My sister in law is one who bends the rules for her own convenience. She has no emotional disabilities. She has a three month old puppy and was worried it wouldn't continue to bond with her properly (read: absolutely) if she left it with a sitter for her completely optional three week vacation to Mexico. Not wanting it in the cargo hold (which may be dangerous, I don't know), first she asked her mother, a psychologist, to write her a letter stating it was an emotional support animal. Her mother felt it was dishonest and constituted lying and refused to do so, so my sister in law asked her friend, also a psychologist, to do so and her friend wrote a letter saying the dog was an emotional support animal. There was no evaluation involved, there was no diagnosis involved, just a note written. Possibly there could be some some very minor risk to the psychologist's license status. So we may see many dishonest people piggybacking on the real needs of people with anxiety disorders or PSTD probably endangering their ability to fly with support animals as the planes fill with animals there only for their people's convenience, a situation to which petless people begin to complain about and organize against. Honestly, unless you are moving house and have no choice, air travel is unnecessarily traumatizing for pets (especially cats). Pets want to be in their familiar environments, eating on regular schedules, feeling they can eliminate waste at proper times, and not suffering fear from loud noises, the feeling of acceleration/decelleration, etc. Pet sitting in the home is a kindness to your pet. Emotional support animals and disability support animals are (or should be) trained from a young age to handle new situations, noise, discomfort etc. A house pet is not trained in that way.

I think time for sleep (especially sleeping in) is probably the main difference between a kid who is homeschooled and one who follows a public school schedule in terms of their ability to cope with puberty. Otherwise I think the process of puberty is pretty individual.

Made it to the high school section! Again, not comparing side by side with the 3rd edition so I may just have forgotten what was in there. Surprised and intrigued to see SWB argue for holding off on the progym until high school and including an accelerated table for putting the high school student through Memoria Press' Classical Composition course from fable to laws (I think that's the last one). In the section on screens and technology, she holds firm that a classical education is text/writing based, but is a wee bit more generous on the benefits of video and computer learning than in the last edition. I don't think there were any radical new curriculum introductions in the printed edition at any grade level (no MCT or LOE which there was forum input on), I haven't looked yet but I suspect they are on the online list of curriculum options.

I homeschooled my son from 3rd to 8th and my daughter from K to 3rd so I count myself as having the equivalent of homeschooling one from K to 8th. I still afterschool both children in language arts and my husband afterschools math.

Still reading here. I am not even homeschooling any more, but do afterschool some. Primarily I bought the 4th edition to support SWB. The portion I have read seems much clearer than the earlier editions (though I am not comparing them side by side). It is pointed out that the homeschooling parent is not expected to complete everything in the book and that the schedules are there but don't have to be strictly followed. The elementary and middle school science sections (all I have gotten to so far) are significantly different but still classical in their approach. There is a section on whole to parts vs. parts to whole in the elementary section that confused me at first (fiercely pro parts to whole), until I got to a paragraph in the middle school section that suggested the these were the years to switch over to whole to parts. At the moment (I will come back more when I have read more), I would say that this edition is definitely an improvement for the new homeschooler. It is clear and less intimidating. I don't know that it is necessary for someone who has been homeschooling for a while and owns the 3rd edition. But since there are still some who refer to the 1st edition for curriculum recommendations that did not appear in later editions, if money is not an issue, I'd suggest getting this one too especially for the new science living books recommended.

We had the surgery done and there were no more problems with blockages for the rest of the cat's life. Thus, I didn't have to be hyper alert all the time, keeping track of his litterbox habits and making sure someone checked on him every day if we went away for the weekend. Urinary blockage is very painful and can be fatal if not treated. We would do it again in the same situation.

Mine is coming on Wednesday! I can't wait to see the changes in the science section. Now I can lend my third edition to the woman in the bakery who is anticipating a rough entry to public school for her gifted kid and is exploring other options.

Before you quit his books watch this documentary. It is a lovely biopic about Wilson. He talks a little bit about the topic you mentioned. As I understand it, he believes the drive for humans to split into tribes (group selection) is of evolutionary origin. It is normal to have competing theories in this area of science. It is relatively new and the questions haven't been definitively answered. http://www.pbs.org/program/eo-wilson/

Maple Lemonade 6 cups water 8 lemons freshly squeezed 3/4 cup maple syrup Mix by hand or in a blender. It is heavenly. p.s. You can increase or decrease the amount of lemon or maple syrup to taste.

Happy Birthday!

Drawing Wars or Drawing Civilizations. Get some large sketchbooks and have the kids take turns adding spaceships/planets/etc. to a space war saga or if they are more peaceful, have them take turns adding citadels, rivers, boats, castles, agricultural fields, etc. to their civilization. The invented worlds can fill the whole sketchbooks over time. Like one of those creative video games, only on paper.

double post

The area she lives in may not have proper soils for a conventional septic system. It may require sand mound septic systems that cost significantly more as they truck in massive amounts of sand and gravel to build them above the ground. I think they start at 20,000 and can be much more.

Mint iced tea.

I don't actually have any of these so I can't vouch for them, but they are on my list to investigate when I develop a folk tale collection for our home library. Mightier Than the Sword by Jane Yolen https://www.amazon.com/dp/0152163913/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2T0TCCKZQODCZ&coliid=I1CNWU51316R1J The Jack Tales: Folk Tales from the Southern Appalachian https://www.amazon.com/dp/0395066948/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2T0TCCKZQODCZ&coliid=I38H2NQKQNEAGG Grandfather Tales https://www.amazon.com/dp/0395066921/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2T0TCCKZQODCZ&coliid=I3KRABT9IS2O8V The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679843361/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2T0TCCKZQODCZ&coliid=I1XYG1VFRQSI4T Her Stories: African American Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales https://www.amazon.com/dp/0590473700/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2T0TCCKZQODCZ&coliid=I1W790FJU4VDKR AMerican Tall Tales (Puffin) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140309284/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2T0TCCKZQODCZ&coliid=IATZ3L8DYLPXO

I read both a long while ago. They are of very different reading levels. The Mystery of the Periodic Table being fine for 3th grade and up. The Disappearing Spoon is written for adults but I'd say 8th grade and up for strong readers. I have a vague memory that one of the chapters in The Disappearing Spoon had some content that some parents would find questionable, but as I don't have it in front of me I can't recall which chapter or what the questionable subject matter was. Plus since my son read it well before 8th grade it may have been questionable for his age group, but not for a 13 year old.

Grid cells and place cells. Some people have rely on place memory and navigate by landmarks. Others have a good grid cell system working and can easily place themselves in relation to other things in their enviroment. I can get lost inside a building. Always go the wrong way after exiting an underground subway. Have no idea how my house is oriented in relation to the main street of our town... All I can say is that I really appreciate a long detailed list of landmarks! And your child might like to request landmarks when she is asking for directions. (As long as it isn't a Maine list of landmarks: "Turn left where the Allards used to live and then turn left again by the closed Hathaway Shirt factory, the sign's been down for years, but you can't miss it, then drive by the Zayre, oh right, that hasn't been there in 20 years... don't know what it is now... but it's a strip mall sort of thing, then...) http://www.webmd.com/brain/features/why-do-you-always-get-lost http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sense-of-direction-grid-cells-brain-_n_3708972 My son has dysgraphia and a proprioceptive motor disorder. Not being able to tell left from right is one of the minor symptoms.

Some beautiful large alphabet cards for her classroom wall? https://www.amazon.com/Alphabet-Cards-Animal-Parade-Wall/dp/B00081YUWA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468718871&sr=8-1&keywords=animal+parade+wall+art

These are two living books we used in science when my kids were K thru 3. Mostly as read alouds: Plants and Their Children by Mrs. William Starr Dana/Theodora Parsons https://archive.org/details/plantstheirchildpars There is one original available on Abebooks. It is the one without a photo copyright 1876. http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Mrs.+William+Starr+Dana&sts=t&tn=Plants+and+their+children Reproductions are available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Plants-Their-Children-William-Starr/dp/153000232X/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468593973&sr=8-1-fkmr3&keywords=plants+and+their+children+1876 Dame Bug and Her Babies by Edith Marion Patch http://www.edithpatch.org/sampler/publication.html http://www.edithpatch.org/sampler/audio.html

There's only one that big for sale in my town so the sample size is small. It is $299,900, but it is right next to a dilapidated house with old cars and boats around it, so I think probably $350,000 if it had a nice looking neighboring house.

My weight has crept up forty pounds over the past three years. Living for a short time in India, moving, and stopping homeschooling without a good replacement for it (for me) has led to quite a bit of comfort eating. Plus, I am not used to how very little a woman in her late forties is supposed to eat to maintain a healthy weight. The only three thin women I know well enough to know what's on their plates literally eat no more than what will fit on a salad plate three times a day. That is sooooo depressing to me. However, I am physically uncomfortable at this weight (sitting is uncomfortable, bending down) and just five short years ago I was super fit and 45 pounds lighter so I know how great it feels to be that strong. I do love to walk (and used to walk 7 miles a day on hilly terrain) and I like to lift weights so I will do those things again. I need to do some ab exercises which I hate. Because I have sensory issues and am a picky eater, my diet is not very broad to begin with. This is good because I don't get bored like some people do from lack of variety. This is bad, because I don't eat a wide range of vegetables. But when I was thinner and stronger I ate all the veggies everyday. When I am stressed or depressed, dark chocolate sometimes replaces one or two. An addiction to Pepsi also does not help. I made the first step by switching to the smaller ones in the glass bottles. Now I am down to one glass bottle on Friday night for our Netflix night. For a while I had my husband hold on to the dark chocolate stash and dole out a regular portion each day, but that led to petty annoyances so I took my chocolate bars back. I think I will store them in the back of an upstairs closet instead. Some barrier between me and them is necessary, however if I don't have them at all I run to the convenience store and buy a much less healthy Hershey bar. I don't eat a wide variety of grains either, which is probably good. I like homemade popcorn for Netflix Friday, in season corn on the cob, and I tend to eat the homemade whole wheat /extra egg pancakes that my daughter eats in the morning rather than dirtying up another pan. I think I should abandon the pancakes and replace them with bacon and one piece of toast. In season corn is only around for 2.5 months, so I am not giving that up (perhaps I won't eat five ears at a sitting...) However, I have a pig lover in the house and a pig hater in the house and both carry on terribly if they smell bacon! However, bacon is the only breakfast meat I can eat with my issues so they might have to get used to it. I don't eat eggs which would be the obvious substitute for anyone else. Lunch and dinner are easier as no one has a moral issue with walnuts, tuna, grass finished beef, chicken or turkey, nor do they scream in horror at vegetables. So changes: breakfast: bacon and one slice toast and small glass milk, lunch: meat and veggies, dinner: either tuna or walnuts and an apple and another veggie, dessert: dark chocolate, Netflix Friday: dessert homemade popcorn and one glass bottle of Pepsi (I know, I know lose it altogether... not ready) and go from 2 miles of walking/day to 4 miles and slowly add in strength training (weights, squats, obliques, etc.) Good luck everyone! Amazing how complex eating is in our house with everyone's issues. Sigh.

Brunswick, Maine (and surrounding smaller towns). Home of Bowdoin College and not far from Popham Beach State Park and Reid State Park. 20 minutes to Portland. Maine is full of natural beauty: woods, mountains, lakes, bogs, beaches, rocky coast. Very wintery from November through the end of March, but if you like skiing or snowmobiling we have that too!

Here are some options. I think the affixing it to masonry part is partly just knowing what tools and anchors to use. Find a handyman who has experience. https://www.lehmans.com/product/single-line-instant-retractable-clothesline https://www.lehmans.com/product/retracting-clothesline

I'd heard of them but never seen one. Kids had never heard of one. One kid held it six hours rather than use one while we were in rural India. I can't imagine how anyone would think they are more sanitary. The ones we encountered (except in the malls) were covered in excrement, the water cup for washing (no toilet paper and no sprayer in many locations) was nasty, and most people splatter somewhat so what happens to their feet! And what about older people with knee problems or balance issues? I am still recovering emotionally from the squatty potties two years later, and I am not a germaphobe, but blech!!! There were signs in the mall restrooms in India with pictures of how to use the western toilets so that people did not squat on them, fall, and get injured.

Hugs.