[Can you buy the curriculum without joining 4-H?]

As a 4-H leader, I encourage you to look into this and consider joining a club. There are lots of fun contests and working on a project for the year incorporates public speaking and lots of organizational skills. There's definitely more to 4-H than people think!

[Allergies]

Yes, this is supposed to work. It was recommended therapy for my father's allergies. He was told to eat the pollen. I have allergies, too, but I'm 99% certain I have gluten intolerance and so am going gluten-free to try and see if that works.

[With all this talk of recession and all, what about hsing?]

I would turn to a more Charlotte Mason approach using living books for history, geography and science and buy only the basics like math, language arts, etc. The library would become my best friend again!

[Summer job for a 14 year old?]

My daughter is 14 and wants to work, too. She can work at the grocery stores and Chik-Fil-A. She definitely wouldn't make enough money to buy anything expensive - LOL!

[Memorable quote from a movie?]

I just found out today that Harrison Ford bought this HUGE house/mansion in my town about 3 minutes from where I live. Calista Flockhart's parents live here in town and they come to visit now and then. I haven't seen them here yet, but many report they frequent the local theater when they are in town.

[Memorable quote from a movie?]

I don't have a great memorable quote like that, but some of my favorite lines come from The Incredibles - there are bits of wisdom in that movie here and there!

[Colored Pencils]

Yep, totally agree ... great pencils! My daughter is an artist and she won't use anything else!

[Insisting dd participate in an activity? & Is homeschooling the wrong choice for dd?]

I've had this experience. Just recently, both of my kids decided they DID NOT want to participate in 4-H anymore. They enjoyed it at first, but it just didn't align with where they are heading, so I let them drop it. They had given it 2+ years and that was enough for me to feel that they knew what they wanted to do.

 

I'm not sure that I have an answer for you, but as she approaches her teen years, I think I'd let her have more of a say in what she participates in. Kids have to learn to make their own decisions and their own mistakes.

 

I wish you the best. Parenting is hard sometimes!

[Aspergers and the ACT]

Oh, good question. I guess that I need to start thinking about these things, too! Yikes!

[Teens and summer jobs]

My daughter wants to try to find a job this summer ... she just mentioned it yesterday! I'm all for it!

[Will impending global food shortages further force GMOs?]

I already believe that a lot of our illnesses are caused by food that has no nutrition in it due to an overuse of the same soil over and over again. I can't imagine what we face in the next 10+ years!

[sad day...]

I'm so sorry to hear this. We just got a new puppy a month ago and he has already stolen our hearts. I can't imagine how you feel right now.

[Anyone know anything about Mini Coopers?]

My husband and I test drove one and we felt like we were in a tin can! Definitely take one for a spin. We traded our 2 SUVs for a Chevy Cobalt and a Honda Civic ... both get great gas mileage, about 26 for the Cobalt (in town) and 27-30 in town for the Civic. We love both cars!

[Idol people, what did you think of tonight?]

Jason or Brooke is going home. I thought Syesha was outstanding!

[Our son's ACT score arrived! 32!!!]

That's incredible. Congratulations!

["Hungry Planet" This book is amazing!!!]

Yes, this is a great book. Like the others, I have Material World and also Women in the Material World. We used these in our geography study this year.

[Any suggestions for "good" Christian music?]

Oh, thanks for this thread! Now that I have kids that can actually understand the lyrics in music, I've been keeping my radio on the local Christian radio station. But they seem to be playing the same music over and over. I'll be interested to read the responses and get me some new music, too!

[What kind of wheat kernels to buy?]

I've been told that the Prairie Gold is the best, but I have to drive about 40 minutes to buy it. My local grocery store now sells organic whole wheat kernels and I've been buying it. It's not Prairie Gold, but tastes just fine in our breads!

[Why does wife swap always feature an ultra conservative homeschooling family?]

I've been contacted several times to do that show. I don't think they would have chosen us because we are not radical at all, but I couldn't put my kids on that show for so many reasons.

[In search of a good book]

I really enjoyed the books by Liz Curtis Higgs -http://lizcurtishiggs.com/Fiction/index.htm - the first 3 on this page are the trilogy. The fourth book is related, but not part of the original story.

[Guess how much we spent on gas?]

I am so glad that we traded off both of our cars within the last year. I went from 14 mpg to 26 and my dh went from 18 to 27-30 mpg. It really has helped our gas bill and was so worth it!

[Scales are evil things...EVIL I say!!]

I hate my scale, too ... I think I'm going to throw it away! I have this pair of "fat" shorts and it's how I measure whether I am doing well or not ... this weekend, they were tight ... drat!

[Have you experienced beauty lately? Where? When? How?]

The robin's nest outside the front of my house has the most gorgeous turquoise eggs in it!

[Does your state have a "unique" holiday?]

Does a "tax-free" weekend count? LOL!

[How did you meet your dh?]

I met my husband the summer before our senior year in high school at a month-long camp for the gifted. We started dating about 2 months later and married after graduating from college. We will celebrate our 18th anniversary this year!