We work on character building, nature study and things they will not do in school. I also stay very informed with the kids' teachers on what they are learning so I can help them at home. I don't do anything formal although I've toyed with the idea of using some type of unit study on weekends. I just want to make sure the kids have time to be kids, ykwim? We might do some reading with study guides this summer, dd10 could really benefit from that.

Don't forget the wax story...that STILL cracks me up

il est bon d'être de retour, je vous remercie

WOW Joanne!!! Good for you! :hurray: I couldn't think of anyone better to counsel. You're an inspiration.

My hubby just lost his job and at least for this coming month we've decided he's not going to work but stay at home. He's going to be looking for work but work that will allow him to be home when the kids get out of school, something that suits our family needs better than the 50 hour week he was working in his old job. Anywhoo...I'm considering attending a "Super Couponing" seminar with him in a week or two. I already do the use Sunday paper coupons and the buy one get one free sales to save money, I hope we learn something better. The advertisement says, "teach you to cut your grocery bill in half or better!" I just wonder how much stuff we'd buy when we don't need it in order to save?

nevermind

i would if I had the time to wheel and deal and possibly lose the bid for the house and look for another. I wouldn't if I didn't have the time or the funds to secure possible multiple contracts of homes in case one fell through. They are a crap shoot.

The Cooperative Classical Academy has a nice ring to it. Integrity Cooperative sounds like you're trying to hard to convince others that you have integrity, speaking from a marketing point of view. Elenchus (Greek: ἔλεγχος elengkhos "argument of disproof or refutation; cross-examining, testing, scrutiny esp. for purposes of refutation"[4]) is the central technique of the Socratic method. The Latin form elenchus (plural elenchi ) is used in English as the technical philosophical term.[5] "If you ask a question or series of questions in which your respondent can readily agree, then ask a concluding question based on those agreements, you will receive a desirable response".[citation needed] In Plato's early dialogues, the elenchus is the technique Socrates uses to investigate, for example, the nature or definition of ethical concepts such as justice or virtue. According to one general characterization,[6] it has the following steps: Socrates' interlocutor asserts a thesis, for example "Courage is endurance of the soul", which Socrates considers false and targets for refutation. Socrates secures his interlocutor's agreement to further premises, for example "Courage is a fine thing" and "Ignorant endurance is not a fine thing". Socrates then argues, and the interlocutor agrees, that these further premises imply the contrary of the original thesis, in this case it leads to: "courage is not endurance of the soul". Socrates then claims that he has shown that his interlocutor's thesis is false and that its negation is true. One elenctic examination can lead to a new, more refined, examination of the concept being considered, in this case it invites an examination of the claim: "Courage is wise endurance of the soul". Most Socratic inquiries consist of a series of elenchi and typically end in aporia. Frede[7] insists that step #4 above makes nonsense of the aporetic nature of the early dialogues. If any claim has been shown to be true then it cannot be the case that the interlocutors are in aporia, a state where they no longer know what to say about the subject under discussion. The exact nature of the elenchus is subject to a great deal of debate, in particular concerning whether it is a positive method, leading to knowledge, or a negative method used solely to refute false claims to knowledge. According to W. K. C. Guthrie's The Greek Philosophers, while sometimes erroneously believed to be a method by which one seeks the answer to a problem, or knowledge, the Socratic method was actually intended to demonstrate one's ignorance. Socrates, unlike the Sophists, did believe that knowledge was possible, but believed that the first step to knowledge was recognition of one's ignorance. Guthrie writes, "[socrates] was accustomed to say that he did not himself know anything, and that the only way in which he was wiser than other men was that he was conscious of his own ignorance, while they were not. The essence of the Socratic method is to convince the interlocutor that whereas he thought he knew something, in fact he does not. The unexamined life is not worth living Socrates developed this elenchus as a "means to examine, The Elenchus Academy of Cooperative Learning (pronounced E-lench-us)

Jean, I thought that was just a part of being a homeschooler. The decision to go down the different path and always be fielding the question, "oh, did you go to college to be a teacher?"

:seeya: hi Sarah! I pop in from time to time but no longer homeschooling.

Oh my, I LOVE this! I've been thinking of a way to better open the communication line with dd10. She talks to her dad much more freely and I know it's b/c I'm her M.O.M. and primary disciplinarian whom she must rebel against. Sigh. Thank you so much for sharing!

This is major. I would encourage her to try a single subject in afterschooling, see how it goes without the full fledged commitment of homeschooling. A little bite at a time. Their time restraints would have to be changed or they will burn themselves out and everyone will lose in the end. We're doing nature study as an afterschooling subject, I work full-time and the kids are in school. I know I could afterschool more but I don't want to take up ALL the kids free time, I want them to be kids. Encourage small steps towards a big change.

God's Design Science, it combined everything with not much planning. I felt better knowing there was some type of organization to it all and I wasn't missing anything. We took a more secular approach and this fits the bill if you're Christian or wish for it to be secular.

My chosen path was: Primary Language Lessons Intermediate Language Lessons Analytical Grammar but that was chosen with the type of philosophy I was going with and what I felt would be best suited for my children. Some do better with workbook style (so does the hsling parent). Here's what we chose for our academic pursuits and keep in mind, we stopped hsling in 3rd grade due to life changes. http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/02/prek-4th-curricula-overview.html

Although I understand your pov, I don't think the actual books being used is the sole answer. I think it also depends on how deep into the material you go, what is the breadth of knowledge being taught, how fast are they going through the material, etc. You can cover multiple grade levels in a year but what is being retained? What is actually being learned? I think any curricula can be rigorous depending on the student, if they are being stretched in their academic comfort zone. Rigorous doesn't come from a curricula or book but from the approach of the subject and how well what is taught is retained. I consider Rhetoric level of the trivium rigorous, because of how it is designed to stretch the student into an independent thinker. In the same respect, I do feel there is curricula out there than doesn't dive deep enough into the subject for the grade level but that can easily be corrected with enrichments if a parent agrees that is the case with their children.

I like this the best of the suggestions so far. But Peace, peaceful reminds me of death.

Clearing throat. Enuf said about that. Exercise was a saving grace during the most stressful part of my life. I was able to get in a zone with my jamming music blaring in my earphones and do something good for my body. Although I would be sweating and tired afterwards, it recharged me, made me feel like I was doing something good for myself. Which I was! Nature walks, even with the kids, always recharges me. The grounding effect of being in the woods or on a trail with nothing to focus on but what is interesting around you and which path to follow (the 3 mile one or the 1 mile one) would recharge me. Kayaking is even better b/c it's just me and nature. Reading fictional books is a way of escape as well, much more so than watching tv or movies. But I always felt I was stealing moments instead of truly recharging or relaxing b/c I would multi-task my reading with being outside with the kids refereeing (sp?) or reading while cooking. I would do anything for my children but killing myself however slowly is not one of them. The better I am as an individual (balanced and healthy), the better parent and example I am for them.

I think it depends on your comfort level. I'm okay with my own dd10 and ds6 playing out front and even riding their bikes around our neighborhood (which is just one circle with no side streets) but when hubby's dd7 and dd5 is with us, we're outside with them although there is 4 of them. I'm not comfortable with allowing ds6 without dd10 to play outside. I don't like him playing with the older neighborhood boys alone b/c I've found they take advantage of him. I think it's situational.

Absolutely! As a mom who has homeschooled, put her children in a private school and now has her children in public school...while each experience has been different, none has hurt or harmed the kids. I chose a classical private school after homeschooling, while the kids got Spanish and Latin, they were pushed academically to do way more than even I was pushing (quantity) but I felt it was good, esp. for my oldest who got to start in 3rd and finish the year in 4th to being 5th in public school the next year. Ultimately I had to choose public school due to costs and the kids were not a part of the 'inner' group of the private school. Time and time again I saw them being excluded from invitations because they didn't grow up with the kids that had been in this private school from its inception (part of church group that developed a private school). I made sure to put the kids in the best public school district in our area, one that I graduated from. The kids both my dd10 and ds6 are doing well and I have solid, open communication with their teachers even moreso than the private school. Do I get upset at what other kids expose my kids too? Sure! But we learn about how to deal with new information, attitudes, etc. instead of just saying that's right/wrong. Life is full of different people, attitudes and values- I cannot shield my children from that for too long b/c then they are at a disadvantage in how to deal with those situations in a healthy way. I used to judge private/public school parents b/c I wanted to feel that I made the superior choice in homeschooling but then I've also come across homeschool parents who don't invest in their child's education, where the children would be better off with a different schooling choice b/c of the lack of involvement of the parents. I know now that in my current life situation, public school is the best choice for our family. I would LOVE to homeschool again, I miss it but it is more the time spent exploring and learning with my children that I miss rather than the educational philosophy and knowing what next step to take to further my child's educational development. I CAN be the parent who explores and learns with her children more so than I can know for sure what the best next step is in their educational development. I'm okay with that. Just my 2 cents thrown in...

Well the accurate picture is that I married #1 when I was 19, stayed with him almost 4 years including being cheated on, his workplace embezzling which turned into restitution after his woman on the side turned him in b/c he decided to make our marriage work and dumped her to prove it, then he put us through bankruptcy and I decided to cut bait. #2 was to Dd10's dad after two years of living together and we decided marriage wasn't right for us on our marriage night but couldn't get it annulled. He's one of my closest friends and the best dad in the world to DD10. #3 Was the piece of work pastor husband I stayed with for 6 years until I could break free of his abuse by having leverage to get out. #4 is the love of my life, my very best friend and favorite companion Some never get a #4, I'm glad I do. Judge all you want :P

The thing with know-it-alls...they are convinced that they do. I encountered the same type (maybe even the same woman!), she was on every single board/forum I was on and would constantly change curricula but claim to be a certain type of homeschooler as if she created the ideology herself. I finally called her on her behavior in private. I sent an email asking her why she recommend such and such curriculum to another when she had only used it for a few months before ditching her entire educational philosophy for another. In the forums I would ask flat out how long she had been using the curricula she was talking about and how she felt it had benefited her child(ren). She stopped after a while, dropped away. I'm sure she's around somewhere...

So true. This place is addictive, you get to talk to others in the same boat but their boat isn't the same...they are not YOU and their kids are not YOURS. What fits for one may not fit another but they LOVE it, it has saved their sanity, budget, etc. My advice, fwiw, come here when you need situational help, stay away from curriculum posts unless it is to share your experience with the curriculum in question. If you participate in this board too much, you will spend too much money, lose valuable time and feel unsettled. Focus on what's important- what's going on at home and in your homeschool. No one on the board will be there when you're teaching your kids, no one on the board will be teaching your kids but you or living on your budget. Save your curriculum switches for the end of the year. Make notes about what you might like, what it costs, how you think it will help. Give yourself time to change your mind before changing something. Use what you got and be invested in using it, at least until the end of the year. Don't know if this helps, just lessons I learned from being a board/curriculum junkie...:001_huh:

I know it wasn't meant in a mean way, it was a good reminder of just how judgmental some can be without knowing the circumstances. In a way, it was comforting...it's like saying hello again to an old friend, knowing the good and the bad of the friend and liking them anyways. I used to take too much from this board, allowed things to affect me emotionally b/c for a time this board was the only 'safe' socializing I had. I'm in a different place now, with a different perspective. I've matured, grown and can finally 'take what you need and leave the rest', lol. I hardly ever get on the computer anymore except to do stuff for work, someone from the board emailed me about this post and my blog entry so I decided to check in. I didn't realize how much I missed some of you until I read some of your posts, your personalities shine so much through what you say! It is so good to reconnect! I don't know if I'll be on here often but I'll be around more than I have been. I've allowed myself time this weekend to get on here. I need to get my old computer out and retrieve files that I had on it, that's a job in itself but there are files on there that others are asking repeatedly for. It's on my TO DO list!

I was hoping you were still here!!!! I owe you so much Joanne! Thank you for speaking out and being a guiding light in the darkness. ((((Joanne))) I recently gave my Lundy book to someone else who is hurting and in my job, I see women all the time who are coming in to take stock of their finances due to relational problems. I get a small opportunity to praise them for their courage and strength, which I know from experience...any positive reinforcement in their lives is more than they have received. One woman had literally just came into town the night before from packing and leaving 9 states away. Luckily no kids were involved in her situation but we had a 20 min conversation (God allowed that, not many customers at the time she was there) and I recommended Lundy's book to her only to find out that her therapist had already given her a list of titles to read, Lundy being one of them. She saw it as a sign, we said goodbye before we both broke down and cried...it was such a powerful reminder of God's grace in my life. Thank you for speaking out Joanne, being strong and an example of victory, others who have not experienced it may not understand just how precious it is to have a comrade, someone just to relate to and who understands the insidious ways another human can hurt another. My life is so drastically different now, almost the complete opposite. I have the love of my life, my best friend and favorite companion as my partner- a true partner, as my husband. Trust is so valuable! My days are filled with joy, love and respect. I have a balanced life now, hallelujah! You were and are an inspiration Joanne. Thank you.

You don't have to exercise outside, do you have music that you love? Blast it from the speakers and just dance and sing! Get outside early in the morning to walk, do you have a pet? IPod to listen to? Audiobooks, music, radio anything and walk before Dh leaves for work. Then take a nap in the afternoon with the kids if you need to. You need to find something that will make YOU feel good, alive and bring joy into your daily life. Whatever that is, allow yourself to enjoy it. Do not guilt yourself into never giving yourself time. If you dh is unable/unwillingly to help, ask a friend. Nature walks were mostly MY thing, I turned it into a "us" thing by adding nature journals, pictures and classification. I just loved getting OUT there and being in nature. It's refreshing and grounding.