We had a pair of rats in 1991. They were brothers, very cute if the tails don't bother you ;) They were well-behaved, BUT despite regular cleaning of their large cage our home smelled of rodent...yuck...It was a relief when the two had lived out their days and we could get the smell out. We've had Guinea Pigs, too, and they also smell up the house. We now have a NO rodent policy. It is also true that their short lifespan makes for heartbreak.

If he likes cars, Chevron toy cars are the toughest and perfectly sized.

We have wet winters, too, and are considering Praise Guitar. Does anyone like that one? We purchases the Praise Dance last year to keep the kids hopping. It helps our dd with type 1 diabetes keep her bg numbers in line :) Would the Wii games help with exercise needs?

The free alphabet pages from first-school are fun for teaching both upper and lowercase at once http://www.first-school.ws/THEME/alphabetp2.htm We start them off young with an awareness that names and first words begin with a "Big" letter.

Throw in tape, scotch, duct, and packing :)

Our 12 1/2 yo son has surprised us by asking for pencil erasers! He wants to use them as rubber tips for his homemade bow and arrows. We purchased a couple of woodworking for kids titles and the children have been inspired to create their own toys. Maybe a toolbag to start them off ? My husband says, "A man can't have too many tools." Our teenage daughter would love a music cd for Christmas and I think some $$ to feed her knitting habit.

I'm not sure that I would call your dear 5 year old a "slow learner." There are early stages of math learning that need to be understood before moving on to more difficult concepts. She sounds like she needs more time counting things that are real to her....money is a difficult concept. In our homeschool we start the little ones off counting their fingers and toes, then our fingers and toes. It takes some awhile to realize that they don't have to count each one every time..that there are 5 in each "set" and 10 "all together," and that their own 10 plus Mommy's 10 make 20 every time. It is a great moment when the "light bulb comes on." We have been counting buttons, seashells, M&Ms, pencils, pinecones, hotwheels, Legos for 24 years now. We have a fun way of grouping crayons or pencils together into 10's with rubberbands. When we begin to subtract, we Bust a Bundle to borrow. In the early years I try to put math concepts into terms that they can picture in their heads...."How many plates will we need for dinner?" "If you have 12 blueberry muffins on the plate and Brodie(the dog) eats 3 of them how many will you have left?" We set timers for short tasks so that they get a feeling for the passage of time. When the children are ready for workbooks we start with a double-dose of ABeka and BJU kindergarten level...lots of fun and coloring :) Our approach to reading is similar with lots of rhyming play, hunts for things that start with a sound around the house, an alphabet notebook that they make up with each letter worked in a variety of ways. I love making up letter slides when it is time to put the sounds together :) One of the things I love best about home education is that I can work with each child as an individual and progress at their pace and hopefully instill a love of learning in them. Our state doesn't require testing until the end of 3rd grade...plenty of time. ( Our local ps doesn't teach the children to read until first and second grades so I don't think expectations are that high)

Crime is creeping out here, too. We are 5 miles out of town and our neighborhood seemed/seems pretty safe, but our barn and a car have been broken into and items taken. We know that at least one neighbor has a drug habit and stolen property....the police have been there for domestic violence, a robbery and a threatened suicide. Our neighbors aren't the gossipping kind and we didn't know about this until recently. Our 20 year-old son was doing occasional work like unloading firewood and painting for them and a kind neighbor thought they should warn me. Yikes! In town there are robberies, assaults, rapes, recent gang activity. This was a quiet rural area when we moved here in 1991. Drugs account for much of the crime. The local schools turn out a poor product and it seems that things will only get worse. We think Moose are amazing animals :)

Ours love Legos, Playmobile, Scrabble, Risk, board games, puzzles, drawing, writing stories, reading, and the occasional computer game. Sometimes they bake brownies or cookies for an afternoon snack...they cook slower than I do, so it keeps them happily busy for an hour or more :) They have chores after school, too. Dishes, laundry, floors, dusting, etc. We have many hands to make quick work of it all, usually in a burst of activity before dinner or a movie. I try to draw the 14 yo daughter out of her bedroom to join the rest of us! I prefer the summer rhythm, too. ah, how I miss the sun and warmth of August

Growing boys need lots of calories to fuel them. A few years back, one of our boys was extremely thin, but the dr. laughed at my concern. I gave D. grapefruit seed extract every day for a couple of weeks and he gained 15 pounds! He is still thin, but not scarily so. I am sure that he had a parasite, but no proof. Walnuts are a natural parasitic, but we have allergies to tree nuts. Last year I tried the same "cure" with our thin daughter to no avail. Then I turned to the dr. and this time she took me seriously and ran tests which came back type 1 diabetes...bummer...

Nutrition and extra vitamins help tremendously. I'm choke...48...our 9th child is 5 and my energy levels are nowhere near what they were in my 30's..sigh. My thyroid croaked. Specially formulated women's vitamins like Vitanica's taken twice a day got me through those later in life pregnancies. I agree with all the advice above..exercise, good sleep habits, lower caffeine, lower sugar and fat intake, all good for keeping us fit. I have a tendency to crave chocolate pms and then crash :(

These are all such good replies! Processed foods, corn syrup, artificial additives, and chemicals concern me most. We are a family of 11 with some allergies, asthma, sensitivities, and a daughter diagnosed last year with Type 1 Diabetes. We were already aware of her food allergies and expert label readers through necessity. We had to bring our own food to the hospital during her stay for treatment and education. Hospital food has a bad reputation and it is deserved! The diabetes education was written for kids that eat junk food and we pleasantly surprised our dr and nurses with our desire to meet needs with "real foods." We try to choose foods that are as close to their source as possible....oatmeal and rice cereals...fresh fruit....fresh veggies raw or cooked...chicken and fish from the market baked or broiled. If we can't recognize it we don't eat it....an Oreo just doesn't look like anything natural.

We have been quite happy with Saxon and the transition to university went smoothly for our 3rd child. Our first two home educated high school grads did not go on to college, but their math skills are very good. Our 4th child has also thrived on Saxon and we will continue with our other children. It continually amazes me that all the children have a better grasp than I ever did in ps. My own math skills have developed teaching them with a combination of ABeka, BJU, and Key To books in grades K through 5, and Saxon from 65 through Advanced Mathematics.

It is knitting weather here, too! My dd 14, has picked up her needles and done scarves, wooley-pulley, a knit then felt hat, and a knit then felt table mat all since the summer weather departed. We like your stole and she is now inspired to try the entrelac stitch. I am new to this and unsure how to attach a photo of one of her recent projects, but will try.

I've been trying this for the last few months.... http://naturaldsm.wordpress.com/2006/12/20/25/ I seem to be allergic to most shampoos and the expensive stuff the dermatologist suggested didn't help either. I put the dry baking soda on my crown before I get in the shower and have a third cup or so of cider vinegar ready to pour on after the baking soda is washed out. I have also poured the vinegar onto the baking soda, but can't tell the difference...and no noticeable fizzing :P

If you and your husband both desire another child go for it. Our children have always been thrilled with the addition of a new sibling. Really. We have nine children and though our hearts are open to more, our youngest is five and it seems that our family will grow through grandchildren now :)