I don't know. I kind of feel the opposite, maybe because of personal experience. I have had three good friends and countless acquaintances become enamored of the idea of homeschooling, take the plunge without really thinking seriously about the implications and their level of commitment, then put their kids back in school when it wasn't the dream they had envisioned. I think people who did it 20 years ago were less likely to be doing it on a whim. I think it's become so much more common and accepted that people, including many who aren't cut out for it at all (and I know personally that they exist!), are more likely to give it a try. I imagine that this has had some effect on the numbers.

I was inspired by this thread to make a more formal schedule so I put what we're doing into an Excel spreadsheet. I love it! I tried to put it in picture form to see if I can paste it here. We'll see... ETA: OK, apparently not. It shows up but them when I submit, it goes away. Oh well... At any rate, I enjoyed making it! :D

:iagree: I am positively giddy over our curriculum this year! The kids are just as in love as I am. I know I'm in the honeymoon period, but I'm going to enjoy this feeling while it lasts! Must go... They just finished a history documentary and are (literally!) begging to start math! :lol:

:grouphug: You know, as excited as I was to be homeschooling, I was really very disappointed to see that kind of attitude in my oldest. I kept having ugly feelings about it. I mean, didn't he realize how lucky he was?! :tongue_smilie: No, he did not, because I hadn't explained it all. He does get it more now. And I stopped reacting emotionally because really, he shouldn't be responsible for my warm fuzzy feelings. Nothing has helped more than making the kids' school days a good habit, something they can predict and know they will find some measure of joy in each and every day. Taking my emotion out of it has really improved things though, so I wish you luck...and fortitude. :D Also, my the attitude of my eldest really sets the tone here, so nipping his issues in the bud was of incredible importance in ensuring there wasn't a total mutiny carried out by all three.

I have radically rearranged my schedule this year to enable me to work independently with each child without interruption. We do our combined subjects in the morning. Depending on how much time everything takes, things might occasionally move to the afternoon but they are regularly scheduled for the morning. Circle Time: can include yoga, walking dog, memory work/recitations, calendar/seasonal, weather, skip counting, etc. LOF Science MCTLA (everyone wants in on this, despite it being officially for ds8) History Art Nature Study (time/day changes dependent on weather) BW Lifestyle stuff (frequently moved to the afternoon and/or evening) Then each afternoon, I spend one hour with each child doing individual subjects. It makes my day longer but so much easier. Individually, they do AAS, WWE, Singapore/Miquon, and Spanish.

I would say it's probably a habit issue. I am a "third grade is time to get serious" person too. I don't require K (but they learn to read and play math and writing at this time). Grades 1-2 are more about forming the habit of school, along with basics.* I had a big problem with attitudes last year and this year has been smooth sailing so far, partially because everyone is doing school now. (DS5 is opting into K every day so far because of math adoration and the fact that the other 2 are doing school so he might as well.) There are two things that I have found it helpful to discuss with the kids: (1) School is required. I am required by law (and by conscience!) to provide you with a good education. That requires ______, _______, and _______. (Am I the only one who had to explain to their kids that they will be in school for many years? :lol: My kids didn't know that until I pointed it out to them!) I explained the concept of K-12 education, college, and post-grad. It took some time to settle in that this was serious business. Before this discussion, it was like they were looking at their day-to-day experience rather than looking at education as a long-term endeavor. We were just on a different page. I was hyper-aware of the long-term and they were all about "how many more pages in math today?" :lol: (2) School can be a joy but it will be work. From the * above, I believe there should be some planned joy in school. "All work and no play," yadda, yadda, yadda. At our house, this means including nature study, our read-alouds while snuggling on the couch with popcorn, fun curriculum choices--basically a learning lifestyle. As much as I can, I will make learning a joy, but sometimes I'm going to tell you to do something (that you might not think is fun) because you need to know it. And that's where Woodhaven's advice comes in... :iagree: I got the farthest when I was cheerful about it. (Not sappy, sugary cheerful--mostly I was biting my lip through great irritation cheerful.) The point was that I couldn't let it become a battle.

:iagree: I had to ditch the first Yahoo group I ever joined, a local HS group, because I was so exasperated with the incessant recommendations to "just pick out some workbooks at Wal-Mart." :iagree: I have met 4 people in 6 years (6 if you include long-distance friends) in real life with whom I could discuss curriculum feeling like we had enough in common to not tiptoe around our choices. :iagree:Based on what I see locally, the statistic from the OP would not surprise me in the least. Elsewhere, I'm sure I might feel differently. :iagree: But, frankly, even here I sense less rigor now than when I first arrived in 2008. And now let the debates and discussions about rigor commence. :tongue_smilie: :leaving:

My kids do. I do daily work binders in the same way other people do workboxes, I suppose. Each child has one binder, and I change out their assignments every day, putting a daily list at the front of each binder (with a box to check off as each task is finished). There is a subject tab for every individual subject they do. However, if there is nothing to do that day for that subject, I just leave it empty and do not include a task from that subject on the list. ETA: They have a subject tab for every subject, even if they will do their work in workbooks rather than work directly from the binder. (I don't like to take my workbooks apart.) In this case, I include a more detailed assignment list for the day behind that subject tab (notes about what pages they should do from their various math and LA books, plus details of the nature study project we're working on, etc., etc., etc.).

I'll second or third or fourth... Be sure to get the illustrated version though. I accidentally ordered the tiny hardcover non-illustrated version. What a disappointment, especially next to the big beautiful versions of The Wanderings of Odysseus and In Search of a Homeland that came in the same order.

I know what you're asking for and I typically hate when people come in and respond with some other suggestion entirely. However... :tongue_smilie: At age 5, I would recommend giving her good materials and letting her process evolve on its own. Be aware that once your child learns that there is a "right" way to draw something, she may find it a hard road to get back to her own artistic vision and free, wanton process. (This is especially true if she is a perfectionist--don't know if that applies.) Frankly, anyone can learn to draw people but then what you will frequently see is heaps upon heaps of crumpled papers from getting it "wrong." Once you have an example to go by, you have the immediate ability to fail, where before you just had free expression. I would encourage you to give Drawing with Children a good, hard second look. What it teaches are techniques that can be applied to any kind of drawing, not how to draw a _______. I am sure that there are some kids who can use these books and not feel locked into that example as the example. Still, I do not think they are necessary and I wouldn't give them to a child without the child specifically asking for such a resource. Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. --Pablo Picasso (not my favorite artist by a long shot, but he makes a great point here!) For good philosophical reading and to lay out a method of teaching art to children, rather than detailed instructions for how to draw specific things, I highly recommend The Art of Teaching Art to Children. Feel free to ignore... I am annoying myself here! :tongue_smilie: ETA: I am using Artistic Pursuits with my kids specifically because it incorporates history. For applied art, we have an art area with supplies and I use the Art of Teaching book above as my philosophical guide.

Would you recommend your air purifier? I'd love to hear about how it's helped your allergies. I'm out of denial... :D

:lol: When I got to Spain, I almost had a hernia laughing. :smilielol5:

:iagree: I didn't like mine. I wouldn't sweat it or feel bad about it. I certainly don't. If you find the love doesn't grow, just pass it on or sell it. I ended up giving mine to DH, because he isn't in love with "real" books the way I am and his whole work-life is one big PDF file. :lol: He felt guilty taking it because it was my big Christmas gift from my parents but I just wasn't feeling the love and really didn't care. I had heard enough people saying they thought they would hate it and ended up loving it that I convinced myself that this would be the case for me too. No biggie. I'm happily back to books. As an aside, I did not have a problem with the battery though. Mine also lasted about a month, with regular reading by DH and me. I think leaving the wi-fi off is key, as someone else mentioned.

Oh, and I can't believe I didn't mention this! It was at my lowest point that I found Candlelight Yoga. I found it on Netflix instant but you can buy the dvd. Transformative! I did it at bedtime and felt light as air and had never been more relaxed in my life after doing that video.

:grouphug: That's rotten. I'm sorry. I had a terrible bout of stress paired with major health anxiety last year and, for the first time in my life, had problems going to sleep at night. Thankfully, once I was out I was out. It was DH who finally gave me my cure by telling me to "let the crickets come." He made me turn on the TV and watch non-stop sitcoms. No thinking. No worrying. No nothing but mindless entertainment in a brain so empty you could hear crickets chirping in there. It did help the sleep come. I don't know if you have a TV in your room but it was a big help to me. Another thing that helped was just accepting the sleeplessness, odd as that sounds. By not mentally fighting it anymore (those times when you get angry, looking at the clock thinking 6 hours, 5 hours, 4 hours), I stopped getting even more worked up by the additional stress of any feeling that I could control my sleeplessness. I told myself this was something I was going through and something I would come out of. I hope you get some rest soon. A good night's sleep is a great example of one of those things that you don't know what you've got until it's gone. You know, it's a form of torture to deprive people of sleep. So give yourself some grace as you go through your days while you are dealing with this. :grouphug:

Is your problem sleeping poorly (perhaps waking frequently) once you are asleep or getting to sleep in the first place?

:bigear: Those of you who are just beginning with this, please be sure to come back and update. I am very interested in these. :)

:grouphug: It's been 16 years since I got my Master's but it is a lot of work. Give yourself some grace! I didn't even have kids back then and it was a challenge. I can relate to moving the stacks of papers around and getting nowhere though. Can you start by sorting them into stacks that each revolve around one major point? Then you could pick the point you're most prepared to write about and start there, even if you're not finished with the research for that part. You don't have to start at the beginning. Also, do you have anyone who is interested in discussing the subject with you? Or even someone who you could verbally give a stair-step goal to and then report back when you've accomplished it? A fellow student who is struggling in the same way might want to do an exchange of accountability with you. Accountability is so important to me. I used to thrive on it. Without an occasional check-in, I might as well be asleep in life sometimes. You can do it! Picture yourself having finished it and graduating! Then remember, slow and steady wins the race!

Hmmm. Well, I'm not on Facebook but I'm thinking I could make myself a cute little sign to hang on my bathroom door: Do not disturb. Parent-Teacher conference in session. Maybe with some bubbles and a glass of wine? Thanks for the idea, OP! :tongue_smilie:

Be sure to get your Vit D checked too. Fixing that was at least as big a help as fixing the thyroid. I call my diet the Mother Nature plan. :lol: I've always had a thing about food being recognizable in nature. I like Michael Pollan's books and highly recommend them. I think there is something in his books about if you look at a list of ingredients and find something that your Grandma wouldn't have had in her kitchen, put it back. I don't think everyone needs to be low carb but I do. Every single person (!!) on my mother's side of the family has/had diabetes so at 39, I've started to get really serious about restricting my net carbs (net being total carb minus fiber). I will not give up meat but I did find a local farm that has pastured beef, pork and chicken so I fill my freezer with that twice a year now. I also get her pastured eggs. A typical day of eating: Breakfast: pico de gallo omelette (2 eggs, 1/4 c. cheese, 1/2 c. pico) and half an avocado Lunch: almost always a (freakishly) large salad (garden, Cobb, taco... My favorite is Greek--romaine, cucumber, red onions, tomatoes, wedge of feta, olives, left over grilled chicken, and a drizzle of oil & vinegar.) Snacks: handful of nuts, boiled/deviled eggs, 1 piece of 70% dark chocolate (that's my big indulgence), bell pepper strips, cherry tomatoes, other fresh veggies--love them all, mozzarella balls with tomatoes, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt with frozen berries, half an avocado, etc.) Dinner: grilled chicken or steak with side salad and lots of veggies It can be a challenge to keep fresh foods in the house and chopped/ready-to-eat, especially with littles. I have three medium-ish kids but DH is gone and I dread going grocery shopping 2-3x a week for fresh veg. So, I buy every 5 days or so, clean it all, cut it and put it in glass fridge dishes on the same day and it lasts pretty well. Honestly, I have never felt more well than when eating this way. And I feel kind to myself. You know that feeling you get when you eat something you "shouldn't" and then too much of something you shouldn't because you were already eating it anyway so why not just a bit more? It's really nice to not have that feeling. Only when I started eating intentionally did I realize how bloated and miserable I was before. Again, I was eating a pretty healthy diet before--whole grain bread, whole grain pasta when we had it, everything "they" recommend. It just wasn't working for me. Oh, another incredible thing I noticed when I started eating this way is that I can stop eating when I'm not hungry anymore. Notice I'm not saying I can stop when I'm full. At a certain point, I feel satisfied and I stop. I truly believe there is something to starches/carbs and cravings. For me anyway... I should mention that I also started taking my self-care very seriously. I'm enforcing quiet time better, taking some long, luxurious baths, reading (non-HS books!) for pleasure, watching movies without doing anything else simultaneously (a really big deal, if you knew me!). That is to say, above all, be kind to yourself. ETA: Oh! When I started, I gave up all beverages except water and tea (iced or hot, no sugar, just a squeeze of lemon or lime). I'm now back on coffee (again, argh!) and it's not agreeing with me. I think I'm going to have to give it up again. I've been on and off the coffee wagon too many times to count!

:grouphug: If it makes you feel any better, I'm a fraud. That's not really me in my Avatar. How hard it would be to type with no opposable thumbs...

:iagree:100% I did disappear from October until this month. It was actually a relief that no one seemed to notice, odd as that sounds. I did feel bad because HappyGrace posted a thread asking if she could interchange an ingredient in a recipe I had just posted and I couldn't answer her. Some other folks helped her out though. :D I've come back nice and settled, happy to be moderately anonymous. :tongue_smilie: :iagree::lol:

I had Pyrex explode about 10 years ago. I pulled a beautiful Chile Relleno Casserole out of the oven one day and set it on an electric burner that I had just turned off. Direct heat is a no-no. It shattered. We went out to dinner. :glare:

One thing I would like to mention is that being low thyroid and Vit D was kind of a wake up call for me. Essentially, I feel those were symptoms of my very stressed, lacking in self-care lifestyle. Three babies in three years, followed by being an introverted, perfectionist homeschooler, the constant stress of Army related absences and long deployments... All those things paired with (though reasonably healthy) a not optimal diet... Yes, you can take caffeine and look at other quick fixes. You can get your Vit and thyroid levels checked and treated if they are low. But the bottom line is that you have to take better care of yourself. Once I started taking care of myself in a holistic mind/body/spiritual kind of way, I started feeling better. My bottom line recommendation is to look for a cure to the larger problem, not quick fixes to alleviate symptoms of that problem. :grouphug:

Yes! My oldest learned to read through his interest in spelling. In short order, I found myself questioning the arbitrary weekly spelling lists I had been given throughout my entire education!