:grouphug: I am so sorry.

Both of my boys are over 18 and both have cars (hand-me-downs from both grandmas). We do pay their insurance. Oldest ds is away at college but leaves his car at home, which gives us a huge discount. Dh and I have said from the start that all car AND cell phone expenses become their own the minute they: a) decide to take the car to school b) let their grades drop c) graduate d) move out, or e) decide they are ready to be independent (we threw this one in to avoid the 'I'm an adult and don't have to follow house rules'). My kids have known this from the start and both see the use of a car and cell phone without the expense as a privilege that they appreciate and want to keep at this time so they readily abide by the rules. I imagine if we had first implemented the rules at the point one of the above happened, instead of prior to them even being an issue, they might interpret the rule as a punishment designed to control them. My kids tend to roll their eyes when I lay down a list of rules for something that isn't an issue right now but at least they know up front what to expect.

Option E for the piano. DD expressed an interest in playing piano at 5 and we made her wait a year. She never really jelled with teacher #1 so never really put her all into it. Now that we've switched teachers she has really taken off in her motivation and ability. Our plan is that she will continue with lessons until high school - longer if she chooses. On the other hand, she also picked up violin about 6 months ago. She LOVES it and is doing very well but how long she continues is entirely up to her. Both of our sons are percussionists and have been playing since 8 years old. We believe that instrumental music is an important component of a well-rounded education so we'll insist on at least one instrument. Fortunately, dd is still on board with that.

This makes sense and I applaud your school for accommodating your children's learning needs.

Hmm. . . .Even though they agreed to accelerate him they placed him a year or two behind where you believe him to be. And that heavy workload of homework from the school will slow his acceleration because it cuts into your afterschooling. I hate to say it but that might have been the school's intent. Can you tell I have a salty taste in my mouth? We're homeschoolers now, too. Perhaps you can send the work you do at home with him to school to replace what they are doing. Maybe you can teach the lesson as afterschoolers and then he can do the workbooks at school during regular math time. I hope you find a solution that truly works for your son.

My daughter does both. She started piano lessons at 6 with a traditional teacher but for whatever reason she just didn't take to it well. She could play, but didn't really want to sit and practice that much. Also, her teacher was not a big fan of parents hanging around during the lesson and I think at 6 yo she just needed someone else to get what she was supposed to do so that we could reinforce it at home. I had a hard time encouraging her because I just didn't get it myself. Flash forward to just turned 9 yo. DD was invited to her friend's Suzuki recital and she was immediately drawn to it. We started shortly after with a teacher who could teach both methods and it was a perfect fit! In less than a year dd is nearly finished with Suzuki book 1, and has also gone through a year of the Faber series. I really think my presence in her lesson has given her the confidence to know that she CAN get through her lesson every week because if she gets stuck, I will be there to help talk her through it (I do not play the piano but I take good notes during her lesson). She felt instant success with the Suzuki because she plays well by ear, but the added bonus was that her sight reading improved tremendously. I'm not sure how many teachers can, do, or will teach both methods but for us it was the best option.

I was taught to use two spaces but had to make the change at work when they decided to make a company wide switch to one space (we actually had an all staff training on this). I frequently forgot during the transaction so I started doing a "find" and "replace" on all of my documents to look for two spaces and replace with one. As long as I remembered to do that as a final proofing technique I was able to catch them all. After awhile, it just became habit to use one space and now it feels unnatural to use two.

I'm quickly approaching 47. My last cycle started the first week of October and lasted 17 days :eek: I haven't had one since. At night I go from VERY hot to VERY cold. Over and over and over again. My flipping the covers off and on is driving dh crazy. I'm due for my yearly exam soon so I'm hopeful doc and I can straighten this out.

Our large extended family gets together with my Aunt's family, alternating yearly between her house and mine. At some point during the evening Santa leaves new PJ's for everyone on their beds, announcing his impending arrival (if we are at da's house then the PJs are waiting on our beds when we return home). And everyone gets new PJs. The one year my dh didn't my daughter was convinced that he was not good that year. :001_smile: This is a fourth generation tradition. The trick for those who no longer believe is to catch "Santa" leaving the PJs. Thus far my boys have been unsuccessful. I never caught my mother, uh - Santa, either. I love new PJs for x-mas because everyone is scrubbed and picture ready in the morning.

We put our dog down about a month ago and we miss her terribly. :angelsad2: For her first Christmas when she was a puppy we bought her a bunch of play toys and she ate the stuffing from one of her balls and needed emergency intestinal surgery. It cost us a fortune. We never bought her another toy except tennis balls and we had to watch her closely with those.

My dh is getting: a paperback book from dd season one of Smallville from ds ($15 at walmart. Whoo hooo!) the movie Avatar from the other ds (he wanted books, movies and tv seasons to read/watch while on the treadmill) a new wallet the Jackson's Greatest Hits CD a new tie and this indoor bean bag toss game, which I am most excited about because I know he will love it.

I agree, which is what I have always stressed to my son. It's also the reason why I have never argued against any point reduction he has suffered. But I stand by the fact that just because he can't effectively explain it so YOU can understand it does not make his thought process wrong. And the truth is that most times the teachers don't even want to hear his thought process. The attitude is that it's not the way I do it so it's just wrong. This son has both ADD and minor language-based learning disabilities so he struggles a bit with communication, but his math is remarkable and I would love to see him find his voice. K-12 schools don't seem to want to nurture the thought process of an unconventional thinker. What he needs is a true math mentor. I'm hopeful he will find that in college.

Sometimes schools just suck all the love out of a subject, don't they. We have dealt with this kind of thing for years with my ds. He frequently and easily comes up with alternate solutions to problems and answers them correctly, yet he's had teachers that have actually told us that they have marked them wrong because either 1) it is not the method/algorithm they taught to the class, or 2) they themselves could not follow his solution (even though ds frequently explained his method, or at least offered to). His current calc teacher told us at pt conferences that at times ds’s math logic can be absolutely brilliant, yet at other times he's not sure what he is talking about. I quickly told the teacher that just because he didn't understand my son's logic does not make it wrong. In other words, that's your problem, buddy. Ds plans to major in math next year. I've always told him that his unconventional thinking will be an asset in college.

Thanks a ton for all of your hard work. Dd and I are just finishing Grammar Town and I was thinking that I needed to create something like this for her. I just tried to print it but I still can't. An alternative printing option would be greatly appreciated.

Greetings. This is our first year home schooling our dd, although we've had an interest in it for awhile. Our plan is to hs at least through 8th grade and then figure out high school when we get to it. Dh and I also have two sons. Our oldest is a sophomore at a small private college and we are currently guiding our youngest son in his search for his next educational home. Both boys were public schooled all the way through. I spend a lot of time lurking on these boards and appreciate all of the wisdom of this group.

:grouphug:

We use the txtbk, wrkbk, IP and CWP (old version). Dd starts her morning with 2 problems from CWP and then does an exercise in the txtbk and wrkbk. When we finish a unit we do the corresponding unit in IP. If I had to choose between IP and CWP I think I would choose IP because it gives you a different look and puts a spin on the material.

Ditto. We also use Brain Maths, which is from Singapore Math but isn't tied to the Primary Maths program.

I agree. I believe you should speak up in front of your children so they know you are willing to challenge racist remarks and behaviors. It will arm your children to do the same in a similar situation down the road. This is how we change the world.

Way cool! But you have to wonder what in the world drives people to even think about trying stunts like that.

:iagree: There are far too many comments about Muslims in this thread. I personally believe scanning is less about airline/national security and more about getting Americans used to and comfortable with giving up basic liberties.

Similar to the pp, I would have said 100% of the time prior to 42 years old. Now that I'm officially peri-men I would say maybe 10% of the time.

I purchased Latin Prep to use this year and decided to shelf it due to the level of difficulty. I then bought GSWL and DD is loving it and getting the gentle intro to latin that I wanted. My plan is to start LP next year in fifth grade. I love the looks of it but it is definitely a step up from GSWL.

:lol: What a smart, creative kid!

A pretty little girl to add to your beautiful family. Congratulations!