what does this consist of? It seems like if I stop, it is hard to get started again (unless we are taking a lunch or LONG play break)...

How on earth do you do that?!?! I would LOVE to do that (or really 1 mile would be fine) but mine always want to stop and pick up rocks, look at birds, listen to sounds.... How did that habit start? Do they go with you or in the stroller?

I guess it's personal preference but with mine, they love consistency. So we do school 6 days a week (if there is nothing else planned, I try to be laid back) but only for 1 hr or 1.25hrs each day. I think that helps with the squirmers. That way, they still get the schooling in and repetition everyday. Also, if we only did school 3 days a week, there would be "discussions" about whether or not they wanted to do school. This way, we do school everyday (if we aren't going somewhere specific) so there is no "discussion", it is just what comes after we eat breakfast and get dressed for the day.

Bob Books sets 1 & 2, then after she mastered long vowels, the last set of bob books. She loves Berenstain Bears so we do that more than dr. seuss actually :)

:iagree: When I was growing up, my youth group was run by some football coaches from our highschool. They were strong Christian men but unfortunately they are not the ones who influenced the youth group...all the nonChristian football players who came were. My youth group was where all the popular people went. The only people I knew in highschool that were drinking, partying, and having sex were in my youth group...because of that experience, I am a bit turned off with the whole thing. Our youth leader (from my current church) always said that there would be no need for youth leaders if fathers would do their job and pastor their families...

I would do the bulk of the homeschooling when your little one is down for a morning nap. My middle child went down at 10am for 2 hrs so I had a long period of time to do school with my oldest. You can also have your 9mo play in a playpen with some toys for about 45 min while you do school. I can only imagine how it will be to homeschool 2 at the same time, same level, but that alone gives you 2 hrs 45 min of uninterrupted time. You can leave the history, science, art, music, etc for times when your 9mo is awake and just involve him since they are probably more hands-on or at least more "squirm-friendly...just some suggestions :)

Thank you! I am excited about that one too!...but no, that is not the one I was looking for. This is: http://www.letteroftheweek.com/age_3_book_list.html I FINALLY found it...thanks for your help though:D

I saw a GREAT book list that was set apart by ages...like ideas for 1yr olds, 2 yr olds, etc...the problem? NO CLUE WHERE I SAW IT! I don't know if it was on a thread or on a blog I got off of someone's sig... HELP! If you know what I'm talking about, please help!:confused:

My husband went when he was 15 and he LOVED it. We would love to go as a family ("dream" vacation) but even if we had all the money in the world, we couldn't do what he was able to...living on a farm (VERY different from american farms), etc. SUCH a neat experience!

I was told to wait on SOTW 1 with my dd also (on another thread) because, for example, she wouldn't be ready emotionally to learn about the holocaust at age 6 (we are starting her on 1st grade material in a couple of months). I am glad I was told this and I know what I want to do for "history" for her next year but when I do start SOTW 1, how will that work? I ask you because it seems like that is what you are doing...for example, I guess we'll start SOTW 1 when she's 6(?) but by then she may be onto 3rd grade material...will we be "behind"? Just wondering how to line it up. I am a major Personality A type so this "not doing it by the book" is really throwing me for a loop!!

I have some Doug & Melissa puzzles around (abcs & #s) and as my dc put them together, I say "D says "d", like d,d,doggie". When they first start, they are looking for the doggie to know where to put the piece. Before long, they are saying "d,d,doggie". Once they know their letters and sounds, I made a game to put the big letter and little letter together (kind of like a puzzle) and then you turn it over and it makes a picture (if you get it right). Once my dc got that, more or less, I moved on to OPGTR. I used the magnadoodle to write what my dc had to read because the font is pretty small in OPG. I used the leapfrog magnets...they are great!...if your dc is musically inclined.

I'll just speak to the daughters living at home... Living on one's own before getting married leaves a lot of "room for error"... meaning many opportunities to get in trouble... meaning situations the girl does not want to put herself in... meaning with the opposite sex...was that complicated enough for you? :D

I don't EVEN want to know what a dental dam is!!! I think there is something to be said for innocence. I understand what yall are saying about preparing but in my experience, the more I knew, the more I wanted to know (as a teen) and that spells TROUBLE!! (just being honest)

Well, I'm torn. I got my BA in Spanish Education and took some Master's courses in ESOL while I was waiting for my husband to finish school so we could get married. Then, I taught 1.5 yrs until I had my first baby. 20/20 hindsight - I would have trained in something that I could later do from home...but I was raised in a home where my mom was the bread-winner and a 4yr college was what EVERYBODY did, so I did in kind. I think LEARNING is important but not necessarily college. I will try to focus on LEARNING opportunities for daughters and son. That being said. My friend lost her husband (who was only 35) a couple of years ago and she does not have an income at all, has not worked in 8-9 years because she has been homeschooling her child, and does not have a degree because she saw no need once she got married and got pregnant...it makes you think...

thanks for all the book ideas! is there a reference to the eye sight issue? i am wondering where i can look and see what font is (roughly) suggested for what age. Obviously right now, it is all LARGE font but in a couple of years it may not be (and she'll only be 5)...thanks :)

ok, can i be ignorant? what is an sti?

I didn't even think of that! Thank you...I think I would have regretted it. Do you know of any? I am a HUGE fan of biographies! Will they do that stuff for homeschoolers? (fire station specifically) NO KIDDING! It took her 1 year to finish kindergarten reading but we are still working on kindergarten math...it takes awhile. Should I be starting a new post on this? SORRY OP!:tongue_smilie:

Meaning you need to work IN the office for awhile before they can trust you to take all of their patients' information into your home.

My daughter almost lost a tooth at 2 1/2 (knocked it and we thought it was dead) and started to read bob books around that time...does that count?:001_huh: I have a question...just because my daughter is moving on to 1st grade reading and math in a number of months (maybe oct/maybe jan), do you think it is too early for history because she is so young (3yo)? I have been wrestling with the idea and just don't know! Opinions welcome :)

Our teachers rotate every 3 months and the helpers are our teenagers. They end up only having to help every 2 or so months since the youth leader signed ALL of them up (to help them be responsible). This is for sunday school...we have more issues for during church though. There were so many Sundays that I had to do it since my kids are there first that I just started to take my children into church. I prefer it because I get to hear the sermon and it has made me be more diligent in my efforts to teach my children to sit still for long periods of time. My middle one is a squermer (sp) but I just sit her with DH :)

I feel ya! Get your 6yos to help with the stuff you don't like to do...mean, I know, but I have already started to teach my daughter how to vacuum with one of those sweeper thingies.:tongue_smilie: As for your husband, I know the frustration and exhaustion that comes from not only having to clean up after your children but now an adult!?! I still clean up after my husband but he kind of has a corner in the house that includes a loveseat, a computer desk, and the area behind the desk. They are a wreck!!! I gave up/let him have it mainly because I couldn't keep up. But letting him have that has taken a lot of stress off of me. When we have company over, he will clean his stuff up so guess what? I ask people over A LOT :D

My dad always said "No Bones, No Blood, No Problem" My mom added "or throwing up!" Needless to say, I never missed a day of school:tongue_smilie:

Get together with a parent of another terribly shy child you think your child will get along with. Chances are, they will play next to each other but separately for awhile but will eventually play together...it's a step forward... That is what I am doing with another mother with a girl my dd's age. That way, there is no pressure and playing with 1 child is less threatening than playing with a hole class full of children.

drama queen, how did you get into bookeeping? sounds like something i would be interested in. I started an 11mo program at the local comm. college for medical coding/transcribing. I quit after the first semester after a discussion with my professor who said I would have to work out of the home for 6mo-1yr before any employer would allow me to take anything into my home (security reasons, etc). We were thinking I could take the night shift at the hospital but then my husband decided he would rather see (and sleep with) his wife than have more $ to pay bills. So I guess you just have to see if there is spare time for you to work outside of your house for awhile...

I agree with lionfamily...if he tattles to YOU, you could say something like, "what day is it?" "monday" "OH, we don't tattle on mondays!" My friend did that with her 2nd graders when she taught school and it was a joke/gentle reminder for the kids. For my own, I ditto what others say about not telling me unless there is bodily harm and not to do my job for me (their job is to be a friend and play nicely, my job is to tell what someone is supposed to be doing).