I think that this absolutely sounds like enough for a 5.5 year old! Give yourself a break and a hug. :-)

I vote for Farmer Boy and The Mysterious Benedict Society. :)

Bumping. :)

I would do it, but I would board the dog. (We have a dog ourselves.) I could see my parents being ok with the kids, but kids + dog for a week would be over the top.

Eh. I thought it was maybe a 2 out of 5. It is not worth a messy kitchen and no where near The Well-Trained Mind, in my opinion.

Two things: I loved this by Robin in Tx from the old board: "Sometimes we get bogged down in the day to day specifics and lose sight of the goal. The most helpful thing I've ever done is continually ask myself "why?" about every single textbook and/or program. Why do I want to do that program? And here's the most important question ... What foundation is it laying for our next level? If it honestly and clearly doesn't play a role as a stepping stone to our final goal, then I have to walk away from it." Secondly, one of the biggest lessons I have learned is not to buy curriculum based on a recommendation unless the person has actually *used* and *finished* the program! There is a honeymoon stage that homeschoolers go through with new curriculum. Do not run out and buy anything immediately after an encounter with a person in this stage. LOL!

This was recently discussed in a different thread. I'll post two posts that were over there regarding the study: My husband and I were talking this weekend and came to the conclusion that the price of most organic products and the hassle of trying to buy locally grown products before buying it at the store for us is worth it. We see it as paying farmers fair wages for the normal, regular, healthy way to farm -- for us and the land. The reason that the processed foods and non-organic products seem cheaper in the short run is because of all the corners they are cutting (pesticides, herbicides, hormones, routine use of antibiotics, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, genetically modified crops, lab creations such as high-fructose corn syrup, etc.) to get that product to you. Of course, only time will tell in the long run whether it is really cheaper. With absolutely no testing done on some of this stuff, like genetically modified crops, I wonder if we'll have companies like Monsanto throwing up their hands in 20 years saying, "Sorry, we didn't know." P.S. Someone recommended Animal, Vegetable, Miracle here. I'm halfway through it and really enjoying it. I don't agree 100% with everything in it (being a Libertarian-Conservative & Creationist), but I'd have to give it 4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars. It is really inspiring. My dh's birthday is tomorrow and I'm excited to try today to throw him a seasonal & locally produced food birthday party. :)

My oldest started as a Tiger and is now a Webelo I. My middle started was a Tiger last year and will be a Wolf this year. My youngest can't wait until he can join! :) It's been a great fit for our family. I wouldn't say it is camping focused, although that is a part of it. In our pack, they do two camping trips. One is one day overnight "cabin camping" in early April. The other is 1-2 days overnight tent camping in July. Both are at the Cub Scout property and have lots of different instructed activities for the boys. I think there my oldest will have a three day overnight this year because he's now a Webelo, but I'm not for certain. Our pack is very community oriented, so they put flags on the graves of soldiers on Memorial Day, collect food for the hungry, collect pennies for abused children, march in parades, visit the police and fire stations, etc. They work on their badges as a group in our pack which my boys love! Definitely check out the table of contents in the books linked earlier. It will give you a better idea of the huge variety of activities the boys do. Also, there are extra sports and academic activities that the boys can complete to earn beltloops. The boys in our pack are pretty competitive with their beltloops! LOL! Oh, and Pinewood Derby! I can't forget to mention that. That is a huge event that is so much fun for everyone!

This is what I do, too.

:grouphug: I'm sorry.

Oh my goodness, did this thread get off topic!!! A.D. do you even homeschool? You have very few posts and most of them are political. For those of you that are fighting angry & ready to secede over the perceived socialistic bent this country has taken , I am re-posting the question I posted a few pages back: Also, if you were to wish for secession (as someone alluded to), what is your plan to accomplish that? Will you all move to Alaska, which seems to be on a Sovereignty kick, or some other state?

:lol: Back to the OP, however, I think the idea of Revolution is very easy to get all worked up about in theory, but is insane when you start thinking about actual Revolution in our country. Seriously, are people to the point of war with other citizens over losing an election? Are people ready to pick up guns and shoot at other Americans over the Government owning General Motors? Are people ready to lose everything .... including their husbands, children, and family members who may fight on either side? Any cursory research on the Civil War combined with the thought of modern weapons being introduced into the mix makes me shudder and my stomach revolt. I love my country. I love my liberal friends. I even, although I didn't vote for him, support the President in his office. Of course, being a Reformed Christian who believes in the sovereignty of God maybe has something to do with that. Romans 13:1-2 "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." :)

:iagree: I am a Libertarian leaning-Conservative. The only Revolution that I'd support is the Ron Paul kind. :D I think we've got to step away from the ledge and tone down the rhetoric. After all, these things tend to go in cycles ... John Adams anyone?!?!? :lol: I think the mainstream parties have a vested interest in upsetting everyone and ratcheting up the volume so high that, "Oh my gosh the world is going to end if THEY win!!!" I ain't buying it. The world won't end. Remember what our dear first president said, The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth ; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. ... One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. Besides, the next election is in 2010. :)

It has been fun Anne! My husband and I were talking last night that I don't think I've been this motivated around the kitchen in a long time. Years and years ago, when I stopped working when our second son was born and we were a family of 4 living on $13 dollars an hour, I used to LOVE cooking and baking and everything homemaker-ish. In the past year or so? Not so much. I just could not find my motivation for anything! Of course, it makes a lot of sense now. What possibly can be motivating about a box of Hamburger Helper and a bag of frozen veggies for dinner? (LOL!) We decided on a local farmer that we found on Eatwild.com and have put in our order for half a grass-fed cow. (We're going in on it with another family.) Slaughter is set for September 10th! Also, yesterday, we joined the Food Co-op that Colleen posted. I had a list of baking supplies that I wanted to replace and they had almost everything I needed. Who would have thought I'd ever get so excited about finding non-genetically modified corn starch and baking powder? LOL! I attempted my first batch ever of homemade hamburger buns today and they were *awesome* (if I do say so myself). It was icing on the cake to know that they were organic and perfectly safe and healthy to eat. I don't think we could ever go back to store bought high-fructose corn syrup buns! :) 4kiddies -- Being in WI, I completely sympathize with your dilemma about eating in season. I have no idea what we're going to do when that comes around. I'm used to eating Dole Bananas in the middle of winter and not thinking twice about it. Carol -- Having all of those fruit trees sounds amazing! While we'll never be able to have a lemon or orange tree, we do look forward to the day when we have some land and can plant a small orchard. (We're currently trying to pay off our debt and save money to buy a few acres for a mini-homestead.) My boys go through fruit like there's no tomorrow and a couple of a few different trees would be wonderful!

Ooh, ooh, ooh! I'm so excited! We just found an awesome website where you can find local farms using a map. We just found a ton of farms within driving distance of our house!!! http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html Thanks for sharing what you do Carrie. I never thought of making my own peanut butter and my boys have that ~almost~ every day, too. I'm going to go to the Outpost store that Colleen linked earlier. I'll see if they do that there, too.

Thanks for the links and book suggestions! I really appreciate it. :) This is all so new to us and feels a little overwhelming to me as the mom being responsible for feeding my boys healthy food. Our idea is that we should slowly make changes starting with one step at a time. Our first step was to eliminate cereals & store bought breads that contain corn or high fructose corn syrup. So, to support that step, I made homemade granola this week and a loaf of bread. {grin} Our second step will be the meats -- buying grass fed, humanely raised meat. Even these two steps have caused a huge revolution in our way of thinking, and I'm gasping as I read the labels and ingredients of all the other foods on our shelves! Would someone be willing to share in practical terms what they do now on a weekly basis or specific changes they made to the way they grocery shop and plan meals?

Ok, I just requested Omnivore's Dilemma. I'm #25 on the list to get it, LOL. We're not in Milwaukee, WI, but we're near there if anyone knows a good chicken, beef, or pig farmer within 50 miles of there. I didn't know what CSA was, but just googled it and found Local Harvest.org. Is that a reputable website? I spent a few minutes there and found a farm less than an hour away that has chickens and pigs. I'm optimistic!

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the ) My husband and I just got home from seeing it. I honestly didn't think the food industry -- specifically the beef/pork/chicken industry -- was that bad. Last weekend we saw The Future of Food and learned about genetically modified food and now this. Wow. I feel like I need to sit down and make a list so that I can systematically change everything about the way we eat as a family. If you've seen either of these movies, what changes, if any, did you make as a family? Also, do you know how to go about finding a local, organic-type farmer to buy meat from? I don't even know where to start!

That looks hilarious Sharon! I think my husband (a carpenter) would like it, too. I'll see if my library has it! :-)

Why can't you can on your ceramic stove? Will it ruin it? If you find you can can (hee-hee), it is *super easy*! Don't be intimidated! Just follow the directions step by step. I would can diced tomatoes, salsa, tomato sauce, and ketchup. :-) Tomatoes Tart and Tasty: http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/B2605.PDF

Another post to copy/paste/print, Momma2Many66. That seems exactly like something we would do and I appreciate the advice of someone who has BTDT. My husband read your earlier post last night and we discussed ramping up our debt payoff plan for a long time last night. Now, I can't wait until he gets home to show him your new post! :)

Thank you all!! This is exactly the kind of advice I was hoping to receive. I just subscribed to a magazine and requested two of the books from our library! And, Momma2Many66, thank you for such a thoughtful post. I'm going to copy/paste/print.

We do! I don't match up the lessons, but work through each book sequentially with Singapore being a level or so down from the Saxon level the boys are using. How this works out on a day to day basis is that we use Saxon for our daily lessons (one lesson a day), and then an exercise of Singapore on their own or with dad later on in the day. (There are time where we use Singapore during regular math time, but that isn't the norm.) Basically, we're using Saxon to teach the lessons and Singapore for review and to increase depth of understanding.

Hello! We would like to move to (or build) a 3-5 acre mini-homestead in the next few years. We're not aiming for complete self sufficiency or living off-grid, but are hoping to have an orchard, a huge garden, berry patch, some chickens, a few goats, etc. Can you provide magazine & book suggestions? So far, we have: The "Have-More" Plan by Ed and Carolyn Robinson, Five Acres and Independence by Maurice Kains, The Backyard Berry Book by Stella Otto, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith, and The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery We are hoping for things to educate and whet our appetite while we save money and pay off debt. :)

We used R&S science for my oldest for 1st (Patterns of Nature) and 2nd grade (God's Protected World). It's not the most glamorous program around, but it's solid and at least science got done. Surprisingly, after two years of R&S science and 1/2 a year of NOEO science, my son scored very high on the EXPLORE science test section. It was actually his highest test score for every subject, so R&S must be doing something right! :) It's very easy to beef up by doing all of the activities and checking out additional library books on the subject. Patterns of Nature is consumable, but all of the other grades are hardcover. We were happy with it, but we were adding a first grader into the mix when my oldest hit 3rd grade which is why we switched to something else last year.