:iagree:

Interestingly, this very issue came up at our house just last night when EK went to a festival with a friend and the friend's mom, who was the driver. EK told us that the mom had at least one drink with dinner, and then drove EK home. We have a zero tolerance policy. We do not drink. Period. We do not have alcohol in our home, nor do we drink in public. Ever. I am upset that someone whom I trusted with my child chose to drink in front of her and then drive with my child in the car. We have instructed our children not to ever ride with a friend who has been drinking, and I am certain that if that had been the case, EK would have refused to ride with that person. The situation was made much more difficult because the drinker was the adult who was in charge. I will have a talk with my daughter to make sure that she knows that if this ever happens again, she should call me or dh to pick her up, and refuse to ride with anyone who has been drinking.

We didn't "officially" start homeschooling until 1996, but I started planning for it back in 1991 or 1992. I went to an ABeka motel display about that time--I didn't really know anything else existed! Then a friend gave me a copy of Mary Pride's Big Book of Home Learning and I became a curriculum junkie! By the time we officially started homeschooling, I already had a ton of stuff--and some of it I still have and cannot bear to part with! Things have really, really changed since then. There is so much stuff out there, and homeschooling is so much more accepted now. We live in a rural area and didn't get internet or satellite television until 1998. (Cable is still not available where we live, and we only got DSL instead of dial-up relatively recently.) Those two things--internet and satellite television--revolutionized everything for us.

Thanks! Yes, that does make sense. And I'll look more closely at the music portion of MFW.

Yes, this is what we do too--we use 4 or more textbooks as reference spines, and we go back and forth between them so that we get a fuller picture. But by picking and choosing sections in those books, I get confused as to what we've read already and what we haven't read yet. :tongue_smilie: I fear that by doing it piecemeal, we'll cover some things twice (or more) and some not at all. I guess I fear that we'll have gaps. I'm not quite sure what you mean by what you said here. I'm seriously considering using MFW for history with my now-7th grader when she gets to high school. My tentative plan is to use the Creation to the Greeks/ Rome to the Reformation/ Exploration to 1850/ 1850 to Modern Times sequence, supplementing with the art/music/architecture part of TRISMS and also some additional high school literature selections. She has some learning issues, so that should work well for her.

Yes, of course. I guess what I really mean is literature-based history. I'll go back and edit my original post. Thanks.

I'm trying to compile a list: Which well-known unit study or literature-based programs cover history more or less chronologically (as opposed to geographically)? We've been using TRISMS, which is divided chronologically into 4 one-year studies: Ancients, Rome & the Middle Ages, Renaissance/Reformation & Exploration/Colonization, Modern. Within each year, history is studied geographically. This year, for example, we are doing TRISMS Rise of Nations, and we started with Africa, then went to Pre-Columbian America, then Italy (Renaissance), and so on. I dearly LOVE the way TRISMS includes the study of art, architecture, and music, and also the way it incorporates research into the lessons. However, I'm finding that it's next to impossible to cover European history (Italy, Spain, France, England, Germany...) without overlapping because those countries' histories are so intertwined, so the geographic thing doesn't seem to be working well. I'm just wondering what else is out there that might go more chronologically... TOG? MFW? WP? SL? HO? BF?

I had very similar experiences in the classroom when I taught in public and private schools. I "retired" when my oldest was a toddler, and while I would consider working in a private school with very small classes, I don't think I want to ever go back to the public school again.

I have a low-sugar oatmeal cookie recipe that everyone LOVES. They have pecans, oats, flour (sometimes I use whole wheat), raisins, and chocolate chips. Sometimes I even add peanut butter. We eat them as breakfast cookies.

I ONLY leave my purse in the car if the purse is well hidden AND the car is locked. To leave it out in the open, even if the car is locked, is just asking for it to be stolen.

In Georgia, we are not required to stop, but we are required to yield the right of way. I always stop. Pretty much EVERYONE here does. It's considered extremely rude not to do so. O.C.G.A. 40-6-76 (2010) 40-6-76. Funeral processions (a) As used in this Code section, a "funeral procession" means an array of motor vehicles in which the lead vehicle displays a sign, pennant, flag, or other insignia furnished by a funeral home indicating a funeral procession unless led by a state or local law enforcement vehicle and each vehicle participating in the funeral procession is operating its headlights. (b) Funeral processions shall have the right of way at intersections subject to the following conditions and exceptions: (1) Operators of vehicles in a funeral procession shall yield the right of way upon the approach of an authorized emergency vehicle or law enforcement vehicle giving an audible and visual signal; and (2) Operators of vehicles in a funeral procession shall yield the right of way when directed to do so by a traffic officer. © Funeral processions escorted by the police, a sheriff, or a sheriff's deputy shall have the right of way in any street or highway through which they may pass. Local governments may, by ordinance, provide for such escort service and provide for the imposition of reasonable fees to defray the cost of such service. (d) The operator of a vehicle not in a funeral procession shall not interrupt a funeral procession except when authorized to do so by a traffic officer or when such vehicle is an authorized emergency vehicle or law enforcement vehicle giving an audible and visual signal. (e) Operators of vehicles not a part of a funeral procession shall not join a funeral procession by operating their headlights for the purpose of securing the right of way granted by this Code section to funeral processions. (f) The operator of a vehicle not in a funeral procession shall not attempt to pass vehicles in a funeral procession on a two-lane highway. (g) Any person violating subsection (d), (e), or (f) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $100.00. (h) Any law enforcement officer who is directing or escorting a funeral procession in this state, whether such service is provided while on duty or not, shall enjoy the same immunities from liability as the officer possesses while in the performance of other official duties.

For me, that will be in about a year and a half when EK graduates from our homeschool. I will be 52 years old. I am already teaching a 7th grader, the child of a friend. She'll be in 9th grade the next year after EK graduates, and I will likely continue to teach her. If so, I plan to also recruit a few additional students (girls only) also. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably get a job at the local Christian school. It would be fun to go back to teaching little ones to read. I am considering returning to school and adding on my Ed.S. degree. (I already have an M.Ed.) I am thinking that I might want to be a reading specialist.

:iagree:

I know how you feel. We pulled out our old vhs tapes, and I couldn't believe one of the episodes. EK (then 2yo, now 17yo) was on the screened porch while I was recording a video of ER (then 6 yo) learning to ride a bike. EK was pleading, "I want to come out there with y'all!" and I kept saying, "No, you have to stay on the porch." The reason was that I couldn't watch her and video him at the same time, and I knew that she would run out in front of him and he'd crash into her and they might both be hurt. (As I recall, it did happen sometime later, but not that day.) But she sounds so, so pitiful on that tape, and to me, it makes me seem like the meanest mommy ever, making her stay on the porch and watch him in the yard having fun. :(

We're about to finish up the Cameron Townsend biography (read aloud), and parts of it are pretty interesting, but I can't say we're exactly enjoying it. :-/ I'm reading as enthusiastically as I can, but there's only so much I can do to make it interesting, KWIM? I also have these Christian Heroes biographies sitting on the shelf, ready for when they come up in ECC: Amy Carmichael Nate Saint George Müller David Livingstone Gladys Aylward Can I expect any of them to be any better than the one we're reading now? If not, I'm going to need recommendations for books to substitute for the ones on the list. THANKS!

:iagree:

Not a single soul, AFAIK, and I think I like it that way. :lol: I once met momoften, but I don't think she posts here any more. Someone here once asked, "Do you tell your homeschooling friends about these boards?" One person responded something to the effect of, "I like being able to come here and spill my guts and know that nobody I know IRL will ever see it, and even on the off chance that they did, they wouldn't know it was me." That's kinda how I feel. :p

:iagree:

:lol:

Yes, he meant citiing several sources throughout a paper. He researches extensively before he starts to write, taking notes on notecards from several sources (usually 5-10), then organizes his cards and writes his paper directly from the cards. (This is also the way I was taught to write papers back in the 70s.) About the cards: I've noticed that some writing instructors (including, I think, Robin Finley, author of Teaching the Research Paper, which quite a few WTM folks use) discourage the use of notecards when writing papers, but ER says they are integral to the way he organizes his research.

ER found out yesterday that he'd made a 100 on the paper he wrote for his mid-term in one of his upper-level classes (Apologetics). Of course, I was ecstatic, and he was pretty happy too! He consistently gets top marks from all of his professors whenever he writes a paper. Now, understand that I never considered myself much of a writing instructor, and I really didn't feel I'd done all that great a job of teaching him how to write. When ER was in high school, we used Wordsmith Craftsman (which he disliked) and Format Writing (which he disliked only slightly less), so I'm truly not sure how much these helped. The thing was, though, that I had him work on a writing assignment almost every day. During his senior year, I enrolled him in a research paper class taught by a former high school teacher, and she taught the students how to use note cards and how to organize their work with outlines. At the time, I wasn't exactly impressed, although she seemed to do an adequate job of teaching the basics. But fast-forward a few years, and his professors all love his work, and apparently it's not a fluke, because he's been enrolled in two different colleges now, with the same result. And now I have to lead EK along that same path and be sure she's ready for college writing... So, I asked ER, "What in high school writing was most helpful to you in learning to write for college classes and learning to express yourself?" His prompt answer was, "I learned to make a solid outline and use multiple examples [from several sources]. Using note cards and organizing my information in an outline helped me the most." I also asked him if learning to write those 30-minute essays for the SAT was similar in any way to college writing. He said, "Just enough so that it helped. They help you learn to organize your thoughts. But with college writing, you actually have to know how to research." So, there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth. :)

I think it's completely normal. My dad died almost 10 years ago (November 2001), and there are still days when I get those twinges and get choked up and/or cry. Heck, I still get choked up thinking about my cat who died almost 2 years ago (December 2009). Your grief is an integral part of who you are, and no one grieves exactly the same way as someone else. It does get easier, and the weepy times get further and further apart--for me, anyway. But normal is what's normal for YOU. ((((Tanya))))

Yep, same here.

I completely understand the tickle-in-the-throat thing! And allergy medications do seem to help; I take Claritin.

From what I've learned from my (admittedly limited) research, experts say that a peak flow meter may not be helpful for cough-variant asthma. I'm wondering if any of you have found this to be true in your case.