:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Just to add...perhaps the best distraction in our schoolroom is the big window where he can see the dog. He loves the dog and will spend much time there in observation. That probably doesn't help you, though. :)

I have those drawers. And a ten month old. He finds those drawers endlessly fascinating, I'm sure he thinks they are there just for him. After much practice he can pull a whole drawer out. Which must be fun, because as soon as he gets one out he does it again. :D Oh, have I mentioned that I have three sets of these drawers? Honestly, sometimes I leave him be and let him destroy as much as he can because that keeps him busy while we are getting some work done. But, when I really don't want to clean up the mess, I turn the drawers sideways. He can't get into them at all that way and hasn't yet figured out that they are on wheels. :) He has pulled one over once, which was scary, so make sure there's not anything heavy on top. Our supplies are out of reach, they are on the school table and he can't reach. But I happily put down a bucket of markers for him to pull out and distribute throughout the room to keep him entertained. He loves them. I have several different containers of markers which I put down one by one when I'm trying to distract him. Our notebooks are lined up on a bookshelf out of reach, but those drawers do contain workbooks. So far he hasn't ruined anything. On the bottom shelves around the room I have baskets of blocks, baskets of baby toys, toys that are for preschool age that he can't ruin. The room is definitely entertaining for him. I've moved anything with small pieces up to higher shelves. I also bring the highchair in there during the day. He sleeps later than my other kids, so he often has his breakfast there and later a snack. That keeps him contained for awhile. ;)

Love this!!!!

Love this! Have you heard of the SOTW video blog? You could add those links also to get some relevant youtube videos for each chapter. I'm doing something like this for geography using COAH's Expedition Earth, a page for each country with the pdf pages, links, etc.

Love, love, love OneNote! So thankful that I read about it on these boards. I had tried Evernote and it never felt right, I felt clumsy and disorganised using it which defeats the purpose. We had OneNote already but I'd never understood what it was for. I found OneNote to be very easy to figure out how to use and it just makes sense to me. I'm sure there are people who prefer the other, so if you're looking at these be sure to try them both and see which one appeals to you. Question: When inserting a pdf printout, can you specify only a few pages instead of the whole file? I'm having to 'print' those pages to a separate file using a pdf printer before inserting and I find that extra step pretty annoying. :)

Living Memory? No analysis though. Can be purchased as an ebook through lulu or a hardcopy (i got mine from RR). Very thorough.

Everytime I think of what you've written here I'm just :crying: I hope that apple tree stands forever and that Zia takes her kids there one day and they all eat apples while she tells them about her brother. :cool: (Nobody tell me that apple trees don't bear fruit for that long, I'll refuse to believe you! :001_tt2: )

These boxes: http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=1&category=4586 We have the Ikea Trofast and sort by colour. But I was still finding Lego everywhere until we got these boxes. They've been magic for us! They're big enough to hold a good amount, but still portable, and inexpensive.

I never see anyone on these boards raving about what's on special the way we do here. :D I'm headed there on Saturday for their winter gear sale. Last year we got the kids new coats but I was pregnant and wasn't sure what size I'd need. This year it's my turn!

I don't have any siblings, so my response is probably a bit more polite than others with that relationship experience. 'Thanks, brother, for your input. I do think my children have gotten plenty of life experience outside of a school setting. I know that's hard to see from where you are, and I'd be happy to discuss our homeschooling experience sometime. May I pass on your congratulations to DS?'

I started both FLL1 and FLL2 with my oldest and ended up finishing neither. We read through Grammarland last year, and now at 9yo he's doing FLL3 and it's just right. With my next I don't plan to start him until he's ready for FLL3, before that we'll read keep it low-key, just reading books about grammar (What is a Noun?, etc).

IEW has a second grade program called Bible Heroes which is a great intro to their way of doing things. I wish they had another option with a different subject matter for those who would prefer secular use. It has a lot of games and vocabulary as well as the outlining.

Oh, yay! Congrats! So happy for you!

Sigh. No longer sandal season where I live. My toes are already neglected.

Hoping she hasn't come back to this thread because she is busy with a newborn. :wub:

Agreeing with these. This dog owner is a jerk. I think you need to carry pepper spray for yourself if you don't already. Anything further you do could provoke this guy. Please be prepared to defend yourself. This really isn't about the dog, it's about the owner.

This, Rosie, this. There's not one person here who won't be thinking of you this Mother's Day. :grouphug:

I have those intense, fast labours also. With this last one I decided to try the not pushing thing. You know, breathe the baby out, let your body do it, etc. I've had all mine naturally so I knew what was coming. When I was actually in the midst of it I wanted. to be. done. And so I thought Forget that! (I might have used a different f-word there.) I want this baby out now! And I pushed him out as quickly as I could. I guess that's accepting the pain and making it happen, huh? :) Getting him out of me as quickly as possible was my motivation. After he was born I happily proclaimed over and over again how I never. had. to do that. again. (He's our last.) Knowing that I would never have to go through labour and birth again was honestly what gave me strength. Two hours from the time my water broke, only an hour and a half of contractions. I totally get what you're feeling as you anticipate labour. The gas, btw, is not used in America that I know of. I was quite flabbergasted at the very idea of it when I moved to Australia. I'd only heard of using it at the dentist before then. ;) I had two babies here and two there. You know you can do this, and of course you will. My two labour phrases: Just keep swimming, just keep swimming (imagine Dory swimming around by your bed). And: From little things, big things grow. (Sung, of course, like in the super commercials.) From these little, brief, moments of labour will come something big: a new life. From this little tiny baby, big things will come. Good luck to you. I will be thinking of you in the coming days. Be sure to come back and tell us about your lovely labour and birth and beautiful baby.

Unplug your modem/router/whatever and give it to your husband to take to work with him. (I'm assuming you have some kind of contract for internet access so wouldn't want to just cancel your internet connection, but that's also an option.) Options: 1. Leave modem/router/whatever at work for a month/two months/whatever specified time. Make it so you must go somewhere with free internet access to even check your email. Limit your cell phone plan so that you can't use it too much at home. (This would work for me, I hate using the internet on my phone and only have limited data available on it anyway). 2. Have hubby bring home modem/router/whatever every night or every couple of nights. Hook it up and use it for only an hour or two before he unhooks it after a specified amount of time. Again, find a way to limit cell phone access. Do one of these for a long enough time to see any effects. Don't wait until you have your curriculum planned out, or next month's meal plan, or have caught up on your blog reading. Just do it. Now. Limiting your time will make you focus and use it wisely. If you know you need to choose your writing curriculum and only have an hour of internet time then you'll focus on that. At the end of the hour you can't give yourself more time if hubby is disconnecting everything or the library is closing. Make it so you can't cheat, so that you can't find a way around it. You can do it, we know you can. :) And I'll be the first to say there are times I could use this advice myself. :leaving:

Cute! It's hard to picture my boys that big. :gnorsi:

Thank you, great deal! I counted six sets that are 99c. :)

Hmmm, my wave didn't work. I'll try again. :raiseshand: Eta: that didn't work either. :D

:waves: I'm in Victoria. :)

Another vote for W&R. There are lengthy samples on their site, enough to actually use the first few lessons of the program before you buy. You'll get a really good feel for it that way. classicalacademicpress.com/writing-rhetoric-1/