I've been vanilla my entire life, long before homeschooling. I was excited to go to a homeschool convention recently and to have a little extra money to spend, and I bought very little. Instead of a grammar program, I bought a grammar reference book and plan to teach it from the chalkboard in a year or two. My ziggy says it all. I started out scheduling in Spanish, history, science, poetry, art, music, geography, and other subjects. That was easy when I just had 1 to teach. Now I just make sure I cover the 3R's and fit the other subjects in as they naturally come up...for example, if we want to listen to music I may just happen to pop in a Beethoven CD; if we have a few spare moments, I may happen to read from our history book; if my son is bored I just hand him a book on the Solar System to read; if I don't have kitchen chores while my children are eating I might just happen to pick up a poetry book and read a few selections. Life is so much less stressful this way, get the 3 R's out of the way and wait and see what else naturally falls in our lap for the day. Socially, I don't do co op, moms' nights out, or group field trips. It stresses me out to fit into other people's schedule for things that are non essentials. Thanks for bringing this up, I almost started a thread asking if I was doing enough in our school day since I dropped doing everything but the 3 R's formally. I'm a borderline unschooler maybe. Maybe I should change my forum name to vanilla plain.

I heard of a lady on another forum who had stage 4 cancer and did a diet like the hallelujah diet and she got better, doing well now I think....I don't know her personally, just what I read about her healing journey. She wasn't as strict or extreme as the Hallelujah diet recommends. Mainly she ate massive amounts of raw fruits and veggies, NO refined SUGAR (I hear sugar feeds cancer cells and high nutrient foods hinder cancer growth, don't know that for a fact though). She did go to an alternative diet based healing center like the Gerson Institute when traditional treatment did not work. I also read drinking lots of carrot juice, maybe 3-4 cups of day if you are going through the cancer healing process, can help shrink tumors (8 oz a day is what is reasonable when not drinking it to heal of an illness). Warning, I don't know any if this firsthand, it is just what I read when researching whole foods and raw food diets. It is extreme for some, but eating massive amounts of raw fruits and veggies can't hurt. Many oncologists do not believe an extreme diet therapy like a raw food diet or massive carrot juice consumption will help. Hopefully, your doctor is more open minded. If not, it's something for you to research yourself to make your own judgement. Gerson.org has info about cancer treatment through diet and juicing at the Gerson Institute.

I highly recommend attending a convention if possible or connecting with a local homeschool group to ask 2-3 parents who use different styles if you can look over their materials. I just went to my 1st homeschool convention, and the 1st time in my only 2 years of homeschooling I had extra money to buy stuff. I ended up spending less than $100, although I was planning to get some dream curricula I'd heard raving reviews about, yet never laid hands on. I found after looking at many popular "pretty" programs, I am happy with the vintage readers, grammar, and spelling programs I downloaded for free. I am also happiest with MEP math, which is a free download, just requires ALOT of printing. I had been eyeing a moderately priced geography program, but found myself happier with a $23 Galloping the Globe geography book. I looked at multiple history packages, but am happier with picking my own history spine, reading it at my own pace, and tagging on suggested read alouds from various online read aloud lists, again at my own pace. As time goes on, I may change my mind and get a packaged program. If so, I have an idea of what will or won't work for us. Seeing everything I was interested in up close was worth the small price I paid to attend the convention. I'm not a seasoned homeschooler, so listen to the advice of those who posted above before my advice, but I would concentrate 1st on getting each child placed in appropriate math and LA programs to start. After a month or two of having that running smoothly, add in history, science, fine arts, and other subjects one at a time.

Play hooky? Lol

Dp

The author is Robert McCloskey, and I agree about the illustrations. Actually, several McCloskey books have great illustrations.

Haven't done it yet, but just bought Galloping the Globe. It is geared for K-4th, and looks like it can be simplified or enhanced as needed for the child's grade level and depending how much depth you want to go into.

YouTube has a video by Sonya Shafer on how to do picture study the Charlotte Mason way. You may be able to search for "Simply Charlotte Mason" on YouTube and it will come up as one of the videos she has. Editing this, not sure if I can link the video right but it is called " Charlotte Mason Picture Demonstration" on YouTube. Try this: For composer study, you can choose one composer for either the term or semester, read a short biography on the composer, post a picture of the composer or put the name on a timeline if you want to, and play some works by the composer. You can do the listening informally in the car, while doing chores, during meals, or during a quiet hour if you want. For early elementary, Classics for Kids has some great CDs with an interesting a narration about the life of the composer while the composer music is played in the background. We love Beethoven Lives Upstairs and Mr. Bach Comes to Call from that series. For older elementary Vox has a series called "The Story of _______in Words and Music". There is also a narration about the composer's life with the composer music. Rainbow Resource sells the entire collection, google "music masters CD package" at their site. I am slowly collecting these CD's when Amazon has some of them for $1.99 from time to time or I see them at used bookstores. We use YouTube quite a bit to listen to different versions of a composer's work. Also, I save artist prints from the internet to my ipad photo album. I try to purchase postcard prints of the artists we study and put them on the wall (adding one each week). Confession, we've been lax at doing composer and artist study since December, but hope to be more diligent next school year.

I am heading to my first homeschool convention soon and need your advice on what to and what NOT to buy. Below is what I am currently doing for LA or what I plan to do (my oldest is finishing 2nd and my youngest is finishing K soon). For grades K and 1 focus on phonics and print letter formation. Begin oral narrations to living book passages. Start copywork using sentences once letter formation is correct and easier. Reading progression starting with books like I See Sam eventually progressing to early readers like Little Bear and Frog and Toad. (This is where my oldest was at the end of 1st grade, I will see where dd is at after she finishes K, and work on her level if ahead or behind this game plan), phonics program with my oldest was Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for 1st (he did ps K), I'm currently doing Progressive Phonics with my youngest. Grade 2 (in progress with my oldest) Selections from Primary Language Lessons for grammar only (we do picture study, copywork, poetry, and memory work separately) 1st half of book, spelling program (using Modern Speller dictation type program...note, it's a vintage program through free download, it's not modern), improve in oral narrations, print copywork progressing towards longer sentences and small paragraphs, reading to me on level a few pages/day (using McGuffey as a base), begin some independant reading on reading level. Grade 3 (possible plan, open to critique or advice)-finish PLL, oral narrations, continue with spelling program/dictation exercises, start cursive letter formation and cursive copywork, read and discuss Grammarland, begin some simple creative story writing with direction by me, a little bit reading to me on level, increased independant reading Grade 4 (up in the air)- possibly start Intermediate Language Lessons or other grammar program, continue with spelling/dictation program, begin written narrations, continue cursive copywork, independent reading with help from me for difficult words, some type of creative writing or journaling. What I am concerned about is missing out on the formal instruction I had in public school English. I remember going through endless word lists on vocabulary, prefixes and suffixes, action verbs, helping verbs, homonyms, antonyms, similes, contractions, lots of worksheets, more worksheets to follow those, and the things to learn and know for English never stopped. What do I need to fill in the gaps of my tentative LA elementary plan? I first thought to get Rod and Staff English starting for 3rd grade, but wondering if I am doing the above things which I am happy with, will Rod and Staff be overkill? I understand R&S is a complete English program. If so, is what I am currently doing or planning for LA more, less, or just as thorough as R&S? If I don't do R&S, will Explode the Code be a good supplement to what I am using, or will ETC just be busywork? The only other things I am thinking of supplementing with are Easy Grammar and/or WWE. This is because, as you can see from my post, my own grammar and writing isn't that great and I think these programs may make up for my lack of expertise in teaching grammar and writing. I do not want to purchase any materials just for busywork. If what I am doing is plenty through Grade 4, I am fine to stick with what I am doing without buying anything else for LA. But, if it sounds like I could benefit from Rod and Staff (I would get English 3 for my oldest and go at a comfortable pace for him, he's currently reading on a 3rd-4th grade level), I would like to purchase it at the convention. My other option would be to get the ETC books for both my children (starting in the books at their current level). I've heard great things about Easy Grammar, and will consider that if I don't need a full English program like R&S to add to what I am doing already. But if PLL, ILL, and Grammarland are just as effective for these early years, I'd rather not add anything else. Sorry this is so detailed and maybe confusing, but my main goal to this post is for those with experience in teaching their children LA effectively to talk me into or out of anything to purchase at the convention. TIA

I have conveniently misplaced some of the one color forward cards and left all the 2 colored cards to make the game go faster. If I can do it unnoticed, I have rigged the deck to make the game go faster and give dc a win most of the time, giving myself a win once in a while so they know they can't always win. I would also try to rig the deck so the special cards that set one back furthest in the game were near the top of the draw pile so that no one got those cards when close to winning.

We don't eat free of the listed ingredients, but limit some of them due to past allergy issues in the family. We eat a lot of rice and potatoes as a base. Here are some meals or snacks I can think of off hand: Shepherd's pie with mashed potatoes on top. I put chicken stock or rice milk in for the liquid in mashed potatoes, and olive oil instead of butter. Chicken noodle soup with rice noodles from the Asian market. Apple ring "sandwich" with nut butter in the center. Tacos with a couple crispy romaine lettuce leaves as the shell. Meatloaf with rice milk for the liquid, smashed rice chex for the bread crumbs, and egg replacer or flax gel for the egg. Fudgesicles made from raw cashews, banana, milk substitute, splash of vanilla, and cocoa powder blended together. Plantain chips and raisin mix for snacking. Jambalaya with rice. Spaghetti with brown rice pasta or with hearty veggies like eggplant or zucchini instead of wheat or corn pasta. Chili on baked potato. Kabobs with meat, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini (roasted or grilled). Salad as a main course with things such as steak or chicken, goat cheese, olives, nuts, diced veggies. I make my own croutons with gluten free bread. Hummus with veggie tray or rice based chips. Potato soup, mash 1/2 the potatoes after the potatoes are tender to add creaminess, toward the end of cooking I add diced green onions, ham bits, and corn. Baked sweet potato instead of bread as a side for salads, roasted chicken and veggies, etc... Not sure what stores you have access to, but Trader Joe's has a good price on brown rice pasta. Aldi's has the best deal on Rice Chex and some produce. The local Asian market has the best deal on rice noodles and plantain chips. I use coconut milk in smoothies or desserts sometimes.

Love all of you for replying about the tax breaks, but I DISLIKE your posts of tax credits being less as our kids get past 17, because kids cost more money past 17 for those parents who are able to pay for their college tuition. I sure hope my kid's don't sue me for private school tuition when they turn 18!

If they did change the age of legal adulthood to 21, think we'd get our tax breaks for having kids extended 3 more years, lol?! I would definitely use those extra 3 years to have my children cook, clean, run errands, and do yard work while dh and I relaxed a bit. Just kidding, to a degree. :)

New one.... Just because I homeschool, and some days at home all day with my kids, I am not a drop-in free day care center or taxi service (for my dear working friends) to have kids come over or to pick kids up at nearby schools when school is out unexpectedly for snowy weather or random teacher inservice days.

So, what about the many other families in Germany right now that are facing trials for homeschooling against the law? Will HSLDA offer them a vacation here and then fight for the same victory? I am all for homeschooling, but can't see how this won't become a bigger issue when another family comes to the US like the Romeikes. If that family is told they can't stay indefinitely to homeschool, this situation will be brought up again and the HSLDA will say to the government, "you let the Romeike's stay, so how can you deport this other family?"

I'm not saying the US is the only country fighting for their rights or the only citizens that die trying to change the laws. It was just that it was presented as negatively for some posters to say " if you don't like the laws just change them or move", then someone said it wasn't easy to change the laws, and said bla,bla,bla, pfoey" , as if those who suggested changing the law was easy. It seems, I misunderstood the context and meaning if the remark, and I apologize for that. But, I wanted to make it a point that if the US has it easy regarding homeschooling so we shouldn't be ones to understand the predicaments of those where it is illegal and moving is not an option. We understand because our history, as every country's history, has had laws that aren't right. I just wanted to say it wasn't an issue of being "easy" , and I gave examples of how harsh it has been for our country to be where it is today. And, no, all our laws and practices are not just today, our practice of healthcare being a prime example. I didn't mean to imply we are so great and countries with unjust laws don't have strong citizens, I just meant to defend the accusation that we shouldn't give a lecture that within civilized countries, laws need to change within their individual governments vs. other countries coming in to change them, because we aren't facing having to put our children in school by law. I do again, apologize for taking offense to the Pfoey, bla,bla,bla comment though. I didn't understand the context.

The healthcare situation in the US is EXACTLY what is being worked on right now to change! For generations, it has been accepted, and citizens are no longer accepting it. But like I said, our silly laws don't change overnight, it takes a long time and hard work. You using that example of healthcare is proving my point that citizens are NOT saying, " wow, our healthcare situation stinks, but we'll just go on as is and not work to change it." We are working to change it, although it may take a generation or two for it to work as should.

"You make it sound sooooo easy. 'Just work on changing the law'. It is freaking hard to change the law!!! At the moment a new law is being prepared to make homeschooling illegal in the Netherlands. You have NO IDEA how MUCH I want that proposal not to be turned into law. I'm not looking forward to having to emigrate in order to homeschool! Leaving all our friends. Leaving my aging parents. Leaving. my. country. 'Just work to change the law and *if* you don't want that....bla,bla,bla'. Pfoey." Remeber, homeschooling in several states was illegal in the US for a long time (I'm not sure for how long, I should google it). Residents and representatives of each individual state had to FIGHT HARD to get homeschooling legalized. Now we have some states that require minimal reporting and some that have laws where the parents get headaches trying to meet their state's requirements. Most rights we have in the US came about through blood, sweat, tears, patience, banning together, and hard hard work. I really hope homeschooling does not get outlawed in the Netherlands. But for US history, the 1st Europeans that came here at first complied with England's laws and rule. Then when they were treated unjustly, they fought HARD to gain independence. It happened through the majority of the citizens in the colonies working together to change the law. Same thing with what happened to outlaw slavery in the US. The gov't didn't just say one day, "slavery is wrong, it denies a human right" ....a long bloody war and great division of our country occurred to get the law changed. Same with women's right to vote, MLK's work with others to change segregation laws within the US. None of the laws that we have in the US that gives women and men equal political rights, that outlaws segregation and job discrimation based on race or gender, that now allows for homeschooling in all 50 states, etc...came easily. The US citizens could have set back and said, "our laws stink". Their only options being: either moved, begrudgingly accepted them, or refused to follow them and suffer the consequences. I am not a fan of our founding fathers, in that they were as a whole cruel to the natives when they came and took over US land on an assumption of entitlement, for freedom of religion being one reason for coming, yet purchased slaves and treated them cruelly for over a hundred years. But, as an American of European descent, I am glad George Washington and others didn't accept England's laws and taxes, that Lincoln took on tough issues and eventually abolished slavery, and that JFK and other presidents did so much for Civil Rights. Imagine if MLK never had marches and rallies, but accepted, "our government treats our race wrong, but I can't do anything about it." Imagine if MLK said, "Too bad for Rosa Parks getting arrested for sitting on the wrong seat on the bus, guess our race shouldn't do that anymore." He gathered people together to fight to change the bus law, some died over it. But, thankfully the law changed. The opinion of whether or not homeschooling is a basic human right can be argued forever. But, whether it is or isn't (I lean toward it being a human right), other countries will need to do what the US has done and FIGHT HARD to change their own laws. I don't mean that insensitively, I just mean that was what had to happen here to get unjust laws changed. It hasn't been pretty, easy, and it has taken years to be where we are today. Before homeschooling was legalized in each state, many US citizens wanted to homeschool but couldn't because they had loved ones or jobs they couldn't leave, thus not being able to move to another state. They could have broken the law, I'm sure many did, but without hard work they would have never aided in their children or grandchildren being able to homeschool. I'm glad they stayed put and worked hard to change their state laws. It is because of them I can homeschool in my state today without having to move to TX. To say PHOOEY, to US citizens who suggest working to change the laws of other countries is an insult, because many of our citizens DIED for the rights we have that other countries don't.

If there is any problem with Germany allowing the family to relocate to another area within the EU, such as England, it may because the parents already have fines or court appearances for possible jail sentences placed on them for homeschooling against the law for an extended amount of time before they left the country. It may be that they can't get legal residence within the EU until they are cleared from fines or charges they already have against them in Germany. I have NO IDEA if that is their legal situation, but I did read an article several months ago if and when they return to Germany they will face charges and fines. The parents probably knew they could legally relocate before they homeschooled in Germany for an extended amount of time, but chose not to, instead they were probably initially wanted to make a stand before the government, "these are our children to raise, not yours." I bet the fines and charges accumulated, and after that it got more complicated to move within the EU. After that, I bet someone within HSLDA told them they would take up the case if they would come to the US. Maybe Germany allowed them to leave just for travel, vacation to the US, but fully expected them to return and face the charges. I am again sorry they had to face court sentences and fines for homeschooling in Germany, but they could have chosen to move before their children reached school aged. Germany did not say, you can't homeschool no matter what, they just said you can't homeschool as long as you live in Germany. Their had a choice to homeschool before they did so illegally for many years, they just should moved prior to getting that deep in the water.

Dp

Multiple posts, sorry, my computer was acting up.

Dp

Spin off on a post about the German homeschooling family denied asylum in US: The HSLDA isn't one's best investment for legal advice, since they spent lots of US homeschooler member money to fight for an international family to be granted asylum here when that same family could have easily moved to England to homeschool legally. Before being educated more fully about the situation by this board, I thought the US was the family's last hope for homeschooling without the parents facing prison time. Since the HSLDA doesn't understand the huge ramifications the US would have faced equating not being allowed to homeschool with human torture, they won't be advising me if I get in a sticky legal situation. They should have kept their member annual dues and thrown a big company party instead of spending it on a huge court case that wouldn't have passed in the Supreme Court in the first place. They should have advised the German family to pick a nation within the EU that allowed homeschooling to settle down in vs. advising them that they should become refugees in America because Germany has stupid homeschool laws. The HSLDA could have waived dues for its members for an entire year and encouraged their members to give that money to the family's resettlement costs within the EU instead.....probably, that would have cost less money.

Update, it took me a long time to post this in words, and I now read that some others expressed similar views while I was typing, thus my lengthy post is repeating much information written by others. Glad to see I'm not the only one viewing it from a different angle. I wouldn't have dared posted this on a different, smaller conservative homeschool board, I would have been banned from any further posts for eternity. Glad to get my unpopular opinion posted here without flames. Wow, after catching up on what was posted about EU laws and the ease of moving from one country to another, I am in shock this wasn't brought up when I first heard about the case on a small conservative homeschool forum, where everyone there was having a pity party that the poor family wasn't getting full US support for being here. If I knew they could have up and moved to England and not have had to have the political fight they had here, I never would have felt bad for them. It sounds like this family had connections with those here with some political or judicial ties that wanted to create an upheaval about Germany's laws. I feel sorry now, not so much for the family, but all the people who pay annual dues to the HSLDA that spent so much money trying to fight for that family's right to be granted asylum in the US!

You know, I am sad for the original situation that the family couldn't legally homeschool in their country. I am also sad that they were told by one court judge in TN they could seek asylum in the US, and their hopes got dashed when that decision was appealed. However, I can understand the predicament the court system would be in if the Surpreme Court offered the family asylum. If so, then that would open up for all homeschoolers around the world who live in countries where it is illegal to homeschool to legally come to the US on grounds of persecution (for being denied their religious or moral conviction to homeschool). I don't want to be insensitive to people who are citizens of countries that don't allow homeschooling, but it is not practical for the US to grant asylum to all homeschoolers around the world. Homeschoolers from Germany have tried to seek refuge in other Westernized countries to homeschool, and told by other countries they can't stay for the long haul. It is a noble thing to call homeschooling a legal right to every parent around the world, but if the US would grant asylum to this one family, it would be more difficult to deny asylum to any other families that came here for that purpose. Then that would put the US in political tension with other countries such as Germany. It's like the US saying to Germany or another country that outlaws homeschooling, "since homeschooling is legal in our 50 states, it should be for your citizens as well, and if the rights we give our citizens aren't given to your citizens, then your citizens can become refugees in our country." Also, people in the US fought hard to legalize homeschooling in all 50 states, and it can be up to the citizens of other countries to ban together to put political pressure on their governments to legalize homeschooling. If German citizens don't ban together to start changing the law now, it will definitely never change. If our citizens accepted the illegal status of homeschooling in many states several decades ago, and instead just moved to states where homeschooling was legal, then perhaps today those states that had local officials/representatives fight for the legalization of homeschooling on behalf of their state residents would have never succeeded. If German citizens do take on their government on the issue of homeschool laws, it will probably take a lot of money, lots of upheaval, and decades to change the laws. But like in the US, it has to start somewhere. It is sad that some of our grandparents or great grandparents were denied the right to homeschool because it was illegal in many states a few generations ago (sorry, not up with when, where and for how long this was a big issue in the US), but at that time another country couldn't accept a US citizen in on refugee status because of homeschooling. I am all for homeschooling being a right of every parent in every country. But, it is not practical for the US to grant asylum to every citizen around the world who wants to homeschool. I understand asylum in the US for extreme persecution like physical danger and abuse. Granting asylum in a situation where a foreign citizen is being tortured, abused, beaten, treated lower than animals is much different than granting asylum for homeschooling. Being denied the right to homeschool is persecution, however, there is persecution in other countries for other things beyond homeschooling and the US can't take them all on. For example, many countries persecute women by not allowing education of the women and treating women like men's property instead of human beings, thinking Afghanistan pre 9/11. The US can't grant every woman in every country that isn't treated with equal rights as men asylum here, just because we have a law that on paper protects women from being denied the rights men have. It took a huge, bloody Civil Rights Movement and decades of fighting for Women's rights to get to that point in our country. Even though it is not right for other countries to treat women with less respect than men, the US can't reasonably make a political statement to all countries that don't give full rights to women that the women of their countries can live here because the laws of that country don't line up with US laws. Same for homeschooling. Sorry for all the run-on sentences. It's hard to put into words the point I am trying to make, while at the same time I do have compassion on this German family along with other families in other countries suffering persecution as a result of abiding by their conviction to homeschool even if means the parents going to prison for their choices. It is terrible that Germany and other European nations haven't updated their homeschool laws since Hitler. OTO, even if the US government believes all countries should give the choice for all citizens to decide for their children's education, it would be a shaky international political situation if the US Supreme Court considered outlaw of homeschooling in other nations persecution to the point of offering refugee status in our country for anyone who wanted to homeschool. P.S. This should have been posted in the unpopular opinion thread, lol. No flares, PLEEEASEEEEE!,,,,,,,,, please grant me grace in this different viewpoint of the situation, I promise my heart goes out to this family and I am very sorry for their situation.