The answer for us was Explode the Code. My son hated 100 EZ Lessons and was just not interested in OPG. He likes to trace, color, write letters, and play matching games, so the ETC workbooks were perfect for him. Those books, along with Starfall, really helped him get a grasp on his letters and sounds. Now that we've finished the Get Ready/Get Set/Go for the Code books and have started on ETC 1, he's excited about learning to read. The books aren't that expensive, either. You'll need the teacher's manual for Get Ready, etc, but I haven't needed to use the one for ETC book 1 yet.

This is our first year homeschooling and my third grader is doing the following: Rod & Staff English SOTW 1 Just Write 2 MUS (Beta, Gamma, Epsilon) HWT Adventures with Atoms and Molecules (Science) Prima Latina dictation reading I started out with more in our schedule, but it was too much for us this year. I dropped several subjects and concentrated on the ones she needed the most (math, english and writing), then added others back in as we became comfortable with the curricula, our schedule and homeschooling in general.

We don't do spelling as DD is a natural speller. It was just busywork for her, and only served to frustrate and bore her.

We have a wonderful playroom upstairs with a train table, shelves full of games and toys, dress-up clothes, building sets, a bin of stuffed animals and dolls, a dozen or more puzzles and a table to work at, and a small television with family videos for them to watch. They've used it half a dozen times since we moved in 9 months ago. They prefer to be on the first floor with me. So I let them bring down two toys at a time and the toys must go back up stairs if they want to play with something else. I can't always work up there and they don't want to be up there by themselves, so we came up with this compromise. And I've found I enjoy having them around. I get to see their lego creations and their drawings and they get to help out with dinner (a "chore" they fight over). I say enjoy it while it lasts. As a mother of a teenager, I can tell you that the time when they don't want to be around you at all comes pretty fast.

This sounds like our son. Hitting, throwing, breaking, hurting and general destructiveness. He was also very emotional and would have tantrums and crying fits. A girlfriend of mine had similar issues with her daughter and their family doctor suggested that she remove food dyes from her daughter's diet. When I told her about the problems I was having with Mac, she suggested I try the same. We removed food dyes from his diet 6 months ago and the change has been remarkable. Most of the hitting, hurting and destructive behavior has stopped. The tantrums have all but stopped, as well. That's not to say there's been a 180 degree change - he's four years old - but the change is dramatic enough that I firmly believe that food dyes played a big part in his behavior and emotions. Our son is also quite bright for his age and I find that keeping him occupied, physically or mentally, is crucial in keeping his behavior in check. I make sure he gets some physical exercise every day, even if it's just dancing around the house when it's too cold to go outside. Mazes, dot-to-dots, hidden puzzles (I Spy, Highlights, Where's Waldo), logic puzzles (Zoologic), card games and board games are some of his favorites. Legos, blocks, bricks (the cardboard kind), marble runs and setting up dominoes keep him busy. We also started a math program and a phonics program. Plus lots of reading and cuddling. I'd be willing to share more with you via PM, if you like. :)

When I feel the first tingles of a cold, I load up on garlic, fluids, vitamin C, and antioxidents (Odwalla juices are an easy way to cover the last three). I also drink echinacea and green teas and get as much sleep as I can.

Slumdog Millionaire was recommended to me by a friend, but I'm not sure what it's about. As for Mickey Rourke, I recall hearing his name, but don't know any of his movies or why he would need a comeback. I knew who Harvey Milk was.

Starting to homeschool was the best thing we've done. My daughter is happier and more confident now that she's learning at home. :) Giving up curriculm that didn't work was also a good move. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But I was so concerned with getting my money's worth, I kept at it despite my daughter hating it. I learned to let go a bit.

:iagree: When we lived in NC, there were 5 of us in a 1500 sqft home (no basement or attic) and we rarely felt crowded, simply because the layout was so functional. Here, we are renting a 2400 sqft home and the layout is terrible. There is so much wasted space and the flow is horrible. Despite the large kitchen, it's impossible to have more than one person working in there at a time. And if the refigerator or dishwasher is open, I can't get around the center island. The upstairs is laid out like a maze and I have nightmares about the kids falling down the stairs because they didn't turn a corner quickly enough. I keep telling my husband that I would never have bought a house like this because of the floor plan. I would rather have a smaller, well-designed house and a larger yard. My husband grew up in a 950 sqft house with 3 brothers, 2 sisters, his parents and 2 dogs. I have no idea how they did it, but they all survived, lol.

How about meatloaf or salisbury steaks? My sister's son won't eat mashed potatoes, so she uses tater tots on the top of her shepard's pie. Would a cauliflower puree have the same effect as mashed potatoes?

I usually start on day 4 or 5 of my placebo week (and go until day 3 or 4 of my first week).

My husband uses the Nettle shampoo bar from Chagrin Valley. It's all natural with a mild scent and light conditioning. He likes that it works with out smelling medicinal. It worked very well on my son's cradle cap, too.

My favorites: Rod & Staff English - The R&S English books are making it so easy to teach! My daughter is learning much faster than she was in the fall and we're both much happier. Explode the Code - ETC is helping my 4yo learn to read - something he really wants to be able to do. He didn't know all of his alphabet in September and now he's sounding out cvc words on his own. Starfall - fun activities and lots of learning that my son can do on his own.

I'm pretty grouchy for the week before (not to mention clumsy and forgetful), but have found that a B-100 complex and extra calcium help keep me on an even keel. Except for the first day Aunt Flo is around. I usually declare the day a holiday and we watch movies and read stories. I know I'm not in any shape to teach or be patient for the first day, so I don't even try.

I've just started thinking about our 4th grade program. History: SOTW4 Math: MUS (We're starting Delta in March, so will probaby be in Epsilon) LA: Rod & Staff Latin: Latina Christiana I PE: Continue with swimming lessons Music: Guitar lessons I'm not sure what we'll do for science, as we haven't like the programs we've tried so far. I'm also at a loss for Art. I want to squeeze some geography in there somewhere, too.

We're almost done with MUS Gamma and just stopped for a couple of weeks to review math facts. I copied pages from earlier in the book and did timed drills. We listened to Schoolhouse Rock and played flashcard games. I have a multiplication battle/war card game I found at Barnes & Noble; instead of a number or face, each card has a multiplicaton problem. The different approaches seem to have helped - Ellie's feeling more confident with multiplication and makes fewer mistakes. I think it's just a matter of time (and sometimes taking some time off) and a matter of repitition. I was counting on my fingers when I was my daughter's age, but by the time I moved up to Junior High, I could rattle off my math facts in no time at all.

My son had horrible cradle cap until he was 2. The only thing I found to work was the Nettle soap at Chagrin Valley. Her soaps are all natural and didn't irriate Malcolm's sensitive skin. Once I started using it, his scalp cleared up in a week or so. For his dry skin, have you tried putting lotion on him right after his bath while he's still damp? I need to do that for myself because of my super-dry skin.

My doctor discovered my endometriosis when he went in to remove an ovarian cyst that had grown quite large. He later said that he'd never encountered that much endo, but that they'd gotten nearly all of it. The thing is, I'd been on the pill since my teens (I was 29 when I had the surgery). He said that it would probably grow back (in my case). My periods have gotten steadily worse over the years and I'm nearly to the point I was 11 years ago, pain-wise. The good news is that the laparoscopy was quick and my recovery was fairly easy. I did have some pain the first several days, but was back to my regular routine within 2 weeks.

I can't forsee a situation in which I would leave my husband and our children. I have a friend who did this just a few months ago. She decided she didn't want to be married to him anymore or deal with the stress of work and a family (they have two children), so she packed her bags and left.

I've got a pre-k and 3rd grader and we're usually finished for the day in about 3 1/2 hours (not including family reading time). I'm fortunate that there is enough independent work for Elle to do while I work with Mac. The key for us was finding things that worked for us, even though it meant switching curriculm mid-year. Everyone is happier and our day goes much more smoothly.

If they have a fever or are running to the bathroom (for either end), I call a sick day. I'll call a sick day for the first day of a cold as that's when they're the most miserable, and I know I won't get any kind of concentration or cooperation from them.

Both sides of the family are supportive in that they don't have anything negative to say about. My mom doesn't hesitate to tell me when she thinks I'm doing something she doesn't approve of, so her not saying anything is supportive. My husband's family are more open to new ideas and, because they already thought of me as a bit odd - breastfeeding, cloth diapering, avoiding food dyes - homeschooling was just one more "odd" thing for me to do. :) They have a "live and let live" policy when it comes to raising children.

Depending on the activity, my almost 5 year old can sit for 10 to 30 minutes. He'll do about half of a Get Ready/Get Set/Go for the Code books in one sitting, we'll do one page of OPGTR in one sitting, he'll read one Bob book in a sitting, he'll listen to two books at a time, and spend all day doing mazes and dot-to-dots. If he doesn't want to do something, I don't push it at this age.

I go to the commissary on Sunday mornings when they first open. The store is almost empty so that if I need to take the kids with me, we're still in and out quickly.

Ellie (9yod) is reading McCaughrean's The Odyssey (for school), Trumpet of the Swan (my pick for reading) and one of the Babysitter's Club books (her pick for reading). Mac (4yos) is working on the first two BOB books. We're also reading Dr. Seuss and Beatrix Potter. We're on the waiting list for Inkheart at the library. Ellie's not sure if she wants to see the movie, though. We read Spiderwick and The Tale of Despareaux then saw the movies; she was very disappointed that they didn't follow the books more closely.