This is so true. I've heard more than one junior high/high school age kid say that tattoos are for their parents, or "only 30-year-olds get those." ! I think that's why we're seeing so many more "sleeves" and whole body art. Simple tattoos are so ubiquitous that people who want to be edgy or make a statement really have to take it much further these days. But there are also a lot of people having things removed or dealing with how tattoos age. Looks like it's arcing past prime.

Totally agree. We review some basics the week before -- times tables, math algorithms, general rules for caps, etc. -- briefly. But when testing starts -- No Way! It's cheating, doesn't really help the child, doesn't matter in the overall scheme of things and sets a bad precedent..... I think we all cringe when/if we're nearby the child and see errors, but that's the way it goes. And sometimes the results come back with a portion that's less than stellar, but hey, that just gives us something to work on and be humble about, right? :lol:

dry erase markers, pencils, sharpies, mechanical pencils, glue sticks, definitely the art supplies -- colored pencils, watercolors, paper The good brands last longer, are more rewarding to use (for art/projects) and work better. If you need to save, do so on paperclips, lighter-weight xerox paper, and things like that.

Thank you so much. I will try these to see what I can do. It will make ds feel so much better if we can. :001_smile:

:banghead: Ds was trying to delete a photo and accidentally deleted all the photos. Is there any way to un-do it, reverse it, find them hidden somewhere? Thanks for any ideas that might help. sigh

One of the things we do is just the endings, as in "a,ae,ae, am, a -- ae, arum, is, as, is". They're in order and quick for us to run through. Then we work w/ our own exercises to plug in words. We do similar w/ verbs. If you get in the habit of doing chants like this, before you know it, many of them are second-nature. :001_smile:

I don't think it's materialism. I think the "forest" that we're missing is a gov't program that's gotten so huge w/ so many regulations and restrictions that bureaucrats in DC are trying to micromanage someone's shopping choices hundreds of miles away. And that person's situation is different than the woman two aisles over shopping w/ food stamps too. Underlying that is also the assumption that people can't possibly be left to the responsibility of making nutritious responsible choices on their own. And then there's the inevitable fraud that comes w/ big non-local programs like this.....which calls for more regulations. How is the clerk at taco bell supposed to know if the customer meets a requirement to use food stamps?

I remember days of choices like this. Like you, I don't begrudge people the food stamps, the program is there to help. But it wasn't intended to cover everything, just like health insurance doesn't need to cover cosmetic plastic surgery. If you want a treat now and then, go for it, budget for it, just like people who aren't using food stamps.

You need to google that animated YouTube video on socialization, where the one character keeps asking about socialization. It'll make you laugh so you can stop banging your head against the wall. Sometimes I think it's ignorance, sometimes perhaps a bit of rationalization (so they don't feel "less" about their choice for their kids), sometimes just busy-bodiness. Homeschool kids typically get a much broader perspective of the real world than their peers who are in the insulated yet surreal world of school. Even better, as your kids get older and you help them w/time mgmt to finish what they need to get done, they have time to really explore what they're interested in. For those who are just giving unsolicited advice, I might think up a short retort of some sort about the unreal world of high school or something benign about being so much "in the real world" that you're hardly home .... :001_smile:

Just adding the Nick of Time books by Ted Bell. Time traveling boy and his younger sister starts during WwII but moves forward and back. The Warriors cat series have satisfied my voracious reader too. Like Watership Down, if you're not familiar. I've started slipping in classics here and there too....but it does get tricky for one this young. :001_smile:

Thanks for this, I'm going to forward the link to my folks who lived there during this! They'll probably recognize a good bit of it. Thanks, pqr, for the reminder. It's hard for us to realize or remember what a looming threat that posed with the power of the Soviet Union and their success in the "space race" (rockets/missiles) sitting virtually off our southern border. I've heard people talk about what a tense time it was. What a shame that our history classes are doing such a poor job of highlighting the truly significant events in our history regardless of the decade. Sadly, I think that if you hit any of the under-40 press secretaries of the last couple decades with the same question, you'd get a very similar reaction.

I could've written this with one of mine. And one of mine sounds like OP's son. One way that our group handled the boys' book club was to have each child read his own book selection and then do a report of sorts about it. Sometimes the child would do a project or artwork about the book. It was different than a discussion group but the questions after each book often led to a bit of discussion. It was how we handled the spread of reading abilities that were (and often are) evident in elementary-age kids. The girls' group held at the same time followed the more traditional style. Anyway, hope your (OP) son found a few kids who had knowledge of his book to discuss with him.

Yes. "In my day," AP classes were used to test out of entry-level college classes and to get credits toward graduation so kids were able to dual-major in 4 years or graduate in less than 4. But things have certainly changed.

That was my thought also. Some days it has nothing to do with how genuine or interested the person is about homeschooling, it's merely the fact that I've been asked that question so. many. times. before. Family friends, older folks, various and sundry. It's only occasionally from someone who is really exploring the whole homeschooling idea. The superficial chat involves the same 1/2 doz. questions and sometimes that does get old. I admire you, I could never do that. A. Oh you'd be surprised, especially when you start in kindergarten. Depending on the day, it might sound (to me) like: Ick, why would you spend your time like that when you don't have to? Do you get out much? Do you see other people? A. Yes, you'd be surprised. There are so many options, we actually have to be careful we're not out too much. Might sound like: Don't you get bored with it? Well what about tests? Do you have to tell the state what you're doing? A. Yes. Might sound like: How can you tell you're not screwing them up? But I usually go with the superficial polite chat, because that's all they're really asking. Have to say that more and more, when I reply that we're homeschooling, the person asking responds with comments about people and things they know about homeschooling. : )

Bravo, I sooo agree with this. It's such a mistake to assume that every person wants or needs a liberal arts or similar college degree, especially at the current costs! There are people who want an apprenticeship, a trade, the military, to start a small business, to go to a technical school or just go straight to work out of high school. General classes should be reasonably available for them, including civics and personal finance. For those who want college degrees, more power to them. Many careers need at least one degree. But it's time to stop dumbing down high school and then throwing most of the grads at college where the colleges have to back-pedal to catch the kids up to entry-level academics. It's a colossal waste of time and money. But even worse, since I'm on a roll ( ;) ), I think it's very demoralizing for some kids to be told they have to go to college and then not be able to keep up with the "rigors of college life" as you put it. Starting out your adult life dropping out and having bills to deal with on top of that, well, just a bum deal.