It sounds like he is stressed and unhappy where he is. Bring him home.

LOL I recommend a large wicker basket carried on your head.

I would use two plastic bags.

Are you sure it was the cat? That is unusual, they don't usually do their business on a hard surface, and they like a more private location. Could it possibly have been a raccoon? We get raccoon droppings in our yard. I recently pointed out the difference to a neighbor who thought it was somebodys cat leaving gifts. Raccoon's aren't as picky as cats about where they go, and they don't try to bury the evidence.

My thought was that you are modeling exactly the kind of study skills we want high school and college students to learn--read the chapter and go over the questions before class so you will understand when it is presented in class.

My dd9 likes to play around improvising things on the piano. She is taking lessons using a standard note-reading method, but I think she would really enjoy learning more about improvising. Are there resources out there that teach chords, chord progressions, etc.? Not from learn-the-theory-for-theory's sake" standpoint but a "here are principles to make cool music that sounds good" standpoint?

This was dh's suggestion. I don't like things dark :(

Oh! I like this idea! I wonder how hard it is to set up? I would need a tall ladder. We are in a split entry home so the top of the living room windows is rather high up. Stopping the sun before it can get through the windows would be ideal. I have thought that a tree in front of the house would work nicely--keep the sun out in the summer and let it in in the winter--but the spot where I need it is right next to my driveway and I am afraid of the driveway buckling from root growth (not to mention it would take some years for the tree to get large enough to help.

Glad to hear the good news Bill. And I hope the basketball game goes well!

The front of our house faces W/SW and we have large picture windows that take the full brunt of the afternoon sun; our air conditioning system simply can't keep up with the amount of heat coming in through the windows in the summer. We have looked into replacing the windows with the newer UV blocking variety, but don't have the funds for that right now. Please share your best tips for cutting down on heat transmission through windows. Right now we have 2 inch white blinds in place, but they don't seem to help that much.

Most states have a cut-off right around September 1st. There are a few exceptions, you could ask around locally (in a few states it varies by school district). Where I am she would be in kindergarten.

One more thought, the true genius in Suzuki does lie in repetition--this is what develops fluency in playing and a one-ness between the student and the instrument. I do think this is critical, so while I encourage you to let your daughter play music as she wants, I believe that at least some of that music needs to be repeated over and over until the music plays itself. I have used incentives to encourage this repetition. My older daughter used to have practice charts to check off and when the chart was full we would go out for icecream together. Jumping Spider needed immediate rewards, especially at the beginning. I would get out a bag of mini marshmallows and he would earn a certain number for each time he play a song on his practice list (fewer for the easy songs, more for newer, more difficult songs). Repetition is boring, but it is also critical--so find whatever works to motivate your child and make it palatable.

How much musical background do you have? Would you be comfortable helping her learn songs outside of her lesson work? Jumping Spider (ds7) has been taking Suzuki cello lessons for the past year. He also was getting frustrated and becoming non-compliant at lessons as the teacher worked through the slow get-the-technique-right methods of early Suzuki instruction. He wanted to play music! I started teaching him myself at home, teaching him the music--and letting him play what he wanted. We kept taking lessons with his teacher because I am a violinist not a cellist and did need her help to teach him proper technique--but we didn't limit ourselves to what she was teaching (and I didn't stress about the technique part at home). Actually, the most progress he made was when we took two months off from lessons when Firefly was born. He practiced on his own, sounding out songs from the Suzuki repertoire and lots of Christmas music. He made the jump to really playing during those two months, feeling comfortable on the instrument and enjoying it. He was still using a modified early bowhold (thumb on the outside of the frog) because the regular bowhold had been frustratingly difficult for him. It didn't matter. He was playing and enjoying it. He was able to play with me and his older sister as part of our Church Christmas program. He plays with a proper bowhold now, and his technique continues to improve. With some children, there really is a need to follow their lead. Their inspiration comes from within and it is deadening to ignore that. I would let your daughter make what progress she can, let her play ahead all she wants. Especially, encourage her to sound out and play other songs she is familiar with. Nursery rhymes, Christmas songs, Sunday School songs, Happy Birthday--whatever she knows and likes. Let her play to the music inside her. Yes, she will likely do some things "wrong". The Suzuki methods seeks to teach correct posture, bowing, and technique from the beginning so the child doesn't learn wrong patterns. I understand the reasoning behind this, but I don't entirely agree. Actually, I think that insisting everything be done right every time goes against Shinichi Suzuki's own thesis that children will learn to play music just as they learn to speak. Do any of us correct our toddlers and insist that they not talk unless they can say every word properly? I can't image not allowing my two-year-old to talk about elephants because he says the word "e'efan". He will learn and correct himself in time. My son played for months with the "wrong" bowhold, and sounded out songs without any reference to bowings etc.. That does not prevent him from later learning better ways of playing. In fact, now that he has many hours of playing under his belt, he is better able to focus on specific things his teacher wants him to do because the instrument and the music are familiar and comfortable. All that to say--follow your instincts regarding what you child needs. I would sometimes call my son's cello teacher during the week to share progress he was making and things he got excited about, and to express my intuition and ideas about what would inspire and motivate him. I think she was glad to listen to any ideas I had because he was so non-compliant at lessons; we really needed to work together to help move him forward.

She might prefer a reading based method that would give her more freedom to move ahead. My dd is using Sassmannshaus alongside Suzuki and is enjoying it. She could probably work through the first book quickly, but the second gets more interesting.

That's got to be a unique way to spend father/son bonding time :tongue_smilie: I haven't ordered 3D yet. We're freezing our family budget (other than essentials) while we wait to see how the sequestration cuts fall out. DH is likely to take a big hit in salary unless The Powers That Be get their act together soon.

I think the public/home hybrid schools are a great step towards increasing educational choice in this country. I would never want them to replace the option of independent homeschooling, but they are a great option to have.

I'm with Laura on this one. I did Bio high level and Chem standard level (used to be called subsidiary level), went to college as a microbiology major (though I later switched and only did that as a minor). I had IB classmates doing two sciences and math at the high level--our school had a fabulous AP physics teacher whose students regularly got 7's on the Physics high exam. Some of those kids went on to MIT, Princeton, and top British universities. FWIW, everyone I have talked to who graduated with the IB diploma has agreed that college was easy by comparison. ETA: the students in the IB physics high class regularly pulled all-nighters to complete their lab reports. There are reasons I did not take that class--and reasons I do not jump to recommend IB for most students. Honestly if I could go back and counsel my young self choosing a high school path I might recommend not doing the IB--I've never been sure it was worth the stress. Then again, I learned a lot, especially about critical thinking, essay writing, etc.--and there was a huge sense of accomplishment and pride when those exam scores came back.

This is what happened to me. Well, I more or less knew what a uterus was, but had never even heard of periods. I was not quite 11. My parents were great in most ways, but my mom was majorly uncomfortable with discussions about s*x or reproductive issues. They pretty much didn't happen. Oddly my husband is kind of the same way, though by his account his parents were more open. The kids will ask a question and he will say "we'll talk about that some other time". At that point I usually jump in with a simple and straightforward answer to the question. I do not want to send the message that these are subjects we cannot discuss openly.

But wouldn't eliminating the salary make it so that ONLY those who are independently wealthy could serve? Surely that is not a desirable outcome.

Thanks! I recently found out that our local school district does summer intensive science classes--and homeschoolers can sign up,. the fee is $10. My kids are in high school yet, but I'm hoping that program is still around when we get there.

I feel bad for kids whose parents aren't comfortable talking about "sensitive" issues. I was one of them--and I have made a concerted effort to be open with my kids about things that do or one day will concern them. Funny story though: once when I was (very) pregnant a little four-year-old boy came up to me at church and asked if the baby was going to come out through my ankle. I think I told him the baby wasn't going to come out my ankle, and he should go ask his mom (also pregnant) about it. Although I wondered if he was asking me because he had asked her and she had put him off?

How do you find out where their classes are held? We're not at the point of needing these yet, but I was exploring their website awhile back and couldn't find a listing of dates and locations.

We have always lived in small spaces. The best way I have found to make things work is to really, really work on keeping clutter down. If something is not used on a regular basis, out it goes. There are of course a few exceptions--seasonal clothes and a very few keepsakes. The other thing I do is maximize closet usage. When I had a walk-in closet I had it lined with bookshelves and that was where I kept my homeschool things. Our living room has one couch that can seat 3 adults or 4 children comfortably, otherwise it has a computer desk, sling bookshelf, floor lamp, and piano. When we need more seating we bring chairs in from the kitchen. I will try to post some pictures later. Though I'm not good at interior decorating and design--they definitely won't be as pretty as some of those above!

Thanks for sharing!

I think they've been working on getting real social groups up and running.