I feel your pain. Dh travels to Germany and the UK for about 3 weeks every month. We're on the West Coast. Dh is usually in meetings or whatnot when it's convenient for me to call and we're usually asleep when it's convenient for him to call. :( At least there's email and phone calls are cheaper than they used to be. When dh and I first met and I moved to Germany it was pre-internet.

I like all the Galore Park things that we've tried. We have the Latin and it looks great but we haven't had time to implement it this year. We have used/ are using Junior Science, Junior English, SYRWTL Science and English and they are all a big hit with my two boys (currently 9 and 12). As a PP mentioned the science isn't very hands-on but it's easy enough to add in a few experiments. My boys have learned a lot and science is actually getting done this year.

I don't cater to my kids and happily they will eat almost anything. I don't force them to clean their plate but I do encourage them to try new things. I sympathize with moms who really try to give their kids a well-balanced diet and the kids have sensory or other issues that make them reject certain foods. What annoys me though are moms who feel that kids need special "kid food" because they think kids aren't capable of liking vegetables unless it's a french fry or meat unless it is pressed into the shape of a cartoon character and then complains that the kid only likes these sorts of things. There is a huge market for food that is specially for kids that is some sort of fun color or shape or whatever. It's really rather ridiculous. In many countries food isn't meant to be fun and most people are just happy to have a meal.

I've used The Great Editing Adventure that Chrissy SC suggested and we liked it. Just a heads up though- Volume 1 is completely secular but Volume 2 is not.

I think it's a good idea to find the owner and ask. We own a large vacant lot between our house and the house next door. I guess since there is such a distance between the two houses it doesn't occur to people that it might belong to us or the neighbors (???) because, despite the no trespassing signs, people are constantly going over there to pick berries in the summer, dump trash, or play in the woods, etc. Whenever I confront these people they always tell me that thought it was a public thoroughfare or something. :glare:

I've never had that happen but we don't eat out much. I will say though that my dh was surprised the first time he ordered fries here that they did not come with ketchup AND mayonnaise as is common in Germany.

I'm a Taurus. I like chocolate, the darker the better, and salty licorice. I think it is sad that politics and religion are such huge dividers. I think differing viewpoints are great. Judging others for their views is not. We homeschool because I LIKE spending time with my kids and because my oldest could read chapter books in two languages in Kindergarten.

Have used Junior English and SYRWTL English, also Junior Science and SYRWTL Science. We have Latin Prep and Geography but haven't used them yet. Am still contemplating History.

I drink mostly water or tea but when I drink milk then- plain.

No, you don't sound crazy. You're the mom and decisions regarding your kids are your's and your dh's. No need to please to make your kids do something you don't feel comfortable with just to please your MIL.

Well....I think some churches see their congregation as a whole community not divided on age groups. I don't know if I am describing that correctly. I guess a good example would be that as homeschoolers many of us have probably observed that our kids are more accomodating towards kids of all ages whereas some ps kids will only play with kids in their age group/ grade. Also I personally am not too keen on kid's programs at church because a lot of them seem like pure fluff and/ or they are dumbed down to what adults think kids like or should know. My older kids were offended by cutesy songs and puppet shows at a pretty young age.

Oh goodness no! Cookies aren't meant to wasted. ;) I just meant it would be rude to take the last one without asking. My 12 year old has a HUGE sweet tooth. He's always back for seconds or thirds at the dessert table. If there were one cookie left I would expect him to ask because maybe his little sister or one of his little cousins might not have had any dessert at all yet.

In my opinion the more exposure you have to a language, the faster and more fluent you will be. It is also my opinion that learning ANY language is valuable even if it is uncommon or not a predominant language where you live. Therefore, I wouldn't necessarily discount the French. It is hard to tell from your post what to suggest. If you were fluent in French then I would definitely recommend that. Do your children have any particular interest in one language over the other? When I was learning German I did not live anywhere with very many German speakers but I wanted to learn so my enthusiasm helped. What resources would be available for the languages that you are interested in? It greatly depends on the teachers and the rigor of the school but imo it will be quite hard for your children to learn Mandarin with only weekend lessons. Not to say they aren't valuable and they will hopefully get a nice foundation. I guess it depends on what your expectations are too. If you just want your child to have some exposure and basic vocab you could go with any of those languages. If you want your child to be able to have a basic conversation or to even be fluent you will need to go for whatever language has the most resources (chances to speak with native speakers, reading materials, audio/ video materials, etc) combined with where you can get the most exposure (if you can speak French with your kids EVERY day that MIGHT be more helpful than once a week lessons in another language).

Ah, well in that case then I can certainly agree with you that your aunt was rude. I still think that she had a right to say something to your child but "shaming" someone like that, child OR adult, is not somthing I can get behind.

See, I know people where a gentle reminder would be considered an "attack" on their child so perhaps that is coloring my opinion as well. :glare:

Unless a child had never previously been to a family meal I find it pretty hard that a nine year old WOULDN'T know that. Certainly, I don't expect my 2 year old to remember not to take the last cookie but I do expect my 9 and 12 year olds to know that. Like I said, I am approaching this from my own personal viewpoint (which is what I know best :001_smile:) and which might be vastly different from other people's. Perhaps it's a cultural thing. I spent most of my 20's and 30's in Germany. When we returned to the States I was surprised that most Americans seemed a lot more indulgent towards their children. I believe children are people too and would never treat a child in a condescending way but if my child was doing something that was unacceptable to me I would still say something. We don't know if the aunt yelled and made a scene. None of us, aside from the op, was present.

Right, and that's why I said it comes down to different viewpoints. Maybe the real problem is that the ADULTS all have different expectations. In our family the boy would have been rude because all the adults are on the same page as to what is rude and what isn't. In the op's case it sounds like the aunt had one set of rules and the op's family another and to that I would say "when in Rome". When I am a guest I try to be concious of what is the "norm" at that house. My kids know that it's okay to jump on the couch at our house but it's NOT okay at Grandma's. If my kids started jumping on the couch at Grandma's house, Grandma has a right to say something even if the kids are oblivious or forget.

We have our beds made up in the German style which is basically just a bottom sheet and a comforter with a comforter cover- no top sheets, blankets, bedspreads, etc. It takes about 3 seconds to "make" the bed so, yes, we do get this done every day. Now....if all the other chores they are required to do would be so fast and easy....sigh...

I guess we all have our own definitions of misbehaving. :001_smile: To me a child taking a large portion of meat at a buffet meal before others had been served would be misbehaving because I personally find that rude. Obviously quite a few other people have a different opinion. It all comes down to personal viewpoints I suppose.

I'm really surprised at some of the answers but I guess that just goes to show how many different viewpoints there can be. I don't think the aunt was rude. Yes, a hostess has a responsibility to be gracious towards her guests but I think that courtesy extends in both directions. If a guest was misbehaving at my party then I would feel obligated to speak up on the behalf of the other guests. In our family the little kids would probably be served first (5 and under) then grandparents and on down the line. There is always plenty of food but my kid are told to take modest portions on the first pass through. After that they can go back for seconds. They are also required to ask before they take the last portion of anything. To me it is a matter of respect. I would personally be appalled if my kids took three slices of meatloaf. I have two boys and they can eat A LOT but family dinners aren't gorge fests imo. If we were really to provide the amount of food that everyone in our large extended family COULD eat it would be very expensive.

Green

Not surprising. Unfortunately. I once had someone argue with me that Berlin sat right in the middle of the border of East Germany and West Germany. He would not believe me that Berlin was a divided city within East Germany. He wouldn't even believe me when I told him I had actually been there!!

Yes, I do and for mostly the same reasons. Also sorting it like that makes it easier to put away when we get home.

I haven't personally used Mr Q's Chemistry but I considered it for my 4th grader this year. However, from the samples it seemed too babyish to me too so we passed. Have you looked at Galore Park Junior Science? That's what we decided to go with. I like it a lot but I don't know whether it would meet your criteria because it is not just Chemistry but Chemistry, Biology and Physical Science combined. You could do the Chemistry unit first though and then maybe the Physical Science unit. We do Science 3 times a week and have only worked through Biology and a bit of the Chemistry. Also there are not a ton of experiments but we have just supplemented from other sources. HTH!

I can't get this thread out of my mind because it seems so incredibly disturbing. I guess what bothers me most is that it seems to underline the trend these days of not wanting to take personal responsibility for anything. Everything is always somone else's fault, my hands are tied, etc etc etc:glare: Having to work full time and having a lot of kids shouldn't be a crutch for not fulfilling your basic obligations towards those children. IMO this includes seeing that your child has a decent education. As for the sports mom thing that I bolded- where are the priorities? I've always found the emphasis on sports in the American educational system to be absurd. Certainly kids should be encouraged to be physically fit but playing sports on a team should not be more important that Math or Science or English.