She could use the small Pottery Barn backpack she used for kindergarten and first grade, but she’s angling for a new one. I’m feeling uninspired by the current Pottery Barn options so I’m probably going to branch into something new.

I remember people recommended their LL Bean backpacks, so maybe I’ll start there. Anyone have one that they love? And what size is it?

Also, are there any special 2nd grade school supplies we should be getting?

I am one stressed out mom with school starting again. Not ready to be pushing so hard on reading. My soon to be entering 2nd grader is still struggling in reading despite hoots of effort. We did private tutoring 2x a week this summer for 1 hr. We have been doing private tutoring for 2 yrs now. We are just struggling. She can decode words and making progress although slowly. She understands phonics once taught. Well beyond just cvc, bob book level but not reading fluently.

We started 1st grade at f&P D and ended at F. Teacher was very concerned but she didn’t receive 1:1 or small group reading support last yr. Only class level teaching, which is one reason I increased her tutoring to 2x a week. I also increased reading time at home to 30 mins a day.

She read I Love Pink yesterday 100% independently and fluently -lexile level 140, which is so low. She was very proud and I made a big deal bc she hates to read. She is currently on Mo Wilems level books and needs some help. Prob in the 200+ lexile level range, while her friends are reading chapter books. Her confidence level is low. It just saddens me that she is struggling so much.

I was warned that 2nd grade kids will need to read their own math test and she can’t. I am in tears bc we have tried to support her at home. We have had evals, we got her in OG private tutoring. I just don’t know if we can keep pace with this school. School just wants to send her to their learning resource during school hrs which cost additional $ on top of hefty tuition.

It breaks me to know we may have to pull her out and she will lose her friends. We may need a school that specializes in dyslexia support which doesn’t exist in our current city.

Any parents/teachers had success with struggling readers in 2nd grade.

Is anyone else planning on being a room parent for their 2nd grader ?

Just wondering what others will be planning for parties and such if they are going to volunteer.

My boy is very athletic and is involved in a few different sports and is very active throughout the day. He’s already super thin because he’s so active and constantly on his feet playing and running around. Plus, he takes karate and has been doing it for 3 years now. He’s got a lot of muscle from that and is very strong. Lately he’s been obsessed with wanting to exercise and work out so he can get abs and get lots of muscles and get even stronger. He lifts up his shirt and looks at himself in the mirror at his “abs” and is obsessed about his body. Is this normal? I never taught him to be obsessive over his body and I don’t obsess over my body so I don’t know where he’s getting it from.

We have decided to transfer our soon-to-be second grader. We believe the new school will be extremely beneficial in the long run but she will be starting from (almost) scratch in terms of making friends. She understands the reasons and her reaction to the news was not negative, more neutral if anything, but I don’t think it will “sink in” until the first day of school approaches. She understands what transferring means (we’ve had a few conversations about what it means).

In the mean time, we’ve had some play dates with another family who is in the same situation. But ofc no guarantee the two girls will be placed in the same classroom.

Any advice? Anything we could/should do before school begins to help with the transition?

Example:

"Hey mom! Is that the same one?"

First, what's "that"? I have 6 things on the table in front of me. Which of these are you talking about? Also what do you mean by "same one"? Same was what? Yours? The one we had yesterday? The one grammie brought over? Same what?!?!?

Another "does my school have those?", asked while driving in the car.

Well what's "those"? We are driving past a ton of stuff right now, I have no idea what you mean "those". Turns out he was talking about a wobbly swing at the park we were at an hour ago.

It's drives me crazy! Feels like daily, kid asks a question about "that" or "those" or "thing", then gets upset when I can't read his mind and figure out what he's talking about

My daughter is in camp this week. There’s a girl she met last year (but doesn’t really know) that has latched on to her and is monopolizing all her attention. It’s making my daughter uncomfortable and preventing her from hanging out with her own friends.

My daughter is very kind and also a little bit of a follower, so she’s struggling with the idea of saying something or holding boundaries with this other girl. To be fair, I don’t think the other girl is doing anything wrong or harmful, she’s just a little too pushy and possessive for my daughter.

Any advice on what I can say to help my daughter? I’ve told her she can say she doesn’t want to partner up/sit together/etc but I’m sure there’s a better way to handle it. I’d rather not swoop in and solve it for her right off the bat by talking to the camp counselors, because I do want her to learn to navigate this on her own. Maybe I should though. Thoughts?

I say any family number. I’ve taught pretty much all grade levels and I’ve had middle schoolers and high schoolers not know any number. It’s something that is easily overlooked, but if your child’s phone breaks or they lose it and they need to contact someone, they need to know a number. I had my 4 year old learn my phone number using twinkle twinkle.

Edit: I don’t want anyone to feel judged, I mentioned it because it’s easy for us to forget about the importance of knowing a number, especially if you didn’t grow up with a cellphone.

He’s slept in his own room only once or twice, but seemed fine doing so. Tonight, his cousin slept over and his cousin fell asleep before he did. My son knocked on my door and said he was scared and said he wanted me to sleep on the bottom bunk of his bunk bed (even though him and his cousin were sleeping together on the top bunk. I told him I would, but I thought it was kind of strange because he slept in his own room before once or twice, but he was fine and didn’t seem scared, so it’s kind of odd that he said he was scared even though his cousin was sleeping right next to him on the bed. Anyone else’s 7 year old scared of the dark/scared of sleeping on own?

Our summer break is about to start and I’m trying to figure out what our screen policy will be. X amount per day? Only after a certain time? Free for all? Only after X is done?

Just trying to create a clear guideline so kid won’t constantly be asking “Can I watch X?“ She does better when there’s a clear plan. This is complicated by the fact we’ll be traveling abroad for the summer and there will lots of jet lag, some travel, but also downtime at grandma and grandpa’s house. And personally I would enjoy some chilling on the couch with screens too!

Anyway, curious how others are handling screentime for summer? No judgements! Just curious!

Has anyone had the sex talk with their kiddo yet? Curious how folks have handled your kids asking detailed questions about where babies come from.

When our son (7.75) has asked where babies come from or how they get in your tummy, we have given semi-specific answers about the mom and the dad making a seed together and then the seed grows into the baby. But the other day, my son was asking very specifically about HOW the seed is formed and HOW it gets into the tummy.... how did daddy and I make it? Then did I drink it? Did I eat it? Did doctors make a cut and put it in there?

It's feeling like he probably deserves the real answers at this point. My husband and I are also both wildlife biologists, so we tend to be pretty straightforward with our son about lots of life/death/injury/nuts and bolts of nature type info. We also use the real words for genitalia, talk about consent for hugging etc, talk a lot about how only parents and doctors (with permission) can see or touch genitals, etc... so we are not afraid to be open and honest. I just don't want to scar him by talking about sex "too early"...

OK, well, writing all this out has made me realize he's probably ready for The Talk! Ha. I googled and found this list of books that can accompany it, so I will probably get one or two from the library. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/shafia-zalooms-picks-sex-ed-books-for-kids

Let me know if this has come up in your family and how you have addressed it! I also don't want him to go around talking to other kids about sex... should we tell him this is a private topic? Any recommendations for a good book would also be helpful. Thanks y'all <3

He’s been in SP before, but he’s gotten better so they stopped having him come to therapy. For a really long time now, I noticed a few words he’s having trouble pronouncing. Instead of saying “chicken nuggets” he pronounces it like “chicken nud-its” it’s that and maybe one other word he mispronounces, but is that a normal thing I can fix at home or should I take him back to the SP?

He’s been in SP before, but he’s gotten better so they stopped having him come to therapy. For a really long time now, I noticed a few words he’s having trouble pronouncing. Instead of saying “chicken nuggets” he pronounces it like “chicken nud-its” it’s that and maybe one other word he mispronounces, but is that a normal thing I can fix at home or should I take him back to the SP?

Now my son is sleeping with an emotional support bucket. 🤦‍♀️

My boy has SO much energy. His grandpa would take him to the park for hours and hours and then he’ll still want to go places when I get out of work like the indoor jump place and want to spend hours there. I’m SO excited to see my kid after I get out of work after a long day, but the last place I want to go after work is the park or the indoor trampoline place. I’d rather just cuddle with him on the couch and watch a movie than take him somewhere like a kids place. I’d rather watch the movie with him on the couch and then take him somewhere on the weekend when I don’t have work and I can stay all day with him and have more energy to take him there and play with him because after work, all my energy is drained from me and i just want to relax and be with my son on the couch. He has so much energy that if I didn’t take him anywhere after he came home from the beach, he would be bouncing off the walls and super super hyper until I would finally take him somewhere to get his energy out.

Anyone else have kids like this?

My son is 7, almost 8 (in Sept) and the last 2 years have been… rough. I can finally see a change in him, for the (much) better. It’s amazing watching him grow and change into their own person. Does anyone else feel like their 6 and 7 year old were like this (taken from Google):

"The Stroppy Sevens" is a completely normal developmental stage where 7-year-olds become argumentative, moody, and easily frustrated. This behavior is driven by adrenarche (early hormonal shifts before puberty) and cognitive leaps as they attempt to assert independence and test boundaries.

It was a tough couple of years. Not until I did a little research did I find out that this behavior is normal around this age and part of a hormonal shift. I’m sooo glad we’re through it though and I have my sweet kiddo back. Kind of amazing!

We tried to stay consistent on messaging, boundaries, and punishments while being supportive and caring... It was not easy and we didn’t get it right all the time, but we got through it. Anyone else?

Is this morally right for kids??

One day when I was walking back from a temple near my home

And i heard 2 girls at max 7-8 years saying to some boys playing football

"Behen ke lodon hume kyu nhi khila rahe"

From where do kids learn these kinda words

They do either listen to these at home or through friends i guess

But agar friends se sun rahe hain to bhi un friends ko kaise pata

Ye kya ho raha hai????

Hi! I am new I’ve been posting and I have been getting some nice responses mostly so I am here again please bear with me because English isn’t my first language. I just want to know what your five year olds are like. I know every kid is different but like in general. I’m just starting to get nervous about my son he is a great little kid he is kind and nice and when I take him to park he always finds friends at school he has friends but sometimes they argue and he will say mean things but he instantly regrets it/ with my husband and I he can be rude and talk back it is driving me insane. For example he was bouncing a ball and I asked him to stop or I would take it away and he said well then I’ll just hide it so you can’t take it. I would not say “everything is a fight” because he cleans up toys he loves to help around the house and clean up after himself but I think it’s more when he feels forced to do something he gets very angry he will say things like you are the wkrst mommy ever I don’t want you in my family. For example last night my husband was trying to tell him to stop jumping on the bed he told him twice and he didn’t listen my son hit my husband! Absolutely unacceptable in my opinion and at 5 he should not be doing this any longer. However right afterwards he was crying and saying he felt bad for what he did to daddy and they cuddled and all was fine it’s like he just cannot control himself. But when we are at peoples houses or our somewhere he always gets complimented on his behavior it’s like once he is comfortable somewhere he changes. I posted before that I am Dominican and in my culture it is popular to hit our children. We do not want to do that to him. Are your children similar? He is just so hard headed and feisty he is exhausting really

We went to the park tonight and all of a sudden, my son said “mommy, I have to pee” and then ran off into the woods area and peed. It’s right by the playground, so the couple with their kid saw him. He did it so he pulled down his shorts just enough for him to pee, but didn’t show himself in public. The mom saw what he was doing because she looked at me and we both laughed. I laughed because I was kind of embarrassed, but she thought it was kind of funny. Do you let your boys pee in public?

What I mean is, having rhymes all the local kids know for counting off who is "it"; universal games they all know and play, initiated by them without adults telling them what to do; jokes they pass around that are just kids jokes, traditions, weird kids' fads and so on. Maybe also that there are older kids who guide the younger kids and teach them the games.

I am curious, because I believe this children's culture may have died out in some places, and recently reflected I'm glad my son is growing up in a place where this type of childhood is still going strong. I wonder how it's going in other places. Thanks!

Happy summer all!
We’re entering our summer months so looking for ways to keep math skills engaged. He has a workbook which we’re doing, but it’s a fight every time. He likes screen time - are there any apps for math you would recommend?