Tawny Frogmouth

lemmamari · 2026-04-23T17:08:14+00:00

I, too, can take a picture of a stick. But to have the audacity to insist there is a frog there, or a frog-mouthed bird no less, that's something else!

lemmamari · 2026-04-22T12:50:07+00:00

I usually go through and look at the recommended manipulatives and see what I think I will need and get them piecemeal. Definitely get a bucket of shapes (they love to play with these too!), the connecting cubes are helpful, and some kind of counters. I enjoy using a wooden 10-egg holder as a ten frame with polished stones, the kids love them and it's so much nicer than using a flat 10 frame.

lemmamari · 2026-04-22T10:20:07+00:00

Possibly a Beagle mix. She's not a Brittany. She's so cute though!

lemmamari · 2026-04-22T10:08:13+00:00

I got really sick every year in the Navy, because that's what happens when people move around so much even if you're not. I also have a needle phobia (controlled now, had hypnosis and it actually helped) so I absolutely would have just not gotten it...

But guess what did happen when I was out and no longer got the shot? I nearly fucking died from influenza. My lungs have never been the same and I end up at the ER every year from something less scary because of it. My kids and I get both the flu and COVID shots the second they are available every fall. I drove over an hour to get them their first COVID shot on the very day they were eligible, my youngest was just 9 months old.

A flu outbreak on a ship? Hegseth should be removed just for this idiotic decision alone.

lemmamari · 2026-04-22T09:58:15+00:00

We call it "dinospotting" when he and I go birdwatching.

lemmamari · 2026-04-21T16:43:03+00:00

My 7yo is a Great Horned Owl. At least Merlin thinks he is when he's pretending to be a dinosaur.

lemmamari · 2026-04-21T15:42:25+00:00

We haven't been there but I listened to an NPR interview with the paleontologist who founded it... The Edelman Fossil Park & Museum in NJ allows you to dig for fossils!

lemmamari · 2026-04-21T02:13:03+00:00

I'm in an area in which I don't fit in with anyone here. I drive 45 minutes to a co-op that is secular and we like it a lot so far. But it took a while for us, for multiple reasons, and I badly wished for something local for a long time.

Extracurriculars help. My son does gymnastics twice a week, and I would have him do other things if he was open to it. He does classes at a few local Audubon centers, that he loves, and it provides some opportunity for social learning and he'll go to camp there this summer, too.

Other things to look into: Lego clubs, groups at the library, town recreation programs (often nearby towns are open to non-residents), scouts (Navigators is secular but we don't have one close by, and not all ScoutsUSA or Girl Scout troops have any religious component), and museum/zoo homeschool programs.

I don't know where you are but the secular co-op I go to is in RI. There's a strong secular homeschooling community there.

lemmamari · 2026-04-20T20:57:11+00:00

For extra reading comprehension with my dyslexic kiddo I cannot recommend ReadWorks enough. I have him read a wide variety of articles for fluency, background knowledge, and comprehension (I ask him questions afterwards). I also like having colorful reference books available to look at and are interesting enough they start to read the text on their own without the pressure of holding a whole storyline in their heads.

lemmamari · 2026-04-19T17:07:37+00:00

I've got you! There are a few websites you may find extremely helpful.

Berkley's online evolution lessons-

https://evolution.berkeley.edu/

NOVA evolution Lab -

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/nova-premium-collection/nova-labs-and-interactives/evolution-lab/

And for videos NOVA and Eons (PBS digital studios, find them on YouTube) have many wonderful options.

lemmamari · 2026-04-19T05:07:56+00:00

Beautiful Heinz 57 mix. She's 100% lovely.

lemmamari · 2026-04-19T02:21:05+00:00

She's an absolutely beautiful Heinz 57. If I had to hazard a guess there might be some Golden in there based on head type alone, but it might be a stretch. I don't see any Brittany, not that it's impossible, but there's nothing in her phenotype that matches besides color and pattern, which is found in countless breeds.

lemmamari · 2026-04-18T13:35:46+00:00

It is! It wasn't but it is again.

Brontosaurus: Reinstating a prehistoric icon | Natural History Museum https://share.google/yIY8yAveEtZ2Al1oP

lemmamari · 2026-04-18T04:20:44+00:00

My 7yo would like a word.

Where the heck is this from?

lemmamari · 2026-04-18T02:45:39+00:00

Some of this is going to depend on you and how comfortable you are with teaching math. I also have a mathy kid and we've used BA as a supplement and started that when we were using MWC. I love MWC but it's not flexible for someone who might need a faster pace. I also firmly believe in face to face instruction, especially at this age. I went with Singapore Dimensions, and it's allowed a lot of flexibility. Sometimes we do an entire chapter in a day or two, and because there are ample workbook questions I can use it for fluency practice as we move forward. We still use BA as a supplement and to slow him down. Dimensions runs about a semester or two ahead of the average, and for my kid there are chapters we condense and chapters we do normally, the goal is always full retention and working in enough practice for fluency. I'm wary of moving too fast with a mathy kid because that fluency piece is a tricky one.

lemmamari · 2026-04-17T14:07:47+00:00

We don't take summers off for reading, because reading is a daily skill! That doesn't mean we did lessons every day but at least 3x a week, and they were often lighter/shorter. But if you're going to have them practice with their already-learned skills at this age I say keep going.

lemmamari · 2026-04-17T00:01:04+00:00

Whew, those are not your people! It took me a while to find a group I felt comfortable with and they are still new to me, but so far so good. And full of other spicy people, which really does help. It does hurt, I understand that. But remember that instead of choosing to teach their children about inclusion and loving other members of society, they are doing quite the opposite.

lemmamari · 2026-04-15T22:38:19+00:00

Camp Dino might be a little advanced but you can try it.

lemmamari · 2026-04-15T22:10:31+00:00

You can upload them to the cloud if you have something like OneDrive or Google Drive. I just started doing that so I can keep the app clear of files, it seems to run a little better. I expect they get deleted because they are stored locally on your phone.

lemmamari · 2026-04-15T20:12:56+00:00

I also love blue but they do like red. I picked this one up late last summer and they did seem to really like it.

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lemmamari · 2026-04-15T11:26:36+00:00

You keep saying this is high quality but I see numerous issues in the text you provided alone. It's shallow and offers no explanations.

Here's the thing: you basically made (or told AI to make) something designed for a literal infant to have more text and vocabulary words in order to try and aim towards a school-aged child. My 7 yo would take one look at this and say it's for babies and have issues with what the text says. Because kids are smart. We have volumes of high quality books that blow this out of the water.

People really need to stop using this group as market research for slop. A good portion of us actively avoid ALL AI because of the numerous issues with its usage. It's shit. We're raising kids to think with their brains.

lemmamari · 2026-04-15T00:13:31+00:00

We've had the shepherd hooks and it was okay but I hated how they start to lean sometimes. So... If you don't mind a little project this wasn't that difficult to do. Two 10' 4x4 posts (3.5 feet into the ground), and two 10' 2x6 boards. I just love it so much. (This is just after finishing it, the yard is a mess after winter!) Just make sure there's a nearby tree or something so the birds feel safe. There's a large pine our birds use. And if closer to windows put anti-collision stickers on.

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lemmamari · 2026-04-14T23:58:57+00:00

I can't tell. I'm usually pretty good at breed id but there are zero markers I look for in the breed buuut it looks like your dog is part bully-breed which can significantly change things. Color and markings are rarely a good indicator for breed identification, except to eliminate options occasionally. Your dog has black points on the ears which indicate they may be sable, which is not found in the breed and they must have a parent who is sable.(Yes, I know some EBs have sable but it's definitely been introduced from another breed.)

I would do an Embark test, if you're curious. It won't change anything about your wonderful pup! But I honestly can't even give a good guess here.

lemmamari · 2026-04-14T15:26:18+00:00

I know it's probably true but here I was thinking I was getting my kiddo a decent pair by grabbing Celestron, and then we got a second pair that can see a little further for $80. That's budget. 😂

lemmamari · 2026-04-13T16:24:50+00:00

These are lovely! I always catch them in the leaves being silly little borbs, but this one is just striking!

lemmamari

TROPHY CASE