I understand the pressure. Just not sure I agree with the conclusion that it's justified to give up your ethics and integrity ... that cheating is the answer. It's such a sad situation for the students.

Habit. They're so used to this that any change is upsetting to them. Dfriend and her dh are teachers. She used to complain when he had to start band camp in late August because it "cut the summer short." (after 2-1/2 mos. off) Good for you for biting your tongue. Dbro used to live where you do, lost his job 18 mos. ago. His old boss is also doing the work of three after laying off dbro and colleague. They'd be quite happy with pay freezes -- all three of them. It's our entitlement culture blinding people to economic reality ... the whole county can go bust, but don't take away my COLA. :glare:

Breaks my heart to see our snow white beaches looking like this. We used to live there. The whole region is just recovering from the past decade's hurricane damage and now this. Particularly infuriating that significant help was offered within a day or two of the initial explosion and a political decision was made to turn it down. :sad: :mad:

We received an email request for money from a woman in one of our local yahoo groups .... apparently her facebook account had been hacked that led to her yahoo group and sent emails out saying that she was on vacation overseas and needed money, with info where to send money. Of course the woman was mortified that this had gone out to us.

Yes, unfortunately an inappropriate choice. You're probably right that's its on his brain at the moment and he happened to have an audience, and put the two together. Sometimes people get an audience and forget themselves. In a much smaller way than OP's, this happened yesterday to ds after a championship ballgame in the 100o heat and humidity. The league pres. came out to deliver a speech while the kids were lined up in the sun to get trophies. :001_huh::001_huh: A note pointing out the topic wrt his audience (incl. children) would certainly be appropriate, especially since OP agrees with his stance on this issue. Kwim?

Like Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer....they're giving it up before they realize she's the police.

He's an opinion columnist/commentator, she was theoretically a reporter. Not defending Buchanan because I'm not a fan of his, but he does have a different job title.

Some families take the opportunity to do a unit on state's history at this time as well. Guess it might depend on how "young" your state is whether you would incorporate this into v. 3 or 4. We supplemented a good deal for the American history portion just because there are so many wonderful resources, field trips, family histories, etc. Also depends if your dc are closer to middle-school. Lots of read-alouds as well. We definitely slowed down to spend more time in parts and sped up with others. You could do as you say and pause for your unit. You've got a great resource right in your own house! :001_smile:

Well said. It's a worthy thing to defend the many parents here who use these resources. If we were debating a national curriculum with rigid guidelines and application, it would be a different conversation. But you make several excellent points (bold) for why homeschoolers aren't confined by those constraints. Intelligent, curious and informed parents are bringing history alive for their kids. Painting everyone who uses certain resources as depraved, racist, clueless, etc., sounds like authoritarian hyperbole, if I may say so. It ignores historical context and seems rather shrill and uninformed. There's a big difference between having dc read Mein Kampf for historical reference/discussion and using it as a text to indoctrinate them. But then again, I don't go in for characterizing books that I don't personally care for or use as evil, as if my word should be the final authority. I would not presume to make that assumption for another family. Ime, homeschoolers don't usually go in for that kind of censorship.

These last two were in response to things I'd posted. And no, they weren't in reference to you at all. I was in another section of the thread and I think your "conversation" was going on later..... no need for concern. I will say that the comment about slavery was rather in response to someone dealing with younger kids. I don't get into too much detail with a younger child. At most, we cover the commercial triangle which brought so many early slaves to the Southern hemisphere (hence the Spanish/Portuguese languages spoken there) and the later progression northward. But I will reiterate that I really dislike the idea of anyone judging for others what is/is not appropriate for their homeschool....however well-meaning it may be. We don't get our current day news from one source, I'd like to teach dc to evaluate and explore history from more than one source as well. Nobody's right 100% of the time. Anyway, interesting discussion. :001_smile:

I'm not familiar with these books, so I can only refer to the excerpts you include here. I think it strongly depends on the conversations that you have if you use these books. SWB has sections in SOTW that tell of the ancient (Aztecs?) tying a bead to the baby's hair to dangle in front of his eyes and boxing in his young head resulting in a cross-eyed, square-headed king (the ideal). Does that look like a crazy cruel custom to our 21st century eyes? Certainly. As with much of history, there are many things we disagree with today. But to read it and judge the peoples of those times by our standards and sensibilities is pointless and absurd, really. Someone mentioned considering the Battle of Okinawa in Truman's decision wrt the bombs. It also merits discussion that there were days in between the two bombs in which Hirohito could've decided to save his people. He didn't. You also don't lay out the nittygritty details of what slavery "looked like" with a 1st grader. It's enough for them to hear that the conquering tribe/foe often sold their captives into slavery -- world over. And in our house, this sometimes leads to discussions of "man's inhumanity to man" which is in our human nature. Since the beginning of time, again world over. So I get a bit weary of the evil European/American white male schtick too. That's just the past 500 years or so. And the evil in the last 500 years has not been exclusive to that group by any means. When we study history, we try to find original sources. As Sophia said, we always have a couple books going. We read from a variety of points of view and discuss them. If I filter all the books/info my dc ever see to be only from the pov I agree with (regardless of what it is), how do dc learn to deal with conflicting information or new ideas?

No, MidAtlantic then. How sad is that that there are such similar crimes and reactions going on... :(

Exactly. About a decade ago, we watched in horror as a family in our metro area whisked their teen away to the safety of another country after their child had murdered and then incinerated someone, then hid the body in a house down the street. No matter how much I love my child, I'm not sure I'd be able to protect him if he were capable of that.

YES! That and all the things we collect to look at under the microscope, do projects with, explore. Plus lots of pens, pencils, colored pencils. And the books, always the books. We don't do the maps or boards on walls upstairs because we have basement walls, but all the other stuff gives it away. ; )

My reaction when I read the opening line is ... Why not? Our experience has been that we've always been blessed with a real mix of friends, including some kids with Downs, aspergers and other developmental challenges. As a result, fortunately, dc are compassionate and patient playmates especially with younger kids. With the ages involved and the low response, my guess would be that people are concerned with behavior issues -- some kid do have self-control issues at those young ages. But that wouldn't keep me away. Perhaps you could emphasize those benefits while addressing concerns and sharing plans for alleviating perceived issues. :001_smile:

Imagine anyone with dyslexia, aspergers, sensory-processing issues....many of which were undiagnosed in those days. :glare: Those were just a mess for all kids -- the chaos, noise level, distractions, lack of focus on one subject, often (always?) sitting on floors or carpetted tiers rather at desks.

Have you read things like Climbing Parnassus which makes the case for truly classical education? There's also the Latin-Centered Curriculum which gives an overview of the traditional classical education followed with a how-to list of schedules and resources. LCC is a quick read, well done packed with lots of info, CP is deeper but really inspirational. I think that's where I'd start. :001_smile:

Unfortunately now they're rerunning the video of that revolting kiss at the convention every time they mention this news. :blink: :ack2: I read they're calling these the new "grey divorces" -- growing apart in their 60s and 70s after decades of marriage. :001_huh:

We've certainly seen that freedom of speech is often not good taste and/or poor timing. As to your second point about the protests, I can't imagine there are 50 people in the entire country who agree with this ridiculous evil group. Seriously.

Yes, thank you to all who serve, have served and support those who serve. You make our country great and give all of us the ability to live freely. :001_smile: :001_smile: :001_smile: :001_smile:

I'll look back to see if I can find you a link since you're interested. I'll try to find the one about the role that strategy games have in creative thinking. Meanwhile, the overall point in my post was that OP's 2 yo will do so well with time to play and explore rather than doing worksheets for the next few years. Creative play can be underrated.

Then you've got the occasional flea or tick (regardless of those collars and sprays)...... Yes, it's possible, but it's a whole lot more work. And it was easier before dc too.

This is frustrating. Sounds like this is the culture of this group. So you either accept that fact and make it work for you....i.e. plan on getting to the activity 10-15 min. after the official start time which would get there shortly before the actual start time. Try that and see if it works. Otherwise you're just beating your head against a wall. Keep in mind that the type of activity will affect timing too -- park days and other outdoor activities are often looser, while seminars, field trips (involving tour guides), museum tours and classes have a tighter time frame. Agree with others here, don't punish ds by getting him all excited for an event, getting there, setting a(n arbitrary) time and then leaving. That was ok for the first time or two, but now you know this group and their "habits." For ds's sake, either adjust your expectations or find another group. As to the time thing, I struggle with that too. I'll find myself doing a lesson and discussion ensues, math problems take more time to complete, grammar hits a snag, someone doesn't feel well, we have to change clothes to go out, we have to eat or pack lunch, we have to collect materials, equipment, supplies for the get-together. For the families with preschoolers, Mom has to do a lot of hands-on. For the families with older dc, there's lots of shepherding and reminding. If you do like the people (adults + kids) in this group, that's huge. So many groups are not a good match. Try to be understanding with them and adjust your timing... I don't mean to go and sit around for an hour, just allow for the lag time and delayed starts. Exchange cell numbers with a few key people so you can check on their timing. Yes it might seem a pain, like you're enabling people who aren't prompt schedulers. Put yourself in their shoes, with multiple kids, organizing responsibilities, whatever, and try to be patient and gracious with them. Good luck. Finding a group that's a good match is really lovely. Hope it works for you and ds.

Honestly? She's two. She doesn't need workbooks or "seatwork" or "busywork." Lots of play and exploration, indoors and out, sandboxes, water play with containers, chalk, balls. I'm sure you're excited to get going with learning, etc., or you wouldn't be here already. Best to put the books aside and just enjoy the toddlerhood. She's learning every day. Fwiw, studies have shown that the kids who are early-learners or accelerated before the age of 6 or 8, pretty much even out with their age-mates by the age of 9. In addition, kids who learn through play, games, sports, board games, card games, exploration are much better in creative thinking, strategy, problem-solving as they mature. Agree with Tara here, showing is good teaching. Sometimes more words just confuse, even with older kids.