This. Well said.

Wow. Just......wow. And to think I have a perfectly intelligent friend who recommends The Pearls books. :glare::ack2:

:iagree: I like the idea of knowing who and what I'm getting involved with where my kids are concerned. It's one of the big reasons we homeschool - I was tired of all the "exposure" they were getting in ps to things that did not align with our beliefs. They will be exposed, but when it's appropriate age and maturity wise, and when we deem fit. Honestly I'm kind of surprised there aren't more people glad to have a SoF. This is a very PC kind of thread. As a Bible-believing Christian, I am called to discernment and fellowship with fellow believers. My homeschool group is quite like-mined and it's comfortable because of that. You can look at it as a filter if you like, but I'd appreciate knowing in most circumstances what kind of a group I could potentially be getting involved in so that I can decide this one's not for me. The filter goes both ways!

I wouldn't worry about the "year behind" thing at all! My dd is in 4th grade and will be finishing up 300 level in April. I do hope to work her through the 400 level late spring/summer, but I'm not too worried about it. I do think CLE is advanced in scope and sequence over what they are doing in ps. And it's very thorough. We work lessons a day at least 4x week. This has us moving along pretty fast. You could try that for a while until you reach a point where you need to slow down a bit. I think you'll really like CLE Math! I LOVE the spiral and review for my dd!!:D

Don't feel silly at all!! I did the same thing, and so did a friend of mine (not on these boards) when she ordered CLE. It's my one little complaint - this organizational thing, but really now that I know where it all is it doesn't seem to be a biggie at all!:tongue_smilie: Curious minds want to know how she did on the 501 test.

I like to try to keep my carb count pretty low...under 40 usually...for weight loss. But I also have to watch my calories. I couldn't loose weight on Atkins, just too many calories for me. Maybe I was doing something else wrong, I dunno, but I when I restrict my cals pretty good - like under 1200, and keep my carbs under 40 I will lose.

My mom is remarried to someone who had 4 kids. ALL of us think we are the bad ones but to each of us they sing the praises of the others. So when my step-sister will tell me how fabulous she's always told that I am I'm like "WHA..?" And vice-versa. Just the way it is with some parents. Let's not do that to our kids, shall we? :) :grouphug:

:iagree: Ohhhh. With Deborah Kerr? An Affair to Remember. SO wonderful. You will fall in love with Cary Grant (if you aren't already). I also agree with previous mentions: Steel Magnolias, Joy Luck Club, The Notebook. I also cried buckets with a broken spirit over Schindler's List, but that was a different kind of cry. That was a sitinthedarkfor3hourssobbing kind of thing. Might not be what you're looking for.:001_huh: I also cried a lot watching Memoirs of a Geisha and Slumdog Millionaire. But I also cry at just about any movie. I'm a kinda softie that way.

This is that other thread. We're going back to see our ped endo next week. My ds is bone age advanced which means that he most likely will not have a spurt later. His last blood test done in Dec came back okay (as far as I know from a brief nurse call) but they said his nutrition markers were still off - meaning he's still not eating enough. I have tried everything under the sun to get that kid to eat and eat and eat.:confused: In our case the rest of us are all quite tall so they are looking at his genetic potential being way off the mark. Growth hormones might be suggested in the future, but if it's not covered by insurance we can't do it. Good luck with your pulm and endo visits and keep us posted.

I think we might need to add reading too. My dd is a rising 5th grader and a good reader. How do you place them in the CLE Reading? She's been doing CLE LA 400 level this year for 4th grade and it's been good. Next year we are going to do Classical Conversations, Essentials, so her LA will be done in that class with the EEL and IEW. But that doesn't include reading and I guess I better add that in, huh? Oy. More subjects for next year!:001_huh::D

I actually didn't do much at all with my son when we started homeschooling (he was 4). He just wasn't ready. He's a bit of a "late bloomer". So I'd encourage him to play, do puzzles in the room with us. If we're reading aloud or working on math or something he can't interrupt us. Otherwise I want him to feel like he's part of our day. Now that he's 5.5 we're doing a lot more. I still call it preK, but he does his own workbooks for numbers and letter rec, cutting and pasting, coloring, etc. He also has a couple of Leapfrog DVDs that I pop in or starfall.com if I need 20 quiet minutes with his big sister. I'll admit tho that I have often felt like in the past I was pushing him away and shushing him in order to get the time I needed with big sis. I don't know how those of you many kids do it!

Oh. my. goodness. This is precisely what I need!!! My dd is struggling with diagramming because we switched curriculum and it's a gap. I was wondering how to find extra practice and this looks perfect!! I'm so glad I opened this thread! Thank you!!!!! I do wish that the CLE website would make these resources easier to find. Why not list it with the LA materials? I looked everywhere on their site until I just put in "diagramming" into the search box. But if I didn't know this resource even existed, then I would have just looked in the LA materials listing.:confused:

Well, I need to get her to try on everything from last year to see what still fits. We did buy a Lands End tankini top and skirt bottom last year that was quite cute, and covered up the bottom nicely, but her legs are so long that I wished she'd had a tad bit more coverage there. So we have the long board shorts and I was quite surprised when she said she'd wear them. I think she saw them so much last year at the pool that it finally convinced her that they were "cool". I think I will look for 2 one-piece suits that can match them and we'll go with that. Like I said, she also has the rash guard, but I doubt she'll wear it much. I got it mostly for playing out of the water - but I think they are HOT if you aren't wet. My dd is the type that wants to have 5 swimsuits, but as they are expensive I'm not doing that anymore. I think 2 suits and 2 shorts that could potentially be interchangeable is enough!

I have a 9.5 yo who is quite tall. So finding a tankini that covers her tummy/doesn't float up, is very hard. And she's just starting to develop, so finding one in a thicker fabric is important too, or a slight shelf bra. But she's also quite particular to the way it feels, can't stand too much fabric, etc. I have to admit that I'm this way too! I hate it when I want to wear a skirted suit and then it's all floaty or shorts that are binding. At this point my priorities are one piece to cover tummy, and shorts to cover the rear. I don't have to worry about cleavage yet. I am glad that long board shorts are "in" (or they were last year) because we will probably do that over a one piece. I grabbed a pair at Old Navy in January when I saw them - and a matching rash guard, but I don't think she'll wear the rash guard much. This has been on my mind as we approach summer because last year I was so self-conscious! I was new to homeschooling and new to the whole idea of that much modesty. It had just not come up before. So when we had the opportunity to swim with new homeschooling friends I felt very judged in our one-piece suits when they had on all this other coverage. Especially since most of them are >9yo and had nothing to cover! It just seemed so...overkill. This year I am going for more balance. I want myself and dd covered appropriately, but not so much so that we stick out like sore thumbs or are uncomfortable. We live in TX and swim A LOT in the summer.

What's his love language? My dh's are touch and encouraging words. So the obvious "tea time" is important, but so are massages, hugs, holding hands, etc. He feels connected to me when I am willing to be *touchy* and I'm not usually, so this is work for me! I also try to encourage him and tell him how much it means to us that he's working hard, etc. I also ask about work, but not in a way that sounds like I'm worried about his job or his stress, just interested.

I've been thinking about this too. I've been feeling a "disconnect". We usually have some family time in the evenings, and dinner together, but then about 8:30 he usually heads to the garage to have a cigar/pipe and watch a movie by himself. I put the kids to bed, and do more chores like dishes and laundry. Often when he's done with his cigar and movie he's so exhausted (not a night owl) that he comes in and heads to bed. That's really when I get my time to watch a show, or read, or spend time online. But we are not connecting and talking like we used to. I am going to have to make more of an effort. I started a thread last year some time about the fact that he would like me to come to bed at the same time he does, but I have yet to do that but once or twice! The problem is that I am more of a night owl and do have some insomnia, so if we go to bed at the same time, he'll drop off to sleep right away and I am laying there tossing and turning listening to him snore! It makes me crazy! Thanks for this reminder that I do need to try harder to make more time for just us.

I have heard they suspect a new rule against being able to use your costume to aid in lifts and such. I think that's what put the Russians in 3rd. I get that they were "out there" and all artsy, and I think the judges like that stuff, but having ropes as part of your costume to help with lifts just didn't work for me. And there's no way you can say those Russians connected the way the Canadian or American teams did. The Russian guy who got silver in Men's was complaining of the same thing. It was a night filled with beautiful and moving performances for sure. I also really liked the Italians that came in 4th - with the "immigrants" theme, and the other Russians where the girl was the phoenix. My husband thought a lot of the guys were channelling Elvis, but I guess they always kind of do when you have sparkles and big collars!:lol: Ladies are up next!!

First I laughed, then I cried. Love it! :D

I've been thinking a lot on these lines too. We just moved and got rid of a ton. A. TON. But my dh is very sentimental and doesn't part with things well. Can you say "crates and crates of records"? Oy. And now his dad, my dfil, is back in the hospital today probably to never return home. We all have that melancholy "you can't take it with you" feeling. I have a hard time when people attach too much importance to "stuff". (Obviously some stuff is important - ykwim) My mom has done this and is a borderline hoarder. I live in mortal fear of the day I will have to go through her things. I can't even think about it, it overwhelms me so. Especially because in her mind the plans she has for these belongings - and how that person treats them - equals the love they have for her. How I wish I could change her perception of this.

I think you might need to find some way to practice diagramming. I pulled my dd from mid-3rd grade. I'm pretty sure in ps she had never diagrammed a sentence. So we started in R&S 2 so I could make sure there were no gaps and all was well but boring. So in my infinite wisdom (:001_rolleyes:) I switched to CLE 400 level for 4th grade since I needed something more workbookish for independent work. She's done well, it's no cake walk, but every time diagramming comes up in the spiral review she doesn't get it. I am going to have to find a way (probably by getting and using some parts of R&S 3) to review and teach diagramming. I'm quite happy with CLE but feel like we have a gap in that one area.

These are wise words, IMO.

We love it too! We watched and learned from him and put into practice a lot of the things we'd heard on the show about being a pack leader. I can say our dog has NO ISSUES. She's from the pound and I don't know if she wouldn't have had issues anyways, but she knows who butters her bread and is a happy follower of our family. And we've never had to "discipline" her. She just knows by the way we act - calm and assertive. She only eats after the family eats, she goes out the door after we do, etc. I don't agree 100% with Cesar, but admire him a lot for what he has accomplished in his life. He has a great autobiography out that's very eye-opening called Cesar's Way. I think he has done A LOT to show our culture that putting a dog on the level of a human and treating them literally as one of your children is very detrimental to the health and well-being of the animal AND to your family.

Birkenstocks saved me. I had it SO bad in my left foot and it's still sore sometimes. I have my Birks, and some insoles for my tennies that I got at a custom shop. I also am about to invest in a cute pair of Dansko clogs that I can wear to church. That's my biggest thing is finding cute church shoes! I absolutely never go barefoot anymore except in the shower. For me it's about the arch support, but not 100% about that. I have found that the reason my Birks and my inserts are so great is that bump in the middle of the shoe/insert, right behind where the ball of my foot would be, right where the tendon attaches. I am bad at this, but I think it's a metatarsil (sp?) support. If a shoe has a decent art support but not this bump for the metatarsil, forget it. Also, for me if it's too soft a shoe - like a Croc - forget it. I seem to have to have a pretty rigid footbed. Loves me some Birks! Besides, I think it enhances my crunchy, granola, homeschool mom image I like to have sometimes!;)

We're doing 400 level and I did get the TM but found out afterwards that it doesn't have answers in it. I don't refer to it at all, really. But I did find that I needed the answer keys because I'm not always 100% certain what answer they are looking for. Especially since my diagramming skills are rusty.:o

We're in CLE LA 400 level this year for 4th grade and I supplemented with Just Write. I thought it looked really fun, interesting, engaging, etc without seeming like *groan* "more work". My dd has LOVED it and I think we are ready to move on to something meatier in 5th grade (IEW). I think it compliments CLE nicely.