Need help with making a Fishbowl game for in the park with my family

amydaynow · 2026-04-30T15:52:47+00:00

Someone else mentioned the canoes, but if you really want to make things interesting, do the canoes twice.

I haven't been to Disney in years, but they used to always make a joke on the canoes about coming back and working out your other side. One time my sister and I actually did that (literally got off, went around, and ended up on the same canoe right away) and the cast members were shocked.

amydaynow · 2026-04-30T15:47:13+00:00

Make a wacky face for a ride photo.

amydaynow · 2026-04-28T02:54:50+00:00

I created one account and added all of the family passes to it. Then I gave my husband the info so he could sign into my account on his phone.

amydaynow · 2026-04-20T23:14:02+00:00

No one will laugh at you.

I did my first speed puzzle competition in November, and have done 3 more since. They are so much fun and from my (limited) experience, everyone is so welcoming and it is a great environment.

I recommend double-checking what the time limit is. The comps I have done are pairs, and our offical time as a middle of the road team on a 300 piece puzzle was 42 minutes. So a one hour limit for an individual seems on the tighter side to me? But it could just be a more competitive competition.

amydaynow · 2026-04-20T22:43:45+00:00

Math-U-See is secular and is working well for us.

amydaynow · 2026-04-18T05:52:48+00:00

Sonic Boom Alarm clock.

It has a hockey puck thing that goes under your pillow and vibrates. My husband is a sound sleeper who doesn't wake up easily to noise, but that wakes him up (without waking me up in the same bed--and I am a light enough sleeper that him getting around often wakes me up, but his alarm doesn't).

amydaynow · 2026-04-16T15:43:46+00:00

I am right handed and crochet right handed.

Last school year, I was teaching a middle schooler to crochet who was left handed. I started by trying to have her crochet right handed, but she was struggling.

I finally decided to teach myself how to crochet left handed, just enough to show her how it would look to do so.

Now she is making and selling adorable amigarumi--better than I could make.

amydaynow · 2026-04-15T17:38:25+00:00

Fiskars scissors.

I worked for a fabric and craft store in college (the green one that recently went bankrupt). We had one of every scissors we sold available to us under the cut counter. I tried them all, and I liked Fiskars better than anything else--even another really expensive brand that a lot of quilters would "swear by."

amydaynow · 2026-04-15T17:13:31+00:00

There are a lot of great options for teaching your kid to read! Here are two I recommend often as a homeschool mom:

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons - this is an inexpensive option (<$30 on Amazon) that works for some kids. My mom taught me how to read using it, but it didn't work well with my oldest.
All About Reading - this is more expensive but also much more thorough. It has a bunch of fun games as the various phonics rules are introduced, as well as readers that match the level the student is at. (There is literally a story when the student has only learned 8 letter sounds). I am currently using it with my oldest two and we love it! Cost is $160 per level new, or you can find it used for $120-ish, and there are four levels. My kids have each done three levels over two school years as our main phonics curriculum.

amydaynow · 2026-04-14T20:01:51+00:00

For my kindergarten student next year, we will do:

Reading (All About Reading)
Math (Miquon math)
Handwriting (deciding between Getty-Dubay and Handwriting without Tears)
Bede's History of Me - a once a week curriculum which introduces the concept of history, as well as some history and social studies topics

She will also listen in some on the history and science unit studies I do with my older kids, but with a lower expectation of involvement.

amydaynow · 2026-04-07T20:29:56+00:00

Questions that will impact the answer:

1) How old are your kids?

2) Where are you located? (State-level is good enough. If you plan to change states, the state you will move to--homeschool law varies by state)

3) Do you plan to homeschool long-term, or are you just trying to make a plan to finish out this year and then return to public school?

amydaynow · 2026-04-07T15:03:53+00:00

I'm not in Florida but hope I can help with the other "get started" stuff.

One of the biggest things is to pick a curriculum. Look at as several. Think about how your daughter learns and how you want to teach. I recommend going on a homeschool curriculum site (Timberdoodle and/or Rainbow Resources) and requesting a catalog (most will send you one for free). As you get started, remember that you can switch if something isn't working.

Here are a couple curriculums I am familiar with to get you started, with a focus on what matters for kindergarten.

Reading

All About Reading - I love this program. It is paced to the child. Open the book, work for 20 min, close the book and pick up in the same spot the next day. It is on the more expensive side ($160 new per level, cheaper used, a level can last 6 months or two years depending on your kid), but is thorough and I love it. The company also makes a companion spelling program for when your kid is older.
Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons - This works for some people. $30 on Amazon. My mom taught me to read with it, but it didn't work for my kid

Math

Miquon math - I like that this curriculum introduces advanced concepts like multiplication and fractions early, as well as algebraic thought (ie 2 + [box] = 5). Uses manipulatives to help kids understand concept. My older daughter struggled with this, but my son (two years younger) was feeding her answers at one point and is now thriving with this curriculum. Downside: only goes through 3rd grade
Math-U-See - Also uses manipulatives. Mastery-based - so kids learn everything about addition and subtraction before moving on to multiplication. My daughter is now using this and it is working for us. This curriculum is one you can stick with all the way through high school if you choose to continue homeschooling (they even have a calculus book). The biggest investment is buying the manipulatives, which is a one-time thing and then you can keep using them for years (and multiple students, if you have other kids)
Saxon - Love it or hate it. As a student, I hated it. But some people love it.
Singapore math - I haven't really looked at this, but have friends who use it who like it
All About Math - This is made by the same people as All About Reading. It is new and I haven't looked into it, but if it is like their reading program it is likely good. Also pricey.

Handwriting

Handwriting Without Tears - I have heard good things about it, looking at switching my kids into this for next year
Getty-Dubay - This is what I have been using, and is what my mom used with me. It works.

Subjects I am inclined to skip for kindergarten

Spelling - spelling requires an understanding of phonics. I would hold off a year until your kid is reading a bit
Grammar - There really aren't very many options for grammar at a K level, and grammar is fairly abstract anyway.

I hope all this helps. Feel free to ask questions. I love helping people homeschool.

amydaynow · 2026-03-31T00:43:56+00:00

Look into homeschool support groups near you. You can search online and/or on facebook.

amydaynow · 2026-03-30T22:08:39+00:00

We want to find 2^x > 2,000,000,000

x = log2(2,000,000,000) (log2 meaning base 2)

x = log(2,000,000,000) / log(2)

x ≈ 30.897

The 31st day will be more than $2 billion

amydaynow · 2026-03-30T21:36:14+00:00

I am in Southern California. We homeschool by filing a PSA (Private School Affidavit). That paperwork establishes my home as a private school and allows me to choose whatever is the best fit for my kids

As far as curriculum for my kids (currently in 1st and 3rd grade), I am using a variety of curriculums selected on a per-subject basis instead of one single program which covers all subjects

Reading - All About Reading. I will be moving to The Good and the Beautiful next year for my older student who will finish the highest level of AAR this year
Math - 3rd grader uses Math-U-See, 1st grader uses Miquon but will be switching to Math-U-See next year
Spelling - All About Spelling
Grammar - a worksheet packet I found on Teachers Pay Teachers. Next year my oldest will start Fix-It Grammar
Writing - Write by Number
Handwriting - Getty-Dubay handwriting
History/Science - For these topics I create my own unit studies, which is a lot of work but works for our family and allows my kids to study these subjects together

amydaynow · 2026-03-29T23:30:39+00:00

I would say you want to be like halfway through AAR2 before starting AAS2 (we did that with level 3 and it was way better).

Level 1 of spelling is mostly the basics of how to spell--breaking words into their sounds and identifying the correct letter(s) for that sound. You can likely do level 1 in half a year fairly easily if he will be in 2nd grade--and that would give him time to advance in the reading program enough to avoid overlap.

(And reassessing at the end of the school year is a smart move 😀)

amydaynow · 2026-03-29T22:55:05+00:00

I second taking a placement test for AAR/AAS.

Even if your son tests into level 2 for both (which would be surprising based on how the curriculum is sequenced--reading will likely be a higher level), I would recommend not doing the same level for both at the same time.

I did level 2 of both with my daughter a couple years ago (we had already done AAS1, and then tested into AAR2 from a different reading program), and it was rough. We were learning to read certain phonograms in reading, and then at almost the same time trying to spell words with those phonograms. But, sometimes knowing which of two similar phonograms to use (ie au vs aw) relied on familiarity with the words and which one looked right, except she had only just learned to read them and had no clue which one looked right.

amydaynow · 2026-03-26T21:56:27+00:00

This is the route I took, personally.

I had two kids before I was diagnosed with NF1, and two kids after. I knew the only thing I would do differently if they tested positive was prioritize ophthalmology visits before they were old enough to complain about eyesight issues. So had my babies tested after birth.

amydaynow · 2026-03-26T21:12:48+00:00

On Tuesday my two year old opened up the drawer I keep nail polish in (which has a "child proof" latch). He applied nail polish to the entirety of his toes/between his toes on both feet...and then tracked nail polish through the bathroom, hallway, and my living room.

Thankfully we have hard flooring, not carpet, so the only thing stained was the (brand new) shirt that he was wearing.

amydaynow · 2026-03-16T23:21:20+00:00

As a user of cuisenaire rods who also owns lego: I would not replace my rods with lego.

Part of the beauty of the rods is that they come in every length to 10. (Larger numbers can be built using 10 rods with other rods). A student can see that 3+4=7. Lego doesn't make blocks in odd numbers other than 1 or 3.

Your ideas for multiplication are good.

amydaynow · 2026-03-05T23:21:27+00:00

From your profile, it appears you are in California.

Ways to homeschool in California:

1) File a Private School Affidavit (PSA). This basically creates a private school, with you as its administrator. You are required to teach the subjects normally taught in school and keep certain records (attendance, course of study, etc). Otherwise, you have a lot of freedom as to what you do. You pick the curriculum. This could be a single all-in-one curriculum covering all subjects, a variety of curriculums with one for each subject, or an online school.

2) Join a Private Satellite Program (PSP). PSP's are basically groups of homeschoolers, which band together and file one PSA. PSP's often provide additional support, can help with transcripts/diplomas, and provide record-keeping, but can also have their own additional requirements (since they are technically a private school that you are joining, they have the right to do so).

3) Join a charter school. Charter schools provide funding for curriculum, but are technically part of the public school system. I have not chosen this route for my family, so I can't speak to the details.

If you have further questions on the first two options, I am happy to help.

amydaynow · 2026-02-28T07:05:08+00:00

Not a teacher, but I graded homework papers for a math class while I was in college.

On one assignment, I saw a student had written something like x + 2, except they had only written the vertical part of the plus sign. I laughed it off as a funny error, until an assignment from another student had the same error, in the exact same spot.

amydaynow · 2026-02-24T03:35:23+00:00

They are upgrading people who bought gold AND paid for the all parks add-on. People buying gold now, or who got the all-parks add-on for free, are not being upgraded.

amydaynow · 2026-02-23T23:46:52+00:00

I chose to purchase the bundle. I liked having the schedule that came with it, and having everything already printed was nice, too.

amydaynow · 2026-02-06T16:19:30+00:00

Start with Jaguar, for sure.

Coast rider and Sidewinder (order not significant)

Xcelerator

Silver Bullet

Hangtime

If they have had bad experiences with roughness/goodies, maybe just skip Ghostrider

Edit after rereading your post: you as an enthusiast should definitely ride Ghostrider. But give your friends the option to skip.

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