I felt like that when dd1 was a baby. I read everything from AP to ...not. And she didn't fit any of the molds. The AP ones said to lay down with her when she napped, nursing was natural and easier than formula feeding, that an attached baby wouldn't need to cry endlessly because she'd be worn in a sling and I could respond to her right away, that I wouldn't be as tired co-sleeping because I could roll over and nurse in my sleep, that children parented to sleep would not have negative associations with sleep. Um. No. The second I stopped moving her in her sling, she'd wake up. She would not be put down in a bed, on a couch, car seat, swing, or bouncer seat for naps. She would not fall asleep with anyone else. Nursing hurt. For months. It actually never felt nice, even though I nursed three kids for almost 8 years consecutively. I couldn't nurse and sleep until dd3 was born, and then only because the exhaustion of six years of waking up every hour or so all night long was so bad that I could sleep through the pain and discomfort of nursing. I am STILL always exhausted, even though for the most part I sleep ok-dd3 still wakes up once to pee. We've dealt with nightmares, night terrors, and constant night waking and issues. The 'other' methods had me putting her in a crib drowsy but awake so she would drift off peacefully. Yeah right. They had me nursing for 20 minutes on each side every three hours. Yeah right. They had me swatting or spanking when she didn't do what I wanted. Hell no. They said that being consistent would stop unwanted behavior. Nope. That practicing a skill such as sitting quietly at the table would mean we could go out to eat and have a peaceful meal. Haha. I am committed to parent gently, so I do the hard thing. My kids are pretty darn amazing, and yes, we do have a very strong bond and they are amazingly independent, so it's 'worked' if you can say that. I'm only sorry that for so long, I was so consumed with getting each of my kids to fit a mold that I missed an opportunity to parent my ACTUAL child at times. And I still really question everything I do...I'm very unsure of myself as a mom, and that's hard. I constantly think about how they will be when they grow up, and if I'm messing them up beyond repair.

Dd is average to slightly above average in math. For two years (so third and fourth grades) we've done BA, but I feel we need something different. We will continue to have a BA/Challenge Math day once a week. We have not done any of these programs except for MEP a bit for first grade, along with Miquon, which was our main program K-2. Would it be too difficult to transition into the MEP format at this point? Do you do one page per day (most lessons were one page long)? That and the uncluttered look of the pages is a plus for us...but is it going to be enough to cover what she needs to know? I like that it's free, but I'd rather pay for something if it's better, kwim? MM will be on sale soon. I hate to buy all the levels, because I have Miquon for K-2, and BA for 3/4 already for the younger two, so really I would only use 5-7 (? If that). However, the price at a 40% discount can't be beat, and I could find extra practice for other grade levels over the years. CLE has been said to be rigorous...but not in a conceptual way...is that right? I don't want boring, but I do like the very simple format of CLE... I will say we have tried Singapore briefly through the years and it didn't work for either of us. I'm thinking we will do pre-algebra next year, for sixth...if she is ready. We could even stretch it 18 months if needed. I'm not in a rush to push for higher level math super early, however I want to stretch her mathematical thinking. AND have a really solid foundation.

I'd love ideas on this. Dh and I have no common interests, we don't enjoy the same things/tv/people/activities. I have my life and he has his. The kids are what we have in common, but since I'm here 24/7, and he's gone too much to really know the intricacies of our life, it's not even worth it to try and talk about it. Kinda sad.

Pasta can be replaced with spaghetti squash and rice can be replaced with 'riced' cauliflower. Is ghee ok to use as butter? Is has the milk solids removed, furthermore, traditional ghee is usually made with buffalo milk, which may not cause the same reactions as cow milk.

Here is a pretty cool resource...they are educational videos. The one I watched was about 15 minutes, but I have no idea if all of them are. This lady has made a google doc with the topic, grade levels, and direct link to Amazon. Again, I have only watched one so far, so I can not speak to the quality/content, but if they are any good, it would seem like an amazing resource!!! http://homeschoolershelper.blogspot.com/2014/09/new-dimension-media-educational-films.html?m=1

I love love love banana pudding...however, I've never made the pudding part from scratch. Does anyone have a good, thick, custard style pudding recipe?!?! I'm craving it right now!

I'm going with Rosie and voting for MEP reception. It is so sweet and fun.

Please talk to me. I'm doing my planning for this coming year with fifth grader dd. She is average, I guess...ahead on some things, behind on others. Writing is a struggle, reading is way ahead. As I plan, I am seeing entire books needing to be read on lessons 4, 12, 14, and 15?!?!? And not easy books-Door in the Wall, Trumpeter of Kraków, Beowulf, and Tales from Shakespeare. *In addition to* the kingfisher encyclopedia and the Story of Mankind most every day. In addition to timelines, maps, summaries, outlines and biographies. Daily. Some days has her writing summaries of 5-10 people or events. Even at 2-3 sentences per thing...that would be way too much for her. If we do 3 lessons per week, that still puts lessons 14 and 15 in the same week, meaning we'd have to somehow read both of those books, in addition to the other things. I'm feeling really panicky, not only at the thought of buying this and all the books for it and realizing its way over her ability and most of all, feeling that we must be doing something terribly wrong if she can not keep up with this...this is the correct level for her age/grade, so I'm assuming most other families can do it...

I'll have similar grades-K, 2nd, and 5th. Here is my plan, subject to change lol. 9-9:30 Morning time-read poetry, a chapter book, sing memory songs, ect. 9:30-10 I work one on one with K child, we do math, phonics, and writing. Not everyday, just rotating through. She will just be turning five in October, so I am keeping her school time really short and sweet. Big two girls work on copywork (10 minutes), and when they finish they have time to read-fifth grader will have a basket of her history books to work on and second grader will just read chapter books of her choosing. 10-11:30 I will work one on one with the fifth grader on math and writing/grammar. Snack for all around 10:30 Little two girls have play time together. 11:30-12:30 I will work one on one with the second grader, we will do math, writing, grammar, and reading Fifth grader play with little dd for a while and then will work on spelling and finish up reading history if she needs. 12:30-1 Check in with fifth grader for history, science, and geography. Science and geography will be courses covered at coop, so I'll just need to check in with her about doing whatever reading/project they assign. 1-2 Lunch and literature. I'll read or we will listen to audio books. Fifth grader reads on her own for hours per day. Second grader is getting there, I make sure she reads to me several times a day. We listen to audio books in the car, I read every night, and we have no tv/screens during the week, so they play tons of board games, explore in the woods behind our house, participate in tons of extracurricular activities and have lots of time to be creative.

Yes, I do. However, my outfit 99% of the time is jeans (long or short, depending on the season) and a solid color t shirt (again, sleeves long or short depending on the season). I shower at night, so I don't need to do that. I brush my hair and teeth and put a touch of make up on. No jewelry or scarves or accessories. I'm not very fashionable that way lol. My kids do have to wear day clothes during the day, but lately they've been getting dressed in their day clothes after their nightly shower and then wearing those to bed so they don't have to change in the morning. 😳 Fine by me.

How about these? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0689817517/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687642&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0689847440&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1C4DXQDVSYQZ5CV2EG9Z We have several, and the vocabulary is actually quite good. Or D'Aulaire books? The Greek or Norse mythology ones are wonderful, and have illustrations on most pages.

I have three girls, 10, 7, and 4. I solo parent quite a bit with Dh traveling for work. For a while, dd's 1 and 2 showered together, each washing their own body and hair. I showered with littlest dd. Recently dd1 has been wanting a shower alone, so she does that. Dd2 does not want to shower alone, so she now showers with little dd, each of them washing their own body. I will still shower with little dd twice a week to wash her hair (she tries when it's just her and her sister, but doesn't do a good job quite yet). At any point, they can shower alone though. They all do help in other ways...this family simply could not function without everyone pitching in. They pick up their own things every day and put them away. They help unload and load the dishwasher, switch the laundry, feed and water the dogs, sweep, wipe the tables, cook, vacuum, dust, wipe windows, and everyone sorts and folds their own laundry (I hang little Dd's things, but she puts her pajamas and panties away). I'm not sitting on my butt watching tv while they work, we are all working together. Sometimes I partner little dd with an older sibling for chore time, however most of the time she's with me. No one is allowed to discipline anyone else, and all problems are brought to me. Yes, sometimes I tell them they can work it out, but I supervise to make sure it's a fair working out, and not an older sibling taking advantage of a younger one, or the little one having a fit to get her own way. They all have vastly different personalities, and I try to work with their individual bent-in chores, sibling relationships, school, extracurriculars, ect. My oldest is naturally very compliant, craves alone time and quiet to do her own thing, and would have been happiest as an only child. My middle is a huge extrovert who needs someone with her at all times lol. This sometimes causes issues between the two, because all middle dd ever wants to do is be with big dd. She can be annoying to try and get big dd's attention. At the same time, big dd can be oblivious to shutting her sister out. Little dd is, well 4, and also has some behavior issues. She isn't the easiest going kiddo, and often needs my help navigating life. They all have their own room, and are allowed to go in there at any time and everyone else must respect their need for privacy. No one is required to play with anyone else, though I do point out if someone is feeling lonely or left out and give ideas on how to resolve the issue. I try my very best, but I'm not fooling myself in thinking they will always be happy with the way things are. I'm sure they will have resentment in one way or another. I'm sure they will swear to do things totally different with their own kids. 😉 I do want them to feel listened to, and I have asked them for their opinion on how I'm doing as a mom. They are free to come up with ideas or air their complaints about things, and we can try to find better solutions. Sometimes we do, sometimes we just suck it up and deal.

I don't make them learn, but they have chosen to learn- Archery-my did was given a cross bow at age 10, and she's a pretty good shot! Shooting a gun-we do require a gun safety course, because I didn't have that growling up and am still very uncomfortable with them. I want my kids to have extensive knowledge of how they work, and the damage they can cause. I want them to know the rules of gun safety, and be comfortable with them, taking the 'forbidden fruit' aspect away. They are not required to shoot, but both chose to try after we did the safety course. The two big girls have shot them, starting at age 6. Woodworking-dh loves woodworking, and has passed this on to the kids. The big girls have made things using a lathe, chop saw, and drill press. They have a wood burning tool, and various saws and wood carving tools. Various barn chores-we do not live on a farm, but would love to. We have spent entire summers on friends farms volunteering. We volunteer for a horse rescue organization. When they take their riding lesson, we always help out around the farm. They've learned how to raise chickens and ducklings from eggs, we've uncubated them and did the candling with the eggs. They can muck a stall, know how to feed and groom various animals, and how to read their behavior. Gardening-this is something I am learning, so we haven't tackled it full on yet. However, I think this is so important. Again, it's something I didn't have growing up, and wish I would have. Things we 'let' them do that strikes some people as odd- Climb trees, as high as they feel comfortable, as soon as they are able. Rock climb, starting at age 3. Use my chefs knives, starting at age 4. Start a fire in the fire pit, with help. They learned a couple of years ago how to start a fire with dried leaves and a magnifying glass. We made sure it was in a safe place and let them do it. Knee boarding and water skiiing, started last year when they were 3, 6, and 9. Walk through our wooded property alone. They have to go in a pair, but not necessarily with an adult.

Oh I love this! I sometimes need something for littlest dd, but I don't want her to be watching cartoons...books online would be be great. I usually just search on YouTube, but having a channel would be great!

Yes. I feel like I'm failing at one thing or another virtually all the time. Homeschooling, extra curricular things, parenting, housekeeping, cooking healthy foods, self education, ect. I'm anxious about it all the time. I'm working on that. When I get very worried, I try to do the 'best of two choices' game. For example-like a PP said, yeah, we could have read four more books, gotten more math practice, produced more writing, or actually DONE latin...but. During the time that we would have been inside doing these things and stressing, we instead chose to-read fairy tales, go for hikes, explore the creek, go camping, bake together, play endless card and board games, stay up late talking with my big girls, participate in homeschool PE and field day, play with friends, go fishing, swimming, rock climbing, catch snakes, lizards and frogs, or take a nap in the hammock. What would have been 'better' for MY kids, at that particular time? I can say with almost 100% certainty that the things we did do had more value than hitting the books even longer. I'm really really trying to learn as much as I possibly can about 'teaching from a state of rest' and not being anxious about these things. It's hard.

Aww, poor bunny. 😔

Fun Ellie!

Those pictures are beautiful. I can be severely minimalist with everything but books. My wardrobe consists of three pairs of jeans, three pairs of shorts, and ten each short/long sleeved, solid colored shirts. I buy them all at once, when they go on sale. In every color they carry for my size. I do not think about what I will wear everyday. I wear jeans, t shirt, and one of three pairs of shoes. Everyday. I can live with little to no furniture. We have a couch, but it's usually a prop for fort building, since we don't watch tv much. A few high quality kitchen things-my knives, pans/pot set, coffee maker, and vitamix. I don't need a bunch of other things. I keep my pantry bare, and I prefer my fridge that way. We only own eight place settings. We each have only two towels, and they are color coded. We each have two pool/lake towels, again color coded. Each bed has one sheet set and two blankets, a lightweight and a heavyweight one. I used to keep a ton of clothes from each girl(we have three) because they could be passed down. Then friends with girls would also give us bags of clothes. I was drowning in clothes. I finally gave most of it away, decided to just have faith that somehow, we'd get clothes when we needed them. And you know what? We have. Many times over. I'm blessed to live in a place that has several thrift stores. I'm lucky that most, if not all, of my friends buy second hand and they get excited about it and let me know when the thrift store has kids clothes marked down to $.30 a piece. Books though. Sigh. I just can't. We have kindles and we have iPads. There is nothing like the feel of an old leather or cloth bound book. I love older books. I bought myself the entire Britannica Great Boooks hardcover set for Mother's Day at the library book sale. At just $1 a piece, I couldn't pass those up. And a kindle would not even come close to one of those. We have a total of 11 bookshelves, most are Ikeas Expedit series. The books are arranged and orderly. Most of the school books live in our library room, which is really a 10x10 closet in the finished basement. I love it.

Archery?

I just got a vitamix, and I LOVE it. Love. We have made so many smoothies in it the past few days. And today we took it to the pool and made daiquiris. 😠It's awesome. I can't wait to make soup when it gets cold!

Over the summer, I'm trying something. I bought small pretty notebooks, the size of a paperback but not as thick. On one side of the page, I am writing copywork from songs, poetry, literature, quotes, and the bible. I'll use these to point out grammar, spelling, and I'll tie the character elements to what is relevant to each particular child. On the other, I'm writing a series of math drills. I'm planning on having the big girls (10 and 7) do these two things first thing in the morning. It should only take five minutes between the two. We will be going through several of Langs fairy tales, as I found a beautiful leather bound edition. That book makes me so very happy to hold.😊 We will still continue with our 'regular' math, Miquon for the younger and Beast Academy for the older. We will be incoorperating Brave Writer ideas daily-poetry tea, free writing, projects. Those will also go into small notebooks. We will have daily reading hour, where everyone reads or looks at picture books (for the 4 year old). I am aiming for another hour of my reading aloud, between the fairy tales, audio books in the car, and bedtime chapter or picture books. And that's it. 😳 I've been listening to audio lectures, reading articles, and immersing myself in the Circe thread and its many many links. I do not feel equipped or intelligent enough to fully grasp it, but I feel a sense of wonder and beauty and peace when I read about that educational model. It's what I desire for myself and my children. I'm not sure what will happen come fall, I'm sure I will have a freak out and start adding in 'stuff'. I'm not a confident person and I second guess everything. I definitely want to add in history, and I have History Odessey for that. Science will be through our coop, they use Apologia, which I do not like, but I'm thankful that she does, and that the coop is really wonderful.

Jean- (hug)💙 Texasmama- you continue to amaze me...sending prayers your way. I'm not nearly as wrecked as you, but I've had a rough few weeks. I'll sit and be wrecked with you.💔 Lynn- your dh has been sucked in......😠It's sunday. I'm really hoping its a restful day. I need one. 😔

Thank you!!

Oh Texasmama, I am so sorry for your loss. 💔 Thank you so much for sharing the stories of Nan with us. I will be thinking of you and your family. 😞

I'm miserable with the search option...I can never find what I'm looking for. 😣 I've been reading, listening, and researching and even though I read that thread before, I think now perhaps I'll have a better understanding (or not! It's worth a shot) and would love to read it again. Can someone link it or teach me how to search effectively?