I have 3 kids Grades 5,4 and 2. We just finished our first week of the year (Jan-Dec) and every day I have gone 9-4. I have 1kid with slow processing and dysgraphia and one with immature fine motor skills (. 7yo is just learning to hold a pencil properly) plus I use curriculum that is all teacher intense (my choice, works best). My kids are not working all those hours..but I am switching between them constantly. Thank goodness my two older kids are working on the same level for everything..I teach them together then move onto the 7yo. 7yo has behavioural issues, maturity issues ( but not learning disabilities) so he is just ready to start school stuff this year meaning he is at K level and not independent at all. The older two can be left to finish things independently I have started with them...except math. My DD can only progress with math if I help her step by step..she cant process it on her own. Anyway..it makes for a long day for me. All up the older kids have about 4 hours work and 7yo maybe 2 hrs and they play for long intervals while I'm working with the other... but its a long day when kids cant work together.

I got a few of those remarks when I first started. I just rolled my eyes and ignored it. 5 years later everyone has just accepted it and ignores me. Im sure they still think I am wrong...but realise Im going to do it no matter what they say so they say nothing.😉

I know someone who has one and she has 4 daughters. Apparently they use it a lot in loose parts play. My kids are famous for not using things like that after the intial day of excitement...I would go with Magnatiles

😳 That made me laugh out loud. What exactly does Africa smell like. Spicy? Elephant Poop? Dusty? Oil drilling? Since its related to a storage space..Mothballs 😂

Those would all be in the Australian version 👠Except maybe hire-car..we say rental car here mostly. Also lorries =trucks here BUT if they said lorries we would know what they were. Also cheeky...I find Americans never know what this means. Cheeky = Sassy

Lucky you...we have so called socialised medicine here and I still pay $48 a visit 🤔 Kids under 16 are free though.

I pay close to $100 every time I buy new toner...and thats every cuople of months. I use quite a few PDF curriculums as its cheaper for me then postage to Australia. My kids always hated worksheets and the times I used them there are so many free ones available fot that type of thing I wouldnt pay. The only ones I bought were the $1 Scholastic ones and we barely ever used them. Not a helpful post really...I'm just jealous your kids like worksheets 😒 My kids always acted as though they were death on a sheet of paper.

Why? I hate it when adults stay for playdates... I'm looking for a friend for my kid to play with..not me.. If the mum stays then I cant get on and do my own thing...cleaning and such ...whilst the kids play. I guess I dont know what a play date is supposed to be for. When I was a kid your friends just came around..usually not even prearranged ...and hung out and played. The parents where never expected to plan activities or entertain them. If they were there at lunch time they were either sent home for lunch and told they could come back after...or given a sandwhich with the rest of the kids. And expecting money to be spent to entertain a kid on a play date 😂 Anyway..my views are probably wrong as my kids hardly ever have play dates. I invite and invite but no one ever allows their kids to come because I dont do planned activities and they ' never let their kids go stay somewhere without a parent' even if those kids are 10 and up. I makes me sad...what must they think of me and my family they would never leave their kid with me alone for a few hours. Anyway...just one of the reasons I am considering giving up homeschooling...no friends for my kids unless its an organised activity...and my kids are getting lonely.

The way they look after their children in orphanages makes you believe it is 😢

You just reminded me LOL Was wearing a wrap skirt that ties at the waist AKA a sarong. As I was getting out of my car it got tangled and became untied...so suddenly I'm standing in the carpark in my underwear 😳 Upside....I was in my early 20's so had no body bits yet to be ashamed of...Downside....I worked at that mall I was just about to walk into 😂

I agree with Tibbie...don't put things off thinking you will have a baby soon. I had the same plan as you and it took me 5 years to get pregnant and then I only ended up with 3 in the end ( although I'm grateful...3 is better then none. Make yourself some plans like going to school or working. Dont just sit at home waiting for babies to come...they might not...or may take a long time. Start planning for babies and homeschoolong after you actually get pregnant... until then do what ever you like 😆

I know too many people these days who have met online and later married (including me) to say it isnt a real relationship. I was in Australia and my DH was in Canada. We met one time in person before we got engaged. Still married with three kids 12 years later. Everyone I know who has married after an online relationship is still together. In my opinion it works better because if you can only hang out online then all you can really do is talk and chat which means you get to know them better then if you are staring at a movie together or other stuff.

Read only 1 book this week...it was a kids book too 😊 Was prereading it to see of it would be a good suggestion for my DD..it wasn't. Nothing wrong with it at all but its a ghost story and more aimed at older tweens/teens I think...maybe just a tad too mature for her but not really scary or anything. I enjoyed it so I'm borrowing more in the series 😆 Author is Mary Downing Hahn. Was searching through my library catalogue and decided to look up SWB. Previously they have only ever had one book of hers. Much to my delight they now have 7 or so of her books and I ordered them all 😠Have no idea how thick they are so I might be renewing them a few times. Even ordered Story of the World 3 although we arent up to that one yet...just want to hold it in my hands and peruse because I now can 😂

Yep here too...and my DH is a teacher 😂 We've had mothers pass away here locally and their husbands have taken over the homeschooling. One dad was up on everything and just continued on. The other..his wife was using Oak Meadow and he couldnt make head or tail of it and ditched it and went completely opposite..all textbooky and rigid. His kids are not doing well. We ( the homeschool group mums in our area) and trying to make suggestions and so far have managed to get him using CLE math...but other then that...the resources he is using 😳 Again..his kids should really go to school.

😂 Some more gross to match yours. I used to work in a nursing home. Emptying bedpans required spraying them out in the sink first. I learnt a valuable lesson about backspray and the value of keeping your mouth closed when sluicing poop. 😖

Thats only in the US though. In Australia if you need food the Bishop gives you are gift card to the local supermarket. Thank goodness they have done away with the RS president coming shopping with you to make sure you spent it wisely 🙄 The ultimate in degrading. We have decent enough food banks in our State. The local farmers and supermarkets and bakeries are allowed to donate leftovers so long as it is not out of date. As produce is perishable people are allowed to take as much as they like. Not sure about meat but I imagine that would be rationed as with the prices these days even people with jobs can barely afford to buy it 🙄 They do have junk food like Tim Tams but those are rationed ...their philosophy is that even poor people deserve a treat which I support. But yeah..the healthy food is basically take as much as you want/need and junk food is rationed. There is plenty of fruit/vegies available though variety varies. Its embarrassing to go to those places..most people wouldnt use them unless they needed to..scammers usually do other things then rip off food banks.

I agree.. I would go underground rather then submit to that because there is no adjustments for children with special needs or learning differences. We have a somewhat similar set up in SA..you register and once a year someone from the education department comes to visit and see what you are doing. This someone is from the " homeschooling" department with favourable attitudes towards homeschooling ( the head of the department used to homeschool her own children) and they are also ex teachers who understand educational standards so know where students "should be". My DD is a grade or two behind as she has some learning issues but I've never had a problem being approved to homeschool. They want to see progress from each child but progress that is personal and at their level. They want to see you have a plan in place and not just waking up every morning and winging it. They want to see your kid is doing well according to their own abilities...not standard abilities. They dont need to pass tests to show evidence of learning. Even the unschoolers get by as long as they show evidence of progress and the parent has some clue what they are doing. Basing this all on one test by an educational psychologist invested in regualr schooling is the same as what the schools do...by not taking into account individual needs and abilities of each child. However, yes it is easier to "prove" your educating status with a piece of paper. If someone questions my kids abilities I just wave my "permission slip" in their face and say..the education department said they were doing fine and go on my merry way. So there are advantages to having those papers. Bummer..I was planning to move to Vic because your laws sound enticing...I think I'll stay where I am.

I finished 2 books people...2 🤗 The first was a biography " On Fathers Day" true story about a guy who drove his three kids into a lake and drowned them to bet back at his wife for leaving him. Been reading a lot of these types of books lately...I'm terribly interested in criminal psychology and what makes people do things like that. Generally though, the perpetrator very rarely gives any reasons for their actions so its really anyones guess. â˜¹ï¸ Second I finished "Merrick" by Ann Rice. Didnt realise it was part of a series which was why it took me half the book to get into🙄 Vampire books or any supernatural/fantasy character books do little for me...I prefer my characters human. Glad I'm done..wont be reading the rest. Tried a new author but she's not for me. Next up.. " The Polygamous Wives Writing Club" 😂 Caught my eye as I was browsing the library. Its diary extracts from LDS women who engaged in polygamy in the churches early years ( not the offshoot RLDS fundie groups of today). Also starting " A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court" just because I've never read it. Doing this one as an audio book as the classics always make me fall asleep. 😆

Unschoolers who think they know it all and their kids are really young. Yeah sure lady..it doesnt really matter if your kid cant read or do math or much of anything but play in the mud when they are 7...you can still get away with being a holier then thou unschooler at that age...but when they are 10 without first grade skills...unschooling won't seem so successful. I hope it does work for you...which is why I follow your blog...cause I'm curious...but I dont need to read 10 posts a day about how forcing a kid to do things they havent chosen to do themselves. i.e schoolwork...is akin to child abuse. Park days for older kids. Its boring for them...well at least for mine. Playgrounds are for little kids...can we please do a meet up with older kids in mind just once please. Crunchy mamas and their crunchy food. 😉 If your kid has a true allergy by all means the group will comply but Im tired of eating nasty gluten free, all natural, sugar free and basically free of anything that tastes good snacks. I'm not a picky eater and will eat yuck things out of politeness but when my first reaction is to immediately spit it out...please dont bring it for shared afternoon tea. I'm tired of the mummy health wars and who can bring the healthiest food. I'll just take my kids and our packet of Tim Tams and go sit in the corner...and no sharing...because whenever I share my Tim Tams they disappear in 2 seconds and Im left with all the "healthy stuff" your own kids rejected to snarf down my "junk" food. And stop giving me the evil eye..its afternoon tea..my kids are fed fruit and stuff at other mealtimes. 🙄

I knew you were going to say Canada 😂 When I lived there I never bothered with coats..just ran my freezing self across the carpark...thank goodness I didnt have kids then...I sensibly waited till we moved back to Australia to have kids.. no need to worry about snowsuits in the car...but now have to worry about being burnt by seat buckles 😂

Is that all 😠My library allows 30 holds per card so thats me and three kids equals ...well currently I have over 100 holds 😂. To be fair we start our new school year in January so I'm stocking up the school books for the term...but there is plenty in there ...not meant for kids. lol

Seriously people..its only January 3 and people have already finished books😳 Where do you find the time to read? My kids arent especially young but older kids doesnt have seemed to equal more time around here. I'm on Chapter 4 of my book..3 days to get there. I mostly read at night before bed but reading is like a sleeping pill to me...3 pages in and I'm asleep...doesnt matter the time of day. I took my book to the pool today but I read none of it as I had to keep a proper eye on my non swimmer kids. Plus I cant concentrate with people chatting all around anyway. Tried to read a chapter when I got home and kids were playing...and I fell asleep 2 pages in 😂 I think audio books may be the way to go for me..I can do something else at the same time to keep me awake. I'll be lucky to read one book a month 🙄 and thats after I got all excited because I'm not doing Uni this year and would actualy have time to read something other then textbooks and assigned reading. Plus I started with a boring book...trying to branch out but apparently Vampire novels are not my thing even if they come highly recommended.

Moving Beyond the Page is what we use.

I taught English in South Korea for a while. The only good thing I think we can learn from them is that kids are expected to be kids and their job is to go to school and be students. The kids do not feel any pressure to grow up too fast and therefore they are sweet and innocent for a lot longer then kids in the Western world typically are. However there are way to many cons to ever consider this type of system as a good one. Its discouraging to ask kids what they like to do outside of school and have every single one reply sleep or play video games. No one has a unique pastime or hobby or interest...there isnt enough time. And the cheating is out of this world. Its par for the course that every kid cheats and they do it openly as adults and teachers overlook it. I caught kids cheating all the time and the head teachers would be ..so..if they dont get good grades their parents will be shamed ..its basically expected. They may have high scores but does it really count if they wrote all their answers on their arm beforehand? No kid loves learning..its so forced on them they cant see it as fun. They learn what they are made to for the test and thats the end. Once the kids get into Uni the pressure slacks off because "they made it" and its standard for the Uni students to not get good grades...slack in class..miss class...sleep in class. The teachers pass them anyway as ..hey ..they made it.. they dont need to prove themselves anymore. Korean kids are no smarter then Western kids...just better at memorising and being in class 14 hours a day 6 days a week...some stuff does stick better.

Yes...the people reading are experienced and that alone is worth it. We tried Libravox and so many of the readers were beyond awful..I developed a hate list of people I couldnt stand to listen to ....plus hearing ..this is a libravox recording drove me crazy. Love it here.