I'm more of a vegetable and fruit gardener than a flower gardener, but I really enjoyed The Children's Kitchen Garden by Georgeanne and Ethel Brennan. They are writing about a garden in the San Francisco area, which is a very mild climate, so I would not take all of their advice if you live in a different climate, but it is a very inspirational book.

I was thinking of a few more ideas for careers for your daughter. One is that she could work in daycare (but I'm sure you know that many daycare workers do not make a living wage). Another thing is that she could think about working as an activity director, particularly since she has nursing home experience. Similarly, there is a chance that she could use her college coursework to work in child life. These last two professions require quite a bit of psychology coursework in their certification programs. However, I do sympathize with your daughter. I dropped out of nursing school in 1991, when I failed my last course to graduate. I didn't seem to have the (fine motor) skills to be a good nurse, and I didn't want to be a bad nurse. I sometimes regret it, but let's face it, if you're not suited to a profession, there is no need to make a round peg fit in a square hole. Good luck to both of you!

I just found out last week that my local library offers this (and I don't live in New York). Find out if your library offers this.

If your son is interested in science and engineering, why don't you just read aloud to him Engineering the City: How Infrastructure Works by Mathys Levy and possibly do the activities suggested. Admittedly this might be a lot of work on your part, but if you have the energy, time and resources, why not focus on your son's interests?

When my two youngest children were toddlers and preschoolers, I was in a Waldorf education kick. I had read You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy. Some of her ideas really struck me, and while I had moved on to other philosophies of early childhood education (I worked the last couple of year in a preschool), I still go back to some of the Waldorf ideas. According to You Are Your Child's First Teacher, one way of keeping small children out of your hair is to do at least one creative (art) project a day. I would do wet-on-wet watercolor painting with my children at least once a week, and when I was teaching preschool we would rotate doing painting (with tempera paint), using play dough, watercolor painting, and pasting. If you are at home, you could add baking with your child (forming bread loaves out of bread dough for lunch could be one option, another option is to bake cookies that need to be rolled out or shaped, such as thumbprint cookies or gingerbread men). I know it is a mess, but having your child satisfied later and willing to play by himself/herself can be worth the mess. Another Waldorf idea (also picked up from You Are Your Chld's First Teacher) is to tell your preschool age child one fairy tale a week. Every day you repeat the same story. If you have some dolls or plastic/wood figurines to act out the story, that's even better (for preschool, I made my own flannel board pieces using flannel I had bought in Walmart, some Sharpies, and copied some pictures from Draw Write Now Book 1). This page has some flannel board patterns, if you like. Some ideas to get you started are Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the Gingerbread Man, the Little Red Hen, and the Three Billy Goats Gruff. To add music to the stories, for the Little Red Hen I used some songs from this book and from page 76 of Making Music Grade 1 (ISBN 0382366441). For music for the Three Billy Goats Gruff, I got it from an old music textbook in the 1930's, but there's a of this song. The songs are lovely and memorable but not 100% necessary. However, just telling the stories to your child keeps his/her imagination going, helps with language, etc. but most importantly, in your instance, keeps your child out of your hair when you need to focus on your older children's needs. I would also go with Angie's idea of putting away some of the toys and having only a bit out at a time. When your child gets bored with what he/she has out, take out something else and put away what isn't being used at the moment. Your playmobile toys (when you have a chance to pull them out) may be good for acting out stories as I mentioned above.

Sorry, I haven't been on the internet in a few days. Art in Focus is a high school textbook (meant for public schools and published by Glencoe/McGraw Hill). Like I said, it is meant to teach simultaneously both art history and art techniques, but the main emphasis is on art history. Several people on these boards recommended it; I bought a copy for myself, and while I am going through it s-l-o-w-l-y, I'm really enjoying it.

I lived in Dallas for 19 years and every year at the Dallas Museum of Art they would have an exhibit of art that kids who had taken AP Art had done. https://www.apstrategiesarts.org/StudioArt/YoungMasters.aspx has an online exhibit, but the reason that I am bringing this up is because the organization that sponsors this exhibit " is committed to making Texas the nation's leader in AP arts education." So while I do get that Texas is overwhelmingly focused on sports, there are people trying to put more emphasis on the fine and performing arts. ETA: I see that you want to think about art history. One option is the textbook Art in Focus that teaches art history and art techniques at the same time.

Stories for Young People: Edgar Allan Poe is meant for children ages 10 and up.

There are some good beginning programs for children in various foreign languages. Your children will not become fluent with these programs, but they will be on their way with learning another language. Using several programs will probably reinforce the vocabulary introduced by another program (which is why it would be good to borrow them from a library,as SusanC suggests). Fralala suggested Little Pim, which is a three volume DVD set, which comes in lots of languages. Opal Dunn wrote a book published by Berlitz called Help Your Child with a Foreign Language which has a small phrase book in both French and Spanish that you could use to start with your daughter. Therese Slevin Pirz wrote books with the titles Kids Stuff (French, Spanish, etc.) which is a phrase book of kid friendly phrases to use throughout the day with your children in the targeted language. Along the same lines was an audio set called Teach Your Baby (French, Spanish) with words that were more baby-centric. Berlitz put out a series in the 1990's called Berlitz Jr. with a story book and a dictionary and then in the 2000's put out another set for kids with the titles The Missing Cat, A Visit to Grandma, and The Five Crayons. In the late 1950's and early 1960's they put out a series Berlitz for Children that in both French and Spanish came with one volume with the stories The Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood and another volume with the stories Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. There was also a volume on Zoo Animals and yet another volume on Alphabet and Numbers for Children. I also wanted to mention what Ariston said about Total Physical Response. In Spanish there's a book called Live Action Spanish/Viva La Accion and the same volume is available in French Vive l'action! : (Live Action French). http://www.cpli.net/list_tprmaterials.html.

Did you consider My Art Book published by DK Publishing? It's a history of art with activities based on the art discussed.

I used Modern Curriculum Press Plaid Phonics. I taught my son to read using Book A, but they also offer a Book K for kindergarten. Rainbow Resource sells this program.

Everyone on this thread has given out great suggestions. It seems to me you have a few choices: You could have your child do Suzuki lessons through your other children's teachers, maybe doing a shorter lesson than the older children. Most Suzuki siblings progress through lessons faster than their older siblings since they have living examples living with them. :lol: If you go this route, I recommend that you read In the Suzuki Style: A Manual for Raising Musical Conciousness in Children by Elizabeth Mills and How to Get Your Child to Practice--Without Resorting to Violence by Cynthia V. Richards. You could teach your child piano yourself, using a program like Music for Little Mozarts, which is meant for ages 4-6. There's also Pace's Music for Moppets, but you would have to buy the teacher's guide. You could use a program like Preschool Prodigies or Little Musician at home to teach your child the basics of music and musical notation without using formal lessons. Preschool Prodigies uses either Chroma-Note desk bells (which they sell on their website) or Chroma-Note stickers to put on your piano to teach your child to distinguish the difference between the notes. Preschool Prodigies also sells sheet music using Chroma-Note musical notation that you can buy without buying their web-based lessons. Little Musician has on their website for free download a booklet that discusses how to enhance your child's musical education and the various approaches to teaching music. You could have your son go to music classes for preschoolers like Kindermusik, Musikgarten, Yamaha Music Education System, Harmony Road Music or, as Bluegoat mentioned, Music for Young Children. ETA: I forgot to mention Music Together.

The Gentle Revolution Press has "Bits of Intelligence" cards that are focused on art: "Great Art Masterpieces," "Leonardo Di Vinci," and "Vincent Van Gogh." They are each $19.95 and consist of 10 11" X 11" laminated pictures. http://www.gentlerevolution.com//PDFs/GRPcatalog7.12.pdf

I have not used this book, but McGraw Hill has a textbook on interior design for high school students, Homes & Interiors. McGraw Hill's website for this textbook includes http://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/program/homes-interiors/MKTSP-RJD08M0.overview.html and http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/0078744202/index.html. Here's a listing of the table of contents of this book: Table of ContentsGlencoe Homes & Interiors © 2007 Unit 1: Homes Are for People Chapter 1 The Universal Need for Housing Chapter 2 Housing & Society Chapter 3 Housing & Technology Chapter 4 Careers in Housing & Interiors Unit 2: Making Housing Decisions Chapter 5 Choosing a Place to Live Chapter 6 Renting versus Buying Chapter 7 Renting a Home Chapter 8 Buying a Home Chapter 9 Home Maintenance Unit 3: Understanding Construction Chapter 10 Construction Basics Chapter 11 Interior Construction Chapter 12 Landscaping & the Environment Chapter 13 Remodeling & Renovating Unit 4: Architectural Design Chapter 14 Early Home Styles Chapter 15 Home Styles Since 1700 Chapter 16 Designing Homes for Today's Needs Unit 5: Understanding the Design Process Chapter 17 The Elements of Design Chapter 18 The Role of Color in Design Chapter 19 The Principles of Design Chapter 20 Developing a Design Plan Chapter 21 Completing & Presenting a Design Unit 6: Designing Interior Environments Chapter 22 Kitchens, Laundry Areas & Baths Chapter 23 Home Offices & Storage Spaces Chapter 24 Choosing Backgrounds Chapter 25 Recognizing Furniture Styles Chapter 26 Selecting Furniture Chapter 27 Choosing Lighting & Accessories Chapter 28 Home Safety & Security

There is a workbook called Animals: A Science Workbook for Ages 4-6 by Mary Bozansky (ISBN 978-1565657465). It may be a bit dated, and I have no personal experience with it, but it sounds like what you are looking for.

I think that Lori has a point in that Cheaper By the Dozen was written for adults. A young boy probably would not get the humor. I first read the book at age 12 and loved it; however, I am also the oldest of 11 children. While many of the stories in Cheaper By the Dozen were specific to that particular family, many of the incidents were repeated in my family, too. For instance, when my youngest sister was born, we went to the hospital to visit my mother. That alone was significant because before that time, siblings were not allowed to visit hospitals (little kids could spread germs!). When all nine of us and my Dad got to the hospital, the security guard almost had a heart attack! "Nine kids! This lady had nine kids and just had her tenth! Are any of them adopted? Are you Catholic? How many kids do you have anyway?" My dad, who has a great sense of humor, with a very straight face turned to me and asked, "I don't know. How many kids do we have?" To which I replied, "I think the last count was nine." By that point, the nurse heard the whole commotion and came running, and confirmed that yes, my mother indeed had ten children. Some of my siblings were embarrassed, but my father and I thought it was hysterical.

I went to school in a religious girls school without competitive sports, so there was no peer or other pressure to join a team sport. We played basketball, softball, and occasionally tennis as pick up games but no official leagues. However, swimming was a common extracurricular activity, and several of us became lifeguards in high school. American Red Cross lifeguarding classes can be taken as young as age 15. It makes a good summer (and year round, if you live near an indoor pool) income for teenagers. There's also learning how to canoe, row, and sail, which can be a competitive sport or just a recreational sport. Many colleges have competitive rowing teams, so rowing is seen as a sport that's valuable for some colleges.

I read this book which helps develop fashion drawing skills: Fashion Design Workshop: Stylish step-by-step projects and drawing tips for up-and-coming designers by Stephanie Corfee. This forum has some interesting information: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/1564011-design-majors-anyone.html Is there a community college in your area with a fashion design major? Here in the Baltimore area, Baltimore City Community College has an AS degree in Fashion Design. If your daughter could take some courses, she could learn about how the fashion industry works. There is a proprietary school called Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising which hosts a fashion club website that may be helpful. Since your daughter is interested in digital art, has she considered going into fabric design? This blog describes how to design your own fabric: http://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2014/09/how-to-design-your-own-fabric.html, and this article is about a fabric designer for Liberty of London: http://www.molliemakes.com/interview-2/mollie-makes-meets-liberty-print-designer-keighley-shepherdly/

If you wanted to extend this to studying horse anatomy, there's the Visible Horse. I have a book called ​Horses and Ponies ​ by Sandy Ransford that is a good introduction to the world of horses and riding.

The first edition of ​The Well Trained Mind r​ecommended J​ourney Through History: Prehistory to Egypt by Maria Ruis. The reading level is probably just right for your children, and the content does not actually date the earth.

Recently, I used a program called "Little Musician" from Brillkids.com. It is meant for children under the age of 5, but it is fun and I, for one, learned a lot of music theory. There is also ​Keyboard Capers: Music Theory for Children b​y Rebecca Doyle Stout which is available from Rainbow Resource. You need a keyboard, but a $100 one from a big box store will do for over 90% of the exercises. Other choices are Progressive Music Theory for Young Beginners by Peter Gelling and Voggy's ABC of Music by Martina Holtz, which uses well-known children's songs to teach music theory as well. There is also a series called Just the Facts which has workbooks from kindergarten until 12th grade.

I was also going to mention that you may want to buy a microscope (even toy stores sell them but a more professional one from Carolina Biological Supply would cost at least $200) and look at the lake water under the microscope. See what protozoa is in the water, etc.

Similar to No H in Snake and Mind Music Games (both by Michiko Yurko) is Keyboard Capers by Rebecca Doyle Lennon. The advantage of Keyboard Capers is that the manipulatives are included in the book and you can just cut them out or photocopy them. (If you want them ready made, Rainbow Resource sells them already cut up and possibly laminated). The books by Ms. Yurko seem to need very pricy manipulatives that she sells on her website, which adds up. If you want just a book, without manipulatives, there's the Progressive Music Theory for Young Beginners by Peter Gelling. ETA: There is also Voggy's ABC of Music by Martina Holtz that uses well-known children's songs to teach music theory as well. There is also a workbook series called Just the Facts that teaches music theory starting in kindergarten up until twelth grade. For music history, Alfred has a new book called Great Music and Musicians that may be too hard as far as reading comprehension, but it is illustrated beautifully. At a much easier reading level there is the three book series Young Person's Guide to Music History by Carolyn Jones Campbell.

The author of Chaverim b'Ivrit also wrote some Hebrew books for children who immigrated to Israel from grades 2 (or so) until about grade 5 called Hakol Chadash. They are really great and are available on myhebrewbooks.com.

If you are looking for a total physical response book, there's Vive l'action! : (Live Action French) by Contee Seely and Elizabeth Kuizenga Romijn.