I'm committed to homeschooling for as long as necessary. That MAY mean "until I have to be committed", but really means that I'd like to homeschool through high school, but am (almost) completely willing to change plans if our situation changes or circumstances warrent different schooling options.

My oldest (now in 7th) used Rainbow Science, which is a 2-year program. The first year covers physics and chemistry. Year 2 covers biology and "general" science. You don't have to do both years, but ds enjoyed it a great deal, and so we kept with it. It is written specifically with middle schoolers/jr. highers in mind - short, to the point reading lessons and labs that are meant to be done mostly independently - some labs request "parental supervision" (like if they are using fire). The program comes with everything needed, including all lab supplies, with the exception of distilled water. It is fairly expensive - I think about $250 for the first year - which includes textbook, lab book and equipment, teacher/parent's guide. There are tests and quizes available to print off online. For us, the cost was completely worth it. www.beginningspublishing.com For spelling we use Spelling Power which is a program designed for all grades - basically graded word lists and studying techniques. This year we are doing a vocabulary program instead. If your daughter is a good speller already, a vocabulary program might be more interesting to her. We use Vocabulary from Classical Roots, which studies words in groups based on Latin and Greek root words. Hope this helps. There are a lot of great programs out there - have fun researching!

Someone says "Stop it!" which is followed by "I mean it!" and then someone adds "Anybody want a peanut?" (from The Princess Bride, of course.)

"I'm practicing moaning" - from When Harry Met Sally "As you wish" - from The Princess Bride "You WILL be assimilated. Resistance is futile." - from one of the Star Trek movies

That's a great one! :lol:

We're camping in the basement for the next couple of nights while we paint most of the main living space (in prep. for putting our house on the market.). I guess that's not so bad; maybe it's everything else going on at the same time. Yard sale tomorrow, driveway contractor coming to start tearing down our driveway, and our city has almost completely run out of gas. And my midwife told me this morning that I need to just relax and rest this weekend, because it seems I'm on the verge of a kidney infection. Ha. I would have laughed at her if I hadn't been so tired. I'm drowning in cranberry juice. On the positive side, we vacuumed 10 years of dust from behind the sofa and we are clearing out many years of collected junk. We also found a cute pair of pj's behind the changing table for my 5yo.

I recently had a dream that there was a giant green Rice Krispie Bar Man standing in my bedroom in a rather threatening manner.

We are getting our house ready to sell and are planning to repaint the LR, hallway, and at least one bedroom a nice, neutral color. We are not sure if we should paint the master bedroom which is a medium/dark green color. It's a nice color and in good condition, and looks nice with the furniture. But, it's not the typical "selling the house" neutral color. Dh would rather keep the green, I don't feel strongly one way or the other. What do you think? I don't know if it matters, but the kitchen (upstairs) is a nice yellow, and the finished basement is a pale blue-grey.

I'm expecting my 6th, and with just 5 (3 schooling) I feel your frustration. What may help you is to determine the bare minimum that you want each child to accomplish, make them get it all done in the morning, or all in the afternoon when everyone else is napping, and then be "happy" with that. On a good day, throw in an "extra" lesson". It may simply require you to sit at the table with your schooling kids with a bowl of popcorn or crackers and sippy cups of water ready on the table and just plow through it. (Can you nurse at the kitchen table?) "Activity boxes" have never been a great success here. Generally, my little ones have "free play time" during school hours, unless they are napping. I keep old math books on hand to give them if they want to do "school", or I just sit them on my lap until they get bored and go off to find something else to do. We've weaned away from this, but it also won't kill your little ones to watch a couple videos in the morning, especially if it means helping to keep your sanity. You are likely sleep deprived and may not be able to escape the constant disruptions until your youngest is 3 or 4yo. I don't mean to discourage you, but to hopefully give you some better expectations. I still struggle with that constantly - I hate interruptions and never seem to be able to get back on track! It's worse if I've had no sleep. If you can pinpoint the main issues that cause disruptions and work on solutions for those, it may help. Maybe it would be a relief just to have some convenience foods for lunches and dinners for a while - Hotpockets and other microwaveable foods might just take a tiny bit of stress off your day. Your family will survive. As for chores, we have "after breakfast" and "after lunch" chores. After dinner or before bed, we often have a "whole family tidy" time, which helps immensely. This doesn't mean our house is clean, but liveable. Take care of the most important things - clean dishes, clean clothes, generally sanitary bathrooms and kitchen. You don't need everything to sparkle. It may help if you ask your kids to help each other with their chores or "teach them" to the littler ones. Allow yourself to take a day or even just a morning off if it's starting off badly. Lay down for a while and drink some tea.

My kids' favorites seem to have been: Father and I Were Ranchers (Ralph Moody) Holes Bridge to Terabithia St. George for England (by Henty - fwiw, I despise reading Henty aloud and will not do it again. Very awkward to read. However, we may listen to the books on tape.) Tuck Everlasting Macbeth (when we do the voices - we do pretty horrific Scottish accents :001_smile:) James Herriot's Treasury for Children Just So Stories (Kipling) Especially for the Littles: all of the Mr. Putter and Tabby books

When I was growing up, a response of "yes, sir" or similar was assumed to be a "smart" response and was not looked upon favorably. Naturally, we now live in the South where it's the normal and sometimes only accepted response. However, Dh and I do not require that particular response, because we just don't feel we can be consistent with it. But they are required to respond with something - OK, yes, or whatever in a polite and respectful tone - whether it's an adult speaking to them or a sibling or other person. Respect is required for everyone. My 3yo has a very difficult time speaking, so we will accept a yes nod from him with a sort of mumbled "yesh". It's interesting what PameliaSue mentioned - I have found this to be true of my little ones - and even the older ones. A positive response will cause positive action.

Fabric has always been a big hit with my girls - a yard or two of beautiful flowing fabric, cuddly fleece, some long satin ribbons...perfect for doll play, dress-up, tents and forts, flying carpets, etc. By far, fabric has been the most-used "toy" in our house. How about a favorite treat? I guess for a 3yo it might not be that easy. A trip to the zoo or other local fun place? Chuck-E-Cheese?

I'd try goat milk for cooking if it's allowed. Meyenberg makes a powdered version that is more cost effective than buying it in quarts. Other than that, my kids drink enriched vanilla rice milk. I don't touch the stuff myself :tongue_smilie:. For cooking, you'd want to go with plain rice milk.

My kids are generally ho-hum about science, but they tend to be more interested when they can make sketches and drawings about their science studies. And they are not particularly artistic in general. They really enjoyed Apologia Botany, I think partially because they got to go outside and collect "stuff" to draw - like sticks, leaves, petals, etc. I suppose you could use this in other areas of science - drawings of simple machines for physics, cells and other "microscopic" organisms for biology, planets, earth formations (mountains, oceans), weather, etc. Might be worth a try. Other than that, I like Jessica's suggestion of giving him a catalog to find something interesting.

You might try some of the 5-minute mystery books. They aren't what you'd call great literature, but they are very short and require attention to detail and comprehension. They are written at about the 5th/6th grade level. If he enjoys real-life stories, he might enjoy books by James Herriot - All Creatures Great and Small, Dog Stories, etc. - even the longer books are more like collections of stories. There is also a collection book written for children. Oh, one other thing to try might be poetry. Simple poetry is great for language development and also "deeper" comprehension. Silly poetry like Shel Silverstein, or Stevenson and Rosetti. T.S. Eliot has a book of fun poetry called "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" about cats, of course.

Thanks!

I started my first batch of dough yesterday afternoon, set the bucket on the fridge, and forgot it until this morning. Do I have to throw it out, or should I give it a try?

Itzhak Perlman, Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck, Lyle Lovett. If he were still alive, Vladimir Horowitz.

Mini cream-filled cream puffs. You can buy these (frozen) from Sam's Club or they are pretty easy to make. Lightly drizzle with chocolate sauce. Cream wafer cookies are delicious, light cookies, and you can color the filling with food color to match "wedding" colors if you like. You can also make them way ahead of time and freeze for a couple weeks or more. CREAM WAFER COOKIES 2 c. flour 1 c. butter 1/3 c. half and half Dish of sugar Mix, cover and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours to overnight. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out 1/3 of dough at a time, 1/8" thick. Cut into small 1.5" rounds using a small baby food jar or other small container. Dip both sides in sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Prick with fork about 4 times. Bake until set but not brown (7 to 9 minutes). Cool. FILLING: 3/4 c. powdered sugar 1/2 c. butter flavored Crisco 1 tsp. vanilla Food coloring (opt.) Beat until fluffy. Spread filling onto a cooled cookie round and top with another cookie round. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or freeze in layers of waxed paper.

(With 5, and one on the way) My oldest is in 7th grade, next is 4th, next is K, and then 3yo and 2yo. Because of the wide age spread of my first 3, I stopped combining when my oldest was in 5th grade, and since then I have nearly gone insane. So, as Quiver suggested, next year we will begin TOG. I know that they won't be entirely together or combined, but at least we will all be on the same topic and all the levels are planned out for me. I am looking forward to it!

I also have a 2yo and 3yo. One thing that has helped me in a way is that I never do pre-school. The preschool work that my little ones get consists of scribbling and writing in old math and handwriting books. They always manage to learn their letters, shapes, colors, etc without any help from me. :) Not that I think pre-school work is bad, it's just one of those things I've decided to forgoe for the sake of time and sanity. Here's what our rough schedule looks like. (Listed 7th - 4th - K'er) lessons that require my full attention are in bold. 8am Bible time - all 8:30 math - spelling & grammar - play 9:00 math/English - math - piano/phonics 9:30 English or Logic - piano - math/handwriting 10:00 Omnibus or Science - violin - play 10:30 Omibus or Science - play - play 11:00 piano - play - play (My time to prepare lunch) 11:30 Lunch for all 12:00 story time for all 12:30 - Latin - play - rest time 1:00 - Latin - reading time - rest 1:30 - Omnibus - Latin - rest 2:00 - Omnibus - history or science - play 2:30 - Omnibus - history or science - play 3:00 - finish up, outside activities, or free time 'til dinner prep. Art 1X per week with all. We've been working on this schedule since we started our school year. It's not set in stone, and has required tweaking and adjusting.

Ds is now working through Year 2. We both love it. Short, to-the-point lessons, very independent work. Expensive, but worth it in our case, since it includes all materials needed (except distilled water).

I am new to the "world of realtors", so bear with me. I went to an open house "just to look at what's available" and when questioned by the seller's realtor, I told her that we were not planning to put our house on the market until Feb. and that we already have a realtor, thank you. I made the mistake of signing in at the open house. The realtor was very kind and gracious. So I got a call from her today, and she said that she had a buyer looking for a home in my area and could I tell her a bit about my house and could she come over and take a few pictures to show them. She said they were hoping to find a house within a month. I said I'm not sure, I'd need to talk to dh about it and since we're going out of town tomorrow, it would have to be after we got back. Not to mention after we go through a major "panic cleaning". We do have a realtor picked out for selling our house, but haven't called him yet. So do you think the realtor was being up front, or is she still trying to get a leg in on being our realtor? I have reason to believe she is a Christian, although I know that doesn't always mean honest dealings. I tend to take people's words at face value and am not the best "crap detector", especially when pregnant and assume that no one would be dishonest with a pregnant woman :tongue_smilie:.

...with a play/rec room, office, misc. room, and half bath. Originally, I had everything planned out and organized to do school down there. But because I spend so much more time upstairs in the kitchen/bedrooms/bathrooms, I gave up and moved upstairs. I still store our "not currently being used" curriculum and books downstairs. In the kitchen, we keep our lesson materials in a microwave cart near the kitchen table. It has a cubby that fits our binders and workbooks, a large drawer where we keep paper, pencils/sharpeners, glue, rulers, etc, and a cupboard below that where we keep more books, science materials, art materials, and other misc. things. On the very top we keep a tape dispenser, stapler, and a box of tissues. It's very handy, compact, and doesn't look out of place in the kitchen. My oldest (7th grader) does a few lessons in the office downstairs so he can use the DVD player on the computer, and where he can have a quieter place to do science. Oh, I do keep a very few things in the living room - things that we mainly do in the living room like Phonics Pathways for K'er, Latin for 4th grader, read-alouds, etc.

Do you think ds "struggles" with grammar concepts, or is he just behind because you haven't quite gotten to it as much as you'd like? If you think he can catch on to grammar pretty quickly, I don't think it would be too much to go with R&S 5. If you think he might struggle with the concepts more, or need a more "gentle" intro to R&S, I would go with book 4 and move as quickly through it as you can. My ds caught on to grammar very quickly - he's pretty analytical (same with math.) He did books 4 and 5 in one year. My next child, however, struggles with grammatical concepts (she needs lots of review to remember verbs/verb phrases, adjectives, basic diagramming, etc.) She will need to go through the books more slowly and do lots of review and lots of written work.