We just started homeschooling again in January, but I have already decided to school year round. The problem is this. I purchased a lovely curriculum with our taxes. It forces us to have to start it in the fall because of the nature work involved. I did not know about AWTM when I bought the curric, but would like to work the two together, so here is what I am starting out doing. We are going to school with our curric during the standard school year going from Labor Day to Memorial Day adding classical education in as a supplement. Through the summer months, we are focusing on art and music along with reading classic lit. I bought something called the Home Educator's Tutor and it has some wonderful things that my kids are really enjoying right now. I plan to use it each summer. It will fold over into the school year, but I am okay with that. We are also working on US Geography since my son is really interested in that. We do a little light math to keep skills sharp. I have just starting reading AWTM and can't wait to learn everything about it, but in the meantime, we are chugging along with these things.

We live as modestly as possible, so we don't really have to cut back on anything yet. The only thing I could cut out would be the phone/cable/internet expenses and our fast food expenses. I have been through a lot of this, though. It's sad and scary to be faced with hard economic times. We have had to learn this the hard way.

Well, I types out a whole reply and lost it. Ugh. Either way, I use mine for herbs. I want to try fruit as well.

Good replies. I am having the same thing from both of my older kids. I can usually give my oldest "the look" and he apologizes and rephrases, but my daughter, she is something else. lol

It is encouraging. I worry about this subject quite a bit.

I don't watch a lot of TV. I watch my soap that I record with the DVR and rerun sitcoms that don't really need my attention. I have tried to get into the network shows, but always forget to watch them and lose track. I was watching Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy, but lost my place from missing too many episodes. We were trying to watch No Ordinary Family, but again, I forgot. I guess I will order that one on DVD because my oldest really liked it. I usually have it on one of the music stations (love the 40's era stuff) and the kids will watch Sprout, Disney, Nick or PBS. We do have Netflix and I stream it through our Wii. There are a lot of great IMAX movies on there. Those of you who don't have it should check it out. You can get the watch instantly package for like $9. My package is one dvd at a time and watch instantly for $10 a month. I can't see spending any more than that. I try to be choosy about what the children watch. There is way too much sexual content on TV these day. Even in some of the kids shows. The Disney show with the Sprouse twins, Suite Life on Deck, has been banned for a comment I heard the other day that the kids didn't even get. It was just the point.

Thank you all. I looked and completely missed that thread. lol

I'm sorry, that might be, supposed to be FLL.

Hi all!!! My name is Stacy and I just started homeschooling my two older children. I have been looking through the threads here today and was wondering about a couple of the abbreviations. One being FFL and another being WWE. If you can think of any more that I may come across, please tell me what they mean. I know all of the typical web/text speak, but the homeschool abbreviations are stumping me. Thanks!!! ;)

I just joined this board, so hello!!! I have PCOS. Syptoms can present differently in women. I have many of the classic symptoms, but no cysts ever. My periods are completely erratic, I had trouble conceiving, depression, I have had acne (in my 30s, but not before), I have gained a ton of weight after I had my babies. My first two children were conceived using fertility drugs, my third by treatment with metformin. I did not find out I had this until after my second child was born. My husband caught a spot on the news, I took the info to my doc and she tested me. I don't know anything about the cholesterol levels, but it is odd that you posted about that. I just had a complete panel done and my cholesterol and triglycerides were elevated. I am the same age as you. You said something about early menopause in your family. Odds are that those women had PCOS as well. My mother "started into menopause" at 38 (same doc that dx'd her as menopausal missed a diagnosis of PCOS for me as well). A lot of doctors don't know anything about this. This is/can be a hereditary disease. Again, symptoms present differently. You could set a calendar by my mother and sister's cycles. Neither of them had any problems conceiving. My mother has never been officially diagnosed, but she lost all of her hair, gained weight after my sister was born. My sister is showing many of the other syptoms now, hair loss, darkening of the skin (which is insulin deposits). She was diagnosed after I was because she was starting with symptoms and I told her to get checked. Metformin is a good treatment for PCOS as is BC pills. If left untreated with irregular periods, it can lead to other problems with your uterus. The tissue builds and builds and may not all be shed with your period. You can end up with a hysterectomy. A great site that you can get a lot of info from is SoulCysters. I hope my info helps. If you have any other questions, just ask and I'll try to answer them for you. Living with this is a pain, but manageable.