I would bet that has something to do with the attitude of the teacher, as well as the student's respect for the teacher ... if you know the teacher knows what they're talking about, you're more willing to take their criticism. If you feel they're just picking on you, it backfires. There has to be that respect first. I *never* received constructive feedback on a piece of writing (in spite of honors PS and college classes) until a couple years ago, when I swapped fiction drafts with an online friend ... she shredded that novel into a pile of red ink like you've never seen. And it REALLY improved the work. But it was the respect we had for each other and each other's works that allowed it to be constructive, rather than destroying my confidence. :) Well, that, and I was able to see HOW her suggestions were improvements ... maybe it means not just picking, but explaining the comments and why it's better too. Something to think about.

I don't *know* but I would guess it's similar to books ... really old stuff would be considered 'public domain' as far as printing out copies goes. Newer artists would likely be more sensitive, as they could still earn royalties from prints or whatever. But that's just my guess.

I too would pick on some minor errors, like it should be man's instead of mans' best friend. And I thought of hunting falcons right off. :) It's an engaging paragraph, to be sure. It seems to me to be better suited as the intro for a longer essay, though, where he proves some of the assertions he makes.

We're using Noeo Biology 1 this year, and while we like it, I'm not sure it's what you're looking for. The experiments come in clumps ... there were several at the beginning of the year, and now it's been a few months, and we have another clump of experiments. They don't come at one a week or anything like that (though it would be easy to find things to go along with the readings). The readings are short and easily doubled up to fit whatever days you can spare for science. This is level one though; but I expect it's the same for the other levels.

No, it doesn't. I kind of wish it did, actually. I do like the books it uses, though.

I started getting migraines after our second child was born ... and I get panic attacks, so they kind of fed off each other for a while. Sigh. I've only just recently figured out that the Excedrin Tension Headache (acetominophen + caffeine) which was REALLY helping the headache was having a rebound effect with the caffeine ... it would wake me in the middle of the night, and if I had any other possible triggers going on ... there I'd be with a panic attack. (Let's not even talk about the weekend I had figuring that one out.) So apparently, even though caffeine can help some headaches, it turns out to be something I now have to avoid. And I'd already cut out all other caffeine completely. Just something to keep in mind. I can't focus during migraines either ... but I've always attributed it to the pain and nausea. I find 'handiwork' much better than brain work ... watching TV while playing cat's cradle or some other thing (if I could knit, that'd be great). Something to pass the time till the painkillers kick in.

The "One Small Square" series has a very nice desert title. Start with that. Also, see if there are nature guides for the region you live in. You'd be surprised at what you might find. Another option would be to try indoor gardening or container gardening, for a bit of variety. If there's a Botanical Garden or zoo in your area, that would be a place to do some observations. And the internet has some good options, like zoo-cams and nature-cams and you-tube videos and stuff.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean you should put up with him being awful to you. ((hugs)) I was just coming from the depressed, anxious, and medicated side of things ... and it's a scary road to travel. Yes, if he's got a problem, he does need to admit it, or nothing will ever change. :(

Go easy on him about seeking treatment. Sometimes the cures are worse than the problem, till the side effects pass. It can be pretty horrible/scary to try new meds and coping strategies and things, because you're afraid of upsetting what little equilibrium you do have in your life.

You know, the private certified teacher is an important thing to check on. In our state, that sort of teaching falls under completely different regulations ... much more paperwork and rules to follow. Also it's a pain to keep up the certification. Another question for your friend would be in regarding the family's HSLDA membership, if they have one, or in any similar organization. I know that when we filled out the forms, it asked who would be teaching and what percent of the time. So hiring a full-time tutor might accidentally invalidate some legal protections there. I'm sure a quick phone call would answer that question, but it's worth asking.

I like it. I find many of the articles encouraging. And they have fun contests. :) It's very conservative, though, and sometimes can get a bit heavy ... but if you are okay with that, it's nice. What other good magazines are out there?

I love Dewey Decimal. :) But I'm weird (and a former librarian). It makes sense to me. I do sort my nonfiction loosely by Dewey categories, but of course there are lots of books that can be filed in multiple categories. I had a co-worker once who could tell you, to the third or fourth decimal point, where just about anything was in the children's department. She was my inspiration. :)

There are lots of denominations where the women don't cut their hair. I'm thinking it's based on some new testament verses, but I'd have to hunt it up. I wonder how they deal with it. :) Mine is very long (waist-length at the moment) and it drives me nuts ... I let it get that long so we can cut it and donate it and start over. I like it somewhat long, though, but never cutting it ... wow, it takes forever to comb out.

(((Hugs))) to all of you. We lost our middle child early on. We have two living, but won't be having any more due to the severe depression it triggers in me. And I'm here, with my one boy and one girl, and feel guilty for this blessing that so many other women don't have ... and simultaneously feel jealous that I won't be able to have any more. I will say, after our loss, we got the STUPIDest comments (mostly variations on the ones above). The ONE person who made a sympathetic comment (other than my immediate family, who were very sweet) was a teenage friend of mine. Obviously not someone you'd expect to know better, she certainly wasn't a mother yet. Her comment was along the lines of "at least the baby won't suffer" ... which sounds awful the way some people say it, but the way she said it, you could tell she was truly sorry about whatever went wrong to cause the loss, and was at least glad the baby was in heaven and okay now. She had no clue, but she was the biggest blessing of anyone at that time ... because she cared about the baby. On a funny note, I do have a friend who tried for ten years to have a child, couldn't, adopted, and was working on paperwork for their second adoption when suddenly they got pregnant. Go figure. She was ecstatic ... it was nauseating to watch, LOL, because we were due at about the same time and she was just this picture-perfect glowing pregnancy while I was sick as a dog the whole time. But she deserved it, and I am glad she had that blessing.

I have a friend who did this for a part-time business. What it ended up working out to, was her teaching co-op classes on specialty subjects, and then for a few kids, teaching them all day (because of parents working). She had to work with our state laws on it, and basically found a cover school that would accept her to teach for the parents. She taught all sorts of things, from creative writing to music to French (she's gifted in many areas), and had a lot of fun ... but she found it VERY hard to make a living. (She is single and relies on her teaching income.) I bet her advice would be to be very upfront about fees and schedules and sick days and all those things. Get it all in writing. She also had struggles with parents who wouldn't make their kids do the assignments. Several of her clients were folks who didn't like the PS, and wanted something more specialized than private school, but didn't want to make the lifestyle commitment to homeschooling. And they didn't enforce any discipline over assignments and things. So it was very frustrating to deal with those families. Finding a location to teach, if you do classes, and keeping up a business license, and handling your self-employment taxes, are all other challenges I know she's discussed.

I was a spelling bee kid, way back when (certainly before all those study time rules!). I was in PS. My first school bee, they stupidly scheduled for the VERY DAY of the city bee ... I won the school bee by sheer luck, my mom asked when the next one was, and they consulted their list. Oops. We left that minute, to get there in time. Obviously, I had no time to study the next level of words! So, yeah, a homeschool kid would've had an advantage in that case, LOL, because they would've actually had the information to succeed! On the other hand, at that time, I'm not sure they were accepting homeschoolers in our area bees. I participated in bees straight through high school (our state has two, the one that goes to national, and another 'brand' of bee that only went to state and was all the way through high school). I studied hard, but not excessively ... didn't do Latin, held a part-time job, all that sort of thing. My winning or losing was dependent on what *I* did, not what advantages someone else may or may not have had. There is always going to be one word that stumps even the best speller, and every speller knows that. Sometimes it's just 'luck' that your stumper came later than someone else's. (Obviously, studying hard improves your odds!) I think we do have the advantage of flexibility ... but so do PS parents, they just have to work it differently. My mom helped me study. It took time out of her evenings, but she did it because she knew it mattered to me. She made opportunities for me. It can be done, if you just look. (I do understand that there are situations where there aren't so many choices ... but I think not so many as some people want to believe.)

When I helped with the pick-up line at our church preschool, we were told to absolutely NOT help with seatbelts ... the parents had to do it. It kept us from being liable. It's not the law here in AL for 7yos to be in boosters, but mine usually is anyway ... just feels safer. We recently had to upgrade my 4yo's car seat because she is neither at the weight nor the age limit to move up to a booster, but couldn't fit in her old seat anymore (not with her winter coat, anyway). That was expensive!

Kfamily, have you seen the curriculum Five in a Row? It's literature based unit studies, and though they're meant to have the moms read the books to the kids, and then explore the lessons, the older units might work well for your daughter. (I ask because titles like The Boxcar Children and Cricket in Times Square are a couple of the older-grade units.) Anyway, things like that can be fun ways to explore lots of concepts. My son is only about a year or so ahead in some subjects, so he's easy to adapt for ... I can't wait till he takes off on reading like your daughter. (She's got good taste! LOL. I love The Ordinary Princess.)

Wow, that insurance thing is insane. I understand the library one, though. It's not about ages at all. It's truly a privacy law ... I was cited one instance where a husband was (incorrectly) given access to his wife's account to pay some fines, only to find out she'd been checking out books on filing divorce. (Yes, this actually happened at the system where I worked.) I think it's stupid when it applies to minor children, and around here, 14 and up qualifies for an adult library card. I'm glad to have the heads up about insurance ... my son is on maintenance asthma meds, and I guess we'll run into that one in a few years. Sigh.

I started getting migraines a few years back. Took me a while to track down triggers, but for me too much sodium, hormones (PMS), stress, and caffeine can be triggers. Although once you get one, caffeine can sometimes help it go away. Another weird trigger was barometric pressure changes. For a brief time, I was more accurate than the TV weatherman. LOL. Anyway, avoid some of those things and see if it helps a bit. And all of the suggestions above are good ones too. If it's a VERY severe or ongoing pain, you need to see a doctor. My doctor said that the first really severe headache you get needs to be checked, just in case it's something worse going on. (My first migraine sent me to the ER, and he was livid that they didn't run any tests while I was there. Fortunately I was okay.) At the very least, maybe they can call in a prescription for a stronger painkiller to help you out, if you call your doctor.

My mother had a double mastectomy last year too, and had one idiot of a doctor but then found a good one. She has found an INCREDIBLE online support forum, with lots of ladies sharing advice. If you PM me (so I don't forget), I will get the link from her.

This has been a fascinating thread. I'm 'half-adopted' so get some very special confusion of my own. :) I remember one of the more hurtful comments I received, and it wasn't even from any kind of relative. At the time I was a student employee at our public library, and working in the genealogy department. (Which I loved, in spite of my personally too-complex family tree.) One year, an area group decided to form a sort of charter membership group of folks whose families had been around since the county was formed. It was neat to watch that get started. And then I was told, by one of the committee people, that I wouldn't be allowed to apply, because I was adopted on that side of the family. My adoptive father's family probably qualified, but because *I* was adopted, I didn't. It showed a total lack of understanding of the emotional and legal realities of adoption ... his reasoning was that "since my birth father was still around, I would be counted part of his family, and could inherit from him, etc." Which is not legally true, actually; adoptive ties legally replace birth ties. To this day (some fifteen years later), that thoughtless conversation still hurts me. It was bad enough to know I wasn't wanted by my birth father, that he preferred to give us up in lieu of paying back child support. And then to be told by that idiot that my new father didn't count either... I still don't have a good relationship with my birth father ... the man just can't keep in touch. And it hurts badly. I wish his family had never contacted us. It would hurt less. (He didn't initiate the contact, his mother did.) And since my 'daddy' (adoptive father) passed away some years ago, that just makes it worse. Even my dad's family didn't believe he'd actually adopted us, and actually dared to ask my mother how to list us as his survivors in the obituary. Folks just don't get it. It's sad. Sorry. Not really on topic, but it feels good to talk about it.

I'll have to say, it totally depends on the abridgment. Mostly I'm not in favor of them. But I've got an abridgment of Robinson Crusoe and one of Heidi that I love ... I probably would never have read the 'real thing' without the interest piqued by those. I do think illustrations and annotations can go a long way, too. The George Macdonald books that I've been able to find (the adult ones, like The Curate's Awakening) are all abridged. Not sure if you can even find the originals these days? They're plenty long in the abridgments, but they rewrote the dialect so modern readers can actually understand it, and things like that. I've also found one that's a young person's adaptation, by the same folks ... I haven't read it yet but can't wait to see how it compares. I like books that guide one to reading the longer classics. If you like Edward Eager's fantasies, the fourth of the Half Magic titles has a lot to do with Ivanhoe. I read that, then an abridgment of Ivanhoe, then the real thing. And I was able to appreciate the long novel because of the helpful context that the easier stories had. Wishbone books are a fun way to nibble the classics, too, if you like them.

Thanks to both of you! I'll have to go check out the yahoo group. I don't mind supplementing my own book choices, or not having all the suggestions ... I just wanted an idea of where to get started. It may be a year or two before we begin it (trying to get both my kids to an age to appreciate it), but I like getting my ducks in a row early. Thank you so much!

Is there a list compiled of any books suggested or required with Mystery of History? We're looking at possibly using MOH down the road, and I'd love to get started collecting its booklist titles now, if possible. I didn't see a list on the official website, but I did see a link to some Amazon suggested readings. Not sure if those are just go-alongs or something the author actually recommends. If there's a list out there somewhere, I'd love to have the link! Thanks!