:iagree:Most of the technology in use today was not even thought of when we were in school, and the technology available to our children when they are grown won't be the same as today. I don't think any of our kids live under a rock. My kids will know how to type sooner than I did. And they have more fun technology at their fingertips for research and enhancement than I ever did. But the bottom line for me is that foundational love of learning. That appreciation for the classics and how those "old" things still inform and shape most of what we know. What good is it to do research if you have no idea how to form your thoughts on what you learned? Why know how to do a presentation on PowerPoint if you can't speak in front of people or formulate your thoughts? Since when is technology the end all - be all of what we need? In the same way that I would never want to only emphasize grammar to the detriment of a solid math education, why should the public sch proponents act like the technology available to kids there is the "best" of what can be offered for their education? I just don't get it. Besides, the schools can promote all this fancy stuff that my tax dollars are paying for, but when my dd was there she was lucky to get 15 minutes on a computer twice a week. I know not all schools are that way, so *shrug* I guess some kids are more lucky than others to get more computer time?:confused: At home we can have an hour a day if I want to with GarageBand and PhotoShop and safe internet research and learning to type and yes, even playing a game here and there.

According to Plugged In its like Lord of the Rings with owls.

I am glad to see I'm not alone. My dh would help more if I asked, but why do I always have to ask? I wish once in a while I would like to be served or made to feel special, or recognized for all I do and cherished for it. It's a hard stage of life. Beth, :grouphug:. You do have a lot on your plate. I pray your dh will be able to see that with things falling through the cracks you need his help. Do you think you might have a friend or neighbor that is good at handy stuff that could help? Even an older retired man from church or something. I think sometimes we just have to ask out loud for people to be able to know our needs. We want our husbands to see that the trash needs to go out or the floor needs a vacuum, but maybe someone outside your home can help you and you do need to ask out loud.

:001_huh: Whoa. :grouphug: Sounds like a pretty sick kid. You'll have my prayers! Our year is going great. The kids have stepped it up academically and we added the new twist of Classical Conv which is going superbly. Overall it's been wonderful and I'm very proud of my kids!:001_wub:

See, I am clearly giving my children an inadequate education without one.:glare: My poor, poor children.

He's only 8? For Pete's Sake, yes! Let him have it for now. Better than only reading Animorphs or something! Foster that love of the classics even if you aren't fostering exactly the love of the vocabulary yet. That will come as he matures. I don't think they are "bad" at all and if you do a search on the forum for "abridged" I think you will find that many, many people support them, especially for reluctant readers.

I've got another non-mathy 5th grader and we are loving it. We used CLE, which I also sang the praises of in the beginning. But that was a workbook I handed dd and she filled in the blanks, getting good scores, but faking it. I discovered this when I attempted another programs placement test and she bombed it. So we backed up some and are now cruising through 4A. It's going really well. I can't comment to the page busy-ness of the younger levels, but at this level she is doing most computing mentally, so she doesn't need a lot of space and the amount provided seems just right. I'm really glad I found it and it's built our confidence in math a lot. I can't say I think I will wind up with a genius math whiz, but a kid who feels pretty confident with math and reaches the upper levels with skill is good with us.

See, this is just the kind of techno thing I don't get. All my other websites are fine. And clearly FB is fine if 1/2 the responders to the thread can get it. But there doesn't seem to be the RoadRunner connection either. Probably for the best. I have things to do!!:D Thanks for checking for me!

I can't even get to their page. I just keep getting redirected to some RoadRunner search page. Can't type the url either.:confused:

Careful, Imp...your discernment is showing.;) I agree with you completely that something about this book doesn't feel right to me. I believe that Scripture is God's intended word for us, and that the Holy Spirit is now our comforter and guider. Not saying this particular book is heretical, I haven't looked in to it enough to know, but if your heart is saying this isn't a good read for you, then I say listen.

Seems cliche, but pineapple in Hawaii. Tamarindo margarita on the beach in Mexico.:tongue_smilie: My grandma's icebox cookies. My grandpa's omelettes. He did something very, very special with them to make them light as air and I have never been able to replicate it. Wish I could ask him now.

Along those lines I was thinking about a pretty little pastry "purse" filled with apples or pears (or really any fruit combo) and served with a warm cream or caramel sauce. I love fruit combos like pears and strawberries, or peach blueberry. This time of year I'm a sucker for Dutch Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream. I'd even chose it over chocolate!:ohmy::drool:

:iagree:My husband is allergic to cats, and our guinea pigs do trigger his allergies, but only if he touches them and then touches his eyes. So he's very careful to wash his hands. But being in our environment isn't a problem for him.

My day started out :willy_nilly:and then went to :gnorsi: and then to:thumbdown:. But ended up :001_smile: by the time they finished school. SO, that's not too bad. THEN I checked my email. I got a supposedly constructive email about how I am teaching at co-op - ie "feedback from parents". But due to circumstances I am not taking it well and am now :mad::( but mostly :crying:. Why do I have to cry so much this time of the month? It's not fair, because I want to take the email like it's supposed to be meant - constructively - but all it's done is make me feel bad about myself. I am an irrational blubbering mess. I need a hot cup of tea, so I have parked the kids in front of the TV and come in here. So, I hear ya on the crummy day.

Try to get her input into who she'd like to get to know better. I helped my dd figure this out regardless of whether I clicked with the mom. Sometimes she likes the girl more and more, other times it's very clear that they just aren't going to click as well and we let it go. My dd currently has one really awesome BFF that she has loved since ps kinder. That girl still goes to ps so it's a challenge to keep them in touch but the mom and I (friendly but not real friends) make an effort for them. She has another very close friend that she needs in smaller doses. That girl is in private school, so again, it's an effort. Heck, it's a huge effort even with the homeschoolers we know! She's identified a newer friend from our hs support group that she'd like to get to know better so I will try to work with the mom on getting them together. And she's getting some new friends in our co-op. I'd ask her to think about every girl her age (approximately) that she knows and pinpoint 2 that she'd like to get to know better. Then find a way to make it happen. Invite the girl over. Or just you take the two of them to a movie. Or meet the family at the park. You might have to act as the ice-breaker and conversation mover. Like a Matchmaker! :grouphug:

Oh I LOVED being a gypsy and I think I wanted that one every year for a long time. My moms long flowy skirts, tons of scarves, necklaces, hoop earring, makeup. It was the best! My mom also made me an awesome Raggedy Ann one year. She either bought or made the red and white striped tights, made the blue dress and apron and hand made the red yarn wig. So cute! She was really into Halloween. Still is! My favorite of my own kids was when my son went as Indiana Jones. He was just 4 and so dang cute with his little hat and whip. A friend of mine once made her daughter into a hot air balloon. It was the coolest! She got a light weight basket and attached suspenders to it and cut holes for the legs. The girl wore leotard and tights. And then she got a bunch of colorful helium balloons the day of trick or treating and put them in a giant clear plastic bag and attached that to the shoulders with string. It was adorable. Saw a group of kids one time that were the Fruit of the Loom fruits. The grapes were easy with the purple balloons, but I don't remember how they did the other fruits other than a lot of felt. I love the dress up aspect of Halloween but not all the evil decor that's around. We don't participate anymore but we do get to go to the Renaissance Festival in early Nov, dressed up, so that makes up for it! (and we buy lots of candy too!)

We like funbrain.com, specifically the Math Arcade.

I will certainly be praying!!! My son was delivered at 29 weeks due to PIH or preeclampsia. He was 2.3lbs and in the NICU for 7 weeks. But now he has no delays, no issues whatsoever other than still being on the small side. There are lots and lots of success stories for her to lean on at her gestation. Prayers and hugs for all involved!:grouphug:

:iagree: My dd struggled with night wetness until 8 or so when I finally got an alarm. So don't beat yourself up if the night time goes on for a while. Also, be careful with plastic pants to watch out for yeast infections. The wetness stays on their skin and there is no air circulation. But if you have enough panties and can change them after a reasonable uncomfortableness;) they might go ahead and day-time train pretty quickly. Good luck!

Igraine the Brave which is very fun with the accent. We also listen to SOTW. My kids love Jim Weiss. :001_wub:

We all love Imagination Movers. They copy more modern styles like Barenaked Ladies and stuff like that, so I can more than tolerate them...I actually like them!

Thanks for that. I just really need some quiet time to think! Tonight when the kids are tucked in and DH is busy watching football I hope to get some time on the computer to really look at Word Mastery and Websters. To be fair though, I haven't given SSRW a true trial. I could just hurry on through the letter names and sounds since I feel like little guy knows them. I guess I go slow because she expects them to write a whole page of the letter, and cut out shapes, and color. All of which is important to the eventual writing, but it might be slowing us down with moving on to reading. I might just need to read some threads about not slowing down the reading progress to wait for fine motor skill of writing...I'm sure more people have experienced it. He can do the work, and doesn't complain (much) but it takes a long time and lots of 'tongue sticking out concentration' so that when he's done with all that I can't bear to have him move on to another letter. I also am intrigued by this thread because of some challenges I have with my 5th grader and her struggling spelling. I wonder if there are parts of Webster I could use to help her. We have Megawords but are both a little baffled by it.

Spain! But not sure about the cost of living. Oh, so beautiful.

Just toss some in with some cooked pasta and a couple tablespoons of jarred pesto. Top with some parmesan. My kids LOVE this. Sometimes I will toss some froz broc into the pasta water when cooking to add a veg, otherwise I also will add some sliced tomatoes to it and call it done.