Their website says it for the faint of heart, and so I wondered about it since I do not know Latin myself and am learning with dd this year as we do Prima Latina. She really loves PL and is doing well with it. I was just considering if Matin Latin would be a good step after PL, or should we go right to Latin For Children? We'll be done with PL over the summer and ready for something else in the fall. Blessings, Lucinda

Despite her great gardening skills, good soil, etc. most of her bulbs did not even come up. She felt it was a big waste of money.

Sorry Gothic Girl...you were asking for opinions and I was only trying to help. :D Blessings, Lucinda

Their website says it for the faint of heart, and so I wondered about it since I do not know Latin myself and am learning with dd this year as we do PL. She really loves PL too and is doing well with it. I was just considering if Matin Latin would be a good step after PL, or should we go right to LFC? We'll be done with PL over the summer and ready for something else in the fall. Blessings, Lucinda

Hi there, This is up my alley since, by trade, I am a graphic designer. The second version is far better than the first, but it still needs contrast on the text side. Try darkening the text up using either a deeper shade of the same green that is in the eye, a dark shade of purple or even black. You'll be amazed at the difference. Right now the viewer's eye goes straight to the black and white in the eye because it is such a high contrast. The best thing to do is even it up on the other side, creating a triangle that is pleasing. You were smart to get rid of the other font. If you want people to really look at the eye, don't give them busy, "curly" text to compete with it. Also, the tear is lovely and brings out your great skill in illustration, however it is confusing next to the words "Creative Wonders". I'm afraid people might wonder what in the world you are trying to convey. Can you find a way to place it somewhere else, like in a gallery? Blessings, Lucinda

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Nor are you alone...there are more of us than you realize. I am homeschooling my youngest child and we started this year in 3rd grade. We did not homeschool our other children and they are all grown and gone now. It is a very precious, time for dd and I. I know it will have a lasting impact on her, and I'm the only one that can provide what she needs the most. It is a genuine calling to do this, one that humbles me often. I also know another mom that raised one child and homeschooled all the way through. Her dd is amazing and is doing so well in university this year. It inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing. Blessings, Lucinda

Maybe they'll send us a nice letter telling us we don't have to pay what we owed! They will probably think we'll go out and frivolously spend what we would have had to pay the government....:rolleyes: Go figure! Blessings, Lucinda

There is an eBay store called The Rusty Roof and they have really great prices. If you don't see the size you need, you can contact them and check their unlisted merchandise. I'm always interested in this because I'm an artist, an art teacher and gallery manager for our church. Check the site out and see what you think. Blessings, Lucinda

Does he make house calls? If so, then how about Handy Techniman? Some people think of the handyman idea when they need computer help. Anyway, we thought of this name some time ago when my dh was going to start a computer repair business, but then it never happened. (Since we live in another state it wouldn't matter anyway.) I agree with Rough Collie, you need to make it easy for people to understand and remember. A strong, yet simple logo is important too. Blessings, Lucinda

They are all great movies and get my vote too. Plus, I'd add a fun animated movie, "The Emporer's New Groove". Even though there's a villainess that uses magic, I think it has a good message about loving our enemies. Some of the kids in the group might not have thought of these things so much when they saw it originally.

Buying for one child in 4th grade, I will spend between $400-500. I don't buy big packages, but put my own together based on suggestions from TWTM and I use the library a lot. Blessings, Lucinda

When I'm really starving I crave chicken with veggies and rice, so I guess that's naturally what my body needs and wants. I really could live on that and not get tired of it. :)

Rhonda, No worries. I didn't read judgement in your post, and you did make a point about dd feeling like she had to "perform". I thought about that and you are right. I wouldn't have recognized it until you said something, so thank you! See, it takes help from a few veteran hs'ers to give us newbies the right start! Blessings, Lucinda

I am so encouraged and want to thank each and everyone of you for posting. Everyone's ideas have been super and I'm going to use all of them! Like I said earlier, I actually started to feel better after I posted because I wrote about some really important reasons that we decided to do this in the first place. Because I homeschool my dd, teach at a school part-time, and serve in church ministry, all the while commuting from a rural area -- I don't have time to hook up with a hs network and go to meetings. This forum is just what I needed. Blessings, Lucinda

This is a great group, and I'm glad to be here. I feel like I finally have a homeschooling network, and it is soooo convenient! Blessings, Lucinda

I started my day early, ready to start on time and really looking forward to teaching dd-8yo. I was cheerful, organized and enthused like every good teacher should be. Unfortunately she came to the table with a not so great attitude and resisted everything I wanted her to do. Finally, I decided I needed to get firm with her about following the program for the day, but somehow we ended up with her in tears and me taking my own time out. I am soooo frustrated! {BTW, this has not happened before.} We are having some struggles lately, partly because it's been a long winter mostly in the house, and partly because she misses her friends in ps. This is our first year to hs. Dh and I believe whole heartedly that hs'ing is the best for her and we only wish we'd started sooner. (She was pulled out the summer after 2nd grade.) She is the last child at home, so it's just us. Even though I have her enrolled in a scout program, take her to church on Sundays PLUS mid-week, and have play dates with friends regularly -- she still seems to be having problems not being with kids constantly. One of the big issues we had with ps was the emphasis on social things more than the education itself. There was always some big drama going on with dd and the group of girlrfiends. It was ridiculous. She was being influenced heavily in ways that did not correspond or even come close to our family's teachings and values. We know that she needs to learn to navigate and survive in the world, but we want to give her a firm foundation while she is young and ease her in as she grows and matures. Okay, so I'm venting in part of this post...but I wondered if any of you out there have suggestions on how I might deal with these lingering withdrawals from ps? I love teaching her so much, but this has been getting in the way quite a bit lately. Also, how do you handle it when you are having major struggles in the middle of your school time? Do you ever run in the bedroom and hide under the bed? You know, writing this post alone makes me feel better. If you've read everything, thanks for giving me the outlet. :rolleyes: Blessings, Lucinda

I went through this too...during perimenopause. I also started having heavy bleeding around that time, sometimes almost like hemoraging. It turned out to be fybroids, which my doctor told me would dissolve during menopause. Then I had emergency abdominal surgery for cancer and after recovery everything just stopped. (I did not have a hysterectomy.) Every woman is different, so a visit to the gyn is very important. I just want to encourage you that although it may go on for a long time, it eventually does come to an end. I've heard this from a lot of women in our age group. (40's - 50's) Blessings, Lucinda

I'm still pretty new to this forum and not acquainted with anyone yet. This is also my first year hs-ing and because I live in a rural area it isn't easy to get connected with hs groups. The posts here at WTM have been great and I'm glad to be here, but I'd really love to connect with one or more older moms raising younger children. I have grown children, grandchildren and an 8 yo dd that is the focus of my hs efforts. I'm using WTM mostly, along with matching a lot of our curriculum with the classical Christian school where I teach part-time. Anyone parenting a second time around and homeschooling or maybe homeschooling grandchildren?

I have not seen the Holocaust Museum, but I have visited Anne Frank's house in Amersterdam and I was profoundly touched by that experience. Even going up the narrow staircase was eerie because I knew that the Gestapo had stormed up those same stairs. It was as though I could "feel" and hear them there with me! Most of us live such cushioned lives that being faced with the reality of such terrible evil in the world is shocking and overwhelming. Visiting museums, we aren't reading books or seeing a movie that connects us to fiction. The exhibits bring us right to the reality of what happened --evidence right before our own eyes. I find that it takes time to process thoughts and feelings like this. Some of them never even come to a place where I can verbalize or write about them, even years later. As an artist and art teacher, I sometimes refer to great works that evoke deep emotion. I think some artists have the ability to paint as they process things like we are discussing. I have appreciated the works of Kathe Kollwitz for this reason. She was German expressionist painter who suffered great tragedy and loss during wartime, and her emotional work expesses it so amazingly. Here is another link to her work, but do scroll down where you'll find many more examples than the first link. Why not get out a sketch pad and try to express your feelings through drawing? It would be only for you and no one else to see. I know that drawing sometimes helps us work through feelings. Even better, get a book or pad for a visual journal where you can draw often. Blessings, Lucinda

I'm so glad to have read this thread, as I have a dawdling 8yodd that needs some incentives to move on. I am going to try the homework hour idea and also losing privileges (i.e.) playdates and sleepovers. Thanks dear friends! Blessings, Lucinda

Along with daily Bible reading I've been going through Eat Right For Your Blood Type by Dr. Peter.J. D'Adamo for my own health needs, and have two more lined up; Art & Soul: Signposts for Christians in the Arts, and Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders. Most of my reading has to do with ministry studies I'm working on as well as a workshop I'm teaching in Nashville in April. So many irons in the fire I rarely read just for pleasure anymore (a pursuit I hope to return to one day). Oh, one more...forget to mention Stuart Little with dd - 8yo. :) Blessings, Lucinda

Thank you for the update, Linda. I'm so thankful that no one was hurt! It could have turned out so much worse. Because of your trauma many of us here will pray for your family tonight. Please group, pray for the young woman too, as she obviously has problems that need attention. And if it comes to mind to pray for my family and I tomorrow morning concerning my son's commitment hearing I'd sure appreciate it. My son has had this illness for nine years and the grief is sometimes so overwhelming. I don't know what I'd do without my faith! Blessings, Lucinda

Well said, Sharon. WELL SAID!! Blessings, Lucinda

Amen, Snickerdoodle. Thank you for that comment. The children always come first. I think most of us posting about this can't help but look at the situation from both sides. Tragedies strike so quickly, and so this is really a good opportunity for everyone to stop and think. For one thing, we need to evaluate how to handle emergency situations in the future. For obvious reasons (per my previous post) I have a personal mission to advocate for the mentally ill whenever I have the opportunity. They are left at the bottom of the barrell and treated so inhumanely, left to wander in the streets when they need to be in a safe place. Most people either don't understand because of stigmas and ignorance or just plain apathy. Then the community is upset and angry when people act out in their illness. I'm not certain that this particular young woman is mentally ill, but she very well could be. Whatever the case it sounds like she needs intervention from professionals. Okay, I'll get off my soap box. Thanks for the opportunity to share. Blessings, Lucinda