Ramona books. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (and all the Fudge books). Poppy and sequels (not super funny, but has its moments).

I just want to say that I feel your pain. I'm in a much smaller house than yours, even, and I know how you feel. I curse the person who "designed" this house--no linen closet, no pantry, no closet for mops and brooms, not even a window over the kitchen sink (I know--that's not a storage issue, but the lack of light drives me nuts). No garage. Tiny, squishy front hall. It's very frustrating having such little storage. I know it makes every part of keeping a house clean more difficult.

Lucky you! And the owl festival sounds neat, too. Wish we had one nearby.

Yes! Great post, and spot on I think.

:lurk5:

:lol:

I absolutely agree that you should find a way to include him in the clutter-reducing and decision-making process. Not so much because he would be otherwise traumatized, but rather because he needs to go through those steps and that thought process over and over with your help for him to internalize it. I've gone through this with my dd10. The more times we do it and talk about it, the better she's become. I'm so proud of how she can let go of things without my prompting now. I try to stop the flow from the other end, too. We talk about junk, and she has a pretty good idea of quality vs. junk now. We try not to bring too much of it into the house in the first place (like dollar store stuff and crappy little loot bag items). I think it's pretty awful that something is made on another continent only to be shipped here, trucked to stores, and taken home for mere minutes, hours, or days, then goes to rest in the landfill. So incredibly wasteful of resources! I hate junk.

Longevity runs in my family on both sides, so I've got a pretty good chance of living quite awhile. My grandma on dad's side lived to 101. (My grandma on mom's side is 87.) My great grandma lived to 99. Both of these were in good health both mentally and physically. My plan is to live healthfully into my 90s, and just go quickly at some point during that decade. I don't need to specifically make 100, but I think the 90s is a good goal. As long as I have a daughter to love and hopefully some grandchildren, I want to be participating in life. I hope to be in a retirement home in that final decade, playing board games all day and eating good food with my friends!

Ours in Ontario is December 31. I wish it was September. My December daughter has always been the youngest or close to it. Back when I was supposed to put her in junior kindergarten, I opted to keep her home, since she was only 3. She did go the following year for kindergarten at age 4. I asked if I could wait the extra year and put her in kindergarten then, so she'd be the oldest instead of the youngest, and they said they "really didn't do that." I didn't push the issue then, but I wish I had. She fits so nicely with the slightly younger kids; those are the majority of her friends.

I don't know a lot about it, but I do remember a few people saying when they watched it, it was not what they were expecting. For one thing, I believe the video portion was quite short. Definitely read the reviews.

You wouldn't know it to look at me, but I've got a healthy dose of rebellion in my blood for sure. It may have an itty bitty part to play in the homeschooling decision. :D

I just signed up (in Canada) and I'm kind of confused. I've searched the site high and low, and I can't find any place to store a line up of want-to-sees. Also, I can't find anything about the other kind of service--the DVD in the mail thing. Can someone help me get acquainted with Netflix?

I would really, really like to see this. I just joined Netflix for the free 1 month trial to watch it, but I can't seem to find it! Are the available movies different in the States and Canada?

- composer study (We do this through the lapbook available at Homeschool in the Woods, using it as a guide and organizational tool) - listening to music of different decades on YouTube (40s, 50s, 60s) - playing rhythm instruments along with different kinds of music - sightsinging and ear training exercises - websites for exploration (orchestra, ear training, composition) - learning to sing rounds or parts - recorder

I doubt they would need to start at level 1. Perhaps level 2 or 3, but you can download the end of year evaluations from the Peace Hill Press website so you can find out for sure.

This is awesome!

Me! :D I just hope it doesn't let me down. (And I wish there weren't so many commercial tie-ins.)

I'll use "may" in slightly more formal situations; sometimes it even slips out in casual ones. "Whilst" sounds very upper class British to me. Last I was living in that world, it was alive and well.

Wow, fantastic story--heartwarming! I can't wait to share it with my bug-loving dd10 tomorrow. Thank you so much for sharing!

Homeschool Buyers' Club has it half price periodically.

These are two great explanations that resonate with me, and I'll definitely use them to explain to students in the future. Thanks!

Well, I've come across questions similar to the first and second in MM4--both would use bar models. In my experience in the Canadian school system (where kids are, on average, younger in each grade) I wouldn't expect those questions before grade 5. (And I've taught in the school system, so I'm very familiar with it.) I feel a bit like I've entered the twilight zone reading this thread. Grade 1?? I thought first graders were supposed to be learning basic stuff like adding and subtracting, not thinly veiled algebra. As for fractions "belonging" to grade 3, I wouldn't expect this type of fraction question to be reasonable for most third graders. Adding, subtracting, and comparing basic fractions--yes. Not this. Some third graders start their year as 7 year olds; I would only expect strong math kids or gifted ones to do those questions at those ages. Are people expecting these 6/7/8 year olds to be setting up the question like: 4/5 of n = 12 ? If so, I would put that in grade 7. Or are they meant to use a bar model? Guess and check? What?? I get that there are some very capable kids out there, but most kids are average. And I don't know any average Canadian kids who could do these questions at ages 6/7/8, unless they used the guess-and-check method, which I don't think is quite the same as doing the actual math for these questions.

I felt similarly at a homeschool track and field day. It warms the heart, doesn't it!

My story is the same as above. I pulled my daughter out during Spring Break (March) of grade 4. I figured it was a good time to give it a "trial run" for a few months so we'd know if it seemed feasible to do for the entire following year. It did. :D I had no problems at all with the school or the board. I was extremely pleasant and enthusiastic with the school--I set up individual meetings with first the classroom teacher and then the principal. With each of them, I explained that my decision had nothing to do with the teacher or the school, but rather that we had always wanted to have a "homeschooling adventure" and this seemed like the right time for it. They knew me around the school because I had been very involved with field trips, volunteer tutoring, bringing special presentations to the class (like a butterfly release or art appreciation talk), and so on. So I think they knew homeschooling was probably the right calling for someone like me. :) They helped me get the correct paperwork in and offered me their blessing and support, such as an offer to borrow textbooks from school and stay in school choir for the remainder of the year. I wouldn't worry if I were you. :)

The oil definitely immobilizes them, and it's important to comb through in sections and get out what you can, but the oil can and does kill the lice if there is enough oil to completely smother them (they breathe through holes in their sides, and can't breathe with the oil smothering them), and if you leave it on long enough (I'd go for an hour or two). I have scientifically proven this. :D The oil will not kill the nits (eggs), though. So, they will hatch about a week after being laid. If you do an olive oil treatment once a week, you will first get any live ones, then the following week you will get any new ones that have hatched. It takes about a week for them to become sexually mature, so these new ones will hopefully have not laid any eggs. Then, do a third treatment a week later to catch any stragglers. Make sure the oil is put on dry hair, so that it's not diluted by dampness in the hair (less effective). You can also lower the chances of catching lice in a situation like this by having your daughter completely mousse her hair from roots to tips, braid it, and hair spray it for good measure before attending hockey. They cannot get their nits to cling to hair with a lot of product, so any nits would tend to be washed down the drain at the next shampooing. However, I would still do the weekly preventative oil treatment.