I am intrigued. I like that it is an ibook and it is a good price. I was totally sold on Latin for Children but now.... If I had a magic wand I would use the RFWP Latin as a supplement.

As far as the relationship stuff...if you look up Studio C Hunger Games, they have three hilarious parody songs of the love triangle.

Is Joyeux Noel still on there? It has Diane Kruger in it, and it is historical fiction about WWI and the soldiers that find peace in the trenches on Christmas. It has subtitles because there are three languages but such a good film. If you can find it, watch it! ah, there is one sex scene that is not graphic or debasing, but I would feel uncomfortable watching it with my little kids. It is in the first 10 or 15 minute of the movie and not long. I second the Muppet Christmas Carol! I will be watching that all season.

I didn't love it, but I didn't adore the book either. I like that I wasn't in Katniss' mind. Her monologues bored me silly. So this is an example of a story I would rather read than see. I stayed awake through the whole film at midnight, so that is saying something. I kept waiting for the muttations to come and was kind of relieved that the only really scary part was with Peeta. The woman next to me screamed. That part was fantastic because, well, grumpy women screaming in terror makes me happy. I was sitting between two friends who are really reserved and were kind of cranky with each other that night, so that might color it. I wanted to laugh at the funny parts but felt judged, YKWIM? I think Who you go to a film with can absolutely change it. I want to watch them all again on DVD with popcorn by myself. Probably won't own them though. Not THAT life-changing.

Ha! here's an opposite story: My MIL and FIL were at someone's house and he was just praising the meal to high heaven. My MIL asked for the recipe since he seemed to like it so much. Then, the first time she made it at home for him, he refused to eat it. He said it was so gross but he didn't want to make the hostess feel bad. I am not sure if that was morally bankrupt, but it has made me pretty suspicious when he compliments my cooking.

Thank you for all the feedback. It is nice to know I am not the only functional adult not giving everyone I know gifts this year. As a few of you mentioned, it isn't one of my languages of love. I prefer acts of service or time alone. But that could just be my time of life because those are true luxuries around here. I think I will write lovely cards to the people I love. A keepsake letter telling them how important they are to me. I like to write, and I think people get a kick out of reading about themselves. I guess that is a "Words of Appreciation" gift. The only crafty thing that doesn't turn out looking like a preschooler's mistake that I can do is cross-stitch. I think when my kids are a little older I could do a nice something or other along those lines. To those who are wonderful gift-givers (as in shopping, planning, crafting), I can see I am missing something virtuous in myself, but at this point I don't think it is worth the effort to change.

I tell myself it is because we don't have the money. My husband insists we don't have the money, but I think if we were really careful we could give birthday and Christmas gifts to our parents and siblings and friends and their kids. But unless I am actually invited to a Christmas or birthday where I have to look you in the face, you don't get a gift. Probably you will get a nice card, but that is it. Does this make me a horrible person? Is it worth it to try to change this about myself and by extensions my marriage? I don't expect gifts for my birthday and I have never said a word of reproach to anyone for not giving me or my kids something for Christmas or whatever. Sometimes DH gets me something, sometimes not. Sometimes I splurge and get him something, but usually not. I read about so many of you wonderful people who plan for months and give lovely things to all kinds of people. I admire that and I am starting to realize there is this whole culture I am missing.

I was homeschooled, but since we need some male memories, here you are. My husband was homeschooled in Florida and South Dakota in the 90s. He liked going to historical re-enactments like Civil war battles and stuff. He was averse to reading until his step-grandma lent him a book from The Wheel of Time series and regularly took him to bookstores to get whatever he wanted. And then she would read the books and discuss them with him. Once he was caught cheating on his Saxon math (his little brother did it all the time, he says) and as punishment his father (Marine Cops officer) made him do math all day for months. 45 minutes of math, 15 minute break. This was in 7th or 8th grade. Well, he blew through several math books doing that. Soon afterward, he had to take a mandatory state test for Florida students. He did so well that a community college offered him a full scholarship to go there. And that is how he completely skipped high school. He said it was weird getting hit on by college girls (he was 6 feet tall at age 13). As for his little brother, apparently he refused to obey their mother, and in 5th grade she kinda gave up so he went to work with the father who had left the Marines and did his schoolwork on the road. Depending on who you ask, this was not a perfect solution. Some people aren't meant for classrooms. His parents then insisted he go to college, and after 7 years and 4 institutions he graduated with a huge amount of debt and thankfully found a great job 3 years later. My mom did part-time school with my twin brothers when they were teens. For a couple years they went half of the day to PS and then came home and my mom would do Saxon math and The Lost Tools of Writing. And she read biographies of great men to them. My one brother who is at West Point credits a biography of Washington and hours spent with my dad playing Axis and Allies on our dining room table with is love of country and his desire to be a general. I think in all of these lives, one of the great things HS gave the students was time. Time to pursue talents, time together with family, time to get ahead of the group.

It is hard to compare it to other books, because there is no other book like it. I think comparing it to Lord of the Flies is completely wrong. I read it when I was around ten. I think I read it in a week. It made a strong impression on me. I still think about some of the beautiful images (a mother tidying up her child's mind while it sleeps, like folding clothes in a drawer), and the hilarious hunting scenes where Hook and his pirates are following Peter and his boys, or maybe it is the other way around, or maybe no one knows. I loved it! Then I introduced it to my kids by reading some of it aloud. Maybe just the first 10 pages. I found I didn't like it. I didn't understand it anymore. I was heartbroken. It meant I had grown up, and had forgotten how to believe and enjoy pure fantasy. My 4th grader continued to read it on her own. From an essay by Michael Clay Thompson: "Peter has a Quixote-like dream of loyalty and honor. Peter's sense of integrity and honor are of the kind that grown-ups later demote as impractical, unrealistic, or naive, but as the book keeps reminding us, grown-ups forget. Peter presents, in its purest form, the not-yet-jaded, not-yet crushed enthusiasm for life, the exploratory joy of the young mind. He crows, he flies, he laughs, he encourages children to be with him, to join, to stay with him in forever-land." I am glad I read it as a child, because it is possible that as an adult I would have just been confused by its sheer imaginative genius. I wish I had read the Wind in the Willows for the same reason.

http://www.singnlearn.com/Item/330 I grew up singing these and was still singing it in my head on my US history tests in high school. Works like a charm. And there are a bunch of other great songs on the CD. The coloring book that comes with it is a little juvenile but I think a 6-year-old would like it.

The impatient American in me wants THE curriculum that will GIVE this to my kids.

Ignorance is an expensive commodity. That group won't know what it is missing by excluding you. Another way to look at your daughter's need to socialize might be this: by getting her school stuff done by such-and-such a time (say 3:00), she is free to hang out with friends from your neighborhood and ward. Does she have friends at church that could come over when their homework is done or on Saturdays? Growing up, that was one of the reasons my mom homeschooled us She required hours of music practicing from us which, if we had gone to public school, would have nullified any time to play with friends. As a homeschooler, I could get all my work and practicing done by the time my friends got home from school. Our family doesn't participate in co-ops (for many reasons). We prefer to just have friends come over for unstructured play time when schoolwork is done. Or my kids go to their house. This may not be possible in all situations, but it is just another way of looking at options.

That last name is super fun! Let's see... Hugh Harry Golden Sterling Xavier (his initial would be X. Mann) Richard (Rich Mann!) Dick Sage

Woo! 100 posts!

Congratulations on your journey! Isn't it great to be able to look back and see your mistakes and also what you have learned? :hurray: I tried a morning time thing that we called Read Aloud Hour, but it coincided with my serious morning sickness (all day sickness) so I can't be an objective judge. I am so happy it is working for you. Morning Time/Circle Time stuff are some of my best memories of my homeschool experience as a kid. Keep going! It will be worth it! Also, homeschooling from a place of peace has become a big priority for me. On another thread, Hunter reminded us that we as homeschoolers are competing with this mirage of public school as it is advertised, not as it really is. I am one of those who can fall into that trap really quickly and then I get anxious, competitive, and critical. It just kills the whole spirit of what I want to have in my home. This summer I was working on a crazy schedule that had all of us with our noses to the grindstone for 7 hours with a break for lunch. I was having panic attacks just reading it. Then, I revisited the whole Finland concept of 45 minute lessons and 15 minute breaks. I tossed the old schedule, drew up a new one with this in mind, and it practically glistened with peace and happiness. It is doable, and something I can look forward to. Now to figure out how to not waste time transitioning from breaks to lessons and back..........