Aw that IS really sad. Death is tough, death of babies (of any variety) is even tougher. BUT FYI: THE DON'T TOUCH THE NEST/BABIES OR MOTHER BIRD WILL ABANDON THEM THING IS NOT TRUE!!!! I know most of us grew up being told that and accepted it as fact, but it's NOT actually the case. (In case you ever want to put a baby back into its nest or something- which we've done in the past!

Just in case some of you on the "Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges" board don't look at the K-8 Curriculum Board much anymore, I really wanted to share this link to a thread that I started fairly recently on that board regarding Teaching Textbooks math after getting our standardized test results back from this year: http://welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259625 Being as it's curriculum-buying/fall-planning season, I thought that it might be a good thread for those of you who are considering and/or concerned about Teaching Textbooks. I know a LOT of people love the concept of TT but worry that it's too "behind." But in my experience, it's NOT "behind" and I think it would really be a shame for people whose kids would really enjoy and benefit from TT to miss out just because of negative hype about a good program. So check out the link if you're so inclined. :)

Forgive me for bumping this but I'd like for it to stick around a bit longer. For one, it's curriculum buying/fall-planning season, and for another I just read a thread where people were (again) worried about TT being "behind" and so if there are people considering TT who haven' seen this yet, well, I'd like for them to. :)

I strongly recommend reading this thread, in regard to whether TT is "behind" (I do NOT believe it is!) and so on. I started the thread after getting my daughter's standardized test results back from this year and seeing how well she did in math after using TT this year. As it turns out, I wasn't the only one who had results like that with TT. http://welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259625&highlight=teaching+textbooks+standardized

We haven't reached that yet (we've only done OM4 and OM5 so far) but I can tell you that with OM5 my daughter LOVES the science and says it's her favorite subject!

I'm not there yet but I'm glad to hear that that will be the case when the time comes for us! :D

My 10 y/o daughter enjoys it, and it'll be there for my 5 y/o son when he's ready. I don't regret spending the money on it.

If you want to take a peek, I wrote a review of Killgallon elementary covering that... http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/190396.html

Oak Meadow. Love this curriculum. Very hands on and creative, non-textbookish etc.

http://www.lowes.com/cd_Earth+Day_817240224_...

My daughter DID go to public school from K through most of third grade (I then pulled her out and homeschooled for the rest of third, all of fourth, and we're wrapping up 5th). In her case, we do not AVOID books about school- but I go out of my way to find books that feature homeschooled characters because I think that it would be fun for her to find characters to relate to now. And in my son's case (he's only 5 and has never been to preschool or public school K), like Wendy said, I avoid books that talk about how much fun K is. Because she's right- it's NOT fun anymore, and I have no intention of sending him, and I, too, don't want him to think he's missing out on some wonderful place. He's not.

I agree with Jean. I would not be upset/surprised etc if Grandma gave the kids' numbers to another family member. I wouldn't be bothered that the cousin was texting my kids. I'd think it was nice they wanted to get to know each other more. I wouldn't want to just write her off because you've disagreed with her parents about this, that or the other thing... that doesn't seem fair at all. If you want to continue not to talk to her parents, however, that's your choice! (And if your kids want to continue the relationship with the children, that should be theirs). As for her younger brother, him texting your boys isn't going to be a problem unless he texts inappropriate or rude things to your younger son, and if he does, you can tell him matter-of-factly, "I do not want to see a message like this again. Speak nicely or don't speak at all." And if he continues to be a problem (and this hasn't even happened yet!) you could always figure out a way to block him or something then. I also don't think there's any point in saying anything to MIL- who else would she give the numbers to anyway? She's not just randomly giving them to strangers off the street.

Love this. I'm personally a firm believer that 99% of it is attitude. If you have a "this is too much, I can't do this, this is too hard" sort of attitude- it seems harder. If you have a more optimistic/positive "I'll do what I can and have as much fun as I can have doing it" attitude (which DOES take conscious effort sometimes), things suddenly seem easier, in my experience. You're homeschooling. Okay. Are you stressing over cramming in every subject under the sun and sometimes more than once? Or are you a more relaxed homeschooler? If the former, can you work on the latter? I'm a pretty relaxed homeschooler who doesn't believe in tons of busywork, or "supplementing," who does school around life rather than living life around school, we're having fun, and my kids are thriving and learning. You're working- okay, well only you know how much of that is necessary to supplement your family's income so I can't really comment on it other than to ask whether the family can pitch in and help with any of it. You're training for a 1/2 marathon- that's exciting! Sounds like that's something you're doing for YOU, and that's great! Can you involve the kids in that at all? Make it educational and enjoyable? Worst case scenario, can you just remind yourself that it's temporary? There are chores of life, of course. Some of them just aren't as important as others. Some of them can be delegated or done together. Some of them can be done less often or with a bit less attention. And of course, a support system- whether it's a friend, a relative, a homeschool group, or this message board- is helpful, too- sometimes you do just have to vent, or laugh, or something. But hang in there... you know what I love? Someone's quote that says something about how the days are long, but the years are short. That's so true. A year, two years, ten years from now, what will have mattered when you look back on your life, your relationship with your husband and kids? Focus on THAT. :grouphug:

ages

Me: Hey, Ben, when you grow up and you have kids, do you want them to be homeschooled or go to regular school? Ben, Age 5: Go to regular school. Me: Why? Ben, Age 5: Because what if they beg me to do things? That would be annoying! Me: What do you mean?? Ben, Age 5: Like, what if they ask me to buy them things? Me: So you want them to go to school so they don't beg you to buy them things? Ben, Age 5: Yes! That would be annoying, wouldn't it? ETA: My 10 year old daughter says she does plan to homeschool her kids.

If I recall correctly, I spotted constantly for a good nine months. When that finally stopped, I got periods that were lighter than they'd used to be- however, they came more often, like every two weeks. I ended up getting sick of it and having it removed after I'd had it for a little over a year.

There are set trip dates already in place- one will be for one week, one will be for two weeks, and one will be for ten days. I'm not sure if your trip dates would be the same as mine. On the site you can request more information, and they will send you a packet in the mail, including contact info for your area representative, and s/he can tell you when the trip dates are scheduled for your area. Then you can pick the one that is most convenient for you.

Next year you can host two at once if you want :) You CAN invite the same kids back, or you can request new ones. We ended up requesting new ones this year. Last year, we had a 10 year old girl come to stay for what was supposed to be two weeks but she got EXTREMELY homesick- it was her first time away from home, and while the girls did have fun together, she ended up going home after a week. Then we did a second trip and hosted a 9 year old girl for one of the shorter trips and that went a lot better- the girls had a great time but since they didn't end up keeping in touch over the school year, I thought it would be fun to just invite and get to know somebody new. If we ever invite someone where the kids "click" so well that they keep in touch throughout the year and so on, I'd be open to inviting that same kid back. We're just seeing how it goes.

That's great, Amy!! You'll have to keep me updated about how it goes for you! :) Last year it did take several weeks- within the week they checked out references I think, but they were slow about completing the background checks- that took a few weeks as I recall. Once the background checks were done, it didn't take long to get matched though. What gender/age did you guys request? Can't wait to hear about how it goes! :) It's a really neat experience! It's REALLY fun for your kids (well mine anyway lol) as it's basically a week or two long sleepover- they had a lot of fun last year. It's also a good cultural experience I think- on both ends. And it's really fulfilling to provide an opportunity like this for a child who couldn't otherwise have it- it's a nice thing to do! (And there are always shortages of host families- my rep told me that often kids will go to the bus station on their end on "standby" hoping that another kid backed up so that they might be able to go instead)! As a first time host, you would not be allowed to host more than one child. But in subsequent years of hosting you will be allowed to request more than one if you want. :) ETA: although you couldn't host two kids at ONCE your first year, you COULD do more than one summer trip- there are usually three, a two week, a 10 day and a 1 week- so you could do two different trips over the summer if you wanted and do a girl one time and a boy the next- just as an FYI.

Well, my daughter is 10. I talk to her, I praise her, I get her books and magazines that are good for girls her age, and I keep her involved with activities that do help with confidence building, independence and so on. She's in Girl Scouts, she's in Judo, we've submitted some of her writing to a homeschooling magazine, and we do occasional community service type things.

Very cute!! Here's another one called: IF YOU GIVE A MOM A MUFFIN If you give a mom a muffin, She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it. She'll pour herself some. Her three-year-old will spill the coffee. She'll wipe it up. Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks. She'll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the washer, She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer. Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper. She will get out a pound of hamburger. She'll look for her cookbook ("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger"). The cookbook is setting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old. She'll smell something funny. She'll change the two-year-old's diaper. While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring. Her five-year-old will answer and hang up. She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee. Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup. And chances are... If she has a cup of coffee, Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it. ~author unknown

I would absolutely count music practice as school. It's educational and Music is a "required subject" here. Morning runs are definitely school. It's PE which is also a "required subject" here. Like I said in the other thread, we do have to log a certain number of hours (OR days) where I live- but I absolutely do not formally count them or worry about them or even think twice about them. I firmly believe that life and learning are inextricable, that my kids are learning something every day and that attendance requirements for homeschoolers are just silly. At the end of each year I submit a statement basically saying that As homeschoolers, we believe life and learning are inextricable and as such I attest that more than the required number of days of learning have been met.

Nope, not worth it at all. I'd cut them out of my lives entirely. Who needs toxic people like that.

Honestly- I don't stress over it in the slightest. We, too, have to get in "180 days" but I don't bother counting them or keeping track of them, partly because we follow a 36 week curriculum but mostly just because I believe that my kids are learning something every single day, that life and learning are pretty inextricable, and that "attendance requirements" for homeschoolers is beyond ridiculous. Therefore, I just go about my business without "counting" or "worrying" about any such thing, and at the end of the year, I submit, with my portfolio, a statement saying something along the lines of "As homeschoolers, we believe that life and learning are inextricable and, as such, I attest that we have more than met the required 180 days of attendance." It's never been questioned.

Got an email this morning that we've been matched with the kids we will be hosting this summer for The Fresh Air Fund! We're going to have a 9 1/2 year old girl (for my 10 year old daughter) and a little boy who will be turning 6 next month (for my 5 year old son). They will both be spending a week with us in late July. We'll be taking them camping, to the lake, and to a wildlife park. I'm excited about it, and so are my kids! :) Emailed their parents this morning and will give them a call this evening to chat a bit. They are still looking for host families if any of you northeastern folks want to give it a shot. :) Another homeschooling family we know will be hosting this year for their first time and we plan to get together once or twice while we've got the kids and do some things together. It's a fun experience!