What, exactly, have you determined my attitude is toward those who choose not to vaccinate? If you are referring to my flip Walmart comment, that was intended to be sarcastic. If you are referring to my concerns about sharing a doctor's waiting room with someone who is sick and has not been vaccinated, then you may be correct--I don't want to. Let me clarify--I believe autism is a devastating diagnosis. I did not in any way mean to make light of it, and I'm sorry if my comments were unkind. I honestly didn't mean it that way. But I don't have a problem with a pediatrician who chooses not to accept new patients when the parents say they don't vaccinate, because most medical professionals do not believe vaccinations cause autism.

I've seen those before--aren't they amazing?! Someone did point out that they looked like they might not be the safest. Still--who cares? Think of all the storage!

Yes, it would be nice to never have to go the doctor's office or anywhere else and be exposed to nasty, contageous illnesses. Since real life doesn't work that way, we'll all just have to soldier on as best we can. For those of you who don't vaccinate, no doubt you have your reasons. I have two friends with autistic kids who are both certain that it's related to vaccinations. We're all trying to do the best for our kids. Which is why I'm glad your unvaccinated kids aren't sitting next to mine at the doctor's office. Too bad they're still allowed to go to Walmart.:D

When we first moved into our current house, about 5 years ago, the neighbor across the street did the same thing. Came over to say welcome, and spent the next 20 minutes telling me about her depression, her current meds, her problems with her children and husband, etc. Fortunately, other than that initial conversation, we've only seen each other in passing--really just waving while driving by. I didn't realize what a close escape I had. Of course, maybe she went home and told her family about the crazy homeschooling family that just moved in, and warned her kids to stay away.:D

I felt had to answer your post, Gailmegan. First of all, all of the children in my pediatrician's office should be vaccinated, because that particular medical group does not accept patients whose parents refuse vaccinations. Second, you are lucky that all the parents you know that have told you they don't vaccinate are so educated and knowledgable about disease. But of course, you only know so many people--so that doesn't do much for the rest of us. And I think it's unlikely that any intelligent person with a very sick child (and many of these diseases have serious complications), vaccinated or not, won't utilize appropriate medical care because they "know" much more about proper treatment than their pediatrician. Lastly, I don't deny the benefits of breastfeeding, but when I bring my premature, bottle-fed because he can't nurse baby to the pediatrician 3 days after he's released from the NICU, I did actually think about the fact that I was glad the office didn't accept patients who would not be vaccinated. I only wished that they had seperate waiting/examining rooms for healthy/sick patients. You make a lot of assumptions in your post.

My brother and his family fall into the "needy" catagory, and they always are very grateful for hand-me-downs, including books. There are so many out there who can't afford much, and who don't have transportation (which makes going to the library a major deal). You truly will be blessing someone else with your books when you give them away because you are through with them. It's just stuff, after all!

We bought a system at Sam's Club a few years ago. The water where we live is HORRIBLE--smells like farts, tastes nasty too. It ruins appliances way before they normally need replacing. We have a filter on our water softener, and the reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink. We just changed the r.o. one a couple of weeks ago, and were forced to drink from the faucet while it cycled through. It tasted so bad, we resorted to bottled for the day. In other words, love the reverse osmosis system!

Mine doesn't--and I wish they did. Half the time when we go in for a checkup, we bring something nasty home. That's why we only go in for illness (or for vaccinations, of course :D).

We're all about the list too. Once they are independent readers, they get their own copy to check off things when I check off my copy. Until they are done with the list, they are MINE. Breaks must be preapproved, and generally we use a timer--i.e., you may have a 15 minute break, go set the timer. This has resulted in school usually being done by 1:30pm. We start around 10:00am, and lunch is included in that time. Good luck with Space Ghost! I actually like that name for a disappearing kid. I had a boss like that once--never to be found when we needed him. We called him "Vapor."

Please don't flame me--I already know many will disagree--but I heard about this policy in my pediatrician's practice about 5 years ago, and I was glad. It's easy to research ahead of time what and when immunizations are typically given. When my newborn or young child who is not fully immunized is exposed to someone's unvaccinated child with whooping cough or measles, I have a problem with that. It's a lot less likely to happen when they aren't sitting next to us in the pediatrician's waiting room.

Thanks guys--I appreciate both the pros and the cons.

Has anyone ever used these? I saw them on the Timberdoodle website, and they looked interesting, but this is my go-to place for the REAL deal. :)

I might let him use the computer to write stories. Do you have "Storybook Weaver"? If he doesn't think of it as "writing," but "playing on the computer," he might be more willing.

I have all three books in the series, and we've enjoyed using them. I started my 7yos and 8yod in Book 1, and they are now in Book 2. At this point, Book 2 is just reviewing some of the Book 1 stuff. My 10yod is using the Book 3, but it ended up being below her level. We just do it more for fun, because the exercises are interesting. I have the TM's, and IMO they are not necessary. They're geared more for the classroom teacher, and include the answer keys (which are unnecessary at this level for most parents). There are some interesting discussion starters, and we've used a couple, but for the most part the TM's just gather dust.

I think if you type Teaching Textbooks into the WTM search engine, you'll get more information than you bargained for. Be prepared for strong but interesting opinions!

Is it possible you are thinking of WriteGuide? I have no idea the background of the creators, but it is an online writing program. We are thinking about using it next year. http://www.writeguide.com/

love the word "homeschool-y". It conjures up so many pictures--yes, denim jumpers, but also buck teeth, coke-bottle glasses, and that movie about the national spelling bee. :D (I know that's not what you meant, but it still makes me giggle.) I'm in the same boat, by the way. My kids are very close with each other, but outside friendships are strictly activity-based. They see other kids once or twice a week at ballet, catechism, etc., and that's it. They don't seem to mind, but sometimes I do for them.

I am a big fan of ALEKS. My daughter uses it for math exclusively. I do need to fill in when she doesn't understand the explanation--maybe once a week I sit down with her and go over a problem. Until this year (fifth grade) we were Saxon users. The repetition was a real aggravation to her, and one thing we like about ALEKS is that once you master something you can move on. You will be tested on it, and if you need more work or forget how to do something, you get more practice. I would say this program works well for a student who is used to doing work on their own, and doesn't need much "encouragement" to properly use their time. If you have a dawdler, this likely won't be a good fit. I am homeschooling 4 kids, and I would use it for 2 of the 4.

I wasn't wondering until you said I would be--now I am! TNPTP is looking at her kids, and thinking about how lucky and blessed she is. :001_smile:

We started off our marriage in Germany, moved to S. California, then to Washington state, and now we are back in the rinky dink town where I grew up, and swore to myself I would never live in again. But...It was totally our choice, and I'm so glad we did. My parents, who we are extremely close to, and who are very involved with our five children, live about a mile away. It's awesome! And it makes it worth living in this crappy town. OTOH, if we were talking about living near my dh's parents, I'd opt for the European route. To me, if you've got great family, it's more important to be close, even if you don't like the area. With a not-so-great family, the area is more important.

Wow. I am amazed at both the kindness and wisdom of some moms, and the "unkindness and harshness" of others. It takes guts to open yourself up to people when there will always be someone who immediately goes for the jugular because she is an "expert." Sorry, but I am annoyed on your behalf. Even good advice is ruined when it's delivered it in a snotty, know-it-all tone.:ack2:

I remember when I was pg with #4 and my auto mechanic (!) asked me "don't you know what causes that?" Before thinking I said "yeah, and I can't get enough of it--my husband is HOT!" He turned all red--it was hilarious! It's my favorite story in the long list of stories on this subject.

How about The Hardy Boys series? If he is a strong reader, I think these are pretty tame. Is he sensitive in that he is easily scared? My oldest started reading the Magic Treehouse series and then stopped because she didn't like how the brother talked to his sister--mean and snotty. She's sensitive that way, but loves those "scary, capturing" scenes in Nancy Drew. She is forever wanting to be tied up and stuck in the back bedroom to see if she can escape!

I buy a lot of art supplies, most of them from Rainbow Resource. They have a large selection, including high quality brands like Prismacolor, that I haven't found anywhere for less. The catalog, if you don't have one, is thick like a large city phone book (they carry everything, not just art supplies), with great descriptions but no pics. There are pics online if you want to see something. I don't know if they have stuff for print making, but it might be worth checking. I love shopping for art supplies--have fun!

Yes, Dawn, I'd like the links. Thanks! :001_smile: And thanks, GG, for the tips. :001_smile: