My sister is a PS teacher (high school science), but was not an Education major. She had a double major in Psychology and Biology (and a Chemistry minor). She did get a Master's in Education because she did Teach for America and she said it was really easy. I'm not sure having Education as a major is a good idea. Maybe it would be better to require a major in a subject and have Education offered as a minor course of study instead.

You could make a gratin. You can shred the cabbage and saute it, if you have carrots you could grate a couple and add, also onions or green onions would go well. When the veggies are soft, put them in a baking dish and pour an egg-milk-cheese combo over everything (It's about 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tbsp of cheese to one egg--this would be enough for about 3 cups of vegetables) and then grate some cheese to sprinkle on top and bake for around 25 mins.

I was thinking of this thread this afternoon when DS and I were at the bowling alley and they were playing "Hey, Ladies" (Beastie Boys) I doubt my DS noticed anything besides the cowbell, though. (ETA: I do wonder what people who would be appalled to know kids listen to "Piano Man" would think! Would they complain to the management? Vow to never go bowling again?) Right now my son's listening to Minecraft parodies of pop songs.

Not having assigned chores doesn't mean not learning how to do household stuff. I didn't have chores and by the time I was 18 I knew how to do laundry, cook simple meals, do dishes, vacuum, mop, etc. My son doesn't have chores and he's learning these things too. No way will I unleash him on the world unable to do basic household tasks! I think there may be better ways to discuss this with kids beyond "tough noogies". Maybe explain why you do things the way you do and why you feel it's best for your family?

Wow, they should hang that picture in the hair salon! He looks really good! :) eta: Also, it just looks like a stylish haircut to me, I wouldn't have thought "Bieber cut" looking at it (though I have nothing against Justin Bieber).

This one is so good! My son (10) likes it too. My mom even bought us a "cow creamer" (not silver though).

When my son was a baby/young toddler my house was a mess too. I wasn't depressed and I wasn't lazy, but there was always a lot to do. I would split his nap time into doing tasks and having some well-deserved time to relax. Being home with a little one all day was hard. It's not that the mess didn't bother me at all, it's just how things were. I was very annoyed when my husband complained rather than helped. Complaining is very unproductive.

I really hope not! There are so many wonderful picture books out there, how sad to miss out on almost all of them.

Well I wrote that tongue-in-cheek, but it does disturb me that there are people who don't believe slavery was a tragedy.

That's true and I don't think it's meant in a competitive I've-been-homeschooling-longer way at all. It's more of a way to say that nothing really changed just because their child reached kindergarten age.

Yes I think it's insane (but I don't think you are insane for momentarily considering it). It's not the same as getting two kittens. eta: I think it's crazy for large dogs like labs, goldens, etc. that grow big fast and have lots of energy. I don't know about little tiny dogs.

I'm imagining math problems for 9/11... or gang rape or soldiers killed in Iraq. It's trivializes tragedy and is pretty disgusting. However, having read some posts (not in this thread and not only on these forums) about how slaves weren't treated so badly and liked their lives, maybe those math problems are the lesser of two evils:001_huh:

I was kind of wondering because a couple of months ago he said he was leaving France because he didn't want to pay taxes there. I was like :001_huh: because that's where he and his family live, so I was wondering if there was indeed trouble in Paradis.

She meant because they were at the library every week and always had so many books checked out there was no need to go buy a bunch, right? (not that I think owning children's books is a waste, but surely she didn't mean they didn't need books at all, right?)

I'm a Better Late Than Early type (though I don't think it applies to every child), but I considered myself to be a homeschooler when my son was 3. We lived in France and about 98% of 3 year-olds are in public school (they do three years of kindergarten in France). I was given so much grief from in-laws, friends, aquaintances, even the guy who came to install the woodstove, over not sending him to school. He's 10 now and I would just say he's always been homeschooled. "Since birth" just sounds weird to me. Babies don't need any kind of schooling. But, if we're getting competitve here, my baby did have a perfect apgar score, so wearing the music belly band was so worth it.

Yes, true. I just immediately thought, hey I put my hand up sometimes, I hope no one thinks when I do that I'm giving attitude! But, yeah, you're right. Yes, after some more thought, I think I saw something like that on a reality show (I don't watch many, but I do like Tabatha's Salon Takeover) not long ago. The person who did it certainly did not mean to be reassuring. :lol: I am sorry she reacted that way, I cannot imagine being THAT offended by it.

I don't know, I could see myself putting my hand up in a "Ok, will do" way. It would not be to shut someone down, just to assure them I understand, in case my previous "Oh, Ok, sure, no problem" didn't convince them (people tend to keep explaining themselves even after you've said "OK". eta: and I mean an "OK" said nicely, not dismissively) I'm not saying that was the case in the OP's situation, just saying that a "hand up" thing isn't necessarily aggressive, sometimes it's meant to be reassuring.

My only thought is that she was taken aback that you went up to her JUST to tell her that. Why not make a little small talk first? I think it may have come across as awkward, but that doesn't excuse her snippy attitude. I might have rolled my eyes later and probably told my mom about it to get her take. I would NOT have discussed this with the other moms. I certainly wouldn't dream of saying a negative word to your DD (or mine) and if this other mom does then that is far worse than an awkward correction. Did your DD want you to mention this to the other mom? I'm still not clear if your DD hates the first syllable of her name said on its own as much as you do (sorry if you spelled this out already and I missed it). I read that she doesn't want to embarrass the girl, but is she truly bothered by the shortened name? In my son's case, yes, we've had some name issues. He and I have been able to work out solutions. I understand that it's hard for your DD to do so. I can understand why you felt moved to do something about it.

Love it! :lol:

How do you solve this? Is it a problem like Maria? Bar Method workout DVDs? I recommend: Tequila Shots for Sculpted Arms

There are lots of Americans in the 7th. That's where the American Church is too. You would not need a car. ETA: it's also a very Parisian area so it's not like being there would be like living in a mini-U.S. or anything. Try joining the Learning Unlimited (L-U) yahoo group and ask about homeschooling in France there. You are sure to get some good information about the regulations, homeschool groups, etc. I moved from France when my son was 5 so I never dealt with any education officials.

Same here. It's old and ugly but it works wonderfully.

I always wondered about the HP characters and Christianity and how much thought Rowling may have given it, even if she doesn't go into it in the books. HP and Co. celebrate Christmas and Easter. I think Sirius once sang something like "God rest ye merry hippogriffs". God and Jesus must figure in somewhere in the wizarding world. Do they believe Jesus was a wizard? eta: I only bring this up because someone said something about the wizards having power not given by God. How do we know it wasn't?

I haven't been to Dublin, but I'd pick Paris, with Madrid as a second choice (though for myself I'd pick Dublin since I've never been there). Madrid's city center is compact and you can see a lot in a short time without having to deal with public transportation. It helps if you can at least understand a little bit of Spanish though (which is about all I can understand!) And Paris is Paris! It doesn't really matter what you do there.

I know very little about Christian music, but my son (age 10) likes TobyMac. ETA: I wrote the first part about knowing little about Christian music to make it clear that my son discovered Toby's music on his own and likes it for its sound.