Denisemomof4: The bags of your dreams: leather and upholstery fabric. And you support small businesspeople in job-poor Maine. http://www.erdaleather.com/

My dh has been a martial arts instructor for decades. Although he is usually in the tough as nails category, he said that he would have let a shy child participate in hopes that the child would become comfortable. But if it were a child who was not shy, but being difficult, he would never have let him try the fun stuff. However, his final word is that 6 is far too young for martial arts unless the child is extraordinarily talented for his age and that most martial arts instruction before the age of 7 or 8 is really not productive and just aimed at earning money to support the school.

I second EmilyK. Famous Composers, More Famous Composers, etc. is reminiscent of the teaching company products. They are meaty and the kids still like them. Now, if I can just figure out where mine are...

Our Kenmore front loader does fit huge loads that our top loader could never handle. Uses very little detergent (you don't actually have to use the special front loading detergent. Just half of the regular detergent amount so it doesn't get too sudsy). Sometimes it does twist the clothes especially sheets all together in a big wrinkly knot, but it never tears them like the agitator did. The spin cycle is definitely more efficient than the top loader. Good if you are air drying.

Our farmer's markets here in NY must be the trendiest of all! Here are some examples for organic: Eggs are $5 a dozen (we use a dozen every two days). 2 Pork Chops are $15. A steak that could feed 2-3 is $19. A whole chicken is $20. Vegetables are less expensive, but we only have one organic farmer and he has mostly greens. Non-organic, but local veggies: $5/doz for corn on the cob; $1 head of lettuce, about $2 per tomato, $1.50 per cucumber, $6 for a quart of raspberries, and $8 for a small bag of apples). They don't sell organic milk at our farm market, but we go through a half-gallon per day at between $3.99-4.50 per half gallon. Consequently, I have been working on adding more raised beds to my garden, but am not going to venture into livestock yet!

I don't think it is necessary to understand every word to enjoy a classic work. Have them look up words that impede their understanding of the plot, but otherwise let them read. If every chapter is a long vocabulary exercise they will soon come to dread the experience of reading older works. Michael Clay Thompson's Caesar's English I and Caesar's English II from Royal Fireworks Press are vocabulary programs that focus on the most common words in classic literature. You might find them helpful.

Love the hardback one illustrated by Robert Ingpen.

My mom used to work for L.L. Bean, and their packages used to be delivered this was. It was called "Smart Post." The first leg of the journey is by UPS or FedEx and the second is by USPS. Somehow this saves them money. It really slows things down. I think the UPS hub near our house might drive by half the houses in town before it got to the post office! Efficient, huh?

Plan diversionary tactics. You probably know these people well enough to know their interests and hot-button issues. Be ready with leading questions on these topics. When they come at you with topics you'd rather not discuss distract them with the pretty conversational bauble you've prepared. In that way, you keep control of the conversation. Example: say they like shopping) Them: "I've heard you've been homeschooling..." (You: jump right in, don't let them get too far along their path. Be like a politician--never answer their question, just answer the question you wanted to hear) You: "Yes, did you know that homeschoolers get a discount at Staples? I've been able to buy a laminator, speakers for my laptop, and a voice recorder for 25% off! And do you take advantage of their printer cartridge recycling program. I get $2 per cartridge can you believe it!....." Just keep talking until they pick up on your new topic. Role play it in your head so you are prepared. DISTRACTION! It works with toddlers and with social gadflies! Also, don't feel at all bad about feigning a cold and excusing yourself to the bathroom for more tissues. And when you emerge don't return to them. Engage in deep conversation with another member of the party. (Plus they won't want to be too close to you if you have a cold.) I'm an introvert too. We need survival strategies for these things. Good luck!

I had an opportunity to look at :They Say, I Say, the original edition, and was underwhelmed. It appears to address a single concept in academic writing: how smoothly transition between expert opinion (from your research) and your own. Unless the second edition is significantly expanded to include actual step-by-step writing instruction like WWS (which I doubt was the intent of the book), there is no way I'd choose it. In fact, it was so not applicable to my 6th grader's work, I wouldn't use it at all until, maybe, high school. I'd stick with WWS. Certainly, SWB recommended They Say, I Say merely as a supplement not a substitute (and for high school not middle school). Take WWS (or another formal writing curriculum) and proceed at your child's pace. WWS is a modern version of the classical writing sequence that has worked for so many on these boards (think: Classical Writing; Lost Tools of Writing, etc.). If you think she has already progressed beyond WWS (which is for 5th grade) and want a classical sequence in writing instruction, you might be better off ordering an inexpensive used copy of Winifred Bryan Horner's Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition. It is like Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, which SWB recommends for high school, but significantly easier to read. p.s. If she's ready for full outlining, just assign that task no matter what the directions say. :-)

This is an interesting article from Science News. That women don't have memory problems as they enter their 40s and 50s, but that the hormonal shifts of menopause and their life stressors make it difficult for them to encode the information in the first place--we aren't forgetting; we're not learning! Is that better or worse? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060206000800.htm

Just so you all know even if you keep your location and names off your blog, if the pictures you took were taken with a cell phone with GPS, there is software that will allow people to find out the exact location the photo was taken. That means if you post a photo of Jilly in her bedroom taken with your iPhone, people with the right software will know the exact geographical location of Jilly's bedroom! http://www.gizmag.com/online-predators-can-determine-where-posted-photos-and-videos-were-shot/15818/

I've had good luck with these companies. If you want specific rocks, you might try teacher source a good place finding a place to order nicer specimens individually. http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/Rock-and-Mineral-Kits-and-Specimens-C337.aspx http://www.teachersource.com/EarthScienceGeology/RocksAndMinerals.aspx http://www.hometrainingtools.com/rocks-minerals/c/22/

Use them someday? I can use them tomorrow. We are starting Olmec/Maya/Inca/Aztec in The Human Odyssey. Thanks!

Halcyon, thank you so much for the link to your review of Nancy Larson Science. It is so helpful to see more samples. There are only two per level posted on her website. She takes a museum-education approach (which I like being a former museum (zoo) educator) rather than an experimental approach which is perfectly valid for grammar stage and much easier for the moms who have trouble with the experiments. It also looks like it is a curriculum that would be easy to supplement with living books, more specimens, and museum and nature study field trips), and experiments if you were so inclined. After R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey turned out to be a flop with my little one, I'm looking for something new for the new year. Nancy Larson might be a useful option.

Khan Academy has free biology lectures too: http://www.khanacademy.org/#biology

Brightstorm has free short video courses on biology, physics and chemistry. Some of the lectures (especially toward the end of the lists) are quite advanced, but many would be accessible to a 7th grader. http://www.brightstorm.com/science/biology/

Choirfarm: "Then I would go to an empty classroom and lecture over the essay. I would then look at my notes and see what i would miss, highlight it and then lecutre again." Do you mean that you would review aloud everything you knew on the topic without looking at the notes and then check the notes to see what you missed? This is a very interesting study method. Seems to ensure that you really "know" the material rather than "recognize" the material. I like it. I also like the idea of teaching the dog (or cat or snake) as a little kid's version of this. Thanks for getting me thinking.

Andrew Lost The Boxcar Children The Littles Dragon Slayers' Academy Secrets of Droon

I agree with Boscopup. All you have to do is listen to Susan's lecture on the Real Child to know she doesn't see children as progressing lockstep through the stages.

Nice literature link: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott (1820s style) http://www.amazon.com/Old-Fashioned-Thanksgiving-Louisa-Alcott/dp/1162652942/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1321464851&sr=8-4

Certainly quick: National Geographic Almanac of World History http://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Almanac-World-History/dp/1426208901/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321377112&sr=8-1

These are made of blue jean fabric if you order "indigo." They have double-layer knees. Very durable. Also available in a cargo pocket version. http://www.landsend.com/pp/OpenBottomClimberPants~146358_1189.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::DTK&CM_MERCH=search-_-boys+climbers&origin=search I wouldn't punish him. Par for the course with boys.

Great kayaks: Old Town or Mad River. Old Town Factory Outlet has a seconds shop in Old Town, Maine if you happen to be in the region (just scratches on them--often hundreds of dollars off). (I do not know if it is possible to mail order from the Factory Outlet, you'd have to call them. Don't know what the shipping would be.)

Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle is an excellent living geography book that covers his voyages from Britain to the Azores, Cape Verde Islands, all around South America, Galapagos, Tahiti, Cape Town, Mauritius, Cocos Keeling Islands, Australia and New Zealand. Make students aware that the worldview of the 1840s was not "pc" and some descriptions of cultures may seem racist to modern ears. My edition is over 400 pages long in small print so it is better for late middle school, high school level readers.