As my eyes open, I try to decide if I am awake or asleep and why is there at least one child talking and very awake...right. in. my. face. I then stifle the urge to beat my dh in the head for passing on his early morning genetics to "my" three children! :lol: If it is at least 5:00 am, I get up and go to the bathroom. If it is before, I chose to believe it is a dream/nightmare, ignore the chatter from the small person, roll over, and go back to sleep!! :lol:

My dh has a very predictable schedule, and then I have a schedule that is very loose. I work 12 out of every 14 days as a nurse practitioner in a crisis mental health setting. Some days I am finished in an hour and some days I am gone for 6 or more hours. I am able to come and go as I please as long as I get all of my work done in a given day. So, I get school done with the kiddos and then leave a "homework" list for dh. Homework is usually whatever I did't get done that day with the kids. Often, there are math pages that need to be completed, music practice, read aloud time, correcting papers. I am not gone for a set number of hours so I never know if I will be home for bedtime, but my dh is awesome at keeping up with the evening routine.

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Off the top of my head... several theatre productions the symphony, once to our local and once to the nearest large city the zoo several national monuments (native americans, slaves, forts, plantations just to name a few) a nuclear power plant and an oil power plant a couple of battlefields Williamsburg!! sea turtle research center The Little White House State parks in GA and VA (hiking on a gold mine trail was really cool) Kennedy Space Center multiple attempts to watch space shuttle launches Rock City, Ruby Falls Luray Caverns a limited access barrier island just to name a few!

Thanks for looking! If you get a chance, leave her a little feedback. I think she is getting frustrated with so little response. It would mean a lot to her. I love the shots of the pelican swallowing the fish!

Thank you everyone. I feel better already. I think this is just what we need and I am excited for the shipment to arrive!:D

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My friend has started a beautiful blog. We live on the coast and some of her wildlife photos are amazing. Let me know what you think! http://www.hammocktracks.com

Thanks everyone. I'm sure it will be okay, I just had a moment of panic! It seems like jumping off the cliff has become a way of life!:lol:

Drew's book, Living Memory, is an amazing resource. We also use a modified Card folder like the one that was referenced from Charlotte Mason at Home. This has worked very well for us!

I've been looking at the Kool-Aid for a while now. I have smelled it and thought about it a lot over the last year. I don't know if my resolve was down or my need was great, but I just drank the whole glass! I ordered the TM for Grammar Island, Poetry, Writing, Vocabulary, and both student and teacher for Practice Island. Someone please give me a hug and tell me this is going to turn out well!:lol: I'm still having flashbacks to the time I drank some TOG Kool-Aid!!:lol: Sherri BTW, I have been off the boards for a while and it is very nice to be back!:D

Sounds about right! I've taken it a couple of times and it has always felt the same as what you are describing.:001_smile:

Well, if you have the entire day, you can't beat Cumberland. It's over an hour to the ferry from Savannah and it is ALL DAY. If you go, get off at the historic area and take the guided tour with the interpretive ranger. I can't even begin to tell you how good the tour is. They will take you to the far end of the ruins and get you going in the right direction to cross the boardwalk over the dunes. You can then hike down the beach about a mile and cross over the dunes again to the campground. Oh, that to me was one of the most breathtaking coastal environments I have ever seen! The oaks twist and turn and it looks like you just stepped into a Tolkien novel. Hands down there is nowhere better to climb trees! Then you have another 1/2 mile walk back to the ferry stop. If you time it right there are ranger programs there as well. There is a fair amount of walking but it is spread out over the course of the entire day. You have to pack in/pack out everything, including water. There are bathroom areas in the far end of the historic district and in the campground. The first time I went I was a little intimidated by this but it's not bad at all. There is also a nice area for picnicing at the end of the historic district. The bathrooms are there and there are picnic tables. It is the perfect place and time for lunch after the ranger tour. You can't go wrong with Cumberland Island. It is one of my favorite places. It is beautiful in a way that I don't have words for. Every time I have ever been, I have been able to see the wild horses, either at the ruins or on the beach. Let me know if you have any questions. I love Cumberland Island!:lol:

:iagree: I would add The Mighty 8th Museum. We went just a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic! We had dog tags made before we went and there was an entire presentation on women aviators of WWII. It was a great experience. http://www.mightyeighth.org/

Measurements with your 11 yo -water temperature -wind speed (on the beach and on the far side of the dunes). He could build his own anemometer but you might want to buy one for his experiments. -observe and chart the tides -observe and graph the types of clouds -do a night observation on the beach -what about measuring the salinity? Is there something that could help you with that at Home Science Tools? Then you could test it through the year and see if it changes. You could do the same thing with pH if you have talked about acid/base balance. -Try to go right after a storm and note the differences. -Count birds every month and graph the results There are just tons of things that you could get both qualitative and quantitative data on... This has got me thinking that this could be a great idea for us also.

Thank you, I think he will like the Olympians series. He is a late reader and a reluctant reader, and it makes for a challenge.

Ds has been a late reader but he is up and going pretty well now. Does anyone have any recommendations for books that a 9 yo boy would LOVE? I am trying to get him to fall in love with reading and so far I haven't really had any luck.

We didn't try to make it down for this one, but we did watch it on tv and it was amazing. :D

Thank you Jackie, that was a very helpful response. My friend is completely redesigning her son's curriculum, as she realizes that it is not demanding enough. Also, she see's that he has interest and ability in science and would like to not limit his options at such a young age. Thank you again.

It is when a high school age child is finished with all of their school work in 2 hours a day and is bored.

I have a friend that is struggling to find biology for her 9th grader. Her ds is rather bright and has not really met any academic challenges yet. They started a couple of weeks ago with Apologia and he is flying through it. He did Apologia General last year and she had the same problem. She asked me for help in finding a good fit for him, or a least some where to start. I have done some reading this morning and it looks like Baby Campbell or Daddy Campbell. Is that right? If so, how do you know which one to pick? He is very good in science but at this point he wants to go to law school, not to say that those plans can't change. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Oh my...I don't think I could do that.

I have to say that SWB and JW have saved my life. I took their advice of a long quiet time during the day after hearing them speak at the PCP conference. I think I was on the verge of losing my mind from the constant talking. Thank goodness I listened to them. Even still, some days are just so hard with all the talking. I actually need a pretty fair amount of quiet, more than ever, I think from the constant stimulation I get now. I have to say he is the sweetest little boy though, even if I am his Mom.:D

I'm afraid it's not his age. He started talking...a lot...very early. He talks constantly. He thinks out loud. He hums while he is eating so his mouth can be closed. He talks in his sleep. He never stops, except during quiet time, which is where he is now. Actually, I think he talks then too but I just can't hear him from here! :lol: Most days I'm okay with it but then there are days like today...

My ds 7 will. not. stop. talking. This has been going on for weeks and he is driving me insane! I need some quiet. Just for a few minutes. Thank you for listening. :lol: