Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but, Elizabethan England was not officially Roman Catholic. Any official persecution/prosecution of cats &/or cat owners would have been perpetrated under the auspices of the CoE. Although the idea that killing cats may have contributed to the spread of the plague in London/England (especially the outbreak of the early 1660's) is probably accurate. I'm not sure that any actions taken against cats were to stamp out paganism. Europe (hmm, I should probably say that I mean here western Europe which, of course, leaves out the Orthodox tradition in eastern Europe) was solidly Catholic by the 13th century. There was the Albigensian Crusade (I'm almost positive I spelled that incorrectly. Sorry.) against the Cathars in southern France in that time frame. Maybe later -- the early 14th century? The Cathars, however, were a Christian sect persecuted and prosecuted for heresy. And, let's not forget, that our own forebears, the Puritans (definitely not Roman Catholic), also engaged in a spot of witch hunting and cat killing. As far as prejudice against cats in general (and black cats in particular), no, that idea is not very logical (using the given historical reason). Maybe we as a species are simply not as rational as we'd like to be, if ancient, misguided thoughts and actions play any part in our [collective] modern attitudes towards cats. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a cat owner. Or, rather, I am owned by our cats. And we've had a couple of pure black cats.

Your schedule sounds very do-able. Nature study is easy, depending on where you live. Just walk around your backyard/nature preserve/local park and notice the plants, ants, etc. I wouldn't even necessarily worry about identifying every thing you see. Maybe have your dd draw a little picture or something. Have fun w/your K year!!

Would you believe me if I told you that one of the best free events during the summer in Austin is watching the bats? Seriously! Every evening around sundown, people...lots of people...gather by the Congress Ave bridge (aka Ann Richards bridge) to watch these little creatures take flight. I just wish they flew more toward my neck of the woods to eat mosquitos.

My eldest is completing 1B right now. I don't have either of the teacher's guides. I do, however, use the Intensive Practice, Extra Practice (this is used when he's at his sitter's and I'm at work), and Challenging Word Problem books. This sounds like a lot; but, I don't have him do every problem, especially when he has already demonstrated conceptual understanding of a given topic. I don't know if I'll use/need the instructor's guides in the higher levels, though.

LOL! Ya know, if I weren't on duty, there'd be no "lite" about it!:D I'm a Guiness gal myself. By the end of the shift in question (July 4th last year), I was more than ready for some hard stuff. Actually, I think I resembled the walking dead, I was so tired. Here's hoping this year is much better. :cheers2: <----non-alcoholic...I'm on duty right now.

:iagree: My olders always enjoy helping with each baby (youngest is now 19 mos old). My eldest son has appointed himself the "royal dresser" which means he picks out youngest son's clothes every day. Mine don't help with diapers, but not because of modesty issues. We use cloth and they aren't quite as good in ensuring that the diapers don't leak. Good lord, I have several nudists (of both genders) in my house. Let's just say that the very first biology lesson happened pretty early on in my house.:D My kids are also very familiar with the anatomy of nursing (both the parts and the know-how) even though I did try to use a cover. Wardrobe malfunctions happen, especially when trying to nurse and corral at the same time. ;) In fact, my eldest (then 5) once told a friend of mine (whose first child was a newborn) that she needed to pick the baby up and nurse him because he was crying and that meant he was hungry. Ds then proceeded to hand my friend a pillow for her back because "that's what mamas need". And, as Aubrey mentioned, "boy parts" do eventually change into "man parts".

*SNORT* That was really funny! It certainly seemed like it. In reality, just good ol' _________ County in central Texas. Lotsa people....lotsa alcohol....not so much common sense. "H#ll's Angels Cook Out" I'm still laughing and my partner thinks I've lost my marbles. Again.:tongue_smilie: Amy, my son was probably, oh, 5? 6?, before he realized that the fireworks weren't especially for him. (sorry, I haven't figured out the multi-quote thing) By the by, what a cutie pie!!

My dh (who does most of the grocery shopping for our family of 6 and is very good at it) told me the other day that he spent $500 this past week. Having our garden does help w/veggies; unfortunately, right now we don't grow enough to can/freeze to have until the next year. I have two kids who are very sensitive to dairy; so, we must buy soy, rice, &/or almond milk (depending on what's cheaper that day). And we've limited milk drinking to 2 small cups a day per kid -- this has not been a popular decision. Like you kids, mine devour fruit. It feels weird to think about limiting that. The cut veggies available for snacks is a good one; I'll start cutting up veggies tomorrow. One idea which has helped us is to buy meat which is about to expire (I think someone else also mentioned this). My dh actually asks the butcher instead of just looking at what's out in the meat case. We've saved substantially on meat this way. We have a large enough freezer that we can freeze the meat. We mainly eat chicken and pork; but have found terrific deals on ham and beef about to expire. One area I need to improve in is breakfast. My kids mostly eat cold cereal with, you guessed it, milk. I need to drag my lazy self out of bed earlier to make a better (and cheaper) breakfast. Other than that, we cook from scratch, including all breads/sweets. Although we do sometimes buy a Costco's and Sam's, the reality is both of those stores are too far away to justify the cost in gas. Hope you find an answer! Good Luck!

My eldest's birthday is also on the 4th! If this year is anything like last year (*&^% leap year schedules), I'll be dealing with (near)drownings, wrecks, assaults, the results of alcohol induced bravado involving fireworks, wrecks, burns, heat exhaustion/strokes, wrecks, and whatever else the ems-gods decide to throw my way. And missing my son's birthday.

Just walked through the day room where my partner and the fire guys are watching some sort of monster-thriller-horror flick. My partner and one of the firemen are clutching their respective blankies!:lol::lol: I started laughing at them and all 5 guys jumped out of the recliners. :smilielol5: Score one for the "little lady". And if you saw my partner and me standing together, you'd be forgiven for thinking that he's the "bad medic" of the dynamic duo. You'd be wrong. :D

I had two like this. Both had severe reflux and my ped put them on Zantac. They were each on this med for most of the first year of their lives and have thankfully outgrown this lovely phase. I nursed exclusively and completely eliminated dairy, wheat, and soy from my diet while I nursed. I also basically carried them all the time in a sling(except when I was at work). I'm so sorry you're dealing with this.

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5: Mine missed the memo as well. In fact, my girls just lost library priveleges for a while after yesterday's behavior.:glare: I, too, did not find the article insulting in the least. In fact, I'm not so sure the author didn't use the stereotypical image of a homeschooler deliberately. After all, it's an image everyone knows on some level, even if we as homeschoolers reject it as completely valid. And I agree with the author that we have rejected the cultural norm at least as far as educating our children. I also thought he had a good point when he pointed out that homeschoolers pay taxes to support the local ISDs and, generally, don't use those services, i.e. the school districts don't spend money on homeschooled kids. If I were a district superintendent (perish the thought:D), I'd be all over that financial windfall making sure the "cash cow" didn't dry up completely.

I've 4 kiddos, 7 down to 19 months, and everyone is expected to either nap or lay quietly on a bed for at least an hour (longer for the younger kids). Kids are allowed to read/look at books, twiddle their thumbs, count dust particles, I don't care. However, they must be quiet. As my girls share a room and have trouble with the "quiet" portion of that rule, I separate them. This is my sanity saver.

and am starting with my second 1st grader. We focus on L-R-R-R: Latin, reading, writing, math. Ds' core 1st grade subjects: Lively Latin Singapore 1A&1B copywork/handwriting practice read alouds -- me to kiddo and kiddo to me music -- I'm teaching him piano; so, he gets theory, etc integrated into his piano lessons. We're using SOTW 1 for history and are taking it slowly, i.e. we didn't finish the whole book in one year. Meh--I'm not in any hurry. Science is interest driven and mainly library books. The only thing that is different with my upcoming 1st grader is that I'm using RightStart and I haven't begun Latin with her as of yet. Our school day usually lasted, oh, an hour or so (depending on attitudes {mine and his :D}) for the core subjects. As Melinda TX mentioned - simpler is better. I think the biggest assignment for me in the early grades is to begin instilling a love of learning.

Been there more than I care to remember. There's one Thanksgiving I'll never forget, unfortunately. Give your hubby a big hug and tell him this old paramedic understands completely.

:lol: :lol: That is my problem as well. I used to leave clothes in both the washer and dryer. Now that I line dry, I tend to leave clothes in the washer and on the line. <sigh> I try to get my cloth nappies off the line when they're still a bit damp for 15 or 20 minutes in the dryer to fluff them a bit. Note that I said "try". And I've found that rain actually helps smooth out wrinkles on many of the clothes.:blush: We just received our electric bill and noticed a savings of almost $50 v. where we would be if we used the dryer. Unfortunately, I live in an area which has already experienced 12 (!) 100+ degree days; so, not running the A/C is not an option. And I completely agree about the solitude. My mom thinks I'm crazy for willingly hanging clothes to dry. I tried to explain that it's one of the few times where I don't have "Mama" ringing in my ears.

cancelled call :) To answer the OP's question (well, really just to ramble until the tones go off again), the days when my dh is home we tend to tag-team the various lessons. Perhaps giving him something to do (i.e. science experiments, history projects -- trebuchet building, anyone?) might help alleviate this problem. Dh learned not to comment on any unfinished housework fairly early on. Let's just say that the laser death ray glare works equally well on adults;) Actually, I feel very lucky because there simply is no complaining about what is or isn't finished and who did what the last time. We both do what needs to be done. We figure it takes two to run the household, especially when we're outnumbered by the wee ones.

Oh, my goodness. I think I resemble that remark! :D Well, except I have what I regard as a healthy fear of running into someplace (on fire) where even cockroaches are running out. I'm merely a paramedic who works the same schedule. Speaking of which...there go the tones...again...:glare:

Ya know...when I was a child that was one of my two favorite musicals and I watched it every day, sometimes multiple times, on our VCR (betamax). I always liked listening to Rev Mother sing--her voice was so powerful and rich--but the song itself [Climb Every Mountain] didn't speak to me very much. Now I'm older and hopefully a wee bit wiser and I find that the song resonates with me so much more. And the Puppet song still cracks me up every time I hear it. :D

:iagree: Ayup. That's pretty much my opinion as well. Unfortunately, McCain seems to be treading a similar path.

He's known too many Spaniards.

My dh is very interested in the educating aspect of our home school. He'll help with any lesson, except Latin, and loves to hear about who learned what when. He is completely uninterested in HOW (as in which curricula) said educating is accomplished. He trusts that I have (over) researched the options and picked what I believe will work best. As I pay for all curricula he also doesn't feel the need to comment <ahem> on the cost. He knows that the Scot in me hates spending unnecessary money and therefore won't go overboard. Overall, I'd say we don't specifically discuss homeschooling every day.

Do you mean a fruit/veg garden, flower type garden, both? We have both types on our land and the kids help with both gardens. In the fruit/veg patch, they help pick the ripened fruit & veg (especially the strawberries...would you believe almost none make it back up to the house? :D), water particular beds (if such need be done), spread dirt/mulch as needed with appropriately sized equipment, and in general help with what they can help with. In the flower garden, they help plant various plants/flowers, spread mulch, water, pick weeds (only after checking with a parental unit that what they want to pick is actually a weed :glare:), and, of course, pick flowers. My kids stairstep down from almost 7 to 19 months. Obviously, less is expected from the 19 month old than the nearly 7yo. ;) My kids really enjoy gardening.

Heck, I live with a male partner and 4 male firefighters for 1/3 of my life! Let me assure you that the guys I "live" with are very comfortable sharing, um, observations of life, the universe, and everything...you know, women...in my presence. In fact, they often ask my opinion on various topics as the token female in the station. :tongue_smilie: I have definite boundaries beyond which firefighters traverse at their own peril (as far as certain crude talk--and I'm usually pretty easy-going). Other than that I'm fine with most locker room talk. Different strokes and all that. <shrug> In fact, my horizons (and vocabulary) have certainly expanded, just not necessarily in an edifying way.:001_cool: In my non-work setting, I think there are general conventions (i.e. manners) to which both men and women should adhere. I think it's simple courtesy.

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5: Were you at my house the other day? Oh, geez! I haven't laughed this hard in a while. My partner just looked at me as if he's about to have me committed. I haven't been homeschooling as long as others who've replied; but, I agree with all the posts. My husband and I share the chores (well, those that haven't been delegated to the kids). Most importantly, we have a mandatory, non-negotiable quiet time (aka Mama and/or Daddy need to recoup time). Each of the kids (we have 4) are in a separate room and must (let me emphasize that MUST) be quiet for 60-90 minutes (sometimes more if they're sleeping). Sharing the jobs of homemaking and educating, hmmm...of living, makes our household run much more smoothly.