I'm trying to make a list of health-related topics I need to make sure to cover now that dd is heading into adolescence. Until now, we've not done health as a school subject. We more or less cover what we need to cover as part of our daily life (hygiene, safety, nutrition, basics of puberty/sex, etc.). But I think at this age it might be good to make it a little more formal. What topics have you covered as part of Health at this age? If you've used a curriculum or other resources you particularly like, feel free to share that too.

I like walking planks (alternating between forearm and straight arm planks). The Bring Sally Up Plank Challenge is great for that -- example here: . You can also do all sorts of variations on this: Straight arm plank into down-facing dog on the "ups" to take a quick break (this is a good one to start with), straight arm planks into chaturanga push-ups, squats (stand to rest on the "ups"). Google for more ideas. I also like reverse planks; they engage a completely different set of muscles: . Make sure to keep your hips up; you should feel your shoulders engage immediately. Can you side plank with one knee down? That takes a lot of pressure off your shoulders. Then you can do things like Thread the Needle (with or without weights) to get the benefit for your obliques. Here's a video: . As an alternative, you can do something similar with a straight arm plank: Put a light weight (kettlebell is easiest if you have one) beside you. Reach through with the opposite hand and pull it underneath your body to set it on the other side. Repeat with your other hand. Concentrate on keeping your hips perfectly still. If you want an extra challenge on a regular plank, use a medicine ball(s) either for your feet or your hands. Really adds to the difficulty level of stabilizing your body. You can up it again by passing one medicine ball back and forth between your hands. Or, if you have access to them at a gym, you can plank with your feet in TRX suspension straps.

If I'm lucky, dh will take the kids to his grandmother's for Sunday lunch and I'll get two whole hours of peace and quiet to myself! :001_wub: Which I will NOT spend doing dishes or laundry or planning for next school year. Probably. If I'm not as lucky, dd has strep throat and I'll get to make a trip to the urgent care instead. Then we'll all be home all day hoping nobody else gets it. That's looking like the most likely scenario right now... ETA: Strep throat for the win. And probably an ENT consult this week regarding a tonsillectomy. :glare: Poor dd feels just awful (b/c she's sick, not b/c of Valentine's Day). It's pitiful. But dh did surprise us all with little boxes of candy. I thought it was so sweet that he got things for the kids too.

Yes, I think that's definitely a factor. Maybe THE factor. My view might be skewed because our church was a mainline Protestant denomination (United Methodist) that took a hard turn towards the seeker-sensitive brand of evangelicalism. Which is HIGHLY program-driven. This was one of the many changes that forced us out in the end. While the UMC is not historically as liturgy-driven as, say, the Episcopal or Catholic churches, our church did at one time have a liturgy that included hymns, the Lord's Prayer, the creeds, etc. Sacraments weren't held as highly as in other churches, but they were observed. There weren't dozens of programs that you were expected to attend every week. I'm no expert on evangelicalism, but I don't believe the program mania (which is generally intended to draw the unchurched into church) was historically part of the broader movement. It's a relatively recent development, and as such represents a departure from the historic purpose of the church gathering, which was to build up the saints through Word and Sacrament. At any rate, my original post on this was in response to someone who said that church attendance isn't primarily for us, but for God. I've got other issues with that statement, but her point was that we go for the sacraments, to hear the Word rightly taught, etc. And I'm saying, that's great and all, I DON'T disagree, but in many churches those things aren't really happening. And I completely understand why someone who is introverted at one of these program-driven churches wants desperately to get out of the church rat race.

In some cases, that might be feasible. I'm not sure. I know that the sermons in the liturgical church (not Catholic) I worked for were highly politicized, and I wouldn't have felt comfortable taking my children to those services as their primary religious affiliation. The church we attend now is actually Confessional Lutheran, so we too hear the words "this is my body" each week (although we understand it a bit differently than the RCC). So that in itself wouldn't bother me. I tend to subscribe to the motto lex orendi, lex credendi (the law of praying is the law of believing), though, so I would have to be entirely comfortable with everything contained in the liturgy before I, personally, could do it. Totally generalizing here, but I think most people coming from evangelical backgrounds don't view the sacraments in the same light as those from liturgical backgrounds (I know I didn't). So I doubt many of the introverts feeling pushed out of the program-driven churches are looking for sacraments so much as they are looking to escape the pressure they're under to ENGAGE. I guess I'm a little peeved that the evangelical church has changed the rules of the game for church members to an ecclesiastical model never before used in church history and now shames those who don't or can't participate to the level deemed "correct." For our family, the solution has been, as I said somewhere above, an online gathering. It's a bit unusual, but we have an actual service (participatory, not just something we watch online), the Lord's Supper properly administered by an ordained pastor, and Sunday school, complete with discussion time. Our pastor has been more of a pastor to us than the guy at our old church ever was (he and his wife are driving 1500 miles this summer to baptize our children). We feel very blessed to have found this church. But I appreciate your suggestions very much. :)

Unfortunately, they're not available in many churches, either. The church we left offered the Lord's Supper once a quarter, at best. And while they liked to talk about their reverence for the Bible, cherry-picking a handful of verses to distill them into a list of biblical "principles" to fuel a self-help sermon is not preaching the Word. Honestly, I think if these were more of a emphasis, as they should be, introverts would feel more comfortable in the church. Several people here have noted that introverts seems to fare better in more liturgical churches. Instead, we often are overwhelmed with pressure to join, join, join -- serve in multiple different ministries, contribute to small groups and Bible studies, take up positions on committees. If you resist the pressure, the guilt trips start -- don't you know that you're supposed to be an integral part of the COMMUNITY? Every time the church doors open for any kind of program, you should be there. With a smile on your face. If these types of churches are all that's available to you (as in our case -- the few liturgical churches in our area fall on the opposite end of the theological/social spectrum from us), and you dare to disengage from church altogether, well, heaven forbid. Sorry if I sound bitter. My experience is showing. The problem here is not a failure to cater to introverts. It's a fundamental change in the ecclesiastical model of many (primarily evangelical) churches, so that now everything is driven by programs and experiences, and not by reverence, worship, or the means of grace.

Yes, it most certainly is. Thank you for sharing your story. Feel free to PM me anytime. :)

This is exactly where we were as well. And sadly, we were branded as people who just didn't like change and wanted to cause trouble. The church we left was the one I grew up in. Heck, it was the one my GRANDMOTHER grew up in. We had roots there. Seriously deep roots. And what I mourn is the fact that my children won't have the same kind of church home experience I had growing up. But to be honest, there was no way they were going to have that experience anyway. Things have shifted too far. But we didn't dislike the changes because they were changes. We disliked them because they represented a departure from biblical orthodoxy. The "leadership" certainly didn't see it that way, but dh and I do. Complaining about change because it is a change is one thing. But some things aren't meant to change. And ascribing nefarious motives to people who point that out is just wrong. Our old pastor used to stand in the pulpit and say, "You don't have to like the changes we're making, just do the rest of us a favor and keep your mouth shut about it." Yeah, no. We took our concerns to the pastor. More than once. He refused to listen (quite literally -- he all but stuck his fingers in his ears and shouted, "Lalalalala"). What choice did we have? Choosing to stay wouldn't have been showing love and bearing with others' faults. It would have been endorsing false teaching. Choosing to leave upset EVERYTHING -- friendships, family relationships, even our routine. But it couldn't be helped. I still worry about the effects of not having the kids in a b&m church every week, but I am entrusting them to God.

This is terrible. I am so sorry your family was treated this way. :(

Yes, we have struggled with this a great deal. For our part, it was my introverted personality, combined with the fact that we were unable to find a local church that had not made compromises on what we feel are major doctrinal issues. We were very happy at our previous church, until it started to skid doctrinally. After that, we bounced around for a long time. For me, it was hard to connect anywhere. We were part of a house church for awhile, but there was no pastor there. It was more or less a Bible study, and there were no other children besides ours. We ended up back at our old church simply for that reason -- we felt the kids needed to have a church home and we were floundering. I am not sure whether that was a good move or not; I feel like I spent a lot of time undoing the poor theology they were learning (especially dd). We have always included Bible study and catechism as part of our homeschool routine. TBH, I think I teach them far more proper doctrine than they've ever learned in church. Now we meet with like-minded believers every week online. We work hard to build community despite our physical distance, and the format is better suited to my personality than b&m churches often are. It takes an extremely long time for me to feel comfortable around a group of people I don't know. I mourn the fact that my kids don't have a peer group at church (especially since they also miss out on having one at school), but after things changed at our church, we were black sheep anyway. Our solution is not ideal, but I don't think it's been detrimental to our children's spiritual health. At least, I hope not. They are still very young. All that said, I think that choosing not to be involved in any church based solely on your personality/comfort level engaging is perhaps not the best thing. It would be good to find a place where you can be involved to the degree that you are comfortable, even if that just means going to Sunday services and nothing else. Perhaps over time you will feel more comfortable branching out. As believers, I do think we need a community of faith. But, I do completely understand where you are coming from, and I know it's not easy. I wish you the best in finding a place that meets your needs. (((hugs)))

We've used CLE from 3rd-5th and love it. Because the new material is presented in such small increments, and there is so much review, it is very easy to accelerate. Obviously you wouldn't want to do that too much if you feel your ds is behind. But if you think it's more a matter of picking up some things he's missed in TT, it might be an option. We accelerate some here because dd picks up concepts very easily and just didn't need all the review. We've slowed down somewhat because I don't want her getting too far ahead, and because I feel that fractions and decimals are extremely important to master before she goes into algebra. Right now she is about 1/2 year ahead. We typically combine two lessons one day per week. So she does only the new material on (for example) lesson 2 and completes all of lesson 3. Doing that, we can complete a LightUnit in three weeks, with two extra days left over for challenge math exercises. Also keep in mind that the first LU is typically just tests of previous concepts (at least thru 6th, which is all I have used at this point). We usually skip that one because we don't take extended breaks like the public schools do, so we don't need to see what she remembers. There is review from previous grades scattered throughout the first few LU's. YMMV, of course, but it might be something to think about, at least until he's "caught up" in CLE. One more caution I would raise (not to make your decision any harder than it already is, LOL): Do you know what your plan will be for high school math? My understanding is that CLE's high school program is less rigorous. I believe the Sunrise Editions end with 8th grade. Many people switch to something else before high school. Just something to keep in mind since you're getting close. There are lots of threads on here about that particular topic that you can search for. Good luck! ETA: Because apparently I can't type. :tongue_smilie:

We've been using Harmony Fine Arts this year. It has several levels so you can make it as intensive as you like. DD is not really an arts kind of person, but she has enjoyed it.

I'd like to see Christian books for women that focus on theology and sound doctrine without getting overly bogged down in life experiences, feelings, and "girly" tones that make them read like group therapy instead of serious study. And what's with the misconception that all women are damsels in distress waiting to be carried off into the sunset by God (or a man)? Blech! :ack2: Actually I'd like to write that book, but I haven't figured out how, because theology and sound doctrine aren't gendered topics...

I know that this is true. He is a wonderful little boy -- loving and kind and imaginative. He's highly mechanical and loves to take things apart. His teacher said one reason her concerns would be lessened is that she knew he would be homeschooled. She clearly thinks that, barring any great leaps forward, he would be lost were he going into a kindergarten classroom next year. Part of that has to do with the fact that he needs to be "managed" a bit more -- having instructions repeated and help staying on task, etc. It seems to me that she is seeing more of this in the classroom than I am at home. I wonder if being in a busy room with more people is making it more difficult for him to focus? Thank you; this gives me confidence. I do think that, whatever it is we're dealing with, it's not insurmountable. But I am afraid that there's a long road ahead. Congratulations to you and your ds -- it sounds like he's made great strides in a short time! I REALLY appreciate all this info! Thank you for sharing. I am not at all sure what we are looking at here, and I am afraid that, as you mention, he may be too young to reach any useful conclusions. And I am struggling even to articulate the symptoms (?) that I see. He does seem different from his peers, but not in an egregious way. He often seems confused, especially during conversation or when he's given a task that's new or different. He does very well with concrete skills (such as following a diagram to build his snap circuits), less so with more abstract concepts (like finding the path through a maze). I'm not certain what any of that means, nor how to research it exactly. But you've given me some terms and information I can use to hopefully learn more. And the Super Duper products look very helpful, so thanks especially for that!! I do think that, if there is a problem, we need to know now. I don't want to wait any longer than necessary. But I also worry that we'll "find" problems that really would have worked themselves out if we'd given him some time. (I think dh worries more about that than I do.) I feel like we're on a tightrope here. In the end, all I want is for my sweet little boy to be who HE is, and preferably the least painful route to get him there. Thanks, everyone, for your support. Talking helps, and I don't have many outlets for that.

We had a conference with ds5's pre-K teacher this morning. She says he is behind in his ability to understand abstract concepts. He struggles with things like sorting by shape and size and following multi-step instructions, among other things. She said it could be a maturity thing, or it could be indicative of some type of processing issue. The only thing I know about processing issues is what I've googled in the hour since we left the school. He does have quite a few of the symptoms. He may have an auditory processing disorder. Or a visual processing disorder. Or slow processing speed. Or all three. Can you have all three? Or maybe it's something else entirely... Teacher says she's not qualified to tell us whether this warrants taking him for an evaluation right now, but that she would definitely keep an eye on it. She described him as "young for his age." I've had my head in the sand about this for awhile, but I know there is something going on. We have a call in to the pediatrician for his opinion and/or help getting started with the evaluation process. I am scared. I don't know what any of this means. I know it can be dealt with -- at least, I hope it can. Like most parents (I assume -- maybe it's just me), I've crafted this perfect little reality in my head in which my children are smart and successful and never have to struggle with anything. Ridiculous, I know. But I don't know what this means for him going forward. Have you been here? Please tell me it will all be okay. :crying:

That's still a thing around here. Saw it on photos form the elementary school dance on Facebook last night. I don't mind it as a casual look, but I've been to more than one wedding where the bride and bridesmaids wore short dresses with cowboy boots. Not a fan of that at all. But my 5yo ds is TOTALLY cute in his skinny jeans! :laugh:

Our church is similar -- A lot of the "regular" programs (Wednesday nights, choir rehearsals) take a break, but services and Sunday school continue, and we add a bunch of programs, mostly geared for kids, like VBS, summer worship arts camp, weekly day trips to local sites, etc. It's a United Methodist church. The Episcopal parish where I was on staff for a long time definitely geared down in the summer. One of the clergy members always went on sabbatical for three months (they rotated years). Other priests would come in to help with preaching and celebrating the service. Often these were priests not assigned to parishes, like the chaplain from the local Episcopal school. There was no Sunday school, and some years two services instead of three. Attendance was definitely down. But they did have a big breakfast each week during the Sunday school hour, which I thought was nice. A good way to fellowship and meet folks not in your service or classes.

I am doing a short story unit with dd10 in a few weeks. Here's what I plan to use: "The Lady or the Tiger" by Frank Stockton "The Fun They Had" by Isaac Asimov "Zlateh the Goat" by Isaac Bashevis Singer "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry "Scout's Honor" by Avi "The Grown Up" by Ian McEwan "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calabaras County" by Mark Twain "Miss Awful" by Arthur Cavanaugh "The Third Wish" by Joan Aiken "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury All of these are available for free online.

I was very much a future-oriented kind of person, until my sister was killed in an accident at the age of 19. Now we work very hard to find a balance. Homeschooling is one of the things that came out of that changed outlook. I want to spend the time I have with my kids. We put off a lot of things because we're a one-income family. The 3 to 5-year plan we had has become an 8 to 9-year plan. We are just now beginning to realize some of those goals from a decade ago. But it has been worth it. We made a similar decision to take our kids to Disney last year. We had a small window when ds was old enough to enjoy/remember the trip and dd still young enough to experience it as a little kid. We hope to go again when they are teens because the experience will be so different. It was the best family vacation we've ever had, and we don't regret it for a second. But yes, it was expensive, and there's a lot we could have done with that money. If I think about it too hard, I start to panic, so I have to keep it in perspective! In a perfect world, we would have been independently wealthy so we could retire at 40 and spend the rest of our lives doing what we want. Since that's not likely to happen, we have to make the best decisions we can with the information that's available to us at the time.

Nah, it's been that way since we got it, so I'm not worried about it (or no more worried than I would be to leave any dryer on). We do keep it cleaned out. For whatever reason, towels always take two cycles. Everything else is fine. I guess I have really absorbent towels??

Just out of sheer curiosity. :) I needed to do several loads of laundry today, but I had a load of towels already in the washer from yesterday. I ran it through the dryer once this morning, but my dryer takes FOREVER to dry towels! Then we had to go out. I briefly considered running the dryer while we were gone, but I've heard too many stories of fires, so I didn't. But then it occurred to me that I do often leave other appliances running while we are away, and maybe I shouldn't do that either. Unless it's the other way around, and leaving appliances on is no big deal, and I should just get over my dryer fear. :D

Haven't read all the replies, but I found myself in a similar situation just the other day. I had taken the kids to swim at the Y. We're there all the time, but we rarely use the pool. I noticed as we were entering the pool locker room that the sign said all children ages 5 and up should use the room for their gender. I wasn't crazy about sending ds through on his own (the doors are SUPER heavy), and I knew the locker room was likely to be empty at this time of day, so I took him through with me. It was deserted; we walked through and went on to the pool. Afterwards, I was again uncomfortable with letting my 5-year-old fend for himself alone in the men's room. And again, the women's locker room was deserted, so we all went together. Everything was fine until the girls from the daycare program came in to change (normally they would be in school at this time, but it was a snow day). DS was dressed, but dd and I were still finishing up. No one seemed to care that he was there (least of all the girls), but I still had him wait around the corner, in the long hallway that connects the locker room to the rest of the building. Later I wondered if I'd done the right thing. Our Y is usually pretty strict about age limits for everything. But 5 just seems entirely too young to be left alone to me. At least for my ds. And there is no "family" bathroom. There is a separate set of locker rooms for ages 19+ and 99% of adults without kids in tow use those, which explains why the pool lockers are usually empty. Then again, it sounds like 5 is a pretty standard age requirement for this kind of thing, so maybe I was being overprotective? In the OP's situation, the woman should have used the family option. 10 is too old to be in the ladies' room, and there was an alternative provided.

I totally get what you're saying. I think about those things too sometimes -- experiences I had growing up in school that my kids won't have. But then I think about the experiences they're having now that I never had the chance to have. This is what's normal for them. These are the memories they will look back on fondly (at least, I hope so). We all have our personal set of experiences, good and bad, and they are what make our lives unique. Heck, that terrified me! When I was in high school. After having changed classes for eight whole years! Obviously my extensive class-changing training did nothing to prepare me for the gauntlet that is college life. How did I ever earn a degree?? :D

Delayed double post. Something weird happening with my Internet. Carry on. :)

This was MIL's big objection. DD was in second grade. Now she's 10, and I know things will probably change, but right now she wouldn't put on a dress and high heels and makeup if her life depended on it. I can't think of anything that would appeal to her less than prom! You forgot to add that, once he runs the length of the street and back, he'll have to run to to the opposite corner to retrieve his school books, which you will have stashed in a metal box protected by a combination lock that will only open on every third try (assuming he remembers the combination). And if he's not back in his seat in the allotted time, you'll make him sit for an extra 30 minutes at the kitchen table at the end of the day. Changing classes... good grief. Seriously, some people have too much time on their hands. :rolleyes: