There are a lot of amazing moms here who feed their families on much less than $200 a week, so you certainly have asked the right people! We focus on potatoes, rice, and oatmeal for staples, as well as chickpeas, and add in whatever vegetables and fruits are available/in season. We don't buy flesh, eggs, oil, or dairy. Everyone is healthier here, with fewer colds. Those of us who need to are losing weight with this diet (the McDougall diet). Snacks are air-popped popcorn, fresh fruit or vegetables, or leftovers from the last meal. We pretty much eat whenever we're hungry, and until we're full. Good luck to you!

You may want to take a look at the McDougall diet. Not only does it work great for type 2 diabetes, but my sister is nearly pain-free from rheumatoid arthritis after following this diet for only two weeks. Best of luck!

I will definitely have my high schooler read some, if not all, of A People's History of the U.S. Mary Hood said she had her children read that book alongside, or right after, The Power (or Light?) and the Glory, a history of the U.S. by a conservative historian. She wanted them to compare opposing views of history. Zinn also wrote an autobiography, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (I think that was the title). I find some of his views disturbing, but thought-provoking. I would highly encourage you to read his works before, or alongside, your student. I think you might learn a lot (I did!).

My children regularly correct my French (I'm American; dh is French). It doesn't bother me, although it certainly is humbling. I have a lot of respect for their fluency. I feel kind of sad that I'll never have their ability in their father's language.

Patricia, how do you think Breaking the Barrier Spanish compares with SYRWTLS? If you have time, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Gracias!

Please don't put her in school. Please see where you can be flexible and, if necessary, let her make her own choices regarding what to study, and how and when, at least for a while. As Ellie would say, and John Holt before her, children are learning all the time. The teaching part of homeschooling is optional. We as homeschooling parents have the chance to model humility and become teachable ourselves, especially in a situation like this. In this way, we can be a great example to our kids.

He's going to be an exchange student year after next, and I fear for his shock when he leaves his mother's home. He does nothing, and I do meaning nothing, at home. My sister is a single mom with a high-stress, high-paying job, and no ability, it seems, to discipline her son. Life outside the nest is going to be a rude awakening for Zach . . . Bonjour, Heather in AL. Mon mari est francais, aussi. Il est completement d'accord avec votre mari sur cette jeune fille.

Thanks for sharing that. Very loving, very caring, very inspiring. Thanks a lot.:)

It was 85 or so here today (southern India). Some people on the beach were wearing hoods and scarves. One guy yesterday had a winter coat on. I couldn't believe it.

I think I'd die of loneliness if I didn't homeschool. I just don't feel right without the kids around. I know we all go through times when we'd like a little more quiet or less fighting or whatever, and I appreciate a few hours off like everybody else, but I think it would be really sad not to be with the kids most of the time. I don't know what I'll do when my daughter is in college. Call her everyday and tell her how much I miss her, I guess.:)

Dh and I read your post, and we don't see a problem. Sounds like a great girl any parents would be thrilled to have. She's a self-starter, uses her time wisely, and is passionately following her interests. She's lucky to have a mother who is not domineering and respects her daughter's nature. I'm sure she'll have a wonderful life!:)

Dh's company hired a young engineer from Grove City College in Pennsylvania last year, and he said he had been entirely homeschooled before going to college. He told dh his parents had used Saxon math with him, and he had really liked it. He said he did it on his own, and just went to his parents with any questions he had. He said what he liked about Saxon was that it was very methodical, and he could work on it independently, going at his own speed. We're planning to buy Saxon Algebra I for dd13, so we'll see how it goes for her. For ds6, who seems very interested in math and engineering, I'm buying Singapore, after hearing for years what a great program it is.

At 5 1/2, he started the Fischertechnik kits. He has really enjoyed these, even the advanced ones. Dh said that this ds would be an engineer back when ds was 2 1/2, and frequently told us he wanted to drive the machines he would see (our other kids would say they wanted to ride them). Last summer I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he told me he wanted to be a car fixer or a house builder. He said he didn't want to go to college, but just take apart cars instead. Last fall he was asking me about buying houses, fixing them up, and renting them out. We moved to India recently, and hired two women to cook and clean for us. I was feeling a little guilty about this, and this ds told me, "We're helping them. We're giving them work and we're paying them." He has the business mindset. Dh knew from the time he himself was 4 that he wanted to work with machines, and grew up to be a mechanical engineer (although he also considered being a meteorologist or a priest, lol). Maybe it's in the genes . . .

At 5 1/2, he started the Fischertechnik kits. He has really enjoyed these, even the advanced ones. Dh said that this ds would be an engineer back when ds was 2 1/2, and frequently told us he wanted to drive the machines he would see (our other kids would say they wanted to ride them). Last summer I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he told me he wanted to be a car fixer or a house builder. He said he didn't want to go to college, but just take apart cars instead. Last fall he was asking me about buying houses, fixing them up, and renting them out. We moved to India recently, and hired two women to cook and clean for us. I was feeling a little guilty about this, and this ds told me, "We're helping them. We're giving them work and we're paying them." He has the business mindset. Dh knew from the time he himself was 4 that he wanted to work with machines, and grew up to be a mechanical engineer (although he also considered being a meteorologist or a priest, lol). Maybe it's in the genes . . .

He and his wife promote a vegan diet for health reasons. He also has a somewhat active website. I think you will really feel better going dairy-free. Good luck!:001_smile:

Our oldest is a daughter. I really wanted her to be a girl, the next one a boy, and the one after that a girl. I lucked out on the first two. The last three were boys. I really wanted a girl each of the last three times. Now, I love my boys, but I wasn't counting on having four boys. I'm 38, too, and I'm just not sure about continuing to have kids just to keep trying to get a girl. But I'm not sure about adopting, either. We may just call it quits and hope our daughter doesn't mind having the majority of the care of her parents on her when we're old. I know, everybody will have a story about how this or that boy takes great care of his elderly parents. I am sure that is true. But in my family (10 siblings), it has been the girls that have done the lion's share of caring for elderly parents, and 100% of the emotional support of them. I really think daughters, despite some of the emotional ups and downs (and my boys have at least as many as my daughter), are an investment. Please, throw no tomatoes. This is just my experience and point of view.

Considering she's six years old, I would just try to be very loving with her. Talk about why what she is doing bothers you, with lots of hugs and I love you so muches, hold her on your lap while you're talking to her, and listen carefully and thoughtfully when she tells you why she does what she does. Offer "do-overs". Give in when you can. Try to see things from her point of view. One book some parents like is Kids Are Worth It by Barbara Coloroso. Obedient little kids do not necessarily turn out to be obedient older kids. Focus more on building a relationship with her by listening and respecting her point of view, and then explaining yours. Hold your ground when you really need to, but don't let your own pride or stubbornness guide you. And, of course, if this all sounds crazy, feel free to ignore this post!:)

Hi, Elizabeth! You know, my thirteen pounder was pretty easy to deliver, although it did feel like I was passing a watermelon! But a little background . . . I was due April 25, 2002. Well, April 25 came and went, as did the 26th, 27th, and on and on . . . The midwife was pretty open-minded, but even she was getting a little nervous, and when I was about two weeks over, she said the doctor had to get involved. I started going in for stress tests, but everything was fine. Finally, the doctor said he wanted me to have an ultrasound, and the result was that the baby was 9 (!) lbs. and there wasn't much amniotic fluid left. The doctor recommended I stay in the hospital (where the ultrasound had been done) and be induced. To my (naive) amazement, the midwife agreed. I was stunned! We had already had two home births, and I just assumed we would have a third. To scare me even more, the doctor came in with two nurses, and the nurses started to tell me I would have to have a monitor and some other things. I didn't know what to say, and just started to cry. Well, the doctor started to feel really bad then, and told the nurses I didn't have to have those things. I started to calm down, and he and the nurses left so my husband and I and the midwife could talk. The midwife just didn't seem comfortable doing this 19 day overdue baby at home. So, we agreed that I would be induced at the hospital. The doctor broke my water, the fluid was clear, and an hour and a half later, the contractions started. After about 20 minutes, my midwife said I was in transition. I couldn't believe it! My second birth had been 6 hours, my first 9 hours, and I couldn't believe I could be in transition after only 20 minutes. Then after about 10 more minutes, I started pushing, and that took some time. I only had a desire to push every 7 or 8 minutes or so, and just kept walking as fast as I could around the room. After about 6 contractions (40 minutes), all of a sudden I squatted down, the doctor and midwife on the floor, and my watermelon came out. A big, strapping, 13 lb. 2 oz. 23 inch long body builder baby boy! And I had been sure I was having a girl! I was so stunned! I turned to my husband and said, "I guess C..... is here!" The hospital had never had such a big baby (it was a pretty new hospital, though, only 3 1/2 years old). Some doctors and nurses from other units came to see him. The maternity ward didn't have diapers big enough for him, so they called pediatrics for some. The hardest thing about the birth was the recovery. It took 5 1/2 weeks for me to walk upright again. My abdominal muscles had really been stretched out! And, there was the hemorrhaging after the birth. I also remember the midwife saying I measured 50 centimeters before I birthed that one. She had never had anyone measure that big before. You know, I never considered a section. I just wanted the baby to come when it needed to come. For the last two, though, my midwife didn't want to wait very long after the due date, and we complied. Three years ago, our third son was induced 4 days over his due date. For our little one born in August, I went into labor one hour before I was supposed to be induced, the day after his due date. To be honest, numbers 3 and 5 were the easiest to birth, because they were in a good position, and the labors were not too long (about an hour and a half total). What really scares me is back labor. In my experience, truly h**l on earth! I hope I answered your questions, Elizabeth. It was fun to relive the experience!:)

My second, my first boy, was 11 lbs (the midwife's scale only went to 11 lbs., so maybe he was bigger!). My third, another boy, was 13 lbs., 2 oz. My last two, also boys, were 10 lbs., and 10 lbs. 4 oz. I ate much the same with all of them, wasn't diabetic, and they're all normal size now (well, number 5 is only 2 mos. old, but he seems normal enough). They were all vaginal, drug-free births with no complications.

To be honest, I'm dreading it. But dh got transferred to India from France, so at least we're out of France and back here in the U.S. for a while. We'll be south of Madras. My dh says there shouldn't be any problem for homeschooling in India. Like one of my friends said, India has bigger problems than worrying about homeschoolers.