This is my understanding of what he was saying. The Suzuki method is a mastery learning aproach...which is a teaching style which reviews subject matter until it is mastered. (sorry I couldn't think of another way to say it) Then, as the student moves on, they continue to play the songs or review the learning so mastery is retained. If you apply this to poetry memorization or other subjects it looks like this... You have your student completely learn the information presented, like addition facts or The Moon. You spend as much time on it as you need to, starting with small parts then moving to larger parts. Review, review, review. My dd does very well with this style of teaching. I, however, do not. HTH

Maybe you'll be glad you did tommorrow with the Z2K going through. :biggrinjester:

My two youngest went to sleep about an hour ago and my daughter is playing "Don't Quote Me" with her dad. We do not do much either. Previously, we have gone out to First Night but it is cold here. No way, no how am I going outside! We had appetizers for dinner. Does that count for something?

May it be a good one for you and yours! (that's for you, Laura, and everyone else!) :party:

I do not quilt by hand but I have seen a rubber thimble. Here is a link. http://www.quiltersstore.com.au/browse.asp?cat=20&dept=Thimbles Not sure how it works but it gives you a bump until someone more knowledgeable comes along. Happy New Year!

Dang! I knew there was a reason I was suppose to move across the Red River. Oh well, I'll just have to enjoy my lower taxes here in North Dakota. ;) Next thing you know I'll have to give up my Canadian citizenship for them (the lower taxes, I mean). :scared: Never. :D

Thanks for all the ideas! I have spent a few hours looking over things and have a vague idea of what we will be doing. I wish we could stay longer as it seems to be full of great places. But then again, we are from North Dakota, so anything will be more fun than the 2 feet of snow we have had this month. :tongue_smilie: The plans are still in the making but you have all helped with your thoughts. Thank you!

We did a little school today as well. They had lots of time off earlier this month due to my SAD, so we chugg along when we can. We also have a trip planned in January. They complained a bit but not as much as you would have expected. I find that they reach a limit to free time, so I fill it when I need to.

Could you give me a link? Everytime I google the Wild Animal Park I get the zoo site. Am I missing something?

We have a very short trip to San Diego (four days) coming up and the kids are coming. What would you say is a must see? My kids are 9, 6 and 3 years olds. So far we are planning Sea World and the Zoo. Maybe the Aquarium but I just noticed the Legoland so now I'm not sure..... What does the hive say? :bigear: Maybe some ideas on hotels too!

I am in awe of you. I could never get mine to be helpful to me, I would just forget to use it. Sounds like you have a great start to a new year. Your idea for the weekly zones is wonderful. It makes me think of trying again. Congrats!

We keep our house at 68 degrees in the day time and 65 at night while we are sleeping. Our heat and electricity in the winter is between $200-225 ($150 of that is heat). We have a story and a half at 1900 square feet. Our 60 year old house seems very efficient even for other homes in the area. I think it also depends on where you live and your utility rates. For you, I'm hoping for a warm winter!

Alright, I have pictures but I do not know what a URL is to be able to post them. Anyone an expert? I have them on the c drive but cannot figure the rest out. Anyone.....

You motivated me enough that I started already. ;) Actually, I love Boxing Day. It is my once a year cleaning day, so we started a few days ago. We are on the office right now. I may post pictures..... Thanks for the many posts about keeping things simple. I love them!

:iagree: We have had alternator problems several times in the past. That is just what they do...die on the road. If it is really cold out that might bring it on faster. Changing a battery will not fix it long term. Our last alternator was about $400 to replace but we have replaced one with a refurbished one with success.

Mmmm...I'd follow my gut instinct on this one. If you are concerned with the treatment that your dd will receive and you are willing and able to continue homeschooling her, then I say do it. Some of the choices kids make at that age are un-doable. I personally would not send my kids anywhere so they could be treated badly just to toughen them up. If it makes you concerned....follow your instinct. :grouphug: to you for dealing with you father's differing opinions. It is never easy to blaze your own trail but if you want to get somewhere different...you must choose a different path.

If you do not like using strong chemicals, try using Norwex Odour Eliminator. It is wonderful stuff.

We passed through De Smet two summers ago. My dd was a *big* fan and she loved it. My 5 year old son thought it was cool too. There are two main sites. The first one has the in town buildings with a one room school house, one of Laura's childhood homes (with a tour) and a gift shop. There is also a tour of the house that Pa built that you pay for at the gift shop and drive to at another location. These sites are interesting and good but would suit an older crowd of kids and adults. http://discoverlaura.org/ This has the pictures of the buildings I remember at that site. The second site is an real hands on place for younger kids. Do not miss this one. It has several buildings, a larger gift shop and dugouts. It is the actual location that Laura's family lived on. It also has a school building with a tour guide that play acts a day at school for the kids as part of the wagon ride tour. There are horses and wagons to ride and a place to make your own rope, corncob doll and button toy. My children loved this place and I highly recommend it. They have a pagent each year that we missed. Here is a link to the site. The virtual tours are unremarkable but the actual visit was great. http://www.ingallshomestead.com/index.html One thing you may want to know is that the town of De Smet itself is fairly quiet and lacks a wide range of resaurants and grocery stores. We drove around it a bit and did not find very many resources to eat from. Perhaps we missed another side of the town....but we were shocked at the lack of food options. We spend one and a half days there and then traveled on. We could have enjoyed a longer stay but we had a schedule to keep. I do recollect that the cost of the tours and activites were not that high. We spent more on other locations that holiday. If you live close enough to drive or are flying in for an avid fan, it is time and money well spent. We still have fond memories. I believe that the site on Plum Creek is just a half day car ride over to MN. You might want to look at that one as well. I hope this helps.

Praying here for your safe travel and peace during times of grief. I'm sorry for your loss.

To cool! Congratulations!

Vietnamese Chicken (recipe is in the Kitchen social group!) Egyptian Rice Spaghetti or Chilli BBQ Chicken with Ceasar Salad Salmon Patties with Aioli Sauce (basically mayo with crushed garlic) I like them mostly because my kids like them!

Yes, thanks for starting this and thanks to all with helpful info. I have found that OmegaBrite has helped this year with the down moods. Tomorrow, I am buying vitamin D. I've heard of the link and understand it but I have been forgetting to actually buy the stuff. :tongue_smilie: Thanks again everyone!

http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Came-Nazareth-Templar/dp/0811847985 We have this one and it is a beautiful book. I think I saw you had a five year old and she would love it. It has a slight embossing and a lilting verse. Young kids would love this. Look for Jotham's Journey too. We are reading that one now. It may be too old for your dd but it is a nice one with two sequels.

You could add chicken or turkey leftovers (from the freezer of course). It would be a little like white bean chili soup. Then add grated cheese at the end or some sour cream. Nothing is better than soup when it's cold!

Elegantlion and Melissel, I come here for that standard as well and I think it is good. Thank-you for you ideas. I have to think about this some more.