Well, I do what I can to keep us anonymous, but most people wouldn't think it. ;) I post all sorts of pictures. A lot of my house even, but all addresses, street signs, license plates, other identifying car tags / stickers, house numbers are blocked out. I did just google myself, because everyone always tells me how easy it is to find someone that way. . . not so much. I even plugged in *major* identifiers (last name, location, job, etc.) and still can't find myself. . . :lol: isn't that just the story of my life! The big thing I HAVE done, is talk to my kids about internet security - ad nauseum. Not only do they know what can and cannot be safely discussed online, they are also very aware of "clues" on my blog that should someone ever mention they would know *where* it came from. I think if you were to go to my blog, you could discover some things (i.e. I discuss weather a lot, and I think you could easily determine my time zone. . .) Hate to say it, but it would almost be fun to examine others' blogs to see what you could discover. . .like a "safety detective" for your friends. (NOT as a stalker!)

There are a few things (major things) that you should consider re: planning. Does your state require it? (a couple of states we've lived in did) What curricula you use What are *you* like? (this is a big one, and it just doesn't pertain to you, but your children as well) The 1st is a no brainer, if your state requires it, then you must (unless you can get into an umbrella that doesn't require it). The second. . .Well, like many have said this works great for math, and such subjects. However, some curricula you wind up "piecing together"; in which, having a plan is extraordinarily helpful. The third one. . .This one honestly cracks me up. It still amazes me how many adults can't seem to fathom that other people work differently, and what works for you simply may not for them. My best friend is a "proceed to the next thing" kind of person. It works great for her. Even in history, she takes this approach. Which means she is often open to "bunny trails" that she will frequently take. And that's fantastic! It works for her, and her kids are comfortable with it. The one downside that I see at the end of every year, is when she's preparing for her yearly review, she will start "fretting" about how "little" they did. It's not little. . .it's just more in-depth (like the month long unit they just completed on early aviation). I, on the other hand, am a massive scheduler! (Evidenced on my blog.) There's a couple of reasons for this, the first being that I am a box checker. . .and if there is no box to check then, obviously, there is no work to be done. And, it can't be a "mental check", (like, " I did lesson 16, 'check' and move onto 17"), it has to be a physical check on a piece of paper. (In fact, it's not a "check" at all -- I write down start and end times.) Also, particularly in history, I tend to work it like a unit, and therefore want to have a ready idea of what books I need to use when. It is infuriating when you go to your bookcases and find 3 books that you could have used on WW2 that you didn't even touch because you forgot you had them. . . doesn't happen with a plan. Additionally, I have two teenagers, and two young-uns'. I hand the schedules to my older two and they come to me as they need help. I'm hands on with the little guys until their school day is done. Had I no plan, my older two would happily spend their day watching You-Tube or some such. Oh, and I have a horrible memory, so I couldn't do the mental check thing working on 3 different levels. (Did son 1 finish lesson 31 or 32 in math, and was son 2 on lesson 67 or 68. . . 112?) So, depending on the above questions, and your answers to them, I guess you can determine what, if anything, you may be "missing". HTH,

If you wanted to take a "virtual field trip", I could help you out. Ancient sites around the Mediterranean (Watch the links, as I have them labeled for specific locales.)

Okay, there's a book by a female author and it's terribly ironic as I can never remember the name of either But it's all about the minds of teenagers (not gender specific, necessarily) and the mass suicide that their brain cells do at this age of their life. Supposedly, new connections are made and life goes on (possibly better than before). . . but, I think my brain most have missed that step, as I can never remember the name of this book! Anyway, it's all very scientific, and terribly enlightening, and when I get a chance I will ask my 16 yo ds (who also read it) what it's called. Assuming I remember. . .

I used Easy Grammar for a couple of years, and have done R & S for 5. . . My kids didn't retain anything from Easy Grammar. *I* liked it, and learned a lot from it, but it just didn't work for them.

Just wanted to let you know, my oldest hasn't claimed he was the guinea pig for years now and it's all because they each are. That's right, all 4 of my kids are guinea pigs. (And they can frequently squeal like them too. . . ) The BIG thing is, EACH and EVERY one is so very different. And I've got all boys! I thought it was supposed to be easier than this! So, what I figured out to work with DS1, absolutely-positively, will not work for DS2. That much, I know for certain. DS3 is nothing like DS1 or DS2 and has special issues all his own. DS4 is like a wacky combination of DS1 AND DS2, and I still haven't figured that one out yet. . . I do remain VERY consistent though. Yes, indeedy. I keep switching things around until I find the combination that works for each child. ;) (I generally reach that point about the time AFTER this::willy_nilly::banghead: )

Not voting, as it seems to complicated. . . In a nutshell, I would say it's due to time / experiences shared. (This would easily cover most of the options that you listed.) I have not met a single close-knit family that I could point was due to a single cause -- even a significant single cause. (I may hear them tell me it's true, but I generally see other big reasons at work.)

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

I've done a number of "solo", long-distance driving with kids before. For me: 10 hours of driving is "good". I can push it to 12 hours, but if it's more than a single day's drive, the second day can't be more than 10, if I drove 12 the day before. (The 3rd day, if it's the final day of traveling, can be pushed to 12 again.) My kids are very seasoned travelers, so I rarely have issues from them. We stop about every two hours for breaks, and try to keep it to < 15 min. (In fact, this is when I prefer having the kids in the car as opposed to DH as the man just HAS to get a coffee at every stop, and then HAS to stop about 1.25 hours later. . . ) We do "quickie stops" for lunch (fast food). Then, for dinner, I try to hit a restaurant that has "actual" vegetables. (Potatoes, of any kind, just don't count in my mind.) If I make a long retaurant stop mid-day I run into a couple of problems, the biggest being that I tend to get drowsy. I also find that a restaurant, at the end of the day, helps to get rid of that "buzzy" feeling you get when driving for long periods before having to deal with the kids that evening. Oh, and my kids and I tend to feel very dehydrated at the end of the day, so I make sure to have water on hand (if necessary). (I know some locales have "funny tasting" water. . .so I bring our own.) Oh, but like so many have said, a good stretch of 95 is very. . . "challenging". (B-O-R-I-N-G!) There are a couple of other interstates similarly "exciting"; but thankfully, they aren't on your planned route.

:iagree:

Ummm, I don't. . .but I have a different "complainer" -- and it isn't my kids. I'm kind of at a loss how to deal with it. . .

I would agree with this statement (3rd opinion, I suppose). I believe it provides enough instruction IF you use it across the board. And doing that is very difficult for me, as I don't "naturally" think of writing opportunities. (In fact, unless I have something telling me to write about it, I don't.) Therefore, I have to use something else to *remind* me to assign writing.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

Wow. . . mine learned "drink", "eat" and "please" first, but that might be because he was a non-speaking 2 yo and we needed to get him communicating "necessaries". And, then he took off and learned signs quicker than we, so he started to make up signs for things. . . Thankfully, he started talking.

"Grass is always greener" I get the arguments, but rarely will my eldest tell me anything he's interested in (I have to drag it out of him); and I'd love it if I could get a single hug at the end of the day; but, I'm generally counting those by months. . .

Is this an AF thing??? Cuz, in the Army, it's anywhere Stateside. You would have to pay the difference if you to a different country. This I know as we had to attend a mandatory retirement briefing last Fri.

I think I would have to say: I'm a planner. But, in reality, I'm a box checker. And I suffer from a disability. . . For, if there is no box to check, then (OBVIOUSLY!) there is nothing to be done. :tongue_smilie: Which would explain how some people's "just do the next thing" approach doesn't work for me. :glare: (Because there's no box.) Thus, a planner I am! Oh, but I don't plan by time; tried that and flunked miserably. It was a very sad couple of hours. . .

I just want to say. . . Have you read Why Gender Matters? by Leonard Sax? It was a true eye-opener for me, particular in matter of "art" and boys. Given that all I have are boys, that was kind of a big deal. Boys' art, especially at a younger age, is very. . . "descriptive". Meaning, you have to take the time after they draw to listen to what it is they drew -- because they tend to draw in all action. A single "scribble" could be the complete action of *something* ("cave man beating up a saber-toothed tiger and then,. . ."). I have learned that by taking time, while my children are younger, to "appreciate" their art (by listening to the stories that go with), my children have developed a great appreciation for art in turn. My 16 yo is a fantastic artist, and loves to draw photographic quality pictures. (Not that all my children are artists by any means. . .but they appreciate it now.) That said, like others have mentioned, he's kind of on the young side; especially, as he may be lacking fine-motor skills at this point. Have you tried clay? After all, "sculpture" is an art form. There's something very *energetic* about clay (or playdough) that appeals to boys. (And if you are having a bad day, there's something very theraputic about beating clay to a pulp. . .thus, encouraging you to join in!) What is the exterior of your house? We had a stucco house once when my children were young and using it as a canvas and sidewalk chalk was great fun. (And you can't negate the fun of "erasing" it with a hose on a hot summer day!) Sidewalk art is good too. . . Hmm, the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to advise you to work *big*. Boys tend to (not EVERY boy, of course, but generally) develop fine-motor skills "late". I wouldn't discourage him by pushing art that requires skills he may not have developed yet.

Me too, please! christine.corefoundations@gmail.com I'm still trying to figure out how to do / plan next year.

I have been considering getting DAW next year for DS2. . . DS1 is doing Western Civ this year, but I wanted to beef it up so I purchased HM. Immediately decided I couldn't tolerate the questionaires, but. . . My child's weekly work has him using Western Civ, and then he has topics listed with it (one for explorers, inventions, etc.). Each of those topics has all the names / items listed for that time period from HM. I took the questions, which are standard per each topic, and put them on a sheet (without blanks) and then DS1 has to pick an item from each topic and write a paper on it, using the questions from the questionaire as a guide. Since he's not "filling in the blank" of a questionaire, it's much easier for him to consider pertinent questions and then create a paper from it. Because he does have the questions, it helps deepen his research / thought processes. And I have a spine. (DS1 needed to cover world history one last time and in only 1 year.) Now, DS2 wants his last 4 years to be world history. I'm still not 100% decided how I will do it, but TRISMS is still on my possible list.

I'm a planner / prepper, and it takes me a fair amount of time. If I get the year planned out in advance, then I don't spend as much time as I do if I try to go weekly. (Honestly, I suspect this has something to do with feeling "overwhelmed" in trying to schedule a year's worth; whereas, if I'm just working weekly I tend to think it out more and get more detailed.) I try to do a year at a time, anymore. Prep time (making sure all the copies are done / all materials gathered) is just a time eater. Add grading to that. . .

My husband is retiring (military) in July. He will start nursing school, hopefully, in Aug. (His application packet will be reviewed and we'll know if he's accepted by mid-May.)

A front closet (where you can hang coats and such). Check out the neighborhood -- not just to determine if it's "established", but for KIDS. Don't just look for "kid signs", i.e. basketball hoops and playsets, but come back a couple of times throughout the day and see if you SEE any kids. I would be terribly specific about your kitchen as it's, at least in our home, the "heart". We moved in here saying we would remodel our kitchen VERY 1st THING, and it's now 4 years later and I'm looking at needing to wait to re-do it another 5.

I don't know that this will really apply, but you mentioned RRs. . . Coolies by Yin and Chris Soentpiet is a good one for Asians working on the RR.