We tend to say that, "Educating the children at home has been a blessing for our family. The children are so close to each other and we hope their friendships last a lifetime." Who can argue with that? We have heard it all over the years, but it has been a long time since anyone questioned us. My mother has said that she wishes she had homeschooled us, but in the 60's she was told it was forbidden and she is not the "trailblazer" type. My mil has admitted that the children have turned out well and are very nice and pleasant to be around. High praise from someone who thought I was trying to keep them all infants :) We are the only home educators in our neighborhood and the neighbors are all on friendly terms with us. I once told a persistent stranger that, "Honestly, I don't think that I could ever find all their shoes and get them out the door to school on time!" That "reason" seemed to make sense to him since he couldn't figure out why we had so many children anyway.:D

lol, I'm sure that you didn't mean my posting, but the kids insisted that we get the digital camera when Baby #9 was about to be born so that there would be photos of him! The camera is handy and we all just pick it up and shoot. Downloading from camera to desktop takes just moments...even for me. My blog isn't anything more than a little photo journal and I don't keep up on it. Notice that few of our photos show the INSIDE of our house? I just "grab minutes" at the computer (when I should be cleaning house apparently.) Maybe it just looks like we are organized or overachievers? I do love what the other ladies have done with their gardens and homes with their "stolen moments." :)

Last, but not least, our third doe kidded yesterday :) http://brierywood.blogspot.com/

I've never been to a convention or seminar on homeschooling. I've read a lot of books on education methods and learning styles.

DH just brought me home a new Oreck from Costco, bless him! We had been crawling around using his ShopVac since our old vaccums started spewing dust and smelling of burnt rubber :( We NEED to vaccum daily, but every other day is more doable. Sweeping likewise. Our ranch house seems more like a barn the way we track dirt in!

Last Wednesday one of our nanny goats gave birth :) We have spent a great deal of the last week outdoors enjoying the babies. There are 13 new photos in 3 postings since last Weds. We had a sudden severe wind/lighting storm roll through on Thursday and the goats have enjoyed the downed cedar tree. http://brierywood.blogspot.com/

4 of our 9 children have allergies to soy, wheat, corn, and yeast that cause them to have severe eczema. They are thriving on a diet of fruit, veggies, rice, spelt flour for baked goods, oatmeal, poultry, fish, and they can have some dairy. The pediatrician prescribed a strong Rx ointment that "only helped a little." By trying an elimination diet we were able to discover their triggers and "cure" them. Flaxseed is a great addition to any healthy diet :)

Does your mom have a good sense of humor? My parents wouldn't take it well if one of the grandkids showed up with blue hair...they are very square KWIM? My mother would drag the poor child to a hair salon and attempt to turn it back to "normal" which would probably result in tears and mud colored hair.

:grouphug: My fil is in the hospital now with terminal brain cancer...It is so complicated and so sad

We have purchased Dover coloring books and printed off coloring sheets. We have a large clip art book cd-rom that has great coloring pages, too. My kids love to draw, cut, paste, tape, write notes, and doodle on everything and anything....Gotta remind them not to write on the walls!

I put up a few of us enjoying the spring weather and outdoor activities. Our daughter has continued our "tradition" of backyard camping with her young family in Germany :) http://brierywood.blogspot.com/

:iagree:We have just started our summer study. We will focus on explorers, astronomy, Family Math, poetry, and crafty stuff. The tent will go up soon and the kids enjoy the change in pace.

We live just outside the urban growth boundary. It is only 5 miles to the library, but we have a little over 3 acres to call our own in a "rural" atmosphere. We love it! There are a couple of sports-minded families in our sprawling neighborhood, but we all get along just fine. I am not a competitive person and shudder at the thought of team sports. I would not want to live right next door to too many cows. The ammonia gets pretty stiffling in the summer heat. We have six goats and the barn smells are minimal.

:iagree:We play with ours a little bit, but haven't really used them much.

It sounds like the symptoms of a sinus infection or congestion, poor boy. Does hot tea help? or warm compresses?

Our boys have had the prettiest curls as toddlers and I let them grow until I get weary of all the awkward, "What a cute little girl!" compliments. I'm not that sure of myself with the scissors so delaying is a good tactic from a safety perspective as well.

I used to wear them all the time.....I especially liked full floral skirts before certain little children twirled, hid under, twisted and lifted them:glare: Now, I am a blue jean clad gal except for weddings.

:lol::lol::lol:

The dc,#'s 5 & 6, worked out their own schedule and I am forbidden to do dishes:D When there are a minimum of 21 dirty dishes the next person in the rotation may wash them. This includes loading the dishwasher and washing the hand items. The other half of the "dish team" is supposed to empty the clean dishwasher and dry the clean handwashed items. The washer is supposed to scour the sink. The dryer is supposed to take out the trash and recyclables. It doesn't always work smoothly, but I try to stay out of the way. We train one team at a time and they are kept at it until they have it perfected, lol. The younger kids are always welcome to grab a towel and help with the drying and wiping the counters, table, and fridge doors. Dc, #7 & 8, will be taking over the job next year. I guess #9 will be working with Dh and I :)

You might be allergic to your cat....my eyes tear, itch and swell shut from cat dander....just a thought.

Mine, too. He reads to the younger three each night before bed from a chapter book of his choosing or mine if he is "lost" for the next book to begin. Then he reads a chapter from the Bible and they pray together. He did try to teach the older kids a Constitutional Law course, but it fizzled. He liked the curriculum, but scheduling was a problem.

Our dd, nearly 9, can be selfish at times. I am not sure that it is age-related or just her. There are so many possible factors? Position in the family? You don't say if the selfishness is with time, toys, food. Our dd can be reasoned with about sharing toys....she plays with her brother's toys, so he should be able to play with hers. Sometimes I think that she is just frustrated with all of us (she is #8 of 9 dc) and asserting herself.

We only "dabble" in Latin so far. Our 4 older children learned Spanish. Their cousin speaks fluent Spanish and teaches in Honduras and Spanish seemed a logical first foreign language for us living in California and then Oregon. Then the dc started learning German so that they could converse with their German cousins. Dd has married into a German family and her dds will be fluent in both English and German. Dd also studied Greek. Ds and dd were able to speak and comprehend German quite well during their month visiting their sister and Uncle's family. We enjoy the study of Latin roots and phrases, but it has taken a backseat to German and Spanish because we can use them! Dd, 14, has also started studying Italian. One thing that we love is seeing how languages are related. (Rosetta Stone has become a favorite around here)

Calorieking.com is a great website for adding up the carbs in a recipe :) We use it if the ingredients aren't labeled (bulk products). If you can tell someone the total carb count in a casserole they can do the math and decide what portion size they want and can balance that with their insulin.

There are so many good ways to incorporate vocabulary study into your student's study. We like BJU and ABeka Spelling and they both have vocabulary study elements. We became bored with Wordly Wise books, but they are good. Progeny Press literature guides have the kids defining words, too. Good graded reading programs usually have vocabulary words that challenge the kids. We also use Vocabulary from Classical Roots A through E. We keep dictionaries handy and never continue to read past a word they don't know. We all seem to love words and word play. I cannot imagine not studying vocabulary since it is both enjoyable and beneficial.