CC has updated their site and a bunch of links are broken, so I'm not having much luck finding the chages. But Ebay has a good deal on the Veritas cards, so I'll probably just go for it. Or is it better to go ahead and make the leap to the Arts and Facts cards and CC music? I like the idea of being able to get their full resources cds, but at the same time, if it's just too different and make me crazy without the 4th edition guide, then I'll save myself the $60 and stick with VP. Any thoughts?

I picked up a copy of the old 2nd edition guide for $5, which means I can afford to get the songs and such. But that edition used the old Veritas timeline cards. I don't know if the songs CD changed when CC made their own timeline. Can anyone tell me what resources I'll need to do the 2nd edition curriculum and whether they're still available? Thanks!

Another cooperative is Flash Point. Maybe on the older end. Lost Cities seconded. They're probably getting close to ready for Stone Age. When they're preteens, Shadows over Camelot is a challenging and complex cooperative with the great medieval knights theme stuff boys love.

I know some states are very strict about qualifying parents to home school and I want to be prepared no matter where we move when my husband finishes school. If there are states that require college classes in education or teacher certification, I'm gonna be in trouble although I have a Master's degree in Anthropology. Has anyone found it useful to study for and take the National Teachers Exam? Are there states where I would need a full certification, or does every state have some way around it? What study methods/online programs/etc are useful to demonstrate qualification?

Yeah, in fact, those screens are one of the things that you can have your workplace supply as a reasonable accommodation for a migraine disability. So if the government will pay for them (and most other employers), then you know they probably do contribute to migraine avoidance.

Thanks all! I think I'll look at getting a simple color inkjet just for our unavoidable color jobs and keep on loving our laser for b/w. Also, the pre-k blog suggestions were great!

I don't even know my triggers, so I'm jealous you've got one pinned down. But besides adjusting the brightness, if it changed when you changed monitor types, I'd suspect that the flicker rate (pixel refreshes or something or other) may be different and that could be affecting you. Visual triggers are very common, so if you know how long you can push it before you get hit, that's great! Good luck! I know I'm no help, really, but we mammas hiding in the dark have got to stick together. :001_smile:

Just wanted to clarify--the Brother you had was an inkjet and you do recommend that brand? What's the printer you don't like now? Our b/w laser jet is a Brother, and I do like that brand from our experience thus far.

Just checked it out--wonderful! Thanks!

Hey all! This isn't classical-related at all, but this forum is my go-to for everything since you give such great advice. I'm cross-posting this from the curriculum board since it's pretty general. So three questions: 1. We have a B/W laser printer that scans in color, but I'm finding so many wonderful file folder games and such that I really want to be able to just print in color instead of spending hours with colored pencils. So, I don't need an all-in-one or anything, just a basic color printer that can handle cardstock for things I don't want to laminate. Any recommendations for printers that don't suck ink/toner? 2. I'm eating up all of the 1+1+1 and Jolanthe's blog posts and printables I've found, but I'm sure there are more things aiming specifically at tots. What are your favorites? We're Christian, so religious things are welcome and we already have Before Five In A Row, although supplemental materials for that text would be great (besides Jolanthe's I mean). So, yeah, preschooling parents--hit me with your favorites! 3. Along those lines, what are the best resources you've found--like is it worth investing in one of those blue chart things that hang/sit and hold different printables? Thanks all!

Hey all! This isn't classical-related at all, but this forum is my go-to for everything since you give such great advice. So three questions: 1. We have a B/W laser printer that scans in color, but I'm finding so many wonderful file folder games and such that I really want to be able to just print in color instead of spending hours with colored pencils. So, I don't need an all-in-one or anything, just a basic color printer that can handle cardstock for things I don't want to laminate. Any recommendations for printers that don't suck ink/toner? 2. I'm eating up all of the 1+1+1 and Jolanthe's blog posts and printables I've found, but I'm sure there are more things aiming specifically at tots. What are your favorites? We're Christian, so religious things are welcome and we already have Before Five In A Row, although supplemental materials for that text would be great (besides Jolanthe's I mean). So, yeah, preschooling parents--hit me with your favorites! 3. Along those lines, what are the best resources you've found--like is it worth investing in one of those blue chart things that hang/sit and hold different printables? Thanks all!

My mom tells a story of coming home from school bawling because "Charlotte died" and couldn't get out any other word to explain. Her mom called the teacher worried that a fellow student had passed away only to find out that they'd been reading Charlotte's Web in class. :001_smile: I do think kids should be old enough to talk through sad endings before they're subjected to them, though I think that's really dependent on the kid.

:lol::lol::lol: I think I better save up for more book shelves, too! Thanks so much--you're clearly a book-lover after my own heart. I think it's a great point, though, to just start collecting now as the opportunities present themselves.

Ok, I know it's a big investment, especially when everything is available online and the world changes quickly, but when I was growing up in the 80s, we had a 50s era Worldbook Set and I spent hours pouring over it. I particularly remember doing that in middle school. So here's my question--obviously if I can find a newish set at a garage sale it'll save a fortune over the $1k it sells for new, but I'm hoping we can start putting away a little bit of money each year toward a set. At what age do you think it becomes useful for kids? Our oldest is 2, so we've got years and years to save, but I'm trying to figure out how many years so I know how much to try and save each year. Also, anyone have good experiences with a particular brand? Like I said, we had a Worldbook, and I've never really compared it to a Britannica or anything. Thanks, all.

On my computer it just took a long time to load. Click it then come back to another tab/window and do something else for a few minutes. Eventually it should show up. Not sure why, but they all seemed to load slower than most pdf docs. Maybe the version they used?

I think this is exactly the point! How are they hoping to accomplish ANYTHING with an exam (and with teaching to an exam) that has to accommodate such a diversity of people?! I know nothing about NY or the local diplomas the article mentioned, but I'm guessing that the local diplomas would more easily accommodate situations like an ESL student so that the Regents could go on being whatever traditionally higher standard it seems to have been. But they probably decided that it was hurting people's feelings and that everybody's self esteem was more important than allowing our children to understand that situations differ and there's nothing wrong with that. This said, my dh the public health student is over here groaning because higher education is associated with better health--so how could I want to allow for all this diversity that adversely affects the population's health? But I'm an anthropologist--I say bring on the diversity! ;)

So what I'd like to know is the response in, say, 1950 to that year's Regents. Maybe just for gee-wiz factor, but did they think that was too easy/difficult? The changes in these exams is like a micro-history of education reform through the decades--I wonder how much our attitudes have changed. :iagree: Now we're in a culture of "everyone's special so noone is" and tend to genuinely believe that every kid sh/c/would go to college. I don't think every kid wants to go to college, let alone should try for an Ivy League (or something of that ilk). There are perfectly respectable and incredibly necessary careers that have nothing to do with "higher" education--how do all these white collar folks expect to live their upper-middle class lifestyle without construction workers, miners, truck drivers, farm laborers, etc? I graduated from a high school in TN and was one of the few from a family with parents who'd attended college. Many of my classmates were first time high school graduates but their parents probably make more money and have lived a more stable and less stressful life than have mine who are highly educated academically but not at all successful in the basics of money management, being content with your lot in life, and not-talking-back-to-the-boss. Sorry for the soap box, off topic, I guess, but instead of dumbing this whole educational system down for everyone, why can't we just accept that we're a diverse bunch of people in academic ways in addition to the oft-emphasized ethnic/racial/religious ways? Urgh. If my kid wants to be an engineer, great. If he wants to pour cement, great. What supports a family or otherwise brings him satisfaction is what will ultimately bring me peace...though I'll be the first to admit, I know I'll brag more if he's an engineer. That's the problem with today's attitudes (and I'm young so I'm a product of them).

I just wanted to say thanks again for everyone's words of advice and encouragement. DS is just over 2, still testing delayed in speech, but thanks to therapy and increased parental work/know-how he's testing spot on in his social interaction. Of course, now he's also a toddler who likes to throw tantrums if we don't have Mater on 24/7, but then that's a whole different challenge! :001_smile: So, we're continuing therapy, but only once a week so it's not such a scheduling stress for his naps and based on the leaps he takes between each session, I'm confident he'll be caught up within the year. Hurray! Even if that means he was just a late bloomer, I still think the therapy has been worthwhile, if only to help dh and I know what to do to help each of our kids learn and progress in a timely fashion. So thanks again, all!!!!

That's 3 votes more or less in favor, so I'm gonna let my dh talk all the complicated school stuff he wants for a few days and then casually slip the convention agenda onto his desk. :lol: The challenge will be justifying the hotel, but they've got an awesome children's museum in the area, apparently, so maybe that'll sway him...he enjoys those places as much as our ds does!

Happily(?) we're starving students right now, so there's no risk of buying anything. But, for example, I've been on the mailing list for Memoria Press for a few issues and I LOVE reading the articles. Are we anywhere ready for latin? Heavens no, and I'd hit the local used hs stores long before ordering new, but just reading something from people supportive of classical education (not always hs, with them) is encouraging. So yes, it would mostly be for fun...I guess that's why I'd feel bad asking dh to stay with kids in the hotel during nap time--it's not like anything I learn will be immediately useful.

I looked at that one--I'll go anywhere...a little obsessed...but I was specifically looking at the NCHE in Winston-Salem. So it's a little smaller, but not tiny. We did drop in on a VERY local one in Charlotte which was fun, but left us wanting more mainstream curricula in the fair.

Oh man, so I had a crazy old orthodontist about to retire when my braces came off (years ago). So he didn't even take ANY of it off--just told me to get an appt with a dentist and make them do it. That made for several very uncomfortable days and a seriously annoyed dentist who'd never seen it happen. I'm sure in your case, they just missed part on accident, but it won't be a problem for a dentist to take it off--or just walk into the ortho and ask them to take the few minutes to fix their mistake (aim for first thing in the morning or right after lunch when they're not behind and stressed). Good luck!

Hi all, My oldest is just 2 and I know that means I'm not really doing homeschool except for in play, but there's a homeschool convention about an hour and a half away in a few months and I'm wondering if it's too early to go sit in on the beginner classes, wander the curriculum fair, etc. I'm not asking if it's time to start with my ds, I know he's not ready for much, but it seems like a waste of time to sit around saying we're going to hs, but then not do anything to develop our understanding of how/why/when we're going to do it. Does that make sense at all? How early did y'all start collecting ideas and attending workshops? Also, is it totally unfair to ask my husband to take a holiday weekend to spend a large portion of time in the hotel with the kids while I'm in classes taking notes? I wonder if I should just try to buy the transcripts afterward and forget about the curriculum fair? Thanks!

Yah, that's me: no understanding of kids whatsoever, but so psyched to be a mom! For the record, I just want to say that I'm not trying to force them to do anything, but if my son is interested in books (as he is times 20!), I'd like to know that I've helped him with the pre-language skills, etc, to allow him to read them whenever he wants. Thanks to all for your responses!

Thanks all. I know I'll never do every activity in the book, but I hope to do more than I am now! I'm so excited to hs and it makes me crazy that I've got years to wait for formal teaching, so I see this as my chance to begin developing the time management and such required to hs. I want to show my husband that we can manage it--he's supportive but skeptical about my commitment to the time it'll take. So maybe that's my answer--if I need to show I'll take the time, maybe I should make a concerted effort to really do each week. By the way, the science books (Mudpies to Magnets and II) are awesome. Obviously haven't done any of them, but I've paged through the first--got a good deal and bought it--and it's great! Lots of variety, and room to add/subtract from the basic project described.