Okay Homesteading Hivers! I have a question for you. My dh and I will soon be making the move out to a country home on a small plot of land. We're hoping to eventually have things like chicken, goats, and horses but first of all we just want to get adjusted to our new life. Mowing 5 acres, gardening, slowly growing more self-sufficient, etc- My husband's birthday coincides closely with the closing on the home. I was thinking it would be cute to pick up a decent pair of work gloves (deerskin??) and maybe a cowboy hat. Problem is that being the 'country-newbs' that we are I don't know what a decent brand would be. I don't want to waste money on something cheap or likewise, spend money on something flashy that isn't productive. Any recommendations? Preferably on Amazon so I can try to get it shipped asap?

I get what you were saying. No offense here if that's what you were worried about. :) My friend did really, really struggle in school. Which is part of the reason she doesn't want to subject her to daughter to it. However, she feels extremely unqualified and is afraid of "screwing up" her daughter's education. I'm not trying to give her false sense of security and say that it'll be fine. It won't be "easy" but I also think if she was to attempt it and found a solid "hand-holding" program to guide her she might just surprise herself.-- and educate herself in the process of educating her daughter.

Yes, actually. I just signed her up for an information packet from the Florida K-12. I've only recently heard of them so I don't really quite understand how they work, so I'm just now digging into it. I'm hoping to get a good grasp between the differences in that and something like Calvert or Sonlight. My friend is coming over next week and we're going to go over all this stuff together. She's just completely overwhelmed so I'm hoping to help alleviate some of the stress. It can be intimidating in the beginning.

Thank you everyone. There were quite a few on here that I hadn't heard of before so I was able to compile a decent list for my friend to look over.

My good friend has been weighing homeschooling versus public school for her daughter for awhile now. She placed her daughter in a pre-k to see how she would do and she isn't exactly thrilled. I won't go into the specifics but she is leaning towards homeschooling. This is something she has been contemplating for awhile but she feels extremely "unqualified" to educate her daughter. She did poorly herself in school and squeaked by with her GED. She feels like she isn't "smart enough" to teach her daughter. We just a long conversation where I was telling her about all the resources, materials, co-ops, etc available and she seems intrigued. I was telling her about some of the many all-in-one boxed curricula that take all the prep and planning off of your hands- the ones with scripted programs (or online counterparts). I told her I would send her a list of some to look over. I know of a few- like Calvert, Sonlight, Monarch, etc.... but I was wondering if there is one in particular that really holds the mom's hand for an exceptionally timid mom.

Our's just another fun photo from a park day here in sunny Florida.

We're enjoying Atelier. The DVDs feel a bit dated. The instructor is a bit on the boring side. But that being said, my kids are having fun with it and creating fun things. It just takes a quick look-see from me to prep all the materials and then I can literally pop in the DVD and let my kids have at it.

I remember being sucked into The True Confessions of Charlotte Dolye by Avi. It might be more middle school age now that I think about it more. I also second Little Britches.

My mom got a new Brother Innovis 2800d embroidery machine as an anniversary gift. She's been wanting one for years. I was just wondering if anyone here has one and can give her a few tips or pointers. Is there a blog anywhere with video tutorials or anything?

I'm torn over whether or not to go. It'll be right smack in the middle of our move..... but I've been dying to attend one. I'm wondering if I won't be able to arrange a day trip.

:hurray: :party:

I picked up Doyle's collection of Sherlock Holmes stories awhile back. I had never read them before because I've never been one to get into mysteries or detective stories. Sherlock just never appealed to me. For whatever reason I did grab it recently though and I am LOVING Doyle's writing style. I doubt I'll read every story of his because there are just so many but I am about 4 in right now and LOVING them Also, one of my highlights from last year was Code Name Verity I didn't realize it was a young adult novel until after the fact. In any event, it read like a really great book for me. One of the books on my "must-read" list that I haven't gotten to yet it The Wave. I felt such sadness after the horrific tsunami wave back in 2004 that I volunteered in Sri Lanka a couple months later to try and help. I have felt a connection to this event and place because of it.

This is something to be VERY proud of your son for. Way to go!!! Granted my kids are too young to talk to about the horrors involving the rape in Ohio where all those people stood around or joked-- but this horrific event has resulted in a resurgence in my anti-bully/bossy talks with my girls. I'm so proud of your son for not being silent bystander.

Don't forget to check out your local used-curriculum sales. I was able to pick up the audios of SOTW 1&2 for substantially less. This year I plan on keeping an eye out for 3 and 4.

:hurray:

Following this thread. I'm always looking for more period-ish pieces to get lost in.

I know it's not until May-- but anyone here plan on attending this year?

LOL!! I was the exact same way. I did SO good with it for about 3 months. I dropped about 12 pounds and was happy with that. Something about being so conscious of what I was eating helped me to really keep things in perspective. Then we had a vacation of sorts and I didn't log in for a week. One week turned into two which rapidly turned into never logging in again. I really need to get off my butt and start focusing on it again. For a free app, you can't beat it.

I'm glad I checked out this thread. There are a lot of blogs I haven't checked out before. :driving: Off to spend some time surfing around!

My girls and I did a prehistory mini-unit last year. I have some suggestions in some of my posts. Feel free to check out my posts and see if anything is usable for you. (Just FYI - we're old earth)

Oh my goodness! I haven't been as active on the forum in a couple weeks and I missed the news about Kalanamak. What sad, sad news. My thoughts go out to her and her family. And all of us here too, really.

I think it really depends on how often and how long your lessons are. I know varying schedules that people use. Some use it daily, some 3 times a week, etc. My oldest does it three times a week for about 15 or 20 minutes a lesson. She normally finishes a full Step per lesson which means she averages 3 steps a week. Because of this, she's been flying through the levels fairly quickly. My oldest seems like a natural speller though and grasps the concepts very quickly. Because of this we normally go through two levels a year. I have heard of some folks who take more time with each step so they can really review the concepts and spread one step over the whole week. In that regard one level might last them for the chunk of the school year. So yeah- I guess what I'm leaning towards is that it is more of a mastery thing and not a grade level per se. I'd buy one level for now and if, in a few months from now, your kiddo is flying through it quickly you might decide you need to grab the next level too.

:grouphug:I'm so sorry for the losses you've experienced. Although it's been a bit of time since our last major loss, I do also catch myself thinking how great it is to be able to know I'm not wasting my time behind a cubicle in the job that never left me feeling fulfilled. As tiring as the days may be as a SAHM, I go to bed pleased with the fact that I am at home witnessing my children (and they likewise are witnessing me). Granted, if I ever felt a sense of fulfillment in my previous profession, I'm sure I could have found a way to be a parent and a member of the workforce. Luckily for me - the internal lure of motherhood was never met with any substantial resistance. But- whether it's being SAHM or a full-time working mom (or anything in between)- appreciating what you have and utilizing fully what you've got to give is key to happiness. That's what it's all about.

During a recent conversation with some new acquaintances, it came up that I used to climb mountains. One lady made a comment about how boring life must be as stay-at-home mom after that. (Mind you, she doesn't have children of her own.) Instead of getting annoyed or offended I laughed and said- actually mountain climbing was the perfect prep course for me to become a homeschooling parent. It inspired me to wrote this post today and I thought I'd share with you guys. I'm tempted to email the lady who made the comment that sparked all it with a link to my post but then thought I should probably just leave well-enough alone. In any event, hope you guys enjoy. It'll be my silent jab back to that lady. Well- a wordy and public silent-jab anyway. LOL

We have a kindle and I try to remember to regularly check through their listing of free books. I'm constantly grabbing things and saving them for later.