I just remembered that I had wanted to get him a blanket for his badges. Any suggestions on what type to get? Or is there another creative way to keep the badges?

Lots of ideas here, thankyou. And I don't know what some of these are so will have to look them up :D Regarding socks, are yours a part of the uniform? We don't have any specific sock requirements. Unless you mean a particular quality or brand. I probably should have added in the original post that we are in Australia. So our weather is quite warm.

Thankyou, I hadn't thought of belt and buckle, nor seen those ones. I'd love to get him that book too.

I have no idea of what to get for my twelve year old son for Christmas. I have begun to think along the lines of Scout equipment - fancy compasses, gps somethings... Any cool suggestions?? Thanks!

When I started out I first heard that 50 grams of carbs or lower could get me into Ketosis, so that's where I started and it worked for me. I tested I was in ketosis by using a Ketonix. I no longer track. Once I became fat adapted I knew what it looks like and I haven't changed the foods I eat by that much. (It was Dr Pompa who said 50 carbs)

Primary: 'Art for Kids Hub' channel on YouTube is a favourite here. And free! I've also been recently inspired by following Cassie Stephens (primary school art teacher with lots of experience) on Instagram and on her blog - https://cassiestephens.blogspot.com.au Highschool: http://thevirtualinstructor.com

I don't know, but I remembered it was in the bible: 'Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD:...' Zech 2:6.

The older three have a membership, however child number four was asking for membership this week. So good timing, I'll grab one.

Reading my friend's post on facebook today saying that both of her children had slept in until 8am and she woke up refreshed and hopeful for the new year. 2015 was such a hard year for her on so many levels. Simple things like finally getting a good sleep mean so much. I hopped out of the shower today to discover a quiet house. I found that my husband had taken the six children with him to run errands around town. And he didn't hurry back home. That's my personal blessing for today.

Read humourous stories when you know that they are going to be around, so that your face is naturally shining happiness as you smile and laugh to yourself. Short term goal to change their perception :-)

Not a very experienced user as I've just plodded through it on and off the last couple of years with a few stops and starts. I'm only up to Unit 4. But I have been watching the new TWSS videos the last few days, and today as I was watching I thought to myself that the program will be the most successful with me driving the wheel and not relying on SWI at all. And that it would be more beneficial to engage with my student one on one. It has taken me a bit to get my head around how to use the program and where it is heading, so I haven't rushed into it. However I now feel more confident that I have grasped the overall long-term goals and that I do not need someone else to design the lessons and choose the sources. He speaks clearly and to the point in the new TWSS so it is not as confusing I am finding. In a podcast I recently listened to, Andrew suggested these two sites to get sources from: Aesopfables.com Britannia.com junior Even though I've had this program for a while and listened to Andrew's talks it is only just sinking in now how I really appreciate this approach to learning and also how I can easily apply it. It's the same approach that I now think is the best way to go for whatever the subject. Ie If learning to paint and wanting to improve one's technique, then copy an already existing great artwork and expand your skills that way, rather than trying to invent the wheel.

I had used CLE Science light units in the past with my young students, but it wasn't long before they didn't get done. We were doing Language Arts, Reading and Mathematics lightunits at the time, so I think it was too much of that form of learning. And the science ones are bland. This year, as a one off, I used the CLE Science Textbook: 'God's Marvelous Gifts' with my Grade 6, Grade 4, and Grade 2 students. It was an easy way to do science and have them all do it together. I read the chapter to them while they drew pictures to match in their exercise book. We then answered the comprehension questions together and I would write 5 of the answers on the board for them to copy down. The chapters are very short and it was an easy way to do it. The textbook is aimed at Grade 5 and there are lightunits that go with it but I haven't seen those.

I also don't buy new clothes for the children. Over the years I've bought "designer label" clothes as special items for them to wear second hand from baby markets. We are given the rest, it's rare I need to buy something. For myself I would like to have a few good quality items that would last longer and suit me. But I find the shops don't even stock what I'm after anyway, so I just go without. I mostly just live in shorts and singlet top :)

Oh, and we've just planted a garden and are trying to grow our own vegetables.

This reminded me of a comment I was going to include in my earlier post but forgot. I've always been surprised that the only person I know of directly who has shown disapproval of my growing family size has been my grandfather. At number #4 his comment was "silly girl", which he said when he spoke on the subject to my parents about. He's in nineties and so it surprises me that even his attitude (that I'm guessing he brings from his own experience and day) is against larger families and that I should go to work and have a career and so on. And I'm close to him, was spoilt by him above the other grandchildren in a sense, lived with him and my nan for a while, and he took me to sports and on holidays while growing up. So he is supportive and loving of me. Anyway, I also had quite a number of miscarriages. I had them before all of the first four living babies. So my own feelings of feeling blessed with living children is heightened as a result. For each child born it feels amazing to me and I'm not sure why it would be looked down upon. My husband is only a mechanic and was only an apprentist when we got married. Somehow the more children we've had the better off we've become. This surprises me even, and makes me so glad that I didn't listen to negativity about me not following a career. We both work very hard though, and my husband does a lot of work on the side to get by. Over the years I've moved to eating healthier, and that has been a bonus too. We too eat mostly from scratch and it's almost easier as well as cheaper. Recently I've become involved in getting a bulk food co-op running with a friend. This has saved me money in purchasing the food and is also even paying for some of the food. Two months ago I came down with Guillian-Barre Syndrome and was half paralysed and in hospital for two weeks. We even survived that period of time with my husbands work giving him four weeks off with sick pay, and extra time off after that with him using up his holidays, and then going back only part time. We were also blessed with my motherinlaw coming to stay and she lived with us through that time to help with the children, and my own mother was also support. You can never plan for the future. But I have learned that it is not set in concrete before it's even began. We decided to make decisions regarding the number of children we were to have as we went along. I'm still not sure what the future holds, but it doesn't occur to me that we couldn't afford another one. Our lifestyle is great, homeschooling is satisfying, we have friends and we have a life.