In case anyone missed the PBS special The Botany of Desire which premiered Wednesday, October 28, 2009, you can still watch the entire program online. It's incredible. BOTANY OF DESIRE is a documentary which tells the utterly original story of everyday plants and the way they have domesticated humankind. An interpretation of the relationship between plants and people. This two-hour documentary explores plant evolution and takes viewers from the potato fields of Peru and Idaho, the apple forests of Kazakhstan, and the tulip markets of Amsterdam. View online in it's entirety: here This is another related program by the same presenter on LINK TV (a cable access channel) which is timely: Deep Agriculture Traditional methods of agriculture in most developed nations have long ignored environmental concerns. Factors such as soil erosion, water shortage and the impact of chemicals on bio-systems have been overlooked in favour of massive crop yields and cheaper food. But what impact does this have on our health and our environment? View online in it's entirety: here __________________________ Sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and witness the evolution of an Organic Kitchen Garden.

Sorry to revive such an old thread, but I couldn't find an answer searching.. My DH bought a whole chicken and intended to grill it earlier this week. Well, he got called out of town and I figured I better do something with pricey free range chicken before it went bad. (He's the chef, i'm just the cook). I was just going to stick the probe in and let the oven do it like I do with most things to get perfectly cooked meat and poultry! Well, I open it up and he has had the butcher cut it into pieces (still skin on) ready for grilling... I didn't want to grill - that's his territory. So I remember that the oven has masterchef settings and low and behold there is "chicken parts" on there. Instead of a cookie sheet, though, i put them on a rack with a sheet underneath since the idea of sitting in grease didn't appeal to me. About an hour later they are perfectly cooked and even though I only put salt and pepper on them, they are flavorful, moist, and quite yummy. The skin is crispy and golden brown. But, I pulled them out when I thought they looked like they were done. Is the masterchef supposed to turn it off at the end? Or beep or something? Was I just too impatient and it was due to do that real soon? Or is the end time up to the customer? Inquiring minds... cool if I can leave the house to pick up the kids and have that chicken all just waiting there for shredding into salads or tacos or something!

I really appreciate everybody's input. It has been really valuable to me to read and help me work through this. I talked with her BFFs parents last night whose daughter is not at the school. Her BFFs mom picked up for me as I got stuck in traffic behind a wreck. She read her folder notes and was a bit shocked about the complaints such as wasted time during center time, not standing still in line, etc. Then her husband mentioned that it is not worth for your child to be feeling like she isn't good or picked on at this point in her life when you can do something about it since even though the teachers doesn't say it all the kids know who is the one they call bad and no point in harming her self esteem at this age. He also said he has never ever seen her act like anything but a normal 5 year old and they are around us a lot. They also have a strong willed daughter. He told me to listen to my instincts. I felt better to have talked to them and validate that I think it is a bit extreme. He also said he was sure the administrator wasn't used to talking to somebody who is well educated and researches everything and then contradicts her. They both know the person in question. It is funny because that is almost exactly word for word what I thought after talking to her yesterday morning about what the law actually says. Yesterday went good and later in the afternoon when I checked in to see how things were going they said if she wasn't asleep by a certain time then she'd get to read books and do puzzles. Seems like they decided to listen to me about what the state said after all. This morning was more like a normal drop off with one exception. My daughter said as soon as I parked and came to her side to help her out that "Mommy I have a tummy ache" and I asked if she needed to go and potty, the answer was no and I could feel it seemed more psychological than physical as she was dragging to go into school. Since late last week this has been going on about not wanting to go in vs. she used to run ahead of me and be all excited. I really feel for her as it can't be easy to process. I left her with that I think she is an awesome kid and I know she is the best and she reluctantly let me go. Then this morning I got a call from principal at the school we were hoping she would get into for Kindergarten - didn't make it into pre-K, saying they have an opening in the Spring in the pre-K class. I'm going in on Tuesday to meet with the principal. DH and I are going to discuss some more, but we are fairly certain we will switch. I don't want to deal with anymore threats of you can leave if you don't like it when discussing things as I feel it is unproductive and I feel bullied when it is said. The upside too is that if she already is a student then she can continue into the Kindergarten program and we don't have to worry about being on the waiting list. I also looked at their published schedule and they have story/naptime and at a much later time that seem to fit much better with an older childs need for a nap than the 1.5 hr earlier that they enforce at her current school which works for younger children. Their time is more in line with the time she actually falls asleep on the weekend than the time we tell her to go and take the nap (we try to stick to the same schedule as school). This just seems like a wonderful gift to me as I was worried about moving her through too many places and doesn't seem like it could have come at a better time. One of the boys on our street is also in this class and she plays with him and his older sister who is in 1st grade at the school. This post was edited by lyfia on Fri, Dec 13, 13 at 15:07

I don't know what your high school is like, but in our public high schools AP or IB classes are available for sophmores through seniors. We have had a few kids earn their community college AA degree the same month they graduated from high school. Actually, an AA degree is not necessary since I am sure your student will want a bachelor's degree minimally. Your child could just work on general college courses to get them out of the way or even take that German he wants. We have many students taking American sign language at our community college for high school credit and college credit. Students must be 16 or special arrangements made to take courses at the community college here. Be sure that you know which courses are transferable to your university as credit for the courses you want and are not just elective credits. Also, our really bright students accellerate in math, and by the time they are in high school, often are taking their math in the community colleges or universities in our area. My youngest cousin was one of those bright stars. Luckily his local high school was New Trier, where he could take really advanced classes of all sorts. He proficiencied into this junior year at Northwestern with all his great high school work. Look for a special interest for your student too. Instrumental music and the school orchestra, for example. The cousin worked in the technology end of their high school radio station. Good luck. I agree with your concerns about social maturity and promotion.