Yeah! The book arrived today; it was just waiting until after I posted about it. :D Pegasus

It's been over two weeks since I received an e-mail that the book shipped. Too early to get worried? The first time I ordered, several months ago, I was surprised by how quickly I got the book, just a few days. Thanks, Pegasus

Check out this book: What High Schools Won't Tell You by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross http://www.amazon.com/What-High-Schools-Dont-Tell/dp/1594630372/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330096129&sr=8-1 The author is a bit "over the top" but there is lots of good information about what's available. Pegasus

Because of this thread, we popped popcorn and watched this movie yet again. DD15 laughed that she could almost repeat the movie line by line from memory. I told her that I wouldn't consider her fully educated until she could do just that. As we were watching, DH wanders in and starts saying the movie lines along with the actors. I looked at DD and said, "See, HE is fully educated." :D It's just as good the 212th time you watch! Pegasus

The main living area is about 58 right now. We set the thermostat (upstairs) for 67 but it is usually about 10 degrees colder downstairs. Thermals and sweats are our normal at-home attire in the winter! Edited to add that we have friends who won't come to visit during the winter because they find our house too cold. Pegasus

Just keep in mind that for everyone who is handling their finances worse than you, there is someone who is handling it better than you. :grouphug: Pegasus

Answering my own earlier post because I found the information on a different website: https://www.homeschoolart.com/store/art-curriculum-levels It looks like it is $155 per level. I don't know yet if it can be found for less elsewhere. It looks great but 18 art lessons for $155 plus cost of supplies might make it more than we want to pay. I'll have to think about it. I also requested the free trial DVD so maybe that will blow me away. ;) Pegasus

Gulp! Can you tell us more about this program? I followed the link and can't find any information about cost. It looks like it is targeted to school systems though and the following makes it sound like it costs thousands: If you are a typical school with only 50 students per grade (2 classrooms) and you use the program for only 3 years, your actual cost per student will be on the order of $4.00 per year. For larger schools or for those who use the program much longer than 3 years (the great majority of our customers), the annual cost is even less.

Yeah, I agree with the others that it is probably the torture scene. My DDs have grown up watching this movie. When they were very young, we would fast forward through the use of the life-sucking machine. Everything else seemed fine for them. Best movie of all time, by the way. If you don't like it at first, just keep watching it over and over. It will grow on you. :D Pegasus

If you want a break from history, you can consider a year of world geography. We used Brenda Runkle's "Wonderful World of Geography" which does an amazing job of making physical geography interesting. We added in other books for the cultural geography component: Material World - A Global Family Portrait, Hungry Planet - What the World Eats, The Riddle of the Compass - The Invention that Changed the World by Amir Aczel, and Longitude - The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel. Edited to add, that last one, "Longitude" was also made into a very interesting film that we watched from Netflix.

I read it years ago. It is a very interesting read but the path described wasn't for us. Pegasus

We have used LL7, LL8, and both units of high school American Lit. Here's my thoughts: 1. Good reading selections. WHOLE reading selections. This was important to us as I wanted my DDs to read whole books, not simply selections from them, as many lit programs have. 2. I consider it a full literature program but not a full English credit. I added other resources for writing, grammar, and vocabulary. By the high school level, I did find myself adding other books just because I wanted my DD to read them. Still, even with just the LL selections, it is more lit than I read in high school classes. 3. It met our needs for literary analysis. The main criticism that I read about it is that it doesn't do enough analysis. It's enough for us. For next year, we've been lured away from LL by Literary Lessons from The Lord of the Rings. DD loves this series and I think she will really enjoy this program. The following year, we will probably be back to LL for the Shakespeare units. Best of luck in your decision. Pegasus

Now this sounds cool and would hold better than velcro. :grouphug:

That makes sense. Don't know why I didn't think of that. :001_huh: Definitely worth a try before I start sewing on velcro! Pegasus

They are reversible so they have the same fabric top and bottom. Nothing special to hold them on. I'm considering trying this. Has anyone used it. Does it work for sofa cushions? I may resort to this, although it would mean that the cushions are no longer reversible. Not a bad thing, as maybe I could replace it sooner if it gets all stained and torn up. Hmmm. . . :glare:

DH and I finally got around to replacing a decrepit sofa with a new one. It seemed fine in the store but now that we have it home, I hate it. The main problem is that the lower cushions (the ones you sit on) are not attached and keep sliding out. I could spend all day pushing them back in every time someone gets up. My old sofa didn't have any loose cushions so I didn't even know that this was something that would be a problem. Argh. We are stuck with it now so I need the hive advice on possible fixes. Please?!? Pegasus

Thank you! Your search skills are superior to mine. :001_smile:

I was telling DH about it recently and he doesn't believe me. :lol: I've tried searching but I can't find it. Many thanks! Pegasus

What's next? Destination birthday parties to Disney World with each attendee responsible for their own travel costs and admission tickets.

First, it says that you would have to eat over 4 pounds of green potatoes in ONE SITTING to become sick and then they say to toss any potatoes that have a greenish skin or are sprouting. I still use them, removing the sprouts or greenish areas. I reckon it's like apple seeds. Sure, they are poisonous but the quantity is so low that it is no problem. Pegasus

DD read that book years ago and STILL brings it up to use against me. Strangely enough, books where people die do not affect her nearly as strongly. :confused: Pegasus

I would recommend the same book. We are thinking about having DD start dual enrollment at the CC next year by taking a "College Success" course. They use this book and it looks really good. Pegasus

This is our plan too. Since four semesters of foreign language at the CC will provide DD with the equivalent of 4 years of high school foreign language, it seems like the best use of her time. She'll have the intermediate level of language covered which is all the foreign language that will be needed for the majors she is likely to go into. Pegasus

The best solution, IMHO, is for you or your DH to fly to NY and drive them down. After the visit, drive them back and fly home. Pegasus