In my sig. :001_smile:

My oldest is five. We have a "bedtime" and a "lights out" time. At this age I'm concerned with setting him up with good sleep habits. As he gets older we'll give him more freedom/responsibility in this department, but for now I give him a "lights out"--otherwise this particular child could be up until VERY late. ETA: I have wonderful memories of staying up late to finish a favorite book by flashlight, but I was older than my kids are now (and I don't suffer with any sleeping issues because of it as an adult). I look forward to my children making those same great memories, but I don't think they are ready to determine their going-to-sleep time yet. Maybe it depends on the individual child--my oldest would stay up way too late.

Here are a couple of blogs I've saved for inspiration: http://livingcminca.blogspot.com/2011/09/shannons-notebooks-and-what-ive-decided.html (this particular post shows where a mom took her kids out every night for a month after bedtime stories to sketch the phases of the moon ) http://balancingeverything.com/2011/08/29/completely-in-love-with-nature-journals/ (this mom has tons of posts and pictures on "nature journals" and such) I know I have more if I can find them...

I think these are all plain--just boxes and lines in different configurations--tons to choose from... http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/notebook.htm ??

One way... Download the free app "Notability". Then when you access the pdf online choose "open in Notability" (the option shows up in the corner of the screen). There you can do all sorts of things (type, highlight, finger write, etc.)...once you get the hang of it! ETA: Oops, I left out the dropbox step. Comments after mine do a Much better job of explaining...

Exactly! Look at the song titles. For example..."Claire De Lune" (from Twilight). Claire De Lune was around long before that vampire movie. I love "Claire De Lune". I do not love "Twilight". ;) They are all great, classic pieces of music. The movie titles must be a marketing tool(?).

Thanks! I had just applied this MP3 credit earlier today and wasn't sure what to purchase with it before it expires. So I got it for free! Go here to get a $2 Amazon MP3 credit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&gcIsProcess=1&gcpcCode=MP3S4ALL&tag=amazonmusic04-20&linkCode=ur2&docId=1000808631&camp=1789&creative=390957#gc

Cool! I live in a big enough town, but I may try that first anyway.

Old thread--original question was asked over 3 years ago...???

If you don't like the "cluttered" look, Target's "Itso" fabric cube bins are supposed to fit the Expedit shelves perfectly and they are cheaper than similar products from Ikea. They come in different fabrics; you can check your local store to see them in person. http://www.target.com/s/itso If you google it and search images you'll see lots of examples. Here is one old random blogpost I found on it: http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2010/08/ikea-expedit-bookcase-meets-target-itso-bin.html Disclaimer: I haven't tried this and don't even own an Expedit. I have simply been drooling over them for while (we don't have an Ikea nearby).

Hopefully I'm not mixing up board names, but I think "critterfixer" on here is a vet/homeschool mom. She posts a lot on the K-8 board, but not sure if she hangs out here or not. (She recently fascinated me with a story about treating one of their backyard hummingbird's injured EYE!) Maybe you can do an advanced search with her user name to find her and send her a message.

Haha, so you were a closet filer all along. The first step is admitting it...? ;) I've been pondering this method, but I think I'm afraid that once I make it official, with real files and labels, I'll suddenly fall off the bandwagon and become a filing failure. Still pondering... :lol: If only it were that simple for everyone! I was fortunate to be able to read that one "live" so I could spread it out more...or, rather, I just had no idea what I was getting myself into at the start!

Hey, I remember those! Great memories. And I think I still remember the smell of that paste. :D Now I'm curious too...

Mystie, one of our board members here, just blogged a nice series about planning a year at a time (and keeping it flexible with little ones). Here is a link to her introduction and index of the series: http://www.simplyconvivial.com/2012/homeschool-planning-a-year-at-a-time-introduction

I haven't seen it in person yet, but this is currently in my Amazon cart.

I started an education board last year. It's in my siggy. I mainly used it to clean out the links I've saved on my computer. It is much easier to find things there with thumbnail pictures for reminders of what they are.

All of the above and monkey bars. Also, bottles with a trigger spray nozzle--he can Windex the windows or just spray water outside, etc.

I don't have an iPhone either, but I didn't know I could use the iPhone apps on my iPad! (Y'all try not to laugh too hard at me. :D)

Wish they had it for iPad...:nopity:

I guess I've never given it much thought. I've usually just said "my son" or "my little boy" or "my 4 (or 5) year old". Now that I think about it, I probably haven't used the word "preschooler" so much because it makes me think of kids who actually attend a preschool...not that that is true, its just what it makes me think of from the way I hear it used in my area. (Preschool isn't assumed in my area--it isn't as big of a deal--so you might use the word to differentiate a child who attends one).

Oh no! Maybe this will be a good thing since they can search and confirm their stock for you. Then you can (hopefully) get as many as you want (or give it up if they tell you they are discontinued and gone forever ;)). What an adorable space!

Cool! It is so funny how I catch myself glancing over at the black baskets every time I walk by that aisle now! It's like I keep checking for the medium ones for you, but I honestly don't know what I'd do if I found any. :D We were in Birmingham over the weekend and I had to make a quick trip to the Target by our hotel--I saw those black baskets in the distance and started thinking...hmm, I wonder if they have medium... somebody stop me. :lol:

"forty-two" (I think that's her board name?) was doing one, I believe, with very young ones (like pre-k/k, I think?)...

We loved Wild China series too! And speaking of fishing birds...I remember watching a "Sunrise Earth" episode (LOVE that show) that spent a morning showing those fishermen and their birds (can't remember if it was in China specifically though) just in case you ever come across that one somewhere--beautiful!

I think I should go call my Dad right now and thank him for all the C.S. Lewis he made me read as a teen...and also ask to borrow a few of those Lewis books again as I am loving all the quotes, but, unfortunately, am unable to remember ever reading them before. :glare: