I called Rainbow Resource a few weeks ago with these same questions. I don't remember the woman's name with whom I spoke, but she was VERY helpful. She and others at RR were, that very day, going over the scope and sequence of the new version 3 to compare it to previous versions. I can't recall exactly what she told me, but the jist of it was that the RR people were going to have a meeting with their RS sales rep to ask numerous questions about the new version. I got the impression the RR people were NOT impressed with it at all. Now, that could have changed when they met with the sales rep and got all their questions answered, I just don't know. I just remember thinking that there was nothing better about version 3.

My mother bought me KitchenAid hand mixer a few years ago - it's the best. Before that, I went through two cheaper hand mixers in a YEAR!! Isn't it great to get control of spending?? Frees up cash, which you can then use to (you knew this was coming, didn't you - I get way too excited when I find bargains): - buy the 400 sheets/roll 37.5 cents/roll rolls of toilet paper from Dartmouth Surplus, because D.S. is going into just the tire business and is liquidating everything else (sorry, Tricia, I scooped them all up) - buy the Elmer's glue sticks from D.S. for .56 apiece (got all those, too) - buy the packages of legal size paper for $1.50/500 sheet pack (see last point) - buy the $4 big bag of yarn from Beacon House and put your (my) newfound knitting skills to work (I heard the yarn was all gone by the next day, and they had boxes and boxes of it)(thanks for talking up B.H. so much that I finally went to check it out - it's my VERY favourite thrift store around here, esp. on Bag Sale Day) - buy the 2 kg bag of allergy-safe Chipits chocolate chips for $6.97 at Atlantic Cash and Carry (read: MUCH cheaper per kg than the Superstore no name brand I usually buy!!!) (and I did NOT scoop all those packages up, LOL!) - write a thread asking for food processor advice, of which I have none to offer. But have fun when you finally get one! Colleen

Oh my. I just watched Sicko last night and I was flabbergasted. I'm from the States, and moved to Canada in 1993. Back then, I don't think health insurance was as bad as it is now, but I wouldn't know, cuz I didn't have any! I was soooooooooooo shocked in 1993 to find that Canadian residents have free health care! I am so grateful for it. That movie was very revealing to me - I had no idea there were such horror stories going on, with people dying just because they couldn't pay for treatment. It is horrible. I was really mad after watching that movie! My own parents struggle with health care because of not having insurance, too. And I can't do anything to help, unless they want to immigrate here, which they don't.

Jennifer, I would keep investigating and asking as many questions as you need to, to put the puzzle pieces together. Even write things down. An allergist can do a blood test to test for all sorts of allergens, and if you can tell him EVERYTHING you've found out so far, the dr. will be able to have an idea of what to test for. You can even request that particular allergens be tested for. Might as well find out everything you can. As Doran said, I'd also be asking questions like where did the fruit come from (as in, not what country, but what person), because you can go further and ask how the fruit was handled at the person's home, etc.. For ex., with ds' peanut allergy, we ask things like, "Has this margarine ever had a knife in it that was used also for peanut butter?" People just don't think of things like that, so we have to police EVERYTHING. And think of every possibility. Food manufacturing lines, and such. I'd also be questioning that roll that the nutella was on. What ingredients, where did it come from, did it touch anything else, were there any allergy warnings on the roll package, etc.. I'd also wonder about the classroom environment - were there perfumes in the air, what was being cooked in the kitchen those days that could have wafted some allergens into the classroom. It's a learning curve, and panicky-scary sometimes, but you do get to a place where there is more comfort and confidence in what you are doing. Keep us posted!

I graduated high school, worked, took a few courses through an international missions organization, worked and traveled with the organization for a few years, got married, had kids. Never thought I'd be a homeschooler - when I was in high school, I went to a church where most families homeschooled and I couldn't imagine teaching my kids at home. Now I couldn't imagine doing anything else right now. I LOVE LOVE LOVE crafting and weaving together an education for each of my kids, and LOVE all the stuff I'm learning through this process. I've discovered that learning is engaging and fun! Maybe someday I'll take some university courses, but as back in high school, I don't know what to take. So we'll see.

I went to Kiev on a missions trip in 1993, with a performing arts team of kids doing dramas and dances. We stayed for two weeks at the Polytechnik (sp?) Institute. I also have friends who started a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) missions center there 15 years ago and are still going strong. Food: We brought breakfast food with us, like boxes of cereal and juice. I think we bought milk there, but I can't remember. Maybe we used powdered milk, I just don't know. Lunches and suppers were either with host churches or at restaurants. If I recall correctly, eating at restaurants was fairly cheap. But yes, a lot of potatoes and meat meals, and lots of soups (borscht) and yummy breads. We did have chicken Kiev one night, but it was a special treat and it was hard to find. Oh yes, bring toilet paper. And practice squatting. :) Language: People there do know Russian, but appreciate it if you try to speak Ukranian since it's their national language. Dress: yes, I remember people looking very fashionable there. I think if you are going to work with churches/pastors and are doing seminars, you'd be better off to wear dresses and skirts rather than jeans and pants, at least when you are on "official business." For time off, it probably doesn't matter as much. Orphanage: We visited a hospital for sick children, and a camp for kids with cancer - all due to the Chernobyl accident. We may have gone to an orphanage but I can't remember. The way to prepare for these kinds of things is to just look at the kids. Think about them. Look at them and think about what you CAN do, rather than pity them and think about what you CAN'T do. If you can play with them, play. If you can sing with them, sing. I don't know how else to explain it, other than to be fully in the moment when you are there and engage with them. It's fun!!!!!!!! Culture/People: I'm assuming you are in the States (I'm American and Canadian). When I went to Ukraine, I traveled from the States, with a bunch of Americans. The biggest thing I remember is that Americans are a lot louder than Ukranians!! For one thing, we leaders had to constantly tell the kids on our team (like 9-15 year olds) to be quiet, esp. when we were out walking in public. I remember walking the streets of Kiev and noticing how quiet the people were, compared to our team. (Russia was the same when I was there the year before) We had to keep remembering to just tone down and talk quietly and not act rowdy, just to respect the culture there. That said, I LOVED meeting Ukranian people. They were so gracious and kind to us. I'd go back in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. Gift: How about a music CD? When I went to Russia the year before, I gave out a couple of Russian language worship music tapes that were appreciated. I think they were by Hosanna Integrity. Is there any way you can find out about any needs the family might have or things they would appreciate? Sights: Truthfully, I can't remember much about the sights!! I do remember visiting some of the beautiful cathedrals (like there is a blue one with white and gold decorating it, but I can't remember the name of it), and visiting an amusement park (which I remember because of two drunk men yelling at us to go home because the kids were so loud, LOL!). You could always go visit the YWAM center there and see the river boat hospitality house they have to house people and run training programs. They also have a free dental program for Ukranians. If you do, be sure to give Kelly, Vicki, and Laura a big hug from Colleen in Canada. :) Seriously, you'd be welcome there for a visit. I can give you more info. about that if you want. hth

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It was good to read how you all do it. I think I'm ready to let go of the 36 week/year idea. As my oldest grows and we gradually add in more stuff, I find that the 36 weeks has become more constricting and the days get fuller. I don't like that. Although I will say that starting off with a 36 week plan helped tremendously in planning the year and making sure we went through, say, the whole math book or the whole grammar book in an evenly paced manner. A couple of years ago, a 4 day week worked great. It has grown into a 5 day week, with Fridays being light, but the other days are fuller than I want. So, I'm going to keep playing around with how to stretch each subject area out over more weeks. I think I can maneuver it so that we do most things in the morning hours, and have a silent reading period in the afternoon, followed by an hour walk (PE - I'm inspired by you, Laura! :)), and then another big chunk of time for free play/crafts/games/puzzles/more outdoor play before supper, chores, and read aloud before bedtime. This would be my ideal. And I was inspired by reading about how the Swann family did this. IthinkIcanIthinkIcanIthinkIcan, LOL. I guess my quest these days is to balance the academics and other life stuff more evenly over the year, instead of trying to jam everything into a smaller chunk of time.

I posted this at the curriculum board, but would like to know if/how you high school Moms do this, too. Thanks! Hi all, I currently do a 36 week school year, year round. I am thinking of trying to spread the work in those 36 weeks out to anywhere between 42 and 48 weeks or so, so that our days are not so jam packed, and we have more relaxed time in the afternoons, instead of having to wait until a "break week" to have a chunk of time to do crafts, play games, puzzles, play for extended times outside, cooking skills, etc.. I guess I'm just trying to set a more evenly paced way of life. I started playing around with this last night. For example, with LC1, there are 30 lessons which have been equalling 30 weeks. But I broke it down into a number of activities to complete for each lesson, which will take longer than a week, but spread it out in smaller chunks. And I figured that R&S math, with 170 lessons per year, will take 42.5 weeks with 4 lessons per week instead of 34 weeks at 5/week. We can also cut R&S English back to 3/week instead of the 4/week that we normally have to do to complete in 36 weeks. KWIM? I'll keep playing around with this in other subjects, too. With a 36 week year, I find that we spend all morning on the skill areas, and have to do science and history in the afternoons/evenings (when I'm tired and the kids are tired). If I can spread out the skill work, I might be able to fit the content areas (which include the skill area of writing) into the mornings. AND be able to take days off occasionally (as well as our normal vacation times, holidays, etc.) to do something else (that's why I said 42-48 weeks - I figure it's lots of flex time for sickness, or whatever). So, I am wondering (cuz I like to look at how other people do things to get new ideas), if you spread your school work out over more than 36 weeks, how does your schedule look? Over a week and over a year? How do you like doing it this way? Do you ever feel like you miss out on the 'ole 16 "break weeks" or do you find you are more relaxed from having the work spread out? Any insight you can offer would be helpful. Thanks!

Hi all, I currently do a 36 week school year, year round. I am thinking of trying to spread the work in those 36 weeks out to anywhere between 42 and 48 weeks or so, so that our days are not so jam packed, and we have more relaxed time in the afternoons, instead of having to wait until a "break week" to have a chunk of time to do crafts, play games, puzzles, play for extended times outside, cooking skills, etc.. I guess I'm just trying to set a more evenly paced way of life. I started playing around with this last night. For example, with LC1, there are 30 lessons which have been equalling 30 weeks. But I broke it down into a number of activities to complete for each lesson, which will take longer than a week, but spread it out in smaller chunks. And I figured that R&S math, with 170 lessons per year, will take 42.5 weeks with 4 lessons per week instead of 34 weeks at 5/week. We can also cut R&S English back to 3/week instead of the 4/week that we normally have to do to complete in 36 weeks. KWIM? I'll keep playing around with this in other subjects, too. With a 36 week year, I find that we spend all morning on the skill areas, and have to do science and history in the afternoons/evenings (when I'm tired and the kids are tired). If I can spread out the skill work, I might be able to fit the content areas (which include the skill area of writing) into the mornings. AND be able to take days off occasionally (as well as our normal vacation times, holidays, etc.) to do something else (that's why I said 42-48 weeks - I figure it's lots of flex time for sickness, or whatever). So, I am wondering (cuz I like to look at how other people do things to get new ideas), if you spread your school work out over more than 36 weeks, how does your schedule look? Over a week and over a year? How do you like doing it this way? Do you ever feel like you miss out on the 'ole 16 "break weeks" or do you find you are more relaxed from having the work spread out? Any insight you can offer would be helpful. Thanks!

A good friend of ours here went to college (Liberty??) with one of the guys in one of these bands, and I can't remember which band or which guy! This thread seems to have a lot of what I think is called six degrees of separation. Very cool thread.

Mother Teresa?? Now I'm really in awe. I would have loved to have met her.

I met Oren one time, too! Same time I met Twila!

P.S. I'm also prepared to yell, "ANAPHYLAXIS!!!!" if ever the need arises. :)

Ds is anaphylactic to peanuts. Yep, the ambulance is your friend if it ever happens again. I'd call even if the hospital was 5 minutes away - but I say that as a Mom who already knows her kid is anaphylactic. :) I'd call, plus give epinephrine, just because if I was by myself, I'd be freaking out too much trying to drive. TwinJect is a great alternative to EpiPen - it's two doses in the same injector, for the same price. One dose for ASAP, and another dose to give in 10-15 minutes if the reaction is not calming down. Do you have Superstores (or Loblaws or whatever has the yellow no name packaged foods? Or President's Choice brand foods?) near you? I use a lot of no name brand stuff from Superstore, and they have a handy dandy phone number on the packages that you can call and get all the allergy info you could ever want to know about your foods. Just give them the barcode and the allergic food name. The number is 888-495-5111. I have found that many companies in Canada are great about labeling foods, or when you call them, are great about telling you all sorts of info. Like, "this soy sauce was manufactured on the same line as the Asian peanut sauce, and here is the cleaning procedure we did in between processing the peanut sauce and the soy sauce." That way, you can get info. and as you go along, you can decide on your comfort level. You can do this. :)

Wow. Ds9 is also anaphylactic to peanuts and I think I'd be in shock too, if he ever turned up non allergic. He DID outgrow a severe egg allergy a couple of years ago, and it was soooooooooo weird to feed him eggs the first few times! Dd is going for a sesame challenge test in a few weeks, too. She has been anaphylactic for years, but the most recent blood test came up low. I'm also told that if she passes the test, to give her sesame once a week! I can hardly wrap my head around it. But peanuts - wow - that's a miracle in my book.

Dh and I went to a workshop she did around here a few years ago, too. People in NS are so proud of her, and she is a really nice person. I stood behind her in line at the airport, didn't know it was her, admired her babies for awhile and was about to comment to her about her babies, when I looked at her eyes and realized who she was. By then, she was going up to the ticket counter so I didn't get a chance. But it's neat because she didn't have this huge entourage following her. Just her family strolling through the airport.

Yep, I'm sure he's been to Florida to follow the circus. Come to think of it, that would be the Bradenton/Sarasota area, right? How cool, I'll bet they've met! You never know what connections you'll find here. I found out a few weeks ago that Amy in NH and I are extremely distantly related by marriage through William Bradford.

This is way too fun reading all these replies. - My mother used to babysit the children of someone who played for the Boston Celtics - only I can't remember his name!! Bill or something that begins with a B I think. - My cousins' cousin is the mayor of Quincy Massachusetts. Last year when my Nana died, he arranged a police escort for all of us in the funeral lineup from the church to the cemetery. That was nice. - I once got a personal postcard from Amy Carter when her father was the U.S. president. - I met Margaret Becker, a Christian musician, backstage at a concert, because I was with a mutual friend of ours. I LOVED her. I've also met Twila Paris and Steven Curtis Chapman. Bob Ayala, Melody Green, Bob Fitts, but I don't expect many here would recognize those names. But maybe. :) - My mother knows some of the Von Trapp family. - An former religious leader of mine had a conversation with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. - I saw Natalie MacMaster a few weeks ago at the airport. Please, someone, tell me you know who she is! She's an awesome Celtic dancer and fiddle player from Eastern Canada - I know she has toured in the States!!!!! - My niece was a stunt double in a Tom Selleck movie series, Stone Cold.

A high school friend of mine, who had just transferred from NH, had Christa McAuliff for a teacher just before the Challenger accident. I'll never forget his face when news of the accident spread through school.

Hey, my grandfather was a HUGE fan of the Ringling Brother's Barnum and Bailey Circus, and used to follow them everywhere!!!! Probably in the 60s and 70s. There's no way to find out now, but I'll betcha he knew your grandparents?? He also always had his "Circus Room" in his house - an entire room stuffed to the brim with paraphernalia. I once went to Baraboo Wisconsin to visit some friends for a few weeks, and went to the Circus World Museum. I also met some of the "Flying Wallendas" who were friends of my friend.

By any chance did your mother live in Nova Scotia?? I think he is from here.

I know someone who is "famous" here - Marcia Somerville and her family of the TOG fame! LOL I knew the Somerville family in the mid 80s when we went to the same church for a few years - same small group and all that. I was shocked a few years ago when I read about TOG on these boards and saw her name and realized it was the same family I'd known years ago when they had just two or three children. I'm also remotely related to someone from the band, Steely Dan. And recently found out my kids are indirectly related to William Bradford. :) I'll post more if I think of any.

Ds is using R&S 5 now, dd is in R&S 2. R&S does teach the procedure, but to add to Ellie's comment about the oral classtime activities - if you do everything in the TM, you'll cover the concepts simply, too. As for difficulty in getting the concept of carrying over in addition - I have found that when I try to explain the concept to my young child, she gets more confused than if I just go over the carry over samples in the TM with her. I just talk her through exactly what the TM tells me to say (the bolded words), problem by problem, until she can do it herself. And I do it again and again, day after day, until she finally tells me she can do it herself. I've also found with the later levels of R&S, that the concepts get revealed bit by bit. Meanwhile, the kids have the math facts and calculating procedures memorized, which makes understanding the concept easier.

I agree. It's a huge organization now, after almost 50 years. Any organization, big or small, is going to have its growing pains, problems, etc. simply because organizations involve people. :) But I still think YWAM overall is a great organization. Those foundational values that you found have been around for quite a few years, too. As for the Montana base - I've known several people who have either gone through the training programs there or have taught in them. I even considered their dance school for myself many moons ago. I've never heard negative reports about that base, and it's been around for quite awhile.