That's pretty much been my philosophy so far, but you know, beheading never came up before so I wasn't tested in that respect. It is a multiage co op so all the different ages learn the same sentence, but they don't talk about it in class other than to go over the sentence and drill it a couple times to help the kids learn it. No one discusses anything more than the sentence (well, several kids had some things to say about it but the teacher told them to ask their parents, LOL). So I really don't think it's necessary to take her out of the class, but rather to just ignore that part of her assignment for the week. I just wondered if I was oversheltering to not discuss it with her... For reference- I took her to see Curious George this summer at the movie theater and we had to leave because she freaked out when he went up in the air with his balloons and lost his friend. I had to sleep in her room for a week because she had nightmares. But overall, the moms here with sensitive kids are saying that if you let them learn things a little later the kids are more likely to grow up with a more secure personality than they would have otherwise? I can buy that. It makes sense- don't overload them before they can handle it so they can obtain a sense of confidence about the world? :)

How do you know when your child is developmentally ready to learn certain things about the world? For example, our history sentence to learn this week for our co op is about beheadings during the French Revolution. It doesn't say beheading, but that people got their heads removed. My daughter heard that and started asking all kinds of questions, so I put it aside even though she will show up for school on Monday and not know her assignment. But I wonder if I am oversheltering her or just doing standard parenting... She is going to be six in March, and seems to be pretty sensitive and anxious, so I've avoided discussion of many things such as war, the crucifixion, slavery and other things that many parents I know do discuss with their children at this age. Is there something like an age chart somewhere that gives you tips on when (and how;)) to tell your child about these types of things? Obviously sometime in elementary school I'm going to have to break the news that our world is not always such a nice place, and we are so, so lucky that we can live in a place where she has to be told about cruelty and hardship rather than witness it firsthand, but is five too young to hear about beheadings? Am I overthinking it? I have a big tendency to overthink- but so does she so take that into account as well. I've only got one child, so I have no previous experiences with other children to help me, but I know there are moms on this board who have BTDT and can tell me exactly what the protocol is on this sort of thing. Please advise!!! Thanks so much!!! Hailey

you can buy high gloss bathroom board and use it as a whiteboard? is it much cheaper? that would be so cool if we could get a big huge whiteboard!!!

:lurk5: :lurk5:Me three.

:iagree:I am really interested in hearing the rest of the story. There are so many unanswered questions....:lurk5:

www.holyheroes.com has a free study called Advent Adventures- I'm pretty sure it's Catholic in nature so take note of that...

We are in our first year of CC- we paid 350 for registration/tuition, and got the foundations book, the tin whistle, and the audio CD's. I later signed up for the website that's 6.00 per month which has been very helpful for us. Next year I will only have to buy a new CD and continue the website. The materials can be shared between children but you have to pay tuition for each child. We have really enjoyed CC and it has shown me just how much my daughter is capable of learning. She would NEVER commit to learning this amount of information each week just for me- she does it because she wants to know what her friends will know;) Our CC is very well organized and our tutor is wonderful. I can't say enough about how wonderful it has been for our family. I think you might be able to swing doing both schools if you space the days out. I find that the day after CC school is when Grace is the most fresh for learning the CC material. Hammer it in that day so you don't have to work as hard the rest of the week. And keep the CD in the car so they can learn most of it while going to/from other activities.

I bet it's the Classical Conversations ones. We've been learning them too. They do help. My daughter's learning even numbers in Rightstart and every time she is asked to name the even numbers she just sings her 2's song.

Oh my goodness! My hair has been thinning as well and I've been taking all these vitamins thinking I must be deficient in something- but I started using splenda in the past year due to a low carb diet I went on. I was thinking I might be having some sort of hormonal issue but maybe it's the splenda. I'm definitely going to cut it out and hope my hair either grows back in or at least stops falling out. I guess I'm going to have to give up sweets the hard way- by really giving them up, LOL.

We have two cats and they share the box easily with each other, but neither cat ever lived life as a singleton. The older cat has pooped in the sink several times. Each time he was either accidentally locked out of the cat room or we had mistakenly purchased the wrong cat litter, LOL. They are finicky!

There are a couple of cards that I have a serious problem with in the Classical Conversations timeline, but I don't let that stop my family from using the co op. I know where those cards are in the timeline and I have no problem explaining to my daughter that it is one interpretation of events but that we believe differently (and why). I love the co op and what it's doing for our family. They don't teach the info from the cards in class- it's up to you to review the information with your child. That makes it very easy to discuss different worldviews and gives children a chance to see the diversity of opinions that can be related to one single event. I feel that's a good learning experience and I hope it will help my daughter develop an open minded, accepting attitude towards those who may not believe the same things as our family. So if you are interested in Classical Conversations it might be helpful to just go and visit with the knowledge that you are in the driver's seat as far as how those cards are taught to your children. Each co op is different, so you may or may not feel your local group is too conservative. Ours has been very accepting and friendly towards my family and we love it, but I have heard of other groups that are much different so there's no way to tell without an actual visit.

Our vet won't give an RX for heartworm as a way to make us buy products from that at an increased rate, but we have found we can purchase HeartGuard from Vetshoponline.com without an RX. It ships from Australia where they don't require prescriptions... It takes a couple weeks to arrive but it's not expensive postage. We've done this for years- the cost is much less and we've never had an issue. Her heartworm tests always come out clean.

I'd make the decision based on how much extra money you have during the year. For example, does the older home take oil heat? That's expensive where we live... We have friends with a beautiful, older home. We wished we had one instead of our big box house until we found out what their heating bill is in the winter- and how they had to pay SOOOO much money to rip open all their walls and change out the wiring (depending on how old the house is you may want to change the wiring for safety) and install insulation. These were hard, plaster walls too with lead paint. Just know that the older homes require much more money on a year to year basis in the beginning, because there are often a number of (often expensive) things that have to be fixed. Do you mind that sort of thing? Some people don't like the upheaval of home repairs. Some people really don't mind at all. It just depends, but factor in a good amount of extra cash for "just in case."

I don't think it's Sonlight b/c she said it's a graded curriculum. So that means tests, right? Or does that mean it goes by grade levels? In that case it could be Sonlight. :lurk5:

My daughter could not understand blending no matter what we tried and we have a family history of dyslexia, so I was pretty worried about the whole reading issue. ElizabethB put up her info on learning to read with Webster's, and I noticed that Webster's starts off with only two letter syllables. It looked like it might help her to start off with easier, smaller letter combinations, so we tried it. It was exactly what Grace needed to get blending to click in her head. Yesterday we were in the pants section at Sears and Grace pointed to a sign and said "Mommy, does that say 'dockers'?" It was our first homeschool payoff moment. We hugged in the aisle and we were both so excited. I'm so glad I didn't give that moment over to anyone else. It was incredibly special for both of us. Thank you ElizabethB for all the help you give to all of us! I know I'm not the only one who is thankful to have you around!

My husband has had allergic reactions to vitamins in the past. It's not unlikely if you have other allergies. I'd stop taking them because allergies that change your breathing can be dangerous. I know that's stating the obvious, but still...

We did Cursive First and then moved on to HWOT Cursive. I was nervous it would be too hard for a kindergartener but it's really not. She's doing great.

what are the actual purchase requirements for atelier art? do you just need the DVD and parent manual, or the art prints and the supply kit too? i'm just trying to find the bare minimum cost level... if i can get it for under 60 i could purchase it... higher than that and i'll start to feel guilty.

Yes, and I've lost 30 pounds since last March. My husband has also lost a ton and he's not even that good about it. He basically does the diet when he's at home but not when out. But yes, it has to be a lifestyle. We also now run 3 miles 3-4 times a week, and we seriously avoid eating sugar. BUT- we do eat the fake sugar stuff that's available in the diet aisle from time to time. I know it's not good to eat that kind of stuff but I figure it's better to cave into one of those than to cave into sugar and fall off the wagon completely.

Can I ask why you are thinking of switching from Rightstart? We like Rightstart too but sometimes the call of a workbook page beckons. It's hard for me as a teacher to feel like I am getting it all in there by just playing games. I want something that says "this is everything you did this year." But it's just me, and I can't say my DD isn't learning. She's doing very well for her age group right now. I'm sticking with it for now and just hoping that it is all that people say it is...

My daughter 5.5 has the same problem. We're still working on it but using the Handwriting Without Tears method of number writing has helped: "remember, 8 is an S that you close," or "6 is half a rainbow you slide down and curl into a ball." "9 has a ball on top and slides straight down." She's gotten much better since learning these... I think 7 says something like "straight across and then down in an angle line." I think we added in the angle line point from one of her art lessons. 7 looks like an angle line...

Well, my dad never did call me, but I called my mom today to ask her how she is doing. She said she feels unusually depressed as well as very itchy, and she thinks it might be from the meds. So, I am guessing she's scaring my dad a little bit. However, she's also a very extroverted person who is stuck in her bed for the next six weeks so it's kind of hard to tell if it's a side effect or just a yucky situation. Luckily, she has already called her doctor to let him know about the whole "itchy" problem so I'm sure they will probably switch her to something else anyway. Thank you all for sharing your info with me. I was glad to be able to tell my mom that it's not out of the ordinary to have a strange side effect or two from these types of meds, so she felt better about it. It's funny how the knowledge that someone else has had a similar issue can make it so much easier to cope with your own.

Thanks guys! He hasn't called yet but when he does I'll know more about the issue. However, it does sound like whatever she's doing could definitely be related to the meds.

Oh! That sounds rough! Thanks for sharing that- I'm sure it will make my dad feel better to know that these sorts of things just happen to some people. I'm glad I've never needed surgery (knock on wood).

Hey guys, Strange question! My mom has had two surgeries on her feet in the last few months. She has been prescribed percoset, I assume for the pain associated with surgery and recovery. My father sent me a cryptic email this morning. It said "Does percoset have any psychological effects. Don't email me back. I will call you this morning." So I'm guessing my mom is acting a little strange. I looked it up online (which I am assuming he is afraid to do b/c they share a computer) and it said it is highly addictive and should not be given more than three weeks in a row, but I didn't notice much about psychological effects other than that it can cause a depressed state and/or lowered level of conciousness. Anyone have any knowledge of this sort of thing? Thanks! Hailey