This is my problem, too. I'd love for my dc to start with Ancient Greek, as it applies to more texts. According to my Dad (who has a degree in Classical languages) Koine Greek is easy to read after studying Ancient, so it would kind of "kill two birds with one stone" to learn Ancient first (as we would want to read the Bible.) When we start Greek (probably in a year or two) I plan on using Greek for Children (Koine) and then moving on to Athenaze (Ancient). Maybe learning it in order of difficulty would actually work better for a child anyway. (I hope, anyway, as there's currently no other choice! :)) I don't have an answer to this, as I don't have firsthand experience with any Koine Greek programs out there. And I don't know what, other than the Bible, is written in Koine, either. :001_huh: Kelsy

:lurk5: Ugh. I just spent an hour reading through all 29 pages of this thread! It caught my attention because I, like others here, used to buy into the Pearls' teachings. Some people from church gave us (dh & me) TTUAC before we had children. We thought it was GREAT! We knew all about how to be fabulous parents, and what every parent out there was doing wrong (and before we were even in our 20s!) :lol: We were disgustingly self-righteous. We had it coming to us, though. Our first ds must not have read the Pearls' book, because he sure didn't respond the way he was suposed to. It didn't matter how many times we thumped his little hand, he always went back to touching the no-nos. When he was older and we wanted him to stay in bed after he'd been put there, we consistently spanked him and put him back to bed. Over. and. over. again. After three months of the constant bed-time spankings, dh and I talked about it. We both felt horrible. We'd been consistent, we'd followed the book, and it just wasn't working. It also finally dawned on us that "disciplining" a child until he does what he's told was a little too close to torture for comfort. So we dropped the Pearls' teachings, and slowly began to heal. (We do still spank on occasion, but much more rarely now, and certainly not at all the way the Pearls advocate.) It's been a long, long road. It has taken a while to overcome the negative view of children that the Pearls' books imparted to us. Yes, they talk about enjoying your children, but it seems like a selfish joy. And the prevailing tone was that children are rebels who are always trying to manipulate you. It just didn't set us up for parenting success. Sadly, I ordered and gave away several copies of TTUAC before "seeing the light". I still had some after turning away from their teachings. I didn't want to donate them or sell them, as I really didn't want to be in any way accountable for someone else buying into this the way we did. I think we ended up burning them. :D I'm so glad we read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and aThe Contiuum Concept before we found the Pearls. At least I did something right in nursing on demand and co-sleeping. :) Just thought I'd add my Pearl experience to the rest here. Oh, I should add that I don't blame the Pearls for my bad parenting choices. I just wish I hadn't listened to them, KWIM? Kelsy

:001_smile: It's fine! When baby arrives, you'll be glad of your plan. Latin can come later. :001_smile: Kelsy

:iagree: I haven't read all of the above books, but I've at least heard of most of them, and have some of them on hold at the library. I'm currently reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, which is sort of a follow-up to The Omnivore's Dilemma. It's more about the practical nuts & bolts of eating rather than the food industry. The size of the book is managable compared to Sally Fallon's book, for instance, and has (it seems so far) a good, succint compilation of info I've gathered from reading various books. One section I just finished reading discussed the "lipid hypothesis" and how the idea of that diets low in fat are healthy is really not based on sound science. Very interesting. He sums up the theme of his book as: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." My focus (food-wise) is on whole foods. The less it's been tampered with/the more recognizable it is as FOOD, the better, IMO. :001_smile: Kelsy

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I was going to mention canned soups, too. Would mineral water/carbonated water be a good replacement for the pop? I don't think it has any calories, but it does (if I remember correctly) contain sodium. If you're into this kind of thing, you could make your own broth with some bones (add a splash of vinegar to aid in mineral release) and veggies (onion, carrot, celery). Add lots of sea salt and maybe some Dulse flakes (type of seaweed), cover with water, and simmer for several hours or longer. Strain your broth at the end. If you refrigerate it, the fat will solidify at the top and be really easy to skim. (Pardon me if you already do/know this!!!) This would be much healthier than canned soups, would taste wonderful, and maybe help quench your thirst, too. :D HTH Kelsy

I posted this on another forum, but received no replies, so I'm trying my luck here... I was wondering about: Kinderbach and Mrs. Stewart's Piano lessons I realize that these are geared for different age ranges. I looked at the Kinderbach sample online; my 4yo dd loved it, but the boys (9 & almost 8) thought it was kind of dumb (although the 7yo kept watching!) Has anyone here used either of these? Any comments? TIA:) Kelsy

Veritas Press sells/recommends both Shurley and IEW, so I'd imagine that they work well together. (No personal experience here, though.) Kelsy

Our oldest ds started sleeping on a futon around 14 mos. or so. It was low to the ground, so he couldn't hurt himself if he rolled off. Also, I could lay next to him to nurse him. (Not for long; he weaned at 15 mos.) The nice thing is, the futon is regular-sized, so no worries about outgrowing it. (We've never done the toddler bed thing.) Kelsy

(Task Oriented Physical Science) RR and Tobin's Lab (http://www.tonislab.com) sell these. They're great: inexpensive, use inexpensive materials, and teach real scientific concepts. I've read that the recommended ages are a "high" estimate; that younger students often do just fine with the materials. HTH Kelsy

I met someone who recently moved to WA who was just thrilled that here she can "Homeschool" through the school system and get $500/year. It was hard for me to share her enthusiasm, since we have consciously rejected such programs for our family. I'm with you on the "parent partnership" programs. Though I do know of a couple of cases where people who would otherwise ps are considering such a program instead. (My parents might've jumped at something like this, where I don't think they would have considered hsing.) If there were some guarantee that those of us who independently hs will maintain our right to continue to do so, I'd feel a little easier about the programs, and rejoice in the added choice available to parents in the education of their children. So...your island sounds nice. I hope that even the colder seasons have plenty of sunlight. The afternoon sun today is most welcome...I've had no energy at all in the recent gloominess here. Kelsy (whose 4 dc are about the same ages as your younger 4, incidentally :))

Maybe it's partly brain development? I read somewhere that teenagers are more likely to register anger/aggression in others' facial expression/tone of voice than people of other ages. Different parts of their brain are active than in adults. They then react in kind. :-( I guess that's not super helpful, but it might aid in understanding. :confused: You could even explain to him when he reacts the way he does (or after he's calm LOL) that you were not angry/upset/etc. It probably seems obvious to you, but maybe not to him. FWIW Kelsy

:lol: That's great! I hardly ever get any more either, as we've ditched the landline, but a few do come through on the cell. I'll have to try this next time. What I've done a few times in the past is report the offending call/caller to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission or something like that.) They have a pretty-easy-to-fill-out online form. Kelsy

Wow. Kinda makes you wonder...why on earth does he care about the issue so much??? Sounds like a bitter meany-pants.:thumbdown: Kelsy

I did SWR with my 2nd ds, although the goal was to get him reading. I plan on using AAS with my dd (she'll be 5 in the fall) because it's similar to SWR, but not as overwhelming. Other than intensive-phonics-type programs like these, I wouldn't do spelling with a child that age. JMO Kelsy

Stupid. I think his life would be in danger if he did. Kelsy

Thank you so much for the link! :thumbup: Kelsy

SWR worked really well for my 2nd ds, but it ended up being overwhelming for both of us. I plan on using AAS with my dd. We have started already, actually, but so far it's just learning the first 26 phonograms. I know it's designed to be primarily a spelling program, but looks to me like an easier-to-teach version of SWR. Kelsy

Our breakfast mainstays are smoothies w/ toast and oatmeal w/ a small amount of brown sugar & milk, plus a fruit. We had smoothies this morning. Usually they look like: 1-2 bananas Some frozen (or fresh) berries (usually a 3-berry blend from Costco) Plain yogurt (today I used kefir that I found on sale) milk I blend it all in the blender, and serve it with piece of toast. If the bananas are nice & ripe, they provide all the sweetness necessary. Kelsy

What I have probably wouldn't work for you, as there's a bit of prep involved, but it does make delicious single servings. It's an AeroPress: http://www.localsonlycoffee.com/Aerobie-AeroPress-TM-p/aer01.htm My coffee-making ritual includes heating water, putting a filter in the press, grinding my coffee, putting coffee & hot water in the press, stirring for a few seconds, pressing, and adding more hot water & milk or cream. I enjoy the process, though, and (unlike dh) don't drink coffee every day. Once I figured out the proportions of coffee ground/water (I use two scoops of beans per cup) I was totally sold on this thing. It makes the best coffee! :) Kelsy

We are currently doing SOTW 2, but I plan on doing Ambleside Year 3 with my 2 older dss next year. We will listen to the rest of SOTW 2 (the part that we won't finish this year; I'm stopping where AO Year3 picks up) and SOTW 3 next year while doing the AO readings. Kelsy

Dh just finished reading Men of Iron by Pyle to the boys (ages 7&9). They really loved it. Kelsy

I haven't used any Chemistry ones, but we have an electricity kit from them, and it's great. (Cheap materials, but real science.:)) They sell these at RR and Tobin's Lab. Here's an example of something that might work: http://www.tobinslab.com/shopping/searchResults.aspx?scSearchResultsCategoryID=8&scSearchResultsItemID=275 HTH Kelsy

I've had trouble falling asleep for years. It was only recently that I realized it was (is) anxiety. (Though not always about something fearful; often, I just can't turn my thoughts off.) After reading The Mood Cure I started taking 50 mg of 5-HTP at bedtime, and I can sleep! The crazy anxious thoughts are gone.:party: I have no idea, however, if this would be safe/appropriate for a child. It may help to acknowledge your dd's fears, and going to her room with her to see what she's talking about. (:confused:) Just a thought. Kelsy

Neither does my 2.5 year old ds. *sigh* He's slowly getting better; he'll sleep in his own bed for a few hours before coming to cuddle with me. Then it seems like he wants to nurse every hour or two! He does take a lengthy nap during the day. The older 3 all transitioned to sleeping in their own beds/through the night at some point, so I know it'll happen. :001_smile: Meanwhile, I agree that it can be exhausting. No help, really, but sympathy. :) Kelsy