My DD, 5-1/2, is just about to finish the Kindergarten math books. It looks like the first 3/4 of 1A is nothing new (?). Is it worthwhile to do all that review and work on speed??? It seems like an excessive amount of review to me, but I also don't want to rush things for her. Thanks to those of you who have been there already!

So far we love the biology course, level 1 from R.E.A.L. Science. They have a free sample of about 7 or 8 units so you can get a really good feeling for whether you like it or not.

Make your own bread (costs me $0.50/loaf for a 1-pound loaf) and other baked goods (I never make less than a quadruple recipe!). Beans! We like pintos, black, and chick peas. We od'd on lentils and split peas, so we're off those for a while. We have meat once a week (kosher meat is expensive; the cheapest chicken is $2.49/lb). We buy grains in 25-pound sacks. We bought a soy milk maker - the soy milk is delicious!!!!! Costs about $0.60/gallon. We use regular milk too, but we've cut our milk bill in half (6 in our family). We make our own jams. Keep every scrap of meat/bone for soups. We only eat in-season produce. We pick a lot of fruit in the summer and process it by jamming, drying, and juicing it. That's what comes to mind... There's interesting information at the USDA website. They have a guide to what families should expect to spend on groceries here. A family of 6, with kids the same ages as ours (4 kids 5 years and under), has budget ranges that look like this (I think I figured this out from July data, so probably more now!): Thrifty plan: $704/month Low-cost plan: $896/month Moderate plan: $1,089/month Liberal plan: $1,343/month Pretty interesting stuff!

Someone asked my 5-year-old what grade she was in (she's on the tall side), and she promptly and earnestly replied, "Which subject?" I tried to stifle my giggles. The person we were talking to didn't know we homeschooled. I don't think we'll ever be pinned to a particular grade, just keep going with wherever we are in whatever subject we're doing. Right now, her skills run the gamut from Kindergarten level (reading/writing) to 4th/5th grade (science and oral comprehension). So... whatever! :lol:

I get a low point too, but just figure it's part of my rhythm. We eat well during the day and I (usually) get enough sleep. From 5:00-8:00, though, I'm pretty wiped out. At midnight I have to convince myself to get to bed! Could go for a couple more hours (and sometimes do... OOPS!).

My daughter is REALLY into science... she's 5-1/2 but has about a 4th-5th grade understanding of biology and high oral comprehension skills. We have been using the large free sample Pandia Press is offering on their biology course. It's perfect for us, and we intend to buy it soon. Her writing/reading skills are K/1st so I just read most things to her and she responds verbally. The content is great.

For secular (45-60 minutes/day): reading writing math science/nature study 2x/week art projects, big one 1x/week, free choice the rest of the week music (3 of my daughter's friends join us), 1x/week For religious (60-90 minutes/day): Hebrew torah study prayer ethics/Jewish law holidays

I know the feeling... There are a few orthodox Jewish homeschoolers in our community but everyone but me outsources EVERYTHING. There's no one to confer with about what has worked or not with our Jewish studies. And I get so excited about figuring things out, and learning, and planning the next stages I practically jump up and down. And there's no one else here to do that with. :( Thank goodness for online sources of support!!!!!! We hope to homeschool all the way through, and for us it is definitely a lifestyle choice that we absolutely love. It has worked so well for us. I guess it's the different between doing something because you love it and doing something because it's the only alternative. Sigh...

Isn't that the truth!! Just yesterday I told my husband we should stop at the grocery store on our way somewhere just to pick up 2 or 3 things I can only get at one particular store. Then I told him to forget it; I'd just spend money. :)

I bake 4-6 weeks worth of bread/pita/challah at a time. It just gets bagged and stashed in the freezer. Keeps for a long time that way, and still tastes great.

One card game that has REALLY helped my 5-year-old get faster at figuring out 6 + ? = 8 is a game we call Fives. You play it just like Go Fish. We took the aces to 5s of 3 decks of cards. You can discard as a pair anything that adds up to 5. If you have a 3, you can say "Do you have a 2?" After mastering Fives, you can go to Sixes, Sevens, etc. We love playing it, and for her the number bonds for Fives now are pretty much mastered (after 5-6 games) and we're going to start Sixes this week. :)

We just use a really sharp serrated knife. When the bread is still warm, it is much harder to cut. After being in the fridge or freezer it dries out slightly and cutting is no problem, at least for the 2 recipes we regularly use!

Well, I can offer sympathy, but not much advice. It's TRICKY!!! My kids are 5, 3, 2, and 1. The 1-year-old only takes one nap around 2:00. This is not the best learning time for the two bigs. Basically, I start with an activity that involves everyone (we do alef bet/Hebrew alphabet). My daughter teaches the 2-year-old the same thing I'm doing with the 3-year-old. She's super with this! And the 2-year-old feels very special. We spend about 30 minutes doing that. Then everyone draws while I read torah stories. Then our puppets teach us Hebrew. That's the first hour. We have a little snack, then 2&3 go play upstairs while 5 does a little more Jewish study then English reading, Hebrew reading, writing, and math. That takes about 1.5 hours. The last half hour of that or so 2&3 watch a Jewish video (Uncle Moishy for those in the know :)) if they want to. Then it's lunch time! In the afternoons we do outings, art, music, science, etc., mostly all together. I'm really looking forward (logistically speaking) to when the youngest is 3. I think things will be a lot easier then. :)

I suppose it depends on what you disagree with! :001_smile:

We have an original 1995 Honda Odyssey. We bought it 3 years ago and love it, love it, love it. (And loved the $5K price!) We've had a few repairs to do - maybe $2K total, but it sure was a good deal even with that. Low insurance costs and everything. Keep it!!!! It should serve you well for a long time to come. And when you don't want it any more, call us. :lol:

LOL... when I saw the subject header I was thinking, um, "well-connected to reality???" :)

:hurray: Neither do I!!!!

There are lots of DA clips on Youtube. Do a search on his name... and look for the one about the lyre bird. Hilarious!!

And at passover time when Jews can't drink/eat corn products. Many grocery stores carry the sugar coke. :)

We LOVE broiling. We bbqd 1-2x/week and then our bbq gave out. After discovering the joys of broiling, we're never going to bother with a bbq again.:001_smile:

One coke is 3 carb servings. That's the TOTAL of how many I should have at one meal - just in one drink! Not good. I LOVE coke. We serve coke one night a week. One coke for myself and 3 of the kids. In shot glasses. ;) It's a great treat! (And no, there's no alcohol!) It is surprisingly satisfying this way.

DA has ruined me for any other narrator. We're huge fans. :thumbup:

We have breakfast night every Thursday night. Pancakes, omelets, french toast, eggs... Easy!!!! My favorite crock pot recipe is frozen (or not) chicken pieces, 1 cup rice, 1-1/2 cups water, 1/4 cup lemon juice. Just let it go all day. It's delicious. The rice comes out really creamy. Or the same combination baked in the oven with defrosted chicken. Tacos. I make a gigantic batch of refried beans every few months and keep it in quart-sized bags in the freezer. roasted veggie quesadillas pizza (I make crusts and keep in the freezer; I also pre-grate and freeze the cheese; sauce is just tomato paste, hot water, spices, and garlic) chicken baked w/garlic salt and carrots/potatoes egg drop soup (chicken broth, eggs, green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil) taco salad (beans, lettuce, cheese, veggies, chips, dressing (equal parts sugar, ketchup, oil, vinegar) smoothies - we have them for breakfast most days, and occasionally for dinner that's what comes to mind......

Shhhhhhhhhh! Don't say that out loud!:w00t:

That's why I LOVE the free group class I'm offering for my daughter and her friends. I really hope I can manage to continue that through their schooling, and offer the same to the younger siblings. We're having such a good time, and their music skills are rapidly developing. It's a dream job, for sure! :)