We LOVE wool here. We like stacinators though for commercial wool covers and out of the house use.

I didn't really have enough time to read the first posts but to entertain my almost 3 yo while I work with my DSDs I have a plethora of file folder games, Ispy preschool game, pattern blocks, magnetic letter links ect. Oh and lots of mazes which really engage him. I keep them in a workbox type system so they are easy to grab when we are schooling and that way he isn't driving us all batty the whole time we are working :D

I got 135 for Supper nutty :P

I don't just mean a year ahead but several :P Like if you find a curriculum that works for you and you love do you buy ahead in years so you have it in case it went out of print? This would apply more to the smaller curricula out there that is independently published or something that would have a higher chance of disappearing. Just curious cause there are several curricula that I have come across in my wanderings that I'd be afraid would disappear before the kiddos had a chance to get through it all. Oh and this is more for older kid curricula not pre-k if that makes a difference :P

I sell yarn and fiber :) I will also sell off old things we don't use like video games, toys ect. ETA: I also buy everything I can on amazon so I get free shipping :P

Ok based on suggestions for you wonderful folks we have decided the route of SM and miquon. We ordered our books but want to make sure we have everything to make the math experience the best laid out. What would you add to help kiddos understand? I already have a base 10 set, place value mat, bucket balance and poker chip counters. I am so not a math person so I will be hopefully learning a lot too but DH is a total math geek d will be doing a lot of the teaching :D Thanks!

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions!!!! I have it bookmarked and reay to go when DS seems ready for that step! :)

Ok some back story my DH has 2 DDs from his first marriage. We were wanting to try HSing them since the schools here suck big time. Well their mom said yes at first so we did a happy dance and bought curricula. We bought TONs of curricula fast as we thought we were pulling them out in 2 weeks and needed to be ready. Well she changed her mind and here I am left with over $500 in curricula we don't need now and may not use for our DSs when they are old enough as further research has clarified more of how we'd like to go from here. So I am left wondering do I sell books and buy more of what we know we will use sooner for our DSs or keep books (6th grade and 2nd grade lvl) and hope we'll use them down the road?

Hi fellow noob! http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=161722 this link was given to me in the beginnings of my learning process on another board I am a member of and although it may be oldish it is a great wealth of knowledge that covers many of the common concerns and such of HSing and backs it up with evidence :) oh and by the way not denim jumpers here I rock out in my camo cargo shorts and various t shirts or if I am having a cozy day then just my PJs :p

Charlie's Soap! It is awesome, very gentle and you can clean your machine with it. Granted my laundry doesn't smell like fake flowers but it smells fresh and clean and it is soft and not full of detergent residue :) You can order it online and there is free shipping :)

OMGoodness I would be terrified!!! do you have an alarm system or floodlights?

I definitely don't want him to burn out! :) Right now I let him come to me and ask for homeworks :P but sometimes if he seems bored I'll ask if he wants to do "homework" but we never push or force him to it's more of him leading in a way. His favorite so far is the lapboking and I am loving spending the time cutting out and coloring and gluing everything :P

Ok DS is still young at 2 3/4 old but he is my oldest and I don't have any experience yet LOL right now we do things like draw circles counter clockwise and make lines. When are you supposed to start with handwriting? We are going to be using ZB when the time comes but I am unsure when that time should be if that makes any sense :P Again so sorry for all the questions I am still learning and you guys are super awesome and knowledgeable! I would have made one big post of questions but I thought it would be too overwhelming to read through LOL

I should have been more clear and less vague :p sorry bout that! I definitely didn't mean on it's own! I would be using it more as a timeline guide adding in more in depth info that is more age appropriate. :) thanks for the info :)

I just ordered all the miquon books so i will be watching this thread! For some reason it won't let me click the smilies or I'd add some popcorn :P

kids put the darnedest things in the strangest places :P I will be thinking of your DS and hoping all turns out all well!

definitely! We are HSing our DSs but we cannot HS my DSDs because their mom will not allow it because they will miss out on being popular. grrrrr DSD 8yo is dying to HS and LOVES working with us and does so well at home and HATES PS but there are more important things to her mom then education unfortunately. It upsets us and makes us feel badly because we get to give so much to our DSs but the girls get the short end of the stick and there is not a whole lot we can do about it especially only having them every other week. :(

I know I am way ahead of myself here but I was curious and where there is curiosity there is a question :p I plan on using SOTW for history through the grammar stage as I love the set up and love the methods used! Does anyone use it again for logic stage? I saw a "history of the ancient world" on amazon by SWB http://www.amazon.com/History-Ancient-World-Earliest-Accounts/dp/039305974X/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255481702&sr=1-9 was this geared more towards logic stage or is this something completely different and un-HS related LOL Beign a history buff working towards my masters in archeology I want something fun and engaging for my kiddos with accurate info. I love the way SOTW is written and haven't found anything thus far for older kiddos that has excited me nearly as much. Thanks in advance for letting me pick your brains!

adopted or not something like that would definitely not get leniency! I do not feel any children in a household should be treated differently in regards to discipline as it creates a divide. If my child called me a biotch that would be instant grounding for probably over a week of time which would mean no bike, no TV, no phone, just come home from school eat dinner and go to bed or read a book. Period. the more you give in the more respect you loose and the more they will run over you. Ask me how I know :P

It is not so much of an age thing as it is a maturity thing. What the rules are in my father's practice is that you must be able to put in your contacts, remove them and demonstrate that you can clean and care for them before he will prescribe them or let you leave with trials. That rule goes for anyone. However he does not recommend them for children younger then the 10ish age because well for one the maturity thing but also the fact that contacts are made for adult eyes no the eyes of a child and although our eyes at birth are almost as big as the will be at full maturity they are not full grown and will fit a contact differently then they are designed to fit.

Personally I would rather have never been told. Yeah I know one day it will come out but that one day is most likely when a child is older and more equipped to deal with and understand such a complex thing as adoption. When I said I had no adopted kids it was not entirely true as my DS1 is mine from a previous marriage but the only dad he has ever known is DH who has been in our lives since DS was 6 months old. After DH and I married DH officially adopted DS. We plan on not telling him unless we have to because really it will not make a lick of difference IMO and will save him all of the heartache of being "the different one" and yes if it ever comes out one day we will address in in the way we feel is best for our son. I wish so deeply that my mother had not listened to the therapists because I think the worst part and the hardest part to let go of even now even knowing what I know is that the one person who was supposed to love me the most I was not good enough for. I know realistically this is untrue and I know that had she have not done what she did I would most likely have lived a miserable life. (I was taken by CPS) But the fact remains that in our society motherhood is painted in this perfect way to be mom has baby and falls in love and leave it to beaver family commences and that is what children see and that is what we are led to believe and when you find out that your "mother" and I use this term loosely did not want you or did not care enough to clean up her life for you then it strikes you in a very deep and painful way. All the childhood whys arise and you find yourself questioning why you were not good enough or what way you could have been better so she would have loved you more. The more it is brought up the more painful it becomes the more it eats at you and the more you question. I also feel badly for all the adoptive parents out there that do tell their children (I do also get it that in some situations it has to be done or will be obvious) because they have to deal with the hardship and anguish too. To those adoptive parents this IS their baby. They dried their tears, rocked them to sleep when their tummies hurt, cleaned all the boo boos and something as simple as different genes changes nothing to them. However these parents have to watch their baby struggle with what it means to be different and the feelings that come with feeling like they don't belong. They have to deal with being closed out and the have to deal with the anger and frustration because they said the wrong thing even if they were told and believed it to be the "right" course of action. Adoption is such a slippery subject. There is no right answers and there is no 100% correct handbook to tell anyone how to handle it with their child in a way that will work for every child. I mean you could be blessed with a kid who it will not bother but you could also be blessed with a child who thinks too much and questions everything and will not fully understand the true meaning of what it means to be adopted. Sorry for the book here all :op this topic is just a important one to me that hits a personal place and makes me want to spill out things that I never get many chances to express. Thanks for letting me express it and for listening and hope that it helps you all!

I didn't want to read and not post. I do not have any adopted children BUT I myself am adopted. Being adopted is something I struggled with greatly growing up but I also had other issues that I had to tackle as well which just compounded everything. I do not ever remember being told I was adopted I just remember knowing I was. This is because my parents were told by therapists to make it known young and to help me learn what it meant so i could deal with it and such :-/ Now I know many other adopted people that are totally well adjusted people that never had any outward issues being adopted but unfortunately I am not one of them. I always felt different because I was told from a way too early age that I was "different" even if it was a good kinda different to a child different is different KWIM. Now do not take this as a you never should have told your LO lecture because it is NOT that. However IMHO and experience do not make a deal of it. By that I mean whenever you see someone that is adopted do not point it out to you kid "hey she is adopted just like you" It's like rubbing salt in the wound of confusion. What an adopted kid hears there is "Hey look your different in case you forgot already" :P If they come to you and ask then explain it in the best and most blunt way you can using things like you may have not come from my tummy but you came from my heart. That was always comforting to hear. The best advice though is to follow what you feel is right for your child not what any therapists or other people will tell you because well every kid is different and will react in different ways. If you notice that your child is asking questions in a way that leads you to believe that they are having issues or are upset about it then treat it as any other thing that your child would become upset about. Don't toss tons of unwanted info in the forms of happy books and trips to the shrink in their faces but rather give lots of hugs and remember to reinforce that you are their mom and this IS their family. Giving birth does not make you a parent love does! There are plenty of women out there that have given birth that by no means should ever be considered a parent to any child. Just as there are plenty women out there who have never given birth that are amongst the very best of parents. Actually if one really wants to get down to it you may not have gestated your child physically but you did wait patiently to find out he/she was coming just like any mother and you did feel all the rush of emotions when you knew they were on their way. I am willing to bet that the first moment you set your eyes upon your child they were filled with tears of joy and a flood of happiness and love so why not call it birthing from the heart? It is just as much work if not more and just as emotionally draining as physically giving birth IMO. Wow that was a tangent LOL sorry. But my point is instead of pointing out how a child is "special" point out how ordinary they are to be a part of a loving family. Because often to a child "special" means different and to a young confused child that cannot fully grasp what it means to be adopted different can often times mean bad. HTH!

I don't have a lot of experience here having younger kiddos but I remember what my parents got us fondly and humorously what is happening to me - for puberty where did I come from - the birds and the bees :P they are kinda cartoony and I believe they have animated DVDs now but they are light hearted and not quite as awkward

I would definitely seek out other opinions on such an important matter! My dad is an optometrist so out of curiosity I'm totally gonna call him and ask his opinion :P He's been in practice about 30 years and seen lots of kiddos :P Just got off the phone with my dad: He said #1 that it is an old wives tale that your eyes will get worse because of wearing glasses and that studies have proven this time and time again. The fact is eyes are going to get worse period and they will do so faster before we reach our maturity. #2 not wearing glasses is actually worse because it can cause a young child's eyes to develop improperly His opinion and advice is to seek another opinion and def a pediatric opto would be perfect. HTH!

I don't have any advice on the schooling part but I wanted to mention on the PPD part...... I have a lot of friends that have suffered with PPD and a lot of people I know that have used placenta pills to deal with it naturally and effectively. Now I know that the idea of placenta pills is definitely not for everyone and many may find it gross even but hey it's an option and it has worked for many mamas. If you do some easy googling on making your own placenta pills you will most likely find tons of tuts and info on the subject.