It extends beyond novels, as well. The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, used this method often to obscure individuals within his own diaries. It was his wish that his papers be destroyed upon his death, but his family did not do so. Perhaps he knew that this desire may go unfulfilled and so "changed the names to protect the innocent" and, at times, the guilty.

We used to borrow materials regularly from this resource! In fact, I may have posted about it here at some point. The link didn't work correctly for me. If you have the same problem, try this one: http://www.hepn.com/library/content/ It is open to educators in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. :)

Just with towels, Aggie. I often add baking soda to our detergent because we have hard water. The last two weeks I've been adding Calgon water softener instead and haven't noticed a difference. We use towels once because hanging them for reuse contributes to a mold issue in our bathroom. The towels are in the basement until there is enough for a load. Odors were a problem even during the summer when I dried them on the line in the sun. I didn't try bleach because I don't like using it and my towels are all dark blue and I'd like them to stay that way. ;)

I have this problem from time to time. I toss 1/4 cup vinegar in the basin of the washing machine and put 1/4 cup baking soda in the detergent dispenser. :) Problem solved. I no longer use detergent on my towels at all and never use fabric softener on them.

I'm in the same position. I usually reevaluate things in January, but this month I hit a wall and panicked. I will be happy to start the new year out with some changes already made, though. :)

If you mean on a post within a thread, leaving "Rep" for someone, I believe that option has been removed.

I really enjoy my Zen. It was a gift from my husband so I would have something to do on my first plane trip. I didn't use it because I spent my time reading, but I have used it since then. I have ripped classical music from CDs and copied it to the Zen. We can download movies and audiobooks from multiple websites, including our library system. We downloaded some dissection videos for our oldest to watch on her own. When we traveled to Mexico, I put pictures of my children on there to have with me. I do not like to block out the sounds of my environment, so I only use it for music from time to time at home. When I do, I put in one earbud and leave the other out.

Kaufman's Butterflies is good. We tend to prefer Audubon Field Guides for birds over Peterson's. We also have Audubon guides to trees, butterflies & moths and wildflowers. There are a few more we would like to own. Sibley birding books are very good. Sibley's Birding Basics is a good overview. The Sibley Guide to Birds is expansive and, some might find, expensive. I didn't note your family member's ages and signatures don't appear in the "Reply" view, so I don't know if you have younger children. Our youngers enjoy Fun With Nature and More Fun With Nature as good hands-on books. If you want exact titles for specific topics, I'd be happy to share our preferences. I tend to rattle on regarding this subject, though, and often give more information than was wanted. :blushing:

Wisconsin is beautiful and not generally as FRIGID as it is right now! The homeschool laws here are very good. There is no testing and record-keeping is not required. You must submit a yearly "intent to homeschool" form, but there is no oversight. No one can demand your records, curriculum, plans or anything. No one can rescind your right to homeschool.

Wonderful, Tammi! We arranged for our club to sing at a nursing home last night. We've committed to go back in mid-January. What types of activities are you doing with the folks tonight? Could you report back tomorrow about how it went, or changes you would want to make?

Our family joined 4H for the first time last fall. We live in Wisconsin. Our 14 year old is a "regular member". Our 9 year old is an "Explorer". Our 7 year old is a "Cloverbud". The group we joined is family-oriented, so our entire family attends the monthly meetings. Our 5 year old thinks he is a "Sprout" and the 3 year old also thinks she is a member. ;) During the meetings, the little children sit with my husband and I off to the side. Our Cloverbud was given an activity book to work in, courtesy of the UW-Extension. She could complete it and enter pages in the fair, or just keep it for her own enjoyment. The UWEX gave the same book to our Explorer *and* our "Sprout". :) Our Cloverbud was able to enter items in the County Fair. Every Cloverbud received a green ribbon for each entry, as well as a small trophy. Her entry (she only did one for our first year) was "judged" by a high school-aged 4-H Member from another club who was very encouraging and positive. This helped to give her an initial experience with judging without any actual critique. As for scheduling, our club (like most) meets once per month. It is very easy for us to commit to that. Our goal for this year is to complete one fair project per month and the children can then choose which projects they actually want to enter later. Project books, if not readily available through your club, can be purchased online at http://www.4-hmall.org/ very affordably. Our UWEX provides free project books for many topics. We borrow them, glean from them and return them for another family to use. In our county, if not in the entire state, you are not required to follow the format of a project book. Occassionally, there is a separate activity for Cloverbuds in our group. I prefer that our daughter stay in the regular meeting, but if a separate activity is planned, we let her go. They are always in the same building, but in a different room, led by another Cloverbud mom. Your local UWEX office might be able to share which local groups would be a good fit for you. You can ask about groups that share your interests, have a good number of Cloverbuds, are primarily made up of homeschoolers or whatever deciding factor you may choose. We are the only homeschoolers in our group, but that has not been a factor.

We have a 9-passenger Suburban and it is the perfect vehicle for our family. Five of our six children are still in some form of car seat and all easily fit in the Suburban. This was not true of the minivan we had before the Suburban. We can fit a month's worth of groceries in the back of the Suburban without piling bags around the feet of the children. Again, this was not true of the minivan. We have been caught in winter storms and easily switched to 4WD. Another option not available to us with our former minivan. The heavier build of a Suburban is safer on wintry roads, too. Yes, the gas mileage is less than the minivan but the trade-offs were completely worth it. We even have an aftermarket tank that holds somewhere around 50 gallons in gas. We did *not* know that when we bought it (used, obviously). The first fill-up really shocked us! Now, however, we feel much safer when we set off in winter. We have room for the emergency supplies that are recommended. When we head down a road we've never traveled, only to find that it peters out into little more than a wide path, we are able to crank around and get out without panic. All of the nature paraphernalia that my children insist upon toting around now fits without a scuffle over who brought too much stuff. LOL We can also accommodate all the things they pick up to bring home! It feeds the Adventurer in my husband. :001_smile:

We like CalcuLadders here, and I recommend purchasing the CDs. I am unfamiliar with Susan C. Anthony's materials.