Thanks! 2 padawans I have. Like them they will. May the force be with you!

Our thrift store has tons of children's books. They have 2 days a week that you can purchase 26 books for about $8.00.

Thanks! Great idea. He is learning about coins now. She all ready has a checking and savings account (our bank allows kids to have checking because of a special savings that requires monthly transfers), but she might could learn more of how they actually operate at the branch, as well as about loans and credit.

I think there is a museum of the Uncle Remus stories somewhere east of us. That's a great idea! Best of all, we just got back from Disneyworld a couple of weeks ago, and we loved Splash Mountain which is based on those stories. I'll have to ask around about any other authors. Thanks!

I would like to ask all of you for some field trip ideas. I would like to spend a whole week doing field trips, one subject a day. I thought it would be fun to try and do this. I all ready have some things over the next few weeks that would count for science and social studies/history. I need some ideas for math, literature, and English, or another subject that would fit better. My dd will be studying using library type resources in her language arts soon, so we could do a day at the library. It might be a good introduction for my ds (K), but I am open to better ideas. Since my kids are 6 years apart, they aren't studying the same things in these subjects. I'll be open to any ideas. We live south of Atlanta, but north of Macon. Thanks in advance!

I forgot to recommend Bob Books. They are very short good readers. They come in several sets that advance in skill. I also do themes each month that he would get in Kindergarten. In September we did apples and "all about me". In October, we learned about farms (and went), fire safety, Columbus Day, and Spanish. For November, we're doing government, health, and Thanksgiving. Since we're doing ancient history, I didn't want him to miss out on what other kids his age was learning.

I have a K son that struggles with liking writing, but is enjoying reading. I do sometimes do the writing for him. I try to have him write a few letters or words and numbers a day. I do a chart with small smiley face stickers (because he started balking at doing any writing). If he does each subject with a good attitude, he gets a smiley face. His big love is the playstation. If he has all smiley faces, he gets to do 30 minutes. He can't do that until all his school work is done. If he got all smiley faces for the whole week, he gets extra time on the weekends. I don't think expecting 3 pages a day is too much. My K son does anywhere from 4 (front and back) to 8 or more. Most people aren't born loving to do what's required of them. They have to learn it's part of life and there are rewards for doing what we have to do. Daddy goes to work, so we get to eat and have a place to live. Mommy washes clothes, so we don't have to wear things that are dirty. I believe we should offer them things that they love in learning and try to help with their learning style, but we should also push them beyond just what they like. If life is always easy for them, how will they learn to function later? Does he like to do things on the computer? I know http://www.starfall.com has reading and phonics games and books online. There are probably lots more you could find through google. Could you keep a chart of words he's learned to read and give some small prize for every 5 new words? I'd get an indoor trampoline as well. He could practice things on a dry erase board while jumping. I hope this helps. Keep on going! It will work.

I love them!! My dd can do them, but my ds loves them like me. I have found Veggie Tale and Sponge Bob books for kids at Wal-mart. They are small (4x4) and use stickers. It was a great introduction for my son. I have a kids book called More Super Sudoku for Kids that uses numbers, letters, and shapes. They start off 4x4 and move gradually up to the 9x9. I'm not sure where I got this book. I can't really remember...sorry. It's by Modern Publishing.

Thanks for the ideas so far. Keep them coming! I love the idea of theming them with the manger, sky, and winter. I'm getting excited and think this is going to be fun!

Would any of you be willing to share simple carnival game ideas? I teach a group of kids at church (4-6) and am thinking about having a Christmas carnival for our Christmas party. I would probably also invite the 2-3 year old class as well. I won't have much of a budget, so I'll probably be asking parents for candy and prize donations. I have a blow-up bouncer of my own that is perfect for the age of 6 and under. Our sanctuary is pretty big if the church will let me have it in there. Thanks in advance for any ideas!

My ds, 5, is a picky eater, also. He will eat several fruits and very limited veggies. He does like whole grain breads and crackers, which is at least something. He's picky in the main dish as well. I often am making him something separate so my dh and dd and I can have our spicy dishes that we love. I have a rule that you must try everything. I always make sure there is something he will eat. Fortunately, he loves fresh tomato and will eat cucumbers(with a little salt added). I can always cut up some of this for him if he doesn't like the veggies the rest of us are having. I have found he eats fresh much better than cooked. He will eat carrots with ranch dressing, but only certain ranch dressings, not just any kind. I have sticker charts (like for school) that are Monday-Friday. I put a sticker on for each fruit or vegetable. If you fill the chart (5 a day), you get dessert after supper. If you fill the whole chart, we get to go out on the weekend for a special dessert. My kids love sweets and it motivates them. The dessert during the week is just a little low fat ice cream or a couple of cookies, nothing fancy. I keep ready to bake cookie dough. There's no way I want a big dessert sitting around as temptation for me! I usually offer a fruit at breakfast, fruit and veggie at lunch, and 2 veggies at supper. I find myself moving toward changing the rules to eat it because it's good for you. There have been times he said he didn't like something he just ate 2 days ago. If that's the case, he has to eat it.

Probably eating out. We just found out last night that a good friend's wife died yesterday (from our church). We're heading out soon to the funeral home.

To Amy in NH: There was not any disruption caused by the shirts. It was a teacher who complained. I did feel like their rights were being violated. I asked my dh if there is a policy against wearing shirts with any controversial figures on them. He said that kids wear Malcolm X shirts all the time, and don't get in trouble. He said there were kids who wore the NOBAMA shirts anyway today, and they did get sent to the office. He isn't sure what discipline was actually applied. Of course this is the same school system that has told the teachers that they can't lecture any more, can't use worksheets any more, and should get away from using textbooks. My dh teaches world and US history. When I asked him how the kids are supposed to learn the information to get ready for their end of year tests, he said they must want them to use mental telepathy! My best friend's dad teaches two counties away. He's been told he can no longer give kids 0's for not turning work in. He can't hold that against them. WWWWHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?????? I think I'm watching the downfall of western civilization as we've known it!

I just found this site. I know it may have been posted on here somewhere before, but I can't believe all it has. http://www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_help.htm It is all kinds of online practice games and activities for almost any skill you need to review for K-8. It is very thorough!

Here's a favorite of ours: White Chicken Chili 1 med. Onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 c. fresh cilantro, chopped 2 tsp. canola oil 2 cans great northern beans (15 oz.) 1 c. chicken, cooked and diced Salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste Chicken broth (add for consistency you want) Saute the first 4 ingredients for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 30 minutes.

I don't watch much TV at all, but we are all really enjoying the new Star Wars series on Cartoon Network called The Clone Wars. May the force be with you!

My dh is a teacher at a public high school. They have a Republican club at the school. He doesn't know why there isn't a Democratic club, but there isn't. He knows there are a lot of teachers who are democrats. Kids from the club had t-shirts on that said NOBAMA. A teacher complained, and now the kids can't wear anything that favors one candidate over another because it is a school sponsored club. What do you all think? I think it is ridiculous. It is a political club. The majority of students in the school can't even vote. The schools here have an almost 60% drop out rate, so you know the number of 18 years olds isn't that great. Did this teacher think it would greatly influence a large number of voters, or did the teacher just not like it? What about freedom of speech?

Do you happen to know if you use a webcam does it have to be connected to the computer? Our computer is in my bedroom, so that wouldn't be a great place to set up for doing movies. If it does, I'm thinking the digital camera method is a better option for her. I do like the idea of software and an instruction guide to help her out. Thanks!

Thanks for the ideas. I watched the video. We do have the program. She doesn't have a digital camera of her own, so I guess that will be what she wants for Christmas. I love that I can come to this board and get answers for anything!

I am doing Vol 1 now with both my children. I have liked that it is chronological including both world and biblical history. The lessons are a little short for my 6th dd, but have been great for my K son. The age difference is why I chose this. I wanted something they could do together. We do not do the timeline or memory cards. I found that the lessons are difficult to summarize on just one card. I am not crazy about the wording she uses. She adds in her own commentary. I prefer for us to add in our own thoughts. In order to enrich it for my dd, I am having her read BJU's 6th grade social studies text, which is a study of ancient civilizations. I'm also having her read lots of historical fiction from the time periods, as well as the biblical references. We have done several of the suggested activities, but not all. My best friend is doing the same book and we're getting together 1-2 times a month for special activities (field trips, movies, an ancient Egypt day, etc.). I will not be using it next year, because of not knowing when the others will be published. With my dd only having 2 years of middle school after this volume, I'm not sure what she'll need for high school. I'm going to go back to Bob Jones for World History in 7th and American History in 8th.

Bump.

I use Homeschool Tracker and you can assign everything a point value. I give daily work a small value and grade it based upon completion of the assignment. I do work on correcting anything they missed, but don't count off if they tried. To me, that is what daily work is for...practice. I grade quizzes, tests, writing assignments, and projects. Daily work might receive a 5 or 10 point value. Quizzes usually receive about a 25 point value. Tests get a 100, along with final writing assignments and projects.

At a science museum, my dd got to try making a short movie with "stop motion" photography. We think it is called that anyway. She would set up a scene, take a picture, move the pieces slightly, take another picture, and so on. Then she could play them back as a movie. Does anyone know what technology it would take to do this at home? Can you use digital cameras or digital camcorders, or does it take something else? I would appreciate any advice! Thanks.

Thanks for posting this question. I'm watching for all the responses because my dd struggled with this last year. She hasn't had to do that kind of writing so far this year, but it's coming.

In Georgia, we have monthly attendance forms to send in. I keep track on Homeschool Tracker. We have 49 thus far. I always try to have 90 in by Christmas break. My dh teaches school and works 190 days. I start when he does and that allows me to take all his breaks plus 10 extra days off. We started the very first of August and like to be done the end of May. I took a calendar of the whole year (printed on one page) and highlighted the days we would definitely take off, so I could figure when I wanted to take those 10 extra days.