lets see, ds has taken piano 7 years. he probably learns 6-8 pieces over the course of the year. I honestly don't know how many I would consider him to have in his repetoire. He memorizes easily, but I know there are pieces he has forgotten about. And certain ones he like to play over again. He also works on scales, cadences, arpeggios, and other technical miscellanies in preparation for the Certificate of Merit program every year. Teacher teaches classical, not Suzuki. Ideally, son practices all the pieces he needs to 6 days a week. Usually we're doing well if he gets in 45-60 min. Theory is fairly separate from practicing. We make it more a part of school. He does Basics of Keyboard theory book every year, plus another thinner one, both geared to cm (he finished level 7 this spring). ds *should* sight read more frequently, but we tend to hit it harder in the spring right before Certificate of Merit, because they test that. He's fortunate that he is naturally pretty good at sightreading, so he always has tested fine. all that being said, son's music teacher is an excellent teacher, all her students are required to do Certificate of Merit every year, so there is something to work toward. She is also very geared to finding music to match the interests and bent of each student, and is very good at individualizing her approach for each student. Meaning she knows the strengths and weaknesses of most of the piano methods out there, so can pick and choose among them for her beginners, and knows the right time to transition out of a method (she typically does so around level 3) to standard classical/other repetoire, ie not going straight through a method book but choosing pieces for them.

I'll be honest and say that I currently have one of those gifted kids who also happens to have spd, and there are days I'd give *anything* to have an average child. I'd *so* give up a little glory to not have the humiliation either :o). Trust me when I say that having gifted kids is not all it's cracked up to be. Truthfully, some days it just stinks. And I love my kid in spite of his giftedness and all the difficulties that accompany it :o). Enjoy your average child :o). All of you with average children -- be grateful.

Sea Lion Caves. also Astoria is fun to visit. You can go to Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark camped at the end of their trip, and climb up Astoria Column. Here's links.. http://www.astoriacolumn.org/ http://www.nps.gov/lewi/planyourvisit/fortclatsop.htm http://sealioncaves.com/home/

Oh yeah, right there with ya. Already did deep breathing this morning, and *nobody is up yet* !!! I decided this is just my year to learn stress management. Arg.

The Great Brain series. very funny for all ages. Also the Little Britches series.

absolutely best money ever spent. They are really cheap to get now. We've literally worn out one set, and got another, and my kids are 14,17, and almost 20. My husband still likes to take them on long trips :o). Get them. They are so much like the books, don't leave anything out (like the movies do....glare!!), and are fabulous. I wouldn't say they won't miss *everything*, but they'll get 99%. If you can listen to samples of both an unabridged audio, and the radio theater and compare, that would be great. Maybe I'll bop around the internet later today and see if there is anywhere audio samples can be found.

"What" is NOT the DO, it is the PN. "that" = "what". It renames it. Somebody screwed up in whatever diagram you have.

I did this same research a couple years ago. With due respect to all the recommendations, Tracfone and T mobile are bottom line THE cheapest with respect to length of activation and cost per minute. T mobile edges out Tracfone, though, unless you are continually on the prowl online for discount codes for tracfone. You can get a cheap under $20 phone, and then get a $100 pay as you go card, and it will give you a year activation, with 1000 min. Which comes out to 10c per minute, and approx 83 min/month on average. Unused minutes will roll over at the end of the year as long as you get another card of any denomination. If by "infrequent" you mean *really* infrequent, and know that you'd only use maybe 40 min in any given month, then maybe the Virgin Mobile plan would be right for you, as it is around $80 per year, but you only get half as many minutes as they charge 20c per min. I've seen a lot of prepaid plans that sound cheap, but like Net 10 for example, the activation is only for 6 months.

Beta Kerotin. Look it up, it might help.

OK, my favorite Zev comment last night was when they were arguing over someone stealing someone else's chocolate gnome..I think it was one of the goths and one of the globetrotters, and Zev was over in the corner doing his thing, and he looked up in the middle of all the accusing & nastiness and said "I think there's too many cooks in the kitchen" in his little sly voice. OMgoodness it was funny!! Can't say I was sorry to see the pinkies go. Just sayin.

How about Sirius or Padfoot. Sirius was Orion's dog, hence called the dog star, also if you like Harry Potter, Sirius black is an Animagus (? sp) or whatever you call it...anyway, he can change back and forth into a dog. Padfoot was his nickname because of this. Just a thought.

lets see. http://www.wards5and10.com/biginch810no.html

ooops...I mean right here LOL. And don't be scared by the url that says free kindle books, there is a link for the epub version as well. http://www.freekindlebooks.org/MagicCatalog/magiccatalog.html

THIS!!!! is what you need, right here. The Magic Catalog. Get it. It's the bomb.

we pay about $18 a month for dsl extreme. Fast enough for us. reliable. cheap.

well, tell him my kids don't get phones till they are 17 or 18 and it is an absolute necessity for safety sake. Also, I'd tell him that attitude shows you he isn't ready to have a phone yet, and take it away for awhile to get the point across. Does he really need a phone? I agree with you that it's sort of a silly attitude. Whatever the case, NEVER be afraid to take that little phone right off his hands for any reason.

It may totally depend on your troop. BS has uniform classifications. Collar shirt w/neckerchief/scout pants is class A, Troop t-shirt is class B. My sons troop requires Class A for most meetings, and Class B exceptions if they are doing something messy or strenuous. For Class A he has to wear the shirt, pants, neckerchief & slide, belt, and socks. Anything missing they have to do pushups for :o). Sounds like your sons group might be a bit more loose about things.

books, music, things available to play with/on (craft supplies, active type toys...bikes, balls, etc, boxes)

http://www.shiveracademy.com/index.html

Bible Pilgrim's Progress LOTR Selected Dickens Pride & Prejudice To Kill a Mockingbird Once and Future King Selected Shakespear Selected Kipling Alice In Wonderland/Through Looking glass Winnie the Pooh The Chosen (Potok) James Herriot series Selected David McCullough several poetry anthologies 1 or 2 greek/roman myth anthologies Narnia series..anything by Lewis really Twain - anything Watership Down

Just saw it last night. Don't remember a any shots of Rochester n*de in any way, but there is a picture on the stair landing of a reclining n*de female that is shown once briefly, then again in painstaking closeup panning detail when Jane studies it. That would be my guess as to what it is.

Well, I've homeschooled for 14 years, and I've never had a negative either. I do have a friend who is a PS teacher, and I know doesn't really approve of hsing, and a facebook friend who is the same, but they never say anything negative to me personally.

CA is the same. My umbrella attaches Jr. High transcripts with HS ones also. yep, 3 maths and they'll assume geometry if they are taking math higher. No worries.

second for banagrams. It's like fast scrabble. 4 is a good number to play, and games are right around that amount of time.

right now, not whole life. overwhelming, but God's grace is sufficient.