Autism Specialist (not completely retired...still working here and there)

Thanks so much! Starting my Christmas shopping early this year.:001_smile:

:iagree:We borrowed these from the library and my dc are BEGGING me to buy them. They were so enthralled. I have been telling everyone about them also. They are incredible.

Congratulations on your 50 posts:party: Still working on mine!

I started off doing year round, switched to a traditional year this past year to accommodate a move and we are now picking up again with year round. I have found that year round schooling helps us to be more flexible with things that happen in life such as new babies, unplanned trips, projects and everything else. Year round schooling is so much more flexible, and gives us more freedom for fun things. I don't stress out about a schedule, and have found that I am energized when others are typically experiencing burnout because we are starting our new year (usually March/April.)

Not that I know him personally, but I was so impressed with the vibrancy of Pope Benedict XVI last week. I can't imagine keeping his kind of schedule at 37 let alone 81!! Amazing.

One of my essentials for a good salad is my salad spinner. I bought a really nice one at Sam's a few months ago. I also love nuts (sunflower seeds, almond slices and walnuts in my salad) with a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese, and grape tomatoes.

Hunting is a major activity here in South Dakota! It is a great bonding activity for fathers/sons or even daughters. I know a few mothers who also hunt. Although I never had the desire to handle a gun, I have wonderful memories of walking the fields on a clear, crisp fall morning hunting pheasants with my dad, grandfather and uncles. My husband was gifted with my grandfathers hunting rifle when he passed away and it is a treasure to our family mostly because of the precious times they spent together. I would second the advice of someone else...safety courses are critical. But I would also suggest that they start with something easier such as birds or fowl just to get the hang of handling a gun and shooting at a moving object before jumping into big game. Also, the logistics of big game are more complicated and expensive, especially if you don't live close by, (cleaning the game, getting it out of the field, transporting to a locker, and shipping the meat) than dealing with birds or fowl. Also, you won't have to come up with as many recipes for cooking the meat. :) In South Dakota, there are so many hunting lodges to choose from where a guide will take you on a hunt and coach you through cleaning your game (or clean it for you if you prefer.) Thousands of people fly in from around the country every fall to hunt here. The lodges are very accommodating. If you google South Dakota hunting lodge you will find several. I hope they enjoy it.

Socializing, Shopping, Speakers (in that order:001_smile:)

I have read that you chop them up and put them in ice cube trays and fill with water. When the ice is frozen, you put the cubes in a freezer bag. To use, thaw the ice and drain. Disclaimer...I haven't tried it yet.;)

We are very fortunate here in South Dakota. We file an exemption form at the beginning of each school year with our local school district. Every few years we are required to submit results from a standardized test. The years that are required are the same for students attending school. We have the option of using the same tests as the school and administering them at home, or we can order and pay for our own as long as we submit a copy of the scores. In most communities around the state, students can participate in extra curricular activities such as sports and music with the approval of the local school board, and for a fee. In a very rural state with small towns that are rapidly shrinking, they are happy to have all the bodies they can get. Sometimes it creates pressure in small towns for people to enroll their kids in school because the school district doesn't receive funds of course for students who aren't attending. But, overall, we are pretty friendly here. It's a very good state for homeschooling.

A recent thing I have found since the weather is getting milder is walking with friends at 6:00am...it's a double benefit of exercise and socializing.;) I am not really a morning person or one who likes to exercise, so the social aspect 1)gets me up and going, and 2)helps us all walk a little farther.

You have my deepest sympathies...just finished unpacking.

Love the stones. I can't go back to regular baking sheets.

My dad pierced mine with an ice cube (to numb the lobe), a sterile needle and a potato on the back of my lobe to make sure the needle didn't go through to my scalp... Wouldn't recommend that method:ack2: I second the two guns at once...it went very smoothly for my dd (10). The posts bout the body fluids on the guns really got to me. I am considering the tattoo parlor for my next dd.

I highly second most of the suggestions everyone else gave and wanted to say hello to all of you. We are a Catholic family also, and it is exciting to "meet" all of you. I thought I might add a thought to this discussion..."Catholic material" doesn't necessarily mean that it comes from a "Catholic" publisher. I know I won't articulate this completely, so I might need to write another post...but "Catholic" teaching is found in all that reflects God who is Truth, Beauty and Goodness. I like to use some material that is very explicit in teaching the Catholic Faith, but it is very possible to use a curriculum that isn't explicitly Catholic (as long as it isn't heretical as far as the Faith is concerned) and have it still reflect a Catholic worldview. In fact, most of what I use isn't from a Catholic publisher. I also don't emphasize "teaching religion," as I believe the best way to communicate what we believe is by living it. So we do a lot of celebrating the fasts and feasts of the liturgical year, attending Mass during the week, and lots of discussion. I have found the Family Formation Program http://www.churchofsaintpaul.com/familyformation/ to be a wonderful way of facilitating the teaching of doctrine to all the dc at once. There is also a woman in our homeschool group (a Catholic group) who has written some really great history and science curriculum. Her name is Mary Daly and her website is http://www.hedgeschool.com/ We did My First Timeline for an introduction to history, and it was wonderful!! I can't recommend it highly enough. My kids loved it. You can check it out here http://www.hedgeschool.com/historytime.html. After that we did Hillyer's Child's History of the World and now we are moving on to SOTW. We are supplementing with material from RC History. We are also integrating The Universe in My Hands for science, which Mary presents from a Catholic worldview. It isn't a stand alone curriculum, but orders all of the sciences. She is a very talented woman and I have learned so much from her. One other tidbit I wanted to add...You might want to get on the email list for Adoremus Books. Every once in a while they do a coupon which combined with their free shipping is a great deal. They usually have them around the big feasts (the Easter coupon was 20% off.)

Last week I googled Lands end coupon code and found one that worked. Usually I get them in my email or the catalog that comes in my mailbox.

Thanks, Dawn. I will check them out. I need to eliminate a few piles here.

Congratulations!:party: (I love using these smilies!) Have fun selling and swapping:001_smile:

Nope...but I have to add the disclaimer that my dad is a dentist. :D Growing up, we were his experiments for many new treatments like sealants. He is retiring in a few years and I am panicked already!

I have just discovered Willa Cather. Love her writing! I really enjoyed My Antonia, and now I am reading The Song of the Lark. I can't believe it took me this long to pick her up.

Call me dense but I still don't get "rep points" even after reading that very long explanatory post. Is it just me? Where do you find them again? And why give them to someone?

I have come to the conclusion that the reason I haven't posted often before is that there are so many interesting, resourceful and knowledgeable people here that to post takes time out of my reading! That really makes me sound like a leach, doesn't it?!? But, I can read many more posts, absorbing that knowledge and resourcefulness if I am not composing or replying to one myself. However, I admit...I am one to compose posts in my head also;) I can see how posting gets addicting though...and I thought reading was...oh my!

Some of our first read alouds were Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books. That got us hooked. I have to agree with someone else who posted...Gotta love those books on CD!! For every book I read, I think we do 2 on cds. We usually have a Mommy Read and a cd going at the same time (not literally of course.):tongue_smilie:The cds were especially wonderful during my last pregnancy when I couldn't hardly read a paragraph without huffing and puffing. We just finished Swiss Family Robinson also, and I thought repeatedly, "thank goodness I don't have to read this one myself." Nice to listen to though. My dc loved it.

5'6"