The Human Odyssey, Vol. 2 Our Modern World, 1400-1914 Part 1 Introduction: The World in 1400: A Backward Glance Chapter 1: Europe Reborn: Rediscovering Greece and Rome Chapter 2: Cities Spur Change Chapter 3: The Flowering of Genius in Florence Chapter 4: Rome Revived Chapter 5: Of Courtiers and Princes: Politics of the Renaissance Chapter 6: The Renaissance Beyond Italy Chapter 7: The Reformation Splits Christendom Chapter 8: The Counter-Reformation and the New Face of Europe Chapter 9: Three Islamic Empires Chapter 10: Ming China and Feudal Japan Chapter 11: Russia Rising Conclusion: Looking Back on the Early Modern World Part 2 Introduction: A New Spirit of Exploration and Inquiry Chapter 1: Portugal, Spain, and the Age of Exploration Chapter 2: Still Seeking the Indies and Filling in the Map Chapter 3: Old Civilizations in a New World Chapter 4: Clash of Civilizations: Conquistadors in the New World Chapter 5: The Spanish and Portuguese Build Empires Chapter 6: Songhai, Benin, and the New Slave Trade Chapter 7: Elizabethan England and North American Initiatives Chapter 8: England: Civil War and Empire Chapter 9: The Scientific Revolution Chapter 10: The Enlightenment: An Age of Reason Conclusion: Expanding the Known World Part 3 Introduction: An Age of Democratic and Industrial Revolution Chapter 1: The World Turned Upside Down: The American Revolution Chapter 2: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: The French Revolution Chapter 3: Napoleon: Revolution and Empire Chapter 4: Latin American Independence Movements Chapter 5: The Russia of the Romanovs Chapter 6: Romantic Art in an Age of Revolution Chapter 7: Britain Begins the Industrial Revolution Chapter 8: A Revolution in Transportation and Communication Chapter 9: Strife and Struggle Hard Times and New Ideas During The Industrial Revolution Chapter 10: Slavery in a Changing World Conclusion: Revolutions Change the World Part 4 Introduction: An Age of Outreach and Overreach Chapter 1: Italy and Germany: Nationalism and the New Map of Europe Chapter 2: Civil War in the United States: A House Divided and Reunited Chapter 3: An Age of Innovation Chapter 4: The New Imperialism Chapter 5: Organizing for Change: Cities, Workers, and Women Chapter 6: Reaching Millions Chapter 7: Culture Shocks: Questioning Reason and Reality Chapter 8: Rising Expectations in Waning Empires Chapter 9: Linking the Seas and Reaching for the Skies Conclusion: Big Ambitions in a Shrinking World Epilogue: Looking Back, Looking Forward My 7th grader will be using the K12 course that accompanies this book over the coming year. She'll also use the art history course that tracks along with it. The book is written for 8th graders. It is definitely more appealing than most textbooks. I'm very much impressed with the interesting and challenging assignments that K12 has designed to go along with the text.

Tina makes a good point, but I think a *Christian* editor would have capitalized it. So you can assume that the editor probably wasn't a Christian, but it probably wasn't a hostile act.

I love to buy bulk groceries from Amazon. I have a standing order for Wulfgang Puck soup (two cases each of three different flavors every few months). I bought dried blueberries and cranberries from Amazon last winter much more cheaply than I could find anywhere else. Just last week I discovered that they sell Clorox Bleach disinfecting tablets (the kind you put into the back of the toilet). Those are almost impossible to find in stores!

Are you going to carpet the whole house, or just a room or two? Because if it's just a room or two, I'd like to *highly* recommend Flor carpet tiles. We had been looking for a rug for our front foyer for years and finally found success with Flor. The carpet tiles are BEAUTIFUL, they're thin enough so that you can cut through them for floor vents and odd room sizes, and they're replaceable tile by tile if you get stains on them. We pieced pale green and pale yellow tiles together to make a large rug for our front hallway (my husband cut through one tile for a floor vent), and it's extremely attractive. The whole thing cost around $250 for a 100" x 80" rectangular area, custom-designed with just the colors we wanted. The Flor website is http://www.flor.com, and you can often find coupons on the Internet for free shipping or a discount.

Do you want to post the style number and size you need? Perhaps someone can help you find it. I have to go to the ballet store today to buy leotards, and I'll see what I can find. It's a long shot, but you never know.

This afternoon I got a call from someone who claimed to work for a large hotel chain. My kids and I had taken a short trip and stayed at that chain last month. The caller said that the chain was offering special short-stay packages in any of three cities (New York, Orlando, or Las Vegas). I told him we weren't interested in visiting any of those cities. He kept talking, trying to convince me that I really did want to go. He asked if I was married, if I had children, how old they were, etc. He asked me to answer our income range by (a), (b), ©, or (d). (We were somewhere in the middle.) He then said, "Oops, we're sold out of packages in your income range. Sorry! Have a good day!" Was I just "phished," or did that sound a normal sales call? I feel foolish that I gave out personal information like that.

Wikipedia can be altered by almost anyone. Just a week ago my son altered something on the American Girl entry to tease his sister. His alteration stayed up for about two days before someone discovered it and changed it back. I still love Wikipedia, though!! It's a great way to find info fast!

I wanted to add something to what I wrote yesterday. Have you read Thomas Sowell's book "Late-Talking Children?" I read it when my daughter was four. It seemed to describe her so well. The book said there is a subset of children who talk late, sometimes very late, but who have perfectly normal (or above-normal) intelligence. They tend to be very good in math, music, and memory (meaning, obviously, that they memorize well). Family members of these children are often engineers, musicians, mathematicians, pilots, accountants, or other numbers-oriented people. I could clearly see that trait in my child. I knew I couldn't do a lot to force her to talk or to change the way her brain was wired, but I did try to challenge her more intellectually. I spent more time reading and explaining things to her without expecting much response from her. I talked to her constantly, again without putting pressure on her to say much. I gave her lots of "input" without forcing her to produce "output." I began to teach her phonics, but she only needed a few lessons total, ever. She was an early reader, but she didn't seem interested in reading, and she hardly seemed to understand what she read. I had to keep explaining things to her. As she got a little older, I would ask her comprehension and "thought" questions, and I'd help her with the answers. I *still* do that, and she's 12 years old. Amazingly, though, she took the WISC-IV IQ test a couple of years ago, and her verbal comprehension was in the high 140s. She is a pretty normal 12-year-old girl now. She is quite feminine; she loves to sew, knit, crochet, and do ballet. She's an excellent pianist (though she's so amazingly good at sight-reading that she doesn't have a lot of patience with perfecting her songs). She got her first babysitting job last weekend and came home with $30 and lots of hilarious stories about what happened on the job. She still tends to talk a little too loudly, and she can't quite figure out the whole "mean girl" thing (she keeps reading the American Girl advice books, hoping to find a formula that will make her successful in every social situation). But, you know, I'm SO GLAD I didn't try to have a label slapped on her at an early age. She developed at her own timetable, and she just needed our love and acceptance.

My daughter, who's now 12, had many of those same symptoms. She was a very late talker. She figured out the phonics rules and could read beautifully *years* before she could talk in sentences and hold a conversation. She didn't seem to understand what we were saying to her for the longest time (maybe around 5-1/2 or 6?). She would line her toys up, and that seemed to be the extent of how she played. The weird thing was, though...she was really smart and had an incredible memory. She picked up phonics after just a few lessons and seemed to just know how to read anything. She has never had a moment's trouble with any math or logic problem in all these years. She can sight-read any piece of music and play it beautifully, starting from her first piano lesson when she was six. She has always been able to give excellent narrations. Her IQ is quite high. OK, those are the positives. Here are some negatives: She often had comprehension problems, especially when she was younger. For example, you couldn't ask her: "Why do you think the Rose Red and Snow White felt sorry for the bear?" She would just look blank and say she didn't know. She couldn't imagine why. She still has trouble imagining things and coming up with alternate scenarios. I have to make most of her decisions for her, because she can't make a decision. She's getting better, but she still isn't on par with her agemates. She stutters sometimes, and she tends to be a little uptight when she talks, giving points (a), (b), and © on everything, as though she's thinking in outlines. Oh, and her motor skills were very much behind as well. When she was a preschooler, she wanted me to hold her and carry her around all.the.time. I took her to occupational therapy, and the best thing she got out of it was that the therapist wouldn't take "no" for an answer. She was forced to jump off barrels, climb through dark tunnels, etc. When she was four, I put her in ballet as a sort of group occupational therapy -- she still takes ballet, and it has helped her coordination tremendously. Back then I thought she was a little behind, but I always had a feeling that she would be all right. I just wasn't that concerned. She is a little more concrete than other children, but that's just her. It isn't fatal. She thinks like an engineer rather than a poet. But she has many, many academic and personal strengths that more than compensate for her weaknesses.

We don't have modesty issues here; we have vanity ones, LOL. I've always splurged in the clothes area for my daughter, since she's my only girl, and now she's become a little too accustomed to many beautiful outfits every season. When she threw a fit last spring because she only had two church outfits to last all summer (she wears church clothes three hours per week), I knew it was time for a change. Her clothes this fall and winter are new, plentiful, comfortable, but BORING. Long skirts in khaki, denim, black, and brown. Attractive but dull tops and sweaters. Her church and cotillion dresses are (gasp) hand-me-downs. I've told her that if she wants trendier clothes, she'll have to sew or knit them herself. I wouldn't be this restrictive normally; I like to see girls looking their best. However, vanity is more unattractive than the most boring of clothing, and we need to deal with that. Plus, I really want her to get creative and use her skills to design and make her own clothes!

You might want to look at Guavatalk. The website is http://www.guavatalk.com This new online Chinese language program uses live Chinese teachers. They have a number of sample lessons on the website so you can see how it looks.

Karin, would you know what the difference is between the New Version and the Revised Version? The Revised Version has a green cover, and the authors are Dolciani, Berman, and Wooten. The New Version has a red cover, and the authors are Sorgenfrey, Wooton, and Dolciani. Do you (or anyone else) have any idea about why two different books would be published with the same name in the same year? I ~think~ the books have all been spoken for. (One mom said she wanted some of the books, but I haven't heard back from her this morning. Another mom has already claimed the Algebra 1 set.)

Also, while I'm at it, I have two student texts for Book Two Modern Algebra and Trigonometry Structure and Method (1973 "New Edition") with odd-numbered answers in the back. I also have one teacher's edition of Book Two Modern Algebra and Trigonometry Structure and Method (1973 "Revised Edition") with all answers in the back. I have NO IDEA what the difference is between the New and the Revised Edition. I'll sell these for $35 each postpaid.

Oh! I have both the student text and the solution key for the 1965 version of Modern Algebra Structure and Method Book 1. I'm not using them and would be glad to sell them for a reasonable price. Karen, if you want to PM me, feel free to do so.

Their most recent coupon code (for 10% off) expired on July 25th. If you sign up for their newsletter, they will notify you about future specials.

"Inclusive" has a trendy sound, but it's a little vague. I would probably advertise the school as "classical."

I giggled when I read your post because the picture of your son's little face is so cute! He's so serious-looking. You'd never think it of him....

I think the author states (or maybe I'm confusing with Talent is Overrated, which says the same things but is actually a better book) that a person won't be driven to put in his 10,000 hours if he doesn't have at least some inborn ability. The 10,000 hours is concentrated, purposeful practice, preferably monitored by a coach. Most people can't put in this level of work, either because of lack of time or money, or because it's just so *hard.* They might want to, and they might start out with the best of intentions, but they lose their focus along the way. That's why a supportive environment is so important. An environment that frees you from time, money, and other day-to-day worries, and that gives you plenty of love along the way, will enable you to go as far as you possibly can. The "possibly can" part is your inborn talent (and interest), your mental and physical endurance, and your ambition.

My husband and son are going to the Apple Store tonight to get a tutorial on the newest Final Cut software. I was on the Apple Store website a moment ago and noticed that they were offering camps for kids this summer (they're all full now). What a great opportunity! My son is constantly wanting to visit more and more different Apple Stores. When we were in London last summer, he wouldn't rest until we'd visited the store there, with a glass elevator in it.

If my child had these issues, I'd worry that she'd panic and make a scene in the plane, causing all kinds of drama. Passengers would be wondering where the poor child's parents were and why they allowed her to ride a plane by herself. Word might even get out that she's (gasp) homeschooled! In my heart I'd probably know that she'd be OK and the experience would benefit her in the long run. However, I'd also be worried that a social worker would show up at my door the next day.

I have a distractable daughter. I found that writing math problems out for her, basically making a worksheet for her, really helps. Math can seem overwhelming when you're having to transfer two or more pages of problems onto a separate sheet of paper. It's so much more user-friendly to have the problems already written down for you.

I read a very similar book, Talent is Overrated, last week. (I'd already read Outliers and Blink; my teen son reads these books all the time and leaves them around the house.) It was so gratifying to read that it's the hard-working students who excel. I'm watching that very thing happen right now with my daughter and ballet. She has been the weakest, least athletic student in her ballet class for years. After every ballet class I would ask her if she got any compliments, and she would say no, the teacher just had criticisms for her. This summer I enrolled her in ballet intensive (secretly hoping she would get her fill of ballet and want to move onto something else), and she has suddenly blossomed. She is the only student at her level who was willing to sign up for ballet intensive, and she shows up every day. She is getting stronger very rapidly, and the teachers and older students are extremely impressed with her dedication and cheerfulness. I suspect she will be at the top of her class next year and will eventually get her lifelong wish, which is to join the student ballet company. Talent is Overrated also states that it's not usually the child prodigies that make it to the top as adults. In fact, very often the top adult performers were late bloomers who seemed fairly average as children. The book makes a case for the (unproven) theory that success breeds success; that people who excel in a small-time setting develop the confidence to go on to bigger things. (This doesn't work, however, if the person has an overly frail ego and is crushed too easily.) Stoking a child's confidence and encouraging him to put a smile on his face and keep trying really help to give the child the resiliency he needs.

It's common here. My 12-year-old is in braces, and I have to take her in for cleanings *every single month*. She went this morning and got a severe talking-to by the hygienist for her terrible brushing over the past four weeks. I'm trusting she'll grow out of this in a few years, but in the meantime I have to do whatever is necessary to keep her teeth healthy.

I was in a wonderful Young Life group in my high school in Memphis back in the 1970s. It was a very positive experience. The social leaders (cool kids) from the school participated, so it was highly respected. We met once a week for Bible study and conversation about walking the Christian faith. We went to camp in Colorado one year, and we went on a couple of day trips. Looking back, I'm very glad to have had this opportunity for social interaction. I was shy and needed to get out more, and this structured activity gave me a chance to meet with other nice kids in a safe environment. It kept all of us focused on the things of God and held us accountable to each other.

My 12-year-old is going to have to have hers out as soon as they come in. That's part of the orthodontist's treatment plan. Six months after her wisdom teeth are removed, she'll have jaw surgery. I don't know exactly *why* she'll need to have them removed, but I think the orthodontist has been down this road with many of his other jaw-surgery patients, so I trust he knows what he's doing.