My youngest WOULD have started public school Kindergarten today. He's the first of my three kids who will not be doing so. I get to keep him home with me, instead. :001_wub: Nance (who kinda wishes she'd "discovered" homeschooling sooner but is very happy with and thankful for it now) P.S. Oh, and he told me he's never going to go to "puglic" school. (Yes, he said "puglic" LOL).

:lol:

My husband works and finances our curriculum, extra-curricular activities, field trips and so on. I teach the kids. For the most part, anyway. Sometimes there will be a particular hands on project or experiment that I think he will be better at or enjoy more than I, so I'll ask him in advance if he could help us with that particular thing the next day or sometime that week, and he of course would say yes. If we ever got stuck on something for math, we'd go to him because he's much better at math than I am. I've never asked or wanted him to take over a subject, but if there was a guy who had the interest, the patience, and the time, then sure, ask him! My husband does all outside work around the house and while I do the bulk of the day to day cleaning, he will pitch in and help when asked. So if I ask him one day if he would for example vacuum the stairs for me, he'll usually do it (although sometimes he'll tell me, "I'll do it later" lol). He will often go food shopping with me or sometimes stop and pick up things we need at the store on the way home. ETA: And like someone else said, he's a better cook and often cooks breakfasts for us and cooks dinners on his days off. So I just try to kind of ask for help as needed but don't want or expect him to take over big portions of school...I'd rather it be done my way and I don't think that would be his strong suit with regard to patience.

She understands it. She just doesn't accept it. That's why she spanks them, and I imagine they get hit an awful lot and/or living in a state of constant, hypersensitive fear. I hope this thread helps put an end to that.

If he's not breaking parole merely by living there, there's really nothing you can do other than talk to your children and supervise them carefully. Role play with them, be as honest as you can for their age and ability, teach them what to do in various scenarios, and so on. Empower them to whatever extent you can. Like others have said, there are probably registered offenders in every neighborhood. I don't think moving is going to help. And it's just not all that easy or practical to sell a house and move anyway.

No, but I am not even remotely "superstitious" and don't believe in things being good or bad luck.

With my almost 11 y/o daughter I'm reading "These Happy Golden Years" (Little House series). On my own, I'm reading "A Feast For Crows" by George R.R. Martin.

LOL I thought the same thing. Don't worry, this is one of those days that just stinks while you're living it but can be laughed about later. :D

And I still remember certain scenes from an adult/porno novel my mother had on her night table and which I took and read when I was maybe 9 or 10. I got through quite a bit of it that day before she discovered it was missing, took it back, and initiated a well-meaning but embarrassing conversation. Be careful what books you leave lying around lol.

I have an idea! You can dress her in a kilt and let her become the WTM mascot!

I don't have a preference for one particular martial art, and neither does my daughter...so we're okay with the class covering techniques from a few different ones. She really is learning a lot, she's having fun, she's building so much confidence, she likes the instructor, she likes the kids in the class and so on. (He did say it used to be just a Judo class but for quite some time it's covered over things, and that he has told the Y that, but they just keep advertising it as a judo class). My daughter doesn't even seem concerned or bothered by the stripe/belt thing at all, I was just curious when she might get those "advancements," but I do understand the instructor's style of just wanting to focus on training, so, it's fine. And I do think, from what I can tell with all my inexperience lol, that she has a good instructor who knows what he's doing and who has been doing this for a very long time. So I guess I will just go with the flow and she'll continue as long as she has an interest in continuing and she'll learn as much as she can and get as much as she can out of it despite stripes and belt colors or lack thereof. :D

LOL!!!! Sorry, I just started laughing out loud at "and I've got my bra in my pocket." hope you are all okay!

I think it's fine to let them play. Free play, do a puzzle, play an educational computer game, do a craft, go outside, independent reading, chores, shower, whatever works. Don't stress over it. :)

How about the Orphan Train Children series by Joan Lowery Nixon? My daughter enjoyed reading this series last year when she was 9 after reading about the Orphan Trains in social studies. Each book in the series focuses on one particular sibling (who come from a poor Irish family living in the 19th century NY slums, who are sent west on the Orphan Trains to be adopted by farm families when their mother can't afford to take care of them anymore), and it tells what types of things happen to them along the way and in their new families. Some get adopted by nice people, some not so nice, some into families who have certain political leanings (abolitionists etc). One is a girl who pretends to be a boy so she can stay with her youngest brother, and so on.

Where is the "what the heck is pinterest?" option? I don't even know what it is!

I am a stay at home mom and my husband is a high school drop out without so much as a GED who owns a tattoo shop. While we are not "rich," we have everything we need, a lot of what we want, and can deal with unexpected expenses as they come up. I attribute this to the fact that even in a bad economy there are people who will spend money on things and services they want and enjoy, and I guess tattoos are one of those things! Things did definitely slow down with the recent economy, but the customers didn't stop coming altogether, fortunately. Meanwhile someone like my cousin who defended her dissertation and ended up with "dr" before her name spent MONTHS unable to find a job and finally found- a temporary one. Times are hard. I'm just glad my fairly uneducated spouse has a talent/skill that other people want to pay him for!

Wait, what? If she catches it you KEEP it? :lol:

Ah. We still do lots of field trips and outings over the summer, I just try to never do them on weekends or weekdays that are part of holiday weekends!

Here in PA, the school has to let you borrow any of their curriculum materials/texts etc if you decide you want to homeschool and use the same curriculum the school does. Of course, I have no interest in that, but because of that, I imagine I would only have to call to find out what they use. Some of you may be able to do that (just call if you're curious what they use, I mean).

Well, she had class today, and afterward I asked him, "So, when do you usually do belt tests?" or something like that. And he said something to the effect of, "I don't have any specific schedule. Every now and then I decide to stripe somebody. I'll probably do it soon. I don't really think about it much, I just focus on the training."

Yes- Monday being when the public school kids go back and we get places to ourselves again. :D Kidding aside, I'm also looking forward to starting school with my kids here the following week. As for the boredom over the summer, we've always enjoyed doing SOTW over the summer months, gave us something fun and educational to do, in addition to the regular outings and activities and camps and so on we usually do over the summer.

This whole blind obedience thing brings to mind the Milgram/shock experiments we learned about in college. Disturbing!!! I think blind, unquestioning obedience being drilled into a human being can lead to disastrous results someday. And especially for girls. It is really chilling to think about the multitude of consequences that can manifest from such conditioning. I want confident, thinking, questioning, strong children who become confident, thinking, questioning, strong adults. Not blind followers of those seen as "authority," too cowed to use their own judgment or common sense or even to protect themselves. Why would anyone want to purposely produce that kind of person?!

I've never had anyone touch my belly. I have occasionally had someone touch a baby but never really minded.

Holy cow, that's awesome! I never heard of that! Just checked the site and found a few pilots within driving distance, just left a voicemail for one of them! How are they working it with you for a group setting as opposed to an individual family? Do they just schedule several blocks of time, take several kids at once, or what? Going to follow the tip of calling county extension office, too. Loving this thread!

Some people like to post an "introduction," others just jump in and post where relevant. I wouldn't call it "expected" and wouldn't worry about it. :)