My son just can't take another year of rod and staff. I'm thinking if switching the either shurley grammar or easy grammar. He is doing rod and staff 3 right now. Could I move straight into 4, or do I need to do some catchup work?

What exactly is the common core?

I am looking into singapore for my k/1st grader. THe website completely overwhelms me. So much to choose from!! What is a must? Which manipulatives do I need? I'm not sure why they sell them in pieces when I'll need a whole set? Any help would be appreciated! Jessica

Do you need the cd rom for singapore? I was learning towards singapore, but the website completely overwhelmed me! jessica

My daughter has a late birthday and is going to be 6 in November. She is halfway through K but not quite ready for 1st grade yet. She can count to 1,000, count by 2's, 5's, 10's, and 20's. What math would you recommend for a very hand on type child? Please no saxon...I used that with my oldest and HATED it. Jessica

I have a rising k/1st grader. She is well over half-way through on math in K, but not quite ready for 1st grade. She will be 6 in November and we've not pushed much. I'm looking for a math and McRuffy caught my eye. My son used saxon and we both cried everyday! We finally switched to teaching textbooks and its been all roses ever since. Tell me your opinion on McRuffy math! Jessica

I do things out of principle. So, for me, I would not pay for those books. I know its only .76 more...but she didn't list that upfront.

So let me start by saying I HATE saxon! HATE IT! I did it my 7 year old and we both hated it. He's doing teaching textbooks now and is doing great! However, my dd5 is to young for that. I've looked at MUS and I must be totally stupid because it makes NO sense to me at all! Seems like it makes math far more complicated. Any other suggestions? My dd is very dingy. Very social, athletic, sweet...but so very dingy! I think she will do best with as much hands on as possible to help her understand the concepts. She'll likely excel in the science and history world and struggle with math...which is a total opposite of my son! So, sell me on your math program for you k'er and why! I don't want just a workbook from walmart. I want something she can continue to use and grow with. Thanks! Jessica

I was looking at this today and wondering the same! ANYONE OUT THERE??

IEW looks amazing...but it totally overwhelmed me when I saw it at a convention. Is it really that difficult to get the hang of it? JEssica

IT doesn't seem that my 2nd grader (age 7) is getting much writing in. Am I supposed to be adding anything to the Rod and Staff grammar? Jessica

Yea...I usually just lurk here and never thought about my siggy! HA! I'll attempt to update it. I have called the pedi, but haven't heard back. I'll call again this morning. Thanks :)

I need some input here. My paranoia tends to get me going crazy, and the dr hasn't called me back. Hannah is 5. She's very dingy, lovable, and such a sweet girl. I mention she is dingy because sometimes I just don't know why she does what she does! 2 weeks ago she came in the living room and said something weird had happened. She said she just started shaking and it knocked over her picnic basket that was in her hand. I asked if she did it on purpose and she said no, but Micah (who is 18 months) was so loud that she couldn't stand it anymore. I kept a close eye on her, but she was fine after all that. My friend, who is an RN at childrens hospital, said it wasn't a seizure or she wouldn't remember it. So, this morning she wakes up and says she's dizzy. Of course, this was after she was told to clean her room. Well, she turned to walk to her room, and ran into the wall. About 10 minutes later she said she didn't understand why she was so dizzy because she didn't even turn around in circles. I made her sit down for a few minutes, and then she was fine. Just now, she covered her ears and said that her brother (the 18 month old) was so loud and hurting her ears. She's never complained on this before the first time a few weeks ago when she started shaking, as she put it. So...what do you think? Chiari Malformation does run in the family. My husbands sister was diagnosed with it as an adult. DR's here seem to dismiss us as patients because we don't vaccinate, so we see a new dr every time she's sick. Sucks, but nothing I can do about it. Thoughts? Jessica

I called yesterday and they told me it would be out in November of 2012, but level 3 and 4 will be out within a year after that.

I filed last tuesday (so a week ago) with TT and my DD date was supposed to be tomorrow (2/15). The WMR says they have no info on me, so I called the IRS today and they said they have no record of anything being or even trying to be submitted. I have to turbo tax email that says it was accepted, but the IRS says they never accepted it. I'm starting to panic a bit! This has never happened before!

So I've not been following your story from the beginning so what I am going to suggest might not be possible at all! Do you have any money at all? We were in a bad spot a few years ago and had 18k, no job, 4 kids, and moved 5 hours to hope for a better job. We had the 18k because we sold a mobile home we had been given and fixed up. We bought a single wide trailer for 18k cash, and my husband went to a temp agency for work. Paid about $10 an hour, but in 3 years he's moved up a lot and we are breathing again. I'm in Alabama and it's a fairly cheap state. But, I know that you could find a single wide trailer for sale for about $8-10k. Some people in my area are so desperate to sell their trailer that they will do an owner financed thing. Any way possible for you to buy a mobile home?

My ds7 wants to study pirates. We have the treasure island book, but i'm wondering if any of you have done a lapbook on it? I'd love some ideas since i'm a newbie to lapbooks! Thanks!

I really like arbonne. They are a tad on the expensive side, but I like that its a natural product that doesn't have road kill in it!

We have quiet time for an hour after lunch during the first part of my toddler's nap. :iagree: I forgot to add that quiet time at my house is 2:30-4. I've taught my kids, and disciplined to reinforce that teaching, that we all need some down time. But, 3 of mine still nap! My 4, 3, and 1 year old would never make it without a nap! As I wrote out a tentative schedule for our school day this fall, I had originally slotted some one on one work with my oldest during that time. But as I thought about it, I really need that time to myself. I shuffled it around and he will be reading then instead. We can work around the littles during the morning. Bedtime is 7pm for the little guys and two nights a week dh takes oldest ds to karate and they are gone until after 9.

If I don't have my alone time every day I am a terrible mother. Really. I'm cranky, short tempered, and just a plain grouch. I don't want to do anything for anyone! I hate that feeling. So, I get up at 5. I do whatever I want for an hour, then at 6 I make my husbands breakfast and lunch, get laundry put up and then started, unload the dishwasher, and get my hubby out the door. Then I have from about 6:30 to almost 8 before my clan gets up. In that hour I usually get school work ready and check my to-do list and start the day! But, that 5am time is the ONLY time I can have alone time. My husband doesn't need it as much as I do, but he does take a long bath every morning and reads for his alone time. He's not cranky though if he doesn't get it! It sucked getting up at 5 in the beginning, but now I can't live without that time! Good Luck!

TEST AGAIN!! I want to know! LOL! No really...we have 4 kids and can't 'afford' the ones we have and i'd LOVE another one! Thankfully my baby is newly turned 1 and still nursing around the clock to keep af away :) Keep us updated...i'll be refreshing every 5 minutes!

I have a Medela lactina select. It's the blue hospital grade double electric pump. I've posted it on CL for $300, knowing it cost $750 new. I've had rude emails telling me its not worth more than $100 and then criticize me when I won't take their offer! I listed it expecting to come down to $250. Am I being unreasonable??

Oh, and I forgot to mention there are only about 3 piano tuners that we know of in this area.

We are in Birmingham, AL.

Thanks. Do you think we should offer to tune for free completely, or after a certain amount of their students call us?