I love following this blog and thought I'd share this latest post about how practice can be more than mere mindless repetition. http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/2015/10/07/practice-math-like-a-baby/#more-3684

We did Redwall before LotR and we haven't done Harry Potter yet. I'm sure he'll enjoy them. They're fun! :)

Thanks, Mystie! Looking forward to it!

This is my favorite version.

Ah. But if that's the case why bother spending time with things like vocabulary and grammar? Why not just use words the way we feel like using them and be rid of the rules altogether? (Ok. Starting to feel a panic attack coming on. Deep breath. Deep breath.)

Has it always been a verb and I'm just late to the party? Why can't we just use the word "give" in its various forms? No offense intended to anyone who uses gift as a verb but it really makes me feel like doing this :willy_nilly: :banghead: That's all. :)

Some things I'd want to pass on: *Waiting a bit longer to start any kind of school is ok. A child who starts K level things at age 6 will be just as ok as the one who started at 4 (maybe even better off for having had those extra 2 pressure-free years, but it's all so very INDIVIDUAL. Each mother knows her own child best and is the best person to decide whether he is ready). *Actual school work =/= sitting at a desk. Movement and interaction are good things, even when learning how to read and write! *a child can comprehend way beyond his reading ability. So read aloud often and read books that have beautiful language.

I am just finishing a book called The MELT Method (here's a link with some info) and the author mentions foam rolling in there. The point she makes is that for something that's supposed to be beneficial to your body it shouldn't have to hurt so much. Pain is the body's signal to stop. Not trying to dissuade anyone from foam rolling if you're sure it's a good thing for you, but just throwing it out there that if it hurts that much maybe there are other things to try....

Latin without Tears

Oh! I just found this the other day! Let me go look and see what it was called...

I bought a set of the books from homeschoolclassifieds.com It was very reasonable (i want to say I paid maybe $20? Including shipping). My set included primary through higher plus the guide by Ruth Beechick (which has only been minimally helpful, not something to worry about getting).

Ditto!

I read the title of the thread and immediately thought that depression meant that the parents were the ones more prone to it. :) I can see that side of it too - the more I let myself worry about how my kids are going to turn out the more mentally unstable I become!

Any books by Mike Venezia books are fun and they are available for both composers and artists.

Following with interest. My brain is too hazy at the moment to come up with anything to contribute, but I'm hoping to be able to come back and look at ideas here more closely after the baby fog clears :)

Ah, here they are. Hope that helps.

There are these from SCM. Ages ago I found a list of questions and prompts formatted to print as a bookmark. I'll see if I can find that...

For those who asked for a photo, here he is:

Well, it's over! The labor itself was unbelievably easy. I'm still in shock over it. It was long and slow, but very mild if that makes sense. When I got to the hospital I think the house doctor thought I was not in labor- but surprise! I was already 8cm. I got into the birth tub and labored in there for a bit. I had one contraction that felt like my back was bring crushed, but I remembered to flip onto hands and knees and sometime after that was when he turned I think. Pushing was a whole different ball game. I think because labor was so easy the pushing stage felt that much harder instead of being a relief like in the past. But it was only about 20 minutes or so and he was out - all 9lbs 1oz of him! Thank you all for your encouragement and support!

Yes, the bolded is what I have to remember don't I? It will end and this new little baby will be worth all the trouble. Not sure if I'll get the chance to try the chiropractor - looks like labor may be starting here...

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm trying very hard not to stress about this. I'm going to have to just be present in the moment and not let myself dwell on what "might happen". I had a membrane sweep today... hoping it will get things started. She also suggested castor oil, but I'm not sure I'm willing to go down that road :leaving: For now I'm content to keep waiting.

Yes, all the others were natural. But it's enough work as it is when the baby is in a good position! I guess that's why I'm nervous about a less than optimal position.

I'm 40 weeks today with baby number 5! Baby is definitely posterior and I'm nervous because I'd like to have a natural delivery, but everything I read keeps saying that labor with posterior babies is more difficult and to be honest I'm worried. I'm trying so hard not to be, but I am. I know that baby could still turn. I'm trying all the exercises on spinningbabies.com and I also know that it may all turn out just fine. But I would so appreciate any reassurance you all might have for me. Thanks!

I love the idea of minimalism, but like stm4him said, it's somewhat relative isn't it? We have more stuff than we need, and I'm slowly working on getting rid of what I can, but with a bigger family there is much that needs to be saved to pass on to the younger kids as they grow and so I sometimes feel like as much as I'd like to just toss everything because I hate the cluttered feeling, it's not wise because we can't afford to replace things. But on the whole I feel like we do ok. We have tons of girl clothes which were given to us, but I'm only pulling out 4-5 day to day outfits for each girl per season because that's all they really wear. Then I'm getting rid of the extra clothes we have in each size as the youngest goes through them. Same for ds and the new baby (due any day). For school we use SWR, Ray's Arithmetic and Treasured Conversations for our daily base. We have plenty of good books around and we do a morning basket time rotating content subjects, but the core of our school work revolves around those things and I'm pleased that I really don't have to buy curriculum every year because those three programs cover our needs for quite awhile. I may add in Latin sometime this year, but not quite sure yet.

This is something I'd love to hear too! I guess I'll find out for sure any day now.... Best of luck, OP, whether positive or negative results. :)