I have been anxiously awaiting mine and haven't gotten it yet! This is encouraging that it might be here tomorrow!

The most useful thing for me is the dishes. I MUST start the dishwasher before going to bed at night. Then I MUST unload it first thing in the morning so I can load it through the day and avoid piles of dishes in the sink. For me this sets the tone for the whole day, homeschooling and otherwise. If this is the only thing that is kept up, I am ok. Even getting behind on the laundry and having all the laundry baskets full or overflowing doesn't derail my day like a sink full of dirty dishes does.

Math Mammoth 2 and we love it! I am not mathy at all but I really enjoy math lessons now. The progression of teaching concepts makes so much sense that I feel like Im am finally "getting it" after all these years. Dd does well with whatever I put in front of her so she dos great with MM.

I didn't post this morning because I declared today a snow day! It was more ice than snow but I was not in the mood for school work and I sensed that the kids were in weird moods too. I did not have the energy for fights so I just made sure dd did her math lesson since she is catching up. Then we built blanket forts in the living room (the baby got a huge kick out of crawling around in them with us) and made cranberry orange muffins and chocolate banana bread and just played in our pj's all day. Totally worth it. We watched a new movie in the afternoon and had soup for dinner. I am a little sad to get back to reality tomorrow but alas, the laundry must be done if we want to continue to wear clean clothes. Oh, and the children need to learn to read and stuff, too! :D

In addition to reading and spelling, which you already have, We are doing Language Lessons for Today. Its a very Charlotte Mason gentle approach to language arts. There is some copywork, oral narration, poetry memorization, picture study and a very gentle introduction to grammar. Dd is loving it! Very quick lessons and very affordable, too. Its put out by My Father's World but I haven't run across any Christian content. I think its a modernization of an old school text.

Aurelia- I DO understand and I'm a little jealous you have new materials to peruse. ;) The usual line up today. Probably cuddled under blankets and with hot drinks as much as possible, since its in the single digits with negative wind chills here! Brrr! I think I might look for some kids exercise video or dance party on YouTube or Netflix since they won't be going outside today.

I was thinking baseball, too! Spring training is only a few weeks away! Go Cards! :D

Jean- your dd's race board sounds awesome! Today is free choice day so I can do weekly house cleaning. I did tell dd that we have to start math lessons back up on Fridays if she wants to finish by the end of May. This morning she got her math book and pencil out right after finishing her morning chores and did not one, but two lessons! Dd's list: Reading- Matilda ch 14 -check LA- Grammaropolis -check Math- 2 lessons!!! -check!!! History- undecided, will probably read a library book on our topic Science- undecided, my guess is Wild Kratts or Magic School Bus Piano 30 min -check My list: Supervise math lesson -check Clean Kitchen -check Clean Living Room -check Baby's room -check Master bedroom* Master bath Family room* Kids' room* Kids' bath Laundry Entry* Garage *just need to vacuum then those will be done Our afternoon play date just called and is showing up half hour early! Off to speed clean the bathrooms!

Yesterday I mentioned a grammar lesson on our and are. As I was typing it, I thought that was strange since they don't really have anything to do with each other except they sound similar. Well, turns out that the lesson was on a and an! I must not have had my glasses on or the coffee hadn't kicked in when I looked at the lesson the first time! Ha! Otherwise, still no car. Dh replaced one thing but it only fixed part of the problem. So the mobile repair guy is coming since the car won't start, but he can't fit us in til tomorrow. It looks like we will miss ds' storytime again this week. Last week we missed due to inclement weather. I really want to take him this semester. It's the last chance before he ages out and I used to take dd when she was little. I don't want this to be a thing the middle child misses out on. Today's list: Reading- Matilda ch 13 -check LA -more work with a-an Spelling -final test Math -fact families -check History -the French and Indian war reading Science -Animal kingdom unit review Piano practice 30 min -check I also have 2 priority phone calls to make and 2 things to pop in the mailbox before the postman gets here as well as some laundry and housework. Might as well get it done while I'm stuck at home.

Paradox5- I have many school related goals this week as well. Here's hoping we both reach enough to satisfy us! Sdel- glad the toddler is improving. Critter- that's hilarious that you woke yourself up! Do you sleep walk often? I talk in my sleep. Dh has some funny stories. :) Bzymama- glad the tummy troubles were short-lived. Today is going really well. Dd woke up super early this morning and did her math lesson on her own! Score! Reading -check Spelling -check LA lesson on our and are -not checked yet Math -check History -not yet Science -not yet Piano -check They are currently playing with play dough while I rock the baby for a nap. We'll probably have lunch next, then finish up lessons. Ds doesn't seem to be in the mood for formal sit down preK lesson so the play dough is counting as his lesson today. Gotta develop those motor skills, amiright? :D

I am so not with the program this week, as evidenced by my late entry to this week's thread. And here you all are talking about next school year! Ack! Car troubles mean I can't even plan for the remainder of this week! I think things derailed over the weekend when I did laundry. Don't laugh! I am serious! I did 4 loads on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. Monday is supposed to be my big laundry day and I kept walking into the laundry closet only to find empty sorting bins. Then I'd emerge, confused and wondering what to do instead. School work took all day due to lots of lengthy breaks. My list of phone calls didn't happen. Dh's work schedule changed at the last minute, landing him at home for part of the day which NEVER happens and added to my dazed and confused state. Today has been lousy. I had an episode of SVT this morning and I've never had any residual symptoms with any other time its happened but I've have felt short of breath and weak all day. I am hoping it's diet related. I need to cut out the empty calories in favor of complex carbs and healthy fats. Right? I hope thats all ot is. We did manage reading, math, science and prep for outside activities tonight. I also have a freezer meal in the oven... score! Jean- sorry about your rough language arts day. :( Sdel- I hope your little one feels better quickly.

I just caught this thread on Tuesday and had an interesting conversation with dd about grains, did she think corn was a vegetable, etc. Yesterday, we were listening to music while doing chores and a line in the song was "each head of grain" and she shouts "or corn!!!" :D

I voted no for the reasons already stated. I am female over 18. Good luck with your assignment. :)

Added this to my amazon wish list. Thanks for posting!

Our 2016 goals: -use cash envelopes and sinking funds to prevent wasteful spending. -transfer predetermined amount to savings every paycheck to build 3-6 months living expenses. -save for our first post-debt vacation this summer. -save for car replacement in 2017. -start save-give-spend jars with dd along with a chart of above and beyond jobs she can do to earn money.

Ordered mine! Thanks for posting this!

I know here you're coming from. Dave Ramsey says to make as much money as you possibly can and pay off your debt in 2 years. It took us 8. But we were willing to let it because we still wanted family time and mom as primary care giver for our little ones. I would still do it the same way even now that we are on the other side. I regret accruing the debt (and 8 years of interest) but I'd regret compromising family time more. I did have a part time office job that dd could come with me to when she was little and I did accounting from home part time when ds was a baby. Then I babysat at home part-time for a family member. So I helped pay it down when there was an opportunity that I could accept without needing child care.

Sdel- sorry about your rabbit. :( Since we're all talking about the weather, its icing here! We were going to storytime at the library today but not now. I'm not one to drive in poor weather conditions. Yesterday went pretty well. We didn't get to science or history but they watched an episode of Wild Kratts so I am counting that as science for dd. I did get to play a math game with ds for "preK" and he loved the attention. He saw me filling in events in my new planner and insisted I mark down when he turns 5, he gets to learn to read. Something tells me I'm going to have to start reading lessons with him on that exact day... on a Saturday... in the middle of the summer. :) Today is the usual line up. Spelling, copywork, and math are done. After lunch, we will do some history reading and a chapter in the read aloud.

I am so thrilled to be able to vote we'd pay with cash on hand! I would have not been able to select that one 6 months ago. We got caught up with credit cards in our early 20s trying to keep up with friends that had more money than us. We cut up our cards and finally paid them off and are building an emergency fund. For us, we have to sacrifice the airline miles or cash back rewards and just pay with cash to ensure old habits don't resurface. Maybe in 10 years, I'll trust us again to use credit wisely. We'll see...

Paradox5- I jumped in here several months ago and they haven't kicked me out yet! Welcome! Sdel- Bummer! Mixing up which pill to take when sounds like something I would do! Remember my lofty goal of getting all 5 subjects done yesterday? Well, here is our impressive list of what we accomplished: -poetry reading -copywork The End Grrr! It's my fault though. I completely forgot I told mil she could take the kids to lunch and the movies. Funny story from their day: I don't let the kids have soda (ginger ale or 7up when sick and a few root beer floats in the summer are the exceptions) and I told mil in front of the kids they were off dairy due to nagging coughs so no milk or ice cream. When they returned, ds was clutching a Sonic cup and the first words out of his mouth as I pulled him out of his carseat were "Grandma says there's no dairy in soda." :D

My planner came yesterday!!! I was shocked they sent it priority mail for some reason. I checked my order and I did not select that, nor did I pay for that but that's what happened and it got me my planner 4 days early. Score! I love that I can set up the order of pages the way I want. I set up a couple grid sheets in front of January and transfered my budget for the month and expense tracking there. I really don't want to go back and forth between several different forms of planners. I want a catch-all. The only thing I am not loving is the monthly dashboard. It's set up with the headings: Birthdays, Goals, Special Events, Important Dates, and Don't Forget. To me special events and important dates are the same thing. And wouldn't a birthday qualify as both a special event and an important date? It's just not the way my mind works. I covered one title with washi and am going to try it for January but if it continues to frustrate me, I'll washi a whole page of grid paper over it next month.

I've been doing a bullet journal for years now before I even knew it was a "thing" or called a bullet journal. But I really was getting burned out and wanted a pre-made planner so I ordered a Happy Planner. They were half price since 6 months are wasted so I thought it was a good way to try it without forking over the full price. I am hoping it's here by Friday. I am so anxious to get it!

TKDmom- maybe buddy read Alice with her. Alternate pages. Make sure she's correctly reading the harder words. I've been there with my dd7 and she did need a little help to truly master that higher reading level. Critter- at least the boys are feeling better and can get some school work checked off for today. I am going to try to jump right in today with all 5 subjects plus read aloud and piano practice. No point in dragging our feet. If we want any summer break, we've got to get caught up. Wish us luck!

bzymama23- thanks for the DA reminder! I forgot it starts tonight. Yay! Something to look forward to for the rest of the day. That and chatting with dh later. He has terrible signal where he's at but he said he's got a good wi-fi connection so we can Skype later. Super happy about that. I've been getting ahead on tomorrow's laundry. Feels like a huge accomplishment. Also did a water change for the fish tank. Another big task checked off. Now I'm sitting on the couch surrounded by curriculum, books, binders, book lists, calendars, post-it flags and multi-colored pens. Yep, I'm pretty content at this moment. :)

Sdel- my heart goes out to you. I don't deal well with that nauseous pit of the stomach feeling when things are overwhelming. I hope things look up for you soon. Critter- such a bummer you guys aren't feeling well. Hopefully it's a quick thing. Dh left early this morning so I had my pity party. The kids and I stayed in our jammies all day and watched movies and played games. Tomorrow I'll get my rear moving and be productive. Although, today was a certain kind of productive because the kids are happy and feel loved on. I'm not usually the one to roll around on the floor with them for tickle fights or play in a blanket fort with them. That's dad's department. So I guess the pity party was more party than pity! Maybe we should cap things off with pizza and ice cream tonight...