I'm looking for a first real Bible (not a Bible Story book) for dd, who is almost 7. She is a great reader (4th/5th grade level). Are there any available online? I'd like to get it for Easter and we don't live near a Christian bookstore.

At least, it is hard for me to say anything in my own words that would be extremely helpful in this situation, but I was thinking about your situation this morning, and I wondered if you have read Romans 14 through 15:6 lately. It might be helpful to both you and the family who is dissenting. Best wishes!

I'm looking to start something. I'm only a few pounds (about 10, probably) overweight, but I am addicted to sugar. I'm afraid that if I don't eliminate most of it cold turkey, and then add back in the good ones (fruit, for example), I will never be able to break the addiction. I don't drink any soda or other sugary drinks. I mainly drink water. But I eat a lot of sugar.

the following year they would be staying home for school? How did you make this transition work? We enrolled ds in preschool three mornings a week, starting in the fall. We did this only because we live way out in the country and have had trouble finding little playmates for him since we moved here. He has two little buddies at gymnastics who will also be attending this preschool. It is a really nice preschool run by a church. They don't have a daycare; it is really just a preschool. It is mainly just for social interaction and fun activities. Some mothers of current students assured me that I will already have taught ds everything they learn academically (basic numbers & counting, abc's), and it is really just a great atmoshphere of fun preschool learning. He is excited because they will get to see baby chicks hatch out in an incubator and do a few other fun science projects that would be hard for us to do at home. And he is excited because he will get to play with other kids his age on a regular basis. Having said all that, I am not a huge proponent of preschool. If he hadn't expressed the desire to go, I wouldn't have sent him, but I am very happy for him that he will get to have playmates. But now I am wondering, what about the following year? What if he gets used to being around other kids regularly and he really misses that interaction? We will definitely be hsing that year, and I just wonder how to make that transition without his resenting hs.

I'm thinking about hardwood because (if it actually gets built this spring) the homeschool room would be right off our dining room in which we would like to lay hardwood flooring this spring. So, it would match. We're planning to do art projects and science experiments in this room, however, so I'm wondering if hardwood floors are easy to clean up and durable?

What do you snack on?:)

And how long do your exercise sessions last?:)

I looked on their website, but didn't see that option anywhere. I am interested in their Classically Cursive books and history and Bible programs.

They are a part of our NOEO Biology I kit. There are suggestions for how you can actually observe and interact with one small square of each environment if you live close enough to that kind of habitat, but they are also useful for studying habitats that aren't accessible to you and learning what you would see there if you could visit. My ds 4, who is a science nut, loves these books. He loves the illustrations and all the facts. Dd 6.5 thought they were a bit on the boring side. I find that that the pages are too busy visually for me. There are little captions and areas of text all over the place. But, again, ds loves them.

You can view samples and pre-order on the Peace Hill Press website. I didn't know if this might be something of interest to you. About paring down to basics, I think it sounds great! We dropped Spanish several months ago, and I was a Spanish major! There just wasn't enough time for everything we were trying to do. I wish I could help you more, but I am also trying to choose a writing curr. for my dd who will be 7 soon. I'll be watching this thread. :)

I can't imagine your frustration and grief. Please know that this child has been blessed by your love and care. Thank you so very much for what you have done.

Okay, Pam. I didn't see your response until this morning, because I had already gone to bed. I feel so much better this morning! Thanks for the response. You are one of my virtual heroes, so I really appreciate your advice. I did watch the video, and it was hilarious. I love Bob Newhart. I am going to take his advice and just Stop It! And really, upon re-reading my post this morning, with a clear, rested head, I feel silly and I think people were probably thinking I was just trying to show off, but last night I truly felt like a failure. One more question, as the mother of gifted children, did you ever lose the ability to gauge what is normal? When everything comes very easily to dd, it just seems as if we're not doing that much. When my first grader is reading on a fourth to fifth grade level, I often forget that most kids are only reading beginning chapter books and that I shouldn't worry if dd just wants to read picture books, because she is still 6, after all! I am a lot more relaxed than I come off as on these boards. I give dd lots of time to play and just be a kid. And we are very loosely-scheduled people. I just occasionally have these moments of confusion. From now on, I think I should just watch that video and not post. Thanks for the laugh.:) I think I have realized what makes me have these worrying episodes. I am such an undisciplined person by nature, that I try to be extremely vigilant about our schoolwork because I fear that at any moment my lazy nature will take over and everything will fall apart. The past few weeks have not been very productive ones. We were all sick and took several days off to recover. Right after that, dh had to take a few days off work because of horrible winter weather, so we just played with him. Then my sister had her baby and we took a day off to go visit her and take care of my older nephew. And then on Friday, we just didn't have it in us to do a whole day's work. I guess I'm just afraid this is going to become the pattern, that I'm going to give up for the year. But I know I should just give myself some grace and realize that we can pick up and start a regular schedule again and taking all that time off was completely justified.

The notification form which I submitted to our local public school system used the exact words of Ohio Revised Code regarding homeschooling requirements. There are certain subjects that you must affirm you will cover in your homeschool each year. Fine arts, including music, is listed as one of those subjects. It doesn't elaborate about how you must cover it or what you must teach, but you are supposed to be doing something for art. Now, imho, at this level it could be just providing art supplies and allowing your kids to make art, or checking out some library books with pictures of fine art for them to look at, or getting some art postcards for them to play with, etc. My dd loves doing art and seems to have a gift for it, and we couldn't afford art lessons or classes this year, so I decided to buy an art program. As I mentioned in my op, we are sporadic with it. HTH:)

We're actually required to provide education in fine arts, including music, in the state of Ohio.

when you write it down, it looks good? I have been feeling lately as if we just aren't doing enough, but when I come here to ask for opinions, I always delete the post before ever posting it because it looks like a crazy question! Maybe it's because almost everything comes easily to dd, so it doesn't seem like we're accomplishing a huge amount, but just coasting. Does that make any sense? Also, we're not very consistent with art and music, and we're having difficulty finding a groove with history. But she's only in first grade, so I think I'm just worrying too much. Here's what she is doing: FLL: set to finish second grade work by the end of May, doing one lesson a day; currently memorizing prepositions with great success; occasionally writing letters to relatives Abeka cursive: two pages a day math: a few pages everyday in Singapore 2B (CWP, IP as needed), addition flash cards everyday, addition copywork everyday, we haven't started memorizing subtraction facts yet, which worries me. Reading: Little House on The Prairie, usually one chapter a day + free reading, usually daily Spelling: 3 lessons left in All About Spelling Level 2; ready to start Level 3. I have no worries here! Science: currently studying human body with NOEO biology I, averaging one day of reading + 1 day of experiments per week (*no* experiments completed this week) History: trying to do Evan Moor History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations as a break from SOTW, vol. 1; we're having trouble with this one (we didn't do *anything* this week, and we're only up to chapter 15 in SOTW, aargh! Music: Themes to Remember, Vol. 1 w/library books about composers, classical kids cd's, and cd's of selected complete works (We were doing really well with this, but after going to a Mozart concert at our city's Symphony Orchestra in January and subsequently reading a Magic Flute picture book and listening to the accompanying cd, we have done very little.) Art: Artistic Pursuits, Vol. 1 . We do this sporadically. We haven't done a lesson for a few weeks. We went to a Monet exhibit in January and read several books about Monet. Since then, we haven't done much. Physical Education: Gymnastics 2 hours a week. No worries here. Extras: Girl Scouts, once a month. Should I be worried that we're not consistent with music and art, and that we're not very far in history? Also, it seems that we don't read very scholarly selections for reading. Should I make that an issue, or just be glad that she can read so well for now? I think I'm just having PMS. Because when I look at it, it looks good, but I still feel like a huge slacker. And even chocolate isn't helping. I think I'll go to bed and hope to feel better tomorrow. Thanks for letting me vent.

I also struggle with knowing what to do.

My dd is a natural speller, so we haven't really encountered words that she didn't know how to spell, but she has learned so many helpful rules, definitions, etc. She has learned the rules for dividing words into syllables, how to determine syllable types and how this affects spelling, etc. She is learning why we spell words a certain way, which helps her to be able to spell many more words than are included in her list for that unit. Because she is accelerated and is a natural speller she has been able to fly through the lessons. She completed the level one book in the fall, is almost finished with the second level book, and we are ready to start the third. The only issue for us is that it is a new curriculum, so I think the third level book is the last one currently available.

Thanks for the input!

Thanks, that helps.

My opinion would be, yes. Most of the books were primarily fact books, but there were enough pictures in them and the reading assignments were short enough that dd didn't mind. There are also a few story books (In Biology I they were about Louis Pasteur and John James Audubon). The only ones dd didn't like were the One Small Square books, but ds loved them because they are pretty much all facts. HTH

We've been using the NOEO Biology I Kit this year, and we really like it. Ds4 is extememly interested in science, so he tags along with dd6.5 for most of the reading and experiments. I love it that it utilizes real books instead of textbooks, and there have only been 1 or 2 that weren't big hits with dd, who also prefers a story to the facts. Ds4 has enjoyed all of them. The kit includes Young Scientist Club experiment kits with virtually everything you need to complete the experiments. The only things you need to provide are truly household items that almost everyone has on hand or could easily pick up at the grocery store. And the NOEO teacher's guide includes a list of all the supplies you will need to provide for each week along with a 36 week schedule. It also includes reproducible lab sheets for the experiments and notebook sheets for writing narrations or definitions and/or illustrating what you are learning. We have been very pleased with it.

Can you please tell me what you liked and what you didn't like? We have been using Singapore for K5 and first, but I'm looking for something with more help for me as the teacher and more review/practice built in. Whatever we choose, we will continue to supplement it with Miquon because dd loves it and we already have all the books for it.

I don't even own a pair of sweat pants, so I definitely don't wear sweats all day. But I never wear makeup. Dh thinks I look much more beautiful without it. I do throw on some lip gloss once in a while, but not everyday. I feel better about myself when I blowdry my hair, but most days it gets to air dry because it's not my first priority. I usually wear a pair of nice jeans or khakis, or occasionally my black yoga pants when we're just around the house. I try to wear a nice sweater or shirt if I think we might go out that day, but I often wear a t-shirt just for comfort if I think we'll be home all day. In the summer I wear gauchos, capris, or skirts most days, but sometimes a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

Dd6.5 is very good at capitalization and punctuation when we are doing schoolwork together. Occasionally I will have to ask her what needs to go at the end of a sentence? She clearly understands, however, that each sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark. When she writes little cards and letters for us just for fun, though, it all goes out the window. There is no punctuation, so each sentence just runs into the next. She still capitalizes names and such, but not the first words of sentences. And if you try to help her with it, she gets very upset. When will her head knowledge be translated into her everyday writing skills?

all we have done so far today is handwriting and part of math. And then ds4 showed me that he really needed a nap, although he doesn't usually nap anymore, because he has been up too late too many times this week and he was melting down over everything. So we had lunch, and then we headed to my ultra-comfy king size bed for read-alouds. First we had to do a few pages of an I Spy book from the library. Then dd read us a silly picture book about a monster surprise party, just for fun. Then I started the Science in Ancient Mesopotamia book that I swear my 4yo ds checked out of the non-fiction section of the library because he thought it looked interesting! It happened to conincide perfectly with our history studies as we are doing the History Pocket for Ancient Mesopotamia to review what we learned earlier in SOTW. I think ds fell asleep during chapter one, and dd and I made it part way through chapter two before conking out. Ds is still asleep, dd and I are awake, but we don't know if we really want to finish spelling, FLL, science experiments, etc. We are so completely snowed in that dh doesn't know if he will be able to make it home tonight, and I'm thinking that a snowed-in weekend will probably afford us some opportunity to catch up on art, music, and reading. So, can I just call it a day for today? Did I mention that I made a batch of Quiver's Cinnamon rolls for the first time today, and I am feeling so fat, and the sugar could have been part of the meltdown trigger for ds, and my house needs to be cleaned, and I'm just not feeling like a good hs mom? BTW, dd is ahead in spelling and grammar, so it won't really affect our overall schedule too much, and she says we could just call it a snow day! :)