Can you try calling La Leche League? I don't know what time it is where you are, but the phone number is often just someone's home. Or maybe they have some info on their website about it? Surely! And here is something, that you probably know: Vary your nursing position. For example, if you use the cradle hold, try the football hold or nurse lying down. Also, many women swear by this trick: Position the baby at your breast with his chin pointed toward the sore spot. This directs suction at the plugged duct and seems to promote healing. Some women also report success using herbal remedies such as echinacea, lecithin, and vitamin C. Taking ibuprofen may help relieve pain and inflammation, but ask your doctor first.

FIL Crazy. Not even sure how you could do it on twice that much!!!

I'm doing the same level next year and decided to skip the History Pockets after reading that a lot of people said it was lots of crafty-type stuff and cutting and pasting (so interesting that the previous poster said NOT as much of that at this level - so who knows?!) and I kind of feel like it might take a lot of time and that my son might be a bit old for that (5th grade). Several people have told me that you could substitute for most of the supplemental books, just that it makes it a bit more work on your part having to find book and/or pages or other sources. I thought what I might do to make up for the History Pockets is to either just have him read a book of his choice (bring home a few from the library) on the relevant topic and do no extra writing. Or maybe let him mess around on a website that had games on the topic, or find a project on a website that he could do or make. That seems like it would be a bit of a break for him and "fun" like the History Pockets. And I don't think it would be that hard for me to find a website like that. Or even rent a DVD. Either of these will also save me money! But I am also interested in what others will say about this!

Thank you all for your responses. I do now think it's good that they teach it that way after reading your posts. What I don't know now is how the heck I ever learned it in the first place or even if I normally put a zero there or what! I have no idea how I do multiplication or anything. This has muddled my multiplication memories! But it's been a good thing for me because I will make sure my son knows he's multiplying by 20 (which I guess I didn't realize as a kid, or ever thought of as an adult!) rather than 2. I think it was just some of the other examples that were very confusing to me, such as the one from the book that darla posted: 284 x 20 Heidi

Ok, I have a question about this. Singapore teaches Multiplication by a 2-digit number in a very unusual way (or at least I think it's unusual!). 64 x 27 ____ 448 <---- 64 x 7 1280 <-----64 x 20 _____ 1728 This is interesting and it is an interesting way to do multiplication, but I'm wondering if they ever teach the traditional way we probably all learned it or if this is the method they expect students to use from now on. If so, I am having a bit of a hard time with it. I don't know why, but it seems weird for my child not to learn the traditional method of 2-digit multiplication, which makes more sense to me anyway. So my question is not WHY do they teach it like this, but do you just use their method and do you think it's ok if your child never learns the traditional method? P.S. I'm hoping someone will tell me that in 4B or 5A they teach the traditional method!

Karen Anne - you are an AWESOME Mom. This about brings tears to my eyes, but it is also hilarious! Love the part about you listing favorite characters and all. Takes me back to the days when my son went on and on about Star Wars. It wasn't nearly the level you're describing, and I wasn't nearly as good about seeming to be interested. God bless you and your daughter will always appreciate your efforts! Heidi

I think it's ok after about 2 days.

ALL the Jim Weiss CDs are WONDERFUL. I have 2 boys who just turned 4 and 6 (so just a bit older than yours) and we got STOW Vol. 1 (Ancients) on CD. The one by Jim Weiss. My kindergardener has requested it almost every single night since Christmas! It is about 7 or 9 CDs long (can't remember) so you just listen to a different each time! Also (and most of these are more than one CD, but then you just continue with CD #2 the next time): - STOW CDs by Jim Weiss (4 volumes, each 7-12 CDs or so) - Roald Dahl books, esp. James and the Giant Peach - there is a 2 CD Dr. Seuss set with a bunch of his books on there read by famous people - lots of fun. - Beatrix Potter's collection of books (Peter Rabbit) - wonderful - House at Pooh Corner - Winie the Pooh - Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books (although I find them ANNOYING myself) - Pinocchio - The Jungle Book - Just So Stories - Old Yeller (depending on kid, but my kids weren't bothered by it) - several by Benedict Flynn such as Tales of Irish Myths - Tales of Troy by Benedict Flynn - Adventures of Odysseus by Benedict Flynn - Tales from the Odyssey CD Collection by Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Treehouse author) - Robin Hood by Benedict Flynn - check out Naxos Audiobooks (Junior Classics especially) - they have GREAT stuff, and much of it will be appreciated by Classical homeschooling families The ones in bold are the ones my kids LOVE and request over and over, and have loved since they were 3 and 5 and younger.

Jackie - I didn't take your post as preachy or anything at all, just a very nice thought for everyone. Obviously this type of format will sometimes make someone misunderstood, which is a bummer. But of course you belong here! How many tons of people are there on here? So there are going to be some people that disagree with you on things and that might feel personal. But I'm guessing that that is pretty rare and that mostly you get a lot out of this forum and hopefully lots of support, as well as providing helpful input to others. Here's hoping you're feeling better by the time you read this! Mostly I am very surprised and impressed at how careful and considerate people are on this forum for the most part - much more so than others I've visited. Thanks to all of you for that! Heidi

Jillz - thank you very much for this response. Explains a lot to me!

Eeek! I knew this would be a hard one! Sorry. When I asked whether they were creationist, I believe the definition of that is not that God created the earth (which I THINK all Christians believe!), but something more like this: Definition: Creationism is the religious doctrine, opposed to naturalistic evolution, that life on this planet was created by a special, unique act of God. Creationism goes beyond this traditional religious belief, however, in asserting that this belief can be proven empirically and scientifically. I guess I could look up online what each mainline Protestant church has as it's official stance on this. I think it would be harder to do that for many of the smaller or evangelical churches. I realize that all Christians believe that God created the earth (that's not what I meant by creationist). And yikes, REALLY don't want to get a debate going on whether mainline churches are even Christian. And a note: I don't hold a literal creationist view myself, so it's not like I'm trying to AVOID churches that might accept evolution. Just trying to figure this all out where churches generally stand. I am Catholic, so it's never been a huge issue before! But I know that it's a big deal to other Christians, but not sure if it's all of them or what.

Thanks for reading...I am not looking for any kind of debate or explanation. Now that I'm looking at various homeschool groups/co-ops, etc. and many of them are associated with Christian churches, I'm just wondering if I can safely assume that they do not believe in the theory of evolution and are creationist. Of course I could ask... but I'd rather not! And not interested in discussing it with them! So I guess these are the groups I'm wondering about: - Mainline Protestant denominations - Evangelical Protestant churches - (I know the Catholic Church does not have a firm position on this) I'm not wondering about ultra-liberal Christian churches! Thanks, and again I'm not really looking for debate/explanation, just kind of a yes or no if you'd be so kind! Thanks so much.

What a horrible situation for everyone. I don't know how well you know this family, how close in proximity you are or how often you'd just run into them. The first thing that comes to mind is that the poor younger sister who is holding it together needs help. I'm am always just SHOCKED when I hear stories from people who grew up in such situations and worse, who overcame it all and are good citizens, and successful and happy. And it seems that in all these cases, it was because there was some adult in their life who cared and was there for them. Someone they could talk to and who encouraged them. I don't know if you feel you could offer support to the younger daughter in some way - I don't mean physically, but just letting her know she seems to be making the right decisions and that you support that, offering advice if she asks for it. I realize this situation is a bit different because of the violence (that you don't want to bring anywhere near your family), but especially if the older girl gets put in care, I'd really hope you might somehow be able to reach out to this girl. You obviously are someone who cares about kids a lot, and this could change her life. Because maybe there is no one else in her life who seems to care or that she feels she is a positive force.

Sounds like maybe this other boy wants to be friends with your son, but isn't handling it well and who knows why. Maybe he needs extra attention that he isn't getting. I'm not suggesting you should be the one to give it to him, only that maybe that is why he's acting that way. He obviously likes your son or wouldn't pester you so much about letting him play or going to church with you. The going to church thing every week seems like a big thing to me. He obviously really wants to be included and maybe he knows that that's the one thing you won't say no to. I have found that when my son is having a bit of a difficult time with a particular kid in a group, it helps to invite that kid over so that they can do a bit of bonding one-on-one and have positive feelings towards one another. Next time the bullying opportunity comes up, other kid now feels like your son is his friends and is nicer and hopefully averts trouble. This kid may just need some befriending from your son and your family. I'm not saying this is your job and it may be nothing more than letting him know he's accepted as long as he's respectful. I also strongly agree with the people who said that at this age the kids need to work a lot of it out themselves and you are doing your son no favor by answering for him and coming down on the other kids. Not only does it hurt him in their eyes, but I think it sends the message to your son that he NEEDS help and isn't able to do this himself. Which he is! Good luck!:grouphug:

You sound like a wonderful dad and person. Hang in there. :grouphug:

I am also going to be homeschooling for the first time next year - 5th grade son. Even though I keep coming across lots of great-sounding science programs, we are going with TWTM's recommendation of "The Reader's Digest" because 1) I got it (hardback, excellent condition) for $5 including S&H on Amazon!!! and 2) my son LOVES science and this is the one book that he thinks looks really good (big, colorful photos, not too much text on each page) and has said the book "looks really goo". He has not said that about any of the other texts or guides or books I've shown him. He just says, "oh, ok". This is the one book he seems somewhat excited about! Since we'll be using this book, it's the one subject I feel like he will have more control over. He'll get to pick from a couple of experiments in the book (unlike many science programs where there is the one experiment per topic), or if he doesn't like those, I have another book on science experiments I told him he can pick from. Anyway, this will be our one sort of loosey-goosey subject since it won't be scripted out. Which is a bit intimidating for me - but very exciting for him. So I think that'll be a good thing for him to have when we start homeschooling. I also plan on getting a lot of science DVDs from the library that will be related to the topic he'll be studying. So he also thinks that sounds good - lying on the couch watching TV instead of sitting in a classroom taking notes.

We have The Adventures of Sir Lancelot and my kids love it. http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Sir-Lancelot-TV/dp/B0019BI0WO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1268717034&sr=1-1 If you go there on Amazon, you'll see they list a bunch of other similar series - William Tell, The Buccaneers, etc.

I am so sorry for your family. That is just so hard. We had to put our 12-year-old dog to sleep last summer. Even tonight I was thinking about him when I was throwing away sweet potato peels - he used to always eat them! You are definitely making the right decision by not holding onto him for a couple of weeks - it's hard but it is the unselfish way to go. I felt like we waited a week too long with our dog and was sorry about that. Hugs to your sweet Thunder and to your family. Heidi :grouphug:

I just read an article about this recently on research that was done on young children concerning this topic. I wish I could remember the magazine! The children were preschoolers, maybe to age 5 or 6? Before reading that, I'd thought it was best not to mention racial differences since we're all people, etc. and why does it matter what color someone's skin is, etc. Just as I wouldn't discuss eye color with my child and whether or not it meant anything, why would I discuss skin color or ethnicity??? BUT... after reading the article, I was really surprised. They found that kids whose parents behave as I have (not mentioning/ignoring racial differences) were much more likely to have somewhat negative opinions of people of different races. I can't remember the details or why the researchers think the kids had those opinions, but the research was clear: You need to point out differences to YOUNG kids (3) and tell them the differences don't matter. They can't pick that up on their own, apparently.

Another reason I'm not so fond of AR! Bummer for your daughter. I guess this isn't really advice for your family, but I don't think it is helpful that the teacher is doing that. Especially when some kids are just beginning to read, it is probably pretty stressful for the slower readers to see their names near the bottom of the chart. We don't do AR in K, but our teacher does something similar. She sends a book home each night with the child (just based on their ability, and really most of them are about the same except for the struggling kids and the chapter book readers) and then the next day they come and read some of it to a helper. So if they've read their book the night before, they get a star sticker on a little chart in their folder. For the kids reading chapter books, they get a star each day as well since they read their chapter (or whatever the number of pages was for the night). When they get 20 stars, they get a "dragon tear" and the teacher makes a big deal of it. So they are all working toward an individual goal rather than competing with each other and I think they are just as motivated. When I am the helper and give the kids their stars, many of them will say, "Now I have 16 stars - just 4 more to go"! I think it is too much pressure (and leads to disappointment in your daughter's case) they way your daughter's teacher is setting it up. I wonder if you'd feel comfortable talking to her about this? I suppose it will be a bit of a difficult topic, and I wonder if she'll be sensitive to the issue? It also seems a bit odd that anyone that goes into the class for Sunday school can see where all the kids are as far as AR books. Anyway, don't know if this is helpful but I certainly sympathize. I guess I'd try to do what another poster said - emphasize that the points (or number of books or whatever) really aren't the main thing.

I work at the YMCA and we also have Homeschool PE twice/week for 2 hours each time which seems CRAZY, right??? I told the boss this seemed like a bit much and thought they'd get a better turnout if they changed it. Anyway, if the Y is an option for you I'd suggest 2 things: 1) send an e-mail to the Center Executive as well as the Health & Wellness Director briefly explaining your reasons for wishing they'd scale back on the time commitment. Ask fellow homeschoolers who feel the same way to do this as well. I think they'd increase their enrollment if they changed this! 2) ask them if you can sign up for just one day per week. The Y is pretty flexible and I'm pretty sure our facility lets people do this. It never occurs to many people to just ask.

Got it - thanks! I didn't realize each problem had the lesson # where the concept was taught. Very cool!

Thank you! I forgot to mention that we will use the Homeschool Kit and no DIVE CD. I asked him today how long their math period is at school for 5/4 and he said 45 minutes and they go through the lesson and he also finishes all his homework, too. I know it isn't the same format as the homeschool kit, but interesting to know. Pam - interesting how you color the chart for missed problems. I can't quite picture what you mean, so I guess I need to pull out the books at look. Sounds like a good idea.

I am going to homeschool my son next year (he'll be in 5th grade) and we'll use Saxon 6/5 for math. He uses 5/4 at school right now and it is very easy for him and he always gets 100% (or 102%!) on everything. So I'm assuming he won't struggle with 6/5. He has always been very good at math. So my question is: for a child who does not struggle with math, how long does each lesson take with 6/5? We won't need the "extra" worksheets or anything. Even though I'm expecting it'll be fairly easy for him, I still should have him do all the problems, right? I was going to have him do Singapore as well, but am thinking that might be overkill. (We're doing 4B at home now). I think starting out I don't want to overwhelm either of us. I might add it later in the year, couple times weekly. I am going to use "Challenge Math" by Zaccarro - maybe 1 problem each day? Anyway, just trying to figure out our schedule for next year and the post about how much time for school each day got me to thinking! Thanks! Heidi

And just to clarify, the steel cable is not attached to the ceiling, but to opposite walls, maybe 16" down from the ceiling. But this is for a bedroom and for a room like yours I'd use shorter curtains, attaching the steel cable much lower. Of course then you have the monkey problem: making sure no one gets the idea to swing from the cable if they can reach it!