I'm actually debating a similar question, so I'm not much help. Currently our homeschool room is the room that was originally intentioned to be the dining room. It opens to the kitchen on one side and the living room on the other. Because our floor plan isn't really "open" it's a separate room, but there aren't doors to close. Our family bookshelves are right on the next wall in the living room so I can be close to any book I might want to grab for school. The room that we currently use as a dining room is on the other side of the kitchen. It's slightly larger, still no doors [though we could add them, I guess], has windows on both ends, is carpeted. It's a nice room, originally meant to be a den. There's not as much wall space for putting bookshelves. Or I could move down to the basement. Pros: there's more room down there to spread out. It's cool in the summer. It opens to the outside so we could walk out whenever, or the toddler could play outside and still be within sight. It's out of sight of the "heart of the home". Cons: It's cool down there year-round; there is no heat in the winter. It's out of sight of the "heart of the home". It's somewhat musty down there at times, and it's not a completely finished basement, so it's sorta ugly. It has flooded in the recent past, so that's always a concern. I dunno. DH would like to move the school room downstairs. He feels like he lost his "study" when we turned the office into a school room. The idea had been that we could all "study" together, but the reality is that he's relegated to one corner and we're spread over the rest of the room. At the same time, I really want our learning to be central to our lifestyle. I'd love to figure out a way to incorporate both. So I guess I'm no help, just letting you know you're not alone. I like the idea of your nook, at least for the kindy year and a few to come. When you're homeschooling more, you might want more space.

I think Mrs. Basil's theory is good, but I also know that my almost 8yo is having a hard time going to bed at an early enough time. Yesterday he didn't wake until almost 10am, and last night he was up past 10. I was planning on waking him no later than 8:30 this morning, but he actually woke around 7:30 on his own [ok, his little bro might have helped], so hopefully tonight will be better.

My birthday is tomorrow. I know DH helped the boys pick out gifts and cards and they wrapped them on Sunday. I would actually REALLY like to go out to dinner, just the two of us, like we did for HIS birthday. But that would mean hiring a sitter, and I'm pretty sure DH doesn't know the sitter's name let alone her email address to set it up [not bashing, he's just really bad with names; he'd tell you the same if you asked him]. *sigh* And he didn't ask, so I haven't said anything. :/ We shall see how it goes.

Thank you for reminding me of "Lose it". I downloaded it ages ago, but stopped using it when I started WW. Now that I'm not doing WW, I guess I still need something since I regained so much. :/ bah! What do you love about the Buckle jeans? I'm afraid I'm no help on the mascara though.

I like the topics to be sorta together the way you would find by call number. I might be looking for a book on crystals but because they are by other books of similar/related topics, I might find other books of interest. I don't have the DDS memorized, but there are a few topics I'm familiar enough with that I can often find what I need without looking on the computers [which are often occupied]. Of course, I'm biased having just organized my home library roughly by DDS numbers. :tongue_smilie:

I ALMOST bought that the other week when Target had it on sale. But the noises put me off.... I'm glad to hear it's bigger than it looks though; it LOOKS tiny!

It varies even within chains. You almost have to call and ensure you're going to get what you want for the advertised price. It frustrates the **** out of me to search for suites and get shown rooms that are just a little extra big with a small half wall between the bed and sitting area and call that a suite. Um, no. I need a second ROOM to put my children in so that my dh and I don't have to go to bed at 8:30, tyvm. :lol Good luck!

We are members of a homeschool community center. That's where DS7 takes his Latin and piano lessons, and has some lego time if we get there early enough. He wasn't interested in any of their PE options, so that's why we're doing the MyGym [plus MyGym is MUCH closer and have options for both of my children]. The co-ops I know of closer to me are not a good fit for several reasons.

I guess I'm just the oddball here because this baffles me. :tongue_smilie: My two year old's class is HIS p.e. time. I may not have to report on him and I certainly don't do an academic program for him, but he still needs physical activity and social time. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I have to decide before Thursday eve. I learned today that there is a chance his Latin class may have to be cancelled. [btw, Nancy, I don't necessarily think that he NEEDS Latin, but he LOVES all things Roman and the class is already paid for through May, so I don't want to drop that] For many reasons, I hope that doesn't happen, but if it does, it would certainly change things. Thanks for all your input. I'm mulling.

Somehow I knew this would happen. Here is my other post about our schedule where pretty much everyone told me to cancel the gym classes because we were just over-committed. I was also told to cut out Latin and change the piano lesson, etc. I have moved the piano lesson, dropped Lego Lab--another social time for DS but which was in the morning of his afternoon Latin class which meant we were out of the house all day--and am trying to drop the gym classes to give us more flexibility. I don't think it would be fair to drop the toddler's gym class and not elder DS's. You may disagree that the toddler doesn't NEED it the way the elder thinks he does, but they both love their gym time. I hope to still give them gym time in the form of the more flexible free-play, but the commitment of time, money, and commuting that the classes require is overwhelming. *sigh* I've studied and studied the MyGym schedule. There's no flexibility for elder DS [it's this Thursday afternoon/early eve class for him or nothing], and the other times for the toddler just don't work due to other commitments or the their late time [one overlaps his bedtime!] Finding another activity/class for elder DS wouldn't address his concern of leaving this particular group behind. I don't know. I'm really feeling discouraged. :( I mean, not by you all specifically, just I feel like it's all so impossible and overwhelming. Sevilla, thank you for the book recs.

.... with my DH. :( Honestly, my DS [almost 8] has some issues. He goes from being painfully shy [though I honestly think part of that is an act] to being joyfully extroverted to being surlily bossy or defensive when things don't go the way he wants in play. But he's 8. And I don't think being in school all day would help. And DH IS supportive of our academic program and sees how DS is thriving in that area [except penmanship! But that's another post]. Partially on the advice of some of you, I recently cancelled our MyGym classes to make more room in our schedule for, yk, schoolwork and field trips and spontaneity. DS is really upset about this and says he'll miss his "friends" in class. These are not close friends; he doesn't even know most of their names [there are 2 or 3 boys in particular that he likes to play with in this class; I think he knows one of their names]. DH is worried that we're stunting his social growth by pulling him away from kids he feels a connection with. I have offered DS to let him give these kids our "card" so maybe they could get together, but I honestly don't see their parents contacting us. And I said we can still go to the "open gym" times if our work gets done, but these kids are still in school We still spend every Tuesday afternoon at the homeschool center for classes and playtime, and every other Thursday for book club. Plus there are a couple friends we regularly see 2-3 times a month, and Sunday School 2-3 times a month. And occasionally he plays with the neighbor boy or we just met one of our other neighbors who have a little girl 2 years younger than him. Is that enough? I think it is, but DH worries.

YK, I make a donation of about that much every year to our library system because it is awesome and I want to help keep it that way. In your case, I think I'd be tempted to think of it that way. It sounds like a nice place! Good luck!

Yes, exactly, so I really need to give him that vitamin! :lol [laffing at myself cuz I STILL forgot even after my last post] His ped. wants to repeat the blood draw in a couple months to see if it's back up.

My DS's recent bloodwork showed he was low on D [i think it was at 20, normal starts at 30, if I read the report right] and my per rec'ed he take 2000IU once a day for 3 months and retest. Which reminds me, we didn't do vitamins the last few days.

I didn't read all the responses, so maybe someone else already said this, but when I needed help, I asked my pastor for a rec on a mental health professional. She gave me a list of several who other congregants had used and liked, and I called one. We got on fairly well, and she did help. Good luck! :grouphug:

Bumping once more hoping to catch the weekend crowd.

I liked the kohl's pants. But the cutest clothes I got were actually from ebay. People sell lots of them... wait, I don't mean they sell a lot of them, but they sell them in lots. Cute stuff in good condition.

Here's a blog post that mentions one activity. I think it may only be for the brave of heart though. ;) http://tinderbox.homeschooljournal.net/2012/02/16/more-heroes-of-history/

I love our library system, and use it to its full extent. As I plan, I put books on hold. Our system will hold them for 10 days. I go once a week, usually. Occasionally if I'm impatient for something, I'll go more often. If I take the kids, I often let them browse a bit before checking out and getting our holds, but sometimes--like yesterday--we'll just run in, do the returns, and get the holds. Wow, that's different! We just got a new, beautiful library. I LOVE going there, so I wouldn't want this service at the mo', but still, that's way cool!!! What I find maddening and confusing is when I request something that I know is sitting on the shelf at my local branch, but when I get the item I see that it has come from a different branch [each book is labeled with its home branch]. Huh? That's frustrating, esp. if it's taken longer to be ready because it's had to have been transferred from another location. I also use Inter-Library Loan. My standard hierarchy when I need a book: check the catalog at my local system, request it if it's available. If not, and I don't need it next week, check ILL. I can often find things at other libraries in the state, but it takes longer for them to come in. This is motivation to plan early. I will also sometimes check PaperbackSwap if it's something I think I'll want to own, and I don't need it super-fast. My last resort if it's something I REALLY want and I can't get it at the library or other ways soon enough, is to check Amazon.com. I can often find them prime shipping, and sometimes even 4-for-3 and then I can look ahead to see what else I might need in the next few weeks/months. :) Can you tell I love books? *sigh*

Anyone, purrrrty please? :lurk5:

We sprouted some beans as a science-y follow-up to "The Everything Seed". They were actually dry beans from a 15 bean soup bag. I was surprised they sprouted at all! But now DS wants to plant the sprouts in our garden. We have a 4X4 SFG raised bed. A. Can I plant more than one type of bean in such a small space? Would they cross-pollinate? He specifically wants the lima beans. Who knew he liked lima beans. But there are several other kinds of beans, and they are becoming increasingly hard to distinguish as they sprout. And what about the split peas? Could peas go in the same garden bed? Will they even produce? Like I said, I was surprised they sprouted. TIA

Now, wreaths are a completely different ball of wax. I leave my wreath up year-round as a token tribute to my pagan side. You bring in greens at Yule and leave them decorating your home until spring [imbolg]. I'm not a hard-core pagan, so I don't know all the ins and outs, but I do leave my wreath up. :)

That sounds awesome!

My sister is the Director of Pharmacy at a hospital. She worked her way up from Pharm tech working through college, changed her major, went to pharmacy school, then did a residency, and worked as the head pharmD [Doctor of Pharmacology] before becoming director. She does all sorts of stuff. As head pharmd she did a lot of consulting with the doctors. She would actually go on rounds with them. We often think that docs know all about meds, but really they don't. No offense to docs, that's not their job. They know the basics, but when they really need specific info they turn to the pharmD. Who has that info at the tip of her fingertips. Literally. My sis used a pda to store docs for quick ref. She helped bring on-line a robot that does the major med dispensing. She is helping to organize a low-cost pharmacy for patients who can't afford their Rx's. She helps with drug take-backs to keep drugs off the streets and out of the water supplies. She handles controlled substances and makes sure that they are all accounted for at all times. As director she also has to deal with a lot of H.R.-type stuff, but since that was her original career goal before going into pharmacy, she enjoys that as well. Pharmacy is a high-demand job. I mean that there are not enough pharmDs to fill the need for them. Sis's dept. is often under-staffed. It requires a BS and then at least 3 years post-grad but usually 4 or 5. My understanding was that the residency she did was optional, but for her career goals highly desirable. Maybe you could have your students interview a few pharmacists to find out more about the job? Good luck!

We still have lights up. In our "gazebo". They're LED lights and use almost no electricity. They're pretty. :) I think we're going to leave them up.