If you lose your nerve, you can always go with shocked and offended "WOW! What a rude/horrible thing to say!" The key there is to really sell it, like you have never heard anyone say anything like that before, and are horribly offended! (That's my standard response to "I'd kill myself if I had triplets" - yep, get it ALL THE TIME. Who says that in front of kids who are clearly old enough to understand??? Lots of people, that's who!) If you act like you are so shocked that they would say that, it usually makes them realize and think about what they just said, and they apologize. Doesn't undo your kids hearing it, but hopefully makes them think twice before saying to the next kids they see.

Please tell me you reply "too bad your mother didn't teach you any manners!" or "too bad you got the rude mouth"! I would follow it up with "you do realize she can hear, right?" and "I think she's gorgeous!" just to be sure the point got across. Would it help her to know that we ALL wish we had different hair? I have stick straight light brown hair. All it does is a bob - no matter how I cut it, it always lays back into a bob. I grew up in the 80s, when curly and BIG was the look, and no matter how much I curled & teased & permed, I always had straight basically flat hair. It seemed like the end of the world at the time. Of course, looking back, we all laugh at my friends' pics, and then comment about how normal I look comparatively!

When one person in our house got them, we treated the entire family at once as if they had them. I assumed it was like pink eye - something that we would keep passing back and forth if we didn't all deal with it at once.

This was exactly our problem. The writing expectations were at a WAAAAY higher level than the phonics/reading expectations. And the readalouds were even higher. I ended up waiting until we were old enough to enjoy the readalouds, but by then we were way past the phonics they recommended, and were still not there for the writing. I ended up using Sonlight solely for the readaloud schedule. I went back to our old phonics, handwriting, and math.

FYI - they are young earth. (Dinosaurs on Noah's ark, and apparently some of the text supports that viewpoint as well.) That may or may not appeal, but just wanted you to know upfront!

We did P4/5 with my older kindergarteners this year. We used our own phonics (OPGTR), handwriting (HWOT), and math (RS, Miquon), and only used their schedule & readalouds. The readalouds from P4/5 were perfect for my 6 1/2-7 year olds. They got so much more out of them than they would have a year ago! We are going to use Core A for 1st grade. Again, we will sub out the skills and only use it for content subjects.

I would get AT LEAST the 155. If you are going to have more than 1 kid at a time using them, you will need more than that.

Need 36 more buyers to get 50% off!!!

DEL really helped me to see several problems that needed major work. My kids are advanced in some areas, and behind in others, and tend to compensate for weaknesses really well. I was able to pinpoint some weaknesses and really focus on them now, before we get too far along.

Oh, that makes all the difference in the world! I didn't understand that I didn't *have* to buy the LA!

But only if I buy today or tomorrow?

We are currently using Sonlight's P4/5 just for the readalouds & schedule. We have been combining 2 weeks worth of reading into 1 week, just b/c my kids are older than the intended audience, but they have LOVED it and gotten so much out of it! For next year for Core A, do I want old or new? We will NOT be using their Language Arts program or math. I am primarily interested in scheduled readalouds, bible, history/cultures/social studies stuff, etc. Also, does the 4 day schedule include everything the 5 day schedule does, just rearranged? Or does the 4 day eliminate some things? (We do CC, so we only school 4 days a week, but school year-round, so I have time.) If it's all included, I'll order the 4 day, but if there is more in the 5 day, I might as well order that.

We do something similar. I take ALL the workbooks to Kinkos & have them 3 hole punch them. For thick ones, I have them cut the binding off as well. Each of my kids has a 3 inch binder, with tabs dividing it by subjects. I then file each workbook in the appropriate spot. For thicker workbooks, I just file a month's worth of pages. The notebook also includes things like handwriting sample page to copy from, their calendar, etc. That way EVERYTHING my kids need to do school other than their pencil box is in ONE PLACE. (We school in therapy offices a lot, so transportability is key!)

I have NOT personally used any WP products. The reason I have avoided them is b/c of the number of people here who say that they got sucked in by the gorgeous & exciting catalog, and ordered despite less than stellar reviews, and were sorely disappointed with the actual product. Apparently the catalog is so good that several people, after being horribly disappointed, have actually ordered more products and been equally unhappy. The catalog must be amazing - I will NOT be ordering one just in case I couldn't resist!! :)

In another thread, people were posting about giving their kids things to take apart to encourage them to understand how things work in a hands on way. I am NOT giving my kid free rein to take apart my vacuum! What kinds of things do you give your child to take apart? Do you just give them a screwdriver and let them go at it? Or offer guidance of some sort?

I will tell you that I bought the whole kit & caboodle, and ditched the LA almost immediately. NOT great at all. I'm back to OPGTR & ETC. I have also subbed out the math. So it has basically turned into a readaloud program. They have such great readalouds, but that's all I am using it for.

That's what my books are in. Definitely not quite as nice looking as your original baskets, but they are sturdy, and they cost about $1!!

We have the MP K level. My kids are old for kindergarteners, and it has been perfect! I would NOT use it with a young 5 year old. We used our own math, reading, handwriting, and despite that, I still think it was worth buying! My youngest child will be 6 in Sept, and my olders will be 7.5 years old. I am debating buying the 1st grade, vs. going through the kindergarten again. The 1st grade would be perfect for my olders, but I am not sure I can see running two different grades on top of doing Classical Conversations.

Ditto - my kids LOOOOVE the audio CDs!!

I *think* for 1st grade, you would need the next level up - Alpha - but I am not sure. If you do go with MUS, be aware that the sequencing is very different from most other math programs. They do ALL of addition first, then ALL of subtraction, etc. Rather than doing one digit addition, one digit subtraction, then two digit addition, etc. If there is any chance of your child going to public/private school before you finish the series, he may be advanced in some areas and never heard of other things that the other kids can already do.

RightStart is AWESOME!!! Not only will your child totally get math, YOU will too!!! It's 100% scripted, so it tells you every single thing to say. In quotes. Then it tells you if the child says this, they get it, and if they say this, they don't, and they tell you what to do about that. You cannot mess it up! It does take one-on-one time with your child - if you are looking to hand your kid a workbook and go wash the dishes while do math, RS is not the program for you! There are very few worksheets in RS - it's almost all done with manipulatives. -------- We have really enjoyed Miquon as well, but if you are not mathy, it will be a little nerve-wracking at first. It's WEIRD. It works, but it is really weird! -------- Math Mammoth is similar to Singapore, but in smaller chunks. All instructions and explanations are directly in the student pages, so a child who reads well may be able to be a little more independent with that one.

My kiddos have some delays. I make sure that every person in charge of them knows about issues relating to what they are doing. (Swimming, dancing teachers know about gross motor, CC tutor knows about learning challenges, etc.) This allows them to adjust accordingly, rather than be caught off guard, potentially embarrassing my kids more. It also ensures that if other parents go to the tutor and say "why aren't those almost-7 year olds reading?", the tutor can reply "their mom is aware that there are some issues and they are getting help" or whatever.

This isn't a quote, but I have one child who struggles with honesty. My approach has been to explain that if I can't trust her, I have to watch her all the time. Sadly, that means she can't go play in the playroom, be in dance class, etc. She has to stay RIGHT BESIDE me anytime she is awake. I don't make it unpleasant for her while she is with me. She just has to stay there, and it's not nearly as fun as being free to do whatever. I usually institute this for 48 hours. Longer if there has been a recent episode. Also, lying & disrespect are the two things that earn a spanking in my house. The only two things. My kids know that those two things are the ones that really matter. When kids lie in my house, it's usually an attempt to avoid getting in trouble, so I make sure they understand that if they had just told the truth, they would have gotten one punishment, but now they are getting one for the naughtiness, plus another for lying. Then we go through the whole "would you rather have one punishment or two? One? So you would have been better off telling me the truth and only getting one rather than lying and getting two?"

A LOT, but my kiddos are young so we have plenty of time! Also, as my youngest is typical and the older ones are delayed, they are all about the same skill level so they are all in the same classes / on the same teams which simplifies things immensely. If we were in public school, we would probably not do more than one activity. One of the many advantages of homeschooling - we have time to explore lots of different things! Church choir Homeschool PE Fine arts co-op (public speaking, chorus, puppet theater, drawing) Seasonal sport - soccer / basketball / baseball Classical Conversations Swimming 2x per week Dance (acro, ballet, tap, jazz/hiphop) Gymnastics Plus physical, occupational, & vision therapy.

I went in today to my upscale Aveda salon, where haircuts start at $45, but most stylists are in the $60-80 range. This is metro Charlotte, so not a small town, but not huge either. As I was checking out, I mentioned this post to the lady who has been working at the front desk for years. "I usually tip 20%, but was reading on the internet about someone who was told that the new going rate was 30% - is that right?" Her reply was, "I usually see 18-20%, rounded up to the nearest dollar. I rarely see 30% except right before Christmas."