North by Northwest and Shenandoah (sp?) are two of my favorites.

:iagree:The part I bolded made me smile. I spent most of my childhood with my best friend - my grandmother. She taught me to enjoy a variety of foods and to enjoy cooking them. I can't imagine feeding my family the "food" they were feeding those kids. It seems most have taken the easy way when it comes to food and have forgotten what's most important.

I don't think it's all the teachers or the parents fault. I believe it is the fault of the administrators and the regulations they are made to enforce. My brother went into the ROTC at Berkeley. He spent the summer before his senior year in bootcamp. The guidance counselor informed him and my dad that he would not be able to graduate because he was short a PE req. :confused: My dad fought and lost. My brother took an extra class over the summer between senior year and college just to graduate.

Thanks for the replies. I was worried that we would be moving to something that maybe wasn't as solid. She has done so well with Abeka. It was exactly what she needed for 3rd grade (coming out of ps at 2nd grade) but she was bored at times this year. I looked at the online sample for 5th grade Abeka and it was lesson 87 (which means day 87) and it was basically what she has been doing this week. I like that Abeka has so much repetition because I think it has been good for her, but I think its maybe a little too much now. She has actually been asking when it would get challenging. I have been looking at Saxon and CLE. She tested into the 500 LU for CLE but into what I thought was too far ahead in Saxon. I have some more thinking to do but thanks so much for helping me feel a little better about the Saxon test.

I too have found myself telling my dds not to mention Harry Potter in certain groups. I don't feel anything is wrong with these types of stories but have wondered if I was missing something. I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Thanks!

My dd, 10 and in 4th grade, currently uses Abeka. I have been looking into switching math programs because I've heard a lot of good things about upper level Saxon math. I had her take the placement test today and she tested into 7/6. She got all but one question right on the 5/4 section and only missed three in the 6/5 section. This concerns me because math is not her best subject. She does well with Abeka but isn't advanced (at least IMO). Is Saxon easier than Abeka or is the placement test too easy? Has anyone else had an issue with the placement tests? Thanks in advance.

My dh went to Berkeley. My older dd so wants to go but we now live on the other side of the country so I don't think we can pull that off. Everytime we go back for a visit to California she talks about how this is where she'll be. I don't expect it for her but I think my dh hopes she goes.

Thank you - this looks great! I'm going to order it and hope it helps her some. Today she is acting like nothing happened yesterday, so I'm just going to wait a few days / weeks and see if she brings it up again or has any questions. For those who wonder how this hasn't come up in normal conversation -- it has. Younger dd would stick around, ask questions and was curious. Older dd would immediately flee the room. She has always been uncomfortable talking about her body. She hates reading the Abeka health books and says learning about the body makes her feel "icky". Thanks for all the replies!

See, I am worried that I'm going to scar her or something. I didn't have these talks with my mom. I've seen many threads on here that would assume I was a bad mom because she doesn't know about sex yet, but she's not ready to understand her own body yet. Her sister is 2 1/2 yrs younger but has asked certain questions and has been given all the answers. My older dd isn't less intelligent, she just really doesn't want to know. I know she doesn't want her first period to be a big thing but I want her to know what to expect. Arrgh, I feel totally out of my element right now and hope I am able to communicate with my dd what she needs.

Thanks so much for the rec'd. I read your pm but don't want to take your book. I attack books - I write in them, highlight them, I totally own them. :tongue_smilie: I did find out that I could get it as an ebook for pretty cheap. I am glad to find a book that talks to the parents more than the kids. I need more guidance in how to deal with my older dd. She just really doesn't want to learn about these things. Again, thanks so much and I will definitely be reading through this one.

I don't really know if it's all that healthy but if we're out and need to grab a bite we go to Five Guys. It tastes fresh. It's the only "fast food" place we go when we're out. We can watch them make the food and it tastes sooo good.

My dh refused to walk my 2nd grade dd to class after the first time. He said he was actually embarrassed by what some of the girls had on. I admit some days it was really bad and they were barely covered when they sat down. When you added in the makeup (on 8 yr olds) it was just too much.

I've explained that it doesn't hurt like a cut and she said, "How do you know it won't hurt me?". I've approached it as a good thing as well. I'll just keep on trying. I guess I'll wait a few days and see if she brings it up with me again and if not I will approach her. I don't want her worrying or thinking it is a bad thing. My dh and I both talked with her today but she was just really upset. I know she needs to know these things now because I notice her body is changing but I feel she just really isn't ready emotionally/mentally so it's weird. I didn't start developing until late and I didn't start my period until I was 15, so this is new to me trying to explain it to a 10 year old. Thanks for the advice so far.

My 10 yr dd is noticeably changing and growing. We have never hid things from her and will always answer any questions honestly, but she doesn't want to know. I decided to buy her the The Care and Keeping of You (an American Girl book) so she could read through it on her own and ask any questions she felt comfortable asking. My worry was that she would end up having her first period and not know what it was and freak out. She freaked out anyway! I will say, for the first time ever she finally asked a lot of questions, but she freaked out about the answers. This dd does not like to see blood, hear about blood, etc. I explained over and over. She seemed to calm down and then asked how long she would have her period. When I told her she would have one every month till she was older she started crying all over again. I knew it would not be easy with her because she is so sensitive but I didn't expect it to be this bad. Her younger sister knows all about periods, etc and is fine with the information. Has anyone here had to deal with getting this information to such a sensitive dd? Any other book suggestions? We are a Christian family so any cc materials are ok - as well as non-cc materials. Thanks in advance!!

I decided to homeschool my girls when my older dd was in 2nd grade. She seemed to struggle in math. The teacher agreed with me that the math program they were using was bad and the teachers had gotten together and demanded it be changed - for the next year. I tried to stick it out but one day my daughter brought a worksheet home from school and had written, " I am stupid!", all over the paper. It just felt so wrong. She now says that math is her favorite subject - so I have no regrets.

The pit wouldn't bother me so much. I grew up with one of the sweetest pure pit bulls. She never harmed anyone. The husky part would give me pause though. Our neighbor growing up had a husky. Once my brother was playing with the neighbor boy in his back yard (as he had several times before) and the husky took a chunk out of my brother's back. The neighbor said the dog must have felt threatened. We let it go since he was in their yard. A few months later the husky jumped the fence and killed our cat. My mom stood in the driveway yielding a baseball bat until the dog left and we were all inside. When my mom confronted the neighbor he said that the cat must have taunted the dog. :confused: My mom finally made some calls and the dog was gone. I'd really research both breeds before you make a decision and then be really careful.

My grandmother. She was a ps teacher for 30+ years and never actually hs'd but she is my inspiration. She taught my siblings and me before we entered ps. Our teachers in K thought we were geniuses. She loved what she did and she enthusiastically shared it with her grandkids. We still meet people today that will ask us if we are related to Mrs. ?. They tell us how she changed their lives. I hope to give to my dds what she gave to me.

My dad had gone out of town when I was about 9 and my mom called the police in the middle of the night - she kept hearing noises outside my brothers window. It was an armadillo! I always sleep on the couch when my dh is out of town. The bed just feels too big!

OT - I shared your sig line with my older dd who is working through possessives and she hasn't made a mistake since. She really feels bad for the kittens. :001_smile:

I, personally, would not make consequences for this behavior. I would first take her to the dr. to rule out any infections. My older dd had a UTI when she was 7 and she was unable to hold it for very long.

My dh is the youngest of a very large family and he is the only bio child. His siblings are black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian. My inlaws didn't care about race or gender, they just wanted a family. My dh was a surprise! (They weren't supposed to be able to do that!) My older dd had a hard time during the election hearing some of the things she did around our rural area. We had a long talk about one of the words she heard - yes, that word- and it broke her heart. She just never really thought about the color of others skin. It has always been a non-issue with my dds.

I cook some things my dh likes and I don't. I also cook things I like and my dh doesn't. I think there is a give and take. If I cook something I don't like, I can eat enough to be satisfied or eat something else. If I cook something my dh doesn't like he can do the same. It's really not a problem.

I can only tell you of my dds experience. I pulled my older dd at the end of second grade. She loved writing and we thought she did it very well. I realized the school pushed creative writing and she loved it and excelled. When she was schooling at home and was asked to write a report (we use Rod & Staff) she struggled a lot. We are still having problems but she is progressing well. The math program was terrible and her teacher even admitted it to me. She has done much better at home. She also loves history and she was never given an opportunity to study any history in depth. They actually only had two months out of the entire school year that history was discussed at all.

I voted that I was told to eat a certain way and I still have issues. I was also a part of the "clean your plate" club. I swore I would never make my kids do the same. The thing that did the most damage though was that my mom had issues with girls and weight. Her family was overweight and she seemed overly concerned with my sisters' and my weight. I remember one time ~ my gma had been in the hospital for several weeks and we had eaten mostly hospital food. One day my dad told us we were going to go to our favorite burger and tot place. We all scarfed down our food and my mom asked who wanted more. My brothers and my dad all said they wanted another burger. That was ok. I said I wanted another burger and my mom informed me that I did not and I did not need it. I couldn't eat my last two tater tots or I would have burst into tears. I was not overweight. I was slender and very active ( a cheerleader ). It sent the message that I, or girls, were never supposed to eat as much as boys. I still to this day am uncomfortable eating in front of most people, especially men. I've seen other moms do this and I have vowed never to do it to my dd's.

This thread has made me miss CA soooo much!! The only thing I wanted to mention is that you may want to prepare your dcs if you are also flying out of Orange County. When I lived in San Diego 10 years ago I flew out of Orange County a few times and it always freaked me out. They would basically cut the engines (due to noise restrictions IIRC) on takeoff and it felt like you were falling. The first time I wasn't sure I understood the flight attendant and it scared me. Just wanted to pass that info along - I've never since been on a plane where they did this. I wouldn't miss La Jolla and the seals. Hope you have a great time!