Hmmm....I'll have to try that. Blessings, Lucinda P.S. The only time I allow dh to wear his shoes in the house is when he's got his kilt on.

I've not been here as long as many others, so I can't relate to the way things were on the old boards. I hate to ask, but how could a LIKE feature get ugly? Oh, I almost always sign the same way, and my name's kind of unusual....that must be it. :D Blessings, Lucinda

Thank you, JudoMom! I feel so validated! Really. Thank you!!

Oh yes, the LIKE button would be sooooo nice! I wish we could get that feature here. Along with this I just wanted to say that I feel better already just for having made my statement. Reading all the comments here has been like a breath of fresh air. So THANK YOU EVERYONE!! Sorry for the blanket statement, but I sincerely mean it to everyone that's adding to the conversation. Makes me just want to give you all a big virtual ((hug)). Blessings, Lucinda

Oh Jean, thank you for your comments. I realize completely that none of us can acknowledge every post. I just think that at least once in awhile people could acknowledge others' posts and give some validation or some sort of encouragement, appreciation, etc. Blessings, Lucinda

Okay, maybe I'm too sensitive...but I can't help but open up this conversation. I've been posting here for a few years now, and although I don't post nearly as often as others, I think I'm known by at least a few as a "regular" by now. I mostly just read the boards and have learned more here than from any homeschool group I could have ever joined irl. I love the Hive, but there's an aspect that has bothered me for a long time now. The problem is that when I do take the time to post in reply to someone's thread I quite often feel completely ignored in the conversation. Can anyone relate to what I'm saying here, or is it just me? Having this happen is like being at a social gathering trying to join in conversations, but no one will talk to you or even respond to your comments. It's like standing in the middle of a party, drink in hand, yet no one acknowledges that you're even there. I tell you, there are times that I feel all alone in a sea of people. Once in awhile I get positive feedback on suggestions I make, curriculum I've had success with, etc. But it's the joining in on conversations that have already started that I get bugged the most about. (NOTE: Quite often when I start a thread I do get wonderful support and replies, so I'm not feeling COMPLETELY ignored. :D) Because of this I have a couple of suggestions to consider: If someone has chimed in with something nice to say or input to add to the conversation, maybe once in awhile try to acknowledge that they're there. If someone takes time to share about a curriculum or offer suggestions of some sort, at least let them know that their efforts in sharing are appreciated. This may come across as self-centered, I realize, but I really don't mean it to be so. I'm just saying how I feel at times, and I wonder if there are others that often feel ignored as well. Blessings, Lucinda

I'm curious about the same thing, but for graduate school. Anyone have suggestions for that? Dh and I have a combination of student loans to pay off already for current and previous college, but if I could find another way to finance a master's degree, I'd go for it. Blessings, Lucinda

Well, you may notice by my siggy what curricula we are planning to use next year, but basically for us a LA program always includes grammar, writing, vocabulary and literature. It could also include a spelling program if the student needs one. We really love WWS1 and will be beta testing level 2 when it is ready. Vocabulary from Classical Roots (VFCR) has been a favorite of ours for the past three years now. We have used a variety of grammar programs, but my favorite was R&S. This year we're going with Grammarlogues because it uses practical applications, pulling straight out of literature passages. I think my dd will also enjoy having a computer based program for grammar for a change. We will be reading a lot this year, mostly from TWTM list, and also some read alouds that I've pulled from the Notgrass ATB literature list. We'll also be doing 4-5 Progeny Press literature guides. For spelling, I test on vocabulary words and also words that dd misspells in her writing assignments. Previously I've used Spelling Workout and Spelling Power, both good programs. Hope this helps! Blessings, Lucinda

I was going to suggest a Corgi as well. They are great little dogs and do well with children. Another suggestion would be either a long haired or short haired dachshund. With some patience with training and lots of positive support, those little dogs make excellent companions. Poodles, in my opinion, are too high strung. I've never met a poodle that I liked, and I'm a life long dog fan. Have fun shopping! Blessings, Lucinda

Praying with you. :grouphug: God bless, Lucinda

I hit the wrong button by mistake! I meant to choose 1-yr. American History instead of 2-yr. World History. Oooooops! Having a year to really focus on our own country would be perfect before moving on to rhetoric level and another 4-yr. cycle. I'm so glad that you're considering this option. Blessings, Lucinda

Done! So happy to support another homeschool family! Blessings, Lucinda

I own the book and find it to be absolutely beautiful. I'd sell it to you, but it's one of my favorite books! I think that it's worth the money because it explains the methods of bookmaking and manuscript writing and decoration for a period of history where beauty was appreciated and sought after. That is something well worth teaching your dc. Blessings, Lucinda

For 7th grade last year and for dd's upcoming 8th grade, my method of teaching spelling is to test her on vocabulary words 1-2 per month. Along with this I go over everything she writes and whenever I see a misspelled word I underline it and have her write the word out 10 times. This has worked really well with her, especially at this age and level. Her spelling is vastly improved from what it was last year at this time. Blessings, Lucinda

I am an art teacher that owns three of these little pencil sharpeners. I bought one for my studio and liked it so much that I bought two more to take to school. While I absolutely love the sharpener alone, we now realize that there is a design flaw, and I have not figured out how to remedy it yet. There is a little clamp that comes with the sharpener to attach it to the edge of a surface, but this will not work long term. My students get frustrated and don't know what to do because they come loose while being used. Try as we might, we cannot get the sharpeners to stay put without using some sort of little sticky pads under the sharpener. This seemed to solve the issue for us for awhile, but then it created yet another problem. Whenever a lead would break in the sharpener and get stuck (as it inevitably does with frequent pencil sharpener use -- especially with colored pencils), we not only had to unclamp the unit to tilt and unclog the barrel...we also had to pull the sharpener unit up off the sticky pads we had placed under it to hold the sharpener down. Needless to say, my students and I have been very unhappy about this. I've invested $75 in these little sharpeners, but I can't seem to get them to work in my classroom. I'd really like to see the manufacturer come up with a better clamp. The sharpener itself is awesome. The clamp is a piece of junk in my opinion. Blessings, Lucinda

Same here. That seems like the most fair thing to do under the circumstances. I'd be sure to inform the seller that certain things do not qualify as Media Mail. Blessings, Lucinda

Well, you can't get to work to earn money without good transportation. You can't get medical care without a vehicle or buy groceries to feed the family unless you have something to truck it all home. Unless you live in an urban setting and can take public transportation, having a reliable car is a necessary evil. I would personally make sure that is in place before anything else because too much depends on it. And I don't mean set yourself up with car payments. I'd say find the best vehicle possible for the least amount of money and pay cash. Put the rest in the bank. Blessings, Lucinda

Okay, I'm no therapist, but here my take on it. It sounds like your xh is making you the target for all his guilt. Sometimes x spouses do this when the other spouse is doing a really great job with the parenting. They try to tear the other apart to make them feel better about themselves. My own xh did this to me throughout our ten year marriage regarding our children. Then he acted out again years later because he felt guilty that I'm the one raising our biological gdd (dh of 18 yrs and I adopted her when she was a baby)....I think my xh felt guilty that we were the ones making the huge sacrifices and not him, which of course made us look better. So really, in a sick kind of way this might be your xh's way of recognizing that you are doing a MUCH better job than he is. And like someone else hinted at, it may be to make himself look good to the new girlfriend. But in reality, I bet that everything he's saying to you is really how he feels about himself. Blessings, Lucinda

I would like to download some graphic software (Gimp and Inkspace), but both require that I have X11/Xquartz on my system. I'm running OS 10.7.4 and wondered if anyone could tell me if I already have that built in. I updated from Snow Leopard awhile back, but have no idea if this was part of the package or not. In layman's language, what exactly is X11/Xquartz? Thanks! Lucinda

Sister, you need to read this thread. The answer to your question is kind of buried, but regulars here in the Hive pretty much all know the answer and so the conversations have died down. Blessings, Lucinda

My dd is in the same spot as your dd, but we aren't going to skip anything. She was just assessed for 7th grade level math (post Pre-Algebra) and even though she hasn't actually had Pre-Algebra yet, we aren't going to take any chances that may end up in gaps of understanding. And really, why the hurry? Wouldn't it be better to solidify math understanding than move students ahead quickly because we think they're extra smart? (Not trying to be snarky here, just trying to make a really good point.) I also want to mention that there seems to be some real confusion about whether or not to use Algebra 1/2 or 8/7 between 7/6 and Algebra I. I actually checked this out myself awhile back and did full research with the Saxon website and their customer service. I learned by doing this that Algebra 1/2 is actually for students using the older version of Saxon 7/6 prior to starting Algebra 1. 8/7 has been created more recently to be a Pre-Algebra course and is really the best choice to use before Algebra I for those that used the more recent edition of 7/6. For this reason I would not recommend skipping 8/7 because, like stated above, it is much more difficult than 7/6. I got the book recently and it's almost twice as thick. My dd is going into 8/7 from 7/6 (newer edition) because we used the newer edition of 7/6. (We plan to do math year round just to keep the concepts firmly engrained in her mind. Hope this helps. Blessings, Lucinda

Yup, that's true. Hake would go really well with WWS. Blessings, Lucinda

My dh was 47 when our youngest was born (I was 45). We lovingly refer to her as our "late in life surprise". Both of us had children from previous marriages that were already grown and gone. :D Blessings, Lucinda

As an artist and art teacher to students in k-11th grade at a private school, I've discovered there is a lot of information available online that is really good and some is even free. I find things all the time just by googling. And there are a number of instruction books for watercolor that would be helpful, and they can be found at art supply stores as well as the local library. But you may want to find a local art teacher for her to teach techniques in person, at least enough to get her started and confident enough to explore and experiment on her own. As for curriculum, I highly recommend a secular series called Artistic Pursuits that comes in lesson books for specific age levels. If I didn't already use my own lessons and curriculum I would be buying and using it myself for my own child and other students that I teach. I've looked through AP several times and it looks wonderful. If you are a Christian family, then another really good series is How Great Thou Art. It's also very thorough, and comes with DVD instruction that includes watercolor lessons. Hope that helps! Blessing, Lucinda