I was a single mum working as a naturopath part time, and also part time working with disabled young adults. Homeschooling brought my marriage back together, and I stopped work and live like a queen- well, apart from all the hard work homeschooling. Dh is very happy to support homeschooling, he really values it.

Before you know it your kids will be older and it wont be so much of an issue. Meanwhile, this is a season of your life, where they need you a lot- work with it, rather than hankering for the past. 2 hours is a long time. I would grab the smaller amounts of time that you can, rather than believe you can only exercise if you have 2 hours- that sounds self defeating to me. Its not a question of feeling guilty, it's just being practical and accepting your life circumstances for this time. And go get those doctor appointments. I just wish I had as much motivation as you do! I used to really enjoy to be much more fit, but I lack the motivation nowadays, and nature walks are about it.

My kids go wild over unusual fruits. For them its a treat to go to markets and see what wierd fruit they can get- as in, not your normal apples and bananas. They even use their own pocket money to buy unusual fruit. They love pomegranates, custard apples and dragon fruit, and persimmons/fuji fruit. My son is bananas about grapes- he will use his pocket money to buy grapes quite frequently (ok they're not a wierd fruit but his love of them is!).

I have a beautiful wooden coffee table with 4 large drawers that sits in front of the sofas in the schoolroom- I keep all our current read alouds,"together" curriculum, maps and day to day art supplies in there for easy access. Buying a 2 drawer filing cabinet has been my best investment for a long time. I don't use it so much for homeschooling, but it allows me to keep all my other paperwork in order next to my desk, and that then helps me keep my homeschooling paperwork in order on my desk, because they don't all get mixed up.

I found it to be busywork, and my children did not retain what was in the WW books.

I notice it here too, in Australia- the maths level is more and more advanced at a younger age- i am sure i wasnt doing what my 12yo is doing, at 12. My 14yo is now doing what I was doing at 16 and 17, so I wonder where she goes next- certainly beyond my ability to draw from my experience. I am actually beginning to wonder whether I need to do what the schools are doing, or whether I would be better spending extra time focusing on getting algebra really solid, and leave it at that. In other words, do up to grade 10 maths well, and leave the rest unless the kid by then is obviously going to need higher level maths. However, what I notice more than anything, and it has been commented on by friends whose children have gone into school after homeschooling- is that the teachers don't actually teach the maths anymore, either. When I was a student, the teacher stood up the front, taught the lesson using the chalkboard, asked questions, went through several with the class, interacted to make sure we were getting it, then either handed out a sheet or referred to a page, or wrote problems up on the board. Now, the kds just turn to the next page in the book and teach themselves. A daughter whose child is in Grade 11, is doing Calculus, in school, the same way we non maths mums do it at home- by getting the child to read the instructions in the text book, and do the work, and finish it at home. Who needs school? I am sure this is going to work for some kids better than others, but what happened to teaching?

OK, I posted that late last night when I should have been in bed. Of course, it is the Book Depository that gives free postage, and thats where I usually get my Galore Park stuff, which I why I got confused. Duh. I am glad the thread was useful to someone, but can we just delete it now :)

We rent the house we live in, but we are buying (could hardly call it own, yet :) ) two investment properties in the country. The property prices in our city went through the roof in the last few years and we can't afford to buy anywhere near where we live,and we want to live in the area, for the kids' sakes. But we live well, in a beautiful suburb, lots of nature, close to the river, so no complaints.

I just went to their website because they have some specials on, and I was going to buy something when I realised they were going to charge me posteage. I never thought their products were particularly cheap, but with international posteage? Wow, that makes a big difference- quite expensive overall, with the exchange rate. Oh well, the free postage was good while it lasted. I wondered if they would be able to afford to continue with it.

Thanks for sharing, thats interesting. I was thinking about this thread and how i got through my whole childhood without being bullied- I think my brother did too. It just wasn't part of our worlds growing up. However, I think it might be different nowadays- there are frequent articles in the newspapers about bullying in schools. Times have changed.

The books are Christian but my kids, who are a little allergic to too many Christian references (we are secular but they are surrounded by Christians and find it a bit much at times), didnt complain much at all, if at all- there are just a few comments here and there. Overall, as a secular homeschooler, I don't mind Tiner at all- very easy to jump over the amount of Christian references.

I go with our external structure- the structure imposed on me by external classes, which follow school terms. So, we follow school terms- which divides the year nicely into four 10 week sections with holidays in between. If I didn't have that external structure, I think I would do 5 weeks on, one week off, although kids playing on the street is another external structure I take into consideration- my kids don't like to be doing their work with the neighbourhood boys knocking on the door wanting them to play! Then, I plan ahead generally, based on our year in the history cycle- I work out our spines, generally what we will use. Then I plan in more detail for the term ahead. I inevitably plan too much, or something doesn't work. I like to see each new term as a fresh start, so for me its like a creative project- how can I spark some life into the term, what can I do that's new. Then of course, life happens, but with a basic structure, things do get done.

:iagree: I think our priorities are a bit screwy if we model that kind of waste to our kids. It's not the cost, its the waste, the trees, the processing. But, I am not really one to speak, I suppose, since we go through so much paper each week for school. I do think about it though, and try to minimise wasteage. I think the guilt anyone feels at such wasteage is probably a good thing, rather than something to be pushed aside and justified. That's what that niggling feeling is for. Sometimes it is justified, often it isn't, but I can't say for anyone else.

I recently finished two novels which I can highly, highly recommend- I dont read novels often. A Thousand Splendid Suns and Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The are novels set in Afghanistan and they really, really touched my heart. I have Sophie's World next to my bedside, havnt really got into it yet. I am also reading The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, which is very interesting, although I am skimming it rather than deeply reading it. It is about the change in economics and business and common culture- how online companies like Amazon are changing the world. Which isn't usually my thing, just happens to interest me right now. Probably a very important book.

So far, yes, but my parents were pretty good for a lto of my childhood. Until they separated when I was 13- they both neglected us kids after that point and became caught up with new relationships. So, since they really mucked up in my teens, and it truly scarred me deeply- I hope I can handle my kids teen years better. So far, yes. I do forgive my parents, but man did they make a mess of my teen years. I think its because of all the therapy and work I did on myself though, in my twenties mainly, because I was so disturbed from my childhood. I consciously did a lot of healing work. If I hadn't, I would be repeating my parents one way or another. It keeps going down the generations till someone stops it.

I 2nd the Vitamin C- it is important to absorb iron. I am anaemic, fairly chronically, I know how you feel. I have zero energy for exercise at the moment. I am making myself an orange juice in the mornings, and adding my iron drops to it. I take iron drops one day and a tablet the next.The tablet is a pharmacy iron tablet that has vitamin C in it. I eat red meat, though I would prefer to be vegetarian. I say- rest. Pushing against low energy only makes you more exhausted. Trust that it will pass, you are dealing with it, not much else you can do. Both the tannin in tea, and mineral blocking elements in soy products, can block iron absorption- to be honest I am not sure if this is a big factor or a minimal one. I still drink my tea but try not to drink it around meals. I think soy milk is the worst offender for blocking iron absorption, so I don't drink that any more- not sure it has made a difference, but I am willing to give it up. hth, hope you are feeling better soon.

We don't tend to do evening read alouds any more because my kids (ages 12 and 14) now associate read alouds with school :( however, they still love read alouds during school time. 3 days a week ( do between 1 and 2 hours of reading aloud. Another day I do 30-45 minutes. I am glad for this thread because I was beginningI might be doign too many read alouds- but i feel they do plenty of alone reading too and wouldn't like to increase their independent reading by much. Doing read alouds that are above the level of reading they can do independently (and get much out of ) allows us to cover a lot more work. I also feel we get more out of some books by reading aloud, and discussing, than if they read it alone. And I am becoming more and more convinced of the value of oral narrations as a continuing thing through highschool (on top of written ones of various type- covering all writing types). We are covering so much more work nowadays.

Well, we can agree to disagree. Its not that the victim deserves any guilt or blame or shame- not at all. It's that one cannot change someone else, and if one is doing something that attracts certain behaviour from another, one can look and see if one can change one's own behaviour. It's not that women ever, ever, ever "deserve" rape. It's that if they choose to walk down an apparently deserted dark street in a seedy suburb dressed in a mini skirt..they may be doing something to attract it that they themselves can change- something they DO have power over. it is empowering to realise you may have some control over the victim-bully dynamic, and disempowering to see oneself as a victim. In the case of the OP, I believe some kids do act in ways that attract other kids to pick on them- and they can BENEFIT from realising they may have some control over the dynamic. And the OP responded that they had considered this- which I think is only practical. Sometimes the most empowering thing to do is to move away.

Must be....they call them verges here in Perth, although curb is used as well- mostly I hear verge. But I am originally from Sydney- I have to educate these Perthians a lot. :001_smile:

My son was like this until recently. He would always lean against something- often me- and in particular he didnt like to hold his head up. I took him to a kinesiologist for Brain Gym and therapy, because of his recently diagnosed dyslexia, and she pointed out all these things to me- I had only vaguely noticed all his other symptoms. After several months of therapy with her, which is almost over, he has improved radically and these things are no longer issues. And, he suddenly has the most beautiful handwriting. Kinesiology works with all the body-brain-emotional connections. I was rather dubious at first, and thought I would just have him do a couple of sessions- each session, he would come out such a different kid- upright, alert, bright. So, I kept going, and I am glad I did.

Is your son attracting it somehow? Some kids attract bullying and it's good for them to learn to stand up to it. However, generally speaking, I would go higher, complain, and shift troops. Scouts is about developing character and leadership skills, and if the leaders are not being strong enough, they are not good role models for your son anyway. My experience is that that adult Scout leaders of any patrol make all the difference to the feeling of the troop.

my ds12 has always had low self esteem regarding his academic ability. He was labelled 'behind' in 2nd grade, which was why we homeschooled him, but he never recovered the joy of learning and confidence he had when little. He has a sister only 17 months older who is ahead of average. My path has been to just keep working on his weaknesses, praise him (although he doesnt really respond to it well, if I dont praise him he is worse!). Build on his strengths, (reading in his case) and work on his weaknesses (handwriting and writing). He can see the improvement and finally he is beginning to actually care, and his handwriting has suddenly- in the last 3-6 months, but even the last weeks- taken off and become beautiful. I never thought I would ever say it, but it is beautiful. And he knows it but he is a perfectionist so its never quite good enough for him. Some kids have to work harder at some things, and it is hard as a parent to see them hurting over it- but you can't live their destiny for them. I make a big deal about small improvements, I stay positive with him, and I dont make a big deal any more about his weak areas- we just do daily work on them. Growth doesnt have to happen in slow increments- my son's handwriting suddenly improved when he decided to try really hard at it. He probably couldn't have done better before, even if he did try- somehow, he was just ready to try. Your son's spelling may take off better when he learns to just notice spellings. I agree with the person who said spell check was the best- it has been for my son too. And so has reading a lot. Much more than any spelling programs- but if my son was weak in spelling we would do daily spelling and then get on with our other work. Because my son hates worksheets and workbooks, we do very few of them. I try and build on his strong areas- we read and discuss- he is a verbal kid.

My own approach is to focus on the whole child rather than just the academics. I personally don't want the highschool years to be one long academic grind as preparation for university. Here in Australia, if my child were for some reason to flunk highschool, (which she wont)she could still go to university at age 21 as a mature aged student, so its not the be all and end all- I would rather they find their passion and use the amazing opportunity of homeschooling to live a broad life during the teenage years. And, I don't neglect academics (I talk highschool because here in Australia my 14yo is in 2nd year highschool, which is Year 9). I focus on maths up to a point, and writing skills, including notetaking and essays, as well as creative writing for my artistic child. I prioritise. We cover a lot by reading and discussion. She attends a science class because thats my weak teaching area. I am for a balanced life. These are also the last years I can teach her the things I want to teach her before she moves on. Things like a deeper study of nutrition, and also ideas around rearing children (I have books in mind I would love her to read, which I intend to make part of her schedule). The things I wish I had been taught at home, basically. Relationship skills. Homemaking skills. Budgeting. I feel these things may well end up being of more practical skill than knowing the emperors of Rome (even though we do and love history) or higher level maths- unless she wants to do certain careers. And these things take time. So, I am for balance so that all aspects of life are given attention. Edited to add- I think everyone shodl read the Teenage Liberation Handbook before the teenage years.

I plan when I get the desire to, which happens at different times during the year. I go from general ideas and plans, to more specific plans as the year goes on. I refine and refine until eventually I have something to make daily schedules from- but even then, I only do a term ahead. But, I happen to love planning, so its not a chore.

:grouphug: Be really, really kind to yourself. Thinking of you.