Thank you! I really do appreciate your insights! I will look into them!

I heard this site was a great place. Several people I know suggested it stating it was a wealth of knowledge and a great place for discussion. Being a new person, I have not quite had that reception. I posted in another thread and the responses were lovely and kind. Not so much here. I have done nothing other than share my true story and have been basically called a liar. Pretty sure this site is not for me. Never been treated like this before, and never expected this here. Thanks for the welcome.

And since it was not your experience, then it must not be true, seriously, my little town had 1 market to shop in. The options were very limited and the choices for pads were 2-3. I tried them all. Y'all are viscous. This is simply ridiculous. My story is true, I could say that your story is not true. I have never in my life been accused or implicated to create a story. Wow. So, if I were to believe you ladies, then in all of Germany, eastern and western, there were no belted non adhesive pads with no waterproof backing available any longer. Ludicrous. I lived this. Trust me, I used those things! It was gross! Come on, y'all are not the end all be all authority. Neither am I, merely sharing my life experiences. Good grief.

Oh, my goodness. I was 12. OB was one of the only brand do tampons. My mother would NOT let me use them. Plus, the thought of using them was gross. I used some local brand of pads, they had belt tabs in the front and back had NO waterproofing. It was just yucky to my young self. You have no idea what it was like growing up with no American fiends, no one to play or talk to, everything we changed odd different. I was in the Gymnasium school system and ill treated by the kids in my grade. I was not like them, if we out it into current terms, I was bullied. It was one of the worst events of my young life. I was the only girl in my clas that had her period. I was made fun off for taking my purse to the toilet, for wearing clean clothes daily, different then the day before. Uzi or M5 it was pulled on us in an effort to make us submit. The point is being missed. As Americans we have NO clear understanding of how life is in Germany. The two worlds and mid frames are very different. Things that we as Americans would NEVER tolerate are common place in Germany. We as Americans draw our conclusions about what should or should not happen to this family. The laws are different in Germany and changing them to allow for this family to HS, would be tantamount to resurrecting the Titanic. My prayer is for these children to be back with their families. For them to find a place that they can live and work and raise their family in peace. If my history serves, isn't that how America was born? People looking for a place they could worship, raise families, and live in peace? Not sure dissecting each sentence of my post is helping that family. I merely posted my experiences to help our American friends that have never lived any other place to see that things outside the USA are different and dramatically so. By all means, dissect away. I know my experiences are true and real. You cannot discredit them. The search turned up nothing, we were not guilty of anything. We later months later after several more raids just like the first, that there was someone in town that hated my father for being a preacher and wanted him expelled. Not sure which hurt worse. My dad is incredible and would never hurt anyone. He sure had an enemy. And NO, there does not have to be any evidence. Say what you will, I lived this.

I would seek answers at our church from other HS families, it's just that we do not have any. My dh is in the military and is on a special duty assignment. The church we attend is military and has no families, other than us. My dh works with service members with families. It's complicated. Trying to keep OPSEC in mind, or operational security. We are Christian, conservative. I am not a huge fan of all day seat work. I did order the Classical Conversations Cycle 2 material. Parts seem heavy and overwhelming for a 4 yo. Some say she can do the work, in her way. I am a perfectionist and have to remind myself she is 4. She loves to write, loves for me to read aloud to her. I love reading aloud! I found the Abeka Little Books on eBay and purchased them for a very good price. She has weak fine motor skills. She loves to button and unbutton. Loves to color. Has trouble with proper grip. Does not put much pressure on her pencil or crayon. She can, just does not. I have TWTM. I read the pre k chapter, twice. I found a nice copy of Kiplings Just So Stories. Excited to start there. I believe I will be adding in the CC information, for exposure, but will do our own for handwriting and reading and math. Next year we will start K, or start pre k over again. I was not in any hurry to start pre k this year, my dh was adamant about her doing some type of school this Fall. The good news is, the cycle 2 info can and will be kept for later use. It's not wasted. She is a young 4 as well. I wanted to start K in 2 years, after her 6 th birthday. My dh can only see and hear me holding her back. He was held back and made to repeat first grade with his sister. He said it was very upsetting for him. I was a star student, natural learner. I feel that a Classical education is what I needed and would have thrived under. The "typical" American education is NOT for us! Not for my children. I love them too much to not teach them about Jesus, creation and faith, hope, love and forgiveness. I am aware that home is the place to learn those truths to begin with. I cannot surrender my child to the system. She is sensitive and innocent. We have worked hard to protect her from the evil and hatred around us. She is not exposed to a lot of violence or meanness. She is innocent in every meaning of the word. My educational goals for her and her younger sister are simple; that they be wise, well spoken, well read, and quick o defend what, how and why they know what they do. If they are blessed and anointed to be fighter pilots, attorneys, mothers, musicians, or all of the above, I want them to know they have to foundation to build upon. If they choose college or higher learning that it is simple and easy for them because they have the tools to learn and the thirst for knowledge. My prayer is that they will become Godly wives and mothers, be secure and confident in any situation or setting. Poised, graceful, kind, gentle, loving, tender hearted, and wise as serpents. I am sorry for my disjointed reply. It is late. I have a fevered older girl and a fussy baby. I hope I made some kind of sense.

Western Germany. I can tell you, it was very traumatizing. I was only 12. I have asked my parents many times about this, they know much less than I do. My parents were missionaries. We lived totally on the German economy. I attended German school. I learned to adapt to German toiletries and I can tell you, starting yur monthly cycles is strange and odd enough in America, but doing so in Germany where there was no Always or Tampax, it was startling for sure. I have no cause to make any of this up. I lived every moment of it. I was 11 when we moved back to Germany and 22 when we moved back. I feel more European then not, at times. Yes, they were Uzies. The same as the Polizei carry in the airports.

Her room dot com is a good place to hunt for book shelves. Linda the bra lady dot com too. Cake Lingerie carry not only smaller and larger sizes they also carry beautiful bras! Super important when you are young, but a MUST when you are post-partum. I have NEVER been able to use the up a band down a cup or the other way either. Whoever came up with that never had to try to shove an I/J cup into a H cup. Does not work. Finding a nursing bra for those books is harder than finding a normal bra! Goodness! Bravado has some great ones too. bravissimo sells some great ones too. I was wearing a professionally fitted 34 H. Baby number 1 came and I was in a 36 K/L. Now after baby number 2 I am in a 36 J/K. In between the girls, 4 years, I was put into a 38 H. Never was I more miserable. Learned this summer, H cup was the largest that store carried. Make sure they are fitting your size, not the sizes they carry. Most makers go up in letter sizes F, G, H, and so on instead of DD, DDD, DDDD. FWIW, the underwire in the center will NEVER lay on my chest bone. The girls like to touch. They are nearly never apart, lol! Her room dot com has the most comprehensive questionnaire survey regarding shape, size and rotation I have ever seen. Very insightful. Happy hunting!

I am an American. Sent most of my childhood growing up in Germany. "Force" in Germany is nothing like the force used in America. In the US we qualify force as deadly or not. In Europe, there is just force. One day after school the doorbell rang. I answered the door to armed men with Uzis in my face and they "moved" me aside and came in. They did what they wanted. Someone told them that we had illegal items, American food items, in our house and we had not paid taxes on those items. Exactly what was found in our house were 2 empty soda cans in our trash and an empty burger wrapper from an American fast food place from the military base. We were NOT military, but we had a lot of military friends. That is one day my 12 year old heart will never recover from. They tore our house up. Dumped my clothes out and pilfered through every nook and cranny. It was a hard day. They took my dad down for questioning and he returned home 8 hours later. He paid a fine for the trash that had been left behind by a friend. The fine was nearly $1000. That is a lot of money, especially when our take home was less than $800 a month. I believe instructing your children in any manner you wish is a Human Rights matter. Yes, German police can do whatever they wish. And no! There is no recourse from it. IMHO.

First my back story. My dh is 48, I am 38. Married nearly 12 years. We have a dd 4 as of May, 4 month old dd born in May too. Years of infertility and our older age have created helicopter parents and we are fine with that. We had many friends that pushed their children into learning before they were 2 years old. We opted to go the other route. Early this summer my dh stated he wanted our oldest dd to start pre k at the public school near our house. I could not sleep. I always wanted our children to go to a Christian school, homeschooling was an option, just not the primary. My dh took a half day off of work to register our dd. I was made aware of Classical Conversations by my sister in law. Her two children attended a classical school and they were moving and would not be able to send them this coming year. After much debate and deliberation and many hours of prayer, my dh agreed, homeschool the girls, start this week. I ordered my curriculum and a few things. Now I have NO clue what to do or where to start. Not even sure what to expect from my dd or require. My oldest is super bright. It took a week of easy gentle working and she learned the ABC song. Leap frogs Letter Factory DVD has helpd her recognize them. She cannot hold a pencil correctly, but can color inside the lines and loves to be read to. I just have no idea where to start or even how to begin and on what?! She loves "Momma School". Any help and insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Oh, we LOVE library days!

Hello, I am Christina. I am a stay at home momma to 2 precious girls. My oldest is 4 years old and my youngest is 3 months. I ordered the Foundations Guide for Classical Conversations. The closest community to our house is over capacity. We are on a waiting list. We decided at the last minute to NOT send our odd to PS pre-k. Hallelujah! I could not sleep with that coming! My SIL told me about CC and my Sister told me about this forum. I am feeling overwhelmed. I have no real clear direction and missed all of the parent practicum events. My dh wants us girls to get started this coming Tuesday. I am eager to, just am not sure what I am starting or even doing. If anyone has any insight for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Willing to learn, eager to teach, blessed to have my dh full support!