I've suffered from insomnia for... well, years. At least since middle school/late elementary school. I sleep 2-3 hours a night for most of the week, and then 12 hours one night when my body is finally just done. I usually use the time to read or do homework. I also clean, take a shower, and do other things that need to get done. Lately I get most of my homeschool planning done between 1-4 in the morning. As a last resort, I play on the computer. Surprisingly, I haven't reached the end of the internet yet, although I suspect I should for all the time I spend on it! I know "they" (who is they? lol) say playing on the computer/watching TV stimulates and makes it harder to sleep, but NOT doing those things didn't help me sleep any better, so at least it's nice to have something to do! I also play video games, and that can help pass the time until my body finally gives out. Does she like to do any type of art? She could paint, draw, sculpt, etc. Sorry she is going through this! I know firsthand how tough it is. :grouphug:

I'm not sure... this is exactly the reason I went with a Wii, even though I desperately wanted a PS3! I hope you find some good ones, and then pass them on so maybe I can justify the PS3. :D

I have also decided to homeschool partially because of my faith. To clarify, I was definitely not lumping in ALL religious based homeschoolers together, because many of us do in fact expose our children, but there are also many out there who homeschool primarily to keep their children from anyone of a different faith, and make sure their children follow the same path. I certainly hope my daughter will stay in the Church as she grows up, and I feel that I have done a great job of instilling a love and respect for the Church, but I feel like the all or nothing approach some families (not just homeschoolers!) approach religion with leads to unhealthy relationships and a strong possibility of a family break.

Oh, I definitely don't think those parents should be forbidden from homeschooling, exactly for the reason you brought up. I know of 2 homeschooling for religious reasons families. (All the children are actually my age now, so prior homeschooling families!) In one family, all three children have remained true to their faith and are strong in that faith and happy with how things were. In the other family, most of the 5 kids have rebelled and left the faith, picking up some pretty nasty drug/sex/alcohol habits along the way. It can go either way. My personal philosophy though is one of tolerance, and having a broad worldview. I want my daughter to make her choices based on what is right for *her*, not what I want her to do.

I actually agree with many things the author said. I DO believe stronger in a child's right to education more than a parent's right to raise the child however they want. I think the people who aren't teaching their children certain subjects are doing them a serious disservice, such as the family recently discussed on this forum who aren't teaching their children high school level math or science. Yes, it can be made up for in college, but it is much tougher then, and much tougher to get into school without it. The whole premise behind TWTM and the 4 year cycle is that the constant repetition of history material first exposes, then focuses. Other subjects should be the same. If a child doesn't have exposure to a subject, they won't be able to recognize it they are especially gifted in that field, or if it may be a possible career option. I also worry about the children who are homeschooled for purely religious reasons. I am religious, and plan on including religious education within our school, but my daughter will also be exposed to other religions and in high school will do religious education classes. I think it is a little naive to think that you can keep a child in your religion by hiding all others from them. I also disagree with some of what she said. The whole, bullies are necessary thing is ridiculous. My daughter is exposed to many different types of people in everyday life, and learns how to deal with them in an appropriate manner. Children who are bullied in school only learn how to report it to the teacher, and then learn that the authority can't really do much and they are all on their own, because many bullies can't be controlled by the schools. It's interesting to me that the author feels so educated on homeschooling she can write an article about it... when in fact, of her own admission, she has no real experience with it!!

Sore subject...:glare: As a child, maybe 7 or 8, I remember one accident. I was with my mother, sitting in the front seat. I didn't have a seatbelt on and we were rear ended. I busted my lip on the dashboard, and from that point on ALWAYS wore a seatbelt! lol. My mom laughs about it now because she says she had gotten out to exchange information and when she walked back up to the car I had my seatbelt on all on my own. When I was 16, a friend and I were headed to NC from MD (I was driving) and while at a stop I was rearended by a truck going 60+miles an hour, which shoved me forward 25 feet into another car. My neon was totalled, and I ended up being in PT and having back surgery for 18 months. Just a few weeks later when I had gotten a brand new car, (My first new car!) I was rear ended while in traffic, and the guy took off down a side road. I was... ANGRY! lol. When I was 18, just a few months after I was released from PT, I was crossing at a stoplight (I had the green light!) and was hit by a huge work van going 55 miles an hour on my passenger side. Luckily I was alone, but I again ended up in PT and having MORE back surgery. Car was totalled.

Nope, never taught. I am actually in school right now to be a college professor, and considered getting my secondary ed degree along the way. However, I realized that some of the reasons I want to homeschool my daughter would apply to me as a teacher and decided to pass on that. :D I love kids and have actually worked as a nanny for many years, I'd like to focus on my own children now, and have no interest in correcting the horrible behavior of other people's families!

My 10 year reunion will be in 2013, and I'll probably go. I graduated with many of the same people I started preschool with, and even if I wasn't particularly close to anyone I went to school with (hung out with the older, bad!! kids) I'd still like to see everyone and reconnect for a night. Besides, by then I'll be working on my PhD, and it would be nice to redeem myself from "that girl who slept all the time" and "that girl who only makes it to one class a day"!! lol. :D

LOL. I'm actually terrified of doing the next couple years!! (DD is 4.5). Once she is reading well, I can teach her pretty much anything she wants to know. But learning the basics is what catches me up! :glare:

My 4.5 year old DD is (a little) advanced in math. I was looking at Scope and Sequence from Singapore and she is definitely ready for 1A, could probably skip to 1B if I wanted. I'm definitely going to start with 1A though to build the solid foundation, and Miquon as supplement. However... she is a very reluctant writer. I think her fine motor skills need to be built up some and we will be playing with play doh, tweezers, etc. this year to help. I'd hate to hold her back in math (and other subjects, but I haven't pick exactly what I'm using yet!) because of this. I was thinking of going ahead with Singapore and Miquon, letting her write as much as she will, and then finish writing for her. Would this be too ridiculous, or have others done this? (I know it's just numbers and such, and since it's math I assume it can't be TOO MUCH writing, but she really digs her heels in and doesn't even want to do schoolwork when I try to make her write too much!)

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back here... I forgot I had posted! :D Thank you everyone. I think we are going to continue with reading through the summer and add AAS in the fall. It seems like it would be a great program for us, especially since she is a somewhat reluctant writer these days, and still needs a reminder about how 1/3 of the letters are shaped. (i.e. I can write it on another piece of paper and she can easily replicate it, but has a hard time recalling it on her own)

As a transfer student you are ineligible for some scholarships, but then there are others offered specifically for transfer students. I transferred from a CC to a state university at the beginning of this year with 38 credits and was offered scholarships from my CC honor society, the state of MD, the school I was entering, plus grants. As for my daughter... even if we progressed at the typical rate from here on out she'd be starting college a year earlier, since we are starting kindergarten now when she is actually preschool age. I see her going through quicker in most subjects. For example, we are starting with Singapore 1A and she already knows most of that, I just want to be sure of a solid foundation. She is free to live at home at go to CC/university at 14 if she's ready, but she won't be going away to college until AT LEAST 16, most likely 18. I'm a college student now, and I know what goes on around campus!!!

WOW! I love this idea! I had been trying to figure out how to incorporate poetry in a fun way and this sounds perfect.

What? We're supposed to get rid of books?? :lol: Between my daughter and I we have so many books that we actually have to store some at my parents house. (We live in a small, one bedroom apartment). The only books I got rid of were her baby board books, because we don't have special memories of those, and they weren't in really good shape (We read ALOT. Our books get used, and in that case, abused!) I still have books from MY childhood that I'm looking forward to sharing with my DD. And these were kept because I couldn't bear to part with them, not because my parents had the thought that I would want to share them with my children.

Well... I didn't find myself suddenly single, but I did find myself suddenly with a child.. At that point I was 19, working part time minimum wage jobs, living with my parents, and had no significant life plan. I went back to school, and am majoring in history. I'll be getting my PhD and (hopefully!) teaching college. I picked that because not only do I love history, but as a college professor I have some flexibility with hours, and can work from home alot also (grading papers, planning, etc.) I also have a long term plan to make my DD responsible for her own education as much as is feasible. We live off of scholarships, grants and loans. Not ideal, and only works out to less than 12K a year, but it gets us by and I can still school her and get my own education!

My 4.5 year old DD is EXACTLY like this. She wants to spell... everything. I love that she's so interested in learning, but it really can drive me crazy! Especially when she asks "What's the longest word Mommy?" "uhm.... antidisestablishmentarianism" "Okay Mommy... spell that!" ........... hahah. We played like that for awhile, now I use the chance to turn some of the CVC words back on her. For every word she'll spell, I spell 1, 2, or 3... depending on what kind of mood she's in that day!

I'm mildly OCD about my hands.... can't STAND to have anything on them. Even lotion gives me the creepies... So that's a great big no. lol. I even have to use forks or other utensils to switch steaks and chicken from the package to the pan/grill.

WOW, after reading all these comments I can't wait to watch it!! I love me some Grey's Anatomy. With that said... the reason I haven't seen it yet is because I watch it online precisely because I don't want my 4.5 year old DD watching. It can get quite graphic, and there is quite a bit of sleeping around. No body parts are shown, but it's quite obvious what the characters are doing. I watch all of my shows online (Grey's, CSI, Bones, House, Criminal Minds) because they are inappropriate for children. I'd be really upset if someone let her watch them. The girl who babysits my daughter while I'm in class lets her 3 and 6 year old DD's watch reality shows like the Kardashians and that blonde girl who used to be a playboy bunny... I had to make it clear that I DON'T want my DD watching them. If you plan to use her again, definitely bring it up now. If you're so upset about it that you won't be asking her to babysit again, I wouldn't stir the waters. What's been done is done.

I eat the peel, DD wants hers peeled. I've recently been switching over to organic dairy, produce and meat, and hoping I can find organic apples and strawberries. I have been to two grocery stores and can't find either organic!! :glare:

My daughter and I live in a 1 bedroom, 400 sq foot apartment. It's... tough. We have MANY, MANY books, most of which are stored at my parents house (But they live 3 hours away, so if I store a book there I can't just drive over and pick it up!) I think that's my biggest issue! Sure, it's hard work keep it uncluttered, and it's difficult working with a small kitchen... but I miss my books!! We will be in this apartment for another two years, when I graduate we'll be moving to graduate school and probably another small apartment. Let me just say... when I get out of school and get a job, we will have at least three bedrooms, one for me, one for her, and one for our library! With that said, I plan to live in smaller houses. I'd rather put the money towards travel and nice cars.

I also can't imagine why I'd need to leave DD alone in a store. Then again, she's 4.5 and when we're out in public I very nearly have a panic attack if she isn't directly in my line of sight. She tried to hide behind the racks in a clothing store once and it was not a pretty sight. For me the issue of when I'll leave her alone at home or in a store is based on her maturity, but I can't see myself leaving her until 12-13. Even though she already listens very well and is fairly independent... the world is rough. There are some very scary people out there, and I don't want my daughter becoming a target. When I was a child I was babysitting by 11. We were allowed to roam the neighborhood as long as we came home by the time the streetlights came on. But I lived in a *very* small town, where neighbors watched out for one another, and called to report on where the children were and what they were doing.

I agree with this. High schools are so focused on getting students into college that vocational courses are falling by the wayside. Even programs like art and music have been cut, because they aren't seen as crucial. What? Art and music have proven benefits to a child, and what about the child who would have been a musician but never gets the exposure needed? I know plenty of people who graduated from high school unable to do simple things like balance a checkbook, read above a 6th grade level, create a resume or write a business letter. It is definitely ridiculous. Thanks, I'll need the luck. It is definitely a hard field to get into! I'm in 2 honor societies, the honors program in my college, and will be graduating Summa Cum Laude. I've done everything I can to make sure I have a competitive application for the best graduate schools, which will *hopefully* translate into job opportunities. With all these kids being pushed into going to college, hopefully jobs will open up! :tongue_smilie: But there's nothing else I'd rather do. I love history, and the world of academia is definitely the best place for me.

Considering I am in school to get my PhD and become a college professor.... it might be considered ironic that I actually agree with this article. I've met so many people who are just struggling in college, because they were told this is what they should do. I've known quite a few people to drop out, leaving them with loans to pay and no degree. Many of these people would be better served by vocational schools or on the job training, etc. Even the economic benefits aren't always there. Many degrees don't offer a good career track. The average starting salary of many people with a BA is somewhere in the 30-40K range... I was making almost 30K with no degree, and on track to make much more if I had stayed with my job. Plus, someone has to do the non-degree jobs. Someone has to cut hair, serve in restaurants, clean buildings, take away the trash, etc. Universities weren't developed for *everyone*, they were meant to be for the best and the brightest (originally this meant the nobles of course, since they thought they were the best and the brightest...). I think universities should be much more stringent in selected their incoming class, and classes should be much tougher! I shouldn't be able to put in 75 percent effort and still get a 4.0. Perhaps I should be quiet now... since my future job security depends on lots of college students :D

My DD (4.5) LOVES to spell. Her favorite game in the car is to ask me how to spell words and then clap and say "That is correct" into her imaginary microphone. Lately I've been turning simpler words back and making her spell them. I think she would really enjoy starting a spelling program, but most of the suggestions I see are for 7-8 year olds. My DD is slightly advanced, can read CVC words and some other words, plus doing addition and subtraction with no formal instruction, and generally picks up everything quickly, but I don't want to overwhelm her and turn something she loves into hard work! Are there any spelling programs out there that are good for younger children, who aren't reading completely on their own?