MLK hasn't come up, but I would. For a general murder the explanation would be short. Maybe something like "Some people are mean and evil and they are willing to harm or kill other people if it benefits them." Just as I wanted her to know that parking lots and streets are dangerous from when she started walking. I want her to know that some other people are dangerous.

Sonlight core either P3/4 or P4/5 All About Reading - Pre Critical Thinking Preschool Bundle I forget the name but that CD that lets you created writing practice worksheets. Color printer cartridges to print some of ConfessionsOfAHomeschooler

I remember when I took the GRE, my study guide said that the math was easier than on the SAT. The assumption being that you forgot more than you learned. With a Physics/Math degree, I found the math so easy it was confusing.

Laundry bags, good idea. I've put freecycled toys through the dishwasher, but I never thought of laundry bags.

For me it is summed up in what I learned reading "Lies my teacher taught me". After figuring the lies that are in your standard American History textbook. The author wrote a textbook. It was rejected for the silliest reasons by committees that granted that it was a more accurate and better book.

You guys are really horrible for my pocketbook. I will be placing my third Amazon this week to get the bear matching game. My second that can be blamed on you guys. I'd seen the teddy matching game on Sonlight, but I'd had so many of the books already I didn't buy the package from them. I bought two different matching games for $1 each at consignment sales. But, I looked at them last night and they just aren't going to cut it. They look flimsy and uninteresting compared to the Teddy Bear game. Then of course I need to get to $25 so I bought some teddy bear counters.

I remember reading about a political/social theory called (?) The Moving window. My memory might be faulty on the name. But the idea is that some people propose something way more radical than they want. People know it is way radical. But, it moves the window of reasonable much closer to the whack-a-doodle's proposal. Same idea behind why adding a $450 breadmaker to a store catalog, caused sales of the $250 breadmaker to rise sharply.

This reminds me a bit of the "Dog Eat Dog" article posted after Sandy Hook that said that the problems of public schools would go away if all kids went to public schools.

Tools of the Mind for preschool. Amazing stuff and makes a great deal of sense.

I am getting that card game. It looks perfect! My 2.5 year-old daughter is obsessed with counting things right now. (The library has 21 steps) We've been waiting to play war with her. Now we won't have to wait.

The biography "American Caesar" was excellent. Long but totally worth it.

For Europe, you wouldn't go wrong reading nothing but Stephen Ambrose. Don't be fooled by the fact that his books were NYT best sellers. His books are both meaty and interesting. It has been awhile since I read one of his (He died about 10 years ago). But I remember the last one I read had perspectives on both sides. His son had contacts to get the perspective from the other side, and did the leg work. Small things like each side was jealous of the other's provisions. We had chocolate and Spam and they had dairy and wine. Soldiers so miserable in the trenches that they wanted to be taken prisoner, and when two groups on patrol would meet they would negotiate over which group got to be taken prisoner. Since they are bestsellers, they are probably all available on Unabridged CD or tapes.

I have never seen an attractive one. When shown one, I will nod and use words like "interesting." They start out looking at best OK, and then the color goes away and the black gets blurry. Anyone remember the reality TV show of Ozzy Osbourne? Probably 10+ years ago. One or both of his kids got a tattoo. He was upset, I forget what his words were exactly but it was something like "when I got mine, they were cool. Now they are just passe." Not that I live my life according to Ozzy, but well, if my mother and Ozzy agree on something, it may be worth paying attention. I remember my husband telling me about a breakroom conversation at work. A female coworker said that since she got a small tattoo at the small of her back every guy she meets thinks she is a tramp. DH explained that guys think any small of the back tattoo is really "Insert here" and then a down arrow. The other guys in the room agreed as well as the one other woman (sheepishly). I berated him for having that type of conversation at work. But, you asked the question. I also don't put bumper stickers on my car.

Why worry about age appropriate? I've watched a couple of documentaries on Underwater Archaeology. They weren't aimed at kids, but they were G-rated.

I have read that doodling can improve focus. If it is something that doesn't require all available brain power, then the mind can wander. The doodling uses the excess brain power and keeps it from wandering. The toys probably do the same thing.

By percentage of the schools budget, state funding is a lot lower. The percentage is what is usually reported. By real dollars, it is about the same. There is a lot of what I consider fluff in the budget. Amount meant on Admin salaries skyrocketed. I don't know the landscaping budget since I haven't seen that broken out, but it is posh. The school was and still is a very non-athletic university. It didn't even have a football team and students were glad. But, after I got my Masters they built a sports stadium for a gazillion dollars. OK, maybe not a gazillion. But, more appropriate for a major league professional team in a small city than a non-athletic University. When they call wanting money I laugh.

When I went back to the same state college to finish my Masters, the tuition costs were 3x what they had been in real dollars. The only difference that I could see was the landscaping was really really pretty,.

"Ancient Rome for 10 denarii a Day." Note, title is by memory. I really enjoyed that book. Obviously written as if it were a "travel guide".

You can do living books for ancient history too. Livy is a very good read, although the Rape of Lucretia story might be for an older person. Although, there was nothing graphic. Herodotus is good too. Skip Babylon, though.

I see nothing wrong with the scaled back versions. I think because of the nuances in the language, you need spoilers to grasp most of it. My favorite way to read Shakespeare for the first time is to get a BBC production at the library and an unabridged version meant for children, i.e 40% of the text is explanatory footnotes. Then read a little, watch a little, repeat.

I have a suggestion. Declare a vacation for yourself. Announce to your family that you are sick and tired of being the only one that does X, Y and Z. Let it get messy. Really really messy. Where people can't find things. Any personal stuff left in communal areas gets dumped in one large pile somewhere like maybe in the hallway (i.e. not divided out by person).

Clockwork Orange in High School????? That was assigned in College Freshman English. I didn't think I was old enough then. Still not old enough. I just remembered another one. There are three books I wish I could unread, and the original version Grimm's Fairy Tales is one. Particularly Cinderella. The movie would be NR because of the violence.

Animal Farm and Ulysses come to mind. Death in Venice (there are many, but the classic German one where an old man spends the whole book lusting after a pre-pub. boy. I remember starting one as a kid that was supposed to be a classic. It was supposed to be a train of thought of a retarded kid. His little sister liked to pull down her panties for the neighbor man. I'd be careful though about banning them to keep these books from being too interesting. I remember reading a bio of an American Revolutionary Admiral. It mentioned that one group in Brussels(?) that published a list of censored books actually put their own list on their of censored books. Apparently, Society types were using it as a reading list.

I thought the AP classes I took where harder than the corresponding college classes. I didn't study for the AP test and only took it because it was free. I got 3's which wasn't sufficient for my large state U.

I looked at the link provided by a PP with the conditions where the parent's aren't needed for the FAFSA. One of them was, "As determined by a court in your state of legal residence, are you or were you an emancipated minor?" So, it looks like that would work Although a sham marriage sounds easier. I can just see it. A subgrouping on the same level as the ForSale and Wanted sections. For parents to match their kids up. My father flat refused to do anything regarding financial aid forms, so I spent a lot of college hungry.