Thanks! These are great!

I've used it quite a bit. I wasn't sure when I purchased it that we would like it but it has been a wonderful resource. I use it to make all our copywork from FLL and other sources, too.

I am completely addicted to pens. I will definitely be checking this out! Thanks Laura!

I didn't plan to take off quite so much time, but I think we were off for about 2 months after the baby - and for about 2 months before he was born. I was too crabby during most of my last trimester to continue with school (trust me, this is the truth) and then after my c-section it took a while to feel up to even starting. I think you need to do what works for you. You may find you're ready to get back into some things, like math and reading, after a week or two. I would relax if you feel like it needs to be a bit longer, though, and keep it light at first. I planned on taking about 6 weeks so that I could have that time to rest. The c-section was a bit harder on me than I thought so I needed the extra time. I think if it had been a normal birth, though, I wouldn't have been out of the game for so long.

We love the bucket balance and use it a lot with the bears. That's a lot of fun. We like the AllLink cubes too, and ours have been pretty easy to use. We used them quite a bit in our math last year. I don't know about the Attribute Blocks, either, but I would really like some. :D The Where In the World game sounds like a lot of fun, but I haven't seen it.

Hi! I'm Beth, and I live in NC. I've been married to my wonderful dh for nearly 13 years, and we have 3 children: dd 7 (almost 8) dd6 (almost 7), and ds 4.5 months. :) This is our 3rd year homeschooling. I found TWTM and this board thanks to a fellow ballet mom, and I am forever grateful. I love the idea of a classical education, but our homeschool is a bit more relaxed than that. Right now we're using My Father's World, All About Spelling, First Language Lessons, WriteShop Primary (we're a testing family, it's really fun), and about to start Singapore math after much trial and error. I never thought we would homeschool, but when my oldest was ready for kindergarten, I just could not send her away. I am so happy we decided to homeschool! I love having the kids home, and am thrilled that the girlies are able to spend time and bond with their baby brother in a way that they could not if they were in school all day. :) I have learned so much from these boards - including how to bribe my children with chocolate to get them to read. :D I don't know what I would have done without all the wonderful, wise women here.

She was 6, and they walked her back into the OR w/o conscious sedation. I can't imagine they wouldn't give it to one as young as yours, though. She did all right with the general; just had a little nausea afterwards. She remrmbers that they gave her popsicles. :)

I found a bunch of books by Arthur Scott Bailey. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I love stories like this and can't wait to read them with my girlies!:):):):) http://manybooks.net/

Well, right now we're using a mix of a lot of things. I have My Father's World 1st grade for my 1st grader, and used the math and LA for my 2nd grader last year. I wanted to use the LA, Bible and science this year, but we just started with them after the holidays. Before that, we were using R&S 1st grade math, FLL, read-alouds, and I'd like to say something else but I can't remember what. I'm trying to add in All About Spelling and Drawing with Children in addition to the MFW stuff, FLL, and we've switched to Professor B math. I'm really tempted to switch to something boxed, though, because with the baby, I'm having a hard time getting it done using my own (lack of) a schedule. I thought it would be easy enough to go one subject at a time and just do each thing, but somehow, it's not been working that way.

This was my first board, and I loved being able to scroll down and see what everyone was up to. This feels compartmentalized and weird. But, although I resist change with every fiber of my being, I'm willing to learn the new format in the name of progress. :o And I'm having a good time playing with the smilies.

I'm sorry for all you've been through but delighted to hear you're on the road to recovery. Beth

I had it with all three of my pregnancies, and while it isn't as much fun as eating whatever you want, it's a healthy way to eat. You don't starve - you just learn how to get the most out of what you can eat. No need to stress about it. :)

So - we are trying to get back into school after the holidays, and add some things in that have been left out since having Schmooey. We were doing pretty well with what we were doing before Christmas, but with adding the new stuff in it feels like too much to me. It's probably a lack of planning on my part. However, the days just never go according to plan - there is always *something* that happens that prevents everything getting done. I've been looking at K12 - their curriculum looks good, and I'm wondering if I need something a bit more "in the box" and already planned out for me. MFW is great, and if I only had one with the 1st grade curriculum this year I think we'd be good, but trying to figure out what Emma needs to do as well is hard for me. I've added in FLL (instead of Primary Language Lessons) and All About Spelling (which isn't getting done). We're trying to do Professor B math, but I'm feeling like it's not planned out enough. Math is scaring me right now. When I look at how our days go, I feel like I could probably handle the baby and school, or the baby and the house - but not do all 3 well. The baby, clearly, is not optional. School should not be optional. I am having a hard time not letting the house get in the way of the school though. This gets easier, right? The baby isn't even mobile yet. Ack!!!

We are going to start using MFW 1 science, which my girls are really looking forward to. We're also going to start doing nature walks as per Charlotte Mason, and I am excited about that. I am looking into getting My World Science while it's still available, for science with a bit more to it. My girlies love science, and while I love most things about MFW, the science is a little light until you get to the point when you add Apologia.