naner's Profile

We held our son back a year due to a May birthday. We (and he!) never regretted it. He made straight A's from kindergarten through high school. He went to an "early college high school" where he graduated with 72 college hours (a associate arts degree) which meant that when he started at the University of Texas as a junior. Oh yea, what else? He taught himself Biology so that he could take the Biology AP test which he aced. Students at his high school who were enrolled in the traditional Biology class did not do as well. He took two additional AP tests, both of which he aced which made him a member of an elite group in Texas -- "Texas Scholars". What else? He was accepted to three Ivy League schools and the University of Texas @ Austin on full scholarship to the Honors Program in the Cockrell School of Engineering. What else? Valedictorian of his high school class which, in the state of Texas qualifies you to free tuition. We were criticized for holding him back a year yet none of his friends who started school at a very young age 5 ever came close to competing. What can about all this? Trust your own judgement. Bottom line? Most children are too immature to handle school; waiting almost always pays off, particularly with boys.

My kids (now grown) loved having their mattress on the floor when they were small; it was fun for them, and no worries for me; if they rolled out of bed, they rolled onto a soft rug! When they were a bit older, they picked out the furniture that they wanted, rather than me choosing. It seemed right for them to be involved in the choice of their bedroom furniture. Consequently, when the time came for them to move out, they were thrilled to move their bedroom furniture with them rather than leave it behind because it wasn't their taste. Sometimes we adults get so caught up in the joy of decorating that we forget that children have opinions about their surroundings too.

These are great ideas; I've been doing many of these for years. For the coffee mugs as well as pretty much anything container in the garden, use masonery drill bits - small bit first - to drill holes for drainage.
gardengirl

This is an excellent idea! However! If you live in Texas where cockroaches are king, keep it tightly sealed in between uses or you risk infestation.