Today waiting in line at the grocery store I overheard two ladies behind me chatting. One was a Homeschooler with her 3 kids with her, the other just a regular, garden-variety homeschool skeptic. Right in front of those kids, the oblivious woman asked the HS'er if she ' wasn't worried that her kids would turn out ill-prepared and ABNORMAL?!" The HS'er simply looked at her and calmly said "I am actually more worried that they would turn out 'normal' if I sent them to school."

There are some really good ones, but one of my favorites is part of the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out-About-Science series. It is called Sunshine Makes the Seasons, has great pictures, and even a model the kids can demo with a pencil, a flashlight, and an orange:) http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0060592052?pc_redir=1413605758&robot_redir=1 ETA: the Gail Gibbons book Reason for the Seasons is also fantastic: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0823412385/ref=pd_aw_sims_5?pi=SL500_SR114%2C115&refRID=069CWNZG35DB1RF5QPXC

Hhhmm, I am speaking more as a parent who was an exceptionally stubborn child here. Although not specifically about school, when I was five I told my parents that I was a vegetarian and would thereafter not eat meat ever again. As there were four hungry kids, not enough money, and a step-father who worked as a butcher, this went over like a lead balloon. My parents turned it into a power struggle--as in you will sit there and not move until you eat it. I spent more than a few nights sitting at the table for hours. They would put it in front of me for breakfast. Didn't work, I would rather go hungry. The thing is, if they had dropped the power struggle and let more natural consequences rule I probably would have naturally started eating it again. As it is, I am a 37-year-old vegetarian who has not had meat since age five😊 The point is, some kids really are that stubborn...and a power struggle will just make them dig in their heals. I once gave my normally math-adoring dd a math worksheet that she saw as pointless and she gleefully returned it to me having written 7's as every answer. She must get that stubbornness from her father, lol. I think you did fine. If he doesn't want to do it, fine...but there are consequences for not doing the work. Weekend school, not getting to do the fun things until the work is out of the way, that sort of thing. And definitely stress on matter-of-fact discussions of what happens in the real world when work does not get accomplished. We all make choices-you can CHOOSE not to do your work right now, sure. But if so, there are always consequences. Daddy can CHOOSE not to go to work today, but what do you think would happen. Mom can CHOOSE not to cook dinner or whatever, but what are the consequences. It may happen a couple of times just to see if you really do mean he gets to choose, but those natural consequences will soon make him realize it is much better to just get it out of the way! And then lots of praise for his good choices and his hard work:)

On the other hand, there are times that my professor hubby has discovered that the doodles are the only thing that provides comic relief when he is grading exams, lol! One student seemingly spent the majority of the time doodling variations of 'I know nothing about chemistry.' On every page of the exam with very artistic pictures...but got an A on a very challenging exam:) But yes, it has to be well away from the actual work or is obnoxious to grade/decipher.

Coincidentally, Zulilly has Magformers on sale up to 45% off. I tried to post the link but it includes my email address:( Sale through Sunday...

And more than that! Not only do you have to be always be nice to the nurses when you are in hospital, but have to ensure that any relatives or visitors are as well? I would have to ban my family from visiting me. Very sick.

Not a movie (although it has been made into a pretty good play) but a book. Whilst not specifically biracial, the book Jackie and Me is about 3rd grade reading level. A young boy who collects baseball cards has to write a book report about Jackie Robinson, his success, and race issues in baseball. He is somehow able to go back in time (with the help of his cards) to meet Jackie and gather research...but ends up with a different skin color. Lots of issues to explore, but pretty well done.

Last night after swimming lessons I fed my child McDonald's French fries and a single apple slice😠She was utterly thrilled:) We are vegetarian, she is enormously picky, and so something like that is pretty rare...in my defense, I am exhausted! I am 13 weeks pregnant and who knew that five years between pregnancies would make such a huge difference?! Something tells me there will be a few more poor meals in the next few months:(

Maybe cross-post to the accelerated forum? I am not sure everyone who follows your dd''s adventures always make it over to the chat board. I bet there are lots over there that would live to see her snake:)

If you are in the market for more Snap Circuits, Amazon has the Snap Circuit Sound set marked down to $49.87 from $85...it is Prime eligible as well. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E0I493W/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00E0I493W&linkCode=as2&linkId=ZG366KGVDLTFXK3J&redirect=true&ref_=as_li_tl&tag=holyspirledho-20

Lol! I thought hubby and I were going to have a really difficult time of naming our second! I do like Isabel Sophia as well:)

Couldn't live without them:) I have one child. We have lap boards, a large wall-mounted one, one just for memory work, a magnetic version for AAS, 2 large pieces of shower board in her bedroom that work the same, and a huge one on an easel I leave challenge math problems on for whenever she feels like playing around...or dad draws molecule, or whatever:)

Here is what I did with an old table: I printed out a ton of favorite baby pictures of my dd, all in b&w on printer paper. We then used spray adhesive and glued all the pics on to the table surface. We then bought an inexpensive shellac kit from a DiY store and poured it over the surface. It looks great! It is such a talking piece and so much fun to see the pics daily:) We used it as a table for awhile, but then took the legs off and hung the whole table top up as wall art.

I bought multiple oak bookcases and shelves from a Furmiture Row place called Oak Warehouse for our dd''s room. I needed them to be very sturdy and look great. We have them in different sizes, and they have a huge range. I just looked at the website, and they have a 34 in by from 36 in-72 inches...and I know they make a 36 in wide by 84 since we have several in our library! The website indicates for larger selection visit the store. Do you have one nearby? Or is 34 in by 72 in workable? I should also add they come in different finishes. We have light oak in the kid's room and darker in the library. http://www.furniturerow.com/OakExpress/Axis-Bookcases/Axis-72%22-Bookcase/prod530067/

Exciting news! I am so sorry you had to deal with such nasty comments during a truly happy time for your family (or any time!). After reading them, I can only hope it was a troll and not a hive member as I truly hope that person is not homeschooling their own children! The rhetoric and sentiment is bad enough, but poor language and sentence structure as well? Shameful! It must definitely be time to reactivate the star patrol as well!

For anyone leaning toward Magformers, Barnes and Noble has them as part of their BOGO 1/2 off sale online. There is also a 20% off coupon someone posted in the Xmas deals thread. They have both the 62 piece set and the 14 piece set. If you don't want to get 2 sets, 20% off the $99 62 piece set is still a good deal:) ETA: the code for 20% off is bnfriends and is good until tomorrow...

I got an email today saying that Barnes and Noble is having a BOGO 1/2 educational games and toys. There seems to be quite a lot. It is online only...

Voted, and an extra treat for Alex to see the snakes! She is asking for one for her birthday in December...so I was very glad to read your post about frozen mice rather than live mice:)

If you want to keep the baby off the stairs altogether, do you have one of those octagonal 'baby pens'? You can open it up and put it around the entire base. They have Velcro straps that could go around the railings on the right to keep it place, and the shape will stabilize it. In the meantime, lots of stairs practice:)

Regentrude,Your graciousness in your response is just an example of why I *Love* this subforum. Vegesaurus Rex, I am truly glad that you have come to this forum to put yourself out there with your perspective and experience. It really is/will be valued. Of all the forums in the WTM, I really believe that the accelerated subforum has the best collection of intelligent, informed, and critical-thinking folks. No, not everyone agrees on any one method or path--and therein lies the value! Regardless of their experience, I can assure you that each is the result of endless researching and agonizing, soul-searching analysis of what is best their particular child. I have a young child who is extremely accelerated across the boards...I have no idea what the future holds for her as I find it difficult to plan more than six weeks out at this point. However, some form of DE or early college may very well be necessary for her much sooner than I would like to think about. I hope that you will stick around to offer your valuable advice--but will help keep the tone of this forum respectful and kind, even in disagreement, as it is a safe place for many of us.

I know I am going to have some explaining to do as for so many of the words in this thread I have stuck to the original, contextual meaning. In my defense, dd4 is very uh, verbose, and would absolutely love to enlighten strangers in the street on the disparities in definitions! Other than some of the mentions, I remember reading The Wizard of Oz with my dd in the car whilst hubby was driving. He spit out his coffee when I read the word 'ejaculated', and we both had a snigger when the Lion 'aroused himself' after falling asleep in the poppy field!

We had an interesting experience camping near Yellowstone this summer. A raccoon wandered quite close to our campfire whilst we were sat around and was acting really quite strange. The fact that it wandered that close (we were in a primitive site where I doubt anyone had been feeding it either) was strange enough-coupled with the behavior was very puzzling. It hadn't really registered to me yet, but my dd4 announced that 'the creature might have rabies' and boy did it click! Turns out she had watched a BrainPop clip on rabies:)

Unfortunately not:( The Teacher's Club card applies to in-store purchases only. We don't have one near us either, so when I need things I usually order online if the discount is good enough. (And I get almost weekly coupons either via email or text) or plan my purchases to coincide with a trip to the city.

We have some of both, and they get used for different things. To just play and build with, my dd much prefers the Magnatiles. She likes that they are more 'realistic' for building structures and the like. It may also be because we have a lot more Magnatiles! Lakeshore Learning has them, and once a month they run a BOGO 1/2 sale...if you watch for it (sign up for email or text offers) then you can get a really good deal if you are looking for more than one set. In addition, they have a Teacher's discount card that homeschoolers qualify for. Another really cool thing she loves about the Magnatiles- they work really, really well with a light table. Of course, everyone has a light table stashed away, right? No? Us either, but I found that if you take a shallow Rubbermaid or similar storage container with a white lid and put a string of white Xmas lights inside the box? Easy Peasy light table and double the fun of the Magnatiles:)

I am at 13 weeks and I could swear I felt distinct flutters twice this week! I thought I must be going crazy:). Glad to know I am either a) not crazy about the flutters or b) in great company from the Hive!