We are also trying to figure out what to do. We have set chores that need to be done daily just because you are a part of the family and we all work together. Hubby and I are going to come up with an allowance and then a list of extra chores that can be done to earn extra money. I'm having a hard time coming up with age-appropriate chores though-any ideas? Something my parents helped me out a lot. I think they started when I was around 14 yrs old. I was given $50 a month for allowance. I had to save 10% and tithe 10%. After that, I had to buy anything I needed or wanted out of that money. If I needed new shoes, shampoo, make-up, clothes, eating out, movies, etc- I paid for it. I also babysat to earn extra money. I quickly learned how to manage my money as I wasn't allowed to ask for more. When my girls are older, we will be doing something similar!

I took a semester of piano in college and I have NO ear for music. I'm pretty sure I could teach basics with a good book- finger position, name of keys, name of notes and a few very simple songs. After that, I know I will have to find someone else. I also need to ask around church- I might be able to find someone who could give lessons for cheap! How much do you guys pay for lessons?

We are being given a piano but we don't have extra money in the budget right now for lessons. I was thinking I could start to teach the basics at home. Does anyone know of a good book to do this with?

:lurk5: Me too!

LOL!

I haven't read all of the responses so I don't know what others have said. My mom is a nurse and worked on the surgery floor of gastric bypasses. She says that after seeing all of the complications and hard time patients can have, she would personally never have it done.

I've been one for several weddings. Don't forget safety pins and corsage pins. If there are silk flowers, you'll want to bring floristst tape to fix anything. Also, a roll of duct tape is nice to have. Think about what kind of decorations there are and what might go wrong with them. Get a list of vendors, their phone numbers and what time they are supposed to be where so you can call if there is a problem. Also, a list of the bridal party with phone numbers is helpful. Breathe mints, mouthwash and something to clean spills, extra batteries for cameras. Make sure your phone is charged! At the moment, that is all I can think of! :D

"If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie!" Not very profound but sure to bring a smile! :D

Wow! What a great list! Thank you for taking the time to do this! Can I get a copy when it is done?

Hubby and I are both serious people- we don't laugh much and never really have. We enjoy our time together and enjoy each other's company-we just aren't people who laugh alot. We both need to lighten up more and we are getting better! We do tend to laugh at the same things! I really related to the lady who posted she was in a relationship with someone who made her laugh all the time and it was shallow- been there, done that!

We started with Saxon but found it moved to slow for our needs. I've switched to Horizons and have been please with it. It has a similar approach to Saxon but is about 6 months ahead of them.

I don't know if this available to you, but at our libraries you can borrow audio books. Also, we prefer to put them onto our MP3 player- it all right there and we are not keeping track of CD's throughout the car!

:lurk5:

This is isn't really a game so to say but I've had several kids I've worked with who like it. Flashcards and time them. Give them a goal to reach with a small prize when they reach the goal. For example, the who stack done in under 3 minutes (or whatever time you feel is appropriate). Graph their results on a line graph. They are so proud of themselves when they reach their goal and get their prize! My daughter is working towards a new Lego toy that we put a price limit on.

FiveLittleMonkeys- When do you transition to the spreadsheet for the older kids? Do you do it gradually or just start it at a certain age? I know my two are still to young for that- I was just curious!

Thanks for the input! I think I need to get used to the idea that it is ok to throw out their work- we don't need to keep every piece of paper!

Thanks for all of the input! It is great to hear other's ideas and how they do it!

I though of another question!:lol: How do you remember to get to the fun games? I do good at getting the "formal" work done but I'm always forgetting to pull out a game or two and just have some fun learning and reviewing!:confused1:

We have finished up our first year of homeschooling and I've got piles of papers and workbooks! What do I do with them all? I was thinking of scanning in the work and keeping a file on the computer for each year (with a back-up copy). I'm just not sure how that would work long term or even what to keep of it all. What do you guys do?

This has helped so much! I'm not as off track as I thought! Heidi- Thank you for sharing your blog! It is pretty close to what I have been doing- I just had a sheet saying what I was covering and how often. I love the idea of writing down what we have finished! I do need to be better about sitting down once a week and making sure I have needed materials and jotting down things. We do CC and I've noticed that when CC is in session, I do much better at staying focused. I'm hoping to improve on that next year. This year I've focused on reading, writing, and math and everything else is a bonus. Next year I'm adding in science and history with some art and music thrown in. I also do better when we have a rough schedule of how our weeks goes. All of our activities have recently finished so I feel so unorganized right now. Hubby keeps telling me that the eldest is doing wonderful and so far ahead that I can relax a bit for the summer. I know he is right and I'm just putting to much stress on myself!

km- That is kind of what we have done. I've picked out what we are going to do and we just work on it until we are finished and then I move on to the next level up. It is working- my eldest is doing so well. I guess I'm stuck in the trap of feeling like I "have" to plan it all out!

:lurk5:

or even plan out the year? Up to this point, I've been very laid back about it all-they were just to young to stress all of us out about it. The few times I did try to plan things, it just ended up getting thrown out the window for one reason or another. How do you guys do it?

:lurk5:

:lurk5: