Thanks for the ideas! The nearest office supply store is a bit of a drive from here, so I was hoping to get something online. Just frustrating to weed through all the reviews! This helps a lot....thank you!

Hi, I am in need of a new hole puncher, and I saw the OXO brand somewhere on a recent thread, but I can't find it available to buy anywhere. So I am looking for recommendations. I would like something that punches at least 10 pages at a time, but more would be wonderful. I am putting together my teacher binder, and my current puncher only does 3 pages and it is taking way too long!! Thanks in advance for any suggestions! Laura

I just started using this one and so far it has worked well: http://fivejs.com/homeschool-weekly-assignment-planner/ I hope that link works!

My husband just called me a couple of minutes ago to say he saw in the paper that 2 men were caught dealing heroin in our library!! We live in a small town, less than 5K, and my children walk to the library several times a week by themselves. I am sick that this is happening!

Listening in for ideas!

I decided to go old-school with this one: when my mom first started homeschooling my brother and me, she would have us write down our assignments in a steno notebook, which we took with us to our quiet time. I loved it. Now homeschooling my own children, I have searched for the perfect way to give them their assignments, when the thing which has worked the absolute best is.......just writing a list on a piece of paper and they check it off as they go. I have 2 children in checklists, so it takes just a few minutes, and they love knowing what to do! I have ordered steno notebooks for them just because they make me happy. =)

I play the song while the kids point to the location on a blank map. Once we have the hang of it, we sing along, and eventually they are able to sing it themselves while pointing. We also do Seterra!

Check your library, ours has the complete season 1.

xtramath.org is a free online math drill site. It's not fancy, just like flashcards, except they can do it independently. :001_smile:

I think I will do a certain amount of time. My dd9 will have 1 hour of extra reading a day (doesn't include school reading), but she reads all. the. time. anyway. :001_smile: DS8 is a struggling reader, so if I require 20 min. a day, that will be plenty for him. DD6 will probably also get 20 min. She is also just starting the Magic Tree House books, and I think will end up being like her sister. What I'm not sure about yet, is if this should be 5 days a week, or say, 20 days a month before they get their ticket, or what. Still unsure on that. Guess I should make up my mind seeing as it's almost October. My main goal is to make daily reading a habit. It definitely is with my oldest, but we have a ways to go with the other two. I will let them pick out what they want to read for this time, as well.

We just started Reading Kingdom with my 3rd grade son. It isn't cheap, though, $20/month. But they have a 30-day free trial which we are using right now. I am desperate enough that if it actually works for him, I will pay the money once the trial period is up. He has only been doing it for 4 days, but it is online and completely independent (they don't want the parent helping out at all). I still have my son read to me, of course, but he really needed something else. His level of reading is so low, and nothing seemed to help. I can't say whether it will work yet, but you might want to take a look anyway, or at least try the free trial. Good luck!

I used the primer for my first two, but with my 3rd we just jumped right into Alpha. She was 5 1/2 when we started, and did perfectly fine. She already knew how to write her numbers, count, etc. She does extra drill practice with xtramath.org, which is wonderful. I just didn't feel it necessary to start with the primer, when she appeared to be ready for first grade math.

I feel your pain! My son is 8, and while the public school evaluated him for me, they said I would have to enroll him in *any* school in the district before they could help him. Really??? I ran into another homeschooler who is a speech pathologist, and she said she would work with him in exchange for guitar lessons for her son (which my husband teaches). So I am super happy to try this out because the at-home thing wasn't working, and we can't afford speech therapy. If you could do what a pp said, and "hold him back" so he could get help for this year, that might be just what he needs. Good luck!

I just got my order of beans yesterday, so I was thinking it better not be too late!! :001_smile:

:bigear: I need some encouragement/inspiration, as well!