Logos has one for 5th grade and up. I am getting it to use in conjunction with the poetry we are memorizing.

My dd went to Budapest on her way to Romania to work with gypsies. This is her 3rd trip to Eastern Europe and her 5th abroad- I find it a hoot because we never have any money to give her to go, yet she always seems to get there! She went to Romania 4 yrs ago with a program (Young Leaders Project). She planned the second trip herself, traveled alone (at 18-many stories, some heartburn, I won't bore you with the details) and spent 8 mths there- 7 working at a private orphanage. This last time she went for a month to visit with missionaries (Romanian & American) who work with gypsies. She has a real heart for the gypsies. The origianl trip (YLP) was a horrible experience for her- the leader was very prejudice against homescoolers and was actually somewhat emotionally abusive. Buy my dd loved eastern Europe, the Hungarians (they stayed with Hungarian Baptists who lived in Romania - it all gets very "cozy" due to the shifting border lines and politics), her host family, etc. etc. She plans to go back but was just offered a miraculous 4 yr, full ride scholarship to an accredited college in the states. So, she is going to get a degree in cross cultural studies, politics first and hopes to spend a lot of summers there. My littles aren't too happy about those plans! My 8 yo told her he wished she'd never heard of gypsies so she'd stay home and be with him! Thanks for liking my moniker :).

My dd and I just finished reading "Hitler" by Robert Marrin. At the same time I'm reading "The Case for Classical Christian Education" by Doug Wilson. It really struck my on pg. 91 of Hitler,"Education was the key to the future." Then great detail is gone into about the educational machine that was put into place to create this group of people that followed evil wholeheartedly, that was anti-thought,anti-education, raciest, sexist. Wow. All that juxtaposed to this longing for a community of people who really get classical ed (which is why I'm purusing the boards so much). Some of what I read in the Hitler book just gave me the willies regarding the American educational process (I did a lit review on the history of ed in America for a master's thesis). whoa. I've led co-ops for a few years but it just seems like so many parents want "fun"- they don't see the great value and fun in learning. We've been advising a "classical" group for awhile but they want the end goal, not the process -kwim? It just feels like our country is so sleeppy, and homeschoolers too. Does this make sense? Does anyone else have that longing for a IRL community of like-minded people who get it. (Disclaimer: as I read this, I see that I am not being very clear. Still in primary process here).

A recent Science News article featured bugs as food: good for the environment and people!

We had our 5th at 40. Great pregnancy, good delivery. She is a JOY! I honestly wish we had another one or two more :)

My dd was in Budapest last week! Small world, eh?

Have you read, "The Way They Learn," by Cynthia Tobias Ulrich? She has a good section on the strong willed child in it. I think she actually devoted a book to the strong willed child...sounds like you have one;)

One of the kids did hit back when he was being held down by one kid and threatened with getting hit by another. THEN the other moms intervened. There pov was that the mom of the kid being bullied was teaching him to "hit" instead of just realizing that "kids will be kids"- unbelieveable.

We had bullying in our homeshcool co-op last year. It was always instigated by kids who had previously been public schooled. The moms of the kids who were the bullys made excuses- the other child was too sensitive, they weren't really going to hurt him (like a 7 yo would know if someone who is threatening him would really hurt him or not?!) The parents attitudes were almost more shocking than the kids- they really went to bat for thier little bullies instead of discipling them.

I'm not sure you can given the rep TWTM boards have- check out Dragons post above!

While the kids were weeding the garden beds I was reading the Odyssey to them outloud. After another round of Odysseus being treated well be a god and then smacked down by another one, my 8 yo asks, "what are their (the gods) problems?" My 13 says in total seriousness, "Look. The gods are bi-polar. The sooner you figure that out the happier you'll be!!"

We really like them-like Lizzie we've used them to listen to- not as a core curriculum. She has some interesting ideas- we don't agree with all of them but great for discussion starters. She is very fun to listen to. I highly recommend them!

My 17 yo led a girls group that did a book study of Protocol Matters last year. At Christmas they had a formal tea and in the spring they did a spring tea party. The girls loved it! The moms loved it! In fact, several of the moms have asked my dd what she is going to teach the girls this year. It was interesting to me the positive peer pressure that emerged. One of the girls deliberatly did not follow protocol at the winter tea and a couple of the other girls told her that if she couldn't follow protocol they didn't want her at the spring tea! Thumbs up here!

Amen, Sistah! In total agreement here!

I grew up all around Ohio. I loved Columbus but the other small towns seemed small townish:) As a married couple we lived there for 15 mths as part of a military stint and I loved living by family. I cried when we left. Indiana- Q: If it's 5:30 p.m. in Ohio, what time is it in Indiana? A: 1950 Connecticut- LOVE the east coast. Very quaint and loaded with history Los Angeles- smoggy and espensive. LOTS to do- ocean, mountains. I sure miss Leo Carrillo beach! Actually I miss CA but becasue we aren't millionaries I'm glad I'm not raising a fam there. New Mexico (not the Rio Grande valley) lots of nature to exlore, not many people. Truly the wild west. Great place to visit. Couldn't wait to move. South Dakota- um. We love our acerage. I would love to move back to either coast- northern CA, OR or WA. Or Colorado Springs. Or Ohio :) I would love to live in Israel (but not forever).

My dd says just make a "V" - so I don't think you have to worry about getting all of the heart out before you cook the cabbage. She said test it every now and then, as the leaves get softer the cabbage will open up like a flower. You have to hold it down- so the stem part should be facing the botton of the pan- does that help? we are spike aholics here :). I'm so glad they are making the low-salt version!

Sarmale (Romanian name) Kaposta toltott (Hungarian name) head of cabbage 2 #'s of ground meat (we used 1/2 hamb. and 1/2 deer meat) large onion vinegar, salt 1/3 -1/4 c. uncooked rice large can of tomato paste pepper dill spike or chix bouillon smoked meat (sausage, can use bacon) boil 5 Tbs vinegar and couple Tbs of salt in large pot. Take heart of cabbage out, put cabbage in boiling water upside down. Hold it under and wait till it's soft. Carefullly pry leaves apart with fork and spoon. When it comes apart like a flower, take it out of water, take leaves and cut out "V" out of center, cut it in half so you have long strips of cabbage. Don't use the really hard leaves, just chop them up- put aside. Take meat, finely chop onion and combine with meat. Put 3 Tbs tomato paste, 1 Tbs. of seasoning and 1 Tbs of pepper, add uncooked rice and mix it (with hand- this is essential according to our Romanian friend :) - because you have to taste it-ew. to see if it's salty enough. This will not be happening in my home!- it needs to be as salty as jerky. This explains why I like it so much- salt! Take cabbage strips, put a couple TBS of meat on strip of cabbage, start with hard rind and then roll it up so it doesn't come undone when cooking. Need thick caste iron pot or crock pot. Put dill to lightly cover bottom of pan. Cover with chopped cabbage- not too thick. Put chopped up smoked meat on top of that. Cover with cabbage rolls. If you have enough rolls for layers, put layer of chopped stuff between. Cover with chopped cabbage, 1 cm of tomate paste- thickly cover it like a lid, put 2 Tbs vinegar on top. Cover it all with 2 c. of water. Cook it slowly. Keep adding water- 1 cup or less, just to keep it from boiling. Cook on low for 1 hour at least. Check to see if rice and meat is done. Serve with sour cream. Eat everything. yum. Serve with clear soup, like chicken broth with egg noodles. Important to be homemade broth with celery root, parsely root and chicken. Remove before serving. Put homemade egg noodles in it. I have nothing to compare it to so not sure how it's different.

"Teach Your Own" by John Holt.

My oldest dd, just back from Romania, made the best cabbage rolls for dinner. I've never made them before because I just don't even like the sound of the recipe but these were delish!! This is like feast food in Romania (though it's a Hungarian dish) -that they serve for Christmas and weddings. A new family fav. Just bear with me- I'm at 47 posts and need 3 more to sell on the swap boards- just following LegoManiacs easy peasy advice!:)

Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing the details! What a cool thing to do! :party:

"Dialectic Stage" - just remember that as your 12 yo enters the logic stage they are developmentally hardwired to aruge :)This is why logic is taught at this time. To give the kids the rules and skills of aruging well (cause all of us with kids this age or older know how badly they can argue). I totally agree with Remudamom - high school is not that big of deal- just do it. Find a high school scope and sequence and fill in the blanks. Get a big picture and then refine and adjust as needed.

You will need to purchase a Foundations guide along with paying tuition. You can also purchase CD's and powerpoints that put the memory work to music and graphics. If you do the program, invest in these! The guide explains the scheudle for the memory work that you will be doing for the year in the following areas: Bible, History sentence, math, english grammar, latin, science question, geography, veritas press history cards (160) and all of the U.S. presidents. There is a 3-year cycle (so the memory work repeats itself). The math and the VP card memory work is the same each year. During the weekly class time your Tutor will have 5 1/2 "lessons"- 1 on review (of the previous weeks memory work), 2 on preview (of next weeks memory work) 3- art lesson 4-science experiment, 5-presentations (the kids each do a 3 min. presentation - the younger kids do more of a "show and tell." There are over 1000 pieces of infomation to memorize each year. You will still need to do math and phonics at home. They suggest you start a Latin program at home as well. You will learn a lot if you really work the program. You will not have a lot of time for other things if you really work the program. The science experiments do not follow the memory work. The History sentences are also not in order. There is a lot of overlap, gaps, etc. The english grammar majors on minors (IMHO). The Latin grammar is not connected in any way for the younger kids. The geography supposedly follows the history sentences but it too seems disjoint. In other words, while the amount of memory work is doable there is a general lack of cohesiveness. The afternoon eled program is called Essentials. The kids do 45 min. of grammar, 1/2 math games and 45 min. of IEW. The Essentials notebook is overwhelming. They introduce concepts in a way that no other grammar program does (for istance they don't explain what an adjective is until well into the program but they've had the kids using adjectives throughout the year). The IEW uses a theme based lesson depending on the Cycle (in the fall they'll start cycle III - U.S. History and they'll used the U.S. History theme based lesson). Parents who haven't spent time watching the TWSS vidoes will have a difficult time following. The 1/2 math games are hugely popular with the kids. Individual Tutors can really add to the program or detract from it -kwim. If you think you may invest in the program (because financially it is an investment) you'll want to attend a parent info meeting. It is an amazing concept. The execution needs work.

TWSS is the primary offering of IEW- the course consists of 9 units: note making and summarization (unit 1 & 2), summarizing and narrative stories, summarizing a reference, writing from pictures, research reports, creative writing, essay writing (several models), and literary critiques. Within these 9 units you will learn about dress-ups, openers, decorations, etc. If you truly work the program your student will be well prepared for any writing that may come their way in life. With the TWSS you will get the entire IEW writing program. This is not necessarily true for all of the SWSS's or the Theme based lessons (they don't all cover the 9 units). The TWSS is the most comprehensive IEW tool you can purchase. Once you have watched the DVD's you will understand the entire program. The SWSS is coded by grade. A = 3-6th grade, B = 7th/ 8th gr, C = high school. This course is presented directly to students by Andrew Pudewa. He is a gifted communicator and your student will enjoy the lessons. The student watches a lesson on DVD and then creates a writing notebook, doing the assigned lessons. With the SWSS you will get a packet of assignments and a notebook. This program assumes no prior experience with TWSS. The theme based lessons assume that you understand the program and have TWSS. It would be difficult to truly understand and teach from the theme based lessons without being familiar with the videos. IEW does not contain grammar. (we've used "Our Mother Tongue" for grammar). I would start with IEW this year and continue through high school. We have used TWSS through the curriculum, share-ware off the web-site and a couple of the theme based lessons. It is expensive but you are getting a rich program in return.If you look at it as a 5 year investment you've really only spent around $34 a year.:) Your student will love writing becasue the difficult task of writing has been distilled into simple, understandable and doable tasks. Language becomes something to play with and manipulate. Seriuosly, we rate how "IEW worthy" our spoken sentences are around here! Strong adverbs are applauded. Quality adjectives are praised. Very short sentences are lauded. Alliterations are commended. (we are word geeks!). It really is a great program!

It's all been said. :grouphug: to both of you.

Linguistic Development Through Poetry by Andrew Pudewa (IEW) - We are loving it. My 8 yo was reciting poetry under his breath last night at dinner and it turned into a full blown recitation for daddy. Even the 13 and 17 yo's got in on it :) It's a 4 level "plan" with 20 poems to memorize at each level. The CD has Andrew reading each poem. My boys love to try to match Mr. Pudewa's accent.