Is this the Key of Liberty class offered though a TJEd/LEMI commonwealth school? If so, it looks like Mrs. Mungo's post will be helpful:) Good luck! Your child will be learning A LOT this year!

Purchase a purification system for your pressure cooker (or purchase it along with purchasing a pressure cooker). There are camping straws that purify nasty water as it is syphoned up the filter. There are water purification bottles with filters, and you can learn to purify water using the sun. Camping stores also sell water purification tablets. Read up on Water Purification on Wikipedia, and on howstuffworks.com Good luck with your research - there is a lot you can do!

Hmmm... Well, I can't be all high and mighty because we eat them:) But if you are a principled person, it's always best to eat close to the natural source. If you really want to know how good your food is, research. I imagine that many boxed and pre-processed foods are made from veggies that have GMOs included, or are hybrids. It's good to also look at what we put in our gardens, as many seeds and seedlings contain GMOs, antibiotics, and are terminator plants (only produce for one season). Try to eat fresh, and try to eat pure (even better than organic). Save the box in your food stores for use in an emergency - it will be easy to "revive" with water. Enjoy dinner:)

If you truly have starvation worries, try starting out as a flexitarian. Choose one or two meats (preferably chicken/turkey and fish) and cut everything else out. As you build up a recipe file, you can fully transition "over". Good luck! Here's to healthy choices!

Here's to a year full of more memorable moments! Happy Birthday! (and many more!) Enjoy your day Drew!

I love your idea, and think of it often. You are on the right track with getting everyone to read a book, and this one sounds like a conversation starter. Those that follow TJEd (and CM and WTM) realize that our nation (any nation) needs a national book. Most American's woudl react with choosing the Bible as a national book, but that doesn't fit everyone in our nation. So, to suggest a book that we all read, we should start with the documents of our nation, for example, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Those "books" are our anchor. Fairy tales, fables, and cultural stories are another form of a "national book". They help anchor us to the virtues shared by the world. As you read these you realize that these stories are told over and over across the world, to fit the culture. The Bible is a collection of many stories of the past, retold as they are relived (creation myths/Genesis; Gilgamesh/Noah; Sargon/Moses; Hammurabi's Code/Ten Commandments). Your book suggestion fits in the fable/fairy tale part of this - we need more of these stories, and we need them to be common to all.

You can purchase thin curtain rods and curtain clips. They don't sag, as wire will, and they can be adjusted for a custom fit to your space (hallway, or room). Try hanging multiple rods - one for each child on a large wall - the effect is pretty cool. IKEA has a wire, clip and wire holder system.

Other: Macro and Micro Economics

My attention this morning, has been over at the Homeschool Library Builder site this morning checking out what they have to offer. If you use WTM, CM, Sonlight, Tapestry of Grace, Veritas Press, Beautiful Feet, Five in a Row, or simply love to add living books to your curriculum without going through Amazon.com, HOMESCHOOL LIBRARY BUILDER (HSLB) is a site that offers those resources: http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/'>http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/'>http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/'>http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/ I'm posting this over on the General Board too (excuse the duplicate in advance - I'm liking this site). I was first drawn to their $1 Bin...$2 Bin...on up to a $5 Bin link. From there, I started looking around their front page. My impression is that it is set up not to be a look and buy site - it is a site that members (easy form to fill out) can "participate" on - sort of a family feel and set up. Here are some of the perks: First, the usuals: ~Book buying points ~Monthly newsletter Now, the perks that make the site more than just a buy-and-go site: ~If you have homespun a curriculum, or designed a resource, you may market your product FREE on this site in their "Marketplace" area. ~They offer FUNDRAISING for your co-op, local group, or statewide organization. ~They have a charitable area set up (currently, they are matching dollar-for-dollar for Samaritan's Purse hurricane relief). Donating is simple!!!! Just buy a book. That's it. ~Special offers. As in, they offer, you choose to take them up on it or not. There are no other silly things to do or hoops to go through. Bookmark this site so you can visit it after the sometimes rousing, and always informative discussions here (I get lost here reading, for what seems like hours at a time). Remember, http://www.hslibrarybuilder.com/ Enjoy!

Okay, I'm second guessing my answer above... I am familiar with what you are talking about (I would always look at it at a local Christian bookstore that carried homeschool supplies). Still wishing you good luck! I'll mull it over some more.

I believe what you may be looking for is FIVE IN A ROW (FIAR). Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1885593295/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link We loved GEOLOGY ROCKS! by Cindy Blobaum. Enjoy!

I noticed a request today, and felt soooo honored! I have to admit though, that I have no idea how the whole process works... I'm off to look up more info. Enjoy the fame! Cheers!

Have you thought of doing a Jesse Tree? Each child could decorate a tree, diorama, wall poster, or complete sculptures with story pictures representing each scripture - in their own style. Enjoy your long holiday time together!

I love Sarah's point about sovereignty. This is so important to understand, in order to understand the fullness of Christianity. Thank you Sarah!

Yeah! Congrats! I'm in awe. Running is only a dream for me... my knees cannot take the constant beating. I'll be walking a 1/2 this winter - it's good to be training, and it's easy on my "old lady" joints, and it's socializing. But, deep down, I would love to accomplish what you did!

The best "thing" to do is to unwrap your lettuce from any plastic wrap. Once this is done, do not wash until you are ready to use the leaves - then tear off ONLY the portions you want to use. Wrap the remaining lettuce in paper towels. Now, the MOST important "thing" to do, is to learn how to control the humidity controls in your veggie drawers. You will have instant success keeping lettuce and other veggies/fruits once you get this figured out. It is the reason they were invented - and people don't usually take the time to learn how to work the controls. Good luck!

Whoops - I wrote the above without considering that "you" were his aunt (I did realize that...). Oh, well - you'll get the point.

He should have his eyes checked as well. When children have mild farsightedness, there is a higher chance that they can have comprehension problems as well. I wouldn't put pressure on him - he's SEVEN!!!! But some things that can help... have him narrate stories back to you; have him comic strip draw the beginning, middle, and end of a story, and highlight the conflict or rising portion of the prose; conduct a series of questions that require him to talk to you in full sentences rather than answer yes or no; break his reading times into 20 minute sessions three times per day - only one session should be "academic" - the other two will be reading for fun from a variety of resources. Good luck!

I don't have a specific answer. The vision you have is amazing! While I do believe the best way to learn is through immersion, during the times you do not travel, could you pick up books in the languages you will be immersing in each year, and use those for their basic education?

I could be behind the times... but thought I'd post this anyway for those that may have missed it. We checked back into FREE RICE today as a respite from our vocab studies. We found they have added different subjects (art, grammar, math, history, geography, etc.). You can change your quiz page to any subject now, and still donate "rice" to the program. Enjoy! http://www.freerice.com/

Oh, that we could all be Eagle Scouts...

Nah, keep it on the board. Don't engage. The comment speaks for itself. Stay confident in your success - your tag line says it all too, I'm so hopeful when I read it... full scholarship? WOW!!!!! You keep goin' girl!

Snort!!! How funny! You know, it really does leak into everything (pun not intended)... I can only imagine what might happen at your house, with boys, after reading about the Ides of March and learning Latin... Pugno! The knowledge and activities in SOTW will put you in some stereotypical homeschool situations where your kids will be odd next to others - but we totally understand here!!! When the kids had an elephant ride last year - all their talk in line beforehand was of Hannibal and the Swiss Alps. I felt so geeky being surrounded by parents and kids talking about the big feet, trunk, and hairy hide of the elephant...

Life of Fred! Look at the sample pages (it also has a homeschool companion book with extra problems): http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html