For this year's Christmas gifts, my mom says that she would like to buy our kids some stuff to do on the computer, such as math drill games, phonics games, etc. She wants me to tell her what to get...and I have no ideas as of now. So, I'm asking you! I'm not looking for the kind of games that are long on fun and short on actual purpose. I'd love for the younger kids to have a way to reinforce core subject knowledge (phonics/reading, math facts, Latin vocab, spelling, etc.) during the "in-between times" of the school day. I've searched online, but really have no way of knowing which software fits what I'm looking for. Any ideas?

Wow! Thank you all for these great ideas...Creative juices are flowing!

Our church is hosting a medieval-themed music camp in June. As one of the instructors, I would like to make my classroom into a castle. I've checked out various ideas online, and have a few questions. (Also, any ideas from you all are welcome.) What is the best way to make the walls (inside and out in the hall) look like stone castle walls without spending a bunch of money on wallpaper? I've thought about hanging bedsheets, but can I paint them to look like stones? What kind of paint should I use? How would I attach them securely to the wall/ceiling? I've also thought about cardboard, but again, how could I attach it to the wall securely yet temporarily, without ripping the paint off? Is there any other way to cover walls to make them look like castle walls? I'm thinking about making a (stationary) wood or cardboard 'drawbridge' over a 'moat' for the entrance to the classroom. Any ideas for me here? I know I could order cheap plastic chains to hang from the top of the door to the edge of the bridge, but what could I use for water? Fabric or plastic tablecloths, maybe? Anyway, just brainstorming at this point. Any ideas y'all can give would be much appreciated!

I've always found it best to start teaching the youngest (K-er) while her older sibs do morning independent work (spelling, handwriting, Latin drill, reading, and (for the two oldest) math and English). Then, while K-er does seatwork from our lessons, I move to teaching the 2nd grader, who by that time has usually almost run out of things she can do on her own. (The older two are still doing independent work.) I flip-flop back and forth between the k-er and the 2-grader, and end up meeting with the older two afterward. Works for us...

The other day, when I was still 'back home,' I called my sister after finding this book in yet another thrift store. My sister (an even harder core thrift shopper than I am, if that's possible) travels the country full-time with her husband, an itinerant speaker, and their three girls. I just had to know...was this book stalking her, too? I asked her the same question I asked on this thread. She answered, without hesitation, "The Story of Jonah." Funny! Any more fabulous deals y'all want to share?

Bingo, hsmom3tn! You win the hard-core thrift shopping award for the day! And bonus points for your explanation; I didn't know that. Hey, maybe there's a money-making opportunity here. We could buy up all of the copies of this book, seal them in a capsule, and when we're ninety years old, sell them as 'vintage books' at $20.00 a pop! (But I'm thinking they'll still be haunting thrift stores in the year 2063...)

So, here's the link to an image of The Book That Is Stalking Me. The title of the book isn't in the link, so those of you who want to keep guessing what it is can do that. Hey, maybe if I just broke down and bought this book, it would leave me alone...then I'd donate it to a thrift store... (Notice that the price for used copies is $0.01. Yeah, I'm thinking this book must have been the victim of a massive overprinting, and it's getting its revenge by stalking innocent thrift store-goers.) http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0837850681/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1

You know, I've seen a lot of these books, too, so good guess! But the one I'm thinking of is a Bible story...The very thing that makes it stick out to me is that it is this one, and only this one, Bible story in the whole series that is at every thrift shop I visit. For as long as I can remember, I've headed to the children's book section first to see what treasures I can unearth...but now there's this weird compulsion to search for the additional purpose of seeing if This Book is there. I was almost defeated yesterday at the Salvation Army store...kept searching...digging...pulse quickening...It's not here???....Oh, yes. It is. Unbelievable. I'm 1000 miles away from the ten or so thrift stores I frequent, and it's here, too. It has been in the thrift stores I've visited on vacations, too...Pigeon Forge, Williamsburg, etc. It's STALKING ME!!! I...can't...get...away...from it. Awesome!!! Oh, yeah! Love it! There's just something about getting an item at 90% off the retail price that gives me the warm fuzzies. I have to resist the urge to tell everyone I know what I just found. That's why I started this thread!! :tongue_smilie:

Wisely put.

We've incorporated different schedules and routines (strict, laid-back) over the years, depending on our needs and stages of life. I remember feeling so guilty (as a pregnant mom of three kids under 6yo) about napping in the afternoons instead of doing history and science with my then-1st and 2nd graders...but you know, it didn't turn out to be a really big deal. Right now (when we get back from break) what we'll need is a strict schedule to wipe these party grins off our faces, and help us transition from Bacchus's realm to Athena's. Sometimes we've made this transition more gradually, 'easing in,' as it were. But this time I sense the need for something stricter. The basic idea behind any routine we do is that I've always started out working one on one with the youngest child (K-5 this year) while the older ones do as much work as they can independently. After I do a few things (usually phonics/reading, spelling, and handwriting) with the kindergartener, she is able to do some seatwork in those subjects independently while I work with the 2nd grader, who has by then completed her own 'morning independent work.' I work alternately with the two youngest while the two older ones (4th and 6th grade) continue working on their own until I meet with them. Sometime in the middle of all of this, we do our 'memory period,' which right now consists of singing various VP history songs and the Presidents song, reciting Ephesians 6, catechism, the states and capitals, the Preamble to the Constitution, various English word lists (helping verbs, prepositions, etc.). Our 4yo loves this time, because he gets to dance/march around the room to the music, and he knows the states and capitals as well as anyone else (without knowing what they really mean, of course). We just keep at it until we're done, which (on an ideal day on the strict schedule) is around lunchtime. Then, it's violin and cello practice time. (We do piano practice in the morning; all four kids take turns during the 'independent morning work' time.) HTH! I know my life is different from yours...Back when I had just two, I did basically the same thing; it was just simpler. (It didn't seem simple at the time, though! It's harder when they can't read and do as much on their own.) I think the basic idea is still just to alternate between the two for the core subjects and then at some point meet all together for read-aloud time, and whatever else you're combining them for.

OK, so I was at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in the place where I'm visiting my family 1000 miles from my home...and, sure enough, I saw The Children's Book That Is in Every Thrift Store again! It wasn't Good Night Moon...or The Foot Book...or Charlotte's Web...I'll see if any more are interested in guessing, and then I'll reveal the answer. Hint: It is a small hardback book that is part of a larger series...but I rarely see any other books from this series in a thrift store. Maybe there was a massive overprinting of this book years back??? BTW, I snagged some great deals today...All books at this place are 39 cents!

Whoa! That blows my find out of the water! 5knights, nice grab on the Martha Stewart ornaments! Here's a quiz question for hard-core thrift shoppers who never fail to look through the children's book sections: What one children's book seems to pop up at just about every thrift store? (I would say EVERY thrift store, b/c I think I've seen it at every single thrift store I've ever visited.) Any ideas?

This is great, Mama Lynx. There is great value in letting them gain these real-life skills! Our kids routinely make breakfast and lunch for themselves, and are pretty good about cleaning up afterwards. The three oldest (even the 7yo) can fix eggs any way ya want 'em, make pancakes, etc. Our two 'little girls' team up on cleaning and vacuuming out our Suburban--that's pretty hard work for them. Chores like the ones you've mentioned are just a given, of course; my 9yo ds cleans a mean toilet...I think our kids asked one time for an allowance/reimbursement for chores (must have heard this from their friends)...We told them that their reimbursement is that they get to live in a nice, clean and comfortable house. :) (Or, if you take what Laura Ingalls said about her childhood, she felt that by helping out her parents, she was actually 'paying' them for the home they had made for her.) But what do you all think? Do you ever pay your kids to do nitty-gritty jobs, so that they can save up for something they want to buy, or an event they want to attend?

Me too. Wish I could take credit for it...I don't know where it came from, but my friend uses it all the time.

Oooh, nice! Vintage stuff! Post a pic if she uses the roll in a work of art.