Parrothead, poor Mamma.. .don't fret. I know we all panic when something doesn't look right on our babies. Thankfully, from the responses here, it looks like it's happened to others and has NOT been cancer ;) so hopefully it's a simple virus /glandular issue. And whatever you do, don't google anything!!!

I have to ask. Sick or hurt: we've been through a couple of those. still have to hand-hold through steps on how to feed littles, how to put soap in the washing machine, when to start thinking of food, drop offs, pick ups. It is hurtful to me b/c I take it a certain way. After many discussions about this, I know in my brain that he means no harm, but my heart tells me that if someone cared he's figure it out.

I just started using FLL 3 with two children, and I sometimes feel like a bummer they have to wait for me to be free, I also like that we can easily do two lessons in about 20 minutes. Stick with it.. i think they learn a lot from it.

Congratulations! I know this is easier said than done, but you're worrying about something that, once it happens, won't be an issue. Once baby is born y'all will continue living and things will fall in place. Keep love and respect amongst you and you'll be fine.

What a bummer. All the major grocery stores are 1 cow rating.

We start around 8:15 or 8:30. My DS9 gets up before 7, gets dressed, and starts his Saxon Math on his own. So, he gets a nice early start. We all get up around 7:00, eat, dress, have a short Islamic Studies lesson (read-aloud) at breakfast, then get to the school room around 8:30.

I use a ceramic canister that used to be where I stored my flour. Then the lid cracked and broke. I still couldn't bring myself to throw away the canister, so now it sits by the sink and gets the food scraps. In the summer I might set a small plate over the top to keep the stink out till I throw the food out.

We are doing our first Insect Lore butterflies right now! The last one came out of its cocoon this afternoon!! It has been great fun. Being as cold as it's been our cycle took longer than the normal two week one. Each stage lasted a couple of days longer than they expected them too. However, 4 of the 5 turned into adults.

I am a homeschooling parent and I am fascinated.

Oh thank you so much! So it's pretty much as I suspected. Like a previous poster said, my DD (and DS) 'get' things quickly, and I can't think of many topics they'd spend a lot of time on. On the other hand, it sounds like a good way to expound on a subject they do actually enjoy. The cutting and pasting was one of my main concerns. From the few I've seen online it looked like a big messy project that didn't provide 'many happy returns' LOL Thank you for your help. I'll go check out those links (from the first poster, thank you)

My DD5 (soon to be 6) is almost done with her Horizons Phonics books. She can read really well. She's also catching on to what I'm teaching my older two via FLL 3 and WWE3. Seeing as she's still KG, what do you recommend I do once she finishes the phonics books? Obviously we read daily; fiction and nonfiction. I was just reading about 'over-teaching' vs skipping to the next grade. Advice? She doesn't know parts of speech yet, really, so do I save it for 1st grade and just keep reading with her this year?

I've seen them on blogs and other websites. I've seen the end result. I just don't really 'get it' yet. They seem like an awful lot of work (and crafty stuff, too) for one topic. Can y'all shed some light on this subject for me? Maybe give me an idea on how to start one? One DD enjoyed her biography of George Washington and decided to make a poster about him. In my mind I was wondering if this were a good lapbook project. :bigear:

Heck NO!!! :D Not if you love it!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my morning mug of coffee. Ironically, it was my 'not' loving it that gave it away that i was pregnant! I couldn't drink it one morning and thought how odd. Next morning same thing. By the third morning I took a test and it was positive. Couldn't handle coffee till I was about 6 month pregnant.

I'm back. We don't believe in 'original sin'. We believe all creatures are born in a state of submission to God (Islam). It is the upbringing that can change the person and his free will, too. So, basically, yes we as Muslims want to avoid sinning at all costs in order to attain the pleasure of our Lord and to enter Paradise because we believe we are judged on our actions and intentions.

As a practiciting Muslim, I can tell you that Allah gives us the halal (the permissible) and the haram (the forbidden). If you choose the haram way, then you are sinning. For example eating pork is haram. Therefore if I do eat pork I sinned. However, now that I'm reading this topic, I'm thinking really hard if there's a word in the Quran that equally translated to 'sin'. I'll get back to you :)

From the moment I broached the idea of homeschooling he told me it would only me. He said he's support me if that's what I wanted to do, but that he wasn't interested in it at all and that he wouldn't even want to talk about it. Soooo, once I got his 'vote' and after I prayed about it a bit I decided to homeschool. I do all the buying, planning, and teaching. I am home with my children all day. He leaves early in the am and comes home in time for dinner (or sometimes after). Thankfully, he never asks about cost of anything and if I mention out loud that I want to buy a book he says 'well why don't you just buy it?'. Ok. :) So, no, he doesn't teach. But he supports the idea.

Glad to see this topic :) My DH is so even-keel. He also doesn't talk about work at all. He is, however, in a high level management position at a big companpy, so I know there is a lot of stress. I think now that you brought this up, I might be the one 'looking for trouble' so to speak and should probably just accept that he doesn't pipe up about most anything.

I"m sorry you're going through this. May God protect our children from abuse and evil.

I don't think you overreacted. I don't like generalizations like that at all. Whether it's about 'women', 'men', 'inlaws', whatever... there is never one way.

That's awesome Pam! Thanks for posting this :) Very comforting and reassuring.

Greetings, We're in SOTW I, so we've been in Ancient Egypt for much of the school year. Now with Egypt in the news, I've been explaining what's going on with the leader. They're kind of curious, and I love that connection they're making. They realize that Mubarak has been ruling for thirty years, which is longer than US Presidents rule. We compared him to the rulers of Egypt past. Anyone else having dialogues with their kids re: Egypt and history in action?

Basil isn't supposed to come back year after year. Mint will. The Rosemary bush will stay for years. Mint will take over anything in its path, so beware :) Plant something you will use. Each year I get excited and buy little herblings. I don't end up using them then feel guilty for letting them die.

We're doing school, too. All the districts are closed here, but seeing as the accumulation is more ice and sleet instead of fluffy snow there's no way I'm gonna skip school.

Greetings! First year homeschooling, here, to a 4th and 3rd grader. I got Orange for grade 4 and Yellow for 3rd. At first I thought this was the neatest book. Then it seemed reaaally easy for them. However, when it came time to test, they did awful in grammar! My son finally turned to me and told me that they don't explain it and that they spend like on day on a certain part of speech (or other grammar topic). It's true. I paid more attention and realized the grammar was a bit weak. It does have creative elements, and I think there is probably sufficient writing and copywork. Last week I ended up buying FLL 3 for both kids and they LOVE how the information is presented and followed up. And so am I, honestly. It feels more like education than LLATL did. However... since I already have LLATL, I will from now on just pick the neat parts and do those. We'll not even go through any grammar or spelling or writing in LLATL (that sounds kind of pathetic, I know, but we're covering those topics from other books). I'll use it for the "Literature Links" and other intersting things like my 4th grader's Research Unit. Those can be useful for us, for sure. I felt the levels were too easy for the grade level. Maybe that's b/c the school district my kids were in before h/s was good. Maybe LLATL is a little on the easy side. Those are my thoughts and my experience. I started to question LLATL back in the fall, and finally in January just had to move on for some real meaty grammar and writing.

Yes! I've started this year, and suddenly I'm aware of lots more homeschooling moms in addition to having other moms come ask me about it. I tell them it's our first year doing it, but I get so excited about it that they tell me now they feel more confident. One lady said she tried it last year and used Calvert. It didn't work well for her family, but after talking to me (she said) she's thinking of giving it another go! Of course I always refer back to TWTM and to their method. It's what convinced me I could do it, so naturally, I recommend it to others. You're right, I do kind of feel like a "missionary".