I have looked several places and cannot find this book (out of print) or a posting on this forum about a replacement spine. Does anyone know of a replacement? I was wanting to use it for my upper elementary boys. We are just returning to homeschooling, yes mid-year, after a 2 year break. One is a stronger reader than the other. I am wondering if the NG Almanac of World Hisory is going to be to tough for them I have not previewed either of them. Both books are in transit to my local library, but advise from all of you is so helpful. Thanks for your help

Another thing you may want to consider is some logic activites. This board is a great place to find out what differnt people think about different programs, and what is most liked. This may be an activity that they could take with them to school and do while they are "waiting" for the other students to finish (this is what I had to do for my adv. 5th gr.ds). Or you may want to consider have him/them to start studying latin? or something like English From the Roots Up... I have the Life of Fred (math) books that my advanced 5th gr. son is carrying around with him for enrichment. They are a story of a young boy (I think he is 6 and is a stick boy) named Fred who I believe is in college. They are very entertaining (funny) and are more conceptual books as it is written as a story. They are also very affordable as far as a math series especialy since they are hardbound. The beginning levels only have about 10 problems per section and he just carries a quadrille (graph paper) composition book to solve his problems. They are a pre-Algebra through Statistics level prgram. You can find out more about them at stanleyschmidt (dot) com. My son really enjoys them. He also reads other literature and history books constantly. I hope you find something that is enriching/challenging. I know for my dc it has to seem like fun enrichment , not more school (as they also think it is sometimes boring).

:grouphug: You are an Awesome mom and wife. Consoling all these sweet sick children, cleaning and al the while not waking up your husband. I will pray for protection and complete resotation of health for your family. And rest for you.

And boy it is busy too. I think I see this form different eyes b/c I have been a HS mom. Yes I miss my kids, but this is the path God has our family on right now. I get up @ 5 or 5:30 am to get my kids up by 6 or 6:30 (depending on the day of the week) to get them fed, dressed and ito school. We used to get up at 7:30 now we have to leave the house about that time, (on a non zero period class morning, those days it is earlier) to be at school on time. :auto: Most days I come home from dropping them off and clean up from the morning of breakfast and lunch preparation then walk the dog. When I come back I do any other little at home chores. Somedays I go to the grocery store - all by myself and boy is that faster, although I think sometimes it takes me longer becasue I look around more and don't feel I need to be in such a hurry b/c I may have to buy everything in the store if I don't get my middle child out of the store soon (they didn't always go with me in past years, but many times they would). One day I go to a really great bible study. The other days of the week I spend doing things like washing and ironoing uniforms for school, clean bathrooms or vacuum and mopping since my regular cleaning crew is now at school, or other chores that my husband normally does since they have to be done and it is me or the dog right now! I do run most of my errands while my kids are at school b/c they are so tired and have homework (another yuck of traditional school) when they get home so I don't like to take them. :driving: Each day at 2:00 I stop myself from whatever I am doing and start dinner before I pick up my kids b/c they are ravenous when we arrive home @ 3:30. After school it is dinner, then the homework scene with kids who are tired and really just want to sit on the couch and read a history lesson or some othere HS type activity with mom. Then and evening snack and showers and off to bed so we can do it again the next day. One of the things I like least about SAHM vs HSM, other than my kids being gone from me all day, is that all of the kids extra activities are when the rest of the world is out...uughh! (We used to go to piano lessons at 10 am on a Thursday, now we go @ 3:40 pm when there is traffic on the road.:w00t: I try to be involved driving on field trips and such as my kids all want me to be there, that is what they are used to, and I want to be there too! I will have to say that my house is a bit tidier, becoming more organized (projects getting done) and much quieter - and once in a while that is just a bad thing! (I often have on the music for noise) I do not sit and read books, take naps, have my nails done each week, go shopping for me, the kids or to decorate the house, or spend time out with my friends having lunch or coffee, but maybe that is b/c of my situation. However, I do a lot of things to try to make my house as peaceful as it can be when 3 tired children arrive home after a day of hurry-up-and-waiting, who are tired of dealing with other kids who need to be at home being loved on by their mom - like HS kids are all day - yes even the yelling of "finish that math page!" is loving. There are good things like going to the bathroom uniterrupted - if you have younger ones (prek-1st gr. age), and not yelling "finish that math page". I have even finished some projects in 1-3 days instead of 1-3 weeks or still in progress..after many months or years. That was sort of cool. I am hoping this spring to be spending some time outside in my yard as that has been somewhat neglected due to a higher priority - I was teaching my children at home. And I suppose that next year may be different when my DH is home (We are thinking that school cannot be a bad place associated with dad gone and need to let them stay in one more year to see that tradtional system school is not bad - just different. They are at a good school with integrated curriculum. The kids have very mixed feelings about coming home) maybe I will buy some bonbons and sit on the couch and watch a movie once a week. We shall see what God has in store!

When I was younger and unmarried it didn't much matter to me, then I married my husband who is in the military and it mattered! Now I am a stickler about saying what is correct. Isn't it funny how we change to be like those we associate with the most!

Your entire family and the Shriners staff are in my prayers.

I am so glad to see that you perservered through all the naysayers, and had a wonderful birth experience. Blessings to your whole family.

I also have standards and when they realize - (after a really long time with one of them) -that I am not going to give up and expect any less today than I did last week - THIS IS MY STANDARD, and that is just the way it is at our house. I don't tear pages out of books but we have used a lot of erasers! It all depends on how you are saying what you are saying when you do this. If it is loud, harsh, degrading and mean, then yes I could see how this could be harmful, but if you are calm and asking the child questions about the quality they are trying to "slide" by you then the whole process can be educational.

I like others I often can hear only parts of songs repeated. And sometimes I can hear them really well, others not well enough to replicate to someone else to help me figue out which song or where it is from...ugh

My husband will love this idea. It is too costly to run our gas log fireplace all day everyday as I would like. Did he create it himself?

Laundry rooms or other places where water issues could arise are not good places for wood flooring. I would talk to different flooing manufacturing compainies (customer service #'s off the web is where i would start) since you are dealing with 2 tough issues water and the desert. Good luck

First :grouphug::grouphug:. I think you are doing the right thing - trying to find solutions that feel more like encouragemnt instead of punishment. Please realize that I have no idea of the true situation so these are just thoughts and ideas. I agree that you need to spell out specific behaviors that you are looking for, and praise loudly for all to hear and then again privately. It seems as though he may be feeling lonely and is looking for attention, and/or he thinks in his mind that no one really wants to spend time/cares about him as an individual. That may not be at all true but it is what he sees in his own mind, and just needs the positive reinforcement. You may have to start in 1 or 2 areas that he already has no issues in - thank you for making your bed this morning it helps to make your room so much tidier. Then he sees that he like the praise and is motivated to get more. This way you can also praise the others here and there and it doesn't seem like he is getting so much attention and they are not. You can even get everyone to help you catch him and the each other having right actions/attitudes. At first you may just have to model what needs to be praised and what doesn't, and it may look like appreciation of things they do for others, especially when they help someone else, ask kindly or other things you can find to praise. I cannot imagine how he feels with so much change in his life, that would be a lot for me to process. He is really just a little guy and still needs a mommy, and lots of love and I am not sure what your relationship with him is but he may just need a large daily dose of physical affection. I also agree with the earlier post, if you need to go to a reward system -a chart or point schedule for getting done what needs to be done, you do not have to do for all what you do for one. It is a great opportunity to teach all the others that we each have different needs and that fair is not always equal, that even sometimes life is just not fair. We have had to do this many times with or kids, in fact we are doing it right now with one child's piano practice. We start with small time frame (a ew days, for the first few rewards, then slowly build) and small rewards and build on that to create the habit of the desired action/attitidue. Pretty soon it will be a habit and the reward system disappers:001_smile:. You first have to know what the individuals motivator is ( I have one that is motivated by $, one by small trinkets, and the other by various things - but I do try to stay away from sweets on a regular basis). I know this is a challenging time and I will keep you in my prayers b/c I know this will also not be a quick fix and sometimes remembering/staying consistent is hard.

If it were me I would look for a Christmas/ Birthday/Birthday party gift - (a book ?) that I could give.

Hi My boys took Monart classes. and one thing I would say is do not skip the warm up exercises. She would pick different parts of the item they were to draw and that is what she would do for the warm ups. Have Fun and use lots of color from the beginning that is what makes it fun. We actually have some of their art hanging in our home.

No you are not the only one. I am looking forward to moving on from my current title.:001_smile:

No, my sil just organized a b-day party for my 70yo mil and made party favors - it was a bunch of junk and a waste of money! I am against them .

:lol:. You have made me giggle today. Thanks

:iagree: I also agree that there are matters of disclosure, some things are not appropriate for children to know, see or hear.

:iagree:Get what you budget allows even in the gift card. It a GIFT. The gift card to a place they have registered is nice b/c you can spend what you feel is in your budget and not what some store told you an item costs. The couple can also then decide where they really need the $, maybe they need towels more that a plate or fork, and it reduces hassles for duplicates or returns b/c they need linnens more that a place setting of china. Happy gift giving, and have fun at the wedding!

Yes, I clean, I know for me it is a control thing. I can't control the other person/situation but now my nice in control sparkling house or room makes me feel good, and I have scrubbed all the dirt out and processed with power. But you know what is really great is finding a strand like this one and just getting a giggle from some of the great postings - "chopping off bushes with loppers imaging it is someone's head that you are upset with!"

:grouphug::grouphug: for you for in a few weeks I will be in a similar situation in sending my youngest to 1st grade.