OK, I have been doing a "little" afterschooling and want to try a couple of hours a day with both of my kids for the summer to see if I could actually homeschool. Help!!! I am organizationally challenged and like so many curriculums that I am having a hard time limiting things and laying out a day. I would love to see the schedule of those of you with kids of similar ages (going into K and 2nd grade this coming year). I will list some of the curriculums that I already have and put in parentheses what I am thinking about purchasing. Please let me know if you have any better curriculum suggestions, which ones I should leave in/take out and how I should schedule their day to make this work best. It might be also be nice to start out with a few things and add on as the summer progresses??? Thanks for your help!!! Both - SOTW 2nd grader - Apologia Botany, Explode the Code, A Reason for Handwriting(Singapore Math), (Lively Latin), Kindergartener - FLL, Saxon K, OPGTR, Explode the Code, (Handwriting?)

I just wish I could afford to travel extensively and have tutors all over the world like she did!!! I think that I am just more curious about what she used curriculum wise since it obviously worked well for her. What I loved most was how she exposed her daughter to things and then let her follow her passions to the fullest extent that she was able to support it!!!

I read this article about the homeschooler who got accepted to Harvard (and several other top colleges) and I am trying to decide if it is inspiring me to do more with my children or if it is just making me feel worse because I cannot do as much for my kids as I would like to (and as much as this mom has done for hers!!!). I know this is not the typical homeschooler, but she sure sets the bar high!!! What do you think? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-homeschool_18apr18,1,1900746.story I would love an opportunity to talk to her though and find out what curriculum she used and what she felt were the most important things to include if you could not do all that she did.

As he turned to go the car, I said "never mind I am not interested." He pushed a little more, but I kept saying no and he gave up. Boy, am I ever thankful now that I did!!! I am so sorry that happened to you.

My husband and I used to travel over there a lot before we had kids (and my best friend is from Cornwall), so we have been all over England. When we went we used to stay at a different B&B/Hotel every night and travel/tour during the daytime, so we saw a lot. London is fabulous and cannot be missed if for no other reason than to go to the museums, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, ect. However, when I get there all I want to do is get out of the city. I ADORE the Cotswolds - just meandering from village to village stopping at local places along the way, having tea every afternoon and taking tons of pictures. Bath is also wonderful - the Pump Room and Tea Room are not to be missed. Another favorite place of mine is York because it has a great cathedral and lots of cute shops and tea rooms. If you want to tour a university, I highly recommend Cambridge over Oxford. Oxford gets really congested, while Cambridge is just as beautiful and far more relaxing (definately go on a punting tour down the Cam as it is the best way to see everything). It feels more like a college town than Oxford does. As to when to go, I would look at the school calendars over there (their school year is very different than ours) and try to go before their schools let out - weatherwise I would suggest May. My recommendation would be a few days in London, train to Bath, drive back to London through the Cotswolds (with a side trip to Cambridge by train depending on how much time you have). Stay in B&B's as much as possible because you really get to know the people that way and most have great breakfasts!!! Make sure that wherever you are you stop for tea around 3-4pm (it is a custom that is great to bring home with you) and have a great time!!!

My kiddos talked me into a lop-eared rabbit (who we keep indoors) and, although we love him very much, I can sadly say that it was a mistake. The constant cage cleaning is a real pain and we have hay EVERYWHERE despite having one of those nice hay holders. Also, the kids just have not seemed to bond with ours the way I think they would have with a dog or cat. My husband and I play with him and let him run around the house for a few hours every night after the kids go to bed, but he has gotten so fast that we cannot let him run around outdoors anymore. I was told that the lop-eared ones are much calmer and more child friendly than the ones with the stand-up ears and this has definately been our experience as ours is very calm and sweet. The main thing that I wish we would have known when we got him was how BIG rabbits get (ours was so small and cute when we got him, but is now the size of a small cat!!!). We have increased his cage size twice now and still do not feel that he really has enough room, so my big advice about buiding a hutch is to build a BIG one or you will be building another one sooner than you think. If you are building a hutch I am going on the assumption that you plan to keep it outdoors. I do not know where you live, but most pet stores will tell you that this is not the best idea because you would be surprised how creative neighborhood animals can be at getting to them. Keeping it indoors or on a screened porch if you have one would be best. The last thing you want is to have something like that happen after your child has fallen in love with it. My best advice about the hutch is to look on the internet as there are lots of plans with TONS of options on there. Good luck!!!

Why did the scientist have a knocker put on his front door? He wanted to win the NO-BELL (Nobel) Prize!!!

Periodically when things have been crazy and I am feeling unconnected to my son we have "date night." Occasionally we have gone out to dinner together (I have also used it as an opportunity to teach manners/how to treat a lady, ect.) and talked over a cheeseburger, but our favorite place to go is Starbucks. Sometimes we go there and get hot chocolate together and just sit and talk. Ours has a nice fireplace and lots of games, so after a talking a while we break out the chess board and play a game or two. It is amazing how much his behavior can turn around after a night of connecting and feeling like I did something special and grown up with only him!!! Plus a couple of hot chocolates is really inexpensive and I think that sometimes just getting out of the house for pleasure (not to get to a class on time!!!) is a treat all by itself. Good luck!!!