A miscellaneous post

The other day I had a great idea for a post.  I didn't record it, and now it's gone.  That happens from time to time - wonder why I don't just start a draft with my idea so when I have time to sit down and actually write, the idea is still there?

Not that I have time to write today. But my kids are sleeping late after a long day - we'll call it a field trip - to New York City.  We've lived 90 miles from the city for 4 1/2 years now, and yesterday we finally got there. The impetus:  a nephew of mine, who lives on the west coast, came east for business.  He spent a few days with us, then needed to get to NYC to get home.  We gave him a ride, and he took us around the city.  It wasn't the most educational trip - we got just an hour in at the American Museum of Natural History - but it was fun and we got some great falafel and pizza, as well as spectacular views of the city from "The Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center).  The forecast had been for clouds all day, but the sky was blue and the sun shining on us as we enjoyed the view.

That nephew is a musician and while here, he helped us buy a guitar.  I always felt that James (who did not respond well to piano lessons) would benefit from having a guitar around.   I looked around for a used one for a few years, but nothing ever came up,  and I didn't know if I'd feel like I could choose a good one anyway.  But with a guitarist around, it's easier, so we now have a guitar in the house.  We're going to try the self-teaching route - we bought a book and dvd, and I have requested a bunch of stuff from the library - to see if that will work out.   Keeping the pressure off is a key to this particular child, so... we'll see how it goes.  I think I'll try my hand (heh) at it too.

A few months ago I had posted about James's mysterious illness.  It disappeared, finally, as mysteriously as it appeared.  I might write more about that later.  Let me just say that our doctors were great, but they still just don't know everything about our bodies.  We are trying to make up for what is basically a lost semester. I might write more about that later too.  Maybe that was even the lost topic!  I may never know.

Homeschool high school: looking for books, blogs... inspiration

All around me, the moms of rising high schoolers are bailing out of homeschooling.  Their kids are going to school, or they're signing up for the public cyber-charter school (popular here in Pennsylvania).  There is something about those choices that intrigue me:  having someone else take over high school.  

But the truth is, I don't want someone else to take high school over for me.  And so far, my kids don't either.

So, I need inspiration.  And help!  What are the best resources - books, blogs, commercial sites, Facebook pages - for homeschooling high school?   

Leave a comment with your faves - help me fill my reader and my bookshelf.