I will be 40 in July (yikes!) And recently I have realized that some of my younger friends and acquantances look to me for advice on various subjects (moatly parenting and homeschooling..) I am trying to figure out exactly WHEN I became the older woman who advises the younger woman. I was the younger mom for so long and now I find myself being the older mom!!!! (Titus 2:4-5) When someone seeks me out for advice my first internal reaction is "Why are you asking me?????" Then I realize that they are 10 years younger and that they asume I must have learned something! I don't know how old I look, but I think it is a lot older than I feel! Any one one else baffled and honored by being the older woman? (It's just so weird. Kind of like when you realize that you are the 'mom' to your kids and no one else is! It's all you.)

I don't see the difference between The Iliad, Star Wars, Chronicles of Narnia and Spiderman, when it comes to humans with superhuman strength, supernatural beings or talking animals. I think children are smart enough to know what is real, myth and God. They have to be able to do this and the only way they can is to be exposed to Greek and Roman mythology and fairy tales. They liove in this world and they need the tools to be able to decide what is truth and also to know what other people believe. How will they be able to witness and share the gosple to people who have a completely different belief system. We have to be relatable. I highly recommend reading "Epic" by John Eldridge. He discusses the importance of the "story" and why humans find meaning in popular stories (in film).

Did you have to phone in the order or can you do it on-line? I know they don't have an official website, but someone takes care of online orders. Do they take credit cards over the phone or only checks? I usually get stuff from them at convention, but I can't rememebr if they do discounts then. (I only need to get the preschool workbooks anyway....)

pens, pencils, baseball caps, water bottles, sweatshirts, key chains....Man we are so American. (The MOPShop has all kinds of MOPS related stuff that we love to show off!) INCH is is May. How long does it take to get the ball rolling??:lol:

I have only used Saxon and even though they have trouble being careful, they understand the concept. (Using food and dividing it up really helps! Kids love to make sure everything is 'fair'.)

The biggest change I made is to not use a spelling and handwriting curriculum. Also I did not get a reading curriculum (I used R & S before) because it was just too much work. Phonics is also something you can do without a specific program. Just reading in tandem does wonders!!!! I did not include the cost of gymnastics!!!! Yikes.......But I am sure it is less than private school tuition.

I like the idea of incorporating coffee into some of the merchandise! (Since so many of us NEED it to function daily or our minds will not be so WT'd)

My dd (1st grade) schedule this year is: Latin 1 hr daily (LCII) Copywork 15 mins daily memory verse daily math daily (Saxon math 2) reading (daily) grammar (15 mins 3x a week) Phonics (Lexia CD-ROM 2x week) Roman History (45 mins weekly) SOTW 4 (1 hr weekly) Bible story (1/2 hr weekly) + children's ministry at church is excellent art (informal every day!) formally sadly not very much.... music (never......guilty guilty guilty) but she sings a lot!!!!!! gymnastics (1 hr weekly)

I thought it might be fun to wear them at Homeschooling Conventions. Does anyone know if they are available?? I already have a WTM book bag and mug..... You guys at Peace Hill should make those suitcases on wheels for all us crazy people who take them to conventions and shopping!!!

Remember that I have 4 kids and so I am re-using some books I already have! I am concerned that I will get stuff i see that are not on my list when i go to INCH! I LOVE books too. I also love the Miller art supply booth! (LOVE them) I wonder if we should wear WTM Forum tshirts!!! Is there such a thing??? I'll make a new post for that. I owuld buy one! (See, I am already adding $ to my list) Caroline

I am so not as procrastinator! (I think the opposite of that is impatience...) anyway, Does this sound like too much for 4 kids? For the entire year (not including supplies and photocopies) $620.68 + S & H I was hoping it would be a little less, but thanks to Andrew Campbell's plan I am able to keep it multum non multa! (Except I have to get my preschooler some R & S workbooks) I cannot wait to get the new materials from Peace Hill Press!!!!!!!!!!!! Looking forward to discounts at our May Homeschooling Convention in Lansing, MI (INCH). I think it is worth the $20 to get in for the shopping only. Anyone else planning on going to INCH???? Honestly I should be looking forward to time off. I guess if I do all this now I will have time to enjoy my tiome off! Hopefully I won't put off studying the materials like I did last year......

I will be finishing SOTW 4 this year (hopefully!) My oldest will be in 6th grade. I am deciding whether to purchase Arnter's guide to American History for her, or have her do SOTW 1 with the younger kids. She did SOTW 1 when she was in Kindergarden (it has taken us a little longer to get throught the 4 books...) It would be so much easier to have everyone be on the same page!!! I like the idea of having the older ones do the tests. She is going to be reading the Iliad and The Odyssey, so I don't want to overload her with so much reading. Gosh, I wish someone could figure this all out for me!!!!!

I agree that sending kids to ps is not going against the Deut. 6. We feel that we are called to homeschool. I have many Christian friends (in fact most of my friends) have their kids in school. I have no interest in what the schools are doing, but I would never criticize or judge what other families have decided for their own children. I tell my friends that if I ever tell them I am going to send my kids to school, that they should be concerned! That would mean something is terribly wrong! (It is just a part of who I am and what God planned for me.) That said, I have a mental list going on in my head that I add to called the "Reasons Why I Homeschool" list. It is very long! And I do have friends that know they should homeschool, but are too afraid to try. Some people are called by God to follow a certain path, come up with lots of excuses not to go. I don't know what I would do if He told me that I need to send my kids to school! I think my list of why I homeschool has more of my own reasons than God's! (Not sure if that is a good thing. But He gives me strength and wisdom when I ask for it!)

I can't stand those questions! I don't mind them when they come from someone who is genuinely curious or is thinking about homeschooling, but at the grocery store?? Why do people feel the need to ask you personal questions that may even be rude? I don't stop people and ask them why they are smoking or why are they supersizing their meals! (Not that homeschooling is bad for your health, but you get what I mean...) I don't ask them what school they send their kids to and what their grades are like! I don't ask them if they have any idea what their child learned in school today! Wouldn't you just love to turn the table around and shine the light on their life decisions???? I think the smile and wave response is best. In Michigan there is no testing required. That is all I have to say. In the states that do require testing, then there should be no questions, because otherwise they are insinuating that you are breaking the law.

My 6 yo dd is on her own planet!!! Her name is Lilly and we say that she is in Lillyland (instead of lalaland). Someone posted a site for highly distracted people: here it is www.sizzlebop.com I was thinking that she was being slow as an act of defiance or disobediance, but I really think she has her own sense of time. She is always the last one out the door! But my son is always the last to get his work done. We don't do a lot of breaks either! The kids need specific , simple instruction and they need to repeat to you what you just asked them to do. They may even need a picture drawn if they are visually distracted! (Like a picture of shoes to remind them why they went upstairs in the first place...to get shoes on....)

Master Baking Mix (Like Bisquick) Makes 4 lbs (store in airtight container room temp.) Sift together: 10 c. flour 6 T. baking powder 1 /2 T. salt 1 ½ t. cream of tartar ¼ sugar Cut in to consistency of cornmeal: 2 c. veg. shortening Stir in: 2 c. dry milk powder (optional but assures higher protein content) To measure mix, pile lightly into a cup and level off with spatula. Options: Replace 1/3 of flour with whole wheat flour Add 1 c. wheat germ Replace 1 ½ c. flour with soy flour Pancakes or waffles: (I usually double and freeze leftovers) Beat together 1 c. milk and 1 egg Stir in 1 ½ c. master mix

I am not sure Amy, what annoys me so much! My kids are very active...the oldest is in a dance ministry at church, and she is on the preteam gymnastics team. She helps out at chruch im childcare at my Bible study and at MOPS. She does not have many friends at all, and is not terribly friendly. She is a little mature for her age and doesn't goof off like the other girls (so the adults love her and the girls are a little wary of her unless they get to know her.) My son is in Scouts, upward basketball and archery. He is with boys his age 4-5 days a week or more. My 3rd dd goes to her friends house about 3-4 times a month. She is 6 and is starting to get invited to playdates more often. I guess, as I sit here, I feel things getting out of control. We are a SOOOO busy. I want the kids to have down times, and there never seems to be any. And when we do have one they are so bored!!!! I do not want the kids to think their lives need to be filled with activity and to really on others to fill that void. Does that make sense? We all need to socailize and connect, but we also, I think need to tone it down and rest and listen to what God is trying to tell us. It is almost impossible to do so when there is always so much noise! I do like the schedule idea though. That would work for me!!!

My 8yo ds started Upward this season. We are very impressed with it! Except I think my son is not huge fan of basketball. He is looking forward to Little Leagues. (That is his passion...)

But that house was way too organized and clean! But wasn't it HUGE!!! I would love to have a kitchen and dining area that size....

How often do you allow your kids have play dates, or see their neighborhood friends? One of the reason we hoemschool is becuase I do not want my children to be influenced by their peers. I know they will be to a certain extent, but I want them to be influenced by me for as long as I can make it possible! I also want them to experience boredom as a way to discover themselves and their creativity. The tv and computer a huge distractions for them during the winter months, and the summer is when they feel they can see their friends at any time. But I just feel in my heart that such dependancy can take away from exploring their own imaginations. And it also breaks up the bond between the sibling relationships. I know it is totally normal and good for kids to seek each other out, but I get soooo frustrated with the constant pleading to go to so-and-so's house or to have so-and-so sleepover. I know families that have kids play dates and friends over every day! Homeschool or psers. Am I being too unreasonable? I do let my two oldest visit their friends who live next door almost every day when they get home from school. But it annoys me so much. I do not know how to handle this..... How do some of you deal with this???

Does anyone know if the Supernanny has been to a homeschooling family? I am just curious whjat her advice would be to parents who homeschool. I like a lot of what she does for the families, but some of the advice is not "do-able' in our house! For example, she tells many moms to play with her kids. I just don't seem to have the extra time to goof off! I do not see myself as a play mate. That is God made siblings for!!!!! Plus I don't have the kids do a whole lot of chores, because I do want them to play more, with each other (Since I feel I expect a lot from them in their schoolwork...) There is a lot of room for improvement in this house, but I just don't know what a normal homeschooling family is supposed to look like. We're all so different! The expectations I have are confusing me! And I am one tired mommy.....

I too, hate it when lunch comes up. My kids do not like sandwiches, or soup or mac 'n cheese. They could eat chicken nuggets everyday if I let them! A favorite is chicken nuggets and veggies to dip in ranch. They also love pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. I really wish we could just skip lunch and have a late snack at about 3pm or so. They'd rather snack anyway. But my oldest is always starving so we stop for a break and I fix lunch while they play. She is the only one who actually eats! The others just pick at their food. They just want to go play.... Maybe I'll just let my oldest fix her own lunch, and the others can have a healthy snack when they're ready to eat! A friend of mine serves her kids pb an j every single day! They love it! (Actually that sounds really good right now...I'll think I'll make one now!) This is the menu I had up on the fridge before the holidays came: “What’s for Lunch?” If It’s… then it must be…. Sunday chicken soup Monday bread & spread Tuesday pasta Wednesday taquitos or empanadas Thursday chicken nuggets Friday bread & spread Saturday sandwiches * all subject to change!!!!

My kids are asking why we aren't having a spring break. But I tell them that we don't follow what the schools do, and that we sometimes have days off, when their ps friends are at school. Plus the weather is still cold and wet, when the schools are off. I would much rather work through all that and then when it actually does get nice, then we can take some slow days or half days and enjoy the warm weather that is coming soon!

Eliza did that about a month ago. Almost an entire pack of Juicy Fruit. There were wrappers everywhere. It freaked me out! She is fine. They eventually passed through her. I have not allowed any gum in the house since then though!!!

I have that book too! I LOVE it. The potato flakes are supposed to make the bread moister, and the orange juice is supposed to balance well with the whole wheat. I was thinking the same about your problem with the bread, it sounds like a yeast problem. (How old is your yeast? I would test it like the person mentionned before..) Here is a recipe I love: Honey Whole Wheat Bread (3 loaves) (I use my mixer for this....takes about 10 mins with the final kneading cycle) 2 envelopes active dry yeast 5 cups bread flour (King Arthur) 3 cups luke warm water 1/3 c. honey about 7 teaspoons of bread dough enhancer mix these together to form a proof. (about 2-3 mins. scrape down sides)Let rise covered with plastic, for 1/2 hr. Then add: 1/3 cup honey 1 Tbs salt 3 Tbs. melted butter 2 Tbs. cracked wheat 2 cups whole wheat flour mix well and add more flour (about 4-6 cups) until dough is elastic and smooth. Let rise in a lightly greased bowl, covered with plastic for 1 hour. When doubled, press down dough gently to deflate the bubbles and separate into 3 equal sized loaves. (I like to do the envelope thing to get the yeast evenly distributed. It's an Alton Brown thing...) Press into greased loaf pans and let rise 1 hour. (covered with the plastic again...and a towel) Set oven 350 degrees. Cook loaves for 20 mins and cover with foil if getting too brown for an additional 10 mins. Remove from pans and let cool 1/2 hr before cutting.