Wow...so many great responses! I'm really not "fretting" about this. I'm sorry I gave you that idea. It has just been something that's been on my heart and mind recently (whereas it was NOT before) and wondered if this was God whispering to me. I'm not nagging dh. Certainly not. He has enough on his plate right now w/out me constantly bringing this to his attention. He does think about it and we talk about is regularly. It is usually dh that brings it up. It is funny, but we have 2 godchildren (I don't know if anyone remembers me talking about them years ago...their mother died of an OD and we were supposed to adopt them before the grandparents stepped in) and dh would take both of them in a heartbeat...still. So, the idea of MORE children isn't the issue. It's the idea of another BABY! I am a natural at the baby stage, whereas dh struggles. He is better with them when they are older and can play. He doesn't give himself enough credit...he is wonderful with the babies! :) Anyway, I feel certain that if we are to have more children, then we will. And if not, God will take away my desire.

Jane, you are more than smart enough to homeschool! Not only have I read many of your posts but I have spoken to you LIVE! You are smart enough. We all doubt sometimes. I doubt regularly! :tongue_smilie: But I see how far advanced my kids were when they went back to ps this year. They far surpassed the school's expectations for them coming out of 4 years of homeschooling (the school figured they would be extremely behind...HAH!). You can do this...you ARE doing this. You must cut yourself some slack right now. Please.

I think that is how I am feeling. I KNOW that God can overcome anything...even birth control. But this is more a matter of where my heart it with God. Am I trying to retain all control or am I relinquishing it to God to let Him accomplish HIS will in my life? Or, am I giving Him just enough control so that I can still have my way but make it SEEM like He is having His? Does that makes sense? A good friend who knew me well sensed that I had issues giving up control to God. She told me that she thought when I gave my life to Christ that I gave him about "this much" (held up thumb and pointer finger about an inch apart)...just enough to be saved but not enough to really surrender control. It hurt...but she was right. FWIW, dh has really been praying about this.

With the ages of your children, I would think that the Geography covered in FIAR is sufficient. My dd4 enjoyed finding the countries on the map. And I seem to recall same activities that went along with each coutry (like cooking). If you wanted to incorporate more, you might get a book or two from the library on the specific country and read that. I know there are many that would be age-appropriate. FIAR is a great program for this age b/c there are so many different activities that can teach so much w/out them realizing that they are learning or doing "school". And, it gives you plenty of time to focus on the 3Rs at that age...which should be the focus anyway. They have so much time before they have to start learning about History and Geography in depth, kwim?

My ps 4th grader gets to choose a reward from the basket each Fri. that he has had good behavior all week (not sure how teacher keeps track...stickers or something). My hs kids all started complaining that they didn't get anything for doing their work or behaving. I pointed out that they didn't always DO their work and that their behavior was less than stellar. I tried giving rewards and it just got to be too much. That's all they look for now. Forget it. They are rewarded enough, imo. TV, video games, sweet treats every now and again. I have started tying schoolword to video game time for ds8 (my gamer). He gets 10 min. per each school subject completed...well and with a GOOD attitude. That means it must be complete and that he had to have completed it w/out fighting me or sulking or complaining or whatever. I have seen an improvement. Of course, there are the days that he tries to get time w/out doing schoolwork. It never works, but he does try.

We did a 1/2 year of ECC before we quit. Studying JUST Geography (even though it WAS missions focused and that did appeal to me) for one year got very old for all of the dc. The science in ECC was light and there were not enough experiments for my science-minded boys. We supplemented. For us, I didn't find studying Geography to be of any benefit before studying History. We are doing Preparing next year and had already done Ancients and Rome-Ref. (and dd13 had Moderns and American) before we started ECC. Not having had Geo. before the study of History didn't hinder my dc. I haven't had a chance to look through Preparing to see what the Science is like. We do plan to use CKE Earth and Space as a supplement if it is light. I will have a 7th grader doing Preparing and I don't think the Science in there will be enough for him. As for Geography in Preparing...I do think that there is some. I also point out countries as we study the History anyway, but I can only imagine that Carrie has put some of that in the Preparing curriculum. I will look over the manual this evening and post more later.

Stuff like that happens around here all the time. It makes me livid. Changing minds? Nah. It is a lie...meant to deceive the younger, more naive. It is a sin. Around here, it means making it up to the offended...big time. Taking over chores for a week, extra playtime with the offended doing what THAT CHILD wants to do (even if it is playing Barbies!), serving in some way, etc. Bickering gets me crazy but unless it turns into violence or name-calling...I try to stay out.

Thanks everyone. A few things: 1. I would never go against what my dh wants or doesn't want...esp. in this area. He would have to be 100% on board for us to ever consider having more children. 2. If he prays about it (and he is) and comes back and says, Nope, we are done, God said so then I will be okay with that. 3. I don't feel like we are done. I want more children. However, if God chooses not to bless us with more then I am okay with that, too. I am blessed with my 7. 4. We all get overwhelmed at times as parents. That is life. That wouldn't prevent me from having more. It is a difficult thing. This certainly would not ruin our marriage, though. That is a blessing. Thanks for all the opinions and comments. :)

I know there was a thread about this a while back but I can't seem to find it. This is such a personal decision that I don't want to start a debate as to whether or not this is "right". There are so many different opinions and each has its own merit for each family...whatever their specific beliefs are. I've been feeling convicted recently about our family size and how we "said" that we are done after having #7. While dh and I are both in agreement that we do NOT want to do anything permanent to prohibit any more children (i.e. vasectomy or tubal ligation), we were in agreement that we did not want any more...until recently. See, I KNOW that there are a million practical reasons why we should NOT have any more children (my struggle with depression, lack of "sufficient" income, feeling overwhelmed, we're almost out of diapers!, etc.) but I can't shake this feeling of conviction that we profess to trust God in EVERYTHING...except this. Why shouldn't we trust God for our family size, too? If He wanted us to have more children, we would. If not, He's close my womb. He did that numerous times in the Bible (i.e. Sarah, Elizabeth). Dh totally agrees that it is hypocritical to say we trust God when we really only trust Him for certain things. But he isn't ready to relinquish control in this area yet. He does NOT want more children. Yet he agrees that this is HIS will and not God's will. How do you get through something like this? I don't necessarily WANT more children, but I don't want to put MY will ahead of GOD'S will for us. I know that HIS will is perfect...mine is just selfish. I am 37...almost 38. I don't have many good childbearing years left. If God wants to bless us with another child or 2...I want what HE wants. How do I convince dh or do I? Is that God's job? All I know is that our current method of bc is unsettling to me and ANY form of bc is unsettling to me these days. WWYD? I'm feeling so upset about this today.

These tests are for public schools who TEACH TO THE TEST! You are not behind in any way shape or form! My child wouldn't know the answer to these questions and I wouldn't expect him to unless we specifically taught that, kwim? As a pp said, please just look at LA and math. And even then...if you use a non-standard math or LA curriculum you might "think" that you are somewhat behind. My son, for instance, doesn't know the names for parts of speech yet b/c we don't do formal grammar with him yet. But, he knows how to speak correctly and write a complete sentence. As for math, I do not PUSH him forward simply to make sure he gets what will be on the test. We "camp out" on a topic that gives him trouble until he has grasped it. Take "carrying" for instance. We are camping out there until he gets it. That means he might not get to memorize his mult. facts before test time or even get to division! He will likely BOMB the test...he will take the CAT...but I don't really give a hoot! My child is on his own timetable for learning...not some standard timetable that somebody made up to allign with whatever federal "initiative" was in place at that time. I get hot about standardized tests...can you tell? :tongue_smilie:

I was in your position this time last year. I was so stressed out trying to educate 7 children, care for 7 children, keep up a decent house, spend time with my hubby, find time for myself, etc. and I was struggling with depression that left my incapacitated some days. I didn't want to admit it, but I needed to put some of my kids in ps...at least until I could get a handle on my depression and heal. If you do send them to ps it will not be the end of the world, as I have realized. My 3 oldest went either back to ps or to ps for the 1st time (as in the case of ds10). All 3 did exceptionally well academically and socially. I agree with a pp who said NOT to cram this summer. Just let your dc test where she will. I did this with my dd13 who took, Pre-Alg. last year, tested at the end of the summer and didn't do quite so well so had to repeat Pre-Alg. It was a "cake walk" year for her and I was furious at first, but realized that she had a chance to really cement all her Pre-Alg. knowledge so that Alg. 1 will be easier next year. Does that make sense? Just let her test where she will and don't worry about it. Please take this next year to really focus on YOU. Find some sort of outlet for your stress and find ways to get a handle on it. Put some "supports" in place for yourself so that you can better deal with the sibling rivalry (which doesn't go away simply b/c they are in school I am sorry to say!) and not get so upset. We deal with sibling rivalry here to the nth degree...it is bad. Find a good family therapist who can help you. That is what we did and it is helping. :grouphug: to you and prayers. I do know what you are going through.

FIAR also has their own lapbooks for some of the books. Not sure about the ones you mentioned, though. If you look on homeschoolshare.com you might find some free ones. They have a separate FIAR section. HTH.

We had used both AAS and PR. I purchased AAS first and started it with my ds8 and ds6. For ds8, AAS moved way too slowly. It was a good fit for ds6 at the time. He loved the letter tiles and it really built up his confidence. He is a good speller, but does not read very fluently yet. Anyway, after a few months of AAS, I got my hands on PR and fell in love with it. I ditched AAS for my ds8 and am moving him quickly through PR1 right now. I kept up AAS for ds6 for a while and then ditched spelling altogether to focus on reading. We are just starting PR with him now. I kept the letter tiles b/c he likes to use those and play with them (as does dd4). What I can tell you is that PR1 is about the equivalent of levels 1-3 in AAS (thereabouts) and when you move to level 2 you begin grammar as well as literary analysis. There is much, much more to PR than AAS as you advance. The price about evens out so that wasn't an issue here. I learned more from PR using the "rule tunes" for spelling than I did with AAS. And my ds8, who is very musical, can even remember. Put anything to music and the kids will remember it.

I agree with Donna that the 2 programs are different enough that if HOD didn't work for your family, then MFW just might. So, you will have a 4th grader and 1st grader and littles next year, is that correct? Whatever program you choose from MFW would be more for the 4th grader with your 1st grader just following along when she wants. When we did ECC, I had a Ker, 2nd grader, 3rd gr, 5th gr. and 7th gr. doing the program. My Ker and 2nd gr. didn't do any of the workbook pages but did listen to some of our read-alouds and missionary stories and colored the flags and John 3:16 pages. I also got a few geography books about countries we were studying that were age-appropriate for the youngers. They were Scholastic books, i believe. They also listened to some of the Science readings. I was doing MFW K with the Ker at the time, so it didn't really matter to me if he listened or not. :) Adventures would also be a good choice, but you might have to "beef it up" for a 4th grader. But, maybe not. Having not done Adv. myself, I'm only going by what was suggested to me for next year when we were considering doing Adv. with a 4th gr. and a 2nd gr. I would say that if you felt drawn to MFW, then you should give it a try. It is a great program. Funny, but we are going in the opposite direction next year...moving from MFW to HOD.

So difficult to compare MFW and HOD b/c BOTH are such terrific programs in their own way. Honestly, I think it is a matter of what fits each individual family and perhaps even what fits each family at any given point, if that makes sense. While MFW may work for one family one year, it might not the next for whatever reason. This is what I have found with us. Of course there are some for whom MFW just fits and they stick with it. I adore MFW (have used K and 1st and some ECC) and my dd13 will be using the AHL program for 9th next year. However, we are going to be giving HOD a try next year for a variety of reasons. One was that several of my kids haven't had but "pieces" of history here and there and I wanted to give them a full "overview" and Preparing Hearts does just that. I also felt very spiritually drawn to HOD. Can't explain it really...I just got a very peaceful feeling about it. And, on a more "technical" note...HOD's "box" format schedule really appealed to me in a way that MFW's "grid" format did not. That's a personal choice...not a statement about which is better. KWIM? I think that if I could make my own program and use what I love about HOD and what I love about MFW...I'd have the perfect curriculum!

Love it. That's exactly what we do when dh is working late. Or, we do breakfast for dinner...cereal, pancakes, bacon/sausage or perhaps just a grilled cheese and some fruit or a salad. If I am particularly tired, it is "self-serve" all around with the older kids helping out the youngers.

I asked the same question on the MFW message board and was told that AHL does have some grammar built into the lit/comp portion of the program in the context of how to improve your writing. My dd13 will be using AHL next year and I plan to use R&S English 6 for her as well as she has had a good amount of grammar in the past but not to the extent that I feel she has learned everything she should know. Does that makes sense? Her future goals include teaching and missionary work and I feel that having a good grasp of the English language (as well as other languages) will serve her well. It was also suggested to do something like AG over the summer. HTH.

We used K12 with a virtual academy and I totally miss that online school schedule. It really kept me accountable and was so easy to just wake up each morning, turn on the computer and wala! There's my schedule for the day. It might help you to go to a curriculum such as MFW or HOD which has most subjects scheduled for you in either a grid (MFW) or box (HOD) format. Both are pretty open and go with minimal planning required from you...except for gathering the books, materials for history projects or science experiments. I'm assuming the numbers you gave for your dc are grades? If you went with MFW, you could combine the 3rd and 8th grader. With HOD, you would need 2 different guides, possibly 3 if you wanted to have something planned out for the PreKer. Another option is to choose programs that lend themselves to the "do the next lesson" type of schedule. MANY programs are like that and your 8th grader would be almost entirely independent. Some examples that come to mind: Saxon Math (most math programs for that matter), CKE series for Science, MOH, R&S grammar, GWG, PLL or ILL, SWO for spelling, Apologia science to some extent (esp. upper levels like General or Physical, etc.), Lightning Literature for your 8th grader, and many, many more that don't come to mind immediately. I liked K12, but there is a whole 'nother world out there! :D

Absolutely! My boys would LOVE something like this. They already do this type of stuff with Star Wars characters anyway. Please share when you get a chance.

THAT would be heavenly. If only my dh were that handy...

Thanks everyone. Great ideas! FWIW...I do show him what we are doing with the manipulatives and show him that we are trading 10 "ones" for 1 "ten" and then putting that ten where it belongs in the tens column, etc. I like the idea of using money...seem to remember that when we did Saxon. I also have the place value "decimal street" poster we used in MUS. He cringes when we take it out, but it does show very well that more than 9 "ones" or "units" cannot fit in the ones place, etc.

These are great. Thank you!

Phew...it is good to know that I'm not crazy for thinking I might be expecting too much. Thanks! Okay, so we shall camp here for a while. I will pull some worksheets from the internet for extra practice and see how it goes. Thanks for the book rec...I'll look for that in the library.

Ds8 is in Singapore 2A and has reached the lessons on "carrying". I taught him using Singapore's illustrations in the text and thought he understood. Yesterday, he was doing the problems IN HIS HEAD...and getting them right! But, he couldn't tell me HOW he got the answers. Today, we started on a new set of problems and he was in tears! He kept saying he didn't understand! :confused: So, I got out the MUS blocks we have and taught him with those. He seemed to get it. But I'm worried. Tomorrow's lesson is adding 3, multi-digit numbers with carrying! AAAAGGGGHHHH! Can somebody please help me help this child? How do you teach carrying so that your dc gets it? Am I expecting too much? This kid will be 9 in 2 weeks. His older brother was already in Singapore 3A by that time! HELP!

We are loving PR. I had been using AAS for my ds8 and ds7 but quickly realized that AAS was moving much too slowly for ds8 and I would have to speed it up significantly and buy subsequent levels. PR just made better sense financially and academically for us. We are only in level 1 right now, but have 2 on the shelf for the near future. Ds7 is just starting PR (a late bloomer academically). I will say that I add WWE at times for ds8 and will start with ds7 next year. I do not use a formal grammar program with either boys yet so found no need for FLL. Ds8 will be tested in a month and so we do go over basic parts of speech and sentence structure using KISS grammar (free) and a Voyages In English workbook I had left over from our K12 days. I can't wait to get to the next levels of PR...so much more "meaty". I also like having everything in ONE program...no need for juggling multiple books. IMHO...a 1st grader doesn't need formal grammar anyway. (don't shoot me!) :)