Thanks, Audrey -- I hope I hear something soon! I wonder if the owner is accepting new members right now. If she's very busy, maybe she isn't even bothering to look at the new applications. I keep seeing that there are new messages posted to the group every day, and wishing I could read them. Thanks again! Cat

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: Cat

:lurk5: Anyone??? Cat

If he turns out not to be your 9 year old, let me know, because I'm pretty sure he could be mine, too. ;) Cat

I forgot about FIAR. Knowing it would work beautifully for us, I bought every single volume and scoured the used bookstores and eBay for as many of the books as I could get. We started by reading The Story of Ping. Once. Not the prescribed 5 times. Once. Because the next day, when I started to read it again (and very animatedly, too, I might add,) my ds asked me why he had to hear the same story again. I mentioned all of the fun, thrilling, exciting activities we were going to do each day. He was unimpressed. I tried dragging FIAR out a few other times, but ds had no interest. He enjoyed some of the books, but the FIAR concept (and activities) just didn't click with him at all. It was so depressing reading about all of those happy FIAR families on the FIAR forum, especially back then, when I was still new at the whole homeschooling thing. Cat

I would absolutely tell my friend. If she knew something similar about someone in your neighborhood, wouldn't you want her to tell you? Cat

I agree with the other posts so far -- he's probably hiding someplace warm and dark inside the house, and he is probably just fine. The problem with snakes is that even the large ones can seem to squeeze into the tiniest spaces. I really hope you find him soon! Cat PS. If you close all of the interior doors in the house and put the snake's favorite food into a big box (one in each room,) you can watch to see if the food magically disappears from one of the rooms. At least that might help you narrow down the location. Needless to say, if it's "live" food, make sure the box has high sides, or else you'll have even more creatures to search for...

Now wait a minute, Carol. Are you trying to tell me that there are pursuits other than shopping? ;) I would like to see a detailed list, please. :D (And SHHHHHH!!! Don't tell my DH!) Cat

Well, if he were a top-ranked player, he might be happy about it; otherwise, it might be very stressful for him, as he might think he had to live up to unreasonably high expectations. Some moms are ridiculously obsessed with rankings and perfection -- and having something to brag about -- and their kids often seem pretty unhappy. It's hard for them to live up to some moms' dreams and ambitions for them. Clearly, you're not one of those moms, and I think that's a very good thing. One of the reasons your ds loves tennis so much may be that it's fun for him, and isn't something where you demand perfection from him, so he's allowed to enjoy the competition without worrying that you'll think he's a loser if he's not nationally ranked. Some kids seem to thrive on tremendous competition and pressure, but many don't. Only you would know how your son would react to taking his sport to the next level. Of course, the money is a consideration, but I would be more concerned about the emotional aspects of getting involved in something that sounds very intense and competitive. It may be great for your ds, but it may not. Cat

I applied to join the OM_HS (Oak Meadow) Yahoo Group weeks ago, and my membership is still awaiting approval from the list owner. I have heard that the owner is very busy and that it can take a while for new members to be approved, but I'm wondering if anyone here is a member, and if so, how long did it take before you heard anything? I don't want to be a nuisance about it, but we've just started using Oak Meadow (in conjunction with the BJU DVD program we've been using for a few years,) and I really believe the OM Yahoo group could be very helpful to me. I'm starting to worry that my application is lost somewhere in YahooLand, but there doesn't seem to be a way to contact the OM group owner to check on my status. Thanks for any help or advice! Cat

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: Cat

Another vote for BJU Science! Cat

:grouphug:Shelly:grouphug: I wish I lived near you so we could go out together for a little Shopping Therapy, followed by a Coffee and Pastry Treatment. The one good thing I see here is that you recognize that something is wrong and you want to take steps to help you get back to being yourself again. I wish I had some good advice for you, but you've already gotten some good suggestions and I'm sure you'll hear many more. Cat

It sounds like you're looking for part-time babysitter/light household help, not an au pair. Au pairs are usually looking for full-time, live-in work. Personally, if I wanted my ds to learn another language from a native speaker, I'd hire a tutor. If your sitter speaks another language, how will you know that she speaks it correctly? (Think of everyone you know, and then think about how many of them you'd allow to teach your child to speak English! Some people have terrible grammar skills, speak mainly in slang, etc.) If you only need part-time help, I'd suggest asking around the neighborhood for references. You can't be too careful about who you allow access to your kids when you're not around. Cat

Praying for your friend, and hoping the next news you hear about his condition will be much more positive. Cat

Shhhhh! We won't tell if you won't! ;) Cat

Yes, Melissa -- 3rd grade is structured the same way! I agree. I think you'd miss out on most of the "good stuff" if you didn't use either the TMs or the DVDs. I wish you could purchase individual DVD courses in the elementary grades, but in our case, I think it's worth the money to buy them even though we don't plan to use the DVDs for every class next year. Cat

Well said, Kathleen. I agree completely. Cat

It's an Evil Master Plan ... don't forget about the Evil part! :thumbup1: Cat (secretly wondering how an imaginary person like myself could be so hungry for Doritos right now. And not imaginary ones, either!)

Well, I wouldn't have signed the agreement anyway, because I don't think anyone has the right to tell me what I can and can't do in my own home (and I don't even drink,) but after reading the comment about the wife falling into sin by disobeying her husband, I would never, ever join that church. I should clarify, though, that I would never even remotely be considered a submissive wife, so comments like that always bother me. Hey, maybe the pastor's wife was only saying she used the beer on the lawn -- maybe she secretly drank it all so she could forget about him and his judgmental attitude for a while... (just an idea... ;)) Seriously, though, I'm sorry to hear that this church may not work out for you and your family, as it's clear you really wanted it to be the right one for you. Cat

Thanks for posting your happy news! It's so nice to read about good things happening to nice people. Cat

Thanks for the link, Colleen! Cat

How about 3rd grade BJU English? It's workbook-based, and alternates between grammar-related chapters and writing chapters. I think it does a nice job of covering the mechanics of the subject, while also promoting creativity. It's also bright and colorful, and if you like to test at the end of each chapter, BJU sells tests and test solutions at very reasonable prices. We use the BJU DVD program, so I don't use the teacher's manual, but if I were ordering the books without the DVDs, I would definitely get the teacher's manual, as it will give you lots of ideas for teaching the subject. :001_smile: Cat Edited to add: BJU English isn't based on literature, so it may not be exactly what you have in mind, but my ds is the same age as yours, and BJU works better for us than anything else we've tried so far. It's quite thorough, and ds doesn't dread it. (LLATL didn't work for us, either, for the same reasons you mentioned.)

Sure -- just get a copy of the Sonlight catalog (or view it online.) All of the book selections are in there, organized according to level. Many people buy the Sonlight Instructor Guide and get most of their books from the library (or elsewhere.) Personally, I don't like the way Sonlight schedules their read-alouds, so the IG isn't that important to me. I went whole-hog on Sonlight when ds was younger, buying several complete packages for different levels (over the course of a few years.) I just couldn't make it work for us, no matter how much I wanted to be like the happy families in the catalogs. Finally, though, ds is starting to enjoy read-alouds, so I'm hoping to get some use out of some of the books I purchased (probably used in conjunction with Oak Meadow or TOG... or the BJU DVDs... I'm probably going to ruin my life next year by combining several different curriculum choices, instead of keeping it simple with our "usual" BJU DVDs.) Cat

You just made me so happy, Audrey, because we just bought Oak Meadow and I was hoping to hear some positive comments about it! I've been trying to join the OM Yahoo group for weeks, but still haven't heard back from the list owner. I hope she accepts my membership, as I really want to be a part of that group. Cat