I had this prob w/ our MFW attempt. I felt like we just weren't getting the fullest experience unless we did every.single.item.listed. And that didn't often happen. (We've only tried MFWK and made it 1/2 the year before we bailed.) Now, I do love how MFW plans out history (no formal in K & 1 and "drive-by" U.S. and world geography in 2nd & 3rd before beginning the 4 yr cycle); I probably will take this format and adapt it for ourselves (may or may not use their curriculum though).

My 3 yr old started having bowel troubles when she potty trained (she was never "regular" and often with harder BMs...after potty training, she had a span of "going" 2x in a MONTH w/ pain!) Anyway, the ped recommended Miralax. Said to give her 1/2 a dose each a.m. Also said that there are no side effects and that she can continue taking it as long as needed....even "forever" with no negative effects... Anyway, she's been taking it about 8 months now and things are going...smoothly. :)

Thanks again for the suggestions. And let me clarify re: the pizza/burger thing. If we had them in the fridge, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But I'm not making pizzas or burgers for this child to eat for breakfast. Part of our problem is these are 2 days/wk when we are somewhat rushed in the a.m, no time to cook. (Other mornings, I have no problem getting her to eat steel-cut oats or something I have time to make.) PROTEIN BARS: is there a type that is safe for children? DH & I often just eat a protein bar for breakfast, but we don't let our kids eat them b/c we're concerned the protein levels/etc are not appropriate for young kids...

How about: Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it. ~ Mark Twain Um...no? Well, what about: Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty. ~ Plato Yeah...not feeling that either. :D Seriously, though....here are some with potential (non-religious): Honesty is the best policy. ~ Benjamin Franklin Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. ~Thomas Jefferson No legacy is so rich as honesty. ~William Shakespeare Truth is such a rare thing, it is delightful to tell it. ~Emily Dickinson With lies you may get ahead in the world - but you can never go back. ~Russian proverb No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. ~Abraham Lincoln

Thanks for all the ideas. I think she doesn't care for breakfast foods (she most frequently requests pizza and hamburgers for breakfast, but....um...no.):001_rolleyes: I'm not sure if she can make it to lunch without eating breakfast. They do provide a snack at school but it's usually crackers or something. She has her OJ in the a.m. because she takes meds every day and I dissolve it in the juice... She does like boiled eggs....and I hadn't realized a smoothie would "last" in the fridge overnight. Doesn't it melt (we typically make ours with frozen fruit)? Definitely might try the ready-sausages or bars.

I struggle to get my 3 yr. old to eat breakfast, especially on the 2 days/wk that she has to scoot out the door to get to preschool. She says she's not hungry, but I *can't* send her off with no food in her tummy until lunch! (They do give a small snack at preschool.) I typically can get a cup of OJ in her with no fuss (she doesn't drink milk). Right now she's eating pretzels cause that's what she wanted. Occasionally, I can get her to eat a cheese stick. Suggestion for a quick breakfast for a preschooler? A somewhat picky one? (I've been thinking mini-bagels and cream cheese, maybe.) She does like smoothies, but those preschool mornings are a little rushed...

I saw that episode! We love her on Big Bang Theory.

(And even Sci/Hist 1x a week is far more than most public school 1st graders are getting...) You'll naturally be touching on 1st grade level sci/history/soc stud topics from books that you are reading to each other/field trips, anyway. :) If, at some point, you decide you want to do something more, there are lots of "easy" options. I have Inquiry Science K-1 and Evan Moor's Beginning Geography planned for next year (both available on Amazon). At the most, I plan on doing 2 days/wk science and 2 days geography.

What an inspiring thread. I have a small house and my kids sure have lots of toys.:blushing: Most days, it looks like ToysRUs has exploded into our living room (and hall... and the bathroom....) And I actually am a pretty ruthless purger. We go through things weekly and donate or throw out things we don't use/are broken/multiples of/etc.

I'm pretty sure that was why I parted with that dvd. I exercise with DDs in the room with me and I didn't want them to hear it... (I could be confused with one of her other dvds, though...)

I don't care for Jillian's 30DS. For me, I have an issue with her attitude and language (multiple uses of "@ss", for example.) I really like: TaeBo Kicks: It's a kid workout dvd and my girls love it...but I also think it's a good workout! It's OOP, but you probably can find it used. Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition workout : It's geared toward the very unfit, but my little girls like it. Has 3 workouts of varying (short) lengths, easy moves, and is very encouraging...no talk of being sexy or thin, but encouraging talk about the joy of moving and being strong -- important aspect for me! How about FitDeck Jr. We like it and it's fun to make up games with! I think you can even buy an inexpensive booklet with game/use ideas.

What a beautiful tradition! I do believe I'll steal this idea! :)

Is the teacher's guide for CLE's Social Studies (grd. 1) necessary? Looking at the LUs, they seem like they're fairly self-explanatory...

I enjoyed For the Children's Sake ~ Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

I have Evan Moor's Beginning Geography K-2 on the docket for my DD's 1st grade year. After some planning, I'm wondering if I can stretch this geography/map skills study out over the next 2 years...(we'll be doing it 2x/week). I have my reasons for wanting to do so (having to do with keeping my 2 girls on the same path to the history cycles), and I have several books/ readers that I plan on adding in (Me on the Map, etc). Any suggestions of ways to make this more fun/hands-on? Building paper-mache' towns? LOL. I do not want to go into states study/world cultures/countries....I plan on doing that in a couple of years (when my youngest can follow along better). Thank you for any suggestions/opinions! ETA: I am purposely keeping Soc.Studies/History light. We're coming from a very relaxed kindergarten year and jumping into full reading/math/phonics/science programs. I don't mind that this will be light.:) ETA: NM. I've decided that I can easily blend this in with something like CLE's Social Studies for 1st and 2nd to make it last the 2 years I want it to. Thanks anyway!

Next year (for our first grade) we are going to be using How to Teach Art to Children. You can see a pretty good sample of it on CBD's website... (Haven't used it yet, though, so I can't talk results...)

Thanks for the sharing your thoughts. Is this the one that has a martyr focus? Have you/your daughter read any of the others? *I am looking for a 2nd-4th grade group*

I'm specifically looking for COMPILATIONS (for read-alouds or for a young reader)....if you know of a book grouped by continent, that'd be even better. This is for ages 2nd-4th grade. Which do you prefer? Or make a recommendation! Contenders: Hero Tales Missionary Stories with the Millers Missionary Stories From Around the World ~ Swinford Heaven's Heroes ~ Shibley And what about: Ten Girls Who Changed the World ~ Howat (and the other Ten Girls.... books)

:party: (grooving to the tunes when we should be schooling...:D) Can't wait to listen to some of the recs on this thread!

I do this, too...though, more often than not, getting on "just for breakfast" means I'm still sitting here at lunch.:001_huh: It is something I have been wanting to change. Such a waste of time... but sooooo hard to stop.

What a great idea! Funny, how that didn't even occur to me... Oooo, now *I* want that HtTYDragon soundtrack! we love that movie. :D My girls like the Wall-E soundtrack. It has 1-2 short songs w/ vocals, but for the most part, it is really lovely, futuristic score.

I used to be "artistic" but that was before I had kids...back when I had free time. I would like to say that I'm capable of planning an art program that allows individual expression/creativity/blahblah....but I'm not. I need an outline to follow. :001_smile: I bought How to Teach Art to Children (from Amazon but there's a good preview at CBD) and I think it is a great jumping off point. And it's quite inexpensive. :) It goes through the elements of art (line, color, shape, etc) and gives multiple lessons to teach/explore each element. I plan on doing a few lessons each Friday (many of the lessons are pretty short and would flow/go well together). I looked through the book the other night, and I really think DD will like it. (Many of the activities are geared toward a group setting, but I think they can easily be adapted to 1-2 children...plus I plan on participating just for the fun of it!)

Thanks! Glad to hear that there are other place (RR, possible local Christian stores) that carry this set. I would've never thought to look in these places and BSGFAA does have high shipping on their site!:blink:

You might want to check on this; I think the BSGFAA that CBD has is their older/classic version? You can see the difference between their current edition on their website; I think I remember CBD's looked like the older one... Is memory work/drills not listed on the student pages at all? That is a big part of what I wanted from this program. :)

Great idea! We've got several books on our to-read list that I just haven't made time for... And we've just reached a good stopping point so I believe we'll do this + chose-your-own-fun-pointless-art-craft for our school work next week! :D