LOL. In my excitement I forgot to ask, does anyone else have a room split between adult office and kid room? If so, I'd love to see pictures.

ME!!!! :party: Since my mom and I decided to move in together, we've been looking around for 3 bedrooms. (4 bedrooms are hard to find in my area, and if you find them- out of our price range!) The house we just committed to has a partially finished basement that will be perfect for all our stuff! It'll actually be half office/library for me and half homeschool room. I can't wait to start decorating!!!! :D

:grouphug::grouphug: I just lost my father to pancreatic cancer, so sorry for what you and your family are going through. Do what you can, when you can. Focus on the fundamentals, and when you have the time, inclination, or desire, add in little extras. On top of all the "things" that need doing, remember that it will take an emotional toll on everyone also. You may crave the routine, or need to ignore schoolwork for days at a time. Either way, do what works for your family at this time. At 7, there is plenty of time to catch up to whatever is missed in the next couple months.

She sounds a lot like my DD, who just turned 6 days ago. She knew her letter sounds for quite awhile, but for some reason she just wasn't getting blending. (And often put sounds that weren't even there, like f-r-a-n for fan, or guessing completely and saying any word that started with an f) We took a break. I stopped all phonics instruction, focused on reading to her and other things, and when we came back to it, it was like a light bulb had went on. She's doing so well now. (But still likes to guess/substitute things- she does this more towards the end of a lesson, so it signals to me that we're done for the day.) Also check out progressivephonics.com. My DD loves this program, because it has the adult reading little stories while the emergent reader reads select words throughout the passage. DD likes that we are reading together, and that she's actually reading something- not just random words.

I think that it really wouldn't affect me. My 6 year old DD is still in a 5 point... she'll definitely be in a booster for awhile yet. :D I support increased limits, if for no other reason it makes others realize I'm not so crazy! But I know many people who let their 4 year olds out of boosters now even though it's illegal, raising the age isn't going to change anything. Sadly.

Went out today and got DD two of the Hot Wheels bath toys... she's in the tub now. :D She loves them! Are the cars that come with the sets just normal hot wheels cars? DD wants to know if she can bring her other cars in the tub with her, but I'm worried about them rusting.

I probably shouldn't answer this.... Right now, DD goes to bed between 2-4am and wakes up between noon and 1pm. :tongue_smilie: Starting tomorrow we'll be transitioning back to a more normal schedule since I start classes in 1.5 weeks. I'm aiming for 10-8. We're night owls. We are on a somewhat normal schedule while I'm in classes, but within a week of the semester ending we've just naturally shifted later.

:lol::lol:

Right now, our focus is language. Learning to read and write English and learning to speak French. Next year our focus will be language, (English, French and Spanish) and (much as I hate this term...) "social studies": history, geography, and world cultures.

Thank you everyone, lots of good ideas in this thread. Especially this! DD will LOVE this!! She's been playing with her wall tracks everyday since Christmas.

How old were your kids when they stopped playing with bath toys? DD is 6 (tomorrow!) but she still likes to sit in the bath for 30 mins to an hour playing. She really needs some new bath toys though. Right now she's got some barbies in there and a few little happy meal type toys. Are there any good bath toys out there for elementary age kids? Everything out there seems to be for toddlers/preschoolers!

:iagree:. Nothing else to add. Perfectly stated.

:iagree: I don't think it was intended to be anything other than a "connection." I don't understand... can't math just be math?? :tongue_smilie:

I sell or give away my non-consumables, but I only have one child and won't be having more anytime soon. (Plus, since my child is 6, I figure even if I had another baby tomorrow, I'd want to use different things in a couple years.) But not books. I've JUST given away all of DD's old baby board books. I'm a book hoarder.

Thanks for this!!!! I've tried to access three different things on wikipedia today, not thinking about the blackout. Then I have to spend time searching real sites looking for my answers. :lol:

Hey. I'm a real person, who at the time my daughter was born was not multi-lingual, and really even now I don't really consider myself multi-lingual. Although I can communicate in multiple languages, I'm not fluent in any but English. I call myself a functional French and Spanish speaker. That's an interesting suggestion. I've read a number of studies saying that no matter what level of proficiency you gain in a second language (not truly bilingual people who have two first languages), you always do math in your first language. I know I do, but numbers are one of my big weaknesses in foreign languages. I can barely count to 100 in any language other than English. I wonder how this would work if you purposely did math in a language other than your first? Does your DD actually do math in another language, or just count? :iagree:with everything here, although it is hard to know what other people mean. I know that I, personally, try to stick to the word "functional" when talking about skills in foreign languages. I can use my languages, I'd be okay in a country speaking that language, and I can read something written in that language and at least understand what it's about. I think a word like 'proficient' leads to a lot of confusion. What one person considers 'proficient' may be another person's 'almost fluent' may be another person's 'barely able to speak'. And let's not even go into the levels, since most people I've met (other than on this board) have no idea they even exist. As a person whose child will be doing multiple languages, let me say.... you aren't a loser. We all have different focuses in our homeschools (and our homes in general!) It just so happens that language is very important to my family and it is a priority. But I'm sure if we compared what I do to what you do, there are subjects that your children are more advanced than mine. Science, art, and music are three areas that get very little notice around here because of our language studies.

:iagree: I mean, I care about the end result a little, but I would definitely go to school forever. I just found out that one day while my parents and aunt and uncle were playing cards and talking, my dad said that if he won the lottery, he'd pay for me to be a student forever, because he knows that's what I'd really like to do with my life. :D My Dad knew me well.

Last night while I was watching Jeopardy with my mom, DD kept bugging me asking to do school. (Yes, we've been staying up late and sleeping in while I'm not in classes, which means school late!) "Mommy, can we do school? Is it time to do school? How much time left until we do my schoolwork?" My mom said "I don't think I've ever known a child to WANT to do schoolwork so much" I said... "Well, you've never known a child that isn't FORCED into a classroom for 8 hours a day doing busywork and calling it learning" :lol: Score one for homeschooling! (Mom already supports me in homeschooling, and has helped financially so I'm able to do so, but she's still not 100% convinced.)

No advice, just :grouphug:.

Expectations- By graduation, I expect DD to be functional in three languages: French, Spanish, and Portuguese. I expect some degree of literacy in Latin, and a beginning study of a fourth modern language which she can choose in high school. Actual accomplishments- Well, she's 5, so we've only been working on French so far. She has a basic understanding of the very basics. :D I suspect that she understands much more than she lets on and uses though. Bare minimum- I think this is very individual. Each family, and even each child, have different minimums. For our family the bare minimum will be to be functional in three modern languages. (French, Spanish, Portuguese.) But we'll *hopefully* be spending time in Brazil, which is why I've added Portuguese, otherwise it would be two. However... for other families I can't say what the bare minimum is. Time constraints, other focuses, etc. may take precedence. When to start- the earlier the better. Especially when it comes to modern languages. Even just exposure is better than nothing. Importance- *I* think foreign language study is very, VERY important. IMO, you can't really understand the concepts and beliefs of another culture without reading/hearing it in the language it developed in. Also, it's important to be able to communicate with as many people as possible. How I picked languages- DD will be studying the languages I know/will know. (1) it's easier to teach something you know, (2) they are widespread languages that will allow lots of travel/communication all over the world, (3) it's pretty cool that we'll speak half the official UN languages, and (4) those are the languages we will have the chance to use.

I'm one of "those" parents that insist on the full, given name of the child. Except (of course there's an except, why else would I be responding? :tongue_smilie:) if the nickname is unrelated to her name. She has a number of affectionate nicknames from friends and family, and I don't mind them. But I do mind the shortening, or altering, of her given name. (For example. Pumpkin is okay, Jen is not.)

Can you meet the litter and then choose? I've had two dogs, and both were chosen from the litter. The first was picked because she was laid back and very... chill. Even as an 8 week old puppy she was so... relaxed! She ended up being laid back for her entire life. The second puppy was.... well, the opposite. She was chosen because she was the runt of the litter, and spunky. And boy did I pay for that spunk! :tongue_smilie:She's 9, and still a handful sometimes!!

Latin American history- particularly Brazilian history. It's what I study in school, and what I'll (hopefully) be going to graduate school for. Also foreign languages. I study French and Spanish, starting Portuguese soon, and hope to eventually learn Arabic. And reading. I read probably... 5-7 books a week. Almost a book a day. Knowledge in general is my "passion" I guess. :tongue_smilie:I love to learn new things.

:iagree:

Well. I guess I'm a little nuts. My dog is... well, my baby. My daughter calls her her sister, family refer to me as her mommy, and I love her. A lot. I had her before I had my daughter. And she was my "support" during emotional and medical crises. When I was writhing in pain so bad I was throwing up, my dog laid on the bed with me, following me back and forth to the bathroom. When all I could do was cry for days, it was my dog's fur that I cried into. I don't know. I guess I understand how a pet can become very important to a person. We never know what the person may be missing, wanting, hurting from, etc..... (Although, if the pet takes precedence over your human child, there's a problem...) And people that have no children that compare having animals to having children really just don't understand, but did any of us understand what it meant to have children until we actually had them?