You might inquire if there is a scholarship program. I did a summer AFS program in 1986 and got a scholarship for about 1/3 of the program cost.

I think that we memorized the whole Catterpiller since it had a definite author. The ones that were traditional and had several versions, I didn't worry about and just picked the one I liked better. I think that we did The Goops as it was in the book. (Doing a quick Google search, it looks like Burgess wrote a lot about the Goops and the selection in FLL is a selection rather than an adaptation.)

Percival Blakeney Academy, named after the baronet otherwise known as the Scarlet Pimpernel. Actually, when the kids were little, I used that name to do a "correspondence course" unit study with them. They were little enough not to notice the lack of stamps on the envelope. They were pretty thrilled to learn that that was really their school.

I love the blog Et Tu? It is by an athiest who became a Catholic in the last couple years. I think it is a really thoughtful blog that discusses lots of topics that you might be curious about.

I'm not sure that having mortgages be a bit tighter is all bad. And a rise in mortgage interest rates would also mean a rise in interest rates for savings. I realize that it is quite a bit more complicated. But I am frustrated by articles that paint the bailouts as inevitable with only universal harm if they don't occur.

Have you asked friends who are grandmothers? My MIL has one for when our nephew visits. Could you post something at church where moms of older kids would see it? I have one that we kept for visiting friends and relatives, but I'm not someone that you would probably think to ask because my youngest is older.

36 hours seems like a long time for food poisoning to take effect. I think that it would occur more within hours of eating the food than a day and a half later. Food poisoning article from Mayo Clinic There is a nasty stomach virus going around our area. It hit all three kids and dh with a few hours of each other. At first we thought it was related to something they'd had at dinner that I'd skipped. Then I found out that our friends' kids had gotten sick at almost the same time and all five sick kids had been together for several hours about 48 hours before getting sick. So it may well have been a virus that is totally unconnected with what you ate.

Take for example housing prices. I lived in DC when there was a silly housing price bubble forming. I talked to people who were bidding on 3 bedroom condos, putting an extra 10-15k into contingency clauses to automatically boost their offer and the properties were still selling within days of listing for 30-50K more than the asking price. Around the same time, I remember reading stories of properties in Florida that were being listed before construction was completed and had been flipped (with substantial price hikes) two or three times before anyone moved in. If a housing bubble like this bursts and house prices not only stop rising but actually go down, I understand how this can be horrible for folks who've bought at a high price (especially if their situation is now different or if the price was a stretch for them). But don't dropping prices benefit families who are renting or living with family because they couldn't afford before? Similarly, falling prices in stocks would seem to be of benefit to people who have money to invest. It they can buy now and afford to wait it out, they will have better value in the end. Higher interest rates on loans also mean higher interest rates on savings. Even if housing starts slow or almost stop, maybe that is a benefit in that properties near the center of town will be more attractive, especially to renovators. It might be a bad time to be a real estate agent, but a great time to be a small contractor who can improve an existing property. Maybe we would even revive the idea of a starter house. I'm not trying to be critical of individual families on the board who are now caught in a bind with their housing. But I think there are also families who see dropping prices as an opportunity to improve their housing situation. To the extent that mortgage bailouts retain high prices, it is a lost opportunity for these other families.

I box stuff up in general categories according to when it will be used. So I have a box of ancients and a box of early chapter books right now. I write on the outside of the box what the contents are (ex. Greece, Rome, Egypt or Littles, Horrible Harry, Magic Tree House). I might have another one with misc stuff that I don't need for a couple years like math. These are in the cardboard shipping cartons that are sized small.

We do English and German. Both dh and I studied German in school. Then we lived in Berlin for three years. The kids picked up a lot, but not as much as they probably would have if they'd been in German schools. What they are is fearless. They truely believe that they can speak German. So when we had German guests this summer, they were speaking German from the moment they were off the plane. I love that they don't worry so much about making mistakes (and they do make a lot) that they clam up and won't talk. Now we are maintaining German as a minority language (which is more complicated by the fact that neither dh or I are native speakers and our own fluency is rapidly eroding). We have a couple tools that we use. Rosetta Stone has been great for our kids as an early elementary language tool. Since you are native, it might be too easy. On the other hand, it can be a regular dose of the language (and taught by the computer, not a parent, who can be argued with). We have computer games that are in German and English from Tivola (Oscar the Balloonist and Max series). The kids may play them once in English and thereafter in German. They only get English again if a certain phrase is really hard to understand. We have a similar rule for DVDs. We bought tons in German that are English and German. After the first time, they are only played in German except as a special treat. We also have stuff like Die Sendung mit der Maus that our German cousins send us. These are great. Finally, we have a gigantic stack of Donald Duck comics in German. We bought them at flea markets before we moved. The kids have picked up a lot of vocabulary from pouring over these. I think that one of the keys for us is that several forms of entertainment (cartoons and comic books) are only or mostly available in German. It provides a nice carrot for them to keep learning. Language acquisition is a long process. It is longer when you are working multiple languages. And fluency is a slippery concept. I have read most of the Harry Potter books in German and cheerfully did museums and shopping in German. But it is work to read an article about a political topic. On the other hand, dh lived and breathed political and military stuff but probably could easily buy celery without resorting to pointing. A couple good books on the topic are The Bilingual Family by Edith Harding and Growing Up with Two Languages. Also our fluency changes over time. We have gained and lost and gained again. I'm mostly resigned to the fact that our youngest will not learn German as fluently. But maybe he'll be the best at Japanese. Keep at it. Even in small bits, I'm convinced that language learning is not in vain.

I haven't been surprised by test results, except for the first battery we had administered, which was more of a test for giftedness (but that's another story). I have found that they are good practice in group test taking for my kids. I have very good readers. One stared off into space for most of the math portion, answered all the questions in 20 minutes and almost aced it. The other gets into trouble because he reads too much into the question or knows things that seem to make the question have multiple or no right answer. So having the test experience is sort of good for them as a skill. Having said that, if your son has other issues, I might consider administering a practice test at home as "the test." I would stop each section and discuss strategies with him, what went well and what he could improve. This might be just as worthy as a group administered test.

If I remember correctly it is about a trial for war crimes committed during the Boer War. I think that the accused were on trial for executing prisoners. In the end, at least some of the accused are shot. I don't remember it being graphic in a bloody sense. It does deal with some adult topics. It is a standard film for leadership and law courses in various military programs. It is very good from that standpoint. It may not enhance your understanding of the Boer War much. I would consider showing my kids (8 and 10), but they have also seen Zulu Dawn and Henry V. I would probably be more concerned with their being bored by a lot of talk than disturbed by the conduct of war shown.

Compulsory schooling and minimum wage are also tied together, often with the effect of keeping hardworking young people out of the job pool. An employer is going to find the most qualified person who is willing to work for a given wage. Folks who have left high school early (without a diploma in most cases) are unable to underbid the min wage and get ahead by working hard and long. Some of the best writing on this topic is by Myron Lieberman, who was a vice president of the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) the second largest teachers' union in the US. He came to believe that school choice would be an improvement and that the teachers' unions mostly worked for the benefit of teacher's unions. One of his books has at least a chapter on how a high compulsory school leaving age is mostly of benefit to established workers and not to young folks who want to go work. In my opinion, most of those who want to leave school at 16 would be better served by working hard for a couple years and coming back to complete school when they've learned the value of it. Having kids in class who don't care isn't in anyone's interest. I know this doesn't opine directly on its effect on homeschooling. I don't see a lot of good in the compulsory schooling at all.

I'd forgotten this book; it really has great info in it. I would also suggest that your son put the word out that he's interested. Someone you know has a military background or is the friend of a grad. You do NOT have to know someone to get in. But a standard question at interviews is one about how you got interested in USNA and if you have talked to any midshipmen or recent graduates. It is worth trying to find the alumni chapter and asking if they have any activities that he could attend (for example, a tailgate for a football or basketball game) where he could talk to folks about the Navy. One of the great things about having goals like this is that the prep will also leave him prepared for lots of other options in college.

If he is a junior this year, he should apply for the Naval Academy Summer Seminar. This application will also count as a Pre Candidate Questionaire. He should go to the websites for your senators and congressional representative and find out the requirements (especially dates) for their nominations. He should take the ACT and SAT in his junior year so that if he needs to take it again he can. Some homeschool candidates improve their scores when they take the tests a second time. He should be physically active and engaged in organized sports if possible. If he's not in a sport, then he should be in regular physical activity that is continually challenging. Some of the things I've seen as good options include martial arts, running with participation in 5k and 10k races, biking with participation in bike races or century rides and weight training that is methodical and might include a log that shows he's tracking his progress and improvement. He should look at the activities he's currently in and ask where can he step forward and take on leadership responsibility. That doesn't have to be being president of a club. It might be organizing a food drive or similar activity. It might be an Eagle scout project. It might be organizing a science fair for elementary aged students in a coop. He should also contact the local Blue and Gold Officer (Admissions Liason Officer) and ask about any opportunities to hear presentations about USNA or opportunities to meet midshipmen. He might also ask if USNA is appearling at any local college fairs in your area. (BTW, if he is a freshman or a sophmore, it is ok for a parent to make calls, but I would recommend that juniors and older make contact themselves.) For academics, he would want to be ready to step into high demand classes at USNA including calculus, chemistry and history and English courses that demand a lot of reading and writing. The Admissions section of the USNA website has a page of suggested coursework for homeschoolers.

Here are some places we visited, in sort of the order I like them. Prague is amazing but also amazingly full of tourists. Ljubjana, Slovenia (a lot like Prague but much less visited) Budapest (so lovely that after dh went alone, we all went back) Tallin, Estonia (very nice old town, 14th century Hanseatic league, folk museum with a bus ride) Krakow (and Auschwitz) Good castle and cathedral complex. Amazing churches all through town. You can ride a bus to Auschwitx for the day - or rent a car with driver. Kiev (Incredible city but it would be intimidating as a tourist unless you knew someone there.) Prague (It is just a lovely as all the guides say. But it is within tour bus distance of everywhere in Europe. I would visit in the off season.) Warsaw (Underrated old town. The National Museum has a nice collection, including surprisingly good Egyptian stuff. The Military Museum next door is overwhelmingly good). And I might also add Dresden in Germany and other sites in the former East Germany that are undervisited. Of course the trip of a lifetime would be to start in Berlin, drive through Poland (stopping to shop for Polish potter, of course), cross into Ukraine, visit Lviv and Kiev for a week or so and then take a Ukrainian train back to Berlin. If this could be done with four adults and five kids all packed into a vehicle that is so enormous that the border guards call the other guards over to see and people in other cars point and take pictures, it would be even better. (And right now someone needs to stop laughing.)

I'll agree with the other posters who suggested a base city and daytrips. We did two weeks in Italy, one in Naples and one in Rome. We could have easily spent more time in Rome than just one week. If we'd only been there a day or two we would have missed out on so much. I think this is especially true given our love for history. We probably spent a half hour at Trajan's Column and over an hour at the Collosseum, where one of the boys gave a report to the family. This isn't a schedule that we could have kept in a tour group. The Rick Steves guides are great. So are Day Trips guides. I have also been known to photocopy pages from The History of Art for Young People (Jansen) and the young people's atlases that Veritas Press sells. My suggestion would be to get an apartment. We have used Old Town Apartments (They were great in Eastern Europe and pretty good in the more popular western European capitals). Stay in a city or the surrounding area for most of your trip. Let this be the first trip to Europe and don't try to pack it too full. Leave time for hanging out at cafes or in a park. Paris and London are other cities that make good base stations.

The problem I would forsee with a large stroller is that a number of sites aren't wheelchair accessable, which means you have to pick up and carry the stroller (with or without the kid inside). This would be an issue in places like the forum. I didn't have our stroller in the Vatican or St. Peter's (I think it had broken the day before) and I'm not sure if it would have been allowed in (given how nice the floors are and how crowded it gets). You also want to consider that you may not be making a round trip and returning to the same entry point at some sites. For example we entered the Vatican Museum, exited onto the portico of St. Peters and then left through St. Peters square. We wouldn't have been able to leave anything in a coat check without a major backtrack to get it back. A big stroller might be good if you could borrow one. If I were taking one, I'd just take a small umbrella stroller or go with the sling.

We used a stroller in Rome until it fell to pieces crossing the street to get to St Peter in Chains. We were glad to have the stroller. We used a lightweight umbrella stroller. I wouldn't take anything heavier since you might end up folding and carrying it in places like museums and up and down stairs. But since we tended to go go go until we all dropped, it was nice for our youngest to be able to take a load off. I think I would have gotten pretty tired carrying a baby all that time. But then, I tended to use the stroller as soon as they got heavy. There is a downside to either the stroller or a carrier. The streets are bumpy and irregular. But I had mastered the art of going over cobblestone streets and on and off curbs long before we hit Rome. Have a great time.

I don't think that we ought limit the bounds of fellowship in a way that excludes public school at home charter families from park days and coop classes. On the other hand, I am ought not be bound to have faith free classes and coop meetings just because the charter school wants instruction to be religion free (I'm thinking for example of friction that might arise over choice of Latin curriculum). Also, some outside organizations put their own limitations on what is a homeschooler. For example, a support group that is otherwise welcoming of public school at home charter families might have to exclude them from participating in a Geography Bee competition because to NGS those families are primarily students of a public school (which ought be holding its own competition, by NGS rules). I know several families who participate in a local charter. In practicalities, there is little difference between them and the "pure" homeschoolers in my support groups. On the other hand, they are much more under the hand of an outside educational establishment (in this case, one that isn't all that helpful or coordnated). I think the concern that some homeschoolers have that public school at home schemes will come to be seen as acceptable homeschooling and that "unsupervised" homeschooling will be come to be seen as beyond the pale and in need of restriction, regulation and eventually prohibition is not that far fetched. That doesn't mean that I as an individual need to be rude to any individual charter families.

The problem I have with this is that it would probably require things far beyond what is helpful or necessary for homeschooling and would quite possibly fly right in the face of why many are homeschooling in the first place. The analogy I'm thinking of is the states that were requiring hair-braiders to become certified as cosmetologists or beauticians because that is what the requirement for women who cut hair was. It put a many braiders out buisiness and didn't improve the quality of braiding services (may have actually decreased quality) and resulted in a raise in the price of services because of fewer providers. I can't think of a system of certification that would be approved by a legislature and then regulated by a state DOE that would actually improve the quality of most homeschools. I have a Masters degree in Education and I can comfortably say that few of those classes have any bearing on what I do with my sons. Most education classes are centered on the idea that there is a classroom full of kids that have to be managed, occupied or tracked. The class projects I completed had lots to do with trends in education (at risk students, drug use, racial equity in the classroom) and little to do with how to teach an individual student to read or calculate. Some of the classes were of almost no value, such as the special education course where the teacher was so loathe to be judgemental that she refused to give examples of what the characteristics of children with different diagnoses might be. Imagine a semester of having to write reports and do presentations on how you would deal with children with exceptionalities without being able to ever discuss what children with those exceptionalities could and could not do (even in a general on average sense). One of my favorite quotations from an education class was in Teaching Composition, a class on teaching and evaluation writing. One student announced how much he disliked writing and about half the other students nodded their heads in agreement. [Yet they were going to go out and be certified to teach young people how to write.] I don't know how a state certification process would do anything to help me integrate our faith into our academics. Or how it would teach me how to challenge my gifted children. Or how to keep homeschooling when we move to yet another new state or country. I don't think that I would be interested in becoming certified, even though I'm probably only a student teaching session away from having a teaching certificate with masters degree. The only model of professional qualification that I can imagine being useful would be something on the model of ordination. For ordination, the knowledge gained and attested to by the ordination authority is what is relavant to and in line with that authority. Furthermore, the ordination can be done by a large governing body like a large denomination or by an independent church (our church was an independent, non-denominational church that ordained its own staff). [but then that brings us back to where we are now. I am in effect designated by my family to conduct educational activities. If my knowledge is inadequate, I get a book or talk to someone who can help me out. Or I find another tutor.] Now if the powers that be wanted to just improve my knowledge level, they might conduct classes that would be useful, like children's literature, Family Math, how to have a science lab at the elementary or middle level, local history symposium, local flora and fauna recognition and appreciation. But these are the very classes that often fall by the wayside in a teacher certification process. And topics like this often are disdained as not worth of classroom time. Pardon my cynicism. I just finished reading Thomas Sowell's Inside American Education. This is a 14 year old book on our education system and I could only think reading it that things are getting worse and worse instead of better. Getting worse in spite of certification and master teacher programs. In spite of many dedicated and talented individual teachers. I've chosen to not take part in that system, in large part because I don't want to sacrifice my children for a nebulous greater good. I can't see a way that certifying homeschoolers does anything to improve American homeschooling.

Like much of life, it is what you make it. I would say that my Christian growth has largely be because of the example of many great Christian officers, both active and retired. That is at least in part because my military training was so hard that it was clear that I needed to lean on my faith. If I had gone through a college that was easier, I would possibly have felt more comfortable leaning on my own ability to handle things. It can be very difficult. DH and I have not had a long deployment since we've had kids. But we spent our courtship years several hours apart and also were separated for the first nine months of our marriage. It is very important to chose a spouse on this journey carefully. Most of the Navy wives I know are incredible ladies. But there is also a considerable divorce rate (I've never learned if it is really higher than the civilian rate. It is probably no lower.) It is a very different life than my friends from high school. Fresh out of college, I had 25 guys working for me and if my equipment didn't work, the ship did not get underway. It is hard work and is far from being 9-5. It can be unpredictable. Dh called me a few weeks ago and asked how I felt about moving two years early to another overseas base. I have lost several friends, in both training accidents and in combat. DH was in the Pentagon when it was attacked and several guys in his office did not come home. We have a constant rotation of friends and classmates who are overseas in combat locations. On the other hand, there is a real sense of accomplishment. A sense that the work matters on the grand scale. And while we've had to move a lot recently, we were stationed in Europe for three years. My kids studied Greece and visited Athens, studied Rome and visited Pompeii and Rome and Ostia, studied the middle ages and got royally sick of visiting castles and cathedrals. They have walked WWI and WWII and Napoleonic battlefields. Our next big adventure will be in Asia. Homeschooling has been a fantastic fit for our lifestyle and is probably more popular amongst military families than in the general population. Some bases have more than 10% of the kids homeschooled. Our church has a large military membership, being near a Marine Corps base and within driving distance of several other bases. There are also groups like Officers' Christian Fellowship which serve military Christians. Some large ROTC units have an OCF Bible study. There are also occasional ROTC conferences at their retreat centers in Colorado and Pennsylvania. If there isn't an OCF group, Navigators, FCA, Campus Crusade and other groups are a great resource for on campus Christians. I hope this helps. I believe the military has helped me to be a person of stronger character than I might have been if I'd gone elsewhere. I'd be happy to answer more specific questions if a non-Army viewpoint is ok.

Don't count them out automatically. I was at a local women's conference held at a hotel. We had a huge ballroom full of all different kinds of Christian ladies. In the next ballroom was a "gentlemen's" party complete with cigars and stripper. The stripper was sharing a bathroom with all of us fine Christian ladies. Most of us weren't quite sure what to say. Who do you suppose was the one who chatted with her, got her story (single mom taking care of her kid), prayed with and for her and swapped phone numbers? The older Mennonite lady, complete with long skirt and hair covering. I try to keep that vision in my mind - it chastened me to look past outsides - on either range of the spectrum.

We have rabbit ears that have no reception. We've talked about hooking up cable for the Olympics and the election cycle. We probably watch <10 hours a week, almost all from Netflix.