The Duggers have a recipe for laundry soap on their website. http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html We have used it for about a year now. It lasts forever and is less than $5 to make.

Fatigue in pregnancy is often caused by low iron level. I had this with ALL mine! Slow FE is something I took or if you want something more natural, 1 tbsp black strap molasses ea. day. I recommend having your iron checked first be your Dr. As for schooling, kids go through 13 years of school. That being said, a few slow months won't hurt. I've read of homeschool mothers being bedridden for several months. They took that time to read lots and lots of books. That's it. When things get crazy here for whatever reason (which is usually another pracnancy!) we try to stick to the basics...the 3 r's (reading, writing, arithmetic).

Love it!!!!!:D I'm too embarrassed to share ours. I seriously need to come up with a new one...you guys put me to shame. :o ...I'm back. How does Five Smooth Stones Christian Homeschool sound? My dh came up with this, it's actually his fantasy football team name (he wanted to defeat Giant fans-lol). Anyway, it would work because I have 5 kids and David used an untraditional method (5 smooth stones) to do something big (defeat the giant)...and I believe my kids will grow up to do geat things. :) Is this corny? I will think on it, but I think it's pretty cool, especially since hubby came up with it. As for the homeschool part, I'm just proud of that! (and colleges will know anyway-lol) ...and our mascot can be a little David. hahaha. This is fun! :D Ok, I need some sleep!!

... $20 says she will be right up there with everyone else by the time she's 18. (Kind of like the 2 year old potty trained kids who just "got it" vs. the 4 year old ones that had more trouble.) It will all work out in the end. (No, this is not a real bet, just sayin') And another yeah for the journal idea. But also recommend not correcting, that can cause frustration for a younger child (specifically below 4th grade). Great programs listed above, Spelling Power is another grreat one to consider. I would recommend reading up on each of them and deciding which one fits your style best. Then go from there. Off the record, I was a horrble speller in school, worse by far than everyone in my class! Now, everyone comes to me when they need to spell a word (not that I get them ALL right), but I'm not that 2nd grade horrid speller I use to be, and neither will your daughter! Happy homeschooling. Enjoy it! Things will work out!

Socal Sandra, Wow! How many hours a day do you do math? Your kids must be geniuses by now. :) Good for you!

My daughter had a hard time with math the first couple years too, then we switched to singapore. Where math use to be her most hated and dreaded subject, now she loves it and it's her favorite! (Boy was I shocked when I first heard that come from her mouth!) Math, in all it's unwavering logic can be complicated for young children (who don't seem to think too logically-ha). But I have had others tell me that as their kids got older, math became a bit clearer for them and I have now witnessed this for myself. For this reason, I don't consider Singapore as soley resposible for the turnaround as much as I do that my daughter is getting older and able to understand math a little better than 5, 6 or 7 year olds (not to say there aren't exceptions out there). Anyway, I have heard and read numerous experts recommending finding a math curriculum that you can live with and sticking to it to avoid any unnecessary problems (gaps, confusion, that sort of thing). That being said, I'm sure SM is great from what I've read and I know singapore is great too. The thing I like more about Singapore vs what we were using before (though I liked that too) is the fact that it's less driven. We can finish the year on time doing 4 days a week (so no math on co-op days). It's just much less hectic for us. (That's why we switched, before we were too rushed to finish ALL the material). Singapore is much more relaxed, yet it gets the job done. Something to think about. Good luck!

Yes, I like that idea a lot. I will proabably end up going along with that same idea myself. Since I have 3 still coming up on Kindergarten, I will probably switch back and forth using HOD and MFW for K and 1st (ds-MFW, dd-HOD, ds MFW, dd-HOD) and then stick with MFW from then on as they reach 2nd. That way, I will satisfy my desire to try something new (I don't want to rush them through the lesson because I am bored with it after doing it so many times), yet not sacrifice a concrete learning experience by jumping around all the time.

Thanks to all of you who added to this post, it has really blessed me to hear all your thoughts, as I have been struggling over this decision for a couple months now. This year we did Adventures with my 3rd grader and the Kinder curriculum. I loved them both and had no issues whatsoever. We had a much more "freeing" homeschool experience than the previous year using the fast pace, jampacked Abeka program (which is great for Christian schools, but not so much homeschools, imo). I am VERY pleased with the year we had and hope we have many more like it! Even after having a baby in Dec, we never got behind (though we took the month off) and are still on target to finish end of May-with nothing left out! (This is not to our credit as much as it is to this wonderful curriculum that is so full, yet not overboard. Not too much and not too little, just right! I love that it leaves wiggle room. :) ) Anyway, after looking through the HOD catalog (100+ times) I agree that it looks just wonderful, but I think it's our natural ambition as homeschool moms to seek that absolute most perfect curriculum available on the market. I've come to the conclusion that there are many wonderful choices out there and I think it would benefit my kiddoes more if I stuck to one that we liked and worked well, and in that way avoiding any major gaps that curriculum swapping can cause. I just ordered the MFW 1st for my son and will be doing ECC with my 4th grader in the fall, that way she will finish the 5 year cycle in 8th grade and all my other kids will just jump on board as they hit 2nd. It's an absolutely ingenious and uncomplicated idea (the 5 year cycle, that is). I feel so at ease now! Sheeew. I have heard wonderful things about ECC and am excited to try it and all MFW users I've talked to (or read up on) say it just gets better and better. In conclusion, though HOD looks just as wonderful as MFW, (and I really think you can't go wrong with either choice), I especially appreciate the simplicity MFW lends to moms of several children who need help getting it all together. It's a fantastic curriculum that was put together by an incredible family, and I love the fruit I am seeing in my children. I really don't know why I'm asking for more. :banghead:

There is a series of books out there that you can probably check out at your library... What Your First Grader Needs to Know, What Your Second Grader Need to Know, etc. by E.D. Hirsch Jr. These will help you keep track of where they are.

Love it!! I am going to start doing this myself!! Thanks for the tip! :)

Used to be Math, but now that she is understanding it more she is getting ok with it, she even said so herself :blink:.... so now its writing! And she wasn't happy when I signed her up for writing class at our co-op. lol But when the teacher started doing poetry 1/2 way through the year...all the kids LOVED it and begged for more, even dd. Can you say f-i-c-k-l-e?! :willy_nilly: I'm starting to think there is a way around even the dreaded subjects! Even I hated history in school, but when I read things like Abe Lincoln's Hat, and certain biographies and visit actual historic sights, even I've come to love it. Who'd have thought?! :patriot: K~

Language Lessons by Sandy Queen. Short and sweet. Just the way I like it! :)

I can't believe how many of you homeschool year 'round. With 8 weeks to go, I think I am more excited about summer break than my kids! :party:Clean, swim, playground, play, bike, organize, more play, that kind of stuff, yippy! Anyway, since you are doing Kinder (I've done 2 of those so far), I think you're schedule sounds pretty terrific. M-W, with friday co-op (which we count this as a school day!) Then Sat you can make an "extras" day, library day, computer learning game day, project day, that sort of thing and you should be able to make great progress with your kindergartener. As for # of days, I think most states that require = 180 days. My kinders only do "school" for up to 2 hours max. (That included phonics lessons with practice "sounding" and writing and such, usually a project of some sort, and some math concepts) But reading, computer play, games and such are added learning adventures that we don't count as actual "school" :hurray: Good luck on your new adventure!! You are in for loads of fun!! :iagree:

Loved the lists... Without boring you with my similar schedules, around here are 2 musts: Make beds in morning-makes rooms so much neater and more inviting. We use to not, but once we started, I could never go back. We have been doing this for a year or so now. Get dressed down to the shoes! This makes you ready for anything and ready to accomplish more. Housecoats are an absolute bad idea, they make me so-o-o lazy! My new best friends are my crocks (though not new, they are actually getting worn out). I wear them all day around the house and I can run to mailbox, go for a walk... I'm always ready, and they spare my feet from crunching on cheerios, fruit loops, and other things my kids drop along their path. :tongue_smilie: And of course, clean the kitchen sink. :)... I know, that's 3...but my brain is only 1/32 and I can't count. :O lol

Unfortunately, MFW is not at any conventions in NY. :( Though when visiting my parents in TX last year and attending their convention, I happened to stumble across the MFW catalog after taking one of their classes (How to keep young ones entertained while schooling-lol), and it wasn't until I got home and stated looking through the different catalogs that the MFW jumped out at me and it was quite clear that that was the direction the Lord was leading us. Now several people in our co-op use HOD and so I got a catalog (my downfall) and it looks equally as wonderful. But THANK YOU for your reply, it is exactly what I needed to hear and the efficiency of MFW is one of the reasons we started it in the first place! You just can't beat the simplicity of the "5 year cycle" with a large family. We loved MFW this year and I need to remind myself, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" Ha! Thanks again!!