Our plan: Bible: Explorers BeginningsII (finish OT/start NT) Latin: Lively Latin Greek: Greek Alphabet Code Cracker (if they finish it quickly and want to keep going we have Elementary Greek on hand) Langauge Arts: MCT (finish Island, start Town) plus *lots* of reading History: SOTW (finish 3, start 4) Science: MPH 5/6 plus reading the Apologia elementary stuff for fun (yeah, my kids are weird) Geography: Evan-Moore continent studies (starting with North America and working through them, however long it takes) Spelling: Christian Liberty's Building Spelling Skills 3 (and maybe 4, she *loves* spelling) Copywork/Handwriting: learn cursive with my Mom, then Memoria Press Cursive Copybook Math: Singapore (finish 3A, do 3B, probably start 4A) Home Ec: Pearables lvl 1 (by request, we'll do lvl 2 in 4th) Art/Music: sort of integrated with history I can usually keep her busy with both if she starts getting restless, but I told her she couldn't do Life of Fred: Fractions until she knew her times tables and finished 4B so she's been working toward those....

My command almost tried to send me on temporary duty to a sub that would have been getting underway for a few days. I was an E-5 at the time, and I would have had to take over the XO's stateroom while I was onboard. At the time, my now XH was underway and I was pumping for DS, so I was freaking out on many different levels. They ended up swapping my assignment with a contractor, which I'm sure cost the command a pretty penny, but was better in so many ways than sending me (he knew the systems better, too, that the ship was having problems with). So, I'd bet that there have been other women on subs on temporary duty, even if none have been permanently on them yet.

I budget $30 per kid, but I don't worry about them being even slightly deprived; my parents give them a ton, their Dad gives them a ton and their other grandparents give them about $25 in gift cards, or gifts worth about the same if they happen to be visiting there for a birthday. We're doing good to keep what they've already got under control, I surely don't want to bring a ton more stuff in...DS will get a bike, some books and a Wii game from my parents this year, I think.

We still do Latin and spelling. I believe that many continue using WWE, we never started it, so I didn't need to worry about that one :tongue_smilie: Its been nice, because MCT and Prima Latina have been reinforcing each other.

But...it's not in the budget :glare: :lol: Thanks for letting us know, I'll have to go dream :D

I just recently found http://www.pennywiselearning.com as well. One of my friends has apparently used them extensively and we just never compared notes :tongue_smilie:

I have a sneaking suspicion that will we need some university level classes earlier than graduation, but I'm honestly going to try to keep them out of the classroom environment of college until they are age-ready, since it tends to be a R-rated environment. If they are socially mature enough for it, then I might consider it, but otherwise they can just do online or correspondence classes for dual credit.

I know you've found something good for you for tonight, but in case anyone else wants another recipe for sour cream, I really enjoyed this recipe from 5dollardinners http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/04/sour-cream-chicken-enchiladas.html 1 16 oz container fat free sour cream ($.88) 1 can of green chiles ($.68) 1-2 cups homemade chicken stock (free) about 1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken ($1.50) 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($.05) Salt/Pepper, to taste 10 flour tortillas ($1.14) 1-2 cups shredded cheese ($.75-$1.50) 2 cups of frozen corn ($.44) On sale the other week for $.88/bag! Directions 1. In large skillet, whisk sour cream, green chiles and 1 cup of chicken stock. Add more chicken stock until it comes to the consistency you want for your sauce. Add garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. 2. Before adding the cooked and shredded chicken, save 1 cup of the sour cream sauce. 3. Stir chicken into the sauce and let simmer about 10 minutes, allow flavors time to infuse. 4. Spoon sour cream chicken sauce into tortillas. Roll and place “seam down†into a baking dish. 10 enchiladas fit comfortably in a 9×13 dish. 5. Take the sour cream sauce that you removed and spread it over the tortillas. 6. Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake about 15-20 minutes at 350. 7. Cook corn as directed on package instructions. 8. Serve Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas with Corn. Cost $5.44 Plus enough for lunch tomorrow link above has all steps with pictures :001_smile:

My son was in public school until the end of March of his 2nd grade year (2008). He was going to be failed. We worked a little over the summer, but nothing too heavy, and basically re-did 2nd grade and then did 3rd grade, all in a 14 month period. He was tested in early June last year and scored 70th percentile for 3rd grade. So, yes, its not at all impossible. I did find it key to do a little math over the summer, so you didn't have to re-teach everything. We're finishing up 4th now and I have no doubt that he'll test well again this year. I had to do it the way I did (was going through a divorce and the XH is keen on keeping the kids at or above grade level for academics), but I think it will be fine whichever way you go :001_smile: I have friends in their 30s who were homeschooled as kids, one of them has a brother who didn't read until 10, and the brother still graduated on time.

I'm no help, but I was coming here to ask pretty much the same thing for a friend, so I will be watching for replies as well.

1) If you are working outside the home I am currently unemployed. If I do not find employment before that runs out, I will be able to support my family and homeschool anyway, between child support and VA disability. 2) How long single Separated 2 years, divorced 1. 3) How many children 3 4) If you are homeschooling or expect to be able to continue I didn't actually start homeschooling until we separated and I expect to be able to continue. 5) If you are working INSIDE the home for money---tell us about that N/A

We just got ours on Friday and the kids *love* Grammar Island. We covered through page 24 yesterday. I'm sure we won't cover as much every day, but while the plan is for us to do it every school day for as long as the kids are interested, it didn't happen today (baby sister woke as I was falling asleep to let me know she'd thrown up in bed. I slept *maybe* 3 hours last night and we decided today was Saturday and the rest of the week will slide along, so that by Sunday to us, it will really be Sunday). I'd also love to see your outline :D

Aww, that made me a little teary. My kids don't believe anymore (they were suspicious even before an older friend clued them in about Santa...as soon as he was out of the bag the rest wasn't far behind), but they still want the cash :001_huh: We're at $1 per tooth. DS sometimes refers to his mouth as his gold mine. A friend was recently back here visiting her Mom and her DD (almost 6) lost her very first tooth and they forgot and had to stage a rescue of the situation like your DDs (I think Grandpa may have done the rescue).

We only eat meat if it is on sale, and then make it a adjunct instead of the main focus of the meal. I found ham for .69/lb (unadvertised, the boogers; I was in that store for the 1.48/lb ground chuck and 1.77/lb chicken breasts and then after I stocked up on those they had them cheaper this week :glare:), so this month we've had a lot of meals that feature ham, but none use more than about 3/4 cup of diced ham. We do burritos (stretch the meat with beans and/or rice, or just use beans and/or rice), spaghetti or other pasta dishes (no meat), lots of BFD (breakfast for dinner), potato things. I've got young kids, so we're dealing with a bit of pickiness, too, but it isn't too bad (just means we don't do a huge amount of variety). I love the website 5dollardinners.com, and each meal there should work for 2 meals for you and your dd. We also do mostly oatmeal, waffles or cereal for breakfast (unless bagels are super cheap), sandwiches, soups or oatmeal for lunch. Now, I just need to give up soda :tongue_smilie:

I budget about $150 a month for myself and my 3 children, including all household items (pretty rare except dish soap) and diapers (and I very rarely use coupons). We do have a large stock of pantry items and a small chest freezer full of meat and other frozen items, but I tend to not eat down the stock, just replenish it at a decent price. I am well below "normal" though. On the budgeting boards I frequent, they suggest $25 per person per week, so ~$200 a month would be good for your family to shoot for.

If it works for us, I keep it, and if it doesn't, I sell it. Some things, I hold onto to try later (we've started Prima Latina at least 4 times with zero success. We started it again last week and this time, the kids are loving it). We found, for example, that we like SOTW as an audio book, but aren't really into the activity guides or text. So, I've sold/am selling what we bought in hard copy, but I'll keep the audio books to use again when my 3yo starts through. Everything that has worked for DS is being saved for my 3yo. I will need to buy new singapore workbooks for her, but we've already got all the textbooks, extra practice, intensive practice *and* CWPs for all the levels (and all the workbooks for DS and older DD).

My older cousin homeschooled her boys (they are now young adults), but I only knew of it in passing since I was away in the Navy. It wasn't horribly weird to me since many of my friends growing up were homeschooled.

As a former Radioman ;) I can tell you that a high signal to noise ratio means that the signal is very strong and easy to pick up (in this case, the signal would be the intel people were giving out unintentionally-we hope). So, if "they" (the government) wanted to lower the signal to noise ratio, they would put out dis-information. That could be only effectively combat facebook if the government had servicemembers give disinformation to family members. Now, please, never ask me anything about frequencies. I had to study them for each exam and then promptly forgot them :D

Back in '99 when there was a huge earthquake in Turkey, I happened to be stationed on a ship that was in port in Greece and had huge water-making capabilities (which was their greatest need). But, it also had tons of Marine equipment on it. There were also several regular Navy ships that could get there about the same time (we were closer, but slower). The Turkish government would only let *1* ship go in (and specifically not us). So, our response can also be limited by what the government of the country we are aiding will allow us to do.

And yet, it is also so much more than that. When I worked at the place where they plan the Tomahawk cruise missile missions in the late 90s, they told us that the enemy had some advanced warning of Desert Storm. How? Not because anyone gave out info, but because the trash volume from the Pentagon and other major planning commands increased so much, especially pizza boxes. If we were working on something big, we were asked to take some of our extra trash home, or to distribute it to other dumpsters on base besides the one closest to our building :001_huh: It may seem harmless to say something in isolation, but data mining software (or even someone just taking the time to read through an individuals posts) can connect a lot of information (even across lots of different websites, if you use the same handle everywhere). It is just better safe than sorry.

Yes, and in fact did so last week (mine was 3 weeks out of date). It was delicious!

If it is in any way conceivable that you might be near your weight limit, watch how they pack your stuff, sometimes they use "a few" more boxes than they really need since the movers get paid by weight. Mine were happy to leave my things in my storage totes, they just used oversized boxes specially made for packing totes in. Now is the perfect time to declutter in a big way. If you don't love it or need it, get it to someone who would love it or need it, or toss it. If any of your kids are EFM (or you, FTM), it will get you priority for base housing. Otherwise, you may want to find out how long the waiting list is. I also fed the movers.

I mentioned this in Dayle's Wii Fit post, but I'd recommend getting the Active instead, if you are looking for a good, sweat inducing, workout.

I've not tried the Wii Fit Plus, but I have both the Wii Fit and the Wii Active and although you didn't ask, I'll share my opinion on the 2 :D. Because of how delicate the balance board is, the Fit cannot really be used to get a very effective workout. It's not bad for balance stuff, but it doesn't really provide *nearly* as good of a workout as the Active. Since the Active also costs a lot less, I'd highly recommend the Active instead.

Oh brrr! And, the houses there aren't really made for that kind of weather. I had just been thinking a few days ago (when it was in the single digits F here) that I missed England because it 2 years there, it only snowed twice (for a single morning each time) and was rarely below 40 F. Guess I'll take that back now ;) (a very chilly wink, our low today is 7 F but our high is only about 19F). As it is, I'm keeping my shower on a constant drip because it froze for 2 days (praise God, the pipes didn't burst).