:grouphug::grouphug: Just woke up and saw this. I'm praying for your dd.

Which book is this, please? It sounds very interesting, and there are a few books with this title (but I can't tell which book it might be).

Online and church. There have always been a large number of hsing families at different churches we've attended.

Seriously, I only have friends who homeschool. I have a few old friends from pre-homeschool days, but we've all moved, so there are no demands on my time. I have no problems being in my insulated little world. I don't actively seek out hsing-only friends, or avoid non-hsing people. That's just my life right now--I meet people through hsing, and it's something we have in common. If someone were questioning my responsibilities and selfishly demanding more time than I had available, I would be questioning whether or not they were my true friend. They obviously have different priorities, and over time, our common likes and dislikes will take a backseat to what we each believe are important.

How lovely, and what a blessing for your niece to be able to stay at your home instead of cooped up in a hotel with four little kids! I'd ask her what her ideas are. Do they want to sight see? With you, or alone? Plan a schedule or be spontaneous? Do they want to hang out and just relax at your house? Visit other family/friends? I think back when my kids were small. One was a great traveler; one wasn't. She will/might be prepared already with what to expect from her kids. It's great to have your basic dinners planned. You're a mom, you already know that kids can be unpredictable, and I love your idea of camping in the living room while the parents are gone! You already don't have a set agenda, and I think that's the best way to be prepared, since you're looking to be attuned to what works best for them!

Monk! Dd and I have been watching Monk too, absolutely loving it! I signed up for Netflix streaming specifically to have "free" access to a variety of shows. We'd spent the last 2-3 years watching E.R. We watched several seasons of X-Files. Dc also love the original Twilight Zone series, which we found is on Netflix streaming too.

I work in the young adult/children's section of our library. I'd also suggest these authors: Thomas Batson Bryan Davis (2-3 different series) Donita Paul (dragon series) Angie Sage (Septimus Heap series) Nicolas Scott Chris D'Lacey (another dragon series, but they are small clay dragons) Jenny Nimmo (Charlie Bone series) John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series Dorothy Hoobler's Samurai Mysteries series Erin Hunter (three different Warriors series) Kathryn Lasky's Guardians of Ga'Hoole

At your dd's age (I see KinderBach, which leads me to think she's quite young), we focused less on table work, having fun and enjoying learning. It was important to me that my kids continued to learn to entertain themselves. As they got older, we brought in fun under the guise of subjects: art/art history, music appreciation, science. As they've gotten older, it's self-directed. I've created a couple of high school courses for dd based on her interests, or how she spent significant time during her school year (yes, I created a class after the fact). We've taken advantage of the extra time being home provides, to build up our family and not focus so much on academia. By the way, RaeAnne, I love your name!

I take mine off at night and when I make hamburger patties. Dh and I met while working in a jewelry store; he got a great discount on it. It's a nice ring on which I get compliments almost daily. Dh has a plain band and never takes it off.

:iagree: :D :grouphug:

I just read that wonderful blog post that was linked here in the past few days about "cute butt jeans" and avoiding the long mom butt. I took the info and actually found a pair of jeans (not Lee though) at Goodwill--and paid $4 for my new cute butt jeans. Even dd liked them!

:iagree: I watch Amazing Race and American Idol on tv, otherwise I'm watching videos or streaming. I listen to the radio when I'm in the car. I'm on the internet constantly, probably two dozen times a day. Thanks for the reminder about the alert, I'd hate for my kids to be concerned. Oh but wait, they're definitely not watching tv or listening to the radio. They're on the internet too.;)

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Dd is applying to a program which also requires her parent to submit a brief homeschooling philosophy. What exactly does this mean? I've googled and get such a wide range of hits that it's really no help at all. We've been hsing for 10 years. I didn't know I *had* a philosophy. Help?!:confused:

Someone please tell me that I was not the only one who first thought this was *WISHBONE* Dawn. I was thinking, graphic birth scene, whatever, but graphic S*X???:confused::confused::confused: Fortunately, I can read about Dawn's baby news in another posted thread, lol. :D

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If I were interested in the effect of "up"ping the standard :lol:, then yes, I would wear the bra. Otherwise, I'd still be wearing the oversized pjs. Additionally, the former is preferable to look and feel good as you anticipate teAtime, whether you will be having teA that evening or just planning a teAtime in the future. :cheers2: P.S. You can always change tops before going to sleep.

I began allowing my 7th grader to use a calculator for the longer problems. As someone said, at some point, it becomes a hindrance in learning the bigger concepts.

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Almost always, anyway. And when I send them with money, I expect them to pay their way and not come home with all of it! When we invite other kids, I assume we will pay for them, unless I say, hey, it costs $10, would he like to come?

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If my 11 year old didn't get a concept and this was not discovered by me until after the test, I'd toss out the bad grade and back up. I never kept "grades" at that age, but I would have her go back, learn the material again and move forward. I would retest and count the new grade. YOU are the teacher. YOU can decide how to grade. Even if your child were being taught in an outside class, you can give your dd the grade that is best determined by you. (Obviously there are a few exceptions, such as a graded college course on a high school transcript.) :001_smile:

We put some type of in-house filter where our water entered our house. We had to change out the orange sandy muck collected by the filter twice a year or so. It was nasty. I did some online searching when we were having trouble with it, and I believe the sulphur smell is unrelated to the iron. We had both sometimes though. I found the whole water issue very frustrating and depressing. It was just one reason I was happy to move back to a public water source (but now it kills me when we pay the bill!).

I wouldn't suggest changing curriculum, although I find SP's "rules" to be confusing and incomplete. She claims so many exceptions that just aren't true exceptions. Her reinforcements terrific though. I'd continue with SP because you have a natural speller. It's working for you, the practice is great, and the curriculum isn't that important in your situation. I'd focus on these rules (copied out of SWR): 1-1-1 Rule. With a one-syllable word ending in one vowel then one consonant, double the last consonant before adding a vowel suffix (get, getting) 2-1-1 Accent Rule. With a two-syllable word ending in one vowel then one consonant, double the last consonant before adding a vowel suffix IF the accent is on the last syllable (forget, forgetting). For "bubling," I just use a reminder about his root word. He already knows to drop the "e" before adding "ing." The root word reminder would work with "disapoint" also. It sounds like he's doing well and is just distracted by other things right now (like growing, as someone mentioned!).

Magic School Bus?