Mine are 6 years apart and the labor was definitely shorter with the second. I did have to be induced the second time, though, because he was a week over due. Our dd was born on the day she was due. My labor time with her (not counting some starting and stopping for a couple of days) was about 10 hours. My labor with ds was 4.5 hours. I had to push for 1.5 hours with her, but only about 5-10 minutes with him. Their weights were exactly the same, 8 lbs. 2 oz., but he was 21" and she 19.5". I did deliver with epidurals both times, if that makes any difference.

I asked this same question and got several responses. We are doing Ancient History and here's what my 11yo dd will be reading. I don't know the age of your kids. the Bible The Golden Goblet (she just finished and really enjoyed) Mara, Daughter of the Nile Hittite Warrior God King The Trojan War or Iliad and Odyssey for Boys and Girls?? D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths Archimedes and the Door to Science Aesop's Fables Detectives in Togas and Mystery of the Roman Ransom I Marched with Hannibal The Bronze Bow I can't say my own experience with them yet, but they come from several lists on here and suggested resources from Sonlight and other's like that. If you do a search here for ancient history in the title, I think you'd come up with several lists.

Thanks! I do think that it's a little hard to summarize, especially on just one small index card. I will try to have her do some summaries in other books to see how she does. She is 11, and just started 6th grade.

Could anyone give me some advice on how to help dd with summaries? In MOH, she is supposed to make a memory index card for each lesson. She's really struggling with it. She did a research report last year and didn't seem to have a problem, so I'm thinking the fact it was about a person made it easier somehow. Does anyone know of a specific approach to teach making a summary of material? My first thought was to outline the material, but I'm not sure that's a good way to start. Thank you in advance for any ideas!

I am definitely starting in the morning! Thanks for the encouragement. I did my meal plans for the week and have been to the grocery store. I've joined the South Beach Phase 1 team at Sparkpeople, if anyone wants to join with me.

Very interesting. I deal with some of the same issues. Thanks for asking!

I'll be praying for her!

Is anyone on the South Beach Diet? I'm seriously considering starting it Monday. We have 6 weeks until we leave for Disney, and I'd really like to lose a good amount of weight before we go. I have a knee that can hurt with lots of walking, but not all the time. I think losing some would help, and I've found some strengthening exercises to do as well. I like that the focus after the initial phase is on lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and veggies, good fats. It seems like sensible eating to me. Has anyone had problems from it, or does anyone have any advice? I just went to the doctor last week, and didn't remember to ask him. I had a physical and all my blood work was great, except slightly low "good cholesterol". Thanks in advance!

I asked this same question and got several responses. We are doing Ancient History and here's what my 11yo dd will be reading. the Bible The Golden Goblet Mara, Daughter of the Nile Hittite Warrior God King The Trojan War or Iliad and Odyssey for Boys and Girls?? D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths Archimedes and the Door to Science Aesop's Fables Detectives in Togas and Mystery of the Roman Ransom I Marched with Hannibal The Bronze Bow I can't say my own experience with them yet, but they come from several lists on here and suggested resources from Sonlight and other's like that.

I posted about this in a question on 6th grade science. We did 5th grade SOS from Alpha Omega last year and my dd really liked it. Science became one of her favorite subjects when it never had been before. It is on computer, but there is text to read, experiments to do (you'll have to help get the materials together), video clips to watch, review games, quizzes and tests to take on the computer. You'll have a section to manage the percentages each part counts, grading a few things that are discussion type questions. It will even generate due dates for you if you put in "black out dates" and tell it how many days a week, starting and ending dates. I'm taking her units this year and doing a unit study of the same topic with my ds at the same time. SOS doesn't start until 3rd because they need to be reading independently. We tried it because we were given it for free. I figured free is always worth a try! I know we'll do it through at least 7th grade, but after that, I may try to find a co-op type class or re-evaluate if it's what we need for high school. I haven't looked at anything beyond 6th. I know they have scope and sequence on their website.

Last year, we were given 5th grade science of SOS by Alpha Omega. I figured since it was free, why not give it a try. My daughter really enjoyed it. We are starting 6th grade science in September. The year before, I had done unit studies with her. This definitely became one of her favorite subjects when it never had been before. I think she liked that it was on the computer. It has text to read, video, quizzes, and tests. I liked that she could do it so independently. I don't know if we'll use it past middle school because I may want her to be in some kind of co-op class for high school science. I've taught Apologia Biology and Chemistry at a co-op before, so I'm comfortable with those if she does science only at home.

My ds is very wiggly, also. I don't think it necessarily helps him learn. Learning has come very easy so far, just like my daughter. He's very visual and not showing signs of kinesthetic. For him sitting on something is better than in the floor. If I tried to do school work in the floor, it would drive me crazy I'm sure. I will say an exception to this is board games. He LOVES them and will play them anywhere, anytime! I do make him sit in a chair to do anything that involves writing. Sometimes, it's at the kitchen table, sometimes at a small desk we have in there. When he's at the table, he has to sit on his knees, so I've been trying the desk more lately, for fear that it's not the right position and will make it more difficult for him. For reading things, we sit on the sofa. I feel like it's a little more controlled there. He does want to see any pictures, so that helps. I don't expect him to be perfectly still, and excessive moving is not okay with me and I remind him not to do so if he does. I keep asking myself, what would he be doing if he were in a classroom? I don't want our school to be just like a classroom, but not everything learned in that setting is bad. In fact, some of it is very useful in life. They need self control, and the more, the better. If it's bothering you that much, then I think it would be good for you to require some self-control out of them in some of the situations. If you give them the option, they are kids, so you know they are going to pick the more "fun" thing. I don't know what you do for math, but maybe playing some games for math that are easier on a table a couple of days, would make math seem fun at the table also. I hope this helps.

I use a combination, also. I start with a general yearly plan. I print off a year calendar on one page, to mark off all my dh's school breaks because we take breaks then too. I then use regular wide ruled paper and make a column for each child, then list subjects in the margin. I list how many number of weeks/lessons it will take to finish each subject that year. I also list a daily plan layout for the week. I actually make 2 plans, one for when we are home all 5 days, and one for when we are only going to be home 4. That way I'm covered for field trips and outings. I make any notes of special things that need to coincide. I then print off a semester plan for each child on a spreadsheet. I list the Monday date of each week in a column on the left and subjects at the top of columns. I use these squares to plan out chapters and units. I do this to avoid being mid-chapter or mid-book at one of my dh's breaks. I highlight those weeks so they stand out. Maybe this seems like a lot, but he gets 6 full weeks off during the school year, a fall break, the week of Thanksgiving, 2 weeks at Christmas, a winter and spring break. With that many, it would be crazy for me if I didn't plan like this. Then, I move to a monthly plan. I get more specific here, but I have the same format as my yearly plan of a column per child and subjects in the margin. I print this off on computer paper so I've got lots of room for little notes, but write the info in by hand. I plan which specific lessons, which specific reading, etc. Then, I move to weekly. Every Sunday night, I plan the week and enter these assignments into HST. I print out the whole week for each child. I check off on that paper what they've done and record grades, then go back and enter them in HST. I use Microsoft Works, not Excel or Word, so I'm not sure anyone else could view my semester spreadsheet or monthly plan sheet, but I'd be glad to try if anyone wants to see it. If you haven't realized, I LOVE planning!!!!!

We have nothing there, and I love it. We used to have a coffee table, but I don't miss it AT ALL! We do not have a separate family room, so our living room is the only one with sofas. We love having the open space there between our largest sofa and tv. There's room for the dance pads , room for me to exercise to a workout video, room for the kids to "perform", room for us to play charades, room for wresting matches with Dad, even room for Jedi light saber fights! The last 2 of which are daily rituals at our house. We have 2 small end tables (with coasters) for drinks and such, one at the end of each sofa. We also have a recliner for anyone wanting their feet up.

We are doing Ancient History this year, because my dd did 19th and 20th century American history the last 2 years. If you touched on the colonial period, you could study the 1800's this year and everything to present the next. If you do ancient in 5th, it will be quite a while before you touch on any American History again. We didn't really know anything about classical education then, and used BJU Heritage Studies for 4th and 5th grades. It's really social studies as well as history, including geography, economics, and community studies. I enjoyed them, but do like traditional school texts as well. There were some fun projects and games included. Even though we're doing MOH this year, I'm still having dd read the 6th BJU text. You could do a study of government this year, especially with the elections coming up. We will definitely be spending some time on it. I really don't know anything about the WP to comment on it. Our state requires standardized testing starting in 3rd grade. We will do more testing than the state requires, so I want to cover social studies, so they don't feel "dumb" on the test if they haven't ever seen it.

Are you wanting curriculum more for school setting, typical Sunday School curriculum, or personal bible study? We are using Positive Action for Christ here at home, and so far we really like it. You can download samples on their website. http://www.positiveaction.org We are using 6th grade, but there are several topical type studies of varying lengths in the upper grades. I'm the Sunday School Director at our church. The middle and high school classes use Sunday School curriculum from Standard Publishing. It seems to be a basic Christian doctrine. They like it because of the layout, it's relevant, has clips with it from tv and movies. They have an Encounter magazine weekly that is to go home with the student. One of our kids was published in it. Kay Arthur has a lot of kid's studies on how to study the Bible, also.

Handwriting is exactly where it started showing up with my own 5 year old 3 weeks ago. He is so quick to put himself down, saying that's "horrible". He also doesn't think he's "good" at art or drawing, so therefore, doesn't like it. He picked up a bunch of colored pencils and threw them across the table when I told him to draw an animal for our history project. That was totally unacceptable, and he did receive punishment for that. I started immediately using an attitude system with him, as well as I've lessened the amount of writing that was involved because there is quite a bit in the Horizons Phonics. I purchased student incentive charts at the Dollar Tree with small smiley face stickers. He gets a smiley face sticker for each subject he does with a good attitude. If he gets all smiley faces that day, he gets to do 30 minutes of Playstation that afternoon. Just find what motivates your child. I really had a serious talk with him about it's his attitude that matters most, and that he doesn't have everything right because no one does everything right. I pointed out that a computer printed the letters he sees and even Mommy can't write that well. It's made a huge difference. Our days are going very well! I realize now other signs have been there all along. He's very frustrated with people not doing things by the rules and quick to point it out. I will say he's very good in math, and I think that this may be part of the territory! I have a math degree as well, and have come a long way on mellowing out about things. I hope this helps!

It wouldn't hurt to ask your doctor about it. My own ds does react negatively to loud noises (um...except his own voice!). He doesn't like it when there's loud music at church, especially. I've never felt like his was that extreme, though. If his was, we'd be checking.

It is Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. It is a dvd course that you can do as a group. We did it 4 or 5 years ago, so I'm not sure how much has changed. We got a workbook with blanks to fill in from the dvds, his envelope system, a cd with stuff for the computer (lots of printables), and the entire presentation on audio. Our dd listened to the audio when she rode with her dad to private school in 2nd grade. She became a dedicated saver after that and now has about $1200 to her name. It might be worth the cost just so your kids can listen, too. I wish I could say we've done everything he recommended, but we haven't. We still have a small debt on cc that we are working on paying off. That is currently our only debt besides house. We're trying to put money away for the next car. With only 1 income and rising costs, saving is hard. Where we fall short is managing the spending. I really do need to go back to the envelopes. I just feel like I'm so busy with homeschool, church, the house, paying the bills, that it's hard to try to keep track of the spending, too. We do still use a credit card because we want the Disney dollars. We do pay it off every month. As far as the car, I believe he would tell you to get it paid off as quickly as you can, then put that same money toward saving for your next car so you won't have a payment on it. Maintaining upkeep on a paid for car is almost always cheaper than car payments.

Okay, here goes. I don't normally get into these discussions. I wish we had the mentality in this country, that when we disagree strongly on issues we should find middle ground. To me, this was an issue that Obama could have come to the middle on, but wouldn't. He wouldn't on partial birth abortion, either. I think pro-choice people are scared if they give us an "inch", we'll take a "mile". But if they are so right and it's what the majority of this country wants, then why are they so scared it will happen? The pro-life issue is, for me, probably the main reason I will be voting for McCain. I don't agree with anybody on everything, not even my husband, so I won't agree totally with any candidate. I know there could be Supreme Court appointments coming, and that's why my vote will go for McCain. By the way, I'm pro-life all the way. I'm against the death penalty and not for war. With humans, war will always happen, but believe it shouldn't when it can be avoided. I do believe there is something different about taking the life of babies, though. It is a "less human" act to me. I watched this video with tears streaming down my face and literally prayed for God to have mercy on this country and this world. Even if you don't believe in God, how can you not believe this is just as bad as the holocaust? I believe this is where the theory of evolution has led us. When we have no special beginning and no special end, why does the life we live in between really matter? Sure, we can touch the lives of the people around us while we are here. We can make memories for those that will live after us. I love my life here and my family. I believe, though, that my knowing God created me with a special purpose and plan, and knowing I'll be with him for all eternity, makes this life SO MUCH MORE precious. Do I wish everyone believed like me? Of course, I wouldn't be a Christian and not want everyone to accept Christ. Am I going to "push" it on others? No, because Christ didn't push it on anybody. I believe in freedom of the individual. I do not want to offend anyone, so please just know this is how I feel.

Thanks so much. I would definitely want to do straight. I'm wondering if we could put a bookcase on on end facing out, then child, cabinet, child, cabinet. I'm not sure our space is big enough, though. I'm going to get to measuring!

We've finished 3 weeks here. The first week was really good, the second was a little tricky. My sister, who's been disabled for about 4 years after a surgery, got very sick with swelling and cellulitis in her legs. My mom couldn't go take care of her because of my grandmother, so me and the kids packed up our schoolwork and went. She actually got worse and we spent 2 whole days at doctors' offices and the ER. They admitted her but we stayed the rest of the week in case she got out and needed help. She didn't get out until Saturday. We did manage to get most of our school work done, but this past Monday was spent catching up. The rest of the week went fine. Now my parents want to take dd on a vacation to NC to see The Lost Colony. They pick her up Monday and will be gone all week. It will be nice to do school with just my ds, but we're doing some MOH activities and project with our best friend homeschool family, so we'll have to double up next week so we don't get behind them.

I love accordian folders. I found some on clearance early this year. They've really helped me organize some frustrating areas of my life when it comes to "paper monsters". Uses so far: Monthly Fun To Do This is to keep things by month so I won't forget to do them. I kept finding Christmas or Thanksgiving stickers or holiday craft idea that I forgot. If something is too big to fit, I just put in a sheet of paper telling what it is and where it is. I don't always have time to do everything, but it will still be there next year. Receipts and Bills I throw all our receipts and keep at home part of bills in each month. At the end of the year, just put them all in a big envelope for that year, or buy a new folder and keep them in that one. Recipes I had tons of recipes pulled from magazines or written down. I put labels of my own over the 12 months for lots of different categories. I guess I'm too lazy to type them all on the computer or something. Craft/Game/Projects I subscribe to Family Fun and love to pull out my favorite things to try and do. I always had a big pile of magazine pages to go through to find something. I put labels for boy crafts, girl crafts, inside games, outdoor games, big projects, household management, travel, etc. and filed everything away. If anyone would share how they use them, I'd love to hear!

My ds loves workbook type learning especially math, but has not been crazy about his handwriting this year or anything that involves him drawing. He got mad when he was supposed to draw something and threw pencils across the table at his sister. Well...that's definitely unacceptable. He did receive punishment for that, then after he was calmed down, I got him back and walked him through it. I started using student incentive charts (I got packs of 36 at the Dollar Tree) with small smiley face stickers. If he completes each subject with a good attitude, he gets the stickers. If he gets all smiley faces for the day, he gets to play Playstation. He really enjoys it, so I figured it would motivate him, and it has. I really tried to stress to him that it's the attitude that matters. He gets frustrated when he doesn't do something right the first time. I'm also using the charts for them eating 5 fruits/veggies every day. If they fill the whole week's chart, we get to go out on Friday night for a special dessert like Dairy Queen.

My mind has been buzzing all day with how we could take out our kitchen island and replace it with one similar to this. I've been drawing diagrams and measuring our cabinets, even placing textbooks inside them. I wouldn't be able to have the chalkboards, but I would love to have the kids sitting there with cabinets of their own. We only have 2 kids so I'm thinking this is doable. Would you care to share the dimensions of the cabinets (width and depth) and how much space you put between the cabinets for the chairs? Thanks so much!