I have also met one of those jerks in university. He was against me taking the advanced organic chemistry series (for Chem/Biochem majors) and said at the most I should take the series for Bio majors (easier) if I felt so strongly about it. Now that I'm older I would just laugh and walk away, but at 19 I actually argued with that loser. Aaah, university, how much you taught me outside of book learning. :D Most of the Muslims I know are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Many have come here to make a better life for their children, including (or sometimes especially) for their daughters. They were aware what Islam says about the rights of women, they were aware how women played an important role in Islam, and they were frustrated at the limited opportunities for their daughters due to cultural ideas, so they came here. Our gain, I say. :)

I think that angle has been somewhat played out from the media's POV. Not completely on its own, but compared to "ZOMG religious beheadings on U.S. soil!!!!!" it's downright dull. If this was an attack in which the perpetrator had a gun and was taken down, I think we would see more of the concealed handgun angle. IMHO.

If you only have time/energy to do one thing for your kids after school, read aloud to them as much as you can. It makes a tremendous difference in terms of knowledge, cultural references, vocabulary, family closeness, etc. The Read Aloud Handbook is good reading for parents, and you might enjoy the Read Aloud Revival podcast. And one more piece of unsolicited advice. :D Let you kids know you're going to miss them, but don't let your feelings about the situation color their perception of school. Be enthusiastic and excited for them.

Great, thanks!

Wow. I also buy Cottonelle but in bulk so I haven't bought any in a long time. Guess I know what to expect. :thumbdown:

Does your oven have an auto off? I'm concerned what would happen if you overslept your alarm or it didn't go off for some reason. Or if you woke up to an emergency and forgot and left the house with the food in the oven. In that sense a crockpot would be safer, but I understand your issues with one. I don't own one for the same reasons. Sorry to ask, but it seems to be my job to come up with everything that could go wrong. :blushing:

Same here. :)

:lurk5:

Your children are very young. Please focus on getting better and perhaps you will be able to return to homeschooling in the future. It's amazing the twists and turns that can happen in life. Afterschooling sounds like a wonderful option for you to take care of yourself and also work with your kids. Have you checked out the afterschooling forum? Big hugs to you.

Thank you Katy! :)

Personally I haven't seen anything in this thread that I feel requires moderation. I have seen some things that were offensive, I have seen support, and I have seen genuine questioning. The title of the thread is probably the most offensive thing in the entire situation to me. It's very provoking and cough, editable. But whatever...I doubt the interesting content of this thread will lend itself to a change of the title. People have rights, after all. :) ETA: Thanks to Katy for editing the title.

I re-read the list too and every single thing in there can be backed up with a reference from the Qur'an. Perhaps the only modern references are to journalists and aid workers, but I confess I don't know the history of those roles during periods earlier than modern times. This might help: Sharia: Divine law Fiqh: Islamic jurisprudence; human understanding of divine law Fatwa: A ruling/opinion issued by a scholar/jurist So the law is divine and unchanging, but must be continuously applied to new situations, hence the issuance of fatwas. These can cover topics such as organ donations, plane travel, birth control, stem cell research, you name it. These fatwas are researched answers to questions someone presented. Although they are called "rulings" they generally do not have the weight of a law like a court ruling. They are not generally considered binding to any particular Muslim, but they do carry more weight than the opinion of an average person on the street. In this way, Islam evolves for the time in which it finds itself. New questions are presented, considered, and an opinion is given. Some scholars are more learned, some more conservative, some more liberal, some more charismatic, etc. People sometimes gravitate to a particular scholar because he or she resonates with them. This is a reasonable solution for a non-hierarchical religion, one in which the decision on who will lead a congregation in prayer and give a sermon is sometimes decided a few minutes in advance. All these rulings and opinions move Muslims in a direction that could be called reform. However the reform is continuous and organic. These are evolutionary changes combined with the shedding of un-Islamic practices as more Muslims move out of their home cultures. One of the reasons I love being a Muslim in the U.S. is that I feel I can practice a more pure version of Islam, unencumbered by a lot of the cultural baggage I see attached to Islam in SE Asia, where most of my relatives live. :)

Thanks for the links; I didn't see them before my last post. I don't find anything in your first link that contradicts what I posted above. As for your second and third links, I have never ever met anyone in those movements. I would say they are fringe and simply because they say they are reforming Islam doesn't mean they are. Islam, as I'm sure you're aware, is a very non-hierarchical religion and not easily changed through a decree. I would also say I like them and would perhaps be tempted to join them, so you understand I'm not just putting them down. It's just that they are really very fringe and I would say the vast majority of Muslims would never meet anyone who falls in that group. Anyone can make a wikipedia page about their movement, you know? Which is not to say their ideas will not slowly take hold in the future. I think you may be confusing things on umsami's list, which are widely agreed upon and as old as the first revelation, with the shedding of cultural practices as Muslims integrate more into the West. Maybe?

I'm not attached to the word. I really meant it generally. So reformed with a lower-case r. :) If there are people out there claiming these are new ideas, I don't know what to say. Perhaps they are misinformed. Perhaps they come from a geographical location that makes these ideas seem modern. Perhaps they are trying to appear more mainstream. Perhaps they are taking pains to provide much-needed context to revelations and that is seen as reforming or modernizing them. I'm not sure why "revelations" is in quotation marks in your post. If you're implying that they are not actually revelations, that's fine and I understand. If you're implying that the revelations themselves have been modernized, I can assure you the revelations have not changed. Perhaps you meant "interpretations" instead? I have to agree with OKBud here. What time frame do you have in mind for these modernizations? Because the items on the list are something I've been taught for at least 40 years, and my parents at least 70 and my grandparents at least 100 years ago. Or are you thinking of something centuries ago? I've never seen or heard anything different in my lifetime, from anyone, although I know there are extremists who believe differently. I've never met a single one of them, though. :)

These are not reformed. :)

Lots of good advice here. I'll just add that it really depends where you're going Does "out of state" mean something close enough for DH to drive and visit on weekends? Cross country? What is the rental market like in that area?

For the readings, you can ask her questions and narrations during the reading, rather than waiting until the end. So a fairly long excerpt might have 5-6 interruptions in which you ask a question or ask her to narrate what's happening. Gradually lengthen. Just keep giving her any spelling help she needs. She'll get there.

:grouphug: :grouphug: These things are so difficult.

See my posts earlier in this thread for an explanation. :)

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I don't think you can replicate what the school is doing, so forget it. Focus on what you can offer that the school can't: cuddly morning time, a close family, days off to visit museums when they're not busy, downtime when needed, etc. Go back and read some of our own posts re: Circe and related items. They are inspiring.

Well I'm Muslim so I can't answer your questions. :D I completely agree on the food, though! Hopefully someone who can answer will wander by soon.

Sorry if there's another thread; I didn't see one. Happy new year!

Thank you for the update!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Can you have someone drive you to the appointments?