These situations occur in public school, too.When I was a kid, we only moved once in my childhood -- in the middle of my Kindergarten year. And yet there were duplicate lessons from one year to the next, (learning weather in both 5th and 7th grade, but not learning ANYTHING new; sitting through repetitive math and grammar lessons, looking back that I probably could have aced a pre-test if it had been an option). I'm sure there are things that I missed, too, because they weren't offered (Latin, Japanese, a decent science curriculum in 9th grade, etc). Thank goodness you're homeschool. You can tailor your children's educational choices.

Thank you for your input! (Sorry for the delay in thanks.....it's been a busy week!)

Has anyone ordered these for Saxon 5/4 or another Saxon year? http://www.mcdougallittell.com/store/ProductCatalogController?cmd=ProductDetail&recordReference=1270991&nextPage=McDougal%2FProduct.jsp&division=M01&frontOrBack=F&sortEntriesBy=SEQ_NAME&sortProductsBy=SEQ_TITLE&hierarchyID=1007500000077009 Are they necessary? Do you recommend or not? Thanks.

Did she send enough $$$ to buy a refrigerator? Then the kids could just play in the box!!! :D

Bocce Croquet STOMP ROCKETS!!!! A garden sounds like work. Raspberry bushes sound like fun.

No wisdom here, other than knowing a few kids like this in my experience in childcare. (A girl at dd's preschool is this way; a friend's daughter is this way; a team member at a library even for a girl I nannied was this way). I would imagine being a confident and natural leader will serve your son well in life. However, 6yo kids do not always have the finesse to be tactful with peers. And a line is crossed if your child is bossing kids that don't want to follow him. Can you talk with your son about how his friends will not like him if he bosses them around? Can you suggest listening to his friends and taking turns choosing something to play. If he can't take turns, the friend goes home. At soccer, can you ask him if he is the coach? Ask him if he is [insert child's name]'s mom (because moms have a different role than friends). HTH

As a pet owner (3 cats) and lover, you are not a bad mother at all for not wanting pets. :iagree:If anything, you are an exceptional mother because of your above actions (in spite of your own personal experiences). You are also modeling to your children the seriousness of "when you adopt a pet, it's for life" and how to set healthy boundaries of what one is willing to commit to. Am I a bad mother for not getting my 4yo a pet spider?:tongue_smilie:

I just know that in our state, recipients of SSDI are invited/encouraged/urged to participate in the new programs and return to work at the level they are able to do so. The programs of our state are not the same as what is offered everywhere, and there have been rumors that the MEPD program (which requires work to have access for Medicare/Medicaid) and the "Ticket to Work" program be a model for other states because of how successful they have been at returning the disabled to a work environment.

Actually, the limits I listed are for Disability in our state (Iowa). I have a close friend who works with special needs adults, and those are the rules. One thing to keep in mind is that Social Security was overhauled in the 90s. States were given the flexibility to create their own programs concerning benefits and to encourage people to return to work after becoming disabled. It is possible that our state is more strict than others. I would still telephone. $3K/month ($36K/year) is a lot of money as a gift from a family member. Even if the individual was not on SSDI, one would be required to declare anything over $10K to the IRS. (The $10K number may have been increased in recent years; $10K used to be the amount family members could give to one another tax free). If the family member wants to still help the recipient, there are other ways to be more .... subtle ..... about the "gift." They could maintain a working vehicle for the recipient. They could pay any workers (plumber, electrician, snow removal) to maintain the recipient's home.

The rules for Disability are strict. In our state, one is limited by how much one may earn per month. It is less than $700/month, if I remember correctly. Gifts must be declared; even if one receives $50 from a family member, it must be declared. Most workers will look the other way for the sake of a $50 Christmas gift, but I have heard of at least one local worker who made a ridiculous stink for the guy who received the $50 gift and did not declare it. The recipient may already be declaring the gift. In our state, for the sake of Medicare/Medicaid, one must fill out financial statements every 6 months. He may be declaring it already in that way. Or he may have private insurance and not have to fill out forms that often. Individuals on Disability are also evaluated every few years to determine whether they are still disabled. Even those with major birth defects (i.e. Downs' Syndrome) must be evaluated to see if the D.S. has magically gone away. The government workers are always behind in their evaluations because of being understaffed. One can also avoid being evaluated in our state if one is attending college or working on a regular basis. $3000/month is quite a bit more than $50. I would make the call if you could do it anonymously.

I have not read the Tiger Mom book yet. I do believe in high standards. When I homeschooled as a nanny, it was okay if the children missed questions on their work and tests....but they were expected to fix everything and to know why they missed the problem so it didn't happen again. Politeness is required. You don't need to like everyone; you DO need to be polite. I think we need to know our children well. I think we need to know how to push them just beyond their current abilities. And we need to be there to support them through it. I think we need to be willing to step in to do things with our children as they learn a new skill and gain proficiency. I think we need to break big tasks down into smaller task for our younger children, and we need to teach/model for our children how to break big tasks down themselves. Accomplishments need to be acknowledged appropriately. Hopefully we listen to our children and encourage them in their dreams rather than our own. That said, Reading/Writing/Arithmetic are not optional in this household. If one can master those three subjects, one has a good base for all subjects and fields.

Popcorn. (Homemade) hummus and pretzels/carrots Trail mix (nuts and dried fruit)

At that age, she can do dusting and (maybe) vacuuming. She can use Windex and wash mirrors and windows. Spring is coming, and you can send her out in the yard to pick up trash or sticks. In our household, I pay dd4 for schoolwork. I know this is controversial, but it works as a motivator for work for her. It also defuses whining when she wants to purchase stuff for which Loverboy and I don't want to pay. I simply tell her that she can spend her money on these items. She has saved for and purchased several bigger toys in this way. --For Kindergarten level work, she is paid 5 cents/lesson or page. First grade will be 6 cents. --She gets a 25 cent bonus if she finishes all of the work that I lay out for the day (10 lessons, which we do occasionally finish, but I don't push because...uh...she's 4). --Since she is learning to read, she has BOB books and some little readers through her lessons. If she reads these to 5 people (Mom, Dad, Baby C, the cats, and an outside friend or family member), she also earns 25 cents. --We have no allowance in our household. Think long and hard before you institute a money for schoolwork system. I don't know if you have older/other children that will need to be compensated for bookwork, too. And if you institute this system, you may never be able to eliminate it if you decide you don't like it.

Zander Linford Miles Beau (as in Beau Geste)

I used this with the older girl that I nannied/homeschooled. I LOVED IT, and I already have a copy purchased for use with my own dds when they get a little older. Pros: 1) The child learns a ton of words and is only retested on the words they don't know. Consider that a typical public school child has 20-30 words/week on a list. The child may miss 1 or 2 or even 5 words on Monday.....but Wednesday and Friday, the child must write all 20 words again. So the child has basically only "learned" to spell a maximum of 5 new words in a week. In Spelling Power, the child only retests on the the few they missed....then moves on to the next list. 2) We set a timer for 5 minutes each day. We never worked longer than that on the "testing" part. We went either 5 minutes, or until the child missed 3 words. (The recommended 5 words were too frustrating for her). 3) One may use outside words for testing in the program. Some words that I may incorporate into my daughters' spelling lists in the future: --vocabulary words from history, science, etc --words misspelled from writing lessons (writing a paragraph, etc) --words from "Wordly Wise", which I also plan to use --words from the list of "1000 words high schoolers misspell" or other similar lists --words from the SAT vocabulary list **Spelling Power comes with a massive list of words for your child, but you are not limited to it. Cons: --There is not a lot of supportive lesson material for teaching the rules of spelling. Unless you want your child to simply memorize how to spell words or your child is an intuitive speller, this may not be a good fit for your child. Currently, I am looking for a good starting spelling program for the early years for my daughters. We can always do Spelling Power in 3rd or 4th grade. --Your child MUST do the practice exercises for the words she/he missed. If they do the practice exercises, they will have more success with the retesting of the words. If they get lazy on this part, then they will not put the word spelling into their permanent memory. You may need to sit with your child and ensure that they are doing each step for each word as it is recommended. ***Ask me how I know!!!***

I am in the same boat as the original poster. I DO believe that this is a better time than ever before to learn a foreign language as a homeschooler. There is Rosetta Stone and Fluenz and Learnables. There are lessons posted online and/or on YouTube. And it is easier than ever to find friends for consultation in our communities who speak a certain language. As for teaching children to be fluent, play games in a certain language. Play Candyland saying rojo, amarillo, azul, or verde instead of red, yellow, blue, or green. Play Uno, War, or Skipbo saying uno, dos, tres instead of one, two, three. When your child brings out all of their stuffed or plastic animals to play with, name them by their foreign name (Pronunciation can be found online). For older children, challenge them to speaking for a specific time period in their language of choice. Can they make it through lunch speaking only in Spanish? How do you say, "More milk please"? Waking in the morning, how much of the day can they make it through before breaking into English? We can do this!!!

Be okay with yourself if your homeschooling falls behind. It just happens sometimes. You can catch up in the summer. Also, be prepared to prioritize of what is important academically and what can wait. If I had to choose, I would do math and reading. Let everything else slide. Dd1 is 4yo, and dd2 is 3mo. I didn't do anything at all for the last 5 months for homeschooling because of the miserable pregnancy and getting settled with the new baby (sleeping, nursing issues). We're just now getting back into the saddle. Congratulations on your expected bundle of joy!

Congratulations, Mom, on your new little bundle of joy!!! 1) When dd4yo was born, we were told by the doctor that baby powder isn't used any more. Who knows why!?! 2) The doctor recommended "Bag Balm" for diaper rash. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=sBm&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=bag+balm&revid=482183316&bav=on.1,or.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=8223651022190656588&ei=8VFjTdGbE4-Ttwea5v2wDA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEoQ8wIwAw# You should be able to purchase it at your local pharmacy or discount store. 3) Check and change your child's diaper as often as you need to. Sometimes this means 4 diaper changes in 30 minutes. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. We use/used disposables. Even with the modern engineering of modern disposable diapers, dd4 had one episode of badbadbad diaper rash. It was the weekend I was sick, and Loverboy was in charge of diapers. It's not that he is unwilling to change diapers, or that he is an inattentive parent; he just didn't check her as often as I usually did. 4) If you use disposables, it is possible that the specific brand name that you use is irritating to your specific child's tender bottom. Perhaps you should consider a different type. We hope that you are taking care of yourself, too, and have individuals around you to help you adjust to this new phase in your life.

:iagree:

Uglyfish http://www.amazon.com/Ugly-Fish-Kara-LaReau/dp/0152050825/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297521128&sr=8-1 When I read it to the kids, I use different voices for each fish. And it is a story about bullying and poetic justice.

I'm so glad that you contacted the hive. I hope that you find the answers that you need, either here or elsewhere. Definitely try cutting dairy from your diet. This was an issue for a good friend of mine. Her daughter cried non-stop for 9 months. Imagine an "air-raid siren." She also had trouble gaining weight. This was her first child, and she lives several hours away from extended family. At nine months, the daughter had a bloody stool diaper. They couldn't get into their regular pediatrician on such short notice, so they went to another doctor in the practice. He diagnosed the daughter in about 30 seconds. "And I'll bet she cries a lot, too.....?" he asked. Two weeks later, it was like living with a different kid, she says. Warning: Friend's original pediatrician had thought this might be the problem months before, but didn't want to say something because she wanted the child to get enough nutrition. Because of the milk products, she was below weight in the first nine months. She grew four inches in six months once the problem was diagnosed. I hope that your doctor can help you to find the cause.

This is something to keep in mind. When I did in-home daycare/babysitting, we had agreed upon hours and days, and I charged a set fee/week. I would also threaten to charge extra if they exceeded the previously agreed upon hours without prior notice. For example, if they say they want you to watch their children from 7:30am to 5pm, do NOT allow them to start dropping their kids off at 7:15. If they do, charge them extra. In any other job, you would not be expected to show up at work early with only seconds of notice. Also, I always needed that extra 15 minutes in the morning to do last minute things: throw in laundry, brush my teeth, finish breakfast, vacuum. If the kids arrive unexpectedly early, you cannot do these things...and you will not be paid for the extra time you are with their kids. Likewise, make it clear that pickup time means that they cannot be late. They are getting paid if they choose to work an extra 20 minutes....you are not. Likewise, it is unfair to your family to tell them, "We'll eat in 15 minutes (5pm) when the babysitting kids go home,"....and have that become 5:35pm. Also, payment in ADVANCE. Ask me how I know. (Still waiting on $1190+ in arrears from one gal a year ago.)

:iagree: One of my favorite poems is in Something Big Has Been Here. http://www.amazon.com/Something-Big-Has-Been-Here/dp/0688064345 The name of the poem is: My Neighbor's Dog is Purple. My neighbor's dog is purple; its eyes are large and green, its tail is almost endless, the longest I have seen. My neighbor's dog is quiet, it does not bark one bit, but when my neighbor's dog is near, I feel afraid of it. My neighbor's dog looks nasty, it has a wicked smile.... before my neighbor painted it, it was a crocodile.

There is also the experience these kids now have of taking on a large project/task and successfully completing it. Again, a Ph.D thesis is what I am thinking of; but I'm sure there are other projects that, to complete, one needs a long term vision, as well as the tenacity to work on it day in day out in increments and problem solving along the way.

We use broth from turkey for cooking. We will cook a turkey 3-4 times a year. Loverboy usually preps the turkey, but I don't know how much extra water he adds to that. We cook it in an oven bag. I freeze the extra broth that we don't use. I skim the extra fat off the top. We freeze 2-3 cups in old cottage cheese containers, and I label the top with how much is in each container. We supplement with chicken bullion. For example, I just made a double batch of soup that required 8 cups of broth. I had 7 (2c + 2c + 3c) in turkey broth, and I added 1c of bullion/water. Would you be able to use vegetarian bullion instead? We use it for some recipes, and we get it from the health food store. Is there a different version of chicken bullion that doesn't have MSG? Unrelated: We also freeze quart bags of cooked turkey meat to pull out when we need meat for sandwiches, soup, or another recipe. That way we don't have to eat 18# of turkey meat within a week or so!