praying

My son, the baby boy left Monday morning for USMC boot camp. He won't be 18 until next month but this has been his dream since 6th grade. He joined last summer and has been in the delayed entry program preparing to go. He graduated from high school on 5/23 and then left Monday. My heart is breaking. Yes, my other kids are still here but I am having a very hard time with this. We prepare our kids to be on their own but the finality of this is just crushing me. I think it would be different if he had left to go to college because I'd know he would be back or if he moved into an apartment across town. But the thought that my son walked out the door at 3am this past Monday as a 17 year old and will never actually be home for good again is really almost more than I can take. How have you all handled this?

I have been rereading the early years section of TWTM and luckily I have several of the books mentioned as read alouds and lots of other books too. Just didn't have the heart to get rid of them after the boys got older. I found Stuart Little, The Book of Dragons, Mr. Popper's Penguins, The Little Princess, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins along with the Narnia series. I'm not sure which ones to start with. My experience has been with boys. My daughter is a girlie girl but loves dragons and other things because of her brothers. So, what are some of your favorites for 5 year old girls? They can be picture books or not. Doesn't matter. My daughter does not like Fancy Nancy so I'll be getting rid of all of those. She did enjoy them but not any more. I'm thinking a few picture books but more of the longer read alouds.

Thank you all for the responses. It has given me lots to think about. I am rereading TWTM sections for K & 1st again. I also just got The Core by Leigh Bortins. I am going to pull out the VP Phonics Museum to restart, go with the Calvert Math and spend lots of time reading aloud, etc. We will start CC in the fall and try hard not to feel like I need to add lots of things to that. :)

I mean they hated Latin, thrived on workbooks, traditional school in the box kind of things, online schooling, etc. I did have one son that enjoyed reading so he used some Sonlight cores. Mostly, they just wanted to get school over with. By the time I read TWTM they were pretty set in their ways and enjoyed (as much as one can enjoy school) the way they were doing it already. I tried and did make subtle changes but never went fully into the classical method with them. If I had found TWTM before I started schooling them it probably would have been different.

My daughter is very comfortable with letters and sounds. She can read CVC words and is an eager learner. I don't remember exactly what lesson we left off, it has been a while but we haven't gotten to the first book. She does still enjoy the songs, etc. I am leaning toward that but I need to decide on math. Since I have McRuffy and Calvert it can go either way. Calvert starts simple enough that she wouldn't be lost. The main reason I was thinking about going back to finish one of the K programs would be to build back up doing it routinely but honestly, Calvert starts with what should be a review of K. But, Calvert is slower in the early years so she'd probably get the same in Calvert first as she'd get in either McRuffy or Veritas K. Ugh, you'd think I wouldn't need advice with boys as old as mine. This starting over is harder than I thought.

Funny thing is that I have read TWTM, twice. The biggest problem with my sons is that they were older when I brought them home and they had several years of school experience. They had no interest in classical.

I have loved classical education for a long time and have half way done it at times. I really wanted to start my daughter, and last homeschooler, off right. I have, yet again, over bought and under used. I have these programs: Calvert 1st complete - can't return because it is out of time period for refund McRuffy Math & Phonics K - used about 1/4 way through VP Phonics Museum K - used about 50 lessons I started doing school with my 4.5 year old last fall using McRuffy, then VP, then McRuffy. Then my parents moved here in November and I became caretaker. They ended up living IN our house while their guest house was being built. School was hit & miss but that was okay because she was just 4. My dad, who has ALS, fell and broke his hip in April and is still in the VA. Hopefully he'll be home in about a month. We haven't touched the books since then. I decided I may need to go boxed so I gave the Calvert placement test and bought 1st to use this fall. Since then I've found a new CC community and have joined for the year. I *really* want to do classical ed with my daughter. Now, I have all of this and need to decide what to use to complete our school along with CC. I have some ideas: Finish McRuffys K and then go on to 1st or reevaluate then - these were ok. OR Finish Phonics Museum with either Calvert 1st or McRuffy K math - We did enjoy Phonics Museum while doing it. OR Use Calvert 1st for Phonics/Reading and Math and skip the other stuff My daughter turned 5 in January so I will be registering her with the county this summer and we actually have to do school, YKIM? Thoughts or suggestions please. I should have all this figured out by now but it has been forever since I have done early grades and we used Alpha Omega way back when. I know I don't want to do that again! For the other subjects we will be expanding a little on CC.

Thanks so much!!

I have found several blogs about CC with some ideas for cycle 3 but no info on SOTW.

It seems SOTW3 & 4 will go with it. Anyone know how that will work?

Tiffany (little blue box) blue. I have white furniture and black/white bedding.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel this year, too much going on. Calvert 1st grade She'll still be doing cheer so that will be PE Enrichment class once a week at a local homeschool co-op

I'm only homeschooling one child. I bought Calvert 1st for my daughter and that was $900. She will do classes at a homeschool enrichment center so that will be another several hundred for next year.

My 5 year old daughter has been wanting to learn but she just didn't get it. Today we went to a shoe tying class at Nordstrom. It was great, they have these cardstock things shaped like shoes with a lace that is different colors on each end. They teach the bunny method and my daughter got it in the 30 minute class. They get a certificate to take home, a little goody bag and it is free! Check your local Nordstrom for dates. They said it happens once a month.

My daughter will be 5.5 when we start 1st. She is currently doing McRuffy K phonics and math. I like it but am not so in love that we'll continue. That is an option but I'm also looking for other programs that will cover most of everything needed. It needs to be inexpensive if possible. That never was much of an issue before but money is really tight. So, MFW for 1st grade? If I do that, I need to add math right? Or is the Complete Book of Math they include in the deluxe package really enough? I have considered doing McRuffy math & phonics, SOTW and maybe FLL. Any thoughts on combining those? Oak Meadow 1st? I like the looks but am concerned about the lack of detailed plans, and it seems a little too free spirited to me.

Where can I find a good calendar for our school room?

My daughter will just be 5.5 this summer but we have been slowly working on McRuffy K Math & Phonics. We will be done by then. I have only done those two things this year but want to add more in the fall. What do you all suggest that would be interesting, sort of fun and age appropriate? Thanks,

If you have a second mortgage, deed in lieu of foreclosure is very difficult if not impossible.

I was a travel agent for 10 years back in the late 80s to late 90s. I have been contacted about getting back into the business but working from home as a Disney Specialist. I would love it but I know it would take time to build up clients. So, if you do work from home - do you find it difficult to juggle?

Gracie's 5th birthday party is coming up! We're having it at the Playmobil Castle and her chosen theme is "Once Upon a Time" which is fairies and unicorns, etc. Of course she wants a princess cake so we're tying it all in! LOL Playmobil includes goody bags but I'm sure they're cheesy. I'm going by there tomorrow to see what is included but I wanted to get something special. So, pink plastic wand that makes noise? http://www.birthdayexpress.com/Fair...ItemDetail.aspx Bubble wands? http://www.birthdayexpress.com/Pink...ItemDetail.aspx OR something a little nicer and more unique... fairy dust??! http://www.myfancyprincess.com/fair...ust-bottle.html I need to order ASAP!

And used it only to teach your kids to read? Did it work? Did you enjoy it? I'd love to hear about it?

We put ours up Thanksgiving weekend most of the time. I can't stand it up after Christmas so it comes down on the 26th. I've been known to take it down the evening of the 25th. When it is over, it is over. LOL

I'm so glad to read that many little girls love Playmobil! I am getting her the magic castle and some things to go with it. She will need some knights and a dragon too. She loves knights and wants to be a princess knight when she grows up. I am considering have her birthday at the Playmobil castle Fun Park. My sons loved going there when they were little. It may be a fun party. :)

My sons adored it when they were younger. They actually kept a couple of things though they never play with it. I'm considering giving the Magic Castle to my daughter for her 5th birthday. I wonder if Playmobil will be as big of a hit with her as it was with her brothers.