I second the reading aloud idea. It's easier to focus on articulation when the words are in front of you. My overall speech has improved since doing more read-alouds with the kids.

Chiro has mentioned too-tight hip flexors and weak back muscles. Epsom salt bath is a great idea, thanks. I was pretty much pain free until I started practicing for the recital. *sigh*

The cc where I played a piano recital last year is having me back again this spring. I was thrilled to have the opportunity the first time, and to be asked to return is really exciting, especially since I have no impressive background or even a music degree. Problem - every time I practice, my back hurts horribly. Even 15 minutes has me in pain the rest of the day. I'm seeing a chiropractor, doing exercises, but I'm miserable. The back pain causes my whole body to tense up, resulting in the pain spreading to arms and legs. It's going to be a long two months.

Thank you everyone. I feel better now about keeping him on track for starting K officially at 5.

I'm looking ahead. In 2014, ds will barely make the K cutoff in our state (8 days). As of right now, he's big for his age, extremely verbal, and will definitely be ready academically to handle a gentle K year when he's 5. I really don't want to hold him back because I don't want a grown man someday who's still in high school. But then I don't want him to be at a disadvantage all the way through either. So, is there anyone out there with a son who has done well despite being on the young side for his grade? We're talking August b-day here.

All my kids are in gymnastics, the girls take dance, my oldest is in musical theater, and the girls are in a Keepers of the Faith group. It sometimes feels like too much, but it's better than the kids sitting around fighting during the late afternoon hours.

I used something different with dd in 1st, but am doing Ambleside year 2 with her now in 2nd. She loves the readings, though we're not too good about getting to the other aspects of the curriculum like timeline, mapwork, and nature study. I would say to look over the readings for year 1 and see if they would be a good fit for your first grader. If so, go for it! The AO site also has a forum now that is pretty active and would be a good resource.

Yeah, if he moved into my neighborhood, I probably shouldn't nurture a friendship with him (I just came from that other thread.) Happy birthday, Batman.

I can't really fathom hanging out one on one socially with some other guy. It would just be weird for me. Even if I wanted to, 99% of the men I know are married and their wives would not approve, lol.

Dd has just finished 9 months of OT and has made enormous improvement. I mean, K and 1st grade, she had the tantrums and screaming "I hate you", hurting herself multiple times a day (accidentally), gross and fine motor lags, crying about everything. She's really like a different kid from last year at this time. Ok, I will study everyone's awesome posts more after kids are in bed because I see some major tail-kicking that I need. Then I will make a better school schedule. Again.

Just to clarify, I didn't mean deep discussions. I meant things like eliciting second-grade-level narrations, or going through a BFSU lesson. Dd can narrate easily when she chooses, but the quality of her narrations drops drastically when it's school-related. I am guilty of comparing her to my 7-year-old self. I was highly gifted and obsessed with achievement. Unfortunately, the bar was set too low for me, and I became complacent and did not develop my potential. I have made the mistake of looking at hs as my chance for a do-over. Of course, that's impossible.

I was just thinking we should have a group! I'm an LCMS member in the South, which makes me a bit of an odd duck. Glad to have a home here.

This is not a February thing. I posted a similar thread after Christmas, and I thought I got over this. My problem is that I went into homeschooling expecting it to be my career. An intellectually fulfilling career, albeit unpaid. Problem is, my school-age child is apathetic about learning. She does what she is forced to do without enthusiasm. She dawdles through her work, and then it's sloppy. I have tried different things to make it fun for her, and she just doesn't care. She wants to get it over with in order to have free time. Anything involving discussion falls flat because she wants to give the fastest possible answer, and nothing that requires thought, again to get it over with. She is talented at piano but has to be forced to practice, and she isn't progressing right now because she only goes through the motions of practice. She has no desire to be good at anything. She's a very good singer for her age, and is in a kids theatre program, but her favorite part is running around playing tag after rehearsal. (But she doesn't like sports.) I've been told before to follow her interests. I've tried. She begged for a recorder. I bought her a recorder and a book. She spent one evening excitedly working through the book, teaching herself 11 songs in one night. She never touched it again and finally gave it to me to keep till her sister's old enough for it. Someone gave her a make your own book kit, she began writing a fascinating fairy tale -- 2 pages. Then the book lay strewn across her floor for several days untouched, till she decided to put it back in the closet. She's tried three different sports, and claimed to like basketball, but she never had any interest in practicing on her own -- she only liked the social aspect of it. Yes, she's been evaluated. She is on the bubble both for ADHD and giftedness. Actually the psychologist said the ADHD symptoms probably had a negative impact on her IQ scores. Anyway, she barely missed the cutoff for gifted programs like CTY. I've come to the conclusion that she really likes to read fairy tales and socialize, and that everything else is going to be "get it done because we have to." Between dd7's apathy and trying to manage my 2 little ones, I feel like homeschooling is really just an extended gig at being a SAHM of preschoolers. And I hate it. Doing fun things with them rarely results in fun, because they all pick on each other and fight constantly. All three are extremely strong-willed, will argue with a fence post, and choose every. little. thing. as a hill to die on. I mean, they get into fights over a mealtime prayer! My mom, who supports hs all the way, feels like I should just be thankful that I'm able to stay home and keep my kids out of the public schools. And I am, especially considering that the school my kids would be in has made the news recently for some bad stuff. But being a human shield feels like a really boring way to spend one's life. I'm extra bummed today because I had a music opportunity come up that I have to pass up because of lack of childcare. I wouldn't be craving extra opportunities if I could have the homeschool that exists in my head, you know?

Political incompatibility would be a deal-breaker for me. I can't even stand to see posts from the other side on my Facebook news feed. And I'm sure I would be impossible to live with for someone on the other side, because I take my beliefs very seriously.

My dd5 looks nothing like me, but no one has ever commented on it.

Play rhyming games. Great pre-reading activity. I learned to read at 2, so I don't consider it out of the question. But I haven't had a kid who was ready at 2.

They don't really play when they go out except on the swings, and ds has to be pushed, so it doesn't accomplish anything. They don't care about running or playing ball or anything.

I've noticed how much better my ds has slept at night this week. We've been vacationing in a sunny spot, and he's been in the pool between 2 & 4 hours a day. But now we're going home to cold weather and busy schedules, where he tends just to wander around and play quietly. How can I get him the exercise he obviously needs while still getting everything else done?

My #1 favorite is Person of Interest.

After my 3rd, the doctor said everything looked good and I could do it "several more times."

Memphis in July? You couldn't pay me, lol. Restaurant recommendation: Neely's BBQ.

My kids have had a little too much togetherness the past couple of weeks. I complained in the fall about being over scheduled, and now I remember *why* I over schedule. Bring on the activities, please! (I remember my idealistic time when I thought my kids wouldn't ever fight because only brick-and-mortar-school kids fought with their siblings. Ha!)

My dd5 still says "I happy" or "I hungry" every single time. She also substitutes the hard g sound for the j on certain words, such as "just". She's been a little behind on everything speech-wise, but I have quit worrying since she always hits the milestones eventually.

LOL, he is on waiting lists at two preschools, but I couldn't get him in. He will definitely go next year to the preschool where dd5 is going this year, 2x/week. One of those days my girls will be in a tutorial, and I will have Tuesdays free! I keep forgetting about that. I can get a lot done in 6 hours a week! Just have to hold out till next August.

My daughter sounds just like yours. She loves all the fairy books by Andrew Lang (most of them are free for Kindle), The Wizard of Oz (she hasn't tried the other Oz books yet, but I put a bunch of them on her Kindle), Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. For more recent books, the Fairy Realm series by Emily Rodda has been a hit, as well as the American Girl mysteries.