That was one of my favorite books when I was a kid--it really stuck with me. :001_smile:

I need friends outside the family. They keep me sane!! I'm an introvert and all, but I can't do without my friends. Well, thanks for the explanation. Clearly my beliefs are not going to jive with theirs, and that's OK. Hey, what if you don't have 8 kids? What if you only have 2, or 1? Can we have friends then?

Well, I'm curious. I have MOTC but that's all, so I haven't read anything else.

Try Connie Willis, but you might pre-read; I can't remember if there's any language. She has a great one of SF Christmas stories! Why only short stories? Unexpected Magic by Diana Wynne Jones has some SF and some fantasy. DWJ is my very favorite author, so I recommend her!

I can't see any reason why a toddler should learn to read. Spend time reading together and enjoying each other. Sing nursery rhymes and play with sticks and blocks. Really, there are plenty of wonderful, age-appropriate things to do that will lay the right foundation for a love of reading and academic achievement when the time comes. But I'm really against programs like this.

I have a BA in Comparative Literature and an MLIS, which is a Master's in Library Science. I always knew that I wanted to be a SAHM (though probably not forever), though I only got the homeschooling bug when my oldest was two. I loved college and would never say it was a waste of time or money. I would be a much poorer person, in mind and spirit, if I had not gone. I would not be nearly so capable of doing this homeschool thing without my own education! And I have worked in my field since graduation, and expect to do so again.

I vote for falling down laughing. Then offer to actually keep her home doing chores next weekend. :D

I love Campion mysteries! They are a lot of fun. :001_smile:

Plural. You write in an italic style, or use italics to indicate something particular.

That is one of my all-time favorite books. :001_smile: The first chapter is just about the funniest thing ever. I read The Worm Ouroboros, which is an old British fantasy--influenced Tolkien and whatnot. It actually took me quite a long time to read, and now I'm finally done, yay! Here's the blog post. This week I also read: P. G. Wodehouse, The Catnappers Minfong Ho, The Stone Goddess (great book) Finished the advance copy of History of the Medieval World, yay And I'm about halfway through Cranford. I've never read it!

ß is an old-fashioned double S--you will see it in English in old texts, where a single S looks like an f (without a crossbar) and a double looks like an f with an s glued on.

I just finished a really wonderful recent historical fiction book for YA, titled "The Stone Goddess" by Minfong Ho. It's about a girl who lives through the Khmer Rouge regime; she's about 12 when it starts and she and her brother and sister are sent to work in rice fields. There is a lot about classical dance. I don't want to tell too much, but I cried through about half of it. I would certainly recommend it for any teenager (12+) studying modern history, but I'm not going to give it to my 9yo.

It will strip the protective anti-glare coating right off. So you need something that's meant to clean anti-reflective surfaces.

NO windex! Hang on, will be back. Consulting. Computer genius husband says use the glasses cleaner stuff that comes in a little squirty bottle, you can get it at Costco. Rubbing alcohol for stubborn stuff.

Oh, I do agree with that. He's clearly a wonderful teacher and all, but how many people could put that amount of time and energy into their classroom? What he's doing is not even possible for the vast majority of teachers (and does he ever see his wife?). But a good book to read as well is "Work Hard. Be Nice." which is about the two guys who started KIPP schools. They have similar goals, but do things a bit differently, and it was an enjoyable read with good tips.

Yes, only the introductions give you any hint of the authors' faith. Within the textbooks, all Bible material is treated as great literature along with everything else. We are in Homer A. Oh, I would except the Primers from this description. The Primers do put in some prayer poems and hymns as well as Psalms; it's more of a "Christian" flavor.

We have been going slowly. But she's only in 4th grade, and there's just not enough practice, I guess, or something. I certainly don't feel that we're almost ready to tackle Henle (which I study for myself). Thanks, and I think I will call MP tomorrow.

Yeah, I guess. I'm the wrong person to ask! It just shows cops going to various locations to deal with college students' shenanigans, most often problems with drunkenness. This one is new and on the station G4, which mostly has shows about video games. :001_huh: Very true. Even living in a famous party college town, I don't see much, though certainly more than I'd like. (Chico is actually a lovely town and a wonderful place to bring up kids. It's kind of annoying to most residents that everyone envisions it as nothing but college parties!) Waaaait....your brother-in-law isn't Steven Seagal, is he?? I've seen ads for his show...:p

It's not Campus PD is it? We have been eagerly watching Campus PD because our friend is on it. He gets lots of screen time this week, apparently! :D We never watch Cops or reality shows, so it's all new to us. It's pretty weird really--"Look! There's our friend, this is great! ....Wait, that girl he's helping is going to the hospital with alcohol poisoning...this isn't quite so fun...."

We like Latin at our house, but LCII is proving a bit difficult for my daughter. We're on Lesson 16 and I'm thinking we might be better off if I quit now and go with First Form Latin. She'd get needed review and not have everything thrown at her so fast. Any opinions on this? And what do I do if we finish 1st and 2nd before 3rd comes out? ETA: Oh, and also if I hate the LC DVD's and we never use them and I have no problem teaching, do I want to order the FFL DVD's or would I hate them too? (I don't like the DVD's because they take forever.)

That's what I vote too. Weekly Linkys! :001_smile:

Here's my post for week 2: All quiet on the Western front. Note that it is also my monthly classic! :D Question: on the 52 books blog, there's no Mr. Linky on the Week 2 post. Is it supposed to show up later? Do I not do that every week? Am I supposed to put it somewhere else and I don't know about it?

It depends on what you're trying to do. :) Most embroidery is right on the fabric, but if you're wanting to make a wall hanging, maybe a mini quilt, doing the work with a batt on the back will give it a little dimension and hide the tails. What are you working on? You did the tracing just right.

I just finished "All quiet on the Western Front" yesterday, and it will be showing up for week 2 in a bit. It was very sad, and I spent a lot of church today thinking about WWI and suffering and such. I started reading a book called "All the way home," about a family that buys a crumbling mansion and renovates it. I've read the description of the home, but it hasn't started getting fixed up yet. It sounds nearly unsalvageable, you'd have to be crazy to take it on--40 years' worth of every bad thing you've ever seen on "Hoarders," and then some. I've decided to read "Last of the Mohicans" soon. I don't like American lit, so this is a challenge. :001_smile:

I do get this question a lot, also from my friends who love to read. But I notice that the difference between them and me is that I read really fast, and I do it while I'm doing other stuff. So just because I can read while I cook, brush my teeth, exercise on an elliptical machine, and so on, I get through a lot more than most people manage to do. Also, most of my friends have more kids than I do...