Lol, not that I am aware of but I know a Pagan family who use R&S and the daughters change all the Gods to Goddess in their answers. Actually, it's worth looking at Analytical Grammar- being secular is one of the reasons I bought it. Its not like R&S, but it covers grammar very thoroughly.

There is a whole range from cheap plastic recorders to hand carved wooden ones worth thousands. My 12yo son has been learning recorder for over 3 years with a brilliant woman, retired, who charges much less than normal, and who has trained some of the top recorder players in the world. He cannot play piano....it is just terribly difficult for him to coordinate two hands like that- and I didnt think recorder would be any better but this woman has him completely in the palm of her hand, and sees him as musically gifted. He is actually really, really good. So our experience with recorder has been wonderful. Jared also received a gift of a beautiful wooden recorder from a lady who died. If your dd gets into recorder she will probably want more than one sized recorder, and my son plays the treble mostly rather than the descant- its easier on the ears- but it is certainly one of those instruments where you can start relatively cheaply (although I wouldnt start at the absolute bottom of the range because the quality of the sound wont be as good).

Not that I know of, I must admit. I have heard that is common in the U.S. It may simply be that corn is not such a big crop here. We just sugar our food with lots of sugar, since we are big sugar cane producers!

There is an Australian Classical Homeschooling Yahoo group called CHOOZ...there are plenty of classical homeschoolers in Australia. Sydney is my hometown but I live in Perth. The rules are ok everywhere, but you do have to jump through some hoops. But its very doable.

Two things come to my mind. One is, I must admit I also have fostered relationships with mothers whose children mine clicked with, and I am not an overly social person at all, in fact sometimes its a challenge to keep up with the kids' socialising, because it usually involves me driving and me socialising too, but it did seem important when we were trying to find friends. May not be relevant to you Colleen but just thought I would share it. The other is, well, life just doesn't always go the way we want it to, and its ok. You want what's best, your son wants friends, and for some reason its not clicking...so, theres not much point in getting too upset- I don't mean to be flippant, but sometimes there are lessons and stuff to learn when we don't get what we want, KWIM? he has brothers and a loving family, a farm lifestyle, he knows you care, life could be a lot worse. Maybe its worth focusing on the good stuff. You probably do, but I was just thinking how I would try and cope in that situation, not being able to give my son what his heart craved. You can only do what you can do, and wait for things to change, but no point throwing away the present for the future. By the way, my son's best friend lives on a farm about 150kms away- we live in the city, on the other side to the side the farm is on! It makes for interesting situations and sometimes very long stays at a farm for my son, or having a guest over for a week at a time. Fortunately they see each other at some homeschooling functions. Anyway, it must be a tough situation, I hope you can find a way to resolve it.

I just make mornings from 8am to 1pm school time, and woe betide anyone who tries to disturb me during that time. My husband works from home and it took me ages to train him not to disturb us whenever he felt like someone to talk to, poor thing. Hes very good now, and even takes guests out of earshot so as not to disturb us. I also rarely take on evening things because I need sleep, or it wrecks my next day. It took me ages to learn, but I treat homeschooling as the most important part of my day, and everything falls into place after that. I do think its a case of priorities and not trying to be everything to everybody else. Maybe its easier for me because I dont have a lot of other commitments, but once or twice a year I do week long retreats away from my family. I do take serious time for myself, and I plan it in. I am in a band, which takes up weekend time. Its your first year. you will get the hang of it. Its really quite a lifestyle change.

I used Cambridge in highschool, and then when we hired a Latin teacher a few years ago, thats what he used. it has a very good reputation amongst university people in Australia and Britain apparently. I use the British edition, and bought the Independent Learning Manuals which go with it. ANd presently, my daughter is using the Etutor facility through the British website, for Book 3. We no longer use the teacher. It is good for the reasons you state- it is engaging, interesting, not dry, and it is actually very well thought out. The stories come from traditional texts, and Roman history and culture is interwoven into the books. The reason "classical" people dont tend to use it is because it doesn't drill and teach all the grammar separately. It does teach the grammar explicitly, and there are separate exercises, but it is learned more through immersion. Having said all that, I use a combination of Latin Prep and Cambridge for my 2nd child (the older has only ever used Cambridge, with and without a teacher, Independent Learning Manuals, and now an etutor). For ds, Latin Prep is a good balance of translations, which are engaging and in particular seemed to be aimed at boys in their humour- and learning the grammar, which is taught differently and more in the traditional way. We have spent the last 6 months with Latin prep 1, not getting very far but still learning a lot, and are now going back to Cambridge and finishing off Book 1 where we left off. And my son is flying through the translations now. Using two British programs also seems to work well, rather that use an American and British. Anyway, if it appeals, I can highly recommend Cambridge, particularly if your children are resistant to learning Latin or you want to make sure its engaging. The websites are great, I agree, and I make use of them to reinforce grammar, and my dd uses them to help her with her translations.

Yes I must admit my personal love for the K12 one comes largely from the fact that it covers eastern religions in fair depth, and in a secular way, and in a way my kids (ages 12 and 13/14) can access. I had designed my own program for the year making sure I had included good coverage of Buddhism etc, but when the K12 book fell in my lap I decided not to reinvent the wheel. I have a personal love of eastern religion and mythology, and a great familiarity with it, and my kids live in an environment where we have buddhas and all sorts of spiritual philosophy floating around..I wanted to share that with my kids this year and give them a more solid background. Its not that the K12 book is dominated with it...it just takes up a balanced amount of time along with the history of judaism , christianity etc, and that is what suited me well.

We are secular (um, very secular) and Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox are definitely useable. Sometimes something comes up which has a Christian slant but it is fuel for discussion...being logic. Art of Arguement is very useable by us secular folk..I plan to do that next.

Australia is not far behind the U.S. when it comes to obesity. I think it must be related to lifestyle, and the majority of people have stressed out lifestyles- its just normal in our culture. To be very busy is just normal, to the point that people feel guilty if they are not busy, and expect to be able to destress in a holiday once a year. In other countries, it's just not like that so much. They don't work so hard. They take time out for long lunchtimes (I am thinking Italy, France), mealtimes are much more important as a time for people to gather together. So if I am alone and rushing from one place to another, and hungry because I skipped breakfast, I am more likely to grab something unhealthy, than when I am having a lunch with a friend in a cafe for a couple of hours. Also, surely it has something to do with women being much more in the workforce and therefore unable to spend as much time preparing food? No one is home to think about it, and when everyone gets home, its all we can manage to cook a pizza or a TV dinner. Its about priorities, and our cultures' are all twisted.

Fun is Fallacy Detective/ Thinking Toolbox. But its worth reading TWTM chapter on Logic and working out why you want to do it. Otherwise its just another subject to tick off the to-do list.

Spelling Power is teacher intensive. Great for the student, I think. Bummer for the parent when you get tired of having to run the lesson every day, year after year. :001_smile:It's only 15 minutes or so, but day after day, year after year, with more than one student.....worth considering. (Havent seen Natural Speller)

My maternal grandmother is fiercely proud of the fact that she went to teacher's college, and later university, and became a very independent and highly educated woman in a time when that was not common. Of her 3 children, one is a policeman, and my mother went to uni, stopped and got married, and then went back later in life. My maternal grandfather was also a teacher (he is 94 now and still gopng strong. granma has alzheimers at 88). Paternally, my father is English and his parents were working class battlers who did everything for their children. All three went to university- dad to do astronomy, one sister is a doctor, the other a teacher. I was expected to go to university, by my father and grandmother, but my parents divorced during my teens and I went into severe depression, and left home at 16. I have no real ambition to go to uni any more.( I did get a naturopathic diploma through mostly distance education). Sometimes I think it would be nice, to do English Lit or something, but homeschooling has also taught me to self educate, and I am content with that. Less time learning things I am not so interested in.

lentil vegie soup. curry dhal vegetarian taco soup. minestrone

Dh runs therapy type groups from home, used to do massage...he has always worked from home...so the kids have been trained since birth to be quiet near daddy's work area, and not to disturb him. Recently we rearranged our house and it is working much better. I always had to be quiet in the kitchen before- now we can make as much noise as we like and he cant hear. I would say this is something daddy himself needs to do for himself, tell the kids not to disturb him- maybe get together for morning tea or lunch ...it's not all up to you. My husband has no problem telling the kids to leave him alone.

Lol. I think you just accept them as they are. You are lucky, my 12yo does the minimum also, but he does whinge and whine that it's too much. I actually keep it at the minimum so that he can spend his free time doing what he wants to do, which presently is skateboarding. He is obsessed. He reads a lot, so I just need to be content that while I think Latin and writing are important, he doesn't, and if I look from his perspective, I can see why. Whether I can empathise or not, I think it's important to accept kids' quirky personalities. We don't know why are they here and what they have to offer the world.

Lol, I thought most people didn't use Saxon maths...although plenty do. I use an Australian program for highschool in case my kids go back to school for some reason to get a diploma. However I have used Singapore maths in primary because it had far less work than Saxon, was beautifully and clearly presented, and I read a lot about the way it taught and I liked it...

We use Cambridge Latin along with Latin Prep...more alternatively than simultaneously.....and it is amazing how quickly the kids learn to read Latin with Cambridge. It gives quite a confidence. The stories are based on Latin texts, but are interesting. They are designed for about age 11 up, but I know 8year olds who have managed with help.

Interesting...I have a different perspective that might not be popular here. I see the 5yo as much in the wrong as the 11yo, and I would try not to take sides. I let the kids work it out...otherwise they then do things for the effect on the parent as much as to work things out with each other. You say the 11 doesn't usually hit unless provoked. So let the 5yo get a whack and maybe he wont provoke his sister for a while. By taking sides, you put yourself in a constant position of mediator of your childrens' squabbles. How can children protect themselves from very annoying siblings? It seems only natural to me to let them have some power and simply turn a blind eye. Of course I would step in if it went much beyond a spat here and there, and work on the deeper issues. But taking sides with children over every issue, and handing out punishment when the 11yo is already having to deal with an annoying sibling...is only going to breed resentment. Give the 11yo some power to deal with the situation herself, and she soon may have an adoring younger sibling who wont treat her badly because he knows she won't take it. I know a family with 4 kids all spread out in age, and the mother is always protecting the younger siblings from the older, and turning the younger ones into brats that the older ones don't want to play with because whenever a younger one doesn't get what he wants, he cries and the older one gets into trouble every time. Younger kids have a lot of power, and very loud voices, and often really know how to annoy their siblings. I actually believe rules like "no hitting allowed" can be counter productive. I don't have that rule, but the kids are not animals who go around hitting each other. I realise this is probably way out of the reality of most of you, but I try not to get so involved because mostly I don't know the whole situation,and i dont want to play God with them, so I put it back on the kids, punish both of them (which I realise you did, but the 11yo felt unfairly punished) or leave them to sort it out themselves. I would cuddle the 5 yo, ask what he did to deserve it, and treat the 11 yo with more understanding. I am not against physical punishment- a smack- but I don't do that and then have a rule that my kids are not allowed to hit each other. Anyway, thats a few of my thoughts...not all relevant to your situation, but I thought I would share them anyway.

I haven't read all the responses, but I read the first page. My approach to discipline, which I learned from my dh, is punishment needs to be immediate. I have learned how much better it is on my heart connection with my children when things are dealt with swiftly and cleanly, so that we can all move on. No hours in the bathroom, no future loss of screen time past today....immediate, sometimes apparently severe consequence. It has to end soon, so that the child can feel sorry and move on and feel forgiven, otherwise it breeds bitterness, resentment and bad feelings in the whole household but in your own heart, and in the child's. I cannot imagine having to harden my heart to punish a child weeks after an incident. I also have a must attend Scouts policy, because my 12yo son would rather play with the boys on the street or play computer games, and neither are a good substitute for Scouts and the discipline he learns there. However, I would never have put him in at age 6. Not that you can here. 6 is little. I just wouldnt push it at that age. However, if you must, I would do what others have suggested and reward him for classes he is not kicked out of. My son drives me crazy..he is in his room now for speaking to me disrespectfully. But it will be over in a few minutes and he will get a chance to start fresh.

For a long time my kids had a desk each facing each other with a bookshelf turned on its side, on the widest desk...not sure if thats clear, but they had a bookshelf dividing their desks. One child had the back- so he could use it as a pin board- and the other had the front with the shelves in their sides- perfect for stacking school books upright. Nowadays my older child works with earplugs in..it helps her a lot to not be distracted by her noisy, distractable brother. The other thing is, there is absolutely no substitute for staying the in the room with them. As soon as I leave the room the younger will disturb the older. If I am i the room, he will mostly just try to disturb me:)

Oh, I got up yesterday morning to no milk in the house for tea or anything. My dd13 gaily said oh mum, there is some milk, its ok, and reached for her chocolate bunny at the back of the fridge. There was milk inside it. No, I didn't want chocolate milk in my tea, but I thanked her for the thought.

I went through a burn out stage last year and realised I needed to change my style and attitude to homeschooling. It was too much my identity, so that changed. I was hanging out here so much that I was constantly feeling inadequate because many mothers here do do such an incredibly outstanding job, and I just don't work as hard as they do. I find its about a balance in life, my life and the kids'. I finish by 1pm, and my time is my own after that. My kids do their own thing. I am not particularly available for them in the afternoons, except for transport to some classes. I do not spend all day every day with my kids, and I don't feel guilty about that at all. Of course, they are not little anymore either. My signature says neoClassical Lite because no way could I do everything in TWTM and stay sane, so I don't try. I just do what I can do and leave the rest for another time. You could say I have lowered my standards, but I feel content with my choices. We are happy, homeschooling only takes up a third of our day, and life is rich. Have a look at the Thoreau quote below as well. That is my motto at the moment.

I love the text...it is one of my best finds for the year. I was actually ordering History Odyssey 2nd hand thinking I was getting a different text, and ended up with K12's instead, (same name, 2 different books)and it is fantastic for my needs. I joined K12 thinking I might as well do it since I liked the text...but I agree with Eliana, a lot of busy work...a lot of work period. And my kids don't like working on the computer. So I quit K12online and I just use the text. I read it aloud a chapter a week. The book covers Ancients and Medieval so I can afford to take our time, and I intend to slow down once I get to the Greeks and Romans. The book is wonderful for Logic stage. Instead of just covering facts, it covers the thinking, the background, what civilization is, the development of all the major world religions...the development of thought and culture. It is secular, which suits me. On Tuesdays I read a chapter to the kids. Sometimes they do mapwork. On Wednesdays they will do outlining...not usually from the K12 book, because the chapters are very long. Sometimes I will find a relevant section in Kingfisher, or another book from the library..last week for Hinduism I printed off two pages from the internet that seemed to be a good summary and they outlined that. They outline on their computers and will usually find pictures online. On Thursday I will pick a writing assignment- a research report, or sometimes a creative exercise. I have started adding in more geography, and today after reading I had them do a short report on the Himalayas. On top of all this they have reading lists, and our year is a year long unit study on Ancients. So the text itself is just for reading, there are no exercises in it, but I would definitely say it qualifies as a Living Book....far, far more so that Kingfisher Encyclopedia. It has stories embedded in it as well. Beautifully illustrated.

Oh shucks you guys, you bring a tear to my eye and make my day! I disappeared for a taste of real life and to deal with my computer (read WTMmessage board) addiction....I must admit I have thought of you all often...it was quite a surprise to drop back in and see the new board format and I couldn't help myself but register and play around with all the new toys here...meaning to read only of course and never stay long.....and whoops, whaddya know, here I am slipped back into cyber-reality again. Thanks for the welcome :001_smile: