I wish I could reply to the other 2 threads on this topic...but they refuse to open along with every other thread. I can see the topics but when I click it is a blank page...even when I tried a different browser (safari and chrome). Hopefully this can be fixed :) Thanks!

Finished: Don’t Just Do by Richard Eyre The Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Bishop Spalding The Awakening by Richard Eyre Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer Working on: Fiction: Nappily Faithful by Trisha Thomas Kindle: The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim Non-fiction: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis Phone: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker Computer: Life Balance by Linda and Richard Eyre Well Education Mind: Gulliver Travels by Johnathan Swift Angel Girl: Water Babies by Charles Kingsley Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book Audiobook: Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson Total Read for 2014: 56

I agree! And my dd is only 6 years old...she had to get a size 10 so that it was long enough.

So I finished The Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Spaulding...It has some interesting teaching ideas BUT I am not sure how homeschoolers would use it. I also finished The Awakening by Richard Eyre...I have been reading bunch of his wife and his books but this was by far my least favorite so far. Started Mere Christianity by C.S.Lewis and Lifebalance by Richard and Linda Eyre

I agree that there is a big push down and it is effecting the kids...I also think that there is immense pressure that starts very early to have kids a head of the curve average is not good enough everyone needs to be exceptional. Personally I started here when my oldest was 3 and I really wanted to know what to use to teach her...because she could not/would not play...so I wanted to have something structured to do with her because unstructured was not ok...turns out she has autism. But at least with a structured learning time I had her interacting with me for a few minutes daily and it gave a basis for special ed help she ended up getting. With my current child I am totally doing the if you want to do stuff I have a bucket of stuff (magnetic letters, kumon books ect) but if you are playing and having fun have at...but he is fully capable to eventually picking it all up because we have a language rich home and he has been read to and talked to his whole life. I hope that someday the public education system recognizes that not all children learn at the same exact pace and that there is a spectrum of readiness and its ok for kids to be anywhere along it as long as they are not outliers (thus gifted or sped).

I just finished Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer...and I don't know what to think of it...It was interesting but hard to read and I don't really know what I thought of it...I have the second one (which I guess isn't actually a sequel but more of the same time at a different time) that I will be reading sometime soonish (at least sometime in the next 4 years lol).

:lol:

Madison also has a really fun children's science museum and so does rockford (although that one may be fir younger kids)

Madison has a free zoo. Rockford has Monkey joes an indoor bouncy place, they also have a place that is like a big mcdonalds play place with less people (I think Champion Ice Rink is where it is).

Finished: FIAR through the Seasons by Jane C. Lambert and Becky Jane Lambert Shatter by Elizabeth C. Mock (I ended up enjoying this but it took about 1/2 the book to get a good feel for it) Working on: Fiction: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer Kindle: The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim (this is a switch but its the book club book for this month so I figure I should read it) Non-fiction: The Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Bishop Spalding Phone: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker Computer: Don’t Just Do by Richard Eyre Well Education Mind: Gulliver Travels by Johnathan Swift Angel Girl: Water Babies by Charles Kingsley Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book Audiobook: Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson Total Read for 2014: 52

I just finished Shatter by Elizabeth Mock and it was interesting...I may someday read the others in the series...it did take about 50% to figure out what was happening in the story but do wonder what will happen in the next book. Now to start The Fearful Rise of Markets by John Authers....this make take me a while to get through lol.

you all are scaring me....I just started Gulliver's Travels...and I really do want to finish it....but now I am scared that it will be like don quio...which I gave up on after the 1st part

Finished: The Reader as a Learner by NZ Ministry of Education (wishing I lived in NZ...I just feel like they really get the not all kids on the same level thing....but they are obviously not perfect either) Arianna: A Gift Most Precious by Rachel Ann Nunes (meh...it was fine) Working on: Fiction: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer Kindle: Shatter by Elizabeth C. Mock Non-fiction: FIAR through the Seasons by Jane C. Lambert Phone: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker Computer: Don’t Just Do by Richard Eyre Well Education Mind: Gulliver Travels by Johnathan Swift Angel Girl: Water Babies by Charles Kingsley Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book Audiobook: Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson Total Read for 2014: 50

Land before time (although I hated it because the mom dies which is also why bambi is banned in my house)

I hope so! I just wish there was a sample :)

So found this when I went to the K instructor guide You'll use the Instructor's Guide like a compass to guide your children down the path to spiritual and academic excellence ​So I do wonder how much they have edited...and sadly no preview.

Blind date....except its more interesting than that. I had just been offered a job at a job fair but I had never seen the company so I decided to fly out that night but I needed a ride to the airport....so I called around to a number of friends and found a roommate of a friend who would take me....on the way he said so I have a brother and you have a sister wouldn't it be funny if the brothers and the sisters went out on a date and I was all sure whatever just get me to the airport....so when I got back after having accepted the job, he set me up with his brother on a blind date....while he went out with my little sister....9 months later we got married and so did they.

Finished: Motherhood Realized by Power of Moms Lies, Da** Lies, and Science by Sherry Seethaler Naomi and her Daughters by Walter Wangerin Jr. Life of Pi by Yann Martel Working on: Fiction: Arianna A Gift Most Precious by Rachel Ann Nunes Kindle: Shatter by Elizabeth C. Mock Non-fiction: The Reader as a Learner by NZ Ministry of Education Phone: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker Computer: Nothing Yet Well Education Mind: Gulliver Travels by Johnathan Swift Angel Girl: Water Babies by Charles Kingsley Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book Total Read for 2014: 48

Yep I just got one for my book a week post....I didn't post cause I alway seem to fail captchas :(

YouTube has a entire series about the NYC ballet company explaining what a dancer's life is like...its by AOL Originals.

Finished: The Aesop for Children by Aesop Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan FIAR Vol 4 Working on: Fiction: Life of Pi by Yann Martel Kindle: Naomi and her Daughters by Walter Wangerin Jr. Non-fiction: The Reader as a Learner by NZ Ministry of Education Phone: Lies, Da** Lies, and Science by Sherry Seethaler Computer: Motherhood Realized by Power of Moms Well Education Mind: Gulliver Travels by Johnathan Swift Angel Girl: Water Babies by Charles Kingsley Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book Autobook: Total Read for 2014: 45

I love MealBoard. It lets you import recipes from either known websites or by hand...I do it using their on website off my computer...it is very flexible and seems to do everything I need it to...short of planning my week for me lol

I love LifeTopix...it is GTD esc...but really it is a great thing that I use to hold my brain with lots of different options...that said if you want a paper option Power of Moms has a program called Mind Organization for Moms that looks INCREDIBLE!!! I have read through it once and now just need to make the time to implement it but it really is a fabulous way to organize the brain from what I have seen...it is also GTD based.

My opinion is EVERY baby is a blessing (thus congrats are in order) but it is ok to be sad about the situation of the persons involved in the making of the baby but the baby is a blessing and thus loved and accepted regardless of thoughts on the situation (and the baby should NEVER hear negative remarks about the situation that is disapproved of).

Finished: The Lodger by Liz Adair (fluffy) Dancing with the Pen by NZ Ministry of Education (I really like their approach to education less every child will hit this point at this point...more children are within a band of learning) Mozart’s Sister by Nancy Moser (interesting look at the life of Mozart's sister...I enjoyed it) Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith (fine enough...I have a hard time with this series...but it was a good audiobook) Abandoned: The 4 Levels of Joy by Richard Eyre (just couldn't do it...not interested) Working on: Fiction: Arianna: A Gift Most Precious by Rachel Ann Nunes Kindle: Naomi and her Daughters by Walter Wangerin Jr. Non-fiction: FIAR Vol 4 Phone: Lies, Da** Lies, and Science by Sherry Seethaler Computer: Motherhood Realized by Power of Moms Well Education Mind: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Angel Girl: The Aesop for Children by Aesop Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book Autobook: Total Read for 2014: 42