Hate our Bosch. Worked great for the first few months then basically stopped working well at all. Go for the Kenmore.

Very interested to hear the responses. I would suggest IEW- SWI. The keyword outlines are very helpful for organization of thoughts. It starts out gently so that he can have success early and build on it. Basically, it makes writing much easier and less scary (according to my boys) You could fit it into 5 months. Good luck!!

I love MUS and I think my kids actually understand math using it. I have used Singapore and it is a great supplement for my family - but it will never take the place of MUS for us. The nice thing is that both are so reasonably priced that I don't think you have to choose one over the other. Def. try to do something to encourage your middle's skill in math. My kids liked the Number Devil and books like that (LoF, Math Mastery, etc). It allowed them to explore math without doing more worksheets. There are also lots of math websites, mental math websites, etc. that you could try too.

Cardio - burns the calories to get rid of fat = smaller thighs. Plus, most cardio uses the leg muscles. For specifically working the thighs and butt- Pure Barre or any other barre (sometimes spelled just bar) method. Based on ballet, but much more like pilates, imho. Do it once and ow!! but it works. I really like it. Plus, it is organized in segments so even if you just have 10 minutes here and there you can easily get your workout in. Oh and no equipment needed despite the name. They use a little ball but I use (blush) a stuffed animal. Hey, we're in temp. housing and all our stuff is packed away. Besides, I'm sure the frog doesn't mind helping me out. Great job losing 10 lbs!!

Yikes. Not a fun situation for you. Biggest suggestion - pray...pray early and often! :) God can get you through this and may be using this situation to do amazing things in your family that you can't even imagine. (cheesy sounding I know, but that thought helps me stay calm, sweet and loving when inside I really want to yell and scream and yes, even smack someone who is really asking for it) On a positive note, it sounds like you have two strong ladies in your life who do want the best for you and you kids. Plus, they seem to be backing off the hs criticism b/c they see it working or they see you sticking to your guns. Perhaps the same will happen with the parenting. That's my passive approach - just keep making your decisions and enforcing your choices. However, since you do spend so much time with them and they could be undermining your parental authority (unknowingly or not) you may not be able to take a purely passive approach. Would they be open to a calm, honest discussion? Something along the lines of "I love that you care so much about me and my kids. It's great that we are all so close, despite the fact that we are such different people. I think this is because we each respect and appreciate each other's differences and choices. I really appreciate it when you respect and support my parenting decisions. It also helps when you talk to me in private about areas where you think I may be heading in a wrong direction, rather than addressing them in front of the kids...blah blah." With my family, I find it helps to stay really positive and frame things in the best possible way. It gets the message across without hurting any feelings. When I nag or attack, things get much worse. Plus, if your family is an arguing family, then a frontal assault is just asking for a big fight. Avoiding that may be a way to get them to actually hear what you're saying rather than reacting. Hope this helps. I'd give you a cyberhug, but for some reason my comp. isn't allowing me to do that. :)

Little more info, please. Is it a religious non-profit? Dealing with domestic or international human trafficking? Is it fundraising and raising awareness for another group that will help with the issue (like IJM) or is the group planning on getting involved directly, too? Can you describe the at-risk group you are targeting to bring on board? Sounds like you're still in the planning stages, but I think that a few more specifics would help.

I love schedules. I like beautiful colorful schedules. Sometimes I like to make super detailed schedules, sometimes more open ended schedules. The thing is, while I love to make and look at schedules, our lives don't fit in schedules. After 4 years of banging my head against my gorgeous, color-coded schedule brick wall, I started using a checklist instead of a schedule. Basically I list every subject or activity we will do each week and then an appropriate number of ___ lines. Bible and Math get 5 lines, 'cause we do them 5 times a week, science 3, etc. I check 'em off as we do them each day. If we don't do them, huge empty spaces peer out at me and remind me to get it done. This allows me tons of flexibility which I find I need but still keeps me on task. I still maintain a weekly schedule of what needs to get done (e.g. history chapter, map work, extra reading, project), but now I don't feel locked in or like I can't adjust. If we don't hit it one day, we just make sure we get it done before Sunday.

Gym. Home exercise equipment becomes laundry storage in most homes. I love going to the gym. It's my time. No one interrupts me with diapers, quabbles, questions, etc. Classes motivate me to work way harder than I would at home, too.

I agree. This whole thread got me thinking. We need a new phrase, kind of like pass the bean dip, for when someone is saying something that could be offensive. A nice way to not get into a whole big long to do, just a gentle reminder that sometimes what you think you're saying is not what people are reading. And a way to remind people to ease up and give others the benefit of the doubt. I suggest "May you never thirst"

Couple of links that might help: http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/nutrition/vegetarian_diets.html http://www.cookinglight.com/food/vegetarian/

You mention that you want to meet more neighbors. We have a once a month supper club where we get together and do a pot luck meal at one person's house. The host sends out the menu and recipes (trying carefully to divvy expenses and time as evenly as possible.) Some recipes are great, others bomb, but we always have fun. Might be easier and more fun than a supper swap club.

I don't think they are mutually exclusive. I believe in play based learning, but I also have my kids memorize. We do lots of sit learning and lots of hands on and play learning. There is value in both. Some of the key points from the article - "What they shouldn’t do is spend tedious hours learning isolated mathematical formulas or memorizing sheets of science facts that are unlikely to matter much in the long run." I agree that learning isolated facts is not useful. However, that doesn't mean all memorization is bad. Multiplication tables - memorize - you have to have it. Most math - don't memorize a formula, understand the concept and know how to apply it. "Children would also spend an hour a day writing things that have actual meaning to them — stories, newspaper articles, captions for cartoons, letters to one another. People write best when they use writing to think and to communicate, rather than to get a good grade." - I agree with this, though I'm not sure what age group they're talking about. Writing is an essential skill and it develops myriad other essential skills - organization of thought, communication, fine motor, etc. "Research has shown unequivocally that children learn best when they are interested in the material or activity they are learning. Play — from building contraptions to enacting stories to inventing games — can allow children to satisfy their curiosity about the things that interest them in their own way." Ture - but how do you do this is a classroom of 30 kids? I can rarely find a topic that interests all of my three kids. Sure airplanes might interest little Johnny, but Suzie wants to learn about horses, kwim. Plus, I think kids need to learn how to focus and learn and perform even if the material doesn't interest them. There is value is training your mind and your will to work with or without the carrot of "interesting" work. (Ok, clearly from that sentence my mind isn't working. It needs the rod of "Caffeine") While I like a lot of the message of the article, it suffers from being too much in the land of the ideal. Sure it would be great to have a rich learning environment, where all children behave well and the teacher has time to converse with small groups of children thoughout the day. However, real world classrooms have vast differences in levels of abilities of each of the kids, numerous IEPs and ESL issues, behavior challenges, etc. Hmmm, why is it that this article seems to be to be arguing in favor of homeschooling where we can in fact have a better shot of implementing all of this? :) Fun read. Now off to get that caffeine.

Life presents lessons til learned - no idea who originally said it but I heard it all the time growing up when I did something stupid (which was quite often.)

I believe it is. I haven't run across anything at all religious in anything I've used.

We are doing about three lessons a week without any problem. I think it depends on how much you want to do and require. You could def. do one a day. However, if your rising 2 year old is anything like my two year old, you may want to schedule just three a week to allow for um.....disruptions. :) I'm scheduling one book for a three lessons a week and then scheduling a week off between books. That week is my toddler cushion.

BF is Beautiful Feet. It is a literature based geography curriculum. I'm using it with two boys 8 and 9 and that is a fairly appropriate age group. Basically you read part of a book and then answer questions about it. You also label and color in maps. (I haven't seen the smaller ones, but would love to find them) From just the first few lessons, we have learned why birds fly in a V formation (and why military aircraft do, but don't get all the benefits that birds do), how sawmills work, what the largest and the longest rivers in the world are, why deer shed their antlers, etc. I'm not doing a great job describing, so here are two links. The first is a sample of the study guide. The second is a link to the product. http://www.bfbooks.com/s.nl/it.I/id.10/.f http://www.bfbooks.com/s.nl/it.A/id.283/.f?sc=2&category=2

I haven't used TT. We have used MUS for 4 years, are on Epsilon and like it. I add extra work from different sources or just make my own. Kids learn the concepts and seem to retain the info. I have checked out TT and may use it in the future if MUS stops working so well for us. Right now, I can't see spending the extra money.

P90X works - if you use it (like most programs). I saw results within the first week of using it - without following the diet, 'cause I just can't diet. I like it because after doing it a couple of times, you can just mute it and put on your own music. The moves are simple and effective. I have fallen off the P90 wagon b/c it was too much time. However, that was only because I was teaching 4 aerobics classes a week on top of it. Had I not been doing that I think it would have been a fine commitment. If you do it on the weekends and then maybe 3 days a week, you should see results quickly and still have time to HS and have a life. :)

I cannot remember who mentioned it on the board but Thank You! My kids love this curriculum. They can't wait to do geography and want to fly through the lessons. They are actually retaining the info and can't wait to tell dad what they learned when he comes home. Added bonus - they are taking incredible care to color and label the maps neatly because they want to frame them. (My boys never want to be super neat when coloring. Normally all of our maps have doodles of battles all over the edges) Thank you Hive for a great recommendation and a boost that my homeschool needed!

We just sold our home in IL. Had a great experience. Sold in 9 days. Very unusual. We feel very lucky and blessed. Realtor told us we did a few things that really helped. I'll pass them on and hope they help you. 1 - Clean, declutter and repair everything - I bought probably 30 rubbermaids and put tons of stuff in them. Clutter in a rubbermaid looks neat and clean. Helped tremendously in closets, basement and garage. Also made several runs to Salvation Army and Goodwill. Cleaned everything - shampooed carpet, washed walls with magic eraser, used Murphy's scratch oil on all over our woodwork. Everything sparkled. We spent 1 week just cleaning everything and spent a good 3 hours a day cleaning after that, but it was worth it. 2 - Paint - We painted rooms that just didn't look fresh. Got my mom and friends to help so it didn't take as long. A couple of gallons of paint did wonders to make the house look neat and clean. We had plaster walls and I took a tiny paintbrush and painted every single seam where the walls met and the plaster had worn off a bit. UGH. So annoying, but it did make a difference. 3 - Outside -even though it's winter, we cleaned and repainted the front porch, trim around the garage, garage door (not the car one, the human one from the garage to the outside) I also used the shopvac to vacuum the garage daily. Made a tremendous difference. Put out some cold hardy plants in front and in the garden (primarily purple cabbage and grasses) 4 - Take your screens down and wash all window. Leave screens off. Makes a huge difference! I was amazed how much lighter and brighter my house looked without the screens (plus then I didnt' have to clean the screens) 5 - Price - we set the price at 10K below what the realtor suggested. We wanted it to sell quickly and it did. We had 14 showings the first week alone and several other people come through in the open house (other than neigbors) We ended up selling a just a little under asking price. 6 - Rearrange furniture to make your space look bigger. I had friends help me figure our what would work best. FYI - Get the little plastic circles that go under furniture. I was able to move a pool table solo with those things. One of the best inventions ever! 7 - Prayed a lot! :) I know you've heard all this before but our realtor said that most of his clients didn't do it. (Judging from what we're seeing on the buying side, I agree) Oh just remembered - be willing to have a showing whenever even 5 minutes notice. We always were and I'm amazed how many people now want 24-48 hours. Bad idea. It's not fun, it's hard work and so stressful. I feel for anyone going through the hassle of selling. I hope some of these suggestions help you. Good luck!!!!

Timez Attack, MUS, mini-trampoline, IEW, SOTW and library!! I totally agree. Curriculum - starting TOG and love it. Building Character bible study -fantastic Favorite books - King George, What's His Problem, Two Miserable Presidents and Which Way to the Wild West (may have that title wrong) Very fun history books. My kids devour them and actually retain the info. Science Verse - any book that has my 8 yr old running around the house clutching it with glee is a keeper. Brainpop, cosmeo and funbrain for internet fun and learning. FYI - This thread is BAD. Now have many things on my wishlist in Amazon. :)

Have you tried some different curricula? My kids love Smart Art for art appreciation and Mark Kistler's online art academy for hands on skills. As far as poetry - Science Verse. Hands down the best poetry for boys -or at least my boys. Funny poems about science. They have memorized all of them and love them. Math Verse is another one. It helped them appreciate poetry and now they are more interested in reading other poems. Also, we downloaded some poems from librivox.org. They listen to a few on drives and that seems to make it more interesting. That said, if they don't get totally into it, I think that's ok. Try it a few times. If they hate it, give it a rest for a bit. Then try again. Good luck.

May I please enroll in your homeschools?!! They sound awesome. Ok, so I was inspired by y'all and in true homeschool fashion - jumped right in without planning. So, after book work, we did mindbenders (which my kids always love), started a anatomy unit by having one son trace the other on a rolled out sheet of paper and cut out organs and pasted them on it. On such a roll, I decided to push the limits and we started on the electric car kit they got for Christmas. Did I mention that we're in temp. housing and have 0 tools? Hmmmm, not helpful when you need a hammer, screwdriver and wrench for this. But of course, I hadn't read the directions until AFTER I let the kids gleefully tear open the package. Thousands of tiny parts are now strewn across the carpet. Whee!!! :) Seriously, thank you for the ideas and inspiration. Please keep the ideas coming! I'm loving hearing what y'all are doing.

Looking forward to reading the responses you get. Have you checked out this website? http://charactercounts.org/resources/booklist_search.php Here are a few we have enjoyed. These are books he can read independently or y'all can read together aloud. Sign of the Beaver Certain Grimms Fairy Tales (preview these as some are not appropriate. My boys love these, though. Can get them on MP3 free on librivox.org.) Narnia series Hornblower series Carry on Mr. Bowditch Nick of Time Below is a list that I found but couldn't link to. Might help you. Children’s Books That Build Character Respect Tolerance Black Like Kyra/White Like Me by Judith Vigna (K-3) But Names Will Never Hurt Me by Bernard Waber (K-2) Tillo by Beatrix Scharen (K-3) respect for animals All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka (K-2) Dragonfly’s Tale by Kristina Rodanas (1-6), Old Henry by Joan W. Blos (K-3) respect for nature’s gifts The Araboolies of Liberty Street by Sam Swope (2-3) Who Owns the Sun by Stacy Chbosky (1-6) Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki (3-6) Sour Land by William Armstrong (4-6) Come Home With Me by Aylette Jenness (3-6) Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Chief Seattle (3-6) Autumn Street by Lois Lowry (4-6) Through Grandpa’s Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan (3-4) Stay Away from Simon by Carol Carrick (2-5) Respect for the handicap The Cay by Theodore Taylor (5-6), respect for all races Perseverance Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie dePaola (K-2) Tillie and the Wall by Leo Lionni (K-2) Responsibility Growing Up is Hard Sometimes by Barbara Hazen (K-3) Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle (K-2) Best Mom in the World by Judy Delton (K-3) Boy Who Held Back the Sea Lenny Hort (1-4) Pony Champions by Elizabeth Sutton (3-4) Peppe the Lamplighter by Elisa Bartone (2-4) Bently and Egg by William Joyce (K-3) Journey to Freedom by Courtni Wright (2-6) Pass the Quill by Robert Quackenbush (3-6) Trumpet of the Swan E.B. White (3-6) On My Honor by Dane Bauer (5-6) Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of Nimh by Robert O’Brien (5-6) A Dog on Barkham Street by Mary Stolz (4-6) Children’s Book of Virtues by William Bennett, Friendship pp.31-53 The Friend by John Burningham (K-1) A Friend Can Help by Terry Berger (K-1) Friends by Helme Heine (K-2) Thankfulness I Never Say I’m Thankful, But I Am by Jane Belk Crabby Gabby by Stephen Cosgrove (2-3) Doodle Flute by Daniel Pinkwater (2-3) Moncure (K-2) My Mama Had A Dancing Heart by Libba Gray (K-2) A Friend LikeThat by Alfred Slote (4-6) Petunia, I Love You by Roger Duvoisin (K-3) Blue Heron by Avi (5-6) Little Pig, Big Trouble by Eve Tharlet (1-2) Being Danny’s Dog by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (4-6) Grandpa, Me & Our House in the Tree by Barbara Kirk (1-3) Honesty Going West by Jean Van Leevwen (2-4) Honesty by Jane Moncure (K-2) Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen (2-4) Dragon’s Robe by D. Lattimore (K-3) The Plymouth Thanksgiving by Leonard Weisgard (3-4) Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans C. Anderson (K-3) A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting (1-3) Hamburg by Nina Bawder (3-6) Kindness The Lion and the Mouse by Aesop (K-3) On My Honor by Marion Bauer (4-6) Please, Thanks, I’m Sorry by Jane Moncure (K-1) The Cybil War by Betsy Byars (4-6) Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughter by John Steptoe (1-6) One Eyed Cat by Paula Fox (5-6) Catwings by Ursula Le Guin (1-6) The Gold Coin by Alma Ada (2-6) Cooperation Sweetgrass by Jan Hudson (3-6) A Chair for My Mother by Vera Williams (K-2) Terrible Wave by Marden Dahlstedt (3-6) Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy (K-2) Sour Land William Armstrong (5-6) A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (K-6) Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (6) How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina Freidman (1-3) The Quitting Deal by Tobi Tobias (1-3) Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (4-6) Self-Control The Best of Prize of All by Mark Taylor (K-2) Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford (4-6) Addie Saves the Day by Connie Porter (4-6) Self-Control by Henrietta Gambell (K-2) How I Feel by June Behrens (K-2) http://www.charactercounts.org/booklist1.htmDon’t Pop Your Cork on Mondays by Adolph Moser (1-3) Sugar Gum Tree by Patricia Wrightson (1-3) The Rag Coat by Lauren Nills (2-3) Great Gilly Hopkins byKatherine Paterson (4-6) Sometimes It’s Up by Ruth Carlsen (4-6)

You may just want to add some extra cardio. Even just adding an extra 15 - 20 minutes will make a big difference. Many days I do level 2 along with 3 to quick get the extra workout in that I need. FYI - agree that water is key and that Level 1 is not good. Snoozefest.