We are using both right now. Saxon 5/4 & Saxon 2 for the two younger, and R&S 6 for older. I think it really depends on your dc. Does she do well with the spiral approach? If so, Saxon may do fine. Some children need to be immersed in a topic to fully grasp it as is the case with my oldest dd so R&S has met those needs. Out of the two, my preference is R&S. Just one note about R&S - the teacher books just give you the answers. They don't work out the problems and show you how they came up with it. Not a very big deal, but every once in a while I've wished they did.

Not too much really. 1. Soccer on Saturdays that they all participate in (different teams of course) 2. Gymnastics for ds on Tues. 3. Co-op on Fridays for 2 hrs (only 8 weeks though) 4. Puppetry class on every other Wed. for both dd's. at the library so it's after school hours. I really try to have them all involved in the same activities so I'm not running all over the Island taking them places.

I attended a seminar for sunday school teachers recently and they had a part about recognizing abuse. The woman herself was abused as a child so she knew what she was talking about. Anyway, to make a long story short, she said predators will usually zero in on a single mom and try to befriend her first. Once he's gained her trust, he will then turn his attention to the kids. It's horrible, but we have to be so careful nowadays.

Jump right in, the water's great! Welcome! :001_smile:

The only reason I can think of is that she wants your phone number in case the check bounces? This way she has another way to contact you besides email. Maybe she is just trying to cover all her bases. I can't think of any other reason... ETA - I think I misread your post. She's sending you the check. Hmmm, in this case I can't think of any reason why she would need your number.

What if it backfires and they really like it? Then what? You'd be in quite a pickle. :)

As long as it's not off color or dirty, I like it. And I'll laugh about it even if it's "my" guy.

Wow, that car sounds really nice! The temptation is very great I'm sure to go for the top of the line and treat yourself. But unless you are paying outright for this car, you will have a greater monthly payment than maybe you want. And with the economy slowing down, taking on more debt may not be the wisest thing right now. So, practical me says go with what you can afford. Living a thrifty and frugal isn't a bad thing - I say it's a wise thing! :001_smile:

Very, very funny! Thanks for sharing it. :lol::lol::lol:

That made me laugh out loud! :D

Oh you poor thing! I've already had it this year and had it last year and the year before... Some things to note...the poison ivy is not spreading. Somehow you keep coming into contact with the oil. I would recommend washing everything you've been in contact with (bath towels, bedding, clothes etc.) I picked up something last year called Calagel at CVS and it wasn't too costly. It is a gel that dries up the rash. Also you can wash the affected areas with dishwashing soap to wash the oils off your skin. Also, if the itch gets too bad, run really hot water, as hot as you can stand it on the affected areas and it will relieve the itch for a little while. Poison ivy is such a miserable thing. Hope it clears up soon!

I also agree with most of the posters. Either you or dh should give them a call & find out. I know it's annoying and you have enough to do already but it will relieve some of the stress of not knowing how to prepare.

I think that is a great idea to talk to your pastor about this directly but I wouldn't email. I would meet together with him (with your dh if possible) and just discuss it. After speaking with him, I think you will have a clearer understanding of what his true feelings are. My pastor doesn't necessarily agree with homeschooling either as he feels children need to be salt & light. But he certainly doesn't condemn or preach against it in anyway. And I think he is actually starting to think differently as he watches our kids grow and develop. For years we were the only homeschooling family in our church and it was a bit lonely not to have like minded families to fellowship with. But we remained faithful - we were "salt" & "light" in our church and tried to give a good representation of what homeschooling is all about and let people see the fruit of it in our children's lives. Absolutely no one was openly hostile or condemning. It was more like "Oh we could never homeschool our kids" type responses. There are now several homeschooling families in our church and it's great. Church becomes like a family and it is really hard to leave a family. Try talking to your Pastor and see maybe if you could work it out before deciding to leave. And Pray, Pray, Pray for God's direction (which I'm sure you're already doing.)

We are not required to name our homeschool so we don't really have a name. We're going to have to put our heads together here and see what we can come up with.

That came out really, really nice! Congrats.

Tonight happened to be an exceptional dinner night. DH is a chef and stopped at the grocery store on the way home. We had grilled salmon, grilled eggplant, grilled knockwurst, corn on the cob, rice and sushi for an appetizer. Yum! In contrast, last night was bacon & eggs for dinner!

Most definitely Pioneer Woman!

We use Dr. Aardsma's Spelling Drill. It is spelling practice software. Very easy and straight forward. You can read a review here: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=277703&event=ECF

CBD Homeschool Catalog Definitely Timberdoodle

I believe it's really important for me as a parent to make sure my kids understand my expectations and what the consequences will be for not meeting them. So, if I told them to finish math by noon, I've given them my expectation. But what happens if they don't finish? I've never given them the consequence and imo I don't think it fair at this point to take away a privelege. I need to communicate ahead of time that X privilege will be taken away if math is not completed by noon. I think it's really important for the child to know *what* will happen if they don't finish it. This way they can be held responsible for the consequence. An example of this happened just this morning. My ds was throwing a fit because he had to do his chore of vaccuuming. Rather than fight with him, I set the timer, told him he had 15 min to do his chore and if he didn't finish by time the timer went off I would add a second chore for him to do. He got it done! ETA: Consistency is SO important. If you SAY it then you must follow through and DO it. Don't ever give a consequence that you are not prepared to follow through on.

I'm reading a book right now called"How to Really Love Your Teen" by D. Ross Campbell, M.D. It does address why your dd can be so independent and mature in some areas but totally lacks in others. I'm finding it very insightful and it is helping me to better handle my dd. Let's face it - you can't change HER so the only thing you realistically can do is change how you react to her and learn how to guide her into more appropriate ways of expressing her anger / frustration / or whatever else she's been expressing. The book has chapters on recognizing the signs of teenage depression, parental self control and parenting the older adolescent among others. Your library may have this. Mine did. HTH!

H for H has a basket program that our co-op participated in last year. They give you a list of needs the family may have for setting up house keeping and you purchase the items and make up a basket. Perhaps your friend can get involved in something like this. She could even attend the dedication ceremony and present the basket herself. Something like this will go a long way into building strong relationships with her neighbors.

Average price of where I live on Long Island, NY is $4.05 but it is much higher on the East End of the Island and the closer you get to Manhattan. I got a steal today at only $3.99 WooHoo!

I am no expert but it seems to me that if she had sensory issues she wouldn't wear anything in her hair. But I could be wrong about that. Maybe she's just trying to assert a bit of control. Usually around this age they start to want to be much more independent and do things on their own. Maybe just give her the option of how to wear her hair. Hold a scrunchie & a barrette out to her and ask her which she would rather wear that day. It's worth a shot! HTH!

I'm not really good at this kind of thing but I'll give it a try. My first thought was SweetBriar Daycare only because it sounds elegant. Here on Long Island we have a nature center called SweetBriar and I've always loved the way it sounds. Very outdoorsy and fun. The other name I thought of was Little Einsteins (Daycare). This seems to go along more with the educational theme of your vision. I'm sure you'll get a lot more suggestions to pick from! Have fun with your new business!