I think Krista G is right.  It could definitely be a Curlew.  The picture probably doesn't show the motted look. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-billed_Curlew

I would say its an ibis, but I can't pinpoint the exact species. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibis

http://www.wisebread.com/25-things-to-do-with-used-corks-including-making-money-with-them
http://mychiclife.com/2011/04/08/put-a-cork-in-it/


Oh, if you haven't been turned on to pinterest, then I would suggest giving that a try.  I found dozens of ideas for corks there, but its hard to easily transfer them to this forum.  It takes a couple of days to get approved on pinterest, but its well worth it.  Its a like a virtual pin board where if you see something on the internet in passing you can pin it if you want to give a try later.  Or maybe you are thinking about ideas for a dream home or looking for preschool crafts for the year or season. 

I also love this site:
http://homemadecrap.com/

I would be very interested Dr. Jones. Thank you.

  That is a funny way to put it Waterdreamer.

I found a new one today.  Its directed towards adults but what better way than to learn with your child. 

http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/forstudents/freecourses

Carnegie Mellon has an open source for their courses.  I looked at their French course and I will tell you that it includes video and audio.  Plenty of opportunity for you to interact and answer questions about the video or audio.   For being free, I give this site an A. 

Have you tried some of Beverly Cleary books?  I am not sure what level she is at but we just read, "Two times the fun." I think its pretty suitable for any age group.  While my son isn't reading very well yet, he likes me to read him small chapter books.  (We just started an accelerated reading program.)  Hope that helps.

I am not trying to knock Touch Math (please let it be known that I haven't bought either programs yet), but I find the Touch Math using a rather manipulative marketing scheme that I see as a play on people's ignorance.   I am talking about the "research" that supports their claim of how great and wonderful their program is in comparison to other programs. 

The "research" is laughable.  None of it is peer-reviewed or published and most of it appear to be papers that teachers or undergrads submitted  on how they saw Touch Math improve their children's abilities in math.   My guess is that all of these teachers received this product free in exchange for submitting their "research."  The authors of these papers did not gather enough substantial data to support their conclusions.  One paper only used four students.   Another paper only gathered data from her specific class.  There were no controls.  Some of the "results" were merely biased conclusions of what they perceived as success.  There was very little if no quantitative data that would be looked at seriously by an researcher.   

For me its not about if the program works or not as much as it is about their integrity and motive.   If they really want to sell themselves, they wouldn't have to make up all this "research" business because their product would itself.  I wouldn't touch Touch Math with a ten foot pool.   Okay so I might have knocked Touch Math, but nothing irks me more than manipulative marketing schemes.

Thank you so much!  I am printing out those ideas so that I can start implementing them.  I can't wait to see those LR's too.    

   I am just going to embrace my shame and expose my lack of intelligence.  Where would be a good place to start to teach myself logic and computer language?  I prefer a free or very cheap route as we are on the lower end of the poverty scale (I am trying to change that for my kids through knowledge and hardwork).  Thanks Super Moms and Dads!

Shame on me! I forget how SUPER all you super moms are in this forum!     You are inspiring!  Thanks for the ideas!

So obviously I don't see myself teaching my 2 or 3 year old (let alone my 5 month old) computer language, but I believe we have one or two technologically savvy dads here in the forum.  I am interested to know when would be a good time to bring about this subject.  I think understanding computer language is going to be very important.   Let it be noted I don't even know where to begin as I have very faint memories of html in my high school class (I sadly avoided all computer classes in college). 

What basic concepts does a child need to grasp before entering into computer languages?  What tools does a child need anyway in the future of computers?  I realize a lot will change in the next five years but surely there has to be a good place to start sooner rather than later.

Thanks

When I was a kid, I had to write lots of sentences for my poor attitude.   They were always very negative sentences like, "My attitude stinks."  My step daughter is 8 years old, and she often has a very poor attitude in the afternoon times.  She even begins to walk around the house as if she is being tortured for being here.  Really, she is like any normal child.  She would rather have her mother 24/7.  Its not that she doesn't like me.   She knows that she gets to do fun stuff like go to the zoo, the playground, the museums, the botantical gardens, and fun crafts.   She just rather it be with her mother.   I don't begrudge her for her feelings.  Its when she starts throwing a tantrum (which my 2 and 3 year old don't even do), and starts slamming things about, that I am forced to find some discipline for her.   

I would rather her discipline be a more constructive time, and  I just wanted to bounce off my idea towards other loving and gentle parents to see if it is a good idea.   My idea is writing a page of positive affirmations and then having her copy it. I was thinking of something like this:

"I am a loving person.  I feel good when I am kind to others.  I feel good when I speak kindly to others.  It makes me smile when I others like when I am kind to them.   I enjoy making others smile...."

What do you think?

I cannot take wonderpets.  That show makes me feel suicidal in an angry way.  I am very selective about what my children watch.  Word World is a fun and entertaining.  I will say that I prefer Super Why over Word World.  This show is more interactive and focuses on phonics and letter recognition.  No matter what level the child is at in reading the child will be very engaged.  We watch the shows together.  I do not leave them to watch it themselves, so I always interact with the show to encourage them to do it as well.  They find the letters when asked.  They call out the Super Why letters.  My kids are 2 and 3, and they are piecing together the rhyming and spelling portion of the show.  They have also added a new segment and character to add a focus to add new vocabulary.

I was worried these shows would interfere with the "whole word" method.  It has not to my surprise.  I have worried that television had destroy their accelerated learning abilities.  I don't believe this to be the case.   In just a month of flashing, I have seen serious improvements in my 3 year old's word recognition (over 50 words to be sure).  With my 2 year old, I honestly can't tell, but they both enjoy flash cards.  I can't really keep up sometimes.

What I have learned on this forum is there are a lot of great ways to give your child an edge in learning, and that you aren't a failed mother if you can't use all the great methods or you choose to do it differently.   The one thing I learned is to focus on a positive, loving environment for my kids, and everything else will come in due time.

Thanks guys.   You guys have shown me so much here.  Its the least I can do.  You can find a matching curriculum for SALSA videos for free here:  Just click on the tab that says foreign languages and you will see the pdf links for the series.  Lots of fun activities and ideas to go along with the videos.  I love it!  http://edu.wyoming.gov/Programs/standards.aspx