS8 is familiar with, so maybe it won't be that bad? I'll keep working on other ideas, obviously. Thanks for your response!

Just saw his facebook page - he had two small children. :crying: The funeral is on Saturday. What a waste...

DS will be using Fun With Atoms and Molecules for chemistry this coming school year for 3rd grade. I was thinking about fitting in some Great Courses lectures on Audible during his science time. He would probably listen 15 min x 2 days/week. I'm considering the following titles: The Nature of Matter (24 lectures on chemistry) or The History of Science: 1700-1900 (picking from the 36 lectures only ones that line up with history - SOTW3, 1600-1850) or The Joy of Science (there are 12 on chemistry topics) Have you listened to any of these courses? Would you recommend one over another for a 3rd grader with an excellent vocabulary who enjoys listening to anything if it involves headphones? Would you absolutely NOT recommend this approach?

One of my former students was shot to death last night. While making dinner I glanced at the front page of the newspaper and there was an article about a shooting in the next city over (about 2 miles away). Two shot, one dead. The name was distinct enough and the age was right; I emailed my former principal and she confirmed that it was him. He was only 25. I had him as a sophomore my first year at the vocational school in the poorest city in the state, nine years ago. I can still see his smile and hear his voice. What a shame. I'm so sad for him and for his family. If you're the praying type, please pray for his family.

I've tried to knit a few times in the past, and I always give up relatively quickly. Well, I want a Wonder Woman wrap (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wonder-woman-wrap) and they're isn't anyone to knit it for me, so I'm going to have to learn! Please, what's your favorite knitting videos/channel on YouTube?

This.

Thanks very much! I ordered a few sets of gears off of Amazon and we are trying to scavenge as many Technic parts as we can out of DS21's old Legos. I'm probably going to buy DS5 the simple and powered machines set for Christmas.

I'm glad that your son is better and that you have a diagnosis. Two small items to pass on to you: long-term epilepsy meds can cause vitamin d deficiency and if your son was prescribed keppra a daily dose of b6 can help with the initial mood side effects. Good luck.

Sounds like all the issues my best friend had before being diagnosed with celiac disease. I have no advice, but I hope you get some answers soon.

Thanks for the links, Quark! Thanks for the question, OP!

Thanks! Just went on my library list.

Forgive the off-topic question, but what is 'Spark'?

This discussion of whether single-payer will cost more or less than what is already 1/6 of the U.S. economy fails to mention that the reason insurance costs are so high is NOT due to the actual cost of medical services, but due to the fact that insurance companies, many hospitals, drug companies, etc are all FOR PROFIT BUSINESSES. Having a for-profit health care system is an abomination.

Hugs. Prayers. As the mother of an epileptic, I will keep you and your son in my thoughts.