I'm surprised no one else has chimed in! Given that you can go from Jr K to 1st, I'd heavily consider Jr K, especially since you're homeschooling and can still do advanced work if he's ready. But I'd also wait until closer to the deadline to make the decision. 6 months is a long time for kids his age. I guess in my mind there's no con to Jr K that can't be remedied easily. And I don't think you need to consider age of graduation at this point. That's a LONG way off. Who knows what circumstances/opportunities will be available then!

The church I went to college had an ongoing relationship with Heifer International. I've always they were great! But don't remember details now. DH and I currently donate to Food for the Poor.

Does the charter school restrict curriculum purchases based on grade? If he is ready for K material, would you be able to get that if he were registered as Jr K? What's the registration deadline? Can you wait another 4-5 months before deciding? My DS will be 5 on June 7th. We have no Jr K program here, just PreK and K. He would not be academically satisfied being held back in PreK for his 5 year old year, so he would definitely be put in K. But we homeschool too. :) Just curious, if you do Jr K now, will he be in K or 1st as a 6 year old?

Thanks for the reviews! I like the idea of teaching same stroke letters in one unit. Glad it's worked for you guys!

Has anyone used/investigated Handwriting Skills Simplified? I came across it at Rainbow Resources looking for a Z-B style workbook. There are very few reviews so I thought I'd ask about it here. I also know that a lot of people really like the Zaner Bloser company's workbooks. But there's a "large" price difference between the two series. Thanks for your help!

Interesting! I had an idea when ereaders started becoming popular... You could trade in your hardcopy book and get the ebook version for $1 to replace it. Then the hardcopy would be donated to troops, schools, and other charities. It would be on the publishers to pick up the money slack I suppose. I have only one match, a wilderness responders book I got DH for Christmas last year.

I went to college, which my parents paid a fair chunk of. I do not consider that moving out since I was still a dependent. Upon my college graduation, I got a full time job and became financially independent, so I consider that time as having moved out. I was 22. I worked as a secretary about a year until DH (then DF) graduated. We got married, then moved from FL to KS where DH had found a job.

Well, if you're in the majority of the US, that 7-730 is going to revert to 6-630 again come November 3rd! Lucky you, they're transitioning to standard time on their own! ;)

We talked about most of the topics ya'll have mentioned, but we never labeled it "ground rules". Not sure how to vote, since we did have many premarital discussions.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy this Combi Cocorro so I can fit 3 in the back of my 4runner. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00261RQYY/ref=ox_sc_sfl_image_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

No way! I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube about teaching pencil grip/songs for my 4 yo. I didn't care for any of them and ended up devising the "pencil sandwich". :D

Here's a link to the board's ongoing Kindergraten curriculum thread. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/456811-kindergarten-roundup/?fromsearch=1 I think you should give some thought as to what your goals are for your DD. Are you trying to simply keep her academically stimulated (which JK isn't doing)? Or are you wanting to homeschool K this year with the anticipation of placing her in 1st grade next fall? I think if you do a full curriculum and then try to put her in K next year, you might run into the same problem. Also, whether you goal is to prep her for K or for 1st next fall, I'd see if the school/teacher could give you some benchmarks so you know what your DD should know when she starts the next school year. My friend's son did not get a spot in the PreK program, so she did some stuff at home, but now a lot because it was PreK. Well, turns out they learn quite a bit in PreK in our district and he started K trying to catch up. Just some food for thought. :) ETA: Here's the PreK thread for comparison. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/480969-preschoolpre-k-plans/?do=findComment&comment=5163072

This. DH's doc says not to take it unless he feels the need to because of the potential to build a tolerance to it.

I agree about the coconut milk - very fatty and nutritious! So I'd do that or no substitute. OP - As it is, my new 2 yr old doesn't drink enough milk to account for the "required" amount, and I won't buy chocolate milk to "make" her drink it. We're going with no substitutes at the moment, but she was also still bfeeding until 2 weeks ago so... Maybe not the same thing. :)

This!! We night weaned both kids at 18 mo. DH's help was indespensible for about a week. It was tiring for him for one week, but now we ALL sleep! FWIW, we've never coslept.

I got my first period early myself, right before my 11th bday. I've never been a hormonal/PMS type person (though the first 2 days of my cycle consist of pretty bad cramps). And this isn't just my opinion, I've had several people tell me I must never have a period. :p But I'm also a very down to earth, logical person too, so the could partly be personality.

$5-6/person each day. That includes a physically active man, a pregnant woman, a bird of a 4 year old, and an almost 2 year old still in diapers. The pricer items on our shopping list are free range, pastured meats. I get organic fruits/veggies if the price is right, but we choose to spend the extra dollars on meat and eggs. But we also have several meatless meals a week to balance that out. Eta, this does not include eating out, which is 2-3 meals a month.

My mom and I have similar tastes in clothing (modest, classic, frugal!) so her opinions were well received. We went shopping together with my kid sister, and she also paid for the dress (though, as long as she didn't hate it, she would have let me get whatever I wanted within budget).

DS and I are working on blending. He cannot do it on his own yet. If I show him "b a t" he can say the sounds, and his version of blending is "buh-a-t" super fast! Lol! I don't remember where I read this, but its helped a lot. Using letter magnets or writing on a small white board, arrange the letters as if they're on a slide. So, the B would be at the top, the T at the bottom, and the A in the middle. You could even draw the slide if you'd like. Then use your finger, marker, other magnet, whatever, and have it slide down the slide while saying the letter sounds. That's the only way DS will actually BLEND letters as opposed to just smashing the sounds together. We start off VERY slow, and I still have to demonstrate the sounds. But once I start to make the object slide faster, he picks it up on his own. After about 5-6 slides, he figures out the word. It's very slow going, but its progress!

Nope. The liquid in the carrots and the oil (and the grapes I'd suppose) keep everything moist and soft.

Lets see if I can remember this correctly... 1lb carrots, cut into 3" sticks/wedges 1/2 lb grapes, washed and destemmed 1/2-1 onion cut into slices, depending on your tastes Olive oil 1-2 tsp cumin Combine all ingredients on a bowl. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for... 40 min? until carrots are tender. Can be served warm, but also super yummy cold so it can be made in advance. Siphon off as much oil as you can if you plan on chilling it. The amount listed won't serve many, but this can be easily multiplied.

The budget does not address savings! My DH and I take 20% off the top for general savings and retirement. That would never work with that proposed budget. Eta: I know 20% may be excessive when discussing poverty, but the budget summary says its judging economic security (or something like that), so I think some savings should be considered, at least for emergencies.

Thank you for your explanation! I understand that theory cannot become fact, but does the ToE have the potential to become the LAW oE? I think that's where some people get tripped up, theory vs law.

I get mine at Target, but I'm THIS close to going to the specialty bra shop in town. I'm tired of guessing sizes and having threads start coming out after 2 months.

I didn't experience this, but it is possible. Your hormones are battling it out and can manifest differently from woman to woman.