that sounds stunning! we have a small house. a basement\library\formal space just doesn't exist - so our books are packed in messily in plain sight, we're always wondering where we can sqeeze in another bookshelf.

no friends who visit to US to buy for me unfortunately :( It's ok, I have a year to budget them in (though DH just went on strike today! ) eta: off topic, SnegouchkaL - can I ask what resources you use for russian? I'm stalking people with russian in their sig, cos I'm almost at a loss as what to use when we start next year... :)

I'm excited, should come at just the right time for my oldest too. Summer 2012 she should be mostly through singapore pm 3a, we can finish singapore 3 in 2012 and start beast academy 2013! Is through the website the only way to buy AoPS stuff? I don't mind paying for quality but $50 international shipping? :svengo:

oh this is fun! I'm thinking 'The Ayn Rand Academy of Intelligent Life', though people would probably hate that more than 'homeschool x' :D

:lol: love it. DH said something similar the other day - revolutionaries!

Yep, similar happened here. Exploded while still in the oven, lots of fun to clean up :glare:. Big POP. I've also had one break which was my fault, I put it on the stovetop to rest, forgetting that even though the element was off it was still hot. It cracked. I use mainly cast iron now. :001_smile:

Darn, I was hoping for some super fantastic insider tips! :D I've been looking at Russian step-by-step as our main contender at this stage, but tbh I have no idea yet! http://russianstepbystep.com/ It looks more for adults, but maybe I can tailor it? If I come up with something I'll let you know! :001_smile: My DH speaks a similar slavic language (not cyrilic though), but we're all keen to learn russian together.

I never get this question, I only get 'oh, no question they're all his!' - and they are, my DH has strong genes. I do think it's a little intrusive from random people, but I wouldn't take offense. People just like to talk, not necessarily malicious.

I agree, and I'd also add bored too. I'd probably move on to something new and come back to review.

oh gosh, that sort of situation would end up with tears here! Not really writing with ease there!

off topic - but zaichiki, I see you are doing russian. Can I ask what resources you use? We're planning to start russian in 2012 but I'm finding it hard to source a good program...

DD reads some of an assigned book before bedtime. And is free to choose whatever books she likes during reading/rest time (30-60mins in the afternoon).

It's pretty common. My first trained by 2 then regressed a few months later (after her brother was born). The nurse I spoke to said it was normal, that at this age cognitively they often just 'forget' for a while. I basically started training over again, and she remembered again. What helped me was to watch my mindset, I had been thinking of potty trained as being 100% settled, so each accident was a shock and very disheartening. Now I think potty-trained is more shades of grey, sometimes their little brains just can't remember to control it. My next child was easier to train - at around the same age, but this shades-of-grey thinking really helped when he still struggled occasionally. What I did was put some night nappies on for sleeping (but I wouldn't call them 'nappies/diapers' again, just special sleep pants or something), and when awake go back a few steps to potty-training techniques - like taking her to the potty at timely intervals. I think that being able to predict when you need to go is a mental leap that they sometimes forget. Hope that helps! Goodluck!

My newly turned 6y/o loves the Thea stilton books (reads them in an afternoon), magic faraway tree books are a hit too. She enjoyed the first series of unfortunate events book. She always chooses a mountain of those easy rainbow fairy books from the library and reads through one in her reading/rest time in the afternoon.

Yay, this is working! You're a gem savmom! :D

Has anyone else been having trouble with the scott foresman online Grammar and writing? My link keeps redirecting. Have they taken it away? :confused: This is the link I had: www.sfreading.com/resources/

I assign a good non-fluffy book to read. We read aloud non-fluffies. I fill up the bookshelves with quality literature. If they want to borrow other books from the library they can have at it. DD plows through those fairy/unicorn/magic puppy books, I don't have a problem with that. :) (though I do limit it to a few a week - time, weight and book borrowing limit constraints)

we met in highschool, I was 15, he was 17 and in the year above me. I was friends with one of his friends. I had just been dumped by my ex and was very angry and broken hearted and on the rebound for sure, I started hanging around with his group of friends because my ex was in my old group of friends (very highschool!)! He was gorgeous, had the most amazing brown eyes that gave me butterflies. He was also very quiet, mysterious, a little bit different and dangerous. Perfect, I went after him! He was pretty oblivious, but he and his friends agreed to come with me to my friends party one night. I didn't know that all his friends changed their minds and decided not to go, but he still came with me. After a couple of drinks of vodka he got up his courage and kissed me mid sentence - that I was speaking to someone else! His friends did arrive a little later with surprised smiles. :D Little did I know at the time that quiet, mysterious and different = shy, Christian boy! He was like no-one I had ever met before. We got married 3 years later, when I was 18. We've been married nearly 9 years now.

Love it! Got to get one for my DH... birthday's coming up!

My DD also loves those daisy meadows books - from our library. She flies through the Thea Stilton one's (girl version of Geronimo Stilton) and loves them. Have you looked at ambleside online's book lists? http://amblesideonline.org/curriculum.shtml#years I get lots from those.

Oh my! :lol: LOVE IT! The most common ones I get are: 'I'm not organised/disciplined/patient etc. enough' - my Dh about falls on the ground laughing :glare: 'Do the schools/education department send you the books?' 'Are you a teacher?'

mine just came through, works beautifully. We love Reading Eggs here. :)

DD just turned 6y/o is nearly through singapore 2A at the moment. I supplement with Miquon. :)

My DD is like this. Can read just about anything, but would go to tears if I asked her to spell an easy word. I eased her in to spelling using SpellingCity.com online. We use LLATL for LA (we're in Red atm), the books to read are far below her reading level, but she needs to work through the phonics and grammar. This level of LLATL includes 4 spelling words a week, usually a couple using the phonics we've been reviewing and a sight word or two - I put these words into SpellingCity and she loves it. We're loving LLATL and I feel it's advanced enough while still being gentle (because she's only just 6!). Another thing I try to do is say the words phonetically too, just because it makes it stick sometimes. ;)

DH has some life insurance, enough to pay off the house. I would probably sell the house for something smaller, less up-keep, and closer to family. I'd have offers to move in with family as well, which I'd need to consider. The idea would be to have some money left from the sale of the house, put it in the bank and live off the interest (house prices are still good here, and I'd consult an accountant for details). Then I'd try to get a work from home job (or 2 or 3) or an evening shift job. I'd try to continue with homeschooling. The job market is still pretty good here in Aus, I'm not worried about being able to find employment.