I'm really impressed you've managed to do enough laundry to wear through 5 baskets!

When my son says something rude or extreme ("I hate..." eg) I always correct him. When he overheard DH and I talking about this thread, he said, "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard." It's the first time I didn't say anything because it's in all likelihood true.

I think it's her. I've only watched the show a few times, mostly because I was interested in the logistics of how their family lives. I saw a clip in which one of them is talking about going to NYC (I think). I'm not Christian or easily offended, but thanks for the warning!

Yeah, there's one (can't remember her name) who looks like she's just biding her time. I'm waiting for one of them to write a book. Not necessarily some scandalous tell-all; I don't think they have material for that. I'd like to read a more introspective look into their upbringing and family life, looking back from their forties or something.

Now that it's the last day of "fun week" I have to update you on the "fun" that happened yesterday. We're doing SoTW and we're currently in Book 4, so basically Queen Victoria onwards. Ergo, we've already been through the American Revolution. I remember reading the books, listening again to the CDs, and doing all the activities and supplementary readings I had. Yes, I remember this. I am not crazy. Fast forward to "fun week". Even though we've already covered the American Revolution, I've since found out about Liberty Kids (PBS cartoon series about the AR) and the kids are really interested. Even though it means we're going backwards in time I figure it will be fun and a good break. So they start watching and are maybe halfway through when the universe decides to remind me about how the minds of children work, you know, just in case I had my own ideas. Me: I say something about the red coats losing, can't remember what exactly. The shock of the rest of the conversation has caused me to forget what it was, exactly. Son: Mom, you spoiled it for us!!! Me: :confused1: Son: We were so excited to find out who was going to win! Me: Ummm. The revolution won. You're a citizen of the country that resulted from this revolution. You may remember this from the weeks we spent on this. Son: Wait, this is about the U.S.? Me: :cursing: :ohmy: :svengo: :scared: :willy_nilly: :eek: :blink: :banghead: Yes, even after we spent weeks on the AR, the next year they thought Liberty Kids was a fun cartoon and didn't connect it to actual events. I was accused of "spoiling" it for them because I gave away the ending. Yes, I gave it away.

My parents had an arranged marriage and are still happy together 45 years later. They are very well-educated and my father was not married until he was 31, my mother a bit younger. Even at those ages their parents were involved. Before their wedding they had one introduction in a parlor with some parents and siblings around. It's very difficult to explain arranged marriage in a culture that values so much independence. It's not like it's being made out to be. Forming an engagement is a process of choosing a suitable partner and because elders are much more revered and respected than they are in the U.S., they are expected to help. They have an obligation placed upon them to help! The burden is greater on them than it is on the children and they would be seen as negligent if they didn't participate. They don't necessarily want to control their children and their children often reject potential spouses. The built-in assumptions are that they only want what is best for the child, that they pay more attention to the potential spouse's family situation, and that young people can make mistakes when blinded by love, ignoring negative traits or problematic in-laws. Yes, purity is also an issue. Imagine a child is choosing a university. This decision will impact their future debt, earnings, life experiences, etc. A lot of parents would get involved, yes? Maybe researching colleges, going to visits, reading brochures, checking finances? And nobody would think they were over-involved as long as the child was free to reject a particular university. In fact, people might say they were remiss in their duties if the allowed their child to take on tons of debt for a bad degree from a crappy college. It's kind of like that, but for something a thousand times more important and influential, and perhaps 12-15 times as long as university. :) ETA: I don't know anything about Gothard but it doesn't sound like something that should be conflated with arranged marriage.

Cancel all the fun! Seriously, though, it's good to know it's not just me. And your comments made me laugh so thank you.

This was one of my favorite things to do in school!

We school year-round so we've been going since our vacation in June, kind of a long stretch with only Labor Day as a break. DH is out of town this week and we're a bit burned out on our routine so I thought I would make it a funner, looser week that would be a bit easier for me as well. I got some educational DVDs (Liberty's Kids, astronomy DVDs) and a bunch of history- and science-related library books the kids were excited about. We have a couple of good pieces of literature to read. I told them we were going to spend the week watching videos, reading lots and lots of books, and getting outside to enjoy the weather while we can. Good theory, right? It's been horrible. They are complaining, whining, arguing, and are generally unhappy unless they are watching Liberty's Kids. Whatever I suggest is rejected, they are being unkind to each other, and I am in tears after spending effort to research and procure fun materials for this week. I guess they are really not doing well outside our normal routine. This feels like a major bust and I'm disappointed. I had imagined it as a week in which we got a break and cuddled on the sofa and went for long walks and were re-inspired. You know that feeling when you have an idea of how a homeschool thing is going to go? And then it's not like that at all? Yeah, that. :nopity:

I believe in evolution and so am in no way actually defending this, just trying to answer the question: I think some people believe that different types of species were created by God and put on earth and they adapted from there. So adaptation is the ability for living things to adapt through selection and is an inherent quality, but they were created in whole and did not evolve from other things. So there is no link between a bacteria and an elephant and a monkey. They were created as those things and within their species they can adapt to survive. Like I said, I don't believe in this, but I watched a documentary on this belief years ago. Hopefully I've answered the question correctly.

Thanks. This helped out a friend of mine.

Sorry, how old is he?

I agree with googling the name of the local school and "PSAT" together. I just tried that and found a PDF flyer for the students, reminding them to sign up. On it were the name and contact info of the woman coordinating the test.

Y'all are making me feel better. We are "behind" in WWE and are not going to get to WWS until 6th grade. Sounds like that might be better anyway.

I haven't used Rod and Staff and my son usually only misses one word or none. But I will tell you what my own 3rd grade teacher did because I thought it was a good idea and she was a fantastic educator. She would give a spelling test and the ones that were missed were added onto the next week's test. So she proceeded but also tracked the words that were causing trouble. As long as the list didn't become twice as long as one week's word list she was fine with it. At the end of the year all the kids could spell all the words. She took a longer view than just a particular week. She worked more closely with a child to figure out the trouble if they kept missing a word. Most of the time they just needed the extra week for a few words and didn't need to be held back until they got them right.

I used to get 2-3 per year and they stopped once I stared taking Uva ursi everyday and really bearing down to eliminate all the urine when I went to the bathroom. Apparently my bladder was a bit tilted and was more lax and there was a little bit of urine left in it each time, which was unhealthy. Bearing down helped with that problem. Sorry if TMI.

My mom took in one of my friends in a similar situation when we were teenagers. My friend stayed with us for awhile and then left on what turned out to be quite an odyssey. But in the end she met a nice Navy man, married, and has a teenager of her own now. She's got a great life but it she took a long path to get there. She's on good terms with the people who told her they would be there for her, but not her dad, who was the one she clashed with the most and who was the most judgmental.

If you decide to go the private school route, I found these instructions for the affidavit: http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ca/affidavit/AffidavitInstructions.asp It walks you through the form line-by-line and points you in the direction of the best choices for each line.

Thank you Laura. I love the idea of the thank you note and the PTA donation!

:grouphug: I'm glad you've gone to the counselor. Keep going!

Thanks Pepper Potts, that's reassuring. I like to worry about things way in advance. How else would I stay up at night? :o Edited to add: I agree that we owe a debt to homeschoolers who've paved the way and left a good impressions in people's memories.

Thank you, this is helpful. We are in the SF metropolitan area so it's a high-density area for schools. Same question as Sebastian, above.

My parents are immigrants to the U.S. They also found this parental aspect very difficult but had the benefit of having a large family still in the old country. It made it so much easier for them to know their parents had round-the-clock help. It couldn't have been done without at least 5 core people pitching in on cooking, cleaning, bathing, taking different shifts, etc. while raising their own children and not working outside the home. Unless you have lots of extra people to help out, it's not feasible and you shouldn't feel guilty.

But couldn't they have also bought the house by saving that same money themselves? And felt more accomplishment because they did it themselves instead of someone doing it for them?

I doubt they sell individual mortgages.