I didnt think the reading many books at once approach would work for us, but I tried it and it works very well, and we actually read more books this way. We wouldnt sit down and read a book for 2 hours (not a school-assigned book) but we can easily read from 4 different books over 2 hours in the day. The kids free reading is not split up like this, but school books are split up over the term or longer, and there are often many books going at once. It works for us. One benefit is that if the book isn't thrilling to the kids, it can still be endured. Another is that by waiting a week, that segment of the next week is really looked forward to if its a good book. I think it also trains the memory- we quickly revise what we read the previous week and to do that we need to dig into our memory and find some triggers till it all comes flooding back in.

Kids usually LOVE nature and the outdoors,if they havent been taught to be frightened, so can you overcome your resistance for their sake? I know its hard with little kids, but its so important for kids to see green, birds, trees, to touch the earth, to find bugs, to see shapes in clouds, to paddle in water, to feed the ducks. I cant imagine a childhood without those experiences. I feel they are just as important as all the academic stuff we get caught up in later. This is a beautiful planet we live on, that we share with many other creatures- cultivating a sense of appreciation for that - in yourself and your children- just makes life that much more beautiful and worthwhile.

I don't re read them , basically, however I am looking forward to "re-enjoying" some books with my kids, such as Jane Eyre, P&P, some Dickens.

The only viewing I have had was of a man I knew in India whose funeral I went to there- burning on the banks of the Ganges. I had been to quite a few funerals before that, and this was a totally different experience, seeing the body burn. A definite sense of finality. But I didn't know this man well so I guess I actually was curious in a slightly detached way, but having lived that, I have very little curiosity about seeing anyone else dead. I have been to childrens' funerals and I tell you, I couldn't have stood to see the dead bodies. Seeing the small coffins was hard enough. I can imagine it might be important for some people, to get a visual, concrete sense of finality. It is a natural part of life and perhaps it helps some people grieve. In fact maybe if it was my husband or my child, I might want to see the body in order to say goodbye, too, if I think about it. But not most people, even my parents I think, I could do without. I think we are all too much removed from death though, we deny its inevitability, its starkness, and maybe the move away from viewings is another step away from the raw realness of it. I am not against it. In fact the seeing of the burning of the body was a way of feeling the finality of losing that particular man for me, and if we are so into cremation nowadays, which I think is a good thing, I wouldnt mind that we could be a little more involved in that than seeing a coffin disappear through a door, and then receiving a container full of ashes at the end which really could be anybody's! But in reality I dont really know, as it hasnt come into my life, and with the funerals I have been to I didnt feel a need to see the body.

Dd14 practices half an hour a day first thing in the morning. She learns piano for fun- for recreation- and although the lessons cost me, I don't want to turn it into work. She really enjoys the songs she plays and practices enthusiasticaly. Ds12 practices for about 20 minutes a day. He is a fairly advanced classical recorder player, but his teacher, an elderly woman, is like a grandmother to him, and she feels he progresses very well. She has asked that we not time his practices, but that instead it is the quality of his practices that matters- a few scales, or just one played several times until perfected, and working on one or two pieces each day- working on the new bits and playing them over several times. He has a tendency to just want to rush through and play everything through once and not work on the hard bits. His teacher has said he could get more out of a short practice if his focus is right, than a long one. Although she has trained several musicians who have gone on to be famous, she has quite a liberal approach and has been a gift for our son who has had his musical gift brought forward by her. If she had told him to practice for 30 minutes and do theory, she would have lost him long ago. Both my kids only practice 5 days a week. Dd also plays guitar and goes to a class at the local school, and I never tell her to practice that because she is completely self motivated and practices as she feels inspired, which is plenty as she is top of the class. I was brought up on formal music and exams, and I am musically inclined...but for me I don't want to turn music lessons into so much of a chore that they don't want to do the practice. I guess I am not "classical" that way. We dont do much theory although both know how to read music. They can always pick it up later. I want them to enjoy it, play pieces they love and for music to be a part of their lives, and I don't feel like pushing it too hard.

I weigh 5kg more than I did soon after my 2nd child, but i am not overweight. But never skinny. I notice the extra weight. And I feel much more relaxed and content with my weight now than I did when I was 5kg skinnier, when I thought I was fat! A little roundness and fat is softening for a woman and a mature man will appreciate that, rather than the sought after waif-child-figure that is so sought after right through menopause nowadays. I feel much more comfortable in myself than I did 10 years ago. If I put on a lot of weight...yes, I would be concerned. But I am happy with how I am.

I suspect mine cares a little, but he is older than me and reached middle aged pot belly stage years ago, so cant relaly say much! He finds me attractive, but I am not overweight, even though I notice the pudge on my hips and my booKs sagging...I will always be the 13 years younger wife so i guess I have that. He likes it when i dress up, and look good, he likes the style of clothes i wear and tells me if he doesnt (very bluntly). I guess I havent become too frumpy so I dont know...but I do feel frumpy sometimes and he doenst seem to notice.

Actually, yes the current economic climate will affect my gift giving. I am not so enthusiastic about the whole Christmas thing anyway. The whole consumer thing just gets annoying- whose in charge of my life, anyway- the media driven consumer mindset, or me? How much do I want to be influenced by that anyway? Oh, i go through this every year and usually get into it somewhere along the line, but I dont like it. Who to buy presents for, who will be offended. Both my kids are earning money themselves and don't need expensive presents from us. The rest of my family....well, sometimes I splurge and sometimes I dont....this will be one of the not-splurging year, methinks.

I think that comprehension questions misses the point of CM and Ambleside (and I don't think TWTM thinks much of them either). They tend to test for what the child doesn't know...narrations ask the child to tell you back what they do know. It is a very positive thing and it can be very empowering for the child to put in their own words what they just read. They certainly dont just read the book and be done, except with the free reading lists. Trying to use study guides or too many questions along with the books would get tedious very quickly, because one of the benefits of Ambleside is that they read lots of books- if you try to do too much with each book, you would end up having to read a lot less. The idea is that the child makes their own connections. For assignments, there are many ways for a child to express what they got out of a passage, chapter or book- retelling is the basic way, but also creative exercises, building things, onto writing essays in highschool. I dont think you can do Ambleside without really understanding a lot of the philosophy behind it- other wise it is just a good booklist, which is fine too. I think the socratic questioning that is listed in TWTM Logic stage section would be very good with the books too- it leads to deeper understanding through discussion. We discuss a lot. Sometimes I look up an online study guide of one particular book so that we can go deeper into one of the many books they are reading each term- as in, learn literature terms and structure etc. I have found good ideas ofr essay questions in study guides too. I feel we share the books- even if only one person is reading a particular book, I will frequently ask how its going, where are they up to, are they liking it. I never just hand a book over and thats the end of it. They become a part of family conversation.

What about some structured time doing some cooking? I do try and fit things into holidays that we don't get to the rest of the time. Like...everyone helping to clean....clean out their school desk drawers, cleaning out wardrobes of clothes that no longer fit....teaching them to use the washing machine...it only has to be an hour or so at a time and I feel so much better, and I can call it school to them (life skills) :)

Ambleside. We went through the history cycle once, and 2nd time through we are using Ambleside.

Usually only reading-they will often save their favourite scheduled reading for last and end up doing it in the evening.

My experience is that the treatment is very individual. One of my doctors is very "alternative' and when I went to her she asked me how my creativity was going, and suggested I see a counsellor to talk about issues. However, the biggest stabiliser for me has been progesterone cream and it has made such a difference that time of the month is no longer a nightmare, just an irritation. I do think that premenstrually, things that we could cover, control, deny, repress, ignore, the rest of the month, demand to be seen and expressed at that time- we lose the ability to "get on with it". I used to get so angry with my husband at that time of the month- and I used to give myself such a hard time for it- until I learned that the issues were there all the time, I just pretended they werent, and it came out that way- unclear, shrewish, highly emotional- with PMS. When I realised that, I worked really hard to deal with the issues and I learned to trust what I saw and felt premenstrually instead of just writing it off as insane PMS. It was/ is real. Grief, anger, pain, depression- well, who wouldn't experience these in these times, and if there is no outlet for them the rest of the month, if we are too busy to feel them, PMS is how they express. Of course, imbalance of hormones is another factor- but I don't believe it is the whole story. But to deal with that, my regime is regular meals (and I dont believe mainly raw food is grounding and nurturing enough to be considered as stabilising- mostly raw foods can be very ungrounding), supplements of whatever I am into at the time- various fatty acids, iodine, multi vitamins, spirulina, chaste tree- progesterone cream, gentle exercise, listening to cravings and trying to satisfy them in a way that is not self destructive (like buying good quality dark chocolate instead of pigging down a pkt of cheap choc covered biscuits), limiting sugar, and getting as much extra sleep as possible, including an afternoon rest time. I studied Ayurveda and they recommend women take time for extra rest in the week before their period. Being given "permission" by a 5000 year old medical system helped me. By the way, I have tried low carb diets and I get depressed every time. Healthy carbs in moderation seem important to my system. Listen to your own body- dont go out running if it says sleep. Don't eat a raw salad if your body wants steak and mashed potato with butter. Sticking to a diet can also prevent you from being in tune with yourself and what your body is needing to balance itself. Hope that helps

Well things are not looking so bad here in Australia as they are over there, but its only a matter of time. My husband works for himself as a therapist/spiritual teacher and I doubt that is very secure! we have briefly discussed it but he seems hell bent on spending money right now which i think is a bit of denial. However, I am drawing up plans for things I want to buy now- a good bicycle for example, and I am also building a good vegie garden which takes money- in case later, money is so tight that these things seem like excessive luxuries. I also went through my food cupboards yesterday and cleaned them out and made space for bulk foods. I am prepared that I may have to go out and work, but the best way to earn money for us is to cut back on wasteful spending.

The weight gain may also be symptomatic of low thyroid. And PCOS is common with weight gain. If you find your doctors just fob you off telling you that you are ok when you know something is wrong (and I agree with you, something is definitely not in balance in your system) I would go and find a naturopath of Chinese medicine specialist, or homeopath- someone who can come from a different angle with you. There is a lot that can be done in such situations, when doctors just dont know what to do.

I have been to India 3 times and most people there speak better English than most Westerners I know. And Aly is right- most speak several languages, even the poor people. And there are lots of poor people- but they do go to school. I did stay with a middle class family in Delhi who had an "untouchable" boy servant who lives with them full time- about age 9- I didn't really like how they treated him, he was virtually a slave, although that is of course illegal- I think the situation was illegal, but tolerated- however, he did go to school. I think many people in Asia know they have to excel to do well, so much competition, and pressure to do well...but it doesn't answer the original question of comparing the U.S. to other "western" countries, but perhaps that's not such a relevant question after all...maybe we should be comparing western countries to Japan, Korea, India, and asking why are we not doing as well as them? I have heard, but I dont want to stereotype because I am not really aware of all the facts, that many of these kids spend many hours a day at school, then after school doing drill classes- basically, they work very, very hard- so, they deserve the results. However, it's still not the way I would choose to live, or bring up my children. If they want to compete in the corporate westernised consumeristic world, fair enough, they have lived with lack, I understand the desire to lift out of poverty. But having lived with plenty, I know it's not what makes you happy, that's for sure, and I dont like what it does to the planet- and the 3rd world countries are selling their resources off at a terrific rate, and accepting obscene rates of pollution. Its all a bit of a mess and hopefully before its too late people wake up. You cant eat money, as the American Indian said. I hope in future generations education is broader. May I also say, i think it is changing, but when I was in the U.S. years ago I noticed how the news stations all reported a lot of local news but I would never have known what was going on in the rest of the world. The U.S. was very insular- 25 years ago, anyway- more so than Australia where we hear a lot of world news. The Well Trained Mind is of course quite an antidote to that way of thinking.

I think you are right.....I am buying gold and I am in Australia, because what is happening in the U.S. and Europe will affect us down the road, perhaps sooner rather than later. I think gold is a solid place to invest right now. Yes, I believe it is all spiralling out of control and collapsing, and I am also aware that many people are in denial about how serious it is, because their day to day lives are not yet affected. It may be another month or two before how serious it is dawns on people. However, I also see it as a good thing, ultimately...for our children and grandchildren and future generations. Its a pretty shameful time to be a human being, the way we are destroying the planet so quickly in the name of nothing else but greed. ETA: I just received this in my inbox regarding the trustability of Snopes, which i had been wondering about. Google “snopes credibility”! Seems like they have gaps in their credibility and this may be a case of debunking the debunker. For that matter it is often a good idea to check with other search vehicles to compare the credibility of Google; for example try “Laura Bush murder” on Google and then same on another search engine….and compare. Seems like there will always be some debunking site for any truth that threatens.

I am pretty sure I have seen statistics where most of the world can't even read or write. So in that respect, all westernised countries are all more highly educated in the type of education we value, anyway. Maybe, as Rosie was saying, not all people are going to value this type of education. To a large extent us Westerners are so out of tune with the cycles of nature, with what plants appear when and all the little signs that are significant to more natural cultures who depend on them for their survival, I personally feel incredibly ignorant. And I think we are not just ignorant, we are incredibly patronising and look down on that type of knowledge as "less than" knowing Latin or our version ofhistory. Do we know our ancestors? Not usually. So we dont even know our family's history beyond grandparents or sometimes greatgrandparents, wheras native cultures have a sense of continuity with many generations of their past. I feel we as Westerners are extremely arrogant. Having said that, I educate my kids in the "normal" way of the culture they are brought up in because its the culture they are growing up in. I think Australia is considered to have a fairly high standard of education, but if you lived here you would know that plenty of kids fall through the system, that some states are better than others, that the education system is in huge upheaval, that in the state where I live the teachers are in massive revolt against a system that has been rejected in other countries....its not a pretty picture and thats why I homeschool. Where they get those figures that compare countries, I just dont know, but they are probably jsut a snap shot at a particular moment, with particular kids, and not to be taken too seriously. The fact that America is a huge country means also that the standard is going to vary widely, but even in Australia, it varies widely. I have never been asked to put my kids in international testing, so it is obvioulsy only a selected group who are.

I should have checked Snopes first. However, maybe there is still some truth in it, I don't know. I do think there are people in the world trying to move us toward more centralisation of power, and as some of you have mentioned, the joining of Canada, America and Mexico has certinaly come up before. But it does look like this particular video is a hoax. Except when I went to the website that Snopes linked to, I couldnt see any Amero there.

Child #1- waters broke, no contractions for 24 hours, baby born more than 56 hours after waters broke. Went to hospital waaaaaay too early- fortunately dh, a warrior type :), did battle with the doctors and nurses to let me give birth naturally. They just wanted to get it over with, but baby was in no stress at all, and 3 weeks early- and she has always taken her own sweet time every since. :) Child #2- Very, very mild contractions for several hours, then waters broke at home, and then rushed to birthing centre with immediate severe contractions and baby born 90 minutes later. So, no ability to predict- every baby different! I am the type who would be hpapy to give birth at home (circumstances and dh didnt allow either time) so I would probably, if I had another labour, wait until I had strong contractions- but since my last labour was so short...dont listen to me, the baby woudl probably be born in the car!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge2J2lNusJs&eurl= If I was American, I would want to watch it.

From what I remember from the family I knew that breastfed their 8yo, around 8 is when a child will normally wean themselves if they havent before hand. I sort of understood that in some traditional cultures, 8 is about the limit. Still, a woman's breasts can be a source of nourishment and I am sure in times of famine or whatever, all sorts of things occur, including full grown people sustaining themselves on them. We are a little screwy around things like that in our culture, but I am sure its all been done.

I know someone who breastfed till her son was 8. I don't have a problem with it. I think we are all too judgmental of what in some cultures is apparently normal, just because we don't come across it in our own culture very often. yes, I would be taken aback if I saw someone doign that on the street. But as someone else said, if it was a way ot get nutrition into a child, say in Africa (where i have heard it is more common to bf that long) well, who am I to say. I allowed both my kids to bf until they themselves wanted to stop- I tendem fed them, since they are only 17 months apart. they both stopped quite spontaneously when the older was 5, the younger 3.5. that was their natural cut off. It is possible of course that people do do it for reasons that are not altogether healthy, psychologically- to keep their children dependent, whatever. Many parents dont want to let go and subtly manipulate children to stay dependent. But my experience is that that bonding with my children made them so incredibly secure and independent, neither has ever had a problem being away from their parents since then. No clinginess or insecurity at all. Which was the point. I used to get so homesick as a child, hated camps, my parents valued indpendence highly and so tried to force it on me.....I read about attachment parenting when I was pregnant and was sold on it from the beginning, and I have to say, it has worked. I cant say seeing the video didnt make me wonder, or didnt ick me out a little....but I would prefer to just keep an open mind and not draw any conclusions.

The October 7 thing apparently did happen, just not as a single catastrophic event. http://www.urbansurvival.com/week.htm And I agree that plain economic good sense could predict what was going to happen, but we are in an age of "too much information", or information overload, and I didnt understand the economic situation anyway...so it wasnt predictable to me in the same way, just confusing.

My kids are like yours, Janice. If I don't watch pretty closely, they slacken off. Dd14 somehow manages to do her maths ok...I think. She marks it herself, too, and then reports to me. If she gets stuck she asks for my help. I keep an eye, sometimes I mark it...I probably should keep a closer eye, but I dont because she seems to do well this way. Ds 12 needs to be watched VERY closely or will do less of what is requested. If I ask for a half page, he will do a third. If I say do a page of maths, he will leave two problems at the bottom and say he just cant do any more. So I have to be onto him. Dd is not really like that....but we dont do a lot of workbook type things, so they are not easily right or wrong, except for maths. So they take me reading, discussing, back and forth with her. Thats one of the things I like about homeschooling...but sometimes, sure, I would like her to just do it all alone. For the other things I do mark, like Latin...I only mark when I remember- but its usually once a week or so. Ds's English I mark straight away because he relaly needs the feedback right then and there.