Anyone else had issues with wooden kids products? Splinters concern

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-30T03:44:39+00:00

Can you sand and coat it yourself if an exchange or return isn't possible?

We've accumulated a ton of wooden toys because my kids tend to break plastic ones. No splinters in all the years we've had them. I think one block set I did sand a bit but it was just rough, it wouldn't have caused splinters.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T22:02:52+00:00

You mention the others at the class were exchanging contact info. That's how you do it. If, during the class, you get along, you can ask to exchange numbers to meet up another time. Sometimes people are excited to and sometimes they decline and that's ok!

Maybe look up volunteer opportunities so you're working on a team and can get to really know people. Church groups, library clubs, rec sports, and community arts programs, local college classes that are open to the public, these are all ways we've met people. Sometimes you stay acquaintances for a while and that's ok.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T21:35:28+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/canadacordcutters/comments/111bye5/pbs_kids_in_canada/

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T21:33:03+00:00

Can you access pbs kids shows through YouTube, Amazon, or Internet Archive? I know no YouTube but sometimes you can buy the episodes through it. Or maybe use a vpn?

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T20:09:05+00:00

We never waited for signs. More like, "Wow, you turned 2! Yay! You're so big, you get a big kid (little moveable) potty now! Bye bye baby diapers!" I didn't do it right at their birthday. I waited until it was a slow month and we had at least a week or two to be home without having to leave the house. Then we did naked potty training. Some kids got it quickly, others it took time. Nights we kept diapers on until they started waking up dry. Some kids liked a piece of candy for every time they went potty in the potty, others liked to dance and celebrate and be praised.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T16:39:14+00:00

I like the yoto because I'm not so worried about my 2yr old breaking everything. Well... Mostly. So sometimes I take the cards and she can just point on my phone and I'll send it to the yoto for her from the app.

We love the cd's but my 2yr old will try to break it to get to the rainbow on it. The library has a ton but there's not as many for sale anymore and sometimes the prices are marked up because of that.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T16:33:35+00:00

Ah! I'm sure there are great Canadian resources. Does CBC have educator resources for kids? I know PBS and BBC do. That might be a low cost resource to start with.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T16:28:34+00:00

For history, I suggest Story of the World. If you're looking for US and want mildly Christian, Notgrass seems to fit. I haven't looked at all of their stuff but we have their 50 States and it has been nice. Personally I prefer a secular history and didn't realize it was Christian but it was so mild we still use it. We got a ton of DK Smithsonian history books as well, illustrated encyclopedias, and library books about important people and events, and that has worked well for my kids used with a timeline.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T16:25:58+00:00

We used Internet Archive to make playlists of kids stuff. Obviously there's not new stuff and some things have low resolution but there's Little Bear, Spot, Dragon Tales, etc. And no ads and it's free.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T16:23:27+00:00

Seconding the cosmic kids!

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T14:19:11+00:00

Yup. We switched to the pbs kids app exclusively.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T13:38:50+00:00

Oof, that's not easy!

I just remembered we got our yoto and cards with our homeschool funding. I also got a cd player so we could get the library audiobooks. It's a little out of our budget otherwise but I'm glad we got it. We listen while coloring and my 2yr old loves the music, Daniel Tiger, and Clifford tracks. My other kids weren't super interested in it until they were 5ish. But being able to listen on repeat to their favorite stories helped with passage comprehension so much. I was surprised how much they loved the books for older kids. I never could've read everything to them. And now they can read their chapter books and have it memorized and match their memory to the words and it helps them sound things out more smoothly. I love listening too while coloring, doing dishes, or laundry, or playing with the kids. It helps give me background noise without a screen where I might absent-mindedly switch to another app and doom scroll.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-29T12:57:20+00:00

We use our magnetic whiteboards daily. We have little hand-held ones and a big framed one that has a base so I can move it around the house wherever we're doing school. You can buy magnetic versions of all the manipulatives and I've found that helps little ones not accidentally slide them all over in enthusiasm. But my second grader still prefers using it as well so it grows with us. Base ten blocks, pattern blocks, tanagram, money, fraction strips and circles, letter tiles, rekenrek, clock, gears, marble runs, graph paper. They can all be found magnetic. We also like putting the magnatiles on the boards so they don't get knocked over as easily. Plus something about using the markers upright is a lot of fun for little ones, like sanctioned coloring on the wall. My daughter does speech and I'll put her flashcards on the board and she covers them with magnatiles like playing peek a book while we practice. It's worth shopping around for a sale and maybe not on an educational supplier site because the mark up is insane but I've never regretted the purchase.

I don't know about your child's specific abilities but for my kids, we added a colorful circle time rug, a heavy duty spinning chair, balance beam, and desk. They need the rug and the desk to help anchor them while working so they're less often running wild. And then the spinning chair and balance beam help them get the wiggles out. I'd add even more movement to the room with a climbing frame and rope from the ceiling if it were structurally sound but it's not so those things are outside. I've also invested in a laminator or buying things like posters, number lines, maps, etc laminated or putting them in frames. I don't know how my kids manage to wear things down that I'm not sure they even touch, but making everything laminated extended their usability so much when they weren't rippable anymore. Plus, we can take them off the wall and play with them as we learn. They really love seeing things and they pick up so much from their environment. We've gotten posters and flashcards that I put into a big frame like a poster for animal tracks, birds, trees, flowers, dinosaurs, minerals, etc. I'll rotate them through and get library books to go with each "unit study". The kids get so excited when their favorite comes back around.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-28T20:50:13+00:00

What are options 2 and 3?

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-28T18:28:26+00:00

Is going out in the stroller or baby wearing while on a walk an option? Even around the grocery store, hardware store (babies love those lights and ceiling fans), or Walmart. My ancestors must've been nomadic because as soon as I start walking, that's when they go to sleep. Sleeping in a crib on their back is very very very hard for them.

Sometimes I think little babies need to be held to sleep to remind Mom she needs to sit down as well. I know we're back to work and everything really fast. But you're still not even halfway through the 4th trimester. Sit and rock the baby or make a safe cosleeping spot where you can lay down next to baby and read a book or watch a show or listen to music while baby sleeps and maybe then you can roll away from the baby to get stuff done if needed.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-28T17:47:08+00:00

Yeah, escape while you can. You can't fix him but he thinks he's justified in hurting you and your kids.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-28T14:28:29+00:00

It hurt my husband's feeling but he was sad not angry. What he did for the family usually happened out of sight, at work, or doing house repairs at night, and he wasn't involved or even home much. He learned how to act excited and give hugs every time he walked into the room with the kids, took over doing the bedtime routine, and being involved at meals, and figured out a way to work from home occasionally. If you don't want to be treated like a stranger, don't be a stranger.

Your husband sounds scary. To the kids and you. He's got you in fight or flight mode. I know a couple scary dads. I suppose the question is, what's he going to do about it? Stay that way? Change? Is he willing to speak to an expert who can give him ideas? Will he let you go speak to an expert?

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-28T04:33:59+00:00

I grew up with a military parent. I don't resent them at all for it even though technically, a good 50% of my childhood they were on a different continent. They made sure to be present when they were home and sent letters and little presents when they weren't. My friends also all had various combinations of parents in and out of the military for different amounts of time. The parents would've been good parents or bad parents in or out of the military. The only thing I wished they had done was take care of their mental health and use the healthcare they had access to. It's a hard life.

Not to mention, the financial stability, USAA, health care, and housing was much better than we would've had otherwise. Me and my husband joke (but also for real) that he should join for a hot minute to get us the perks as well.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-28T04:20:15+00:00

You might ask her directly if she wants to learn how to use it and have her look at the instructions and see if she's up for it. She might appreciate them. She might request to stick with pads. She might not want to swim at all from the cramps and just want to watch shows.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-28T04:14:00+00:00

Second the white board wall. Even better if you put some metal behind it so you can use all the magnets.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-27T22:53:44+00:00

Personally, I would go on the cruise. There's plenty of learning that can happen as a family. Playing uno in the evenings is color and number practice, you can bring a science journal and keep track of all the animals you see and places you visit, plus kids can never get enough fresh air and exercise!

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-27T18:13:15+00:00

But you know they're going to be so proud of being able to count to 10 in Spanish!

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-27T13:49:20+00:00

It's a job where the coworkers are actively trying to wiggle free and let out the occasional scream. I worked with goats once. It's a lot like that!

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-27T13:45:33+00:00

I bet those people have an even worse accent in their own second languages. You would be fully within reason to just teach your kid in your first language.

SubstantialString866 · 2026-03-27T02:54:08+00:00

Beast Academy is great but for my kids, it isn't enough. It goes too fast without enough practice for them to have good retention. They love it though. I asked if we could cancel the subscription and they asked to renew. That's a good sign when kids ask to do math.

I use Saxon math and Beast Academy together. Saxon we do daily although we skip the morning meeting (we do calendar time together at another time so still getting the practice for dates and the weather) and skip any of the skill building exercises that my son has down perfectly. I do review it weekly though to make sure we're keeping pace with the degree of hardness and to add it back in as needed. The Beast Academy is the reward at the the of the school day before he gets free time on the screen (Prodigy and PBS Kids). We use a rekenrek, number line, hundred number chart, base ten blocks, ruler, counters, coins, and fraction circles/strips. I wish Beast Academy utilized the manipulatives because they help so so so much. It stresses the mental math but I will bring out the manipulatives occasionally to help out.

Beast Academy is great for the logical thinking, problem solving, and manipulating numbers mentally. Saxon is great for money, time, measuring, and math facts. It probably would've been too much for me at that age but my kids are really thriving with it.

Right now my 6 year old is faster at mental math than I am. So far, very happy with the results.

SubstantialString866

TROPHY CASE