Oh mannnn, that's (2011) too late for us! I bet it will be a good one too!

I've never heard of it. What is it? Sorry if I'm "behind the times"!

My dd, who just turned 11 is using Visual Link Spanish ( www.spanishprograms.com ) She really likes it!

Sue, I just saw another post where you talked about your dd, and I posted how my dd is the same age and we're deciding whether to go ahead with her in 7th or keep her in 6th again next year, like you're doing. Anyway, You mentioned here that your dd is interested in geology---so is my dd!!! I got her NOEO Science--Chemistry 2 for next year. She loves Chemistry, and this one has a section on geology and she's excited to start it! Just thought I would mention that, since you have this extra year to throw things in. It might be worth a look?

I read that book and was inspired, in fact awed, by what he was able to do with those kids! I recommended it to a few friends. I agree that you take what you can glean from it, but don't feel depressed by it! Because you don't do the exact things with your kids as he does with his class, doesn't mean you're not doing a good job at all! You're doing an awful lot with your kids that he hasn't and couldn't do with his class! So maybe he should be depressed by all that you accomplish with your kids! ;)

Wow, that's interesting that you posted this! We are right at that same spot, just haven't made a decision yet. My dd just turned 11, and is? was? heading for 7th grade next year. My dh and I have discussed it, and we've talked about it with dd. She's not sure that's what she wants to do, but we're still thinking about it! So we'll see. It's neat to see someone in the same boat, I'm glad you shared that! :) Maybe we'll play it by ear and see how it goes?

Come to think of it, now that you said that.... My mom was a tom boy and her 2 younger brothers and her school friends called her Jack! :) She said it lasted all through grade school (which for them was through 8th grade) and she didn't mind a bit!

I often call my kids by the names they called themselves when they were little and barely able to talk. It was so cute to hear them say their names like that, and I had to keep it going! They allow ME to call them that, but noone else does. When we brought our dd home from the hospital, our 3 1/2 year old ds came over, put his little hand on her cheek and said, "Hey there Missy. I'm yer big brudder. I love you and I'm gonna take care of you!" Then he ran off to play. But the moment wasn't lost on me, it was too precious! We called her almost strictly Missy for a long time, and still call her Missy sometimes! One of my best friends has ALWAYS gone by her middle name. She doesn't even know why they gave her the first name! :) I'd say do what you feel is best---it'll all work out!

:party:Wahooooo! :thumbup1: Yipppeeee!

Now that I decided to join in and not lurk anymore, I can't stop myself! I didn't come here just to sell or buy or whatever, I started posting because someone said 50 posts were needed, so I had a goal to do that. Just to do it. Silly as that is! :) But I have learned so much on here over time, and am enjoying all the advice and wisdom here, and it's been fun finally joining in! I see that I am now past people who have been here much longer than I! Oh my, who knows when I will ever stop, now that I've started!:tongue_smilie:

My opinion is this: By keeping my children home and training them with values and beliefs that we feel are important, they will eventually have a belief and be able to stand against the "storms of the world". At young ages they're just developing a sense of who they are and what they believe, and are easily swayed and easily hurt. I don't think forcing a child to go through lots of trouble and pain and problems at young ages, IF there is another route, is needed! Let them grow and mature and build their faith muscles before throwing them into the fight! They WILL be able to stand up for their beliefs and be good examples---when they've matured! I think of it this way: If you give a 7yo Algebra or calculus problems and expect them to get through it on their own to build character and strength in that area, how well will they do (aside from the very few geniuses that actually CAN do calculus at 7yo!)? Not well! Why? Because they don't have the grounding, the strong base, to draw from! No, we're not teaching them to take the easy way out, we are building them up. We are teaching them not to pick battles they're not ready for because it will only cause problems. We are teaching them that the stronger you are in something, the more prepared you are with information and knowledge, the better you will do---in schoolwork, as well as life in general. Our young children have social responsibilities as much as they can. But throwing them into, or leaving them in, bad situations "to build character", can actually harm them more than help them. This is all only mho of course! :)

You could also look at Jensen's Vocabulary. I just received it, and will be using it for next school year, so I don't have personal experience with it yet...

Which one did you get for them? I like the looks of this as well, and my dd11 will be working on Chemistry this coming year. Thanks for posting this, I'm greatly tempted to get this!

When my oldest ds was in K, they were required to do a science project. DS wanted to do one on dinosaurs. We found books and things and I wanted to help ds more with his display, but dh insisted ds do it on his own with my guidance. It wasn't a beautiful thing. But it represented a lot of hard work on his part, and I told him he did a GREAT job! He learned what he wanted to say, and at the presentation he did very well, and was able to answer the questions. I was proud of him! Then came a K'er girl. Her MOM had obviously spent hours making this girls display PERFECT. There's no way a K'er could've done it! Her mom was there, and when the girl was doing her presentation, the mom would interrupt her and add more info. The girl got flustered, so the mom finsihed the presentation! At the actual science fair, this girl won "The Best of Show" for the K classroom! I was VERY frustrated, because that just rewarded the mom for doing her dd's work! And actually, there was only one other boy who did his own work. I made a big blue ribbon for my ds and dh and I told him how proud we were of him working so hard on his project, then took him our for icecream! My other two have only been homeschooled. We do projects together, I help as needed, but don't do everything for them. The older they get, the less "hands-on" stuff I do. I agree about the parents egos---sometimes they don't do the projects or papers how I pictured it in my head. But they have used their creativity and ability to do an assignment, and came up with great results. How can I fault that? What good would it do me to say, "No, not like that, like this!" Of course if there's a specific goal in mind that I want them to learn, I wil guide it in that direction! I just this year started letting my ds14 type his papers. They're getting long enough now, and he's old enough, where we felt that the process of typing experience and writing a longer paper were what he needed. My dd11 still writes out her things.

:lol: Well, if it help any, Cindy, you're probably not the first one! ;) I've never met her, but I can't say what I'd do if I did. I usually tend to forget how to talk at important moments like that as well! Then I walk away talking to myself, "Wow, Self, that was very impressive....NOT!" :lol:

Yes, I've thought of it too. I also have a teaching degree for elementary. But I KNOW I won't go back to that! I may have to go with homeschooling the grandkids! I'd LOVE to travel some with my dh as well! I guess I'll have to wait to see what life holds in the next few years (I already have two in highschool! How'd THAT happen?! :eek: )

Yeah, the free dining plan is what my friend was talking about in September. I can see how that could make it busier though! Now I want to go in January!!! :D

My middle child, who's now 14, has always liked coffee. He loves the smell, and always wanted to try it. I'd give him tiny sips once in awhile. When he got older I'd let him have decaf. But, I quoted Lucy's post because I got shocked looks, even with the decaf, from people. But, they let their kids drink Mountain Dew, and other soda that had so much caffeine in it, yet didn't see how I could give my ds a small cup with decaf in it? :tongue_smilie: (We don't drink soda either)

That IS so sweet! My 16yo ds has never brought in some flowers after mowing the lawn! BUT, he was in a group of his friends once, and saw me coming. He said, "Here comes my mom, I'll probably need to go." Then he smiled and said, "Mom, I told them how you did ________ ( I don't want to be the one that tells you all what he was talking about ! :lol: ) Can you show these guys? So I did. Then he said, "Isn't that cool? My mom's the best!" It surprised me---he was proud of me, and he's a teenager!!! Anyway, I am so glad your son loves you enough to think of you, and follow through on it by bringing you flowers! That's a very precious memory. You need to SCRAPBOOK IT!!! :D And save the flowers!

A friend of our who goes a lot says September has better rates and less people. She also said there are small crowds on Thanksgiving Day. I haven't heard about May being a good time or not, but you'd think it would, since it's before other kids get out of school!

We've never had trouble either. One thing to take note of---check the amount of "taxes" they charge. When i was looking for tickets, I saw some that seemed like such a good deal, but when I checked how much it would be with the taxes, it was actually a little more than I could get them directly from the airline! Crazy! So make sure you know the REAL and FINAL total before you click to accept them! You could also check with a travel agent, just in case, sometimes you can get a good deal through them. One agent got my dh and I first class tickets to Hawaii for the same price as the regular ones! That was awesome! Sounds like you're going to have a great time, I hope you do!

We have no family nearby, and never have since we've had kids. We haven't found any babysitters really. We used to have a couple of very close friends in our church and we'd share childcare. But they moved away... :( DH and I don't get much alone time at all. Sometimes I yearn for it! Other times I think that the kids grow up so fast, I don't mind spending time with them. But dh and I always go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time as each other. We have morning talk time, and a little evening talk time if dh isn't falling asleep! ;) We always hug and say I love you and pray together in the morning before he leaves for work. Then I have a quiet time for devotions and getting my own things done before the kids get up. So MOSTLY (except for maybe the pms time of the month) I'm good with what I do get with him. Oh, I have a group that meets for a scrapbook day once a quarter, and one other group that meets for knitting and talking once a month. Kristen, you sound like me with the amount of cousins! (BTW, does anyone else live in that town? :D ) Someone in my family came up with how many first cousins we have, and that came to 63. But that doesn't include the step or half. My mom had 11 brothers and sisters. My dad had 6 whole brothers and sisters, 11 half brothers and sisters and 12 step brothers and sisters! So I have NO CLUE how many there are, I don't even know most of them! But the closest of my cousins live a 6 hour drive away near a couple of my aunts and my parents. If we lived in that town, we'd be WELL covered for childcare so we could get away now and then!

I only lugged 3 kids along with me when I was doing the pre-viewing. My kids actually thought it was "cool" and "fun" to wear those things! :) I know people can be in a hurry, but if I am interested in a house, I'll want to take my time to look through, no matter what. If I like a home, I'm not about to let a thing like putting on some shoe covers or taking my shoes off, even, keep me from seeing it! Or, to turn it around the other way, What if that was the perfect home for you, but you walked away from it because you didn't feel like putting on shoe covers?

I LOVE cilantro! I use it on everything! In sandwiches as well as many of the other things people have already said! I wish I had a cilantro plant that would reseed itself! Maybe it could keep up with my use of it! :) I like it best in salsa and salad. I like salad like an above poster mentioned. I also use cucumber pieces, tomato and cilantro, with some olive oil and lemon, and toss in some Feta cheese---mmmmm mmmmm good!

My sister took one warm summer day, left all clothes and diapers off, had newspaper down in certain places, and disinfectant and paper towel ready. With no diaper or clothes on, the child can then feel things happening, and it helps things "click" for them. If they feel that certain feeling, then it's going to come out. "If I go to the potty, then it won't be a big mess." It took her 2 days of that with her oldest, and 1 day with her other two. There's a book called "Potty Training In A Day" or Potty Training in One Day" that she used. Might be worth a look?