So cool that you kept a journal! We have adopted too! My daughter is only 7 now. I kept a journal too, while I was waiting. I am looking forward to someday having with her the kind of moment you both had! How wonderful! One cool thing about the journal...I looked back to the exact day that I had decided, for sure, which country we were called to adopt from. We had been on a journey to figure that out. One day I was getting really discouraged because I couldn't seem to see which direction we were to go. My sister suggested I go to Books-A-Million and just look at books about different countries, that God would lead me. I did and was drawn, inexplicitly, to a book called "The Lost Daughters of China." When I took it home that night I cried and cried over it and KNEW that, that was where our daughter was. I looked back later at that journal entry and the most amazing thing - IT WAS THE DAY MY DAUGHTER WAS BORN!!! I would never have know that if I didn't have that journal! :001_smile:

I saw a news report on my local channel about this subject. I think you can find positive things to say about either choice. I think that since most people choose to work and have their kids in pre-school, the "research" tends to favor this choice. It seemed to me that the evidence was presented in such a way as to keep moms who work from feeling guilty. I think most moms (in their hearts) feel the instinct to stay with their young children. I think we culturally overcome what our hearts tell us. But we still deal with the nagging mommy-guilt. So we look to "research" to tell us we are doing the right thing. If you are looking for peer verbal skills or high immune systems, pre-school may be your option. I was working towards different goals. Hence, my decision to stay at home and of course, to homeschool.

You could easily combine both dc using Real Science 4 Kids Biology Level 1. It is neutral on creation/evolution. It simply teaches Biology without addressing the issue either way. It is an excellent program. My kids have learned so much from the Chemistry edition that we did this year. Here's the topics covered in Biology 1: Taxonomy, Classifications, Cells, Photosynthesis, Parts of a Plant, How a Plant Grows, Protists, The Butterfly Life Cycle, The Frog Life Cycle, Ecosystems, The Food, Air, and Water Cycle. This level is great for 3rd - 6th graders. It has a lab book that re-inforces what they have learned in the reading. Hope this helps!

We've stayed at Homewood Suites just over the river in Florence, KY. It is only 10 minutes away from downtown Cincinnati. It is an AMAZING hotel. Super nice! It includes dinner AND breakfast. It also has fully equipped kitchens, dining table, a living room and a separate bedroom all in the same hotel suite. And it is a fairly new hotel so it is really nice. I guess it would be a bit of a drive, and if you don't have a car with you, this is probably a useless sugesstion. This is where we stay every year when we come in for the homeschool convention.

Another SUPER FUNNY one by one of our kids!!! So funny!! I LOVE it!!!! I need to take lessons in comebacks from these kids! They have the best comebacks!:lol:

LOVE THIS QUOTE FROM PRETTY IN PINK!!!

:iagree:

Among other things, I would love for every single thing, even "household items", that are needed for the experiements to be included. That they would somehow hold their "shelf-life" until I needed them (in the real world, you couldn't pack an egg, for example, without it spoiling before you needed it), AND this package would be really inexpensive!!! :) Can I have it, please???? :)

I always tell my kids that they can color as long as it is about something I have read. This actually serves 2 purposes. It gives them something for their fidgety hands to do, and it also reinforces the lesson. I find that some of my children actually seem to get more out of the reading by doing this. Sometimes I also let them use Barbies or action figures to "act out" what they are hearing me reading. Of course, they have to act it out silently. Sometimes all 3 have gotten up to "act out" together something I am reading, if it has a lot of action in it. Again, as long as they don't speak the words out loud, I let them do this. It gets them more actively involved, as well as giving them an outlet for their BOUNDLESS energy!!! :)

I call my kids by the grade level they would be in in a more traditional school; however, I find it challenging explaining to my kids when the workbook or curriculum they are using doesn't "match" their grade level. For example, I started out the year with my 3rd grade son using Teaching Textbooks 4 because he tested at that level. He was SO proud of being in a "grade higher". I should have seen the writing on the wall, but I was naive and was excited by his excitment. I let him feel "smart" and wanted him to see it as a benefit of being homeschooled. Well, it backfired on me later in the year! Teaching Textbooks didn't work for him. (He said it was too boring). So I switched to Abeka 3. Then, around Jan/Feb I realized that the method he most needed was the one Singapore uses. We had used Singapore in his 2nd grade year and had made it to 2A. If I had stuck with Singapore all year we would be at 3A by now. I tested him on-line to see where we needed to be with Singapore. It turned out that, because Singapore approaches Math differently, he needed to start back at 2B. So NOW he is a 3rd grader who is still doing (in his mind) 2nd grade work! :bored: I have had to spend a lot of time working with him and explaining to him why we are doing 2B and that it would be hard for any 3rd (or 4th) grader to do this workbook if they have not used Singapore before. Now, I'm understanding, a bit, why sometimes homeschoolers try not to emphasize grade levels! :tongue_smilie:

So funny!!! Kids and their wonderful innocence! I wish we could all be so innocent!

Every year I would buy a stack of books from a reading list, and every year, at the end, I would be frustrated with how few of those books actually were read. (I don't have the avid readers in my house that others are blessed to have! :tongue_smilie:). I would send them off to read with either a time assignment - read for 30 min. - or a chapter assignment. They would not get very far. I thought it was simply a matter of their pace/ability. And THEN!!!! My dd12 checked out a book from the library that the Miley Cirus movie Last Song was based on. It was a super thick book in the adult section of our library. All the sudden, my "I can't read more than a chapter a day" daughter read/devoured the entire book in about a week! And my ds9 got a hold of a graphic art Bible and read the ENTIRE Bible in a few weeks!!!!!! Wow! The gig is SO up!!! :001_smile: They obviously had me fooled! This year I am buying a Sonlight readers guide and I will be letting SONLIGHT tell them how much they are capable of reading in a day!!! ;) My youngest is going into 2nd grade this year. I'm using the Sonlight 3rd grade list for her. Sonlight has some simple questions to ask. I think it is just as effective to let your child narrate back to you what they have read. My kids love to tell me all about it!

I get excited every year the new catalogs come out! I read WinterPromise front to back....and back to front.....and front to back....again and again! I think I have memorized every catalog for the last 3 years! Starting to do the same now for Sonlight! So, now you all are getting me intrigued with HOD and TOG!!! Is there more drooling/memorizing/obsessing in my future?:drool:

Thanks everyone! I now feel initiated! I love this group! So happy to be a part of it! Thanks for all your patient help!:001_smile: P.S. Love all the little easy to add smiley (and other) faces too! Such fun!:lol::D:):w00t: (yes - I'm a big kid! :lol::blush:)

Hi Beth! They are friends of mine too! I'm in Paducah, KY, but I used to go to church with them in Murray. They are wonderful people! Do you live in Murray! Nice to meet you on this board! I'm new here and really enjoying all the interaction!

My friend who is black gave me all kinds of grief for being so politically correct and calling people African-Americans. Her response was, "So! When are we going to be just simply AMERICANS? Why do you have to qualify it with "African" American? Are you a German-American or an English-American?" I was a bit caught off guard because I was trying so hard not to offend or being insensitive. She's a good friend, and I think she gets a big kick, sometimes, out of watching me squirm and try so hard! :001_smile: The fact that some people like to be called black and others are offended and prefer to be called African-American makes me feel, sometimes, like I'm walking on a tight-wire! I'm with everyone else (including my adopted Chinese daughter) who describes everyone as shades of brown. The truth is, it is the same pigment, simply in different amounts. We're all red inside!!! :)

Thanks to all the wonderful people helping me. Okay, another question. Is there some way of quickly finding and getting to threads where you have posted to find out what others have responded with? There are so many new posts every hour, that it is sometimes a while before I can scroll through enough pages to find the threads I started or posted on. I'm assuming there is a better way?:confused: Thanks for all of your patience with these "newbie" questions! :tongue_smilie:

Okay, new question...what does the green dot by my name mean and why does it say "just visiting" under my name? I've also seen posts where it says something about "hive" by people's name. What does that mean?

Thanks so much!!! Look, Look!!! I have a signature!!!! I feel like I belong now!!!:) Thanks so much to my new friends! :D

Okay, I'm embarrased at my lack of computer skills. But, how does everyone get that tag (or whatever you call it) at the bottom of all their posts that says how long they've homeschooled, their kids ages and what curriculum they are using. I'm new here and I want to look cool like all of you!! :D Thanks! Kimberly

I've used Winter Promise a lot. What, in particular, did you want to know about it? We have really enjoyed it. The program uses so many different approaches. We are studying Lewis & Clark right now. We have a book we read, we have notebook pages to do, we have a DVD we watch, we went to a web-site with wonderful information, pictures and games, and we have hands-on activities. Lewis & Clark were also mentioned in the biography we read about Thomas Jefferson. By the time we approach the subject from so many different angles, I feel like my children really "get it" and have a deeper understanding of the subject than they ever would have from a textbook or one single book. That's what I have liked about WP. They incorporate hands-on activities; rich, vibrant "living" books; DVD suggestions; web-sites; notebooking; hands-on activities and crafts; narration; read-alouds and so much more! It is a buffet of educational approaches and it has really appealed to me and my kids. We move very slowly through the programs, because we like to do so much, but I feel they really learn the material. And it's fun! I think one of the goals of WP is to find ways of learning that are effective, but also fun and full of experiences. I have used their history, science and language programs. Let me know if there is something in particular you were wanting to know... Kimberly

What great ideas! Glad you started this thread! I was just talking to my kids about things to do in the Summer, that everything educational we do this Summer we will count towards next year. That way we can have more breaks in the school year! I was thinking of zoo and field trips. But now I'm thinking it would be a great time to break out that butterfly net and frog habitat that I have always meant to do, but never get around to. Hmmm...what else do I have that fits into that category and is fun???

Hi! I am looking for a list of quality literature that includes a schedule of what the student should read each day. I know that Sonlight has this, as well as WinterPromise. However, both of these programs center their reading suggestions around their History themes. I like Heart of Dakota's suggestions, but I'm not sure if they have a specific schedule or if they only tell you how many days you would need to complete the entire book. Can anyone give me suggestions for curriculum that schedules the books in a similar fashion to Sonlight and WinterPromise, but do not try to adhere to a History theme? Thanks in advance! :001_smile: