You do not have to enroll until the school year that child turns 7. For many, that's during first grade, or maybe second. My younger will be 5 this year and in K, and we do not have to report. However, we're already with a cover school for my older, and I'd rather get her on their radar now (though they do not turn in paperwork for 5yos to the schools because the schools just don't want it). We've had a paperwork mix-up in the past and I'd rather have the practice year since the fees will be the same. :) It IS a good year to go ahead and scout out cover schools, playgroups, and the like. There are some fun field trip opportunities, depending on where you live! AL is a great state for homeschooling.

I would have found it very difficult to do with no notice, and quite possibly even with notice. I have health issues that are not readily apparent, and that can cause me trouble with long-term exercise, even mild levels like gentle hiking.

My triggers are things in combination, usually. Stress will do it by itself, though. Stress Caffeine Too much salty stuff PMS Weather changes (air pressure types) Any of those come up at the same time, and it's look out below! So I kind of have to keep an eye on things. That said, I'm more a once-a-month major migraine type, and can usually medicate it. They came on after my last kid was born. And finding some of those triggers helped find some anxiety attack triggers, so that was a good thing.

Haven't read the rest, but my take: For the weekend ... your friend with the ability to discipline and amuse your child is the safest bet. Next choice, I'd say go pick up bio-dad and bring him to your house to stay with his child ... no other relatives allowed. And have your friend call and check in to make sure that's followed. They may be wonderful when visiting, but with all those issues, they don't need to be part of the child-care setting. I'd also say that bio-dad would be a better choice when she's older and can understand things better, and not so much now while she's little. (FWIW, I am half-adopted, as my mom divorced an abusive husband who relinquished rights after lengthy legal battles, and we were adopted by her new husband. To let us visit that family would have been very destructive on our growing-up years, and I'm pretty messed up as it is. :) On the other hand, you said her bio-dad isn't a risk, so the situation is different. But the extended family would've been rough on me and my sis growing up too ... they are better now, but it would've been awful then. Our new dad was much healthier all around.) I think it's great that you're willing to help him keep up the relationship. And that he's willing to do his part, too.

I think it sounds great. And if he really wants to write a novel, check out www.nanowrimo.org or their Young Writers program at ywp.nanowrimo.org ... the young writers site has guidebooks and lessons. Anyway, that's National Novel Writing Month, in November, and the challenge is to write a complete (messy draft) novel in one month. The lessons/guide can be used in October or earlier for planning. He might like that, and it's all free and lots of fun. There's also a young writer subsection at www.fmwriters.com ... Forward Motion is a great site for aspiring writers who are serious amateurs.

So far ETC has been plenty for my kids, supplemented of course with actual reading material. :) The Beyond the Code books are good too, reinforcing the phonics and adding in comprehension.

We heard things too, though it really wasn't that bad. However, since I wanted time after book 3 to let concepts cement (he could do the work, but I wasn't sure he was applying it well, if that makes sense) ... we skipped to Beyond the Code 1. Then we did book 4, and then Beyond 2. This year (2nd grade) we did book 5, Beyond 3, and are finishing book 6. Next year we'll do 7, Beyond 4, and 8, and be done with both sets. This has worked well for us. We've never needed the half books, though I suppose that would've worked just as well for us after book 3 ... but my son LOVED the change of pace in the Beyond books, and has happily alternated ever since. They're cheap enough that it's worth going ahead and just getting them to try out. FWIW, all I've heard is that the syllabification parts are what trip kids up ... if that's so, it's easy to skip that section and come back later. Or slow down at that point.

If you like weather, an activity that I picked up from one of the FIAR volumes but haven't done yet ... Go to your local home improvement store and get lots of paint samples of various whites, light greys, light tans, etc. Then take them outside on different cloudy days and determine exactly what color the clouds really are. Are they white? Grey? Darker? What kind of white? And so on. It's supposed to be a lot of fun. :) Astronomy can be a good stretch from weather too. Around here, right now, moonrise is happening during the daytime. The kids are getting a kick out of this. (My son has recently become a weather nut and memorizes the weather forecast page in our paper each day. So he can tell us the times to look for things.) Go from moon and sun stuff to simple star searches (it took me till this year to reliably spot the Big Dipper, sadly .. dh helped us on a recent Cub Scout campout). If you live in an allergy zone, I suppose you could do the same color sample experiment with all the yellow pollen layers. LOL. I'm half tempted to try that one actually... Some national parks have Junior Ranger programs ... you can check nearby ones online and see what they offer. Some even have their booklets online but you can't get the 'award' unless you complete it in the park. (None near us, alas, but it looks like fun!) If the cemetery is old, do rubbings of that. How has the weather eroded the older stones? What about the newer ones? What plants are growing there, and why might they have been chosen? Just some random ideas.

I dunno, was it the newer Star Wars (skippable!) or the older Star Wars? :) I like the concept of take your child to work ... but for some jobs it's not practical, and if the teachers haven't planned around it (like inviting some parents in to speak, or planning a career type day for kids who stay at school), then it is a bit of scheduling chaos. (And the teacher do deal with enough of that already ... I can recall that much from my student teaching days!) It'd be great if it was a better implemented program. If local business opened themselves to tours and field trips on that day (or week, maybe), so that kids could see all sorts of different jobs. And going to work with mom or dad can help create pride and understanding in what it is the parents actually do all day. Job shadowing, for teens, would be a great alternative. You sure it wasn't a syndicated opinion column? I could swear I read similiar wording in our paper, and we sure don't live in the midwest. Or maybe all the editors read the same source and quoted the same teacher?

Keep a 'nature journal' when you're out and about. If you see an interesting bird eating fries in the parking lot of McDonald's ... jot down its approximate size and coloration (unless you're good at drawing, in which case sketch it!). Then look it up in a simple bird guide when you get home. (The Peterson First Guides are good for beginners. So are the Golden ones.) We like to compare from various guides, since they all show slightly different pictures ... helps us narrow things down. Bird feeders in the backyard are good for this too. If you've got a lawn that's overtaken by weeds ... spend some time drawing or pressing the wildflowers, and looking them up, before you mow it all down. (Dh had to wait a week or so till I was done identifying, this spring. LOL.) Have fun taking thinnish paper and unwrapped crayons, and doing rubbings of bark on various trees. Even without knowing the trees, you can have fun comparing the types of bark you find. And some tree guides will show you bark along with leaves and flowers and nuts, so you can use it as an ID tool. Around here, all the maples have dropped their 'helicopter' seeds. Playing with those ... that's nature. And they're easy enough to sketch in your notebook too. www.enature.com is a pretty fun guide to start with too.

How cute! (Till the end, anyway!) In June, the NWF sponsors a Great Backyard Camp-out (or something like that) ... my kids tried it last year for the first time, and talked Daddy into staying out with them. We cooked on the grill and made smores before that part. They had a blast. There are some fun ideas on the website.

Aw, I am jealous. Our district fumbled the paperwork, and my BL and Scouting magazines have lapsed. So peeved! I called and they promised they'd catch me up on back issues once the paperwork goes through though. Any cool contests or patches for Cubs in this issue???

Oddly, learning BASIC as a kid actually has helped me ... it was logical thinking, and I taught myself (out of books of course!), so it was good practice for self-learning down the road. Sure, I don't actually use BASIC anymore ... but it was a good intro to programming, and it helped me transition into Hypercard programming on the Mac later (which impressed the socks off my boyfriend at the time, when he tried to show me some fancy object-oriented language he was learning, and I got it quicker than he did ... and he was a programmer!). My dh was into computers and programming as a kid, and has made a solid career as a software engineer. But he also likes books ... he's not the fanatical reader that I am, but then that's probably healthier anyway. LOL. So ... all tools have their place, and learning is good, even if it does become 'outdated'. We're still looking for a way to teach our son BASIC (my dh found a cool emulator) just to use the cool resources I saved from childhood (anyone read the Micro Adventure series?) and to utilize his logical thinking skills. He's gonna take after his daddy, most likely, and we think it'll be a blast for him, even if it isn't 'useful' in a money-making sense. But I am BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS all the way!

Multi-tasking is overrated. There are even articles and studies that show productivity goes down. That said, I like multi-tasking with a book and a chore. :) I want my kids to love reading. I want them to appreciate books. The info in my books is not going to change. The info on Wikipedia, much as I like it, might be different from one day to the next. Besides, if they *learn* the knowledge, it's theirs to keep. If they always have to look stuff up, they have to always trust someone else's knowledge. Just think how well that serves us in politics and voting. (rolls eyes)

My kids just started Upwards soccer, and while our first games were rained out today, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen any headers allowed. (I only get to watch my 5yo's practice, due to scheduling, and dh takes the 8yo, but he hasn't mentioned it.) So at least in the younger grades I would expect it to be 'safer'. But yeah the idea of a concussion is scary.

Before FIAR is better for the younger age. Some of the regular titles are fine with a 4yo, but they'll miss some nuances and you'll end up wanting to re-read them down the road anyway. :D There are suggestions in the FIAR archives for extending the lessons for any book in the series, so it's not too hard to beef up Before FIAR if you want to. If nothing else, get Before and one of the FIAR volumes, and alternate ... they're all great. You've got the 1yo who will benefit from Before down the road too!

((hugs)) It was hard watching my grandpa die. He'd been the healthiest old man you ever saw, and then went downhill after moving back South here to be near family. His doctor just kept medicating him, and he kept slipping away, and ending up in the hospital, till one smart doc realized half his issues were actually med side effects! So for a brief time, we had our beloved grandpa back. He got sicker again, though, and it was pretty clear the end was near. Not a hospice sort of thing though. We were all at the hospital, and it was so hard, and he just wasn't 'there'. One of our pastors came by, and shocked me by praying for him to go ahead and let go, that we were all okay with that, and we wanted him to be happy and healthy again. Part of me was offended because I didn't WANT to let him go ... but part of me was glad she was brave enough to say such a prayer (which is what my mom and grandma did need to hear). Afterwards there was a sense of peace, and a few hours later my sister and I went home. A couple hours after that, he passed away ... peacefully. It was pretty amazing ... as if he really was just holding on until he had permission to let go. I don't know if this story helps you or not ... but if there's someone you trust enough to pray for everyone to be able to let go, it can be a very powerful thing. Either way, I am so sorry you're in this hurting place. It is so hard to watch a loved one suffer, and to also have to suport other loved ones during the process. ((hugs))

For humor, check out Kate Klise (and the illustrator is another Klise, so I may have them backwards). Anyway, all her books are a hoot, several are a series, but one stand-alone is Letters from Camp, all about bickering siblings. It's a riot ... they start out hating each other, and have to learn to work together to save themselves from whatever nefarious scheme was going on in that particular book. It's all journal/letter/article style (all their books are), and a lot of fun to read.

I know what you mean about trying to power through in spite of a chronic illness. Learning to say 'No' at the appropriate times was a Godsend for me, truly. And I'm not even going through what you are. But when I finally started actually telling people what I was dealing with, and why I was sick and unable to volunteer, they got a lot more helpful. Glad you're heeding everyone ... Please do take the time off!

Take the time off, and take care of yourself. If they can't find anyone willing to fill in ... the kids can sit with their parents. Seriously. You need to take care of yourself first, in this case.

Five in a Row might do some of what you're looking for. www.homeschoolshare.com has free book units, and might also help you out.

Not witnessed what some of you have seen, but was present when my father succumbed to an unexpected heart attack, while home recovering from open heart surgery that was supposed to cure him. So mom and I were trying CPR, waiting on the ambulance, etc. That was traumatic enough. I do have a friend who witnessed a car accident involving a driver and a pedestrian ... causes her problems to this day, especially as she was hassled by lawyers from both sides as a witness. (It was an accident but of course no one wants to accept that when they've lost someone.)

College makes a lot of people regress, just due to the freedoms it allows. (Think stupid partying teenagers.) Being an 'adult' finally, combined with a diagnosis that helps explain things that may have been bothering her all along, is a good reason to regress a bit ... it's the freedom to say "This is my life, and I can do what I want with it, and I finally have an understanding of who I am and why I am this way." She gets to be anti-social if she wants to. And it's a way of testing the limits. Hopefully it passes. And then maybe she'll have even more understanding. Sometimes you just have to push and see what it all means and how it plays out. Been there a bit with my own anxiety and panic issues. And yes, it can also be a marker of depression (grief is normal after any kind of diagnosis, especially something permanent ... you have to let go of some expectations, and come to terms with new limits or at least an understanding of limits you already had). So you have to figure yourself out all over again. Definitely keep an eye on her and be supportive, because no one wants her to give up due to the new diagnosis or slip into a deep depression spiral. But it can also just be a normal part of the growing up process.

And another yes. ((hugs)) Ronette! (And everyone!)

I thought meteors could, especially if they're large and enter the atmosphere. There's a great Stargate episode with that premise, anyway. :)