I would absolutely pay for recordings. Hope you can work that out!

I have a few questions. Have her parents asked you to work with her on academics? Is she visiting with the expectation of doing schoolwork? Honestly, it sounds like you have good intentions, but I'm really not sure if you could get anything meaningful accomplished in one week. Also, if this isn't agreed upon in advanced, you could be in danger of stepping on toes. If I were in your position, I'd bring her to the library or book store and let her pick out a good book. I would also have her give me a hand and help with the kids. I would include her in our days as a family. I would get to know her better. I would take her out to coffee, stay up late watching chick flicks and maybe, if I earned the right, I would give her some advice if she needed it (and it sounds like she may). What I would not do is assign her any work.

I can only speak for the first 2 books. They are a great supplement (we are long time MUS users), but I cannot see them being a stand alone at this level. There is simply not enough repetition for them to be effective on their own, for my dd. That said, she loves them and I think they're a great new path for math to really solidify in her mind.

Wow, that's one for the record books. On the curriculum, could any of it be salvaged if you have it rebound?

I am flexible, patient, loyal, forgiving, not easily frazzled, phased, offended, or undone. I enjoy being the place that people drop their kids off. I like a house full of screaming children, who leave huge messes and occasionally break things. If I'm helping a friend by taking those kids, that's great. If I get to visit with a friend by hosting, that's even better. Thankfully, my friends are such that this part of me is never abused and often reciprocated.

Back in my non-hsing days, I had two in school and 2 at home. I would go to bible study, grocery shopping, WORKED OUT, visited with friends and was much less frazzled. In fact, one of the moms in our bible study had 4 hsed kids, but they were 11+years old. She was the first HS mom that I ever heard speak about envy of moms who sent their kids to school. She was so real about it, that it actually made hsing seem more realistic to me. Before that, I thought of hsing as something that only super-moms did. And I am not a super-mom. For me, now that I know what it's like to have my kids with me, it would be hard to give that up. I now know what I didn't know. There's no going back for me. Mentally at least. That's not to say that our kids will never be enrolled somewhere, just that I won't feel the way I used to a about it. So anyhow. Yeah, it would be easier. I try not to think about it.

Thank you for posting this.

I am SO EXCITED about the facial recognition software!! We'll be upgrading asap : )

I only hope that one day, someone could say such things about me. (((HUGS))))

I didn't read the article, I'll come back to it later. I love Mark Driscoll, but I hate church/theology debates. Especially over the internet. I don't love Driscoll in a groupie way. Dh and I align with the post-modern church movement. We are church planters (not affiliated with Driscoll in any way). He's just our type of pastor. I would say that my dh and several other pastors in our lives are of that same flavor. So thanks for the article Colleen. I'll see what I think of it later.

We're not rushing into Algebra, don't feel bad. I know that in the long run, my dd will be better served if we take it nice and steady. There is plenty of time for abstract math in high school. We have other fish to fry. We'll be doing pre algebra next year, but my goal is for her to be ready for Algebra by 9th grade, even if it means to years of pre algebra. If she's ready for Algebra in 8th, that's great, but I'm not sweating it. This is one kid that needs to be gently guided through math. I will be pushing her writing in the next couple of years. For us, that's the priority. I feel bad when I read about all of the arts that everyone else is doing. Other than piano lessons, we do nothing. Oh well, I can't do it all, I guess.

This is a good thread for me. Thinking about next year is highlighting the fact that I have more decisions to make than I thought. Here's what I know- Finishing SL 5, Starting 6 Abeka 7 LA IEW- my confidence level is not high on this. I need to explore this more. Science- Earth Science, undecided on which textbook. Math- ???? We've used MUS for years. I love it, but I want to make sure that it remains the best choice for Pre-alg. This is one of those decisions that I just realized I will have to make. Latin-LL2 Greek (?) Logic- probably fallacy detective I'm also looking into Lightning literature. Ack! I'm feeling a little 7th grade pressure :confused::confused: DD will very likely be going to public hs, so I'm feeling the need to really gear her up. I was just looking over the curriculum standards for our local district. I'm feeling good about how we stand, but we really need to develop her writing a bit further. I believe if we maintain our forward motion in all other subjects, and then push her writing into a higher gear, she will be well prepared to enter high school.

Thanks for the link. Very timely for me.

We're moving again. We'll be landing in San Rafael in the next couple of months.

Dh and I were talking about this awhile back. My thought was that it would be a relief. Dh thinks that no man at this power level would want to leave it. After talking to my dad and a couple of other guy friends, they all aligned with my dh's thoughts.

Praying for your endurance Jean!!

I guess the good news is that you had 100K to lose, right? With the stock market, nothing really counts but the end. If you really think about it, you never really had that money. It was a possibility, but not a reality. Does that make you feel any better? Yeah, I didn't think so..... Sorry!!

One of the things that really offended me about the book was the introduction. The way it presented the book as a memoir, rather than fiction really threw me off. In fact, I have had to correct several people who believed that the entire book was a true story. I really felt like I was lied to by the author, and that left a bad taste in my mouth. I tried to finish the book, but between the intro and the theology, I just keep putting it down. I think I've given up on it.

I would tell her point blank, but instead of making your focus her safety, make it your son's well being. I'd tell her that she is upsetting him and while you appreciate her interest, she needs to give him more space. I can see how someone who has a heart for special needs kids could write off their own safety without realizing that they aren't doing the kid any favors. I've had to have similar discussions with people about ds. "Don't pick him up, you'll hurt your back," does not have the same effect as, "don't try to pick him up, because if you don't do it a certain way, you'll hurt him." Good luck!

I use linear, though I prefer hybrid. Hybrid does something screwy on my phone and I'm reading the board on my phone about 90% of the time now. If I was just on my computer, I'd use hybrid.

Why not? Out of curiosity, why do you have contests at all? Is it to drive readership up? Is the blog a source of income for you? How much can one make off of a well read blog? How does one even begin to make anything off of a blog? Feel free to answer any or none of these questions if I'm being too nosey. Just something I was wondering about.

Discovery science is different than discovery streaming. I did the trial and went through several levels. My problem is while it seems great, I don't know how it compares to other science courses. It seemed a little light. I focused on the earth science course. Hope you get some better answers!

Even compared to when I was a kid in the 80's, it's way, WAY better. I remember many days of indoor recess due to smog alerts. Yay for smog checks! ~even if they're a pain in the rear~ As for beauty, SoCal is pretty ugly. We call it the concrete jungle. (dh and I grew up there) NorCal, on the other hand, is truly beautiful. We live on the central coast and the beauty of the area frequently takes my breath away. Towering redwoods, waves pounding against sheer cliffs, the wildlife and sea animals... But Cali is a big state, and the range from nasty to breathtaking is pretty representative of California. It's a state of extremes.

I can hear music, but not the way you describe. I don't think I could hear a song from beginning to end, all parts included. When I have a song stuck in my head, it's mostly just the melody, and generally just the chorus- over and over. If I try, I can hear the instruments, but I really have to concentrate. I need at least a couple of hours of music play each day to fill my bucket. There's no way that the music in my head could fulfill my music needs.

Wow, that's really fantastic!