I am making a world geography notebook for DS to use this fall and add on to over the next few years. (With plans on making a US geography notebook next year.) Currently I have sections for: General world geography (continents and oceans) Specific continents Vocabulary Animals I am debating adding sections for: Landmarks Habitats Geographical features: man-made and natural We will be doing current events, but I plan on DS adding those articles to the continent section. I think we might actually combine the animals with the habitat section. If you have made a geography notebook, what did you add? If you haven't made a notebook but are interested, what sections would you add? If it matters, this is for a child that loves geography and has been drawing detailed maps since he was able to hold a crayon. :tongue_smilie: Thanks in advance.

:lol: My mom bought a professional roll of Christmas wrapping paper when I was around 8-years-old. My mom wrapped everything in it - for four or five holiday seasons. :lol:

If you have a Hobby Lobby locally, you can use their 40% coupons for many science kits. Otherwise, I have found Home Science Tools to be priced fairly - not high for what they offer. The science kits are priced much the same anywhere else. They have awesome customer service and speedy shipping.

Handle on the Arts. (This is the year to actually use it, instead of just drool over it!)

Do you have educational CDs the other children can listen to in the car? Or on an iPod? DVD player for history or science videos? Do you have P.E. opportunities in the area, like walking or biking at a park? (Weather permitting, obviously.) It's so early in the morning, but what about local field trip options? Just thinking of a few 'out-of-the-box' suggestions to break up the week. Some grocery stores have a little deli area and may not notice/care if you are schooling there.

Do you have a community rec center? Or nature center or public garden space that is open? (And shaded?) We often school out of the house - and the hangup is often... Bathrooms! None of the parks in our town have bathrooms. :glare:

:grouphug: My DS was diagnosed with a mild peanut allergy when he was less than 2 years old. We always carried an epi-pen, as he was severely allergic to eggs. (And mildly allergic to sunflower and dairy.) He outgrew his egg and dairy allergies around age 5. Fast forward to present. We had assumed he had outgrown the mild peanut allergy because he had never, ever had a reaction all this time. And we quit carrying an epi-pen when DS was cleared on the egg allergy. DS had a severe allergic reaction this summer. To what??? I had been eating peanuts and had handed him a napkin right before he broke out. Our allergist said his initial peanut allergies were so mild it couldn't have been that... But she tested him anyway. Yeah. DS is now classified as severely allergic to peanuts - anaphylactic by contact. :001_huh: Allergist said the only reason he hasn't had a reaction sooner is that I am border-line paranoid and wipe everything down. :tongue_smilie: So - I feel your pain. I haven't taken DS to the grocery store since we found out, nor have I allowed him to go over to friends' houses. I know I need to get a grip on this, but it's still too fresh in my mind. (And - obviously - I quit eating peanuts!!)

We nursed until DS was 2.5 years old. He was diagnosed with egg and dairy allergies when he was ~1 year of age and those certainly did pass through the milk and cause discomfort. (And major spewing.) But DS still was having problems after I eliminated those items from my diet. They were testing for additional allergies, including gluten. He was finally diagnosed with a sunflower allergy. :glare: Most 'alternative' foods w/o eggs and dairy have sunflower in them. I am celiac, but diagnosed long after bf'ing, so I don't know first hand. But do know my doctors were testing my son that at the time.

I remember your last post. :lol: In all honesty, though, have you thought about having an electrician out to check your wiring? We used to live in an apartment and the smoke alarm went off at odd times. Fire department came out many, many times and never could find anything wrong. We finally moved out. One week later, our (burning!) apartment was on the evening news. It was surreal to see the building we just moved out of, on fire, on the television. They tracked the cause of the fire to faulty wiring in our apartment! :001_huh:

Yes. --- I love old books! A few from my collection - some we use for school, others I just drool over. ;) Natural Wonders Every Child Should Know by Edwin Brewster Nature Study: Primary Grades by Horrace Cummings Nature's Wonderland by David Sellars Nature's Byways by Nellie Ford (like a McGuffey's reader, but nature based; we also have/use McGuffey) Work and Play with Numbers by George Wentworth (use to drill math facts; DS loves the pictures) Builders of the Old World by Gertrude Hartman

http://www.coramdeoacademy.org/content/2009-2010-summer-reading-booklist Private Christian Classical school in North Texas

Get thee to Hobby Lobby and just stand and gaze at all their glorious fall decorations. That is how I am surviving. I think all their fall and Christmas crafts are on sale this week, too. Seriously. The record for most 100+ degree days was set in 1980 -- 42 days in a row. If we break that record, I will honestly look into moving to Alaska. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_United_States_heat_wave I'm dying in the heat, too. We are at the tipping point where it is *suppose* to start cooling down. Alas, I think we don't start cooling down much until the week after Labor Day. :001_huh: I don't know if I'm going to make it this year.

DS went through a period where he wanted to test everything to see how long it would take it to decompose. I was so glad when he outgrew that stage. :lol: He is still into dissecting anything and everything.

After several years of feeling terrible (severe mood swings, exhausted constantly, itchy/crawly skin, panic attacks out of the blue, skin thinning out) I went to a doctor that specializes in female hormone issues. My progesterone level was something like .5, when it should have been over 25. (Or 50. I don't have the paperwork in front of me, whatever the number should have been - the doctor said I had the progesterone levels of a 70-year-old. :001_huh:) Anyway, I went on progesterone supplements and within five weeks felt like a new woman! I also went on vitamin D supplement, per test results. In hindsight, I wish I had gone to the doctor much, much sooner! (So does my DH. :lol:)

Do you have a nature center near you that offers classes or guided hikes? My first instinct would be to outsource. :D Really, then you can both learn together, if you sit in on the classes. Does a local garden club offer any outings for young children? Does your county have a Jr. Master Gardener program? Do you have a friend that loves nature and/or gardening? Maybe you can ask her to take you and your children out on hikes or ask to visit her garden? Do you have a local garden center that specializes in native plants? If so, they would probably love to show you and your son around and "talk plants" with you. I teach nature classes for the 3-6 year old set and the parents have commented on learning just as much as the kids. If you don't have a love for it, you might be best to latch onto someone that does -- and there is nothing at all wrong with that! I see it often and - as an avid nature lover - think it is fine to admit that you just don't share the passion.

We bought our house 15 years ago, when DH and I both had professional jobs. We bought a house way, way below our means, though as we knew I wouldn't always be working. Thankfully, we found a real estate agent that didn't try to pressure us into buying more house than we wanted or needed, or could comfortably afford. We have paid extra on our mortgage all along. Our house is the smallest in this neighborhood, which is fine with us. When our neighbors/friends have "moved up" and tried to talk us into moving, we just shake our heads. We are happy here in our little house. Sure, it would be nice to have more room... But we are on the brink of paying off our house. (Planning to this summer, until DH was laid off. We have the money in the bank and DH has a new job lined up, but we don't want to do anything too quickly right now.) We don't budget. At all. But I can tell you within a $50/month what we spend on clothing and food. I keep a running list in my head of expenses, as well as a running list of prices on our staples. We don't eat processed foods, so I don't cut coupons or bargain shop for the cheapest cereal. But we try to buy local, in season, produce as much as possible. We are not shoppers, nor are we into 'things.' A neighbor boy was over this weekend and he was trying to tell my husband why we "need" a Blue-Ray because "it is just so much better." Lovely marketing by an 8-year-old. But we have old cell phones. Two average TVs that we seldom watch. I have heard this phrase tossed around lately -- we would rather spend money on experiences than on things. We would rather buy theater/play tickets than buy a new DVD player. Every so often, I look over our receipts for the month and compare them to what "the experts" say you should spend. We always spend a smaller percentage on the basics (food, clothing, entertainment, house, car) than what they say, so I feel comfortable NOT budgeting. We do own two newer vehicles because DH is not into car repair and we live in a large city and don't want to get stranded. Both vehicles are pretty basic, though. Nothing fancy.

We used GtG in preK and K and loved it. Like others have said, Bible is a separate subject and can easily be left off. We didn't use their science recommendation, Considering God's Creation, as that is one of my least favorite books ever. (As a former graphic designer, I think the layout and printing is terrible. Page layout is too crowded. Academically, I think it would be good for young elementary, but all that tiny cutting and pasting and small font would kill most elementary age children.) I easily added in science books from the library to fill in those spots. I love making up unit studies and probably could have pulled together something on my own, but I loved how this book pulled everything together - native animals, famous artist/writers/composer, food, landmarks, etc. My son still talks fondly about our GtG studies and pulls out the little notebooks we made for each country.

What programs are you using? Can you change to a different curriculum? Cut out unneeded activities and 'fluff' stuff? I know my DS does not tolerate coloring pages, cut-and-paste activities or other 'fluff' type stuff. We follow The Latin-Centered Curriculum for history for this very reason! It is the best of the best - I know DS is getting a great history education w/o all the 'stuff' that turns him off. What does your son say? Fifth grade is certainly old enough to have a say in his education. Have you listened to the audio "Teaching boys and other children that would rather be building forts" by Andrew Pudewa? It is great!

DS is 8.5 years old. We have always done history and science w/a structured schedule, though we are plenty open for student-led exploration and impromptu history or science field trips. (Ex: we decided to study Lewis and Clark at the last minute, after we found out we would be traveling and within miles of a L&C museum.) I don't do worksheets, per se, but we certainly do lab sheets in science and test on these subjects. DS has taken the ITBS, which has science and 'social studies,' and our state standardized tests, which includes testing for science. DS has a great joy for both science and history, so I personally can't imagine not studying them in depth at this point.

My mother is that way. She cannot stand people to eat salad or drink water around her. :glare:DH has lost 45 pounds this year and has gone off his blood pressure meds. My mom's response? DH looks like a bobble head doll - his head looks too big for his body. Yeah. Nice, Mom. (Okay. There may be a bit of truth there. Still. I wouldn't tell the man that. :tongue_smilie:)

I was reading the initial post and telling my son and his friend that today is 8/9/10... Then I read your post and my computer said 11:13. Drat! We missed that by a minute! :tongue_smilie: Story of my life... But the boys still got a kick out of it being 8/9/10 11:13.

We have a stereo microscope, so a bit different... But we tend to save things, then once every few weeks will pull out the microscope to look at items and perhaps read a related book. Last week we looked at some bug-eaten leaves, flower pollen, a dead spider and a live tick. We also dissect (animals from Home Science Tools) and use the microscope to look at smaller bits and pieces. Owl pellets are fascinating to look at under the scope. :tongue_smilie: I am planning on doing a microscope study next year and will be using the following books: Adventures with a microscope by Headstrom A world in a drop of water by Silverstein The world of the microscope - Usborne

Our state passed a similar law a few years ago, but they allowed individual districts to file a petition for an earlier start date. So our local school starts August 23rd. Like all of the other schools in this area.

:lol:Sorry. That totally cracked me up! On a good day, I would have replied that I was paid in hugs and kisses and could present a sticky peanut butter kiss mark on my cheek. On a bad day... Well, I might have been tempted to dump a hamper full of dirty laundry at her feet. Thank you for the info. I'm bummed that the teacher card can't be used on DVDs and music. They have such a great selection of educational DVDs and DS goes through so much music. What gets me...When I was at Half Price Books a few years ago, the cashier asked me if I was a teacher. I said, "Not exactly. We homeschool." And she replied, "Oh, then you qualify for a teacher's discount card. Here. Fill out this card and it is yours." As I was filling out the card, she said she can always tell homeschoolers because of their book selections! :lol: That was the first I was aware that businesses offered homeschoolers a teacher's discount. Guess I now think all businesses should be so enlightened. And B&N just isn't. :glare: (Though I still love them...)

I wasn't asked to present any form of id showing I was an educator, though I have heard it varies wildly between store location and employee. I also have a B&N buyer's card. (The one that you pay a yearly membership.) I do get coupons for that one, but I have never gotten one as an educator. I was told the last time that they don't allow coupons or discounts on top of the educator's discount - but who knows?! I don't think they have any standard training for this issue! :tongue_smilie: Has anyone been able to use the educator's card on music? I bought CDs recently for my son's music class and they said that music was not eligible for a teacher discount.