Have you checked into Mystery of History? It is Christian based , three volumes.

My boys really liked VeggieTales Very Silly Songs sing alongs, real cute and funny songs! They also loved Rack, Shack and Benny, Jonah and Larry Boy.

My mom and I have had our moments too. I try hard to love and honor her. I fail and so does she. But we pick ourselves up and talk it out and forgive each other. At one point we had to take a year break from each other. It is much better now. We have had many talks about what I need from her and what I have problems with. I like it when she expresses her "humble" opinion on occasion because sometimes I really need to hear what she is saying. But she can't force it on me. I won't allow her to disrespect my husband (that's why we needed the year break!). We can't have these talks in the heat of the moment, though. It has to be over a cup of coffee/tea after the kids go to bed or over the phone when we are both calm and in good moods. She did not have an easy life and I try to give her as much grace as I can within reason. She will always be my mom and she is my kids only living grandma. It's important and essential that she is in our lives. We disagree on a lot, she can be pessimistic, but I still love her a ton!

I don't know if there are any "rules" about when to do this. For my family I like to do it sometime between 3rd and 6th grade -- take out the state map and dive right in. :) We do field trips all over the state throughout the year.

I got mine last week. My last order from them was the end of August if that helps. Lots of fun stuff in there!

Thanks for the info. I did search for past posts and there were a bunch and should've started there! :001_smile:

Sorry, This post was meant for another thread. Guess I'm still learning the ropes!

I have a recipe to make my own laundry detergent out of Borax, Washing Soda, Fels Naptha bar soap and tap water. Cost is about $2 for 10 gallons. Also heard 1 part borax and 1 part baking soda makes a good dishwasher detergent. Has anyone had good/bad results with homemade detergent? I'm thinking over time this would be a great savings as long as it gets things clean. :)

Dental floss pulled straight down on both sides of the cheesecake and gently pulled out from the bottom of the cheese cake. Also make sure you don't use flavored floss!

My first two children were the same way -- my oldest struggled, while my younger child -- 3 years younger, picked it up with hardly any effort on my part. He sat on the floor working puzzles and listened while I taught his brother and picked it up. :) My biggest suggestion is pick one real good reading program and stick with it. My son finally got over the hump with Saxon Phonics Intervention, he was older. I wish I would have just stuck with one program -- but I jumped around looking for the "perfect" one and that probably delayed him more than helped him. I also would pick out books slightly under her reading level and have her read one book several times out loud to you and other family members to increase her fluency. Still have her read books at her reading level at other times so she is still challenged and not bored with the content.

Candyland, Memory, over sized floor puzzles, alphabet/number magnets

I have two boys who are built very differently. Our twelve year old, tall for his age and fairly strong, has been push mowing since he was about 10 -- the first summer with much instruction, supervision and small sections of the yard. This summer he was able to do it all on his own. Our nine year old, while he is responsible enough, is small for his age and not as strong -- he will most likely wait until he is able to physically handle the job, maybe a couple years, depending on his growth. I think it is important that responsibility, ability, and supervision all work together.

I'm on board!

Do you live close enough to one of the "wealthier" suburb libraries so you can get a library card from there and go a couple times a month?

My ds loves Draw Write Now and it also helps his handwriting! We always have a large supply of construction paper, large roll of paper from our local newspaper (they sell the ends of rolls for a coupl dollars and it lasts a long time -- it becomes our indoor sidewalk in the winter months) , computer paper, paint, markers, crayons, colored pencils, lots of tape, glue, clay etc. He also loves k'nex and smaller legos. Sometimes we'll check out art books from the library. Much of the time he just likes to create from his own imagination about what he is learning in Science and History.