I wouldn't let me kids do it. But we just had a talk about complaining when I asked 2 of my boys to do an extra chore. If it's tolerated, they'll probably keep doing it. So... first thing I always do is check my own attitude. 9 times out of 10, I've let complaining {or whatever attitude I'm seeing reflected in my kids} creep out of my own mouth. Ouch. Heart check. Second, next time it happens, stop everything and make a short statement. "Hey guys, no bellyaching, we do school. This is what we do and no complaints. Let's try it again." And then, give the "time to start math" announcement and let them respond well. As an aside, I noticed some parents ask questions rather than announce "Who's ready to do math?" or "Are you ready to start school now?" I noticed in our co-op that it just sets off a knee-jerk reaction of Nooooooo from the kids. Whether they really mean it or not. Finally, if you've modeled and talked about good attitudes and responses and walked through it and they're still doing it after a few days, then a consequence. And you don't need to give a fair warning for it really. But this is how we do it because I could absolutely not homeschool my kids or parent them well if I was battling consistent complaining. And I don't think it helps them mature and approach life's responsibilities well -- or authority for that matter.

A few notes: I won't read the book b/c I take on other's people's emotions too easily and this would seriously stay with me. But, I think hers is a valuable voice in the whole discussion, especially as society is looking for answers and ways to tackle these issues. I wonder, as a mom, how much more distance she could have put between her son and Eric. I know that if one of my children was getting into trouble over and over with another particular child, I would do the things I could to re-direct. I know that's not always possible, but in my own parenting, I've kept an eye on friendships and created lots of space and redirection through circumstances, getting my kids involved in other activities, stepping up family activities, etc. I had a beloved pastor who resigned his large church and up and moved his family to get his son away from a group of friends. It was a huge career sacrifice; huge, but it was also a huge lifesaver for his child.

Wow. :crying: What a beautiful tribute to your fierce mom. Many condolences to you and your family at this time. <3

What a great question. I cannot imagine putting that expectation on them b/c I have no idea what the future holds...for them or me. BUT, I had a great aunt who never let anyone *put her* in a nursing home She hired a young lady who was so very loyal and she was independent well into her 90s. That would be ideal. I do have 7 kiddos so if I end up in a nursing home, I'll suggest they each take a day to visit. :)

Marking to come back and read tomorrow in that blessed Sunday afternoon time after church and nap. :)

Oh, man, I love the worksheets. We dont' use the tests, but I usually teach the lesson, work through some of the exercises orally and then I send my dc off to complete the worksheet. Not every lesson has a worksheet, but I find it provides great practice.If you don't use the worksheets, do you just have your child do the exercises in the book? Orally or in writing? I often skip many of the book exercises b/c I know my child will have the practice through the worksheet.

I second the schedule from Donna Young. It's really easy to implement, especially if you've bought all of the supplies ahead and put in a box so that you're not running out after a household ingredient to complete the experiment (says the mom who learned the hard way). :)

I used C-rods for teaching fractions with the book Everything's Coming Up Fractions. It's a *great* resource and I've used it with 6 kids so far (pretty independently) when they were in 4th grade. It makes a great summer academic activity if you keep up with a bit of morning school. My first set of Cuisenaire rods came with a pile of cards to explain how to use them, games to play, etc. I got far with those and used the rods fairly intuitively. A few years ago, I discovered Education Unboxed here on the boards (but, of course) and the videos were huge in helping me implement them in our math. Sometimes, I'd sit my children up with a video and have them *play* or work alongside. Other times, I watched ahead and then taught the game or skill to my kids. Highly recommended.

Just prayed for you, Halftime. God's timing is sovereign.

I can't speak to motivating kids at large, but with my own nonreading child, a book club worked wonders. WONDERS. Or what about chapter book readings that left them hanging week to week? What about getting parents engaged by giving parents a coupon that they could distribute to the child for 15 minutes later at bedtime for reading (distributed at their discretion). What about working with a local hardware store to give a flashlight to each child (they have cheap ones for $1 at Walmart) and have a kick off challenge to read under the covers with the flashlight after bedtime? <--- that idea needs to be tweaked but you could do really fun things with it. You could have an "undercover reading" theme and try to find all of the undercover readers in town.

Not sure parenting teens is any harder now, but the pervasiveness of technology and all that it brings into the home and into a child's world sure makes keeping a kid's world a kid's world harder. But it is, as with everything else, a tool that reveals their hearts, and not necessarily a cause of their heart issues. SO, in a way, it's an opportunity like never before to address some things that might not have been addressed until they were out of the house.

It sounds like you ultimately want to homeschool your younger ones but only when you have more margin. Am I reading that right? If so, I've realized after years of homeschooling and lots of stages and ages, there's never a huge margin for it. If it's something you want to do, then you can adjust life to fit it. It's kinda like the question of when is the perfect time to have a baby? There's no *perfect* time and a baby at any age creates a huge adjustment. Schooling kids at those age ranges can be done. it's not easy, but it is do-able. Yes, your high schoolers may be more independent school wise in a few years, but they will still take up an incredible amount of time -- grading, overseeing, discussion, managing, schlepping to classes and work and volunteer, keeping records, college tours, college prep and tests, scholarships. So it might be better to decide if you want to homeschool, if homeschooling will help you achieve the goals you want for your kids, and then choose curriculum, classes and a schedule that make it workable. For me, it's much easier to have everyone homeschooling rather than keeping 2 in preschool (or school) and having to accommodate that schedule, field trip, class party, teacher workday, early dismissal and all of the bring a white t-shirt for Friday, have a science project done for Tuesday. :huh: A bit rambly this afternoon, but I hope this helps you think it through. :)

We've used Veritas Press for years. Used the workbooks for my older kids but we are loving the self-paced history. You can very easily add in read alouds, independent reading (they have suggestions) and art projects if you'd like it to be more unit studyish.

We did a year of physical science with Exploration Education and I added in bunches and bunches of hands-on experiments and projects. I still have them all bookmarked. I found a lot of stuff at stevespanglerscience.com. If you pull up his youtube demonstrations, you'll get links on the sidebar to many more like it. One of our favorite projects was having each student design a Rube-Goldberg machine. I asked them to use each of the simple machines in any format or in several formats but each one had to be represented. The creativity with household/hardware materials was spectacular. They were so proud to demonstrate them. It really required them to play with the materials and to think backward -- first deciding what they wanted their machine to accomplish and then work backward to get the reaction through the series of machinations. If you're interested, I can paste all of the links I still have in my bookmarks.

Take a day (or three) for masterly activity. This is so key for me! When I feel like I just need a break and my grouchy mom self is showing up, I declare a day of masterly activity. I usually assign some skeletal school that my younger two can do on their own but for the most part, they are free to engage in free-time, profitable, non-screen activities. Everyone's happy. And second in important is a staycay retreat day. It helps me think my own thoughts, get some perspective, remember my vision and reinvigorate to get back in the game. Or trenches. :tongue_smilie: We'll be trying this at the end of the week. Dd is fostering 2 puppies and she's bringing them home. That's gonna do wonders for some kids and me? I'll just use their distraction to quietly slip off with a book. :D

This looks great! And soooo needed for the homechool community. Great executive direction. ;)

We've had a Suburban (LOVED it) and a Ford Expedition (LOVED it) but they were both huge gas guzzlers. Which isn't a problem so much now, but if you're keeping the car for a while, gas prices will go back up. We have all really liked my current Toyota Sienna b/c: there's a middle jump seat that's super easy to put in or out and makes room for 8. the seats are all adjustable and have been very roomy for my tall, long-legged boys. They said they have more leg room in this van than they did in our Ford Expedition. Toyota just makes a great reliable car it turns on a dime and rides more like a car than a truck. Easier to park and back up. Can't pull a boat but we don't do that. Has luggage racks on top for any extra carrying like kayaks or cartop carrier.

Used to live there. Have lots of friends there still and I've had family in the medical field there. TMH is the #1 rec altho I had 2 of my dc at Capital Regional and it was fine. I loved it.

Thank you umsami, I used When Someone Very Special Dies with my youngest two. I really liked that it was interactive. Thank you for the other suggestions as well.

Oh man, my word this year is RESPOND and what you did is exactly what I was thinking I need to be ready for...to respond when God prompts me to do something and not second guess it. So glad you got that feedback from her that the book had spoken to deeply to her.

I haven't read this. I loved her book Christy and a couple others -- Something More, I think. Thank you for this suggestion Elizabeth.

Thank you, Patty Joanna. He has done that immeasurably. <3

P.S. Keep the recommendations coming. I know in a group this size there must be many books and resources that helped in a variety of losses. Anyone have a good book/resource for teens? :bigear: Or children?

I should have been replying to all of these because there are so many great suggestions. But I'll start with the last four: Ok, that latter is a unique loss for sure.I've met a woman in that position and there was a tremendous amount of guilt along with the other emotions. Thank you for that recommendation. Ok, I've heard of this but it's been a long time and it might not have bubbled up in a search, so thank you! Awesome. Thanks for the reminder to add these to the list. I haven't read any, but I've heard only good things about both. And JodiSue heartwrenching but HOPEFUL is exactly what I needed/need in a book. Don't just tell me your story. Give me some takeaways that I can apply and some hope that I can cling to when I'm in the hard and can't see the way out. Thank you!