I generally school in my pjs until lunchtime. That way I'm ready for my nap. :tongue_smilie: Honestly, we school in our pjs about 50% of the time. By lunch we are ready to start outside errands before getting back to work.

My Type is ISFJ Wow! I've never heard of this before today. I'm surprized at how accurate it is in its description of my personality. Even the jobs are right on key. It says I am the Protector Gaurdian. I homeschool for a variety of reasons and am not sure how strongly my personality influences my actual decisions. "primary interest is in the safety and security of those they care about - their family, their circle of friends, their students, their patients, their boss, their fellow-workers, or their employees. Protectors have an extraordinary sense of loyalty and responsibility in their makeup, and seem fulfilled in the degree they can shield others from the dirt and dangers of the world" "seldom happy in situations where the rules are constantly changing, or where long-established ways of doing things are not respected." ""Protectors are quite happy working alone; in fact, in positions of authority they may try to do everything themselves rather than direct others to get the job done. Thoroughness and frugality are also virtues for them."

Is this sale throught the company directly or is it an online company that has this sale?

We started at grade level and DS excelled. He was actually above level at the end of last year, but it has been very slow going this year. He is now back at grade level and maybe even a little behind. We are moving along according to abilities.

My plans right now for 5th grade are... Bible and History- MFW 1850-Exploration Continue EFTRU Handwriting and Copywork using HWOT Cursive Poetry- Child's Garden of Verses Spelling- SWO Complete level E and start F Grammar- R&S 4 or Continue with Shurley 5 Vocabulary- Wordly Wise Science- Apologia Botany or Zoology Writing- Writing with Ease and possibly Writing Tales Math- Saxon 65 Latin- Latin For Childen A (very off and on this year) Art- Continue God and the History of Art (We have barely made any progress this year) Music- per Ambleside Online Reading List- Ambleside Online Logic- Need to open my WTM book and look for suggestions I think that covers everything. It looks like a lot written out but we are pretty much scheduled for similar this year too.

You can see what I am using with my 9yo in my signature.

:glare: My mother does this type of thing with me. Both she and my sister work in the public school system. They are always telling me what school I should send my son to and how great the academic programs are. She was upset when I was teaching DS ancient history because that wasn't what the "schools" were teaching in third grade. She is at a very nice high school but I have no desire for DS to be placed in public school. It seems everyone has comments to make when they find out you homeschool. Sorry you had to put up with this.

My sister is a teacher and homeschooled a little girl training for the olympics. She has also had a family ask her to homeschool their 3 children. She use to teach at a private school and tutor these kids. She never made her living off of homeschooling but only supplemented her income. Personally, I don't think I would pay someone to homeschool DS completely for me. Maybe if I could afford it, I would opt for someone to teach the subjects I am weak in.

I think I'm less open now about infertility than I was in the past due to comments. DH's father nags me every time I see him about when I'm going to have a grandbaby for him. I try and just smile and say I don't know but it kills me inside. I've requested DH have a heart to heart with him but this doesn't seem to have helped any. I honestly try to avoid seeing him because of these comments. My mother is the complete opposite telling me we wouldn't want another one like DS. Ummm... YES I WOULD! DS has ADHD and drives me crazy at times but he is the sweetest, most loving child. It upsets me even more when she talks about how she is buying baby items for my brother who #1 isn't married yet and #2 fiance isn't even pregnant. I have always had a difficult time standing up for myself with my mother so basically I say nothing and keep it all inside. Aside from family I get comments from my coworkers either asking me "Don't you want another one?" or making comments about how I don't want another one secondary to DH health. (Really I've never said anything like that) I can almost always shake off comments from coworkers and strangers but the comments from family really sit heavy on my heart. DS told me the other day that I still have plenty of time to have another baby because he read in the Genus Book of World Records a lady had a baby at 80. :001_smile: (Who wouldn't want another blessing like that) He also got excited when he was younger because he thought for $39 we could buy a brother or sister. He was watching one of the commercial to send money to help a child in need, but he misunderstood and thought we actually got to buy the child. He was quite disappointed when I explained the entire thing to him.

Please don't hate me, but I rarely leave a 20% tip. On average I leave 15% though. I don't feel anyone should expect to recieve a tip for just showing up either. I have had extremely rude servers in the past (we live in Miami and this seems to be the norm rather than the minority) The last time I was out the waiter was so inattentive I ask for the manager. The manager offered to comp an appetizer which we declined and left. Waiting 20 mins for a drink gets you $0 in my book. On the other hand we have had excellent service from some and tip accordingly. Not all waiters are making minimum wage either. The ones working at upscale restaurants make more than most of us. 20% of a $200 meal is $40. Given that a meal generally takes around 1 hour and they are serving more than one table that really adds up. I have never not tipped out of being cheap but I refuse to reward bad service.

In the past we budgeted $125/month for homeschool expenses, which included co-op classes, field trips, and books. It did not include DS music lessons. Right now we are very tight for money so that might be more of our yearly budget for the upcoming school year. Thankfully we have a lot of reference books already we can use next year. I think $400/month for 2 children is plenty with enough to save for larger purchases that you may want in the future, like a microscope or musical instruments.

I can definitely use prayers too. Our situation is a little different than many on the board as the job loss is not the result of the poor economy. I would like prayers for DH's health. That God would give him the health and strength needed to work. DH was in the construction industry prior to becoming ill and due to his illness and the medication he is now on he can no longer work in that industry. He just started college this past Jan. but has no clue what degree he wants, because as he puts it he really wants to continue his job he had before. Please pray that God offers guidance. Lastly, I would like prayers for myself. Right now is a stressful time in our household and I find myself exhausted at times and becoming short tempered. Please pray that God will give me strength and patience. I believe in the power of prayer and am thankful this thread was started.

My son plays the flute, poorly, but it was his choice of instruments. After about 3 months he was talking about changing instruments and I put my foot down. I told him from day 1 he was committed to one full year of practice before changing. He put in his year and is now talking about changing over to the clarinet. I have no problem with him changing but again he will have to commit to one full year. That being said, if DS absolutely hated playing I would not force him to complete an entire year. 6 years is more than a sufficient attempt.

Michelle- My son struggles with proper nouns also. He knows the definition but takes it to an extreme. For example, he would argue that blue is the name of a specific color therefore it must be a proper noun. I just try to continue and reinforce and correct mistakes. Don't really have any advice though.

I would like a copy too and am willing to strike a pose with my books to prove I purchased them.:lol:

Science- Apologia History- SOTW Comprehensive Language Arts (for those who like one book and being done with it) ?? I'm not sure Spelling- Spelling Workout Reading- Ambleside online, Library, or Project Gutenburg McGuffey Readers Grammar- Rod and Staff Writing- WWE Workbook or Text but not both I would purchase all books used to stretch money. Personally I have been looking at Ambleside online a lot lately. I really like the suggestions and it's free.

I'm confused about the law as well. Who determines if the book is even going to a child under 12? There are so many books published that could be for a large age range, especially all the classics. I would love to hear from others on this too.

You can generally find the cheap stuff for about $1.99 in Miami.

I have scheduled school from 8-2:30, but we rarely finish on time. The problem in my house is my son likes to spend countless hours trying to avoid actually doing the work. Education is very important in our house. So my thought is, if it requires all day to complete the assignments then that's what we'll do. DS is more than capable of completing all the assignments in even less time then I schedule for school so I feel it is his own fault if he doesn't have time to play on certain days. When he wants to he can usually have everything complete no later than noon. Personally, if school only took 2-2.5 hours I would feel I wasn't challenging DS enough. I know there are others who find 2 hours sufficient for their child but I know mine well enough to know this would not work for us. Do not feel like you have to finish in a set time frame.

I think down where I live you would probably need close to $100,000 for 2 adults and 4 children to live "comfortably." I would love to live in an area where $30-35,000 would support my family of 3 even.

What exactly do you all mean when you say PLAN or HOST a park day? With my group it is given there is park group every Thursday at the same time and same place. Any one who wants to come comes. We don't plan any specific activities. It is a time for the moms to interact with other moms and the kids to play with other kids. So I'm wondering if I am missing how someone "planning" or "hosting" park day is actually considered their volunteer time. Unless in your group there is more to it which is what I'm wondering.

I joined a homeschool co-op last year in hopes that DS would have some much needed social interaction. This particular group not only mandated participation but they had the nerve to picked your job for you. The mothers that ran the group were like junior high school girls. If you weren't in their little group you were basically ostricized. I HATED every minute there. When DS completed the semester of classes I thought I would never be apart of another homeschool group. Thankfully, I have found a very laid back group of homeschoolers. We have park days, chess classes, moms night outs, and occasional field trips. Nothing is forced on any of us. If one of us finds something interesting we bring it up to the other moms and that's how field trips are planned. I can honestly say I participate much more in this type of setting then one in which jobs are forced on me. I think if your group does need more participation they should post a list and allow people to sign up. Sorry for my rant but it still makes me want to cry when I think of how miserable these women made me feel. It is a hard balance meeting your child's needs as well as your own.

When do we get to drop the commas?:tongue_smilie:

Sunday- Eggs and toast for breakfast, PB/J Sandwhich for lunch with either apple or grapes, and Lentil Chili for dinner Monday- Oatmeal and Peach yogurt muffins for breakfast with milk, Lunch Left-over Chili that I added a can of corn to, Dinner Spaghetti with vegetable tomato sauce, cheese garlic bread and side salad Tuesday- Cherrios for breakfast, Mac and Cheese with carrots for lunch, Tacos (refried beans, chicken, cheese, salad, and salsa) with spanish style rice for dinner We also had apple crisp for dessert Wednesday- Oatmeal and peach yogurt muffins with milk for breakfast, Don't stone me, but Wendy's for lunch, Pork roast with tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions for dinner Again we ate apple crisp for dessert Thursday- Cherrios for breakfast, Left-overs for lunch, Chicken and Vegetable Stew (potatoes, carrots, grean beans, celery, onions, etc) with cheese biscuits for dinner I made a jello and cool whip pie (not healthy but I was craving it) Friday- Son wanted toast with cheese for breakfast, Left-overs for lunch, and DS will be eating at my mothers for dinner, I will probably just have a sandwhich and DH will eat Leftovers Saturday I have no planned menu. I work both Friday and Saturday night so DH is on his own, and DS is with Nana. We snack on whatever fruits and vegetables are in the fridge. Right now we have apples, grapes, and strawberries. For veggies we have carrots and celery. I am learning to make many things from scratch which has decreased my food bill significantly, and we are not throwing away left-overs. I also shop sales and search for food coupons online.

DS is reading The Golem's Eye, The Eagle of the Ninth, Call it Courage, and also some other book about a princess that doesn't behave the way she is "suppose" to and runs away to live with a dragon. He loves to read, so I am hoping this list gives me a few ideas.