Ours is in our school area, but if I had room to put it somewhere else, I probably would. That way it wouldn't be quite so distracting if one child wanted to play/practice on it while someone else is working on school work.

Thank you, everyone! I am excited to get on a more productive schedule after the New Year. These suggestions sound completely reasonable to me. I'm sure my 12 yr old will disagree, but then again, he's been disagreeing with everything lately.

Thanks! So far it sounds like I might have been a bit of a push-over. :glare:

What is a reasonable amount of time to expect a child to sit and work before they get a "break", and how long do you allow those breaks to be? I have 3 children--a 12 yr old boy (7th), a 9 yr old boy (4th), and a 6 yr old girl (1st). This is our second year homeschooling. Thanks in advance for your advice and experience!

We're using Kolbe Academy Jr. High Literature. It covers 7th and 8th grade though.

Yet another Mark Kistler vote. All 3 of my kids LOVE it! I actually sit and do the videos with them and enjoy it as much as they do.

Other than finding an option that just doesn't discuss it, I would just make a point to address the "other side" from whatever your book discusses. So if you're reading about origins from a creationist viewpoint, then just address the fact that not everyone believes that, because some people believe in evolution, which is.... Or vice versa. If you don't have a definite preference, I am thinking it would be easier to use a book that uses evolution and then discuss creation as opposed to the other way around. My husband and I are YE, but we also have science degrees, so we do think it is important for the kids to know the evolutionary standpoint. We use curriculum with the creationist viewpoint, but we discuss what the evolutionary "flip-side" is, and if we're still homeschooling in high school, I plan for them to have a much more formal study on evolution. Good luck in your search!

I have a BS in Biology. My husband has masters degrees in Organic Chemistry and Strategic Studies.

Another vote for Kolbe Academy Jr. High Lit.

How long can/should we hold onto our science curriculum to reuse with the younger kids once they are in the right grade? Once the oldest is done with it, it would be 3 yrs before the middle child got to it and 6 yrs before the youngest was ready for it. Is that too long? We are using Apologia for elementary and BJU for middle school. Thanks!

I read TWTM shortly before coming to this board.

First, everything Kathryn, SKL, WishboneDawn, and others have said sum up my thoughts pretty well. Second to albeto, thank you for the dialogue. And I never meant to imply that a woman should dress modestly to protect herself from rape or actual physical attacks. Rape is about power, not attraction, I know. But I do think a woman dressing modestly can protect herself from unwanted advances or more likely just being ogled. And I don't mean that ogling has to mean prolonged staring while drooling. Just that someone would notice her and "enjoy" the view she provided. I would not want someone looking at my daughter the way some people look at the Victoria Secret posters mentioned earlier. And whether they should be looking at those posters in that way or not, they DO, so it's only logical to assume that at least some of them would look at an actual person that way as well. And as far as whether she was wearing the flannel shirt at the time or not, we do not know. But I'm with Kathryn on this. It all makes much more sense if she was not wearing it, and I could easily see her having it tied around her waist or folded over her arm or tucked in her carry-on. In the picture, she doesn't appear to be carrying much around, so it's not like she would be juggling armloads of stuff.

OK, but since we live in a society that sexualizes women that way, how is he making it worse by thinking she should be covered up so that she is not looked at the same way men look at the VS poster? He wasn't ogling her. He was trying to keep her from being ogled. That's not to take the blame away from men who can't control themselves but to protect her from men who won't. Just like you lock the doors on your car/your house to protect your stuff. It sucks that there are people out there who make it necessary, and it's completely their fault if they decide to steal your stuff, but you still do what you can to protect yourself. And different people need different levels of protection to be comfortable (locking the doorknob, locking the deadbolt, using an alarm system, etc.). The only context we have in this case is that she was wearing an outfit that some might consider revealing, while others might not--as evidenced by the responses in this thread. This man happened to think it was revealing, if only because of her age. Who knows? He was either disgusted by it or concerned by it or both, either of which he's allowed to be. He just screwed up by voicing his opinion out loud. That makes him rude and unprofessional. It does not make him a pervert or a misogynist.

I agree completely, although there have been plenty of times that I've really, really, really wanted to! :lol: But even if my opinions got the better of me and I did make a comment, I don't think that would mean that I was actually trying to oppress and dominate them.

Would the reaction to this incident be any different if the TSA agent was a woman? I don't understand why this has to be about men trying to control women. Yes, as long as she's not breaking laws or violating the airport/airline policy, she has a right to dress how she wants. And yes, others have a right to think she's dressed inappropriately (in general or for her age). But it would just be rude to actually say something about it. What if someone told one of the denim jumper folks, "Geez, you need to lighten up a little!" Yes, the denim jumper people can wear denim jumpers all they want. And yes, others can think they're stuffy and prudish. And again, it would be rude to actually say something to them, but I don't think anyone would think the person who spoke was actually trying to control or dominate them. They just didn't know when to keep their opinions to themselves.

This whole thread reminds me of the 30 Rock episode where Liz tells Cerie she needs to wear a bra. You have to see the whole episode to really appreciate it, but... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkdRfbN6eew

When I'm the one speaking, I just use a lot of words to make sure I'm clear. If I am referring to a day within the next 7 days, I say, "THIS Wednesday" or whatever, with an emphasis on the "this". If I'm referring to a day more than 7 days out, I say, "Not this Wednesday, but NEXT Wednesday." Same with past days--a day within the last 7 days is "This past Wednesday" and a day more than 7 days past is "Not this past Wednesday, but the Wednesday before that". If someone else is talking to me, I assume "this week" means anything up to the upcoming Saturday and "next week" means anything past the upcoming Saturday. But if I have any doubts, I always clarify.

I feel for you. And I'm not very experienced with homeschooling, so I can't give you much advice. But, I would just make sure you genuinely expressed your regret and apologies to your husband. Make sure he knows your apology is sincere, and explain that it was your issues that caused you to react that day (tough day, exhaustion, etc.), and not his ability (or lack thereof) to get the kids' schoolwork done. But honestly, your plan sounds pretty good. Helping out where you can, and if you can't help with school, then help with the other stuff, like cleaning. That's what my husband does for me, and it makes a HUGE difference. I'm sorry I'm not more help. :grouphug:

Oh wow. I wouldn't even know what to say to that.

I knew it had to be good! Thanks for providing us with jaw dropping, face palming gold! :)

I wanna know too! :)

Rod and Staff fits your description perfectly. I have used the 6th and 3rd grade books this year, and I've already purchased the 7th and 4th grade books for next year. It is exactly what we need. Things that might make you not like it: 1) It's not a workbook, so any written work needs to be done on a separate sheet of paper. You can purchase worksheets (for 3rd grade and up) to use with it instead, but these are not available for every lesson. 2) It's not colorful. 3) It's very Christian--it's written by Mennonites. The lessons themselves are not religious, but a lot of the sentences used for the exercises are. If you're not Christian, I could see how it might be irritating. 4) It's very old-fashioned in appearance and topics for the exercises (farming, sewing, etc.)--again, Mennonite author.