I've used them for my last 3 and love them! I do make my own, though I own a couple Bebe au Lait and Hooter Hider brand covers. My body does not lend itself to discreet nursing without a cover IYKWIM so these were lifesavers for me.

This thread might help: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=276793 I used a lot of these suggestions last year for my 3yo for the same reason. My favorite were the MFW toddler and preschool packages. They gave home a lot to do, very little to destroy, and made home think he was doing school with us.

Did you read the new version of the Green book? He rereleased it. The version I have has both endings and I'm curious about the difference. I'll read both when I get that far.

I'm reading the fourth book and it's been great! It's not dark at all and a very interesting premise. I'm really hoping this last book (Green) ties up the many loose ends.

It's called 1-1-1 in SWR too. I wouldn't worry about spelling rules or lists for a 3yo. I would (and do) work on learning the phonograms and writing with gross motor movements. There are a lot of fun activities for preschoolers that get them ready to write and learn those phonograms. My favorites are sidewalk chalk, shaving cream writing, and a salt box.

I'm doing Prima Latina with Ds8 and it's been great so far. I don't use the DVDs, though. I didn't feel they were needed for this level. I will probably buy them for First Form.

:iagree: my dc had long been reading real books by then.

I guess I can understand that technically (legally) they are considered public school students. I'm not really sure why it would matter to anyone outside the school system or why someone would feel the need to point it out on Facebook. :confused: They're still at home, right? While I'm not a huge fan of our VPS, I would do that in a heartbeat if my other option were sending them to B&M PS just for the flexibility of schedule and the degree that it keeps me in control. I also don't get why they are cut out of HS groups. Is it a legal thing? I wasn't aware that HS groups operated under anthing like that. A coop makes a little more sense to me, but not much. That's why my best friend decided to HS this year...to cut out that confusing middle man and take back their evenings. :D

My dh did a similar thing 5yos ago. He left his job with a top consulting company to join a start up healthcare company. Now, it was farther along than the start up you described. Even so, we've had some scary moments. I now understand how many well-run companies with good business models can still fail. Dh was working around the clock the first couple of years because the company didn't have enough money to hire enough management or admin. That was tough and he had to evaluate what was important to him. It wasn't until this year that he finally got a decent raise and equity in the company. He still isn't paid anywhere close to what he'd be paid in the mainstream corporate world, but our lifestyle and his work environment (which has improved greatly with some additional hiring) are worth it. Plus, we were able to move to Tx from San Francisco where it is cheaper to live. The biggest comfort for me was that if the company failed, my dh would have no trouble finding another job or even going back to his old company immediately. There were a few times when we were close to jumping ship. No healthcare would have been a no go for me...I think. I did look into individual insurance when we first moved since the company's plan was terrible for a family with kids. Thankfully, dh hired an HR person and she fixed it immediately a month after he took the job. So...If I were you, I'd imagine the worst possible situation: that the business fails in a year or two. Would it devastate you financially? Would it put you in about the same position as now so no loss besides some retirement? Can you live with those consequences? I think some husbands (like mine) can be gung ho about the possible payout and disregard the risk. That's why they have more cautious wives to remind them that dc need to go to the doctor and dentist once in a while.:001_smile:.

Welcome!

:iagree: This is worked well for my elephantish ds6. He started reading fluently before 3, but SWR ensured he had the phonics down and wasn't just memorizing words. He started sitting in on phonogram drills and the saltbox at 3.5 and he automatically applied it to his reading. I didn't start the formal program until he was 5 and starting K.

They said in August's newsletter that it'll be ready in Sept. They also have samples of the first 5 chapters on their website (sorry, no link because I got it off their Facebook page and can't figure out how to link it here). Unfortunately, there was no mention of SSL2 which I'm needing sooner rather than later. We'll get SSS, but ds6 is almost done with SSL and I'm hoping to do them back-to-back. I don't think he's ready for PL yet.

:iagree: Ds8's perfectionism has gotten much better in the last couple of years. I think these kind of discussions and some maturity goes a long way. FWIW, ds6 couldn't use our pattern block books until this year because the blocks would slip around on the pages. He just used them freeform and created some incredible patterns instead. Maybe you could adjust some of his activities to be less constricting until he develops more self-control.

I'm the same way with Fly Lady. Motivated Moms was much better for me. I now use Home Routines on my iPad. It works really well helping me keep up with day-to-day stuff.

Both of my older dc have been ahead skill-wise. Instead of making them do a 1st grade load in K, I just keep the same load but use 1st grade materials. Does that make sense? For instance, my oldest has always been way ahead in math, but his 1st grade body couldn't always handle a whole 3rd grade lesson. In that case, we'd do a half lessons. It is the same way with reading for my 2nd ds. He is fully capable of reading long chapter books, but doesn't have the maturity to sit still long enough. Reading 5 pages of a book at his level is just fine. In your case, I'd consider your dd a 1st grader and adjust the materials up as needed. That works just fine as long as you feel comfortable adjusting as you go. I would certainly not let her flounder or feel stressed out by any subject.

It hasn't been hard for me to handle two cores yet. My day with SL is: I start the day with Bible. I'm only reading the Egermeier's (Core A) and Awesome Book of Bible Facts (Core C) out loud. Ds8 does his Bible reading and Kay Arthur study during rest time. And we talk about it later in the day. I do history 2-3x/week with ds8 (we don't have to do it everyday to finish a week's worth of history). I do this at the beginning of rest time which is right after lunch. Ds6 is welcome to sit in if he wants and usually does. On the other days, I cover the history and culture readings with ds6. We do all of our non-history read alouds before bedtime. Dh puts ds1 down with his board books while I do the three older boys. I go from youngest to oldest so that I can put ds4 down when he starts to get restless or disruptive. He typically makes it through ds6's stories before heading off to his own room. He really enjoyed My Father's Dragon last night. I only do the core and use other programs for science (combining the boys into Noeo) and LA. Ds8 now reads all of his readers on his own. We talk about what he's reading every so often at meals. Ds6 reads to me after lunch or in the evening. I hope that helps.

We do our cores at our own pace so they never align with the schoolyear. Some years we've been ahead and some behind. It has never caused a problem and I like the freedom it gives me to speed up or slow down as needed.

We started today. Officially, we homeschool through the summer, but with an extra vacation this summer we haven't done much. Today is our first full day of school since June and it has been slow going. The boys need to redevelop some focus. That'll come with time. I'm crossing a few subjects off our list today and trying to keep it fun. My preschooler has done amazing with his new MFW preschool set and task cards. I highly recommend them to anyone with a 4yo who wants to be included. Even my 1yo sat quietly playing with pegs for 20 mins.

Sorry about your dog :grouphug:. We have a new-to-us 1yr old puppy and he is ready to chew on anything the boys accidentally drop on the floor. He's made dents in a few C-Rods, but nothing bad enough to make them unusable or even inaccurate since we were right there. Granted, he would not care if they were wooden or plastic. He's an equal opportunity chewer and even the toughest plastics wouldn't have a chance.

This is wise advice for a family who is moving with 4 very young dc. The thought of moving at this point in my life would make me cry (and we've moved around A LOT). A 7yo doesn't need more than the 3Rs anyway. We add in the other stuff for fun and exposure. About the reading...My oldest hated Bob Books and any other basal readers. With books like that to read, he just wasn't motivated to learn. Instead, I used SWR to teach him to read which doesn't require readers. The first book he read was Green Eggs and Ham. He's been a book worm ever since. Another key for him was a steady diet of quality read alouds. It was important for him to see what was possible in the future and how stimulating books can be. My 2nd was a super early reader, but will still read Bob Books in between Geranimo Stilton and Flat Stanley titles when he finds them lying around. Anything with words is good enough for him. It's more of a personality thing than anything else.

I have wooden c-rods and love them. I got plastic pattern blocks and wish they were wooden. It's just a textural, natural-preference issue. The plastics ones are perfectly functional.

Another vote here for Target. Most of my boys' tees come from there. I also found Crazy 8 recently and like it a lot.

This is very similar to Dh and I. We met in March 1999 I PCS'd in June 1999 We got engaged in August 1999 while he was on TDY in my state. In September 1999, I met his parents for the first time and had a whirlwind weekend of premarital counseling. We got married December 17, 1999 So funny!

:iagree: I'm a Oregonian living in Texas and have to send back my tea 80% of the time. I like it unsweetened and am given sweet tea by mistake most of the time.

I did Vos and LLLTG at the same time and it went really well. We read Vos everyday, but only did LLLTG 2-3 times a week. Like the PP said, it gave them time to soak up the lessons.