If you use Real Science Odyssey, how much time do *you* spend on it, including prep work, etc.? I like the look of RSO, and I think the hands-on aspect will be more engaging for ds6 than a literature-based program, but I'm a tad intimidated by the amount of work it seems like it would involve. The materials list goes on for two solid pages! :svengo: We don't have a great track record when it comes to science. Our experiments never seem to work, if we even get around to doing them in the first place. I want an elementary science plan that's fun, but gentle and not overwhelming in either time or information, and so far I'm coming up empty-handed.

Yes, I'm having *sigh* kind of day here, too. It's been raining nonstop for three days, that probably has something to do with it. And I overdid it at the gym and can barely walk because I'm so sore. So I'm feeling melancholy over things I normally don't worry too much about, like the fact that we've been without a church home for almost 5 years now and there's no indication we'll find one anytime soon. It's really hard when you don't fit in anywhere. On the bright side, we are wrapping up school this week -- well, if dd will stop dragging her feet and just FINISH already! We joined the local pool so we'll be spending a lot of days there, with one or two family vacations thrown in.

Yeah, I think I'd have a lot more trouble dealing with the parents than teaching the kids. But then I kinda like doing things MY way... might be why I homeschool! ;)

It's actually called the "Build Your Bundle Sale," so I think when they specify "OWN" they really mean the build-your-own options. But I agree, they should have been more clear if that's the case -- so I would ask about it. Maybe they will choose to honor the coupon anyway!

We are also in NC, on the outskirts of the Triad area (more rural, becoming suburban) and there's a lot of new construction, as well as activity in the market, but I don't see that prices have gone up here like others are reporting for NC. We sold our last house in 2007 for $143,000, just before the crash. It sold for $138,000 in 2011. I can't imagine it would go for much more than that today. It might go back up to our 2007 price. Maybe. In our immediate area, there is a lot of construction -- and like others have said, it's "McMansion" type construction. It was very disappointing to us when we were looking to buy over the past year because we wanted a small amount of land and not to be in a subdivision. Many of the houses in our area that have land (not huge parcels, but 1-3 acres generally) seem to be over-priced and sitting on the market, while the new construction goes fast. My MIL just sold her house inside the city limits (small town) and had to bring cash to closing to pay off her mortgage. She's lived there for over 15 years.

I don't trust it either, anymore. In fact, I know the opposite to be true from my dd's public school experience. I do wonder if the trend towards "teaching to the test" and quantifying student outcomes does mean that fewer teachers are given the freedom to prioritize assignments in the way they used to. If, in fact, they ever did. It may be that I only assumed that because it's what I was taught (again, family culture coming into play here). I am not sure, but I do think most of them did made an effort to do so. Assuming that they did, having been raised in a rural, conservative district that was perhaps slower to adopt newer educational methods may explain why my experience is closer to what Jean has described, despite the fact that I am younger than she. This is one of the reasons I started this thread -- because so much of what I was hearing on the other thread didn't resonate with my personal experience and I wondered if I was an outlier.

FTR, my use of my grandmother's saying was NOT in any context that implied that "people who didn't do every single assignment were flakes." It had nothing to do with any "newfangled generational character flaw." It was explicitly illustrative of the fact that in MY PERSONAL family culture, completing all the assignments made by the teacher (or parent or other authority, or even by myself, if it was something I'd deemed worth my time and energy) was considered proper. Of course, as the teacher (and therefore the person with the greater knowledge of the subject who sees the big picture) you pick and choose assignments for your students based on their needs. So do I. Presumably, so did my teachers growing up. This was the underlying presumption in my family: The teacher had chosen the assignments for a reason; therefore, I needed to complete them. I said I was surprised by the number of people who would use the syllabus to "prioritize" which assignments to complete because I always worked off the assumption that the teacher(s) had already done the prioritizing for me. Obviously there are different circumstances for different students; I was fortunate to grow up in an environment where school was my primary focus, and I was taught to treat it as such. That was MY experience. Saying that I was raised to think that doing every assignment was necessary is no more or less offensive than implying that since I did every assignment I must think I'm better than those who didn't or couldn't.

That's a fair point. I guess I generally felt like those expectations were communicated clearly on a case-by-case basis. I don't recall there being that many gray areas. It was more or less a given that a 10-page paper counted for more than a daily homework assignment. I never felt the need to know exactly how much more. Specific parameters for the papers, projects, etc. would be given at the time they were assigned, and I just worked to those specifications.

Yes, I don't think it would ever have crossed my mind to slack off on an assignment because it wasn't worth as much, even if I had a syllabus that told me it wasn't. But maybe I am just that kind of person. Or perhaps it's family culture. My grandmother used to say, "When a job is first begun, never leave it 'til it's done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all."

I wanted my wedding to be unique, so I swore there were two things I'd never do: get married in June, or have roses in my bouquet. DH and I dated for six years through high school and college. I graduated a year early so we could finally get married. I acquiesced to June because I just wanted to get married as soon as possible after my graduation. Then the florist strong-armed me into roses, and I was too much of a wimp to say no. I did at least get a few daisies mixed in -- they're my favorite. Oh, well. In the end, we had our wedded bliss, and that's all that mattered. :laugh:

I'm not seeing it at the moment. It appears that it may have been removed.

No, I didn't either. And many of the things mentioned here as listed on a syllabus (attendance policy, whether food was allowed, etc.) were school-wide policies that didn't need to be reiterated in every class unless something major came up. We did have to read and sign a copy of the school handbook every year. It was pretty much a given that big-ticket items like major papers, tests, and projects were going to count for a significant portion of your final grade. Probably the teacher would have been talking about those major assignments from early in the semester. But I don't remember ever being told that a test was 25% versus a homework assignment at 10%. We did usually get a rubric on major projects and papers -- e.g., so many points for turning in your outline, so many for grammar and spelling, etc. And there was plenty of advance notice for those, and for tests and such, but the dates weren't scheduled in advance. That's why I was surprised when so many people said they would have expected the band's graduation requirement to have been announced at the beginning of the semester. In my experience, a few weeks' notice would have been more than sufficient.

That was more or less my experience too. We turned in a list of preferences, I think, for electives and such. We did have a chance to review our schedules in advance and request changes. Most classes had only one section, though, so if it was something you really needed/wanted, you might have to give up something else. I don't remember getting anything detailed about how grades would be determined in each class, but maybe we did? I just recall doing assignments as they were made and considering them all equally required, unless we were given optional extra credit or something.

Sorry for the awkward title -- couldn't think of anything better, LOL. On the band thread, a number of people mentioned that course expectations should be clearly spelled out in the course description, syllabus, etc. It made me wonder: In your experience, were high school classes that well-organized? I remember having a syllabus for exactly ONE class in high school -- AP US History. Aside from that, I doubt I would have known what a syllabus even was until college. There was never anything resembling a course catalog or even course descriptions. Maybe there simply weren't enough course options to warrant it; we just kind of knew what the classes were. This was 20 years ago, in a small rural high school, so admittedly things may have changed since then. Just curious about others' experiences.

This is, sadly, all too true. It's one of the major reasons I left Evangelicalism. Google "New Apostolic Reformation." :glare:

I chose "raised religious, changed to a different religious association." I was raised Christian and am still Christian, so it may seem to some that I have stayed in my family's faith, but to me there is a vast difference in the theology in which I was raised and the one I now believe.

DD has given ornithology and mineralogy as possible topics of interest for next year's science. Any suggestions for a bright 7th-grader? I'm having trouble finding materials that aren't either college-level or over-simplified. For ornithology, I'm thinking of putting together something using the Cornell Lab's videos, but their textbook is a tad advanced. I need a spine that falls between that and The Burgess Bird Book, LOL. Haven't had much luck at all with mineralogy yet.

Schole Groups might be something for you to look into: http://scholegroups.com/.

That's laudable, and I'm sure very difficult. I can't even imagine.

So do I. The reality is that, while I appreciate the difficulty of her situation, her problems with her ex are not MY problems. He is still the same uncle who played with me as a kid, took me to movies and out to dinner, bought me an expensive coat that I couldn't afford my freshman year of college because he was "so proud" of the accomplishments I'd made. Just as she is still the same aunt I've always known and loved. I didn't expect them to kiss and make up, or even speak to each other. I did hope they could manage to be in the same room for a couple of hours, ignoring each other, as they've done before and will do again, as they have children and now grandchildren together. If that was impossible, it was acceptable for her to graciously decline (although I would have been hurt). It was not acceptable for her to try to dictate the terms of MY wedding.

Haven't read all the replies, but I'm responding as the "niece" in your situation. A favorite aunt and uncle of mine divorced when I was a young tween. It was a fairly nasty split and although we were kept sheltered from most of it, I know that my parents were put in the middle of the proceedings because my father and my uncle were (are) close friends, while my aunt was (is) my mother's sister. It got a little hairy. Ten years later I invited both Aunt and Uncle (along with their respective significant others) to my wedding. I sincerely wanted both of them there. Aunt was angry and called my parents to demand that we uninvite Uncle, as we were *her* family, but I refused because I loved him and wanted him there. I wanted her there too. I didn't expect them to interact with each other at all, just manage to be in the same room as each other and 200 other people for a couple of hours. Aunt had agreed to help direct the ceremony, as I didn't have a wedding planner. The day of the rehearsal, she called to say that she was stuck out of town and her flight had been delayed, so another aunt filled in at the rehearsal and was supposed to give Aunt the rundown the following morning. To make a long story short, Aunt refused to show up because Uncle was coming. My mother and other aunts pitched in to handle all the necessary tasks, and everything went off without a hitch, but I've got to be honest and say that I felt like she was making my special day all about her and her decade-old grudge. It's not like I refuse to speak to her or anything, but I still think about it. It was petty and silly and I think less of her for it.

No. You can choose to purchase stock. I think it's $100 now. But once you've done that, it's just the annual dues. My parents gifted us their stock from years ago. ETA: Also, there's no swim team that meets at this pool. There could possibly be an issue breaking into some groups of kids who know each other from public school, especially for DS, who isn't as outgoing as his sister. This will bother me a lot more than it bothers him. He is by and large content to play by himself, but I hope with more opportunities to socialize he will begin to break out of his shell a bit. I can think of several families we know who will be welcoming. Of course, it all depends on who's there to swim on a given day.

This is a pretty accurate description of the atmosphere. The social aspect is a big key for me. The problem is that I sometimes get all gung-ho about DOING THINGS! and BEING SOCIAL! until it comes time to, you know, do things and be social. :D I do think joining would be an easy way for the kids to have more social interaction while not requiring a ton of work on my part -- by which I mean: I won't have to chit-chat with a bunch of other moms unless I want to. That, and keeping DS comfortable around the water, are my primary motivations. A number of our casual acquaintances are members at this pool. We have had a membership in past years, though not since the year DS was an infant (which didn't work well), and my family had a membership every year when I was growing up. I do have fond memories of it. If it were half the price, it would be a no-brainer to me.

No day passes -- that would be nice. :( As far as I know, none of the pools around here do that, but they are all private pools out here, no rec centers or anything like that. If anything, ours is less restrictive to members than others. My parents live on a golf course just up the road from our pool, and they restrict membership at their pool to only those who reside on the course. My parents can't even take the kids unless they buy seasonal guest passes on top of the dues. I really would like to think we'd make use of the Y pool, but I know we won't. It's ok, but it's never busy in the winter and is deserted in the summer when the community pools are open, so really no help on the social front -- which is my number one reason for considering the community pool. If I'm going to go, I want to be able to enjoy the sun and not have to spend the whole time entertaining. And the kids get along great but deserve a break from each other sometimes. Plus, both the room and the water at the Y are heated so it feels like taking a bath inside a sauna in there. Not at all appealing to anyone when it's 95F with 90% humidity outside. I don't know of any Y's within decent driving distance that have outdoor pools. Some do have splash pads. Kids would LOVE it. But yeah, I'm having trouble justifying the cost, for sure. ETA: The cost is, from what I can tell, fairly comparable to other pools in this area.

DH and I are debating whether to join our community pool for the summer. The dues are close to $400, and while we have the money, we can't decide if this is the best way to spend it. PROS *It's a pool! *It's about a million degrees here in the summer. *Gives the kids a chance to hang with kids they know/make new friends. And me too. (We live in the country so we have to work to create social opportunities.) *I might get a suntan for the first time in my adult life. *We just spent a small fortune on private swim lessons getting DS6 comfortable in the water, and we don't want him to lose his progress. *It's good exercise. *I can buy a cute floppy hat. *We usually have a pool for a week when we go on vacation, but this year's rental doesn't have one. CONS *It's almost always crowded. *DH hates crowds so he probably isn't going to go more than once or twice, which means all pool trips are on me. *It's a 10-15 minute drive, no walking. Not sure if dropping off is allowed (probably not at DS's age) and I probably wouldn't feel comfortable just dropping off anyway. Which means I have to stay the whole time. And probably pack lunch/snacks. *It's about a million degrees here in the summer. *Who am I kidding -- I don't tan, I burn. Plus, sunscreen is expensive. *Money we spend on the pool membership would pay for at least 2 or 3 fun day trips. *I would feel the need to go several times a week and stay for several hours to justify the cost. I like the pool, but I'm not sure I like it THAT much. We are members at the YMCA, so we have use of the indoor pool there for free. But that just doesn't seem like much fun during the summer, and when it's so hot outside, the heated pool isn't very appealing. So what do you think?