:iagree: We also have no idea what she paid him. It could have been just a little gas money.

I would not charge my kid gas money for a 15 mile trip *but* I do understand the above. We're not talking about a 10 year old making a little money for trading cards or saving for a new bike. These are teens, capable of working like adults and putting a lot of wear on a machine that is also needed to maintain their own family's property. We mow about 3 acres, and need to replace mowers every few years. We usually get the cheapest ride and run it til it falls apart. The last one was (finally!) a nice zero turn mower. If my kids wanted to use it to mow lawns for money, I *might* expect them to set aside a few dollars to put towards repairs/replacement costs. If it were a $150 push mower though, maybe not.

In my mind, streamlining to four subjects should make time for meaningful extracurriculars and independent study. So, important things would be less likely to be missed.

To formally study, it would be: Math Science History Writing (It would be hard not to cover some grammar this way). I am assuming by all the elementary years, you mean through grade 6? For art, music and foreign language find ways to let them explore and discover independently. Also, two of my kids (and I) do martial arts. I don't consider that a school subject at any age. Music lessons could be considered the same way.

It follows you...

I am going to be teaching an engineering class with 8-11 year olds, and planning on getting the gears K'nex one. The K'nex are pretty solid and a little less money (I will probably need 3-4 sets.). For my own kids though, I might be tempted to go with the lego. It would be compatible with other lego technic sets if you eventually decided to add more (of course K'nex are kinda like that too).

I am here today because dh and the kids are watching Shrek. Again. :-P And I am *dying* to meet Dr. Bauer next spring in Cincy.

Gun nuts? You mean police officers and/or the DNR right? That's who teaches them around here in rural Michigan. Maybe where you live it's different. :-/

Also, there will always be criminals. I'm not opposed to forcing labor on one who has committed certain crimes. (We do it now.)

I have knee and shoulder issues. I can bench 65, deadlift about 100 and maximum 80 lbs squat. Really makes a difference fast! At first, the bar alone was a challenge. I also do overhead presses (really taking it easy with those due to a shoulder impingement) and rows (about 70 lbs).

Me either. I'm about done with this. The switch-over to the new format was last NOVEMBER. There is an end to my patience. It took dozens of attempts to change my avatar. I know what I am doing--it was a 43kb image.

I recently tested for my yellow belt in Tang So Do.

Thanks, the chem one sounds cool for my older son. He'll be taking that with our co-op this year. I am teaching General Science in our co-op that meets bi-weekly. I'll let the parents know about some of these resources, but in my class (which none of my kids are in), we'll mostly just be doing labs since the 50 minute class period isn't going to allow for much more. I was going to give them each a composition notebook and teach them how to use that for lab write-ups. Here is an example of what I meant: http://www.atlantic.edu/program/academic/stratton/notebook/notebook.htm

If nothing was easy breezy? Not possible. Once they learn something well it does become easy. That's how you know when to move on. As for constantly needing outside validation that you're good at something? Imagine a life free of that. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. If they're good at something, they'll figure that out. And at the ages they are now, if any of these questions were a concern, they aren't YET. Many do benefit from some competition as they get a little older though. This does not need to come from academics.

Thanks, I kind of figured that should be the case, but did not want to buy it if I could not print lab instructions etc. Might be nice to have those in a sheet protector instead of the book on the counter sometimes.

I have a vague recollection of someone copying the pages into a new document and enlarging them somehow? Maybe selecting half the page and printing it right from the pdf? Anyone remember the details? I know something like that is possible.

Last time I was pregnant was ten years ago, and I was considerably more flexible even then. :-) Ahhh... the good old days. As a kid, I could put my feet behind my head and all kinds of other ridiculous contortions.

Does anyone know if anything other than the study guides and tests are printable? Could I print out labs etc? This would be specifically for General Science.

I can, but I don't like it much. Never right after a meal. :-P I do my mom's for her. She's 77, and I've done it for her for at least a couple years now.

I have told them that since they do not go to school, we MUST do our schoolwork. Procrastinating or refusing cannot be an option. I then describe what school was like and how much better they have it. Not often to the point of actually threatening to put anyone on a bus though. I'm pretty sure they all know that would be highly unlikely. I don't discount it as an option, but if they go, it wouldn't be because of their behavior.

Yes. It is $2000/6 months for 2 cars. One is 2008 and the other 2009. Collision for both is only half of that total.

I hate loose filling that shifts and poor quality filling that eventually rumples. For this reason, over the years we have mainly switched to quilts.

Ours went up about $100. Same for homeowners. Our company did not feel the need to explain the reason though. They just said "Rates are up now.".

Now THAT'S an idea I could get behind. It could even make room for the self-taught person who is passionate about what they are doing. It could even be a way for someone with a ton of experience not to be displaced by the new kid with the shiny new degree (who may or may not be clueless...).

I think this idea has possibilities that should be explored. It's typically assumed that a degree from school A would be preferable to a degree from school B etc. But what if a handful of new professors, a textbook switch and so on suddenly tipped the scales in favor of school B for a couple of years? This *could* be one way of measuring that. If implemented well (big IF there...). Then there's the big variable of individual student motivation. What makes a 3rd or 4th gen ivy leage student (attending a school because his family always has and he more or less inherited his admission) better than a highly motivated kid, who actually wrote his own papers, from a state uni? Nothing, really.