I was just thinking the same thing! Though to my ear the German accent comes through kind of heavy on some where it sounds out of place. Mostly he does a beautiful job--I imagine he takes time to practice beforehand. I love the variety in the names signifying the worldwide backgrounds of their owners.

Sigh, the kids in the BYU choir look so young--was it really so long ago that I was there? Did I really look that young?

What a beautiful post.

Thank you!

Is anyone watching the World Report right now? I always look forward to seeing/hearing the updates on the status and activities of the church worldwide.

What was the name of the member of the 70 could talked about forgiveness? I really appreciated his talk, but the name slipped my mind.

A very nice first to experience. I'm sure she was nervous knowing lots of people would be paying particularly close attention; she offered a very nice heart-felt prayer.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng

Independent homeschooling in California is easy, I never felt a need to use an umbrella school. I would so much rather set up my own school.

I see a very broad continuum between 100% structured, non-student directed learning, and 100% student directed unschooling. I would not personally want to embrace either of those extremes, but where we end up on the continuum in between will likely vary from child to child and from point to point in a child's education. There are some non-negotiables. I will do everything in my power to ensure that my children know how to read and write and are comfortable with math up through a typical high school sequence before they leave my home. I will also work hard to facilitate skill learning such as music and foreign language, because I believe these will significantly enrich their lives and will open doors for them in the future--and I have learned from sad experience that the responsibilities of adulthood make pursuing such skills difficult; better to learn as much as possible now. I expect them to gain familiarity with major scientific, historic, and literary topics before graduating, but I am willing to be more flexible about exactly how and what they study in those areas. I know from my own experience and from watching my children that learning that is pursued for its own sake, because a child (or adult!) desires that learning, has a vitality and depth that cannot be matched by learning undertaking solely to meet an external requirement. I see two primary roles for myself as a parent and an educator: first, to take every opportunity to inspire a child's desire to learn, to help their thirst for knowledge and understanding of the world to grow, and second, to facilitate their efforts to feed that thirst when they have discovered it. To this end I spend time reading aloud from interesting books; I fill my home with books, encyclopedias, microscopes, telescopes, musical instruments, and curricula; I take my children to zoos and museums and historical sites; we watch videos and documentaries; we talk to people about what they do; and we discuss the world we live in and all its marvelous complexity. Some of my children's time I choose to direct myself, especially to ensure they do the hard work of skill acquisition that will later allow them to pursue passions of their; more of their time I leave free for them to self-direct. They do truly amazing things during their self-directed free time. My 7 year old ds spent hours studying and copying the world map on the dining room wall, until eventually he could draw the whole thing from memory on the white board. My 9 year old dd writes stories and poems and sends them to her grandparents to read. I often stumble across a child lying on the floor reading some article they have looked up in the encyclopedia. And they spend hours and hours in free creative play, an activity that specialists in child development are finding has huge benefit especially in the development of social and executive function skills. My kids don't see learning as something that is done only during school time or only when someone makes you--learning is a vital, delightful, and fulfilling part of life. My great hope is to keep things that way.

Changes in mission organization have been announced, providing new leadership roles for sister missionaries. I wondered how the influx of sisters would be accommodated. It sounds like district and zone leaders will still be elders (except of course for places like Temple Square) but there will now be sister training leaders who report directly to the mission president and have stewardship over the needs of the sister missionaries--sounds like a mission Relief Society president sort of role. The church is also giving the wives of mission presidents a greater role in training and caring for sister missionaries. When I was in the MTC my companion and I were called as sister missionary coordinators (or some such title, I don't quite remember). We were responsible to look our for the needs of all the sister missionaries in our MTC branch, and attended leadership meetings with the Branch President and the zone leaders etc.; this sounds like a similar role. I am eager for an update on how the changes in the church missionary program are playing out. I have felt a strong need to emphasize mission preparation since the last conference, including opening mission savings funds for each of my children and creating a system for them to earn money to contribute.

Tomorrow! I'm trying to get the chaos at home under control so things can be moderately peaceful for conference watching.

justamouse, your story is inspiring.

My kids go to bed between 7:30 and 8:30, and get up whenever they wake up. They go through phases in terms of how much sleep they need. Right now my boys are all up by 7:00 AM, and the girls both sleep about an hour longer.

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious now to read that book.

I don't see how this could help though if some kids have a genetic predisposition towards alcoholism. If I am understanding correctly, there are some people who could become addicted to alcohol even through occasional "responsible" drinking.

I know, it was quite eye-opening to me when someone pointed out the consistent family history. Sigh.

The people who mentioned mommy time-out made me realize that is exactly what I use the WTM forums for--they are my escape, the way I keep my calm in the midst of chaos. I had an interesting experience a few months back when I decided I needed to quit the forums because I felt guilty about spending time on them. I tried it for a week, and realized that my anxiety levels were increasing and my ability to remain calm (which is usually something I am very good at) was decreasing. This format is perfect for me because I can pop on when I feel overwhelmed, read a post or two, then go back to deal with real life. Reading fiction was my escape when I was younger but doesn't work now because I can't afford to get lost in a book (which is what always happens). I can read non-fiction things like homeschool or gardening books in small increments, and I use those as little mini breaks as well. It was an interesting insight into myself and how I function. I think having a way to withdraw from the natural chaos of a home with young children is particularly important for those of us who are introverts by nature. All. That. Stimulation. Just. Gets. To. Be. Too. Much.

It seems to me that, here in the United States at least, we have made progress in the realm of preventing tobacco addiction. There have been some successful anti-smoking campaigns aided by a variety of laws limiting advertising of tobacco products as well as limiting smoking in a variety of public venues. Smoking at least seems to be much less common among youth in the United States than it was in Europe. I'm not sure to what extent similar strategies might be effective against underage drinking. I agree that support for young people is critical. Boredom, loneliness, depression...these are serious challenges that need to be addressed in positive ways; kids left to navigate on their own are, I think, much more likely to turn to maladaptive behaviors.

Not sure whether this is worth responding to. You originally tried to make a point based based on your apparent belief that the story of Lot indicates the world would not be populated if not for alcohol-assisted incest between Lot and his daughters, and that this was either commanded or condoned by God. It is obvious you are not familiar with and did not take the time to study the context of that story or you would have realized that was preposterous. Lot's daughters were not the only women in the world at the time (nor Lot the only man). Humanity was not in danger of disappearing. Your point made no sense and still makes no sense. Arguing that the Bible condones inebriated incest because of the story of Lot is as nonsensical as claiming that it condones fratricide because it recounts the story of Cain and Abel. Anyway, none of this has anything whatsoever to do with the question of whether or not homeschooled students are prone to substance abuse. Unless perhaps you have evidence that Lot was homeschooled? :D

We did the SAT10 last year and I had no problem sending it insured through the post office.

Too true! That's one bit of the Old Testament I haven't read to my children quite yet. Definitely not G-rated...

Oh, I think any of us could agree to that!

Eh, wasn't condemning you for anything. The story is known. Your interpretation is rather odd. Editing to include the full account, from Genesis 19 (this is the NIV) Lot and His Daughters 30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.†33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. 34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.†35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. 36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[g]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[h]; he is the father of the Ammonites[i] of today. I don't see what God has to do with the story, this is human beings exercising human will. And no, there is no claim that humanity would not exist if not for these actions. Just research a bit more next time.

I see you've edited since I originally quoted this post. Um, sounds like you're not a Bible scholar. Lot's daughters meant that their father had taken them to a wilderness and wasn't going to arrange marriages for them. They wanted children. They found a way to have children. God didn't command it. There were plenty of other people having children (entire civilizations of people). You've taken a story out of context and misunderstood it. As I like to tell my children, we all make mistakes; this is obviously not your area of expertise. Let's move on.