I think there is good and bad to it. It just is the way it is and it certinaly has its down side. I think it also makes communicating much easier and more convenient. My dd15 has daily contact with many friends due to texting and the computer, and it helps her feel connected to her friends even though she may not see them often.

I was recently tossing up between Prisma and Derwent for my dd15- they are the 2 top brands sold here, with Prisma being more expensive and a slightly better quality. The lady told me though that Prisma are really soft and break easily. She said you must never drop them, and you must sharpen them with a knife, not a pencil sharpener. The Derwent are still artist quality- I went with them!

Lol, it is very much the twilight zone to me for the opposite reasons. I just can't fathom many of the opinions here including those above. My dh and I got married when our kids were ages 3 and 5. That immediately makes me depraved according to many of you. I didnt think so many people still thought like that. There is a big difference between being politically correct, and just minding your own business.

Its good to remember we just cant do everything. Every time I think of something I want to cover in my daughter's next two years, I have to remember there is only so much time and trying to cram all the literature and subjects in isnt the best way to go to have a good last two years of school. So far, French is covered quite pathetically but she is willing to keep going. I dont think we are going to get to Rhetoric. Logic is probably not going to be covered any deeper than Art of Argument- no formal logic, just fallacies. Latin is being covered but its not going to be perfected by any means- no reading the original, I think, but its not really my goal, just a good side benefit if it happens. There are a zillion books I still want my kids to read! I dont know why I feel they have to read every book I have ever loved, PLUS all the Great Books that appeal to me, before they leave home, but it's a strong feeling! Its just not going to happen. But, I guess it's a worthy goal to keep aiming for.

I think we women often gain our self esteem out of being the helper of others. We don't consider ourselves worthy unless we are of some "use" and needed. I don't feel I struggle with this issue particularly, but my dh has been a big help in that regard. He really complains if I over extend myself and burn out. He is protective of me, and very switched on to people who are not healthy for me. And, my health doesnt allow me to be too busy- I burn out easily. DH takes care of lots of people- he is a therapist- he values what I am doing- hopefully helping my kids avoid the need for therapy :) As far as dh is concerned, homeschooling is my job and he doesnt think I should be doing a lot extra- apart from taking care of myself and the family. I talked to him about doing some university by correspondence recently, and he discouraged me, because it would stretch me too far. He is right. I only have a few years left of homeschooling- I will only be in my mid-late 40s- I can widen my sphere and go to uni or whatever then. I dont know how women do it who take care of everyone else. For me, I wouldnt be able to do what is MOST important to me, well, if I spread myself too thin. And at this stage, my family is the priority.

I had a boyfriend who was brought up by deaf parents, and he was normal! Many deaf people have children. In fact, I can think of some advantages :)

I would encourage it! What a wonderful ideal! I don;t think it means he feels he is incredibly special and going to be famous- just that his life has a purpose and he doesnt want his life to be wasted in shallowness and meaningless. I can totally relate and I always felt like that too. We all change the world just by being here. Some of us have a smaller sphere of influence than others but we all have an influence. Your job is just to help him keep his feet on the ground and realise his dreams, one step at a time. Believe in him! It means a lot to a kid to have their mum believe in them.

Thanks for this link. Interesting that Little House books and many others that are popular in homeschooling ciclres are included in the books to avoid due to their disrespect of Native Americans. I read the explanation and I can understand why they are included. Its a bit like noticing what you buy- like buying Nestles is supporting the killing of 3rd world babies because of Nestle's practices there, but if you never look that bit deeper, or come across the information, you just dont know. I would rather know that not know, even if I make an informed choice to still read the book.

I don't see where the kindness is in your response to these people. I dont think its your job to think how they should live their lives. Find the good in them instead of focusing on your moral judgements. That would be setting a good example to your children.

I love Wolves too- I have two wolf pictures on my bedroom walls! May your daughter follow her dreams.

I have learned there are only so many books we can read and I try to pick the best ones. Many, many times I have assigned too many books, and it has taken me years to learn that less is more. A good historical novel might take my kids many weeks to read. I use the CM system of having several books on the go at once. This term my kids are finishing off Watership Down, The Once and Future King, and The Faerie Queen, while our main read alouds have been Ivanhoe, The Brendan Voyage and Sophie's World, and some Shakespeare. They read each book for either a half or a full hour each week. Altogether it's an hour or so a day of reading in school time, indepedently, and half to a full hour of me reading to them. We can only do so much. The 2nd half of our year will add in 3 more books, as they/we have finished 3. On top of that they read from two or 3 history spines, but its not more than an hour a week. As you can see my kids are older, but I just wanted to share that its been quite a process to find an amount of reading that is in balance with the rest of our work and its probably an individual family thing, as to how many books. Having our writing program integrated with history is saving us a lot of time this year and I allocate that extra time to reading, because we just like to read.

I have just started using the Green Book for my ds13. It teaches diagramming and grammar. I wouldn't skip anything in LLATL, because they are all integrated, but you could add in assignments once you see how it goes. My son takes only 15-20 minutes a day on his LLATL, although that could be because its the beginning of the book. For outlining, I wouldn't buy another resource- I would just read that section in the WTM. It's not difficult. Some kids do struggle with it, but even my reluctant writer does well with outlining, and I did need to sit with him in the beginning, but then he was ok. I wouldn't anticipate you need an extra resource- I always just used outlining to cover parts of history and science, rather than made it an extra subject. You have years to get it right. I hear all the time that LLATL is too light and people add so much that the LLATL become redundant. I looked carefully into it and at the level my son is using, I feel it has enough meat in it for a foundation for him at this point- but I have used many other resources over the years so he is not starting from scratch. I like to integrate things as much as possible- his writing program is connected to his history (IEW Medieval Writing Lessons). I particularly wanted to use the Gold levels for my dd15 and I am very happy with the book I got for her- but I will still add things here and there.

Thats pretty much me, too. I have used Flylady for years, and it helped me go from overwhelmed to basically in control- but I will never be someone who can work to a tight schedule. I use my Flylady schedule when I find myself drowning in chores- it gives me a starting point- but mostly, I just do the next thing as it occurs to me, when I have some moments to do it. I dont follow the Flylady system any more but to some extent it is internalised in a way that works for my rather erratic nature. Some things that have become routine habits (thankyou Flylady) are doing a load of washing most days- not having a separate washing day; washing dishes after every meal (actually, the kids do it) rather than leaving them; making my bed in the mornings and keeping my bedroom a beautiful sanctuary- no computers in there; giving the kids chores; and regular bursts of decluttering. I love to declutter, and will often get an urge to do a cupboard, a drawer, my desk, the kids' school things, a surface. I also have learned to value having a few clear surfaces in the house, like the dining room table (it gets filled with stuff easily but I clear it off), and the coffee table in the schoolroom. It makes such a difference to my feeling of overwhelm when I walk into a room, to have a clear surface or two to lay my eyes on. Another thing Flylady taught me was that I Dont need to do it all at once. Breaking things down to smaller parts- cleaning a bookshelf for 15 minutes can sometimes be more productive than surface cleaning a whole room in the same time if I have the whim to do it.

I think Battlemaiden's Lady is my picture of a Lady. And its not sometihng I ever aspired to be :)

My uncle told me, in the months before he died of cancer, that the reason he wasnt at all afraid of dying (and he wasnt) wasnt his Buddhist beliefs, which I had presumed, but because he had had a near death experience 20 years before, where he left his body, and he realised death was just a moving on, and that you don't actually "die" so to speak. I made some sort of comment about it that was a little offhand about his "beliefs" and how that must give him peace, and he corrected me gently saying no, this wasnt a belief, this was his experience. Becoming Buddhist and all his spirituality came after that- it changed his life completely. My dh got lost at sea in a storm in a small boat that was sinking, with his first wife. Sharks were circling- literally. The boat was filling, he had a radio but couldn't get anyone on it. He and his wife fell asleep in the water, they became so cold.They were sure they would die. Then he suddenly woke up and felt to try the radio again, and got hold of an oil tanker in the area, and they were rescued. It was after that experience that he sold his companies and became a spiritual seeker, and hitch hiked around Australia barefooted.

Well, apparently my "real" hair colour is raven black. Thats when I stopped doing Facebook quizzes. It was a short lasting thing.

Successes: HEO year 7 Medieval. I have tweaked it but Ivanhoe and The Brendan Voyage have been great successes so far, and Watership Down and Sword and Once and Future King are going well (we are only halfway through our year....) K12's History Odyssey- Medieval chapters, is going well. IEW Medieval Writing Lessons- going well, just expecting much better quality from my older and she is rising to the challenge. Learning a 5 paragraph structure is unheard of here in Australia, but I am finding both kids are doing well with it and it gives them something to fall back on. I am glad we are doing it. Dd15 has been doing a Cert3 in General Adult Education- basically Maths and English - and it has been good for her to be accountable to someone else. She got great feedback for her writing. It is finished now, but its been a good 6 months for her. Winston Grammar Basic for ds13. He has done lots of grammar before, various programs, but this was a great consolidation for him. Science classes in Physics and Chemistry are going well. Artists and Their Lives has been great for Dd. Neutral: Tiner's World of Chemistry (ds13) and World of Mathematics (dd15) seem to be going well. Not hits, but my kids seem to do well with Tiner, and come out with interesting pieces of info at times. Just good brain food. Latin Prep. I love it, they enjoy it enough...but we are slow at it. Flops: Most of the extras of the CM lifestyle have dropped by the wayside. Plutarch, picture and composer study. I just find them tedious. Maybe I will get back to them.

I do feel the spirit of it and it is definitely my kind of thinking. I want her to follow her dreams. The issue about her father's negativity about it is a bit difficult but Ithink I need to trust my own feelings too. The money for college is an issue- I think- but its miles off. I tihnk it might be possible to combine Nan's idea of a practical path AND the dream path, without sacrificing either. thanks for your thoughts, and I agree with your thinking.

Thankyou Nan. Yes, I have been thinking about that possibility too and I love the way you have put it- a money making path and a just for the love for it path. Thats kind of where I am being torn for her, and I can relate to it for myself, too. Now that you have put it on epaper, it doenst sound so crazy and it sounds practical. thankyou.

I guess thats a possiblity. I thik she could be good at it. I have a prejudice against salespeople, but I guess there is a place for them in the world, too. My son will prboably head that direction. I think dd would be good at business.

Yes, I hadnt thought about this much before but I agree its a good idea.

I dont think keeping her home closes any doors, and its probably better than jumping into something just for the sake of it. Thats a good idea, doing some TEE prep courses, but se probably doesnt need to do TEE anyway- unless she wants to do medicine, which she didnt when she was 12, but not anymore.

Yes, I am more inclined to your kind of thinking, as a part time artist myself (not that I have ever made any money from it, but I did go to art school for a year). It is possible to do art at TAFE- the technical college. Perhaps some time there would hlep her know whether its where she wants to go. But I do have an issue with her father. He is dead against it. I think that may be stressing me more than I realised.

Thanks Jennifer. She is a kind of apprentice to her art teacher anyway. But it is narrow- they only work on watercolour. I think she could broaden her horizons by spending time with other artists. She doesnt want to teach art at this point, but that could change. She is a bit in love with her art teacher- she wants to be just like her. But her art teacher is supported by a wealthy husband, so its not necessarily entirely realistic. Anyway, I think your sugggestions are good, thankyou.

Wonderful idea, thanks Katilac. I think its true- playing with Photoshop is very different from having a career in it. She wouldnt have a cule, most likely, what an acutal job in the field would entail. I can help her research that and look into some work experience for her.