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momto7

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Everything posted by momto7

  1. I found Biblioplan for the first time last year, and we're doing it again this year. We purchased a couple of spines and SOTW, but pretty much everything else comes from the library. This makes it very economical for our large family. It's also very simple to switch out books that aren't readily available. I will confess that last year was the first time in our homeschooling journey that we've been able to do history consistently.:blush: It was very simple to just keep going, even with some major roadblocks in our year. One thing we tried new this year was adding the SOTW Activity Guide. My dh actually purchased it by mistake, but it's been a great addition to our year. (BTW, I had the AG binding cut off and 3-hole punched at Office Max. Sooooo much easier to use!)
  2. I "ditto" the above info. If you go to the CHEO website (Christian Homeschoolers of Ohio), they have very helpful forms you can print off. Also, we've found it pretty simple around here to find a teacher to review portfolios, and they just sign a paper saying the student is working at their ability.
  3. Our dd5 had several shorts outfits passed her way with "hiney writing." They make wonderful pj's!
  4. "Taking Chance" with Kevin Bacon! It's an HBO movie we came across at Redbox. It depicts the honor bestowed upon our war dead, and is a must-see no matter where your political opinions are. It's a true story based on the journal of a Marine colonel who escorts a fallen Marine home. Little talking, 1 swear word (contextually appropriate), no gore, appropriate for ages 10+, and very moving. Keep the tissues close by.
  5. I like to call it "Kindergarden-in-15-Minutes-A-Day!" We do it 5 days a week, and she's the first one I work with because, honestly, I would otherwise forget.:blushing: This is year 9 of our homeschooling adventure, and as #6 starts K, I've learned that math, reading, and handwriting are all it takes for seatwork. With lots of older sibs, she gets read to daily, and she just hangs out in the schoolroom quite a bit during other lessons. (Small rant: Our local PS just went to all day/every day kindergarden. My little 5yo would poop-out by lunch! I feel so bad for the littlest kiddos in those buildings from 8:55am to 3:30pm. Is kindergarten so difficult now that it takes 6 1/2 hours a day to teach it? YIKES!!!)
  6. We have friends with 10 children, and they all start with "J." I have enough trouble getting around to the name I want already. If they all started with the same letter, I'd just sound like I have a profound stutter! Our theme is simple: 1. They are classic, timeless names. 2. They are long names. 3. They are gender-specific when you hear them. All of the names have a family connection as well. I think it's important for people to feel connected to their past in some way. My dad chose my name, and can I tell you how much I despise the song, "Carrie Ann, what's your game now? Can anybody play?" (Herman and the Hermits, 1969ish. Uugh!!!:thumbdown: At least he changed the spelling to "Kari.")
  7. Another vote for A Reason for Handwriting. This is our 9th year of HSing, and I'm embarassed to say handwriting was a major area of neglect for far too long. We started using this a few years ago and have stuck with it since. I find the lessons to be short (VERY important for little folks!) and the children LOVE having a border sheet at the end of the week to showcase their best work. They usually give them away to someone they feel would be blessed by the Bible verse.
  8. We used Biblioplan this past year. It's simply a reading plan that moves chronologically through history, includes living book suggestions for each age group as well as good family read-alouds. SOTW is one of the resources and we purchased the AG as well. I've found it to be clean, simple, and inexpensive.
  9. I just discovered this in September and am hooked! Because it has such a low tannin content, it never gets bitter. A little honey to sweeten it and I'm ready to go. (Love it that it's naturally caffeine-free, too.)
  10. My aunt and I had an argument when I was 35 about the spelling of my name. "Are you sure it's not spelled K-E-R-I?" "I know how to spell my own name. It's with an 'A.'" "Oh... I like it better with an 'E.'" Thanks, Dad.
  11. 18. But 9 of that is just us, so I don't feel like it's a lot. We're hosting our immediate family here, but usually go to my aunt's where we have about 60! She's very disappointed there will only be 40 there this year. :001_huh:
  12. Congratulations, Marie! We had three girls before our 1st boy. What a change! I'd recommend getting Dr. Dobson's book Bringing up Boys just so you recognize that all those wild differences are normal. What an eye-opener for me! Anyway, enjoy your new little guy (if you can get him away from his 5 other mommys)!

  13. So, how much longer, or did you already have your baby?

  14. Marie,

    I just read your post about seeing Becky McDonald. Were you at the ladies' retreat at Scioto Hills, too?! Becky's messages were fantastic, and really got me to understand the responsibility I have to my own daughters to teach them of their pricelessness.

     

    If you were at Scioto, I was the really tall brunette with crazy-curly hair and dark-framed glasses.

     

    Thanks for adding me to your friends.

    Kari

  15. I'm often asked why we homeschool our children. The main reason for us was biblical conviction, but there are others as well. My husband is a police officer and was determined that "socialization" was going to take place on our terms! We also felt that a private Christian school would not be wise stewardship of our limited resources. And after getting to know some hs families at our church, we really liked what we saw in these children. As a bonus, we knew we could give them an excellent education if the public school system wasn't in the way. So, since this is such a diverse group, I was just curious about how you got here.
  16. Not in our state (Ohio) you don't. It's just for fun around here. When we first started 7 years ago, I joked and said I wanted signs for the side of our van with the name "The W**n Reformatory for Wayward Students." I later realized it's a great conversation starter for witnessing and discussing our reasons for homeschooling. A friend of ours had signs made about a year ago and I love them! Too bad they humiliate the older children, so we've only used them once. You would not believe the looks we got from people. Either they thought we were serious (and therefore mean), or they couldn't take a joke. :) We've been thinking of changing it, though, to Brick Shoe Academy after my blog. Long story short: I tell people I'm the old woman who lives in a shoe, and our house is brick. Maybe that name won't embarass the kids...
  17. I spent a good couple of months hauling around TOG a friend had loaned me. I loved the idea, but couldn't justify the cost if I couldn't commit to all of it. Biblioplan was a more economical way for me to approach the literature-based history I wanted and still keep everyone in the same general time period. With 5 "official" students this year, that was a MUST! Our local library has most of the books on the list, and what they didn't have is generally available through intra-library loan. So, I think the reading list is quite accessible. I notice your oldest is 10th grade. Did you know they have a HS supplement available, too? Overall, I'm very pleased with what I've gotten. It's a concise reading list with good selections. (I don't do well with too many choices. I tend to be very indecisive. :confused1: ) This has kept us on track without feeling like I'm not getting to everything. Good luck with the decision-making. The best part about homeschooling is that you're not bound to anything that isn't working for you. Isn't that great?!
  18. I, too, have been at Ambleside quite a bit this summer. We looked into TOG, but I wasn't sure I could justify the cost because it was so different from what we had been doing that I was afraid I'd give up. Instead, I puchased Biblioplan which gives me a reading plan for all children and keeps us in the same time period. One reviewer described it as "TOG streamlined." Just what I was looking for. We are incorporating much of the Charlotte Mason approach into our year. The schedule models on Ambleside work really well with Biblioplan. It wasn't hard at all for me to mesh the two. Another place to look is here. She has tons of info on how to schedule almost anything in a CM style. Good luck!
  19. With nine of us, the shoe pile grows to enormous heights in no time. I recently put up an inexpensive 3-shelf shoe rack right inside the front door. It's not pretty by any means, but 18 shoes neatly lined up looks a lot better than a big sloppy mound of them. We also have a "shoe bench" where we keep other shoes that aren't currently being worn as often. That bench is in an adjoining room. A hint: we keep a heavy rubber-backed mat inside the front door (similar to the kind you'd find right inside a grocery store, only smaller) so we can kick off wet/muddy shoes right away. This saves so much clean-up!
  20. ~Poor grammar! "I seen" makes me choke! ~Schools who whine they don't have enough money to educate the children. In our district they get about $9,000 per child. If I had $9,000 a year per child to use, we'd be learning Roman history from Rome! And anyone who dares speak out against a levy is labeled "anti-children." Really? Why don't you tell my 7 children (whom we educate at our own expense while still paying school taxes) that we are "anti-children." The way I look at it, as homeschoolers, we're saving the taxpayers in our community thousands of dollars a year. Sorry! My hands are shaking just typing that one! ~Idiotic children's programming. First let me say that I let my dc watch for a long time. After giving it some serious thought, I realized they give children NO credit for being thoughtful and intelligent! Of course the children like it, but it's like choosing to feed them cotton candy instead of something truly nutritious that also tastes great! I have to go have a cup of tea now so I can calm down...
  21. Sorry about the typo! Yes, today is the 7th, and the last day to comment is tomorrow, August 8. I edited my original post. I just get all excited about things and forget what day it is! (Maybe I'm wishing it was Friday :)) As far as being specific about the names of families you might know in Ohio, I'm not sure. It would seem to be very difficult for them to match up out-of-state comments with hsing families. On the other hand, in the interest of honesty, it wouldn't do for someone to pose as an out-of-state stakeholder if they genuinely aren't. Thanks for passing along this vital information. I'm not sure that HSLDA got on to it. I got it from the CHEO (Christian Home Educators of Ohio) conference and website. http://www.cheohome.org
  22. The Ohio State Board of Education is reviewing the Homeschool rules for the first time in almost 20 years! Friday is the last day for "stakeholders" to make their voices heard on the website. A "stakeholder" is anyone who who has an interest (parent, student, grandparent, teacher, etc.) in the homeschool scene. Out-of-state comments are accepted only if the individual personally knows a homeschooler in Ohio. Go to http://www.ohiohsalert.org and they provide a link to the State Board of Education to leave a comment. The deadline for leaving comments is FRIDAY (August 8)! This is NOT the time to request change to the current regulations, but rather to insist that they remain unchanged. Please remember to be kind! We want to make sure they know that homeschoolers are confident, capable, and considerate. Many thanks! Kari
  23. We needed an inside/outside dog that could play vigorously with the children, be inside, survive in a city-sized yard, cuddle on the furniture, and not have a lot of health issues that often come with a "breed" dog. Rat terriers can take a lot of stimulation, are good guard dogs (will bark like mad when someone comes around, but they settle down pretty quickly), love to play, have short hair, and have not been over-bred, so they tend to be a very hardy breed. They can also live for 15 years. Ours is a beautiful black and white version with a lean body line and long legs. At 3 years old, he is about 15lbs.
  24. I've learned a few very valuable things in the last 17 years that I wish I'd learned early on: 1. Just because he's not talking about it doesn't mean he's not thinking about it. (This one is HUGE, and really cuts down on the nagging!) 2. There's more than one way to do most things. Therefore, my way is not always the (gasp!) only way. 3. "One flesh" is a reality. Anything that hurts one of us, hurts the other. 4. Telling him "Thank you" for the way he takes care of our family and how proud I am of him, goes a long way toward encouraging him to grow and continue to make good decisions. And I must agree with the posts about eliminating the divorce option. When it's not an option, we have the choice to live in misery or work to make it through the tough times and come out even better on the other side. Giving up robs people of the joy and satisfaction that can come from a lifelong commitment. Besides, at this point, I don't have the time or energy to re-train someone else to accomodate all my quirks.:)
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