:iagree: This bag is amazing! You can generally get it way cheaper on Sierra trading and wow, it has become one of my favorite gifts to give as well. My only complaint now is that it needs to be about one inch wider to accommodate my ipad better. Once you no longer need lots of room, it is the best diaper bag too.

I have actually seen quite a few... This one really bothered me, talking about the affects on their families: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/us/20rapture.html?_r=1

I am a curly girl, my two girls are curly girls... Stay away from typical shampoo - that stuff kills curly hair. Use products from sources like http://www.jessicurl.com/ That stuff, awesome

:iagree: We have been using this method but, I like the wagon idea for this summer when we can walk to the library.

Setting up a tent right along side you all :lol: We are going to start Spanish as a family next year - we live in an area that has many Spanish only speakers and the kids both want to learn - as well as I. :001_smile:

:iagree: Ya, this answer - my personal answer - is pretty much addressed in my most recent blog post.

My kids were in a private school last year so, it seems to be a lot less on the surface but *cough* I worked so, hmm... AMAZON, that will be the death of me Today, DH walked in and said, "Oh, another book shaped box." And, gave me this "how do we approach your addiction" look?

I was a public school teacher, in fact, I still take contract work to train teachers. My husband was a school teacher and is now - gulp- a school administrator. Many of our friends are public educators. None of them have questioned our choice to homeschool. It is a difficult time for schools. They are increasingly being asked to do more with less resources. Many (most I should say) parents do not have the call to homeschool. The public schools are necessary and I know that the work a teacher is asked to do is essentially impossible on even the good days.

I am able to access it with my iPad -- i am a techie kind of girl but, I need my tech mobile-- so, that is really nice. However, for combined subjects, how do you do that? It seems that students are only treated separately and their courses don't overlap, which makes it pretty unusable for me. It may be user error though, I have only played with it a bit.

We have a "classroom" which is great for holding our curriculum and supplies but, naturally, we do most of our work at the dining room table. It is a big area with great natural light - rather like you stated about yours. We move things to a nearby shelf at mealtimes and the kids' stuff ultimately is stored in the classroom when we are not "doing school." I have them trained to clean up the table after every meal.

:iagree: As a past middle school teacher...middle school is rough but, I think this goes back to when does your child need to be home schooled? For me, it happened at the 4th grade year because his 3rd grade year was so awful. You need to base it on your child's needs!

Hi Erin, I never was sure where to post an intro either. I don't think there is a place. Welcome to the wild world of homeschooling though :lol: This is the best place to be.

We had a beloved co-op fail this year and both of my kids were so sad about the loss of that. I don't know if you have anything like this in your area but, Next fall we are going to a program where homeschool kids go for only one day a week. It is run by a school district but, in a church -- you are still a homeschooler. They do all of the cool stuff like art (with a real art teacher :lol:) and science labs and Lego robotics, etc. And the best of all - 150 students in our community alone. So, I am hoping that this will give them an opportunity to build some friendships with other homeschoolers. And I have to admit, one day to focus on my poor 2 year old sounds heavenly to me!

:iagree: This looks great!

:bigear: I didn't really do much note booking this year but, would like to pursue this more next year so, any how to advice will be great.

I am using facts first for both of my kids. They like it, it keeps records for me. It has a nice choice of games they can play when they are done with the more rote drills. But, it limits them to 5 minutes. So, if I am off with my 2 yo they don't spend countless time on the computer games if I don't get back in time.

:iagree:

I also hit a bust with these... And we are very computer friendly people. However, we do history together and going from site to site and sitting around our computer just didn't give rise to any good discussion moments. :tongue_smilie:

:iagree: Lots of the behavior described in this thread - fits my son-- or maybe I should say did. We have worked with him on providing tons of explicit instruction regarding social situations and it is exhausting. However, to see him actually be able to socialize on appropriate levels this year -- so worth it. He still acts a bit "off" but, he is understanding how to prevent his behaviors from moving towards the rude side of things. Sometimes you feel relentless though and I even have days where I just can't intervene one more time.

My son was only vaguely aware of 9/11 prior to the other day. He always watches the free brain pop video on my iPad. The other day, it was on 9/11. It was certainly a decent adaption for an almost (next week) 11 year old but, as others have posted about their kids and curiosity, this led to him saying to me " mom, I have to see the real footage". So I sat down and watched just a bit with him. I started crying and he said "mom why are you crying?" about 5 minutes later, he tapped me and "said, okay mom, now I am crying.". We turned it off and discussed it. He then had to "break the news" to little sister-7. She looked at him with that glazed over look and ran outside to play. She is obviously not ready for this yet. I was worried that it would cause too much worry for my son and felt a bit guilty - honestly, I had not revisited this for so long, I was surprised at the power of it over my emotional state. He later talked about it with dad too and we all prayed. He said he is glad I told him because he hears the references to it all the time.

Thank you! I seriously needed to hear that today:001_smile:

I have these ready to go on my iPad and this has reminded me, I need to get to reading!

:iagree: As a past school teacher and wife to a current school administrator... We choose to homeschool our kids because it is almost impossible to not have it be more effective. Don't get me wrong, ps teachers are doing incredible things. I am just maximizing my ability too teach something better. -

I did have a friend who suddenly started to "lactate" on this diet. Her doctor had to put her on pills to end that. And, he really was unhappy with this diet. Are there actually doctors avocating for this?

Mine is in Phoenix right now and, I should not even be up... But, I am because it will take me forever to fall asleep!:lol: