Yup!:001_smile:

Unless dh needs help going to the bathroom or perhaps you should take him to the urgent care center, he's a big boy (but ds isn't), so I'd take the kids and celebrate ds's birthday.

I can't seem to find the memorization project on Hannah's Homeschool Helps. Can you post them?

If you dug Jane Eyre I'd read through all of the Bronte sisters' works. Some aren't fantastic, but IMO all are good reads. For my money, Wuthering Heights is the best if only for the fact that the author was basically a shut-in, with no "worldly" experience, but here she is writing a lashing critique of racism and examining the causes of sadism.

This may sound cruel, but since my ds 8 sleeps like the dead, I'm planning on putting a large diaper on him (over his pants) so that when he wakes up he'll wonder what the heck is going on. I love the sewing his clothes together in his drawer trick, too. Hmmm ... and maybe the plastic wrap on his door.

I'm so very sorry for you. My maternal grandmother died a year ago yesterday. She was 92 and had suffered a severe stroke. They transferred her to a convalescent home but then she went back to the hospital because of dehydration (very, very common). My mother was an RN, thank God, and never understood the point of keeping an elderly person alive who would have to live the next few months in pain. I'm certain we never would have put her on a ventilator -- she had oxygen for a day or so, but not a ventilator. My mom, my sister, and I decided to move my grandmother to hospice and despite the inevitable ocassional bouts of what ifs and guilt, we know we did the right thing for her. She was comfortable (morphine) and we were able to have a last cup of tea with her and read a little poetry to her before she dropped into a coma and shortly thereafter passed away. Hospice is a tremendous gift and I thank God we had it as an option. I do hope your grandmother, you, and your family find comfort soon. You may want to start the hospice talk with your grandmother's doctor.

I'd try re-posting to the Logic Stage subgroup. Maybe you'll get some feedback there.

Ds and I have approximately 8 lessons left of FLL 1/2 and I'll simply move onto FLL 3 the next time we do grammar. I just received my copies of FLL 3 teacher's edition and student workbook and browsed through them last night. The first 4 or 5 lessons seem to have quite a bit of review, so I'll probably skip a lesson and join a couple of others together, but after that it seems like an easy transition. I'm excited about starting sentence diagramming within a month or so! :001_smile:

I would suggest investing in a large "school-sized" globe. I bought a smaller globe (perhaps 9" diameter) and wish I had spent the additional ~$10 for the larger one (maybe 14" dia.).

My 8 year old ds loved: Stuart Little Peter Pan (hey, they live in a tree for a while, that's "nature"!) Child's versions of Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson (and don't forget to get the SFR DVD from the library ... it's so hokey it's cool) White Fang Able's Island The Trumpet of the Swan (we listened to EB White reading it on CD -- that was THE BEST!) Charlotte's Web (Depression era, right?) Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (children's versions)

Last year at around this time I started after schooling my (then) second grader following WTM. We LOVE SOTW and would absolutely recommend getting the Activity Guide to go along. The Guide reinforces the reading and allows for a lot of map work. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how easily the child can identify Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Greece, the Aegean (sp?) Sea, the Indus River Valley, and more. In addition, the Guide makes finding reliable supplementary books a breeze. There are also some fun activities (though, be warned, in our experience some of the activities didn't work out very well). My ds loved the games (we still play SOTW 1 games from time to time though we're almost done with SOTW 2). Finally, the Guide includes review cards at the end that you can drag out every few months as a refresher. My son LOVES when we do history (and so do I). These books are written at their level, and while giving them an overview of perhaps the more important aspects of the historical period or event, also narrate the story in an engaging and memorable way. Have fun after schooling!!!!!!! (I did until this past January when I started part-time homeschooling him -- he goes to public school in the morning and is home with me in the afternoons. It's very cool!)

From what I understand, the prof brought in a couple (she's 25, he's 45 or something) that are active in the S&M community. She's quoted as saying that she thought they were just going to discuss the community and fetishes, but that during the "class" she was asked to demonstrate. She's also quoted as characterizing herself as a masochist who enjoys being watched and being dominated. If the psych prof was really interested in discussing human sexuality I think there's about three semesters' worth of content right there -- why does she say she enjoys being dominated, etc. That's psychology. Watching a woman get penetrated by her (very much older) dominating "fiance" using a power tool in front of 100 students at (what used to be) a presitgious university is something quite different. I would suggest one has to wonder about this "professor" -- what he's "into" and what perspectives he therefore brings to this "class." My view is that S&M is not sex-based, rather it is about power.

We use Prima Latina without the DVDs, but I did break down and buy the flashcards, which apparently we'll also use when we start Latina Christiana next year. Get the pronounciation CD, but I think the DVD would be overkill.

Oh, I'm definitely planning on enrolling him in a classical school FT next year. We're lucky -- there are 3 in the area!

I would HS him FT but I work PT and need to have at least a half day free for travel and my work. Thanks for the feedback!:001_smile:

I'm so very excited. I've been afterschooling my ds since last January, which has been tough since he started 3rd grade in September. Only a week ago I learned that I could part-time homeschool, so beginning January 31 my ds will be attending ps in the am and coming home at noon for his classical education! I received such insight and support from some of this site's members and am on cloud nine right now (I had the meeting yesterday with the school principal, who agreed). What I'd ask from you all is to review the following curriculum and let me know what you think: In the mornings, he gets math (an amalgam of a few different models, including something called Houghton Mifflin math and Expressions), spelling, and "extras" (one day a week for art, music, and library). He also gets gym. Does anyone have any familiarity with those two math programs? I freaked out the other day when I saw that he was doing an equasion using Everyday Math, so either some of that is part of those two math programs, or she's peppering EM into the curriculum as well. Then he comes home. :D I'm planning on doing the following: Everyday 20 minutes of Mammoth Math 45 minutes of reading (plus 15 minutes in the evenings, as he has been doing) writing (WWE 2X/week plus history narration 2X/week and FLL 3X/week) 4 days/week 5 minutes Zaner-Bloser handwriting (I want him to write in cursive by the end of this year -- they seem not to care much about cursive in school) spelling (words he'll get from school to work on) 3 days/week Grammar (FLL) Latin (Prima Latina) History (SOTW V. 2) Memory work 2 days/week Science (Earth Science) Music/Art All told, I estimate we'll be spending 2 1/2 hours Monday - Thursday and 2 hours on Friday. In addition I plan on taking a couple of field trips a month. I must admit that when I left the school yesterday afternoon after the meeting with the principal I felt a bit scared -- one of those "what have I done?" moments. Both the principal and ds's teacher were very nice and accommodating but I got the impression they were wondering who I was to think I could teach my son without the years of teaching experience and educational degrees they have. By the time I'd walked home, though, my feelings of doubt and anxiety had mostly left and now I'm only feeling excited (as is my son)!

Anyone else having problems with some of the art projects suggested in this book? My son and I have tried a few, and have found two so far to be extremely frustrating. Has anyone had any success with making the Roman archway and aqueduct suggested on p. 113? We tried the sand dough several times and never got it to work. Also, we just tried making the Great Wall of China suggested on p. 130 and after trying several different glues (starting with the one suggested -- superglue -- and including wood glue), we found the sticks won't stick. Moreover, we found the instructions to be confusing -- we're not sure how the sticks are supposed to lay. Aside from using this post to vent :), I'm wondering if anyone else has successfully tried these two project (in particular the Great Wall) and if so, would you be so kind as to explain to me how it's done? :confused:

I am looking for a good book and/or DVD and/or Internet site to help explain to my 7-year-old son about famine. We're doing the SOTW activity where you plant some beans in one container marked famine and another in another container marked water. He's really impressed with the difference (it's been 2 weeks), but I'm having a hard time explaining to him that when there's a famine, folks typically can't just pack up and go to a new home where there's food. Anyone know of a good resource for a kid my son's age? Thanks!