Years ago, we were eating dinner at Friendly's and another family was walking out, past our table, and one of their children asked, "Can we go to Blockbuster and get a video?" And their mom answered, "No, it's a school night." My son, who was then 7 or 8, turned to me and asked, "What's a school night?" He was thoughtful for a moment and then commented, "They do school at *night* around here???" :lol:

My 14 year old and 8 year old are combining this year (the older one has special needs and he's working on a 7th grade level; my 8 year old is advanced and he's working on a 5th-6th grade level) We're using Sonlight Core 4 and The Trail Guide to US Geography for history and Sonlight Science 5 for science. They each have their own Language Arts, Math, and Art books.

My 17 year old -- around 6 hours a day - 5 days a week (that includes community college classes 2 days a week and homeschooling 3 days a week and homework for said college classes) My 14 year old -- around 5 hours a day - 5 days a week My 8 year old -- around 4 hours a day - 5 days a week My 6 year old -- around 2 hours a day - 5 days a week

Yes, it's normal!! If you're new to homeschooling, I would try to give your current curriculum at least a 6 week trial. If it's still not working, feel free to drop it and buy something else (you can save it for another child in your family or sell it here on the sale boards). During those 6 weeks, be sure to read the posts here and gather ideas. Ask for suggestions for curriculum and, now that you've had a few weeks of trying your current curriculum, you'll know what you don't want...if that makes sense. So you can say, "I'm looking for a ___ curriculum for ages __ to __, but I don't want anything that has ____ in it." You'll find many responses and suggestions, I'm sure!! Then, make a list .. order some catalogs...bookmark some webpages....and talk it over with your spouse ... if he has any input in the matter -- mine at least likes to know what I'm spending our money on :) .. before trying something else. For what it's worth, I've been doing this for 13 years and I totally revamped this year's curriculum after the first week. I've only done that once before, about 5 years ago, and my hubby was very understanding...he figures that I know what I'm doing and I know my kids and I know when something's working and when it isn't. Hope this helps!

I truly adore your perspective!!! :thumbup: We have one more preseason game that I forgot about. Thursday night vs Jacksonville. May we do better!!! :grouphug: for all the Washington fans!! :D

I've been reading all of these posts, but I haven't written one of my own yet. My oldest was completely vaxed and on time. She was hospitalized 5 times before her 2nd birthday for various illness, including pneumonia, and she had eartubes put in before her 3rd birthday. I was a stay-at-home mom, and she only played with one other little boy, about the same age as she was, and that wasn't on a daily basis. She's allergic to dairy, beef, eggs, fish and shellfish. My second was completely vaxed and on time. 5 days after his MMR vaccine (which he received at 15 months) he stopped talking. Completely. He was speaking in simple sentences at that point. When he did start talking again (3 years later) it was parroted / memorized speech (echolalia) and he was diagnosed with autism at 5. He's allergic to dairy, food dyes, pork, and beef. When he was diagnosed with autism, my 3rd child was 15 months old. He had already been vaccinated for everything but the MMR. We refused the MMR vaccine. He's been hospitalized numerous times; once for an entire week at Children's Hospital in Washington DC, where he almost died. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed when he was 3. He has numerous allergies: dairy, eggs, tree nuts, soy, and wheat. When our last one came along, we decided we were no longer vaccinating. Period. She's never received any vaccines. She IS, however, autistic.... So...did the vaccines play a role in my older son's autism? I have no idea. I know genetics play a role in autism. However...my daughter is the healthiest of my four children. She's never been hospitalized. Never been to the emergency room (except for one trip when she fell in the bathroom on a wet floor and needed two stitches). She's never needed antibiotics. And she's 6 1/2. If the family comes down with a stomach bug or flu or other cold, she recovers the fastest. She's never been 'under the weather' for more than 12 hours. All of my children were parented the same (breastfed for years with child-led weaning, natural foods, no day care, preschool or playgroups). I'm not offering an opinion one way or the other. Each family must make their own choice for themselves. I'm merely offering my own personal experience. Take what you will and leave the rest. :)

Awwww....what a cutie!!! Congrats again!

Congratulations!!! :party: Spoil him rotten!! That's in the Grandparents' Bill of Rights, ya know :D

I can relate to the isolation!!! We moved from an area where I had everything within a 10 minute drive! Movie theatre, bookstore, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, gourmet grocery store, etc., to .... well, let's just say that we have 4 -- count 'em! -- 4 stop lights, 2 convenience stores and ... not much else! I'm driving 30 minutes each way to do ANY shopping! Our neighborhood street, 2 miles long, isn't paved!! When it doesn't rain for awhile, it becomes a giant dustbowl. When it rains too much, it turns into a mud pit -- thankfully, we have 4wheel drive! There's no cable TV here .. or high speed internet. Now...how to make it fun for the kids?? (Hey, my kids LOVE it here -- I'M the one who still hasn't adjusted to it!! :D) First, my kids play outside ALOT! If you're in the boonies, make the most of it! Build them a treehouse or a playhouse. Let them explore the woods and the creek out back and get muddy. I have to keep an eye on my 6 year old, because she's autistic, but my other three are always out exploring. They've found many interesting things, like the remnants of an old house that used to stand out in the woods about 1/2 a mile from our house...they've found old hunting stands that hunters used to use for deer....they even found an old abandoned car in the woods. It's been back there for at least 30-40 years. My children have made some friends through sports - 17yo and 8yo are in Tae Kwon Do and have made many friends there -- it's a 15-20 minute drive, each way, 3 nights a week, but they love it. My 14yo plays baseball and has made friends on the team. And...(may I not be burned at the stake for the mere suggestion)...children don't need socialization! Back in colonial times, I can't see George Washington's mother driving her son in a horse-drawn carriage down 10 miles of bumpy, backwoods road so that little Georgie could play with someone his own age. There's a WONDERFUL book called "The Socialization Trap" by Rick Boyer. He talks about how we started homeschooling our children to protect them from the pitfalls of negative socialization (at least some folks did) ... then, we turn right around and re-create the same social groups that we left public school to avoid!! (He equates it with the Israelites begging to go back to Egypt when Moses was leading them through the desert) It's an incredible read!! I bought my 1st copy 10 years ago and I re-read it every year and it's just so wonderful!!!

:leaving: ..... In case you didn't know....the final score was Panthers 47 Redskins 3 Ouch Wish there was a smilie that shows someone wearing a paperbag over their head. Our next game is against the Superbowl Champion New York Giants! oh goodie ... :svengo:

I've made many changes since my first post! (And this is only week 2!) For my oldest son, I dropped Apologia Biology and BJU Geography. (He has special needs and even with serious modification, he just could not handle 9th grade textbooks!). I dropped SOTW Volume 4 for my 8 year old (we loved the first 3 volumes, but as soon as he saw that the coloring pages weren't there, he just wants to do Sonlight Core 4 w/o adding SOTW to it). I also dropped Apologia Zoology I (the flying creatures text) I decided to find something that both of my boys could do together, so I ordered the Trail Guide to US Geography and Sonlight Science 5 (because it deals with the human body for boys -- and, with my oldest son just starting into puberty, and having special needs, he could use a little more reassurance / reiteration of what's going to be happening to him and I think he'd understand it more if he could read about it rather than just hearing it from us -- we've already had 'the talk', but my husband and I could both tell that some of it wasn't quite registering!) What else? Oh! My oldest son was not getting the Life of Fred books. He really needed something with more repetition, and I found a complete set of Christian Light Education 7th grade math worktexts and he's using those - and loving it! I'm impressed by how deep they go at this grade! I couldn't believe all of the geometry! So....here's what my children are using: 17yo 12th grader - English (British Literature class at the community college) - Math (Lial's College Algebra and Trigonometry, supplemented with all the Life of Fred books - she's enjoying them!) - History (Psychology and Sociology classes at the community college) - Science (Apologia Marine Biology) - Art (Visual Manna's Master Drawing) - PE (Tae Kwon Do classes) 14yo "9th grader" (he's working on a 7th grade level, due to his special needs) - English (Natural Speller, Smarr's Introduction to Literature, Rod & Staff English 7) - Math (Christian Light Education 7) - History (Trail Guide to US Geography) - Science (Sonlight Science 5) - Art (Cathy Johnson's Sketching and Drawing) - PE (Baseball / Basketball - Little League Challengers / Special Olympics) 8yo 4th grader - English (Rod & Staff English 4, Natural Speller, Handwriting Without Tears Cursive Success) - Math (Teaching Textbooks Math 5) - History (Trail Guide to US Geography and Sonlight Core 4) - Science (Sonlight Science 5) - Art (How Great Thou Art's I Can Do All Things) - PE (Tae Kwon Do classes) 6yo 1st grader - English (Pathway Readers 1 w/ workbooks, Handwriting Without Tears My Printing Book) - Math (Abeka Math 1) - History (BJU Heritage Studies 1) - Science (BJU Science 1) - Art (Abeka Art Projects 1) - PE (Baseball - Little League Challengers / Gymnastics for Special Needs Children)

I want snow!!!!!! We haven't had a really good snowfall in at least 3 years!!!! As far as purchases go ... I would love a new refrigerator!! Our icemaker needs to be hit with a hammer at least once a week, so it'll continue to make ice! I've been drooling over this 26cf stainless steel, freezer on the bottom, french door refrigerator at Lowe's for 8 months now. But....alas ... my hubby says I don't need to pay $2600 for a new fridge when ours works fine (after you hit it with a hammer, that is) :glare:

College guy definitely needs money!!! Can never have enough of that! Or a gift card to a store that he'd have near campus (like Target) or a store that might have something he'd need for college classes (like Staples) or perhaps even one for electronics (like Best Buy), should he want a CD or a video to pass the time. My 14 year old also likes to receive gift cards so that he can shop for himself. He's still into Legos...but the really complex, intricate, $100+++ Legos!! Gone are the days when a generic bucket will do! Now it's the 3-million-piece / life-size replica of the Millenium Falcon that has him drooling! He loves art sets! They have some really nice ones at Michael's (an arts and crafts store) I'm thinking of getting him a telescope this year. Since we moved to the country, they're always amazed at how many stars they can see at night! Figure a telescope might come in handy. And we can't forget the video games. Always have to have one or two of those under the tree!

Mine won't have my oldest on it as a homeschooler!!!!! :sad: She's graduating this year!!!!! :crying:

I really enjoy watching the NCAA basketball tournament! We have a family pool going for that one, and the winner gets to eat at their favorite restaurant!!! (It's awesome...except for that year when our then 7 year old won and we were forced to go to Chuck E. Cheese!) I'm only into the Superbowl if the Redskins are in it (which hasn't happened in years) and the World Series if the Orioles are in it (which hasn't happened in decades) I like watching college football!!! So the bowl games are always great to watch around the holidays!!

Congratulations!!!!!! :party:

Continuing to pray here and hoping for great news from the doctors over the next few days!!! :grouphug:

I don't have any experience with Singapore, but my 8 year old is using TT Math 5 and loving it. (He used BJU Math prior to this...levels K through 4th) I'm almost wishing I'd gone with Math 6 because Math 5 is almost too easy for him....but I'm hoping that's just because it's the beginning of the book and that means 'built-in review'.

I can certainly relate!! My oldest is a senior this year and will be graduating. Out of my circle of friends whom I started on this homeschool journey with, 90% have put their children into school at some point along the way. We moved to another state 3 years ago and our local homeschool group doesn't have any children over the age of 12...so I'm having to drive 30 minutes to find a homeschool group with teenagers. I noticed it around middle school age and definitely by high school age. When their children hit 9th grade, they started dropping like flies. Some had husbands who wanted their children to go to high school for the 'social opportunities' and a few had children who wanted to go to high school for sports (Little League and other county teams end around the age of 12 or so). I also live in a rural area, so that makes it even harder!! But...it's made my children closer than they would be if they had a huge circle of friends and tons of outside activities. (As I type this, my 17 year old is in the basement playing with my 6 year old and our Thomas the Tank Engine trainset! :D)

I love R&S English!!! In my opinion, you don't need an extra writing program (unless your child wants to do more writing than what's required for R&S)

I have two children with special needs -- two different learning styles! My 14 year old needed something hands-on, so that he could "see" 1+2 = 3. We used Math-U-See for him and it was wonderful!! The Primer set is the first one you would order and I think it's $55 for the set plus the cost for a box of manipulative blocks (which you only have to buy once). And it runs through 12th grade; should it work for your child, you'd never have to leave the curriculum! My 6 year old, however, is a very visual learner. She loves colorful workbooks. She has severe language delays, so I didn't want to use anything that required a great deal of "language" on my part (for instance, she could never follow a Saxon math lesson which requires a great deal of scripted conversation). She used Abeka math for Kindergarten, and she's using Abeka again this year for 1st grade. It moves very quickly, however, so I'm aware that, at some point, it may become too much for her and I'll have to switch, but...for now, it's working! I purchased the workbook and the test and drill book for around $30 and I found a teacher's manual for $5 at a used book sale. Best wishes on your search!!

Since your little girl is young, I would start by ordering catalogs. Sonlight comes to mind, as it's our favorite! It's a Christian curriculum, however, it's not a "we're good and they're bad" type of Christian curriculum. It's not preach-y. They believe in exposing children to all philosophies and beliefs, including world religions, evolution, etc. There's a yahoo group for those who use Sonlight secularly. (I think it's called Sonlight Secular). I had a friend in an old homeschool group who was an athiest and happily using Sonlight....she just skipped the Bible section, which is sold separately. If she reached a book about missionaries or something she didn't want to read, she chose something else from the library or a classic children's book. Sonlight is a literature-based curriculum, so you and your child do alot of reading / reading aloud, etc. You could also research unit studies, if you think you'd like something hands-on. (I'm not an arts-and-crafts type of person, but some folks are!) You could request a catalog from Rainbow Resource. It's the size of a telephone book - I'm not kidding!! And packed with curriculum choices and descriptions. You could also find a homeschool group in your area, so you can get to know some of the moms and ask what they're using for curriculum...some have used book sales where you can actually see the curriculum in person, which is always nice! Search for a homeschool convention in your area (or state). Look for homeschooling books at your local library. (Btw...I enjoyed this stage! I started researching homeschooling when my oldest was 2 1/2. I joined a homeschool group before she was even 4. I felt like I knew what I was doing - for the most part! - when we finally started homeschooling preschool / Kindergarten). Happy researching!! :)

I heard that, too, but McCain's staff is denying it, but...who knows? I think he's supposed to make his announcement Friday.

I'm glad we were able to help!! Btw....here's a link to a web search. You fill out the form and check the appropriate boxes and it will tell you of any optometrists in your area who are developmental optometrists, as well as ones who do vision therapy (not all optometrists do this ... we had to drive 30 minutes to find one for our son) But you can click the boxes for 'reading problems' and 'developmental delays', and be sure to check 'yes' in the box that reads 'does this provider offer vision therapy?' http://www.optometrists.org/eye_doctors.html Please keep us posted!!!

This is something else to consider as well!!!! After my son was diagnosed with autism, I assumed that any and all learning problems were due to his autism -- which can be the case! But, with my son, he was still having trouble reading. I noticed it when he started reading books on a 4th grade level (real, true chapter books, if you understand me...the kind without a giant space between each sentence). So I asked him one day, "Do you have trouble reading?" He said, "Well...I do okay until the words fall off the paper and onto my lap." Yikes!!!!! So I found a developmental optometrist and took him in for an evaluation. He needed something called vision therapy. He had the tracking skills of a 4 year old (and he was 13!!). He was also found to be severely nearsighted, so he needed reading glass and bifocals (the bifocals help with the visual tracking). He completed 10 weeks of vision therapy and his reading improved 2-3 grade levels in 10 weeks (from a barely 4th grade to 6th / 7th grade). You'd have to see if your insurance would cover it...some do, some don't. If it isn't covered, it's expensive!! $2000 for 10 weeks. (But...you can always start with an evaluation by a developmental optometrist and see if she even needs it -- and the regular vision exam they do is always a good thing to do).