:grouphug:

We know a family who has sent all of their dc's to boarding school --secondary on. I have not asked because I don't know them that well but my observation is partly to develop future connections and partly parents lifestyle. The husband travels worldwide for work and the mother frequently goes. I will say the kids are lovely, truly. The youngest recently started latin and the last time we saw her she was busy getting dd to help her. Friendly nice kids. We cannot imagine it either but it is working for them.

I have challenges planned but am not sure how many I will manage to complete. Continental -- North and South America complete Dewey Decimal -- 400's done The 5/5/5/5/5: Dusty books from my BF -- 5 of 5 done (yeah) C.S. Lewis -- 0 of 5 done Bronte Sisters -- 0 of 5 done British History -- 0 of 5 done (can be novel form) Church History -- 0 of 5 done A majority of this will take care of many of my personal dusty books. Meaning the ones on book tables that I needed but still have not read.;) Hopefully after I finish 1Q84 (which will be Asia right?) I will start on these.

We do have a microscope and use it frequently for fun. The reality is for the labs the images I call up on the computer are so superior we generally do not use our own slides. We might compare to see if we managed the sample properly but we use the internet for the actual drawing. For the DNA we did strawberry and kiwi too. I was really nervous about getting something to work. ;) There is quite a bit availiable on the internet reference wise. I wouldn't worry about skipping some labs if you cannot get the resources. It is learning the process not doing every lab. Frequently you can watch similar. I would have a go at the experiments. I have a feeling more will be completed then you expect. Sonlight is wonderful. I am sure they will know what they can ship in.

Recently finished 58) Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner -- I figured it out fairly early but there were some surprises, and 59) Presumed Guilty by Tess Gerritsen -- a very readable suspense book. Nothing special. Working on 1984. Boy, this is so not the book I remember. I really need to reread the classics from high school days.

We have been able to google and use youtube for many of the Apologia labs this year. The dissection ones are pretty much all out there. I think we liked the ones with MacOrganisms2 the best. We would get something similar from the butcher/fishmonger and have a good go ourselves then watch the video. We were also able to eventually get the rubbing alcohol and iodine from a chemical supply place--not regulated just not sold in stores. Vodka also worked in the dna experiment. We googled and did several versions to make sure one would work. Once again it can be watched on youtube so even if it doesn't work at your house you can see it. Apologia does have a master supply list that you might want to look at. We have managed a majority of the labs -- the ones we skipped were be choice generally because we had done them before.

I probably should not be allowed to try and read their catalog online! I do see it now. Sorry!

In all honesty I think it depends on the expectations that will be placed on the child. My children did not attend their uncle's or grandfather's funerals because we knew mil would expect them to deliver a level of comfort to her that a 5 and 7 year old can not provide. Plus it took all the strength dh and I had in us to survive thoses funerals without having to worry about how our children were reacting. Taking care of mil was a huge job those days. I was taken to every relatives/family friend's funeral from birth and had a long series of repetitive nightmares that I did not want my children to experience. Last year one of my best friends died. Both children knew her well and loved her. They also knew she was dying. We spent one day a week with her family while she was ill and our ds's are bf. That funeral we attended. Her children had to go so their friends all attended. It was our first traditional British furneral and absolutely heartbreaking in every way. We walked her to the church-- we a horsedrawn hearse carrying the casket. Watching dd cry at the gravesite was the worst. I had no comfort left to give, literally all I had were tissues to offer. I had no words and had been the one crying throughout the service. While I have no regrets in taking them I am not sure that we served any purpose other than support to my friends family. Because we spent so much time with her and are still with her family frequently I just don't think that day changed a thing. We still miss her. If it wilk be hard for you to take the children along they belong elsewhere. If you know that the children will not behave well once again they do not belong.

:grouphug: Sorry no advice.

:grouphug:

:grouphug:

I think the dinosaur book has been removed. Don't see it in the new catalog.

Just looked at the catalog. Up until level F I think it would be fairly secular. The books appear to be mainly Usbourne or TOPS so secular. There is a biography each year. For instance Isaac Newton is one. He was a Christian so I would imagine that would be part of his biography. How it was handled I can't remember. The dvd could have Christian references but I don't remember any. Obviously when it switches to Apologia it becomes Christian. Sorry I can't remember more.

Been wondering that myself. Haven't read it since I was 14.

If anybody has any ideas I would love to find it. It gave me a lifelong love of Arthur but it was not at all typical. The Mary Stewart's were written at the right time. I went on wiki and found that she definately wrote another teen favorite of mine that I had been hoping to find-- "The Moonspinner". All I could remember was a vague story line. Not Arthur but a somewhat current book set in Crete. Lots of intrigue. Pretty excited about that one too. One of the main characters was a woman who had been Arthur's childhood companion and went on to be his mistress. They were in love. In that version he was in an arranged marriage. She was there when he was buried in the lake. Really sad. I adored it. I think the cover was green. I found it on my sil's bookshelf. Generally she read best seller's so should have been popular in the mid seventies.

We used it for K through 2 ( I think it is A,B,C now) and loved it. My son adored the discover and do dvds. Would watch them for hours if allowed. I liked the supply box. No hunting for odd things and getting stuck with a dozen useless ping pong balls. Many of the early books were Usbourne when we used it as I remember it. They would do their reading then answer the questions on Monday through Thursday, on Friday they did their experiments. If they did not work the dvd showed what should have happened so they "saw" the experiment either way. The main complaint is that the books do not coordinate with the experiments. People say it is too choppy. My kids loved the fact that what they were going to learn was a surprise. The only reason we stopped using it was we moved to the UK and stopped SL for a few years.

Just requested the first one. I have been hunting for an Arthur book I read as a teen. Absolutely loved it. This doesn't sound quite right but it does sound good.

The last season was not as good as the others. I didn't watch most of it but was in the room when it was on. Not quite everybody dies but it ended in such a disappointing way!

My friend uses LOF and has been really pleased.

I would definately go with Ellie because we haven't watched it since it aired originally. At that time it would have been deemed too scarey too -- but ds at that time did not like blood even implied!

Welcome!

Welcome!

It has been awhile but DH is sure there is swearing. S## definately implied, skimpy clothing, not sure about if anything actually shown. Been going to rewatch myself. Definately not appropriate at our house when first aired but 4 or 5 years have passed.

Maybe, I have only had a Goodreads account for a month so I don't know how common these invites are. But he is availiable for the whole day to answer questions about the one Robin is reviewing. I hope they don't ruin Goodreads. Dd just set up an account last week. My suggested reading was not great but hers was right on. She has read several of her suggestions and liked them. All appeared to be age appropriate and taste appropriate. I was amazed because she entered maybe 100 books. Many suggestions were old. So not overly sales driven just helpful.

Laura--I just found a shawl that I made six years ago out of Stylecraft Life. It has held up beautifully with almost daily use. Looks close to new. So great yarn choice.:) Before someone wonders our ceiling needed major replaster work so put away during that.