I like that. One day a week, no row. We only have the first book. We also have BFIAR, but it seemed too easy to even need a teachers manual/lesson book, and no map tokens.

I think I'm ready to give up on FIAR. We got it when my Dd was in preK, and now she is in first grade and we still have not finished the first book of lessons. I was so sure we would love it. But the kids do NOT like reading the same book 5 days in a row, and it always gets crowded out by other things. But on the other hand my daughter really loved parts of it and is resistant to giving it up completely. We like the picture books, but will do Picture Book Preschool by Sherri Early at least some of the time. http://www.semicolonblog.com/?page_id=2006 The kids liked the hands on activities, like making lemonade, but we have activities in science and SOTW. The last thing that was the very favorite part of FIAR was putting tokens on the map. Is there a simple geography program that involves putting tokens on a map? I don't want anything with much writing or drawing at all, as they are just 6 & 4. I want it to be fun! Any ideas?

Thank you for the advice. I do have older ones who now like quiet time. And this approach would have worked quickly and easily with our oldest. But we did not get our middle child to like quiet hour by consistent work or obedience training. Putting him back in the room 20 times did not make the next day any better, or the next week. Or the next month. Physical discipline of any kind made things so much worse, as well. Right now we are working on cutting out all physical disciple for all our family. I just want to throw out there for people reading that there are some kids who don't respond the way people say they "should". That instead of working on consistency and patience and firmness, we should have been trying a radically different approach.

I really liked this approach. I'm trying starting out at 15 min, and will try to change out the basket of toys every week. The little reward every day if he does well might really work with this kid. And we love Farmyard Tales too. We have had it from the library so many times and it is on our list to buy. My 4 year old learned to read with it after his 1st box of BOB books, and all of us like the stories. I'm uncertain as to whether or not my 2 yr old will "get" audiobooks. But more suggestions like this would be good. Winnie the Pooh is probably the youngest skewing audiobook we have. I would also have to find a place in the room to put a CD player where he could not mess with the buttons, a challenge for sure.

I like warm sunny yellows, that are not too loud. I've used Belgian Waffle and Stable Hay (Behrs). For the record, I've also had an apple green kitchen, and envy a friend's burnt orange bathroom. Also, more lighting would help. I know this is not green, and I am wasteful, but I love incandescent light. Fluorescent bulbs give such a harsh grayish light. It feels cold and industrial and makes things look dingy. The warm glow of an incandescent is such a different feel. LED bulbs are a little better than fluorescent, as far as light quality. My husband has no idea what I am talking about here.

I have a talk I give myself before we have people over. I tell myself that if we wait til it's perfect we will NEVER have people over. That friendship is important. I also tell myself that if the house is clean, it's nice for both of us. But if it is dirty, I can help them feel better about their house. "Wow, my house is really clean compared to hers. I'm doing better than I realized." I'm boosting someone else's cleaning self esteem. You're welcome. ;) I'm usually cleaning or tidying like mad just before guests show up. And actually invite people over because the house needs to be cleaned.

Thanks! Since it's just 2 tickets, it's going to be a fun mother daughter date for us. Probably more calm than taking the whole family. ;) We've never taken any kids to an art museum before.

So I have a first grader and an advanced preKer, and also a 2 year old. Having a quiet hour for me would be beneficial, as I am an introvert, and all the talking time with kids sucks the life out of me. It would also be nice to split them up, so they can have downtime and not fight. The 6yr old would listen to an audiobook, and the 4 year old would play trains, read, or do puzzles. Or just room time for the 2 year old would be nice. He constantly and intentionally interrupts chapter book read alouds, and some projects are difficult with him around. I could give the big ones some attention. I got my oldest to transition from naps to audiobooks at 3, no real difficulty there. My second never napped well, had a terrible time getting him to stay in a room for quiet hour til 3 1/2, when he was ready to play alone. We have not been doing quiet hour for a while. But any of us will try to sneak away with toys, a book, or an audiobook when we need a break. It's not right for me to keep leaving the toddler with his siblings when he is mean to them in afternoons. But the 2 year old is ready to give up naps. He is not tired til after 3, and doesn't fall asleep well at night anymore. He is tired in the afternoons, and gets mean- hitting, biting, really grumpy. He's not good at playing by himself, and loves to be with people. I've asked people in real life, and these are the suggestions I've gotten so far: -lock him in his room by reversing the doorknob or a plastic doorknob cover (is that against the law?) -turn on the tv or give him a movie on the iPad -keep putting him in his room for rest time and he will learn to stay in it (tried that for 3 weeks) -have special toys for rest time so he will like to stay in his room -it's cruel to keep the little one from you if he doesn't like it. Keep him with you and make the best of it. -wake him up at 6am so he will need a nap again What do you suggest?

I got Singapore, which we use. :) Retook and got Beast, so maybe I'll look into that sometime, if we want a change.

ELTL We just started it with 1st grader and love it so far. I bought a hard copy teacher book. It has a copy work sentence you could write out, if you wanted to save money. I bought the workbook ebook from lulu, since it was cheaper. I printed it all out and put it in a binder. You can choose from several different handwriting fonts, and it has a little more than the copywork sentence in the teacher book, like drawing a picture to illustrate a poem. I love the booklist, and it helps me to incorporate more read alouds. I prefer that over literature excerpts.

Usborne is different. At least I think so. I truly hate the MLM, and being invited to selling parties. But I have been thinking about having an usborne party or whatever at my house, just to look at more books in person. I'm trying to decide if the invite will feel to my friends like it feels to me to be invited to a 31 party. Ok, that came out confusingly. But does anyone mind going to a party to buy books?

I was one of those very awkward kids, and so was my sister 2 years younger. I didn't like my hairy legs and enormous eyebrows, but didn't know what to do about it. My parents would not have had a problem taking us to the store. But I thought it would about kill me to ask. So I found an old disposable razor in the cupboard and used that. With shampoo because I didn't know what else to use. My sister used my dad's razor to shave her pits and the middle of her unibrow. My dad noticed and took her to the store for razors, cream, and tweezers. Yeah, I could have said, "Hey mom, dad, could one of you take me to the store to get razors and shaving gel? I also need some pads and tampons, and maybe some face wash for acne." But I just wasn't that kid. So I'm trying to mention things like periods and shaving, so it's not taboo. But I also plan to get a backpack stuffed with things a girl might want, if she's too uncomfortable to talk to her mom. And it wouldn't hurt to offer things. What is the earliest you know of a girl shaving? My daughter is not even 7, and we've talked about shaving. She brought it up and asked if she should shave. I've told her not everyone shaves and it's her choice. She inherited her father's leg hair, and her legs are hairier than a teenage boy's. When I said she would probably want to wait til 12 or something to shave, she said, "Mom! By then my legs will be more hairy than the dog!" Obviously there is no social pressure to shave, and I don't think she really wants it yet. But would people find it weird if say, an 8 year old was shaving?

I shop aldi every week. I buy milk, bread, cheese, butter, fruits and veggies, ev coconut oil, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, brown rice pasta... My aldi now carries Indian brown basmati rice. Maybe yours will get it too. I don't get yogurt, certain veggies like beets, cilantro etc not carried there. I like the white whole wheat flour at Kroger better. We don't have Costco, but we have BJs and Sam's club. Really the only great deal there for me is cold milled flaxseed, a significant discount on almonds and walnuts, and Sam's fish oil. Aldi beats the price of club maple syrup. But sometimes I will buy elsewhere to get grade B, which has more flavor than grade A maple syrup. I shop Aldi every week, a discount grocery store every other week, the world market once a month, and Kroger and walmart every now and then to pick up a couple things I can't get at Aldi. My Aldi nearly always beats the prices at other local stores. They are also starting to carry more health type foods and organic. I also love that the store is small and I get finished shopping so much faster there.

Thanks everyone for the ideas and encouragement! I'm thinking about doing the free life science vs just doing my own thing. On the one hand, the Mr. Q life science would be all laid out for the year. It would teach things like the scientific method, which I'm not able to do without a guide. I'm not always good at getting to things, so this might help. On the other hand, it would be nice to be able to do a little or a lot. We already enjoy learning about plants and animals, studying things in our backyard and reading nonfiction. If I planned a booklist in advance, I could get most of those books from the library in time, and the 1st of the month would help me remember. I really want this to be fun, and to follow our interests. But I also want to get it done. Also, any recommendations for science movies/tv that are on Prime? My daughter's favorite shows are Wild Kratts and Annedroids. We are creationists, and prefer not a lot of evolution references.

Well, he helped me clean it up. I asked him if he would do that again, and he said "I don't know" which means I will if I ever feel like it again. Then he asked me if I would remember this for a long time. I said probably. He said, "I won't. I will forget it tomorrow." Frustrating.

If your 4 year old ripped the stuffing out of a chair? Background if you want it: My daughter prepped me when she found out. "It's a huge mess, you won't believe it, you'll be really mad." So I did not yell. The chair is in the boys room and we have had it for 5 years. No money to replace it, and I'm thinking it will not be the same after we try to repair it. No known holes in the chair. The 4 year old is very gifted in some areas, but lacking is social and emotional skills. He shows no remorse for the chair destruction. He is improving in behavior, social skills, etc. At 2 and 3 I was sure I would send him away to preschool so I did not kill him. Much better now, but I don't know what the right consequences are when he does things like this.

I have an early reader. He's very bright, but needs a bit more work in social skills, managing his emotions,etc. If we need to back off the work, and just let him play, we will. Hymn and prayer time Singapore math essentials K AAS1 Five in a row? Practice reading aloud We will start with tracing letter in sand, lentils, etc, and go back to HWT when he is ready. Daily read alouds and craft or game time Maybe soccer in February

My rising 1st grader is 6 turning 7 in the fall. She's lively, talkative, cautious, loves stories, pretending, thinking. She thinks about what she will do when she's grown up (inventor right now), wanted to learn to vacuum because she would need to know when she left home, and worries about whether she will pass her driving test. She is kind and nurturing, sensitive and has easily hurt feelings. She thinks she is the boss a little too often. She helps her little brother get dressed, clears the table, puts away her folded laundry, cleans her room, makes sandwiches. She keeps an eye on her little brother and plays with him so I can get things done. She's reading picture books, level 2 readers. She doesn't have the stamina for longer books or chapter books. She reads mostly because I tell her to, not as often for pleasure. But she will read to her little brother. She just moved into her own room and we are letting her stay up a half hour later if she wants to read in bed. She is happy talking about kid things or adult things, and loves conversation. She loves attention and talking about herself, which annoys the in laws, but I think is normal for her age. I'm correcting her grammar ( me vs I, brought not brung, etc). Hobbies- she wants to invent things, and pulls stuff out of the trash and recycle bin. But she quits easily. She wants a pet rabbit, and if she saves up $40 she can have one, but often decides to play instead of do optional jobs for money. She would listen to audiobooks, watch TV, and eat snacks all day if we let her. Behavior- not a lot of issues. She likes to tell us all what to do, can be bossy and rude. Doesn't always listen well. Enjoys- she loves a lot of the things that I love. Strolls in nature, camping, animals, plants, great fiction. Nothing surprising. Hours with her- We are doing our longer read aloud at bedtime, as well a time for conversation and cuddles. The boys kept interrupting chapter books, so now that she has her own room, this works best. Not sure how many hours of attention, but not enough to suit her. She is always wanting more attention, more conversation, more dates just the 2 of us. My husband and I are both introverts, and don't have the energy for all day chatting. I often send her away to play or listen to an audiobook, which she will do. Art- drawing, coloring, etc. Nothing special here. Planning to teach her a few how to draw lessons to improve a little. She is finally learning to hold a tune, no exceptional talent. Finally starting to like to sing, but still shushes me if I try to sing with the cd or radio, or out in public. She is uncomfortable singing to an audience. She is so very different from my 4 year old, that parenting one is not much training in parenting the other.

What 9 things would you teach in 1st grade? So I've finally decided to put together my own 1st grade science. I looked and looked for a science curriculum, but all the ones I liked were $$$. Like Nancy Larson or Noeo. (We will be doing Noeo Chemistry next year, found a deal on used books.) I didn't want a fill in the blanks workbook. I want this to be fun, but more of an extra than a core thing. I'm also not good at getting to everything, and with how much time math takes, I want the flexibility to do a little or a lot of science. I'm thinking I'll do a topic a month, and get books from the library, nature study, and 1 or 2 experiments. What 9 areas should I cover? Anatomy, botany, entomology, weather, animals in our state, mammals, major ecosystems, what is science... I would love your thoughts and ideas.

If she turns 6 in October, it depends on the state. In my state she would be in kindergarten. I had my DD turning 6 in November, and chose that as her kindergarten year, rather than advancing to 1st grade. I still continued on with the work, at her level. So she was doing 1st grade math and continuing forward with spelling and phonics. If she continues working ahead, by high school we could skip a grade. But if she needs more time at any point, I will never have to "hold her back". It's very discouraging for kids to have to repeat a grade. If she is ready for the 1st grade books you are ordering, do that. But I would be prepared to take longer if she needs it, and tell everyone she is in K. At least that's what I did.

I said I would never have a kid who was 3 and still not potty trained. Hah! My kids would be potty trained by their 2nd birthday, or at least before 3. And I said it to a mom, who didn't potty train her boys til after 3. Oops. My second kid, a boy, fixed me there. He took til 3 1/2. He's 4 and still has accidents every week.

Difficult, but I hope improving. We have $10,000 in debt besides our mortgage. With working to pay it off and tax refund, maybe we'll be debt free by middle of next year. We've never been debt free since I married DH, and every time we get close, something big hits. This last time was new roof. I'm really hoping our old minivan holds out til we can save for one, so we don't have to replace it with another old one on credit card. We're not saving enough for retirement, just the 401k matching. It's unlikely we will be able to pay for kids' college, but maybe I could get a job to help that out when the time comes. (I have no degree because I couldn't pay for enough college.) I struggle to know what to do about extracurricular stuff. It is so expensive, and we are surrounded by people with much larger incomes. Do I wait til we are debt free except for mortgage to do sports and music, etc? There is pressure for sure that we are not doing enough outside activities with our kids, and I wish so badly I had a poor friend. Our furniture is all from craigslist, and we shop at Aldi and a discount grocery store. (I learned about discount grocery stores from you all. Thank you so much! I am not too good for expired food, dented cans, etc) Kids clothes and shoes are used, our are clearance. But my husband's technology purchases and my "little things" from amazon could use cutting. We have Prime we shouldn't, but it's hard to give up.

I have 3, and we are conservative Christians. (My dad even gave me some quiverful book, but I disagreed with it and gave it back.) Back when we were dating, I thought I wanted a big family, and my husband wanted 2. But when it got to the reality, I didn't really want a big family, it just sounded good in theory. (Rather like getting dairy goats.) We knew for sure at least 2, and I felt God had another one for us, so we went for 3. (All planned pregnancies. I get pregnant so easily I can pick the month.) We did feel we should be open to God's leading, so we prayed about it and weighed pros and cons. I have daily debilitating migraines for the first half of pregnancy, and also for several months after weaning. It left me unable to really care for the kids during those times. Also, post-partum depression and suicide runs in my family, and I had depression after my second child. We were both unsure that out parenting abilities would stretch beyond 3. And both my husband and I are introverts. We knew with more kids there would be less alone time, and were concerned that either our or our childrens' needs would go unmet, or that we would be grumpy and irritable. I felt we had do do the best to care for the children we already have, and could not put them through another pregnancy, or be worse parents because we were stretched too thin. After praying about it, we went ahead with the vasectomy. We left the door open thinking about foster care, and possibly adoption. I do miss some aspects of being pregnant. I sort of wish I could give birth again, and breastfeed again. And my daughter and I do wish she had a sister. But I am sure it was the right choice.

I do this too. I started when my 1st child was born, so my year goes November-October of the next year. Works well to finish the photo album in time to buy 3, and give 2 to grandparents for Christmas. By now the album is pushing 100 pages. It's not my fault we have cute kids! I do take out some pages of the in laws to give to my parents, and vice versa. I have done a special album for a couple big trips, when shutterfly has a free 8x8, just pay shipping. I still include the best pictures of that trip in the main album. If I had more money, and a ton more time and energy, and we could afford to, say, travel to Europe with a top notch camera, I would do more albums. ;) So basically I am happy to have just a yearly album, and am doing well to keep up with that. My husband insists that I keep the photos chronological within the album, and the years are on most of the spines. That way we can look up what our older ones were doing at 9 months, since our memories are unreliable.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/pulled-pork-barbecue-recipe.html This is my favorite pulled pork recipe that isn't real bbq. The rub is awesome, though I try different homemade sauces than the one in the recipe, or bottled. Just don't let people serve themselves. Have a server putting pork on buns and setting them out on a plate as people go through the line. That should speed things up too. It would be good with pickles, coleslaw, fruit, and cookies.