Most of us feel this way on a regular basis. We are wrapping up my 9th yr. of homeschooling this yr. My oldest is doing very well w/ a fairly rigorous program of work. I am more confident in choosing curriculum and teaching for my younger dc. Yet, I regularly beat myself up feeling like I am short-changing someone somewhere. It just seems to come w/the territory. My advice is just to keep plugging away and remind yourself how much your children have progressed. There is light at the end of the tunnel. One day you will be amazed at how well your children turn out, academically and otherwise. At that moment, try to give yourself some credit for a job well done. Denise

I don't plan exact curricula ahead but I do plan subjects and goals. I began thinking about and planning high school when my oldest ds was in 4th grade. And yes, I printed out threads and took notes on curriculum ideas. I don't have an organized notebook like you described. Just a folder w/tons of printed threads and notes grouped together by subject. I wish I had begun w/your more organized, divided notebook approach. It can take too long to rummage through all those papers. Anyway, your idea is good. Start now and you won't have as many "oh, wish I done that sooner" moments. Denise

Musicmom - thanks for replying. Your response about the foreign lang. really hit on one of my main concerns. I would prefer that he only study one language. I was afraid to drop Latin for Russian and then have him decide he doesn't like Russian after all. I guess we could go back to Latin if that happens but I think it's harder that way. And, I am thinking about the modern lang. issue with most colleges preferring 3 yrs. of a modern lang. In the end, I guess it's more important to let ds try the Russian. Who knows, he may love it. Maybe we'll drop the Latin for next yr., knowing we may pick it up again if the Russian doesn't work out. Brindee - thanks for your response too. How we homeschool really is kid dependent. It makes our job more challenging as well as interesting. I'm really glad I found these boards. You all are great. Denise

We used it this yr. We used it for 1 semester. It can be teacher intensive depending on how closely you follow it. I reduced or skipped some exercises or we did them as discussion instead of in writing. I even had my ds do some of the chapters on his own, though the author says not to do that. So, for me, the program was not too teacher intensive. I've never used Teaching the Classics so I can't speak to that but, we had not done any type of lit. analysis prior to using Windows To the World. I used it more as an intro. to lit. analysis, nothing too intense. For us, it was a good program. It's pretty clear, has good explanations and examples and good practice. Have fun with it. Denise

Thank you everyone. This helps a lot. regentrude - he will continue Latin through high school, 4yrs. - although he is starting Russian in 10th, he intends to continue it for the rest of high school, so 3 yrs. I thought Spanish or French would be easier but they don't interest him as much, unfortunately. So, I will let him try this schedule and see how he does. Wish us luck! 8FilltheHeart - hurray for your son finishing Eagle this summer! My ds is working on staff at camp this summer and then going to Philmont. So we won't get to work on any academics or his Eagle until mid to late Aug. I'll be glad once he gets his Eagle. One less thing to work on. Thanks again for your help. Denise

No, Alg. II and Geometry are at the same time. Also, it's not the number of classes but the content load that worry me. In English/Lit. there is a lot of difficult content. Russian is a hard language to learn. Latin II is difficult. Combined with everything else we're using, I wonder if it's too much. I don't know, by themselves, each one is doable. Even a few together are doable. But all of them? Am I underestimating him? Did any of your kids do something similar? Maybe I'm just too tired to think this through rationally. Any thoughts you all have are appreciated. Denise

Ok, that's creepy. Is there any way to get rid of her? I don't know much about FB or blogging but, I'd try to get rid of that one. Or, post a warning to others so they don't click the link. I'm sorry this happened to you. Denise

DTaP is a combo. vaccine so I would do that one by itself. It's three vaccines in one. At least, that's how we look at it. MMR is the same. We delay vaccines and schedule them 2-3 weeks apart. For us, DTaP is most important, followed by the one for meningitis, then Hib, then polio. The others follow kind of randomly after that except, we hold off on the chicken pox until the very last. Denise

Jean, I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do or say that would help you. What does your doctor say? Do you need surgery or special medicine? I will pray that you recover and heal from all this soon. :grouphug: Denise

I'm right there with you, clueless as ever most of the time. Denise

:grouphug:s to you and your little girl. Poor little love. Cuddle her a lot, read her extra stories and just explain what it means to be slap happy. Try making her laugh at you for being so silly. Maybe one day she can find the humor in it too. Forgive yourself too. Every mom has done something similar at least once. Denise

I'm real but, I'm not a frog. I am a mom but, I'm only one mom and not 5 of them. Denise

Oldest ds tried explaining how I could be in two places at one time but there would not be two of me. He also tried to explain some of the math behind this theory. :confused: So, apparently, I am real here and someplace else too. Or maybe multiple places. Or maybe, none of this is real (Twilight Zone music). I just want two or three of me so I can get the laundry done, shop for groceries and school my dc.:D Oldest says it can't be done. Oh well. Denise

Aubrey, I don't have any solutions for you. Your search is such a struggle for you and I wish I could make it easier. If you lived closer, you could come to my church classes. You can bring your children to everything here. When my dd was a baby, I went into the training room. Later, our Priest stopped me and gently told me to just stay in Mass w/dd. Well, I don't know if you are interested in my church and you live about 1 1/2 days drive away, so it's not realistic. So :grouphug:. I hope you find what you are looking for soon. Denise

I might make that cake. I'm so cranky today. :glare: Your thumbnails almost made me smile - almost. I'm really cranky! We must all need a chocolate fix. Denise

I don't think any of mine will ever learn that. Congratulations! Even if she forgets, she's at least realized it once. Denise

Thanks for replying. For Geometry, he will finish Ch. 7 before he leaves for the summer. So, he'll have a lot left for next yr. Religion is pretty rigorous. However, I can softball it more. Math and writing are the most important, in my mind. But after that, what priority would you put on the classes? What would you cut or table for a later time? It's funny. For my next ds, I will be asking how to get him to do more work. :D Oldest ds wants to tackle too much and too rigorous at one time. Thanks for your help. Denise

Ds and I are finalizing 10th grade plans and I am concerned that the course load is too heavy. Please help me sort this out. Ds wants to take: Latin II, Russian I, AP U.S. Govt./AP Macroeconomics and Chess. He must take: English/Lit. - using Utopias as our theme, Alg. II, Geometry, Chemistry, and Religion. Religion is a requirement of our umbrella school and he really enjoys it. Chess class - through Oak Meadow and can be used as an activity instead of a class, but it will still take time. AP Govt. and AP Econ. - through Oak Meadow, 1 semester each. He chose these classes based on the description. I'm not sure that we will actually take the AP test for these classes though. English/Lit. - He will read Plato's Republic, Augustine's City of God, etc. moving forward to modern utopias. This is something he wants to do. I will have him write about 6 papers on these readings. Math - he started Geometry this semester so he needs to continue and finish it. He also wants to go ahead w/Alg. II, which I agree with. Chemistry - I intend to use the book by Raymond Chang, but the one for honors not AP, w/a lab. He wants to be a physics/math major. He is working on his Eagle Scout rank, is involved in an Engineering club and a chess club. These are all things he wants to do and I want him to follow his interests but I am worried it is too heavy a load. What do you all think? Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

Can you start w/SM and then switch to MM if SM doesn't work out? How difficult is it to change from one program to another? I know they are similar so I'm wondering if it would be an easy switch to make. Thanks for your help. Denise

We've been eating a lot of soups for lunches - some canned, some homemade. Sometimes we just have saltines and sometimes small sandwiches. For dinner, we have pasta 1/wk., eggs 1/wk. and beans 1/wk. That helps simplify planning and cooking. Also, a roast in the crockpot is easy and makes several meals. Cover the bottom of the crockpot with some broth, crushed tomatos or water; add the meat, spices and remaining liquid and cook on high until it falls apart. You can add in veggies mid-afternoon. Using frozen veggies helps cut down on the prep. time and is just a whole lot easier. For breakfast, we either have oatmeal, cold cereal or yogurt. Sometimes we have peanut butter on toast too. I keep a basket of fruit on the counter for snacks. Denise

Yes, my kids are screened regularly by my Pediatrician. My oldest had auditory processing issues so he's had lots of screenings. He had surgery last summer and has been a bit louder since that time so I'll be taking him in for another screening soon. Denise

I can't answer most of your questions but our FLL was sponsored by a local museum. If the businesses won't sponsor you, try a children's or science museum. I hope you find the answer to the rest of your questions. Have a great time with FLL. It's a blast. Denise

:lol: True! Well, so much for my getting rid of the ants idea! Denise

Congratulations! A little girl to cuddle. What a blessing. My measurements never seemed to be accurate so I'm not much help there. Thanks for sharing the exciting news. Denise

I might try to just give up sugar. That will at least solve my current ant problem. Denise