:iagree:

My dd, ds and I are up early for a run/walk before school (more walking than anything) three days a week, and my dd and I do pilates and yoga via video from Target on the other days or when the weather is bad--very cheap and very effective for us :)

You are in your groove! Stick with it :)

Sending :grouphug:. I just mentioned to my dd today the possibility of looking for another group, and her reply was a quick, "Please, no!" :) I have two great girlfriends who homeschool--neither lives closer than 5 hours from me. So, we talk on the phone, and I spend more time in this hive than maybe I should. I would love to find just one or two homeschooling families we can do some things with, but I'm with you--we just cannot do the "group" thing.

I laughed out loud when I read your post--I thought you were living in Texas until I saw otherwise. As a wife of a volunteer little league football coach, and former ps teacher, I can say you are right--on both fronts :)

We are using Veritas Press's Omnibus III this year (9th) and will follow this curriculum throughout hs. If we follow this plan for three years, we should have credit for U.S. Lit/ Brit Lit, U.S. History/ World History, and theology (elective). The courses will not play out grade-by grade like the PS, but in the end, you will have all you need. The course is pretty demanding, but it combines lit and history--worth the trade for me. You can get more info about credits from Veritas and possibly get your advisor to sign off on it. Another option may be to look at Nottgrass history/lit combination courses. They are more in keeping with the PS model, but may suit your needs as a classical educator as well. Note: These are Christian based--not sure if that will work for your family. :)

When I taught school, my non-reading guys always liked these young adult selections: The Outsiders, A Day No Pigs Would Die (language is a little strong--but ok for HS), The Pigman, That Was Then This is Now. If you are looking for more meat: Animal Farm is an easy (and interesting) read if your ds likes history--Neil Simon plays are often enjoyable (Lost in Yonkers is a good one for guys); Art Spiegleman won a Pulitzer for his graphic novels about his father's experience in the Holocaust--Maus I and II (fascinating read--you can send me a pm, and I will tell you about them in more detail, but I will tell you that ALL of my students loved these); believe it or not, Lonesome Dove was a HUGE hit--your ds may have to get over the intimidation of the size of it, but it's a great guy story; some others to consider are: 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies. If you want to tackle Shakespeare, start with Julius Caesar--the Folger edition has easy-to-follow notes. :)

We are currently using Veritas Press's Omnibus (9th grade), and I wish I had started it last year. It is demanding, but I find it easy to follow, and its primary focus is reading and writing--which I like. It also covers history, theology, and literature in one course. But, I am reading all of the assignments, too--which is very time consuming. If you prefer a different approach, we used Rod & Staff grammar, sequential spelling, and various literary selections last year--which worked fine. I bought IEIW not knowing it required my watching 9 hrs. of instructional video in order to teach the program. I bit the bullet and am watching the videos for this year. For us, the program has been a great investment of time and money. Hope this gives you a starting place :)

Sometimes there are just not words that can penetrate grief of this maginitude. I think that's where just saying "I am so sorry" comes in and offering her meals, helping clean her home while she rests, maybe bringing her a special gift in memoriam of her lost child. It is so hard when someone loses a child, and I think your quiet hand of friendship means more than anything you can say.

*sigh* I wish you were my neighbor :) It sounds like your family is kind, thoughtful, well-rounded, and a real blessing to those who know you. I cannot speak for this family, but I would welcome your daughter's (and your) friendship in our home. I do not think it would hurt for you to speak to the mom and let her know how much you appreciate her concern and her invitations for your daughter to be included in church events. You can let her know that you have made a family decision not to attend an organized church event for now, but if you change your mind, you will certainly let her know. Hopefully, she will respect your decision and still allow Molly to play--and just offer an "open door invitation" without asking specifically again.

I did SOTW with supplementation from Kingfisher and Usborne with my dd (7th grade at the time) and still felt like she wasn't getting enough meat. Last year (8th grade) we switched to the Famous Men of Middle Ages and Renaissance, and it was better--still, though, not what I wanted. I just felt that it was difficult to tie everything together. This year (9th grade), we are switching to Veritas Press Omnibus III and using both the primary and secondary books. It is the first curriculum I have found that follows the classical education model while also putting everything together in a package I personally like. The Omnibus curriculum begins with 7th grade and runs through the end of high school. Each course provides credit in literature, history, and theology (something else I like). Something for consideration, though--the VP Omnibus curriculum requires a great deal of parent reading and instruction.

:iagree: Entirely--well said! I do think the author of the blog brings up some great talking points, and she leaves enough open territory on each point that she gets great, educated responses (for the most part). I do not think we homeschooling families will ever win everyone's respect, but we are changing the general landscape of how we are perceived. More importantly, many of us are successfully giving our children a fantastic education. There is enough evidence of that now, so I think we have less to fear in terms of our having to relinquish our right to educate our children--which is probably the true core of the debate.

I have been married seventeen years, and I know my marriage would not have lasted this long if my husband and I could not laugh together. Our taste in comedy is not always the same, but we are able to laugh together throughthe difficulties of life--priceless

Try looking into Memoria Press's First Form Latin. I used it this year with my dd (8th), and we liked it. You can order it with CD, flash cards, and DVD. It is a new publication, and from what I understand, if you complete all 4 forms, that will give you two years of high school credit. I have been hunting for Latin for next year, and we are going to use Henle becuse of the translation work included. But for a high-school level Latin, you may want to start with First Form. As far as whether or not you want to do it, I can only say that, for my part, I am so happy we are doing Latin. Understanding roots and derivatives goes a LONG way in helping prepare for SAT/ACT and improving contextual understanding of vocabulary. Once I began to understand the foundational concepts, it has not been nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be. Hope this helps get you going :)

Do you know if the course through VP only, or can I order the materials and teach on my own?

I am looking into starting my dd (9th grade next yr) with Omnibus III. We have been following WTM for two years, but she has not tackled anything as meaty as Omnibus. She is a good reader, but hasn't had to push herself through difficult material before--which I would like for her to begin. My brother used Notgrass last year with his dd (also 9th). Do you have any thoughts on either of these? Other recommendations?

You go Mrs Mungo! :) I think that's great advice. I was the girl who always dated the wrong guys, and I think in large part it was because no one ever told me I was the prize--worth winning by the good guy. Thank God I found out before I got married. I wish I had known your aunt ;)

One of the best ways to do that may be to spend 30 minutes of completely non-judgemental time with her every day. In her room, going for a walk, taking her window shopping, looking at a magazine, listening to music--just talking with absolutely no look of horror :) Ask her questions about herself--get to know her, and appreciate her again as an individual-- not just as your daughter. Ask her about the guy--how they met, what she likes about him; maybe that's a good place to start. I have seen that principle work in many lives of moms and dads who have "lost" their teens, and it has helped me tremendously in my relationship with our dd. You may also want to pick up a copy of The Five Love Languages of Children, if you haven't already read it. It might give you some insight into relating to her if you know how to speak her "love language." :)

I think you should cut it, if that's what you want to do--hair does grow back. If you are unsure, cut it shorter, but don't do anything that might put you in shock :)

Oh Yeah--Correll is great for families if you want inexpensive :) That's all we had growing up, and we never broke (or even chipped) a dish. Check their website for patterns, and they also have an outlet store--so you may have some luck there, too.

:iagree: We took "permanent" measures to prevent us from having other children after two. We did so because we felt like it was the prudent thing to do with our income ( and the list goes on . . .) I had always really wanted four, but I felt like that was an in-a-perfect-world scenario. At what was probably the most inopportune time possible, and five years after out "permanent" decision, I just felt a stirring in my heart. I told the Lord that I felt like my husband and I made that decision without consulting Him about what He wanted for our family. I asked God to make our family what He wanted it to be (honestly thinking nothing would change). That month I got pregnant with number three, and two years later, we had number 4. At this point, I feel like I am deeply satisfied with my family, and I think that satisfaction comes from the Lord. We are currently taking precautions not to have more children and will take permanent measures again when we can. As far as trusting God in our family, I trust him to speak to our hearts and to help us feel satisfied when we are at a stopping place. And I trust Him to override our precautions if He has other plans. I trust God to keep my body healthy, but I eat right and rest and exercise--that's my part. I trust God to keep me safe, but I do my part in that I do not purposely put myself in danger. I feel like reproduction is the same thing. Bodies were made to reproduce--I feel like if I am truly satisfied, my husband and I are in agreement, and I trust God to continue to make my family what He wants it to be, then taking measures not to have another child (which is my part in God's making my family what He wants it to be) is okay with God. I realize this is just an opinion, and I am certainly not trying to tell you God's plan for your family, but I have had the same struggle. I want very much to enjoy the intimacy of my marriage without worrying about what might happen. I feel very peaceful about this decision.

:iagree: Our motto at home is "homeschool is not for test taking; it's for learning."

I agree with Lolly and Pammy completely! Not only are the teachers/students in public school following a scope and sequence established by the state, but also much instruction in the classroom is geared specifically so that students can answer the questions on those tests. What you are giving your dc at home is probably much richer than what time will allow in a public school. You may not have covered those test questions at home, but you have no real way of knowing what you have covered that the children taking the state test couldn't answer, either.

Have you asked her about kahkis? For the times when she is out-and-about, you may try is looking at some magazines with her just to get a feel for what her taste is. Those looks can pretty easily be duplicated by shopping wherever your budget will allow.