I can certainly understand how upsetting this was for your family. I'll start by saying that I have 4 daughters, but have not been blessed with a son. So my advice is more general in nature. I don't pretend to be an expert on boys... I would recommend installing an internet filter ASAP and also checking the history weekly or so. My children do not know how to delete ours either yet, which has been a blessing. Our computer is in a semi-public area, but I don't hover either. I would not allow them to have internet in their rooms at this point (my olders are 12 and 10). Since this seems to be a one-time occurence I'd treat it as such. You've handled it great so far from the sounds of it... A clear explanation of why looking at such material is wrong should suffice as well as some scriptural references. I'd reinforce that you and your dh are always available to answer questions and that the s*x drive or appetite is normal and healthy. That it is God's way of preparing him for marriage some day. Like any appetite it must be controlled and directed appropriately. Not all things that we think we *like* or make us *feel good* are healthy for us. You could use simple examples like foods, alcohol, etc. I'd also suggest that he talk with God about this and seek His forgiveness. I'd let him know up front that you'll be installing safeguards to protect him, this might take some of his internal pressure off. I may be in the minority on this one, but I would not recommend the 'Every Man's Battle' books mentioned. We've stopped using them in our faith community as they've been described as similiar to a diet book packed with images and recipes for decadent desserts, not necessarily helpful. Again that is my personal opinion and I've only briefly seen the youngman's version. I'm more familiar with the adult one. At least I'd recommend a careful pre-screening. Hypothetically speaking I believe that I'd want my child to understand that he'd made a mistake... not that he had an ongoing issue/problem, KWIM? I'd be hesitant to prolong discussion, purchase a book for him, etc. If this issue repeated itself that would be a whole different scenario of course. So that's my$.02, along with some hugs and prayers being sent your way. Blessings, Beth

I just re-did mine this weekend. I used a template from here... http://www.finalsense.com/services/blog_templates/ This was my first time attempting something like this and it went off without a hitch. I copied and pasted all of my widgets (sidebar items) in a word pad file so that I could replace them later. If you don't you will lose many of them, but after you apply the new template you'll get a warning message so you'll have a chance to fix it.

Wow, and I thought my lists were cool:001_smile:. I just bought a bunch of colored cards this fall for school, I think I'm off to get a corner ring. See I make killer lists, but then I loose them:rolleyes:.

I cried too... when dh and I moved here two plus years ago I had to leave my position running our church's preschool. Although I practiced for days I sobbed my way through the commencement speech for that year's graduating students. It was so hard personally, plus I felt like I put a damper on the day for the kids. Knowing that the Lord wanted us to make this move helped in general, but that last day was still incredibly difficult. So, hugs and sympathy. You're certainly not alone. I think the behavior of the elders was quite inappropriate, not yours.

We also had a flea infestation last year that just about drove me nuts. I was almost ready to call in a professional exterminator when we finally got things under control. Have you seen any fleas that are not on your dog? If not then I would treat your pets with frontline or similiar. I would also vacumm 2-3 times daily for 10 days or so. This is the most preventive medicine but it is absolutely essential that the bag or bagless model gets immediately emptied outside every time. You could also then treat your yard to prevent another round. That last step was quite helpful in our case. We personally find it more economical to treat our yard every 4-6 months than to treat our dog monthly. Not quite sure what dh uses for that, but I could certainly find out. If you're unsure or need assurance about the fleas then I would set flea traps. We did this to monitor our progress. You take a shallow dish (we used disposable metal pie plates) but a bit of soapy water in them and then float a tea light candle on top. We did this in a few select places at night before going to bed. The fleas are attracted by the light and jump in. The soap film makes it impossbile to get back out. Because the candle is floating in water it just burns itself out. This helped us to see the level of the problem and killed a few in the process. If you are being actively bitten or seeing fleas then I'd kind of do all of the above at once and perhaps think bout the Borax. My mom would brush it into the carpets and let sit before vacumming. But honestly I think the vacumm itself is quite effective as long as the material is disposed of properly every time. You'd need about 3 weeks of heavy vacumming to get control of a true infestation.

I am truly appalled to hear that you've been attacked in this manner. I heartily agree with other posters that you are absolutely entitled to your pro-life stance. I'm certain that you understand the ramifications of this issue in a way that many others don't. I applaud you for your honesty and transparency. Thank you most sincerely for sharing your heart with us. I'm sorry that in doing so you've been subjected to additional pain. Blessings,

Thanks for your help. I was able to find a template that brightened things up a bit and used word pad to paste my widget codes in. Then I added them back. A long process, but it went off without a hitch. Feel free to check out the new look and let me know what you think.

Back when I started one on blogger almost a year ago I just slightly modified one of the basic templates, customizing the colors a bit. This year I've tried to spruce it up a bit here and there but it's not working out well. If you'd like see here...http://amommymoment.blogspot.com I've been searching lots of sites with free blog templates but I'm really not seeing anything great. Perhaps I'm not looking in the right place? Does anyone have any suggestions on where to grab a pretty free template? Also, can someone explain how to install said template without losing my various widgets? I don't want to have to rebuild my whole sidebar. Thanks in advance!

If I were looking for it used I'd try here at the HIVE or Ebay. I was in the same boat as you about 6 weeks ago. I really wanted the AG but the price for two students was just too much. I hemmed and hawed, talked with dh, and stewed some more. But it turned out that we went overbudget in a couple of other areas as well which made my decision much easier. I ended up finding a used copy of "Easy Grammar" and I love it!!!! We've completed two full weeks of school and it is hands down my favorite purchase this year. My girls detested grammar last year and this year they love it. Easy Grammar also used the 'prepositional phrase' method which truly was what we needed. It has made such a difference. We also looked at "Winston Grammar" but this did not include punctuation. I didn't want a seperate curric. for that. We also have a writing program that we enjoy (Writing Strands) so I really wanted just a grammar program. That seems hard to find these days. I really appreciate that the teacher and student pages are in one volume (and the copyright allows you to photocopy for students) and there is almost no teacher prep. I always appreciate a pick up and use curriculum. Sorry for straying off question, but hope you find what you need for grammar this year.

Happy road trip! We make a twice yearly trek from GA to NH each year so I can relate. Here are some of our faves: baby carrots and pepper slices w/ranch dip pepperoni slices and cheese cubes or string cheese wraps made with tortillas or pitas canned nuts (peanuts or cashews usually)

We're using Biblioplan Ancients with SOTW this year. It is a 3 day per week schedule that adds in appropriate Bible readings to SOTW. It also has references to other texts such as UILE, KHE, and MOH. It skips around a bit but covers things thoroughly. It also adds in many literature recommendations. Well worth the $20 or so IMO and available to purchase on the 'net as an e-book.

Just wanted to say that I relate as well. My older two students (now 12 and 10) were avid readers from day one. But they are also independant children in general who like the DIY approach. That's why they were so eager to read IMO. Our third daugher is now 6 (Feb. b-day) and she is just not into it at all. We plodded through 100EZ lessons last year but she really back-slid this summer. I did try to keep her reading but she just makes it so durn frustrating. This year we're doing MCP plaid phonics which she loves. We're reading some Bob books and Abeka readers too. She whines, sulks, and generally digs her little heels in everyday. She's exposed to great stories as our family does lots of read alouds for history and science. She loves books but has no desire to read them herself yet. I truly do find it frustrating and a bit worrisome. We're not giving in on this and just keep pushing her ahead slowly. Our expectations are well below what our olders were doing at this age, though they were public schooled then. I find it hard to tell honestly if this is an ability issue or a discipline one. She is our strong willed child for sure. We've had her eyes tested and as educated teachers neither dh nor I have seen evidence of any learning delays or issues. We did try some sight word drilling with f/cards over the summer (gasp). I thought that if she got some high frequency words down things might progress better. Honestly that didn't help much at all. I hope someone has some more effective suggestions. Thank you for starting this thread.

Here's a few of our faves: 1) make a boardgame 2)cooking project (based on food described in a novel, historical period, etc.) 3)make a powerpoint presentation (way cooler than a report to my kids) 4)period art or craft project

Yikes! That is a bad day. Hope you're able to figure out the water issue. ((hugs))

Just wanted to share my similiar experience as well... We pulled our three girls in January last year and just used textbooks to finish out the remaining year. We chose these primarily based on what seemed to match their current public school studies most closely. But I spent the spring and summer reading up on the classical approach in the Well Trained Mind and found this site as well. Both dh and I happen to have education degrees and were impressed by this approach. My daughters are finding this new course of study quite challenging, but highly engaging. It's honestly been a bit more teacher intensive than I'd expected, but the results I'm already seeing are helping me to persevere. My three students are 12 (7th gr.), 10 (5th grade), and 6 (1st grade) so my olders are also starting late. We're also chasing an infant, lol. But, in a nutshell, starting late has been challenging- but doable. Blessings, Beth

Here's my seventh grade reading list for this year. I pulled selections from the WTM years two and three as this most closely matches her History (BJU 7th). First Semester: 1)Beowulf: A new telling (Robert Nye) 2)Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Tolkien) 3)Canterbury Tales (Retold by Geraldine McCaughrean) 4)Dante’s Inferno-cantos 1-5 (Trans. By Robert Pinsky) 5)Saint George and the Dragon (Margaret Hodges or Geraldine McCaughrean) 6) The Sword in the Stone (if time the subsequent volumes in The Once and Future King) ( T.H. white) 7) Opt1 Shakespeare Stories (Leon Garfield) OR Stories from Shakespeare (Margaret Chute) Opt 2 Read MacBeth or Mid Summer Night’s Dream (Oxford school Shakespeare Series) Second Semester: 1)Don Quixote Retold (Michael Harrison) 2)â€A Voyage to Lilliput†and “A Voyage to Brobdingnag†Excerpts from Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift) 3)Pilgrim’s Progress (listen to audio of John Bunyan or read retelling by Gary D. Schmidt) 4)Fairy Tales- The complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault or Grimm’s Fairy Tales 5)The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) 6)Choose 1: Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe), Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne), Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain audio) 7)Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 8)A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) We'll tackle some poetry in late spring/summer.

We use a white board. They don't look back to their previous work.

We're using Biblioplan Ancients which incorporates both SOTW and MOH readings. BP schedules lots of bible readings. We use a The Story Bible by Vos which is a nice narration IMO. The BP schedule seems to be allowing us to pull the 'gems' from both texts. We use MOH and the SOTW AG for extra hands on stuff and coloring sheets for our youngest. The biggest challenge for us so far has been timelining. As young earth creationists the dates in the beginning of SOTW aren't accurate to us at all. We're using a seperate Biblical timeline http://www.wordsight.org/btl/000_btl-fp.htm for this piece. One of MOH's biggest drawbacks IMO is the lack of literature recommendations. I think SOTW does a better job of this but that's another reason why I have the BP. Pulling all these resources together has been challenging and I don't stick strictly to BP's schedule. I'm not sure if I'd honestly take this approach with just my 1st grader, but since I'm trying working with two of my three students on this (1st and fifth grade) it's been worth it. BP also includes references to UILE and KHE as well which I appreciate. Over the summer I had really tried to choose one spine over the other, but I'm happy to have investigated both. I can't imagine dropping either one now.

We used to have a dog with barking and anxiety issues. Citronella bark collars are somewhat effective but I'd try giving your dog benadryl tablet first. My dog was about 60lbs (lab) and would take one tablet so you'd want to adjust the dosage based on your dog's weight. It has a calming effect and my vet recommended giving that a try first before a true anxiety med.

Aaahhh, now you're talking my language. Thanks SO much! So, if I figure these with Alg. but draw models out of dd perhaps we'll both eventually begin to think this way.

Wow, thanks! Embarassed to say that I still find this mind boggling. Is there some basic rationale I'm missing?

We're relatively new to Singapore and I'm working through 4A Intensive Practice with one of my daughters. I'm frankly stumped by a few of the problems. We have the textbook and CWP book as well but I honestly did not purchase a HIG because both dh and I have a teaching background and I never invisioned needing it at this level. These are a variety of their bar model problems I'm sure... but I'm just not getting it. Here's an example of one my stumpers: Davina, Jean, and Nancy have a total savings of $4800. If Davina saves $480 more than Nancy and Jean saves $330 less than Davina, how much does Jean save? Answer in key is $1540 Would anyone care to assist?

Coming to this thread late but here's my $.02 anyway... If your cd drive wouldn't work in 'safe mode' then I think it's likely not a Windows or software issue. You could use the device manager, located within the control panel menu in Windows to check this also. If there was a problem with the physical cable connection or the software driver for the drive it should be apparent when looking at this menu. Computers only have a few moving parts... cd drives, hard drives, and fans. These tend to be the parts that have issues. Does the drive make it's usual 'whir' sound, if it doesn't sound like it usually does (either not whirring or making unusual sounds) this would be another indicator of a bad drive. Replacing an internal drive may be more than what you'd want to take on yourself. I'd suggest getting a basic external drive with a USB interface and trying that. You could use that indefinitely. Be careful with the packaging and receipt so that you could promptly return if that doesn't solve your problem. But, I do think it will. Good luck, hope you're up and running soon. I relate as I had to replace the hard drive on my older dd's computer last Tuesday and then dh infected his laptop with a virus/trojan on Saturday AM. I spent most of my day getting it cleaned off. Grrrrr...

Ouch, we feel for you. My 12yo dd broke her humerous during a cartwheel gone bad last year. She's only a *pretend* gymnast, but she did miss spring softball season because of it.

My dh teaches in a public high school. He supports the idea. I agree that it's sad that we've gotten to this point though.