My girls were both 9 when they asked. That was fine. My son has been asking to get his ear pierced since he was 4. At the time, I told him to wait til he was 10. Guess who is turning 10 in 3 months? My main thing was that I needed to be sure he really wanted it. Well, he still wants it. So he'll be getting his soon. Gender bias? Maybe a little.

Christine...Charlotte. Charlotte...Christine. There, now that the introductions are over, I'd like to say we love CM and have been using her method for over 5 years. We started off with piecing together our own stuff, then about 2 years ago we began using the Ambleside Online free CM curriculum. My 9y/o and I are about to start Year 3. Here's a great page: http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/teacherslounge/styles/nutshell.php and other with lots of great links and information: http://www.squidoo.com/CMbasics

We homeschooled oldest dd for 8th grade only. I wish she would have been home for all of middle school, but the year we had was still worth it. We did as the previous poster said and spent more time on skills rather than content. We also used this time to reconnect, focus on self-esteem, and allow her to be a kid again. She had every intention of starting fresh in a new high school the following year. She's a senior now and the positive changes that came for her being home that year are still there. :001_smile:

:iagree: Absolutely this. I have no problems telling someone something I'd hope they would tell me. Of course I'd do it as discreetly as possible.

I work for the cable company doing inbound sales. 4 hours each evening with Tues & Fri off. I drive there in less than 15 minutes. I gross around $1750 and bring home around $1300 per month. They also give us a $300 cable/internet package (free) and corporate membership to almost all the museums (and other cultural centers) in NYC. This money goes toward our debt (goal is be debt-free one day!!) and into the "Miscellaneous" envelope. I initially started working so the kids could continue to do their extra-curriculars and maybe have something extra left over. So, I worked because I wanted to. Now (5 years later) I would feel lost without the money I bring in. It's just enough so that we're comfortable. It's worth it if it's something you really need or if it helps to make your life more satisfying (or both!). I love my job and look forward to it each evening.

I know I read about several parents who graduated kids using AO and these kids have been more than prepared for college. I remember one parent saying that the college interviewer was really impressed by the books used. The AO Yahoo group is invaluable for this type of encouragement and stories of veteran AO users. I'm using it with ds (9) now. We've done Years 1, (almost done with) 2 and will start Year 3 in about 2 months.

Ds (9) is next door at a friend's house. Dd (14) is at her friend's house getting ready for a birthday party. Dd (16) is working.

:iagree: I have to sing the praises of TT with my ds(9). I got TT5 for him when he was in 3rd grade. We do maybe 3-4 lessons a week and plan on using it til the end of 4th grade. Then we'll do TT7 from 5th grade to the end of 6th. For him, it's a perfect amount of review without being too "drill-ish". He prefers only the big workbook, though. I don't think he likes the slower pace of the CDs. Based on how you described things, TT sounds like it would work. :001_smile:

None of us are morning people here. The entire 5 years I homeschooled my dd we never started seatwork before 10am. It was usually 11 or 12, actually. It had absolutely no effect on her getting up very early when she needs to. She would have to be up at 5:30 or 6am for dance competitions or other performances and did so cheerfully. She is now in one of the top high schools in the country and gets up at 6 every day, no problem. I think she's one of the most disciplined people I know. From what you say, it's working out wonderfully for you and your family. It did for us, too. Ds and I don't start til almost 11am. I also love having all the morning housework behind me so I can just enjoy the day. I think that allowing kids to follow their body's own clock is the best thing. It's not lazy or undisciplined, it's just another awesome perk of homeschooling.

My grandmother wore them too. They were chiffon and so popular in the 1960s/70s. Here's where you can buy them (FaithManor was right): http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/products/apothecary-products/hair-care-products/hair-care-accessories/f54210.html

Still no-poo here! I wash my hair every other day with baking soda and finish with conditioner. (I used AC vinegar for weeks, but the smell never went away and it made me nauseous). Then I put in some Tousle-Me-Softly mousse and let it air-dry. I love this so much. My hair is fine and curly and easily becomes one big frizzball. Now that I removed the drying agents (not only from the chemicals in the shampoo, but I stopped using the hair dryer, too). Now I'm getting compliments. :001_smile:

So sorry for your loss. :grouphug:

Hi Violet, My 14-y/o dd goes to a studio like yours. Performances, conventions, workshops, master classes, competitions, 6-16 hours/week of tech & choreography, private lessons on "off days", etc, since she was about 7 years old. Unfortunately, all this last minute rehearsal and time at the studio are par for the course (always with an email stating.."sorry, I know it's last minute, but..."). Now dd goes to the fame school and dances 15 hours/week there + dances another 5-8 hours at the studio every week + she assistant teaches 3-y/os on Saturday mornings. Thankfully, she loves it all still, but I worry sometimes too. I suggest your dd focus on the ballet right now and drop most of the performance/comp stuff. This way, she can do the 6 hours/week at the studio and maybe some private ballet instruction? (since you'll be saving $$ by stopping the other stuff). Then do the summer intensive every year. Can she enter a ballet solo for competition and not do most of the group numbers? Sit down and have a long talk with her about it. See how she feels and what she wants to do. I know she's probably already started new choreo for the upcoming comps (we usually start with Feb comps), but see if it's not to late to pull out of some of them. Or just continue with this season as usual and make a new plan for next year. Big hugs and good luck on your decisions.

Catholic - Daily. My family goes to church once a week so WE have Eucharist weekly, but the church has mass daily for those who choose to go that often. Every mass in the Catholic Church offers Communion/Eucharist.

We love it here. I think we use AO at about 75%. We removed all the religious books and if we don't like any other books, we just don't use them. I love the AO schedules for poets, nature, composer, & art study and we try and do these at least once a week. The Book of Centuries, nature walks/journaling, and foreign language we do more infrequently (maybe about twice a month). I don't sweat it. The books we do use are fabulous and ds loves them - and he loves the whole CM method. I'm all for making things your own. We're still in the elementary years, but from what I've read it's an excellent high school program. The AO "Years" are advanced and from what I've read, Years 10 & 11 are college level. Read as much as you can on the AO website. It lays out how to do it all with tips and advice and great ideas.

:iagree: Wow, me too. James was the first thing that popped into my head. Ezekiel James sounds really good together.

The key for us is to spend only 10-20 minutes on each subject. We get so much done and ds(9) retains information much better than if we spent 45min-1hr on each. Academics take less than 3 hours a day and we have afternoons free. Here's what one day typically looks like: Math - 20 min. Readaloud w/narration (readalouds are hist, geog, sci, or lit)- 20 min. Spelling workbook - 15 min. Poetry - 10 min. Copywork - 15 min. Readaloud w/narration - 20 min. Read to me (e.g. a page from D'Aulaire's Abraham Lincoln) - 15 min. Composer Study - 10-15 min. Readaloud w/ (written) narration - 20 min. Add to Book of Centuries - 10 min. We take more time with nature journaling since we're outside and we like to take our time. :001_smile:

We're soon going to start our 3rd year of AO. My ds loves it. I buy most of the books used and have some on my Nook. We're probably going to stick with AO for years to come. I know it looks scary, but everything you need is right there on the website. I started by printing out all 36 weeks of the schedule. On a separate page I listed all the free reading books, what we will do daily (poetry, copywork, math) and what we'll do weekly (nature, art, & composer study). Go to the site map AO page to see the term schedules for nature, art, composer, and poet, and also how to incorporate the CM method while following AO. There are so many tips there. :001_smile:

:cheers2: :seeya: :hurray: :thumbup: :party:

New York City. I will never leave. I live in Queens, which is more residential than Manhattan. I have everything here. :001_smile: I may move to a different house one day, but this is my forever city.

:iagree: Deschooling is so important. Your dd needs to learn how to just "be". School had her rely on teachers to find things to do, know what to think, and follow rules created for large groups of kids. Deschooling is all about being with her, taking out to field trips (don't try and teach - just have fun), going for walks, etc. Make every day like a great Saturday. Then after a while you can start adding in the academics. Don't worry. She won't be "behind". So much learning will be taking place during the deschooling. Make note of all the cool questions she starts asking. Whatever interests she has, try and foster that. Go to homeschool group get-togethers. It worked for me and for hundreds of others. Good luck! I'm excited to hear what great things come out of it.

My kids would get hives if I switched detergents or didn't do a double rinse in the laundry. It really could be anything. I wouldn't worry.

I chose other. We're more of a smoothie family. We have a juicer and prefer to juice more veggies than fruit (tons of carrots and/or greens with 1/2 an apple or something like that). I do not limit those.

http://www.cafemom.com/group/3751/

I post the response in the same comments section. If they asked you a question, they'll come back to it. :)