Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

lovemy9kids

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    514

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by lovemy9kids

    So, who else is elbow deep in planning?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I'm trying to plan but with only a few minutes without interruption here and there during the day, not much is getting done. I'm starting to panic as I'd hoped to have everything ordered/planned by the end of June (not going to happen!). I need at least 3-4 days by myself to focus and lay everything out without my toddler thinking he is helping me by coloring in the books.

     

    Chocolate is my friend, unfortunately. Along with my goal to have all the planning done by July was a goal to lose the last of my baby weight...yeah, right! Not as long as school planning (or the lack thereof) is causing me this much stress and I keep raiding the pantry! :D

     

     

    I can so relate to this! Hang in there ;)

     

    Renee

    NH Home school info?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Hi,

     

    We moved to NH in December of 2011. I feel like things are just now starting to settle down, and I can start to look into home schooling groups etc. Do any of you, who live in NH, have any information to pass on? I'd love to find something for my kids to meet other kids etc. I don't necessarily need a co-op, but I'd be open to looking at anything.

     

    Thank you so much for your help!

     

    Renee

    Starting a home buisness.....anyone BTDT?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    My dh worked in construction for 30 years, not exactly home-based, but self-employed. The economy tanked his business, we moved, his health crashed and he has since decided he doesn't want to do that full-time anymore. He's also 51, so age is a factor as well. He's now an employee.

     

    Here's some things I would recommend, especially in this current economy.

     

    Agree with the one year salary in savings. NOt just for the business expenses, but a year for personal expenses.

     

    Know what your health care costs will be. Don't assume you'll be able to keep it the same cost.

     

    Know if you business is cyclical. Construction in the winter bites. This is also when property taxes and holidays hit. NOthing like no income to ring in the holiday spirit. :tongue_smilie:

     

    Taxes. Get someone to do them or do them yourself and read about them before you start your business. Filing as self-employed is a pain.

     

    Know your business limitations. For instance it sounds lovely to want to do your dh's paperwork. Never worked for us. I'm very detailed, dh is not. Construction is an expense heavy business. I decided early in our marriage that I could be his bookkeeper or his wife, not both.

     

    Stability. The lack of stability was a big issue for me. With construction incomes varies from month-to-month. We could never plan too far ahead for anything. Sometimes we had to change vacation plans because a job was taking longer than expected. I know all the tips on how to schedule trips you can cancel at the last minute. :D

     

    Working all the time. It's like homeschooling in that respect, you don't ever really walk away from it. If you have a service related business and need to contact clients, much of that has to happen when your clients are off work, so evenings can be shot. At one point I wanted to smash dh's phone because we could never eat dinner in peace.

     

    The good? When it was good, it was good. The flexibility was nice, so we could go when we had time and money. We've taken some nice vacations.

     

    As a self-employed person working harder can earn you more money. Dh would take on extra jobs and work longer hours prior to vacations, so we could go, pay cash, and while not extravagant, do what we wanted. As an employee making x- dollars, you can't necessarily kick it into gear for extra money.

     

    I believe you (and your dh) need to truly examine what you are willing to sacrifice for being self-employed. It's almost like marriage in that you have to look beyond the excitement of the wedding to know if it will really work long term. Can he easily re enter the workforce if it doesn't work? Having a back-up plan is important.

     

    For us the business almost came before our marriage. It had to so we had food on the table. Self-employment works great with homeschooling, it has some great emotional benefits knowing your family has a certain air of freedom. But it isn't something to be entered into without a good understanding of the ups and downs.

     

     

    Thank you for your honesty about the good and the bad. We were self-employed once, for about 10 years. It was very hard, but it did have some perks. If it were up to me, we would just keep things the way they are. But he is not like me......he likes to be his own boss etc. I really appreciate your wisdom and experience. Thanks again for sharing.

    BJU 8th grade math (Pre-Algebra)

    in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges

    Posted

    My daughter finished up Math Mammoth 6B this year. I am trying to decide on math for her next year. I was all set to use Saxon's Algebra 1/2 with her, but she took one look at it and said, "I can't do this....there is no color. I need color!" So, I am back to the drawing board. I was looking at BJU 8th grade. Has anyone used this? Do you like it? If not, do you have any recommendations?

     

    Renee

    HOD question.....

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Wow, you have all given me so much to think about. I was thinking of doing Preparing for my 3rd grader and let my 2nd grader tag along, but do his own basic curriculum. Then, I would put my 6th and 7th grader in Resurrection to Reformation, hoping they would be more independent. I feel so frustrated, because I want to give them all individual attention, and I just don't know how to get that done! I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but thank you so much for all your responses. It really does help.

     

    Renee

    Weigh Ins

    in The Weight Loss Challenge

    Posted

    On the 5/18 I weighed 196. Today, 6/2, I weigh 188.8. I am really encouraged. I can't think about the big goal though.....(50 more pounds) That just seems impossible to me. I've never lost that much. I used to be so thin, and I've just lost and gained over the years/pregnancies, but I've never gotten down to my original weight (125lbs). I don't think that is really possible anymore with all my pregnancies, but I'll take 135! I guess I just feel like it is never going to happen because I've been trying for soooooooo long. I really hope THIS is the time!

    HOD question.....

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I tried using TOG for first grade and it was too much for us. After our failed attempt I have heard countless people on here say that TOG really shines at the Dialectic and Rhetoric levels. I would probably put your children that fall into those levels in TOG. Hopefully they would be relatively independent with their TOG assignments besides checking in with you for discussions.

     

    Combine your 10yo and 8yo in Bigger (takes about 2 to 2 1/2 hours) and your 6 year old I would probably not put in a set program (focus on math, handwriting, and reading), but just check out some picture books that go along with the American history in Bigger. I have a "book basket" list on my blog to go along with Bigger that would give you a starting point. The Emerging Readers list is in the Bigger appendix along with the comprehension questions which would help transition your 6yo (if they are ready) from a reading program to reading chapter books.

     

    While I only have 3, one of mine is a toddler. I am running two HOD guides and our days work very seamlessly because I am constantly rotating my two children between working with me and entertaining the two year old.

     

    Good luck on coming to the best decision for your family. :grouphug:

     

    Thank you, this is good advice! :)

    Starting a home buisness.....anyone BTDT?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    What is he doing now for employment and can he turn that into something he could do full time by himself? Yes, and no. It is something he could do on his own, but not while he is employed at his current job.

     

    DH and I own our own engineering company. It's just the two of us (we're both professional engineers) and we work a lot but we enjoy it and it keeps the bills paid. I'd look at his current strengths and pull from that. I also recommend having a years savings in the bank and no debt before you start your own gig. We could be debt free, but a years worth of savings....that would be tough. There have been some scary months when we first got started and I'm so glad we had that cushion to help us along.

    I think our plan is to start part time, while he is at his current job, and then hopefully it would work into full time.
×
×
  • Create New...