Thank you so much everyone!

I DO NOT want to start a debate here, but I need some info, if there are any experts out there. I am doing a delayed..very slow immunization schedule with my kids. Someone was asking about it and wondered if I have any good articles to read about the possible issues with immunizations. I know there is a lot of mumbo jumbo out there, but does anyone have a link to a good artilce outlining possible risks. Thanks, Laura

I don't have time to read all the posts, so this could be a repeat. But my sister's kids have had this. We finally found the solution: water..either from a bottle, but they would not take a bottle, so she squirted it in with a medicine dropper. just a few tablespoons througout the day when you lay them down to change their diaper did the trick.

A dear friend just found out she is surprise pregnant with #3. They thought they were done, but she is mostly happy (a little shocked and scared). I want to send her something special (she lives out of town). What could I send? Not flowers. Something funny or sentimental. Thanks for any ideas.

I only own about 5 pieces of make up, but my little sister bumped that up to 6 when she introduced me to MAC concealer. It is like a little miracle. I felt funny buying it in a fancy department store, I always get my make up at Walgreens, but when I tried hers I decided to get some! it covers undereye circles and those little sun spots that are popping up in my 30s. gl!

this looks really really good. i so badly want to buy this, but i don't think I can rationalize the $$, knowing i won't do all of it.

My oldest (now in first grade HS) went to Montessori Preschool and all I did at home was teach her to read. Now dd#2 is 4 and doing HS preschool. But I am not really doing much. We are doing OPG and reading time, but I want to do a little bit more fun stuff. Anyone have any ideas or even better some websites or blogs with lots of ideas for this? An example would be that one of my friends told me today that her son's PS teacher would draw some fruits in a pattern and he would have to complete the pattern with a stamp or paint or something. Thanks!

I want to paint the trim and shutters on my house this fall. Any recs on good quality exterior house paint. I have painted inside, but not out, so I am clueless. Any tips for general success either?

I have assembled a group of homeschoolers ages 4-12 to go to a nursing home to hopefully minister to the residents. I say hopefully because while I think this is so important, I am so out of my element here and don't know what to do once we get there! Has anyone organized one of these? Any advice?

Maybe it won't take as long as I think. I know I have a couple more things than last year and it just looked like a lot.

I have panic attacks at each new stage of hsing. I am sure I will adjust to this too, but I am looking over my curriculum with a mix of excitement and panic. DD learned to read early in her K year, so all we did for K last year was math and handwriting and Bible story in the AM (one hour after breakfast). Then reading her first, then me aloud for an hour after lunch. This reading included SOTW I and some of the supplemental books and narrations that go with that. I am thinking that next year (any day now!) is going to be at least twice as much. Does that seem right? 4-5 hours including reading. Also it seems like a lot of reading. I think that is my main worry. If we read Bible, history, science and the reading she likes everyday, won't that be too much for one little six yo to take in? Help me think this through please.

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120759 here is a link to a thread asking for first grade suggestions. i think it would still apply to 3rd grade because the child would probably just be a bit more independent. i am partial to my suggestions of course! We also loved the Mary Pope Osborne Tales From the Odyssey series. We read them, not the books on tape and it wasn't too too time consuming. But I am sure the tapes would be fine. here it is: We also liked Usbourne Stories from Around the World, 100 Things You Should Know About Ancient Egypt, God's People: Stories from the Old Testament, all the Jim Wise CDs, we liked Greek Myths for Young Children by Marcia Williams better than D'Aulaire's. I bought Aesop's by Milo Winter and dd listens to the tape with a book to follow along over and over. DD liked the African stories like Anansi the SPider, but I wouldn't buy those..library would do. We are Christians and I liked the Jean Marzollo and Brian Wildsmith books so much that I bought several of those. They cover stories like Moses, Ruth, Joseph etc.

thank you so much!

Just to clarify, are you only reading one section of a chapter? A whole chapter would be too much, but I don't think that is what you are saying. My 5-6 yo loved it last year. We did the maps, but not all the activites. Can he narrate it back or answer questions about it? If he can, I would give it some time. Maybe history isn't going to be his thing, but the curriculum is so good. It did take us 15 months to do SOTW 1 though!

bump. there have to be more people who have gone through this!

this is what i do too and sometimes they illustrate after i type and they LOVE to look back over it. it is almost no work and so great to have.

would you mind putting an asterix by the ones that would be ok for a six year old..or that there wouldn't be any need for a blanket over the head?

We also loved the Mary Pope Osborne Tales From the Odyssey series. We read them, not the books on tape and it wasn't too too time consuming. But I am sure the tapes would be fine. We also liked Usbourne Stories from Around the World, 100 Things You Should Know About Ancient Egypt, God's People: Stories from the Old Testament, all the Jim Wise CDs, we liked Greek Myths for Young Children by Marcia Williams better than D'Aulaire's. I bought Aesop's by Milo Winter and dd listens to the tape with a book to follow along over and over. DD liked the African stories like Anansi the SPider, but I wouldn't buy those..library would do. We are Christians and I liked the Jean Marzollo and Brian Wildsmith books so much that I bought several of those. They cover stories like Moses, Ruth, Joseph etc. Just a word of caution. I did this with a six year old lat year and she is a good reader and doesn't get easily upset, but I still think some of the recs that other people gave you were too advanced for a first grader. You may want to look at some from the library first, before buying.

For those of you have have done SOTW 2, can you tell me your absolute "do not miss" supplemental book suggestions. I have the AG and with SOTW I, I ordered almost everything from the library. But keeping up with it all was too overwhelming and my schedule is going to be a bit tighter this year. I found some lists, on these boards and blogs of people listing tons and tons of ideas, and sometimes that is great, but I would really like to hear from you pros what your favorite ones are. Thanks so much. PS: also which topics from that time era you focused on the most.

I am considering this for first grade. Anyone have any experience with it? I have FLL, but I found myself trying to make worksheets to go with it, to re-enforce concepts. But then I thought, "why am I doing this..I could just buy a curriculum to supplement." I was also considering Spelling Workout A and B, but the Abeka looks more manageable. TIA

I am thinking that unfortunately, math is SO individual. I did Abeka first and it ended up being all wrong for my dd. I thought it would be perfect, but it moved too fast and didn't explain things in a way that she understood them. I didn't want to spend the $$ on MUS and thought the blocks and video would be a hassle, but at a friend's suggestion I tried it and we haven't had a bad math day since. We love the blocks and explanations in the video. It is a huge Godsend for us, but something else may be a huge Godsend for you. It is very hard to tell until you try something.

Thanks, I just read something else by Bill Bryson and thought it was only ok.

I had one after dd #1 and it was very very painful. They finally gave me a prescription steroid cream and it went down almost immediatly. It would flare up once in awhile for a year or so, but now I haven't had any problems for a long time. Have you tried the over the counter stuff? PS for a laugh, the prescription had a picture of a butt with an arrow on it, DH and I laughed at that often when we saw it in the medicine cabinet.

DH and I are looking for a couple books on tape for a car trip. We don't want anything too heavy. We like funny and eclectic essayists like David Sedaris and Ben Stein. Maybe some good fiction like Chaim Potok or Reynolds Price.

dd was given one of those books where you push the buttons and it reads and sings. has anyone ever bought the replacement batteries for those? i think it said it needs 3 1.5V batteries.