They love spending time with me, so maybe I need to pay more attention to that. I could focus more on planning special dates and not just having them tag along to run errands. So...I'm starting to get the idea that it's OK to have more free time for yourself and it's OK to just get out and about with the kids. I suppose I have this vision that I'm supposed to still be super occupied with my house and little details with my kids (thank you Pinterest). Maybe it's just about getting used to this new phase instead of moping around?! :glare:

:001_smile::001_smile: Mind you, I have twins, so the slow-down came all at once! But yes, it gets easier! Although...I have a feeling this is the calm before the teenage storm! :lol:

Thanks so much! Great ideas!

:lol::lol::lol:

Haha!:lol::lol: Thanks! I'll put that on my to-do list! It was totally neglected this year!

OK, I've read most of the thread, but I don't have an hour. :) I just wanted to say that I feel for you. I have been there with a very good kid who all of a sudden is breaking rules with a new friend who comes off sneaky. I understand your frustration and concern over your daughter's willingness to let another girl bend her. That would be my concern, too, and I probably would have explained it just like you- focusing on tiny details that seem insignificant to others. This is why we don't do sleepovers yet and I'm not looking forward to them! Hugs from an uptight mother of very sweet children! ;)

Mmmm....If she is going to start as a freshman and you are already doing a few school-like programs (not unschooling), I think she'll be fine. What I've been doing is looking ahead and seeing what types of classes are offered, then exploring the materials used and assignments expected. Most teachers have their own websites now. I just keep all that in mind as I choose curriculum. For instance, I'd probably do a lot more creative writing in 8th grade, only because we don't do much now and I know the other 9th graders will have had a lot of that. Other than that, high school tends to be a new playing field for most kids anyhow, especially if there are a few different middle schools feeding into it. Nothing about high school was like my middle school. That's my two cents.

History Beauty Ability to live in the country but be a few short hours from several big cities

Zillow is TOTALLY unreliable. It said our house was worth waaaaay more than it is.

Is there a book you've heard her mention?

Confession time. I'm having a hard time finding balance as my girls get older and need me less. Well, I suppose not less, but just in a different way. They will be 10 this summer and are becoming more independent. They can do chores, entertain themselves, pick out their own clothes... And I'm having trouble figuring out what to do with my time! We are renting a tiny two bedroom house for another year, so there isn't much to do in the way of home keeping. I'm feeling very lazy and I hate that my girls are seeing me spend so much time on the computer and just being generally idle. I could and should be interacting with them more, listening to their stories when they do come to me, maybe cooking more? Those are things I know make them feel loved. I just can't seem to figure it out right now. Perhaps it's this lazy summer schedule, too. I've never been so excited for school to start so I can feel useful again. Ok. So there is my whine. This was also only my second year of not teaching first grade in ps and I think that is part of it too. I'm just used to a lot more chaos and neediness. How do you contribute to your kids when they are too old to need you every second of the day? Oh, and my husband is gone every other week for work, so it's just the three of us for much of the time. Just looking for..., I don't know... Encouragement? A kick in the pants? Your daily schedule? Thanks for listening.

:iagree::iagree: This was me. Long periods and horrible pain. No, I mean HORRIBLE. Throwing up multiple times in an hour, screaming, nothing helped. Nothing. BCP saved my life! I WISH I would have had them earlier now, because now I know I have endometriosis and BCP is one of the only ways to slow it down. So, I would consider your daughter's discomfort level and talk with her about her choices. Maybe let her decide? It's not like BCP pills are permanent, but having an exam at an early age could be traumatic. (And obviously look for underlying issues. It took me until the age of 31 to get a diagnosis.)

Well, post the link already! :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie: (Did I miss it?!) I need to write a nasty comment...

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

swim lessons, now swim team- $250 for both girls for the summer YMCA membership so we can swim year round- $65 a month for the family (cheap! I know! Our Y is very small) Soccer for one DD- $200 a year, minimal expenses here and there Museum memberships and fees Science, weekly- $100/month for both girls- it's a steal TRAVEL. I don't really know where to put this in the list of priorities. It's a huge priority for our family, but I wouldn't give up swim team for one trip, you know? This year we went to Niagara Falls, New York City (twice), Gettysburg, VA beach, Williamsburg, and spent a month at the beach in CA. So yeah, we spend a lot traveling, but I's rather give up one trip than a season of a sport, you know? We don't spend a lot on art supplies because we have a generous grandma. When it's all said and done, I think we probably spend the most (after travel) on seasonal activities around town.

And I would agree- don't go with Spelling Workout. He's too young to need all the nonsense in there. I used it for one year with my advanced dd and it was great because she LIKES the busywork and it gave her something to work on while I worked with my other dd. I don't know how much she learned though. We are starting Megawords this year.

Hmm...At first I was going to say no to AAS, but since he's so young... You could always use AAS to just teach the rules, and march through it pretty quickly. You could even skip the tiles if he doesn't like/need them. Then you could slow down when he starts to get challenged. We love AAS but my advanced 3rd grader didn't need it when we started homeschooling. It was way more mommy-intensive than she needed. But, if she was younger, I would have used it. I would have wanted to make sure she didn't have any gaps! It's very open and go and you can move as fast as you want.

Wait. You do all of this AND Sonlight?? Wow! Here's how much time I spend: FLL3- 15-20 min, but sometimes we do 2 lessons Math- we usually set aside 45 min- 1 hr. It just depends on the lesson, BUT they only need about 15 min from me, then the rest is independent History- about 45 min, twice a week on a good week Spelling- AAS is about 15 min daily, my other dd's spelling is pretty independent

You should be just fine. We (foster parents) were told that environmental neglect is the absolute hardest things to prove. Our therapist said she's seen some homes that she thinks are horrible, that get the ok from DCFS. There is a wide spectrum of living condition standards, so basically if everyone is safe, healthy, clean, and well fed, they really have a hard time documenting anything. You should have seen the filth my girls almost got returned to. I'm sorry you are going through this. How awful. Is there any way to provide some sort of "proof" of this family member's instability so she can't make the claim again??

Boy Scouts and Karate?!?! Those would be the first things to GO! They'd be replaced with chores, chores, and more chores. He would do the community service (which, in all honesty, I would have chosen too), then do chores, then be in his room alone doing schoolwork. Period. Also, if I could afford it, I'd hire a very firm tutor for the two months who would ride his butt all day everyday. Going to work with dad sounds too much like a reward. But that's just me. I don't know why he wasn't expelled.

700 is what people consider pre-algebra. However, CLE might be hard to jump into, especially if you don't intend to continue it for high school. If Saxon is a better fit for high school, I'd go with that. (We love CLE here, but probably won't use it after 600 because we'll transition to something more traditional we can use all the way up.)

I've been doing the next thing type of teaching and we just aren't getting enough done because of all the traveling we do. I just can't stay focused or organized. SO...my new plan for next year (I emphasize the word "plan" since I have no idea if it will really work) is to take all of our curriculum and chunk it into 30 weeks. Yes, 30. That is a realistic number because of our traveling. Then, I can do a week when we are home. I am not assigning dates. If I can't do 30 weeks of curriculum, then my kids should probably go back to school. :) It also helps me plan ahead and really spend time thinking about resources I can add for history and science. I will use a filing box and have a separate folder for each week. If I find something I want to use for an upcoming week, I can stick it in the folder. I also bought little planners for my girls where I will write their weekly assignments, like math. I'll do that on Monday of each week. I do NOT plan WWE, WWS, FLL, or math very far ahead of time. We move at my girls' pace for those subjects.

I loved my Lakeshore sharpener I had in my classroom. LOTS of use!

I bought the 5-6 book and am debating on how to use it. Do you do 1 lesson a week and carry it into the following year? 2 lessons a week and get done early? Do you do any follow up with the concepts or just have them do the worksheets? Thanks! (My girls will be in 5th)

I feel the same way- a LOT! Good thing you said VA though, since that's where I am! We can choose to live anywhere between VA and Maine and, for some reason, that is more unsettling than liberating. We are always wondering if the grass is greener. My husband drives all over that area for work and assures me that we picked the best spot. ;) I have to take his word for it! We do travel quite a bit, but I struggle with wanting to give my kids roots vs. having amazing experiences like living overseas. This was a huge move for us and I feel like they are just now settling in and not missing Utah so much. So, it worries me to move them again. I'm also beginning to see the silver lining with having my family on the other side of the country. It ain't all bad. :P