In TWTM I remember SWB saying that a couple of years of piano- thats 2- are important for a rounded education, classically speaking- but if after 2 years a child has no love for it, to let them quit or find another instrument. I dont think it's a hill worth dying on at all. Sure, you make them do their core subjects, but their extra curriculas they should get a fair say in.

We just read over our memory work 4 days a week. We mostly do poetry. I find we all start remembering it soon, particularly if its something we enjoy. We jsut read it once a day, usually. The kids will stop me and try to say it themselves once they have almost got it.

I haven't read all the responses. For myself, I would say no, I cant imagine it. But I do think sometimes a woman, a mother, is just in a situation that makes her do that. I have a friend whose mother left him when he was a baby- his dad brought him up. His mother still wants nothing to do with him- he is a married young man expecting his first baby now. I sometimes wonder how his mother could do that...but the truth is, I am not in her shoes, and life provides such an array of life situations I can't see the point in judging someone for doing that, either, even though its just so hard to understand as a mother who wants to be with her children so much. It happens, mothers leave their children. They just werent ready to be mothers, one way or another. It is rather an all consuming thing, to be a mother, and plenty of mothers are fairly absent emotionally, even physically, even though they techically live with their offspring.

As well as oiling on the outside, I would take some oils yourself- coconut oil, butter, fish oil, get some good oils into your diet to get through your breast milk into the baby.

I don't use an alarm because I really need my sleep. But I am a morning person, so I wake up 6ish lately, and sometimes it will be 5. But I go to bed at 10pm (or earlier, so I can read). I cant bear to wake to an alarm- it means I didnt get enough sleep if the alarm had to wake me. I need that hour on my own. Dh wakes about 7- if he wakes earlier he knows not to disturb me till 7. We wake the kids on the way to the outdoor spa for our first cup of tea and our morning chat. I like our mornings :)

I have a kind of inner gauge....I know when I step over my limit. If I had an enthusiasm for letting the kids do what they want for a while, I would trust that. If I had a gut feeling that it would just about kill me, I would trust that, too :). But I have a mild chronic fatigue and just need to know my own limits. Just one bad nights sleep, or two late nights in a row, can make me a right off for school the next day.

My fmaily live far enough away, and I am known to be already unconventional... I didn't hear any flack from them at all, ever. By the time they had seen the kids on and off a few times over the next few years, they were totalyl convinced and my mum in particular tells me quite often she thinks what I am doign is wonderful. I think my dad is more concerned however I think most people who know me know there really is no point in saying anything negative anyway, I am not interested! My grandmother however, an ex school teacher and teacher educator, althoug she was positive at first, kept asking me for years, as a form of manipulation, "when will Gen be going to highschool, dear? ". Even though we all told her many times, she wont be, granma just could never grok that. Of course she was, and is, a victim of alzheimers, so I guess that didnt help. Dh's family- well, again, we are unconventional, they know there is no point saying anything - so at least ot my face, they are positive. I suspect they have "opinions" but who cares. I dont rely emotionally heavily on my family, so its not a big deal to me anyway, but it is nice when they pay compliments to me about what I am doing.

13 years ago I spent a week in Marysville- an incredibly GREEN and pretty town- now it doesn't exist! The fire safety strategies are going to be reviewed for obvious reasons, however I have seen many interviews with people who didnt even know the fire was so close and just managed to get out of the house in moments before it was engulfed- obviously the dead people who didnt get out in time, can't be interviewed. I saw one interview with a woman who said they had done everything right- no flammable material near the house, sprinklers, full water tanks- everything in preparation as the fire dept specifies - but by the time they realised there was a fire at all (for many people there was no warning smell or ash or anything) the roads were all blocked because of fire- the fire came from 3 directions at once. They managed to get out just before the last road was blocked, but lost everything. People are told to leave early, or stay and protect their property, and I know many people including relatives who have in the past saved their own homes by staying. But this fire was unusual and people didn't have time to even make the decision to stay or go. Australians are used to bushfires but this was unusual in the speed it travelled, the lack of warning, the scale of the fires- not one or two but I believe hundreds at once, and several years worth of dead wood in the bush. So many stories, I was crying watching the news this evening (I think I was numb before) but what gets me most is the generosity it is bringing out in people- even over here in W.A. thousands of boxes of goods are being stockpiled and sent over, as well as millions of $. Glad you are safe, Rosie, and Melissa.

I am no Shakespeare expert and have just intended to do Henry V (we are in a medieval year) after seeing SWB's praise of the Keneth Brenaugh play in TWTM....however, we only got half an hour into the movie/play and we just did not enjoy it at all. I think one owuld have to be somewhat familiar with and fond of SHakespeare to enjoy Henry V. I remember doing it in school though. I have decided to do Romeo and Juliet actually, because I am familiar with it and it just feels right for my adolescent kids right now! I gave up on trying to match a play to our medieval era- instead we are learning more about Shakespeare and his times.

A year ago I was in the same position- my dad phoned me to tell me he had prostate cancer. I cried and realised, even though I rarely see him, I would really miss his not being in my life if he died. His had apparently spread a little but hormone therapy is apparently keeping it right in check. And meanwhile, he and his wife are travelling and enjoying their lives to the max. I think it was a wake up call.

I dont think its worth paying extra for raw honey, to cook with it. But I still wouldnt buy any old honey. Where I live, the main honey company is excellent and even though it doesnt say so on the label, all their honey is technically raw honey. I phoned them to ask about one of their products and they told me western Australia is the best place in the world for honey because we dont have diseases and we dont adulterate our honey- and they dont heat their honey beyond what is absolutely necessary to pour it, and the temperature is within what they could still call raw honey. And this is what is sold on the supermarket shelves. We are lucky. Having said all that, I have studied Ayurveda and they consider honey turns into a toxin when cooked. I dont cook with honey- I use agave syrup, or evaporated cane juice/raw sugar.

I was just reading about Shakespeare in the preface to a play- in his day, he and others of his social status , boys only of course, were sent to school at age 4 or 5 and schooled from 6am till 4 or 5 in the afternoon, with only a short break in the day- until about age 15- then they moved onto an apprenticeship. Latin was emphasised in school. It sounds like that was normal for the wealthier classes. It didnt mention university but I guess some went there too. I am not sure I would compare a modern classical education, WTM style, to an historical one- having read Plaid Dad's book and Climbing Parnassus. We live in different times- even if we wanted to imitate what they did we would have to adapt it to our times. I don't presume my kids will go to university anyway- but giving them a broad and deep foundation during their childhood/teens, while preserving their spirit and love of learning and life- is my aim. I am not sure I would want a traditional classical education with long hours and gruelling work all through childhood- anyway.

I toss almost all of it- I just keep a few special things from each year. Those few things mean more to me than a houseful of clutter.

We are not particularly sciencey but my kids both really enjoyed Tiner's books, particularly the one about the History of Medicine.

Dad or daddy (my teens still call me and dh mummy and daddy sometimes, I love it). I think Papa is European- my BIL is married to a Belgian woman and their kids call him Papa because of her influence.

I would say your child has outgrown copywork and needs to move onto dictation. Copywork is not going to do much- I still use it for my 13yo but he really needs the handwriting practice - but dictation uses a whole lot of other skills and he does both. I would say that the reason you are not seeing much result from it is that your child is not challenged by copywork. Try dictation and see if she is challenged by that- if not, try a harder dictation- keep going to you find her edge, where she is stretched a little. I was brought up on dictation and have used it with my kids- but one child doesnt seem to need it- the other seems to benefit from it.

Story of the World and the 4 year history cycle. It has been the centre pin of what we have done for 5.5 years (finished SOTW but still doing the 4 year cycle) and no matter what I have changed, that has stayed the same. The other thing that comes to mind is simply the copywork, dictation and narrations I have had my learning challenged, writing challenged son do over the years. Its not that he is now a brilliant writer- but he can write, and the lady who diagnosed him dyslexic told me whatever I was doing, just keep doing it, it is working. he can read very well, he can spell well, he knows his basic grammar....its just writing that has challenged him enormously. So glad he is not in school.

I have only just started using the Basic one with my son, who has learning difficulties and I feel this might suit him well. So far so good. I dont know about the cards....we haven't really needed them yet much. I am sure you could copy any cards if they were missing. Sounds like you have a bargain there, I would go for it. Yes, you could copy the sentences from the TM.

I do about as much prep work as I have energy for. If I am in a burned out stage of the year...I do the bare minimal. If I am in an anthusiastic part of the year, I will go the extra mile. I have become slack about reading all their books- but we still read several aloud so we just discuss those and I ask how the others are going. The part I dislike the most for sure is marking their work. Its important, i know, and especially to go over their mistakes....but I really find myself putting it off too often. I spend time in the holidays doing as much prep work as possible so that during school term I have very little, especially photocopying and planning writing, history assignments etc. Its helps so much to spend that time before term, so that I can not be "doing school" all the time on school days and have time to play and rest and read and have my own life :)

I no longer do expect my kids to go to uni, but I have prepared them up to this point so that they could if they chose. As time goes on, it's looking less likely- one wants to be an artist (well, thats the latest), the other a businessman-, but my intention is instead to put them through what is called TAFE here, which I am not sure what is the U.S. equivalent, but it used to be considered technical college. Nowadays many people say it is a better place to get skills relevent to the workforce, anyway. My dd will be doing an entry level course this coming year by correspondence which should allow her to do anything in TAFE- since she wants to do art but has little interest in doing courses in art other than the watercolour ones she is already doing- and the fact she has a bookwork job in a small business- I am thinking to get her some basic business skills, perhaps computer and secretarial skills- just to give her something to fall back on- while she is still homeschooling. Thats if she doesnt develop an interest in another direction. The other kid just wants to make money, and is non academic, so I am thinking TAFE business school. Then if either want to go to uni they can get there with TAFE diplomas easily. Saves them doing the wretched TEE (end of highschool exams here that waste 2 years of a kids precious life!). Anyway, plans are subject to change. We are loose about it and encourage the kids to follow their passion but with a practical edge. Their dad is entrepreneurial, and both kids also have that confidence and tendency, and I think that gives them a better edge than an automatic uni degree.

My father had prostate cancer a year ago...he had his prostate removed but there were signs it had spread....hormone therapy is keepiong it at bay though. He has good health and is making the most of life now- I think it was a good wake up call for him. he even came and visited me, all the way across the country, last year. It made him re-evalate his priorities a little. My mother's long term partner (same age as dad, 71) has exactly the same thing...has had it for longer, didnt have it removed, controlling it with hormones. his health is not so good but its more because of fibromyalgia than cancer. It was a shock to find out about dad....but he is ok. My parents are young- my mother is only 63 and I am 41- so their mortality hadnt quite registered in me yet. Now it has.

I just find a compromise that feels ok to me. I try and keep my diet very clean, and next, my family's (but I already have to compromise for them to appeal to their taste). I cook for about 15 vegetarians twice a week. I am fine with vegetarian- my dh is vego and I was for years, I am fine with cooking vego meals- but this is a business for me and for the $10 a meal that they pay me- main meal, dessert and drinks- I cannot afford to buy them organic, and I tend to cook one pot meals, or curry and rice, or soup and bread, sometimes pasta. But it's often not food I would eat and I even apologised the other day for the basic pasta dish I made, because I thought it was stodgy bachelor food. However, half the people are single and the meals I cook are often the best meals they get all week- and they loved the pasta glug! (I also make things like Thai Green Curry- its not all really basic fare). I don't eat sugar yet I give them ice cream or other super sweet, often unhealthy desserts- packet puddings- and they also like Coke and I wouldn't give it to my kids or drink it myself. But its not my job to change them. There are ingredients I wont use, for example I wouldnt use artificial sugars, buy diet sodas (aspartane is poison) and I have stopped using TVP because I think its unhealthy. Dont forget the hidden ingredient in food- the love you pour into it. It transforms it!

yeah, not for beginners, that' s for sure.

I have played with SOnlight books and one core over the years, and am presently using AO year 7, but tweaking it and being fairly picky so that I don't lose my kids interest along the way. I think AO/HEO has better quality books, but some are quite heavy going for the age (which is why everyone always says to do AO a couple of years behind your child's age. Dont know how that works if you are starting from the beginning, or if that defeats the purpose of using such a rigorous program). I think Sonlight is fine and probably very inspiring for lots of kids. Actually, I went through the WTM suggestions for the Logic stage year my kids are at, recently, and I felt a gush of relief- I feel the literature WTM suggests is probably more along the lines and level of Sonlight- and probably leads to enjoyment. None of teh literature seemed heavy going to me. Wheras AO is definitely challenging. I tend to go for the higher level and then lose my kids- I am learning. I think it is going to come down to personal taste and preference. Although I am using AO, not Sonlight, I am ditching some books as in particular my kids do not like books that sort of talk to them in an old fashioned way. Also, I realised it was just too many books. I love homeschooling- you can take the best of anything,, tweak it for your own kids, and no one will tell you off for not doing it properly or correctly.

You sound so certain, yet it is a controversial issue and many traditional cultures have consumed cod liver oil for a long time, to their own benefit. I prefer to keep my mind open AND do my own research, and not jump on every scientific study that comes through as the absolute truth. My experience is most doctors do not have the time or inclination to keep up with the research on supplements, and nor do I have much confidence in them generally. Giving up responsibility for your own health to doctors is a sure path to sickness. Taking responsibility for your own health, educating yourself and using a doctor for their areas of expertise, is a responsible and healthy path.