I think you should let them give it a go and see what happens. If things do not go as you like, you can always take over..however, you should give a half a year to see how your children do. Though you know them well, they may surprise you! I put some of my children in school and thought they would never be able to handle Saxon (and a grade ahead at that), however, they did fine. Blessings..hope all goes well.

Thanks for any input!

I was thinking the same thing, Tamara. If you want to deepen the shade of the color, a little black would do. Black is used to adjust the shade of a color, while white is used to tint it lighter.

Thanks for all of the experiences....so many different ones. I wish they were indicative to what we will go through. bbkaren, the alignment issues were a question in my mind as well. Lolosoli, I cannot imagine having a baby, no help, and an infection on top of it all. Yikes.. no fun at all! lexi, I have heard of the nightmarish "dry socket." I will make sure to ask question about this. I did not know you could get it when they teeth were cut out. kamom, did or will you have yours removed? Do they cause you trouble? Jane in NC, I want to avoid problems like you mentioned and I hope they do as well as your son! How old was he when he had this procedure? thegardener, I wondered if roots would grow deeper as well. We have a 2nd opinion on the books with an oral surgeon. Ha...a poll would be interesting! jenn-, sounds like the ideal situation, one we would like to have! Thanks to you all for taking time to give me this information. It is very helpful and reassuring (at least the good experiences are reassuring ..haha). Blessings!

My 18 year old twins' wisdom teeth are coming in at a funky angle and the dentist has recommended removal. 2 of their 4 teeth are in (same side), yet the teeth on the other side are not. I had 2 of 4 wisdom teeth extracted (they were already in) in my mid 20's and it was not a big deal, however I hear of these people who have their teeth surgically extracted and end up having big problems with the procedure. I am thinking it may be best to wait until the teeth are in before having them removed. Any thoughts or experiences with this? Thanks!

I am heading up our local home educator's curriculum fair. In the past it has been a blase presentation with individuals at their own tables displaying curriculum. My idea is to put a different spin on it and appeal to veteran homeschoolers, as well as newbies. Most of the attendees are veterans with at least 2 years experience. So far, this is the plan: Introductory remarks w/ coffee & snacks Display tables featuring curriculum & homeschooling methods Vendor areas Community resources (online homeschooling through public school options, vocational school info., other organizations, etc.) Homemaking ideas to streamline cooking and cleaning, as well as chores. Pampering and renewing ideas for burned out, worn out homeschooling moms Special needs ideas/resources If you could add input, I would really appreciate it. Ideas on advertising and getting the word out about the curriculum fair would also be appreciated! Blessings, Camy

How many (and how old) are her children? What she said sounds like me when my first (twins) were born. I was totally into attachment parenting and "gentle discipline." Well, after 2 years, I couldn't take them out in public, they were so horrible! Put it this way, it was boot camp for a good year! My boys had to learn that the world did not revolve around them. They are now 18 and wonderful young men. (I shudder just thinking about that time they were out of control at 2 years old.)

Thanks for that...as you can tell, I have not even looked at the lessons yet. How long do the lessons take?

I posted this on the General Board but have not received any bites. It would be helpful to see how some of you manage your daily Saxon Math 3 sessions. My preference is keeping these times short, yet effective. Thanks!

I am bumping this up and hoping for a reply.

After 15 years of homeschooling, I am trying Saxon math 3 for my younger children rather than my usual hodgepodge Singapore/R&S/etc. approach. If you have your own weekly routine using this curriculum, I'd love to see it. I am especially open to an against-the-grain lesson plan that may take much of the work out of it all (for me). I like a regular daily routine that will assist my children in knowing what to do sequentially. Thanks!

We are huge fans of the Pearls, so that is my disclaimer. In no way do they advocate harsh, cruel discipline. As a matter of a fact, what is most emphasized is building loving relationships and tying strings w/ your children. Any person who has harmed their children and referenced the Pearl's teachings as their guide, has not read their books or is a sick person. We have been thankful for their resources. Our 8 children bring so many compliments from others. 5 of our 8 are in Catholic school, and the teachers/principals can't say enough about their kind, respectful, well-mannered behavior. They are not perfect in any way, but overall they are great human beings. Our kids have learned their sense of humor mainly from some of the Pearl's funny ways of dealing with undesirable behavior. We have 7 boys, and we are so thankful and proud of them. They are a joy to have around and very responsible. They are not scarred for life for getting spanked as children. They have laughed and responded w/ surprise when they have seen stories about people who think the Pearl's are cruel, insensitive teachers of child training. Sorry, I felt this defense of the Pearl's was necessary. I believe the writings of any claimed child trainer/expert are always relative to how parents' use them in their own life/lives. Some people come from severely legalistic or dysfunctional backgrounds tend to swing the pendulum the other way and use child training inappropriately. Others may use the love and logic method wrongly and raise children with lack of consideration and self control towards others. In my opinion, many children today are just plain soft and will have a hard time becoming an adult. Much of this is the result of poor training. I understand your concerns about the Pearls, though, if I thought someone advocated cruelty toward another human being, I would question it as well. However, I encourage you to read their books carefully and see what they do teach. I can tell you that I do more laughing while reading their stuff than anything. Blessings, Camy (who has 7 wonderful boys that make me so proud....and they are just plain fun to be around...even the teens. My daughter is a strong, confident young woman who is quite good at training our little children :o).

We have not chosen to have them copy Scripture for this purpose. However, I have had them write sentences like "I will not be a jerk to my little sister" numerous times. But I think it is relative to your family. Maybe it would be acceptable in your circumstances to have them copy the Scriptures. I think as long as you have a good relationship and tie strings with your children often, any punishment you chose would be okay, but if you have doubts I'd reconsider. I always tell my children (especially my boys), that I am a true Bible thumper...that means I will literally thump them with my Bible if necessary.

Sigh...my premie twins boys (who weighed 3.5 pounds each) just turned 18 last week. They are now over 6 ft tall and beasts on the football field and basketball court. They are a novelty in our town...especially at their workplace. They have worked at a grocery store for the past 3 and 1/2 years. Many people have recently realized that they are twins...haha..they always thought there was only one of them. When they were babies they used to tear our house apart. I remember them using each other as teething rings! What a blessing they are!

We also notice how certain character traits reveal themselves when things get difficult on the show. The kids will comment on which teams they do not like, and it is often due to how the participants are acting under pressure. Did you see the snowboarder dudes during the last season? What a great example they were.

We have been watching The Amazing Race for 10 years now and have found it to be a wonderfu way to study world geography (especially when we are very busy in our daily schedule). For us, a Five In A Row style study works well. The first day, we find the country traveled that Sunday and stick an Amazing Race disk on it (we make them). We look at the continent and talk about the surrounding land and/or water features. Day 2 we look up social customs and foods that are native to the country. Day 3 is spent drawing a map *or* coloring a printed map and adding land and water features. Day 4 consists of discussing the language of the country. We may even try to say a few words. Day 5 is one of two things: a meal featuring native foods or an art project. We love this show!

I use the wire whisks to mix granola ingredients (drizzle liquids into the dry stuff). This is much easier than hand mixing! It is also helpful when you have to cut in butter or other solid fat to flour, like in biscuit and pastry recipes. Simple use wire whisks to mix flour, salt, baking powder, etc, and then add cut up solid fat/butter while mixer is running. So much faster than arduously hand cutting in fat! I remember I was so pleased w/ the speed of making cookies and cakes w/ the Kitchen Aid when it first entered my kitchen. However, I ended up burning the motor out by making whole wheat bread in it. It is not cut out for regular use w/ whole grain bread making. Enjoy our mixer!

I have often thought about this topic. These are the things that would be priority: 1) Consistency in mathematics, namely learning math facts early. 2) Implementation of more memory work. 3) The most important thing in hindsight to me is that my health would be a priority. I burned myself out by not taking care of my health. That would've prevented my crash and burn that happened in year 11. Blessings, Camy

Stripe, someone from the old board posted a download to a 44-page RR spelling program that they had written themselves. I love the way this program worked. For every sound combination/principle, there was a spelling list. This person also had a list of Spelling Activities to go with each list.

Whoever you are, I wish I could hug you. I sent my kids to Catholic Schools a few years ago (after 15 years of homeschooling). I taught 5 of my 8 children to read using RR and they are all testing high in reading. However, my 2nd grader, whom the school is teaching to read, is struggling, so I pulled him out of school. (also pulled the kindergartner) We will be starting RR right from the beginning. I found the spelling program that someone here developed and so generously shared on the old WTM General Board. I can't tell this person how grateful I am to them for being so generous to let us have access to this nicely organized spelling program!

Varicella is one of the vaccines we have chosen not administer to our children *unless* they didn't get chicken pox by 13, then we would have them vaccinated in order to lessen the severity.

Whoever you are, I wish I could hug you. I sent my kids to Catholic Schools a few years ago (after 15 years of homeschooling). I taught 5 of my 8 children to read using RR and they are all testing high in reading. However, my 2nd grader, whom the school is teaching to read, is struggling, so I pulled him out of school. (also pulled the kindergartner) We will be starting RR right from the beginning. I found the spelling program that someone here developed and so generously shared on the old WTM General Board. I can't tell this person how grateful I am to them for being so generous to let us have access to this nicely organized spelling program!

Our oldest boys, now 18, began employment at a grocery store when they were 14, and have been paying their way ever since. Now and then we would help them with sports fees/camps as a gift, but this was not the general rule. Funny thing, my son who was born after the twins is having a hard time with the concept of financial independence. Grrr...we are working on teaching him that he is responsible for his own fees. Put it this way, he is working harder now to find a job. I think he has the "middle child syndrome." Blessings.

I thought I would never want to stop having babies, however, I miscarried a 15 week baby (or "materials of conception" as the hospital called him) and this was so devastating. I thought I would never want to have another. However, God convicted us a few years after the miscarriage, and we had another baby. He is now almost 3 years old. The birth and pregnancy were rough on my at 42 years old...yikes..it was the first time I had an epidural! Nothing against epidurals, I just loved natural childbirth, and it was a huge change for me. Even the nurses (who had delivered 3 of our children prior) were surprised at this decision. I knew after that birth that something inside me had changed. From that point, we decided we were done with "enjoying the children of our youth." We decided that we definitely weren't feeling like youth! haha. In the past, I would see a baby and it would strike up my desire to be pregnant. Now when I see a baby I think "Someday I will be a grandmother." (haha,, seriously). Never thought this time would come, yet it feels just fine. Blessings to you!

I was in your situation about a year ago...little money to spend on a vacuum. I began to pray for a vac! We wanted a vac that could survive our 10 person household (that means it could last at least a year..haha..I have 7 boys!). In desperation, I posted on FB that I was looking for a Rainbow (cough, cough...yah, the one that usually costs a grand, minimum). I got an email from a friend who said that they just put in all new wood floors and didn't use their Rainbow. I told her that I could only afford $200. She said okay. That was an answer to prayer...big time. That vac is still going strong, and I even let my boys use it! I pray God will bless you with a great vac. (If you haven't already, you may want to check Craigslist).