My ears were burning.... No, seriously, Rose and Elizabeth paged me. :) All is well chez Campbell. Our dd (10) is in public school and doing splendidly. We had reached a point where homeschooling was not working for either of us, and it was more important to me to be a good father to her than a good teacher. She's still writing up a storm, making art, and generally being her crazy-intense-beautiful self. After I finished "I Speak Latin" I vowed to take a break from writing for a while. That lasted until November when NaNoWriMo took over my life. I finished, but the draft is still...a draft. I have no idea if I'll go back to it or not, but I enjoyed proving to my inner critic that I could too write a novel. We had two deaths my wife's family in quick succession earlier this year - neither entirely unexpected, but hard just the same. I feel like we're only just now coming out of our collective shell again. Other than that, I've been doing my usual round of learning languages (Spanish, mostly) and reading obscure books. :D Thank you for all the kind thoughts, and thanks to Rose for nudging me to drop by and say hello. -Drew

What Stages said. You want needles and someone with actual training to do the piercing. Stay far away from mall shops and anyone who uses a gun.

Back when we were in a classical cottage school, the middle-school kids used IEW with another parent-teacher. I made a point of watching the videos along with the class and was asked to review some of their writing assignments. I was singularly unimpressed with what I saw. The students' writing was formulaic and so loaded down with "add-ons" that it was nearly unreadable. Even those who were natural writers ended up ignoring their good instincts and producing awful prose. WWE is a far better - and more affordable - program for parents who want a highly scripted program.

Kale and sweet potatoes are a great combo. I like them prepared with caramelized sweet onion. They're yummy with black beans and rice, either in a bowl or as a burrito. Tabbouleh that's more parsley than grain is surprisingly good. Kale and white bean soup. I also have green smoothies on hot days when I can't be bothered to cook: greens, bananas, water, and whatever fruit is available. I do orange smoothies as well, with canned pumpkin or sweet potatoes, mango or pineapple, carrot, banana, and apple pie spices. (No help with greens there, but I love orange smoothies!) My dw does wonderful things with chard; I'll ask her for some of her favorite combos and let you know. :)

I voted "other." We plan on dual enrollment at a local college during high school.

Academics.

Life of Fred.

No, the word just has two meanings, and two correct spellings. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate lists Kindergartner, with Kindergartener as an alternative.

But the German for "gardener" is "Gärtner." :D

Thanks again, everyone! I'm noting all your suggestions down, to help us decide if this is something we can do. :)

9:00 a.m., give or take a half-hour.

*shrug* Not my thing, but I don't see any harm in it.

I teach Latin so that my dd will be able to read classical Latin authors in the original language. Vocabulary and grammar skills are substantial side benefits.

I looked carefully at Omnibus for the school where I used to teach. I can't see how it could be used secularly, or even by non-Reformed Christians. Reformed theology is woven into every aspect of the program.