We play together but we also play a lot with our game loving 8 year old. Favorites are: Blockus Jenga Bananagrams or Scrabble, mostly Bananagrams these days Chess

As for general experience teaching together, it is great. I am a planner and very strong in certain subjects and my husband is very strong in others. For example, my husband can teach himself any instrument or language. He has gorgeous penmanship and is a very talented visual artist (painting and drawing). So it makes since that he teach all of those. I excel in math and history and language arts. Science we are both pretty strong in, but I expect as we get to the higher levels of science my husband will take a larger role because he has taken much more extensive coursework in science (required for his work). Similarly, I will likely do all of the upper level civics, economics and social studies as those are all things that I studied more in high school and college. We tag team each other well, filling in the other's gaps nicely.

I am responding here rather than on your other thread. As I stated there, my husband does piano, Spanish, Latin, Art, handwriting, computer programming. He works part time at a hospital, which was our choice since I work full-time. His pt job comes with full-time benefits so we are very lucky. He works 24-32 hours a week, but since it is a hospital some of those shifts are not m-f or regular hours. Usually he works either the early morning to mid afternoon shift or the swing shift (2-11). Sometimes he works a double or long shift. I work full-time, m-f on salary with flexible hours. He is home pretty much Sun-Weds and almost always works his hours over Th-Sa. Working ft, I take the lead on teaching Saturday and Sunday. Then he has a schedule we have worked up for M-W with his subjects. M, Tue and Wed he does handwriting, piano practice, Spanish. Mondays he does computer programming. Tuesday he does Piano Lesson and Art. Sundays he works with him on Latin. Working ft, I do history on Sat and Sun, a spelling test on Saturdays, Math reviews and lessons on Sat and get him started with his Math and Science for the coming week. Sunday is science lab day. He has assignments that he works on for Science and Math daily M-W while I am at work. Those are his strongest subjects so that is where he is the most self driven. After work (I get home by 3:30 most M-W now), I continue to work with him on Math and Science if he has questions. We assign books to read and discuss and I am considering adding in MCT for language arts later in the year once we hit a rhythm. We don't assign stuff on Thursday and Fridays when my dad watches the boys but my dad takes them fun places (zoo, movies, fishing, museums etc) and our son is inclined to just do stuff on his own those days too. We have our schoolroom set up off of the backyard so we can keep an eye on the school stuff and our 2 year old playing in the backyard. It is a juggling act without a ft SAHP but we need my husband's insurance and I am very dedicated to my career. PT jobs in my field are just shorthand for FT work for PT pay so it is best for me to stay FT. My husband likes being home a lot but I think working pt is good for his sanity too. And his work is something that is finite and does not come home with him at the end of the day like so many workers need to to do these days.

I think it will help bring all of you closer together. I agree that you should do it. Unless he was really awful in a certain subject, I would have my husband teach whatever he liked. We split it up pretty evenly now. I do science, math, history, PE stuff, language arts/literature My husband does piano, Spanish, Latin, Art, handwriting, computer programming. We both do spelling and help each other as needed.

If there are children involved or neighbors are being seriously impacted (junk spilling all over the yard, fire risks or rodent/roach issues). I think the involvement should be framed from a mental health standpoint and not a punitive thing. If children are involved and the parents can not get it together, I think that the child's safety has to come first so that could involve removal from the home.

I have a friend (now in her 50s) who told her mother she did not want to finish high school or go to college. My friend's mother said, that is ok, I got you a job in the artificial flower factory down the street. After a year in the artificial flower factory, she found a desire to finish high school and go to college so she could get a job that was not manufacturing artificial flowers. :D I know parents more recently who have had the same results with farm or fast food type work. What is she passionate about? Anything? Could she do an internship or volunteer job to start trying to find something that she does care about?

I tend to do meals that are one dish with lots of veggies and a little meat or protien; or a soup, both options most often with a salad on the side. Some of my favorite salads are: Spinach salad with fruit and goat cheese Caesar style vinegarette on romaine with cheese Chopped kale with peppers Fruit with mint Italian style chopped salad with garbanzo beans and salami etc Three bean salad Lentil salad with carrots and squash Some samples for meals with side dishes, like say a roast chicken or steak night: Roasted veggies Greens with raisins Asparagus is a favorite Garlic roasted broccoli Sauteed mushrooms Honey baked lentils Mashed potatoes Mashed turnips Roasted squash

Ethnic groups has long been the more accurate terminology. Obviously, my brother and I are of the same race, born to the same mother. However his ethnic background is different than mine, as his father and my father are of different ethnic groups. Still, racism is still considered the most popular term for bias based on ethnicity and skin color. So that is a little inconsistency.

Coke is my drug of choice too. I have to really actively avoid it but when things get rough, it comes out. The year I was caring for a newborn, dealing with a bad kindergarten placement for my son, dealing with ppd and caring for my mom as she died of cancer, I went totally off the deep end. Addiction runs in my family so like you I will take this over the alternative I guess.

You know, the op has stated several times that she lives 26 miles out of a small town. It seem rather snobbish to keep teasing her about the distance that she drives to get take out food, which is a function of where she lives.

No. I never wear makeup at all. None to work, none to church, none at home, none on dates. none.

Ours is. But it is a different set up than yours. There is a door to it though, but we never close that door much. We live in a townhouse. So when you enter all you see is a door to the ground floor room that lets out into the yard (which we use as a school room, painting it this weekend!), a door to the garage ad stairs that take you upstairs (plus our shoe racks and coat hooks in the hall). It just makes sense for the school room to be that room because it is smallest, has a little 1/2 bathroom and opens to the yard which means both that we can keep an eye on our 2 year old running around and playing in the sandbox while we help the 8 year old with school AND that the 8 year old can go outside to read, take a break, play etc. I have seen some really nice looking joint school and dining rooms. I think you could still have a nice visual on entry, and have school in there. Perhaps get a buffet to store school supplies in out of sight when they are put away? Make the art on the walls cool maps etc?

I won't quit my career. I am happy that we have been able to swing homeschooling with two working (out of the home) parents. I don't mind PE at all...I do fitness bootcamp to stay in shape for my hobby of roller derby and I love to get him to exercise with me. Us each doing planks in the living room is not such a rare sight. We also do yoga together. Dissections are fine, though they are likely more up my husband's alley skill set wise (he works in healthcare and has a lot of science experience, I am a math, business an finance person by trade who took rocks for jocks as my lab science requirement for college and filled in the rest of my science requirements with physics which was right up my mathy alley.) I am not qualified to teach things like Spanish or sewing or musical instruments. I would if I could. Heck, I may just have to learn right alongside him myself.

Our pediatrician just raved about how great this was for him. And many people who know him have all remarked that he seems happier and less stressed after a year of homeschooling, even the ones who were initially nay-sayers like my brother. :D. Funny how not being bullied improves someone's overall sense of safety and reduces stress. Who could have guessed that?!:glare:

I never let the pizza guy leave without making sure I have my actual order- usually pesto, artichokes, mushrooms and goat cheese on one pie and pepperoni, olives and mushrooms on the other. I don't care if they will replace it. It sucks too much to walk upstairs and find something we did not order and do not like. :glare: I am sorry they messed up your order. They certainly should ask in advance about substitions. ETA: there is a pizza that the place we order from sells that also has pesto so it has happened more than once that I open the box and it is pesto, white sauce, roasted peppers and ricotta cheese. Which is totally yucky to me. I would be baffled if the manager said to me, "well ma'am they both have pesto and it tastes good to me!"

I would let her go. I went to many concerts at that age, some where there were drugs and many without and I never, ever to this day have tried drugs or smoked nor drank underage or to excess at any point. Music with friends is a nice experience to have as a teen. I cherish those memories. At a Taylor Swift concert they may be somebody smoking marijuana but I doubt it would be widespread or that your daughter would have to interact with whoever it was.

No, I will stick to my city. I am a city girl.

It is also important to remember that time is on the side of losing the meh, mediocre and just plain awful books published long ago. Not great books, like not great music, go out of print. Modern books may look like there is more twaddle by comparison but our twaddle just has not been lost to history yet.:tongue_smilie:

I absolutely believe that there is much quality literature being written now for kids and adults. I can not imagine that every older book is excellent either. I do not yearn for 19th century values either, I personally think that people can have perfectly great values in the present decade. In my opinion, I would be choking my son's education if I ignored all of the great contemporary books. My son does read far above grade level so I do get the challenge of staying age appropriate while still being appropriate for his higher reading level. It is extra work, but they are out there. And for what is is worth, some of the older children's classics are not age appropriate for the young advanced reader.

They also had wastebaskets, school room decorations (my son wanted one of those weather clocks for his new school room), little pails that would be good for organizing supplies, a teacher planner that is easily modified for use at home and for my fact obsessed kid, packs of fact cards about presidents and states etc. All $1 each. We left having spent less than $10. In the regular school supply aisle, Target also had Mead Primary journals and comp books like these: http://www.amazon.com/Mead-Primary-Composition-Ruled-09902/dp/B001F38YWM http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JTL032/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001F38YWM&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0YW8BKX322JSH785HTFD in three packs for $2.47! And washable Crayola markers for 1.50 a pack.

Spagetti squash with marinara sauce and a little cheese, serve with spinach salad. Honey baked lentils and potatoes served with rice and roasted veggies Pancakes with whole grain and flax seed. Topped with peanut butter and fruit these are extra filling. Teriyaki chicken legs and/or thighs with stir fried veggies and noodles. Three bean chili served with rice and cheese and sale avocados. Fish tacos with cooked cabbage filling. Homemade chicken soup and bread. Homemade minestrone soup and bread. Baked beans and vegan collard greens. WW Penne pasta bake Black bean and spinach quesadillas served with salsa and maybe a side salad. Potato pancakes with red cabbage, apples and applesauce. Grilled veggie fajitas Veggie curry and brown rice Baked eggs with lots of veggies Black bean salsa soup with cheese and sale avocado So many possibilities open up when meat eating families make the commitment to eat a lot of veggies and accept that they don't need meat every night. My husband and I and our sons are not vegetarians but that does not mean that every dinner has to have meat. We eat a lot of fish (cheap because of where we live), some poultry and a bit of pork and red meat. Several times a week though dinner is vegetarian and it is not only less expensive, it is more healthy.

What is so disturbing about this is that the quote you cite is also exactly what abusive partners do to their victims and follows a similar pattern to how child predators mold their victims. It is beyond all common decency. My heart aches for any child whose parents buy this as ok.

I don't think anyone is saying that the Schatzes are not responsible for killing Lydia because of the book. The point is not that the Pearl's killed Lydia, it is that their words are fueling abuse and injury, up to and including death, in many kids. More than 1 Pearl reading family now have killed their precious children. This does not make the parents any less guilty. I am glad the dad got 22 years and the mom more than a decade, frankly I would have given them more. They are personally responsible for their heinous crimes. The Pearls are in fact personally responsible for their un-Christian and inhumane, barbaric teachings.

1. He can basically teach himself any language or musical instrument. 2. He is an amazing, hands on dad who is a full partner in parenting. IE He got up for overnight feedings and changed diapers and got me water and situated with nursing. He took 3 months paternity leave. He forces his most non-sporty, non-outdoor self to do scouts and sports because that is what our son wants to do. the examples go on and on. I am so lucky in this regard. 3. He was a very loving and gentle caregiver for my mother when she was dying of cancer. 4. He can spell nearly any word even if he has never heard it or seen it before. He was a regional spelling bee champion as a child. 5. He has been known to sleepwalk, sleep talk and be asleep with his eyes wide open (very confusing, sometimes you really have no idea if he is awake or not until he says something nonsensical.) To make sure he is awake when I am trying to tell him something, I usually demand to know what my name is, where we live, who the president is etc until it is clear he is aware of his surroundings. :tongue_smilie: 6. He started losing his hair when he was barely 18. 7. He has near Jedi like powers to deescalate angry and off kilter people and convince them to do what he needs them to do (very helpful working in a pharmacy!). 8. He won my heart initially by making me homemade bagels. And by being adorable in that goatee, short hair and big black glasses sort of urban hipster way. 9. He has a great singing voice. 10. He is extremely forgetful and can get lost in a paper bag. As in everything that is planned in advance must go into an iPod touch calendar or note or it does not happen. And we can be driving to our house, an he will make a wrong turn. The only exception to this seems to be with work (very techical and accuracy dependent) or with kids health related matters.

For our mortgage, it is due on the first but it is not late (either reported as such to credit reports or for late fee purposes) until after the 16th, so there is a 16 day grace period. It sounds to me like you would only get a fee or a late payment reported if you paid after the 10th. Worth double checking but IMO most mortgages are due on the first and then have some sort of grace period.