My DSs take Aikido and we absolutely love our dojo. It is not commercial, it has a non profit status and the upper level adults teach the youth classes without monetary compensation ~ they do it to earn training hours. In Aikido, you can not test for a belt until a certain number of training hours have been logged. Next month, my son will have been there two years. He is getting ready to take his third test. They do give the kids the colored belts (no stripes in between) just for a visual reward for the hard work of the kids ~ but the adults at our dojo have white belts and they keep their white belts through every Kyu until they reach black belt status.

My 8 yo son announced to me today while we were in B&N that he would like to read a book about Ancient Greeks & specifically the Trojan Horse. Um......ok. We haven't even covered that yet. Thank you Phineas & Ferb! Anyway, the clerk at B&N told me that didn't have any in the store, but there were several options available online. Anyone got any suggestions or titles they'd like to throw at me? Should I look for book just about the Trojan War, or are there some good, age appropriate books that will introduce Greek Mythology? TIA!

^^^ One of my favorite desserts EVER! I've developed this recipe a while back. I've dubbed it "crack soup" because I simply can't stop at one bowl. It's sssoooo yummy!

My (almost) 6 yo son has been in speech therapy for apraxia for the last two years. Our speech therapist incorporated phonics into his speech practice. She picked a beginning sound, say 'p' and showed him the proper way to make the sound (even manipulating his mouth/face if need be) and then it was just lots and lots and lots and lots of repetition. We used flashcards (with pictures) of easy words that began with 'p' and then once he'd mastered that, we moved to words that ended in 'p' ~ once he'd mastered that sound, she moved on to another sound, but she still insisted his p's be crisp and on target. If there was a sound in the word that he hand't worked on yet, she let it go. But once a sound was mastered he was expected to use it correctly from that point forward. We're now up to working on blends such as sl, st, sp, th, ch, etc.....it's helped in our reading work (phonics based) tremendously because he already recognizes and letters and knows what sounds they make.

I bought a set of Glass Loc containers from Costco last year and I loved them so much I bought a second set this year. They still have them and I'm considering a third set! They come in all different sizes and I use them for picnic lunches as well as leftovers in the fridge. It looks like Amazon sells them now, too: http://www.amazon.com/Snapware-Glasslock-Tempered-Storage-Containers/dp/B0029U57RA

LOVE my coconut oil!! Today's lunch was chili mac (with PB&J for Boy 1 because he doesn't like it). Not much going on this weekend ~ DSs aikido training, working on organizing the HSing corner because we start in a week and I really like to get things done ahead of time! HA! To answer your question ~ I'd love to have a kitchen full of vintage Pyrex, but I'm happy to just collect a piece here and there at the thrif stores & yard sales. I could buy full sets on ebay/antique shops, but they're so pricey and half the fun of a collection is the hunt!

My kids caught colds last winter, because you know, that's what happens in winter, right? My mom said "How did they get sick? You homeschool!" Yup, it must've been that ONE time I let them out of the closet they picked up those nasty germs!":lol: Yesterday on FB, we were discussing the article about grades being inflated for education majors and my brother said "it's still more structured education and testing than you've received and yet, you still feel you're qualified to teach" *OUCH*

Thank you all so much for your input! I think I'm going to check out FLL1 for my younger son and make my older son sit in on some of the lessons as well (he claims he's forgotten everything), but I'll keep going with GWG for the older one. I hadn't realized they were so complimentary of one another.

Smacking head with hand.....well duh! I didn't occur to me that was the acronym for this book! :willy_nilly:

This seems so simple, but it took me YEARS to figure this out! I got an ADHD dx in college ~ but I've since come to the conclusion that I was misdiagnosed. I had a traumatic brain injury as a child and I've spent this summer doing all sorts of neurological tests, meeting with neuropsych doctors, and spending days locked in a tiny room with a technichian doing every personality test imaginable. The results? I'm highly (higher than average) functional and I appear to have no residual symptoms as a result of my TBI. So what does THAT mean? Why are such simple tasks so difficult for me when they seem to be so easy for every one else? I have a lot of work ahead of me to figure this one out.....but for now, I'm keeping an eye on this thread and I'm hanging out at this forum a lot to learn from the pros! LOL!

I've been looking at this book on Amazon and was wondering if anyone here had any experience with it? In our first year of HSing I used McRuffy and I really really do not like it. Last year ~ half way through the year I ordered "Growing with Grammar" and the jury is still out on that. It's simplistic. Almost annoyingly so. I was planning on using it again this year simply because we already have it, but I'm not in love with it. BUT, I think my husband is afraid our bank account may explode any day now because of some recent last minute curriculum changes and if I say I'm going to buy another book ~ well, it could get scary! :lol: Seriously though, if it's a fantastic book and I absolutely *must* have it, I'll get it. Just wanted to pick some brains here first. Thanks! ETA: I just ordered AAS & AAR and I was wondering if this would be redundant or if it's mostly just grammar....

Thank you for your reply. Ok, after rereading every word on her website (for the 32,876th time!) I think I've *finally* made a decision! Are all curriculum changes this stressful?!? LOL!! I'm going to get what you suggested for AAS ~ with a student materials pack for each child ~ so they'll each have their own boxes of cards. I'm going to start my youngest on Pre Level 1 for AAR, he has most of the basics down, but I think reviewing it all will not only reinforce his understanding for reading, but it will also supplement his speech therapy quite nicely. Thanks again for your input. :001_smile:

Hi All! I have some questions about AAS/AAR ~ my older son (3rd grade) went to K at the local ps and was originally taught a mixture of phonics/whole language (don't get me started, grrrr). Anyway, he's a good reader (and horrible speller), but if he stumbles upon a word he doesn't know he just guesses ~ I've been trying for two years to get him to sound them out or at least use context to try to figure it out, but he always reverts back to guessing. I also have a son starting K this year and we've been working on basic phonics over the last year (he went to private preschool). I've decided to start both kids on AAS1 ~ I know my older son will fly through it, but I really think it'll be best to start him at the very beginning to get his mind thinking about the phonics aspect. So, here are my questions ~ What should I buy? I plan to do mostly ala carte purchasing because I really don't need another tote bag and I'm not all that interested in the CD ROM. I'll have two kids using the program and even though we'll be starting at the same level, I don't think they'll stay at the same level for long. Suggestions? Second question is ~ I'm considering All About Reading in addition to AAS for my Kinder, but I can't find a lot of reveiws/info about it (as it's still quite new). I'm torn between this option or just using AAS and the OPGTR. Thoughts? Thanks in advance! ~Jessica **who really needs to find time to update her avatar and signature!**

I didn't see an Introductions sub forum anywhere, so I hope I'm posting this in the right area. My name is Jessica and I'm homeschooling my two boys who will be in K & 3rd grade this year. This will be our third year homeschooling. Our first year went just about like what I'd expect most first years are like: a little bumbling, a little winging it, a lot of stress and even some tears. Our second year was pretty much non existent. The first year scared me off and I just couldn't get my act together. Our schedule was all screwed up due to preschool for my youngest ~ art classes ~ other activities, etc, and I was unhappy with some curriculum choices, but didn't even know where else to look.... BUT ~ I'm organized now, I have our schedule figured out and I'm no longer intimidated and I'm ready to tackle this year with everything I've got! A friend of mine led me here after I asked her about some spelling programs and she recommended All About Spelling (I have some questions about that, but that's another post!) My husband is a commercial airline pilot, so I'm a "single" mom about five days a week/three times a month. He loves to help with the teaching, so when he's home he does a lot of social studies and community learning types of projects with the kids, but I'm pretty much in charge of all of the core curriculum. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself a bit. I've already learned so much from lurking around reading a bunch of posts. Nice to "meet" you all! ~Jessica

I don't know how old your kids are ~ but one thing my husband is planning to do with our kids this year is plan a trip into the city (we're about an hour outside of Seattle) using all public transportation and have the kids plan the whole day ~ what time do we need to leave? Which bus do we need to catch in order to get the ferry in time? Which ferry do we need to take? We want to go to the Space Needle & Pike Place Market ~ which busses do we need to catch? What time? What's our plan for lunch? And what ferry do we need to catch on the way home? Etc.....