We are loving OUP's World in Ancient Times. I'm also glad we picked up MCT again. We will soon start Treasured Conversations and I'm pre-loving it based on my reading!

BH, how's it going with the roommate since this incident?

We're taking today off, except for music practice. We're spending time visiting friends and their new baby.

In high school my group of friends were all NMS finalists. We paid no attention to any of it once we got our scores and didn't even know there was some kind of honor until it was given. We basically thought of the PSAT as a practice run and that was it. Aah, the good old days. Now I'm following blow-by-blow on CC and my oldest kid is 10! :lol:

:lurk5:

We start around 8:30. The kids have breakfast and some chores before that. I let each child choose the order in which they want to do these: Math (1 hour DS10, 20 min DD6) Music practice (30 min DS10) Latin (15 min, DS10 only. This will get longer as the book gets more difficult and we have to review.) Read aloud (me to both, 30 min) McGuffey (both, 5-15 min each) Phonics (DD6, 20 min) Logic (DS10, 20 min) Spelling (both, 20 min each) Writing (DS10 45 min, DD6 20 min) Keep in mind there's overlap in the kids' work times. Then we break for lunch. There are a few short breaks in the morning, more for DD6 than DS10. After lunch: M, W: 1.5 hours of history, followed by silent reading. I do this last as the kids often get sucked in and go on longer than I would have assigned, sometimes into bedtime. T, Th: 1.5 hours of biology, followed by silent reading, see above. Fridays: Art study, music study, cartography study, literature reading. Sometime we just visit some friends. M-Th we are usually done around 3:30, later if DS has his 3:00 music class and we need to finish up after. DD6 is usually done early but sometimes takes long breaks and therefore finishes at the same time. Fridays we are often done by noon and then we read or spend time with friends. Sometimes we spend the whole day with friends. ETA: For PE, my kids swim sometimes, do sports classes twice/week, and do regular exercise on other days at home or at the park. I didn't count that in my time.

Gravity is just a theory too, but I bet you don't grab a valuable antique vase and drop it just to check. ;)

We got everything done today except for our literature reading. I had saved today's reading slot for the readings DS needs to complete for his online reading discussion class. It turned out the password wouldn't work and the problem wasn't fixed until late in the afternoon so we decided he'll do the readings over the weekend. Our microscope slides arrived today and the kids had a blast looking at butterfly wings, bee legs, etc. I need to buy some immersion oil now that I have some well-made slides (rather than my homemade) that won't have a slide cover moving all over the place.

I don't think a private licensed bar attached to a hotel is considered out in public in this context. There are clearly licensed bars in Dubai. Being drunk in public is a crime so maybe that's what they meant? Also, the charges are obviously bogus in the sense that they don't reflect what really happened. Perhaps they threw things at her to see what would stick.

I'll PM you. :)

Thanks for the info. I agree that such things as HSLDA affect me and my kids. I was confused because I was only speaking about what I would do differently if I were suddenly YE, and the answer was "nothing" because I think it's possible to teach something you don't personally believe in and to teach it objectively. :)

I'm pretty sure we can agree that if someone has lice, and has the money to buy what they need, and has the time to deal with it, and they still don't do anything, it's not a net positive for themselves or for those around them. And I have met these people as well, although in Asia, not the U.S.

Don't drink alcohol in public even if you're a tourist? I'm not sure I understand the question.

It also follows that simply because someone is YE doesn't mean they have not learned science. There are well-educated YE'ers out there as well. I again feel the need to say I am not YE. :D

I agree with everything you wrote but don't understand why you quoted me. Your response doesn't seem to follow from what I posted, which is what I would personally do. Did you mean to quote someone else?

If you're asking about day-to-day, I cannot imagine what would change in my life if I suddenly believed in a young earth. Even my science teaching would remain the same; it's perfectly possible to teach something you don't believe by including it as something other people believe in. I don't have to believe in the Greek gods to teach about the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, and I would feel perfectly comfortable teaching old earth science because I'd be teaching science and scientists (almost) all believe in old earth. But this is all hypothetical, because short of a booming voice coming down from the sky, or historical video from aliens who caught the earth on camera millions of years ago, I would not be convinced. :D

It sounds like they're looking for a loophole after the fact when it turned out they might have to pay out, but to me the real question is whether they knew and looked the other way until it was going to cost them $$$.

She had a lot of energy and it seemed her daughter and she were very close. RIP.

I had lice in the 1970s. I got them in SE Asia, where I was visiting family. I went to stay with my cousin and my parents told me not to sleep in the same bed because she had lice. I was 7 and didn't listen and her mother didn't stop me. Got back to the states, went to school, got checked, and boom! I had lice. I remember I was in a bathroom stall before heading home (had to leave school until the lice were gone) and I overheard some girls talking about how people who had lice must be really dirty but I didn't say anything because I would have had to out myself. :D I'm so glad my mom was a SAHM who had grown up around head lice and knew exactly what needed to be done, without having to worry about taking time off work or being exhausted when nit picking late at night after a double shift. We all had head lice a few years ago when my kids were small and we co-slept. I have no idea where they got them from. It was easier to be homeschooling and just dealing with it in the afternoon with some music on. I feel for people who have to come home after a double shift and pick nits for 2 hours. And to those saying it's unnatural for people to have bugs in their hair, I'm pretty sure from nature's point of view the opposite is true. ;)

Dubai is very friendly to westerners. The shopping is wonderful and try to visit the gold souk if you can. It's amazing. I have family there and they've told me the desert overnights are also fun but I've never done it. It might not work if your itinerary is already full. The heat is incredible so try and stay inside or go out at night. If you have to be out during the day it's often better to wear natural, light-colored clothing that to uncover. I found cotton and linen to be great, synthetics to be unbearable. Have fun!

Sounds like you are new to homeschooling your nephew? Is he coming from a b&m school?

Just list a few things if you can. You'll feel better and we can cheer you on!

Wow, that's a lot to take on. Please be kind to yourself. :grouphug:

:seeya: Welcome!

Good: We took our history reading to the beach yesterday, which was fun. DS loves his new history book and the guides finally arrived yesterday. We're doing history Mondays and Wednesdays so I have a few days to look them over. DD worked through her phonics quickly. At this point she's quite ahead of the program but I'm still having her go through it so she doesn't hit a wall later. Needs work: DS was given new music practice to do and it's a lot more challenging for him than what he's had before. We're going to need to devote extra time. Luckily something I was going to do tomorrow has been cancelled.