Looks great! I joined.

I missed this part, and it's pretty much exactly how I feel.

I agree! I was a little surprised when reading the Well Trained Mind that she says how great they are. There's plenty of great age-appropriate literature without ruining the books they'll get to eventually! And, really, what's the point? Is there any value at all in knowing the whole story of Treasure Island before you can actually read the real deal? In most books, the author's language is just as important as the main plot... and that's another thing, abridged versions take out the subplots and even entire characters. If the author didn't think they were important, he wouldn't have written them in there in the first place! I also agree that child-friendly retellings of folk tales don't count as "bad" and I fully support them.

I haven't washed my face since I was a teenager. I had horrible skin, and my mother suggested that maybe it was actually the Noxema doing it... so I stopped using it and all soap and the only time I've had zits since is while I was pregnant. I can't believe more people don't know about this secret!

My hospital said that the max they let a baby stay in after the water breaks is 24 hours.

Elizabeth. Pretty, classic, classy, and plenty of nicknames to choose from.

That is an awful story :( I have heard that it is becoming very common for Muslim parents to HS because their children are relentlessly bullied by students and even teachers at school. How terrible that such bullying exists even in more carefully controlled environments. Sadly, though, it's not a surprise.

How do you find something like that out?

That is SO funny! It's awesome that you have such a good sense of humor about other people being judgmental idiots. :lol: I notice that my facts and figures were ignored by the person they were in response to, and that my comment about racism was ignored by everyone. I think it's a difficult subject, which is why it's really nice to see that Quiver has a good sense of humor about it!

Reading all of these replies, such a weird thought came to me. Breast is best, but formula is a close second... but it wasn't until pretty recently that formula was a close second! I had vaguely known that formula was just milk and corn syrup for a long time, but hadn't really thought about it (trivia: formula was milk and corn starch for a few years in the early 19th century... pretty high death count there until they figured out the corn syrup thing). You'd think with how many malnourished (note: using the term rather tongue in cheek) babies were born in the 40's, 50's, and 60's, the entire baby boom generation would be one giant ball of dietary and mental dysfunction. But it seems like the current generation of kids (born in the 80's and 90's and now) are the ones with real problems (so many severe allergies, up tick in ADD, etc). I wonder if anyone's ever looked into the method which the GRANDMOTHER was fed and how that affects the GRANDCHILD. Sort of crazy, but maybe not as crazy as it sounds: for example, thalidomide's effects carry on into the second generation (not: I am NOT equating formula with thalidomide, I'm merely using it as an example that apparently some things happening in the womb can affect future generations). Anyone know if any research has ever been done into this? Got a kid who needs a science fair project? :tongue_smilie:

I was lucky in that the hospital where I gave birth to DD was extremely pro-BFing. I have heard a lot of complaints about them from people who chose formula, but I personally loved it! Every nurse in the maternity ward is a certified lactation consultant, and there are a few women who are nothing but LCs. They were bursting into my room every ten minutes it seemed to see how it was going and help! They also have a free hotline and a free drop-in class daily for nursing mothers. I think it's great that attitudes are changing.

My mother is the same way. She is VERY pro-BFing and one of those people who will say to your face that people who use formula obviously don't love their children or are totally uneducated (she's VERY blunt). Then she came to visit when DD was 9 months old and you should have seen the utter horror on her face when she found out I was still BFing! She thinks there's no point after 6 months, and that it shows an unhealthy attachment on the mother's part! Eek. I had convinced her by the time she left....

Even my mom has said the same thing, and I was born in southern California in 1979 (where you'd think they'd be all crunchy and into natural stuff). She said BFing was just coming back into vogue, but the nurses at the hospital still told her that she would need to supplement because otherwise I wouldn't get enough to eat.

I was born in 1979, and my mother says she was one of the first of her friends who breastfed. She apparently had a friend in La Leche League who convinced her to try it. I was breastfed for a year, but she weaned my younger sister when she got teeth because she was, apparently, a biter.

I'm not a big fan of it, for the reasons you state. As far as I'm concerned, it's main purpose is as a prime example of the Gothic novel. Since the Gothic Novel was pretty much the most popular type of novel for about a half-century, and influenced so much literature since, I think it's worth reading. Maybe try to posit it as a comedic novel? I know it's not, but it's just so... campy. Every turn gets a bit more ridiculous :tongue_smilie:

It depends on the state... my understanding is that in Massachusetts they can pretty much only work as supermarket baggers or cart collecters. Summer might afford other opportunities: an assistant at a summer camp or something like that.

Who knew that there were so many of these! I just wanted to throw in another one: it's called Nazi Women, and it's by Cate Haste. It's based on a documentary she did, too. I haven't read it, but I met her at an event once and she was very nice and interesting. It's kind of an awkward story: we were eating at the same table, talking about "normal" people who were Nazi party members, what they were thinking, etc: all in the sort of condescending tone of anthropologists who are totally divorced from the time and place (not that we're anthropologists, but I hope you know what I mean)... when the old man on the other side of her said "I know when I was on the last Kindertransport out of Austria..." Awkward. But he was REALLY interesting, as you might imagine.

Well, I know how to play it in that I know how all the pieces move. I could probably win against a 5 year old who had never played before :)

I am in the EXACT same situation. Ugh. I've looked everywhere! And I would need his signature to get a new one but I don't want to tell him that I've lost it... some little perpetual-adolescent part of be won't admit it to him.

Can you talk to the counselor and see what he suggests? Nothing in this world can really be "no exceptions" and he might have experience in this or suggestions for making things easier.

I feel that everyone is being very honest about their beliefs, but in a polite and respectful way... and that, in turn, everyone is taking it in a polite and respectful manner. I've been all over the internet, and it's rare that you find such civility in the face of total ideological differences! It's nice that we're a board of adults, and can act as such.

Not that I would ever in a million years dream of leaving you ladies and gentlemen, but I was just wondering what else is out there. I only found this place by googling for more info about the Well-Trained Mind after I read it. I've been having so much fun clicking on people's homeschool blogs and seeing what they get up to, but I'm wondering what other more formal resources there are?

It's such an interesting thread! Amazing where it's gone. I'm really enjoying reading it.

My Kitchenaid, hands down. I use it every day. If I were rich and had money to burn I'd own 3 so that I could use them concurrently! All in pretty different colors :)

I would be so completely and utterly shocked if I came across someone I know! I don't know anyone who is into HSing.