Has anyone used this book: Signs and Seasons: Understanding the Elements of Classical Astronomy by Jay Ryan? I like the idea behind it - exploring astronomy as it was discovered -- first without a telescope, etc. I am considering buying it for my grandchildren but I hate to buy it sight unseen or unreviewed (except on Amazon). Also, I wonder how well it can be carried out in a major city, with only occasional trips to less light polluted areas. Has anyone used this?

Take the following with a grain of salt because no one who is worthy of giving you advice is going to judge you in the end for doing what you think is best but you asked for an opinion so here it is - Be a pioneer! Aside from the financial strain, stand up and say you aren't going to be a part of taking children's childhood's away from them. Because I believe in a very real sense, this is what parents who put their children in too many structured events do. Children need lots of unstructured time to develop. Time to explore - decide what they like, time to dawdle, time for wonder, time for thought. I realize it is harder than when I was a child mid-50's and 60's -- we had real neighborhoods where it was safe to play hide and seek on summer evenings and a vacant lot where we could all get together for softball. That kind of thing isn't available or safe now days. Plus, non-homeschool kids don't seem to know how to play with kids outside their age group. So, I understand that if possible, it is good for children to sometimes have structured classes and the like. A moderate amount of structured activity is good. But why not choose just one at a time? Sports are usually seasonal so choose 2-3 things a year, if you can afford it, if you have the energy yourself and if your daughter wants it. Also, no one can be exposed to everything! And she is really too young to know what she wants. If I were you, if I had the opportunity, I'd let her do something like tumbling, which isn't too expensive, doesn't require uniforms or travel, but which can help her with co-ordination and following directions. If she continues to express interest in ballet, I'd consider it after a year or so if I could afford it. Around here, ballet is really expensive, though and sometimes we don't get to do everything we'd like to do it life. And as for sports - DH and I are both fine examples of incoordination! He doesn't and never has played sports- he doesn't even watch them. I watch baseball. I don't play anything (although I used to be into camping and spelunking). With DS1, I just plain did not have the money to put him into sports programs. Not that he was really interested in going. DS2 came along 15 years later when finances were much better. I tried putting him in t-ball, soccer and karate. I even paid an older homeschool boy to try to help him with baseball. The kid sucked at it all. A chip off the old blocks. Both sons are growns and happily nonathletic although the oldest is outdoorsy and the youngest "stays in shape." So, you could send your daughter to sports to no avail. If, as she gets older, she wants to play something, that's another matter.

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You got me interested! I just bought the book on my audible.com account!

You say you've been "going over this for years," but he is not quite seven years old. I mean no disrespect to your methods, but is it possible that he felt the pressure too early and he is 'blocked?' I am not at all chiding you for trying to teach him early. My children read early but sometimes, even otherwise very smart kids learn things at different rates. I think I would just let him read word lists for a while and not even push them greatly. It sounds like he is a bright child and he may surprise you, pick up a book and start reading with complete comprehension on his own if he doesn't feel pressured, Again, I'm not implying that YOU are pressuring him too much (although you might be, I don't know) but he may FEEL pressured within himself without your exerting it. To see if it is tracking, you could occasionally make his lists horizontal (with a little extra space in-between) rather than vertical. But children develop differently, and boys especially have more problems with early reading, so even if he is having trouble with something like that, I'd not be concerned yet.

Well, I don't know about now days, but in the 60's, every Jr. High student studied it, but I still like Elizabeth Barrett Browning's How Do I Love Thee? from Sonnets of the Portuguese. I also like a lot of Neruda's and I hadn't read the e.e. cummings one - liked it. LOL My spell checker wants to correct the lack of capitalization on that. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and heightMy soul can reach, when feeling out of sightFor the ends of being and ideal grace.I love thee to the level of every day’sMost quiet need, by sun and candle-light.I love thee freely, as men strive for right.I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.I love thee with the passion put to useIn my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.I love thee with a love I seemed to loseWith my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,I shall but love thee better after death.

I relate to what is the way I tried/tried to balance it. I taught my children (and foster daughter) the elements of my faith. I also taught them about other faiths but was clear I thought ours was .... well...the true one (I don't mean to offend anyone here but what is a religion worth to me if I don't think it is true?). As long as my children were at home, I expected them to learn more, pray, attend church, etc. I hoped it would also be something they chose for themselves at a certain age (which it was). BUT I don't think their faith was a matter of "I taught them the precepts well." I think that ultimately, children learn faith by observing it and answering the call of God when they hear it. Christianity has precepts but it is not precepts, it is relationship. God doesn't have grandchildren, he only has children. So if you are happy with or think you can get somewhere by teaching your children to "be good Christian kids or adults," you are mistaken and you can end up with children who are basically, brainwashed (or who shuck it. But teach the precepts and teach them to expect their own relationship with God and they will be okay. BTW, I don't mean to step on toes here... I know that not only do we have different (and no) faiths here, but different beliefs within Christianity. For example, some believe in infant baptism, some in adult. Some believe in "decision theology," and some don't. Yet even if you are Catholic or Reformed, most of you do believe that at some point your child's life in God is up to them and not up to you.This is what I'm talking about

America: A Narrative History by Tendall can be bought 2nd hand on Amazon. It makes an interesting read (more so that a text). It has a few pages on Native Americans in the front, but only in connection with relations with Europeans. It looks long, but it reads very easily. I enjoyed it even though I know a lot of American history.

On a website that matches you up with colleges, my foster daughter accidentally clicked on the "interested" button re: the National Guard. She just thought "oops" and went on but the site has her contact info. So a couple of days ago, a National Guard recruiter calls. DFD wasn't at home and my husband answered. After the recruiter id's himself, he asks that DFD call back. Husband forgets to tell her. Recruiter calls again. Husband apologizes and says he'll tell her and have her return call this time, but adds, "I don't think she is interested, though." Oh, my! Talk about upset! Recruiter (beligerently): Well, I'll have you know, sir, that she IS interested because she said so! And let me inform you that as long as she is at least 17 years old, she can join without your permission." Husband: No one is trying to prevent her from it although she has another year of school. I just meant that I'm pretty sure she accidentally clicked on the National Guard. Her plans, for right now, are to finish high school and then go to college." Recruiter: We have many wonderful opportunities and you don't have a right to tell her whether she can join or not." Husband: I repeat, when she is 18, she can do what she wants, but I don't believe she is interested. I will have her call you, either way. Recruiter: She really should be allowed to make up her own mind. Husband: When she is 18 and has graduated, she can make up her own mind. I'll have her call you. Thank you for considering her. I wouldn't have been as polite as my husband.

I'm currently homeschooling foster daughter after being empty nest. I homeschooled my sons, mostly in 80's and 90's. During the 90's, I was coordinator several years straight for a fairly large state convention - so, I always went, lol. Last year, I went to the state organized one in my current state. I was so excited to be going since I was curious about what new stuff was available. I was even interested in what's there for younger children, since I just love learning. Well, I will not return this year. Partly, this is because my DFD is a senior this fall and our course is pretty much set. But mostly - three reasons: 1)there were new things, but it was just more of the same and more expensive. There was nothing *really* new. 2)it didn't seem to be a convention for educators, it seemed to be a convention for propagandists. You know, people, even if you are in possession of a truth, you can propagandize it instead of teaching it and that isn't good. If you are that kind of homeschooling parent, be honest and call it home propagandizing, not home education. 3)too expensive - mainly because they hire all those "names" to propagandize. The curriculum distributors will peddle their products for free and are more than willing to speak about them (for free) if you give them a slot. I don't want to pay money to see some big name whose words I can read online if I really want to. So, I won't return this year.

I'd really have to know what you mean by "support." For information and recommendation about curriculum, I come here for the most part. My DFD gets support, I guess you'd call it, from the local homeschool group. I don't get much there although the parents are pleasant. To be honest, their children are usually far behind mine (at least in STEM subjects). There is another support group/co-op that would probably have moms and students more like us -- but it requires that you do co-op, which is very pricey, imo, for what you get plus they offer classes like Spanish 2 (she's finished Spanish 4 last year), history (I can teach it myself from memory, if I wanted to), Latin (requiring that they started early and I didn't get my kid until she was in high school), "creative writing" (my student has a weakness in this area and needs to be concentrating on essays and research papers) and Christian World View (required..the problem is, it is Christian worldview from a Reformed point of view and I'm neo-anabaptist). It's crazy because I live near a major city but all the good support is on the other side of town from where I live.

LIke others, I clicked on "Other" for #2&3 because it varies from year to year and child to child. I suppose I am relaxed classical, he he. Is there such a thing? If not, I've invented it. However, I used a lot of unit studies along with lots of memorization when children were young.

I've watched and/or listened to a lot of the courses. I loved the Linwood Thompson ones, as did my husband and my student. It clearly says that it is high school level. That is what most of us are teaching. Not everyone is doing AP. And even if you are, it is still a fun set.

Do you happen to live in Tucson, AZ? LOL Because I knew a woman just like that in a neighborhood we used to live in. I'd hate to think there were two of them. Have you considered reporting HER to the neighborhood association?

The short stories are in the public domain. I printed them off the internet (or parts of them sometimes) when I wanted to annotate with my student. You will want the teacher's book, too, though. I thought I didn't and well, I could have taught the class without it but I had a lot of lit in college and I still found it helpful. Although some of the stories aren't on my list of favorites, it is as an absolutely great curriculum-- someone here on WTM (I can't remember who) recommended it and I appreciate it. It was one of better successes.

the most I've spent is the $100-150 range - and only for New Balance cuz I have a really high instep and they have a great shoe that doesn't hurt. Most of my life, i've had 4 sets of shoes - dark comfortable shoes for winter, light comfortable shoes for summer, black dress shoes for winter, sandals for summer. My kids were boys. With my foster daughter, I have received an education. You must have a shoe (so she thinks) for every outfit. It's easier just being an old hippie.

Why is it only the second week of summer and I'm already more tired than I was during the school year? Why does church camp start when school has barely let out? Why can girls wear swimming suits at camp but must have ugly bermuda shorts that I have to pay for and she'll never be caught dead in again? Besides, this is central AZ - I wouldn't wear bermuda shorts in the summer - they are too hot! Why did my husband decide to lead a small group for the summer - which, incidentally, starts the night before camp? Why can't I go to bed and sleep for about 6 days?

I used level c of the main course for my highschooler when we first started homeschooling her. A couple of the stories were too childish for her, but she didn't mind. Some kids might. We had both the workbook, parent book and the dvds. I found Andrew Padewa's voice irritating, but she liked him <g>. Another negative thing about level c for a highschool, though, is that the kids on the dvds are mostly a lot younger. There are older kids - I can tell because you can hear some male voice change - but you never see them. The kids in the front are definitely middle schoolers and some, not very old middle schoolers. This might bother some high schoolers. On the other hand, if you need it, you need it.

Well, the story is that these girls though a fictional character was real. Do you really think these are the thoughts of a healthy person? Yes, they could be lying about that but as I pointed out, such a belief is not all that unusual. I grew up with a family member who is mentally ill (schizophrenia) and have a foster child who has a mental illness (bipolar) and I have learned what mental illness often looks like. Of course, I'm not a doctor but with the facts I have, it seems likely they are mentally ill. Would I prefer to think it is mental illness because I wouldn't fear for my children? Quite the opposite. I don't want to believe in mental illness. I would rather think that if we raise our children well, they will never suffer from mental illness. But the fact is, mental illness is often mostly genetic & chemical. Mental illness is not limited to bad families. What's more, attitudes that deny mental illness make life all the more difficult on families who must deal with it. As it is, there are basically no ways to help a child/relative once they hit 18 and when they are younger, you basically must be on public assistance or have a fortune to be able to get them treated. And often, public assistance doesn't pay for what's really needed either. There are who knows how many parents out there at their wits' end, trying to figure out how to help their children.

I had alcoholic father, plus it was '60s. I ran away from home (and stayed) at age 15, did drugs and slept around. My husband did the same - that is how we met. I never stole, lied and cheated, though - my mother pounded that into me and for some reason, those things took! Neither of our sons gave us any trouble whatsoever. I've read that the wilder you were as a teenager, the stricter you usually are with your own. That was certainly true with my oldest. But I think I was very fortunate. I think often parents are too strict or too lenient, depending upon their own teen experience and that can cause problems because your children aren't you. Just out of curiosity, those of you with "pasts," are you honest about it with your children? We were, and it seemed to work for their good. But I am much more hesitant in sharing those things with my foster daughter. Perhaps I unconsciously sense that it might not be good for her, I don't know.

There are places all over the internet where children and teens think fictional characters are real - a few years ago, there were murders committed by kids who believed they were werewolves. There was a girl who ran away from home to join a friend from a Digimon Believers site. She took a knapsack with a special knife and other things that she thought she would need when her Digimon counterpart manifested itself. I don't know about the guy who thought he was a wereworlf, but the runaway girl had a history of bipolar disease, which in its manic stages, can sometimes, in some people, involve delusions and hallucinations. I also think there are kids who are isolated and angry and who kind of play with these ideas - toying with the idea that weird things are real, I mean. Then they get caught up in it. It seems that in the past, even abused, neglected or mentally ill children/teens had the stability of society, school, etc - there was a standard of reality for them to see. Now, nothing is stable for these kids. Nothing to anchor them in reality - and the internet is around to draw them into fantasy.

I don't know much about materials for girls (or boys) that age but surely there are books for that age about various women of influence. This website might give ideas: http://myhero.com/women_heroes/ I haven't really looked it over, though. For anyone interested in this topic for teens, I required that my DFD watch/read the following: -Not For Ourselves Alone - set of 2 DVDs - documentary by Ken Burns, mainly about Seneca Falls and just after -Iron Jawed Maidens - movie about suffragettes, their mistreatment, and the eventual passage of the 18th Amendment -Misrepresentation, indie film on dvd, the way women are perceived and represented by the media - some material might be objectionable to those whose children don't have much exposure to the world outside of Christian homeschooling, but I wouldn't let a girl graduate from high school without seeing it - and I am a Christian. The same film maker was making a film about how boys are harmed by media and societal expectations, too. It is either out or will be soon. I had DFD read an abridged version of the works of Mary Wollstonecraft (late 1700's but today, you still hear the softer, but similar sentiments that she addresses). Also, the Declaration from the Seneca Falls Convention and "Ain't I a Woman? by Sojourner Truth. Finally, I don't know if you are Christian and if so, what you believe the bible teaches on men/women issues but Christians for Biblical Equality, has special day on March 28, encouraging women's equality and supporting woman's issues. It is observed on March 28 because the date is 3/28 and the scripture says in Galatians 3:38 that "In Christ, there is neither ... male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Has anyone read An Abundance of Catherines by John Greene? We were thinking of reading one of his novels as a family but don't want to read TFIOS - I worked for years in pediatric oncology and those kind of books depress me (I felt fulfillment in that field in the beginning, but after several years, it begins to wear on you). I know there's Finding Alaska, too, but it isn't exactly upbeat either. Also, I know it's been asked before and I've read the back threads, but book recommendations for teen girls that aren't mainly romance, angst or fantasy would be a appreciated, too. We aren't opposed to those genres, DFD just don't enjoy them yet the YA market seems full of them. I know she is old enough for adult stuff and she does read classics during the year but they are "work" for her. I'd like for her to have more things to just enjoy during the summer.

he Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir Wow, I was just wishing the golden age of sci-fi would come back. This book sounds promising...

If it continues to a problem, I'd a neuro-psych test before high school. It could just be personality that will improve, though. My oldest son was that way (still is and he's over 40 now). His oldest daughter is the very same. It did handicap him a bit - more in his first job than school) but he managed and has held a good job with a good salary in the software development industry for years. His first job while in school was KFC - if he hadn't had a really understanding boss who saw his other traits, I don't know what would have happened. Somehow, he was able to get him to hurry more than we could. But he is still a somewhat slow- and very very brilliant and thorough worker! Still, if it doesn't change, you might want to have the neuro-psych workup before she starts high school. If tests show she has some kind of processing or other problem, and you can document it, you can sometimes get extra time on SATs and high school/college assignments.