:bigear:

prayers here!:grouphug:

Our PS has been great. The teachers are wonderful, smart, caring, professional, well-trained. They have seen my kids as individuals and brought them to the next level-- even though these teachers have very large classes and I don't know how they do it. DD went from not reading, to reading at a 1st grade level in 2 months, in her K class. Now one reason I wanted to HS is because I care about several subjects that don't get taught, as far as I knew, in PS. One is grammar. I found out about grammar in 7th grade when we had a one-year, special pilot program of Latin instead of English, in my PS. Never did I hear about grammar again in all my years of PS, and when I mentioned things that I learned, in high school English class, even the teachers had no idea what I was talking about. Fast forward to DS in second grade: he is learning the grammar that I learned in 7th grade!!! We may not even have to continue FLL2 at home. And, our school has an afterschool enrichment program for Latin! We may continue HSing only for religion and history-- that's all we may need. I also just found out that our school system is very willing to work with homeschoolers and you can pick and choose what you want your child to do at home vs school: you can pick only the gifted program, or debate team, or sports, or musicals, or math. I found out that they have many HSers who do this. I had no idea-- I thought it was one or the other. I found this out from the superintendent in charge of curriculum and doublechecked with our principal. Wow! They respect homeschoolers & like to work with them. As for 'socialization' in PS, there are some kids who have behavior problems, but the teachers are excellent at dealing with this, looking at those kids as individuals, and setting a tone for the class such that the kids with difficulties are learning to behave properly toward their peers. They learn what is acceptable and what is not. DD's K teacher has a special genius for kids who have family issues or and/or are in foster care.

I think the punishment was a little much... (Also, how would he repay the $30? does he have allowance/chore money?) I think the teacher should have sent him out quicker, but hopefully she will next time, now that you have made that plain to her. I would wonder if the class is just not engaging him, and he is acting out because he is bored. Does he like the class? Does he want to be there? (It also seems to me that not all 6 yr old boys would be able to read quietly for 30 min while a class with youngers was taking place... My DS7 might not be able to do that, & I wouldn't blame him.) I think if he wants to be there, you will be able to convince him that he can't continue unless he behaves.

Wow, Princess Mommy, you definitely struck a nerve with this thread! Here's mine: the Mists of Avalon A PP mentioned Rebecca of Sunnybrook-- I like that book actually.

When we've had hospital bills that we could not pay, I did call the hospital and they cut the price for us. That was so kind of them. In that case, all I had to do was call & ask them. (These where hospitals near Fresno, God bless them.) Other times, I have talked directly to the insurance company. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes, even if the insurance company says no, if you ask the hospital to resubmit it, then they will cover it. :confused: but :001_smile: One time for my son's hospitalization, there was a disagreement between the hospital and the insurance company which left us with a $500 bill. (One side said it was not pre-authorized, one said it was). I remember getting so frustrated with the lady at the hospital accounting dept, that I told her loudly "WELL I'M NOT PAYING IT!" and to my absolute surprise she agreed and took it off our bill. Again, :confused: but :001_smile: At our local hospital, they do not do any discounts. But they will make a payment plan, with no interest. We paid off DS's hospitalization $100 a month til it was all gone. I'd definitely make sure you keep receipts, though, so if there any mistakes you can catch them instead of paying them.

OP, it sounds like you have quite a journey ahead, figuring all this out! Best wishes for it, and there's no rush. :001_smile:

Can I just pipe up one moment and say that it is possible to stage a house too much? We are looking for a house & went out hunting yesterday-- one house was so decluttered and organized and fancy-- potted plants, cut flowers, vases, table set with crystal & china-- and also some sort of perfumy scent wafting around... It was a nice house, and in our price range, but it took me a while to appreciate that, because honestly my first thought was, whoa, this is way too fancy a place for us, we are not this kind of people, this is not the place for us. Of course, all those things would not be there once the owners move out, and they are not really important at all! and I really should not base my impression on that, but still... that was my first impression.

To quote my DH: Let's be thankful to him, because he has set you free so that you can find the right person.

Well... 1. I try to share with them what I believe, 2. they go back to trying to share what THEY believe 3. I offer them some literature about MY church which I have ready & waiting by the door. I wish they would take it, but that always makes them go away.

Our PS did not require anything to enroll. DS is one year ahead according to their rules-- his birthdate is just a few days after their deadline, but it was very easy to show them the documentation from the charter school we were homeschooling through, that he had taken the COGAT and mastered the information. However, I myself voluntarily supplied information about what we had been learning and where they were. Some of the teachers were very interested, one was not. But I've learned that that is her own particular attitude and does not reflect PS in general-- the other teachers and the principal have been very welcoming and interested. They see it as their mission to find out where each child is and take him/her to the next level, whatever that is. Actually, when we were HSing I had DS take the MAP test, which has come in handy since they have used that grade to nominate him for the gifted program. :) You might find yourself sucked into the PTA, though. :)

A few days ago I pulled a child off an escalator. His whole family was going one way and was pretty far off when he decided to cut in front of me and go downstairs by escalator. This was in a large city airport. He was about 4. His family realized he was going away from them and called down to him, but they were far off and he did not listen. I grabbed him and pulled him off the escalator and told him to go with his parents. I am glad I did this, and the family thanked me, but there was a moment when he was struggling to pull away from me and go down the escalator, and I thought, "omg, I am grabbing somebody else's child!!" Fortunately it turned out OK but for a moment I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I actually think you did right-- I have also had some experience telling a neighbor's child to stop throwing things into our yard at my children and his mother went absolutely ballistic on me-- HOWEVER when she thought I was out of earshot, she told them to cut it out. So no matter how she reacted she probably perceived that you were right. It's important that such people realize they can not rule the roost. I think you were right.

:grouphug:

:grouphug:

Idea: continue your classical studies a little farther. Discuss that the Greeks who worshipped Athena eagerly gave it up to become Christians. Visit a Greek Orthodox church and look at the icons of women saints. Study such women saints as St Kassiani, St Macrina, etc. (full disclosure-- I'm EO :001_smile:)

Smaller than a grapefruit, but the same colors you said.

I tried to read it years ago & thought it was too dull and never finished it!

I've cooked these many times and never found them bitter... my recipe says olive oil/S&P/garlic powder, cook at 425x20 mins, then flip and cook 20 mins more. I have a note on my recipe: 'these are no good unless they are really tender.'

By now your relative has received your TY notes and is probably feeling foolish herself. I'd call or write & apologize. I know you've been having a hard time, but a lot of time had gone by and no wonder her feelings were hurt, especially if she belOngs to the generation that expects notes.

Princessmommy, can I just sympathize with you for a moment about real estate woes? We are starting to look for a house. Yesterday we found out from the bank that we can afford only a MUCH less expensive home that I had calculated... I mean, the houses we have been driving by and looking at, turn out to be out of our league... way out, and we were not looking at top of the market. We can not afford to fix anything up after moving in, so it's going to have to be as-is. DH argues that we can afford a higher monthly payment, but I'm the one who does the bills and I know. I need to be lovingly firm! I hope you can stand your ground too. 76K is ridiculous!!!

I would feel the same as you, OP, that I would feel uncomfortable with it. And, what if the children got into them and started drinking the alcohol? It's a safety issue as well as a moral/religious one, so I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask. Hope it works out well.

I'm in another state-- but just had to add that I had a meeting with the local school superintendent of curriculum, and he told me that homeschoolers are welcome to participate in any part of PS they like, from band to debate to math to musicals. He said, "it's your school system, use it however you like!" I was so surprised because of the common perception that PS frown on such things. I will be taking advantage of this for sure! I would never have known about this, had I not asked.

I think I would like to contact the people in charge of the games & tell them that Sunday morning games are an obstacle for our family-- and hope that they could have a rotation whereby some weeks it's Saturday vs Sunday and am vs pm-- I agree that it would not be fair Always to have Sunday am free for church, for the sake of those players of other religions, but there's no reason why there can't be a compromise.

I always have the same question about gifts for my Dad-- one thing I thought of was making a handmade necktie or bowtie, or vest-- not that I am skilled enough to do that, though. :001_smile:

Thank you for the update!!