I want my kids to hear lots of great readalouds, really I do! But they request some wonderful old favorites over and over and over and over and over... I think I might scream if I have to read some of these again and still act enthusiastic about it. I can see on Amazon that you can buy an "MP3 album" of some of them. Now for the totally idiotic question. If I buy one of those, how do the kids listen to it? Do they have to have my computer? Or my Kindle? Or can I use my computer to put it on a CD that they can listen to on their CD players? (Yes, that is the only electronic device my kids have. Mommy is not saavy enough to even know what they should have instead!)

Michelle has herself on there!!! :)

I learned all the parts of speech from Mad Libs! :)

So glad to see somebody else say that - yay, it's not just me!! :) I re-read everything I post here for fear of looking like I am illiterate!!

Do you ever watch "19 Kids & Counting"? Michelle Duggar has a chart that I love! I don't know how to find it and show it to you, but it has a column for each person, and then the rows are times (730-8, 830-9, etc.) Then she has sticky notes for what each person is supposed to be doing at the assigned time. If somebody takes a break or whatever, she moves the sticky note to a later open time. (Reassigns the work.) I wonder if you could set up something like that - a visual display that shows you are flexible, but if DH turns on the TV for the kids, or has them doing chores, he needs to find a time to move the sticky notes to. Or maybe you just need to make sure there is a sticky note with ample time for chores?

So many people with more experience than me have posted on this forum in the past about not pushing it, so I have just decided to follow that advice. I don't care if they are the last to read - I want them to have each step down solid before we move on. Ditto. We do a lesson, and then I write every word I can possibly come up with that follows that pattern/rule on flashcards, and we work those until all my kids know them cold. We sound them out together as a group. When that is easy and obvious, we go around the circle with everyone taking turns sounding out by themselves. When they start eye-rolling b/c "that's SOOOO easy", we go to the next lesson.

A lot of my friends were public school teachers before they became stay-at-home moms. Maybe I'm naive, I just did not expect the backlash regarding homeschooling. Do your friends take it personally when you decide to homeschool??? I mean seriously, it's like I have personally insulted them by making a different decision than they did, as if I am judging them for sending their kids to public school. Or like I don't respect what they did in their pre-kid lives. I don't feel like I have made any judgemental comments, other than "I don't think my kids would thrive in school due to some minor learning issues". Is this the norm??? Am I going to lose all my friends??? I understand that this isn't a factor in the decision to homeschool, but it just hurts. My mother is barely speaking to me, my dad thinks I "just need to take some time for myself because I seem so stressed", and everyone else is pressuring me to send them to public school "just to give it a chance". How do I know they can't deal with my kids' issues if I don't give it a try? Glad you asked. I talked to the school district, and they told me that they wouldn't even evaluate my kids unless they are failing in the classroom. They aren't going to fail b/c I kill myself at home working with them. So the school district instructed me to STOP working with them and let them fail so they could get some help. Because that's what good moms do, right??? I just never expected this whole thing to be so emotional. I don't even know what kind of responses I am looking for. My husband is working out of town this week, and I'm just sitting here crying b/c it seems like everyone I know is against me at the moment, and y'all are the only ones who are going to agree with me that my kids would be better off at home!!!

I am 5'3", and all legs/no torso length. I had never had a baby before. So I was told going into the pregnancy that the outcome was not likely to be good. I just got a little careless in the excitement of planning the nursery & baby showers & visitors. I went into labor at 17 weeks (just because that was when I ran out of room and my cervix had more pressure from baby weight than it could take). I was immediately put on bedrest. I took it very seriously for the first week, then got careless again and at that point ended up in the hospital being beaten up with every drug known to man. I managed to hang on until 31 weeks, but numerous times during that LOOOOOONG hospital stay, they thought delivery was imminent, so I wasn't allowed to eat. I don't think I got to eat more than once every 3 days or so. So my babies were extremely small for gestation (2 1/2 pounds-ish), which is why we ended up with as many issues as we did. Weight matters! Keep in mind too that I had triplets, which is very different than twins. Your chances of a great outcome are MUCH higher. I just want to be voice of caution when your brain is telling you to really ramp up what you do before the babies get here so you can relax later! Rest when your body is tired, even if that means somebody misses their math lesson. DRINK WATER like you are about to go on a trek through the desert without a thermos. "A well-hydrated uterus is a happy uterus!" as my doctor said about 4000 times every day. I'm not talking 6-8 glasses a day. You need to be SATURATING your body! I was supposed to get a MINIMUM of a gallon of water every day. I am not sure how the recommendation changes for twins vs. triplets, but I would guess you need to be aiming for 12+ cups of water a day. Eat lots of protein (dairy & meat & eggs). For some reason that is way more important in a multiple pregnancy, though I can't remember exactly why. Don't do housecleaning that puts a lot of pressure on your cervix (anything you can feel in your abdomen). Vacuuming, moving wet clothes from washer to dryer, bending and straightening over and over (like emptying a dishwasher), and excessive going up and down the stairs are not ideal activities! Again, honestly, I think these precautions are probably not all that necessary for you at this point, but given that you REALLY NEED the best possible outcome in order to continue homeschooling, it is worth taking them just in case.

I'm sorry - I don't mean to sound like the voice of doom! Especially given that you have had children previously, the chances of a great outcome are very high. I just want to make them even higher, because the implications of an extremely early birth are far-reaching!

Regret is a horrible thing. I look back and know that *I* made some really stupid decisions, that both I and my kiddos will have to live with forever. I know that had I taken the best care of myself that I could have, and they had still come so early, I would be at peace, knowing I had done my best. But as it is, there is a lot of guilt. I know that God forgives me, but I also know that my family has to live with the consequences of those bad decisions that I made. Don't do anything that you will regret later. Realize that taking good care of yourself now something you are doing FOR YOUR WHOLE FAMILY. It is NOT selfish. Your body is not yours - it is your babies' right now. And the rest of the family will live forever with what you do with your body for the next 6 months, so indirectly it is theirs as well. How would you take care of your body if you really believed that??

Congratulations!!!!! What a blessing!!!! The BEST thing you can do for next year is have a healthy pregnancy this year. I would do ANYTHING to re-do my pregnancy. I *had* to clean my house. I *had* to shop for the nursery. Etc. My body began giving signs that I needed to slow down, but I didn't, and ended up in premature labor. The doctor managed to slow the labor way down, but the damage was done. My babies were born several months early. I won't even go into the emotional implications, but let me tell you how much time I have spent in kids' physical, occupational, and speech therapy appointments, at doctor appointments, at having various types of testing, etc. If I had had older children, there is no way I could have handled homeschooling on top of very premature multiples and all their issues. Full-term, healthy babies would be the BEST thing you could do to ensure a successful homeschooling year next year and for the next 5 or so. If that means backing off and having a less rigorous year for your kids academically this year, you need to do that!!! LISTEN to your body. If you are exhausted, you need to REST. A multiple pregnancy is different than a singleton. Your body is designed to grow ONE baby. It can certainly handle two, but just know that you need to take more care than you would in a normal pregnancy.

I am so excited about my first homeschool convention in Greenville, SC in March. I have read the listing of presenters and workshops, but am having a hard time finding a list of WHEN each workshop is offered. Do you register for the individual workshops ahead of time, or is it just first-come, first-serve? How do you know what is offered when, or do you not know until you get there? Is there a separate charge for each workshop? Ticketing for each workshop (with or without a charge)? Do they have suggested "tracks" other than the one for teens? Like newbies may want to do these 3, and then either this or this? Parents of younger elementary students should consider these 3? etc. It is going to kill me if I have to wait until I get there to make a schedule! :)

Ditto!

I think I have read every math thread ever posted on this board! :) After reading all that, I have decided on RightStart Mathematics Level A, with plans to continue to Level B afterward. We are supplementing with Miquon Orange. After we finish RS-A & RS-B, we will probably go to Math Mammoth, because it seems like everyone loves RS for A & B, but the love drops off at Level C.

Definitely not for now! It just seems like people love some years and hate others, and I am so attracted to it, but only want to pick it up for the good years!

If you were only going to use Sonlight for one or two years, which years would you choose? Are there some cores that are better than others?

I think she said she had a year or two of piano in elementary school, but had forgotten it all. FYI - Suzuki does require YOU to learn alongside the child.

I have a friend who swears that she is having really good luck with these. I have not heard her kids play, but she is someone whose opinion I really trust, so they are worth a look. Focus on Suzuki Piano (About Suzuki)- Mary Craig Powell; Studying Suzuki Piano: More Than Music : A Handbook for Teachers, Parents, and Students (Suzuki Piano Reference)- Carole L. Bigler; Suzuki Piano School - New International Edition- Volume 1 (The Suzuki Method Core Materials)- Dr. Suzuki; Suzuki Piano School: Performed by Valery Lloyd-Watts (Volume 1&2) (Suzuki Method)- Shinichi Suzuki; Audio CD

Thank YOU!!! I sometimes feel like I am the only one here who doesn't have gifted kids who are ahead in every area. In fact, I sometimes feel like I am the only person in the world who doesn't have gifted kids who potty trained at 1 and read at 3! It's so nice to see someone who understands my struggles! On the whole, I am SO blessed to have kids who only have minor issues compared to what could have been, but I absolutely refuse to quit trying if there are ANY possible new solutions! Three years ago, there was no question in anyone's mind that my kids would be in special ed. At this point, they could probably make it in a mainstream classroom. They'd be at the bottom of the class, but they could do it. I am so thankful that their issues are things that can be improved with hard work and supplements and therapy, and that my husband has a job that enables me to stay home and focus on doing what needs to be done. And I am so thankful that there are people here like you who make me feel like I'm not quite so alone in this journey!

You make me laugh! Here in a small town in the south, *I* am STRICTLY judged based on my kids' manners! People could care less about whether or not my kids can read, but if they forget to say "thank you", tongues are clucking! At age 5, people overlook stuff, but we aren't far from the ages where expectations start rising.

Don't let them talk you into the Omega 3-6-9. They talked me into it, saying it was the same, but apparently it isn't quite the same! You want the ProEFA, not something somewhat similar!!!

I bet you didn't have the right brand. I did TONS and TONS of research on this at one point. The only two brands that it seems everyone agrees are pure and safe are Nordic Naturals & Coromega. The NN is the lemon one. It's not good, but it's not awful either. Two of my kids love it and beg for more, one drinks it without complaint but doesn't love it, and one hates it. (Of course the one who hates it is the one who needs it the most.) The Coromega is an orange pudding one - they all loved that and took it right off the spoon. Too bad it didn't work for us!

Do you actually grind your own flax? I have heard that's the only way to get it fresh enough to be useful b/c it is so unstable. I just did NOT see myself grinding it everyday! Hence the reason we did the fish oil instead. I don't think I have forgotten the fish oil once. Kiddos won't let me - they want their "smart kid juice"! Not b/c they actually like it, but b/c they want to be smart. :)

Can I just TELL you how excited I am reading the things that they have seen an improvement in??? http://pursuitofresearch.org/pursuit-of-research/ A lot of these things are things I consider annoyances, but not high enough on my list to be a concern compared to some of our issues. I would LOOOVE it if my kids started understanding jokes! Or if Camille would quit walking around with that blank look on her face! Or if I could quit buying nighttime Pullups! (That in itself might offset the cost of the supplement!) I REEEALLY would love it if this resolved our motor delays & sensory issues. Like REEEEEEALLY love it! Off to order!!!! :)

I buy it off Amazon as I can't find it locally. Fish oil one of those things that works for 1/2 the kids, and makes no difference at all for others. For the ones that it works for, it's miraculous! Some people get results from Coromega, and not Nordic Naturals. Others (like us) are the exact opposite. It's DEFINITELY worth a try! The Coromega is in an orange pudding-type paste. The NN comes in either a lemon-flavored liquid or capsules. If your child can take capsules, do that, b/c the liquid has to be refrigerated and even then goes rancid quickly. (I have 4 kids taking it, so we've never had it go bad, but I think almost everyone else ends up throwing away the end of the bottle!) A lot of other companies sell fish oil products, but these two are known for testing for contamination and being the purest, so I wouldn't try a different brand. If you do the NN, the ProEFA is the one you want. Some people do 2 parts ProEFA plus 1 part ProEPA. Try the ProEFA first before deciding whether you want to add more stuff. I called NN to get the correct dosage based on weight & age. My kids are tiny (like 30 pound) 5 year olds, so I can't even begin to hazard a guess at what the right dosage would be for your child. Based on advice of others, we did a double dose the first week, then went to a "maintenance" dose of the amount recommended by NN.