I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy. It was hard to change my eating habits, but I was able to do it as my baby's health was at stake! Your nutritionist will help you figure out exactly what you need to do. I was nervous and knew nothing about what to do/ask, but they helped me figure everything out. I had a certain number of servings of protein and carbs to eat at each meal and snacks, and had to check my blood every two hours. That was the part that made me really scared, but it wasn't as big of a deal as I had thought it would be. A pain in the behind, yes, but not scary. I figured out pretty quickly what types of things counted for a serving of protein/carb and then typically ate similar things for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and evening snack. Dinner I was a little more relaxed--I ate a small serving of whatever I made for the family and made sure to serve lots of vegetables. I ate lots of whole wheat bread with peanut butter (carb + protein), cottage cheese w/tomatoes, scrambled eggs, cheese sticks, and my favorite two things to eat were strawberries and cantaloupe. The hardest thing for me was when we went to events or gatherings--I had never noticed how there are ALWAYS yummy things to eat and suddenly I couldn't have any and I really wanted them! Good luck with figuring things out! You can do it! :grouphug:

I think it all depends on the child. Imo, the problems would come if a parent is pushing a young child to learn to read before s/he is ready or one who has no interest in letters. My kids have all been early readers--yet still different in how their interest was. My oldest spontaneously started reading--I never taught him directly, simply read lots of books, played lots of letter games...I didn't really know what I was doing/not doing, if that makes any sense. He just figured it out. My next two weren't as interested in letters/reading as young, but when they were 4/5, we started using starfall (I had gotten their printed materials back when they first started and it was free) and just progressed through that. They are all terrific readers, love to read, are doing great with reading years later. Now, my youngest, dd3, is just in love with letters. That is what she wants to do ALL the time--now she is sounding out 3 letter words, she loves to write letters, copy words, have 'spelling tests', be just like the older kids. I'm sure that when others see what she is doing, they wonder what my problem is, why on earth I would teach her so young. She really does love flashcards--and begs me to do them with her. But I would NEVER do this with a child who wasn't completely into it, iykwm.

I'm making a variation of this family tree for my parents, inlaws, aunt, sister, sister-in-law using scrapbook paper, modpodge, 12x12 wood. I haven't finished my first one yet, but I'm making progress! They will cost around $6 each. http://suttongrace.blogspot.com/2009/09/family-tree-templates.html

Wow...I'd say you guys are awesome! Keep it up...good luck finishing! (Is there any way that the timing can be pushed back at all?) We are just starting to look at ideas for ds Eagle project...I think I'll keep your post in mind as he brainstorms & makes a decision! Anybody want to share some great Eagle Project ideas?

Maybe you could do piano lessons every OTHER week...that would cut the cost down to half.

So sorry you lost all of your hard work! You might find something helpful at this website: http://www.educationoasis.com/instruction/cm/choices.htm

:bigear: I'm having a similar struggle with my ds8. He loves reading nonfiction but it's like pulling teeth to get him to read a chapter book. Have you tried the 39 Clues series yet? Hardy Boys? I got the first one on CD to have ds follow along w/the book and he loved it. (Only now he says they are too long...) I think it's Christopher Brown that has a whole bunch of sports-related chapter books. (Certainly NOT quality literature...but high-interest types of books for reluctant readers, imo) Also wanted to add that sometimes if I read the first chapter aloud to him he gets more interested in the book and will finish it on his own.

I'm with you on this!

It might help to divide into smaller groups (perhaps based on age/ability)--especially for the math games part. What about doing jumping jacks while skip-counting? Or sit ups and count by fives? etc. Or finding some math facts music to dance to? You could do patterning--using colors of fruit loops, buttons, etc. The kids who understand more could have more of a challenge assigned, the youngers could just kinda play with it. Using gumdrops and toothpicks you could make geometric shapes They could make their own number books--on page 1, draw one object; the older kids could do higher numbers or multiples of ten. It might help to establish a routine of some kind that you follow each time--could help with the planning of it for you, too. For example, the first five minutes is spent reading a math storybook; then you do something physical; then you play a game/art project/craft; end with a fun type of worksheet (secret code or color by number type of thing) Good luck!

Maybe each time period could be a different colored card? Or on each card you could have several different categories--then the object of the game was to get one correct in each category (I think this is how Trivial Pursuit is played???) You could do places, people, dates, etc. Maybe they could try a few different formats--multiple choice, T/F It might take a little 'training' to get them to word things in such a way; kind of like training kids to write in complete sentences. Sounds like fun! Could be a marketable idea!

If you're just looking for something easy to keep them busy for a few minutes, I'd suggest keva planks...I haven't met a kid yet who can't resist joining in.

Hand Over Payments Everyone :D

I watch every tribute program I can; I re-live it by watching the news reports again; I read my journal entries from those days; I cry and cry. My dh thinks it's a bit weird, but I seriously feel this strong need to go through this every year--simply so I *remember* and never forget.

It will be okay! I know what it's like to have your heart full of the desire to homeschool, but not have it be reality. Really, I get it. :grouphug: I agree with the comment to 'brown-nose' the teacher a bit...by saying wonderful things about as much as you can. Then ask if there is anything you can do to help. Then I find it helpful to play dumb & let her think she knows a lot more than me (even if she doesn't...)...Hmm, little Susie seems to know all of her spelling words at the pretest...do you have any ideas of something we can do to challenge her a little bit more? As far as the first few days of going over rules and routines...I can see how it would seem pointless and a waste of time to you...but think of herding cats. That's what it's like...if you have a classroom full of kids going all different directions all the time...she won't be able to get any teaching done. Establishing routine right at the beginning is actually a VERY good thing, imo. Of course, it takes a little time in the beginning, but in the long run, it means the class will be more structured and the teacher will be more able to TEACH rather than herd cats all day. :D

My dd11 loves Penelope. I'd never seen it advertised, but a friend let us borrow it. It's about a young woman born with a pig nose...and her family hides her away...and her mom spends her days trying to find a young man to fall in love with her despite the nose.

Dh and I have decided we're going to really focus on giving this year--giving from the heart. One thing we are trying this year is to give homemade gifts to one another. It seems that with our kids we tend to take them to the store, let them pick something out for each other under a certain budget, pay for it, they wrap it up, and it means hardly anything to them. We've tried having them earn money to pay for the gifts they give, but it doesn't always work out well either. Our idea this year is to have each child make something for the other kids, M&D, and grandparents. We'll help with ideas, how-to's, and help with the purchasing of materials. We want it to be something that will take a little time and be useful and be meaningful. The kids don't know this yet and I'm not so sure how excited they'll be at first, but we're hoping they catch the vision of giving from the heart rather than focusing so much on the 'gimmes' and 'gotchas'.

Grease...I remember singing into a hairbrush all the words to every song and dancing around the living room (looking into the full-wall of mirror tiles), pretending I was Sandy. I think I had the movie memorized I watched it so often. And now as an adult I am totally shocked that my parents allowed it. Of course, I was so clueless I didn't get hardly anything that was going on...

My parents gave dd3 some of those for her birthday and she loves them! More surprisingly, the other kids couldn't stay away from them either-even ds13 loved playing with them.

That's my problem! I *love* to see all those casseroles in the freezer and hate to see them disappear! :D It helps to take a picture first!

If *I* were at your meeting, I'd love to hear what a typical day of homeschooling is like for you and perhaps a little bit about some of the different curriculum possibilities out there.

Make it your sandwich night--my kids *love* what we call Monster Sandwiches (french bread w/meat, veggies--sliced into smaller portions); egg salad sandwiches; BLT sandwiches; chicken salad wraps; tacos; meatball sandwiches; sloppy joes Then add the pasta salad and some fruit and your done!

Great job! I love seeing the pictures. I *love* when my freezer is full! Would you mind sharing some recipes of the things you did? Did you cook your pizzas first? or are they ready to be cooked?

I just found a website that has some links to great engineering and science activities. I realize I'm the one who started the thread, so I'm answering my own question...but maybe someone out there would be interested in checking this out: http://content.asce.org/asceville/resources.html#educators There are ideas from DesignSquad and BuildingBig, apparently two shows from pbs that I know nothing about...but I love how they have these activity guides all laid out and I just need to print them up, gather the supplies, and let the kids have at it.

Ooohh..these look like a lot of fun. Do you order straight from this website or can you get them other places? Thanks!

Thanks! This website has a lot of great ideas.