This is stupid, but I no longer write in my books for the same reason I won't keep a journal - fear of someone finding it. I used to comment in the margins, especially in college, but when I look back at those books now, it's a pretty deeply personal look at my thoughts, many of which have greatly changed over the intervening 10 years.

6:30 is when the kids are allowed to come out of their rooms. Occasionally they'll both sleep in a little, but most days it's exactly 6:30 that one or both is coming to get me. We don't always get up right away, though. Since dh leaves for work earlier, I'm awake from about 5:50 when his alarm goes off. I probably should use that time for something, but am just not that motivated....

Thanks, I have been leaning toward "she's 5, of course she can't sit still" but I'm so frustrated because she used to be able to. This is her 3rd year of ballet (yes, she started at 3, because one of her friends was in it too), and the first year I got SO many compliments on her manners, attention span, listening. She'll sit and read for an hour or more; she's never been a totally physical type of kid, though more so now than a year ago. I've talked to her about this, and am really convinced it's boredom. If we hadn't already had to commit to the spring recital, I'd take her out of ballet. The storytime is for 3-5 yo, so I'm not surprised she's bored, but she wants to go because one of her closest friends goes (and little sis still loves it so we'll be in the building anyway). You're right that I expect more because she's the oldest, too, and I'm trying to be more careful of that. Where exactly is the line between "let them be kids" and "make them civilized" ????

My 5yo behaves very well in public when I'm around, yet at ballet class, library storytime, and sometimes CCD, she is terribly distracted & disruptive. It's almost entirely due to boredom, but I know she gets bored during church yet still manages to control herself because I am right there. I have told her ballet teacher, and today also the storytime leader, to please kick her out if she isn't behaving, and I hope that will make an impression (if it actually happens). At ballet, parents can watch through a mirror/window, and I know she gets away with much more than she would with me - multiple warnings, "just one more" chance many times, etc.. This is definitely a kid who needs a firm hand. One of the main reasons we homeschool is to allow her to work at her level. Is that somehow depriving her of the ability to deal with boredom? :confused: After she was absolutely the worst-behaved kid in the room for a spelling bee (I was there but out of reach), we started doing "sitting still practice" daily, and she can sit motionless for 3 minutes or more (it sounds short, but try it sometime). Our schoolday is short (averages about 1 to 1.5 hr), and they only get one video a day, so she has to entertain herself a LOT at home. We use mostly a "Love & Logic" discipline style, which works great, except when we're not there! :doh: If you've managed to get through to the end of this rambling, thanks so much. Any thoughts?

My MIL used to do this when dh was a teen, and he'd eat like 3 Weight Watcher meals at once (because they weren't filling enough). :rolleyes:

I didn't like this book much either. It seemed awfully repetitive, and not very practical for the rest of us. I can't imagine how his family feels - I get annoyed whenever dh works past his 8 business hours! OTOH, my dh loved this book and recommends it to people regularly.

It's okay with me if MIL doesn't decide anything, now or in 10 yrs.... :) Seriously, you know she's wrong (and illogical, but that won't matter to her), you know you're not going to convince her otherwise, try not to stress over it. How does dh feel? Here, his mother is his problem - I'm polite when they visit, but any expected conflict is all his. Of course, they live half a country away, so it's easy to do it that way. In the meantime, would it entertain you to constantly give her examples of the failure of our public school system? Read anything by John Taylor Gatto (my dh's current fave), or any newspaper, really. Hang in there - you're doing the right thing!

We haven't used handipoints, but some I have on K's Bookadventure are: -Choose a book from the "new" shelf (I have a stash that I add to now & then) -Choose a trinket from the trinket box (another stash of small favors/pencils/etc) -Rent a video (now that we've joined Netflix maybe just move one to top of queue) I love the idea of an iTunes download as a reward!

I used a lot of library books to supplement, though not always what they recommended. We checked out Children Just Like Me so many times I ended up buying the book, because both girls were asking for more. I really didn't like Missionary Stories with the Millers because my 5yo is really sensitive and there are very suspenseful/dangerous situations in that book. There's a GTG yahoo group that is very helpful too.

Chicken parmesan? Bake the chicken with some jarred tomato sauce poured over & melt some mozzarella on top.

I made my own version of a board game called Flip 4 - kind of tic-tac-toe with dice & math facts. We also have played "make 10" - use the non-face cards, and flip one into the middle (not one pile, lay them out). If your card matches up with anything else in the middle to add up to 10, you take both, otherwise it stays there and you flip another one out. Check this thread too: http://67.202.21.157/forums/showthread.php?t=272

I schedule mostly 4-day weeks, but am flexible about which day we don't work. Some weeks, we also work Saturday because we only got in 3 days of school during the "workweek." We do year-round, but don't really schedule breaks. We were off for about 3 weeks for Christmas, about a week in the fall for a family vacation, and will probably take a week in February to visit Grandma. I was willing to wait another week before starting back after Christmas, but K was not, so we got back to work at her request. I think it helps that they've never been on the agricultural calendar that most outschools use - they do know that their friends are more available in the summer, but don't complain about doing school when outschools are off. Maybe because it doesn't take a full day? We also sometimes go to a museum or zoo or whatever after finishing school, or do school when we get back.

I don't know about the web ordering, but I did find a "store near you" feature, and they are represented at all of the teacher stores I know of around here. Maybe that's a better way to go, because you get to really look at the book first. I'd be nervous about all the info too.

Is there a reason (state reporting rules or whatever) that you have to choose a fall date to start? If MFW is going well, why not just finish it leisurely over the next few months, and start first grade after that? We school year-round, so obviously a different point of view than those who follow the "traditional" academic calendar. As for when we started, I don't really know. K started Miquon math last summer, which is labeled as first grade, and we started WTM biology last fall, and SOTW 1 just this month. OTOH, she's still working in a speller labeled K-1 and we haven't started formal grammar yet at all. So are we currently doing 1st grade? Sort of.... :confused: I know what you mean about not wanting to push. There was definitely some of that here too, and I spent last fall on GTG to push SOTW back a half-year. Now that we've started, it's going great and we're all enjoying it, though I can also see the benefits of waiting until she would be 6 (next August). One of the biggest drawbacks is her handwriting - she's still learning, and her perfectionist tendencies get me a rebellion when I want her to write for an assignment. But a lot of work can be done orally, and I'm adding in the requirements slowly.

It has not stopped snowing here for two weeks, except about half of last Thursday. :p

We do, but only because we got a new furnace last summer. Our previous furnace didn't have one (it had been converted from a coal-burner). I do notice a slight difference this winter, but not that much - there are still dry skin issues around here.

We do the zoo membership too, and it's been great. On our zoo's website (and many others) they have a list of reciprocal members. So maybe if there's someplace you want to visit, you can browse online and see if they are connected with any others? I know the Chicago museums all do free days a few times a year, and a friend has gone and said it really wasn't very busy. Most of those are listed on the individual museum's websites also.

I always do too, though sometimes I put it off because of my personal hatred of the telephone. Worst case, I'll call when I expect they're out and leave a message, so at least they know. Since the response here is pretty unanimous, who ARE all these rude people showing up unannounced? ;)

I looked through them at the bookstore, but didn't feel they were worth buying: partly because I'm not doing things in that order, partly because my kids are all over the map as far as grade-level. I do occasionally check the grade/sequence lists on worldbook.com (rather have a free resource that takes up no space), just to reassure myself.

Yep. You will have no rest (or secrets). Mine is constantly asking me about the captions on the news, the notes on our calendar, signs we pass on the road, the back side of the newspaper I'm reading the front of..... I really try to screen what goes into their little heads, limiting media exposure, but have lost a lot of that control now that she's fluent. She's reading everything she can get her hands on. I brought home a new Henry & Mudge today and that lasted maybe 5 minutes. She got 2 American Girl books at the library sale, has gone through the first couple Betsy-Tacy books again, Magic School Bus, and the Lets-Read-And-Find-Out archaeology book. She's totally crushed now that the librarian has told her you have to be 6 to get a library card (I was told first grade, so let her ask recently) and this is getting expensive even though I buy almost all used books.

We did. I spent last fall on GTG with 3 & 5 yr olds, kind of filling time until they would be more ready to start SOTW. We had a lot of fun, and *I* learned a lot! The kids have retained more than I expected, especially as far as map locations. The cooking & crafts were a big hit, and we did a lapbook too with one "book" per continent (except Asia got a few because it was first and I didn't have a plan yet). I think it really gave my 5yo a frame of reference going into history now - today she was doing the SOTW map of the fertile crescent, and asked where it was in relation to Egypt (which has a corner in that map). We didn't do ALL of GTG, just chose enough countries for about 2 weeks per continent, but you could use it for anything from 3 months to 2 years.

We're on the southwest side.

I was just reading a few, and have looked at the handipoints site posted by someone here, but my dc don't really have "regular" chores. They are responsible for lots of things, but on an as-needed basis. As in, "you made a mess of crumbs, go vacuum under the table" or "clean laundry is in your room, put it in your dresser by bedtime." Nothing really happens on a strict weekly basis, and daily chores are so small they're not worth charting or managing (clear your place after eating or pick up your toys before dinner). Am I the only one? Talking to my IRL friends, I feel like I really make my kids work, but hearing about all of the fancy systems (index cards & monthly charts) around here makes me wonder if there's more to it. :)

If you have video capability, 60-second Science is a lot of fun, and my kids like the Friday Night Family podcast from They Might Be Giants (mostly stuff from their soon to be out DVD). Both are free and short. I've found mostly longer (30 or 60 min) podcasts that I just don't have time to listen to, so that can be frustrating.

We started when K asked. I guess it's 1st grade, based on my math & history/science programs, but she's 5. Her printing was legible, and I didn't want to discourage her. She gets frustrated & angry because it doesn't come easily right away, but when she sticks with it she does great. We're not using a "program" because I couldn't find one I liked (didn't use one to learn to print either). I did borrow a friend's Abeka teacher manual to see what order they teach the letters, because many groups of letters are made with similar strokes, and I kind of based my approach on that with practice pages I made up.