Very well said!

Oh, don't worry, you're not the only one who thought it was real. I've seen the list before on another site, so I knew what was up :)

This is NOT a list of OWS demands. This is one radical guy's wacko list making the rounds on the Internet in an attempt to discredit the OWS movement. On the top it says that the content is user submitted and not an OWS statement.

I've heard great things about Moving Beyond the Page--it's a complete secular curriculum except for math, I think. Wanted to add the curriculum is leveled by age rather than grade--for a second grader, you can choose the best fit, either 6-8, 7-8, or 8-10, depending on the learning level of the child.

Oh, I see it now. Thanks! I hope that means Ami won't be taking the resources down.

I don't see this? Is it still there? I'm disappointed the FIAR folks would do this. Homeschoolshare.com was one of the first stops on my rounds while planning a row. I tried a fold-and-learn once and it was really not worth the money. This makes them look like jerks, imo. They know a lot of their customers enjoy these resources. I agree that hopefully this will be resolved; otherwise I'll be spending my entire week downloading from homeschoolshare and I probably won't be buying another FIAR volume. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Intelligo science units.

Thanks, all!

DD6 is on book 3 and does about two pages per day. It works out to a lesson a week.

DD6 has completed and enjoyed the first Lollipop Logic book. I see there is a second, but I can't tell from the description whether it's more of the same or more difficult than the first. Anyone using it? I think she's ready to move on to slightly more difficult logic problems, so if LL2 is the same level, what might be a good choice for her? Thanks!

Having two children is essentially keeping the population at a replacement rate, not adding to it. I do not buy that if you are a parent you have no right to be concerned about overpopulation, and I think it's unfair to say so. I am not saying larger families are incorrect in their choices either, just that we should all be aware of the problem and not just look for 'reassuring' data. Here is what I know of the current UN projection published 10/24/11: Until quite recently, the U.N. was projecting that rates in other parts of the globe would follow a similar downward slope, so that sometime toward 2050 global population would level out at around nine billion. A few months ago, though, the U.N. announced that it was revising its long-term forecast. The agency now estimates that the number of people on earth in 2100 will be ten billion and still climbing. Read more http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/10/24/111024taco_talk_kolbert#ixzz1dGWCPlgc

But any way you look at it, we are adding more and more people every year. We are asking for trouble by doing this. I don't know the answer, but I am fearful for the world's future. (The link I watched said that the population will grow to a certain point and then begin to decline based on this rate (the old man walking by a sign that says 7 billion again decades in the future), and the population will soon begin to decrease. I haven't watched the others yet, but this does not seem like a sound mathematical prediction to me.)

I'm sorry, but I respectfully disagree with the premise of this video. An increasing population does not mean that the population is actually decreasing.

I responded that yes, I believe the world is overpopulated. I think it's a huge concern, second maybe (but connected to) global warming. I also think that we should remember that we are not the only species of importance on Earth. The more humans there are, the less habitat there is for other species, who also deserve to live their lives. Overpopulation is certainly not a myth, and at seven billion people and counting, we need to take this seriously.

Most schools do some ability grouping within the same-age group, but I don't think this would work well on a school-wide basis. I mean, if you had a sixth grader who struggled in school, would you really want him or her to spend the day with second graders, or vice versa? This could be very tough on some kids.

Go with a credit union. They aren't out to rob you like most banks are.

We are using: Five in a Row Math Mammoth Winning With Writing Explode the Code First Language Lessons Various other supplements, like an Intellego unit study and Lollipop Logic and Scholastic Word Ladders and Enchanted Learning handouts and an Evan-Moor geography book.

We had one and mailed invites, but we certainly didn't expect anyone to come--we just wanted them to know they were welcome. About 18 people did end up coming, and we had the most wonderful and memorable week together. The whole group still has a connection nine years later, though some of them didn't know each other before the trip.

I think one page a day sounds right for your ds, so as not to burn him out on seatwork and because he has the handwriting and other phonics.

We're in a similar situation--really want to move but owe more than what the house is worth, and houses here aren't selling at all. We would be happy to rent for a few years if we could just get out. I've heard though, that foreclosure could go after your retirement and affect your children's ability to get college loans--has anyone else heard this? We've always had perfect credit, and now we see it all getting washed away...

We are in around page 75 in 1A. I'm kind of thinking we will likely be done with both 1A and 1B way before the school year ends. Anyone else worried about that? I guess I could go onto 2, but I think I'd rather make sure all the concepts in 1 are solid. I've bought LOF to slow us down a bit.

Just finished The Boxcar Children #3 today.

I am doing FIAR with my 6yo and almost 4yo. I find it is a bit easier if I don't feel like I have to change to a new book EVERY week. Some days it doesn't get done. We are rowing "The Glorious Flight" this week and using the Magic School Bus flight kit as a go-along and taking our time over about a week and a half. I do try to read the books five times, because even if the kids don't like the book the second time, they tend to love it by the fourth or fifth time, and always notice new things. I just go to the library before the week starts to get a few go-along books, and I put those in a book basket for the kids to explore. I have a tentative plan for each day--some of it comes from the FIAR manual, some from the forum or homeschoolshare.com or blogs, and some just comes to me. I don't think the planning is very time-consuming. It is not a complete curriculum, as others have mentioned. My first grader also has a math and phonics curriculum, and I can see adding a different science curriculum too. However, it really is the heart of our homeschool. The kids so look forward to the "surprise" of a new book and new topic of study, and they've learned so much about geography and art. The lessons really stick. HTH--sorry I don't have much "downside"--I really enjoy this curriculum.

I had mine printed at bestvaluecopy.com. It really does seem to the be the best value! You can just send the files through their website.

That is absurd, and makes writing feel awkward and stilted, imo. I think we should feel comfortable using first person in all disciplines--not to a huge degree if the paper is not about our personal journeys, but we shouldn't have to hide that a real person is behind the words. I feel it increases credibility and makes for a better connection to the reader. In the New Yorker, for example, which has excellent articles about all areas of study from medicine to opera, the first person is almost always used. Jessica