That isn't insurance, though, and a catastrophe would soon exceed any help that Samaritan could give (the limit under the regular program is $100,000 - that isn't much when you are talking ICU and multiple surgeries.)

Yes - most of the classes have exams. Some courses have video and/or audio lectures, all have reading schedules, and many have assignments with answers.

I am currently working through courses via MIT's OpenCourseware. I HATE having to go to class, so this is perfect for me!

What she is saying is that the crime did not change, just the way they coundted it in that city. Every city would have lower crime if they "de-annexed" the bad parts back to the unincorporated county! The crime is still there (geographically), it just isn't their problem anymore

Thanks, Melinda! (And Jean!) What I was thinking is that a schedule like in MOTH wouldn't work, because there are variations each day. For example, on Mondays my dh drives separately, so I leave the house at 8am as opposed to 6:30. On Tuesdays, for example, I come home, throw dinner together, and go to Cub Scouts from 6:45 to 8:30 (including travel time.) I like the idea of even scheduling my time at work - I tend to "bounce around" to different tasks and not really get anything *finished* at one time. If I scheduled my time there, I might get stuff done that I have been putting off. I also want to use Sunday as a "rest" day, so I could schedule school planning, meal planning, etc. for that time. So, how about a spreadsheet with 1/2 hour time increments vertically and the days of the week horizontally? Then I could schedule the whole week and still be able to tweak it easily. I imagine for some people this seems crazy, but when you have as much to do as I do (6dc, work, hs, etc.) and have the attention issues I do, lists, schedules, and checklists are your friend!

When we tried that (as we do have a couple of employees), family coverage was $1000 per month! Even $10K deductible plans with no maternity coverage want something around $500 a month. That just seems terribly insane. I would have to pay $6K in insurance and another $10K in deductible to get the insurance company to pay $1. ETA: Ours would be high as we have an older employee with pre-existing conditions that caused them to slap us with a high group rate.

It doesn't have to be this way. It is actually against state regulations to shame a child for accidents. My daughters go to daycare and the teachers help them in the bathroom, but in the 2yo room there are short dividers for some privacy, but no true walls or doors and the 3yo's room has bathrooms with walls and 1/2 doors. I also pay out the WAZOO for a "5 star" center, which means that the teachers have degrees (and hopefully some common sense!) I have been nothing but pleased with the care they receive there, but I wouldn't have them in other centers in the same town who tend to hire whomever comes in off the street.

I think there is a LOT of us overwhelmed moms here! I really don't want to send mine to school, but they are enrolled for fall.

Someone mentioned in the PhD thread about having a strict schedule. I am finding in my life that the only way to "get it all done" is to have a strict schedule. Then I feel burned out! Yesterday was terrible - a customer yelled at me (for the second time), I found out that my daycare will be going up $600 per month, and it was an all around just nasty day. Today I feel like doing NOTHING, but I still have so much to do. So, back to the schedules. If you have a schedule, is it just for the week? Do you schedule weekends separately? What does your schedule look like? I had Managers of Their Homes several years ago, so I understand the concept of scheduling, but her book doesn't really touch on scheduling work, school, home, etc. Rough schedule: 5:00: Get up, prayer, exercise, get ready, etc. 6:00: Get dc ready to go 6:30: Travel 7:15: Get to store and ready for day, dc eat breakfast, etc. 7:30: Store Opens - the GOAL is for me to do schoolwork from 7:30-10:30 with the dc and then move to doing my work. 12:30: Lunch 5:00: Store closes 6:15: Get home 9:00: Bed (I have to go to bed by 9 if I am going to function at 5am) I am thinking of even more strictly scheduling my time. I have a bad habit of getting on here in the evenings to "unwind" when I really should be doing other things. I also need to schedule my weekends better instead of spending a lot of time doing nothing. Is there anyone here who can give me some insight? Advice as to what has worked for you?

No vaccine, no flu. Dh did get the flu about 5 years ago, but no one else got it. When dh was in the Army, he had to get the flu shot every year. Every year after spending all day in a hot building with 100s of other guys waiting to get flu shots, he would get very, very sick. Not with the flu (the vaccine isn't alive), but very sick nontheless. Now he wouldnt' get one for anything!:rolleyes:

We homeschool because we want our children to be individuals. They each have their own personalities, their own strengths, and their own weaknesses. My 9yo would FLOP in school - he is a serious Visual Spatial kid and classrooms aren't for him. He can rebuild small engines, but he can't write a paragraph. My 7yo had medical issues as a baby and he has often been slightly behind and has definite language weaknesses. He is also the most hyperactive, attention deficient child I have. My 5yo is unique and has NO interest in school - he'd rather hang out with his Daddy. I figure he'll get there someday, but for now he gets to still be a little boy playing with trucks.

One of my farmers told me how hysterical it was to him to be lectured about the dangers of chemicals in farming by young guys and girls puffing away.:rolleyes:

That's the first time I have ever heard anyone say that Abeka is behind! LOL;) However, this is a perfect example of what I am talking about. You can use Abeka at the grade level they specify and get through Pre-Calculus in the 12th grade. What does it matter if at the 5th grade level it is less than some other book? They all end up in the same place at the end!

Thanks! I fixed it and that did make it easier to see who was saying what to whom!

My 9yo is not accelerated academically, but actually "behind" most of his peers. However, when people meet him, they tend to tell me how brilliant he is. I don't know how to explain it, but my dh says he "thinks too much." He has an amazing capacity for logic and mechanics. At 3, he designed a door knob lock out of tinkertoys. At 4, he took apart a couple of broken CD-Roms and re-built a whole one. At 5, he built an airplane out of wood. Recently, he rebuilt a chainsaw from several broken ones - and it WORKS! He struggles with reading comprehension and writing, and often makes computational mistakes (bit his conceptual knowledge is amazing!)

And see, I had no idea that you were emphasizing the intent of your original reply - I thought you were chastising Mrs. Mungo and I. It has to do with this format - I can't tell who is answering what! All I see is the order the posts were posted, and I think that doesn't help with clear communication. I apologize because I thought you *were* speaking to us directly, not WTMindy!

My dh is adamant that they be homeschooled, but doesn't have any involvement.

I must have missed that post - the one where anyone said we were more special. Why is it such a big deal that she (and I, I guess, because I agreed with her) felt that was special for us personally. Or maybe we are on different "parts" of this thread all together, but I can't tell from the linear time fashion of how they are posted. Also, bolding and underlying is just as much "yelling" as all caps are, especially when it is a whole sentence (and not just a word for emphasis.)

I think her point is that women haven't been voting all that long and the Civil Right Movement wasn't that long ago either. We ARE in America, talking about an American election, so the comment fits.

The Dragons books...My Father's Dragon and the others.

Is it possible that it is simply that your goals are different than theirs? Or that you set standards that are simply much higher than the majority's?Neglect is a pretty strong word - I would be loathe to use it because another family's idea of education is vastly different than yours. I know a family where most of the dc are 2 or more grade levels "behind." With the oldest 2, they simply went to the cc at 16 to take the GED. Both needed remediation, but in the grand scheme of things it really wasn't a big deal. A GED isn't the end of the world - I got mine and I have a Masters degree anyway!;) A midwife who delivered me had NO education until she was 14. They didn't unschool (or maybe they did :rolleyes:), but she managed just fine and has her Masters as well. Anyway, what does it really matter? If a person is of average intelligence and grows up with NO education, what happens? They get one - it's not like there is some magic age where if you don't memorize your multiplication tables then you never will.

I *think* this goes back to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (or whatever it's called.) It has its own thread somewhere recently.

Oh, no doubt we are cool!:D I don't mind debate, but on this board, where there is SO much diversity (and some who are a little more "hot fingered" than others), things get out of hand QUICKLY! One thing I like about this new format is that the way I view the board, all long, tense, debatious (I know it isn't a word) posts are still only one line long!:rolleyes:

Politics were a no-no on the old board and I assumed they were here. I figure this one will be locked as soon as anyone starts arguing or someone mentions how some posters are pulling for the "prom king" and "don't have a clue".;) ETA: We can discuss the candidates without it being personal or divisive. Inviting argument is a sure way to get this thread locked.

Amen!