Totally not crazy! Do it. It is so hard to write when you are constantly interrupted. There are a hundred things interrupting them when you are a mom at home, phone calls, texts, oven timers, kids needing just one thing, kids needing just one more thing, dogs barking, mailmen knocking, dishes.... Do it for your fans. :)

Outdoor play. Cooking. Gardening. Visits to nature centers and science museums. Really, that's all you need in first grade. ETA: I have read about 20 autobiographies of scientists. All but one spent a great number of pages writing about the vast amounts of time they were allowed to mess around in nature as children.

Here are a few we've enjoyed. Wild Season Allan W. Eckert (narrative on the food chain) Summer World by Bernd Heinrich Winter World by Bernd Heinrich Trees in My Forest by Bernd Heinrich The Frog Book by Mary K. Dickerson Moths and Butterflies by Mary K. Dickerson (vintage) Adventures in Nature by Edwin Way Teale (mostly insects) According to Season by Mrs. William Starr Dana (wildflowers, vintage) Life in the Soil by James B. Nardi Nature Discoveries with a Hand Lens by Richard Headstrom (vintage) Adventures with Freshwater Animals by Richard Headstrom Discovering Amphibians by John Himmelman Discovering Moths by John Himmelman The Living Year by Richard Headstrom Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W. Tallamy (plants and insects) Swampwalker’s Journal by David M. Carroll The Year of the Turtle by David M. Carroll Following the Water by David M. Carroll The Edge of the Sea Rachel Carson Noah’s Garden by Sara Stein (native plants) Planting Noah’s Garden by Sara Stein (native plants) Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer (moss) Broadsides from Other Orders by Sue Hubbell (insect) Waiting for Aphrodite by Sue Hubbell (invertebrate sea life) Chasing Monarchs Robert Michael Pyle The Thunder Tree Robert Michael Pyle (butterflies and childhood) Walking the High Ridge Robert Michael Pyle (butterflies) Suburban Safai by Hannah Holmes The Life of an Oak by Glenn Keator Near Horizons Edwin Way Teale (insects) Life Cycles of Butterflies by Burris and Richards Whisper in the Pines by Joanna Burger (pine barrens ecology) * A Guide to Night Sounds CD by Lang Elliot

I really like John Muir Law's book on Nature Journaling and Illustrating Nature by Irene Brady. http://www.amazon.com/Laws-Guide-Nature-Drawing-Journaling/dp/1597143154/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458827680&sr=8-2&keywords=nature+journaling http://www.amazon.com/Illustrating-Nature-Right-Brain-Left-Brain-World/dp/0915965089/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1458827925&sr=8-22&keywords=nature+journaling

After organizing my high school reunion and being the person in charge of reservations and payment, I will a) never do that again and b) advise my replacement that NO ONE gets on the list until you have a check in hand. I am not kidding, at one point ten days in advance of the event (they had seven months notice) I had 50 people waffling. Plus or minus 50 (or more because of spouses) was not a number our caterers could handle! I should have expected this though, it was kind of a hippy dippy, do your own thing, toking smoking, groovy school though... too many free spirits to be counted, man.

Not a dog expert, but avoid anything from China. Bully sticks smell terrible. With good reason considering what they are made out of, the primary distinguishing feature of a bull. Google for a more graphic description.

Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook http://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Handbook-Mary-Oliver/dp/0156724006/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458331748&sr=1-1&keywords=mary+oliver+a+poetry+handbook Mary Oliver's Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Dance-Handbook-Writing-Metrical/dp/039585086X/ref=pd_bxgy_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1KW5RAGQMZ9FWNGKJJJC

Overall it was a good experience (he would say it was 100% positive) , but there was one very problematic con for the rest of us. Pros first: I could run out of the house for errands or personal time without dragging the kids with me. Very transforming for my spirits. Major savings on gas, tolls, and wear and tear to the car as well as wardrobe costs (old tattered sweatpants everyday, yay!) We could ask him spur of the moment math questions rather than waiting for him to get home. He started doing more of the quick household chores (taking out the garbage, walking the dog, etc.) when he needed a break from the computer. He could drive kids to their activities now and again so it wasn't all on me. He had more time just hanging out while the kids were home. Cons: My husband didn't really understand the ebb and flow of homeschooling. We have one very difficult child and every time this kid would start to carry on (as he would multiple times per day), my husband would come out of his study to correct him because the noise was disturbing to his work. At first, I though this was helpful, but then I realized it was creating a negative view of the effectiveness in homeschooling in my husband's mind. Among many, many other things, I think my husband's working from home and inability to put bad behavior into perspective led to us having to abandon homeschooling and send the children to school. If it had only been my daughter at home, this would not have happened as she is very agreeable. Of course, the spirited child is doing the same things at school with pretty disastrous results for his grades, whereas at home I could accommodate him better to make sure he had plenty of breaks before restarting him and keeping him on track for learning.

Not a female protagonist, but a wilderness survival. Lost on a Mountain in Maine by Don Fendler http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Mountain-Maine-Donn-Fendler/dp/068811573X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458133422&sr=8-1&keywords=don+fendler+lost+on+a+mountain+in+maine Also: Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Mountains-Newbery-Library-Puffin/dp/0140363351/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458134106&sr=1-1&keywords=daughter+of+the+mountains

We aren't homeschooling any more, and I had considered pruning my large collection of living books (history and science) but I am glad I have not. More than once, I felt the schools were doing a uninspiring job of teaching a particular topic and I have been able to turn to my bookshelves and immediately put hands on a lively book on the subject to supplement whatever textbook lesson my kids had been bored by that day. In fact, just this week, my son came home from school with a poor grade on a history quiz on the topic of the War of 1812. I knew he hadn't put in much of an effort and there were no retakes. Without a moment's hesitation, I turned around, pulled The War that Nobody Won off the shelf, and instructed him to try to reignite his interest by reading it and coming back to me to narrate what he had learned. I am pretty sure, since it was 7 pm that I would not have made a point of going to the library the next day to get him a book on the War of 1812. There is something to be said about the convenience of having exactly the recommended titles in your possession and without due dates. My bookshelves still contain numerous living books on key events in history and important science topics. I amassed them over years of homeschooling from the lists in the WTM and from people's recommendations on this forum. I am glad I purchased them and that I didn't give in to the decluttering bug once we stopped homeschooling. Both the public school my daughter goes to and the private school my son goes to routinely fail to include whole books in their curriculum, relying heavily on textbooks and articles. Without my personal library (or the public library) my kids could easily go through school reading no more than 6 books a year! As opposed to when we were homeschooling when they would have read at least 6 books per week! Because a living book collection is expensive compared to using the library, research your choices thoroughly through online book lists, Susan Wise Bauer's lists, comments here on WTM, and by using the look inside feature on Amazon or previewing it at the bookstore before buying. Aim to purchase the "best" book for each topic (especially in history, there being so many important events to cover) rather than say, twenty books on ancient Egypt. Your personal library is not meant to replace the public library. It is a little treasure trove in your home.

$5.00 a dozen with organic feed.

Are there any writing exercises that have as a part of the program a gradual increase in output designed to increase a student's writing stamina over time? Starting perhaps with getting as much information in one sentence as possible and then with practice to expand that packed sentence into a paragraph or more? Thanks.

Do not get daylight. They have a very objectionable blue tint to the light, reminiscent of a scary outdoor motel walkway or something >shiver<. We bough soft white and they are much nicer, more like incandescent. I don't have a recommendation as to brand, though one of the ten has burned out after only 2 months of use, we were expecting years...

Glad you popped in to say hi. Hope everything is going well in your home.

Your kids are learning in exactly the way they should! Even preschools and elementary schools are adopting the loose parts theory of play. That kids need to manipulate their environment to learn. My friend allowed her boys to dig a four foot deep, eight foot long, five foot wide pit in their backyard and assemble poles over it like a teepee and this kept them occupied, literally, for years. Now that they are grown, the pit remains and she gets nostalgic looking at it. Of course, you don't want them to destroy other people's property, your valuable things, or to pull up living plants, etc. so there have to be limits, but with enough other stuff to do, they should be good. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/when-one-new-zealand-school-tossed-its-playground-rules-and-let-students-risk-injury-the-results-surprised http://www.childcarequarterly.com/pdf/winter14_parts.pdf

We barter eggs from our hens with the seamstress next door in return for all the mending I mean to do but never get to...

There are colleges specifically for kids with LDs (one reason you might want to have the documentation in place) and colleges with specific programs for kids with LDs. Here is a very quickly googled link. You could probably search this out at colleges in your region. http://blog.prepscholar.com/the-18-best-colleges-for-students-with-learning-disabilities

Oh this is so exciting! I love insects more than... well, anything. I second the bess beetles, one of my favorite teaching animals. In our region right now, promethea moth coccons are highly visible in the winter landscape hanging from the end of twigs. If you build an outdoor cocoonery (also protects them from squirrel predation), you could collect some from areas where collecting is allowed and watch them eclose around April or May depending on your location. If they are females numerous local males will be attrated by their scent. We've had thirteen males come by on eclosion day. We then release them to continue the species. I know your daughter has been improving your property to make it a better habitat for herps. Along the same lines, Dr. Douglas W. Tallamy (who is at the University of Delaware), author of Bringing Nature Home, offers an guide to improving your property for insects. http://www.amazon.com/Bringing-Nature-Home-Wildlife-Expanded/dp/0881929921/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453822426&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=Douglas+Tollamy Other living books: Anything by Robert Michael Pyle (lepidopterist) Walking the High Ridge, Chasing Monarchs, Handbook for Butterfly Watchers, Sky Time in Gray's River) A Buzz in the Meadow and A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson (entomologist or ecologist) E.O. Wilson Ants Tracks and Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates by Eiseman and Charney (Stackpole Books) Summer World, Winter World, Bumblebee Economics by Bernd Heinrich Adventures with Insects by Richard Headstrom Crickets and Katydids, Concerts and Solos by Vincent G. Dethier The Life Cycles for Butterflies by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards (mostly for the photos) Discovering Moths by John Himmelman Anything by Gilbert Waldbauer (Insects through the Seasons, What Good are Bugs) Life in the Soil by James B. Nardi Lang Elliot's CDs of Insect Sounds Moths and Butterflies Mary C. Dickerson (vintage) Garden Insects of North America by Cranshaw The Smaller Minority by Naskrecki For Love of Insects by Eisner Manual for the Study of Insects by Comstock and Herrick (vintage) Caterpillars of Eastern North America by Wagner (best caterpillar ID book out there) Broadsides from Other Orders by Sue Hubbell

Michael Clay Thompson's Caesar's English I and II (you only really need the black and white teacher's book) (a snuggle on the couch type curriculum). http://www.rfwp.com/series/vocabulary-elementary-program-by-michael-clay-thompson#book-caesars-english-1-student-book-enhanced-edition English From the Roots Up Flash Card Set 1 & 2 (the books and the flashcards are pretty much the same.) http://www.amazon.com/English-Roots-Up-Flashcards-Vol/dp/1885942133/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453733764&sr=8-1&keywords=English+from+the+roots+up+vol+1+flashcards Vocabulary from Classical Roots series (workbook type curriculum) http://www.amazon.com/Vocabulary-Classical-Roots-Nancy-Flowers/dp/0838822525/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453733822&sr=8-1&keywords=Vocabulary+from+classical+roots

I think you should claim "rattleshakes" the unintended misspelling in the title of this thread as a new word you just coined. It could mean something like "the tremors one getswalking through a field of rattlesnakes". As in, "With a brushy yard like this, I get the rattleshakes every time I think of stepping over a fallen log." By the way, I love snakes. But I love novel words more.

My kids like Bionaturae organic whole wheat fusilli and spaghetti. It is available in the natural foods section of our regular grocery store. http://www.amazon.com/bionaturae-Organic-Whole-Fusilli-16-Ounce/dp/B001EO76XK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1453586934&sr=8-8&keywords=bionaturae

I am right there with you, wondering what to do next and not wanting to commit to work/volunteering that is not exactly right. Just a suggestion, but since you have a degree and are an autodidact who enjoys teaching, check out museum education. You could delve deeply into the area of learning that most fascinates you (science, nature, art, history, etc.) and share your passion with others without the trappings of a school environment. These are not super high paying jobs (would be comparable to substitute teaching) but they include intellectual stimulation as part of the package. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_Florida

I despise the inventors and purveyors of in game purchases. They are designed specifically to prey upon children and teens. Also purchasing advantages in the game seems to invalidate the point of it being a game. Effort and skill to make progress, people? After an incident when I forgot to remove my credit card information after purchasing a game app for my then 8 year old resulting in her buying upward of $700 in gems in one night!!!! (thank you app store for deleting that unauthorized purchase), I realized that small children truly are not equipped to stand up to the enticements of these type of purchases. They have a hard time weighing short term game advancement against the not immediate "fun" of going to the store and buying a toy of equal cost that would give them years of play. So now I make sure my credit card information is deleted after each authorized purchase, and have ground rules for their money in that it must be saved, given to the cat shelter (our favorite charity), or used to buy PHYSICAL items such as books, toys, clothes, food, or clothes. All apps, games, and in game purchases are "gifts" from me and must go through my approval.

The independent feed store I live near sells some seeds in bulk bins including grass and clover. So you just scoop out what you want into a plastic bag.

Pond and Brook by Michael J. Caduto (what we call ponds here in New England are often lake sized) http://www.amazon.com/Pond-Brook-Nature-Freshwater-Environments/dp/0874515092/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=