We love God's Design science curriculum. We have used it for several years now. It is from a very Biblical/Creationist stand point, which we love. I believe it is somehow related to Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis. It is an open and go curriculum which I need. You can do as much or as little as just read the short lesson. I would definitely recommend it.

Well, this thread got off to a rocky start, BUT I am really enjoying all the great advice now! Thank you all for all the details you are giving for how you do everything throughout your day. And how you carve out time for the reading and fun stuff. I have learned alot. thanks!

This is also great advice! You are really good at mulit-tasking I could definitely learn a few things from you. :001_smile:

But being able to do both! That is the question of the thread. I know there are people on here doing it all. How? I know people that have extensive blogs and also get everything else done. And are on forums. Its not just the time, but also being able to concentrate to read and type while your children are in the house. After reading this thread, I really think multi-tasking and delegating are key. Both of which I haven't been doing. Or reading after hours at night.

This is great advice. And I think this is where I am lacking. I need to involve my children more in chores and household projects and get them more independent in their work. thank you for you advice.

Exactly! I think you should have asked the question. Your words are much better articulated than mine!

I think your right. Some people are just born with more energy than others. - Please tell me thats true or I am going to feel like a total lazy person after reading your post! I would have to stop sleeping if I did all the things you do, just to fit it in. This is what I am talking about. I want to know how you do it? Is it really just having lots of energy? Is it because my children are so young (8 and under)? Or do you not sleep?

Thank you for clarifying King M. I appreciate your words. Thanks for everyone's replies. Christy B's post made me realize what I had been sensing a little before, that I need to maybe get my children a bit more independent in their work. That maybe I hold their hand too much through every thing. And that in turn would give me more free time throughout the day. Someone else also mentioned to me about quiet times for children in the afternoon as well. Maybe making that a requirement with a set time... You really do learn alot on this board, there is a wealth of information. But I get frustrated that I dont have time to read it!

thank you

Oh wow. I'm sorry. Why are you being so unkind?

I'm sorry you feel that way! I didnt mean to insult you. I find one of the biggest problems with the internet is that people really read into what you type!

This makes sense. I can see how that would work.

You all are making me laugh! :D I will say, having a laptop probably does help. You can go and sit almost anywhere, and be with your children while they work on things. I can see that. Honestly, I think having the house clean and organized actually saves me time though. Everything is in its place and there is no need to search for things. I find when things are less chaotic it is less stressful too. But it does require staying on top of it daily during the week. My husband and I have also decided that the children need to step up a bit with chores and helping out. I will heed the warnings about being sucked into the internet. ;) I know it can be addicting and literally take the day away from you!

Especially the long controversial ones. I have to ask, how do you all have time to homeschool? Am I missing something? Is there some trick? It takes me almost ALL day to homeschool my children, keep my home clean and cook meals. How does everyone have so much time to be on the computer? I would really love to know this. I want to get all my stuff done and play on the computer too. Any tips would be great!

I use MUS. Just recently, I started supplementing with Singapore and Rod and Staff. MUS is our core, We do it alone Mon-Wed. Then I add in Singapore and Rod and staff on Thursday and Friday. MUS does not do enough drilling, and my children actually enjoy mixing it up with a different type of math. They can get bored with MUS sometimes. I think each program is great I like MUS the most, but I wanted them to glean from each. I think there is a WTM article about this topic of mixing different math programs to complement each other.

I think keeping a journal is wonderful! I keep a journal to remember all the great moments of my children growing up. I think it is also great for children to journal. I still have a journal from when I was young and it has been so fun for my children to look through it. I know when my children are grown they will be very thankful for their journals they are keeping right now. We dont journal daily, we journal weekly. We journal on Friday afternoons. They write about the past week or something they are looking forward to in the next week. The younger ones draw a picture and/or put a simple sentence. I get their journals from rainbow resources. They have simple, thin journals according to grade/level. The younger ones say, 'my first journal' and have a place to draw with one line for writing. I highly recommend it!

I agree with Trisha. The AIG creation museum is amazing, highly recommend it. Also go to their website, there is countless resources for children and adults. I use alot of their science books. Just the photos/drawings alone in their books are worth it. http://www.answersingenesis.org/

Thank you Heather. That is very helpful. I was having her write it out from memory, maybe that was making it more difficult for her.

My almost 8 year old is on lesson 11 of WWE 1. I find that she really struggles with the narration pages. Is there a wrong way to do this? Whenever we do the pages for narration, I read her the passage and then she does the corresponding sheet that says "what do you remember from this passage". Every time, she writes whatever the first sentence I read was. Should I be prompting her to not do this? Isn't the point to pick out the most important part of the passage and write that? Thanks!

Yes! These are some good ones to start with. Good to make an informed decision. http://www.preventcancer.com/patients/mammography/dangers.htm http://iicph.org/dangers_of_mammography http://www.credencegroup.co.uk/Eclub/Eclubsearchable2/220302/dangersofmammograms.htm http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,16676,0.htm http://www.naturalnews.com/010886.html http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/10/29/thermography.aspx

I dont know if I have alot of wisdom. I feel your frustration. I have 4 children 7 and under and I often have felt this discouragement. Some things that others have shared that I have been able to implement and help. First for your older child, you really need to get your husband or a grandparent involved. The plan in our home is that when our children reach a certain grade level, my husband will take over some of the subjects. That may mean doing some things on Saturday or in the evenings. Its a good idea for several reasons. It frees up mom and it is great quality time with dad. For managing the other children, You I have found I have to be VERY organized. I have to have a schedule and a checklist to get everything done. I schedule in special time each day with my 1 year old to play and read to him. There is so much to do you have to schedule it all in! And you have more children than me, I can just imagine you are definitely getting frustrated. Hang in there! Start fresh and get yourself organized!

I agree with Peela. There is actually alot of new research showing that the radiation given by mammograms does actually cause breast cancer. Also the "squishing" of the breast during the mammogram is very bad for the breast cells, also causing cancer. They are developing a new diagnostic tool called thermal imaging or thermography.

This is our 2nd year of TOG. Doing Year 2 with my 1st and 3rd grader.

That bothers me too! This is how I do it, not sure if there is a different way. There is a little hidden button on the upper write hand corner of every persons status that says, "hide" . If you mouse over it it will show up. Click on that down arrow, and it will say "hide (whatever game...)" click on that and that game will not show up anymore. You can also hide people this way too, if you dont like their status'.....

I am a bit germophobic, especially these days! But I dont know if I would use sanitizer too much with her IF she is licking her hands! It can be pretty toxic if ingested. If you are concerned about her and the flu, I would think about keeping her home. We have decided to not be as involved this year with outside activities for this reason.