We have a Samoyed (long, white hair) and we do shave him during the Summer. He loves to be outside and its way too hot otherwise. My husband has a shaving kit and does it himself but it takes a very long time. If the dog may be skittish you're probably better going to a groomer. He does look pitiful though. Unshaved he looks like a white wolf, shaved he looks like a lamb that's been sheared. He looks about 50 pounds lighter too.

What do you do if you can't raise your own and don't have the storage space to buy 1/2 a cow at a time? I'd love some suggestions for those of us who are pretty much stuck with a chain grocery store trip that can only be augmented by locally grown produce during Summer and early Fall. How do you find the time to drive one place for produce, another for meat, another for eggs, another for milk, etc.? I know for some these places may all be close together but what if they're not?

We have bath rugs in the bathroom but that's it. I won't have a rug in the kitchen because it would constantly need to be washed between the dog, food, etc. and the rest of my house is wall to wall carpeting. I worked as a nurse's aid at a nursing home for a while and our CNA instructors favorite saying was "throw rugs throw people". They were considered very dangerous to have since many, many slip and falls were caused by them.

We're probably middle of the road and that's mainly because Dh does most of the cooking. We eat a lot of fish (off the low mercury list), vegetables (some we grow ourselves but lack of space and short growing season..), brown rice, whole wheat breads and pasta (but store bought). We do buy organic milk since my kids drink a lot, organic apples (ditto) but that's usually it. I'm trying to avoid artificial sweeteners so I'm slowly giving up diet soda (down to one case over 2-3 weeks) and drinking more homemade iced tea or water. I'm also making homemade bread occasionally and trying to do more (lack of time..). I'm trying to cut down HFCS but boy is that a hard one - its in everything! I'm not the most domesticated woman so making a lot of stuff from scratch is beyond my current capabilities. We're all pretty healthy with no major health issues or problems so it's mainly a matter of chosing what's most important to us given the funds, time and energy we have.

My son started at 3 because he was in Early Intervention with a lot of older boys who were getting ready for Kindergarten. He already knew his letters and letter sounds from playing (mostly puzzles) and did formal reading/writing in school (HWT and Open Court Reading). He's always been fascinated with letters, words and numbers. He's a very definite Visual Spatial learner and has now taught himself to count to 100 after I hung a 100's chart, skip count by 2's (he's gone up to 224) from a series of number lines I put up, always asks what x + y is, he figured out that 5 rows of 10 is 50, etc. So much of what he's figuring out is so random that I loosely started a Math program so that he wouldn't wind up with gaps. We don't do it every day and we quit if he doesn't want to do it. He really wants to read. I started with The Reading Lesson but he didn't like doing a few letters at a time since he already knew how they sounded. We changed to Progressive Phonics which is going better, and we just bought ETC 1 to see how he likes that. Again, we go slow, don't do it everyday and stop if he wants to. We mainly do unit studies right now. We pick topics that's he's interested in or Holidays coming up. It introduces a little Science, a little History/Social Studies/Geography. I'm trying to emphasize read alouds and activities rather than sit-down writing. I'm getting ready to start The Reading Lesson with my daughter because she keeps wanting to do school as well. She knows most of her letter sounds but I figure starting at the beginning is better since she's so young. She does participate in all our Unit study stuff (sometimes better than my son). I plan to start SOTW (prob using HO), RSO, FLL, HWT (?) when my son is 61/2 and dd is 4 1/2 - keeping it casual and easy for her.

Did you have a particular reason for tossing HO Level 1? I'm thinking of doing it with my kids next year. I have the Try Before You Buy preview and looked it over briefly but definitely didn't do a full reading. There did seem a lot of stuff to buy (I already have Usborne History Encyclopedia and like the History Pockets).

Unfortunately there is a definite perception if you say you homeschool and are Christian. This isn't a division I like or subscribe to (and I'm sure the Catholics don't appreciate being told they're not Christians) but it definitely exists. Even though IRL I consider myself a Christian, in the online homeschooling communities I don't want to be associated with the ideas that saying you are a Christian is usually associated with (young earth, only one path, extremely Evangelical/Fundamentalist). I have noticed these kinds of divisions less on this board than on some of the others I view, which is probably why I'm more active here than most others. ;)

I agree with this. I'm Christian but definitely one of the more Liberal, relaxed denominations (UMC). I don't believe there is only one path to God. On a lot of other boards/forums I belong to, by saying you are Christian you basically are saying you're a fundamentalist homeschooling for religious reasons and to teach your children a young earth viewpoint. I am definitely a secular homeschooler.

I worked for an Ad Agency and we weren't allowed to use it because it is considered too casual and unprofessional. I use it all the time now because I think it works well for young kids - it's easy to read, looks "friendly" (my son's description) and looks the way handwritten letters look. Someone mentioned Century Gothic as also having letters formed like handwritten. This wasn't a good font for my son since the lines are much straighter and formal. He would try matching them exactly and get very frustrated. He found the Comic Sans much easier to copy to his satisfaction (maybe its purely a mental thing, I don't know). Comic Sans Century Gothic

It depends on how you were coming home. There are a lot of historical places in NJ. Morristown has Jockey Hollow and Washington's Headquarters plus Fosterfields Living Historical Farm. This is pretty much the dead center of the upper half of New Jersey. In the Northwest, in Stanhope is Waterloo Village - this is a very nice historical village. They also do concerts and special events (Native American Days, Irish Days, etc.) Double Trouble Village is at Island Beach State Park so is along the coast. Batsto Village is in South Jersey, just off the Parkway. Morris County is the middle of Northern New Jersey and has a lot of historical areas (this is where Morristown is). Here's a link that has most of them. http://www.morrisparks.net/aspparks/ffmain.asp

If you don't want to just have the text wrap when it hits the end of a line, but want to put in line breaks where you want them - In Word (or word processing program) tables, hit shift + Enter. In Excel (or spreadsheet program) hit Alt + Enter.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I'm making a list to grab from my library.

We spend a lot of time in the car driving my oldest to dance. Twice a week she goes early enough that I have to bring the two youngest along on what is a 45 minute to 1 hour round trip. I've been thinking about playing Audio books for the little guys but I want something that's going to last most of the trip, not be too annoying for me or oldest DD and will hopefully keep their attention. Any suggestion?

:iagree: You mentioned this wasn't a good neighborhood. What if something had happened to these girls? Is he worried about a parent accusing you guys of insufficient supervision or something. We've all met the parent who has kids that can do no wrong - everything they do is someone else's fault.

Non-childproof prescription bottles. You can usually buy them at pharmacies - they have lids that snap on (like the old film canisters) instead of the push and turn. Only problem is they are usually the amber see-through material instead of opaque.

Keeping in mind that I spent almost 20 years as an Executive Assistant and have serious over-planning tendencies...this is what I do for our Unit Studies. (Our Math and Reading we just do what comes next in our lessons or do extra games if we seem to need more practice so I don't write these down ahead of time.) I have a loose schedule of what topics I want to cover this year, some based on specific dates (like Holidays) and others just random. I have a book list under each topic - what resources we have (so I don't forget to use them) and what books I've seen recommended and want to get from the library. This is in a Word document. For each unit we are getting ready to do, I make a list of activities including books to read, crafts/activities to do, etc. in a separate Word document. I find this keeps me more on track and less likely to be distracted or forget something. For instance, we're currently doing the human body and part of last weeks lesson looked like: Body Parts/Systems: Trace bodies and hang. Color. Read: From Head to Toe Read: Amazing You: Getting Smart About Private Parts Put up body from Giant Science Resource Book Read: The Skeleton Inside You Read: Science Odyssey Skeletal and Muscular Systems Color skeletal system pages from TBB and Evan Moor while reading Put up skeleton parts from Giant Science Resource Book and color. Read: Science Encyclopedia pg 156-157 Try to make a tent using just blankets and pillows. Then use chairs and tables. Point out how it was easier with something firm to help support and compare to skeleton. Feel arm from shoulder to wrist. How many bones can you feel? Watch: The Magic School Bus Flexes Its Muscles Read: MSB Activity Guide pg 8-9 Read: Science Encyclopedia pg 158-159 Feel arm while bending elbow back and forth. Feel the muscle move. Color Evan Moor Muscular system page After a lesson is over, I copy the booklist from my year plan into another Word document, add any Math, Reading, Science, Crafts/Activities we did and the put this page in a binder with a few samples of work from the week. A recent one of these looked like: Colors/Artists WYKNTK MSB Makes a Rainbow (video) Science Encyclopedia 13 Artists Children Should Know Art by McDonnell A Color of His Own by Lionni The Snowman by Briggs Color Dance by Jonas I Spy Colors In Art by Micklethwaite the Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Anholt Begin at the Beginning by Schwartz Mouse Paint by Walsh Harold and the Purple Crayon Reading: -at word family worksheet; did short A phonics reader for –ad and –ab; read I wish I had duck feet, Great Day for Up ; played picture/word board game; played Word Whammer Math: Finished MEP Lesson 7; MEP Lesson 8; greater than/less than; read What’s the Time and discussed clocks; dice addition game Science: Observable properties – transparent, translucent and opaque; refraction of light; visible light spectrum; Crafts/Activities: cutting practice; Chutes and Ladders; Sequence for Kids; Leapster games; color mixing activities; warm/cool colors; types of lines; viewed artworks – Tahitian Landscape, Hunters in the Snow, The Purple Robe, People and Dog in Sun This is even worse if you know I live in a state that requires absolutely no reporting, notification, portfolio or testing whatsoever and that my children are not even legal school age yet. What can I say, I think I'm a little OCD. But all this actually makes things LESS stressful for me.

I printed a bunch of games from www.kellyskindergarten.com under Games To Make. She has UNO, Snap, Old Maid, Go Fish, Board Games - all with sight words, CVC words, etc. She has a lot of popular characters and seasonal themes. I recently printed Cliffords Bones which is a word matching game and Nick (Dora, Scooby Doo, Spongebog and Spiderman) UNO cards. Her games are in Word so its real easy to change the words to whatever you are working on. I changed our UNO game to be the short A words and sight words we are currently working on. As we progress, I'll print out more for the new words we do. Other than that, we do a lot of custom bingo, dominos, lotto and memory games.

My oldest gets asked (or it's assumed) if she's Irish all the time because she has red hair. She is Irish but also Italian, English, Swedish and German. We have a very Hispanic last name (DH was adopted by his stepfather) so we get publications in Spanish and telemarketing calls where they are speaking Spanish all the time. None of us currently speaks any Spanish and DH, DS and youngest DD are all blond hair with blue or hazel eyes. My hair is dark brown but I have very fair skin so definitely don't look anything but the Anglo-European Mutt that I am.

I used to work for a Pharmaceutical Advertising Agency and the choice of fonts was a major, big deal. Some are definitely considered too casual/unprofessional to ever be used. I use Comic Sans because everything I do is for a 4 or 2 year old and they both like the more casual look of it. My son especially is a perfectionist and would try to match a font exactly. I just started laughing because I realized how many of our signatures are in Comic Sans (including mine).

When my youngest was real little, I got almost nothing done. I concentrated on laundry and dishes and was happy if that worked. Now, my kids are almost 16, 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 things are better but I still don't get a lot done. My house is usually a wreck - toys everywhere within 5 minutes of cleaning up (unless the kids are out of the house or asleep). Everyone talks about the 16 year old must be such a big help. Not exactly - she's the one making us get up early in the morning to drive her to school, she's the one I have to interrupt our afternoon to pick her up from school, she's the one that throws off dinner having to drive her to dance, she's the one who keeps me out until after 9pm four days a week to pick her up from dance. Yes, I can leave the little guys with her to run to the store quickly, to go to the library, etc. but she's more often part of the problem, not the solution. Thankfully my dh has always been very understanding. He cooks dinner every night (including any special shopping needed) so that's one less thing I have to worry about. He's always said my primary job is taking care of (and now teaching) the children.

I always considered myself fairly well read and aware but I had never even heard of people still believing in a young earth until I joined homeschooling groups. I always thought it was up there with the flat earth, geo-centric universe ideas. It seems most common among Evangelical Christians in Bible Belt areas.

How often do you use your formal dining room? If its pretty infrequent, definitely switch. Why keep a room for nothing but looking pretty? Although I can sympathize with having one area of the house that is "adult". We've made a lot of unusual decisions for our house due to lack of space and very infrequent company. Our only company tends to be family anyway and they can deal. I'm a Fly-Lady drop out but I try to do some things: Bedtime Routine: Shower Dishes/Clean Counters Sit down with little guys for Quiet time and hope they fall asleep (they seem to get a second wind around 9pm). Morning Routine: Wake up when YDD gets up, run her into bathroom so she can pee on the potty before overflowing her nighttime pull-up. Drive ODD to school if its a week she's here (every other) -or- Stagger into kitchen for cup of tea while younger kids watch Team Umizoomi or Magic School Bus. Check calendar, email and bank balance. On Mondays - start laundry Unload dishwasher so daytime dishes can be loaded right away. Open curtains in kids room so its not so dark in there. None of us get dressed unless we're going out of the house (and dropping dd off at school doesn't count). In my blog pictures, the kids are almost always in their pj's. :tongue_smilie:

I'm surprised so many are okay with the younger teens watching the movies but not reading the books. The two movies so far are very similar to the books. (some of the dialogue is almost word for word).

I like the idea that my daughter is learning about some of the issues and pitfalls of dating and relationships long before she is likely to run into them on her own. She's still not allowed to date (although we are less than a month away from her 16th birthday when she can) but we've had the opportunity to prepare her for all kinds of things - not letting a guy become more important than everything else in her life, making sure a guy treats her right, that noone has the right to lay a hand on her (abuse) or to do anything that she doesn't want, etc. She has a lot of male friends and has for years. To her guys are just people, nothing overly special, some are nice, some are jerks. She (unlike quite a few of her friends) does not feel like she HAS to have a boyfriend at all times to be fulfilled. I may feel differently about her reading habits if we didn't talk openly and frequently about a wide variety of things and often books can open up the doors to an important conversation. (Of course this will only work if there's a parent willing to read them as well). When my daughter read the books in question she was actually about 3 years past the "brink of puberty".