:iagree: I hope nobody has taken my posts as across the board ps bashing. Around here, our schools are just suffering tremendously with mass teacher layoffs, budget cuts, program cuts, etc. and it's jut horrible, but I don't think all schools are bad. I went to an excellent Primary K-2, for example. :D But I have been a bit amazed at all of the homeschool put downs I have seen on here since I joined, even. I hear enough of that from my in-laws, so I wasn't expecting it here! :lol:

Thanks!

I just received Classical Writing Aesop A. It has three Bible stories which I was not expecting. Silly me thought it was based off of Aesop! I don't mind a little religion in books as I like to expose my kids to other beliefs, but can anyone give me an idea of how much religion is in the rest of the series?

Not in the schools here or that I went to. 30 minute lunches, 10-15 minute recess, 7:30-3:00 or later almost every year of school. The biggest part would be the fact that you have very large classes, so it takes longer to get through each subject. Art was maybe once a week for an hour, twice a week 1-2 hour PE on "good" years when we were lucky, music once a week for an hour, etc. Plus we always had tons of homework.

I do. At least for some people, like myself. I am a really great test taker. I never got below a 90% on any standardized test subject and made it through high school without any real idea how to do division. Just like my dh got a 28 on his ACT and still has literacy issues. Some people just test well and make good guesses.

N weird at all! We love geography and Nat'l Geographic. We did one semester of geography in social studies for 7th grade, and I took geography as an elective in 10th grade. Speaking of which-what ate the best geography and map resources out there? I've been wanting to amp up our geography studies.

Negin- do you have research for that? I had mine after being an almost lifelong vegetarian who ate mostly bread and sugar. Lol Ido agree about the estrogen effects of dairy and soy, though.

I agree. I'm not Muslim but that was very shocking. Something to keep in mind for people hoping for scholarships-here, at least, the college dropped almost all but sports scholarships because of our state's budget crisis. So always have a backup plan.

Just curious-does nobody consider FLL rigorous?

The thinkbaby/thinksport ones are odor free, super thick, and has no nasty chemicals. They might have them on amazon, but I got mine half off on diapers.com

:lurk5:

I have two brothers in college. Both have student loans. Their father is supposed to (court ruled divorce) pay, but he does not, though their uncle pays living expenses the first 2 years. My dh teaches at the local cc, so our kids will have free tuition the first two years. My oldest wants to attend chef school, but I will likely have her do two years cc or the University dh and I went to. Hopefully we have the money by then!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html The only recipe I follow to the letter. The world's BEST cookies. Even my 10 yo can make them perfect. I've never had a better one!

:lurk5:

:iagree: And "extended" breastfeeding IS best. All research points to it. Many physicians recommend going with a "toddler" formula past 1 year old. However, I would go with a good organic milk or goat milk and make sure she has an adequate diet. The bottle I would probably ditch for a good sippy and keep the closeness. My first two children had to be on formula before I was ready to wean (medical reasons) and we ditched the bottles after 1 year, and the formula. Neither of my kids missed them, but some do.

Personally, dh wishes he would have done music instead of chemistry. He's really good at what he does, but got burnt out with the pharmaceutical industry and research. He loves teaching, but chemistry positions are few and far between at community colleges nowadays (for tenure track).

what it was: French onion soup and ice cream trifle (seperate courses, of course) why it was delicious: Why wasn't it? Perfect in every way. Indescribably perfect. the name and location of the place serving it: Cincinnati, Ohio at an old house turned restaurant. I forget the name! I'll have to ask my Dad. what it cost; I didn't pay. ;) if you have tried to re-create it at home: I make fantastic French onion soup, but not quite there. The trifle I have re-created. I am working on perfecting it.

I am wanting to test my oldest two simply to find out where they are, placement wise, and to test their CogAT. Just for my own info. It doesn't hurt anything but can give me a look at areas we need to strengthen.

Yes, they are below level. My kids find them laughably easy and do them when they're bored.

I have never seen this with anyone I know that has put their children in school, either. IRL or online except for here. I do know that I switched schools a lot as a kid, and had many friends/family that did as well, and switching to any new format or school always shows a gap somewhere. I would rather have my children be a little behind in math but with a love of learning so that they can catch up and enjoy learning than be like me with wonderful aptitude and my love of learning beaten out of me by bad schools. Not that all schools are bad, but many are not good matches for many kids.

My 10 yo dd will be starting 5th grade. Rosetta Stone French Easy French Step by Step First Start French (mostly through this) Lively Latin SSL & SSG Greek Code Cracker Ancient Greek (we are studying together) MEP Math Key to Fractions Singapore Math Saxon Hands on Equations (We have some catching up to do!) WWE Required written reports Bravewriter & The Arrow MCT Island FLL 4 & 5 Classical Writing Sequential Spelling IEW Poetry IEW All Things Fun & Fascinating SOTW 2 & 3 RSO Life BFSU Continuing American History through literature and geography (plus a field trip!) Elemental Science (Earth Science & Astronomy) or Joy of Science after we finish RSO Violin Piano

It depends. I really don't know how to vote. My house is a bit cluttered since I have 5 kids, 5 cats, 1 dog and a smallish house. But I'm good at deep cleaning and organization. I'm a neat freak, but my toddler is good at stopping that. :tongue_smilie: That and the never ending dog hair debacle means even if my house is spotless, within 5 minutes it's a furball.

We are not in NY, but that is a huge problem here. My dh teaches chemistry at the cc here and his foreign and adult (mostly ex-military) students are great, but even his formerly Honors high school graduates can barely read or write. They do numerous research papers, and graphing and at least 75% (according to what he sees-he teaches all of the chem classes) write with worse spelling and grammar than our young children. Completely illegible. This is one of the reasons he is so pro-homeschooling. The students here are just NOT at college level when they graduate-even when graduating with honors.

Anyone know if this works for the GW near Cincinnati? This is before my surgery so I might be able to actually go. And no bedbug reports there, but looking at that registry, it explains the odd bumps we got at the last really nice hotel we went to. I was pg and thought it was something horrible. They're on the list. :glare:

Here's no such thing as too many books!