I would think if you tried to contact someone through: http://www.amstaff.org/ , the American Staffordshire Terrier club website, that they could help tell you if that is the kind of dog it is. But where did the dog originally come from? You said you took in your stepson's dog -- where did he get it from? I do consider myself a dog person, but neither of the breeds you mentioned is one that I have any personal experience with at all. Is the dog a problem? Or are you simply curious what kind it is?

Is there a limit in terms of number of characters or links or size of an image in a signature? Even if something is allowed, if it would be in poor taste, then I wouldn't want to do it. I didn't see anything in the general forum guidelines about this.

Rainefox, I love your avatar. Those don't look like swimming goggles, what kind of glasses are they? It's too bad we can't have a giant virtual state map that we could put push-pins in and then ask? Hey, who does this one belong to? cause I'm right over here.

This makes sense to me, but I bet those who think all homeschoolers are quacks would have a field day with the phrase "classroom in a closet". I hope you aren't planning to run for any political office any time soon. ha ha

Have you considered sign language? Not all colleges recognize it as a foreign language, but some do. And it could be a lot of fun for you to learn together. p.s. I apologize if this is a repeat post. I tried to Reply a minute ago and got an error message about the server being too busy and database error.

Well I voted sometimes -- but the term 'rarely' would have been more accurate. I do like to make it now and then when - I'm trying to make the room nicer - the sheets and blankets have all gotten pulled out from thrashing husband or pets - I want to fold laundry on top - I wash the sheets. Hey, that counts!

First to answer your question that was in the thread title -- NO WAY are you a bad mom for considering this. In fact, in all your pros and cons, I can hear how much you care about your kids. I'd vote to let her go BUT only after coming up with some kind of a family agreement about at what point you will evaluate whether this is working and whether to continue with her in PS or return home. And along the same lines, in terms of making the decision -- if you can't decide today, maybe choose a target date that you want to decide by. For instance would it be easier to decide a week before PS closes for summer(depending on when that is). The only way I think it would be a bad decision is if you haven't talked at all about when/how you'll decide whether she stays in PS. The last thing you want is for her to come home in tears after a bad day and have you and your husband have different attitudes about whether to go back into decision mode and then repeat that scenario a few dozen times more. ANY decision is often preferable over constant evaluation and reevaluation. Even if she goes to PS and decides it was a mistake, that doesn't mean that YOUR decision to honor her request was a mistake, if you see what I mean. There are lessons to be learned no matter what path we follow.

I agree that you should follow the timing guidelines in terms of the answers you submit -- for all of the reasons listed by other people. One thing I'm wondering though is, are there other sections where your daughter was able to finish a much higher percent of the questions? I would wait until you see the results before panicking. Even with smart kids going through public education, we'd occasionally get a very odd score. I remember one particular section of a standardized elementary math exam, my son got something like the 18th percentile. In our house, that's just NOT seen (yes, this is somewhat tongue-in-cheek). Was our son really barely performing at grade level? I called the school to ask what that section consisted of, since obviously it was an area that Dave needed some help with. The principal returned my call and said he had access to Dave's test booklet and answer sheet and that basically Dave's errors were all a matter of silly errors -- like he would add two numbers when he was supposed to subtract. Or he had the right answer written in his test booklet, but had filled in the wrong circle. It was just an afternoon of careless errors for him. His other math scores were respectable, not great or as high as I would have expected, but he at least cracked the 50th percentile. The principal said that he appreciated our diligence but that his advice was as long as Dave continued to do well in math class, to forget about that one score. So we did. Even if your daughter had a number of low scores, I would hope your husband would give you the chance to evaluate whether those scores indicated a real issue -- or just some fluke. They might, in fact show some areas that you need to focus more on, or your daughter needs extra help in. But, that's different than them being an overall validation or condemnation of your homeschooling. I get the feeling you are concerned that he will simply grab the scores and say, "Told you homeschooling was a bad idea." Maybe try a sports analogy. If his favorite sports coach took over a new team and they lost the first game by 50 points, would it mean the coach didn't know what they were doing? No, of course not.

Here's one idea. This won't work for all who said they had this syndrome of a husband who knows another language but doesn't speak it with their children, but it might work for some and so I toss it out. Remind your husband that your children love both parents, but time with Dad is rarer and so on some level more precious. This often leaves children looking for a special bond with Dad and a shared language which Mom does not know or does not know very well at all, could be almost their secret code, their special club. It is THEIRS -- that's the important thing. Maybe it could begin by simply teaching a few special words -- for instance what words were said when their parents tucked them into bed at night. Perhaps if your husband felt he was only being asked to share a few special words, instead of his whole language, you could at least get the ball rolling. I also like the idea of simply asking Dad to read a children's book -- again a special bonding time and less daunting than to teach a whole language by speaking it. And to whoever commented that we call it our "mother tongue" for a reason. How true!!!

I've found both of the books by Chip and Dan Heath to contain very unique and valuable perspectives: Made to Stick Switch Made to Stick is the one with a bright orange cover that looks like it has a piece of duct tape on it. I bless whoever designed that cover because without it, I never would have picked the book up and would have missed a lot.

This matches what happens in our council -- though I never realized that parents could call the council office and just ask for more information. That's a good idea, especially since there seems to be a bit of variation from council to council. For our son, not talking for 24 hours was a HUGE ORDEAL:001_smile:. I guess they were allowed to answer questions, but I don't think they were asked much and they had a long time where they sat alone and were supposed to reflect. My son was glad he did it. He was 16 or 17 at the time.

This is a great answer and an approach that seems like I might apply it to other lines of questionning that have an inherent judgemental quality to them. Anything from selection of a car, how many sports or activities your kids do, to whether you pay for a lawn service or do it yourself. I will have to remember to start asking about their choices. I even might learn something that way and don't need to get defensive about my choices. Thanks for the idea