Oh, Melissa. My thoughts are with you. I know how awful depression feels.

I don't have much advice, but I can definitely commiserate. Ds is a major collector of rocks, sticks, and other nature objects. And he does tend to leave them lying in odd places sometimes, and he is very sensitive and can cry for extended periods of time over things that we wish he could just get over. The most memorable episode involving nature objects for us happened after dh's graduation from his MBA program. The children and I were waiting for dh to meet us outside after the commencement was over. Ds, of course, found a stick and began playing with it. He deciced to set it down after awhile because he was done with it and didn't want it anymore. Except that after we had walked a long distance to our car in the heat he decided that he did want the stick, that it was very important to him, that he was deeply saddened by it's absence. And he proceeded to cry for the entire 10 mile car ride to my parents' house where we were having a graduation party. And then there was the time that we were at the zoo, and he was having a great time, until I made the mistake of pointing out a little lizard running across the shaded path where we were walking. He tried his best to catch it, but couldn't. He was heartbroken. He cried, and cried, until we finally had to leave. He cried all the way to the car, begging dh to buy him a lizard at the pet store. He cried all the way in the car, until he finally fell asleep. We were at my grandma's house one time and she was telling us a story about when she was a little girl and they found a toad. Ds started crying (real, very heartbroken tears) because he didn't have a toad and he wanted one. Just the other day dd made the mistake of telling ds (who now often finds and catches toads and keeps them for pets) that the dog had found a toad the night before, but it had gone under the deck where it couldn't be retrieved. Ds again became sad and cried, even though he had a toad in his acquarium. Dh tends to have a more difficult time with the crying than I do. It bothers me, but I can also empathize a bit, being a sensitive person myself. Sometimes I think that if we would just let him really get his feelings out and not keep trying to convince him he should stop crying, it might get over more quickly. I think that sometimes he needs to feel that it's okay to express sadness, and that when we urge him to stop crying, we minimize and invalidate his feelings. I do not tolerate screaming and tantrum-like behavior, but I tell him it's okay to cry when you are sad.

I have felt this way since I was a child. I always felt more comfortable with the adults. I was always more serious, mature, etc. than most of my peers. I was studious and loved to read. I was spiritual and philosophical, enjoyed serious discussion, etc. I feel as if I fit with dh and dc. Dh is truly my best friend. But, I don't really feel as if I fit in anywhere else. Although I grew up in a religious household and used to be a Christian, I am really going through a time of searching and questioning right now. We haven't been able to find a church home that we wanted to join since we moved two years ago, and I honestly am not sure I want to go to church anymore. I'm still thinking about it. I don't feel comfortable with the faith-based homeschool groups here (although I did feel fine with the one in our old hometown, which we would have joined if we hadn't moved). I don't feel as if I fit with the other moms at dd's gymnastics. We're there ten hours a week, so I do end up chatting with them, but I just feel so different. For instance, today one of the other mothers was talking about how she didn't like the movie WALL*E because it portrayed a society where all the people were too obese to even get out of their chairs, and with obesity being such an epidemic, she didn't understand why in the world they would make a movie that portrayed a society like that. I didn't say anything to her because one of her dd's is overweight (although her two other children are very lean) and I thought maybe that it was too sensitive an issue for her to feel comfortable discussing, but I wondered in my head, "Did she really miss the whole point of the movie? Did she not get it that this was an exaggerated vision of the society we are destined to become if we continue our habits of overconsumption, materialism, groupthink, instant gratification, etc.? And that the pervading theme of the movie was that we need to re-think our way of living and change so that we don't destroy our environment and ourselves? " I can't imagine seeing that movie and thinking it was an endorsement for being lazy or that it was making fun of people who struggle with weight. I understand that since her dd is active (participates in dance, gymnastics, and baton) and eats the same diet as the other children, and yet still struggles with weight, maybe it truly was just such a sore spot with her, that she couldn't get past the sting to understand the message? But this is just a tiny example. I'm really not an elitist; I try to be kind to all people, and sometimes I truly enjoy chatting with these other moms. I do tend to be introverted. And I've found recently that most of them are fond of gossip, which I don't want to be a part of, mostly because I know how hurtful it can be to be the person who is the topic of gossip. So, I feel reluctant to consider any of them friends. I don't really have anywhere else right now where I interact with people regularly. My neighbors are not really the kind of people I can have meaningful discussions with, although we are friendly with everyone. As I said, I tend to be very introverted and not need a lot of social interaction, but sometimes I do wish I had a good friend or two. I wish I knew people who enjoyed art and music, went to museums for fun, enjoyed reading and discussing literature, were pursuing some sort of learning just because they were interested. But then I think, maybe those people wouldn't want to hang out with me. I am interested in art, music, history, literature, etc., but I feel so behind because my own education was woefully inadequate, and I didn't really awaken to my interests in time to study anything very extensively in college. Dh has a few colleagues at work that he enjoys talking with and with whom he often eats lunch. They sound like the kind of people we would both enjoy getting together with sometimes, but we live an hour away from the city where he works and where they live, so I haven't even gotten to meet them yet. There is a nearby town that hosts an annual festival dedicated to celebrating the arts, especially music. But other than that, I feel as if we live in an intellectual vacuum. I think a lot of it is because we used to live in a university town, where we would often meet graduate students and professors. There were always new families at the library or community center to get to know because they had moved in to study or work at the university. The homeschooling community was large and diverse. Living green, growing food organically, protecting nature were popular there before they became so mainstream recently. I didn't feel odd nursing my baby at story hour, because it was just accepted and several other mothers might also be bre*stfeeding, too. When we lived in this town, I truly believed that most people didn't spank their children anymore because there was a large group of families who really communicated with each other so well and didn't choose to resort to physical discipline, and had amazing relationships with their children. I really enjoy these message boards because I feel as if I get to virtually interact with other people who have similar interests. I do often feel less intelligent and less educated than many people here, but I very much want to learn. I just wish I could find some friends like all of you in real life, kwim? Thanks for listening to my very long musings.

DD is starting second grade. So far we have used Singapore, which dd tolerates, and Miquon, which she enjoys. I'm going to be starting ds on Rightstart A this year and was curious to know if Rightstart might also be a good fit for dd, but I didn't know if it might be hard to transition from Singapore? How would I know which level to use with her if I did decide to switch?

If you are really serious about trying to eat a truly healthy diet and you really want to lose weight more quickly, I would highly recommend the book Eat To Live. I checked it out of my public library after it was highly praised by Abbeyej. The first week I followed the diet strictly and lost 5 pounds in 1 week. I am 5'2.5" and weighed 131 at the beginning of that week and weighed 126 at the end of the week.

My dd worked through Levels 1 and 2, and 1/3 of Level 3 in first grade. I like that we can work at our own pace. I agree that the words are not on grade level. I'm not sure dd came across any words that she didn't already know how to spell. But what I love is that she is learning a whole lot of ways to figure out the spelling of other words, which I never learned in school. She is learning how to divide words into syllables, different types of syllables, that english words don't end in certain letters, different functions of silent 'e', etc. I personally love this program! To me, it is equivalent to teaching phonics instead of just memorizing sight words. DD is learning to spell, not just memorizing spelling lists.

I agree. My dd loved James & The Giant Peach and Charlie & The Chocolate Facotry.

No, I'm in Ohio.

Well, the evaluator came today, and everything went great! I had asked the person who referred this evaluator if she charged a fee. I was told that it was on a donation basis. So, I just asked the evaluator at the end if she had a standard amount or what people typically gave her. She said that people usually gave her anything from $5.00 to $25.00. So I went with $25.00, since that is what I had planned to give anyway. I guess I am lucky that she came to me. When I called to arrange it, she didn't even suggest the possibility of my coming to meet her.

I live in south central Ohio, where the cost of living is probably significantly lower, I'm guessing. The last house we bought was a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom w/ 2 car garage & 1/2 acre lot. We paid in the 130's for it.

This is what I do, too!

I didn't order Singapore math from them, but I've had great experience with Adoremus Books, as well.

I know. My dear grandmother is 81 years old. She had lived in her own home until a few months ago, when she fell and broke her leg. She had to have surgery and is currently staying in a nursing home, hoping to be able to return home in a few months. My ds often says that he wishes Granny were still at home so we could go visit her there like we used to. Until 2 years ago, we lived in the same town as her. We would go visit her once a week. After we moved an hour away, it became more like once a month. We would go have lunch with her (usually mac & cheese because she knew the kids liked it), and then stay and visit. She kept toys for them to play with. She would let them watch a movie, like Toy Story or Babe. We would talk and visit. At Easter, we went down and spent the weekend with her and cooked Easter dinner at her house for our whole family. I treasure the memory of that weekend. It was shortly afterwards that she fell. I wanted to go visit her in the nursing home yesterday on my birthday, but I got tied up with an errand at Kinko's that turned horribly wrong. I'll have to go see her this weekend.

I obtained her name and phone number from the local hs support group. Apparently she used to teach public school and now works with the homeschool group and a popular area co-op. I feel as if I should compensate her for her time and gas money to travel here She only lives a few miles away. While she is here she will need to look over a portfolio of dd's work and have dd read a passage for her. Do you think $20-25 would be right?

Happy birthday, Patricia! Happy birthday, Megan! I hope it's a good one, spent with the people you love!

We love Artistic Pursuits here, too! I love art, but I am not an artist. And I hate having to gather all the supplies for art projects. And I really despise crafty, pointless, not real art projects. Artistic Pursuits is perfect for me. It includes art appreciation/history, which I love, and I can order all the supplies I need altogether, because they make it so easy. DD created some really impressive art last year, and we're looking forward to this year.

Here are a few things I am starting to really know. Don't care about impressing strangers. Don't waste your time, energy, and focus trying to figure out what other people think of you. Do care about how you influence your family & friends. Spend your time and energy loving them. Live in the moment. Don't waste it. Don't worry it away. Really be there, especially when you can spend it with people you love. Babies grow into kids, kids grow up, people grow old, time does not stand still for anyone. Visit your grandma, play with your kids, kiss your husband. . .now. Because you might not have later. Don't stress about little things. They will get done if they really need to be done, and stressing will just make you and everyone around you miserable. Save the misery. Doing a little bit at a time, consistently, is often a better way to accomplish things than trying to do a lot at once. The most beneficial things in life are often difficult and require true commitment. But they are so worth it.

I'm. . . gulp. . . 30!

Thanks for mentioning the writing! I knew I was missing something. I actually decided to buy WWE; I just forgot to include it on my list. We usually start sometime in late August or early September. I'm wanting to order tonight or tomorrow, so that hopefully everything will be here on time.

For dd7, second grade: Latin: Lively Latin Math: Singapore 2A&B, along with Miquon (which we already own) Literature: D'Aulaire's Greek Myths D'Aulaire's Norse Myths various modern novels for free reading cursive: our own copywork spelling: All About Spelling (already own) history: SOTW, vol. 2 audiobooks & AG Geography: The Geography Book & NG Beginner's Atlas Earth Science: library books & Young Scientist Club Kit Art: Artistic Pursuits, K-3 book 2 Essential History of Art Art classes at art musuem Music: Themes To Remember (already own) library cd's & books DS 4.5, pre-K/K5 mix HWT The Reading Lesson phonics ????? math- maybe MUS or Rightstart Nursery rhymes & tales, Aesop for children Science & history with dd as he desires Am I missing anything? Thanks.

Usually from Amazon, with super saver free shipping.

You could probably classify all of the gardening as science. In our Biology curr. this year there was a whole unit on plants and trees and another on plants and flowers. Some of the experiment suggestions included growing plants to see how seeds germinate, etc.

where our family of four shared two entrees and two desserts. Dh and ds ordered iced tea. Dd and I had ice water. It was an upscale restaurant in the city. Our total bill was $56.00. Our waiter was great. We tipped him $10. I honestly had never even thought about what a server would think about our sharing a meal. We sometimes all order our own meals at restaurants, but often lately ds will share with one of us, because otherwise he tends to waste food. And it never even occured to me that maybe we should adjust the tip when we share. I hope we weren't rude to the waiter today, because he did a great job.

Thanks for the info. I tried to rep. you, but I have done so too recently to be allowed to do so today, apparently. There's no doubt that we'll be starting some Latin curriculum in 2nd. She is an excellent reader (5th-6th grade level) and she has completed FLL 2nd grade work. I'm just trying to decide between Prima Latina and Lively Latin. Thanks.

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