I just ordered these, so I can't comment on whether or not they work, but I'm hoping they will help teach my DS the proper pencil grip while he just colors: http://www.crayonrocks.net

I went to a rather "open" and non-traditional high school, so there were a variety of arrangements parents had for schooling. My best friend all through elementary school (and her 3 siblings) were pulled from school at noon every Friday so their physicist father could do additional science and math lessons with them. I think they also either left early or came late each day. I know here in WA you can "part time" enroll your children in the school district. Does anyone here do this type of afterschooling and how has it worked out for you? This style is very attractive to me and seems to provide the time for afterschooling as well. What are your creative arrangements with the school/district?

Our co-op preschool doesn't start until the 3rd week of September so our summer is only halfway over! That said, I'm the treasurer for the non-profit preschool and I have to fix all of the tax forms from last year:tongue_smilie:. I'm going to get DS's an eye exam since he may be learning to read this year and will be focusing on more up close things in general. I'm also working on planning the literature/history/geography lessons we will be doing once a week starting in September. Oh, and I got DS #2 potty-trained. Huge accomplishment there!

We have done it, and they have to be attached to studs otherwise the brackets will not be able to hold the books and the shelves will fall off the wall. Trust me from experience on that one :tongue_smilie:. We did it just like the above picture with 3 brackets per shelf. Our boys love them and love that they can see to pick out their favorite books. Have fun!

The issue for us is not that debt is inherently bad, well some kinds may be, but that the money devoted to servicing the debt each month takes away from income that could be better spent or invested. I do disagree with Ramsey on the point of student loans - there is no way DH would make what he does without them, and I would not have nearly as many career options now or in the future if I didn't have my degree. I do see the point though, that as $400 per month must be paid on student loans, that is money that could have gone to savings or for vacations or lessons for the kids. For us, paying off debt aggressively is a way to "free up" some money without having to get a second job or create a stream of income. If we can sacrifice for a couple of years to get our debts paid off, then we can have many years to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I think of it more as a "sequencing" of priorities rather than a steady lifestyle of workaholism or deprival. Personally, I don't think that philosophy is necessarily incompatible with a healthy family life. It is all about how you balance it. I will agree with all that the balance lately seems to be much harder to achieve!

I'm out here on the west coast where the local schools just finished the 3rd week of June, and won't start again until Sept. Do you think the deals will get better closer to school start date? I'm just asking because I missed the $0.01 deals at Staples this week and none of the other "sales" look like good deals. Are the retailers playing chicken with us again like at Christmas?

:lol: Stay cool!

Too funny! Can you believe how hot is today? With no air conditioning, we're dying! And my poor ds has a fever on top of all of it...

I'd send it back. I realize how old fashioned I'm sounding, but that bodice looks like it was intended to resemble a corset (coming from someone in the costuming business), and the free-flowing/wind-blown hair is well associated with romance novels, sexy models on fashion covers, bed-head, etc. We have to deal with enough of that in our daily culture, I'm not going to add to the over-sexualization of young women/girls with the cover art on our classic literature. There are enough old copies of this around that I'd look for another. JMHO. But then, I am picky. I just sent The Wizard of Oz back to Amazon today because the cover art was not as advertised and I didn't like it!

The D'Aulaire biographies are the early ones most recommended on Kindergarten lists. They have titles on lots of well-known historical figures - Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Buffalo Bill and others. They were written in the 1950s though, and are definitely a product of their time frame. Some people now feel parts of them or the illustrations are oversimplified and racist, so you may want to pre-read to be sure they fit in with your family's values. Kids seem to love them because they are filled with great pictures and in all fairness to the authors, they did lots of traveling and research before writing. Historical & cultural aspects have just changed a lot since then. HTH!

No way! We just had to take a 30% pay cut and we have to spend close to 20% of our income on medical/health insurance - that's 50% right there! However, God is still good. We were about halfway through our Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover when this happened and now have $17,000 less in debt than we did last year! I can't imagine dealing with huge pay cuts and all that debt at the same time!

I haven't bought any yet. I've read one from the library though! I'll be watching closely to see which ones are the most recommended!

I love this site too! I had no idea you could buy credits! I'm definitely looking into that option. Here's mine: http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/members_books.php?m=blJiUEJ2WTFjTDQ9

I vote Bernina too! I love mine! Try the dealer to get a used one for a first machine. Do not get the store ones with plastic parts. They will break in a year (like mine did) and you will have to purchase a new machine all over again!

For the record, we don't do Civil War reenacting. We volunteer at a Living History museum, that reenacts actual events that happened here in WA during the 19th century at an agricultural fort. It is a completely civilian site. We are in the business of preserving the history of the region and the complex cultural relations that come from westward migration and racial interactions. I think that is a fantastic hobby for families to be involved in and as we are a museum, we have paid curatorial staff who ensure that we don't glamorize aspects of the past. So please understand before you and your friends judge reenactors or reenactments that there are a variety of ways to do living history that are completely regionally and historically appropriate. And as for why people do it...it is one thing to read that laundry took from sun up to sun down to do and it is quite a different perspective to have to haul the water, heat the water, fill the tubs, clean the clothes, rinse the clothes, blue the clothes, bleach the clothes, hang the clothes, make the starch, heat the irons and iron the clothes. Living history produces hands-on knowledge and experiences of history in a way that no amount of reading or visiting landmarks can.

We do this as a family and it is a phenomenal family hobby! There can be a bit of a set-up expense, but the most important thing is to know someone who can keep you from making the unnecessary/wrong purchases. You can check out my blog for photos of our family at the Fort. As for the heat, women wore "sheer" dresses during the period made out of very thin cotton and they are completely breathable. Trust me, I am no hotter in period clothing than I am in modern garb. As for cooking over the fire, we try to do breakfasts and lunches cold if we are staying overnight (many people are also "Motel Militia" and just come in for the day- a great solution with young kids) and since we are at a historic site, we are usually just there for the day. If you do cold breakfasts and lunches (which is really easy - hard-boiled eggs, sausages, cheese, fruits, & bread) then you don't have to get your fire going until it cools off in the evening and you only have to cook one meal per day. We've cooked chicken stew, fried chicken, etc. for dinner. Most reenactments also have a nightly meal and each camp contributes one dish to a huge potluck, so you don't have to do all the cooking yourself. Any other questions? I'd be happy to answer them! We'd love to have more families in this hobby!

I do think that instilling a love of learning is not necessarily synonymous with fun. I want my children to learn to read for a variety of reasons, to enjoy fiction & novels, to learn about a topic, to summarize and identify facts and different viewpoints. Not all of those reasons are pure enjoyment, but they are all necessary! Obviously, I want my kids to like learning, but I learn about topics I don't always like because I need to know them, and I want my kids to understand that necessity as well.

Well, we are doing Year 0 this year of Ambleside, so I can't comment on their books specifically, but I am also doing Noah Plan which uses a lot of public domain Fairy Tales and I print them all out. My kids are way too little to sit still and read from a computer screen, so I have to read it all outloud anyway. We use a printer cartridge refill service and to print the public domain books is much cheaper than buying reprints in most cases. The Selfish Giant reprint was $10 at Barnes & Noble and 4 pages on the printer. My first choice is used if I can find a spine cheaply enough, but if it is rare or expensive I will typically just print it out. Can you get a good deal on refills for your printer? I know Walgreens does most types for a fraction of the cost. We did the math per page and then made a decision. HTH!

I think she is still listening. We read loads of chapter books, we began when my son was 4 (he turns 5 this month) and he cannot narrate back to you what happens in a book, but if you pay attention you can frequently catch him laughing at a joke, or acting out the story the next day with his toys. I agree that Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland might have been a bit too difficult for this age, but I wouldn't give up on chapter books, maybe just go with a bit smaller chapter books. Charlotte's Web & Winnie-the-Pooh, maybe the Boxcar children (which DS is loving right now) are excellent suggestions as previous posters have mentioned. I actually think this is one of the hardest listening levels for which to select books. The attention span is there, but the material needs to be very simple, about everday life, to fit within a 4-5 year old's range of experience. We are right there with you!

Welcome! I have a newly 5 year old. We are in a fantastic co-op play-based preschool that we love as well! For preschool, I think Sonlight's younger cores (P3/4 & P4/5) can't be beat: www.sonlight.com I think Hewitt Homeschool Plus's program is pretty good as well: www.hewitthomeschooling.com I tend toward the literature-based/classical side of things so those are a couple of programs I really like. A great free program is: www.hubbardscupboard.org These are a few to get you started, there is loads of information here if you have time to search. Good luck!

Has anyone done afterschooling with Ambleside online? I'm sort of undecided about whether to afterschool or homeschool long term, but if the school focuses on math and reading (as I know they will in the early years), it seems like Ambleside would be a good compliment to that. Has anyone done it? How did it work out for you?