Okay, I'm usually a lurker on these boards, but I've been coming here a long time and you guys give great advice and encouragement and I need some. I officially started homeschooling my DS6(5 when we started) this year, for Kindergarten. We completed My Father's World Kindergarten program and he did great. We finished early (in March) because I had my fourth child. We took a break for a few months and in July I felt like the phonics wasn't enough in MFW so we started working through OPGTR and he is flying through it. So, I was feeling pretty good, until...... Today, we went to a local Children's Festival in the park and I was talking to a local Kindergarten teacher and founder of a private school. I had been interested in it before and I went to talk to them. Well, she basically told be (nicely) that my son was really behind and if I enrolled him, he would be put in the Kindergarten class again. That he was only reading at a PreK level and there was no way he'd go into a 1st grade class. :confused: Now, I feel like I've let him down. Should he be in school? Do I keep homeschooling? Is he really "behind"? Anyway, thanks for listening to me, if you've read this far.

For my boys Fuzzi Bunz. For my DD we're using Bum Genius AIO's. If you haven't already check out diaperswappers.com. Lots of info there.

:iagree: And I love Cha Cha Chas in the Hawthorne district for Mexican and Hawthorne FishHouse for really good but kinda pricey Gluten free fish and chips:) Oh and you might want to check out the Grotto, it's a really pretty relaxing walk.

You did not sound racist at all. One time, I spoke with a phone representative who I had a very difficult time understanding, after asking politely for him to repeat the same sentence FOUR times, I finely asked to speak to someone else. I was transferred , no problem. I bet he was just as excited not to talk to me, since I kept having him repeat himself:)

We just had our fourth child, first girl, in March. Even the midwives told us they thought we only made boys:) She's only 2 months but it's already so different than having the boys. I am loving it! Congratulations!

I was born and raised in San Luis Obispo County. Anywhere there is beautiful and the beaches are fun to explore. This time of year you can get good rates at the hotels. We're in Oregon now or I'd offer to host you:001_smile:.

I have used cloth on two soon to be three of my (almost) 4 DC. We've tried several but Fuzzi Bunz are our favorites. My Dh will use them and wash them no problem, so that's a major plus for me. If you shop around you can get some great deals and they have a good resale value too. I also recommend joining diaperswappers.com. Lots of information available there.

Tara- Thank you for your assessment. I have really wanted to do RS but from reading other posts it sounded like a bit more than I would realistically be able to accomplish. Your post helps confirm that while it might be a great program, it won't do my DS any good if I am not able to implement it. I have narrowed down my choices to Math Mammoth or CLE. If people wanted to continue to weigh in on their opinions, I would appreciate it. Thank you:)

Thank you for all the suggestions. Math Mammoth seems to be really popular. It is actually one I haven't looked at yet. I will check it out now. Those of you who use it find that it provides all the instruction I need to teach the math concepts and is complete enough that my DS will be getting a solid foundation?

I have read several threads about the various math programs and I still don't know what to pick. I need: -a program that is easy to teach, as I have a hard time with math (I guess I need it very scripted) -easy to implement (I will have three younger children, I need to be able to give a short lesson and let my DS work on it) -it's for 1st grade but it would be great if we could stick with the same program for a few years prefer not to use online or video Any suggestions would be great, thank you:)

I belong to several adoption groups online and most of them have sent out special emails explaining that adoptions from Haiti are almost impossible right now. To avoid any suspicions of corruption, adoptions after major catastrophes do not usually happen. In order to get the proper documentation from Immigration a child has to be proven to be a legal orphan. That can be a very lengthy process, especially after disasters as the infrastructure in the government is usually overwhelmed with survival needs. And like others have mentioned to remove a child from familiar settings after a major event would be very stressful on the child. I totally understand your concern for the orphans to have permanent homes. Your heart is absolutely in the right place. I think the best we can do right now is give through legitimate organizations to help the children. This might explain more as well http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=687.

This is a very interesting topic. Our oldest DS5 will talk to anyone about anything, anytime:) We are really working on his interrupting conversations between adults only. I think in his case he just wants to know everything that's going on. I do have a friend who lets her daughter interrupt constantly and it drives me bananas:w00t: The other day my friend and I were talking about having our children (I'm pregnant with my fourth) and all of a sudden her daughter pops in from the other room and gives me instructions on how to handle labor, she's 10! I want my kids comfortable with conversing with adults, but not like that. I look forward to other's insights.

I don't know..I was born and raised in San Luis Obispo County, CA and having lived in other countries and States I still think it is heaven on earth and if I could only ever afford to move back, I would in a heartbeat. But, I wish you the best of luck with your move:D

*Give them pre-glued Popsicle sticks in the shape of a star. They can either paint them or just color them. If you add string it also works as an ornament. *Michaels and other craft stores have foam nativity figures, you could let them stick them to paper and color the stable part. *Twist red and white pipe cleaners and read The Candy Cane Story to them.

I know many community colleges have an office where there are people who help with resumes and job applications. Perhaps if your Dh was able to enroll in a class, even a class for next term and an online class he would be able to go to the resource office now and get help with updating his resume and preparing for the job hunting process. Just a suggestion. Best of luck, so sorry this is happening. a usual lurker

Happened to me as a child too. We had to go to the doctor to get it out as well. We were told like pp that is was from lack of rotating them.

Just wondering if there was anyone else who has used this, thanks!:001_smile:

Thank you for your help:D I think we'll probably use this for the next two years. Any other input welcome.

I was wondering if this could be used for two years for my sons 1st and 2nd grade? Has anyone used this curriculum? I know it was designed for a 3rd grader. I am looking for a nice US History curriculum for 1st and 2nd. I plan to do a year of geography in 3rd grade and then start with TOG for the rest. Thanks!

Thank you HiddenJewel- those are things I wanted to know. I appreciate your insight. Lovedtodeath- thank as well, I appreciate your help and suggestions and maybe using the sotw AG would be a good choice for us. If i read the suggested books and did some of the activities. I'm still undecided but I feel I have a lot more to seriously consider now:)

Lovedtodeath- I think what I have some issues with are that the myths seem to be included as facts. My son has a very hard time deciphering fact from fiction. He is a very black and white child and if he reads something or sees something he takes it as truth. I understand that he will grow out of this but right now it's easier to make sure I am giving him information that is clearly fact or fiction. Does that make any sense? Also some of the information seems said as fact but may be more opinion: Jesus was killed because the Romans didn't want the threat of a king? I haven't looked into the other things you mentioned...going to now. Thank you!

Thank you for all the recommendations. I have not heard of the K12 program, I will look into that. I have heard of MOH, but was under the impression it might be a little dry for the younger ones. Is this true? There were lots of recommendations for Truth Quest. I went to their site and it looks great. I had planned on studying World History in the elementary years and it looks like their only books for grades 1-5 are American History. For those of you using Truth Quest do you wait on World History or can I use their World History books even though it says they're geared toward grades 5-12. Thank you!

Hello everyone. We were planning on using SOTW for History starting in first grade but have now, for various reasons, decided it is not for our family. We are looking for any recommendations for history now. We are Christians but we do not need to have a Christan program. We would like a four year cycle for history. We will at some point in time have four children to teach so I would prefer not to teach all of them separately. Other than that, I think we are pretty open. If you give a recommendation could you please list a few pros and cons for the program. Thank you! PS I tried a search of history and didn't find anything but if this has already been addressed would someone please direct me to a link.