I haven't read all the replies, but short answer is - yes, absolutely. 2000 square feet is a huge house for where I live (northern CA). We have 6 people in 1500 sq feet with 3 bedrooms and we're fine. Its really more about how the house is laid out and how much excess stuff you have than the overall size of your house. With 4 bedrooms, I think you'll be just fine, and since you're fine with de-cluttering, I'd say go for it!

I would be pretty irritated by the kind of co-op parents lifeoftheparty describes, absolutely. Sounds totally lame. But CC isn't a practical answer to the homeschooling community's need for co-op reform though - its way too academically specific and expensive. Like others have mentioned, if CC really wanted to be ministry that helped homeschoolers form community, it would look very different - consider Heidi St. John's ministry with this: Firmly Planted. Personally I'd rather go to a park day group than a co-op, anyway - just something where my kids can run around making friends and I can chat with other nice people at a time that won't interfere with our schoolwork.

We were another who started with Sonlight Core B, bought SOTW as a supplement, but ended up loving it so much that we used that instead as the spine and ended up pretty much ditching the rest of the Core and using SOTW with the activity guide's corresponding literature and history suggestions (checked out from the library) ever since - 2 years ago. I like Sonlight, I still sometimes think of going back to it, but I like SOTW and the variety of it more. It may depend a lot of the quality of your library system - I think I would lean more toward Sonlight if I wanted to have all of my books upfront. But as it was I usually ended up feeling like it wasn't enough and we would check out extra books to supplement, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to switch over, and much less expensive. I also prefer to use a different LA program, so that made a difference too.

I just want to throw out that I don't think that the 27 Reasons list is mean at all - just quite direct, but good grief, are we all grown ups here? Considering how much money is being expected for CC, I don't think they should be surprised when the training level of the tutors or the availability of free resources in general to homeschoolers is pointed out, among other practices that might raise eyebrows. They also have very particular ways of doing things that just won't sit well with some people. I thought most of the same things when I had my sidelines experience with CC - one of my best friends in the last state I lived is a very enthusiastic CC tutor - she loves it, its a great fit for her and her family. I saw up close what she prepared, visited several times, heard the background dramas of hers and various area groups etc, and though I would have loved to hang out more with her and her kids, I knew that it would not be a good fit for my family as far as educational style. But other families without such a close connection might have a hard time figuring that out - I know when I was researching it on my own I could barely find any critical reviews of CC on the internet, with did strike me as a little weird. The 27 Reasons list is gold as far as I'm concerned.

Those sound like some really good strategies, Chelli. Good deal. I know with my dd, its really important for her to know that I am "on her side." Staying calm, using kind words, not being even slightly sarcastic or irritated sounding is really important. We use the word "over stimulated" and have a "quiet place" for her to go - my room - that no one else can bother her. In our case she has to share a room so that makes things a little hairy with siblings. I think its really a good idea to at least be aware of the giftedness stuff because it apparently is very, very common for behaviors common to gifted people to be interpreted as pathological by mental health professionals. We've had some personal experience with it in our family. Its just not something that there's a lot of education about, so you need to be aware of it. Given what you said about her early development, and some of her behaviors now, It seems fairly likely that she is, although she may also have something else going on as well. I can't recommend that James Webb book enough - I would take that with me to any appointment!

Had some more time so found a link from SENG that summarized a bit from the Misdiagnoses book: http://www.sengifted.org/archives/articles/misdiagnosis-and-dual-diagnosis-of-gifted-children Another book worth checking out for very practical stuff: Effective Parenting for the Hard to Manage Child

I don't have major wisdom - but this is a lot of what I'm experiencing with my dd9 right now. Based on other reading and observations, we have been going on the assumption that she has overexcitabilities associated with giftedness - most overtly emotional overexcitabilities. The Explosive Child Ottakkee mentioned is an awesome book - another that I am currently reading tht has been really helping me deal has been _Parenting a Child Who Has Intense Emotions_. It was recommended to me by a lady who teaches gifted students and while its a bit clinical at first, its been very good. Skip to the end and read the chapter on self care first - it really encouraged me - like, "Wow, I'm not nuts!!" I would also definitely look into giftedness, even if you don't do that testing right away. Just reading about it will help you understand where she is coming from. Gifted is almost a dirty word in some circles, but the fact is that kids with especially high intelligence have brains that work differently and that this is not always something that makes their lives easier. Parents Guide to Gifted Children Misdiagnoses and Dual Diagnoses in Gifted Children and Adults also this article on difficulties of emotional overexcitability: http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10438.aspx ((hugs)) Hang in there!

I'm a renter and we also rent out our house in another state. I know that (although state laws vary) most likely legally you probably don't have to let her in to look in the house, I don't think that it would help your situation at all to be weird about it. Just have things generally picked up and don't worry about it. Most likely she won't even come in.

MLP is my kids' favorite show (both the boys and girls - guess I have bronies *and* pegasisters) - and I've watched all the shows, (or I should say, I'm in the room while its on) *multiple times* and I'm not sure to what you're referring... Definitely for folks who don't like magic its a no go, since there's plenty of that, but I haven't seen much that I really thought of really dark. Its well written for a kids show I think.

My kids are similar to your ages - 9, 7, 5, and 3 - I do a lot of what FriedClams said! Just to add - I look at my day in large-ish chunks. Its a routine, not a schedule. So you don't need to be freaking out over the specific time, just that one thing will naturally follow the next. So for us, we get up, have breakfast, Dad leaves, we do morning chores (basically just getting dressed), start school work. We do that until lunch and pretty much if we're not done that's all that gets done - I don't go into the afternoon. Before lunch we have to clear away all the school stuff because we work in the kitchen - so its forced clean up time! After lunch we read some not specifically school related books (mostly for the benefit of my younger ones - sometimes my olders will wonder already reading their own books), then have afternoon quiet time for 2 hours (roughly 1-3). This is so important to my sanity. I could not homeschool if I didn't do it. I used to feel bad taking a full two hours, but I saw Susan Wise Bauer's quiet time video on youtube and thought if SWB did it, it must be ok! I'm such a fangirl, lol.... After that we have "afternoon tea" (snack time) and play time for the rest of the afternoon until about an hour before dinner. I usually do my housework while they are playing. At that time I call them in for chores. I give them each a "big" chore - I don't do chore charts because I just can't keep up with them. I just hand out a chore. Its something like "pick up the living room/hallway," or something like that. They also put away any clothes that are waiting in baskets, and straighten up their rooms. I start dinner during their chore time and lightly supervise. After their chore time they take baths if needed, or "help" with dinner (you know what the air quotes mean), play board games or might get some screen time like minecraft or iPad time (but only if they have gotten everything done). I also try to limit morning stuff - that's school time. If we leave in the morning, I know from experience we just won't get anything done. If its a field trip, fine, but for Doctor appointments or playdates, I try to schedule them in the afternoon - same for activities. I generally limit activities. Right now we just do music lessons for my older two, and will probably add one more thing in soon. I like them having plenty of free play time. I try not to shop on school days - I aim to do it on the weekends and go without kids. If I have to go during the week, I suck it up and go in the afternoon. Protect the morning! I also have a week schedule like many have mentioned - for us, Fridays are our library and park days. We hit the library and then go meet friends at the park. We have a light morning that day, and just plan to do notebooking, so its a fun day.

Full article here I found this interesting, and thought many on here might too, especially considering many here value "disciplined study or repetitive learning" a bit more highly in general than other segments of the educational population, but we are also often accused of doing so at the detriment of creativity. Encouraging to think of the way one complements the other.

You know, everyone keeps throwing out the Duggars as an example of looking frumpy, and maybe that generally has been what they have been seen in, but I saw something randomly on the internet with some of the older girls and remember thinking - "those are some CUTE skirts! Where do I get some of those skirts!" They were not the super long variety - more like mid calf, bias cut, a bit swishy. They looked very practical for church going with a horde of kids (which I do - you can't comfortably do it with a pencil skirt when you have to be bending over and squatting to pick up kids), but still looking cute and - yes, actually - pretty trendy. Those kind of skirts are so hard to find - they are like the holy grail of skirts for me. I keep meaning to get out my sewing machine and just make my own, but sewing is not a quick and easy process for me (and my good seamstress sister lives across the county). I generally love modcloth style dresses, I just want to add about 4 inches to everything they sell for practicality. Anyone have a place they like for that kind of skirt?

Okay, I have a just turned 9 year old, a 7, 5, and 3 year old. I expect all but the 3 year old to put away their own clothes (I sort and fold them, they rarely stay folded - whatever). Everyday they have a "big" chore in the afternoon that they have to do that I give out, like cleaning up the living room or tidying up the outside toys, or sweeping the kitchen. The 3 year old gets a developmentally appropriate chore, like putting away the play food in the toy kitchen that lives in our kitchen. Everyone also is supposed to pick up toys in their room before bed, although admittedly sometimes that doesn't happen - I tend to be more flexible with their rooms than I am with the communal living areas. The big rule is to clean up after ones self. I try to really encourage this - we are all working together to live in pleasant home. I think the key is that everyone does *something.* Its not necessary that it be perfect, just that they be all working toward cleaning up.

I thought the same thing about it regarding one of my kids when I saw it!

Messies Annonymous really helped me when I first started off, something like 10 years ago. I grew up with a mom who was really laid back with house stuff, so I never learned how to keep stuff picked up, let alone organized. I still use a lot of the tips they suggest, like doing things that take less than 30 seconds right away, and pretending that thing "want" to be put away. (Its weird, I know) This site helped me *a lot* to start. I also like these books: The House That Cleans Itself and Houseworks Nowadays, when I need some motivation, I read this blog: Minimalist Mom

I love Boden skirts, they are really well made. My sister - an excellent amateur seamstress - turned me on to them a few years ago and I buy from them whenever I can, ie, whenever I can catch a good sale. Really nice quality.

Ok, so Irene in the modern Sherlock *was* kind of icky, I totally agree. I definitely like Molly way more as a person. But Irene in the book was an blackmailing "adventuress." Ie, a courtesann. So pretty sexually jolting stuff, so a blackmailing dominatrix was effective in communicating the level of edgy in modern terms I thought. I agree that its pretty unclear that Sherlock really ever *loves* Irene - its more that its that he intellectually admires her more than he admires any other woman, and for him, that's as close to truly loving as he comes. This is personally why I have enjoyed the Laurie King Mary Russel series so much - even though I don't really read modern mystery much - but she really nails a really believable partner for Sherlock. Its lots of fun.

You guys know Irene Adler was a character in the original books right? She was always the only woman he ever loved - or at least came as close as possible for him to loving (at least that was my impression). I don't mean to be a Sherlock (book) nerd here, but that was one of my favorite episodes - they got it SO RIGHT from a modern perspective - Irene was such an edgy, uncomfortable character - well, some would disagree with me because she was so overtly sexual, but I think she was spot on. She wasn't evil so much as intensely intelligent and self focused.

I'm late to this because I only just got to watch it yesterday - but O MY GOSH - that reveal to John has been bothering me all day. So un-Sherlock. Just weird. In the book, he does follow him in disguise, but he reveals himself in private, and he has a clue that its going to stun John, and doesn't make a joke of it. That was just so weird. Otherwise I was very happy...

Just delete it off your phone and delete your account - it won't *really* delete for a while, so you can reactivate it later if you want. You can download an archive of all the data from your account if you have a lot of pictures and stuff if you'd like before your delete. For me it helps just to have personal boundries, like not using it during "school hours" in the morning, putting my phone on silent and in a drawer and not having it always out and checking it. It can also help to go through your facebook feed and take people off notifications so you make your feed less interesting - I have it so that I really only see my family and close friends on my facebook feed for example, plus a few local groups. That's about all I can handle. Take off all the bloggers and maybe people who post inflammatory or annoying stuff for example. Not unfriending, just making it so you don't see them on your newsfeed - it makes it much more pleasant and less time-suckish somehow.

I am an extreme introvert and my fallback is always, "let's meet at the park!" Just saying, for future reference. My friendly children are always insta-friending strangers and will literally GIVE OUT MY CELL NUMBER!

How about the downstairs room being used as a sort of quiet study room? Like a library space with bookshelves, comfy chairs, desks to work at, etc, but it not necessarily being the space where the main body of work is done. I would love to have a space like that but even if I did I'm sure it wouldn't replace the kitchen as the hub - its just too convenient for us. I have a family full of introverts though, so frequently I send people off to quiet rooms to work on things because having everyone sitting at one table is just too overstimulating for everyone's nerves, wherever that table is located.

WOW! So jealous!!!! High five!

You all who like Ballet Body might like Barre3 too - its online subscription, but they do a free trial now, and I they have some videos on . I bought some of their videos and stopped subscribing for a while last year, but then got bored with just those workouts and started doing other stuff. From the year that I did it all the time, I have some crazy dancer legs, I have to say. I just resubscribed because I really like their particular style of barre workout plus the variety. I find that their 30 min workouts are intense enough to leave me sore the next day - the 60 min ones are the same amount of intense, but with more of the restorative yoga added in. Just a thought if anyone is looking for something new...

Have you ever looked into doing Story of the World using the Activity book with the corresponding literature and additional history book suggestions? I used Sonlight for our first few years, but after discovering SOTW, I found I liked SWB's writing better than the history spine they we using, so I subbed SOTW for their core's spine. From that point on I have used SOTW as a spine to build our own "cores" - I like being able to customize so much better! I never felt like Sonlight was quite enough on its own for our family - I was always adding things in. I think its great, and I always do recommend it for people looking for a box curriculum, but I don't think its that hard to put something together yourself. I also never really liked Sonlight's LA program, although I know they have changed it a lot since I used it. I found SWB's discussion on how she did this so helpful: Great Books: History as Literature (or I would call it - make your own literature based curriculum!) The science lecture is excellent as well.