I don't know and I don't want to know! But it's the extra curriculas that end up costing thousands a year- music lessons, science classes, drama, sport, gym, Scouts. These are what the kids live for- the whole books/ curricula thing is my trip! I could homeschool on far less if I had to- I do rather spoil myself with trying curricula and buying books- but if I was really frugal I have enough on my shelves to last for years in most subjects! But as I am switching to using even more living books and less curricula I am spending a bit on books. I tend to buy things all through the year. I couldn't do it all at once, it would be too much money, but spread out over the year, here and there, 2nd hand when things pop up, or I think of searching for the next year...I like doing it this way (justified shopaholicism!).

Nope, I am just not that organised! Which is why I need Flylady but it still doesnt make me perfect or within a zillion light years of one of those housewives from the 50s (like my MIL! Fortunately my mother was housework challenged herself so I dont have anyone to live up to there!) I have some sort of ideal of doing a wash a day, but the truth is, now that the kids are doing their own washing (well, supposed to be, and when they finally run out of clothes, they generally do) and since DH has always done his own washing since I met him (I tried once, washed a white with a colour or something, and that was it, he took it over again. He's like that. It's my MIL- she trained him. ) I change sheets when I start to notice that "no longer very fresh" feeling (or smell). :) I do towels every week or so when I am passing the bathroom with my own wash basket and I think of it. I do try and have the kids vacuum on Saturday mornings. But they are away so often on camps and various activities it isn't as regular as I would like. Generally it's done once a week by them or me. However, we are good at the kitchen. It seems to make all the difference to the housework not feeling overwhelming or out of control- we do dishes before bed, and I regularly deep clean, clean out cupboards, shine my sink, wipe down cupboards etc. It may just be because I spend so much time in there and I have formed some good habits- unpacking the dishwasher while the kettle is boiling, that sort of things. Both kids have heavy kitchen duties too- they alternate weeks to do ALL the dishes, so that frees me up to do the extra stuff. Most of those women who were so organised took a lot of pride in their homes- since most didn't work out of the home, the home reflected them, was their identity, more so probably than for us today because it was strongly embedded in the culture. Now everyone is so busy busy busy all the time. I used to be really, really bad at housework. Flylady helps me keep things relatively ok, although the dust is not looking good lately. Its not that I really DO the Flylady thing religiously, its just that getting the emails and saying I do Flylady keeps it always niggling away at the back of my mind, and gives me a game plan when I do get around to housework :)

I have been reading a lot of Charlotte Mason stuff lately. She was radical in her time- and now even- for saying that children should be reading lots of books, real living books by authors who are passionate about their subjects. Reading and digesting them, and making connetions themselves. She said children were capable of doing that. And she saw the way schools taught as taking great ideas and breaking them down, pre-digesting them and making them bland and unpalatable, boring facts to be memorised or understood. I think she had a really good point! Recently I was clearing my shelves and I skimmed through some highschool science and history textbooks I had. They were full of pictures and many snippets of information in boxes, then comprehension questions.Very visually exciting and appealing. I realised how far we have strayed from the highschool way of doing things. We read good books- usually without pictures- and we discuss them. We read LOTS of them- dozens each year. I was also looking at an online highschool here in Australia and seeing what they did for English- 2 novels in the whole year. And a movie. No books for history, just textbooks. So in the context of my recent musings, I would say highschool spoonfeeds kids snippets of information, and jazzes it up with colour and lots of visuals, and nags children to complete their work- because they think kids are too stupid to learn directly from the experts who have written passionately about their subject. Also, its really hard to assign a good book and then test on it. Much easier to assign snippets of information followed by questions. I read some books with my kids, and we discuss them and sometimes write about them or outline chapters. And other books they attack completely on their own. So there is no question of spoonfeeding- there is balance. When we work together there is also the issue of them seeing that *I* get excited and interested in what we are learning, *I* am learning too. We are learning together. I don't know if that anywhere near answers your question. Every family is going to find their own way. I have a friend whose girls have worked almost completely independently for years because she has regular migraines, and she needs them to be able to continue even when she is down for a couple of days. And they are very bright girls who handle the responsibility well. That's very different from how we do things, where I like to discuss a lot then send the kids off to do some independent work.

Same here- but we bought a good one 2nd hand for $99. That, with Photoshop on the computer- hours of creative fun! Also, MP4 player, mobile phone, gift vouchers for books/ music CDs/ CDRoms/ DVDs have gone down well in the last year or two.

I subscribe to Flylady and I do think that getting dressed to shoes (in winter I do wear shoes in the house), in something that I feel good in (not just comfortable, but feel I look ok if someone were to come to the door or I have to go to the shops for milk) putting on moisturiser and brushing my hair- has made a difference in my life. I was quite happy to look daggy for years- I decided to try this new way, and it actually makes me feel better. So, I do it for me. My husband doesn't like make-up or for me to look "fashionable" but we both have a lot of fun with op shops, and styles and colours. He has a much larger wardrobe than I do, because he never culls, but he loves to buy clothes. I found my own style after a while of trying. I do wear bright colours and a bohemian look, but its not teenagery. I kind of use colour therapy- yellow to make me happy, pink for love, white in summer for a cool feel, black on the motorbike :) etc Clothes can be fun. A game. Not to be taken too seriously, but worth giving some attention. I even consciously get dressed when I feel sick- it automatically makes me feel better.

1. Because I *like* to be with my kids a lot, and to be a major influence on their lives as they grow up (i want to be more influence than their peers while they are young). I want the best of these years, not the grotty bit where they come home from the stresses of school and eat and want to sit in front of the TV 'cause thats what their friends do. I want them to like me (at school, they tell me, it was really uncool to like your parents- this was at ages 7 and 9!). I want to share lots of great experiences with them, and not have the best hours of their days given to paid adults who can't possibly care as much about my unique kids as I do, or give them the individual attention and appreciation that I can. (and I know there are good teachers- but one teacher to 30 students is hardly comparable to me with 2). I believe this is how families were meant to be-together, sharing their lives, passing on knowledge and skills to the next generation- and most schools are institutions with a social and political agenda I don't subscribe to. They certainly don't bring families closer together, in fact, they frequently divide parents from their children in both obvious and subtle ways. (and of course, many kids and families do survive all this- and many don't because they are not even aware of it. They just trust the system). 2. Because they get to be themselves far more than they did when they were in school, where kids would be mean or just plain influencial, and my kids would twist themselves in knots to be accepted. They are far less peer dependent and peer influenced, much more internally driven. 3. Because I get to give them a great education and read wonderful books with them, which will give us a point of reference for the rest of our lives, and which gives them a fantastic foundation for being widely read and deep thinking, open minded and generous individuals who can contribute something to their world because they see it from a unique perspective.

Depends on the child. First child was independent much earlier, second child needs a lot of one on one still (at age 12). This morning he couldn't do a single percentage problem without me, and I kept walking away saying, you have just done 5 of these, try the next one on your own. Nooooo, he would cry, I can think much better when you're sitting right next to me. Grrrrr. It was a rough morning. But I think he must have been tired, he's not usually that bad. Both can do a fair amount alone nowadays (usually!) but I break the day into independent work- together work (we do French and Latin together now, and history/literature read alouds)- independent work- because neither likes to just sit there are plod away all day alone. They both love to interact.

i guess that about sums it up for me too. I actually have a family member basically dying of cancer, although hes still up and about, who uses it for medicinal purposes. But can i say I am amazed that so many people on this board are in favour of decriminalising it? I wouldn't have guessed that! Of course, I feel it is common sense- even though I had a very traumatic relationship with a man who did go schizophrenic because of long term pot smoking- and I know many other people whose lives have been what i might call stunted, because of the demotivating effect it has. But, that doenst mean it should be a criminal offence.

The Secular CM group actually has a file in the FIles that tells you what books to remove.

I don't know if this helps, but I tend to focus on different things different years. Last year we did a lot of Literature Analysis as we did Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings. This year is a more "nailing" writing paragraphs and essays year. The grammar ticks over with AG (or KISS for my younger) spread out- so as not to need review, we just do it at a slower pace. I don't tend to "plan" what we focus on too far ahead in time, I just think, oh, this needs some work, and do it. I do think 3 vocabulary programs is overkill though :)

I think most people here finish when they start dictation. I continue copywork for my ds12 for handwriting practice, as he needs it. Charlotte Mason advocates continuing copywork- although in later years it becomes a commonplace book of interesting quotes from literature. I guess it is a form of imitation- one notices and absorbs notable passages, ideas, sentences, wisdom.

I personally don't think a bit of mouldy cheese hurt anyone. If our cheese blocks go mouldy we slice it off. We eat bread with a spot or two of mould on it- toasted. What doesn't kill you make you stronger, eh! I am sure people have been eating mouldy food for all of time, our digestive juices kill off anything harmful. Meanwhile, I would take it back to the shop if you only just bought it. They need to know that somewhere along the line, the cheese would have not been refrigerated, probably. I am sure it happens all the time.

Oh, a friend of mine who homeschools is an atmospheric physicist and she spent a winter, pre kids, in Antarctica, and more in Alaska. In fact right now she has taken off with her hubbie and two kids and is spending 3 months in Alaska. She wrote a book called Frost Bytes, with another woman, about her experience: (my friend is Gina, the one on the left) http://coolcontinent.com.au/frostbytes/SINGLE/about.html

I would probably be living on a spiritual commune somewhere, maybe India, at least part of the year :) Maybe I would have a naturopathic practice here.

People homeschool for so many different reasons. Academic, social, religious. My son was damaged by the school system by age 7- he would have been much better never going to school. But dd enjoyed it- however she was negatively affected by peer pressure and we didn't like the friends she chose. Ds was a demanding child- I wanted to homeschool, but with no support from DH till a few years later, I was actually relieved to have some time alone each day while they were at school while still small people. The reasons ended up being being social. Once the kids came home, their personalities changed so much, for the better. So for that reason, we want to homeschool through highschool- they have really rich lives, with so many opportunities, part time work, social opportunities- school would probably be exciting for a week, with novelty value, then they would miss their freedom. Academically, I will just do my best, knowing many have blazed the trail before me and their children have done well. So, I dont think there is a black and white answer to whether early or later is better.

I think that depends on how much you would use it. For me, I got the gist of what Julie was teaching, picked up the ball and ran with it- without needing to call myself a Bravewriter or do all the stuff on certain days or at all. I think she is basically giving tools so that we as parents are not intimidated by teaching writing to our dc, and also so that we dont feel restricted by rigid, formulaic curricula which turn many kids off writing. I had one of those children, and freewriting did help free his voice. I did buy Writer's Jungle, read it, and sold it straight away because I knew it wasnt something I would use or refer back to. But that doesn't mean I didn't get anything from it- i did. But I already do dictation and narrations, and didnt need help with that, and adding in freewriting, and then editing of freewrites, is basically what I gained from the whole Bravewriter concept- and yes, you can get that from the website. I think it depends on how much detail you need of "how" to implement Julie's ideas, which are not new, but she presents them for homeschoolers in a way that is very accessible. I didn't want all the detail, I realised. I just wanted the gist, and then did my own thing. hth

No, I can't schedule it out. They work solidly for an hour, then we move on. What i am finding as they get older, is that it is really unpredictable how long each lesson will take. My dd14 was sometimes taking days to get through one lesson, and then another might take her half an hour. Same for my son, except his never take days. I find the time method works better for us, as I want to get through each day efficiently, we have together work to do, and I want to finish my teaching time soon after lunch. My kids are not maths geniuses and are not likely to go into maths based careers, and I feel an hour a day is enough to spend on maths.

I'm in the camp that you should check out for any underlying issues, and even if it turns out all clear, dont be too hard on him. My ds12 has always found writing a read struggle. Can your ds do beautiful writing when he wants to? Mine never could, even if he tried hard, so I never felt he wasn't trying. He genuinely found writing very difficult. So, we have done a lot orally, and I haven't had him write as much as his sister. However, I never let him off either, he has always written every single school day, whether it's copywork, dictation, or a short writing assignment- nowadays,he will likely have two separate writing assignments a day- something for English, and something for another subject. Like you, my son does longer assignments on the computer. I did have my son informally diagnosed with dyslexia just this year- although I think he has a mild case- either that or he has already learned to cope well. It made me glad I hadnt been too hard on him (according to my standards at least- according to his standards, I have been way too hard on him!). And then, I have had him in 6 months of educational kinesiology- Brain Gym. Well, 3 months in, he suddenly started writing longer writing assignments voluntarily. And a month later, his handwriting changed almost overnight from chicken scratch to beautiful. I still can hardly believe it when I see his writing these days- I keep putting stars all over it I am so happy, he has beautiful writing. He is a perfectionist, but he is proud of it at last. So, hang in there, I say don't treat it as a discipline issue as such- accept that he finds writing more difficult than many other children, and encourage him. Have him write every day, but not too much. Have you ever heard SWB talk about boys and writing? She says if they are crying, believe them- their hand really does hurt! Something about many boys- those muscles really do get tired easily. I became impatient with my son way too many times even after he was crying over this issue- I have much more compassion nowadays and I strongly disagree it is mainly a discipline issue. However, those muscles only get stronger by practice and maturity, too. I think kids need to know their mum believes them and is on their side. So, my son is 12 and he has turned the corner, but he still has a ways to go.

Hey, my dh needs a sledgehammer sometimes before he makes big changes like that- and it may be a huge thing you are asking your dh to do, since he probably doesn't choose to be so negative around money. It's deep conditioning, or a pattern, and it can be hard to stop stuff like that, even if you want to. I don't think you can just ask him to stop and he can stop, just like that. The opposite to that sort of mentality is gratitude and appreciation for what you have. So I don't know if you can come from that angle. I doubt it is one conversation you will need to have. I am very blunt with my dh, and he is with me. When he bugs me, I tell him, when he is overly negative, I tell him I don't want to listen to it, once I have given him sympathy and then just want him to get over it! . And the things that can change, change, and I can't control him and he doesn't want to change everything I want to change in him :) and we often have discussions about that too. But at least, we know where we stand with each other.

I agree with Barb, but you probably need to try it to see for yourself first. Maybe it will work for you. For me, it would be too complicated. I have tried to set up things like that way so often, and it ends up being more work than just saying NO, go outside and play or NO, you need to do our chores then you can watch some TV till __o'clock- simple. Or YES, until dinner time. Or YES, after your chores are done, and then only until dinner time. Whenever I try to set up a system it falls flat. I don't reward for chores though, ever. It just what we do around here. And I don't use TV as a reward, because I don't want to make it more special than it is. But you have a single child there with a much younger sibling- I can understand the difficulty, you cant always be playing with her. Why dont you just try it.

My kids dont play with each other much, although they interact in a positive way. I guess they jostle and rough play a bit, and joke around, but they dont engage in imaginative play with each other any more. Ds12 plays on the street for about 2 hours after school a day, and much longer on weekends. the other kids are mostly younger and they all do a lot of imaginative play. Dd14, now I think about it has very little unstructured play time any more, unless you count MSN or emails or texting with her friends! . But she loves her structured activities- guitar class, art class, Scouts, Drama and Sports activities, Science class...and around all those activities there is some time for unstructured play, usually. She has many friends and sees other kids most days. And, she goes to sleepovers and movies etc. And at Scout camps there is unstructured time. She just doesn't have any street friends like her brother, but she is fine and has what I would consider a thriving social life. I dont think either kid craves more, although they might like more.

I nearly burned out trying to make school fun for my kids. No, they don't get excited about school. When people ask them if they like their work, they roll their eyes and say something like "it's school, what do you think? ". BUT, they do love to homeschool, because of the other things they get to do. They do have passions, just not academic ones! They tolerate their schoolwork and get on with it (and thats a goo thing, and it hasnt always been the case!). However, *I* still get really excited about what we do. And thats got to count for something! I no longer expect them to be especially enthusiastic, but I still love to read aloud to them, to discuss books, and they do ask questions and show some interest. They are not depressed, just not particularly enthusiastic. Your dd is young. Maybe its her personality. Maybe she just hasn't found her passion yet, and maybe it will be nothing to do with anything you think. I would never have thought Scouts would end up being the centre of our universe, lol! But it actually is! School is just what we get through so we can go to the next Scouting activity/ camp, according to the kids. But at 7 or 8 or 9 , there was no sign of this future that is unfolding. I didn't have a clue what their passions would be, then.

I used Aesop and both Homers- very easy for secular folk to use without problems . A few bible stories, which I actually appreciated (since my kids never knew who the Good Samaritan was!). They are presented as stories. But many more "classical" literature pieces. Yes, the authors are very Christian, but I think they do an excellent job of teaching the Progym without pushing any religion. Hey, I don't even use it anymore, but I still think its a great program and do think it is suitable for most secular folk. At least, thats not an issue that ever bothered me with the program.

I think lots of people do use it as written- but many freely tweak it, too. Yes, I do feel it is enough. I adapt because we are secular. So no, we don't do it as written. I spent the last 4 years doing SOTW and loving our history cycle. When I finished SOTW4 I looked around for how to do the next 4 years- and decided Ambleside was going to work best for us- I had always been attracted to it, but the 4 year cycle works best for us rather than the 6 year, because we started homeschooling at the end of the grammar stage, and I want to get through twice. I will do year 7 as is, then work out my own combination for the following two years. Well, that's the plan! At this point, I am trying it "as is" as much as possible. I think if you try to add too much to Ambleside, you are likely to get really bogged down. As is, is good. But I will inevitably tweak as we go on. I am actually really excited about doing Pre-7 later this year and Year 7 from February. The books really excite me, and it seems to work well for my kids. There are many yahoo groups for Ambleside people, and some are very busy, so it seems to me a lot of people use it. I can't think of any problems I am having with it so far. We are thriving. I am having to personalise, to work with my own children, to use discrimination, and actually to cut back on the booklists a little in order to finish in reasonable time. But I see no inherent problem with Ambleside. It is a very well thought out, complete program. Many people blend it with TWTM, too- they are compatible.

Thankyou Sandy- I am not sure your post is appropriate.