Only my oldest has been involved with fundraisers so far. I've paid the opt out fee whenever he was supposed to sell cookie dough or tickets, but he does participate in fundraisers that they actually do as a team, like carwashes and bottle drives.

So it looks like there's no magic solution for homeschooling and working at the same time. :P This summer, I've been getting up at 5 and getting most of my work done by the time the kids wake up at 9 or 9:30, so I think I'll stick with mornings. I'll have to take a break to get my middle two off to school, but I guess I can finish up the rest after we're done school? Looks like it'll be a bit of trial and error. Thanks.

Does anyone here work from home? How does it work with your homeschooling? This is going to be my first year homeschooling, and I'll have two at home - 4th grade and kindergarten. I'm really not sure how I'm going to schedule our days when I have to work or even what curriculum to use with my oldest that he can do mostly independently. So, what does your schedule look like? Any tips or strategies that you use to make it all work? Thanks for your help!

I have 4, so any more than that seems like a lot of kids to me.

The one that's been bugging me lately (probably because my 9 year old says it at least 10 times a day) is when people use the word "literally" and don't actually mean "literally." For instance, my son told me that his friend "literally has a million pokemon cards." :001_rolleyes:

I'm in a similar situation - I'm bringing my oldest home for 4th grade (along with homeschooling my youngest for kindergarten) and I'm definitely panicking. I know what you mean about socializing with other parents, but I actually get more of that through my kids sports than I do through school. Will your kids be in any activities that you can meet other parents through?

When I was redoing the bathroom, I had a drawer installed directly across from the toilet, specifically for reading material. I keep a novel in there and the kids have a few Where's Waldo? and Harry Potter books stashed away.

My oldest read them last year and loved them. He's even reread a few of his favorites. On the other hand, I tried reading them aloud to my younger kids and it didn't hold their attention.

My oldest is 9.

I boycotted a cousin's wedding last summer on the basis that she had boycotted my brother's. My parents and sisters did as well.

I had a few rough summer jobs during high school and college. Thankfully everything since then has been a lot easier! The worst job I had was the summer before my senior year of high school. I spent the summer driving around in a pickup truck with a middle-aged chain smoker, putting up chain-link fences by hand in rural New Brunswick.

I just picked up a pair in size 6 for my 9 year old, and a pair of size 1s for my 7 year old. :)