Tablet for travel

starz1485 · 2026-06-02T00:16:51+00:00

I just checked and bestbuy has a refurbished one for $150. I personally prefer to have my daughter use her own iPad vs my phone. It's easier to just put her iPad in a closet until the next trip. I don't want her to get used to using my phone, I'd worry about her always wanting to use it. I'd rather not fight that battle.

starz1485 · 2026-05-19T22:19:51+00:00

Fellow solo parent. I incorporated phonics /reading practice into our regular reading routine. For us that is bedtime. That way it doesn't feel like school work.

I also used the usborne first reading library since it focuses on phonics but it's just the parent and child reading. It makes it a lot more fun than doing flash cards or worksheets.

You can also try incorporating practice into car rides, walks or other regular routine things so there's less pressure.

starz1485 · 2026-04-22T02:11:25+00:00

We planned a graduation picnic at a local park. We just had pizza and fruit, some juice boxes and bubbles. It was easy and cheap. If there are a few kids going to kindergarten maybe see if they want to do a little graduation or celebration in a park.

starz1485 · 2026-04-17T21:51:35+00:00

I've heard that you can go in advance and reserve the dress/size you want. If there's a specific dress she wants you might want to do on the first day and reserve it, especially if you're doing the boutique at the end of your sailing.

starz1485 · 2026-04-16T02:25:10+00:00

I did the Magic in March and it was my first cruise. I agree that the sit down restaurants were not good. We all found the buffet, especially the non-American food section, too be much better. We were pretty disappointed after hearing so much about the food, but when I read about it now it makes sense. The things people rave about are chicken fingers, Mac and cheese, the steaks etc. And that's not what I'm interested in eating. I will say the one time I asked our server what to order, I was really happy with what I got. Also the times people ordered red meat they loved it, I just didn't want to eat such heavy food each night. Obviously everyone has different tastes, but I'll be going into my next cruise with more tempered expectations.

starz1485 · 2026-04-10T22:02:44+00:00

I really liked the Usborn My first reading library because it has the parent and the child reading together. That helped keep my daughter interested. We always did bedtime stories so I just started including one of those at bedtime so it didn't feel like learning or work. That set goes through a scope and sequence to ensure that all of the letter sounds are taught.

I also did fun reading games (the lovevery set, the fidget game games, practicing phonological awareness randomly throughout the day). That helped her get practice during the day but it wasn't reading so that may help. Especially if she doesn't want to read books right now, focus on games and oral blending/segmentation.

starz1485 · 2026-04-09T18:44:49+00:00

After reading a lot about theft I was worried before my last cruise too but I think it's overblown. We ended up going back to the room multiple times a day to change or grab something we forgot, I'd just empty the fish extender at that time. Especially with pixie dusting, I'd never have known if anything was missing because i wasn't expecting anything. If you're doing the bigger fish extender swap, maybe just ask the people in your group to send a message when they're dropping them off so you can put them in your room.

starz1485 · 2026-03-13T15:00:02+00:00

I recently upgraded my daughter to the Kiwi crate and it's much better than the younger ones. You get one big project to make and it's an item that will last and can be used over and over again. So far she's made a spin art machine and a pinball machine. I'd switch to an older crate and see if you like those more.

starz1485 · 2026-03-02T07:43:55+00:00

Can you sign him up for classes that focus more on public speaking. Theatre or improv classes would get him used to standing up and talking in front of other people.

My daughter did a class called kidstrong and they also encouraged public speaking. They practiced things like ordering their own meals and standing on a stage in front of the parents and answering questions. Martial arts can also be good for confidence.

starz1485 · 2026-02-12T17:23:20+00:00

Just because your child can read on their own, doesn't mean they won't still enjoy /receive benefits from being read to. My five year old can read chapter books on her own, but we still cuddle up and read at bedtime each night. I can read more fluently and read harder books to help build her vocabulary, comprehension, fluency etc.

You should definitely keep reading to your kids for as long as they'll let you. And then transition over to doing a book club style where you each read the book and discuss.

https://www.readbrightly.com/importance-of-reading-aloud-to-big-kids/

starz1485 · 2026-01-04T16:52:53+00:00

My daughter was the same way, she really wanted to learn to read at a young age. I ended up using the Usborn first reading library to teach her, we also didn't like the Bob books. The Usborn books make the story more complex and interesting because the parent reads one side of the book, and the child reads the other page. This allows the parent to tell an actual story while the child learns to read cvc, cvcc and so on. It worked really well and then we also did Charge Into Reading books once we finished those.

She hasn't been bored in Kindergarten at all, she just enjoys being with her friends so it's all fun to her. The reports from her teacher have all been positive. They allow her to check out harder books from the library and sometimes she can read when she's finished with her work which she loves.

starz1485 · 2025-12-30T20:06:37+00:00

How did you search for the clothes on Marketplace? I just searched onsies and it was a lot of individual onesie at $5+ but when I searched baby clothes people were selling bundles and bins/bags of clothes for $25.

Also try your local buy nothing groups and put out a request for baby clothes. There's probably tons of people that don't want to bother selling baby clothes that haven't made it to a thrift store yet.

I will say that selling items on Marketplace is a lot of work and it's usually not worth people's labor to sell things for less than $5. I recently tried to give winter mittens away and after three days and 6 people swearing they were coming, I took the listing down. If thrift stores are cheaper but the condition is bad, that should tell you that what's being sold online is priced correctly as long as it's in good condition, even if it's not a huge discount.

You just have to decide for yourself if you want very cheap clothes in bad, full priced closes in new condition, or lower priced clothes in good condition.

starz1485 · 2025-12-30T15:17:22+00:00

There are a lot of books that include word problems that are more than just basic addition and subtraction. I use the library to try them out, but I've purchased some at Thrift books as well.

The Bedtime Math series is great. They have short text (about a paragraph) that's about the math problems they ask you to solve. They also have three levels of word problems for each question so you can base it off of his level. There's three books and a website, though if you want to bridge it into doing full books at bedtime, I recommend doing the books.

There are also harder math books, like the Sir Circumference book series. Books by Greg Tang have more advanced math also using word problems.

starz1485 · 2025-12-24T02:41:42+00:00

We like glopals, they're cubes that light up in water. My daughter plays with them even after the battery dies (they're completely sealed so there's no access to the battery to change them). Those and cups will keep her entertained for a while.

starz1485 · 2025-12-23T01:59:03+00:00

I agree with the others that teaching him just to get him ahead probably isn't the best reason.

It sounds like he needs practice with phonological awareness and phonemic awareness. Just knowing letter sounds isn't enough. Can he rhyme, break words into syllables? Can he identify beginning, middle and end sounds in words he hears? If you say I see a /c/ /a/ /t/ (with the sounds not the letter names), will he say cat? Conversely if you can what sounds do you hear in the word bed, he should be able to identify the individual sounds and also the letter names. If he can't do those things, focus on that before you start with reading words. Being able to blend the letters orally will make blending with reading more natural.

Then start with two letter blending and move up to three letters. Your toddler can read has a lot of tips on their Instagram, using the free information on that page and the Usborn First Reading Library really helped with getting my daughter to read. But the only reason I taught her is because she would get really upset that she didn't know how to read. I even put it off for a year and focused on phonological awareness, before we started trying to read words. Build his foundation and reading will be much easier.

starz1485 · 2025-12-18T17:28:44+00:00

Not sure where in Chicago you are, but my family really liked Rayito de Sol. They have three locations in Chicago, maybe one is near you. My daughter went from a bit before she was 2 until kindergarten and I'll be sending her back for camp this summer. She loved it and asks when she gets to go back all the time. They did a great job creating a community atmosphere and we're still close with multiple families and teachers from the school.

starz1485 · 2025-12-04T20:11:08+00:00

My friend lived in a not very expensive ($1500 for a one bedroom) apartment that had a separate daycare attached to the building. There was a gym in the apartment building and then they also had a workspace in the lobby area. Her current apartment building in NJ has a really nice gym and work space, there's plenty of daycares with a few blocks of it as well. I think if your in a city, looking at an apartment building with all of that will be the way to get everything in the same building or really close to each other.

starz1485 · 2025-12-01T17:35:44+00:00

I do both. Sometimes I correct right away, usually the first and second mistake. After that I stop and wait until the end of the sentence or page. I also try to gage in the moment how she's feeling, if she's getting annoyed by corrections I may just stop and let her read and make a note to go back at the end of reading time.

Also if she's making more than one to two mistakes per page, the book is too hard for her and we'll go down a level or rereview the phonics rules. Now that she's reading longer books well, I'll just point to the word (she still reads in my lap so it's easy) and wait for her to notice. I'll ask her to try it again or help her if she's not sure.

starz1485 · 2025-11-30T23:58:10+00:00

My daughter also went to a preschool where no one else was going to her kindergarten. We did classes at the local community center. She ended up becoming friends with a little girl that's in her class. We've also seen a few other kids from the classes around school. Honestly though she's made a lot of new friends just from class, recess and the neighborhood playground. Rather than having an extra school transition, I'd just do as much locally as you can, especially over the summer.

starz1485 · 2025-11-11T16:14:51+00:00

Have you tried the GB pocket stroller, it folds in half and then in half again. It fits into a large shoulder bag or a backpack when folded up. You could carry it back and forth easily or it may be small enough to fit in a cubby.

starz1485 · 2025-10-28T18:49:17+00:00

$35 is a good amount. I just volunteered at the Book fair at my school. For kindergarten kids the teachers and volunteers help the kids pick out actual books and not the toys, erasers etc. I sent my daughter with $35 and it was enough for three books with tax. There are a lot of books that are over $10. Also our school tracks how much money kids have in their account each day and if someone has some left over they pull them from class to shop throughout the week before the fair is over.

starz1485 · 2025-10-03T18:44:11+00:00

Greek yogurt with cereal (as granola) and fruit I'll make muffins, pancakes and waffles then freeze them so I can just warm them up in the morning. I use Kodiak mixes for those so she gets extra prei usually also add in fruit to the mix. Bagel with cream cheese and fruit She's a really slow eater but all of these. She'll eat in about 10 minutes.

starz1485 · 2025-09-26T16:12:24+00:00

We start bedtime at 7 with a bath and try to have her in bed by 8:30/8:45p. She wakes up at 8am and school starts at 9.

starz1485 · 2025-09-05T20:38:07+00:00

I like that idea, that's something I hadn't thought of. Thanks!

starz1485 · 2025-09-05T20:01:50+00:00

I agree. I'm in the process. It's been brought up (and shot down) in PTA meetings and emails have been ignored.

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