That culture hasn’t disappeared everywhere. I grow up with no guns in the house, but I knew how to handle and shoot one. My grandparents had guns and we regularly target shot. We did not have a gun in my married house until DH’s first issued handgun for deployment. We now have several, kept in gun safes (even the B.B. gun is in there). At least once a year, maybe twice, DH takes kids to the range where they have to do a safety check with DH before getting to shoot - reinforcing they know the rules and that they are important. They also shoot once or twice a year with Gpa, a 25 yr military vet who reinforces proper gun use and handling. And DS shoots at scout camp. We are not NRA members. We don’t have a big gun culture in our home, but we do have guns so everybody learns about them. They’re locked up, ammo locked up separately, only DH knows where the keys are. The kids have a healthy respect for guns. It is possible to teach this, even in a busy family. I’m not saying everyone should own a gun, but I am saying there are still people who teach responsible gun use.

A standard is elusive and beyond the capacity (and funding. And interest) of most governments.

But there is something more *young* in this problem. These are 14-21 year olds mainly (outliers exist, yes). Could it be also that without a good role model in their life (whatever the relationship - Father, brother, teacher, coach, neighbor, friend) they are more easily swayed in their very passionate late teens by those dark corners of the web? Have we in treating anger as something bad, put potential role models in a bind where they can’t demonstrate how to rightly handle that anger (because they aren’t allowed to express it at all)?

Yes. There is a very big difference from years ago. Is it our conditioning to immediate gratification? Fast food (and just what and when we want), google searches, helicopter parents providing just what is needed and never let kids struggle, Amazon 2-day delivery, text messaging, easy access porn and so on?

Do you think there’s a correlative factor of education inflation? I mean more kids attempting to go to college because “college is for everyone”, associated rising costs of college and pressure to get in and to get scholarships... This is a culture of pressures, in and out of schools. Where I am at I see it heavily in sports and in music and theater. Anyway, I think you are right that the “pressure cooker” of high schools and screens/social media probably play roles in all the general rise of mental health issues in teens recently (anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation) which in turn increases aggression, violence outright (like School shooters) and violence unseen (like cyber-bullying)

I didn’t. And just because she has a point on the excessive coverage (which can been seen by some vulnerable minds as glorification) of the most tragic events does not she is down playing the events or making excuses. It was simply a comment

Home state of WA does (or you can take a course in lieu of this, or have oversight from a qualified teacher) Current state of UT no I am not sure what I think about this. First, there are plenty of intelligent and capable people who could homeschool that have never gone to college. Second, there are some real senseless people who have some minimum college courses. Third, I believe in the rights of parents to be able to educate their children. However, I wish there were a legitimate way to ensure that homeschooled children receive a basic education. But honestly I can’t ensure that at public school, though there’s a good chance it will happen there. The people on WTM I think reflect a narrow band of the homeschooling spectrum - academically focused, involved, general with some higher education (often those with multiple degrees). That is in no way to say we are better, just that opinions mostly reflect a small section of Homeschoolers.

Thanks!

We Didn't Play Test This At All and Exploding Kittens are super silly, and my older three LOVE them. I can only play them once in a while (I like long, strategy games), but they are definitely a hit with the kids!

Thanks so much!

Does the physical copy of the AG have perforated pages? Specifically volume 1 (I have the other three in PDF format)

Snake Oil!

Did it make you irritable? I’ve only been on it for a week and looking forward to not feeling like I’m wearing a lead blanket all day and not need 9-10 hours of sleep at night... but while I’m waiting for therapeutic effectiveness I’ve noticed I’m irritable. Way too early for PMS, and just snappy, what-is-wrong-with-you-people grumpy. I’ve recognized it well enough that I’ve made a number of apologies today, but I don’t like feeling like this. Could it be the synthroid? Will it go away?

@homeschoolwarrior just wanted to come back and apologize if my post sounded snarky or judge mental. It wasn’t intended to be! You asked for an independent elementary Latin, not my $.02 on what ages can work independently. I do hope you find what you are after!

How old? SSL is not teacher intensive but it is teacher dependent. They can review the songs on their own, but the game playing and the a portion of the workbook need you. If your elementary student is older (10+?) you could try Getting Started with Latin. After doing about 20 lessons together my ds took over semi-independently at around age 10 (I was there for questions and to touch base with him to review things regularly ). I personally think ANY subject below about age 10 is difficult or age inappropriate to do completely independently. They just need so much guidance still, and it’s so much easier to prevent bad habits or incorrect learning than to correct it later.

Perhaps I have the outlier, because my oldest is very good in math and science and has great confidence in it. She has never been dissuaded from pursuing it (that I’m aware of) and in fact we are always trying to encourage it. She wants to be an actress ? and she’s only so-so at that. Nothing wrong with actors - it’s just painful to hear her talk about passing over her gifts for her “dreams.” But perhaps that reflects the Atlantic article more, that she doesn’t feel pressure for a high salary and would feel equally respected in either acting or STEM.

I went and pulled out her grade report just to be sure. My apologies. She had 1/3 (not 1/2) topics in blue and the rest in green. However, I completely forgot about this and I'm sorry, she missed 3 classes (red participation those weeks) and the 24th week writing assignment ? I forgot, and I hope I didn't stress anyone out. That was a rough semester all around at our house. Perhaps I had selective memory about it. ?Feeling sheepish, but I hope that cleared things up ?

This must be new(er).

That's the only thing I can figure. She got As in her other AOPS classes, and she does very well with her written Solutions. It is rather subjective, I think - no formula or numbers breakdown in the grade reports (they do give you a letter grade, a picture of your bars, and comments from the teacher).

@KeriJ I’m very curious to see how your year of DIY writing rounded out - it sounded great! I found this thread looking for posts about Grading with a Purple Crayon because I am contemplating creating a writing program for DS this year. What forms of writing did you do? What resources were the most helpful? Advice in hindsight?

She does sound competent and capable! I’m glad she’s found Alcumus - it’s a great resource. Bars in the blue are considered mastery. If it’s any help the AOPS online courses expect students to do extra challenging problems and one fully written solution each week, in addition to passing off Alcumus topics. In order to get an A in the classes I’ve noticed you’ve got to have the majority of the bars blue in edition to doing well on your challenge problems (dd got a B+ in geometry even with all the bars in green and over half in blue). I would read each chapter, watch any videos, and then try the challenge problems in the book. If you do well move on, if not go back to the specific topic you didn’t do well in and work the problems and exercises.

Fair point.

Yes, but what makes them immigrants (of any kind) is theit moving to a country that was not their country of birth. You wouldn’t call them undocumented immigrants if they never left their natal country. So by that example an undocumented homeschooler would still have to be homeschooling in order to be an undocumented homeschooler. So, if they are not actually schooling in their home, as in cases of neglect/abuse/forced work where being home is not about education but about avoiding detection of the abuse, they do not meet the definition of any type of homeschooler. There can be undocumented immigrants and there can be undocumented residents (no birth certificate, no school records, no driver’s license, etc) but they aren’t undocumented Homeschoolers unless they are also homeschooling (providing an education at home).

Have you looked at Ellen McHenry’s The Cell and Botany programs? Lots of hands on and much of it visual/artistic http://ellenjmchenry.com/curricula-for-sale/ What about CK-12 Life Science? https://www.ck12.org/c/life-science/#/?_k=j4jq4q It isn’t Hands-on but lots of multi-media, and it’s free. You could add in lab activities.

My ds loved Mary Pope Osborne’s Tales from the Odyssey at that age (also Greek Myths by Jim Weis), one DD loved Winnie the Pooh and Magic Treehouse at that age, and the oldest loved The Hobbit and Pyle’s Robin Hood at that age. My current 6 yr old loved Wrinkle in Time. ETA: School House Rocks!