West Hartford is a lovely town that sounds like it would be perfect for your needs. It is one of the few desireable towns or cities in CT that is truly walkable. Hamden is nice but not comparable to West Harford.

I don't recall everything I read but if memory serves me the highlights were: 5th Grade: Watership Down Julius Caesar The Pigman As I Lay Dying 6th Grade: The Westing Game The Red Badge of Courage Romeo and Juliet Washington Irving stories complete with a field trip to his home in Tarrytown, NY This year is fuzzy probably from all of the Judy Blume novels I read out of school! Middle School (7th and 8th): Grapes of Wrath Huckleberry Finn Night Animal Farm Brave New World Our Town Heart of Darkness Farenheight 451 quite a bit of Poe as well High School (I have a hard time remembering which year was which because I had the same teacher 9th honors English through AP English in 12th): Pride and Prejudice Sense and Sensibility King Lear The Jungle A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Madame Bovary Jude the Obscure Alice in Wonderland Great Expectations The Canterbury Tales quite a bit of Shakepeare Crime and Punishment Uncle Tom's Cabin Vanity Fair The Odyssey The Scarlett Letter I Robot Those were some of the assigned books. In High School there were projects where I could select my on books and I recall selecting Middlemarch and The Moonstone. There were probably others.

Actually in order to hold a job as a librarian in most parts of the country you do need that masters degree. Libraries may have other staff members that do not have a MLS, but I doubt any would have the title librarian.

My kids' technology classes are similar to this. They are once a week but sometimes they will tie in with what they are doing in library which is another day a week. I've never heard of daily phys ed classes in elementary school. They didn't have it when I was a kid either. Here my kids have phys ed once a week.

How about everyone in the pool or pool party?

For my dd I use one of the hanging organizers from Ikea -I agree hat the velcro needs to be reinforced. She also has one of those over the door hanging shoe organizers with pockets for the shoes. The pockets work great for smaller stuffies as well, and they look cute - Like they're in little sleeping bags.

I like craft kits as gifts. Even if the girl already has it she can always make more.

Stella Doro now makes Chocolate Swiss Fudge Cookies. I just ate half the package in one sitting.

People always tell me how much they love my lasagna! It's just the recipe on the back of the Barilla no boil lasagna noodle box. I double the ricotta cheese -It couldn't be easier.

Pop κουλτούρα - That's Pop Culture in Greek! :)

I know many people who homeschool and many who many who take advantage of ps. I see both camps on fb every day. The only time I ever see controversy or people getting offended is when one side makes an assumption about the other. I've often found myself getting slightly miffed in those situations as well. Think about what you posted. You essentially said that all kids in public schools are immersed in pop culture -a stereotype no? What if a parent wrote that a homeschooled child would never know who Michael Phelps is?

Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium are great destinations too. I would suggest you check an on-line fall foliage forecaster as the time approaches. Here in Connecticut our leaves don't really hit peak until around mid-October.

I understand where the OP is coming from. I have a friend who treats her 8 yo son similarly. I actually feel bad for the kid. he is completely helpless. He is a smart kid, no issues that I can tell but she oversees his every move. She even accompanies him to the bathroom in their own home to assist if he needs her. It's odd. It makes playdates strange for my kids. They are used to well, just playing. This kid is constantly going to his mother either telling her what he is going to do or asking her if he can do things. He can't even grab a glass of water by himself. I can't imagine a similar relationship with w 13 yo but I'm sure that is in the cards.

This thread is so interesting to me because I guess in my world things are so different. Where I live the pool of parents that homeschool and the pool of parents that utilize the ps are very similar. Educated people who take a vested interest and actively participate in their children's education. The public elementary schools routinely have approximately 95-98% of students reaching the "goal" level for testing and 70% reaching the "advanced" level. Goal level usually indicates what people would consider grade level in this state and advanced is usually a few "grade levels"ahead. People never use those terms though because in each instance the score they get is a range of grades. For instance a score a 3rd grader may achieve in the test that indicates "advanced" may place ranges them in the range of 3rd grade to 6th grade in a particular subject. I guess some could say that child is working at a 6th grade level but it would be silly to do so because 70% of their class is at that level and it is meaningless. That is the level the cirriculum is geared towards and students are increasingly challenged as necessary. Many homeschoolers take the same or similar tests and even when they don't, they often use grade level to indicate age. The only time I really hear "bragging" is when it comes to athletic ability or when we are talking about 3 and 4 year olds. I once read that 90% of the parents of 4 year old think their children are gifted. That I believe!

I agree that other people's opinions should not matter to you, but you state that your husband tells people your children's education is "better than any amount of money could buy." If someone said this about their kids and what they are doing is drastically different than what you do, wouldn't you get defensive too?

All I can say is wow! I'm in the library all the time and I've never seen unruly kids aside from the occasional toddler tantrum. Our library does not allow unattended kids under 12 I believe. You are also limited to one hour on the computer but most of the time I only see people using the computers to locate books or do work or research.

I'm so shocked by this. Where I live cursive is taught in PS in 3rd grade and everything from the end of 3rd on is required to be in cursive (if it is handwritten).

I'm also in New England and I've never heard the expression before reading it in a thread today. I didn't even realize it was an actual expression. I just thought it was how someone chose to word their question!

I'd be more shocked if it was your daughter who did this and your son was using common sense! Ah...boys :tongue_smilie:

Girl Scouts and and many Park and Rec classes like Lego Robotics, Pottery, Mad Science, Animation Filmaker, etc. are directly after school (3:15-around 5:00). Sports on the other hand have always been in the evening with games during the week or on Saturday/Sunday.

My DD loved and still loves Corgiville Fair by Tasha Tudor

I always joked with my sister about the "cheese" names she liked growing up if she ever had twin boys, Colby and Jack!!!

On the news they stated that Anne and few other members of the family chose to be with her father, Prince Philip. He is ill and in the hospital and therefore couldn't participate himself.

:iagree:

Where I live the cutoff for Kindergarten is the end of the year so kids with Sept to Dec birthdays are 4. It was popular about 10 years ago for people to hold kids back a year and start them later but about 5 years ago it started falling out of favor. Kindergarten is aimed at those 4/5 year olds and the kids that were turning 6 were finding themselves essentially with "babies" and becoming frustrated. Now you really only see kids who are assessed as not ready academically for K being held a year.