Lol! I love this stuff--how people can have such different reactions to the same material. I so much prefer the new versions! The old "sports" theme is really a drag for me and my non-sports oriented family. If that's your thing, I think you'll love it. The lists (I'm pretty sure) are the same. We used the old version for A, new for B, old for C (it was cheaper and at our local store) and are just about to start the new version of D with my older ds.

I think I mean the actual schedule... she had a lot of questions for me, and was really interested in our schedule. But I wanted to show her that there are so many different options about how to use your time, how to plan the day... and yet it is all doable!

I wouldn't say that we are "very art oriented", but I do supplement AP a bit by looking at additional pictures. For example, when we talked about landscapes, I pulled out several art books (nothing special, just books we already have like "A Child's Book of Art" and some other art catalog type books) and we looked at some additional landscapes. For me, just ONE example of a particular genre isn't enough to really give the feel for why it is distinctive, and it's simple enough to look at a few more. If you don't already have any art books in your personal collection, you could simply check out a couple survey-type art books from the library for additional visual examples. In years past we've used the Mike Venezia artist series to survey artists chronologically, and I do love those books!

Do you have a weekly or daily schedule format that you use? I have a friend who is just considering homeschooling, and she is very interested in seeing how people schedule their weeks/days/years. I've linked our weekly schedule below (though it doesn't seem to look so good in this format... anyone know a better place to host it?) Thanks so much! http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=ddqb9mzf_03qv9gc&hl=en

You have a sunny disposition and are normally one of the first to show up for the party. You don't need too much attention from the host once you get there as you are more than capable of making yourself seen and heard. That's pretty much true... and I love daffodils!

I really loved the movie! We went to see it back in January as a trade with my dh--I wanted to see Atonement, dh wanted to see Juno, so we saw both. I had been afraid that I would find it upsetting either one way or the other--either they would be too blase about her pregnancy and treat teen motherhood in a cavalier fashion, or it would be "preachy" and have a finger-wagging quality that would make the movie unenjoyable. In the end, I though the writer did such a fine job of walking that line between a serious situation and a "flippant" teenage girl making tough decisions. I thought it was pretty spot on to many of the teens that I have been in ministry with over the past couple of decades--although Juno was better spoken and "cooler" than the average teen girl. And the high school situation portrayed in the movie didn't seem that strange to me... pretty close to what I found 20 years ago in high school, at a "good" "upper middle class" public high school in Colorado. I'm kind of intrigued that so many posters feel the social situation in the movie was so surprisingly awful... We also got the soundtrack by the Moldy Peaches, we liked it so much!

Dragon Slayer's Academy was the series that got my son interested in reading on his own... we picked it up after so many on the old board suggested it.

Mr. Ferrars... I can see that. But I was secretly hoping for Mr. Darcy!

Having a great time here at the trade show. I'm really excited about all the games that are educational! Actually, thinking about setting up a web site with educational games by category... my list keeps on growing! We have bags and bags of "swag"--freebies given by companies and manufacturers. Of course, my boys were most happy about all the free Pokemon stuff (pencils, stickers, beachballs, etc). But only grownups on the show floor! I'll post later with some suggested games by category if folks are interested. One great new vocabulary/word game--"You've Been Sentenced"--the mechanic is kind of like Apples to Apples, but building sentences for a score. Ody-see also looks good--geography game out of Australia with a large fully-detailed 3-D map board. We took our oldest (ds6) to see Mystere by Cirque du Soleil last night with moderate success--I think he enjoyed it, but drove us crazy squirming and kicking etc. That boy cannot sit still!!

Try asking around doulas/midwives if they know anyone who is especially "good" at this. I have a friend who was in a similar situation. Her doctor tried to flip the baby from the outside--no luck. Her doula knew of a doctor (ob) who had a rep as being good at this. Called, got an appointment just to flip the baby. It took him only a few minutes to manipulate the baby into the proper position. Guess it just takes someone with experience and the proper "touch"! Anyhow, you might try calling some folks and asking if they know anyone. Or, if you live in So Cal...?

For a couple of vacation days--going to a board game trade show, tickets to Mystere for dh and I and oldest ds, but best of all--three days in a hotel!!! Yeah! (Can you tell I'm a fan of maid service?) I've got one full day of child care too, with an old friends/church member/childcare provider who moved there several years back, so we'll have one day kid-free. Any other family friendly Vegas suggestions, particularly something special for the 4 year old who is too squirmy yet for Cirque du Soleil? Have fun, I'm going to try to stay off the boards as much as I can (though I need to take my computer for work, so I'll poke my head in), and enjoy your week!

We moved to a king last year... best thing ever! Before we had kids a queen was fine, but with two littles who want to jump in too it was way too crowded. My dh also has some sleep issues (severe restless leg syndrome) and the king sized bed makes all the difference for me. I can lay kind of diagonally if needed--I like to touch, but I want my legs out of the impact zone. Last time we visited my mom (who has queen--or maybe full?) in her guest room I actually moved to the floor in the middle of the night. It was better than the constant kicks!

"I think a culture can be measured in part by the quality of their education system. I believe that if you want strong communities building strong schools is vital to growth and progress. " I so agree, Kelli! I love homeschooling, and can't imagine that anything else would work for my particular kiddos, but I also consider myself a supporter of public schooling. Doesn't mean I always like them, but I would hope for them to acheive excellence. All kids, even those with less dedicated or able or interested parents, deserve a chance to succeed. I'd rep you, Kelli, but apparently I've repped you too recently!

What level of Cambridge would you start with? The first (doesn't that start at the beginning again?)? It's a long way off for us, but I like my mental roadmaps!

Depending on your church structure, there are also administrative issues that go into using a "worship team" model. I'm the pastor of a small, traditional mainline church that currently has on staff--myself, a music director, and a secretary. In a traditional model, the music director and I design worship together each week--I pick scripture, hymns, prayers, etc, she picks the music. Now THAT is really elitist, when you think about it! Other people might make suggestions, but hands on it's left to the pastor to make all decisions. In a true worship team format a variety of people come together to plan and create the worship experience. It isn't just what you see on Sunday (or Wednesday, or whenever), it's about a group of people who are committed to designing and implementing excellence in worship. You may SEE the singers each week, but there is much more that goes into worship than that. Even at my small church we have visual arts experts (who create beautiful altar decorations), dancers, drama team, musicians (singers and instrumentalists), etc, etc... In my opinion, the idea of having a team design worship is to allow the community to authentically express thier relationship with God and Jesus. Not just 1 person (the pastor) or two or three paid staffers, or even a whole choir! A true worship team should be open to anyone who is called to worship leadership--that's not everybody, but it may be quite a few people in quite a few different roles. That's really the opposite of elitist--now all can use their gifts and graces as they are called to do so.

I have 144 emails in my inbox. I delete regularly, some spam, but mostly business and things that "have to be dealt with" at some point. I get about 20-30 emails a day, about half of which are quickly deletable, the rest are church related. I don't do "fun forwards" (of quizzes/prayers/kitten pictures/dancing angels/political commentary/etc), though I have at least 20 parishoners who send me things like that on a regular basis.

Ouch! Glad you are OK... but ER visits make for a stressful day. Not having stitches will be more convenient--no stitches to remove. Now with your bandaged hand, you have an excuse to get someone else to do dishes for a while!

Ok, I'll call my pediatrician on Monday and see if we can get a referral for blood testing. I'm hoping it's no big deal... but the park is still sealed after more than a month, with no signs of reopening! I wish there was someplace else nice to go so we can do school outside, we don't really have a yard as we live in a townhome, so I rely on park space.

OK, there is a park near my home that has been closed for over a month now. We used to walk over to this park once or twice a week, and have school on the lawn there. I live only a few hundred yards from the entrance to the park. I discovered that the park was closed for environmental testing... and just decided to google the report: http://www.laparks.org/pdf/ChatsworthSoFacts.pdf So if you look at the site map, we have sat many times right in the middle of the old shooting range area. We've even dug in the dirt (doing science and nature observation) in the area of highest lead contamination. I'm freaking out here! We've gone to this park for five years, my boys have been super exposed there... they've gone under that brige in the culvert many times (another place marked with high lead content). Now I'm feeling horribly guilty for exposing my sons to the park--, and also wondering--have they been affected by lead exposure? From what I can tell, it seems like lead makes it's way out of the body over time, so is there a way if they can determine past exposure? What if they've had lead in their systems since they were toddlers? Ugh ugh ugh.... mommy freak out time. Someone give me some perspective, or advice, or something... anyone have any experience with this?

We were in the same year, but had never run into each other (different majors and activities) until our Junior year--unusual at our small school. I was over at a good friend's house one day working on a Russian project, and noticed a Dragon magazine in her room. I had played D&D all through junior and high school, and asked her if she gamed... she said yes, invited me to come to her Sunday gaming group, and that's how I met Doug. Yep. I married my Dungeon Master. There is no geekier way to meet a future spouse.

Just FYI, while tuition at EPGY does look really steep, they have very good (and easy) financial aid. When we first started last year, I filled out the application and also sent a pay stub... and we got an email that our tuition was set at 60% off. It's still a stretch, but is such a good fit for my oldest, we make it work.

We are satisfied users of Amy's soap as well! After a lifetime of "saving" the fancy soap for the guest bathroom or for special occasions (what were these supposed to be, I now wonder?), I've finally decided that wonderful soap is an everyday luxury I can both afford and enjoy. Amy's is wonderful, so check it out if you haven't! My sons really enjoy the Dragonsblood as well...:001_smile:

My ds4 just came down from his room shouting "Spider on the ceiling!" In our house that's a dh chore... I appreciate what spiders do for the environment (and don't like them to be killed) but they scare me. Dh went up and caught the spider in a cup and relocated it outdoors. Got me wondering--how do you handle spiders in your house?

not mine, nor anyone in our family... We were just driving out on an errand, and when we turned right out of our alley, drove upon the scene of an assault. The perpetrators were just running away, and a young man was lying in the road bleeding. I jumped out of the car and went to help him, he was conscious but had bad head and facial injuries--they had kicked and beat him in the street. His friends (other young men and women, with a bunch of young children--a birthday party at the park?) were totally confused, and his girlfriend (?) just kept screaming at him that he was a f'ing idiot. I managed to get one of his friends to give me his shirt to keep pressure on the head wound, but even with the help of a nice loud older woman I was unable to talk them into not moving him before the ambulance came. Need to work on my bossiness, obviously!! After about five minutes, they picked him up, threw him in their car and took off a minute or two before the police and ambulance arrived. Hope they made it to the hospital OK! So everyone in the neighborhood was out to watch, the cops are still out there taking statements, and my adrenalize is racing still. Dumb dumb kids--involved in gangs and violence and whatever... breaks my heart to think of anyone's son lying bleeding in the road while his friends run for their cars. Ugh. Practically speaking I realized--I need to put together a better emergency first aid kit (not just a tiny one you buy) for the car. I didn't have accessible plastic gloves, and though I avoided getting much blood on me I could have done more if I wasn't worried about that. Also, I need some big old gauze pads (sanitary pads work great, if I remember right). All in a big plastic tool box I can swing out of the trunk! Somehow I end up using my years-old first aid training fairly regularly. I took the Red Cross course that was for EMTs in high school, and it has served me well. OK, enough of a debrief, thanks for listening! Still got a sermon to finish! :tongue_smilie:

We're finishing the Life Science year right now. It has been a great success... my ds loves science, and this has been a great balance of easy to implement and meaty enough for him. We really love it! There are some crafty type activities, but most of the experiments are really good basic science. I've already bought the Earth and Space for next year, and we're ready to go... so sad there aren't more levels available:crying: