So... do we have a date yet for the date??? I need to mark my calender... :lurk5:

Hyperventilating here.... Okay, as a self proclaimed Little House junkie, who has read probably 3 or so different biographies of Laura and one on Rose, I LOVE THESE BOOKS! I do think there was a lot of "signs of the times," such as Pa seeming to completely rule the family, but wasn't that how it was back then? Can you imagine how it was for him? Women were allowed only very limited opportunities to work, so EVERYTHING fell on him. Hunting, gardening, raising animals, being at the mercy of the weather. UGH. Also, Laura wrote these books mainly from memory, so a lot of the adult reasons for moving and such really don't come across the in the books that well. In fact, in one bio I read it said that Little House on the Prairie were Mary's memories, and Little House in the Big Woods were Laura's memories. (I guess they lived in Wisconsin, moved to Kansas, then moved back to Wisconsin befor heading to wherever Banks of Plum Creek is, which I can't remember right now.) I have a grandmother who very much reminds me of Ma. I would never call my grandmother a doormat though. Just because she doesn't constantly argue with my grandfather doesn't mean she doesn't let her feelings known, or that my grandfather doesn't take them into account when making desicions. (Doesn't mean I'm cut out for that type of marriage, but it works for them.) Life was hard back then. Many did die of starvation. Did anyone watch that show on PBS where they took three families and they had to build their own log cabins and live off the land for half a year or so? I don't think they almost starved to death, but I do remember the families talking about the hunger and guilt they were going though putting their kids through that. Back then I think it was just a way of life. I always thought that even though the events that happened in the stories were hard, it was the family love that pulled them through. An earlier post mentioned about the fruits of the family...well, it's true the Charles Ingalls family didn't have a lot of descendents, but Laura's love for her family and childhood caused her to write about them as an elderly lady, whose books are still being read many decades later. So Pa couldn't have been that much of a jerk. It was quiet, well manered Ma who insisted all her children have a very good education (it was because of Ma that Pa settled near towns so their kids could go to school.) Because of this love of learning, Laura insisted the same for her daughter Rose, who actually had quite a career as an author and journalist herself before helping her mother write the Little House books. (And yes, Rose was a feminist, which I would think meant something different then than it does today, but either way I love Rose's feminism, and as a feminist myself that doesn't bother me at all.) One thing...no, we don't like the fact that Ma was racist towards Indians, but it's important to include that part about her. How can we understand what life was like back then if we constantly white wash the not so pretty parts. My own grandmother who reminds me of Ma doesn't like "Indians" much either today, and she's very much part Native American!!! For me and my kids, it's important to see how attitudes and perceptions influence our thinking so we can guard against them. Okay, now that I've written a book here when I'm supposed to be homeschooling, just ignore this post. These books were my first and most lasting literary love, so I guess I feel a little passionatly about them. (Can you tell???) Off to school now!:seeya:

I don't get it. What was the headach part, or was that just something to make people want to watch it?

You've gotten a lot of good advice...the only sugestion I might add is since you've enlisted you're kids help, together decide one bad habit to get rid of and one good habit to start. Hopefully it will make your kids feel more empowered and more likely to stick with it when you aren't standing over them. Just an idea. Good luck!

Ha-ha! You sound like me! I've got Ree's bean soup cooking, and I'll have that with her cornbread, but after that...I don't even know what we're having for breakfast tomorrow! :001_huh:

Um, all the time.....especially posts that I've spent 30 min trying to word just right...I end up giving up! (sigh...)

Do you mind telling us what curric. you're using for each subject? That might make it easier for us to give better advise. Thanks.

We ditched it here. Part of what I like about history is the discussions. HO level 2 was SO much outlining and independent work that history became very dull, and my dd's mind is not wired to just remember odd facts that she learns while outlining. It's sad because I was really hoping I found a winner with that program, but now I regret the year we spent with it.

I used to think the whole unsocialized homeschool child thing was a myth until I meet one. When we moved two years ago, our new next door neighbor homeschooled her kids primarily because she didn't want her kids to become influenced by other kids who didn't have her same values. (They weren't Christain, so it's not like they got to associate with people at church or anything.) When we met them, her son was literally bouncing off the walls because he had all this energy and had no outlet. So the unsocialized homeschooler CAN happen, but I think the parents need to really work at keeping their kids isolated. For most of us though I don't think it's really much of an issue. Both my kids are in scouts, attended co-op classes with other homeschoolers, my dd plays hockey, my kids attended different camps during the summer, and they've never had any problems making friends with other kids. I do think part of being socialized means how to get along with people different than yourselves. One of my dd13 friends she made in hockey is Jewish, and she's learned a lot about accepting other's religious beliefs and customs. (not eating pork, keeping kosher, etc.)

:) I just ordered this yesterday. I'm glad you're liking it. It was an impromptu purchase for me so I've been worrying if this would be worth it. :)

For grammer stage ancients, we used SOTW 1. Then for medieval we switched to HO, thinking since it still uses SOTW 2 along with the extra resources from HO it would be better. In our case more isn't more, and my son kept asking when we were going to go back to just regular history (SOTW). I know a lot of people really like HO, but it just wasn't a big hit in our house.

May I ask how you're implementing everything? I ask because you list both history, book study, and geography as completely different subjects. Are you treating them seperately, or are they really rolled up into one subject? Also, couldn't dictation and handwriting be treated as the same subject? What do you consider classical studies?

If I had a nickel for all the times I've been told I was going to hell from other Crhistains, I'd be richer than Bill Gates. (Well, maybe not richer, but I'd at least be able to take a nice cruise with my family this winter.)

I agree...I don't see how an abortion would prevent against STDs.

Okay, I stopped reading about page 6, so I don't know if it's been addressed or not, but am I the only one that's concerned about the daughter getting married at 17??? Politics aside, teens do stupid things all the time in the best households. I come from a divorced family. My parents married when my mom was 19 because she was afraid she was pregnant (she wasn't, I came along 10 months later), but getting married young because of pregnancy seems to me to be so completely the wrong answer. If the kids get through the next few years and still want to get married then GREAT!!! I don't know...maybe I'm to close to the situation, but the heartach and pain from having parents that truly didn't love each other and then divorce after years of horrible family life is just too big a risk for me. And yes, I know people who get married young CAN live happily every after, I hvae an aunt who married at 16 and now they're in their 50's still very happily married. It just seems like a huge gamble.

Are you kidding? My kids don't even know it's Labor Day, let alone that they are supposed to have the day off. Now back to school.....;)

McCain- as a military wife, I admire his service to our country. And I'm not saying that lightly. I like that he is concerned about our enviroment. I truly hope if elected he will be the "maveric" everyone claims to be and does a much better job reaching across the isle than our last few presidents. Pailin- Not that this is a voting issue, but I like that she's making the case for a working mom, so far in example only. If this is true reporting, I love her work on ethics reform in Alaska. If she's willing to truly be bipartisian, then I'd love her to somehow work under Obama's administration should he get elected. We need people with strong ethics more than we need party loyalty. (for both parties.) Reason why I like Obama and Biden even though they aren't reasons to vote for them: Obama- I think he and his family would make a great role model for every African American person in this country. As I saw in an interview last night, the generation that grew up with Obama as president would have completely different race conversations when they grew up. I would love a country where race truly wasn't a defining factor anymore. Biden- Good old fashion family man. No hint of sexual scandles! I'm tired of turning on my tv and hearing about this person or that person, from both parties. ENOUGH ALREADY!!! :lurk5:

Jami, I don't want to get into a debate on the rightousness of the issue. I also know that not all households that practice submission look the same. (Most of my family believe this and for the most part all my male relatives treat their wives extremely well. I've also seen examples of the opposite as well.) My question is for the people who believe that women are not to be leaders in mixed gendered company. I've read plenty of post on this forum from women who wont attend a church if a female is the pastor because she's not supposed to lead in spiritual matters. I've read posts on this forum from women who do not encourage their daughters to seek careers so they wont be conflicted when it comes time to marry, settle down and become submissive to their husbands. I've read plenty of posts about how evil and anti-family feminists are. It's these women with these beliefs that I wonder how they can support a woman who very well could become our commander in chief. How can they believe a womans place is in the home yet endorse this woman so completely. And, I dont' want to debate these womens' decisions to believe this way. I just want to understand their thought process. :grouphug:

Jami, I could respect that opinion if it was handled that way in practice. Unfortunately I've seen too many men really dismiss women's opinions because they were women. Or be ignored when purchasing a car because "men make the financial decisions" and all sorts of other passive agressive examples. If men can't respect women as equals in the home, how can they respect women in the work place or in general society at all??? (Please, I'm not trying to be snarky! this is a very troubling question for me!)

I am so glad you posted that...I've been wanting to and even typed it up but deleted it before I could. I haven't read all the posts yet, but I have been rather surprised with the possitive reactions from people who feel that a woman should stay home and be submissive to her husband. Even though I'd rather cut my right arm off than vote for McCain and Pailin, from the little I've seen I've been impressed with her strong feminist voice during her speech. I know the GOP pundints and the ol' boys club are having major fits right now. (almost makes me want to cut my right arm off and vote for her to spite them all!:biggrinjester:) So, how does everyone deal with the whole submissive women belief and their excitement over Pailin? (seriously curious, not trying to be spiteful and snarky.) Thanks!

Actually, I think it would be great! If a job is important enough for a woman to do, then it's important enough for a man to do as well. And what a statement it would make to America for a husband to say that he supports his wife's ambition so much that he'd take on the main caregiver role. So much for women sitting at home because they have to!:lol: (okay, actually I don't think it would be great if he stayed home because she was the VP, because then it would mean McCain won and that wont make me happy, but oh well) ;)

My son was on an escalator and didn't pick his feet up enough at the top and his crocs got caught and started shredding with his foot still inside. Luckily I was right beside him and yanked him as hard as I could away and nothing bad happened (thank heavens). I think escalators are the only places that you have to worry about though. :001_huh:

I personally don't think it would be wrong to share your concerns with your son. he does need to research his decision and weigh both the pros and the cons. However, if he still wants to join, please be supportive. I've seen many soldiers who don't have the support of their family and that can actually be more stressful for the family and soldier. I used to be more against people joining the military, but I've seen the possitive effects it's had on my husband. If we had to do it all over again we would. :patriot:

:iagree:

I have a used copy for sale...I can't post on the swap board because I don't have enough posts, but if you're interested, email me privately. (I hope this is okay)