Thank you all for this great information! I'm thinking we will aim between 3-5 acres. It sounds good to me. My husband really wants to hunt on it, as well. Does anybody have any idea how much we need to hunt deer? This is where I am and what I want. We currently live inside Houston, so I am accustomed to neighbors all around. Although we are going for a slower pace of life, I really don't want to be separated from people. We are very social and I start to lose it if we stay in our house for too long. Plus, I need to be close in to the city.

We are making a move and looking to have a little hobby farm. Really, it won't be anything big, at all. I know I don't know all the proper terms for these things, so please forgive me. We all have to start somewhere, right? And we won't start off with all of this stuff in the beginning, but I just want to the land to do it in the future, as we learn on this new adventure. Also, my husband already has a full-time job lined up in the small town we are moving to. At any one time, we would want some egg chickens and a large group of meat chickens, maybe some goats at some point, enough room for a pig, or two, and space for a garden and some fruit trees. How much land should we be looking for? We are city people currently, so we don't want to overdo it and have too much land to take care of. I mean, people have chickens in the city, so I'm thinking even 10 acres would be overkill? Maybe not. But, at the same time, we never want to feel tight on our property. TIA!

Have you searched the boards for this question. I'm pretty sure someone has asked it before. I'm on my phone, so it's hard to look right now. From what I remember, there is just so much important stuff that has been packed into the last two years. I think it is about evening out the important material presented in each year plan versus evening out the time period covered in each year plan. Does that make sense?

Do you know if this blog will stay up, or is she pulling all of her writing?

I have quite a few friends who are on the fence with homeschooling. I love that it is becoming more mainstream and approachable for many people. I can answer most questions and relate to many people, but when people ask about losing their "me" time, I am not quite sure what to tell them. I never had the "me" time to lose, so I don't see it as being a hard transition. We have quiet time every day, where we can all have some alone time. I mean, I often get stressed running errands with all my kids (4), but I feel it is a blessing in a way to not know what long stretches of free time, every single day, would feel like. Freeing, I'm sure. For those of you who had kids in school previously, was it a hard transition to pull them out and be with them full time?

Was it Language Lessons through Literature? There was a HUGE thread about it back in November/December. People were comparing it to WWE. Here is the thread... http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/495070-i-may-have-found-what-im-looking-for-in-a-program-that-truly-uses-literature-to-study-la-skills/ The program has recently changed names to not be confused with a similarly sounding program. It's now English Lessons through Literature. You won't find any of the material at a conference, though. Here is the author's website... http://barefootmeandering.com/bookstore.html

I'm blown away by all your six year old did. Talk about the beauty of homeschooling! They don't teach anything like that in school! Okay, question. Did y'all try Dawn dish washing liquid? I would assume that would take the oil out of the feathers, but you said they can't fly when this oil is stripped? That's the go-to soap during an oil spill, right?

I would look into Reading Lessons through Literature. It's a newish program by a homeschooling mom, but it is picking up a lot of momentum. The reading program teaches reading through phonograms and spelling rules. Because of this, a lot of people are actually using it as a spelling program, myself included. My daughter is reading at 3rd-4th grade level, but I want her to really have the rules down. In the fall, I am using the same program (and level) with my preschooler who is learning to read. http://barefootmeandering.com/rltl.html There are some threads on here about it, including a LONG thread on her English program, English Lessons through Literature, that was previously named Language Lessons through Literature (this is the title when the thread was written). There is also a yahoo group, if you have any more questions.

How so? I totally missed this in the episode you are mentioning (and I have seen them all this season.) I have to say, I was getting so frustrated that the whole season took place over a wedding weekend and then they packed so many years into the final episode. They surely could have drawn out the season a little longer for me!

Something like this is perfect! I think she would really enjoy this! Thanks!

I'm due to have a baby any day now and I'm trying to line up some stuff to preoccupy my oldest. She loves workbooks and is mesmerized, right now, by all the different states we have. I was thinking some kind of social studies or state workbook would be fun. Any suggestions? We have already worked through Beginning Geography by Evan-Moor.

I can't remember the proper term, but you can get a blood test (titer?) and it will tell you if your children have built immunities to certain illnesses. They may have been exposed over time, have the immunities now, and there is no reason to get the vaccine. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003333.htm

Handwriting is a subject that there is absolutely no reason to hold back on. Some kids just have the dexterity and patience to start earlier. I think it would be wrong to hold off on a program just because of their age. And there is no reason to repeat a level later. If he is ready, start now and just progress up the levels going at his pace. My oldest loved writing from a young age. She would sit and trace letters all day long. Once she learned her letters she would write short letters to everyone. I just viewed it as a type of creative expression. She is 5 now and we have moved on to cursive, which she loves. I'm so impressed with the quality of work she is pouring out and she is so happy that we started cursive when we did.

Someone on here recommended 2+2 does not equal 5 to me and WE LOVE IT! It was just what my daughter needed. Math facts were not sticking for her. Some kids pick if up, some need little tricks. It was designed for her way of thinking. She has been flying through the program with great success after a couple of months of going nowhere.

Isn't it amazing how most of us know nothing about Russian history? I mean, I was lost during the opening ceremonies. I'm glad they kept pointing out how isolated they were from Western civilization -- it made me not feel as bad for my lack of education concerning Russia. It's crazy to think about how they didn't experience so much of what has influenced our thinking.

I'm bumping this. What a good question! I need to purchase one, as well.

And we just differ there...

I don't want them to experience starvation. That is not the point. They are growing up in a culture where they think they can snap their fingers and have what they want. We eat a variety of foods and if something isn't exciting enough to them or their taste buds, they refuse to eat. I just want them to realize how blessed we are in that we have OPTIONS. They don't seem to comprehend that others don't really have a choice in what they eat every. And we already do all of your other suggestions...

I've had it! My children eat really well. Really well. My husband and I love food and cooking. They have grown quite accustomed to good meals. My oldest, especially, amazes me with her appetite. Yet, if something isn't up to her quality standards, she claims she "isn't hungry." We try to impress a life of service and gratitude, and I just don't feel like it exists at dinnertime. I came across the Rice and Bean Challenge and I am thinking about instituting it. My children's knowledge of poverty is limited to the homeless on the street which most likely still get some hot meals from the shelters. The fact there are families living all over who survive off of rice and beans, or porridge, is completely beyond them. Anyone have suggestions of books to read along with this adventure???

I love this idea. Thank you!

She had no ear infections growing up and she was evaluated by a certified audiologist at an ENT. No problems there. I'm thinking we need to go back to the speech pathologist. This will be our fourth round seeing them, though. I don't think they did anything at 18 months when the first pediatrician told us to go. The second time, at 3 years was a HUGE waste of money. The highly recommended practice told me they would first need to work on her attention span until they could actually work on her speech. (Her attention span, at that time, was longer than most kids her age.) I wasn't going to pay for 6 months of nothing when they could easily be helping her then. The last one we saw about 6 months ago told me that she would outgrow all of her problems by 7 and to not seek help until then. Hmmm....

She has been evaluated for speech issues. A friend's mom recently evaluated her and said that the sounds she is making incorrectly she should outgrow, but if she is still having problems by 7 then we need to seek help. She was going slow with her and asking for her to pronunciate the words. I think she has more of a problem with every day speaking, though, if that makes sense. I'm not sure if our friend was looking for processing disorders. I have often thought about teaching verb tenses with her, but I keep telling myself she is too young. She began reading early, around 3.5, and I really think that to improved her speech more than earlier speech therapy sessions. When she could see the words written out, she understood more what sounds she needed to say. I guess grammar would be good to start. She has and they say there isn't any kind of hearing problem.

It is getting quite uncomfortable for me to hear my five, almost 6 year old speak. I just can't figure out what we did wrong, what the problem is, or even how to address it all. You know when kids are little and they mix up tense of common words? They say your child will eventually outgrow this, but my daughter never has. We do everything they suggest... use proper grammar around her, read a lot, and she even has her nose in a book most of the time and reads independently around a 3rd grade level. And don't get me started on MINES vs MINE. About 10 times a day, I have to correct her that it isn't "It is mines." I mean, seriously? I'm about to lose my mind. I think she also has some kind of language disorder. She really doesn't speak clearly and people often have a hard time understanding her. I would say this is a separate issue, but maybe it is all connected? I tutor her class at Classical Conversations which is full of kids born within 6 months of her. It has become very obvious to me that she is behind. They all speak properly and clearly. Anytime she gives her presentation it is PAINFUL to me! Between her poor grammar and her speech issues, she is a mess. When she finished yesterday, a couple of kids said they couldn't understand anything she said. "She will outgrow it" just doesn't seem to be cutting it anymore, especially when I don't see any other kids her age STILL talking like a 3 year old. The 3 year olds I know don't even speak that poorly. Any advice?

I am not familiar with those games. Can you tell me more about them and I can try to recommend some games my kids love. Are they math-based, phonics-based, just a plain logic game, etc, etc?

Evan Moor's TeacherFilebox. Does anyone know how long this will be available? I am not planning on using it now, but possibly starting this summer of beginning of the fall. If it is up all year, I will wait, but I don't want to miss the deal if it is going away soon. Anybody know how you tell? TIA!