Yes. I am a stickler for planning and scheduling. I hate to get off track (but life happens). When I do get off the schedule I re-do it. Doing this makes me feel more in control of it. I think it is more for my peace of mind since I feel better knowing everything will be done when I need it done. If I know we have something unplanned come up and I have a little time to work ahead I'll do that to avoid having to re-do the schedule.

As the children advanced in level we have added hours. Now we begin at 7:30 and end around 2 but they have reading and activities that they continue until around 4 or 5. It is pretty much a full day now because we have so much more we want to cover and it is more involved, especially science and math.

I have wondered the same thing but when I think of this debate, I look at it like this: If we impose limitations on what someone deems extreme measures then where does the line get drawn. Society risks defining where that line should be drawn. When (not if) the insurance companies weigh in then you will have them making longevity decisions. It may be expensive in terms of money the way things are now but the alternative could present horrible consequences IMO.

That is fantastic! What a talent! :thumbup1:

We loved reading Exploring the World of Chemistry: From Ancient Metals to High-Speed Computers by John Hudson Tiner this summer.

We're do more than one science program during the year and I either stagger them depending on length or assign special days M-F for each program. I use weekends for rest and finishing up anything we didn't finish during the week. The kids know that they need to stay on task during the week because they don't like to do hs on weekends. :)

This is exactly what I was thinking. I wouldn't want to re-home a pet without having vetted it. The new owners will probably ask you if it has had rabies & distemper shots and has been tested for feline Leukemia and wormed. You should be prepared to give them a clean bill of heath. :)

Does the ACT count? My son scored 31 and he used Saxon up to Alg II. Alg II we switched to Teaching Textbooks.

I disagree. I don't leave my children in the car alone at all. It is a safety issue. Unless the cart return is next to the car, I park it out of the way near the car. It isn't the end of the world if the cart isn't returned. I'm helping keep someone employed. :)

I'm INTJ. I took the Myers-Briggs as part of a 'team-building' project for Fed Court employees. I have a BS in Business and I'm about halfway though a Masters. Before hsing, I worked as Admin Analyst for Fed Courts and before that I was an Economic Services Tech (Welfare Worker).

:grouphug: I'm sorry you all are going through this. I'm glad his grandfather will know he has family around.

I'm sorry. :( You've got to keep it though. There will come a day when you all will get a good laugh over this. :)

We've done that lots of time. It is a nice change of pace. We have also spent mornings in Barnes & Noble or Borders coffee shops doing homework too. :)

My son and I took our classes at a local rec center that hired trainers from a studio. By taking the classes this way, we paid a fraction of the studio rates but still got the same (possibly better) quality instruction. We took all the testing at the studio and it was just as serious. We paid $34 per month for classes we could attend 6x a week! We loved TKD and earned our Black Belts in a couple of years. I'd recommend it to anyone. You might check out rec centers around you to see what they offer. Another possibility is the YMCA. My daughters took their instruction at the Y and we weren't as impressed as the rec center classes but each Y is different. Whatever you find, make sure that they consider safety as paramount. That means the kids have AND wear all the protective equipment and that there are enough instructors and helpers around at all times to monitor. Also observe the classes to make sure that the instructors spend ample time going over the proper techniques (postures, stances, kicks etc.) I have seen serious injuries in a class where technique was not stressed and enforced. Also watch to see if the instructor has control of the class and that the class is respectful and the atmosphere is quiet and focused.

Depending on the finish, you might try putting a cotton cloth over the crayon then placing a hot iron on the cloth. Since crayons are waxy, the cloth with the hot iron on it will leech out the crayon.

I'd be suspicious. Unless I had concrete evidence it was not a scam I wouldn't be giving any saliva samples. Even if it wasn't a scam, I wouldn't send samples via the mail. It sounds very risky to me.

Always real clean but not always neat, especially after projects.

When we go to Vegas, we love taking side trips to Oatman, a real old west mining town with a lot of history. Donkeys roam the streets and there is a mine tour too. http://www.desertusa.com/oatman/du_oatman.html We also like the Hoover Dam. A little further west is the Calico Ghost Town which is more commercial but a lot of fun too. In Vegas, we like Circus Circus and walking around the mall in Caesar's. The Luxor also has an Egyptian Museum that is interesting. They used to have a Nile boat ride but that was gone the last time we were there. The museum is still there though. T he Luxor also has a fun family entertainment level that has shows and games too.

We like ecampus because they sell new at lower prices than we found at Follett. We generally have to buy new since many on ds's texts include disk and computer work. The used texts are missing cd's and key codes a lot of the time which means extra money to try to find those.

We like LOF but as a supplement to our main math curriculum. One of the reasons I personally wouldn't use it as a main curriculum is because there is not a lot of review. I like a spiral math. But the big draw of Fred for us is that the story is funny and the kids get some of their math from a different approach which is always nice.

In college we had a Muslim woman come to one of our classes to explain her reasons for the Burka. She said that the men could not help but be distracted by a female and by covering up it allowed the men to take them seriously. They were able to get past the visual stimulation and get into their mind. She said it was a sign of respect.The men valued their opinions enough to require them to wear Burkas so that the women could be judged on their intellectual merit. Did I buy her explaination? Not really. I felt it was her way of justifying wearing the Burka to herself more than others. This particular reasoning IMO is a little frightening because it would lead one to think that Mulim men have little self control and judgement. It also begins with the notion that women are biologically designed to lure and entice men that have no control. I felt her reasoning didn't exactly speak very well of either the men or the women. There is also the point that it is required attire in certain Muslim countries with stiff penalties for non-compliance. So much for the respecting women argument. I think I may have been the only one in the class that questioned her logic because several of the women in the class seemed to be ready to rush out and buy Burkas. ;)

Mine hate cutting and pasting but I liked the History Pockets so what we did was I prepared the stuff and the kids just finished it. It kept things moving along and the kids didn't get bored. I didn't mind the cutting and preparing. I just did it while I watched TV. The children really did learn with the Pockets.

After about the hundreth 'um' I couldn't concentrate and my head felt like it would explode. That was awful! I wonder if that poor girl has been ingesting some 'good pesticides' lately. :ack2:

Oh shoot!!! I knew there was something I'd forgotten with my graduate! I forgot to teach 'learning to wait'! I could have stuck that on his transcript under electives I guess. Oh well, I suppose he'll survive. :lol:

-Library card catalogues -Those library check out machines and cards that the librarian used to shove it to stamp the due date on the card. Then the card went back into the book in a special pocket glued to the inside cover off the book. -That HUGE computer printout paper that had the alternating light blue stripes that had the sprocket holes along the side. Lining up those holes was a pain! -Cash registers that DON'T figure change. -Actual glass in eyeglasses. -Wind wings in cars (those triangle glass frames at the front of the car that could be opened to get air).