Everything I want to do is Illegal by Joel Salatin A whole bunch of books about chickens (skimming these) Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (dh reads this out loud to me in the car, "editing" the language as he goes) Listening to Pinocchio in the car with dc Kelsy

"Tennis shoes" and "sneakers." (WA) Dh calls the ones he runs in "running shoes." Kelsy

100 EZ Lessons worked so well for my 1st, that I assumed I'd use it for all of the others as well. I tried it with my 2nd ds twice. He didn't get it at all. What worked for him was SWR. I've tried 100 EZ Lessons with my 4.5 yo dd, just to see if she was ready. Nope. I'll try again when she's older (maybe), but will probably end up using AAS the way I used SWR for #2. Each kid learns differently! (Sometimes I wish there was some kind of print-out that would come out of their forheads with all of the "best" curriculum choices/ homeschool approaches for that child. It would make life so much easier...:D) Kelsy

Regarding "long e" words spelled both "ee" and "ea", this is what The Origins and Development of the English Language by John Algeo and Thomas Pyles has to say: "In early Modern English times, ea was adopted as a spelling for most of those words that in the Middle English dialects spoken north of the Thames had (short "e" sound held long) whereas those words that had in the same dialects (long "a" sound held long) usually continued the Middle English e(e) spelling." Don't think it will help your dc much, but just thought I'd throw that out there for those who are interested. (Esentially it comes down to having to memorize these words, but it's nice to know that there is a reason for the difference!:)) Kelsy

I have Dr. Odent's book, Birth Reborn and was a little surprised to see what he wrote in this article. His book has some lovely pictures of husbands being there for their wives in labor. I admire Dr. Odent (who is French, but now lives in the UK) in many ways. He did a lot of wonderful things for women at Pitiviers, where he first started working in OB (worked in surgery before that.) Since he didn't know much about OB matters, he listened to the midwives that worked there, and to the women that came to have their babies. He stated in his book, too, that he felt rather awkward even being in the birth environment, as he felt male practitioners really didn't belong there. I think many women want him as a birth attendant, though, which may be why he's still involved. I know that for me, dh was wonderful while I was in labor. He wasn't tense, he didn't try to talk to me, and he wasn't a stifling influence at all. He just held me, or massaged, or whatever it was I needed. He caught our first child, too. :-) (He didn't make it there in time for #4, who was the only one born in the hospital and was premature. The room was full of people, but I never felt so alone. The male OB present was probably the least friendly of everyone there. I never missed my dh so much as I did then!) It would be nice if it were completely acceptable (in everyone's eyes, I guess) for men to be absent from the birth scene if this is what the couple desires. In that sense, the article may do some good, but I do agree that he goes too far with his generalizations. I think that if a woman is having a hospital birth, and the husband's presence isn't desirable, then a doula would definitely be in order. I can't imagine having to deal with decisions/staff trying to push stuff/etc. while laboring "in my own world" as well.::ohmy: Kelsy

I grew up wearing undershirts (sleeveless, camisole-type.) Although we believed in modesty, the undershirts were more of a cultural thing for us. (I lived in Germany until the age of 10. Girls and women alike commonly wear undershirts there.) After moving back to the States, I eventually outgrew my undershirts and didn't get new ones. It's only been since the layered look has become more popular that I've seen camisoles around more, and have started wearing them again. (Tucked in, though, not hanging out. I'm long-waisted already and the haning-out look makes me look really lopsided! :tongue_smilie:) I just think they're comfortable, and I like not having to worry about someone seeing my post-prego belly when I reach up for something. ;) Kelsy

:iagree: I remember learning that lesson once as well... Kelsy

Don Quixote is the only one I've "read" so far...I checked out the unabridged audio recording that my libary had. I've tried to read it before, but couldn't get into it. Time is a huge constraint as well. Having the CDs play in my car whenever I needed to drive somewhere was perfect, though. In the end, found Don Quixote to be very cleverly written and hilarous. Even my dc picked up on parts of it, and refer to it every now and again. Kelsy

The highest we've gone so far is level D (ds just started this), and we haven't gotten any Teacher's Guides, either. I thought I had read somewhere that they are needed a some point though.:confused: I'd love to know when that is. Kelsy (who was going to purchase the TG for level E, but isn't so sure now)

I got Mr. Darcy, but I'm Jane Bennet. :001_huh: Kelsy

:iagree: I wish I'd never started (legs, at least.) Kelsy

I currently have a book entitled Nourishing Traditions from the library, and it recommends raw, whole, unhomogenized milk as the ideal. There are a few recipes that call for pasteurized milk (yogurt is apparently easier to make that way), but even then the author calls for unhomogenized milk. The book is based on the work of Weston A. Price. I have his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, on hold. Although I've read some disturbing articles on raw milk on the CDC website, I still think that the evidence in favor of raw milk is pretty convincing. I wouldn't buy it if it wasn't local, though. I recently found a farm nearby that sells raw goat milk; I bought some and it's delicious. I also joined a local food co-op which sells raw cow milk and pasteurized non-homogenized cow milk. I think I'm going to be doing a combo of the goat milk and pasteurized milk, just because it's all so expensive, and the pasteurized non-homogenized stuff is the least expensive of all the choices. (The goat milk is the most pricey.) I'm just coming into my hayfever season, which is usually worsened by milk. I'm hoping this new regimen will help, but it's just too early to tell. (We've been on this for only a month; so far everyone's healthy & fine. :)) Kelsy

Meaning: I like your way of putting it better. :tongue_smilie: Kelsy

:D Me, too. :D Or maybe "non-standard"... Although in 50-100 years (totally making those figures up;)) it may well be "correct" (or should I say "standard?) and taught as such in grammar books. Kelsy

According to linguists, if enough people say/write it, it becomes correct, or usage dictates convention. (This is how our language/grammar came to be the way it is.) Really annoying, I know. It seems so wrong that something can become right in this way! This is something my Dad (Ph.D. in Ancient Semitic Philology) pointed out to dh, who bristled at the use of "fellowship" as a verb rather than as a noun. It's also something I learned in a course I'm just finishing (History of the English Language, through U. of Wisc. IL.) So, "it's me" is correct, even though it shouldn't (:confused:) be.:D Kelsy

I only started strength training with a kettlebell last month. Right now I'm following the "boot camp" in a book I got from the library called "From Russia with Tough Love." It's a bit corny, but the workouts are great, and vary from week to week. After I'm done with the specific routines in the book, I plan on combining various exercises for my workout, maybe changing the routine on a weekly basis. Maybe you could look up various free weight excercises only, and pick 2-3 to focus on each week, changing it up that way. :confused: Kelsy

My friend uses a program called Total Language Plus (I think:tongue_smilie:), which she switched to after using LLATL for several years. She really likes it. Based on what she has told me about it, it sounds exactly like what you're looking for. HTH Kelsy

I received a starter recently, too (already made with WW flour) and used WW flour. I also waaayyy reduced the sugar. It made a rather heavy loaf, but we don't mind. :001_smile: (Last one I made, I added nuts, raisins, and shredded apple. It was delicious...much more bread-like than cake-like. We just sliced it thinly.) I don't see that using the vital wheat gluten would hurt. Or maybe you could try using part WW pastry flour, which is a bit lighter. :confused: Good luck with your next batch, Kelsy

Not there yet, but Pandia Press (http://www.pandiapress.com/) sells one that I'm currently planning on using once we get to that stage. Kelsy

My brother started at the U with the plan of eventually going to Med. school and doing genetic engineering. After his first Chem class he changed his mind. In June he will graduate as an art major, specializing in drawing and painting! I don't think we predicted any kind of career for him when he was a little boy (or even an older boy) though. Kelsy

:iagree: My dh and I got this from the library recently...it was soooo good! We'd stay up way too late, watching just one more episode... loved it! Kelsy

Thanks, Old Dominion Heather. That was a helpful idea for the spelling. I think I'll do that, as handwriting is not his strong point (understatement!) and the thought of re-writing something could cause him to lock up. I guess we didn't talk about what to do to fix the alphabetizing problem, because he never did admit the problem exisited! But maybe that is why. (And I agree that in the grand scheme of things, alphabetizing is not a huge deal.) Unfortunately, usually his "lock up" will occur at the beginning of a lesson. Sometimes it's something he doesn't quite remember (like how to start double-digit by double-digit multiplication) and instead of asking for help (which he knows and can verbalize he's supposed to do, but never does) he throws his book, or defaces it, or sits there sulking. I do try to get him to explain his problem, but usually all I get from him is "this is stupid and dumb and I hate it." Sometimes I sit down and lead him through the problem thing step-by-step. Sometimes I wonder if he is just "lazy" and waiting for me to get to that point so that he doesn't have to think so hard. (He's the kind of boy who willingly does something if he immediately knows the answer, but if something requires thinking/figuring out, he gives up without even trying.) It takes time to sit next to him through every single lesson, though, and I still have the other dc. Sometimes I have evil thoughts of how easy it would be to hs the others if ds9 were at school. Then I feel terrible for thinking that. I love him, and would hate to "give up" on him, so to speak. Plus, of all the dc, he probably needs to be hsed to most. (Ps kids tend to bully him.) Thanks again, Kelsy

My ds (age 9) exhausts me. Every day.:ack2: It seems like every day there is at least one lesson he gets stuck on. Usually it's math and latin. Today it was spelling. He had a small list (maybe six spelling words) to put in alphabetical order. He has done this type of activity before with absolutely no problem. He did it almost right, but one word which started with "l" was at the bottom of the list, instead of after the other "l" word, which was in the correct place. Instead of fixing the mistake when it was pointed out to him, he insisted the list was correct. I told him that he could either fix it, or practice alphabetizing the rest of the week. (This is the last lesson in the workbook, and I was going to let him take the rest of the week off after finishing the lesson today. I made the same threat about an earlier syllabication exercise, which worked to snap him out of "not knowing" the difference between one and two syllable words.) It didn't work this time, so I printed out a list of words for him to alphabetize. He still hasn't done it. ("I don't know how to do alphabetical order!"...although he recited the ABCs for me, and I could see where he had started putting the list in the correct order, and then erased it.) Usually it's not spelling, but every day there is at least one problem lesson, sometimes several. It's utterly exhausting. I start the day with a good attitude, but often I end up losing my cool and yelling at him after several hours of this kind of thing. (I'm working on the yelling thing, actually, but I still end up speaking to him in a less-than-kind voice.) Then I feel crummy (and so does he!) I also have a ds 7 who I am hsing (occasional bad attitude, but generally works through his lessons in reasonable time), and a dd 4 and ds 2 who need way more attention than I am currently giving them. Ds 9 takes up almost my whole day, every day. I do let him take breaks throughout the day, some of them long. And usually, if I perserve, he does get it, but at such a cost to my sanity and his well-being, not to mention the family in general. He does have some Aspergian qualities, and has always been difficult. New things are hard for him. There are some subjects which used to be torture, but now he does quite well on. For example, his history narrations haven't been a source of conflict in several months, and his narrations are really getting much better than the "bare minium" few sentences I'd been seeing before. But the areas where we have most of our problems are not new; not even the curriculum is new (except FLL3 for English, which he still claims to dislike...we are 33 lessons into it, though, and he does it without complaint now most of the time.) For Latin (Latin's not so Tough, level 3) I've decided that after he finishes lesson 15 (one lesson away) he can be done, because I just don't have the energy to sustain the several-hour struggle that inevitably results when this is assigned, even when the assignment is pared down to just 1/4-1/2 a page. We'll try LFC in a year, I think; the boys really wanted to do Spanish, so we're taking a break soon to do The Easy Spanish. Anyway, I'm just wondering...should I perservere with what I'm doing? Are there some kids that just aren't cut out for a classical education? Is there another approach (CM maybe?) that would work better? I don't know if I've included everything I need to, but this is plenty long enough already! TIA for any words of advice/encouragement. Kelsy (whose ds 9 is doing: FLL3, SWO C/D, SWOT book 3, Latin's Not So Tough 3, Hey, Andrew! 1, MUS gamma/delta...but have TT5 on the way, SOTW 2, NOEO physics 1)

I'm not sure about a free site for HWT paper, but you can print as much of it as you need from the StartWrite software program. I have this and use it sometimes for this purpose, but I find it much easier to just buy a bunch of HWT paper from Rainbow Resource to have on hand. (I think I bought a ream last year, and it looks like it will last us a few more years at least!) I wouldn't worry about using other paper, unless it messes your kids up. Even though we use HWT, there are exercises in other books (early levels of SWO, and FLL3 workbook, for example) that use traditional lines with a dotted center line, and the dc do fine. HTH Kelsy

...would also add, though, that Steve Demme (the author) suggests going at the child's pace. That may mean flying through a couple of lessons in a week, or spending several weeks on one lesson. The goal is mastery before proceeding. HTH, Kelsy