Beth's Page

"I like to freeze them individually (set out on a tray, not touching) then after they are hard, put them together in freezer zip lock bags, that way they are not stuck together and you can pop one or two out for a snack whenever you want, or use more…"

"yes, this is a struggle and prohibitive for many families. There is (or at least used to be) a tax credit where you could take it off your taxes for the next 5 years or so. I don't know how expensive it is with the fostering-to-adopt programs…"

"yes, congratulations!"

"The best youth groups I have seen are youth cell groups in which mature youth themselves to take leadership, meanwhile being mentoring and mentoring others, it can be really awesome. Yes, all too often youth groups can be part of the problem,…"

"thank you :-)"

"our daughter is interested in learning spinning...does anyone have information/advise re spinning wheels, etc.?"

"I've found the "More With Less" Mennonite cookbook to be a super help with practical "from scratch" alternatives...and good explanations of how to go about it! A number of our favorite regulars come from it, a friend…"

"Yes, I found that programs/plans that required prep on the part of the parent didn't really work for me, I was working along with the children and left that kind of thing for co-op enrichment. For our older children we did a lot of reading out…"

"thanks Sonya I miss being in a critique group, the deadlines were always helpful for me...and of course doing a regular column carries its own deadlines. one thing I have been trying to do (with mixed success) is write a page a day...but if…"

"just a note on copyrighting...what can be very concerning is if someone lifts and changes your work to communicate something opposite to your beliefs...this happened to an award-winning friend of ours, a story that was very close to his heart was…"

"Rather a side topic, but I applaud your mention that it's okay for a younger child to be working ahead of an older one. I strongly encourage you NEVER to hold back a younger one due to an older sibling's lack of progress (or ever…"

"One thing they did in Montessori was cut letters out of sandpaper (seems like maybe they were 5 or 6 inches high) and have the child trace around it while saying the name and the sound. Also, back to developing motor skills, one of the exercises…"

"thanks so much, have enjoyed the discussion :-) "

"a lot of good insights, thanks for sharing :-) "

"college group, then several short terms (10 days-2 weeks, one "trying it out" with young children) then eventually full time in connection with a couple of agencies/teams, the first time tent-making to a degree through TESOL, the second…"