I "swish and swipe" (toilet, sink, walls, & floor) and spray the tub area with bleach water every day. Takes 5 minutes total. Once every few months I'll wash the shower curtain, replace the liner, and swiffer the ceiling and high walls.

I voted Medium Family, Wash Daily. Actually I do one load every weekday, nothing on Saturday or Sunday. I keep it fairly simple: Monday and Tuesday are colors, Wednesday is whites, Thursday is sheets and whatever else needs it (shower curtain, blankets, small pillows), and Friday is towels, bath mats, and cleaning rags.

In my NYC district, 1st graders get recommended by their teachers to take the OLSAT. Then the highest scorers get into the program (consideration is also based on first grade test/project grades and writing samples). Now, there are about 25 elementary schools, about 5-7 first grades in each school, and about 23 kids in each first grade. Somewhere from 3 to 8 kids from each class get a teacher recommendation. That's a lot of kids taking the OLSAT. There are 2 full-time/self-contained gifted programs in the district with 25 spots per program. They are housed in 2 different public schools, but the way they're set up, they might as well be independent schools.

and I'm testing it. I've been told Abkjw01 is hard to remember and impossible to pronounce, so I hope this one is better, lol.

Yes. Yes it does.

Noon. Ds sleeps late which works for me since in the morning I drive youngest dd and dh to the subway, go to the gym with oldest dd, then come home, clean for 45 minutes, and shower. Ds (who by this time has already eaten, cleaned his room, and showered, too) is also now ready to hit the books. It works.

My 7th grader goes to a weekly CCD class and uses the We Believe/We Live Our Faith series of books by Sadlier. He uses a textbook and a workbook and is preparing for Confirmation. This is the Scope and Sequence for 7th grade: http://www.sadlierreligion.com/liveourfaith/docs/scope_and_sequence.pdf And for 6th grade: http://www.sadlierreligion.com/webelieve/docs/scope/sands_grade6.pdf

I was home. In Queens. Ds was 6 months old and the girls were in school. Dh was out of work for 20 months and just started his new job on September 10. In Manhattan. My mom was also at work in Manhattan. My sister was catering a breakfast in the World Trade Center that morning. Dh called me and told me to put on the TV. When we realized it was terrorism, he said he's getting the hell out of Manhattan (he worked up the block from the U.N.). No subways or buses were running, so he and thousands of others (including my mom) walked into Queens over the 59th St. Bridge and made it home safely. My sister had left Manhattan before 8am, and was already home before the first plane hit. The schools called parents to come get their kids. F-15s were flying low in the sky. I remember being really scared. Unbelievably, I didn't lose anyone close to me. A guy dh knew who lived on the next block was killed as well at a girl I had just met the week prior at a candle party a mutual friend had at her house. I worked there in the early 90s. it is still so strange that the buildings aren't there now.

LOL, bad writing skills have never stopped me, and I've been blogging for almost 9 years. Blog away!

I read that this can happen if you have been avoiding dairy for a while. It happened to me when I was doing my raw vegan diet.

Oops double post

We go on a field trip at least twice a month. We're at an advantage living in NYC where there are so many places to visit within 30 minutes from my doorstep. The majority of our trips are educational. Some are fun. In a few weeks we're going to the Ripley`s Believe it or Not exhibit in Times Square. At the end of September we're seeing Cinderella on Broadway. Rockefeller Plaza at Christmastime (and seeing the window displays) are a tradition for us. I'd like to revisit all of our favorite museums and try a bunch of new ones this year. Field trips (especially ones that include a class with homeschooled friends) are a huge part of ds's education.

During the school year, I get up around 7am, take dh and dd(17) to the subway, come home, have coffee, and check emails. Then I do less than an hour of cleaning. Then ds gets up around 10am and we have breakfast. Around noon we start on academics and (starting this year) finish up around 3. I make dinner around 5 and we eat around 6 when dh gets home. Several evenings a week ds will have either basketball or scouts. Before bed I clean for about 20 minutes. Once or twice a week ds and I go on a field trip. Since ds is older (12), I have more ME time than I used to. I read a lot, catch up on my shows, dd and I will be singing in the church choir together, and since I'm a new SAHM, it feels like I have even more time for myself.

I stopped listening to the naysaysers and used Saxon for ds last year (6th grade). I love it and he said it was the best math program we've ever used. I'm shocked. We plan on sticking with it for the long run.

:lurk5:

My Aldi is about 15 minutes away. It's where I do the majority of my weekly food shopping. Almost all my dairy, produce, frozen veg, frozen fish, cereal, coffee, coffee filters, toilet paper, deodorant, tuna, olive oil, mayo, some organics, etc. are all significantly cheaper there. The only non-frozen meat I like at Aldi is a pack of pork chops for $2.29/lb and their corned beef in March. The only other meat I like there is frozen - the tube of ground beef, bag of chicken cutlets, and box of turkey burgers are a really good value. Costco is right next door, so after loading up the car with my Aldi stuff I run in there for some more groceries (eggs, butter, batteries, coconut oil, etc). And dh does a quick supermarket run on Sundays for good cold cuts, bread, & meat. I've unit-priced everything and got the weekly shopping trips down to a science, lol.

Dd (newly 17) does ballet, hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, modern, tap, and musical theater. This summer she has taken several master classes and workshops, including one with Victor and Angel from Dance Moms Miami, a week-long contemporary workshop at Peridance (NYC), and a 3-day intensive with numerous choreographers, including KC Castellano from Born to Dance. This one came with acro and contortion along with the regular stuff. She does 15 hours of ballet and modern each week at her performing arts high school (4 periods/3 hrs each day). She will be auditioning for various conservatories this season as well. Thankfully, her school's mandatory senior curriculum includes Career Management. She left her studio this past March, where she did competitions for 9 years. She still competes here and there but she choreographs her own solos and competes as an independent. (She won top student choreographer at Legacy when she was 15) Her schedule this year will be the ballet & modern at school (with various performances), master classes, and various workshops. She goes to Broadway Dance Center often and prefers contemporary and hip-hop. Her goal is to be a commercial dancer and choreographer. Already she is in 1 music video (comes out soon), is scheduled to be in at least 2 more, and in June she danced backup for Wyclef Jean and Wocka Flocka Flame at BB Kings in Times Square and was front and center in a hip-hop showcase at the Alvin Ailey Theater (NYC). I'm excited for all the things that are coming up this year along those lines.

Discount dance is great. We also use Dancers Warehouse. I see they have nice tank leos for $13.75

One of the most surprising things in my neighborhood is the opening of a bunch of Tibetan/Nepalese restaurants (at least 5 in a 1/2 mile radius). I can't wait to try one! I hear "momo" is awesome.

We are waiting until September 9th, which coincides with youngest dd starting her senior year of public high school.

My oldest and youngest were both 3, and my middle was 2.5. One day she just wrote her name (5 letters) in all caps all over the park in chalk. That same week she also did it with crayon on paper. I thought that was really early. Btw, she could hold a pencil (and spoon) properly at 12 months. There could be some correlation.

Roughly 7th grade will look a bit like this: Ds gets up around 9am and has breakfast Academic seatwork starts at 11am and is over between 1 & 2pm Daily: Channel One News, Saxon Algebra 1/2, Lightning Lit 7 2x/week: History, Geography, & Science (and some cursive practice - it's been a while) There's usually 1 or 2 field trips and/or homeschool group classes per week (all different subjects) Afternoons are free for him to pursue interests (sports, computer stuff, and the interest du jour) Parkour is on Thursday afternoons Basketball is 2-3 weeknights and a game on the weekend Scouts is on Friday evening CCD is Sunday morning

Hi! I'm from NYC, too. My dd was 8 when she started homeschooling - school killed her love of learning. She's now almost 17 and will be a senior at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts. She homeschooled all the way to the end of 8th grade and got right into that specialized high school. Ds is 12 and has been homeschooled since Kindergarten. He was diagnosed with visual dyslexia and processing speed issues last July. He's on or above grade level now in all subjects since I figured out what type of books, classes, and teaching style work for him. He has already decided he wants to homeschool for high school. I'm in Queens, where are you?

My 2 girls chose to go to high school. Oldest dd only homeschooled for a year (8th grade) and had every intention of going to high school. She picked a small school for journalism. It was ok, not really worth the time or effort, imo, and I do wish she had stayed home. Youngest dd also chose to go to high school. She got into a fantastic performing arts school (she's a dancer). She is a senior this year and she loves it. Ds is only going into 7th grade, but he has already decided he would like to continue homeschooling for high school. Here in NYC, the quest for high school starts in 7th grade. All the open houses, tours, applications, testing, and auditions are done by December of 8th grade. Many of the schools here are excellent, but I really believe homeschooling surpasses them all. I'm looking forward to ds's homeschooling teen years. There are a lot of things my city has to offer. A lot of his friends are homeschooling high school as well. See what your ds ultimately decides. Nothing has to be permanent - he can always come home again.

Mine is Cityschooling. I blog about homeschooling, family, and living in NYC.