Thanks for this. I needed it today! My kids were horrid at mass. :glare:

Different masses in the same parish will have a different feel as well. Something seemingly so little as a different choir makes the entire mass different. I love upbeat, fun music which our church doesn't have. When dh was in a law school, we went to mass at a Newman center. FABULOUS!!!

I have nothing to add other than any house that gets deep cleaned once/week is impeccably clean to me!! I can't even imagine being anywhere near that clean. :)

:iagree: Copywork wasn't working for us until I realized that it isn't a mindless, passive activity. We weren't getting any benefit from copywork by just handing the page to dd, having her copy, and moving on. Now, we discuss and work through each passage. Dd gets lessons in spelling, grammar, and punctuation every time. In fact, copywork and dictation are how I teach those items. It's been very efficient and effective for us.

I would be excited to welcome you to our church. If you are there, you are welcome. It's as simple as that. I would also welcome your dc into my religious education class with open arms. The already confirmed juniors and seniors in my class don't believe in all the church's teachings either. :sad: I'm hoping we can turn them around. :001_smile: I, of course, would expect that you wouldn't participate in communion but I wouldn't notice either way. I try to keep my eyes on my little group and not concern myself with others' religious worship.

RightStart Mathematics has been open and go for us once I bought the workbooks and as long as the manipulatives are handy to your teaching spot.

I just talked to my dh about this very idea! We live extremely rurally, and it takes us 3 hours to get to a city with "culture." My dh is in the reserves in the city, so we have the opportunity every month to visit the city if we want. I do bemoan the lack of cultural activities and classes where we live, but I think that is short-sighted. We are gaining so much by living in the country, depending on ourselves for entertainment, and being a part of this warm, friendly community. Anyway, I was telling my dh that as our kids grow up, I would like to forego some of the me-oriented experiences (sports, clubs, and the like) and make our family's focus on serving others. With five kids, we will be a force to reckon with. Can you imagine how many lawns we can rake, how many Christmas lights we can put up, how many miles of road we can walk to pick up garbage, etc. We live in a very elderly community, and I think we will have many, many opportunities for serving.

If you must time, why wouldn't you time to see how long it takes to complete and graph the tries over a week or two? The graph should show improvement which should be motivating for your dc. If it doesn't show improvement, it would tell you if your dc is at his/her best speed already. In RS C, we are encouraged to time math facts but ONLY if our dc respond well to the timing and only after they have all the facts mastered. Dr Cotter has a strong warning in the text that many children begin to hate math b/c of the pressure of timed tests. I don't know if that's true, but I thought I should pass that on.

I don't know if this will help, but here it goes. I have kids pretty much the same age, so I understand your logistic issues. When I surveyed our homeschool this year, I set priorities. My #1 priority is math. My #2 priorities are reading and writing. Everything after that is extra. So, then I picked curriculum that I think will hit home runs in those areas. For math, RightStart hands-down. For writing, WWE and for reading, Reading Made Easy for my 5yo and SL Readers for my 7yo. Then...implementation. My 7yo does math first every.single.day. We spent 20 minutes per day, four days per week in RS B. We now do 30 minutes per day, four days per week in RS C. I put my 1yo down for a nap, set a timer, and she gets my undivided attention for the entire time. Then my 7yo moves on to WWE and a few other small things during her school time, but we don't go over 90 min total. Then my 5yo gets his 20 min of time. He spends five minutes with handwriting and 15 minutes of either reading or math. Once again, 20 minutes of uninterrupted time. During all this time, my 3yo is either playing with my 5yo or playing near me. I fought hard to not give up my quiet time/nap time slot. But, you know, we are all much happier doing school this way than trying to fight through it with a toddler on the run. Science, history, and everything else is unschooled. My kids are young and I think the most important academics for them are giving them strong foundations in the 3Rs. The rest will come, hopefully when I have fewer little kids underfoot. So, I would recommend that you back up and determine your top academic priorities. Pick out the best materials in those areas and schedule them in EVERY day. Then, step back and relax about everything else. FWIW, I think RightStart is worth the effort!

:iagree: My oldest is only in 2nd grade, but I've already determined that if I am to win this long race, I must cut things out. I have a lot of kids, and I have to be realistic with my expectations. With my 2nd grader, I spend about 90 min/day with her one-on-one. Her 90 minute period includes 20min for CM dictation (spelling, grammar, handwriting), 30min for math (RightStart C), 15min for WWE2, and then we rotate reading aloud, religion, IEW poetry memorization, and cursive with our remaining time. We cover everything else informally through her silent reading and my read alouds. My Ker gets 20 min for his schooling. He does handwriting everyday and then we rotate phonics and math every other day. It works for us.

I wake up when the first kid wakes up, usually between 5:30-6:00. Dh wakes up around 6:30-7:00. Now that I'm pregnant, though, I expect dh will be doing more of the morning hours. I would wake up with him regardless, though. I like to be supportive.

I'm coming out of the closet to say that my dad has been married and divorced four times now. He has never (until the past month) been without at least one woman. It's difficult seeing the women come and go, and I've been watching for over 20 years now. It took me quite a long time to realize that his marriages - even his marriage to my mom - have absolutely nothing to do with me. A marriage is such a personal thing, I could never really know what happened inside any of them. I have my own perspective on my parent's marriage, but my perspective isn't their reality. It takes two to keep a healthy marriage, and I am absolutely certain that neither of my parents were perfect spouses. None of my dad's spouses have been stepmoms to me. They are just "my dad's wife." None of his spouses' kids have been anything. They are just "my dad's wife's kids." I love my dad and want him to be happy. I don't know what happiness looks like for him, and sadly, I don't think he knows either. I just have to love him as he is. Here are some :grouphug: for you. BTDT.

Yeah, but I am going to have toddlers perpetually. I need a Calgon break. For now I school during nap time, but that won't be enough time for the next 4-5 years. :glare:

:iagree: :lol: I have a 5yo, 3yo, & 1yo and this doesn't sound like fun to me. My empty nester SIL suggested that all her siblings start an annual camping trip. What sounds like fun to her = torture to me.

How much younger are you looking for? Mine are definitely young. :) Here's our general schedule: breakfast morning chores for kids (I monitor and help the youngest) I shower & get dressed morning chores for me while kids play (clean-up kitchen, laundry, dishes, other tasks screaming for attention) 10:00 Take dd to public school PE or art run errands while waiting for dd 11:15 Return home lunch 1yo puts herself down for nap 15-20 min quiet time for everyone (I need a nap now that I'm pregnant) 90 min of schooling for 7yo 2nd grader (5yo & 3yo play near us) 20 min of schooling for 5yo Ker (7yo reads silently, 3yo plays near us) play time - usually outside for older two or three 4:00ish pickup entire house, prep beds for bedtime dinner prep (7yo & 5yo take turns helping) dinner free time 7:30 1yo bedtime 7:35 I collapse in bed (1st trimester exhaustion) Who knows what happens after this???!!! I used to read aloud to the kids before bed time and then snuggle with each one before they went to sleep.

If you think it's what's best for your family, then I would do it. I'm not a die-hard homeschooler so maybe that makes a difference. I think the public schools can offer a lot of wonderful things. They offer pros and cons, just like homeschooling does. You need to assess the pros and cons of both options and choose which serves your family better. I know a lot of wonderful kids in the public school system, so I know it's possible to go through the system and still turn out fabulously. For what it's worth, my kids take advantage of art, music, & PE at our local elementary school. The programs are incredible - much better than I could provide - and I love having the option. I fully intend to continue taking advantage of the public school system when it suits our family's needs.

:iagree: They are more than welcome in the Catholic church and at mass. However, if they are active lesbians, they are not to partake in communion. Just the same as anyone else who has serious sin on their soul. I don't partake in communion when I have a serious sin that I have not stopped and confessed. The rules for them aren't any different than the rules for me. The school's decision is not equal to inclusion or exclusion in the Church.

For my 2nd grader, I would expect her to spell "does" since we have covered that, but I am sure she would not be able to spell "eight." We haven't covered that word, and she hasn't found a need to write it yet. Next week after her birthday, though, I'm guessing she'll find a need to write it. :D I wouldn't worry, particularly if those aren't words you have covered. Spelling is a lifelong endeavor.

:iagree: My dh also often helps the kids see how much I do for the family. In turn, I thank my dh for working for our family and discuss with the kids how dh provides for us. They are young yet, but I expect that this training will carry forward.

:iagree: My dh won't take my dds into the men's room if there are urinals. He either finds another location with a different restroom set-up or uses the great outdoors.

In our usual haunts, my 5yo & 3yo use the men's restrooms together. It's only during the work week (since dh would be with me at other times), and they check out the bathroom before going in while I stand in the doorway the entire time. My 7yo uses the women's restroom at the same time. The boys are ah....definitely not quiet....so it's not difficult to tell what's going on. My 7yo dd would feel uncomfortable with a boy her age in the women's restroom, so I imagine a preteen or teenager would be even more uncomfortable. :glare:

Just wanted to add that I'm not using anything formal for my Ker's handwriting. I tried, but the workbooks just don't have enough of the right practice. So, I picked up some kindergarten lined paper from Walmart and am using my trusty highlighters. Well, we used the big white board first and we have now moved to the highlighter system. It's simple and effective. I expect to use this system with my next three too.

Things ARE like that where I live. Last summer we lived in town, and my 7yo biked to the convenience store, library, swimming pool, and summer activities by herself. We made sacrifices to live where we do so I can comfortably be a free range parent and give them freedoms when I determine they are ready. No one in my town looks twice at my kids biking around at 7yo or sitting in the van by themselves while I'm grocery shopping. Then again, nearly everyone in town knows my kids.

:iagree: This is pretty much what we do. I use a large laminated blank calendar from a teacher supply store. Each month I write the dates in the squares and then add our activities - religious education, birthdays, etc. In the mornings when we go over our schedule for the day, we refer to our calendar to see which day it is and what we are doing for the day. We don't have a set calendar time or anything like that. We just check the calendar at the beginning of the day. We also look out the window to see the weather at the beginning of the day so I guess we cover weather too. If I tried to come up with a fancy calendar circle thing it wouldn't get done. We would all get bored pretty quickly and the pressure to keep it up would weigh on me. I mean....if you skip a day because you are running out the door early then you have a blank in your chart. I couldn't handle that. The calendar and weather seems like something I should keep simple for my sanity.

Sometime in the last week my 7yo dd stopped swallowing solid food. I assume it's not a true physical issue since she is very healthy and has had no medical issues. She can swallow liquids, but she can't swallow anything solid. She even has to spit out her saliva quite often. She is able to chew bread items enough to turn them into a liquidy mush and swallow them 50-75% of the time. It takes her about 30 min to eat half a muffin. I know she's not sneaking food or eating when I'm not around, and she is clearly hungry. She wants to eat and usually cries at the dinner table because she just can't. Nothing in her routine or life has changed in the past week. She is out of my sight for only 3-4 hours/week, and I really don't think anything has happened to her that I don't know about. She tells us that nothing is wrong, but her situation isn't getting any better. I took her to the doctor today, and he didn't have any suggestions for us. He referred us to a ear, nose & throat specialist, and we will try that this week. The only good news is she hasn't lost any weight yet, so she must be getting enough calories despite this problem. I don't like that she's subsisting on bread and milk, though. Any ideas of what we should do next? I am at a loss. I'm afraid that we are going to have to take her to a psychologist, and I don't have any idea of how to get that done.