We thought he had ruined the cake. Now that I see what a funnel cake is, I think I understand....... He didn't mess it up, did he? It is very yummy, isn't it? I have gained five pounds around my hips just reading this thread. (They are oozing out over my waistband in a particularly attractive manner.) You are BAD posting that before dinner Alaska time. Good thing we have no funnel cake bakeries here. We do have a new pie bakery, though. Hmmmmm......... Julie

I would also recommend trying them on in a store (if you haven't already). I can't buy Keens (or Merrills either) because the arch is in the wrong spot. I have high arches, and the Keens have good arch support.....but not where my arches are! Saves me a lot of money, huh? I think the shoes are very cute, by the way. And they look comfortable. I do like Danskos, but I have to special order the "narrow" size. Julie

Land's End works for my slim one. Many of their pants (twills, corduroy) come in "Slim". We started him in 8 slims, and he is in 12 slims already! He's only 9, but tall and thin. Not all of their styles come in "slim", but many of them do. You can search by styles that DO come in slim, so that you're not wasting your time. By the way, we can't use any other brand so I hope they never go out of business...... Julie

We want a picture! (What's a funnel cake? I've never lived in the south....isn't it a southern thang?) Julie

Well, I can forgive SWB for recommending Story of the World for history because it is just. so. darned. fun. Guess what I am reading these days, because I want to? A book published by National Geographic called, "What's the Deal? Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase." I never would have found it without the SOTW Activity Guide. Ahem. That's not what we were talking about, was it? Anyway, WELCOME! Julie

This song was popular on the radio at a time when my heart was broken. When I hear it on the radio, I still choke up. The part that gets me is, "Take my hand. Take my whole life, too." He actually got married. That's how he broke up with me. He got married! I just thought you might find it interesting that your love song is someone else's "I'll never have that" song. Oh, and remember the line from "When Harry Met Sally": "He said he didn't want to get married! But.. (sniff, snivel, snort)..he just didn't want to marry ME!!!" I can so totally relate. buddhabelly

Pema Chodron's books: Start Where You Are, The Wisdom of No Escape, When Things Fall Apart, The Places that Scare You. ("No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva" is wonderful too, but pretty advanced teachings so don't start with this one!) You feel like she is just chatting with you on your own sofa, but these are really profound teachings and she has a way of making them accessible. Julie

I just wanted to say that verbal/emotional abuse "only" is absolutelyl sufficient to obtain a domestic violence restraining order. When you speak to the domestic violence center (I assume you have already called the "hotline" which is manned around the clock -- doesn't have to be an emergency!!), be sure to ask about the criteria. I am sure you qualify. Another criterion is if the abuse has occurred in front of the children. As I'm sure you know, that is NOT o.k. with the judge. You go in to court by yourself (ex parte) and get a "temporary" restraining order. If you succeeed in that, the papers (your petition to the court and the court's answer, or judgment) will be served on the other party by a police officer. The judgment will contain information about a further court date, in which both parties are entitled to appear and present further evidence & witnesses. DON'T worry if you don't have witnesses. They will not require your children to testify. At the (second) hearing, the judge will decide the terms of a "long-term" order. This will include more details, such as custody of ds (until a divorce judgment or other custody order overrides this). Each state differs, but in some states the order is for one year. Either party may go to court to petition for changes in the order during the term of the order. The order also specifies which party may remain in the house. But please don't stay in the house just to ensure that you and your dc will be able to remain there. Your emotional safety is paramount, and the court can sort out that issue AND keep you safe (police escorts to the house to obtain possessions). Call the hotline and they will help you develop a strategy. And please ask for this thread to be deleted. Here is the relevant law (unless you moved to a different state) about abuse not necessarily being physical: http://www.state.ga.us/gadr/domviol.html At that page, you click on "Guidelines." If that's the wrong state, be assured that it is similar in every state. I will never forget a five-year old who lived in the safe house with his mom and siblings. His mom was a paramedic, and was very embarrassed to be in this situation and had told none of her co-workers. Her wake-up call was when her five-year-old told the carpet installers that the reason her family needed new carpet was so that when mommy hit the ground (from daddy's blows), it wouldn't make so much noise. I hope your children can grow up seeing some healthy adult relationships based on open communication and respect. It is so hard, isn't it? Now go get this thread deleted..... Julie

Right Start Math (B,C,D now doing E) Artistic Pursuits Real Science 4 Kids (Biology, Physics, Chemistry - Level 1) Growing with Grammar 3 (now we're doing 5) Story of the World 1, 2, 3 w/ Activity Guides Latin for Children A, B, and now we're on C Minimus Latin (but it doesn't take an entire year) Classical Writing Aesop

I can answer some questions about Right Start Math (Levels B through E), Spelling Workout (B through F), Growing with Grammar 3, 4 and 5, Classical Writing Aesop, IEW, Latin for Children, Espanol para Chicos y Grandes, Lingua Latina, Minimus Latin, Elementary Greek, Story of the World, Lego Robotics, Real Science 4 Kids (Bio, Physics, Chem Level I), Ring of Fire Science, and how to deal with kids who are interested in EVERYTHING. But I'm an expert at nothing! My child is way ahead of me in music so I can't help him anymore. Julie

Happy Birthday! I wish you good health and much happiness. Julie

So is the Robotics serving as science for this year? Just wondering. We alternate history with science. Some semesters it is history three times per week and science twice/week, while some semesters it is the reverse. He loves both, so he doesn't really care which way we do it. My son is doing the Robotics too....less than three weeks until our competition! Julie

I also found Rainbow Resource to be the least expensive. They sell the Home Instructor Guides, too. I don't think searching "Singapore" yields anything, though. They call them Primary Mathematics. They have pictures, though, so if you know what Singapore stuff looks like you'll be able to tell whether you are ordering the right thing. Julie

Be gentle with him. Do you remember when you were a teenager? Nine years old is not too young to experience the hormonal changes of adolescence. Ask me how I know...... Julie

We did Level 1 Biology, Chemistry and Physics (not all in the same school year). It is the Biology, specifically Chapter 6 (Protists) in which the microscope is introduced. You can see sample chapters and the ENTIRE tables of contents here: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/catalog/science-curriculum/real-science-4-kids/cat_real-science-4-kids-level-1.html You can probably see them at the Gravitas Publications website, too, but I found the above first. These are wonderful programs! Julie

I just wanted to add that the New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History is fabulous for the maps if you are studying that time period. Even if the text is above your dc's heads, the maps are so illuminating. Julie

In your blog post you said that you found Singapore confusing. But have you looked at the Home Instructor Guides? I would suggest ordering the textbook and workbook for 3A, plus the Home Instructor Guide, from Rainbow Resource. If you don't care for it, you can send it right back. I think it's worth your perusal. You don't HAVE to do Challenging Word Problems if it scares you. If you did want CWP, you could always start with CWP 2. Good luck (again)! Julie

We're doing Ring of Fire Science. We enjoy it somewhat -- it's not spectacular. We're doing the Rock Cycle and Volcanoes.

Minimus is a lot of fun. It's not very grammar-intensive, though, so if that is important to you then I would looke elsewhere. No reason why you couldn't do BOTH of those programs you mentioned. Especially if you happen to be studying ancient Rome this year. Minimus is based on real archeological evidence excavated from the site at Vindolanda. It even includes photographs of the letters you are translating. Way cool. We did both Minimus and Latin for Children A when my child was 7 (and was also accellerated like yours). Latin for Children A is not extremely writing-intensive, so it was fine for an advanced 7yo. They didn't have Lively Latin yet, though. So that might be something to look at. Drew at Latin Centered Curriculum can tell you more about Lively Latin. He uses it with his "just" 7yo. Lingua Latina is also great for reading practice. I wouldn't start it until you've done 6 months or a year of something else first, though. Have fun! Julie

Can you mix it up with some fun things for a week? Besides being fun (we hope), it would let her see how much she DOES know and what she IS able to do, instead of what she doesn't know. Do you happen to have a book by James Riley, Marge Eberts and Peggy Gisler called "Math Challenge: 190 Fun and Creative Problems for Kids?" It is published by Goodyear Books. I am looking at Level I (ages 8-10). I think she would be able to figure out many of the problems. Not only are they fun, many of them are TRUE, which makes them fascinating for you as well. Ex: Yehudi Menuhin was one of the world's greatest violinists at the age of 11. Yehudi practiced the violin for 2-1/2 hours in the morning and for 2-1/2 hours after school. How many hours a day did Yehudi practice? Caitlin and Andrea want a jump rope 6 feet long. They measure the rope and find that it is 14 feet long. How much rope will be left after they have cut off a 6-foot piece? They do get harder: A 10-gallon hat really holds 3/4 of a gallon, not 10 gallons. How many quarts will a 10-gallon hat hold? Each 5 liters of ocean water contains 25 grams of salt. How many grams of salt would you expect 30 liters of ocean water to contain? I'm not familiar with Horizons 3, but here's one she might be able to do now: Triceratops was 8 meters long, Edmontosaurus was 12 meters long, Tyrannosaurus rex was 14 meters long, and Apatosaurus was 24 meters long. Which dinosaur was twice as long as another? Which was 3 times as long as which other one? The previous one will tell you whether she is really understanding the math that she is learning. Can she apply the concepts to new situations? (If you haven't done multiplication yet, never mind!) I also want to recommend Singapore Math's "Challenging Word Problems." I would probably suggest CWP 2 instead of CWP 3, especially if she needs to gain confidence. Perhaps you can find this used? Good luck. Cute photo of your son napping after trick-or-treating! Julie

I have quoted you above, and have very rudely taken everything out of context! I would encourage you to look at the videos that Andrew Pudewa has made for the parents. If you have only seen the ones for the children (SW I and II or is it SW-A & B?), you might not fully understand the program and it might, indeed, seem "rigid." In the parents' videos (TWWS&S), he explains that in his years of teaching writing, he found that children get "stuck." (See your quote above.) They get "stuck" because they don't know what to write. IEW, at least in the beginning, removes that unknown so that the students can focus on HOW to write. It really frees the child to get going and do SOMETHING. I remember as a child being told to write a story and 90 percent of the time I had not one single idea. On the other hand, if your child already loves to write, then I agree that IEW is not the program for her. It is not for children who are always journaling or writing letters or putting captions to their artwork because they just want to! But (gently), it does not seem that your daughter does like to write. I must admit that I do the same thing sometimes and give my child free reign to write "anything you learned about igneous rocks today." Whoa, did that backfire or what. However, when I had him do a key word outline of one paragraph from his science text (Ring of Fire) that I had picked out, he did a wonderful job and his "rewrite" ended up being much better than the original text. If it is the dress-ups that bother you, just give them a try and then don't focus on them as much as Pudewa does. He is just trying to get the kids away from "subject - verb - object" sentences, and once they are more free with their sentence structure you can always reign them back in again! Good luck. We also like Classical Writing, but that does not encourage originality or "freedom" any more than IEW. (I have Aesop, but not Homer.) Julie

My son is only 9 but he wears a 12 SLIM in the Lands End pants. I just want to emphasize that if your son is slim, be sure you order the "slims" or he will be swimming in them.

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I would keep Right Start because the girls will have such fun playing the games together! Some of the games (very few) call for an even number of players (2 or 4), but you will be able to play most of them together. There are even "adjustments" suggested for differently-aged players. For example, your younger daughter might need to use her abacus while the older one will just calculate in her head. If you haven't gotten to any games yet, just trust me on this one! I do think RS might be a little much for a 3yo, but that's probably because my son didn't do any math until he was 5. Just be prepared to back off if your 3yo doesn't show signs of readiness. We don't realize how abstract math can be. Here's an example: a 3yo and his mom are playing with some Cheerios on a table. They are counting them playfully, and 2yo SEEMS to understand this concept. They count "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" while pointing to each Cheerio. Then some Cheerios fall on the floor. So mom says, "Oh, look! Now we have three Cheerios! See? 1, 2, 3." Toddler, SURE that momma has lost her mind, says, "No, no, mamma. We don't have three. Three and one fell on the floor. We have five. See? It's right here still." If a child ain't ready to associate these abstract things called numbers with concrete things like pencils and pennies and colored bears, she just ain't ready. You can teach and teach until the cows (or colored bears) come home, and there won't be three Cheerios because three(the Cheerio that you playfully named "3") fell on the floor! Have fun with your students, and don't forget to let dh play math games with you! Julie

We are about 3/4 through SOTW 3. We slow down a lot for parts like the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson.....anything to do with American History. (We read a lot from Story of US to supplement those parts.) Ds just writes the tests, and also answers the questions in the AG. I do insist that he use complete sentences when answering the questions in the AG. In case you haven't seen the tests, there is one essay question (paragraph question?) on each. This is a great "prompt" for some writing from your ds....a little more successful than "what do you remember?" My son rarely resists writing the "essay question" part of the test, and sometimes he comes up with some beautifully written answers. (And other times....we have a "writing/grammar time" and discuss his writing!) I do assign papers that are based on his history studies, though. He did one on Benjamin Franklin, and I think we'll do another on Thomas Jefferson. Our writing program (IEW) lends itself to nonfiction stuff. HTH, Julie