USDA grass finished beef here is $6.75/lb for burger. You can probably do better if you purchase in bulk, because by purchasing a whole "live" animal (or a quarter, or half) you can circumvent the requirement that the meat be butchered and processed in a USDA facility. If you purchase a beef directly from a farmer, it can be butchered, cut and wrapped by a community butcher that is not USDA certified. We raise grass-finished beef, and we sell them direct as live animals. We hire a butcher to come and butcher them on the farm, than take them away to cut and wrap. Our customers get a freezer full of beef for right around $6.00 per pound, for ALL cuts....burger to prime rib.

Do you think I could use the word "also" any more in one post?? LOL! I must be tired.

You got it! In my state (CA) there are 2 homestudies required for foster/adoption. One is to get your foster license, and one to adopt. They are similar, but the adoption homestudy is more in depth and deal more with emotional/heart stuff. You will be asked to do a "self study" where you will answer questions in writing about you parents, your kids, your marriage, your methods of parenting, etc. It is quite personal. My advice (having done this multiple times now) is to not overthink the questions. And, to not feel the need to give every single detail. Just paint a general picture. If there is more information needed, let your adoption worker ask for it. The adoption worker will also visit you and interview you, and basically ask you the same kind of questions. Be ready to talk about homeschooling, if that is what you do. Again, provide general, positive answers, and don't feel like you need to give an expose on every reason you homeschool. In some state, the adoption worker will want to interview your kids privately. Ours did not. You'll have to think about whether or not you are OK with that. Also, you will likely be asked about your views on spanking. Our worker simply explaines that it is illegal to spank foster children, which we already knew and of course had not problem with that. The adoption homestudy will also require that you have finger prints done, a physical by a doctor (to demonstrate you are physically able to care for children), provide a financial statement and in some cases tax returns, insurance policies, proof of CPR/First Aid certification, etc. etc. Adoption homestudies do not require that you be perfect parents, or that you have a perfect past. Rather, they want to see that if you've had trauma in your pasts (say, an abusive father, or a history of drug use) that you have dealt with those issues in a healthy way, and that in general, you are able to parent. Hope that helps. More questions?

Seems that the 2nd fever could still be from his body fight CP. However, our Dr. also thinks he could have also contracted Foot and Mouth Disease, which is also going around our community, as after the 2nd fever he is now breaking out in sores on his hands, feet, and throat. It could also just be more chicken pox, but poor guy. He is feeling better today, and the fever seems to have broken. Hopefully this time for good!

Thanks! CBC came back and didn't indicate infection. Still not sure why the recurring fever. We intentionally did not vaccinate for CP, thinking that it would be better in the long run if they got natural chicken pox when there were young. I'm really rethinking that now. And in anycase, waiting to age 11/12 to vaccinate was too late. This virus is NASTY, and much worse than I remember. My ds has been sick, sick, sick. I think most kids recover quickly...like I did as a child...but when it's bad, it's bad.

Dh 12 (just turned 12 today!) has had a nasty case of chicken pox. He started with a fever on Sunday night, then his fever broke Tuesday night, and he majorly broke out with rash on Wednesday. He's actually been feeling a little better, just itchy, until this afternoon when his fever returned. I took him to the clinic and we are waiting for bloodwork to see if he has an infection. Trying not to worry here, but I thought that when a fever broke with a virus, it didn't return unless there is a secondary infection. Anyone have experience here?

In CA, our schools are in huge trouble. Federal Ed policy, our enourmous state Department of Ed bureacracy, test requirements, and teacher's unions have absolutely crippled schools' ability to innovate and educate, and now the money flow is being cut off. There is very little our schools can do about the crisis on a school-by-school, district-by-district level. Therefore, they go after the symtoms of the problem, because it is something they can do. One symptom is declining ps enrollement in favor of charter schools, private schools or hs'ing. Probably, in some district meeting, someone proposed a survey to evaluate why families in the district choose hs'ing. And then someone was assigned to write and send that letter. The reality is, the school district already knows why families are opting out. And there really isn't much they can do about it. In my opinion, answering the letter, or not, it not going to make a lick of difference to your local school district. Sorry to sound negative. But we have dialogued so much over the years with many of our dear friends who work for the ps. Its a mess, and homeschooling is not the cause. To put any energy into pursuing that theory is a huge waste of time.

I think the closest you might find is Harmony Fine Arts. http://www.harmonyfinearts.com/

Sevilla, what prompted the change for you?

Just curious if you have tried this way of eating? What is your reason, and how have your results been? Have you introduced this way of eating to the rest of your family? I am basically eating "Paleo"...although it is technically called the Pages diet. No grains, gluten, dairy or gluten of ANY kinds...lots of good fats, meats, veggies. I'm also off fruit for the time being. I am doing this to correct blood sugar imbalance. Seems that I have a sugar-handling problem, as do many Americans who live in the world of abundant white sugar and carbs. I've been experiencing extreme low energy, extreme hormonal shifts (nasty pms) and other issues that point to blood sugar. I'm on day 3...and definitely feel different. For the first time in YEARS, I awoke this morning without the need for immediate coffee in order to function. My motivation is to be able to keep up with my kids through homeschooling and beyond. I'm 38 and my youngest is 4 months....so I have a ways to go!

My experience, having ordered TONS of stuff from Amazon, is that their estimated arrival dates are usually spot on. Not always...but I'd say 90%. And the 10% they are off are usually later than earlier. Sorry. PS: We are also Middle-of-Nowhere folks. Hence the ordering from Amazon. :)

This book has has received SO much attention. I can't really figure out why. I read it. Some parts were ok...a lot were wonky. It's a self-help book, and the perspective of one woman. Its astounding to me how people can take a book such as this and make it law. You would think that Oprah wrote it....

No suggestions, but I have to say that I LOVE Charlie and Hazel. Love.

We are so ecclectic here, that we can't really call ourselves just one thing. But for what it is worth, here is how we have used the AO lists.... First of all, I love most of the books on the list. However, some of them are a bit too "British" for my children who are not British and lack some context. I have cross-referenced with the Simple Charlotte Mason http://www.simplecharlottemason.com curriculum booklists to create substitutions. I also offer some titles as audio books to my kids...especially the ones that might be a little hard to get through (ie... Our Island Story...which also falls into the "A Little Too British" category) Finally, since we are eccelctic, and since I love the IEW writing programs, I use those too...which are actually quite CMish (although sold under a Classical label) in that they rely heavily on narration (key word outlines, story-summaries, etc) as the foundation of learning to write with structure. I find the two methods...the CM booklists and the IEW writing materials...to be extremely compatible. HTH!!

Is anyone familiar with this course on the Constitution, and if so, what do you think? http://www.nccsstore.com/American-Government-US-Constitution-Part-1/productinfo/AMGOV1/

We do a lot of what has been mentioned. Cook from scratch to eliminate additives, try to buy or grow organic veggies, rass fed meats, eggs, and raw grass fed dairy. (We live on a farm and grow our own, so we have a very direct source.) Even with all the GOOD stuff we eat, we find that it is still hard to eliminate the "Unclean" stuff. Here is my list of food items we try to avoid, in list of importance: 1. MSG 2. High Fructose Corn Syrup 3. Artificial Sweeteners 4. Artificial Flavors and Colors 5. Hydrogenated Oils Still important, but to a lesser extent: 6. Refined white sugar 7. Refined white flour I do compromise some on the last two, but the others we are pretty strict about. It sounds simple, but eliminating those BAD ingredients eliminates pretty much all packaged foods, fast foods, and a lot of restaurant fare. Hence the cooking from scratch part. I'd love to eliminate all GMO foods too, but until the chemical companies are required to label them, we don't really know what we are eating.

Oh yikes! I missed that your ds is in kinder! (my eyes read "2nd") Phonetic Zoo may be too independent for him, especially if his fine motor writing skill are kindergarten level. (My ds was off-the-charts in reading at age 5, but could barely hold a pencil!) AAS would be my choice for a young speller.

You might like The Phonetic Zoo. There is a wonderful review of the program on this board. TPZ comes with a very insightful DVD lecture by the program creator, Andrew Pudewa, who explains "Spelling and the Brain", and why it is not uncommon for really high reading ability to not transfer to spelling ability. TPZ combines auditory and visual learning, and the best part is that it is almost completely independent on the part of the student.

I really enjoyed the thread about being a "Non Planner." That is me too. I have found though, that in order to have a satisifying home learning environment, where we can just "do what is next", I need to prepare. Not plan, mind you. Not write down what we will do everyday. But rather, prepare my materials, supplies and environment to support learning as we go. For example, at the beginning of each term, I: 1. Go through my shelves, purge, and gather the materials I have that I want to use. 2. Gather books that I want to read. Make booklists to read to the kids and for them to read themselves. 3. Load new lectures and audio book on the Ipod. 4. Put specific resources, like the VP History card, art cards, the poetry book I've been wanting to read, into a basket for easy access. 5. Organize the art supplies. Purge and replenish. 6. Organize the game closet. 7. Make copies of work pages, copywork, etc., that I want to have on hand Preparing works MUCH better for us that planning. What about you? What steps to you take to prepare your learning environement, to be ready for living and learning?

Yep. This is a great framework. Of course, there will be some who are ready earlier or later, but I think this reflects the sequence pretty well.

Foo Foo...if you can give an idea of what kinds of curriculum you are specifically you are in the market for, I think we can offer better recommendations. I usually search the sale/swap boards here first!

Here are some more places not yet mentioned where I have gleaned good book recommendations: http://www.ebeth.typepad.com/serendipity/us-history-geography.html http://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/scmguide/history-modules-overview/history-module-5/ http://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/scmguide/history-modules-overview/history-module-6/

@ Ana.... We have to remember that every child is different, and your mama-intuition needs to be your guide. If you believe your little guy is benefitting from your approach, he probably is! And no one knows that better than you.

I have to admit, with my oldest I didn't really, "formally" teach writing until age 10, and I think even that can be a little young. We started IEW with ds10.5, and after essentially zero formal writing instruction, he went from very little independent writing ability to writing serious research papers in one year. That said, our early years were certainly not devoid of writing, but writing centered primarily around copywork. I did use English for the Thoughtful Child Book 1. I'm not convinced it made much of a difference, but it made me feel better to be "doing" something in the early years. We also used the copywork books from Queen Homeschool, which I do think are nice. For my current younger children, I just ordered the Primary Arts of Language from IEW. I'm reviewing it now, and so far, I like what I see. The first portion of the Writing manual introduces the letters and how to form them. I don't think you really need a "curriculum" to introduce letters, but if you want one, this curriculum does so nicely, thoroughly, and creatively. The next portion begins copywork, along with narration to summarize stories. It also incorporates All About Spelling, which along with the Primary Arts of Language: Reading component, gives young students a SOLID foundation in phonics. The third portion begins students doing some very guided, structured, re-writing of stories. The IEW primary writing program is unique in that is doesn't expect young students to write independently too early. In my experience, pushing 2nd graders to write a paragraph from scratch is a recipe for creating writing trauma. I like the IEW program. And yet still, I think with a literature rich environment, and a good focus on reading, formal writing instruction can REALLY be delayed until much later than most of us believe. And, waiting until a student is older and ready makes for smoother go of it.

Librivox selections my younger kids have loved: Dr. Doolittle Voyages of Dr. Doolittle Titles by E. Nesbit Just David Treasure Island King Arthur and Robin Hood by Pyle Five Children and It Five Little Peppers and How they Grew