When DH was active duty (he's Air Nat'l Guard now), he was gone all the time as well. A lot of his trips were short notice TDYs or VIPs - as in I get a phone call from him at work telling me he had to fly to Greenland the following morning for X amount of time. It's hard when they're gone all the time w/only minimal time at home. Our oldest DD was very young during all of this, so I don't know what it's like w/older children. I will say that you really should look into using Skype. We used this during this past deployment and it made a world of difference. Being able to see him via webcam helped make this the easiest deployment by far (and this was w/a 3 yr old, pregnant, working full-time, and going to grad school). It also helped older DD cope with him being gone. The best part of Skype is that if you use it strictly as web-cam-chatting, it's free.

You could also take a look at "Real Food" by Nina Planck. Her writing style is a lot less academic and more accessible than Pollan's.

Vietnamese cinnamon Sumac (wonderful addition to hummus) Greek Seasoning We buy all of our spices from Penzey's. They're better quality and you get more bang for your buck (esp if you buy them in the bags vs the jars). I love them!

DD (almost 4) goes to pre-school all day (mostly play-based with a little bit of academics thrown in), but here is my list of what we currently do, or will be starting soon for "play school": *Critical Thinking Beginning Math 1 *Critical Thinking Building Thinking Skills Beginning (this is done somewhat sporadically as I think DD is a smidge too young for it. Once we complete the book, we'll start it over again) *Get Ready for the Code (haven't started yet) *OPGTR (starting this week) *BOB books (attempted to start sev months ago, but took a break) *http://www.starfall.com *Leap Frog DVDs *lots and lots of read-alouds (it runs the gamut from science to fairy tales/Aesop to picture books) *science experiments from Nat'l Geographic Little Kids (just checked out Mudpies to Magnets, so we'll probably start incorporating those too) *Kumon for mazes, tracing, cutting/pasting *arts and crafts Other activities are helping with gardening and cooking, riding bikes, and swim lessons. Writing this down makes it seem like a lot to me. We don't push her at all with any of these, and don't have a set schedule. Some evenings we might only read books. I'm in no rush. As long as she enjoys it and shows an interest, we'll do it. My only goals for 2010 are 1)learn how to read, and 2)understanding of basic addition/subtraction.

the Chrysalids by John Wyndham

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books? (I can't recollect if these are chapter books or not. It's been a long time since I've read them) The Magic Pudding For your DD who loves fantasy - Wise Child by Monica Furlong

For some other fiction books, you could look at some of the ones written by Scott O'Dell - Island of the Blue Dolphins, Sing Down the Moon, and Zia. An adult book that is fairly interesting is 1491 by Charles C Mann. It offers a different version of what the Americas were like pre-Columbus (it focues more on the large population theory as opposed to the small population theory).

I had the Nature Book when I was a kid and loved it. No, I didn't learn a whole lot from it, but it was fun and my mom used it as a spring board for individual concepts that I wanted to explore in more depth. That being said, I bought the new, combined version for my DD and she enjoys it. It's not necessarily a sit down and read all the time book, but it goes over basic concepts. My only complaint has to do w/the quality of the pictures. They were not reproduced very well and are blurry/lower quality than the original book.

Thank you for your input! I just ordered some of the suggestions from Amazon, and placed others on a wishlist.

DD will be 4 yrs old in several months. We play games at home (Crazy 8s, Go Fish, Candyland, Hi-Ho Cherry-O), but I would like suggestions of other games to play with her. Other than games, we're working on phonics/reading, a little bit of critical thinking, and a little bit of math. Anything that would help reinforce what she's learning would be great. :D

Try a local recruiter first. They'll have all the basic info you're looking for as their job is to "sell" their branch - rank, history, purpose, etc... If you're close to McGuire/Dix, I don't believe Dix has a visitor's center, but McGuire does. We left McGuire ab 2 yrs ago, and I know they were doing some revamping of Dix b/c of BRAC, so they might have a visitor's center now. I would also recommend going to McGuire when they have an air show. It will be extremely crowded, but you'll learn a lot about the AF, and you'll be able to get up close and personal with a lot of the individuals who serve. It's good that you have an interest. Most people don't really seem to care. Regarding the Navy/Marines - the Marines are technically part of the Navy. Former Marine, here. ;)

I don't know how many hs'ers he's come across. I know he has, and b/c they didn't act the way "normal" people did, he thought they were "weird." To me, that has nothing to do w/hs and everything to do w/how the kids were raised and the what their individual personalities are. One of the guys I work w/was hs'd and he is willing to talk to DH about his experience, etc... DD will go to ps for K b/c I don't think by then our schedules will align enough to allow it (Fall 2011). I would like to have her home for 1st and 2nd to see how it works for us and if DD enjoys it. If everything falls into place, then we'll keep hs'ing her. If not, she'll go back to ps and we'll supplement. 2 academic years seems like it would be a span of time to get acclimated to hs'ing and to determine if it will work out. This will be a lot easier once DH comes home. I know his biggest complaint regarding education is the lack of critical thinking and understanding the reasoning behind why something needs to be taught/learned. He was the student who would get Cs in class b/c he never did homework, but would ace any and all tests put in front of him. He has said multiple times how bored he was and didn't understand why he should be bothered learning what was taught b/c no context was given. I don't think ps has changed that much from then until now. His views seem to be more compatible with hs than ps. Thank you all for you responses and help with this. I really do appreciate it.

I spoke w/DH yesterday, and his concerns don't really have anything to do w/academics or domestic duties. When he's home, he does a good chunk of the domestic stuff since he doesn't really work, and school doesn't take up a lot of time. DH's concerns: 1. Socialization - he thinks hs kids are "weird" and that they suffer from not being exposed to other children in a ps environment. He feels ps will help them learn to deal with teasing, etc... 2. Property taxes - we pay them, so we should utilize the benefits. 3. He doesn't want to be "stuck at home" with DD b/c he has "things to do". He wouldn't be stuck at home w/her b/c I would be there for at least half of the day. Once I get approved for telework, I would be home all day. Regarding grad school, I have no problem taking time off from it. It's kind of an icing on the cake degree, so if it takes me 10 yrs to get it, it's not a big deal. I love to research and plan, which is part of the reason I'm starting this process when DD is 3 1/2. By the time she gets to K/1st, I will have figured out what I would like in a curriculum with alternatives in case a given area needs to be tweaked a bit. Right now, DD goes to a pre-school full-time (mostly play-centered, though they do informally teach them letters, numbers, calendars, etc...). At home, we read a lot of books ranging from classic picture books to fairy tales to science. I have started working w/her on phonics, trying to keep it light and fun. I also bought Mathmatical Reasoning Beginning 1 and Building Thinking Skills Beginning from the Critical Thinking Company. We work on this about 3x per week for only 10-20 min. I stop once she begins losing interest or gets fussy. DH is onboard with this, though he is slightly concerned I'll overprepare her for ps K. I do want to add that DH is fully onboard for afterschooling.

When I was in the 8-9 yr old range, I read: Dragonsong and Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey the Crestomanci series by Dianne Wynne Jones the Wizard Children of Finn by Mary Tannen (out of print, but a good read if you can get your hands on it) Wise Child and Juniper by Monica Furlong Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson Bum Voyage by David Greer (also out of print; travelogue written by a 10 yr old boy dragged across Europe by his mother in the 1950's) the Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander Dealing With Dragons by Patricia Wrede (well...I read the series this book is the first of as a teenager and still loved them) There are more, but I remember plots instead of titles and authors.

I guess a lot of it depends on how DH will handle the situation. I am the main breadwinner in the family and I can't cut back hours, I can just shift when I get those hours in. If I'm being honest, it probably will be taking on more than I can handle, but I would like to try at least. I think if I can work from home (which will hopefully happen in the next couple of years), then I could manage it. I do appreciate your input and experience.

Hello! I am new here. I have been lurking for a couple of weeks reading the various threads. My big question is – how hard is it to HS while working full-time (throw in the likelihood of 1 grad school class per semester for me)? The hours I work are relatively flexible, and I am currently on the waitlist for telework. DD is only 3 ½, so there’s a bit of time before she would start formal school. When DH is home, he is a full-time student, so that adds some leeway as we could work around each other’s schedules. (I would hope he would teach her math and science) I want to HS DD in the worst way, but DH isn’t entirely onboard. Figuring out if this is possible will help me create a solid argument. The more information I’ve gathered the better off I’ll be in presenting this to him. When I brought it up to him on the phone recently, his response was, “so do you think you can handle it?†We’ll discuss it in depth when he comes home in several months. The philosophy laid out in TWTM is very much in line with how we feel about education. The trick is how I present this. He’s very much a physics and math sort of guy, and I’m the complete opposite. Thank you for your help. J