I had one in July due to family history. I was very stressed just thinking about it! But I found it to be almost entirely mental. I was at a Cub Scout swim picnic the day before, left early from there (3 pm) so I could start the liquid blow through. Expelled until bedtime. Up twice in the middle of the night, but that was it. Very nice tech/RN had me very relaxed. I was knocked out for it (at least I don't remember a thing). Woke up drowsy, hung out a bit, dh adn I got a snack and he drove me home. HOnestly, no pain, no flatulence later, nothing horrible with the stuff you drink (although it does taste lousy!). As someone said, eat lightly the day before and it works better. Best news--everything perfect, come back in 4 years! Jeri

jeri

DH just emailed me and it's off! I know you all have tried to get me pumped up about this, but try as I might, I had a hard time! Background: We are now living in Germany (courtesy of DoD) and we are 18 months into our 3 year tour. Personally, I love living here for many reasons, primarily quality of life for our family! ie. DH works only 10 min from our house, we travel, the sports programs my kids are in are fantastic, I like the German culture, etc. However, this great job came up in DC for dh and he thought perhaps we should try to go back earlier. We actually lived in Newport News many years ago so I have not-so-fond memories of the humidity, but good memories of the a/c! We did spend lots of time at the museums in the past so I know those are good. But i just couldn't wrap my arms around the very long commute for dh, and the sky-high price of everything there! So, I will now have this on file for future events. Something tells me that there is a high likliehood of our coming back to DC. I think in another 1.5 years I will be mentally ready to do this. And then i will look all of you up! Again, thanks. Jeri

Thought your comments about the homeschool groups you are in was interesting! Don't have a really strong one here, so that is intriguing! I will most likely pm you a couple specifics. Jeri

We stayed in a wonderful b&b in Rome over the summer. Go to homeaway.com and look at property 432080. It was a great place to stay--very clean, very nice hosts, off street parking, only one block to the subway and a couple of blocks to St. Peters. Family restaurant across the street. the breakfast was included adn we bought groceries in the grocery stores in Rome central for lunch. Then we splurged on a delicious Italian meal at night, so overall it was fairly inexpensive to eat. PM me for more info on Rome or this apt! Jeri

Hi, dh is considering applying for a job in Arlington, right near the Pentagon. I told him that I would get all kinds of good info from my WTM friends, so please help! 1. What town do you live in and how long is the commute? 2. We have six kids so we need a 5 BR house. Can we get this in commuting distance? 3. Will I hate the traffic on a daily basis or is it only the commuters that hate it? 4. What do you like about living in the DC area? 5. What do you hate about living in the DC area? Thank you so much for your input! We only have until Wed to decide, so quick responses are very welcome. Jeri

jeri

DD (13) did Diogenes last year. We found most of the grammar to be a review, so except for diagramming sentences, we stopped. BTW, diagramming turned out to be a huge chore, primarily because the authors she chose (Franklin, Shakespeare) are very verbose and write very convoluted sentences! Honestly, we rarely got the diagramming right! But it was a breath of fresh air to see that when she goes throught R&S 8 this year for a final grammar review, it is super EASY! I think her grammar is very thorough, even only using it seriously through Homer. Jeri

As a mom, I think some of the scrapes the kids get in are really funny. And the parents sound pretty much like us (except for the belt part!) Jeri

Along with the Living museum (fantastic!) and the Mariner's Museum! But I would also have a yummy dessert at the Trellis in Williamsburg (and stop in to visit my old friend Laura, who is still there! But I digress . . . ) Jeri

I am having my 7th grader do this in combo with Runkles and I want her to do it sort of independently. So, I need either a format or a schedule for how you have your child do it. This could be for either the US or the world, it doesn't matter to me. Thansk.; jeri

jeri

jeri jdunphy15 at yahoo.com

But thanks, Teachin' Mine, for the encouragement! Jeri

DD is quite bright and mathy. She has finished Algebra and is 1/2 way through Alg 2. We are going to start this high school course this fall. Can anyone give me *positive* encouragement??? I'm getting cold feet! Jeri

DD is quite bright and mathy. She has finished Algebra and is 1/2 way through Alg 2. We are going to start this high school course this fall. Can anyone give me *positive* encouragement??? I'm getting cold feet! Jeri

but now I feel like an idiot since I went to one of the national military academies (which is not among the 700 or so they scored) and they all got an A! Maybe they're not as good as we think . . . LOL jeri

I like my Target bookshelves much better than my Ikea ones! The shelves seem to hold up much longer. Plus, I bought a dark wood finish that I like much better. jeri

but what I think she is getting at is that there are perfectly good colleges that focus on the basics for a well-rounded education (incl. writing, history, econ, math, etc.). She is merely pointing out that just because your child gets into and attends a very high level college/uni, it's no guarantee that they will get solid courses. As I said, though, for a student who wants to be challenged, perhaps this isn't a good assessment. Remember, she's a conservative columnist and as a fellow conservative, I can't believe the run-up in higher ed colleges! Not sure what we are getting that;s so much better than when we were in college many moons ago. Jeri

This is by Kathleen Parker adn I can't link it, but since she's so well-known, you should be able to find it. Go to www.whatwilltheylearn.com to see that the public colleges are doing a better job at requiring basic skills than the private colleges, adn there is more bang for the buck. Not sure if I agree with all that she says for a very bright, motivated student who might be unchallenged by the basics, but it looks like an interesting take on higher level education. Jeri

Carol, so glad to know that you are still here! I really valued a lot of what you said about science way back when we started. (I'm sure I still value what you say now, but with a rising 8th grader, I'm a lot more confident!) And I do know Janice is still around--in fact I just bought a book from her-- but wow, a senior!!! Jeri

Who woulda thunk that? Jeri

But I liked her IRL! jeri

I have been on this board for 9 years now, and I have kept a binder into which I have put various printouts of WTM wisdom. Finally opened it today, partly to clean it out (new school year!) and partly to see what’s applicable for my kids’ ages and stages. It brought back great memories of certain people and their posts! Some are still here, but many wise people have moved on. Miss them! Here's a sampling of what I found. A couple sheets by Carol in DE on how to teach science (I don’t recall seeing her around in a long time) Carmen’s (I know you’re still here occasionally) post on how to pay for homeschooling (incl. tutoring, selling old stuff, etc) Rosemary in CO Regena in KY Donna Boucher’s (Boo-shay)tips for organizing my homeschool life Eliana (who is fortunately still around!) and her famous, well-considered critique of FLL MPS’ post in which she bares her soul about staying calm when homeschooling even if it seems that nothing is getting done Nan in MA (who is still here) on how to raise boys Janice in NJ writes about her 5th and 3rd graders and their writing abilities (how many years ago would *that* be?) Kolbi A printout of a “Review of three books by Gelfand,†most likely linked by Adrian! Thanks for the memories! jeri

I asked the school if she could take either Bio or AP bio as an 8th grader in the high school, but they said no. So, she is doing Apolgia Chem this year at home. I will count this as a high school credit. Then she will do either AP Bio or AP Chem at the high school, followed by the other in 10th, then Physics or AP Physics in 11th, then on to CC. We may do it differently but for now that's our only real choice since we live overseas adn have no access to CC right now. Jeri