I've been very quiet here lately, but I've been lurking here for years. I have no ax to grind with GR. We use the units here and there and I will probably continue to purchase from them. Yes, they are traveling, speaking at conventions, and purchased an RV. They were scouting property with an eye towards opening a US location (they are based in Canada). I don't know if they are still doing that. Yes, year 3 (which was supposed to be complete in May) is still incomplete. There were supposed to be 9 units (only 6 have been released) and 6 mini units (only 2 have been released and one of those is seasonal and only available seasonally). Yes, she ran their annual sale and sold whole year packages, including selling year 3, which is still incomplete, and presales of year 4 (with 8 main units and 6 mini units planned). Yes, she did an online convention during their annual sale week. And she did make comments saying people were not being understanding or giving grace. Yes, their FB group has a reputation for deleting and censoring posts/comments, to the point where someone started an "uncensored" group (which has been remarkably tame and just about sharing resources, not bashing GR). Obviously, I don't know if the pp got censored, but it would not surprise me if she had. We have purchased GR units here and there, but I've used it intermixed with other stuff, so I've never been "all in" on it. I would never buy a whole year on presale, though (even before the current issues) because it's too risky. I've been burned previously by another curriculum writer who didn't live up to presale promises and learned my lesson. I get the distinct impression that Rebecca is in over her head. I would recommend only purchasing already published units.

My oldest is 20. There have been many things he has had to learn the hard way, but he has persevered and we have survived. I think, maybe, I have become a better parent for it. I'm more patient, less likely to jump to the worst conclusion, better at just talking about stuff without passing judgement, etc. It's a hard transition. My husband still struggles with it some---I say that not to malign my husband in any way, but to say that relationships between son and mom and son and dad are very different. It's funny, because my son has been very open about the fact that depending upon what type of thing he wants to share, he chooses which parent to approach first since he has an idea of how we might react. 😄

Maryland Homeschoolers is quite active.

I've been homeschooling in Maryland for 10 years. We currently use an umbrella, but even when we used our county monitor it was no big deal. You just file a letter of intent to begin and verify each year that you are continuing (which can be verbal), notify them of any changes (like if your address changes or you add a child), then do a portfolio review. In our county, we only saw the monitor once a year in the spring after a brief phone convo in the fall, but this does vary by county. For our umbrella, I am able to do online reviews and they are easy. It's really just some minor paperwork and scanning some samples. No, I don't pay hundreds of dollars. I would recommend joining a Maryland homeschooler group and a PA homeschooler group on FB. You can ask all about umbrella options and evaluators. ETA: I don't know why the quote is there, but I can't get rid of it.

I just find the whole chart to be amusing and contrary to what an alternative form of education is about. Why add 20 minutes per grade? Where does that figure even come from? Why are we timing it at all? Learning is so, so very variable. My 16-year-old can read a book in half the time it would take me to read it, and yet, as an adult, I might have a deeper and more complete understanding of the material therein. You can't measure learning with a timer. Can you?

This ad from Alpha Omega peddling Monarch as an "Instant Homeschool, just add student" has landed in my inbox several times in recent months---it seems every homeschool blog I subscribe to is getting paid to blast it to their list. It makes me so mad. If the homeschool curriculum providers are advertising this way, it is no wonder people think they can homeschool without investing any of themselves.

Puzzle Baron: http://www.puzzlebaron.com/ They also have print books you can get on Amazon.

I just bought this for my 8-year-old lefty: http://www.currclick.com/product/21168/Crawly-Critters-AZ-Cursive-Penmanship?it=1 I haven't used it with her, yet, so I can't confirm that it will be a good fit, but once you get past the first few pages, it does have the model on a separate line, then a dotted version to trace, and under that a line to copy it on.

I 2nd the Command velcro strips (they are called "picture hangers"). They worked great for handing our maps and white boards on our plaster walls to which nothing else seems to want to stick. I've also used the tiny metal Command hooks and then hole punched along the top edge of things to hang them---they work great and hold a lot more weight than you might expect.

Yes, you can turn on subtitles.

I got mine a few years back from here: http://rockhoundkidsshop.com/ If I recall correctly, the young lady who started this company is the daughter of the folks at Westvon Publishing (History Scribe) and you can also find links to her products from their website: http://www.thehomeschoolshop.com/

In each of these sentences, you have a direct object that is a phrase. We watched the boy swim. "Watched" is the verb in the sentence. "Swim" is part of the direct object (what "we watched"), "the boy swim." He saw the ship arriving. "Saw" is the verb in the sentence. "Arriving" is part of the direct object, "the ship arriving."

Thank you, TKDmom, you made my day! :hurray:

No, this option sets filters so that rather than reading new content from "all the forums," you can just read from certain ones.

Yes, I would like to see election reform. Government should evolve over time, just as other human institutions do. The electoral college was designed to avoid certain issues (which have already been mentioned in this thread, so I won't rehash), however, it is not longer succeeding. I would like to see a reformed electoral college, perhaps one where none of the states are "winner take all." I would add, though, that what I would really like to see reformed is the primaries. As a voter, I don't even pay attention until after the primaries because I know that I will get NO SAY in who I get to vote for in November.

Ok, I looked it up, because I didn't know if it was a secret ballot or not. My husband had told me it was not by secret ballot---his knowledge in this area far exceeds mine---and that this is part of the reason that there haven't been many faithless electors. From this site: https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/key-dates.html The votes are signed and sealed by the electors and they become a part of public record, so this doesn't sound like it's a secret ballot. ETA: Ok, I realized that didn't fully address the question. The electors meet and vote by ballot, prior to signing and certifying the electoral votes. But the constitution does not specify a secret ballot: https://pitts.house.gov/legislative-work/later-amendments In 2004, Minnesota electors used a secret ballot, however that may not be the norm. Here's a list of previous faithless electors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faithless_elector Sooo...I guess it's up to the states whether their elector ballots are secret?

Right, that comes in later levels I think. I hear you---my memory of reception was vague, I just had a sense that color figured prominently in some of the lessons.

I said it may require some tweaking or skipping around, not that it wouldn't work. ;) Here are some specific examples from reception level (just checked the teacher notes and copymasters because I was curious). Links: http://www.cimt.org.uk/projects/mepres/primary/RLP1-10.pdf http://www.cimt.org.uk/projects/mepres/primary/Rp1-10.pdf from lesson 3: from lesson 4: If he is red/green color-blind he may not be able to easily distinguish a difference in the differently colored fruits. The OP could skip the color changes and just have him look for the other changes. Things that aren't easily modified could certainly be skipped or replaced by a different activity.

I seem to recall that MEP has a fair amount of coloring (meaning the student colors this or that thing), though, doesn't it? My youngest got tired of the coloring when she was younger. At least that's my recollection of the reception level. She is doing some MEP now in the 1B and 2a levels there's come coloring to extend patterns and coloring a certain color the sums that equal a certain number, etc. All that to say, even if the book isn't in color, it may still require some tweaking or skipping around to work for a child who has trouble with color perception.

You are sewing pillows for Christmas gifts and have 1-3/4 yards of fabric. If each pillow requires 1/2 yard, how many pillows can you make?

Our group (30+) families currently uses Bigtent. It allows us to have a forum, send out automatic reminders, etc. We use the subgroups for creating our clubs and classes. It is free. We used Homeschool Life previously and dumped it due to the fact that it had a number of annoying glitchy things and the $8 per family fee. Bigtent isn't perfect, but we were willing to work around its imperfections since it is free. It does do most everything Homeschool Life does as well as a few things the Homeschool Life could not do at the time we left it 1-1/2 years ago.

I asked my oldest if we are weird, awkward homeschoolers. His reply: "Yes, I am weird and awkward, but that's just who I am. My interests are different from most kids my age. It took me awhile to find some friends who are as weird as I am, but I did and most of them go to public school." FWIW, he attended Catholic school for pre-k through 1st grade. We took him out due to incessant bullying in 1st grade as well as lack of differentiation in instruction. He was bored and terrified at the same time. Hard to thrive under those circumstances. None of my other kids have been in school. As I observe them and interact with them, I find that they are the same people they have always been. The same mannerisms, the same temperaments, the same personalities, the same level of extrovert/introvert (we have one super extrovert and the others vary). Would sending them to school have changed them? Perhaps. Or maybe it would have caused them to build up walls around their true selves. Speaking as someone who went to ps and who was always "a little odd" (and that description came from my bestie since 4th grade when we were both adults) and who was bullied relentlessly throughout elementary and middle school, I can honestly say that ps did not improve me in any way. ETA: I agree that homeschoolers are "different," but I wouldn't describe it as awkward or weird or unsocialized. It's more like having a different worldview (I'm not talking religion or politics or anything like that, more like our perspective on the world comes from a slightly different angle or as though we're wearing a filter that shows us things that others don't see, but also hides things from us that are utterly self-evident to the mainstream).

I was railed at by a close family friend that I am doing my kids a disservice, because they would not have "street smarts." Then she proceeded to explain about what she meant by "street smarts." The example she used was of her grandson's girlfriend calling him up to say that she hadn't got her period and so she must be prego. But the day was saved! Because her other grandson (1st grandson's older brother) asked him if he's used a condom. Well, yeah. Well, then she can't possibly be pregnant by you. They do know the failure rate of condoms, right? Street smarts. :lol: Never mind that it was his sibling and not his peers that instilled him with these elusive "smarts."

It's a non-stick coating on the insert. Found the instruction manual online here.

I would recommend this as it's perfect for that age, but if computer/internet access is an issue then Mystery Science won't really work for you. You might try getting a few science kits and adding some library books.