Thanks so much for your help! Her gymanstics place has some leotards, but I don't think they have any biketards. I will check out the sites you've mentioned. I browsed ebay earlier, but prices seem high for ebay. Maybe I'll feel more confident in my purchase when I know what I'm buying. Do you find that the glittery leotards itch or do they feel fine from the inside? Does the velveteen get hot? I never knew leotards would be such an investment. :lol:

We are enjoying Real Science Odyssey. It is similar to what you have described. There is usually a page for the parent to read, then an activity (for example: do different exercises and measure your heart-rate) or a model making activity. There are a few questions to ask at the end. You can grab a few books from the library based on what you are learning at the time.

We really favor picture books over here. :D Chrysanthemum (or any Kevin Henkes) Don't Let the Pigeon... (or any Mo Willems) Dr. Seuss Abuela One Grain of Rice (and other Demi) "Let's Read and Find Out" science books books of Fairy Tales, Greek Myths, other stories

Dd has one leotard I happen to find at Target once, but I haven't seen them there since (lots of dance leotards with little skirts, but no gymnastics ones). Where else can I find them? I prefer the kind with bottoms like bike shorts ("biketard"). I've been looking online, but I'm hesitant to buy because some of them look itchy and I know dd isn't going to wear anything itchy. Anyone know any good stores/brands?

I know what you are saying and agree completely. What we are doing is using the one year / one specialty, but also adding in whatever we want or where life takes us. I don't think you have to do one or the other. So right now we are doing life science / human body in our official Science, but then we add in as interest/opportunity arise. If a book we are reading leads us to learn more about the moon or crystals or something, we will go for it. But I don't feel any pressure to go super in-depth because I know we will have a more thorough discussion / build models / etc. later. We can follow that interest until it starts to wane and then let it go (even if it feels incomplete to me - I don't have to worry). Does that make sense? I don't discourage science on other topics, but I don't worry about them either. In that way the kids can follow their own interest and I still feel sure that they will learn about all the subjects in time. It actually helps me feel less overwhelmed to not be thinking about ALL the possible cool science things we could be doing. I know we will get to them in time and are welcome to explore them at our leisure with no pressure right now. :) In any case, I think our kids end up learning more science just from things that come up in life and our discussions about them!

My kids are pretty close in age, so I do make sure that things are equal. I will even get them the exact same things if it makes sense. Dd will notice any discrepency, believe me! Anyway, it makes it more fun for me to shop. For example, if I find a puzzle that one would like it is fun to search out and find a puzzle for the other one. They also get a lot of combined gifts (board games, etc.). The extended family does not always balance it and it can be a problem. For some reason, ds always gets active toys that he can play with (examples: nerf blaster or legos) and dd will get something you can wear or look at (examples: princess book or glittery shoes). Dd would much rather have the active toys. Then she is sitting watching while ds is playing with his stuff. It is a bit of a problem.

Dh does most of the cooking at our house. It is for the best. One time he was out of town and I tried to make popcorn on the stove. Somehow I managed to set the pot on fire.... :blushing:

I guess I'm a little disturbed by the absence of hands-on, real-life manipulatives and discussion. Watching a video may work for some students, but not for others. Just like only reading a textbook might work for some, but not others. I wouldn't be happy if my child was in elementary school and the teacher just told them to read the textbook and let her know if they have any questions.

Maybe a sling? (kind of for the mom, I guess, but baby would benefit!) wooden teether? organic cotton doll/animal? How about this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62809587

When he chooses, ds reads Calivin and Hobbes, Foxtrot, Manga books (Japanese comics), big Nate, and occasionally nonfiction about snakes or spiders or something along those lines. (Something with a lot of pictures) For school, he just finished Frindle and one of the Magic Treehouse books. He read Tornado and another chapter book before that. His reading level is high, but he doesn't choose chapter books on his own. When we read to him, he likes Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Judy Moody or Stink books. He still likes picture books as well. I'm glad because I still have some picture books I want to read to him! I feel like it is a race against time before he declares himself too old for picture books, kwim? But there are so many great picture books out there. I'll be happy if he never "grows out" of them. :D

From what I've heard from parents in Palo Alto and Los Altos - the parents (or tutors or afterschool facilitators) are doing most of the teaching, anyway. The parents I spoke with said the kids come home with homework that is new material and the parents have to teach them everything. Similarly, now the kids come home and watch the Kahn videos as homework, then they can ask the teacher the next day about anything they didn't understand. They are actually not taught at school. :confused: Most kids in these cities are going to score well regardless of what the school does. The parents will sign them up for tutoring, etc. even if they are at grade level - so they can get ahead.

I'm not a lawyer, so keep that in mind. But here is my understanding: You don't have to trademark the name - it would give you more protection in court if you ever had a dispute. You should search the federal trademarks, though, to make sure you aren't usuing a name that is already trademarked. Go to http://www.uspto.gov/ and click on search marks. You also need to do research (Google searches, etc.) to make sure the name isn't already in use for your product area. Even if it isn't trademarked, if it is already in use you can not use it or anything that is so similar that it could be easily confused. I think if you make baby products and someone else is using it for cat products, it should be okay. For example, there is an apple computer company and an apple record company. The problem would be if it is in the same category. So you can't sell household goods under the name "Pottery Barn" or even "Pottery Larn" or something like that. It is hard to find a unique name! That's why there are a lot of companies out there with made-up words for names (like Zynga or Yahoo or eBay). The more unique it is, the less likely you are to end up in a dispute down the line. Hope that helps!

I define the minimum as what it takes to keep the child's options open until he/she is at an age to decide for his/her own future plans. For Kinder, I don't think academics need to be required, but as you go forward there should be enough academics in a child's life that college will be a choice. Some kids can learn to read at 12, but others will miss a window of opportunity by then. When I used to tutor reading, there was a 12 year old who never learned to read in school (his school used strictly whole language - no phonics at all). His family actually sued the school district for not teaching him to read and the district was paying for his tutoring. He was learning with phonics, but it was slow going. This boy was so frustrated, thought he was "dumb" and was really checked out. 12 years old was really too late for him. By then his attitude and self-esteem had taken such a hit, it was a struggle to get him to do anything. Can you imagine if your friends were reading Harry Potter and you could barely sound out words? Anyway, I don't know why anyone would want to do the minimum. I guess it is a different mindset!

Ds used to cry in private school (K & 1st). He would cry when he didn't win at a game or contest. I think he also cried sometimes due to not knowing something right away (hard to get the whole story sometimes as to what happened). Actually, I think he cries a lot less in homeschool than he did at school. I think it is because he is less stressed and gets more sleep now.

I don't blame the mom. Dd gets an allowance and I don't pay attention to where it is or how much she has. As for the unfinished lunches, that is extremely common because a lot of schools have recess right after lunch (so as soon as you are done eating, you can go play). Of course kids don't want to eat because they would rather be playing! Why would they let a kindergartener buy ice cream every day? That's crazy. They could just offer it once a week if they wanted the kids to have a treat once a week. No, they offer it every day. I don't think they have the kids in mind. I think they do it for the money it brings in. Also, keep in mind that these treats aren't the only ones happening at school. If you have a class of 20 or 30 kids, there are birthday treats coming in every two weeks or so. Plus every holiday has parties which have tons of treats. Schools are supposed to teach the kids to eat healthy, right? It doesn't make sense. How can you teach the kids to eat healthy food and then encourage them to have sugary sweets every day? I would be frustrated if I was the mom, too.

Yes! I've had the same issue. When dad is home just hanging out the kids think it is the weekend or something. It totally throws us off.

We did the dharma/koolaid method as well. I think my favorite one is the blue - I can't remember what we used, though. Is there a blue raspberry or something? It came out pretty light, but it looks lovely. The red died surprisingly well. I was worried it would come out pinkish, but it really is red (like a watercolor red). Have fun! :)

:confused: :blink: So calling it a holiday tree has resulted in your people being slaughtered, your way of life eradicated, your culture and language in danger of disappearing? Have you been rounded up and forced to live in designated places away from your original home? Does calling it a holiday tree cause your children to die of small pox? Come on.

Thanks for posting this. I have the exact same question! Ds is currently best friends with the boy next door. He is not a bad kid, but he is not at all interested in learning/academics and says things like "Chess is stupid." :glare: I would love to find ds some peers who enjoy learning. He really developed a hatred toward "learning" while in private school for two years. Homeschooling is helping, but he still occasionally says he doesn't like learning. It makes me so sad to hear that. He used to love learning as a preschooler before school changed that. :( Anyway, I've thought of something like a chess club, but I think something non-competitive would be better. Ds likes competition only when he wins. :tongue_smilie: But if your girls are okay with competition, I would look at Odyssey of the Mind or Destination Imagination. Also, maybe a "mad science" type class or lego? Maybe a music school?

6) Some kids just aren't interested in Science and Math? I have a problem with the pushing of Math and Science on kids. You don't see that with other subjects. There aren't a lot of people pushing all kids to enjoy ballet. Or lamenting that kids' heroes aren't ballerinas, etc. If it is just for career reasons, I agree that having a science degree does not actually mean it is easy to find a job. It can be quite difficult and often underpaid. I guess I'm sensitive about it because I was pushed into Engineering when I never really enjoyed it. I was not the type to do science/math/tech stuff on my own time for fun (and there *are* people who do, but not me). I was good at math and female, so I got pushed into it. And the feminist side of my went for it to "prove" that women could do engineering, too. But I never really liked it! So I get frustrated when I hear things like "we need to get more girls interested in Science and Math." If they are interested, they will be interested. If they are not, no one should try to make them be, kwim? I so with I could go back to age 18 and pick a different major - maybe something I was interested in!

I agree with putting your craft room in the guest room. You want it somewhere comfortable with good light - somewhere you want to go! :) My dh once set up my paints and stuff in the garage and while it was a sweet gesture, I never went out there in the gloomy garage. ;) You are lucky to have so many rooms! :D

You absolutely can do it! It is easier than you probably think. :) The rules are going to vary by state. I would check your city's website. They should have information for how to start a small business. Our city had a checklist of the steps you need to take (nothing too difficult/expensive).

I don't think there is a crafter anywhere who doesn't have a dozen unfinished projects hanging around. :001_smile: Do you have a place where you can keep a project out and ready? Sometimes half the battle is taking everything out and getting set up, kwim? Right now I have taken over our homeschool table with scrapbooking stuff. Though tonight I'll have to put it back away and it may not see the light of day for awhile. :D

I didn't order the test book at first, but then ds really wanted tests for some reason. :confused: It is a big book, but I think it has been a good review. It seems more challenging than the workbook. He usually gets everything right in the workbook, but has made a few errors on the tests. It is a good way to double check that he got everything I think. Though taking the tests is time consuming, so I'm trying to decide if we are still going to do the workbook and IP and tests. Sometimes I pick and choose questions in the workbook so he doesn't have to do them all. My ds really likes pictures, so I don't have a solution for you there. :) The CWP doesn't have much pictures so you could try that along with whatever main curriculum you choose.

We do 5 days which includes 4 days of regular school and 1 day for a field trip. If they have a day off (Veteran's Day, MLK Jr Day, etc.) of the week, we just do the 4 regular days.