I say eye-dull. I may be wrong. But nobody has ever laughed at me for saying it that way.

Yup. If she wants to text, she can get a job to pay for the extra, and she can give you the money to cover it each month. I assume that you have a family phone plan so it's all on one big bill? WRT the checking account, I know so many ADULTS who can't manage their debit cards that I'd be wary of starting out that way. I'd say let her run a "cash economy" out of her desk drawer to start, and tell her that once she has, say, $300 saved up in addition to paying her regular expenses, you will take her down to the bank to open up her own account with her own debit card, and she'll have control and responsibility for the money that she deposits and withdraws from that account. And THEN, I'd track the account online until she turns 18 - not to pry, but to have some warning if she gets into a pattern of nearly overdrawing so you can head it off and help her learn to Respect The Cushion.

"The only information they have given is that the materials would be K12. There has been no information released yet on placement, accountability or requirements." Run, do not walk, away from this situation. We used a K12 virtual academy that was in its second year of operation, and in addition to the fundamental inferiority of the curriculum, dealing with the newbie administration as they tried to figure out how to run things was a whole 'nother headache. I hear that K12 coursework in the higher grades can be a really good fit for some kids, and I'm glad the option exists, but for littles? Fluff and busywork. If the SL core is your idea of appropriate curriculum, then you are operating your homeschool at a higher level than K12, and you will do better by your kids to use the library and have a nice old-fashioned year of reading, writing and arithmetic.

"Another Republican board member, David Bradley, said the curriculum revision process has always been political — but this time, the ruling faction had changed since the last time social studies standards were adopted. "We took our licks, we got outvoted," he said referring to the debate from 10 years earlier. "Now it's 10-5 in the other direction ... we're an elected body, this is a political process. Outside that, go find yourself a benevolent dictator." Ultimately, that's one it comes down to. I respect the right of the sovereign state of Texas to set its own education standards. In all honestly, I think the federal DOE is unconstitutional. That said, I would also rather live in hell and rent out Texas. :tongue_smilie:

" If she likes my son and assumes me to be an ally rather than an enemy, we'll be just fine even if she isn't the crunchy type I hope she'll be." :iagree: There are a lot of things I HOPE for in a DIL - but basically the only things I REQUIRE for a workable relationship is that she be well matched with my ds and be able to come to an understanding of the fact that I, right behind her and my ds and hopefully in conjunction with her own mother, am the #3 person on the list of People Who Love My Children More Than Life And Will Do Anything For Them.

We hope our children find spouses who will make them happy. Even if they drag home a fundamentalist Christian, we accept the situation. Then again, we are working really hard to raise children who would retreat in shocked horror from a potential partner who started to explain how dinosaurs and humans must have existed at the same time :tongue_smilie: I do think that it is something to be AWARE of when a dd talks about only being attracted to same-race men, but it's not something to panic about. If you are providing the opportunity for her to have a positive impression of men with various racial backgrounds, then you are doing your job. Ultimately, setting the criteria for a spouse is going to be up to her. My ds, age 6, asked me just the other day, "how come Jewish people can't marry church people?" I had never told him that. I don't BELIEVE that. It's amazing what kids pick up on, from a very young age, just by internalizing the tenor of their dominant culture. All you can do is craft a reasonable response about how true love isn't always where you think you'll find it and that Mommy and Daddy will support you in any healthy relationship you choose to pursue.

I'm so sorry, Laura. With your dh, I don't see any reason to push testing (although he will probably end up seeking a dx at some point if the symptoms worsen and it is, in fact, Huntington's). With kids, I would have the test done as the opportunity presented itself. If a person's life is going to be shortened and their death is going to be an ugly one, there are a lot of decisions they might make differently in their twenties and thirties. All their choices about career path, marriage, family etc. would be affected by this knowledge. Testing can't alter their ultimate fate, but it can give them the heads-up to live their young adult years in the way that is most satisfying to them, and not defer their dreams until retirement. Again, I'm so, so sorry.

Eh. There are really two people involved here - your stepson who wets the bed, and you who changes the sheets. Preserving his privacy and dignity by addressing the issue without bringing in his dad for a roundtable is probably the right thing to do. And if you put it to your husband in just that way, he might agree. He may have never considered the fact that your stepson might prefer to keep this between himself and the Mom figure in the house.

Hurrah! :thumbup:

I do not know Kari personally, but I'm in Greenville and will do any legwork required. I'd be happy to go make meals at Dinner's Ready or some such place, deliver flowers, etc.

I am starting SSL next year for first grade. I ordered the book a few weeks ago, and it looks very appropriate for my six year old.

I've been to therapy with kids in tow, and I've homeschooled a kindergartner this year. So those are my qualifications for addressing your situation ;) In our case, it was my now-kindergartner who was going to therapy and his toddler and infant sister who were being dragged along. In all honesty, if your ds isn't under your verbal control during the therapy sessions, then I don't see how you can participate effectively. I can only imagine how frustrating that must be for you. That said, I decided that full-day kindy (the only public option offered here) was just way too intense for my kid, and that the few half-day private programs around were too intense for our budget. :D If you have an option for a half-day program that you can afford, I think that might not be a bad idea. If you don't - I think a little behavior modification might not be a bad idea. 5 years old is old enough to to SIT and BE SILENT during a therapy session. This could be a time to watch a portable DVD player, complete an easy independent assignment like coloring, etc. If I had to get my mildly ADHD 5 y.o. to refrain from interrupting me during an important interaction like therapy, I'd probably go with the double-pronged approach: a) a special toy (like my iPad) that he only gets to play with during these times and b) punishment at home if the behavior in public is unacceptable. No dessert or something like that. The transition from toddler mode (I'll run around causing havoc while my hapless parent chases me) to child mode (I can understand verbal instructions and I generally have the emotional maturity to follow them) can be a tough one. But I'd say that your ds either needs to make it or be elsewhere during therapy. All things being equal, schooling a kindergartner at home is really the easiest choice - no commute, no busywork, no drama. But the needs of your younger son are throwing a wrench in what would otherwise be an easy decision to make. You might want to ask your dh to attend a therapy session with you so he can see how things are going. Right now he's got an opinion based on incomplete information. Plus, he might be able to straighten your elder son out just by adding the weight of Daddy disapproval to the distracting behaviors.

"I don't want the indefensible to be normalized in the U.S." It already is. Given the choice between "nicking" a daughter of mine and circumcising a son of mine - it would be no choice at all. I don't intend to do either, but I don't see any legal basis for disallowing a tiny ritual cut on a girl's genitals, given the staunch legal support for the hideous ritual cutting that is such an entrenched problem among my own people.

While I share the general irritation at the parent who does NO research trying to supersede the judgment of the parent who has done TONS of research... I wouldn't be surprised if you are totally happy with the MODG curiculum. I flipped through the kindy syllabus and the sample lessons and it looks pretty standard for somebody who's planning on providing a classical education. The trick is not to be slavishly devoted to any curriculum. If you want to make Montessori materials and present some Montessori lessons, do it! If your child cries every time you try to give a MODG Music lesson, understand that that element is not a good fit and do something else. And for pete's sake, don't worry YET that he'll need to repeat a grade. Many little boys (mine included) are very difficult to teach the year that they are four, yet completely able to do a kindy curriculum the year that they are 5. Bottom line: it's not worth a fight. Not for $200. If you spend a year using the MODG stuff and don't love it, THEN it's worth the fight to not use it for 1st grade.

Latin, Greek and Hebrew are the goal languages in this household - and I'll be darned if I can understand why you Christian folk do not prioritize literacy in Hebrew. ;) Some fairly important stuff has been written down in that language. I hope very much that my children become passable speakers of several modern languages - but IMO that's a life experience thing, not a formal education thing.

My kids are turning 6, 4 and 1 this month, and I am soooooo over kid birthday parties. Spending money to get a pile of cheap plastic crap? No thanks. We are inviting our homeschool and AP playgroups for a combined playdate at our house, and I am serving cupcakes and juice. No favors, no presents. It's going to be great.

:iagree: My son is an enthusiastic student, very tolerant of seat work, etc. But our schoolday goes right down the tubes if I don't come down like the icy wrath of God Almighty at the first sign of whining, eye-rolling, or other disrespectful behavior. And that's the trigger word - "disrespectful." When I point out in a quiet voice that whatever he's doing is disrespectful, he turns it right off. Presumably all kids have some sort of catchphrase that get their attention and redirects them. Being cool with my kindergartner just doesn't work. Not for school. We can laugh and enjoy ourselves IF the work is proceeding apace, but I need to keep my 19th century schoolmarm right below the surface if I want to finish our work in 90 minutes with no drama.

My ds and I have worked through the beginning of the Usborne Encyclopedia, completing a notebook page for each 2-page spread, and getting out library books on the various topics that piqued his interest (notably dinosaurs). We have also watched these series over the course of the year: Before The Dinosaurs, Walking With Dinosaurs, Walking With Prehistoric Beasts, and Walking With Cavemen - all off Netflix. I really like this approach, as it was 1) cheap 2) easy 3) helped ds develop narration skills. I am not much of a project person. We're starting SOTW next year.

Nobody in this family gets to go to the mall without me until they can drive :001_smile: But yes, that means that my 16 y.o. can go to the mall to meet a friend. Of course, nobody who hasn't been to our home and eaten a meal with our family can reasonably be considered a friend. If this is desperately important to your son and/or the mall is one of the very few places when teens may gather in your area, you might consider going to the mall yourself and letting him wander off for awhile with his friend. It is an unfortunate fact that almost every other place teens can meet at is LESS safe and reputable than the mall. Having grown up in the post-dating era, I am a huge fan of teenage dating. It's the "hanging out" that terrifies me, especially the "hanging out" in some lax household where there is no parent present and no mall cop walking by.

The public school kids are "racy." The homeschool group families are "strange." I'm thinking maybe your dd feels lonely and isolated. Why not let her try ps and see if she can locate some non-racy friends there? If it goes badly, you can ALWAYS pull the plug mid-year.

...and this is what I hate about permanent legal guardianship. It's way for the state to recoup some money, I guess, but that little bit of $$ is not worth the shift in attitude that it causes. Would you have left one of your biological children for three days in a hotel room with a mentally ill woman? No? Then show the same level of mamabear protectiveness for your dd3, and hire a respite provider who you have used for your "own" kids in the past (i.e. your friend who has watched dd2). YOU are the parents - I don't care what the birth certificate says. She may have a bond with her biofather, but he's never had a parental role in her life. If he'd like to have one - if he'd like to move to your area and start fulfilling his responsibilities, which of course he is NOT right now, regardless of how much he pays the state, then that would be great. I can see why you'd want that. I would want that myself, for a child who had been given into my guardianship. But that ball is in his court. Your job is to love and protect your dd3 just as you love and protect the children you gave birth to. SHE is your priority - not her hard-luck biodad or his struggling family.

"...Add immodest clothing, a petting here and there, a hug, and on and on...the boy's bubble is gonna pop!" Is this some cutesy way of saying "the boy is going to lose control and commit assault?" Because if so, it's pretty revolting. He'd better watch himself when he lands in jail, because who knows if the sexxxy way he brushes his teeth might make his cellmate's "bubble pop"... If what you are actually saying is, "the boy might agree to have sexual relations with the girl who has approached him" - well OK then. Not my business. I guess it's his parents' business, if they are opposed to premarital sexual relations and he's under 18. If what you are actually saying is "the boy might get all turned on and go home and masturbate," - this seems like a more likely outcome, frankly, of sexy clothing and hugging and dancing at a well-supervised social function for teens. And THAT one is definitely no one's business, especially the parents! If you (general you) are trying to stop your teenage boy from masturbating, look to yourselves for the source of sexual trauma in his life. Leave the girls and their prom dresses right out of it. And seek help for yourself, because DANG.

"A woman walking around in tight clothing or a mini skirt with cleavage showing is like walking past a dog with a piece of raw meat in your hand and expecting that dog to ignore you." Yeah, if men were domesticated animals instead of beings fashioned in the image of God, possessing the gift of free will. I've heard similar arguments made by people in my own faith tradition who think that a woman's HAIR constitutes a provocative public display. You might say, "refusing to wear a wig and refusing to wear loose, long clothing are two totally different things!" But it doesn't feel that way to me.

"Easier to set the bar high on the modesty scale than to have the fashion police picking over everyone's wardrobe." But easier yet is to set your OWN standards for YOURSELF, and refrain from gossiping, sneering, leering, and other such crass and ungodly behavior, regardless of the outfits you may encounter on other people, or whether or not you are a "visual" person. When we make the outfits and/or the batted eyelashes the problem, we send young (and old!) men with conservative sexual mores a message that 1) we think they are weak and untrustworthy 2) we do not truly accept the internal logic of our ideology and 3) how a female dresses or acts is a relevant consideration in determining whether or not she shall be accorded the respect that ALL men owe to ALL women under a conservative social model. Women can't make men break faith with their own sincerely held beliefs. It may be easier to blame sultry teenage Jezebels when our sons are unchaste, but it's probably more accurate to accept that our son's path might not be our own. It probably also makes sense to hold out hope that the apex of his spiritual development has not been reached in the teen years. ;) When a guy is gonna, he's gonna.

Here is the list of what I bought to go with SOTW1 and the AG. Bear in mind that these are also my Literature selections. These books plus FLL, Spelling Workout, Singapore and Song School Latin comprise ALL of of my curriculum for next year. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 of: The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, Editors of Kingfisher Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $19.77 1 of: Who Were the First North Americans? (Starting Point History), Philippa Wingate, Struan Reid Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $4.99 $12.47 1 of: The Revenge of Ishtar (The Gilgamesh Trilogy), Ludmila Zeman Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $8.95 1 of: The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (The Gilgamesh Trilogy), Ludmila Zeman Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $8.95 $12.89 1 of: Gilgamesh the King (The Gilgamesh Trilogy), Ludmila Zeman Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $8.95 1 of: Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, Marian Broida Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $11.53 1 of: Famous Men of Rome, John Haaren Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $11.65 1 of: Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, Marian Broida Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $11.53 1 of: Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad', Rosemary Sutcliff Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $6.50 1 of: Ancient Agriculture: From Foraging to Farming (Ancient Technology), Michael Woods, Mary B. Woods Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $21.59 1 of: One Small Blue Bead, Byrd Baylor, Ronald Himler Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC 1 of: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Mary Hoffman, M. P. Robertson Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC $7.95 1 of: I Once Was a Monkey: Stories Buddha Told, $12.23 Jeanne M. Lee Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC 1 of: D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, Ingri d'Aulaire, Edgar Parin d'Aulaire $19.77 Condition: New Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We already owned the Usborne encyclopedia. If forced to pare down and not using this as a Lit curriculum, I think I'd ditch the picture books except for the D'Aulaire's, and keep the cheaper and meatier Black Ships Before Troy, the covering-obscure-info Who Were the First North Americans, and the the Israelite and Egyptian activity guides, which I purchased more for their additional reading about obscure cultures than for their activities. I am also waiting with bated breath for the new version of the Classical Education Timeline from Pandia Press.