Co-sleeping worked great with my 2nd born, but not so well with the others. I'm hoping this baby can get into that groove because it really makes it almost feel like your not waking at night. We'll see how it goes!

This gave me a giggle!:lol:

Right now I take a nap after lunch when my older children do independent work and my younger children either do quiet time or take a nap. It works to do it that way, but I really don't like giving up the time! (I napped during most of my pregnancy, too.) My babies usually take around 6-9 months to sleep through the night, so it will be a while. Once it's just one waking in the night, I think it will really not be a big deal to skip the nap.

My new baby is 3 1/2 weeks old. I'm getting some sleep at night, but it's less than normal, and punctuated two or three times by nursing her (big shock, I know! ;)). I really want to skip taking a nap during the day so I can so schoolwork with my older children while it's quiet, but I'm not sure I can handle it while I'm still waking several times in the night. So I'm just curious ... when you've had a newborn/infant still waking in the night, do you nap or just push through? Thanks!

I'd be interested in a book like this too.

We had major food allergy issues here for several years, so I know how hard it can be to plan menus. Could you simplify things by doing a one or two week menu plan of rotating meals. I know it's not the most exciting thing, but if you do that, you could have your shopping lists already made out and ready to go for each week. You could change it each season. Sometimes when things are really nutty, you just have to be willing to do things differently than you'd prefer. I know you said that the extra activities are not an option to alter, but if it means the peace of your family you may want to at least consider it. :001_smile:

I haven't gotten to read all the replies, but if you really want to lose weight and get healthy there is a way to do it! It involves eating a scrumptious plant-based diet. Many people have reduced their cholesterol dramatically, reversed heart disease, and reversed diabetes by eating this way. The part I like the best is that I don't have to limit the amount I eat, just what I eat. It makes this way of eating doable for the long-haul. This way of eating probably would have seemed extreme to me a decade ago, but my 3rd child was born with a dairy and egg allergy, so we had to cut those foods out anyway (I mean, who wants to make two separate dinners every night?). It wasn't all that much more of a stretch to cut out the meats. Here's a great book on the theory behind it: The China Study http://www.amazon.com/The-China-Study-Comprehensive-Implications/dp/1932100385 Here's a great video about it: Forks Over Knives http://www.amazon.com/Forks-Over-Knives-Colin-Campbell/dp/B0053ZHZI2/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_z Here's a FREE website that can give you all the info you need: Main website: http://www.drmcdougall.com/ Free program: http://www.drmcdougall.com/free.html Here are two great books about eating this way, including fantastic recipes: Engine 2 Diet http://www.amazon.com/The-Engine-Diet-Firefighters-Save-Your-Life/dp/0446506699/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347990121&sr=8-1&keywords=engine+2 Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease http://www.amazon.com/Prevent-Reverse-Heart-Disease-Nutrition-Based/dp/1583333002/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347990155&sr=1-1&keywords=prevent+and+reverse+heart+disease+by+caldwell+b.+esselstyn (Your library may have the above-mentioned books and/or DVD.) It really is possible to do this. My whole family has been eating this way for 3 years. I feel fantastic on this diet, and so does my husband (and he lost 20 lbs. and dropped his cholesterol 100 points to boot!). :001_smile: Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.:grouphug:

To the op, thanks so much for asking the question. This site looks great, VaKim! :001_smile:

Have you ever used one of her history module guides? I really like how I could teach all the children at once! I'm also thinking of purchasing her one day DVD conference. I just noticed your siggy that says classical, CM, and unit study mom! (That made me chuckle.:001_smile:) We're a mix between unit studies and CM here, although we lean very much toward reading aloud, so I think we're more CM. I really want to be a KONOS mom, but I'm just not sure that's my speed. Thanks again for your help!

Hi, Ginger! I just wanted to thank you for mentioning Simply Charlotte Mason. I was looking at their history curriculum, and it looks promising. Thanks! :)

Thanks for sharing this, Deanne! :001_smile:

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

It's really the whole thing that seems like it might be confusing. I've only read the teacher book so far, so maybe when I watch the video it will start to make more sense. I think I'll try teaching it the MUS way first, and if that's not working I'll go to the way I learned. Thanks for the tip about the Math Mammoth book. If I run into trouble with MUS, I'll pick that Math Mammoth book up. Thanks, everyone! **edited to add: I'm glad that the division explanation is less unconventional. I really, really don't want to switch math programs again!

Thank you so much! This is incredibly helpful to me. :grouphug: I really appreciate that you took the time to type that all out for me ... and now I'm seeing how I could put something like this together on my own.

I've pretty much decided against Weaver, although I'd still like to get my hands on a volume to be able to really evaluate it. I'm still considering KONOS. The thing I really like about KONOS is that I can use it with all my children from ages K-8th grade. The things that make me hesitate are the planning aspect and the project-based nature of the program. I'd love to do lots of projects and activities, but I want to be realistic about what I will actually reasonably be able to do (especially with a newborn coming in the next few weeks). I have looked at Simply Charlotte Mason, but had forgotten about their book/topic lists. I'll check them out again. I've never heard of History Revealed before, so I'll check that out.

Thanks, Carol! This is so helpful. :001_smile:

I understand what you are saying and I appreciate the encouragement. :grouphug: This would be less of an issue if I was just teaching my oldest two, but I'm trying to find a way to effectively teach soon to be five children ... and I'm not finding that easy to do. I'm very comfortable talking about certain controversial with my oldest and sometimes 2nd oldest, but those same topics I might not be ready to introduce with my six year old. My children are with me all day, so I find it hard to really delve into a challenging topic with my oldest without my younger children listening in too. I will certainly consider all your suggestions. :001_smile: Thanks!

I would love to hear more! Making my own core would be perfect, but I feel unsure how to do it. I'm hoping to do the individual skills in the morning, and history/science in the afternoons. Thanks so much!:001_smile:

:001_smile: I really didn't start this thread to have a discussion about how my husband and I have chosen to handle introducing other religions to our children. :001_smile: Our children know that there are people who believe differently that we do. It's that I don't want all religions to be presented in a neutral way, which in my opinion, is how SL handled it in Core 1.

Thanks, Cat! I think my concern with these would be that I couldn't teach my children all together. My oldest is in 5th and my youngest school-age child is in Kindergarten.

Hmmm ... let me see if I can describe how I'd like SL to be more conservative. For one, I don't want to introduce other religions to my children before they are well-grounded in our own. I especially wouldn't want to address that before the age of 9 or 10. I also would prefer that most of the books we use do not assume evolution to be fact. I don't mind if a small number do, but it seemed like so many of the SL books in Core 1 were evolution-based. I guess I also felt like some of the read-alouds were too emotional/dramatic/graphic for my children. I really disliked "Mary on Horseback" for that Core 1 age group. I should look again at their American History cores and see how much would need to be switched out. I do so love the read-aloud model!

Thanks, Carol! I had not heard of these unit studies before, and there are lots of great topics to choose from. I don't think I could take a seminar, but she has a book all about teaches unit studies. Maybe that would be a pretty good substitute for a seminar. I'm having some trouble finding samples online ...

When I was first on the HOD board, I found this to be true. However, I was able to change my settings in the user control panel, and now I get an email when there's a response to a thread I've started or subscribed to.

I've just gotten to this section in Gamma, and I'm not sure what to do as I think it's going to be confusing to my children. Have others of you found the way it's taught to be confusing? Is the explanation for division in the next level just as unconventional? I guess I'm trying to figure out if I should just finish out Gamma, teaching multiplication the way I know it ... or if I should be looking for a different math program. And it was all going so well with MUS! :tongue_smilie:

Anyone else have ideas for me? :001_smile: