If your daughter just needs help with instructions, maybe you can schedule a couple of meetings during the day (great to do while breastfeeding) to go over what she has to do and field any questions. That way, she can work more independently. I saw in MOTH a good suggestion to schedule times throughout the day where one child watches the littles and plays with them. This way you could have some great one-on-one time with another child. I have found that my oldest needs it to be really quiet for math and phonics so I have arranged that. If things are going well when there isn't a newborn,I think you are fine! We have smooth periods and rough periods and I don't have a newborn! Some really rough days, I will just do seatwork or just do read alouds. When you know you will have a huge schedule problem (like when you have a baby), maybe that is a good time to listen to audiobooks and/our do some video or online classes just to give you a break. I will pray for you! This is normal when you have a baby! Schooling is a way of life and not a race. Different seasons in life are different. We school year round so when we hit those seasons (like when I was suck for a few months last fall) I don't feel too bad!

I had to laugh about this. We had a huge room at our old house that was filled with my MIL's stuff. When we moved, I refused to take any of it. She came over and her husband wouldn't let her take it home so it all went to charity or the trash. We had it for 12 years for NOTHING. I was so upset, but glad that we didn't have to take it with us.

72% of my property taxes go to the public schools in WV. So, that is about $2000 a year. I don't actually mind paying that since I CHOOSE to homeschool. That said, I do wish that my kids could do some things at the PS such as sports or art class or whatever, but they are not allowed to do anything unless they enroll full-time. Our schools are pretty bad here. The average student at the elementary school tests at 37% yet homeschoolers are required to hit 50% in each subject or else the state can give you a hard time. I was given a lot of grief by the state this year when I declared. They kept sending me letters saying, "If you have already enrolled your child in public school, please disregard this letter..." I think they get a lot of funding from the state and/or federal governments. I have a lot of teacher friends and have never heard anyone say that they like the way the schools are run. The money is spent poorly and teachers are not given any leeway here to teach kids except to teach to the test. I think the schools are failing here. Kids are not taught to think at all. You cannot even really have a discussion with them. It is scary, especially when gifted high school child cannot do anything but parrot back facts you have given him. I think the system is failing and needs to be fixed. I think we should get to do some things at school since we pay a lot for them. I think a lot of money is wasted. I think that decisions are made really high up by people who don't work in schools. I think there is a lot of pressure to enroll kids. I think it is mostly about cold hard cash. I would love to have a tax break for curricula. BUT, I also don't think that most people have any other options than public school. Even though they are very much less than ideal, they at least give the kids a chance at becoming educated. Whether or not they take the opportunity is really up to them. So, I guess I don't mind paying into the system even though I choose not to take part in it. I also pay for prisons, a Congress that does nothing, wars I don't like, etc.

I just wanted to let you guys know that all audible.com items are 25% off until Monday at midnight! The Smartpass Shakespeare are actually only $12.15 so it isn't worth using a credit.

Thanks so much for your replies. I am definitely not a neat freak. I just want to keep the house in a condition where people can come over without a two day notice! Honestly, I agree with the room or closet, but that is already in effect in our house. Our master bedroom, an extra room, the garage, and all the closets are completely full. There is literally a path in my master bedroom to get to the bathroom. I basically just want to be able to keep the main living areas clutter free (kitchen, living room, and school room). I have watched the hoarder shows and it just makes me depressed! I don't really think he is a full on hoarder. I do think he does form unnatural bonds to objects though. I see the same thing in my son (but much worse). He literally falls apart if I throw away a wrapper or a band aid (not all the time, but sometimes). It really scares me. Is counseling a good option for a 6 year old or is this something I can work on myself? I have to say it scares me.

My husband is a huge packrat. He has so much stuff and it is everywhere. I will clean off the kitchen counter and within 24 hours it is covered in stuff. I honestly don't even know where it comes from! I just started getting a cleaning lady to help me since I have started working part time. I told my husband two weeks ago that she was coming today and he said he would pick up his stuff. He picked up some, but there was no way she could clean today. So, I cleaned it. I threw away trash and put all of his stuff into a laundry basket for him to deal with when he gets home. Anyway, he is very angry and keeps telling me that I threw away things he needed. I directed him to the laundry basket, but he says all kinds of things are missing. I know that several of those items were not items that I even touched today. One thing I am sure that he took to work several weeks ago and I haven't seen it since. Do any of you deal with this? I am truly at a loss as to how to handle this situation. I love my husband very much and he is a wonderful husband and father. He grew up in a house that was seriously cluttered (his mom might even be a hoarder). I don't think he understands that the house is a mess (although he is always yelling at the kids about their toys). I just don't think he knows that you can live in a house that doesn't have junk everywhere! I am so much calmer in a clean house and I am sure that he will be too! I just need to live in a house that isn't cluttered. I feel like I am losing my mind. Any advice?

I definitely need to do this! First of all, I try to spend 30 minutes every day in prayer/spiritual reading. I do this before my kids wake up so that I can start my day in peaceful silence. This is the main reason that I still have my sanity. Even if you don't pray, you could spend 30 minutes before the kids wake up reading and drinking coffee. A couple of times a week, I also take a nice, long bath. I need that time to escape! Sometimes I eat chocolate while in the bath. Chocolate is necessary!!! Maybe you could try to attend a homeschool conference. I have found those to be very refreshing. Also reading homeschool books (mostly CM's books for me) really reminds me WHY I am doing this. You could also listen to talks from a conference. I listen to those on my MP3 player while I clean. I have also been trying to put some time aside each day for my own study. I am currently learning Latin, going through Analytical Grammar, and reading Herdotus' The Histories. I am much less consistent with this, but it feels so good to learn for myself.

Do you have an author for this?

We generally school on snow days (especially since our county has tons of ridiculous snow days). We like to take good weather days. If it is 70 in January, there is no school! We are at the state park! If there is a lot of fluffy snow that the kids want to play in, then I will take a snow day (or at least a partial one).

My son is very interested in American Indians (or Native Americans...whatever you prefer... ). He is even more interested after our recent trip to Jamestown. I am looking for books to read as part of school and for him to look at on his own. I usually let him follow his passions on his own because then he stays interested and really digs into a subject. I would love to have one living book with chapters about different tribes that we could read once or twice a week during Morning Basket. I would also love some biographies of famous American Indians and picture books. Even fiction would be great! Just let me know your favorite Native American books. I searched and couldn't find any previous posts like this, but if you find any I would appreciate you posting those as well! Thanks a lot!

Really?!?!?!? The name of the church is Baptist. I guess this is shocking to me.

My daughter is an October baby. According to the state, she is in pre-K, but starting in October, she was begging to read and to do math so we started K then. I am going to decide when she is older what "grade" she should be in. Right now she just tells people that she is in K which she is.

I have found that most people who don't homeschool respond to the fact that I homeschool by saying, "I couldn't homeschool because..." I feel like they are justifying their educational choice in their own minds more than they are offering up real advice. That said, as far as homeschooling gifted children, I think that the home is the best place for them. My son is almost certainly gifted (although I am not planning on having him tested unless I think there are other issues that might be covered up by his giftedness). It is ideal for him to go at his own pace. He has serious behavior issues if he is too challenged or not challenged enough. I try to keep him always slightly challenged. That isn't as hard as it sounds. Honestly, gifted kids like to take ownership of their education and have a lot of choices as to how they do a project or approach something so that is much easier to do at home. I was gifted and went to PS. Aside from the two years (4th and 5th grades) when I was in an all-gifted class, PS never served my needs. The all gifted class was amazing. We were on individualized programs for every subject. Basically, we were homeschooled by a teacher. :laugh:

My husband has blue eyes. Both of his parents have blue eyes. I have hazel eyes, but my mom has blue eyes. Because of this, my kids had a fifty/fifty chance off having blue eyes. They could either get my dominant gene for non-blue eyes or my recessive gene for blue eyes. My husband only has recessive genes so my genes are what makes the difference. All three of my kids have blue eyes and that was very unexpected! They all have different hair color though! My husband and I both have brown hair, but we have a brunette, a blonde, and a redhead so I would guess that brown hair is not strictly dominant. It must be more complicated than eye color.

I just listened to the first 30 minutes of Twelfth Night. I love the Smart Pass recordings. It is great to listen to it with the commentary and then next time I can listen to it by itself. Thanks for the recommendation!

Have you looked at Homeschool in the Woods Middle Ages? It has a lot of activities. I am not sure about the suggested grade level. I know it is protestant, but you could add some saint stories.

I got the Twelfth Night! Plus I got a huge collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales for my kids for $1.99. I am so excited to drive somewhere. :hurray:

My 6 year old has really liked the following: Stuart Little A Bear Called Paddington Thornton Burgess Books (Reddy Fox, Bobby Coon, etc) Peter Pan Boxcar Children series

Where do you find these?

I think I am going to join Audible.com. I really want to start listening to more books while we drive instead of just having the kids watch movies. So, what are your favorite audiobooks? I am wanting some classics for myself to listen to while I am driving to homeschool conferences by myself and I also want some that the whole family can enjoy! Thanks in advance!

I have lived in nine states all over the country and have only ever heard or said peenk. Now I am going to start asking people. This is freaking me out!

I agree that it is healthy and normal, but I also really think that it needs to not take over your life like it did mine. I was so concerned about finding the perfect path from kindergarten on that I missed a lot if the fun of homeschooling that first year. I read a lot and probably won't stop doing that ever. However, I also don't think I need to spend so much time obsessing that you can no longer see the trees and only see the forest. I also don't believe that there is a perfect system out there. We all just need to do what works for us and our children in each season of life.

When I was first starting out last year with kindergarten, I spent way too much time overthinking things. I was obsessed with picking the perfect philosophy and really obsessed with figuring out my history schedule. It actually got to the point where I wasn't enjoying the homeschooling because I was so worried about the future and not the present. I decided to step back from grandiose plans and settle some pressing needs. My oldest was in k. I knew I need to find the right math program for both him and me. We went through three and settled on right start (which we both love). I also found that ETC phonics really worked for us even though we by no means love it...lol. In January of that year, after doing some unit studies, reading great literature, and basically just getting into a groove, I started to reread some education philosophy again. I went to some homeschool and education conferences as well. I really thought about myself and my children. So, we settled on a classical education (traditional not neo-classical) carried out in a CM manner. I made this decision from state of rest and it is open to change when circumstances change. But as of now, I am enjoying it and my kids are learning a lot (which is the point for me). Since I plan to give my children a classical education, I am actually using these younger years to teach myself. I am learning Latin and reading classic literature. I am actually doing Kolbe 9th grade history and literature. I know that by the time my kids get there, I will have already done these things. That gives me a lot of reassurance. Oh, and as far a the history schedule, I realized that I wasn't going to base my homeschool on history so that is why I couldn't come up with a schedule. History is important to me, but it will not be the core of our homeschool. Right now we are going through US History at or own pace and really enjoying it. I am going to start ancients next year along with the US History continuing. Best of luck, but the best advice I can give you as someone who had been there is relax, pay attention to what works for your kids and yourself, and give yourself some space to think. Good luck!

First of all, I do think Gatto likes to shock people, but I also thinks he does this because people are so reluctant to question the system. Everyone complains about how kids are being dumbed down (and it is obvious), but they still mostly don't question the system. Gatto doesn't blame individuals, especially not teachers. Teachers are being limited more and more by the system. Many I know have become so frustrated that they have retired early or changed professions. It seems to me that there are a few people making a lot of decisions. The quotes he uses here are from one of those people. This its not what Gatto himself came up with. I think we do need to take a hard look at this. Honestly,a few years ago, I would have thought this was insane. However, my local school board put a lot of pressure on me to enroll my child in school. I gelt like I was in a bad dream. I kind of got to see what things are really like and it scared and disturbed me. I also work with kids at church and am appalled by the lack of critical thinking skills the gifted students show. I agree that he is over the top, but I wish we could start a real national dialogue about education and not just about testing and throwing money at the problem. All of that said, the graphics were bizarre and detracted from making the message seem serious. I ask not sure what they were thinking there. I think out would be better if he just had someone speak the words with a black screen!

:bigear: