Oooh, I have the Kipling books on my kindle right now. I might have to start those soon. Thank you for the other suggestions too. You gave me a great idea. My eldest has been telling stories to the little ones at night before bed (its sooo adorable :wub: ) and I will suggest her retelling her favorite myths - she loves Greek mythology.

He's not reading yet so I am looking for read alouds. My girls enjoyed some of the Magic Tree house I will have to revisit those and look up the others Thank you

After 4 girls I am out of touch to what would appeal to a very active 5 year old boy. He likes legos and I have checked out those books from the library. We also have Biscuit books and other picture books he likes but I would like to get some slightly longer books to sort of stretch his attention span. Something like Milly Molly Mandy but for boys? Thank you!

When hubby was on facebook he looked up some old friends. He was surprised to see that they had never really grown up (not all, but some). Made him thankful that they were no longer part of his life. I was on for a short while but refused to look up highschool firends. I am sooo happy to be married and beyond all that. No desire whatsoever to dig up those bones.

Thank you for letting us know!

My advice in general is that he is only 3 - keep doing what you are doing unless he asks for more. But if he is the more rare boy who really likes to write and can actually manipulate the pencil just do some simple copywork. Maybe use the Draw Write Now books. For reading I believe you can start 100 Easy Lessons that young - it has a writing component that you could skip or use instead of anything else. I just used letter flashcards or wood letters to learn sounds and created simple three letter words at that age. There are many colorful preschool and kindergarten workbooks at the dollar store or Walmart types. Buy some fun manipulatives at a teacher supply store and just play, count, and compare. A solid understanding of what numbers mean is really more important for a foundation than starting to memorize math facts. I also really like the Rod and Staff workbooks. Especially the themed ones that are newer. Covers simple numbers, letter sounds, listening skills, colors, shapes, and more. Enjoy the cut and paste years!!

I have a friend who uses Mauth U See. The children watch the video (she watches too or is near by) and then do the worksheet. She will answer questions and grade the pages but it can be fairly indpendent. But if your children enjoyed Singapore I wouldn't fix what isn't broke.

Skip the fireplace. We have a wood stove and it creates a lot of dust. Unless you can also pay someone to dust all those beautiful books I wouldn't bother with a wood fireplace. :) I pay the kids to dust our shelves twice a year. It gets the books clean, lets them earn some money, and reminds them of what we have on the shelves. Otherwise they ask to go to the library because they have "nothing to read" (kind of like Barbie having nothing to wear).

Some parents don't seem to think and some judges seem to think they are a Higher Power. Both need a good dose of common sense in my opinion. Not completely related but this made me think of a story in the book Catch 22. The child's surname was Major. So the father thought it funny to name the child Major - thus Major Major. After getting into the army some computer (according to the author) decided to raise his rank to Major - thus he was Major Major Major. :lol:

Everyone except my 5 and 3 year olds have their own check list for each day. Most of our work does not require me to schedule out pages. We either work for a specific amount of time or the lessons are already split into daily amounts. My oldest (16) is pretty much on her own. She just comes and tells me about her reading, work throughout the day. Next one (13) does a lot on her own but I get her started in math each day and she checks in regularly. She is trying to show herself worthy (responsible) for a specific goal and is making large leaps at not needing to be reminded to get on task every 5 minutes. My next two I work with much more (9 and 7). I remind them to get their lists done and work with them, read to them, for a time each morning. They also have things they can do on their own on the computer so I can toggle back and forth the things that are not done with both. The five year old has focused time with me when I am done with the girls (or before depending on how the morning rolls). My oldest two have also been given the task of reading to the younger ones for a set time each day which allows me to get things done without interruption. I think the key is choosing material that doesn't have to be micromanaged (at least by you) and setting up a system that the child can clearly see what needs to be done and you can clearly see what has been accomplished. Time and personality helps too.

Clean Bathroom Floor Get everyone through their to do list (requires some reminders but they have their own check lists). Set up orthodontist appointment for eldest. Start reading Mr Pipes book out loud - meant to start last week. Grocery shopping/errands/piano lessons. Load of laundry.

I have offered to take my daughter out to any restaurant she wants when ever she reads all the books in our house. Not counting things like the dictionary, etc and we only have about 1100 books. She is a huge reader and will probably make it by the end of this year. I haven't made it easy since I tend to swap out books when we get something new/better. She has all the fiction read she is just trying to finish up the non-fiction. I will probably offer something similar but a bit more attainable for my less voracious readers. We do the summer reading program at the library too but they usually have it tackled in less than 2 weeks.

My third daughter was alsmost named Selena. I liked the name until the doctor walked into the hospital room, asked the name, and then said, "Oh, like that singer who was killed?" I didn't want her associated with a murder case so we switched to Savannah.

If you only want one item not a full set there is a sale on Kagi for 25%off.

Wood Blocks Duplos Matchbox cars Schleich Animals Sit n Spin a misc basket with a few toy guns, dress-up, and some "cheap" toys that I am constantly purging through Those are the things that my 5 year old and 3 year old boys have. A basket or bucket for each type makes for easy pick up.

We have about 1100 books. They are all on two 6x4 foot book shelves plus Nancy Drew series and Hardy Boys series on a shelf each in another room. We keep it fairly trimmed down - I go for quality over quantity. Although we hit the library almost weekly and the librarians often tell me if I have something waiting for me through interlibrary loan as I walk through the door. :laugh:

Wow, great lists I will definitely be working my Kindle using these.

:lurk5: Following. I have been interested in this over the years but can't get past the complicated what do I have to buy stage (or price). So if I can't even figure out what to buy I probably shouldn't even attempt the curriculum.

For little ones I would suggest: Read aloud a lot - without a schedule. Plenty of time for free play with open ended toys. I love the Rod and Staff pre-school workbook series especially the newer ones that have nature themes. Copywork (maybe the Queen Homeschool language lessons books). Math Lessons for a Living Education (volume 1 in Kindergarten). Mostly I would remind myself that there is plenty of time and to relax and enjoy this fun time when everything is new. And that there isn't a perfect curriculum so pick something that *I* enjoy using as much as the children and just stick with it.

:lurk5: Interested in what others say. My eldest did not get them "mastered" for a long time (like late elementary). But she had a problem with speed drills of any kind. If I asked her to do anything "fast" she would freeze up and forget everything she knew. But she definitely knew the concept and probably knew them - just couldn't prove it in a timed test.

I second MEP math, even if she just does the interactive worksheets on the computer, and the Scott Foresman writing and grammar workbooks. Add in weekly visits to the library and some good videos (you can see a LOT online) and your set. If she need topical ideas you can download the Core Knowledge Sequence series off of their web site. Core Knowledge put out the What Your X Grader Needs to Know. Even if she is disorganized if she is willing to discuss a new topic every day with her daughter, they will be learning and will make it through the year in a positve way. Then if she saves her pennies she can buy a couple of good spines and a math textbook for next year.

My oldest loved history, but my second didn't care for it much in general. She does like biographies though. She has gotten a lot of history by reading those. We especially enjoy Childhood of Famous Americans. Eventually I required a more systematic view and she will do it again in highschool. She actually knows a good deal about history even if she doesn't think so since she has rarely done an actually chronological history text.

We had lice last year (found out on Christmas day, gee what a gift!). I think it started with a used stuffed animal and spread. Lice prefer clean hair so if you get it its not because you are "dirty". I used olive oil and and oiled down all their hair and let it sit. I may have put tea tree oil in as well. Then I used a nit comb and combed out their hair very carefully. The first combing I found live ones and eggs. Washed their hair and rinsed with vinegar. We did this every other day at first then less often. It takes 10 days for the eggs to hatch. I combed their hair and used a vinegar spray every day. I also vacuumed the bed and couch cushions every day for the first week. I put the pillow cases and blankets in the drier every day. I tossed or boiled all the hair brushes/bands/etc. Mine were fine (not itching) after a few days and we were resolved by two weeks. I had a friend though (who was extremely sweet and came over to help me pick through the kids hair) who fought the lice for almost a month. Her 4 girls all have hair that is long and thick. I think she finally used gasoline on the kids hair (her mom used to do it in Africa) and they got them all. So you can treat without the chemicles but I would definitely buy the nit comb.

Blue - but its the blue of the sky on a clear Colorado summer. :coolgleamA:

Looks good! Thank you for sharing such large samples.