I do something similar... we have a number of 'responsibilities' that each of the kids is expected to take part as a member of the family.... so the household runs smoothly. We don't pay allowance of these - just as DH doesn't get an allowance for mowing the lawn, etc. Our children are 6 and 4 (almost). Their responsibilities are: - pick up after yourself - keep your bedroom / bathroom tidy - help bring in groceries - empty dishwasher (they stack the plates, etc. on the counter under the cupboards since they can't yet reach) - put dirty dishes into the dishwasher when applicable - set table / clear table - move wet clothes from washer to dryer - bring their hamper to the laundry room / vice versa - taking trash to trash cans in garage - taking recyclables to bin in garage To earn spending money / allowance, they can do extra or bonus chores. Each chore earns $1. These include: - vacuum the carpets - help shovel snow - sweep off the front & back porch - fold laundry - wash windows - clean stainless steel in kitchen (refrig, dishwasher, etc.) - help dad wash the car - sweep/mop kitchen - dust - anything else that comes up - basically, any chore that helps alleviate the pressure on mom / dad :D

I am not sure this really counts ... a 1 hour snow shoe walk at a 4 year olds pace. We covered just under 2 miles. Better than nothing, I suppose.

Here is a great web resource that I like: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/lessons.html

We are big game players - each Labor Day Weekend our friends gather and play games Thr evening thru Sun afternoon. It's called the Bar Convention (Bar is the nickname of our friend who hosts the event). He gets really into it - a yearly theme, a silent auction, gift baggies to those that register, online registration, a schedule (that is adhered to loosely), a big BBQ finale, even a business sponsorship ... I can go on and on... 30+ participants every year. 2009 will be the 6th year. Amongst our favorite games: Ticket to Ride Carcassonne **** We love it so much, we have all the expansion sets. Settlers of Catan Werewolf Loot Saboteur Guillotene The Great Dalmuti and our newest favorite: Cheeky Monkey **** Fun for even the youngest players! My DD is 6 years old and is capable of playing all of these independently... she frequently beats us in fact! Then again, she's been playing in our lap since she was born (either in a wrap or sitting up right).

If going to Hawai'i - or interested in Hawai'ian culture - I would strongly recommend Moloka'i by Alan Brennert. Awesome story.

Kathy ~ Icing and elevating... are you doing so for Plantars Faciitis issues? Just curious because I have to do the same thing....

I report every week - but have never linked here on the forums. Figured I'd play along... We school year round... so it was Week 20. :)

I currently have both but when AT&T comes to Central Oregon (rumored to be soon), I will finally get the iPhone I so desperately want. At that point, we'll be dropping our land line.

It varies - I try to read a little everyday. If I'm hooked into a book - it can consume me. I read all 4 books in the Twilight series in just 6 days. That is unusual for me though. It generally takes me a week or two to get through a book of that size... reading just a little during DDs Taekwondo class (when I am not chasing after DS) or at night after everyone else is asleep. I'm doing the 999 challenge... did 888 last year. It has helped me to read much more than I've ever read in the past.

I've been absent from the forums for months now... life... ya know. I swam today. After a 450m warm-up, I did 36 minutes of 100m intervals on ~2:00 minutes. I managed to get 16 completed in that time. I don't often wear my contacts so I can't actually see the interval clock... I just go by 'feel'. It felt great! I don't normally like this workout but today I felt strong. :D

We are just beginning a unit study on Earth Science ... I created a Squidoo Lens to organize all the resources I've found. There are links to printables and lesson plans. Geology Rocks! I'll be adding to it as we go forward. I hope you can find something there of use. :D

The best time to run is when YOU can ... the time of day that works for you and helps assure you that it will get done. For me, that is generally in the a.m., otherwise things happen and it gets omitted. However, on Wed - I have a sitter come in the afternoon. I generally don't miss that run. :)

I have a schedule format that might help you. It has 3 columns, one for school activities, one for my self (exercise, etc.) and one for household chores. You could easily add additional columns if you have children working on different curriculum/levels/etc. I recently posted it on my blog, here is the direct link: http://4twinklingstars.blogspot.com/2008/08/our-200809-school-plans.html

Oh - I like meant to add that I like to added challenge of creating 3D models inside sour cream or cottage cheese sized cartons. Cut out a square window on the side of the carton (about 3-4" long). Cartons can be stacked to show layers of a forest, ocean or a timeline of history.

A fun project I've done with 6th graders in the past (after studying adaptations) was to create an imaginary animal of the future... 3D model and a written description of the structural and behavioral adaptations that enabled the animal (or plant) to survive in its habitat. Another favorite was to write a children's picture book about a history or science topic... to explain the concept to little kids.

Love the titles listed already... have to add Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. :)

I've been to JPL as a teacher training workshop (2 weeks, all-expenses paid). Loved it! But I've never been with kiddos.

We go to the county fair every year. My oldest has had entries the past 2 years. My youngest entered one pastel drawing this year, his first time. Both enjoy it... seeing their work on display... getting inspired by others' work, etc. This year, in addition to browsing/enjoying the open class exhibits, we also enjoyed the 4H exhibits. We talked about projects we may be interested in doing in future years. We enjoy entering handcrafts, art, photography, cooking, etc. This year, my oldest had 7 entries. She won 5 blues ($25), 1 white ($3), and 1 green (for an insect collection - there was no 'entomology' category for her age level so we entered it under "nature crafts"). The little guy also won a blue. Many times, at least where we are, there are few to NO entrants in the category so there is no competition. Unfortunate, really.

That's exactly what I was thinking! Wow! I was so impressed with the Romanian gold medal winner, as well. She rocked!

For cool, FREE blog skins or templates, I really like: http://freeskins.blogspot.com/ You download the XML template and then upload to your own blogger template. From your dashboard, click on "Layout Tab". Then click "Edit HTML". You can then upload the template from a file on your hard drive by clicking "Browse". In doing this, though, you'll lose all the sidebar edits you've done already though (Books to Read, 1st Grade Curr., Favorite Things). It appears as though you've only done text lists not hyperlinks that you can click on so they should be easily added back. Let me know if you have further questions. I blog a lot.... :D

I could have written this same thing! Ditto!!

That is exactly what I was thinking, too... Frustrating but understandable. Thank you all for responding. :D

My daughter wants to learn to speak Chinese. If only she'd asked to learn Spanish (which I'm fluent in) we'd be cruising. I've played around with Mango Languages (I love it but she get's bored). I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a program like Rosetta Stone (she may decide next year to do something else!). I bought the Chinese Language for Primary Schools 1A Textbook and accompanying Activity Book from Singapore Math. Does anyone have experience with these? I like the way it is is organized. It is very colorful - just like the math - so DD is interested/intrigued. However, how do I learn the pronunciations? I've tried to find a native speaker to help but thus far haven't found one. Any other thoughts/suggestions?

West Coaster, here, chiming in... I've had a busy day (Tues and Thrs are my "Out and About" days). In the midst of it all though, I swam with Masters and covered 2000m - which is a little shorter than normal. I arrived a little late and thereby had less time to warm-up. Tomorrow is another running day... I'll post when I get back in from the run. Not sure what I'll do though. I don't have a race I'm training for right now (decided not to do the Portland marathon) so I'm playing it all by ear. :)

btt