Thank you for the replies - good stuff here! I don't think I have heard of Essentials in Writing, I will have to check it out. I do have a soap making kit, but we haven't opened it yet. She does a lot of art - drawining, watercolors, art on the computer/animation, as was as making clay sculptures. A few years ago when the Egyptian exhibit was in Dallas, we took the kids and bought her a book on Hieroglyphics and for weeks afterwards she was writing up all sorts of stuff in hieroglyphics - she made me a shopping list that way once hahah and would write me notes and her sisters and translate for us. So yes - you are correct - when she is engaged she does very well. I think math won't be too bad - since she does already like Saxon - and we have decided to breeze through history. We will use what we have on hand but she already is fairly knowledgeable for her age in history I think, so we are not going to spend a lot of time there. She also mentioned she REALLY wants to study about genetics, so we will do biology - which is what she was working on (human systems) when the semester ended at school. I think she will do very well with that because she has a site she is involved with where she "breeds" dinosaurs and pets lol. Life skills - being more motivated with hygiene, and personal chores has always been a bit of an issue and we plan on incorporated more formal instruction during the day as well.

We home-schooled our Aspie Daughter for a bit, but put her in private school through 5th grade. I was on the boards here before, but it has been a while. 6th grade in public middle school was not as much as a success as we hoped. Our daughter tried hard, most of the teachers and staff bent over backwards to help meet her needs, but in the end, it was too overwhelming for her. Based on talking with one of her doctors, we decided the best thing to do would home school her again, most likely for the remainder of her middle school years. We will take another look at things when it is time for her to go to high school. Anyway - though I know more than I did when we first homeschooled it is like almost starting from scratch lol. We are thinking of easing her into just a few subjects next week: Math, reading and some grammar/writing. The goal is to get her caught up on math (that was the one subject she butted heads with her teacher and was a little behind), and get her used to some sort of schedule at home. I work from home, and my husband is going to start working from home in the next few weeks so he can be here to help with home schooling our daughter. We have 3 other children (16, 14, and 10) that live at home, plus a 20 year old that is on his own. The other 3 girls go to public school and do fairly well. We have a few challenges - she does sometimes have a hard time staying on task if she isn't interested in a subject, and some days has trouble dealing with stimulous. Plus, since we both need to work during the day, have to figure out a good schedule that will work for her schooling. I think sitting with her in the morning will be best to get her on track for her most of her work (she prefers to just be told what she needs to get done and then be left alone so she can do it - that is how it worked at her private school and she did well there), and go over things with her in the afternoon to see where she is at, and then on subjects that need more hand holding, get a good bit of that done on the weekend. Thoughts, suggestions?

We have 5 children - 1 graduated last year from public school and just started a vocational school, and 3 go to public school. My 10 year old daughter will be the only one home schooled. She will work for HOURS on something but only if she is interested in it. We had some struggles last year homeschooling - mostly with writing. She hates writing by hand, but she was getting more cooperative. My husband works full time and goes to school three nights a week. He helps on the math when she has trouble at school, but I don't see that he would have time (or energy) to work with her every day on math. How do you get your kids out to socialize since you work? We don't go to church (not religious), but we do have some friends we see every now and then - they live too far away to see every week. I don't see that I could make very much time during the week for her to socialize with kids.

Hey all! It's been a while since I posted, because I haven't been homeschooling. We put our our 10 year old daughter in a very small private school for this school year because I had to go back to work. Last month, however, I went back to a previous job that allows me to work from home. When I started homeschooling her last year, I was working that job, but it was only part time, and I was laid off for several months. I got a different job in the summer (outside the house), so that's why we put her in private school. She has Asperger's and a few mild health concerns, and she was having a lot of issues in school (social mainly), so public school wasn't the best option for her. Well, the first several months things went very well in the private school. However, we are starting to run into some of the same issues. It's a very good school, but the teacher called me today and told me that if she doesn't get better soon, there is no point in sending her there. I am going to talk to my daughter (yet again - it works for a few days it seems) and hope to have things worked out. I would prefer to have her home, but she is learning a lot, and has made a few friends. I need to figure out what we will do, though, in case she cannot turn things around. I don't think public school is a good idea. There are no other schools close enough that I think would be a good option. So - is there anyone here that works full time and home schools? How do you do it? Any advice is helpful.

Yeah...not going to even THINK about it right now...still trying to get over the fact I have to buy school clothes for the minions pretty soon.....

We have a Durango as well. And while it technically seats 8, it is an extremely tight squeeze. 2 in the back row, 3 in the 2nd row, and up to 3 in the first row. HOWEVER, it is an extremely tight fit in the first row, and only a small kid can really fit in that middle seat - and usually if the kid is small enough to fit there you really should have them in a booster seat anyway. You could fit a very small adult or teen there, but you have hardly any room whatsoever. I also am very leery of the safety of the person in the middle seat in the front row. We rarely will have anyone in that seat. I personally hate minivans with a passion. We have a full size van, but it only seats 7 because it has captain's chairs in the 2nd row. But is very roomy. However we did used to have an 8 passenger van, and that was great - fit all the minions plus a guest and still have plenty of room for groceries, etc. But I digress..... Good luck and let us know how you make out! Hopefully you can find some good deals on one since so may people started dumping their SUVs the last two years due to gas prices.

Just two things off the top of my head I would change if I could: 1. The ability to have the student complete more than 1 activity in a subject per day. Right now if your student does this, you have to merge the activities together to be on the same day. I asked about this in the forum and there answer is here: https://www.homeschoolskedtrack.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=48&sid=c4f8e2c91a252dc6cdf4d3b482936876 2. I wish it was possible to add another teacher login. https://www.homeschoolskedtrack.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=54&sid=b3e8dc02a2e0b2c58f4863c2f39618b6 However, these are pretty many things - and over all I am very happy with Skedtrack. I like the fact that it is really easy to set up - though it can be time consuming depending on how much detail you put in. For a free online program, it has a lot of bells and whistles. It has helped me from getting overwhelmed during those weeks where things are crazy. They did a great job with it, and if they get to a point where they go to a pay service, I will seriously consider continuing with it. This is one of those few free services that totally violates that "get what you pay for" rule, haha. Very good quality. They also can create transcripts now. I haven't yet, but will probably do that every quarter or so starting in the fall.

Blogging is a lot of fun! I haven't done as much lately as I would like, however, it brings me a lot of pleasure.

Impressive - I wish they could have gotten some thing directly from Brian though - I am curious how much he does on his own in the business - that wasn't very clear to me. I don't think Asperger's makes people unemployable. I do think it can make it very hard though, and as a parent, I need to work harder to help my daughter with AS gain life skills to become more employable. However, perhaps am I being naive as to just how hard, since my daughter's AS is pretty mild compared to some. One thing is that I can totally understand why self employment could be a very good thing - perhaps owning a business as long as they have someone they trust and can rely on to do the things for the business that they are not good at or just not interested in. Thanks for sharing - not gonna lie - got a little teary eyed reading this.

Wow - I find all your responses encouraging! Thanks. I plan on spending some time in our tiny garden today after the kids go off to Montessori daycare. This is most likely my last week day at home, so I want to make the most of it.

Last summer I was an HR Manager at a small company in town. We had a woman that worked there who had MERSA, as well as two of her kids. She had a flare up again a few months later, and had this big thing on the side of her face, and hadn't been feeling well. She mentioned something about going to the doctor, yadda yadda, MERSA, and wanted to come back after the appointment. I looked at her and said NO - you need to go to the doctor, get your prescriptions AND GO HOME!! I also told her I wanted her to leave right then and there, I didn't care that her doctor's appt was two hours off. I was polite but firm. We had an extremely small office where you could not avoid anyone. I told her to give me a call and let me know what her doctor told her. It bugged me because the sore was not covered either. I doubt we would have caught it, but I felt it was my duty to tell her to please leave since it is contagious. She got a prescription, had it drained, and properly covered. Her doctor told her it was okay to come back the next day (I asked her to get a note) and she did. No hard feelings lost either - she only came in because she was afraid her supervisor would get mad at her. I have to say that ESPECIALLY since you have Lupus you made the right decision. Don't let it bug you that your friend was upset. IF she is truly a good friend, perhaps this incident will encourage her to research your illness as well as MERSA and realize what she needs to keep in mind about your needs and what you need to be careful of. I have a very good friend I just adore. However, she is very allergic to cats and other animals, so I never invite her over our house. I also make sure that if we are going to be spending time with her my kids are not wearing clothes that have cat hair on them, which sometimes mean changing their clothes before they leave. We sometimes walk together in the park. However, because she gets colds easily and they are severe more than most people, I always let her know if I think I am coming down with anything before I go with her and let her decide if she wants to risk it.

I understand what you are saying there. That is when the basic chores were the ones my teenage son realized he had to do to have the privilege of having his own room, getting to use the internet, and basically having a life outside the life. No cooperation on basic chores...well then no basic fun for you mister.

Though we don't call it a commission (you must be a Dave Ramsey fan :)), we do give two of our kids an allowance for EXTRA chores that they must do that is above and beyond regular chores. My 13 year old makes about $4 for cleaning out the ferret cage and cat box (thorough cleaning 1 time a week, spot cleaning during the week), as well as gets extra money because she does the most dishes, and she also has extra responsibility watching the kids as needed. Except for watching the girls as needed, she is able to trade her ferret/cat chores to another sibling and they will get paid for it. Or she can ask them to do half of it and they will get $2. She never wants to do that because she wants to earn all the money haha. The 11 year old is totally responsible for the kids' bathroom in addition to her other chores, and has a few other things. She can have her other siblings do this and the other extra chores, but again they will paid for them and not her. The 7 and 9 year old have basic chores like the other two - ALL basic chores are tied to privileges - if they don't do them, no video games, computer games, going over friend's houses etc...and in the case of the 7 and 9 year old they lose the opportunity to do paid extra chores. One example of an extra paid chore is cleaning my van - I pay $1 or so - depending on how messy it is. The 13 year old is paid a total of $44 per month, and the 11 year old $14 per month. (My husband gets paid 2 times per month so it easier paying them that way.) I am not sure why people have issues with tying SOME chores to an allowance. I mean seriously - what adult is going to get paid any money for having a good attitude or doing no work? That is just my thinking. My dad had a saying when we were growing up "You don't work - you don't eat." We were not starved if we didn't do our chores, but we did miss out on cookies and ice cream on Sunday if we weren't cooperating on our chores. That sucked!

Sam's club is worth it for us for the gas, Gatorade, toilet paper and usually they have good deals on meat. Oh - and occaisionally Go-gurt. I do buy some other things there now and then (like a huge can of vanilla pudding) but I have found that the milk is the same price as it is at Wal-mart and Kroger's and they don't have nearly the selection of things as they did when I first had a membership a few years ago. And I was very disappointed with their pharmacy. I didn't save any money on my daughter's asthma medication. Though, I did score a few extra bucks by buying a box of 100 tampons haha. I have a friend that shops at Costco, and she says they have better selection there on some of the things we both buy. For example, I like to buy soy milk for my 11 year old (she has a sensitive stomach) but you can only get Vanilla at our Sam's club. Costco has plain. And I have not found the produce to be that great of a deal compared to some of the other stores like Newflower or Kroger's. Now - if you are in the market for high quality restaurant size plastic wrap and wax paper - they are the bomb!

....when it comes to video games. If I want to play but he is on one of his video game marathons, I let him play all he wants. Because I know this is in response to a very difficult week he has had and it helps him veg out a bit on the weekend now and then. But that's because it means more to him than me! :tongue_smilie:

I think that is why there are sooo many different types of marriages even within Christianity. Because different ones have a different interpretation about what submission is from a biblical standpoint. Know what I think is funny? In the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the father ran the show - even to where his children were working. However, when the main character wanted to go to college (she was like 30) she went to her mom and was upset she didn't think her father would allow it. Her mother looked at her and said something like "The husband man be the head of the family, but the wife is the neck and makes the head turn" hahah. Anyway - yeah God told Abraham to listen to his wife -but in my book it is pretty sad that a man would have to have his pastor or God tell him to ever listen to his wife. Personally, I blame all this on apostle Paul...I personally think he was a women hater and took things way too far when it came to keeping the women down in Christianity. I think there are more strong women examples in the Old Testament than the New Testament. But I guess that would be for another thread.....

I agree - I think it always tastes better! I haven't made potato salad in years...no one but me in the house will eat it. Good luck - and have a fun pot luck!

I wish I had read more Kipling years ago - I had read some of his stories back in the day, but never any of his poetry. I cannot believe I missed out on his stuff!

Well, I have to tell you I grew up in a religion where the husband got the final say in pretty much EVERYTHING - unless he was an "unbelieving mate" and the wife should still go to church whether he wanted her to or not. Anyway, I don't agree with that form of submission. I knew too many families where a stupid husband made awful decisions for the family, and the wife went along whether she agreed with him or not. I also knew a few husbands that got frustrated because they really could have used someone's input - wanted their wives' input - but the women believed that the responsibility wasn't theirs so would shrug it off and say "your the head of the house - what you decide is best." I also knew of two cases - extreme cases - where two wives had way more kids than they could handle because the husband refused to let her use birth control (birth control was not prohibited in this religion) because they wanted to keep having kids no matter what their wives wanted. Anyway - I wouldn't use the term submissive when describing myself, except when talking about specific subjects. For example, I will "submit" to the final word my husband has on things like computer purchases and repairs because that is his area of expertise and he has never steered me wrong. However, unless it is a purchase or repair effecting only him, he always gets my input. Edited to add: He always checks with me before making major purchases, even if they are related to his areas of expertise because I have the task of managing the budget. He also has the final say on car repairs (since he does most of them and knows more than me). Regarding home repair, he does most of it, and I will go with what he decides for repairs, but on decorating, we decide that TOGETHER. If he asks me to do something, I usually will do it. If I won't I would have a very good reason and explain, and we may make a compromise, or he will have to do it. This rarely happens. I am working on doing a better job of being responsible for my share of the load. I don't work full time right now, and I have been slacking around the house because I have felt beat down by illness, overwhelmed at times with some family issues, and job hunting like crazy. No good excuses, but while Christians may say I need to be more submission, I say I need to be more responsible. I do my husband's laundry some times - it depends on how crazy work has been for him. But if he asks me to do it for him, I will, and I usually try to go ahead and do it for him without him asking. But if I don't, it isn't the end of the world. However, if we agreed that I am responsible for the house not being a mess, etc., and keeping the kids on track, and I don't - it isn't me being non-submissive, it is me being irresponsible. I remember when I told a family friend that I was getting married. He was at my former church. He started talking about how I needed to be a submissive wife and I stated "NO! We both view marriage as a partnership - that is how we will handle it!" I am glad I left religion altogether. There is no WAY I would be happy being married to a husband that expected me to be "submissive". A marriage based on reason than blind submission is a happier one, but that is just my opinion.

I like the suggestions so far. I haven't required my daughter to memorize any poems just yet, but I do have a few that I would like to work with her on. The number one, though, is "If" by Rudyard Kipling: If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on"; If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! We have it taped to the fridge. I love Edgar Allen Poe! When my son was little, the Conquerer Worm was his favorite.

I hope all goes smoothly with your move out of the country! Will you have regular access to the internet so you can check in and let us know how you are doing once you get settled?

We have no dogs (which I would LOVE), but currently have 1 cat and 3 ferrets. We did have 3 cats for a while (while watching my sister's two) and then 2 cats until recently (watching my son's friend's cat)...and try as I might, I couldn't keep some of them off the fire place mantel, my piano, or on top of the ferret cage. They were allowed on all the couches and chairs, because good luck making any cat follow the rules! However, when we let the ferrets out, if they climb up on a chair or we usually take them off of it. This isn't so much being worried about fur, but because they are little creatures, and a fall could hurt them. The husband used to bring our cat into the bedroom all the time, until he was finally convinced that I didn't want the cat in there because of her fur - not just because I really don't like her that much. I try to keep the cat out of my kids' bedroom, but sometimes the 9 year old will sneak her in there.

We also have Netflix, and we can watch shows instantly on our computer, or on our tv through our XBox live membership. If you don't have XBox live, you can purchase a piece of hardware that will allow you to watch them on your tv. Not all programs and movies are available instantly, but a great deal are. We also can have the dvds sent to us. So far we have only done that twice - mostly because I don't like having dvds kicking around the house that don't belong to me. We only pay $10 per month - I think they have different deals, so check around online for a coupon code. We watch a lot of tv shows, documentaries and movies. If you don't mind watching shows online on your computer, hulu.com has a lot of great shows you can watch for free (and yes it is legal). For a little bit of money, you can buy cables to connect your computer to your tv if you don't like watching things on the computer screen. Once in a while we will do this with Netflix in my bedroom because we don't have any equipment in there to watch things instantly. I have to say that Neflix really does give you the most entertainment bang for your buck ESPECIALLY if you use the instant option. I don't think we will ever pay for cable or satellite tv again between what we can get online for free and netflix. It is really helpful for homeschool if you like to include educational movies, as well as they have a lot of old movies - how cool is it to be able to watch Silent Movies with your kids? We have watched a couple with the younger girls and they loved it!

I have to say that I have had the "baby wants" several times in the past 6 years. (Our youngest is 7.) My oldest is out of the house, and our two eldest daughters are 11 and 13. Our youngest are 7 and 9; the 9 year old has Asperger's. I don't currently work outside the house (though schedule to start soon), and my husband works a pretty demanding full time job. My health is not as precarious as yours, but I do also have some health concerns, and am 38, close to your age. Why don't we have another one? Because I realize that there is still more my current kids need from, and brining another one into the world will just stretch me thinner, lessening the quality for all. I also realized (the last time) I wanted a baby is because I missed taking care of someone totally. So, instead, I got another pet. That cured me quick, haha, but we still enjoy him. I realize you are concerned with your health and age issues - however, have you thought that perhaps even if you wait a few years you could actually adopt or foster a small child? Just because your health my not make it smart doesn't mean you can never have another child in your life. I think that IF (and at this point it is a big if) we decide to have another baby, we will adopt one if we are in a position to do so. I loved a lot about being pregnant, but I also realize that risking my health isn't the best thing for me or my family right now. Just my 2 cents.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6453906.html So basically anyone under 4 feet 9 inches has to be in a booster or car seat. That is a stupid law. I doubt very much we will be getting booster seats for our kids that are just under the 4 foot 9 height. Regarding letting kids sit in the front seat - I do not normally let the kids - never the 9 or 7 year old in our Durango because we cannot shut the air bag off. The 13 and 11 year old we do, with the seat all the way back. They are both tall enough. In the van, we have no passenger air bag, so I always let the 11 year old sit up front if she wants. I do sometimes the 7 or 9 year old, but it is pretty rare, and usually only if we are going say to the store about a mile away, where we take side streets and rarely go over 25 miles an hour. Personally, I think seat belt laws are stupid as well. I ALWAYS wear a seat belt and require my kids to - actually all my passengers whether the law requires it or not. But I don't the government should be involved with enforcing it. Not wearing your seatbelt in an accident (if you are old enough to know you should be wearing one) is just another form of natural selection.