That's a very worrying situation. If the girl wants to be a vet tech, then she should be working now to get there. A lot of people want to work in veterinary science, and it's important to get involved young and be willing to work hard. At the very least she needs to be trying to find a spot doing grunt work at a vet's office or a wildlife preserve or something. Starting several years from now will not work. She needs to be studying now. (Ask me how I know; my younger SIL always talked about working in vet science, but never did anything to get started. Now she's about 21 and still nowhere.)

:ack2: Yuck. I think homeschooling is less work than public school! I hope everything works out OK for you.

It's 10:30 here, we just watched a movie and are about to head off to bed. Gotta check the forums first, ya know...

Can I ask a question about History Odyssey? I was just looking at their website and it says: Now, AFAIK no one uses the term "world view" except for conservative Christians. So this makes me think that the material leans that way, but they say they're secular. Can I get some opinions on this point from both secular and religious POVs?

Here's a 2-page library scavenger hunt for you. You'll want to change the name of the library! :) (Credit: my mom.) Find it @ the Library 1.Introduce yourself to a library staff member. What is his or her name? 2.List one magazine in the library that you would like to read. 3.How many videos or DVDs can you check out at one time? ______ 4.How many music CDs can you check out at one time? ______ 5. How many Books on Tape or Books on CD can you check out at one time? ______ 6. List one newspaper (other than the Chico Enterprise-Record) that you can read in the library: Use the library catalog to look up this subject: Karate Answer the following questions: 1. Write down the title of one book listed for the subject: 2. Is this book in the Chico Library? _______________ 3. What is the call number? ______________ 4. Is the book available? ______________ 5. What does it mean if the call number has a J in front of it? Use the library catalog to look up this subject: Hamsters Answer the following questions: 1.Write down the title of one book listed for the subject: 2.Is this book in the Chico Library? _______________ 3.What is the call number? ______________ 4.Is the book available? ______________ 5.What does it mean if the call number has a YA in front of it? Use the library catalog to look up this subject: Gemstones Answer the following questions: 1. Write down the title of one book listed for the subject: 2. Is this book in the Chico Library? _______________ 3. What is the call number? ______________ 4. Is the book available? ______________ 5. What does it mean if the call number has an R in front of it?

Hee hee, me too! We will be done with SOTW at the end of this year and I have not yet found anything better for next year than the Kingfisher/SOTW/lots of supplementation combo. I'm thinking about looking into History Odyssey, so if anyone has any opinions about that I'd be interested to hear them.

Argh. We are now halfway through LCII, have been working on it for over a year. I can't afford a new Latin book right now, but maybe later... Thanks, I have been wondering what the heck First Form Latin was all about.

Thanks. Huh. Weird.

Do you have some information you could point me to on that? Considering that Everyday Math meets CA standards (our local school district just committed to it, convincing me never to put my kids into PS until at least 9th grade), I'm surprised that Saxon does not. Perhaps CA standards are just not what I want to pay attention to...

This is my experience. If you ask, so many people will say, "Oh, everyone else fits in but I'm kind of the oddball around here..."

I like FB for keeping in touch with old friends. A lot of people from high school and college who I had lost touch with are there, and I'm so happy to get to see what they're doing and their photos, etc. 3 friends from high school even got together for a weekend (I couldn't afford to go :(). My church congregation uses it for fast news. My friend had a baby the other day, and the husband could easily post the news on FB instead of having to call people and be interrupted with calls. A lot of things like that go on. And more than one person keeps an eye out for discouraged-sounding posts so she can call or make cookies or something. And sometimes it's just funny little things. I don't do the games or quizzes, I don't have time for that. But I like the friendly updates.

Yep, constructivism is the big thing these days.

That sounds about right to me. Around here the prices are ridiculously low and I'm not sure how much I like it.

You could ask on the CW forums, but they do have an "older beginners" course that will take an older kid through Aesop and Homer more quickly. The whole CW sequence is designed to go up through high school, but they're not all finished yet; Herodotus, which is for 9th grade and up, is now in beta.

I would move quickly through Aesop in one year and start Homer next year.

I must say I think you handled it very well. But I have no idea what a good consequence would be, sorry.

That is a huge improvement--10 years younger and 20 years more modern.

I think Dad should definitely be having a talk with him about what it means to be a man and how men are expected to respect and treat the women in their lives if they want to be real men. (One definition I really like is that a man uses his strength in the service of others.)

You need the Core, and then if you want to design your own selections and so on you can. Or you can get the IG and student book and use their selections and lessons. But it's designed around the Core, and so that you can do it yourself if you want. For us, I bought all 3--I didn't have the time or expertise to design my own lessons and select new stories.

I can sew--I just need the fabric and something resembling a pattern. I've never done a wrap skirt before! Joann's has some pseudo-sari brocade and chiffon right now, but most of it is cheap and shiny, not classy. With the size of my hips, shiny is not what I can wear!

Bollywood movies are pretty wholesome in language. The subtitles are, anyway. There may have been a couple of swear words in one or two of the more thriller-y ones, but I don't recall any off the top of my head. They also don't have kissing or bedroom scenes, BUT they manage to get quite steamy anyhow. The girls often wear less than you would wish. Short skirts and bare midriffs are certainly seen. I have been quite surprised at the violence in a couple of them--if it's a thriller, it's guaranteed to be pretty violent. Sarfarosh, for example.

Oh, yeah, I like that one. It's got some good music. I've decided that movie has the most Indian plot of any I've seen. :) ETA: And Indian movies are all that long. That's how they work, they're 3 hours long with an intermission and they always have songs. It takes me days to watch one!

Bride and Prejudice is a good gateway drug--you can figure out some of the conventions without getting too unusual. I love and adore Bollywood movies, here are some of my favorites: Lagaan--historical drama of ~1900, villagers vs. British officers. Lots of cricket, fascinating anyway. Devdas--a tragedy, lavish production. Swades--a NASA scientist goes back to get his old nanny. Very patriotic, Mother India. Veer-Zaara--a love story between a Pakistani girl and an Indian man. You'll cry a lot. Kandukonden Kandukonden--"Sense and Sensibility" in Tamil. Great movie, unfortunately the subtitles on the DVD lag a bit.

Oh my goodness, I totally need one of those. Or five. Too bad I'm utterly broke, huh? I've been into Indian shops to drool over the outfits, but I'd have to have something tailored, really. My shoulders are a little wide and my arms a little long, so I have a hard time buying at Penney's, let alone an Indian shop. And the fact that I look terrible in pink, yellow, orange, and lime limits my choices! Someday...

Do you mean American Indian or South Asian Indian? I've always wanted to be able to wear saris and salwar kameez--they're just lovely, so pretty and feminine and dignified all at once. I hereby declare that to be my costume of choice! (In reality, pudgy white California housewives like me look kind of goofy in saris.)