Our health insurance has always increased. Even before there was a government exchange. We are also blessed with excellent insurance. Thank goodness because stuff happens. My husband never smoked, isn't overweight, and rarely drinks more than an occasional beer every now and then and is quite active. He contracted a virus that attacked his heart and his ejection fraction which should normally be around 50% in healthy people was 8%. A dead man walking basically. He went directly to cardiac ICU in a wheelchair because they didn't want him walking. (He planned on going to work that day) We were told 30% of people get worse which equals death, 30% of people stay the same, both which meant death or heart transplant and about 30% of people get better. Hospice met with us and he began medications, had to wear an external defibrillator to shock his heart into rhythm, and rehabilitation. He was lucky that he kept getting better and now, three years later is in the low normal range, although he will need medicine for the rest of his life and gets an echocardiogram every six months. My biggest point is we had to fight the insurance company every single month for continuous coverage, even with a "Cadillac" healthcare plan and if we didn't have insurance he would absolutely be dead. Hospitals are only required to stabilize a person, not treat them if they can't afford healthcare. Nothing makes us more deserving of healthcare and life than anyone else. Healthcare should be a basic human right, not how lucky you are to have a well paying job with a company who has enough employees to get discounted health insurance and provide it.

Yes, this is how I learned to read. My Mom was a single parent and we were too poor for preschool. But I read by Kindergarten. I am old so I remember reading instruction in school with Dick and Jane books. I thought they were really boring and by second grade I know the teacher was confiscating the books I brought to school to read....Salems Lot by Stephen King. My 3rd grade teacher wasn't impressed with some of the bodice rippers I read either. Finally I got permission to check out any books I wanted at the school library and even more importantly, as many as I could carry. My introduction to good books changed my life.

This is terrific. Thank you

Dill pickles are high in sodium if you like them. Meats can be salt encrusted before searing. So can fish. Sunflower seeds for snacking will add lots of sodium. Any and all soups. If you want healthier versions they can be homemade and you can add as much salt at you like to taste. Another way to raise your blood pressure is to lower your consumption of magnesium. I am the exact opposite. I have high blood pressure and I am salt sensitive so I cut out a such sodium as possible. Bread is high in salt as well and brands can greatly vary.

Math---I would have her take the placement test for CLE (it is Christian but not overly so for math) The good thing about CLE is she can order half a year of workbooks and the teachers manual, and it is cheap. Reading---If she is a reader and really likes it then I would take her to the library and let her choose a couple fiction, non fiction, biographies, and whatever else she wants. Then have her write book reviews on Amazon, outlines for the non fiction, and boom summaries. That will give her an idea of her writing abilities before needing to look for a curriculum. Grammar and or Writing---- another easy way to start is Growing with Grammar, Winning with Writing, and Soaring with Spelling. They are all by the same company, very similar to what a public school child would expect, easy to teach, and inexpensive. Half way through the year with a traumatized kid, and no idea what or how to teach I would go with technology above and next year plan for more rigour.

If I had another one to start over I would absolutely use CLE math from the beginning. We tried Saxon, MUS, and Mammoth Math. CLE is solid and spiral, just what my kiddo needed. All about Spelling changed our lives. I used it before All about Reading existed and not only did it make him a great speller but also a MUCH better reader.

My opinion is no. I can type as fast as most people talk because learned at a time when we typed massive amounts of paperwork and couldn't look. Now we have copy machines, word processing cut and paste abilities, and dictation machines. My 12 year old son taught himself to type and uses a combination of looking and habitual typing and is almost as fast as I am. He also loves it. Technology has surpassed the need for being able to type without looking for long periods of time and the more typing someone does the less they need to look anyway.

I haven't read ahead so not sure if I am staying with the topic. But I would consider our family blue class. My husband worked his entire career in a factory and he grew up with a father who was the local go to fix it guy. We have never called in someone to fix anything in our house even though we have the money to do so. We read books, ask others and now can watch you tube videos and do it ourselves. Whether that means fixing the washing machine, putting down hardwood floors, or replacing Windows. Our kids (3 adults and two at home are the same) I love learning and value education but college isn't the goal for all the kids, or even any of them unless it is what they want. One went to college after high school, one is attending now while in the Navy and one never plans to go. I feel comfortable that they can all carry on a conversation with anyone from any status.

Each kid has a fabric box with handles for their day to day subjects. I also have one for myself that includes binders and subjects that are combined. When I plan I usually spread out on my bed with the boxes beside me. We also have 4 book shelves. One is filled with curricula that we aren't using, yet, and supplies. One bookshelf is reference materials. Different encyclopedias, anthologies, and research materials. We also have a bookshelf where each shelf is divided by Science and History and subsets of those subjects. Last we have a bookshelf of fiction divided by literature on top and fiction that covers science and history. At this point I know what is on the shelves and what we own so I rarely need to jump up and grab anything. We used to have a dedicated class room but we didn't use it. Plus we get in a groove so the planning isn't a big deal anymore.

I use and really like CLE math and ordered and tried to like CLE reading. The comprehension worksheets that went with the reading are very good, but the reading itself was dry as dirt. First my son struggled getting through it, I would get frustrated because I knew he could do the reading and was dragging his feet, and then I sat down and read the stories. They are so boring. I am not sure about their other subjects but they are inexpensive so I would only order the bare minimum to try them out.

I find this topic interesting. I read end of the World fiction, and I have thought about homeschooling after a life ending as we know it event. Not because I think the world will end, but to boil down what I think is important. The difference of course is society and competition. Right now there is an expected matter of knowledge which all people are expected to know. Whether it is important or not is sadly beside the point. That is where preparing for entrance and admission tests come in. Then there is the knowledge that each of us get to decide that we think an educated person must know. Finding the combination is the balance we all walk.

I would bring; SAS Survival guide Homesteading basics Bible Usborne History of the World Usborne History of Science Treasury Book of Virtues (only complete Reader I own) A solar charger for my tablet. (And our tablets) I wouldn't expect to have internet service but I have a multitude of books and enough music to fill in the gaps as well as some offline apps games to help with boredom and down time. I think with the above which I already own I could set up a schooling system for most ages. I like the idea of backing things up on jump drives as well. I wouldn't bring anything for Math because I would create my own.

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The very first time I remember actual instruction was in 8th grade when we had to write a research paper and we learned how to take notes, prepare an outline, and of course cite our sources. In high school we were taught persuasive, informative, and descriptive writing. That is really it now that I think about it.

I appreciate your honesty and openness, and even more so that this isn't necessarily a one way fits all approach. I know that I beat myself up continuously and harshly when I first started homeschooling and felt I wasn't following the book to the letter. I almost quit homeschooling. The Well Trained Mind is a wonderful resource and classical education is a rigorous and exacting education, but there is a different homeschool experience for every family and even every child in the same family. The Well Trained Mind isn't a cookbook where if you add the exact amount you will get the perfect child, I don't think that is ever what you meant it to be. What it is for me is the very best jumping off point and outline of what classical education looks like and material choices to get started. Our kids are always going to be our best teachers in how to teach them, but your books make it so much easier.

We just finished and according to the kids it was their favorite class. I had 12 kids and I wouldn't do it with more than 12. The kids learned quite a bit and I was constantly surprised by their problem solving skills.

I am more traditional than classical. We don't do a foreign language other than Latin and Greek vocabulary, and my son isn't a strong reader so far. He also prefers a science centered education over history. I love CLE for Math and tried it for reading but the stories in the book were dry and boring. I dragged my feet but decided to order a used reading textbook on Amazon. We use the Macmillan/McGraw Hill Treasures, and love it!! I wish we had done this sooner. I also downloaded worksheets that can be done with the book and there is a spelling book that goes with it but after ordering it, we decided not to use it since he is a really strong speller. As for history, I own all of Susan's Story of the World, workbooks, and activity books and I love them, but my son wasn't thrilled. He actually prefers outlining our Usborne History Encyclopedia, watching documentaries with his Dad, or reading living History books. I would have loved and flourished with a Classical education as a child but it just doesn't fit my kiddo.

We do the majority of our homeschooling after lunch. My son is not a morning person and prefers to do independent projects in the morning. He does things in the morning though....chores, reading, research, playing. As for me I do the same. Run errands, clean, work on my own projects, read, or whatever.

I give grades for much the same reason. My kiddo likes when he scores well and tries harder when he gets a grade. It helps him stay focused. We don't do anything with the grades though. They aren't recorded anywhere except on the paper. We grade for math and spelling but I am also beginning to use a rubric for writing as well. He keeps the rubric and I attach it to his writing so he knows the expectation, and where he excelled and where I feel he needs work. Before he would struggle to understand the rough draft and editing process.

Putting this on the boards because there really isn't anywhere else. My family is all coming to it with their own baggage and my best friend has some too. My biological father died Friday. I am confused that I even care and I am confused about what I am feeling. He and my Mother were 16 when I was born and he never acknowledged me. His mother was actually horrible to my mother and insisted I wasn't his at all. In 1967 DNA tests didn't exist and they went their separate ways. My Dad married my mother when I was 6 and he was a great father and I never considered him my Step at all. He was just Daddy, but I was always curious about my bio father. When I was 27 I contacted him by letter and basically said I was the daughter of (mothers name) and that if he had any desire to contact me he could write me. Instead of writing he called.....We talked forever, he acknowledged that I was his child, told his kids about me, and we met. For about a month he called regularly, and I even met my sister who was close to my age. After a couple of months he stopped calling or returning my calls. We really didn't have anything in common and I had a Dad. I also lost contact with the sister and that was okay because we were in complete different places in our lives. I had kids and a family and she was in college and single. I moved on and life got busy. Then a couple of years ago the same sister and another found me and we now have a relationship, the 3 of us and it is decent but I still feel a bit like I am walking on eggshells. Especially with the youngest sister because we aren't as close and she was raised by the bio dad and myself and the older sister were not. So fast forward to Saturday. I wake up and check Facebook to see a post by the younger sister that heaven got a new Angel in heaven and that her father died. I didn't even know he was sick. I guess it happened really fast because he had lung cancer and the older sister said she only found out a couple of weeks ago. So part of me is joking that wow I have a sperm donor and all I got was a lousy genetic component for lung cancer. (Not out loud, but in my head) Another part is sad because a door is shut and I don't even know if I ever even wanted it open. How do you forgive someone who never asked for forgiveness? I am angry and hurt that I wasn't even told, but can't really whine about it because after all they just lost their father and it is pretty narcissistic to consider myself in the middle of that. I am also feeling rejected again.....first at birth, then after we met, and last but not least when he died and when he knew he was dying. I mentioned to my Mom that he died and it is clear that I shouldn't feel anything so far as my family is concerned. Because I was lucky to have the Dad I did have.....I even wondered what my Dad would say to him if they met in heaven and I kinda hoped he punched him in the nose on my behalf. Real mature right? It is hard to talk to my husband because his Dad is terminal right now and all of his emotions are busy right now, and my best friend is part of the adoption triad so she comes to it from her experiences as a birth parent. So I am a mess. But I am not even sure why I am a mess. I even feel strange having these feelings because I am always the even keeled got it together person who just deals with stuff head on. Normally I would tell the sisters my feelings are hurt, but feel like I can't add on to their grief and stress. I guess I am just venting and need a sounding board.

I would tell the parents just what you stated and suggest Khan academy if there are specific issues.

Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy. If you want to be happy then you are going to have to apologize and let it go. Whether you meant to hurt her feelings or aggravate her, you did. You don't have to fall on your sword, but it is the mature thing to take the high road and sincerely state that you might have been too enthusiastic and that since you are both coming from such opposite points of view that you might not agree but that you didn't mean to disrespect of hurt her feelings. If it comes up again then you can just smile and say that you will just have to agree to disagree. But no, I wouldn't try to convince her that you are right. You are only right for your family. If it keeps being an issue then you are going to have to ask her to let it go as well or decide whether you can be around each other or not.

Absolutely the Kindle! We use that every single day.

I haven't read ahead but for me personally I would buy a solid globe. One that is complete and decorative so I wouldn't mind it being part of our decor but still a learning tool. I am amazed at how often we find something on our world maps and would prefer a globe.