I call it the hob for both gas and electric. Grew up in Uk

Nike?? 😉😉😀

This really resonates with me. Would you mind expanding a little on the types of community activities you get up to? I also have 5 kids. My guys are really sporty, and we are busy. They are happy, are great friends with each other, socialise perfectly well with pretty much anybody they meet. But they don't have any close friends outside of each other. It bothers me sometimes, but I'm not really sure why! It's not as if I am still friends with any of my mates from primary school or secondary school.

Are you hyperventilating? This can cause all sorts of nerve issues because it moves calcium and potassium into the wrong places. Next time you get the tingling try breathing into a paper bag to normalise your carbon dioxide levels. I hope you find the answers xxx

I am sorry for your loss, and for your struggles. It sounds from your activities like you are near us location wise - somewhere near York???

We have this in NZ. I love it! The pohutakawa tree - only flowers in summer (at Christmas!) 3872 × 2592 - en.wikipedia.org

I realise I am late to the party, but that is my favourite verse in the entire Quran :001_smile:

Not offensive :001_smile:

Well, from my point of view I see this as a case of not being 'allowed'. But as you can guess there are almost as many different ways of interpreting that ruling as there are muslims in America! My family does try not to eat at restaurants where alcohol is served, we try not to be in places where people are drinking. We do make exceptions in some circumstances, and sometimes we literally have no choice, but would never make an exception for something as alcohol fuelled as an english wedding reception. And we never go into a pub, even if it is for a meeting or something.

you have had great advice, and I agree with it, so I won't repeat it. There is one issue which is difficult for us - a Muslim family with half of our extended family non-Muslim. The issue is alcohol at parties and gatherings. We love getting together with family, we really want to be at your wedding, at your christening etc, but we don't want to be in a room with lots of people drinking. It doesn't matter if you are planning to get really drunk (like at the evening do for a wedding), we would really prefer just to not be around the alcohol at all. We are in Europe, and I get the impression that alcohol and events is a bigger thing here, but I still think it is worth letting you know. To that end, we usually go the the church ceremony for something, but skip the meal or gathering afterwards.

My son is taking this class. He LOVES it! Highly recommended from us.

According to my teacher, the 'best' translation is the Saheeh International version linked by Dust. He also said that the new 'Study Quran' version linked by Mergath is not accurate at all.

I have 5 kids (eldest is 11). They have never been to school. I have been around the block enough to know that good times and bad times come and go. But I just can't get excited about homeschooling at the moment. Intellectually I know we are doing a good job. I also know that all I need to do is replicate what I did for the olders, and the youngers should be more or less ok. I like what we use more or less, and don't want to change curricula just because of my bad attitude. But I'm tired. I'm bored of listening to five year olds sounding out the same word for the third time today. Those with large families, and those who have been doing this for years - how do you keep going cheerfully? How do you remain enthusiastic when this is the fourth time you have used this book, and it won't be your last? How do you reconcile yourself with the fact that school for the oldest was a much neater package than school for the youngest learning in the midst of a house full of children?

Thank you all for your comments. Kareni, your post is really helpful - I would love to see the materials you used if you don't mind. Having read your comments, two things jump out at me: 1. that logic stage requires a child to engage their brain and 2. it requires some effort. My son just doesn't want to do either. He doesn't want to answer questions that he can't just lift the answer from the book, he doesn't want to take any time over his work because he wants to be outside practising his rugby. I think perhaps this is more of a character/discipline issue than a history curriculum one. Sigh - that is much harder to fix.

My 11 year old son has gone from loving history (SOTW) to hating it since he started K12 human odyssey (we have the student workbook). He struggles to answer any of the questions without being spoonfed the answers, and dislikes reading the book. He is reading some historical fiction and the OUP books (history of near eastern world) alongside, which I think he quite enjoys. What would you do? Change to something else? Change the output required? Outline from the OUP books and drop K12?

I should be sleeping.........

Thanks for your thoughts. I haven't enjoyed the Classical Academic Press books we've done in the past, so haven't looked at Latin Alive. I'll go and have a look. I'm not really sure what the long term goal is here. I think I want him to do a GCSE (exams at age 16) and then he can give it up if he chooses. I forgot to say before that I would prefer something secular. Is Henle secular?

My almost 11 year old ds has done GSWL, part of Latin Prep book 1 (Galore Park), and is now finishing Lively Latin book 1. We loved GWSL. Latin prep was great, but I felt like I wasn't able to teach it very well because I don't have enough Latin of my own. Lively Latin has moved at a slower pace (which is good) but is too wordy, too much history, too many drawings etc. It just doesn't suit my 'get it done as fast as possible' son. Is there something out there that is more concise than lively Latin, but easier for me to teach than Latin prep?

Salaams Kmama. I used OPGTR with my oldest 3 - it works great. I got bored with child number 4 (!) so I went with Phonics Pathways instead. Haven't finished it yet, but it's good so far. Anyway, I think my point is that it doesn't really matter a great deal what you choose, as long as you just sit down and use it every day (or thereabouts). Therefore - choose something that you think YOU will enjoy - your enthusiasm will rub off and your kiddos will enjoy it too.

We love Jennings!

Thanks for all the support and helpful suggestions. Lots to think about.

Thank you all for your thoughts - it's helpful. My 5 year old is doing 10 minutes of phonics (phonics pathways) and 10 minutes of maths (math mammoth). He tags along with the older quite happily but doesn't enjoy the pressure of working with me. He has found blending tiring, and now just doesn't look forward to it. We have taken a break for a few months now, but I really am ready for him to start with a bit more of a regular routine. My 10 year old is so frustrating. He is super bright and thinks he knows everything. We don't really do computer time her, but early bedtime/no reading in bed might work. I just don't want to face the arguments over it. My 3 year old has started to speak much better recently. But actually I think the screaming is worse. I do believe it is a communication issue with him, and will pass with time, but it sets me on edge for everybody else. I realise the ignoring is my fault. I realise I need to follow through the first time. I feel like I need help to do that because I'm so frazzled!! It needs work, and I already have enough of that! What do you use for meaningful consequences? My husband always wants to come down on them like a ton of bricks with some totally non-related consequence that I ultimately think is counterproductive - like cancelling their sports for example. I struggle to find meaningful consequences that they feel and understand. Yes, I really think you have got down to the main point here. I am exhausted. I need them to 'behave' so that we can get through everything in the day as easily as possible. Then in the evenings I start all over again working for my husband. I don't get enough downtime - not even close. I can't seem to find a window of opportunity. It is frustrating to always be told to prioritise yourself, make sure you 'schedule it in'. Honestly, I just can't. Not without getting up at 5am, and I resent that I have to get up so early to do something I want to do - I would rather stay in bed! I am absolutely not blaming my husband either. He does as much as he can, and honestly I think he works harder than me. He is gone for many hours in the week, and often is only home long enough to eat and sleep before he is gone again. We are just in one of those phases where everything comes at once. Thanks, I'll look it up.

I am struggling. I have a 10 year old who is constantly answering back. A 3 year old who won't stop screaming. A 5 year old who fights me to do any school at all - even 10 minutes. 4 children who seem to just ignore me and carry on with their lives regardless of what I ask them (empty the dishwasher, come inside, get ready for bed etc). 4 children who bicker and squabble about every little thing under the sun. You get the idea. I am just about done with them all. Strangely, overall they will get their schoolwork done without too many issues. These are also children who outside of the home are praised often for their good behaviour. It seems to be just for me they reserve these delights. I am not sure what to do. They eat well, they exercise a lot, they have hardly any electronics. I say the same things over and over, I am ignored, I lose my temper. How to break the cycle?? Please be gentle with me.....

We did exactly this too.

It takes me at least a year. Sometimes up to 2 years. Hang in there xx