Oh, so fun to see those names of people I know from those golden days--Colleen, Tammy, Lisa. You know, there are days when I am home alone listening to silence that I wish I had one more little person at my kitchen table, who I could read to during the lunch hour, and who would just be here making noise and needing a mom!

Hard. Yes. I wrote this several years ago: http://shadesofwhite.typepad.com/shades_of_white/2008/03/tomato-staking.html Parenting and hard is definitely hand-in-hand. Bless you!

My other son took 4 years to learn his multiplication tables. He is now a Mechanical Engineer for Rayovac. That is not one of the futures I would have guessed in a million years!

Once in a while I like to stop back to read the boards. My kids are graduated and off living life, but before that, I use to spend a lot of time here. I like to stop by to encourage those of you who are still in the trenches. Homeschooling was a lot of work, and it was exhausting, but I do not regret it! For those who struggle with young children--trying to teach them to read and helping them to learn--I have a story for you. Not everyone's story will be like ours, but I want you to know that the end of the book has not been written for your children. Those who struggle today may not tomorrow. My youngest was slightly dyslexic. In 3rd grade I began to panic that he would never be able to read. He could not read, he could not memorize, and he just was not learning! I read everything on learning problems, looking for answers. I tried all the various materials...and then one day it started to change, and he began to learn. It was not an overnight sensation, but a slow, steady process. Hard work. Laborious. Today he is a senior in Software Engineering. Last semester was described by other students in his program as the worst/hardest one for his degree. Last semester: GPA 4.0 This week, he was musing over what it would take to get into MIT, although he claims he is not serious about it. I am not saying you will have the same results, but for those young children who struggle, it may not always be this way. Just keep moving forward. Don't panic. Take a few days off to recharge your batteries. Remember that you do not have the whole picture yet. I once said a long, long time ago that homeschooling is a marathon, not a sprint--it is a long journey that ends way too soon. Take a deep breath and enjoy the time you have with them. Before you know it, the house will be silent all day long, and you will cherish the memories of sitting at the table together--even if you were overwhelmed and tired. Take a moment and enjoy the little ones under your feet. Life is too short to live it in a rush and a panic. Slow down. Every day, find a reason to fall in love with them all over again. Keep on keeping on, and blessings to you all-- Jean

Long time no see! My baby is currently a junior in software engineering, and I am an empty nester, so I don't visit these boards like I use to. :D With my love of astronomy, I decided to take an astronomy class at the local university this semester--I know my way around the night sky and am working my way through the Herschell 400 with my telescope, but I have never studied the physics side of this hobby of mine. The textbook we are using is good: In Quest of the Universe by Theo Koupelis We have the 6th edition. Comes with a Starry Night DVD http://books.google.com/books/about/In_Quest_of_the_Universe.html?id=GVlpKZ67DscC My prof use to work with the author--and my prof is a really nice, down-to-earth, night-sky-loving sort of guy. We are about a third of the way through the book--I can give you more info later if you want it. I have read through most of Astronomy Today--a textbook often recommended on these boards. When I am looking for information and read both textbooks to compare them, I find In Quest's vocabulary and explanations easier to understand. So....if you are looking, this is another option. Jean

Thanks for the heads up, Colleen! I talked to SOS folks once-upon-a time (seems like years ago. LOL!). They suggested using Secondary Spanish as year 1, Spanish I as year 2, and Spanish II as year 3. If you do all 3 of these and add some reading and writing, I would say your child will cover everything (and more) than most 4 year high school Spanish programs . On the transcript, I'd suggest you call them Spanish I, II, and III (not secondary, I and II). This is also what SOS suggested. Jean

We tried everything with one of my children. We worked diligently. Ordered new curriculum when we heard of something...worked, worked, worked. Somewhere mid freshman year she rebelled: "No, I don't want to do one more spelling program!!!!" So I informed her that spell check needed to be her best friend for the rest of her life, and we stopped. By the time she went to college, she had started putting a lot of it together on her own. She still has errors, but nothing like it use to be. She still got a 4.0 in college. So maybe sometimes letting them figure it out on their own is not the worst thing you can do. Just sayin'.

Man without a Country

Maybe someone will join you if you say you are going to try it. We had 3 a few years ago. Each year another person or 2 joins the group. We had 6 people stay all night this year and several came and left half way through the night. It is especially helpful when you have a club house with a fireplace and a member who apparently cooked all week getting ready for the marathon. :-) In the early morning, when you aren't quite sure which stars belong to Capricornus, it is nice to have others standing next to you with lasers having an opinion--"Those are the two stars at the right corner." "Are you sure? because Aquarius's water jar is here, and it should be closer, shouldn't it?" Then when someone yells, FOUND IT!!! We know we are looking in the right spot! Or you can come to Wisconsin for a March vacation. :lol: Jean

:blushing: :biggrinjester:

Probably not. :lol: I read a lot, but the only textbook I have is Astronomy Today. I'm reading it right now, and it is interesting to me--not sure for your child.It might be a good choice for you, though. I've listened to the Great Courses' Understanding the Universe. http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1810 They are not entertaining, but they are interesting. (And they are not on sale which means you have to wait until they are. LOL) I have studied astronomy by going to the book store or library and sitting on the floor thumbing through their books; when I find something interesting, I buy it. Now that I inherited my mil's Kindle, I order a lot of samples and then buy them if interested. One could make a list of topics and then go looking for materials on each topic.Since you already have a background knowledge, this might be a fun way to cover topics of interest. Require 1,000 pages of reading for the year (or some such number) on the topics of your choice. I still enjoy Signs and Seasons, but you may be waaaaay past that. It depends what you have learned so far. It does cover stuff that normal textbooks do not. http://shadesofwhite.typepad.com/shades_of_white/2009/01/jay-ryans-signs-and-seasons-understanding-the-elements-of-classical-astronomy.html A large number of my books are field books--you know, the ones I use with my tele: 365 Starry Nights (Raymo), Stephen James O'Meara's books--only for the die hard telescope person, though.Turn Left at Orion is a good. Binocular Highlights (Sky and Telescope). I've read and liked Simple Stargazing by Vamplew, Galileo's Daughter by Sobel, Connecting with the Cosmos by Goldsmith, and Special Relativity 1 (An Everyone's Guide Series)--this series has a bunch of short books covering different topics. He writes well for the non-math/physics person. You might find something in that series... But generally, no, other than Astronomy Today, I don't have textbooks to recommend. I just follow my interests. :) If you want something to do outside, the Astronomical League has observing programs that I have learned so much from. I spend a lot of time getting my materials ready and the paperwork organized before I can go out and find/draw/study under the sky. I'm working on my Master Observer's award, and I have learned SO MUCH by doing these! http://astroleague.org/observing.html You could have your child make a power point presentation followed by showing a group the night sky--at the library or a homeschool group that would be good. It is amazing how quickly you learn night sky objects when you know you are going to have a group of kids standing around your scope asking "What's next?" LOLOL! :-) Enjoy the journey. Jean

You can do some star gazing in a small town, but it is better to have some place you can go under some dark skies.. I live in the country where there are a number of small towns about every 8 miles, and their light is always visible along the horizon, but my skies are fairly clear. I live in a green area on this map: http://www.astronomyforum.net/astronomy-locations/usa/ If you can find some one out side of town who would let you view the sky or, perhaps, a state park--that might give you a chance to see a bit more. Many come to our observatory who live in big cities, and they see the sky with all its stars and Milky Way for the 1st time. They are truly amazed!

It is fun! I spent an entire summer working on the Virgo cluster; every time I went out, I ran through them quickly. Being able to find those 16 (?) galaxies in just a few minutes speeds up the whole marathon. The biggest problem is finding those in the early evening and morning that are just above the horizon--bad seeing plus not enough of the rest of the constellations to locate where you are makes them hard. But it is so much fun, especially when you have a group with each one trying to do his best. Each year I find a few more. :-) I love the book A Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide by Pennington. The grids and charts help a lot. But there is a free one--TUMOL: http://www.davidpaulgreen.com/tumol.html Hope you get to do one sometime. :-) Jean

Sure. :laugh:

I fell in love with the night sky 17 years ago when doing an astronomy lesson with my 3rd grader. 9 years latter I became the president of an astronomy club. I was an English/Language/Linguistics major (not science!). I went out under the stars 17 years ago to find constellations for my kids and didn't find anything more than the Big Dipper--something I could find before I spent those 2 hours under the sky. But I saw Saturn and nebulae and galaxies through the tele and fell in love... So, you see, when I say that last night I spent ALL NIGHT looking for the 110 deep space objects that Charles Messier charted around 1800, you can say I'm crazy, but all those nights on my hill have paid off: I found 106 (If you divide that out, that is a about 1 every 4 minutes. LOL). Missed 4--lost in twilight, a town's light pollution, or in the trees. One was my fault--someone called out a warning that M79 was going to hit the trees real soon, and I waited too long. FUN, FUN, FUN... :-) Jean