[How much "stuff" do you own?]

We put all of our belongings in storage a few years ago in order to spend a year overseas. When choosing a unit size, we selected the largest, which the storage manager claimed could hold the contents of a 5-bedroom house (ours was a small 3-bedroom). Guess what? It didn't fit. We had to rent an additional small storage unit for the overflow. :tongue_smilie: Needless to say, we spent about 3K that year to store our "stuff".

 

We then moved to our current home, a 3-bedroom townhouse, and had to cram all that "stuff" in this small space. Our furniture barely fit, not to mention all the "stuff" in the kids' rooms and in the basement.

 

I periodically attempt to declutter, since we definitely have too much stuff. Some days I wish I could just start over. I wish we had gotten rid of stuff rather than spending all that $$ to store it.

 

Of course, when we were overseas for that year with our bare-minimum belongings, we were so content, not to be surrounded by clutter. Everything had a place, it was easy to pick up the mess, easy to clean. Ahh. But still, there are things each of us can't bare to part with...

 

So, I just watch "Hoarders" and feel encouraged that at least my house isn't *that* bad. ;).

[Red Ink/Correcting school work]

I do usually use red pens, just because it is a good contrast to the child's writing. I could use another bright contrasting color, such as a gel pen, I suppose.

 

Perhaps if my kids had been to school and attached a stigma to red pen marks, I would avoid using it. However, they haven't been to school, and like seeing mom's bright, visible markings on their papers.

[As a homeschooler (who is home a lot), wouldd you like having your DH work at home?]

My dh has worked from home for the past 4 years. It really depends on your family dynamic, the layout of your house, and how flexible each of you is able to be.

 

Dh needs to be realistic about how much time he needs to work, how much of that needs to be quiet/isolated time, and what those hours should be, and then devise a workspace for him to allow for that.

 

Discuss upfront what each of you expects to gain by him being home. I am assuming he would have more free time without the commute, etc., and more flexibility in hours (perhaps). That time could be used for family field trips, big projects involving dad, sharing in dad's hobbies, working on home maintance together, even dad helping or taking over a subject (like math). However, dad may not have thought of any of these things, and is planning to perfect his golf game during his free time :glare:, so discuss expectations first!

 

Make sure that he understands and respects your school schedule as much as you do his work schedule. If he feels like taking a break from work to watch TV, but you are still actively teaching, provisions must be made so this does not create a conflict.

 

If you are all home all the time, there will be more mess. Make sure dh doesn't expect everyday to be like a weekend or vacation day when he is accustomed to being home: fun and games and meals ready at the drop of the hat. He must respect the fact that is his entering and sharing *your* workplace during your working hours, so his being home should not place a greater burden on you or take you away from teaching to address his needs.

 

Fortunately, I rarely have these types of issues with my dh, but I can certainly foresee them in some families.

 

I must admit, it was a huge adjustment, and it probably took me over a year to relinquish control over "my" environment and evolve into a daily partnership. We end up working all together on the same floor, sometimes in separate rooms. If I am teaching dd, dh can field algebra questions from ds, etc. Maintaining a clean and organized home (or at least attempting to ;))has become a group effort. If dh sees I'm busy, he picks up the slack, and vice versa, whether in the area of teaching or housework.

 

It was not easy, we each had to get used to what it meant for us to all be together, all the time, who would be responsible for what, and not stepping on each other's toes. But now, I can't imagine it any other way, and would dearly miss the time, interaction and support dh provides for me and the dc being home everyday.

[Could Megawords be done independently?]

Ditto. Most pages can be done independently, but might need a couple seconds' explanation first. A few include dictation, so mom needs the TM for that.

[Anyone use Calvert?]

It really is a good place to start. You might not get great feedback from veterans, because we typically want to put together our own curriculum, but that is very overwhelming.

 

I would not suggest Calvert for a student who has great difficulty reading, who is extremely hands-on and doesn't learn well from books. Calvert is quite traditional, most likely the way we were taught in school (if you went to a good school :)

 

It may be a good fit for you and your child, or you may decide you want to try doing your own thing later on, when you get a better feel for what homeschooling means for your family. Yes, a lot of moms can put together a more fun, more individualized program for their kids. However, if you don't feel ready or capable of that quite yet, I would give Calvert a try. It really is a solid, well-rounded program.

 

We did Grade 7 here, and enjoyed it for the most part.

 

HTH,

[At what age did your night time battles end?]

I've never had any issue with my dc crying or throwing a fit over bedtime. However, I always either read to them or stayed beside them until they slept, or they cuddled with me in bed and I transferred them to their own beds once they were asleep.

 

Many parents would insists dc need to learn to go to bed on their own, and it was a bit frustrating when they were little, since I would often fall asleep in their bed and have a hard time waking up, leaving dh and I no alone time in the evening.

 

However, it was easier than making a battle of it, and as they got a bit older, I truly enjoyed snuggling in our big king sized bed, reading stories and watching movies until they slept.

 

Growing up, my mom would often lie down and chat with me before I slept, even in high school, and I really cherished those moments. Mom and Dad get to share a bed, so why do dc have to sleep in a dark, empty room all alone?

 

Once they hit about age 10, they realized when they were getting sleepy and wandered off to their own beds after story time in my room. That's also about the point that we could tell them to go to bed and they would just go, if it was too late to do a read-aloud, etc.

 

I always said they won't want to cuddle with mom and dad forever, so indulge them and enjoy it while it lasts. Dc mostly go to bed on their own now, but sometimes still want to have quiet time in mom and dad's room for a while first. It has been a great, natural progression.

 

Just my $0.02.

[Co-op questions: Does this sound good to you? Why or why not?]

Sounds absolutely fabulous to me! Of course, my kids are the same age as yours. I would suspect that people with younger children just don't feel the need for formal group classes at that age, at least not for the fee. The prices and class offerings sound great for maybe ages 8-10 and up, but I probably wouldn't shell out for group classes for a dc in K.

 

You could expand your offerings to appeal more to the littles, or just be happy with what you have. Any "drop-outs" of older kids is likely due to finances, philosophical disagreements, or the kids choosing to do other things.

 

HTH,

[If you post a chore chart for your kids.....]

My dc each have 5 weekly chores to do, one per day. I set a time (after lunch) when they do the chore for that day. I sometimes still have to remind them, or they will conveniently "forget". They do get paid for these chores, so if they don't get done, no allowance.

 

There are other jobs, like dishes, taking out the trash, putting their laundry away, cleaning their rooms, which are just expected. No lists, no $$, it's just done.

[Oh, Canada: I love you, BUT --]

You think the letter/number/letter - number/letter/number thing is annoying? I have a "Z" in my postal code, and whenever I need to give it out over the phone I have to keep remembering to say "zed" instead of "zee". :glare:

[Anyone here used Spelling through Morphographs?]

We did use it a couple of years ago, and it was a decent program. Good for building on word parts and a good amount of repetition. It is totally scripted, and is definitely created for the classroom, but that was not an issue. I was extremely fortunate to purchase it on ebay.

 

What you actually need are the student workbook and the two spiral-bound presentation books (this is where the lesson scripts are). The teacher's guide is a very thin booklet that outlines the program, but is not essential.

 

I already sold mine to another homeschooler. It can be a difficult program to find, and rather expensive, but if you do track one down, you should be able to recoup your entire investment when you resell (I bought my set for $80).

 

HTH,

[s/o transcript - Homeschool Name?]

:bigear: I'm curious about this as well.

[Diagnosing ADHD in the Homeschool Population]

We were given both the parent and teacher forms, and asked that I (the teacher) fill out the teacher form, and my dh use the parent form.

 

The evaluator determined that ds was borderline ADD, and even admitted that, if he were having difficulty in more areas, he would likely be diagnosed. In his current situation, however, she could not do so.

 

So they were basically telling us that yes, he does have ADD symptoms, but because his individualized learning environment does not present him with as many challenges as public school would, his life is not disrupted enough by his issues to warrant a diagnosis. To me, this is like saying a diabetic is only diabetic when he has sugar in his blood stream, or an addict is only an addict when his substance of choice is present in his environment. :confused:

 

Anyway, these were PhD students doing a psychoeducational evaluation, so I cut them some slack. We got what we wanted, which was suggestions on how to help dc manage his distracted behavior.

 

I don't know if this helped, other than the relief in knowing we have also BTDT.

[If you are a 2 parent household - are both involved in planning?]

Unless your dh is involved in meal planning, choosing your brand of laundry soap and bath tissue, deciding which type and color of flowers to plant in the yard, etc., it's not likely he will be involved in choosing curricula. You're the teacher, so it's your gig. Believe me, it's usually best that way. He is unlikely to do the same amount and extent of research, comparisons, checking samples and reviews, etc. of curricula as you, so adding his uneducated opinion will only confuse matters more.

 

If he trusts you with his children's education and the family checkbook, you should count yourself blessed and keep it at that ;).

[Moving out of states]

Colleen,

 

Nice to hear from another American in Canada. I had wanted to comment on the reply to my original post, but the thread appeared to be closed at that time, then reopened :confused:.

 

I'm so glad you mentioned the social safety net as a positive to living in Canada as well. I didn't want the other members thinking that I immigrated to Canada in order to go on welfare, although there certainly are those who do. We are simply benefiting from the same government aid as the rest of Canadian residents, based on income. There may be special payments for refugees, but these do not extend to immigrants (at least, not that I am aware of). In fact, immigrants are required to enter Canada with enough money to support their family for at least 6 months, do not gain health care benefits until after 3 months of residence, and other programs available to all residents (such as student financial aid, rent subsidies, etc.) are only accessible following 6 to 12 months of residency.

 

"Going on welfare" has never been an acceptable option for our family. Therefore, it is nice to live in a place where everyone receives a measure of help in providing for their families and their healthcare.

 

I'm so happy for you that you live in a homeschooling-friendly area; I certainly don't. That is the biggest drawback for me about living in Canada. The Maritimes are absolutely beautiful and I think Halifax is a wonderful city.

 

Again, immigrating is not simple, takes a great deal of time and effort just to apply, say nothing about making the actual transition. However, for our family and our situation, it was a good move at a good time.

[*Gasp* What do I do?]

Waste it hanging out on this board:lol:, of course ;)

[do basements stay cool in this heat]

Oh, yes. Of course, it even warms up down in the basement during extended heat waves, but it always remains cooler than the main floor. Every house we've lived in has had a basement, and we always end up sleeping down there for a few miserable nights during heat waves. The kids stayed down there will the baby all day when the heat was at it's worst, since the poor thing just couldn't stay cool.

 

The only thing with basements is that they can be damp, and thus a bit humid if it is too warm. We always run a dehumidifier in the basement during the summer.

[Another one - do you say "mis-CHEE-vee-us" for mischievous?]

I say "MIS-chif-us". I have heard the other pronunciation, and it doesn't sound wrong, just more formal, perhaps British.

[Murdochthread locked??? Someone asked me why I'd consider leaving the U.S./response]

When tech engineering jobs like my dh's started being outsourced to India, Singapore and Taiwan back in 2004/5, we saw the writing on the wall.

 

Dh wanted to become an entrepreneur, rather than being a slave to the corporate world and the constant threat of layoffs. However, this was too big a risk for us to take in the US, since there is no social safety net to back us up if our ventures failed, or while trying to get things off the ground, no healthcare for the self-employed, etc.. We also looked ahead at college, the rising costs, and the realization that we would never be able to save that much money.

 

So, we applied for immigration to Canada. This was 5 years ago, and we likely would not qualify today since the requirements have become stricter.

 

Due to free health care, family assistance payments (a subsidy paid to all families with children), and the option to receive financial aide for living expenses while furthering our education, we have managed to ride out the recession and slowly work on growing our business. There also was no housing boom and bust, so the financial crisis was felt less acutely here. Our children will be able to attend a Canadian university as a resident student (as opposed to a foreign student), at a much lower cost than in the US.

 

I love my country (the US), visit frequently, and would love to move back if and when the economy is able to support that. For now, though, I am grateful that we were pro-active and made the move across the border well before the crisis hit.

 

Moving to another country is not a decision to be taken lightly, and one should do as much research as possible to be fully informed of the pros and cons ahead of time. Those who already have family or other ties overseas , however, may be wise to strongly consider a move, if beneficial for their family.

[Do you call sherbet "sherbert"?]

Yup. Normally I'm a stickler for correct pronunciation, grammar, that sort of thing (as I suppose most of us WTMers are ;)), but I've always pronounced it "sherbert", and never heard anyone pronounce it any other way. Interesting...

[Honest thoughts on Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading]

Unfortunately, OPGTR did not work for my dd and myself. Personally, I prefer Phonics Pathways combined with Explode the Code and some readers.

 

The main difference between PP and OPGTR is the font size and the scripting. PP has a nice, big font on clean, uncluttered pages, making it easy for the child to read. Also, it is not scripted, so there is no working around the teacher instructions to focus on the words for the student to read.

 

Personally, when a program is scripted, I end up becoming a slave to the script, following it exactly, and doing a page per day. Even if my dc needs to spend more time on that page, I feel like, "I already read that lesson. Are we really going to keep repeating it over and over?"

 

PP organizes the words to practice in rows and columns, so if my dc needed more practice, we could go back and redo the same page, but from top to bottom, then right to left, then bottom to top, etc., to mix it up. Also, it is great for spelling and reference. Since it basically consists of pages covering specific phonics sounds, with lists of words to practice those sounds, it is very versatile.

 

For us, OPGTR had much too small of a font, and the scripting really limited it's focus and use. My dd turned out to be dyslexic, and she needed a ton more repetition and review than OPGTR was designed to do. We ended up using an Orton-Gillingham based program for her (Wilson Language), but still used Explode the Code successfully with both dc.

 

HTH,

[Dinner or Supper?]

We have breakfast, lunch and supper. My grandparents called lunch "dinner", though.

 

For me, "dinner" signifies a larger, more formal meal, whether at mid-day or evening. We have Thanksgiving dinner at 1pm, some families gather for a Sunday family dinner at that time, and we go out to dinner in a restaurant in the evening.

 

So, breakfast, lunch and supper happen every day, and dinner on special occasions.

 

BTW, our lunch and supper are the same size, since I always cook double at supper, saving the leftovers for the next day's lunch :).

[Can you enroll in Kolbe and NOT take religion/theology?]

I believe Theology is a required course to receive a Kolbe diploma, but you don't have to use their curriculum for it, meaning you can base the course on your own faith. I would assume Comparative Religions, perhaps even Philosophy, would be acceptable, but you'd have to check with them.

[How much does it cost to homeschool?]

Just slightly more than you can afford, whatever that is ;).

[Have you ever felt someone wasn't doing "enough" hs'ing wise?]

Sure, but it's none of my business.

[s/o common knowledge...Armenian genocide?]

I believe I learned about it in SOTW a couple of years ago, or from a WTM-recommended resource. In any event no, I was not aware of it until teaching it to my dc.

 

I don't recall any mention of Armenia, or the Ottoman empire, for that matter, during my ps education. Then again, as previously mentioned, I had no world history in ps, only European history in college, so all my world history knowledge has been gained through homeschooling.

 

Oh, and I'm a certified high school teacher :). I am beginning to realize why I put so much emphasis on history for my own dc's education :tongue_smilie:.