The only worse than reading aloud, is to listen to a child read to me. There is none of this snuggling on the sofa with kids all around. I'm asleep in no time.

This has been an interesting thread. I am going through Algebra I on my own right now, before taking my daughter through it. All of the ideas that have been listed are great!

Not to scare you, but does she also drink a lot of fluids through the day? Is she always thirsty? Has she lost any weight? Frequent urination is one sign of diabetes type 1. This is probably not the case with your daughter, but I just wanted to throw this out there. Our daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes months after she first started showing the signs. We even have a doctor in our extended family, and we just didn't pick up on the frequent urination and multiple trips to the bathroom through the night. Thirst, hunger and weight loss are some other things to look for. Again, this is just to keep you alert if some of these other signs become present.

Shannon!! Great to hear from you! Yes, our other twin is delightful in his own realm. He is a very devoted basset hound owner and most of his thoughts revolve around his dog. He is the kid that can step up and start lending a hand right away. He just automatically knows how to strain the spaghetti for me, or grab the right wrench for his dad. He will bring me a fresh glass of iced tea before we get started for school. He is the one who reminds us that we only have 15 minutes before we leave for an appointment. He insures that the dogs have fresh water, food and outside play time. He worries that his sister will forget her diabetes supplies when we go out on errands. He is a very caring soul. I'm blessed to have two boys that are as different as night from day. How are you? PM me.

My husband is in the military, so we are no longer in NJ. In fact, we were only there for 10 months, but I will forever have Mary in NJ as my name here on the WTM. I should have thought about that at the time. We loved our time in NJ, so I will mention that he may want to consider the governor's seat if he is not elected mayor! I think the governor's mansion in NJ is superb! I wonder if he would let his mom live with him in the mansion?

I think that this high school board has some of the best information out there. Ask any question and you will get answers from several different perspectives.

:grouphug: I will be praying for you. Hang in there!

I was living in Germany at the time. The German doctor ordered one for me to wear for 24 hours. I was told to just do my normal activity. He did not have me write anything down. It was a little uncomfortable, because I would just get used to having this thing around my arm, and then it would begin to inflate. Strange. I learned the results the next day. I do not have high blood pressure.

Funny!!:D

He is 12. His twin brother wants to join the Marines, or something like that, or maybe doing something fun or something fast or something else. Funny how they are so different.

Could you tell us how to sprout wheat? I have plenty of wheat to try it out on!! I usually just grind the wheat and make the bread right away. Thanks,

Welcome to homeschooling! This is really not a list of "rules", but a mix of things that we do, or have particular limits set during school time. We have been homeschooling since 1999 and our list tightens up or loosens a bit, depending on what is going on with our family. 1. Television greatly distracts during school time. 2. Phone calls disrupts a teaching session, I don't answer the phone during school. 3. A clean and tidy school area lends an air of "learning is important to our family." 4. Sometimes teaching will need to happen during the "littles" nap times. 5. Unannounced visitors will happen. We just try to work around it, without making a huge scene. We school year round, so eventually, we get everything done. 6. Schedules are needed, so that we can aim for our school goals. Schedules provide for accountability - more for me than anyone else. BUT 7. People are more important than schedules. 8. Spelling/Grammar, Math and Reading/Writing are important subjects around here. If the student does not put needed effort into these areas, TV time is reduced. 9. After the morning teaching sessions, the kids can wander around the house to whichever area they want to do their independent work. Sometimes it is outside on the deck, out by the lake, under a shade tree, in the sewing room, family room, etc. The kids have small bedrooms, so we ask that they find other areas beside the bedroom to do their work. As long as it gets done and is done well, they are allowed this flexibility. They did have desks when they were younger, but they never used them. 10. History is their favorite subject. They are allowed to listen to audio CD's that focus on history. They love listening to Abraham Lincoln's speeches, historical non-fiction, and SOTW CD's. They have stacks of old encyclopedias that they use in order to search for more information about the particular era of history we are studying. We try to make as many opportunities available to them for continued research into their favorite subject and visit many historical sites. 11. Library day is important to the kids. They make lists, request books online and learn about returning the books on time. I gave them calendars when they were young. The only thing ever recorded on them was their due date for library books. Over the years, the items recorded on their calendars has grown. This teaches them to have deadlines for certain items and complete projects in a timely manner. 12. We do not do co-ops. 13. We do try to get together with other homeschool families from time to time. 14. Kids need to be up and ready to go by 8:00 to 8:30. Rooms straightened, fully dressed, hair combed and school books at the table. After school, they need to put everything back into their bin (rubbermaid stackable bin - kinda like a locker). 15. As a mom, I limit my internet time to around 20 to 30 minutes a day. 16. During the early years (pre-school, kindergarten), the kids had to stay with me at the table to do their work. It wasn't until they were older that they had the flexibility of completing their work elsewhere. Most of our school time happens by noon. My phone calls happen during the kid's lunch time or around 3:00 p.m., which is after quiet time. TV time is in the evening a few times a week. This was a rambling list at best. Hope you can make sense out of it.

Anything that she could fry. She even fried bologna. I have not fried a single thing since I have left home. Everything is grilled, baked, steamed or roasted.

This just seems so funny to me. My son has goals written on a piece of paper and thumbtacked to his wall. He changes it around from time to time, but for now, here it is: 1. Defend country (if accepted into Military Academy) 2. Defend a city (if not accepted into military - then I will be a police officer) 3. Provide food for our country (if not accepted into the military or police academy, then I will become a farmer) 4. Lead our nation - I will become president of our country, if I win the race 5. Lead our city - (if not elected to be president, then I will run for Mayor) He is a funny kid.:)

When I tell the children to read silently for an hour, one of the twins will softly read out loud. I still cannot get the idea through his head to be QUIET when he reads. I guess if he ever figures out how to keep his mouth closed during reading, he will probably move his lips when he reads "silently."

Do you have SuperStar Student yet? It usually doesn't cost much, but a great course from Teaching Company. I managed to spend around $350 at Christmas. We have only watched the Super Star Student DVD, and a little bit of their newest Algebra DVD. Wish I could say that we have watched every single one that I bought.:tongue_smilie:

Okay, I want one. But the minute I buy one, someone is going to discover that there is lead in the glaze. Just my luck

Wow! I'm glad I never had the time to join FB. I hope you are able to find resolution to this problem. I agree, I like keeping up with long time friends, but I wouldn't like the scathing messages you listed. There has to be a better way to stay in touch.

Welcome! Approach it from the standpoint that they can be involved with your children's education. Perhaps ask a grandparent if they can read aloud to your child on Wednesday morning, afternoon, or whatever. Maybe if you include them, they can't object! For what it is worth, my family has never agreed with our choice to homeschool. We have been homeschooling since 1999.

I did not have any problem ordering my books. Most everything was sent by priority mail. If I purchased a used book from someone and they used media mail, it could take weeks before I got my book. For my used books that I purchased from this board or other places, I had them sent to a friend who checked the book out to make sure it was what I had ordered. She would then package it up and send it on to me. Saved a lot of time and frustration. The misconception is that it costs more to send packages to a military installation overseas. The postage price is the same. The delivery can be a bit lengthy compared to direct US service. If a book company states that it would not send items to an APO address, then I did not give them my business and I still do not, even though I'm back in the states. Edited to add: I just noticed your question about custom forms. It only takes a couple of minutes to complete a custom form. No one has ever charged me more because of that. Not to say that some book companies may try to pull that trick. HOWEVER, the post office does not charge extra for the custom form, so the business should not. If you are charged a handling fee, then the completion of that form should be included. (I also stayed away from companies that charged a handling fee)

While stationed in a small town in northern Bavaria, we lived on a military installation. No problem homeschooling. We were the only family who did not send their children to the elementary school one block away. There were the stray comments, but no problems. One of the teachers gave me a microscope that she had never used and was going to throw out. The school librarian allowed me to check out books from the teacher section. We were then stationed in another place and lived in a German neighborhood on the Rhein River. When we first moved in, I explained to my German neighbors that we are allowed to homeschool. They had heard of American families that taught their children at home. No one had any problems with it. I was upfront about it and did not try to hide the fact from my neighbors. There were a couple of families who were curious and came over to ask about it, as they wished it was an option for their children. There are pockets of homeschooling groups in different military communities, just check at the military library. DISCLAIMER: We were on military orders while living in Germany both times. If you are an American living in Germany (not on military orders), I don't think that you have the option to homeschool. You may want to check into this.

What is your secret to selling on Amazon? I have had books listed for nearly 10 months and only 1 has sold. They are the Dick and Jane orginal books. There are also priced below the most expensive. The one book I sold was a teacher's edition Dick and Jane and it brought $8.73. By the time Amazon took their cut, I barely made anything. Certainly not worth my effort. We still have hundreds maybe even close to a thousand books that we need to sell. Perhaps you could give me some pointers? Thanks.