When my kids are grown and out of the house, no amount of $ could possibly persuade me to take in another child, even my own grandchild, unless it was their last option short of being homeless. I am looking forward to having my own (quiet, predictable, clean) space again one day.

I'm a huge fan. We have Level D (Americana for my 9yo). Yes, you could do it on your own but who has time for that? I think you could easily skip the instructor pack. I've never even cracked mine open.

A 7yo with food allergies will likely be quite a bit more aware about ingredients than the typical child of that age. I'm positive that my 7yo allergy child could fend for himself just fine in a cooking class. He'd know what he can and can't eat and even be able to ask questions. And he's a generally-clueless 7yo boy. This child in question would see the product being made (because he's making it!). He's been cleared to be by peanuts!! If he has eyes, he can see whether or not peanuts are being used. Then he can choose to eat it or not. It's a COOKING class, not an eating class. Yes, they can eat the product, but they don't HAVE to. I'm not seeing why everyone thinks the mom needs to be present with an Epi pen. She'll be in the same building. And he's been cleared to be around peanuts. Give the mom the benefit of the doubt!

Thank you! The one on relevant led me to another interesting article which gave me the idea for a topic I'd like to discuss. One thing led to another and I found something that's satisfactory.

I am responsible for selecting an article for group discussion. The group is all Christian moms of different relationship statuses and educational choices. Nothing about marriage, homeschooling, or politics. Please help me choose one. and.....GO!

Usually around 600-900. I have 4th, 2nd, pre-K. Even my cheapskate DH is totally cool with me spending that much (and that's before CC tuition!) because he believes so strongly in education.

As for the social stuff, do you stay for lunch? That's where 99% of the socialization happens for the kids (and the moms too!).

Yes, absolutely. With kids the ages of mine (oldest is 9 and I have 4), getting it all to fit together that nicely seems unlikely, especially they finish things at different times. I'll just stick with a short break, unstructured or not. I like the idea of something physical.

Just now getting a chance to read all of these replies. So what the consensus seems to be is to take short breaks, no longer than 5 minutes. I'll give that a go. It's so hard when kids finish their work at different times!

Transitions between subjects kill our momentum, but if I keep plowing through, they shut down. I am all about breaks between subjects, but keeping up with multiple kids and reigning them back in is proving to be too much for me. For instance, we finish grammar and my options are to move to writing or spelling or have them take a break. If we plow through and do writing, their minds won't engage, but if I take a break, it's hard to pull them back in. Are you following? How do you all do it? I'm a "just crank it out and be done" type of person so not finishing up already just kills me!

My kids are 9, 7, 4, 2. The 7yo ( a boy) does struggle with some social anxiety. There is next to no opportunity to play with neighborhood kids in a free-play setting right now, but we are moving next week to the suburbs, so I hope that will change. They play with cousins frequently but they all seem to flock to their same-gendered cousin who is 2 years younger (i.e. 9yo plays with 7yo, 7yo plays with 4 yo).

Help! We're turning into those weird unsocialized homeschoolers. I assumed my kids would learn how to interact with others just by being a part of the world. I have them in various lessons, church, CC, playdates. It seems like plenty but we've missed some social learning and it's bothering me. When other kids greet mine, my kids don't even respond half the time. Hello! Look at them in the eye and say hi back in a volume that is audible. One of them thinks nobody wants to play with him but won't even go near the group of kids to show interest. One is either painfully shy and won't talk to others or so bossy that everyone wants to leave. Things like that. How do I go about teaching this? Are there any storybook collections that address the behavior? Anything?

As someone who loves city life (especially NYC), I have to give an emphatic NO! I would not do it. No way, no how. My kids are the same spacing as yours, only mine are all 1 year older (oldest is 9). We currently live in a small 3br apartment (not in NYC). We moved in 6 months ago. I cannot tell you how much more strife my kids have when they are in such close quarters. Homeschooling is a nightmare. The dining area is small and kids keep bumping each other while working on handwriting. Just go somewhere else and do your work? Um, no, there is no place else to go. The neighbors hate us because its impossible to keep 4 kids quiet. Even when they re outside playing, we have issues with old ladies and college students getting on us about the noise. I feel like I can't live my life. Where will you keep bikes? What about extra food? Will there even be a place to store extra TP? You will have to be "on" much more since to get the kids outside, YOU have to take them. And finally, are you up for dealing with the crowds when you have 4 kids in tow? Getting on a subway train with 4 kids sounds like a nightmare to me. You don't get the "mini vacation" of having the kids all strapped into their carseats while you drive for 15 minutes. I am genuinely sorry to be such a negative Nellie, but downsizing to an apartment (this was not part of our life plan) has not been a positive change for us. If it were just for a year as a trial, then maybe I'd do it, but then you wouldn't be able to come back to your dream home (unless you rent it out).

They had this when I was in college. I felt bad for the few kids who didn't get anything.

Eat a sweet potato. Not sure if this is even necessary to mention, but I've known people who do it and eat virtually no carbs. It's fine to eat fruit and potatoes. And eat way more fat & protein than you're used to.

I had no clue how to answer. I don't have any black friends right now, but I am married to a black man.

Daily Grams!

Spelling U See for my 4th grader and CLE for my 2nd grader (who doesn't need any spelling help - it'll be for extra writing practice)

Well, we put an offer in on the place with 3,600 sf. I honestly don't even know what we'd do with all of the rooms, but it is laid-out really nicely. There is plenty of space to work on projects without the little ones ruining them. I should hear back today if it was accepted.

I'm the OP and I was curious b/c we're buying our first home. We've always rented apartments (and once a home). They are always cheap and small. Right now we have 6 in a 1,100 sq ft place and I found something online that was 2,200 that DH really liked. It seemed small, but I hear of people saying that they have a hard time keeping the larger places clean. Today we're going to look at two different 4 BR houses. One is 2,200sf and the other is 3,600. It'll be fun to see the difference. Describe "wasted space." Is this like having a formal dining room that never gets used?

What's your ideal home size in square feet? Why? How many kids do you have?

Ok, I'm looking into CLE, and possibly Horizons. MM was a huge flop for us. Maybe I can try again.

I had the same problem with MUS with a different child. At the beginning of the year, for months the lessons were about 5 minutes long. By the end it was almost an hour. Again, the lack of predictability was infuriating. This was for gamma. I am considering CLE but wanted to use it for LA. It seems like workbook overkill. Maybe I can use something else for LA.

I need something for my 2nd grader (working solidly at a 3rd level). I used Singapore last year and, while it was a good program, the lack of consistency between lessons drove me nuts. I am juggling some little ones, a move, an ill husband, and I just don't have the brain space to be figuring what I need to do every day. Some lessons had a textbook activity; some didn't. Some took 2 minutes; some took 30. Which is fine and all but I need something that's easier to schedule into my day. I don't want to have to *think* about anything other than teaching and and handing a worksheet. Are there any programs out there that are very straight-forward, constant, and would allow the teacher to teach for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of the lesson and then step away? This child is very visual, logical, and methodical if that makes any difference. Fluff isn't appreciated. And since he'd be a year ahead, I need to make sure it's not too much work for a child his age.

100EZ (or equivalent) HWOT (or equivalent) Horizons K (or equivalent) You'll hit all of your bases, and well too.