We've accomplished that with nine children on less than $60,000 a year. It is tight, though, and a little more would make dental bills and household repairs more doable. We haven't been able to put anything aside for retirement. We tell the kids that we will just travel around visiting them for a couple of months each and then move on to the next. We suggest that they all live about a day's drive from each other:tongue_smilie:

We had to pay several hundred dollars for the emergency service when ds passed out and scared me nearly to death. They didn't do anything more than listen to his heart for a moment and talk to us. I took him to an after hours medical facility myself on their advice to save the ambulance charge. There are websites detailing the protocol for handling broken light bulbs....cutting out a square of your carpet and disposing of it in several taped layers of plastic bags got me.

My kids call it "High Ferocious Corn Syrup" and we stay clear of it and all its kin.

Make a game of it. Hand off some object like a hot potato (not really a hot potato, maybe a Potato Head or some other small toy or stuffed animal) each time someone uses a contraction. I am sure that you are all using them and you know what they mean. They are useful language shortcuts.

I was "born organized," but none of my family got that gene. :glare:

Our Costco membership more than pays for itself with the rebate we get each year on the American Express card. Milk, eggs, cheese, meats, laundry detergents, paper products, cat food, blue jeans, and produce are all less there. If you buy consumer electronics products there, Costco has an excellent return policy and doubles the warranty period. They replaced our overhead projector after two years with the current model and a one year old laptop that broke. They also mail out recall notices on products like tires and peanut butter. It is kinda spooky that they know what we buy. Our dd's insulin, test strips, and syringes are the best price there, too.

I mentioned "corn" in an earlier post. The changes that make me are angry are what scientists/bioengineers have done to make the kernals plumper and sweeter. Corn is not what is used to be! This sweet stuff they market and put into everything is loaded with sugar and has lost the taste of real corn. If one can grow their own from old-fashioned varieties it is better.

I didn't mean homeschooling exclusively , but learning in general. Mine beg to learn when they are little. E is so thrilled with every new discovery he actually thanks me. If I had sent him to preschool I am sure that he would think the teacher was the most wonderful person on earth if she shared all this info with him. (I never considered this option because why would I want to miss this?) My older students love it when I share a "math trick" with them or explain a phrase. It is so much fun teaching students that are (most of the time) happy to soak up learning.

I miss those lovely Liberty Florals that made up such pretty skirts and dresses. It was difficult to find florals for the girls' bridesmaid dresses three years ago. I ended up starching and ironing the wimpy cotton stuff that I had to use. The dresses were pretty enough, but the fabric choices are a big disappointment. I agree that most of what is offered is for crafters and home decoration not clothing. Dd went looking for fabric in Germany and found none. The ladies there don't sew at all she was told.

:iagree:

I love it when the children mention something they love about learning at home or just love about learning. Can I share this drawing E, 5, drew today and gave to me? http://brierywood.blogspot.com/

Nothing about OJ Simpson to hold up.

I'm just guessing here, but lots of casseroles bake for an hour to an hour and half at 300' or 350'. I don't even know what recipe you have in front of you, but would 325' for an hour and a half checking on it frequently work out? Covered with foil for most or all of the time? I assume that a crockpot recipe wouldn't be browned. I have a Country Casserole cookbook and I was just looking for a median.

:iagree:We are more comfortable with the dead role models, too. Less pressure on the role model...

:iagree:We use this with all the children. It is written intelligently enough for an older student to use. If they practice with this book they will not need another handwriting text.

Potatoes can be a problem if you are allergic to the nightshade family. Rice is a grass, but so far we are ok with it. Lamb is a good choice. Wild salmon and usually bananas are safe choices. We have lots of allergies and take supplements to avoid scurvy, etc. Centrum didn't have corn or wheat in the ingredients last time I read the label. Allergy testing is really helpful if you can get it.

As an allergy sufferer and a mother to several with allergies I prefer to provide my own children with their food and snacks. People tend to get frustrated if they go out of their way to provide something special only to discover that we have yet another allergy that forbids our even trying the food. We are allergic to wheat, corn, citrus, soy,yeast (there went mushrooms and cheeses), msg, food colorings, food additives, carrots, tomatoes, peas! lettuce! nuts, sesame seeds, cilantro, chamomile, and things people would never dream of. It is so much easier to feed the children before an event or pack them a nice meal of their own. I don't expect people to fuss or allow my children to fuss. Homeschooling the kids has an added benefit for us: Fewer temptations to "cheat on their diets."

I wonder what approach to math you are using? What sort of learner is your dd? Hands on? "Mathematics Their Way" might be fun for her. Pattern blocks? Counting sea shells, sorting buttons, measuring items around the house, let her weigh the produce at the grocery store, estimating the grocery total before you check out, solving real world math problems, draw a number line in the driveway and hop to add and subtract, and playing math games might make it fun for both of you. Chess is fun. Check your library for math related children's books like "The Greedy Triangle." I wouldn't worry about getting behind. Half a lesson a day or breaking math into two shorter lessons, one in the morning and one in the evening, might help. I hope that something here is useful. Regarding calendars: We print or draw out a new grid each month and let the kiddos fill in the numbers and color a design at the top. They put in birthdays and special days. They enjoy crossing off the days of their own calendars posted on the fridg. Dd,8, has been making up a weather chart each month and had a blast with all the snow days in December (usually our weather chart is filled with a boring blend of cloudy and rainy). JanBrett.com has free printable calendar sheets.

The housing bubble burst over a year ago :( My parents had the misfortune to buy a new home BEFORE they sold their first home in the fall of 2007. Suddenly, they found that there were no buyers for the first home and it was rapidly losing value. It took several months for them to unload the second home at a loss. They are staying put and trying to stretch their depleted savings. They have always been financially responsible and had no mortgage. We have been watching the worsening situation since then.

Veritas Press' Phonics Museum kindergarten and first grade program is very good. The Teacher's Manuals are clear and easy to follow. The kids love clapping or raising their hands when they hear the target sound and making words with alphabet puzzle pieces. I did find that the readers' storylines were a bit confusing at times, but they can be explained. I am actually skipping a few of the small readers with ds, 5. We read plenty of other early reader level books. Elijah is 5yr4mo. and has begun the first grade workbook and he LOVES phonics time. The older kids that have used the program liked it, too.

I believe it. I also think that they are trying to render us sterile. Scientists have ruined corn with genetic engineering :glare:

We get good results with the series :)

Aw, I don't have time to read all the replies, but teens are much like two year olds....not nearly as bad as all the warnings! My mother said that my sister and I were "alright until we were 13 and then we were awful." What she didn't like about the teen years is that we were not so easily controlled and had ideas of our own :glare: I have tried with my own teens to remember how I felt. I try to find something to love about all the stages and ages. We would not want a baby to stay a baby forever. Think of what the child would miss. Celebrate the milestones! I cried when each of the twentysomethings packed and moved into their own homes, but we did our job and they are now independent adults!! We have two teens now and four more to go. I am not looking forward to my own midlife change along with their puberties...that is a bit worrisome. We enjoy playing games together and the occasional food fight or Nerf battle :D

We have the Learnables in Spanish & German. I like them better than the kids do. We have Power Glide Spanish in two levels and enjoy that. Ds, 20, purchased Rosetta Stone German for himself last year and he and his sister are enjoying it a lot. He loves all things computer and I think that the program appeals more to the modern kid than the cassette tapes and books of the Learnables. They were able to spend a month in Europe last spring with our oldest dd and their German was passable. We also have two other German programs in dd's room just now and I can't think of their names(she is still sleeping). Like every other subject of study, I find that different approaches work for different students. Working through one method and then another only strengthens their understanding and knowledge. Learnables is the best program for the littlest students I think and then they work up through Power Glide and then on to Rosetta. my $0.02

If I play now can I sleep in tomorrow? It isn't really wordless, but I thought it was cute http://brierywood.blogspot.com/