Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I was just sharing my experience with math with my own family. I didn't try Saxon for years because of all the negatives I had heard about it and I had never even seen a Saxon book before. I finally got a hold of a book, looked through it, and decided to give it a try. And it works for us. For now. That could change, because once upon a time I thought Singapore was working for us…. I'm glad you have found something that is working for your family. Stick with it while it's working. You have to do what's best for YOUR family.

My kids are 15, 13, and 11. We have used Singapore, Teaching Textbooks and now for the past two years we are using Saxon. Finally, I can say that my kids actually know their math and my mind is at ease.

If I was taking 10 children on an outing it probably wouldn't be to Starbucks.

Tell them your kid is not a performing monkey.

In my experience different families have different traditions, or things they do, in these situations. On my side, the immediate family provides the spray on the casket, and other family such as aunts, cousins, etc. might choose to contribute a wreath on an easel. On dh's side, for my mil's funeral, there was just a vase of daisies from the family and a few other arrangements from other people. I think it is best to just go along with what the family usually does. In your case, OP, just agree with whatever your dh's relative wants to do. I wouldn't appreciate it if my sil decided that my family's way of doing things was wrong.

I agree with your opinion. Now that those people are parents they are going to have to grow up (the father especially).

1. buy a bookcase 2. put books on bookcase

olive oil, juice of one lemon, salt, pepper, oregano, two or three garlic cloves sliced thinly and spread in pan. Roast.

We have Billy bookcases in our basement and they are fine there. I wouldn't put them on the main floor because I prefer better quality, but they are fine for our basement.

This is interesting, although not surprising. Thank you so much for posting it. I don't think the body is meant for extremes. You can't sit at a desk all day and then go spend an hour exercising until you can't stand it anymore. Our bodies our meant for steady movement, not extreme exertion in fits. Think farm work from the olden days. Unfortunately, our society today isn't set up that way. The same goes for dieting. Our bodies are meant to have a steady, healthy diet. Not the up and down weight changes, health food kicks and junk food binges that some people get into. But that's another topic.

I posted this awhile ago. This is my family get-togethers, too. I hate them. Just for laughs: http://www.divinecaroline.com/life-etc/friends-family/nobody-does-it-better-how-handle-one-upper

Yes, this happens to me! What is it??

Here's another one my issues, that I should have mentioned in my earlier post. He would like to get outside more, go skiing, go skating, sledding, biking, long boarding, etc. But there is no one to go with. sigh.

I think spending some time alone is a good thing (it is for me, and it's something I really need). My concern is too much time alone. He's a happy kid, but he does like to have friends and he does get bored sometimes. Some weeks he stays home for several days in a row. It's Thursday and he hasn't left the house since Sunday. We've kept busy, decorated for Easter, made Easter cookie pops, and decorated eggs. He watches movies, goes on the computer, and built with Lego. He does often say he wishes he had someone to play with. Sometimes I feel sorry for him.

Talk to me about homeschooling one child, if you have an only child OR other children who go to school. This will be my reality in September when both my girls (15 & 14) will be in school, I will only have ds (12) at home. I know I can meet his academic needs, but I am concerned about his social needs. He has a very small circle of friends, and attends an all day co-op on Thursdays. Next year he will start air cadets in the evening. Even with a few out of the house activities he spends A LOT of time at home, alone. I'm not sure this is healthy.

Well, okay, I almost never swear irl, but that was funny! Posting it on a homeschooling board is pretty risky. Thanks for the laugh.

The Catholic church (and the Orthodox church) do not need to resort to gimmicks to attract people. We have Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. What could be more awesome than that??

This is the best nutritional advice on the internet that I have ever read. All four of my grandparents lived all their lives in mountain villages in Greece. My maternal grandparents owned acres and acres of olive trees. Olives and olive oil was their livelihood. It is the only oil they ever used. They used it for everything. All four of my grandparents lived well into their 80's and 90's with no health problems until the very end. They all died of old age. They also drank raw goat's milk, ate eggs and french fries everyday (fried in olive oil), dipped their homemade bread into their fried olive oil, were skinny and never exercised a day in their lives. In fact, the last 20 years of their life they mostly just sat around. Basically, according to American standards, they did everything wrong. North Americans have a reputation of being fat and unhealthy. If I was to tell my relatives in Greece that Americans are "discovering" that olive oil is bad for you, they would laugh in my face. This thread is a perfect example to ignore all the fads and garbage you read about on the internet.

Greek is my first language. I did not have to look this up. It is the language I speak to my parents and grandparents. I speak modern Greek. If I were to ask my mother "where is my Bible?" I would say "Pou einai to Evaggelio mou?" I am not saying you are wrong. "ta vivli ta aghia", in Greece today is directly translated as "the holy books", thus the Bible. But you will not find anyone in Greece referring to their Bible as "ta vivlia ta aghia." The word "vivlia" means books in general, all books.

I was majorly burnt out from trying to reinvent the wheel when my dd was ready for 4th grade. Then I bit the bullet and bought Sonlight and have never looked back. That was 6 years ago. I wish I had started from the beginning. As far as note booking goes, my kids do a notebook page for every book they read.

The word "Evangelio" is the Greek word for "Bible". I always think of the words "evangelical, evangelist, etc." as referring to the Bible. I'm not sure why anyone would need to refer to themselves as an "Evangelical Catholic", or even an "Evangelical Christian", since all Christians believe in the Bible.

Girl 15, Girl 13, Boy 11. Girl 15 is easy-going and happy-go-lucky. Girl 13 is moody and mean. Boy 11, recently diagnosed with adhd, is generally a happy kid. Everyone gets along well with Girl 15. Girl 13 and Boy 11 hate each other. Girl 13 went to public school last year and is somewhat happier now, but still mean to her brother. The other two have always been home schooled. The two girls are best friends, ds is often the odd one out.

Hawaii.

I think 12 - 14 is kind of hard. My girls are 13 and 15 now, and I have found the last couple of years difficult. The reason is because they stop playing and don't know how to fill their time productively. Up until the age of 12 my kids played with their toys, did crafts, played outside, baked, etc. The loved everything and were excited to do anything I suggested. They were never bored and always busy. But then they outgrew all of that, I didn't know what to do to help them fill the time productively. They didn't know what to do and for the first time started to be bored. Now my 15 year old has a small part-time job, does some volunteer work a couple of times a week, and is generally happy and busy again, but with different things than what occupied her time when she was younger. 12 - 14 seemed to be a transition period where things change and it takes a while to get used to the new normal. They are too old for childish things, but too young for older things. For us the academics have never been hard, we just do our school work like usual. It was during their free time that I had issues, and finding constructive ways to fill their time.

Maybe we have the same sil? I totally get what you are saying. I couldn't understand for years why I felt so drained and defeated after spending time with my sil and then around Christmas time I saw this article: http://www.divinecaroline.com/35/98734-nobody-better-handle-one-upper and I had an aha moment. While I don't think there is anything wrong with telling people your plans and I usually appreciate it, my sil gets the trophy for one-upping. Conversations with her are all about "Anything your family can do, mine can do better". And well, it gets old after awhile.