My situation: I just completed a course in Wellness Coaching, but am undecided on actually following through with the test to be certified. I am suffering from a Principle vs. Go With the Flow (this might be just how it is) approach. Facts: 1. There is no regulation or law that licenses Wellness/Health Coaching to offer services. 2. Several programs are available and they all want "money" to be certified under their name. 3. I am certified as a personal trainer (most rules are industry regulated), but even the industry of Wellness Coaching doesn't have specific standards. Life coaching has a certification process, but like pt. 2, not all programs are recognized. My delimma: 1. I completely embrace the importance of Wellness Coaching, the knowledged that I gained in taking the course (scientific-based evidence and the power of focused personal, positive coaching), and how much I have grown in the experience. 2. I'm leery of "paying" and being required to continually "pay" for Continuing Education Units when there is not industry recognized standards or gov't restrictions. 3. Uncertain about the lack of education among the public about the field and if they need or care about a paper to back up my experience. I am not the typical go with the flow type of person (we do homeschool:)), but I also understand the need to fulfill people's fears of what they are being offered. I see two options 1. I accept the way things are and pay for the test. 2. I throughly explain everything above (more professional with more links/proof/etc) and let them decide if they want to work with me. What would you do???

Stress, sleep, and nutrition are other factors that can contribute to the severity and your energy drains during exercising.

True Life and MTV--Can the words actually go together?:glare:

IYou're not crazy in designing your own curriculum. It's what I do too. This looks great. I'm planning out our 1st grade and it looks very similar.

MissKNG, I had not. I reviewed Saxon K and 1. Great point. Thank you ladies. It's great to hear your thoughts. I was always set on Saxon and I needed a little encouragement to go with "my gut." I'm pretty sure we're sticking with MEPS. I do like it and it does seem to use many of the techniques offered in Saxon. I didn't want the appeal of "Free" and "my current comfort with the program" to be the only reason to stick with Saxon. Yes, I know comfort is nice, but I'm a give me all the "reasons why I should change my mind" kinda girl. Of course, now I'll need to check Saxon 2 because I hadn't considered that I was off a grade level. Those pesky second thoughts!!!

I like to be social, so I thrive on these types of activities that avoid the hectic traffic hours of the Afternoon crowds. However, I also have found myself saying "No" because I know that I have a tendency to overwhelm and overschedule. But I don't take no's to invitations personally and I think that helps in my ability to explain that we "are homeschooling" or have something planned already. Of course, I have very young children and we're done for the day by lunch most days.

Hello Ladies, Did anyone use MEPS for their 1st Grade Year? I was thinking about getting Saxon 1, but after reviewing the Saxon 1 and looking at Y2 MEPS, it looks like we actually do more Math in MEPS Y2? Is this an accurate assessment? http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm I'm currently using MEPS Y1 for my 5yo ds. He likes it and is responding well. I always thought we'd shift to Saxon, but now I'm not so sure.

Seeing all the different ideas of what "job" means/is or stands for, I realized that I needed to check out the definition. So from Merriam-Webster: _____________________________________________________________ Main Entry: 1job Pronunciation: \ˈjäb\ Function: noun Etymology: perhaps from obsolete English job lump Date: circa 1627 1 a : a piece of work; especially : a small miscellaneous piece of work undertaken on order at a stated rate b : the object or material on which work is being done c : something produced by or as if by work <did a nice job> d : an example of a usually specified type : item <the limousine was a long white job> 2 a : something done for private advantage <the whole incident was a put-up job> b : a criminal enterprise; specifically : robbery c : a damaging or destructive bit of work <did a job on him> 3 a (1) : something that has to be done : task (2) : an undertaking requiring unusual exertion <it was a real job to talk over that noise> b : a specific duty, role, or function c : a regular remunerative position d chiefly British : state of affairs —usually used with bad or good <it was a good job you didn't hit the old man — E. L. Thomas> 4 : plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes <a nose job> __________________________________________________________________________________ :auto:So with all these definitions in mind, I can safely say, "1a. I am definitely one piece of work! b. Work is always being constructed on me (enrichment, being taught by a 4 and 5 year old, workouts,etc). d. Never heard of this form of job..can't compare. 2a. Raising my children is our family's private advantage. People have no idea what they're missing out on. It's work, but satisfying and a blessing. b. No criminal jobs here unless battling Star Wars Troopers against unsuspecting Dolls in the Dollhouse would be considered a punishable offense. c. Hopefully, I'm not commiting any damaging or destructive work on our children, my husband, or self. Although the negative self talk can get in the way sometimes. 3a (1): Something always has to be done: dishes, laundry, guidance, etc. b. ****WIFE, MOTHER, INFORMED CITIZEN, FRIEND, HOUSEKEEPER (all that jazz that goes with homemaking)*** d. THE POSEY HOUSE STATE OF AFFAIRS!!!! 4. No intention of plastic surgery Yep, Life is a job. I name it all. I recently read Proverbs 31 and I was shocked. I hadn't looked at it in ages and the description of a Woman and all she "is" still has me pondering "HOW???"

They're great. I love the way the curiosity leads them around to explain "fancy stuff." A little educational with alot of style and fluff for our little girl.

A slightly different perspective: The smoothies are great for getting a wide variety of vitamins and your fruit and vegetable intake, but are the smoothies fulfilling your protein intake needs? Much of this depends on what you need nutritionally. Most smoothies made above are high carb/sugar (natural, but sugar nonetheless). You may find that you get hungry quicker after a smoothie. One way to neutralize is to add ricotta cheese for a more natural approach. The advantage of whey protein powder is the ability to add lowfat, low carb protein to your diet. I'd avoid all the shakes that say they're a complete replacement. Look for whey protein isolate as the first ingredient in the protein blend. You can get the mixes that are not full of "chemicals," but they will still have cocoa or some artificial flavoring. A search on Whey Protein on Amazon will help you by reading reviews. There's quite a few brands that you can choose. It really depends on what your goals are. What are your goals? Are you feeling hungry after main meals? Sluggish, anxious? Many of our diets (mine included) are much higher in carbohydrates than we realize.

I can't remember where I came across this curriculum, but it's a full course of American History based on different age groups. It looks promising and I plan on trying out the Elementary Lessons for K/1st grade. It's also free. http://americanheritage.org/k-12_lessons.html The lessons are well organized. Sincerely, Cindy

Congratulations! That's fantastic.

I was given a great recommendation here from several moms: Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt. I absolutely love it! I made a hard copy of the list in the back of the book. Placed the age levels at the bottom of the first page and highlighted the books for the ages we're currently in. I plan on having this list highlighted with multiple colors by the time the kids are in their teens! At the library, we pick up several of the books (they're in Pre-K and K) and I have yet to be disappointed with one. They are creative, well illustrated and have great threads for character, morals, etc. It's made navigating the kid section a joy.

The Way They Learn by Cynthia Tobias was fantastic. I really liked how she broke down learning styles around many levels. She provides simple indicators and ideas about how to approach the various styles. It also helped in discovering my own preferences in how I teach and how I can adjust my teaching styles to fit each child's learning. It's a simple but very insightful book.

Hi Jennrfd & Fellow Beginners, I can't believe the year is half way over. It seems like yesterday when I posted this outline. Thank you to all of you that gave suggestions and I still have more to check out. I have Beechick's books in the living room with Charlotte Mason and a wide variety of others that I want to review as I set up this next semester. The Honey for a Child's Heart has been my main book list for getting our bedtime and fun reading stories. Thank you, krazzymommy!!! The books are wonderful. I've already recommended the book to several other parents. Overall, the main subjects went well: bible, reading, math, writing, and spanish. The extra activities were definitely hit and miss. Bible: We're almost through the Children's Bible. The children love reading and they are getting great at narrating the little story back. I realized that this year needs to be completely focused on the Bible, so I am going to look for a Bible Study Plan or find a way to better introduce them to the characters, stories and more before venturing down the road of explaining different religions. -Reading: OPGTR is working well for my son. We stayed on track and he's picking up the concepts with little difficulty. My daughter is moving more slowly, but I expected it and play more with her on the sounds and blends. She also liked Phonics Pathways (which I checked out from the library for a while). I think she liked having a book of her own! We're back to the OPGTR, but using the magnetic board a lot more. -Math--Son is moving along well. We use MEP, but it isn't as dedicated as the OPGTR. We jump in and out, but do a lot of "Fun math" with games and questioning, beans, etc. He likes numbers. Daughter, I have other "fun" prek workbooks where she plays with shapes, sorting, numbers, etc. She's quickly moved away from the MEP concepts--just not ready yet. Writing--Both are together and complete a page of letters or write their name. We're moving slowly, but they enjoy getting graded (I circle their good ones and put a star by the best--I don't know why, but they seem to like that). -Spanish--They love Salsa Spanish and flew through the lessons. We don't do as the plans say and spend a full week or three on each episode. They tend to watch a video a day, but I review and we bring up the vocabulary throughout the week. They are picking it up so fast. I'm going to need to put together more ideas for the Spanish. -Science: We have a great Nature program covering topics through the State park once a week. They get to do show and tell, a craft/activity, listen to books and learn something about Nature/TN/animals/etc. They like checking out "science" books from the library, so we've covered the human body, volcanoes, weather, dinosaurs, stars, planets, etc. in a very random way. -Music was completely scrapped. We did it the first week and that was it. I hope to start it this semester. -Art started out strong, but fizzled toward the end. I really liked The Art of Teaching Children in School and Home (Thanks, darlasowders). Collages went great. Painting--Perfect. Drawing--not so much. Will reread and be better prepared this semester. I don't plan on changing much this time around. I hope to tweak our schedule a little bit just to enhance their experience. I discovered that we have to set and stick to the schedule. For both them and myself. For me, when I have things planned ahead, then I'm not as nippy and frustrated which definitely makes for unpleasant teaching. I do love seeing them grow and learn. It has been such a fulfilling year. I look forward to this journey even though I'm always questioning curriculum, styles, ideas, etc! I hope this helps. Thank you again for all the experienced advice.

Hi Momee, I was just speaking with another mom friend about some of the challenges of eating healthy and how time consuming it can sometimes be. We both discovered that we do enjoy cooking from scratch and armed with a few tools, the time differences and budget constraints can be minimized. Here's what works for us: 1. I take advantage of weekly specials and CouponMom.com. It's free and provides right coupons with sales. I used to use Grocerygame (which I loved), but can't afford at the moment. 2. Fresh fruits, nuts, and cheeses are pretty much what we have for snacks. I'll make granola bars if we're looking for a nice treat. 3. I hit the grocery store on their meat markdown day. I discovered ours was a Thursday morning around 10 AM before the big afternoon crowd hits. I try to buy grassfed when it's on sale, but for now, we get what we can. 4. Frozen vegetables work well for main meals when fresh might be too costly. Stir Fry mixes with only the veggies (not the prepackaged meals), work well for our family of 4. 5. Actually prep and planning of meals, I kind of rotate days (chicken day, fish, ground beef, etc) and plan our dishes around it. As for recipes, I'll hit allrecipes.com when I have a few items that I'm trying to combine. It's amazing the results that come back and the feedback reviews are pretty extensive. Breakfast: I find making pancake mixes with oatmeal, whole grain flour has added variety to our pancake/waffle breakfasts. Eggs are a lifesaver. They are cheap and can be used in so many dishes. I'll make omelets, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs (toss into tuna salad, potato salad, egg salad), etc. Lunch: For us is usually leftovers. Sandwiches work well too. Dinner: Roasting potatoes, sweet potatoes is quick and easy. Chop them and toss some olive oil with herbs are tasty. For rice, I'll cook a bunch and we'll have it available for the rest of the week. I pre cut lettuce and veggies to have salad available for the rest of the week. As long as the lettuce is kept dry and in an air tight container it'll last 4 to 5 days in the fridge. That leaves a meat and veggie for steaming as our other dishes. Bread: I will recommend a bread maker. Yes, we can make the bread, but that is a 4 to 5 hour commitment that may be difficult to do every two to three days. But a bread maker allows you to throw all the ingredients in the night before and awaken to a fresh loaf. No stress! I read a book recently that talked about breadmaking back in the day and most of the time it was not a every other day event. They would make many, many loaves during a day or two span and that was expected to last for the season, so bread would be pretty tough come month 3! Eating healthy and on budget has actually gotten easier with practice. In many ways the shopping experience is streamlined. We don't need to hit the middle aisles as often except for the main staples. I know this was long. I hope it helps!

Of all the calorie counting sites that I've explored (many), I've found Sparkpeople to be the most indepth and quickest. I'm not a fan of the exercise portion, but it does a great job of letting you track any of the nutrients you need. Therefore it's not just a calorie, fat, etc. site. You can break down the saturated fats and fiber and track them on the charts. It takes a few weeks to get proficient, but the copy day,copy meals, and top favorites really starts decreasing your input time as you continue using the database. The meal planner portion is pretty neat if you're interested in getting an idea about what you need to eat. You can also customize your body needs (calorie intake, fat, carbs, protein (number of grams) if you don't fall in the general category estimates. For a free site, I think it's fantastic and I've used Sparkpeople for clients as a personal trainer. It helps tremendously. Good luck, Cindy

I started visiting years ago when we came across WTM before the children were around. The visits have been off and one, but now that we are homeschooling, all the information from schooling, to handling the home, to emotions, and the children's behaviors has been a gold mine. I can't express how thankful I am for the wealth of knowledge that flows through these boards. So, I have to pick homeschool in general, and all the good ideas shared

Great advice urpendonmommy! We've just started on OPG with ds5, so the lessons are really short. This will be a great reminder as we continue through the lessons. Thank you.

I also like OPG. Each lesson is a simple breakdown of the rules in a systematic approach. I've skipped over the single constant sounds, and we've delved right into the blending of sounds. If son gets bored or frustrated, then I finish up the line and we take a small break. Sometimes I use the book with an index card below the word, or write the word on a separate paper. I agree with urpedonmommy that it isn't necessary to do the extras, but they are fun enforcers throughout the day.

Just checked it out. This is perfect. It even has the year outlined, so we can plug and play! Yes, it does and is on my list for the next library trip. They have multiple copies. I'm super excited. Thank you, ladies! Trying not to overdo it as we approach our first day of school next Monday....:001_huh:

What a great idea. This is definitely something I see us doing. I hadn't thought of a word wall either. I look forward to setting this up as the children learn to read. :lol:

Thank you, Karen. I've bookmarked it as well.

Thank you so much. The jittery butterflies are easing. I will keep an eye out for Right Start and possibly Saxon (we used these when I was in elementary school and it was one of my personal favorites as a kid). For math books, I like our nonfiction kid's section and I figured that I would let the kids pick what they are interested in reading. Some are on money, counting, shapes, etc. For instance there's one that is called Nifty Thrifty crafts for Kids Math by Michele C. Hollow. I know that I may need some "guidance" to help direct our math, so I imagine that I will eventually find one of the curriculum books. With access to the whole county system library, I can request books from the home computer! Have I mentioned how much I love Davidson County's Library System!!! Brainy Baby Spanish, Let's Read and Find Out, and the Honey for a Child's Heart are now on my Request list. Thank you Sahamamama for the music resources. I'm going to keep an eye out for them as well. We're in a bit of a financial crunch, so I'll be making the rounds during the fall consignment sales and checking our used book store venues for these programs, curriculum's and ideas. For the writing and art, I hope to not overstress either one. My dd seems to be at the same level as my son, so I think together they'll do fine. The art is going to be more coloring, crafts and simple introductions to different paints, etc. More for the imagination to run wild. I'm more visual, so it helps me to outline what a year will look like and try to keep me more focused. I tend to get sidetracked and I don't want to burden them with my desires to try the "next best thing!!!" Thank you again. :D

I have been a lurker/reader of these boards for over 7 years and we are now embarking on the homeschool journey! From all your great advice, our goals, and WTM, here is what my husband and I have come up with for our PreK & K children. Since dd seems in step with ds, I'm folding her into the school year. Goals: Teach Asher and Stephanie how to read Teach them how to write basic letters and numbers Familiarize them with basic math concepts Timeline: 6 Semesters/ 39 weeks/ 195 days 4 days a week in home study/ 1 day a week “Off Campus/Field Trips†What we are doing to achieve our Goals Outline: B(both); A (Son); S (daugther) B: Religious Study (10-15 mins) The Beginner's Bible- Read a story daily 94 stories Complete in 24 weeks Memorize verses (1awk) Last 15 weeks: Touch on other Religions (1 a week)? Read about specific people, places, and events? B: Reading (10-20mins) Bob Books, Flyleaf Books, 1st Modern Curriculum Press Readers Nursery Rhymes (incl. Memory Work) Reading List pg. 41-49 Ck out Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease Narration once a week (verbal, I write what they say) B: Writing (10 min) Zaner-Bloser Script Alphabet, numbers Copy Words to Write Out Copy Short sentences. B: Math (10 min-20min) Daily Life (table setting, cooking, grocery store, etc) Games-UNO, Battle, Go Fish Manipulative's with beans ,buttons, pencils and stuff Practice counting to 100 (2s, 5s, 10s) Money Telling Time Naming Geometric figures Read a Math Book a week An Easy Start to Arithmetics by Ruth Beechicks A: Reading Drill (10-15 mins) Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Readers Pace based off Asher's Comprehension S: Slow & Steady Activities (10-15 min) Extra Subjects (I'm still having a hard time separating from subjects as The Lost Tools of Learning essay reflects, but I hope to fold these topics and ideas into the fun/daily living parts of our day): B: Science (1 hour-1 a week) State Park Nature Circle weekly trips (wonderful local service provided by our State Park. It's less than 10 minutes away) Mudpies to Magnets by Robert Williams Everybody Has a Body by Robert Rockwell B: Music Intro (30 min-1 a week) Piano Lessons (attempting on teach at home with my limited skills) B: Art (30 min-1awk) Basic drawing skills Introduce work of other artists Check out Frist Art Club for kids B: Cooking (1 hr-1awk) Introduce Kitchen rules Create a kid friendly dish once a week B: Health (30min-1awk) Body parts Basic nutrition Importance of exercise B: Spanish (30min-4xweek) Listen to videos/cds in Spanish read short picture books learn basic words/sayings/poems S: Dance Class (1 hr-1awk) A: Karate (1hr-1awk) Unlimited: Read-a-louds, Playtime, Outdoor activities/exercise We are relying on our library system and, hopefully, my ability to stay somewhat organized. I think I'm ready for our first 6 week semester, but it is a bit scary to take the plunge and really start doing. I do want to thank all of you for the many, many years of sharing your great moments, challenges and advice. For a newbie, it makes the actual transition much easier.