Just saw this note which is different than I thought.... Since they get to the beach pretty often, I'd suggest they could join you for the last couple days so that you get some relaxed family time in the first few days. You're gearing up for another homeschool year, right? This is key for a rejuvenated mom-teacher. :D That sure seems reasonable. Unless they're really active grandparents, a couple beach days with active boys should be plenty. Dh could say this very nicely. It's a decent compromise. :001_smile:

Yes! Do what you normally do. Let them know, "hey we're headed down to the beach for the morning...." or "we're going beachcombing at sunrise" or "we're going to play mini-golf" or whatever and they're free to tag along. I would also encourage them to go shopping in the little beach town, walk the boardwalk, go out to dinner, etc. alone to make the beach vacation nice for them too. Definitely don't cheat your fun family activities. If you wanted to sit around and chat you could do that in your den. at home. Don't put the brakes on all your things, just include them where it makes sense. If they're more sedentary, perhaps you could meet for dinner each evening, or they could join you poolside -- to watch dh play with kids in the pool. ;) Hope it'll be surprisingly better than you might be expecting. :001_smile:

It's been years since we saw the 2nd two -- depends on what your dc are exposed to, I guess. Wanda has a good bit of sexual innuendo ... PTA has the bed-scene (humor, nothing actual) with the two leads, but otherwise would be fine. Vinnie has bad language but is generally hilarious. There's the one scene at the prison when Pesci is using the f-word figuratively and the young guy is thinking literally. They were all fun movies to watch. But I do find that now as a parent, I'm much more aware of the innuendos, bad language, level of nudity, romantic situations, poor choices, bad examples, etc. Could ruin a perfectly funny movie, kwim? :tongue_smilie: :lol:

:iagree: ....no, dogs aren't carnivores or anything, are they? :lol:

I agree with you. But your last thought would honestly never have occurred to me. The news just reported that the annual August dump is occurring as the humane societies are receiving dropped off pets from people headed to vacation and/or another year of school/college/commitments. It's a real issue in Europe too, but some folks just leave the animals to roam and fend for themselves. So, maxed out facilities, fewer people looking for pets. Bottom line, I don't condone absolutist policies like this for an adoption group when it has a loving family on its doorstep and animals available. They can't control everything and it's unhelpful to try. Some facilities are only able to hold animals for a few weeks before .... :crying:

In our case, ds2 was in a preschool so we decided to continue with it when we started to homeschool ds1....for several reasons including focus on the gradeschooler and allowing younger brother to be with peers so that he wouldn't always be the little brother, working hard to catch up, etc. Some families with several kids do it so that preschoolers have some fun "me-centered" time while mom is focussing on tougher subjects with older kids. Some do it to give their kids a taste of "real" school. Some do it to take advantage of a particular program -- like montessori or reggio-emilia or a church-based group. Many don't view it as any kind of commentary on homeschooling either way. :001_smile:

:D

:lol: :lol: :lol: It's hardly fair, is it?

((( ))) for all you have to do and think about. Sounds like you're covering your bases for your dd. Honestly, I don't think anything will be done in the near future. Any major initiatives would probably be about 3 years hence if at all. Hopefully homeschooling as we are individually able to practice it will remain. Like Jennifer said, if we see things coming, we can make a stir. Besides, being a Latin lover, you're better off with homeschooling to pass along that love! :001_smile:

I understand your point, Ester Maria, and I don't want to derail this thread but your first para. puts in mind the recent global warming issues wrt the human factor in scientific observation and validation. Thirty years prior there was the coming ice age. Just thought I'd throw our infallibility into the equation. :tongue_smilie: We've added 2 whole kingdoms of organisms just with the invention of the microscope. There will always be limits to what we can see and understand, regardless of our interpretation of phenomena. Re: the 2nd para, I've long appreciated C.S. Lewis's observations (paraphrasing here) that Jesus was either a raving lunatic or who he claimed to be. He couldn't have been "just" a great man or a great prophet as some have claimed since then, because he claimed to be God. And as we know from modern times, when one claims to be God or a god, one is most often considered delusional. If he were a mere teacher, he would've spoken as such. For many, "science," however it is practiced, is not the final arbiter of what we believe. There have been too many new discoveries in the past few hundred years and too many theories and ideas that have been proven wrong over time to put all of our trust in science and scientific observation. :001_smile:

Happy Birthday! :D :auto: :001_smile: (I got the book. Thanks.)

Cool. Someone just reminded us today that the Aragon stories are by a homeschooler.

:001_smile:

Brand difference? No idea. The one to the basement blew out shortly after we moved, but the one into the storage area is a running joke. Dc even timed it to full strength for math one time. I think it was nearly 4 minutes. When you first switch it on, it's barely visible. Like I said, I've read that the next generation is *supposed* to be a big improvement and perhaps mercury-free?

My nephew has an incredible gift. He is brilliant. He is highly educated. He has an amazing Christian faith. His gift? The ability to talk with any one and everyone. You don't feel talked down to, he isn't wearing his credentials or his vast understanding of a subject on his forehead (!) -- he's approachable, conversant and truly caring. And interesting. It's unfortunate, as I've read through this thread, that so many seem to feel that they can't raise topics in church, can't ask questions, get talked down to. How frustrating. I don't think I'd stay with a church that frowns on honest questions. Sorry, don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. Fwiw, I think my nephew learns a lot by listening to people. He doesn't shut down the conversation with a regurgitation of what he already knows like some feel compelled to do, he listens. And that's pretty darn smart. eta: Bob Newhart :lol:

And this is why I don't often respond in these threads, Aubrey. Gather that this wasn't clear....you asked about us as individuals. I responded as an individual. This has been my experience. Should've used the personal pronoun more. That said, I think it does extend to others .... faith and intellect are not mutually exclusive. Some of the "simplest" minds are the most profoundly spiritual and some of the most profound "thinkers" throughout time have also been deeply religious. Most of the churches we've attended have welcomed the questioning, the exploring through Bible studies, small group, etc. I've been mentored by pastors and senior women church leaders formally and many others informally. I would say we've been comfortable with how our churches have been organized. It sounds like you're wondering about roles within your church, Aubrey? From altevista: Or maybe you've taken a leap of faith? I never said that you stop questioning and exploring. At some point, though, it is faith. And faith is different than some empirical study laid out nice and neat, kwim? You're right. This was my pov. That's what Aubrey asked about. You assume that I'm not or have not been open to other povs, which is not true. I just know what it's like to put all my eggs in the intellect basket. And then to grow beyond that..... My use of the word hubris was for those who assume that anyone walking in faith is thereby lacking in intellect or putting that intellect off to the side as if the two are mutually exclusive, as if there is no further exploration within one's faith. Some people have always had their faith and been aware of it, I've heard it referred to similar to breathing. Some others have to find their way to faith or their faith finds them. This is the intangible and this is beyond us. Much as we'd like to control it, we can't. That's what I meant by the simple statement, It's faith. Kristina, I hope for you that you get to that point of true faith. It's an awesome and beautiful gift. :001_smile:

That's one of my beefs with them. This house had two when we moved in -- one at the base of stairs into basement, one into storage area. These are lights that I want to light right away not dimly strengthening for 5 minutes! Sure I can move them but then I've got the flickering over where we're reading or eating. The disposal, longevity and energy benefits are supposedly in the next generation of "bulb-technology." :glare: Most folks who buy them have no idea of the problems, especially with breakage and disposal. Our church's preschool had one in a little table lamp where the kids draw. :001_huh: So, no I will not be using these anytime soon.

Actually, I think our intellect can get in our own way within our faith. Over-thinking and demanding empirical evidence and other manifestations of a gifted intelligence are missing the point. It's faith. Demanding things on our terms because we are so "smart" is trying to put ourselves in the power position, it prolongs the process and can create walls in our own individual faith journeys. Can't say that I've ever felt rejected by others for being intelligent and yet faithful. And this brilliant point from Jean in Newcastle: When you dig deeper and search for more, it's there. Unfortunately if you don't get it, you don't get it. Not to say that *you* never will, that's not mine to know. If we believe in God, we have to also acknowledge that God is more than we can fathom. We can explore, we can dig, we can read, we can learn. Other than that is hubris. I know that veers a bit from the OP. Our intellect can help us explore and find incredible truths, we just have to be careful not to let it get in our way. :001_smile:

movie matinees no-bake recipes suspenseful read-aloud fun math drills to get ready for school construction challenges with everyday objects game day (board games, card games) creative art challenge

Sympathy for you here. We are a lego-lovin' family here. But when dc were little they loved dinos and all their friends were into rescue heroes. Ds was quite bored with them. Dc have never been big into pokemon/yu-gi-oh cards either which have been very popular in homeschool circles at times. It's not easy when the toy or activity of choice is less than thrilling to your own dc. It's more than just getting along, it's lingo and culture too. Hope they'll find common fun -- maybe there's something within the lego "universe" that would bridge the gap?

Just a guess re: the use of the word "profiteering" that Asta was referring to the whole market -- what's gone on with the Fannie Mae/Freddy Mac mortgages and the Congressional intervention setting up the subprime market based on weak eligibility in the first place, the mortgage bundling, and rebundling, house prices climbing to ridiculous heights in a single decade..... Fwiw in your case, Dawn, it's just where the market is at present. Not that you are, but any number of house-flippers who got caught up in that craze have been really stung by the current market, after a lot of work. A house in our old neighborhood sold twice since 1999. First sale made about $50K after owners had lived there about 15 years. Second sale in 2007 doubled the house price! It was amusing and disgusting to see the owners (friends in the neighborhood) nickel and dime about little things at the time of closing -- they groused about $35 here, $50 there. These folks were walking away with nearly a couple hundred thousand dollars! The money (and their entitlement to it!) had gone to their heads. :001_huh: People have forgotten the housing lull through the 90s, they're only remembering the unrealistically high boom of the past decade.

here periodically sometimes frequently sometimes less so

Great post. It's a business deal and a lot of homeowners forget that, hence the emotion and indignation. We've had friends turn down low-ball offers as insults only to hold on to the property for another year or more before accepting another (often not too far off the first person's offer). So they've heated, cooled, mowed, etc. for another year because of emotion. A lot of sellers ignore area comparables, appraisals and other realistic assessments of their own properties. Like you said, 2sq., they should be looking at that low offer for information or potential. After all, of the people who looked at the house/property, at least this buyer was interested enough to put in an offer. These days, with all the paper work involved, that's saying something. There's so much emotion (often) in setting a sale price. We've always talked with several realtors before listing and they usually give a range. So it's our decision based on the research to set the price .... do we want to get maximum $, do we "feel" like the house is worth X dollars because we've lived there a long time/love the house, do we want to deal with the inconvenience of selling as short as possible, do we want to cover expenses and upgrades and make a bit? Those all affect the asking price. If you price to sell, you'll make a bit less ... if you want a certain amount, you may wait longer. Just my thoughts based on experience and observation. :001_smile:

One of my nephews got into soap-making for awhile when he was in grade school. Wood working would be a great option. There are prepared kits at the craft stores to get things started -- small birdhouses and various projects. There are also leatherworking kits. If one of these piques his interest, you could explore more advanced things. I didn't see the age of OP's ds -- one of mine is a big into all kinds of crafts. He's tried making stuffed animals, sewing, hand-knitting, woodworking, leathercrafts, origami, bookmaking, cooking, sculpey and modelling clay crafts, etc. Ds likes the klutz kits too. Sounds like you've got a creative kid there! :001_smile:

There's been a note recently about phone #s being visible. Go into the account to customize a change of phone option to "only me." Just keep an eye on it. It's not a bad idea to check in every now and then from someone else's account (if you can) to see what's visible to you. Also remind him that coaches, college deans, employers and law enforcement can and do check the internet for info on people. I've been amazed at the volume and content of photos that some people post to their own accounts. You can also be "tagged" (named) in someone else's photo, something else to keep an eye on. Good luck. :001_smile: