Thanks everyone! I'm thinking sports bra-ish thing as well and my sister suggested these. I think I'll buy the book with her tomorrow at Barnes and Noble and just have a little talk over hot chocolate. I think if I keep it light and airy she won't be too embarassed. We talk about lots of stuff so I'm not too worried about her being too embarassed....i just want to do it right. I know too many friends who have said their moms never really talked to them about it and it made them feel like the subject was taboo, (including myself). So, I just want to get it all started off with an attitude of "we talk about everything!"

My 9.5 year old daughter is starting to really mature physically. She has pretty visible breast buds at this point and I've seen her sort of rubbing them (as if they're uncomfortable) a few times. She's also really emotional all of a sudden and if she doesn't shower daily her hair looks greasy already! Very weird to me as I was a super late bloomer in all of those areas. Anyway, I'm planning on taking her for a little mom/daughter date this weekend and having a talk with her about her body including telling her about menstruation. I'm also going to offer to buy her a few "bras" to help her be more comfortable. However, I'd rather start with the most comfortable option out there for bras. Like a really soft but thick undershirt/camisole or something...I just hate the idea of all those uncomfortable straps and elastics if we can avoid it. But she's really tall for her age and looks older anyway and people are starting to notice so I want to get her something to wear before someone says something to her or anything! So, my question is if anyone has any suggestions on comfortable first bras or other options available. Also, any general tips on how you talked to your daughter about it all? I want it to be casual and not too dramatic. We're pretty comfortable with bodies around here so I don't want to make it too dramatic. I'm thinking of getting her the "Care and Keeping of You" book from the American Girl series as I've heard great things about it. Any tips????

We are a Christian family that does a Waldorf co-op with another family three times a week in the mornings. In the afternoons, my kids (and the neighbor girl we are homeschooling) do workbooks to make sure we have crossed all our t's and dotted all of our i's. For Language Arts/grammar work, we are doing an Abeka workbook. However, the family we do our co-op with are not Christians so I need to find a non-religious (but similar) workbook to have those kids working on with their mom at home. I looked into "Climbing to Good English" which seems a little on the old-fashioned side just in it's appearance at least. I also purchased "growing with grammar" but it doesn't have things like comma rules... I don't think. Anyone have any other curriculum advice for me? I want something just like the Abeka 3rd grade Language Arts book but just not christian.

Hi all. I'm home schooling a group of kids of various grades/levels. My plan is to use Growing with Grammar for the 1st and 2nd graders (grade one for both since the 2nd grader hasn't had much/any grammar as far as I know) and then to buy Michael Clay Thompson's Grammar Island and Practice Island to do with the 3rd/4th graders. Does that sound like a good plan? The 3rd/4th graders haven't had much grammar either, so they COULD do the GWG early stuff as well, but my hope is that the MCT stuff will get them going quicker since they are all smart/capable girls that are strong readers and ready to get it, I think. Along with the rest of it, we've been reading through the book "Grammar Land" which we found online. It personifies parts of speech.

Hi everyone. I'm looking to back up our very hands-on, waldorfy style of homeschooling with some workbooks. My oldest daughter did Abeka books for 1st and 2nd grade before we switched curriculum, and I actually didn't mind them. They aren't super fabulous, but they got the job done and she could do them independently. Now we are homeschooling with a group of kids, not all of whom are Christians. Since Abeka is VERY Christian, I'm not sure I can get away with buying their books, but is there a good, simple workbook-style of grammar curriculum that is similar to Abeka without being Christian? I have First Language Lessons, but I really want something that is in workbook form that the child can take and go work on independently. I know, lazy, but remember...it's supplemental! I'm with them every second!!!

Hi everyone! I've been on and off this board for...years! I am currently home schooling my 8 year old girl and 6 year old boy (who thinks he's 10). We have a great co-op going, (check it if you're a chicago mom! http://thecottageschoolchicago.blogspot.com/) but as you can tell from the pictures, I'm severely lacking in the boy department. My poor super-active, loves-to-build, loves sports, loves to play "spying" and "army guys" boy is stuck with a bunch of girls all day every day. Anyone want to have a playdate???

We touched base years ago Chicago Mom! I'm still hanging out here on the near west side. http://reigningitin.blogspot.com/:001_smile:

I'm looking for beginner stuff. DD will be a 1st grader next year.

I never knew so many people didn't really believe in Hell as I grew up learning about it. I guess I never really wanted to do a whole big Bible study on the subject, so maybe I don't even really know what I believe about it. But eternal separation isn't exactly a good concept either: "you mean we'll never see great grandma again mom? For all eternity??" Ugh. I'm also just generally not confident in my Bible teaching with them anyway. We've done some Bible story books, but Bible stories don't teach as much about the things Jesus taught as they do about miracles and old testament stuff, you know? Anyone have a good Bible reading plan with their little ones? Mine are 5 and 3...

that's for sure. And thanks for the encouragement.

...but I guess I just don't know when to do stuff. I feel like I found out that stuff so young. I went to Christian school, and I can still remember the "heaven" flashcard for the Bible story (thank you Abeka) and, although I don't remember a "hell" flashcard, I remember not thinking heaven looked that inviting. It had, like, condos by a golden street with a weird fruit tree next to it. Why do we try to make pictures of things like that for kids? Anyway, I'm trying to focus on "God loves you" but I was just afraid that since I feel like I was so scared about it, that I might sorta NEVER tell her about it and be a bad Christian mommy.

How/When did you tell your child about hell? My daughter is almost 6 and I know that I knew this concept at this point in my life (I was a pastor's daughter) but it totally scarred me for life. I honestly feel like I've had anxiety issues since the moment I heard about hell. I also started just panicking about if God was good and all that. I get it all now (not that it's my fave topic or anything) but I guess the hurdle I'm afraid to jump is telling my daughter about it. How do you bring that up? She's really sensitive too, so I know she'll just freak out. We also have TONS of non-Christian friends (we live in the city and that's just how life has gone) and I'm afraid she'll be always asking me: "you mean ___ is going to go to hell?" and stuff like that. Can anyone help me with this?

About a year ago someone gave us a catterpillar/butterfly thing where the caterpillars hatch and then you get to watch the butterflies. Of course, you have to let them go after a few days, but for the three days that we had them my dd was in love. She mourned those butterflies so bitterly after they left that we bought her a bird. Our bird, Penny, has been with us for about 6 months. We fed her the right food/water/vitamins, and let her out of her cage daily. She mainly sat on my curtain rod for the whole day and then we would put her in her cage at night. Well, we left her with my mother in law for the week while we came to my moms house and now she's DEAD! I don't know why. So, my first question would be WHY? (If anyone knows about bird issues). But more importantly, would you tell your dd or get a replacement one and hope to fake her out. She loved that bird so much and spent time holding it every day and both kids raced to be with her in the morning. Anyway, she's such a sensitive soul that I think she'll be crushed, but I don't know what to do. WWYD?

(it's montessory-ish) school more mornings a week because he does better there (he just LOVES playing with the boys so much) but I've felt really guilty about it. Like, am I really a "home school mom" if I have to outsource them until kindergarten? I know it's stupid to worry about how purely I'm doing this, but it bugs me...like I wonder about the moms who have a whole bunch of kids and they somehow manage to homeschool all of them when I can't keep my two from killing each other. but you both make me feel better with your comments. Thanks much! And I'll read the book, too.

routine of it, and it went awful today. Of course, I have to have just read Family Driven Faith which makes me feel like we suck as a family of Christians, but I'm trying... All I did was read one verse and then ask them one question about it, (in a "trying-to-keep-it-light-and-fun" kind of way) and my son kept throwing things across the table (he's 3) and making airplane noises. Of course, the three sentences of talking that I was trying to do got completely drowned out by my disciplining him, and then when I had them hold hands to pray with me (like we do at dinner) they kept laughing and looking at each other. So...I asked my 5 y/o to say one thing to Jesus so that she would focus for one second. She burst into tears and said "MOM...can't I have one more chance!?" As if asking her to say thank you to JEsus for something was this punishment I had given her. Should I forget the whole thing???

problem is with my little guy's behavior. He's just awful right now, and I have to spend EVERY second disciplining and redirecting him so much so that my daughter gets very little attention, or the activities that I do with her are ruined by him. We baked bread this morning and the whole time it was me saying "Sam, don't grab the honey...Sam, here stir this...no, no, no don't slop it...do gentle..." but ON and ON to where my dd is just sitting there kinda zoned out b/c I think that all she hears in our home is my constant dialogue with him. She's so happy at her little 3 morning/week play school and I think she's always wishing she could be there instead of in this hell with us at home. She's VERY bright and I could easily teach her the academics at home, but I feel like her whole life is going to be overshadowed by him if I don't get her out of here. I would miss her dreadfully to put her in full-time first grade next year, but I think I might be being selfish to keep her home with me. I think they might end up having a better chance at a relationship if I split them up for more of their day, but is that a wrong way to think of it???? Any advice from btdt would help. Thanks!

with it and googled "cheese making". Anyone?

much about eatting "traditional" foods (like reading "Real Food") and I'm about to go buy myself a grain mill and a cheesecloth! All of a sudden, I'm convinced that we are all giving ourselves cancer through our diets. It seems like another HUGe project to add to my list though.

I figured it out. But for anyone who comes after me, you go to playlist.com, search for songs, add them to a playlist, and then save it. THEN, you can copy the URL and put it on your blog. I think....

but only because you sang it to me over the phone yesterday. ;):lol: (a few emoticons because I know you love 'em).

thought would do it, but you can't add your own music, I don't think...it's just some random person's playlist. What's up with that? Any bloggers out there?

in December. My dd has a hand-me-down "josephina" doll from her aunt, and doesn't even care about it much, but she's the perfect age (5 and 1/2) and loves babies still so we go to the store occasionally just to push around the fancy doll carriages, etc. We live in Chicago so we get to go sometimes, and I've always had a little fantasy of going there around the holidays. So we are. On Dec 6. However, that probably means I need to give her a bath and buy her something cute to wear. Shoot. But it will be a memory, right?

squirrel???? But I am sorta into southern cooking these days, so I reference it for fun stuff...especially desserts. A guy we know from church has been texting me: "when do I get to eat your strawberry cake again?" ever since I pulled that one out. But you don't want to get it for health conscious reasons...most recipes include either jello or mayonnaise or cream of chicken/celery/broccoli soup. But their crab cakes recipe is fabulous-o.

parties. You know the kind where you buy these sayings to apply to your wall? What's a cool saying I could get? Anyone done this? Could I somehow apply it to the door instead? Hmm....

with panels. I painted it red, hung a wreath on it, and just leaned the thing against the wall in a little corner area of my family room that needed a little color. Now, I have one that has two pains of glass in the top half it's really cool and vintagey (hardware and all). What to do with this one? No need for a headboard as we have bunkbeds and a queen bed so this won't work. But, what could I do with it? I'd love to replace one of my boring condo-type cheap white doors with it, but it's the wrong width. Should I paint it black, put pictures behind the windows and use it as a frame? Is that cheesy? What should I do with it?