My 8yo second grader likes Beverly Cleary's Henry and Ribsy books, and the Ralph S. Mouse books. He also likes Magic Treehouse, Time Warp Trio, and Ready Freddy. I think he'd enjoy Carolyn Haywood's books as well, especially about Eddie. He just started this book (Survivors series, by Erin Hunter), because Big Sister is reading one from the cat series, and he wanted the dog one. I have my doubts about whether he'll get through it or not, though, but I'm not discouraging him. http://www.amazon.com/Survivors-1-The-Empty-City/dp/0062102567/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363923778&sr=8-1&keywords=erin+hunter This is the other book he's reading; the librarian said 4th-5th grade level, and it was a stretch for him in the beginning, but now it's not so much of a stretch. Plenty of adventure in it for him, and lots of historical detail. http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Wartime-Will-Battle-Gettysburg/dp/0525421459/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363923956&sr=1-2&keywords=boys+of+wartime He liked the Burgess books a lot a few years ago; I'll have to see if he likes reading them to himself now. And thanks to the person who reminded me of the Childhood of Famous Americans books -- DD liked them, and I'd forgotten them until now.

Our sixth grader will do Latin and possibly a modern language as well. She'll also do Logic (Art of Argument, probably). She'll continue working through our typing program, and then she'll practice by doing computer work. She'll also have something that counts as health/safety, and something that counts as fire safety, both required by our state. Oh, and something related to state history, another required subject. We're going to try Mr. Q's Chemistry next year with our third and sixth graders; it looks like the subject matter is pretty meaty, even if the follow-up materials might be a little easy.

If you're Christian, or don't mind a Christian focus, you might look into Contenders for the Faith and the companion Little Contenders (for ages 4-7). They have a lot of life skills and practical things in them, with breakdowns of what steps one might take in working toward competency in each skill.

Also, our therapist said that earlier is better than later for getting kids into therapy. I didn't start DS1 until he was 7, because I wasn't sure what he'd outgrow and what he wouldn't, and he's pretty quiet anyway, but he's done amazingly well in a year. People could understand him just fine, but it just became apparent that he wasn't outgrowing some childish mispronunciations. Otoh, DS2 was harder to understand, and he's made a lot of progress very quickly (but is highly motivated because he loves having homework to do, LOL), so I can see why earlier is better.

I asked our speech therapist about a 4yo, because she was doing so well working with DS1 that I wanted to see if DS2, who had just turned 4, should start seeing her as well. She said by 4, a child should be 75% intelligible to a non-family member. (In DS2's case, it's a phonological issue, not a physical one like it is with DS1 -- DS2 makes all the correct sounds but needs some help to make his brain put them in the right place. But DS1 wasn't saying some sounds correctly and needed help to train his tongue to make them. They did check DS1's hearing first to make sure it was okay, and that's a good plan.) We went through our health insurance/family doctor and tried the facility they recommended. We happen to adore the speech therapist there and are really happy with her, but our other choice would have been the public school. I've heard that Easter Seals may help as well. I know our therapist does do school screenings, so it's possible the child's school might have someone to come in and do screenings.

I love the idea of the schedules, especially your names for them -- how adorable! But also, giving them names puts them on the same footing in terms of importance -- you're not goofing off; you're taking a planned light day. After you move, may I suggest building up slowly? One or two subjects a day, adding a few more every few days or every week or so, until you're at full workload? I did this at the beginning of the school year, as well as after Christmas vacation, and it really helped a lot with cementing the new routine.

Yes, as Lori said, the initial report from CHAP makes it sound a lot worse than it is. I still think it's a bit worrisome, but it could be worse. "What fresh hell they're springing on us" -- LOL! Every time I hear about any new legislation in PA, I want to know just how they think they're going to pay for its implementation.

I saw something about it from CHAP today; the bill seems to indicate that all homeschooled children will be reported to the county, so that the county will conduct a risk assessment. I want to know what would constitute such a risk assessment, and I also want to know how they think they're going to pay for it. I am concerned but waiting to see what develops.

That's how my son does it as well, and Singapore is a good fit for him. I did teach him the traditional way of regrouping (and we won't talk about the complicated way that I taught it to DD, but it's what made it click in her head), turning that 6 into 16, because I said that he might need it when he gets to larger numbers that might be hard to keep straight in his head, but for now, this way makes sense to him, and he gets the problems correct. He's just started 2B, and for the problem that someone mentioned above, 205-147, he goes "200-147 is 53, plus the 5 from 205 makes 58." I'm not overly concerned about what strategy he uses, and for the OP, I would suggest using c-rods or coins (pennies, dimes, and dollars), or even toothpicks in bundles and have her DD move the items around on a place value chart to add and subtract.

Wow, I'm sorry they do that to you -- how rude! I always apologize for taking out so many/bringing so many back, and our librarians say, "No, we're glad you do, because it's job security for us." I like to imagine them taking the numbers to legislators and saying "this is how many books people took out this past year," so if I can do anything to help that, especially for children's books, so much the better!

I could definitely appreciate limits on hot topics. The bigger library system has probably 90% of the supplemental books that SOTW lists, and I can always tell when other families must be doing the same topic at the same time, because the copies will all be out. At the same time, *I* wouldn't want to be limited to two books per topic, LOL!

Limits! Hahahahahahaha! Well, one library has a limit of 100 per card. We did reach that once, but we have several cards. That library system has a bigger selection but fines are thirty cents a day for books and two dollars a day for DVDs. Two week checkout, one week for DVDs, and you can usually renew three times if there are no holds. The other library system is smaller in size and selection, but we have routinely had over 100 out on a card (and we have five cards for that library, because they are awesome and let our 4yo get his very own card), and they never even blink. They say, "Hurray, we love homeschoolers, good for you!". Fines are only five, maybe ten, cents, for books, DVDs, anything, and they will let you renew a lot of times. 25 book limit per family would be awfully depressing!

Also, in the "viruses are weird" category, I think each of my kids (three of them, at least) had a day this winter, all about a week or so apart, where they felt lousy for a day -- low-grade fever, generally feeling crummy. No vomiting or diarrhea, no cold/cough/sniffles, just feeling lousy. And that was it. We've had stomach bugs where some of us vomited, and some of us had diarrhea. Viruses are definitely odd.

My 20-month-old ran a slight fever all day Saturday, and he threw up once. Sunday, he was fine. My oldest son tends to feel lousy for a day when he has any kind of virus, stomach or otherwise, and he sleeps pretty much straight for about 24 hours. The next day, he's 95% normal (maybe a bit sniffly). It's just the way his body works. Last spring, several of us got a stomach virus. I think I threw up once, though I felt weak for a few days. My big kids threw up a few times in a couple of days. My then-baby threw up a couple of times in a couple of days, and then he continued to throw up about once a day for a week or so (thankfully, he was exclusively breastfed at that point, so it wasn't too gross, and dehydration wasn't a concern). Everyone processes viruses differently.

I use these and like them a lot: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10008430&N=&Ns=p_sort_default%7C0&Ntt=plastic+basket They stack nicely, so each older child has a stack, plus there's a stack for group subjects, and a box for the 4yo (doesn't want to be left out, ever). I put their daily work in the boxes, one per subject, and it really does make it easy for them to see what they need to do each day.

I didn't read all of the follow-up posts, but a couple of things jumped out at me. With an erratic schedule, I would try to plan to do school on the days he's working long hours, and I'd take off/do lighter schoolwork on his days off. Trips or projects or enrichment activities for the days he's off? If he's off often enough that you really can't skip the bookwork on those days, I would lay this out for your DH and see what he suggests. Perhaps he would be happy to sleep in a bit, or he could do breakfast with everyone and then head to a library or coffee shop for a couple of hours? Or just hole up in the bedroom? Or he could do a concentrated activity/book/project with one or two of the kids, while you work with the others? If he is working at home, I think some discipline for everyone is probably in order, and it would help if it comes from your DH. Maybe he can say, "Okay, we've had breakfast, and now Daddy is going in the bedroom to do his work, and you will stay here with Mom and do yours. I'll see you in two hours, and then if you've completed your work, I'll have time to play in the afternoon." And then he needs to disappear and try to keep from reappearing for a while. At least, this is what DH and I would set up if he were working at home a lot. (If he was just off a lot, but not actually working at home, I'd have him do some subjects or play with the little boys while I worked with the big kids.) As for getting things started, I would spend a couple of weeks drilling the routine. At my house, as soon as breakfast is finished, my kids clear their dishes, brush their teeth/wash their faces, and start their reading, which is laid out in workboxes for them. The 4yo does this, but instead of reading, his job is to find an activity to do, whether it's playing with toys or doing an early learning activity (I put these in his workbox); he's not to interrupt the big kids. Reading is a good way to ease into the school day, for us, and it lets the big kids accomplish something independently while I do the dishes/switch the laundry/vacuum/etc. I tie starting all of this with a prompt and pleasant attitude to use of electronics -- you don't do the work, you don't get the reward.

I know people who have done it, and I can definitely see the appeal. Next year, I will have a 5yo (may or may not be a kindergartener), a 2yo, and an infant; it's definitely going to be hectic around here. I can't afford preschool, and I live too far away from anywhere to make it feasible, but I do understand why people do it, and for some people, it might make sense.

To some degree, I think that part of that is normal. I had an adorable little "peanut gallery" in my history class last fall, consisting of several 9-10yos. Honestly, I played to them. They were interested and engaged in the material, and I totally ran with it -- I pointed out the gross things and everything. I knew that I had two choices with these bright, curious kids: either gear things toward them and channel their energy and comments in productive ways, or lose them completely (and have them disrupt class). In all fairness, my own child was part of that group, and I was teaching at her request, so I did gear things toward them. When channeled properly, that little group was GREAT! They groaned and cheered appropriately, asked questions, etc. I loved it! I think in your case, I would have asked the kid why he thought Jesus wouldn't have had abs, asked him how he came up with his fable, etc. He certainly sounds creative! Some of that sounds like a bit much, though. I could see some of the kids in my class asking about Jesus's abs, but this kid does sound like he's a bit more than that. I really think I would discuss it with his parent(s). Sometimes there's only so much channeling you, as the teacher, can do, and the parent needs to lay down the law and insist that the child not be rude, disrespectful, or disruptive. I think I would share with the parent(s) how creative the child is but state that he's requiring too a disproportionate amount of attention from the adults, and also that you're concerned about the negative outlook.

I'm sorry. It is so unfair. It's not much to say thanks for the sacrifice you and your family make for the rest of us, but thank you, anyway. (((HUGS)))

My minivan isn't one of the ones on your list, but I currently have the two older kids in the third row and the two small boys in the middle row. Obviously we will be moving things around a bit to accommodate an infant seat this summer, so we'll probably move the 4yo to the middle of the third row. We've done that when we've needed space in the middle row for another adult. The one thing that is tricky for us is that the middle of the third row only has a lap belt, no shoulder belt, so it can only hold a carseat with a harness. Have you looked into replacing the engine in your current van? We are in the middle (as in, it's in the shop, and we're waiting for the call that it's done) of doing that in DH's commuting vehicle. Then we're going to do a big repair job on our van (new head gasket). In both cases, the repair was far less than replacement cost of the vehicle.

I tell my kids to find a mommy with kids, but that if they can't find one of those, look for someone who is working. So we look around the grocery store and point out the cashiers with their hats and nametags. Sure, a kid could be abducted by a non-employee who happens to have a nametag, but I think that's pretty rare (what are the odds that a kid has wandered away from Mom AND encounters a kidnapper?); most of the time, if a kid is lost, finding a cashier or someone with a nametag is going to be a pretty safe bet. When we took our 2yo to Disney, we pinned a cell number to the inside of her pocket. I obviously didn't expect that she would remember our number, but she was pretty articulate, and I thought she'd at least be able to tell someone the number was in her pocket. Thankfully, we never had to test that theory. I tell my kids that if anyone ever tries to snatch them, they have my full permission to hit, bite, kick, scream, whatever they need to do, but they will not get in trouble for fighting in that case. I don't think the video linked to above is very believable, personally. My kids would be kicking and shrieking a lot more, I think. I've told them to yell, "This is not my mom/dad," but I think they'd also be yelling something like, "He's trying to take me." I keep my keys in my hand, especially if I'm out by myself at night, and even in the daytime, I'm always scanning the surrounding area. I'd have no problem asking a store employee to escort me to my car if I was worried about anything. (I'm a very small woman. I detest going out at night. I live in an area with a very, very low crime rate, and I'm still slightly paranoid about going out by myself at night.)

I have one-layer napkins made of quilting cotton, and they're perfectly nice. I have some thicker one-layer napkins that are a little bigger and a little more serviceable since they're thicker, but the thinner ones work just fine. If you have the cotton already, I vote for using it. Mine are a lighter colored print, so I tend not to grab them (I grab the thicker ones, which are navy blue) for things like spaghetti sauce, but otoh, they look a little more formal for fancier meals.

I've never heard of those first two either -- great, thank you! I had forgotten about Herriot also; she loved the children's version of those stories, so I could probably try her on ATBaB and see how it goes. I have to confess that we tried Just So Stories a few years ago, and it was not a hit. Are there other Kipling works you'd recommend trying instead? Also, the same with Emily Dickinson -- anything in particular we should try?

Aww, it sounds lovely! I love tear-jerker books myself. Unfortunately, while I have access to three county library systems, NONE of them have it! However, it looks like a few other libraries in my state have it, and my main library is pretty good about doing inter-library loans, so hopefully I should be able to get it. :) Thanks for the suggestion!

I love this idea!