Okay, you all inspired me to work on the Year 4 coordination this morning. Year 4 is tricky because much of the literature is so dark and despairing, which I would prefer not to focus on. They have all their lives to be exposed to that stuff. I don't have the editions chosen or anything, but if you'd like the Year 4 history/lit coordination table, PM me and I'll send that as well.

I think I've now sent the files to people who sent PMs. If you don't have the email, let me know. Glad to help so other people don't have to reinvent the wheel!

Sent!

I have course descriptions for Years 1-3 of a WTM-purist Great Books Study with Spielvogel history correlated with literature. If you want a copy, PM me with your email address and I will send them. We have finished Year 1, are almost done with Year 2, and Year 3 is a draft I'm working on for next fall. I don't have Year 4 done yet, but I was just thinking today about drafting that out too.

Hi, Has anyone done this with the Marines? I have a friend who's doing her first transcript for a son joining the Marines. Any tips? We've seen the HSDLA recommendations, but I'm looking for people with experience. Any suggestions? I've studied how to do transcripts a lot, but I haven't had the military in mind as a target audience. And I haven't actually graduated a student yet, so my mileage may vary ; ). I'm helping her with general transcript stuff, but the military-specific stuff would be a big help. Thanks!

Yes, she is right. I had forgotten this. It's too bad that Don Quixote is the first book listed. That could turn people off WEM for good right there! LOL. Read some summaries in WEM and start with a book that sounds interesting to you.

The Well-Educated Mind was written for just this purpose. I would also reference WTM Rhetoric Stage somewhat. Since that was the closest option on your poll, I chose that one.

Yes, I agree that "learn a lesson ahead" is a good concept. But sometimes you have to choose where to put your energy. I am finding that doing high school is demanding enough that I have chosen self-teaching math curricula for my students. However, I did put in the time teaching in the lower grades, and I have a mathy husband to fall back on. The children know to ask him when he gets home from work if they didn't understand something, and he meets with them once a week. I chose to put my time into doing course descriptions, designing WTM-purist Great Books history/literature courses, doing tough literature right along side them, designing worldview courses, helping them with NCFCA debate (the research mom of the club, going to lots of tournaments, and judging lots of debate), and keeping up with grading. I also coordinate their Greek course with their tutor, and get them to that, and get my daughter to her supplemental Latin translation tutor. And that doesn't count all of my other duties outside of homeschooling, in my home, church, and the homeschooling community. Frankly, I don't have any brain cells left to try to work alongside/ahead in math, which I have cried buckets over since first grade all the way through suffering through Algebra II. And we do straightforward Apologia science, with my husband doing the experiments. I've actually chosen to put my energy in my area of strength, humanities, which I care much more about, and design what I think is the best program for my children. I decided to cut my losses in math and science. It's actually fairly unusual to try to be carrying just about a full load in addition to speech and debate, but we already had our four-year plan and had completed one year of it, so I decided to adjust slightly but try to keep close to a full school schedule. Originally, my plan had been to take the higher maths alongside my children, with my husband being the tutor, but now that I'm here, there just aren't any brain cells left over. I had to pick my battles. So, YMMV. Everyone's situation is different.

DD uses a One-Touch UltraLink. Hers talks to her insulin pump, but you don't need that function. Her old one that doesn't talk to her pump is One-Touch Ultra II, which would work just fine for you. Yes, one*mom is right that you have to get specific test strips to match your pump. One*mom is also right that fake sugars can be just as bad or worse than real ones. DD has to dose for any kind of sugar, so her doctor recommends not going for diet foods or fake sugar sweetened stuff. Better to have the real stuff but a reasonable amount. One*mom's experience with brown sugar sending her DH crazy high is called a "trigger food" in the Type 1 world. This is where a particular food shoots you way up, more than it should. Each person's trigger foods can be different, although pizza is a common culprit. DD sometimes does shoot up with pizza. Keep in mind that Type 1 and 2 are handled very differently clinically and in food habits. In Type 1s, the stress is on eating normally but regularly, eating dessert WITH the dinner, for example, and eating a reasonable amount. The stress is on the marathon idea--if you introduce a lot of food rules, especially with children or adolescents, they refuse to manage their diabetes at all (which is disastrous). Type 2s are more about modifying diet and behavior, with do's and don'ts. This is what most people think of when they think of diabetes. So, I would recommend lifestyle changes that are gradual and don't feel too depriving, or you will get aggravated with the whole thing. If you did not have the complicating factor of the eyesight issues, I would probably recommend that you make no changes at all (I know you eat pretty healthy). However, the existing eyesight issues seem significant enough to warrant some extra caution; i.e., dialing back carbs a bit and pairing them with protein, as well as checking blood sugar levels once in a while. The caution about injuries to the extremities is true--I don't allow DD to wear flip-flops. Sandals are a gray area and we don't wear them to "outdoorsy" events where she might be more likely to get a foot wound. We could probably be more pro-active about checking her feet but so far so good. We haven't seen issues with getting sunburned more easily, but that's interesting that one*mom's DH has seen that. These might not be big issues for you at the moment, especially the sunburn, since you have that lovely dark skin that rarely burns anyway (yes, I'm jealous). And after giving it some thought, if I were you I would call your eye doc, explain the recent scare/uncertainty, coupled with you noticing significant deterioration, and ask to be seen earlier than August. August seems pretty far away. The eye doc might have some tips on how to maximize your situation. ETA: Wow, I didn't know Bernstein's book existed! 64 years with Type 1! That got my attention. I'll be checking this out, although DD will probably be underwhelmed by suggesting a low-carb diet. I'll have to tread carefully there. Research queen for the win!

Most major brands of meters are available over the counter. I think any of them would work fine.

Interesting. Our doctor has been very strict on saying that DD can't *skip* meals, and we do typically have a fairly regular routine, but we are not religious about it ; ). This has proven tricky at speech and debate tournaments this year, where the days are long and times to eat are rushed at best. DD was trying to help out and time some rounds where she was not competing this last tournament and ended up getting her dinner very rushed and 3 hrs late. She handled it responsibly, checking her blood sugar before she went to time, and taking a couple of cheese sticks with her, but it could have gone south. (I didn't know about it until too late to say no.) Of course her room ended up being one of the last to let out, and while her coach had saved her dinner and got it warmed up, I was concerned for DD and was waiting in the hall to make sure she was okay, even though I was supposed to be getting to a room to judge a debate round, which was stressful all around. I have put the kibosh on her "helping" like that again if it causes her to be way off on getting a meal. So this reinforces my belief that I was right to be strict about not doing that scenario again. I told the coach that even though we had gotten away with it that time, it was super not a good idea and should not be repeated. (The poor coach doesn't know all of the ins and outs of Type 1 stuff, and she is just out of high school herself.) Sorry for the hijack, TeaTotaler!

This is all very good stuff. I know one*mom IRL, and she is good people, not to mention thorough. (She makes me look like a total slacker in research.) She has been adjusting to helping her DH with Type 2 the last six months or so, and before diagnosis, that sucker was causing some crazy symptoms. She's gone through a lot and educates herself. Honestly, I've wished more than once that you two could meet. I think you would be outwardly different but soon find yourselves simpatico. Anyhoo, I consider one*mom to be a very reliable source of information on this topic. Also, her discussion of the A1C (which I now always get confused with the first speech in a debate called the 1AC), reminded me of a point that I forgot to mention. While the A1C is meant to be an "average" of the previous 2-3 months, it is heavily weighted toward the near end. Parents on Type 1 discussion boards joke about the Murphy's Law of their child's blood sugar going crazy high for no reason right before a doctor's appointment, thus artificially skewing the results. So the A1C is not the be-all and end-all. It may not truly represent your average over time. One*mom's idea of procuring a meter and checking your blood sugar once in a while is a good one. It would cut down a lot on the guess-work of how your body is handling carbs.

Glad you don't have to give them up altogether! Yes, it would be a good idea to mention to the eye doc. Such a bummer that your vision is deteriorating sharply : (. I read your previous post also. I dunno, I'm not sure that if I were you I would just up my meat intake that drastically. In your situation, I would kind of watch my grains a bit and make sure they weren't waaaaay up there.

Glad to see those numbers! I don't know how to interpret the A1C either, because a 6 would be mucho fantastico for our Type 1. Her last A1C was 6.8 or 6.9, which the doctors are happy with. They are not quite as happy if it edges up over 7. So, I don't know what is considered "normal." Based on those great numbers, I would probably just try to keep carbs to a manageable level and eat them with a meal--eat a reasonable piece of cake at the end of supper, not three hours later by itself. And if I were you I would mention this near-miss to the doctor who monitors your eye condition, and possibly check that a little more often. But, whew, at least you don't have to go all out with some kind of carb war.

I plan to be the homeschool consultant ; ), not the homeschool teacher.

We use Professor B math. Back in the old days it was scripted; now you can get it on CD. My mathy husband vetted it technically, and I just said exactly what the script said. It worked really well for us, and neither child has my math issues--both are competent, which I think is a big accomplishment based on how really horrible I am at it. We are using Chalkdust with videos for geometry (Prof B doesn't offer geometry). I will also use Chalkdust for Pre-Calc, which my son has to have.

:bigear: I'm in much the same boat.

Will definitely pray. Are you experiencing any symptoms at all? I'd be interested to see how the glucose tolerance test comes back. If you are still swirling in uncertainty after that, I would try the endocrinologist. Perhaps he/she could cut through the fog for you. Soooooo bummed that you are having to deal with One. More. Thing.

Oh my goodness! You just can't catch a break! And it's completely crazy how long the doctor's office is keeping you waiting. If I were you, I'd be at their door tomorrow morning when they open and say you're going to stay there until you get some answers. I am just so, so sorry to hear this. I would have responded sooner, but I was at a speech and debate tournament for the last five days. Our experience was more typical with the Type 1 in my dd being diagnosed at age 12. I actually don't have any answers or suggestions at all for you : (. But you are right that it might be a bad combination with your eye condition : (. Please keep us posted.

Holy smokes! That puppy is expensive! Good to know that it works, though.

From what you listed there, I would begin by adding some classical titles to supplement the time periods being studied in the Seton history/literature texts. Otherwise, I guess I would have to say, "What do you think is MISSING?" Good to know that much of what Seton does lines up well with WTM.

Not that I've found. We've tried several kinds over the years : (.

I haven't read the replies to this, and I mean this sincerely, not snarky, but my overarching plan has been TWTM. I read it every year. Now, I did make a 4-yr plan for high school based on WTM, but up until then WTM was enough. During the middle school years I researched colleges and then developed a 4-yr plan based on their requirements, WTM, and our goals for them. I'm glad I did--high school is harder--I have to do a lot more grading and paperwork now. I do get away for a weekend or two each spring and do my course descriptions for the next year. These kinds of measures help me keep from being overwhelmed while executing my plan. I am huge on planning too, so I understand! ETA: Now, after reading the rest of the thread, I can see that you also mean life skills. There are several good guides to life skills already out there, and other posters have also given good ideas for those.