Bribery worked in a way that special quiet time toys alone did not. Do your kids like stickers?

You have a lot of technology and engineering listed, but don't forget the basic principles of physics, chemistry and biology. And then there's applying math to it.

If it is, I'm doing it wrong, too. I'm finding it much easier than teaching school, because there's so much less of the background/administrative work.

http://rubberstamping.about.com/od/projects/ss/Paper_Star_2.htm is the star.

Oh, that's an interesting question. My DS is almost 6... he likes the games on Starfall (which we do a couple of times a month). As far as curriculum, I am really happy with How to Teach Art to Children, though I don't think it's especially new. Did you know that Farrar Williams is working on an elementary science curriculum? She posted a unit on bones and muscles on her blog.

We don't take the whole day off, but if it snows--usually a couple of times a year--I definitely make time for that. We're not equipped for sledding, but we have mittens, etc. So far we've had cold rain instead, ick. In warm, rainy weather, I set aside time for splashing in the puddle at the bottom of the driveway.

True story: I really had no idea why magnets work until reading some books on the topic to DS today. (I went to public school for K-12 and hold a B.A.) There's a gap, eh? Anybody else learn something new lately?

Okay, DS is probably going to try piano sometime in the next couple of years. The costs of local lessons are fairly easy to find, but I'm wondering... How much should we expect to spend on a new upright piano? How often do we need to get it tuned? What does that cost? Is once a week enough for lessons? How much do you spend on books each year? Are there any other costs? Thanks.

I'd probably get out card games or board games to play with the in-laws instead, and make him wait to use his new games until the new year. It's only a week, but I think since it's not his first offense, I'd want to be clear about making no exceptions.

I need an "Other" (I have a cat, not a dog). She is getting a self-groomer (basically a brush you attach to a wall). Last year she got a new mouse toy, but kitty will not play with any toy without loud cries of triumph so that we can rush in and praise her for keeping the house rodent-free. So toys are not that great a gift. Oh! Follow-up question! If you do buy your pet a present, do you wrap it?

I made the paper star at the top of the tree using a template from about.com. But overall, we are more festive than crafty--ice skating and charitable donations, yes; Let's Pinterest the House, no. :) Pretty much an equal lack of interest and skill. Everything school-related that has a winter or holiday theme just looks too forced for me.

I want an empty day on the calendar. There is one day that looks empty--the 26th--but I know perfectly well that's "Let's Put the Living Room Back Together" day.

A couple of books by Sophia Fahs. I guess I should wait and read them to/with him first.

I am going to be switching from Phonics Pathways to Logic of English Foundations B. In math, he'll move up from Miquon orange to red. Who else?

I would love to be able to click something to ignore/hide an entire thread, so it won't show up in my New Content search. IDK how hard that would be to do, but thought I'd suggest it.

Missing person update: she has called home and someone is going to pick her up.

What magazines are worth subscribing to? Do you get National Geographic? Audubon? Discovery? Something else?

Take a poll? I know some groups do not admit homeschoolers until the oldest child (or the oldest at home) reaches kindergarten. But then again to the state, we are not yet homeschoolers, in that my child has not reached compulsory age and we are not allowed to register yet.

Would you do parts E & F of Foundations with a second-grader, or skip them and start Essentials? DS will start B halfway through kindergarten--i.e., right after turning 6--doing 2 lessons a week (including the reviews). Then I'm thinking we can do C and D in 1st. Obviously I'm trying to think way ahead here... LoE is expensive and I don't want to buy more than I have to, yet I don't want to skip anything if it will be really useful to him to take it slowly. I know I don't have to make a decision before it's even published. He is currently on pages 68-69 of Phonics Pathways, reading four-letter short-vowel words but not enjoying it, if that helps. I am hoping to get him through to page 116 (-er, -ed, and -ing) by the time we switch to Foundations B. He will pretty much eat first-grade math for breakfast (we've been doing the Singapore extra practice book) but complains about reading three-word phrases. So I know some of y'all saw Foundations in Beta. What say you?

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