Once a week for dd, 4 yo. But in the summer it changes to every few days.

Joshua Harris has a couple of books out, besides I Kissed Dating Good-bye. I haven't read them, but have heard good things about them. Not sure of the titles, but it'd be easy-peasy to just look him up on amazon. :)

Nah! I don't think it matters. Go ahead and link. Most people would consider it a compliment.

Is it on video already? I haven't seen it but want to. Must check my library. . .

It's a tv show on discovery channel - they take mini-tours of different factories that build or make specific things, going to about 3 or 4 different places in each show - we've watched canoes being built, candy being made, etc. . . Today it was about hot dogs. . . Now, I've been known to eat the occasional hot dog (I must admit, I love corn dogs), and dd loves cold hot dogs straight from the fridge (my fil got her started on that!). But today. . . I swear on my life that I will never eat another hot dog again! Ewwww... that had to be the most disgusting thing to watch! Oh, gross, gross, I can't get it out of my head! So, if you like to be grossed out or would like to find something to make you hate hot dogs for the rest of your life - watch "How it's made" today. This is my public service announcement for the day :p

I'll join too, but I'm not tell you how much I weigh! I never had a weight problem until I got married - so I like to tease dh and tell him it is his fault :p But I know I need to buckle down and get healthy. My goal this week is to walk 1 mile every day (except Sunday). Great idea to start this thread!

Here are a few my 4 yo dd enjoys - magna doodle, lite brite, puzzles, she really loves the chicken socks series from klutz publishing. Here's the link to see them at amazon - dd loves the pom pom animals, tree house bugs, scissors book, and we have the pop bead people on the way. HTH!

A quick one that was on the old boards (I'm sorry I don't know who it was - but I love the recipe) 1 can of black beans (rinsed well for me) 1 can diced tomatoes, drained 1 can corn Heat it all up in a skillet and add some seasonings (chili powder, cumin, maybe a clove of garlic). Wrap up in tortillas with a little sprinkle of cheese. Yumm. Dh doesn't like beans, eggs, and he's allergic to most nuts so our "big meal" of the day has meat, but dd and I generally eat meatless for supper - english muffin pizzas - add some sauce, cheese and veggies and you're set (I keep homemade sauce in the freezer in 1 cup portions just for this and pizzas) eggs - every which way - scrambled with some veggies and cheese and put in a tortilla, fried with toast to dip in the yolk, soft boiled and served in cute egg cups, quiche cups (regular ol' quiche but cooked in muffin tins and then popped into a bag and stashed in the freezer. beans - see recipe above, baked beans, refried beans and cheese in a tortilla, bean soups HTH!

Hey JudoMom I was just looking at your blog - I love your school room! I just hafta know - is it always so clean? :p

Thought it would be a neat idea to see everyone's blogs (like we don't have enought to do, right :D ) and I know not everyone has them linked in their signatures so I would really appreciate it if you would take a minute to post a link to your blog here. Thanks a bunch! Here's mine: The Sunny Patch

Aww. That is so sweet!

I read the WTM when dd was a baby, found the boards and I've been lurking since then - she's now four. Would love to have another baby, but we'll see. It took me five years to get pregnant with our dd. I'm an American living in Quebec with my Canadian dh and dd. I'm slowly learning french, and trying to keep up with dd (I have this crazy fear that she will learn to sass me in french and I will have NO idea what she is saying! :p ) God willing, we will homeschool all the way through high school.

Cute :p My dd loves Starfall as well.

We love, love, LOVE our bucket balance. DD uses it all the time. Examples of use - I stick her in the tub in her underwear with a dishpan full of water, her balance and some measuring cups and spoons (we have a kids cooking set that she uses when we cook) and she goes crazy measuring water. We weigh toys or fruit or anything that will fit using pennies to measure the weight. She loves to do that. Yesterday she took some fruit out of dh's lunch bag because she wanted to see "how many pennies it weighed." :p I keep a "busy bag" for my dd that she can use in those types of situations (also for church). Each item is in its own ziploc bag (the kind with the zipper seal, not the press together seal - clear as mud? :D ) - we keep mighty mind or pattern block set (I switch these occasionally for variety), magnetic paper dolls, coloring book and crayons, small bag of farm animals, magnetic board and letters or chalkboard and chalk (also switch these occasionally), and a variety of preschool activity bags that aren't too messy. Not everything is in there at once, but I keep a box of stuff in the bench by our door and can swap things out quickly. HTH!

Oh my! That sounds like such a good wintery meal. I think I'm driving to your place for dinner! :D Saving this recipe and adding pork roast to my grocery list . . .

I'm NOT in the mood to cook (wanna come cook for us? :p ). I've got chicken thighs thawed so I will probably just throw them in the oven with some barbecue sauce on them and bake a few potatoes while they are cooking. Unless I can convince dh to bring home supper. . . hmm. . .

Just wondering if anyone else watches and plays when this is on. Dh and I weren't able to watch Sunday night but we taped it and played last night. I did not do very good - I don't know much about pop culture. Would love to know if anyone else played along. Here is the link for those who are wondering what this is and want to take the test. Test the Nation is a tv show that is aired once a year (I think) that pits different groups of people against each other to see who can answer the most questions correctly. This year the teams were bloggers, backpackers, cab drivers, chefs, flight crews, and celebrity look-alikes. The teams are in studio answering the questions and people at home can take the test online or during the show and they share the results of the winners and losers. They also keep track of statistics like vegetarians against meat-eaters, etc. It's pretty fun to see where you stack up agains the rest of the nation.

Worker bee. . . and I think it is post 50 that does it. :D

Whenever someone responds to a post it is bumped back up to the top. A good way to tell what is new - when you log in and go to a certain forum (which is what I do instead of using the "new posts" feature), all of the threads that are new or have a new message added are bold blue. After you scroll past a page or two (depending on how long you've been away), the thread titles are no longer bold blue - those are the threads that haven't been brought back up to the top. Clear as mud? :p

Did you ever read Ruth Beechick's materials for K-3? She talks a lot about using manipulatives until the brain can actually process the symbols of 3+1. At six years old I wouldn't worry too much about it, just give them some counters to use. It can take awhile for a child to switch from holding the manipulatives to picturing the manipulatives in their mind to picturing the numbers. Just let them use something to count with.

It was post 50 for me (I think :o )

I think they are great books. DD finished the pre-ETC books last year and is working in book 1 now with book 2 on the shelf when she finishes. I love it combined with OPG - it just seems to reinforce what we are learning. Between OPG, ETC and some hands-on games my dd is getting a very thorough program.

Is it possible to see who gave you rep points? I didn't even notice I had any until I went to my user cp.

That's where I'm at as well - I'm using my list to broaden my horizon and read books I probably wouldn't get to (but I've also added in some books I know are just for my enjoyment!) I don't know if I'll actually finish ALL the books in my list, but I'm trying to read one from each category at a time. Otherwise I'd read all the kid's books and easy fiction first! This way I've got to read something harder (like "The Iliad" before I can read something fun). Two words for you - Quiet Time! Every afternoon we go to our rooms and rest for an hour. I use that time for my reading. Also, with the writer's strike, there isn't much on tv so I'm reading a lot more in the evenings than I normally do!

My dd is also four and she is doing what you describe, reading, etc. Right now I keep a bunch of workbooks accessible - the Rod and Staff preschool series, the Never Bored Kid book, Explode the Code, Total Math and some kumon workbooks. When she tells me she wants to do her work, we grab a pencil, crayons, scissors and glue stick and do a few pages in each book (usually, I have to take them away from her and get her started on something else, or she would sit there all day with them!). The only thing I've scheduled is science for two days a week. We are using an evan-moor book All About Animals Around the World and reading library books, etc. Basically just reading books and doing some crafts. I've got a schedule but it is light and we don't get to everything everyday, and that is okay with me, but it gives me something intentional to do when she says she wants to do some work. I say just do what works for you. Keep some workbooks and activity books handy, plan some learning activities, keep a box of art supplies, puzzles, etc. handy and just use those whenever the mood strikes! :)