We like this one a lot: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/traditional-gyro-meat/ I do bake the whole thing and then slice it thin and fry it. It just tastes a little better that way. For the sauce, I do 8 oz yogurt, 8 oz creamy cucumber salad dressing, and 1 cucumber peeled and finely chopped. It's not the same as the gyro place down the road, but it's pretty close. Beth

I don't believe it's contraceptions (i.e. birth control pills). The owners object to two forms of contraception, IUDs and morning-after pills, which they view as a form of early abortion. Seen here. Or from the Washington Post - "The owners of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties don't have a problem with offering insurance that covers most forms of birth control, but they aren't willing to cover emergency contraceptives — like Plan B or ella -- or IUDs. Hobby Lobby contends its "religious beliefs prohibit them from providing health coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices that end human life after conception." Basically, they don't want to provide the insurance Obamacare tells them they have to which includes what some people consider to be abortifactants. Beth

Whatever the the truth is behind this, there are still a few things that are still disturbing. #1 This poor child is STILL in a hospital without a real diagnosis and seemingly deteriorating. #2 As a ward of the state, they are allowed to do research on her. This law assumes a bit of human goodness. Not everyone has human goodness and they may only be out for themselves and their own prestige only seeing others as a means to an end. #3 It may make parents afraid to stand up for their children when they disagree with a doctor. I spent a couple of years disagreeing with a doctor over a treatment for my son. When all was said and done, my decision wound up being the right one, but if I was afraid to speak up because of fear of losing guardianship, my son's quality of life would have been compromised for a couple of years. Beth

I've been thinking about this - mostly because my dh brought it up as a "did you know..." Let's say Indiana rejects the federal common core and puts in place standards that look very much like common core (which seems to be the consensus here). There's a huge difference in what happens even if the standards and everything looks similar. Indiana as a state regains control over it's own educational system. If the teachers as a whole decide it's just not working and rebel, they can go to their own state and promote change. If the parents rebel as a whole, they can go to their state and promote change. If any state, not just Indiana, keeps common core at the federal level, there can be no change within the state no matter if people like it or hate it and changing the standards becomes near impossible. I think when you get down to the core of this whole mess, it really has to do with the parents and teachers of the children in their state actually having a say in what happens. Standards come and go, but the real issue is who is holding the reins. Beth

Here's what I got as a reply from the Memoria press people: What colleges normally look at is the high school diploma and the standardized test scores. So the question should really be "What are the requirements of my state to graduate from high school?" Most states and schools require two foreign language credits to graduate from high school. First and Second Form can be counted as 1/2 credit each, and Third and Fourth Form can be considered 1 credit each. Latin is normally accepted no questions asked as a foreign language. Beth

If you want to have more shock look here. "Children who are Wards of the state may be included in research that presents minimal risk 46.404 (50.51) or greater than minimal risk with a prospect of direct benefit 46.405 ( 50.52) of subpart D" Basically, the hospital now has the right to involve this child in medical research without the consent of the parents. What country are we even living in anymore? I can't imagine that a lot of parents are going to place their trust in this children's hospital anymore. If I were living in the Boston area, I would steer clear of that hospital. Beth

Homeschooling has it's weaknesses and learning a foreign language is one of them. I am of the mindset at this point to give my children 2-3 years of foreign language to just meet a college requirement (should they decide to go to college) and be done with it. This is not high on my priority list and my dh and I have other goals for their time and our money on outside classes and tutors. That being said, we don't want to pay for a tutor or enroll them in an online class to fulfill this requirement. So, what options do we have? Spanish seems like an option, but what can you use that's easy for a self learner? I can't help AT ALL. People have weak subjects and teaching a foreign language is definitely mine. It has to be simple to use and recognized as a college worthy credit. I am almost thinking of just going through the First-Fourth Form Latin books so we can do something that doesn't require a lot of accurate speaking. If he went through all four levels, would that be enough for college acceptable language credit? He did make it through first form latin with some degree of success and made it half way through 2nd form before he hit the wall and I couldn't help him. Beth

Wouldn't it be easier to have a child show 427= 400+20+7 316= 300+10+6 Subtract the ones 7-6 = 1 Subtract the 10s --- 20-10=10 Subtract the 100s---400-300=100 100+10+1 = 111 I think that they want them to understand the "why" behind the problem. I do teach my children the why but I don't make them do their problems that way. I teach them the "easy" way to do it knowing that they understand why it works. It's laborious to make a child basically do proofs to show why 427-316 works. There is too much room for error and can easily make a child think they are stupid because you make one little mistake in a proof and the whole thing falls apart. I did like Singapore math when we did it because it did teach the "whys" but didn't force the child to complete the problems that way. Beth

Yes! The people who "know" always spout off about this or that country that has done well with government health care or education and forget to mention that xyz country is a fairly homogeneous country that is a TON smaller in size and population than the United States. Such as, "Look at Canada's one payer system health care! Isn't it great?" They fail to mention that Canada has a population 1/10 of our population. Same with education. Finland seems to be the country to beat as far as education is concerned. Granted, their population is only 1.5 % of ours - closer to a state population. Yup, we're too big and too spread out for anything the government decides to work out well. Beth

As far as bullying- usually kids who have IEPs need more adults around than the regular school population so it would be my guess that the student teacher ratio is fairly high.

For geography around here, I just have them memorize the countries of the world through Seterra.com. We then use a simple maps geography book that they can do independently. I always had ideas of borrowing travel videos from the library to give them an idea of what these places look like, but I've never gotten around to it. Beth

Yup. I've gone through the program twice now and am going to start with my soon to be 7 year old. She's a very manipulatives based and visual learner and gets distracted doing copywork. She'll even get distracted halfway through writing down a 3 letter word. I like that it will easily work for her also due to all the letter tiles. My first learner didn't care for the tiles as much - the program still worked. My second learner used the tiles about 1/2 the time - the program still worked. Beth

I have an easy classical earth science schedule available. $5 and it's yours. Beth

I have had a lot of stress the past few months that has come to a head just recently. I am having trouble calming down. I am short tempered, feel very weak and sluggish, my hands are trembling, my heart is pounding and I keep taking deep breaths to try and calm everything down. I have non-cancerous (tested) cysts and have had a cyst removed that was hyperactive when I was 15. My mom also has cysts with hyperthyroid. Is that what I'm dealing with? I have a doctor's appointment in 3 weeks and always get my thyroid levels checked. Should I be doing something before then? Beth

Why does he feel the need to stir this up again? If anyone is making his name "mud", it can only be him at this point by bringing up a lawsuit. "You called me out, now I will sue you." Pray for his wife and children are again having to endure public humiliation because he can't let this go. Especially his wife...she not only has to live with the fact that he was unfaithful to her, but his bringing this up again exposes what he did once again and they can't rebuild their lives. My guess is that he needs money because what does one do if their whole career and ability to earn the living they were used to has been destroyed by their own actions? How can he possibly rebuild anything at this point? Any one would be crazy to try to keep him under accountability for any ministry he does at this point. Beth

Yes!!! With the state of marriage now, 20 years is a big deal. I wanted to plan a week with just me and dh for our 20th. It's upon us and I've got nothing. I should give myself a married 20 years shower. Beth

I went with my daughter and special needs son in the wheelchair to visit Pooh Bear while the rest of the family went on a "boy" ride. We took the obligatory picture and then Pooh Bear started playing hide and seek with my daughter. He/She even went over to my son and engaged him also to the point my son was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. It was so great to have that bear take a little extra time to make it special. Beth

I have a severely disabled son. I got a lot of "let me look at the cute baby" with an "ohhh" when they saw how sick he looked. When he was 24 months or so, I was in Target with his new baby brother who was the cute chubby Gerber baby type. People often ignored my oldest to focus on the "cute" baby. One woman came up to me and gushed about how precious and adorable my oldest was (who at that time was still completely bald with a misshapen head and just struggling to stay upright in the cart). 13 years later, I still remember it. To this day, I wonder if she was an angel. I had one woman single me out in a crowded mall just to tell me I was a good and strong mother. I was with my oldest in his wheelchair and it really made my month. May you find similar people to gush over your child in a positive way. Beth

I have had much better success on another homeschool sale site. I have had 85% greater success other places. I had some very sought after curriculum (prima Latina) new for a good price. They sold in two other places at the same time (which was awkward) within 2 days of posting on the other sites. It had been listed here for 2 weeks so I do think something is not right with the classifieds. Beth

It's very practical, but a way to teach a foreign language cheaply and easily without having to hire an outside tutor and with me being hands off totally. It's the thorn in my side right now and I'm pretending it doesn't exist. Unfortunately, I will only have a year of plugging my ears and going, "nananananan, I can't hear you!" Beth

I really enjoyed Andrew Puedewa last year. He has some really good academic advice with a lot of humor attached. Beth

We have a 1/2 academic stuff and 1/2 family parenting/ values orientated convention. I REALLY wish there would be more talks on how to homeschool high school. A lot of our high school talks focus on the college option we have around here where Juniors and Seniors can go to college full time. I just want to know how to grade/write a lab report! Or how to grade papers and homework! What do you do if your teen decides to not work to their potential? How do you get in their interests when you want to give them the opportunity to get into a college if they so decide. Meaty stuff. I don't need to be convinced my culture is out to get me. I don't need to know how to parent my child. I just want an academic focus. I mostly go because it's a chance to hang out with my friends and get away from my regular life. My friend and I never make it to the main speaker on the first night. We'd rather have a relaxing night in the hotel. If it was only for the convention, I'm not sure it would be worth it. Beth

Two things-- my daughter has a cleft lip/ palate which is known to cause ear problems. When she drinks milk, she fails the hearing test. When she doesn't, she passes. Take what you will from that. Also, my 2nd ds didn't really say much of anything until 2 1/2. He's just fine. I'm not sure what the reason was. Beth

Does my ds need to take biology? Will not having biology be detrimental to college applications? Beth

My ds is interested in learning CAD or Web design. I have seen some highly recommended courses from the Potter's school, but I really want him to try out some before we jump into a year long course. Are there any home based courses or free online tutorials he can start? I'm looking for something he can do over the summer or in 1 semester. Beth