Tiner's Exploring History of Medicine is fantastic! My doctor to be loved that book. We're doing Tiner's history of Chemistry now and it is almost as good. I'm going to work through all his books with the kids.

Right now I'm reading Mrs. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach by Meryl Gordon. It is a good read and interesting considering I've had to to deal with elder financial abuse issues with relatives and the Tony Astor abuse trial is happening right now in NY. I just finished Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest by Gregg Olsen. It is a story about a turn of the century 'health' resort that the owner was using as a cover for patient abuse and estate theft. After I finish Mrs. Astor Regrets, I'm going to read: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann. This is from the Amazon summary: In April of 1925, a legendary British explorer named Percy Fawcett launched his final expedition into the depths of the Amazon in Brazil. His destination was the lost city of El Dorado, the “City of Gold,†an ancient kingdom of great sophistication, architecture, and culture that, for some reason, had vanished. The idea of El Dorado had captivated anthropologists, adventurers, and scientists for 400 years, though there was no evidence it ever existed. Hundreds of expeditions had gone looking for it. Thousands of men had perished in the jungles searching for it. Fawcett himself had barely survived several previous expeditions and was more determined than ever to find the lost city with its streets and temples of gold. The world was watching. Fawcett, the last of the great Victorian adventurers, was financed by the Royal Geographical Society in London, the world’s foremost repository of research gathered by explorers. Fawcett, then age 57, had proclaimed for decades his belief in the City of Z, as he had nicknamed it. His writings, speeches, and exploits had captured the imagination of millions, and reports of his last expedition were front page news. His expeditionary force consisted of three men--himself, his 21-year-old son Jack, and one of Jack’s friends. Fawcett believed that only a small group had any chance of surviving the horrors of the Amazon. He had seen large forces decimated by malaria, insects, snakes, poison darts, starvation, and insanity. He knew better. He and his two companions would travel light, carry their own supplies, eat off the land, pose no threat to the natives, and endure months of hardship in their search for the Lost City of Z. They were never seen again. Fawcett’s daily dispatches trickled to a stop. Months passed with no word. Because he had survived several similar forays into the Amazon, his family and friends considered him to be near super-human. As before, they expected Fawcett to stumble out of the jungle, bearded and emaciated and announcing some fantastic discovery. It did not happen. Over the years, the search for Fawcett became more alluring than the search for El Dorado itself. Rescue efforts, from the serious to the farcical, materialized in the years that followed, and hundreds of others lost their lives in the search. Rewards were posted. Psychics were brought in by the family. Articles and books were written. For decades the legend of Percy Fawcett refused to die. The great mystery of what happened to Fawcett has never been solved, perhaps until now. In 2004, author David Grann discovered the story while researching another one. Soon, like hundreds before him, he became obsessed with the legend of the colorful adventurer and his baffling disappearance. Grann, a lifelong New Yorker with an admitted aversion to camping and mountain climbing, a lousy sense of direction, and an affinity for take-out food and air conditioning, soon found himself in the jungles of the Amazon. What he found there, some 80 years after Fawcett’s disappearance, is a startling conclusion to this absorbing narrative. The Lost City of Z is a riveting, exciting and thoroughly compelling tale of adventure.

#1 looks marvelous! It looks fantastic with your coloring and those shoes!

I don't think it is jealously. I think that when people don't really 'get' homeschooling, they may come off as being negative. Your relatives may not have understood that accelerating is very common for homeschoolers. An elementary student doing hs level work is not unusual for lots of reasons ie. if you have a mix of elementary and hs homeschool children in the home, you hs year round, motivated student etc. But the same thing happening in the school system is unusual and people would be concerned because of the age/social maturity issue. You should probably make sure to explain to those that voice concern to you that the circumstances are very different because you homeschool and it really isn't something they need to be concerned about. Tell them that there is nothing wrong with early college either. My son accumulated 3 yrs of college before he graduated from hs high school this year. He also had no problems whatsoever with fitting in with the college crowd. His college teachers love him because he was mature and responsible.

I would never do it. I had a short experience (very short) once along these lines and it was horrible. The child wouldn't listen to me and had a very different work ethic and manners than mine. It was difficult to discipline the child and they became a bad influence on mine. So long story short...the experience left me with more problems than I began with. You also run the risk of being blamed for any and all academic shortcomings the child experiences in the future whether you are to blame or not. My advice....Don't do it! Limit your involvement to an occasional suggestions only.

I simply say "yes" and leave it at that. I graduated from HS so in theory that should qualify me to teach to HS level right? :) I have a college degree too so IMO I'm definately qualified if they are questioning my ability. I've only had a few people question my ability and one was at a teacher appreciation day at Staples. The teacher was all friendly until she asked what school I was at and when I told her I homeschooled she acted like she had been caught talking to a bad guy. Then she flustered as said, "oh, so you aren't really a teacher then." I simply told her that was incorrect and that I was a teacher and more than that, I had to be knowledgeble in ALL subject areas. I told her that I was the equivalent of a super-teacher. OK...I know that was a tad snarky but she asked for it. She moved away from me and headed to the free bagles and coffee after that.

That close to due date...I'd skip it. Just because your other children's birth dates were running late doesn't mean this one will and each successive child can tend to mean a faster labor too. July will most likely be beastly hot too...another reason a pregnant gal should skip it. :) Then add in not so nice or mannered relatives and the chaos that comes with a family reunion and honestly the thought of it all gives me shivers and sweats. Maybe you can arrange for a conference call when everyone is there and that way your son can talk to some of the relatives? Or maybe after the baby is born and can handle some travel, you can make a trip to see this aged aunt. She would probably get so much more out of seeing your family alone and with the new baby...and you'd be feeling a whole lot better too. Don't feel bad about missing this trip. Anyone that close to a due date has more than a good excuse. :)

I'd do Singapore's review or check out BJU Press summer bridge books.

I'd think twice before bringing a nice stroller to Disneyworld. We live in FL and go a lot and when the kids were smaller brought our nice stroller and it was stolen! We think that since it had started raining, someone just grabbed our stroller to keep their things or kids dry. It was so maddening! Before our next trip, I went out and got a garage sale stroller (just for Disney outings) and sharpie marked our name all over it. The huge name and the fact it was the ugliest red color kept it from being stolen after that. It was a nice 'Disney' stroller though...almost new but garage sale cheap. :) I'd recommend you bring a cheapo umbrella stroller (easy to fold and carry-you'll be doing a lot of both) or rent one.

My friend had it about 5 yrs ago and she had operation and treatment and she is perfectly fine now. (((hugs)))

Just a word of caution about WP. Before you buy, make sure they have the curriculum written and all the books in stock. I ordered recently and found out that the program wasn't finished. There was no indication of that on the website. I ended up getting refunded because I wasn't willing to get the program piecemeal. I understand that the programs are nice but be sure to read the reviews because they can be mixed.

All this! :iagree: There is just too much that is strange about this situation and what they are telling you. I would lean on the side of caution and find another troop before you are in the position of saying that you wish you had trusted your instincts earlier. Ax-boy sounds like he is bordering on unstable and clearly unsupervised and since his parent in in the troop it sounds like he has a ready excuse for what he does.

Wordly Wise and Latin Roots and LOTS of reading. :)

I'm so sorry. :(

We've used Wordly Wise for all the children and began with the A,B, C then moved onto the numbered books. The numbers coincide with grade level....book 1 is for 1st, 2 for 2nd etc. We love the Wordly Wise books. They are so easy to schedule. :hurray:

Mix in a can of Pinto or Black Beans, envelope of taco mix and water, the turkey meat. Heat it all up and put in a tortilla with cheese and salsa. Turkey burritos! Yum!

My answer to the original post question is an emphatic NO. Fraud is fraud and it was a crime punishable by jail. They are bad news IMO. These people may have paid a debt as defined by the law but whether they are morally and ethically rehabilitated is a huge question mark. These are the kind of people that don't care who they hurt as long as they can profit. I wouldn't want these people anywhere near my family and especially not any elderly or impressionable family members.

Have you checked the 4-H site? I used to get shirts and other items from them. Here's the link: http://www.4-hmall.org/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=6196

1. Have cat vetted for any urinary issues. 2. Saturate the area with "Nature's Miracle Just For Cats". 3. Consider getting a deterrent such as 'SSScat'. You can see the product demos on Youtube. I used a similar product called 'Stay-Away'. The combination of Nature's Miracle and Stay-Away worked wonders. If you have more than one cat be sure they each have a litterbox and clean it often.

Oh no! You're in my thoughts. Post when you hear something. :001_unsure:

We love this! We use the videos nearly everyday. My dh rigged up a special cable to the big screen tv so that I can play the videos and everyone gets a good seat. We use them for our lessons mostly in history and science. The kids take a break with fruit smoothies and watch a video between classes. Unitedstreaming gets a two thumbs up from us!

Lighter schedule. We'll do math, Elson Readers & Vocab, Japanese language and chemistry. Edited to add: Hogwarts sounds fun! I think we'll check that out too!!!

Mine know the pledge and have said it at coop and other places but we don't feel the need to begin every day pledging allegiance.

My girls (one is 12 other is 10) will be doing next year math and language arts and a chemistry unit study. They will do a lot of reading and take part in a teen reading club with the library. We're also going to catch-up on our Japanese language program. We'll work in lots of beach and fun though! :)

I used to be that skinny minnie too but years and kids changed things along the way. Right now I'm about 10 lbs over my ideal weight but I can feel the weight and what it does to me. My blood pressure was creeping up too. When I weighed more I joined Weight Watchers and I'm back and intend on attending meetings from now on. One thing I've found about WW'ers is that it isn't for hugely obese people. There are a lot of people that attend the meetings that are at ideal weight and in a maintenance pattern. WW'ers meetings are all about motivating the members to make balanced food choices. They won't tell you that you can't eat carbs etc. but they will teach you how to limit the carbs and replace them will other food choices. There are no foods that are off limits but the encouragement is to eat a certain amount of the food groups and limit those amounts. They also teach how to take time to assess hunger signs and to know when you are really hungry. They also teach about how to get moving with exercise. Even if you don't have much to lose, it might be very helpful for you to check out a meeting, talk to a meeting facilitator and explain your situation. Nobody is judgemental. Being in a weekly meeting with people who become your friends and want you to succeed is a great thing! :)