... money as a charitable donation in addition to wanting candy? What did you do? Last Halloween, two Unicefers (I think) wanted $ and treats. All they got was treats. There were a ton of other kids swarming around me, and I was outside on the porch and nothing in my pockets.

Fever is supposed to be the body's way of defending itself (something about preventing viruses from reproducing above 101F -- I am sketchy on this ...) Assume your kid has contracted some strain of flu and feels lousy. When should you take meds to bring it down? I know when my kids have a fever, they look and feel horrible. And Tylenol makes them feel better (if they can keep it down). But if the fever is not above say 101F, should you really try to bring it down right away? I'm guessing not. And how long would you let it go untreated if you can get fluids in them?

If you use these sort of writing tablets, particularly with anyone under 8yo, what do you use it for? Any software or accessories you really like for whatever your application is? Also, if anyone has incorporated these sort of tablets with workboxes, how is that going? Tell me about your system. Thanks.

I have become more defensive, but only in terms of how I use my/our time. In speech and thought, not so much.

The letter is a taunt. The US Gov't has been provided farm subsidy for sugar for decades. There is anything but a sugar shortage in the USA. Probably those manufacturer are feeling pricing pressure, want to buy sugar on the world market where sugar is maybe 1/2 the price. Who can blame them? Thomas Sowell wrote in detail about sugar subsidy in his book, Basic Economics. Note the part stating that as of 2001, the US gov't was spending $1.4 million per month just to store surplus sugar: http://tinyurl.com/no88oc And an interesting flowchart: http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2008/graphics/sugar-prices/

The Chinese civilization has included written language for over 5000 years and produced numerous inventions. The Massachusetts Constitution, which was adopted in 1780, was the only the first and one that said that each town had to provide free public education to all children. As far as I know, this started public schooling in the USA. I do not feel that 1780 was a pivotal year in the enlightenment of Asians, say. If I did, I would have to provide basis to conclude that Chinese were actually quite dim for the 4800 years prior to 1780. Anyone want to have a go at this?

I agree. No one said you can't donate the equivalent amount you would've paid in taxes to whatever agency or charities you wish. This is key. Someone has to be in power, that's true. But power also needs money behind it to have weight. If you disagreed with how schools were acting, and stopped paying the school district, I am guessing the administrators see the budget projection and would soon start asking their superintendent to take a different approach to school matters. Would this be good? I guess it depends on what you call "good" and what strategies seemed good to you.

If you could ... would you give up your obligation to pay any and all taxes (US,state,local, Soc Sec, sales, excise, etc.) forever in exchange for giving up your right to vote forever?

See, the thing is, I don't view children as extensions of their parents. If the parents are too proud or stupid to sign up their kids for public assistance or ask for help from churches, foundations or even George Soroswhen it's needed, and create another car payment for themselves while watering down the baby's formula, those parents are failing their duty. Public free schooling has indeed become kind of like a social welfare safety net and for as much as many people on this board don't like it, and if nothing else, ps serves a good number of kids whose parents would do absolutely nothing otherwise for them. For some kids, the earlier they can get into ps kindergarten, the better off (and safer) they are. This saddens me to no end, and for so many reasons! I don't think this was the goal of free public education when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted it in their state constitution in 1780, but it has mutated into this nonetheless. The above has got to be my greatest fear about socialized medicine. I understand the idealistic goal ala Hillary in 1993 ... to enable "a new politics of meaning". It sounds good. It appeals to our basic humanity. You can accept the intention as altruism, or you can view it as intentionally creating a beast that enables dependency upon a gov't big enough to give you everything being a gov't powerful enough to take it all away (apologies to TJ paraphrased). I think I know what the Massachusetts Congress was deliberating in 1789, and I believe it was altruism. The Massachusetts Dream, if you will. That was a long time ago. The temptation of grabbing for more money to add to an existing pile of education dollars and making the machine bigger has proven too much. Look at what has become of socialized education. Look how much fat there is and how much is skimmed off the top. DC schools spend something like $13,000 per child per year, and look at their results -- some of the worst in the nation. This amount is greater than the aggregate income of whole towns in some countries and somehow they manage to outscore US kids on international math tests. And the worst thing is, I don't think the school boards are going away anytime soon.

If any American were entitled to have anything fixed for them by society, it would be prenates, neonates and young children -- say 13 and under. Whether or not society is obligated, society pays (and pays and pays) a huge, bleeding cost when the welfare of its young is left to those who neglect, don't care and either can't or don't provide. Kids can't vote. They are not a part of the electorate, whose coveted votes serve as the currency and clout amongst politicians. Right, I think our society does not do enough for its children. Not by a longshot.

oops wrong posting place

How does your pack handle fundraising? I know several in our area sell popcorn. Are popcorn sales drives a national BSA campaign each year? We've bought BSA popcorn in the past and other times I've just written a check to the pack because I didn't want popcorn or wrapping paper. I'm not sure I'd want my kid to sell popcorn door-to-door or for us to sell for him (at the office) as my son enters BSA. If sales were mandatory, and it would be frowned upon to come up with the equivalent amount that would've been popcorn profit in cash or checks as a donation, I might re-think it all, or talk to the pack leaders in advance about this. Thanks for any info.

My husband is very supportive of our hs'ing decision, and I am ever grateful for this. I am having a lot of trouble finding the right curriculum fit for us. I quit a co-op we did last year, and this feels like the right decision. I am having problems coming up with what curriculum or hybrid curriculum to offer. I have looked into all these to varying degrees: Saxon, Singapore Math*, WTM*, Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading*, Five in a Row, Moving Beyond the Page*, Classical Conversations, Math Social Networking* (* = have looked at in depth). I had been previously unschooling, but this felt too scattered for us as well. Having read WTM (but not thoroughly), I do believe in getting the basics first: help the kids to read and know basic math operations/terms. However, I am making myself crazy in trying to find a path toward this, and I'm just asking that people who understand the hs'ing situation to please say a prayer for us. I feel that with as much energy as I am pouring into this survey (ok, I am easily distracted) I should be getting further toward a decision than I am. Or at least closer to a definition of "neo-Classical" for me. But when I study the curriculum for MBtP, for example, I feel like it's written in a different dialect and my eyes sort of de-focus and glaze over. I am beginning to realize that God is trying to draw my attention to something else, but to what ... He has yet to reveal. My almost 6yo can read simple words (cat, bed, hit, put, ...) and can figure out some with silent -e (made, bite, ...). He is not close to going through a level 1 reader yet by himself. He can add numbers up to around 20 and my dh and I have really pushed the idea of using words like "plus" instead of "and" for + , and "equals" instead of "is" for =, and reading mathematical equations as sentences (e.g. math "sentences" he is asked to complete are never right or wrong, but rather, true or false). My older son would not have been eligible for ps kindergarten in my state until this year (fall 2009), and I think he would be a little bored if he entered kindy right now. (But who knows, maybe all kindy kids are expected to learn all this stuff by Christmas ...?) However, I always get the feeling I'm not doing enough for him and his brother. Oh yeah, this summer we've spent a lot of time on sports lessons (which they love) for the kids and I have been just plain tired when I finally get a break. Please just say a prayer for us. And thank you if you read this far. I think I have not prayed enough over this, so I will take all I can get. Thank you.

Wow! I am 41yo and went k-12 in ps all over the nation. I was never once expected to buy supplies in excess of what I personally wanted to use. Buying towels and wipes -- unheard of! In middle school in CA, each student would get 1 Ticonderoga #2 pencil. That was considered sufficient to get a kid thru a month. Never paid for any textbooks even though I took 3 AP classes. These high schools need to get a grip on their demands for largesse. Sounds like it would cost only marginally more for a kid to take classes at the local community college for credits. How screwed up are the priorities in a school (district) that they don't even budget in basic supplies?

My answer to the OP's question is yes. If insurance were revamped such that companies got no tax breaks for offering insurance, and everyone had to pay to play, do you think there would still be a big drive for gay marriage (or any marriage for that matter) in our society today? Suppose the gov't just offers the equivalent amount of tax breaks to the citizenry themselves instead of to the companies ... Instant Portability! I don't see why a family who has 1 child pays the same premium as a family with 6 children at every co my husband or I have ever worked for. This seems ludicrous. IBM is different about this, I know but we've never worked there. I don't see why deeply discounted coverage for a spouse or civil union partner should be extended on the basis of relationship to the employed (and insured!). Since the rate of divorce is 50%, the idea of promoting marriage through the golden handcuffs of health insurance is obviously not working as well as hoped. Marriage is a sacrament -- not a coupon code that lets you buy health insurance really cheap.

The big rift: The Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church disagree on the nature of the Holy Spirit. The Creed as recited in Orthodox churches: ...And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the prophets; The Nicene Creed as recited in Catholic churches (of which Protestants are a spin-off) ...And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the prophets; Positioning the Holy Spirit, and how He "proceedeth"s from just [the Father] or from the the unit [the Father and the Son] was a big deal.

I have young ones 3 and 5yo. They are noisy. We are homeschooling. How do you carve out your needed hour (minutes) of quiet time if you are seriously introverted? If I am not left alone for 30-60 minutes during daylight hours, I will either feel irritated and get mad (which requires even more time to de-stress from) or zone out (not ever as gratifying or refreshing as 30 minutes of silence, and way more time consuming). Being left exposed to noise and commotion on end would probably lead me into depression or anxiety. Next question: If you are way introverted, how compelled do you feel to host playdates or co-ops at your house? I don't even like going to big playdates at others' homes. It's been a while since I've have kids here -- maybe 1 year. Honestly, I don't even like staying at home indoors all morning with just my two if I don't have an activity mapped out. We do see other kids frequently. I prefer meeting at outdoor parks and pools to anything else. Third question: If you are an introverted parent, have you ever wished for an introverted parents support group?

Thank you all for your replies. It has helped me see that my motivations, though well-meaning, are probably not setting an example I would want my kids to follow later in life (taking a class that's boring or too easy just because their friends are in it). In our area of univs and colleges, there are 1001 things for kids to enroll in year-round. Surely we will meet other nice friends studying areas (topics) that we find thoroughly satisfying and enriching.

You're not stupid. There is a whole book about cooking all sorts of stuff in a rice cooker: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Rice-Cooker-Cookbook-Porridges/dp/1558322035/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249080185&sr=8-1 I really have made oatmeal in mine. :D

Oops sorry, MBtP = Moving Beyond the Page. It seems to be a sort of catch-all curriculum, for lack of a better word (I'm sure there is a better word too). Thanks everyone for your input. The whole co-op, if needed, for things like art, p.e., does seem to make more sense to me knowing my skills. Yup. (You all are so smart!) :)

New to all this, I want to ask if WTM hs'ing followers widely participate in co-ops where the group does not follow classical format education? We are involved in a K-1st co-op (we loose adopt the MBtP curricula, but the adaptation is so loose, one could just say we are simply using the table of contents as a guideline), but the fit is feeling less and less right. Last year, many times it seemed like a total waste of time in terms of learning but was excellent for the making friends part. This year, I intuitively do not have a good feeling about what's to come. Any BTDT advice? Thanks!

I practiced with the tester unit and even injected one or two live, but expired, units into oranges (close to how hard flesh is I guessed ...) to see what a real use feels like. Just wondering if anyone had real life experiences to share (on kids or self-admin or both)?

Did anything happen that caught you off guard, or do you have any tips for parents who might need to, who carry one around everywhere, but, thankfully, have not needed to use one yet? Thanks!

But Chinese footbinding was looked down upon. That too was perceived as fashionable. Feet like dainty lillies. Rears swaying like ... (I forgot the analogy but you get the picture)

Do hhs (for argument's sake make it the stiletto-ey kind) make sense in promoting women's equality to men? I would say, no, high heels are not good for women in general. I'm pretty sure you couldn't get a guy or kids to walk 5 steps in them (or even wedges) without complaining endlessly, and if you did, they would call it enslavement or torture. This voluntary burden of hhs has always struck me as exceedingly odd. From prostitutes to Sex-in-the-City-Jimmy-Choo-types, many women feel compelled to wear them. The legs look elongated I guess, but I remember seeing a photo of Reese Witherspoon or Sar Jess Parker majorly preggo and wearing heels. Color me :confused: I found this in http://www.lifeinitaly.com/fashion/high-heels.asp "One mystery to men is why women would voluntarily torture their toes with pointy toed shoes or high heels, yet these continue to be the most popular styles for dress shoes today. This is because high heels work wonders for a woman’s figure. They make the legs look long and shapely, tuck in the tummy, lift the bottom, make hips sway. They make a woman look sexy and confident. What more can one want of a fashion accessory? ... While many women today take pride in their ease and speed as they rush around in their 5" Manolos, it's likely that the 16th century women of France, Spain, and Italy could have literally given the modern beauties a run for their money. In the mid 1500's, Chopines became popular, particularly in Venice. Chopines are extremely tall shoes that reached heights of 24". The higher the woman was in social status, the more restricted her movement, forcing women to carry canes or take servants to help them." Let's say we all agree that requiring servants and canes to help you walk in your sexy Chopine shoes is decidely not sexy. Ok. But when you see an attractive lady wearing stilettos in 2009, do you see her projecting "sexy and confident" or do you see her projecting "I'm trying to project sexy and confident. It hurts a lot, but I've gotten used to it."? Which reaction is the society who has accepted women's equality supposed to have?