my mother had 3 children , and then my father died, 6 years later she married again to someone who had 1 child. his child was exactly the same age as my brother, they were born on the same day, in the same hospital, 1/2 an hour apart. MelissaL

we always just pick them up. My kids have collections of bones, teeth, snake skins, old bottles etc, etc. I have never worried about them handling them at all. they always wash their hands afterwards. we live in a rural area, and the kids always help with butchering the animals etc. just yesterday they were having a cow manure war. I said cow manure?? maybe you should all get changed. their response way " why, it is just partially digested grass" I made them change anyway! MelissaL

I have had only 1 nose bleed in my life. I bled for 24 hours. after 12 hours I rang the hospital, they said to come in and have my nose packed. I went in, the doctor took one look at me and whisked me into a bed, my pulse was 130, and the doctor said I was starting to go into shock. they packed my nose twice, it just made the blood go down my throat instead. they gave me 4 liters of saline solution, put me into an ambulance and sent me to Melbourne to have my nose lanced. It stopped bleeding just as I got to the Melbourne hospital. I never knew you can bleed to death from your nose. the doctor told me you are meant to go the hospital after 20 minutes of a nose bleed. MelissaL

academic reasons here. I sent my children to school , went to work, and expected them to come home educated!!!. when the oldest was in grade 5. I realised he couldn't read or write. I asked the teacher about what was his plan to help him learn, and the teacher said" don't worry, he isn't the worst" that was the last day of him being in school.!!!!. I wished I had started earlier. MelissaL

We don't have air conditioning. stop doing schoolwork when the temperature hits 38oC/ 100oF. we would only have about 10 days a year where it gets up to / above 40oC. ( we live in Victoria, which is a lot milder). we don' t have much humidity. if it gets too hot, we head for the beach MelissaL

It just seems to me that homeschooling is expensive.. I have found that in Australia the home school books are just under double the price that people in America pay. I payed $200 just for spielvogel . Saxon math goes for around $100 secondhand!! I spend between $3000 - to $4000 just on books for my 5 ... true, most of them are non consumables, and will be passed down, but the books get more expensive as the kids get older. MelissaL

Ha :lol: sounds just like my son. I didn't know what to do about the long hair, so asked DH. He said so he did at that age to, he will grow out of it!:lol::lol: MelissaL

We were using MUS, and the kids just found it very Boring. they partially hated the year of fractions. I also found there wasn't enough practice of previous concepts. We switched to Saxon, and the joy has come back into math. they are all enjoying the spiral approach. knowing there is going to be some "easy " math problems each day with the new concept. MelissaL

you could always dry them the old fashioned way, stuff them with newspaper, change every hour or so. MelissaL

I met my Husband when I was 17, he was 32. We met at church. HE courted me with strict chaperoning. all dates were accompanied with my whole family. I have 7 younger siblings:001_huh:. we got married when I was just 18. my mother didn't believe in long engagements. ( I secretly think she was getting sick of the chaperoning) :tongue_smilie: so we got married 2 months after our engagement. we have been happily married for 15 years .:001_smile: my mother and father has an age gap of 14 years . when my husband and I met, it was clearly understood by both of us that we were looking for a partner for life, and not just some casual romance. MelissaL

I am trying to get into the habit of bringing my reusable bags, as next year there is going to be a fee of 25c per plastic bag . MelissaL Australia

with my first ds 14, I have real trouble understanding some subjects, Latin has me stumped, Logic is something that I read aloud , and marvel that my son can work out the answers:001_huh:, Grammar is completely beyond me.:confused: I am finding I am grasping things better teaching my second ds 12. I have a vague understanding of what I am talking about. with my ds 10 & dd8, I am really understanding and remembering everything. I am sure with ds4 I will have it all down pat. I might even remember my 8 times tables then.;) MelissaL

A friend if mine's daughter, age 4 ,used hair clippers and shaved straight across the top of her head. Her father had left the clippers plugged in after using them for shaving.:confused: It took a long time to grow out!!:glare: MelissaL

I have found that my boys respond a lot quicker to a race than a request. something like can you find the powder before I have dried the baby's bottom, ready, set, go... can you do your math drill before I have the load of laundry on the line, If you beat me you get a prize ( maybe some raisins, or choc chips) If I beat you, I get the prize. Boys really love competitions, and hate being told what to do. It works every time. they are happy, they are having fun. you are happy, and the fammily goes a lot smother MelissaL mother of 4 boys and 1 girl

I was married at just 18, and had my first child just just before I turned 19 MelissaL

the WTM is my absolute authority on homeschooling. I follow it as close as I can.

my ds is not a keen reader. in fact he has only been reading for enjoyment for 1 year. I assign a book that ties in with the history period being covered. sometimes a non fiction , biography, or even a fiction Living book. he reads for 1 hour every day. he has got through a huge list of books this way. my husband says that he has read more books just in the last year than my husband read up to the age of 25!! now when my daughter gets older, she will be reading much more. she is always in a book!! MelissaL

5'5"

here in Australia High school starts in year 7 and goes to year 12. there is no junior high at all. MelissaL

when they look ready. if you pick one and taste it, you will soon learn when they are ready!! you can peel corn gently and have a peek to see if they are ready, potatoes are ready after they have finished flowering , and can be left until the plant dies down. tomatoes when they look red, etc. MelissaL

sorry for appearing dumb, but what is HTRAB? MelissaL

if you spray the bean flowers with a fine mist of water in the evening they set better. beans are self pollinating and don't need so many bees. you can spray other things with sugar water, which encourages bees ( and lots of ants as well). sometimes if you fertilize the garden too much the plants put on lots of growth and less fruit. if there is a little less fertiliser the plants tend to try to produce seeds instead of leaves. MelissaL

we are using Saxon and are happy with it. we are 1/2 way through algebra 1 with my 14 year old. MelissaL

hi, we paid $100 per round bale of lucerne. this is a lot less than last year when it was $150. I get the hay for my house cow. my sister paid $250 per very large square bale of wheat hay last year. Prices were very high because of the drought! MelissaL in Australia

how much do you spend per year on home school curriculum, workbooks, novels, etc? I spend between $2000 - $3000 per year. books are a little more in Australia;) MelissaL