My 4 1/2 year old daughter is really enjoying The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren.

Can somebody also send me any information you may have? I recently found out that I have the A1298C/C677T mutation. I'm scheduled to see a hematologist in a couple weeks, but am trying to find out as much info as I can before I go. But the stuff I'm finding is really contradictory. Would love some reliable information...

We like the Jesus Storybook Bible as well. But The Big Picture Story Bible is also a much loved favorite around here. Liv

Lucille!! by Arnold Lobel. I found this one at a used book sale awhile back and we love it :)

Really sorry if this is a double post. I thought I posted it, and then it disappeared...? Looking for fun, hands-on type stuff that would be like "pre-math" for my 4 year old daughter. Not interested in workbooks or anything formal at this point. Will be getting the cuisenaire rods, and sorting bears. That sort of thing. Need some more ideas. Thank you :) Liv

There are some great in store deals on Crayola products this week at Staples, which are NOT advertised in my local flyer (which also has great deals this week). The 24 pack crayons were $.50, 12 ct color pencils were $1, 10 ct classic markers $1, 20 pack thin markers $3, etc.

Is there such a thing? The only ones I really see around are the big blue ones. I would be willing to print out my own cards for it, but where would I find an empty pocket chart that's pretty? OR... What do you use for a wall calendar in your school room? Are there attractive/creative options (other than a regular run of the mill wall calendar)? Liv

Angela - thanks so much for the specific brand suggestions. Definitely helpful! Your space is beautiful, by the way, but I know you know that :) Amy - any pictures yet?? Liv

Also forgot to mention - the one subject notebooks at Staples are on sale for 15 cents.

Great ideas for clean up. Thanks for the suggestions! Keep 'em coming :) Liv

I was at Staples today and they had quite a few things on sale for $1. A lot of them had a limit of 2 items per customer. There were markers, colored pencils, whiteboard erasers, small whiteboards w/ marker included, 1 inch binders, highlighters, glue sticks, etc. The sale is going till 7/9. Check your local flyer on the website to make sure. It was listed on the first page. Liv

Wow, Amy! This sounds so wonderful. So much fun. Gave me lots of great ideas to think about. Can't wait to see pictures! Liv

So I'm working on our school room, and since my oldest is only 4.5, I want one of the major features right now to be a nice area for her to do art. Any suggestions regarding an art station set up? What supplies are must haves? What kind of papers? Paints? Markers? Colored pencils? Any organization ideas (photos would be lovely!)? Would really like this to be fun for her - but also not out of control messy. Thanks! Liv

T'smom - it says on the link for the K cards that there are about 20 cards per packet. However, there are only 15 listed for the K cards. If we do decide to use MP K for art/music/etc, I plan to find the art selections over the summer and print them out so they're all ready for the year. Same for the music.

Thanks, Kathy - that's great to know! I'm just starting hsing, but I feel like I may be somebody that needs a schedule for those types of things. Good to hear both sides. Liv

:bigear: Bumping.

Does this mean that a lot of the books will be changing? I've been slowly collecting lower grammar books at book sales, etc because we plan to use TOG either next year or the following. Should I stop?

Are they just for your family or were you taking them somewhere? I've been known to redeem stale and/or dry chocolate cupcakes or cake by breaking it into pieces and making it into a chocolate bread pudding type thing. Just pour a little bit of milk and/or butter on top and some chocolate chips and pop it in the microwave. I think I've also thrown in a drop or two of vanilla extract. Really yummy with vanilla ice cream :) I generally do this one serving at a time in a bowl - but if you want to bake up a whole pan of it, I'd look up recipes for chocolate bread pudding to get some hints. PS - This is obviously not the healthiest way to go, but they are cupcakes to begin with! :)

This is a spin off from my other post about schoolrooms... In the process of planning our schoolroom. I'm trying to decide if it would be more beneficial to have one long shared table like this, or individual desks like this. It may not be those exactly, but you get the idea. What do you do? Why? Have you done one or the other and had it not work out? As background - we have two daughters (4 and almost 2) and one on the way via adoption. And planning for more in the future :) Liv

Thanks for the ideas and for the link to all the pictures! It's a great start. Irishmommy (or anybody else who wants to chime in) - why didn't one table for everybody work for you? Why were the desks so much better for your kids? I'm trying to decide if I should do one long, open table, or multiple smaller workspaces. Or one medium table, and one or two smaller spaces, etc, etc. Liv

We are huge IKEA fans and definitely plan on getting most of our stuff from there! Wish we had one closer though... the closest is 2 hours. Ugh.

PS - inspiration photos would also be appreciated :)

So, we're currently in the planning stages of transforming the playroom into the schoolroom. It's not a huge room - probably about 10x15, but I'm really excited to be able to have a room designated for homeschooling. I am new to homeschooling, our oldest daughter is only 4. So I don't really have much school related materials at this point. But I know I WILL have tons of stuff eventually - so storage is going to be really important. My question: What kind of storage do you recommend (bookshelves, cabinets, etc, etc)? What types of tables/desks? What can you not live without in your schoolroom? Or what do you wish you had? Help me out! I have a clean slate to work with. Thanks!! Liv

I agree 100%. This is why finding an ethical adoption agency is of utmost import.

Obviously! But I don't think anybody has referenced anything about children being TAKEN from parents and that being a good thing. I'm all for helping the parents. But try implementing that globally. It's not as easy as handing over the money. We sponsor a child in Africa. I'm all for that. I'm all for having children remain with their parents. I'm all for having children cared for and adopted within their own country/culture. These are all good things. But as we type, there are upwards of 160-some million orphaned and vulnerable children in the world. There is no easy solution. Adoption is not always the ideal, or the first choice. But it's one piece of the puzzle and many children and many parents have been immensely blessed by it.