Giving myself a little 'bump.' :D

Maybe you could try to find it used online. Even if you can only find an older edition, they're still great! I bought a set of K all the way through 8 used from someone online... they're like 1998 editions but they're still really good, and I don't feel like we're missing out. There are some differences but a lot of it is still the same. If you haven't already read this, it sums up what OM1 is all about: http://www.oakmeadow.com/curriculum/first-grade.php (I haven't actually used OM1 yet, I did a couple of months of OMK with my son before deciding to stop for now and try again next year, and I've done a year of OM4 with my daughter, and we're now a few months into OM5). I love OM!

:grouphug: BTDT! He WILL sleep eventually, even if it doesn't feel like it now. :)

I would tell your younger, "listening to songs is not really so and so's thing, so when you want someone to listen to you sing, ask me, okay?" I'd then tell your older, "I have told so and so not to ask you to listen to his singing anymore. However, I will not have you making hurtful remarks if you happen to hear him, because you know it hurts his feelings." When you hear him make a hurtful remark thereafter, I would make him write an apology letter to younger. I imagine he won't find that very fun for more than a time or two, but if it keeps happening, you could always take it up a notch and require a page/essay on what it feels like to have your feelings hurt, or about a time he's had his feelings hurt, or why you shouldn't hurt somebody else's feelings etc. Something like this is, I think, more 'relevant' than taking away his belongings or not getting him to an activity on time.

Can you do like a chips and dip type thing, or were you thinking more 'main meal'...? If you can do a snack, make one of those dips were you smoosh a package of Philly cream cheese on the bottom of a small casserole dish, add two cans of chili to the top of that (I like to do one with beans and one without), sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top of THAT, and then bring it and just pop it in the microwave long enough to heat it up and melt the cheese. It's really good with tortilla chips. It's quick, easy, and tastes good. :D (If you're feeling ambitious, put a layer of diced tomato on too).

We celebrate Hanukkah and we get our kids 8 gifts each, one for each day of Hanukkah. They open one present a day (with extra gifts from a couple of other relatives here and there). A few of them are 'smaller' gifts, anywhere from 1-3 of them would be more expensive. No idea how many gifts most kids get for Christmas lol.

:( I'm so sorry. :grouphug:

Yeah OM is not Waldorf but some of it is Waldorf-inspired, particularly in the earliest years. I don't know that I'd say it takes "a lot of parent/teacher time"- but I guess this depends on the age of your kids and how much you supplement and so on- OM is actually not overly time consuming...it's not dry/textbookish, there aren't worksheets, there's not a lot of busywork... ...so while there are hands on activities and projects, the kids and I usually enjoy doing them together. I started with my daughter using OM4 and OM5 and while there are things we do together, there are things she can do independently, too. And so far for 4th and 5th grades, she's been able to finish her work within 3 hours (or less) a day. K took us maybe 45 minutes a day when we were trying it out. And I had no problem doing OM5 and OMK simultaneously. threelilbirds, My daughter is using OM5 but using Teaching Textbooks 5 for her math program- we love TT, it's going great for her! She understands it, and she LIKES it. She actually looks forward to doing math every day! I do think Life of Fred sounds very interesting/creative, too, and I think I will buy it over the summer (the first book) to check out, and then see if my daughter has an interest in checking it out, too, at her pace.

Good for you for only gaining 5 back. I tend to be incredibly stupid and let myself slip and gain pretty much everything back and sometimes then some before I can finally get myself motivated to get back on a weight loss program. I don't know why I do that, and I hate that I do! Anyway congrats on your loss so far, that's great! I'm curious to see what WW's new program is like, too! I'm currently using my old materials to do the WW program but I go to TOPS for my weigh ins and support since it's much cheaper than WW. But I might rejoin WW for a week when their new stuff comes out just to get the materials and learn about the plan! :D Woohoo! I can't wait til I'm no longer considered "obese." What a horrid word! lol. **** So here's my UPDATE: I weighed in today (it was my week 12 weigh in) and I lost 2 1/2 lbs this week, for a total of 21 3/4 lbs lost. :)

The thing with Oak Meadow is that K-3, all subjects are incorporated into one syllabus, for the most part. You can't buy subjects separately. In 4th grade, math is separate- everything else is in one syllabus. In 5th grade, U.S. History (which is what I described here) AND English are in one syllabus and they integrate a lot- vocabulary words are pulled from the social studies reading, social studies writing assignments are also language arts, the books assigned for your reading (which technically is language arts) happen to be on social studies topics and so on. So just know that you'd be getting both language arts and social studies if you decided to go with OM. Then you can buy Environmental Science separately (which is also FANTASTIC for 5th grade btw! Lots of really neat hands on things, neat writing assignments, some crafts and so on, my daughter LOVES OM5 science!) And then they have their 5th grade math syllabus. Or you can buy the whole package. I really love OM as a whole. They somehow manage to make ALL of their subjects just as interesting/creative/fun/hands on as the social studies I've described. I really can't say enough good things about it! Stephanie, You would have to make your own decision on this, and I will say that Oak Meadow has FANTASTIC customer service so you could also call and ask them about this and they will be very nice and helpful to you! But one of their main philosophies, so you know, is that "childhood is a valuable period and nothing is to be gained by rushing through it." It's why their K and 1st grade programs are VERY gentle and hands on and story and nature based with lots of crafts and music and movement and coloring and gradually learning the letters of the alphabet in hands on Waldorf-y ways and so on. I haven't looked through 2nd and 3rd much yet since I've only used 4th, 5th and part of K so far... I know that by 4th while it still manages to stay hands on and creative, it gets much more in depth with writing assignments and things like that, and would an 8 year old get out of the topics and writing assignments what a 10 or 11 y/o would? I don't know. I like to keep things kind of unhurried over here but definitely evaluate your own child and feel free to ask them what they think over at OM. As I had mentioned above, OM is VERY gentle and not very academic in OMK and OM1 in particular. Personally, I really love that about it- that it's so sweet and doesn't rush academics in the earliest years and lets a kid be a kid and so on. There's no real "history" in K- language arts and social studies are integrated and the social studies portion mainly comes through stories and focuses some on family history and local community. 1st grade says: "In Social Studies, students begin to develop a sense of time and place as they encounter classic tales, make their own calendars, and draw maps of their neighborhoods. Multicultural awareness is explored through community connections and a developing sense of good citizenship." *** You can read more about the OM curriculum for various grade levels here: http://www.oakmeadow.com/curriculum/k-8.php and more about the OM philosophy here: http://www.oakmeadow.com/curriculum/philosophy.php My blog is pretty much an ongoing record of what our days with OM are like, often with pics. :)

Today was my Week 12 weigh in: Status Report: 8/26/10, Week "0" Weight: 237 1/2 lbs BMI: 37.2 Height: 5'7" 9/2/10, Week 1 Weight: 235 1/2 lbs BMI: 36.9 Weekly Change: -2 lbs Total Loss: 2 lbs 9/9/10, Week 2 Weight: 234 1/2 lbs BMI: 36.8 Weekly Change: -1 lb Total Loss: 3 lbs 9/16/10, Week 3 Weight: 231 3/4 lbs BMI: 36.3 Weekly Change: -2 3/4 lbs Total Loss: 5 3/4 lbs 9/23/10, Week 4 Weight: 229 1/2 lbs BMI: 35.9 Weekly Change: -2 1/4 lbs Total Loss: 8 lbs (I'm out of the 230's!!!) 9/30/10, Week 5 Weight: 226 3/4 lbs BMI: 35.5 Weekly Change: -2 3/4 lbs Total Loss: 10 3/4 lbs 10/7/10, Week 6 Weight: 226 1/4 lbs BMI: 35.5 Weekly Change: -1/2 lb Total Loss: 11 1/4 lbs 10/14/10, Week 7 Weight: 224 1/2 lbs BMI: 35.2 Weekly Change: -1 3/4 lbs Total Loss: 13 lbs 10/21/10, Week 8 Weight: 221 1/4 lbs BMI: 34.6 Weekly Change: -3 1/4 lbs Total Loss: 16 1/4 lbs 10/28/10, Week 9 Weight: 218 lbs BMI: 34.1 Weekly Change: -3 1/4 lbs Total Loss: 19 1/2 lbs (I'm out of the 220's!!!) 11/4/10, Week 10 Weight: 219 1/2 lbs BMI: 34.4 Weekly Change: +1 1/2 lbs Total Loss: 18 lbs 11/11/10, Week 11 Weight: 218 1/4 lbs BMI: 34.1 Weekly Change: -1 1/4 lbs Total Loss: 19 1/4 lbs 11/18/10, Week 12 Weight: 215 3/4 lbs BMI: 33.8 Weekly Change: -2 1/2 lbs Total Loss: 21 3/4 lbs Summary: Goal- to lose 58 lbs. 21 3/4 lbs down, 36 1/4 lbs to go. --- Soooo.... I've gone from 237 1/2 lbs to 215 3/4 lbs. My BMI has gone from 37.2 to 33.8. I'm getting there! P.S. My husband has had a few rough weeks but this week he lost 3 3/4 lbs! He's down 11 1/2 lbs total now and his BMI has gone from 38.1 to 36.3. --- Check out my fun weight loss picture updates here: http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/139113.html And thanks again for your support and encouragement, and for letting me continue to be more "accountable." :)

:grouphug: Bribe him!

At 13, I think I would let him decide, and I think I'd be comfortable with it. But there are certainly things I think I AM overprotective about... you just have to do what you're comfortable with and what works for you!

:hurray::party::cheers2::thumbup:

:iagree: If you want to know more, read on. If you don't, skip the rest of this post haha. We're currently on Week 11 of OM5 over here. So far for social studies we've: Weeks 1 and 2: Read "Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?" (assigned reading) and "Pedro's Journal, A Voyage With Christopher Columbus" (optional/supplemental reading- of which you are always given several suggestions). In conjunction with that, we read a couple of short lessons in the syllabus (pertaining to early visitors to North America), with pauses to do some map activities, did a couple of creative writing assignments (a short story about what terrible monsters and other hazards might await anyone who tries to sail around the world, and a few paragraphs about what it might be like if you were a Native American Indian who saw Columbus and his ships arriving off the coast of your home- how you'd feel, what you'd do etc), learned about how sailors then might have used shadows to tell direction, started charting the measurements of a "shadow stick," looked for the North Star (and then wrote a poem about the night sky), made our own compass using a pan of water, a cork, and a magnetized needle, and made a wooden sailboat. Weeks 3 and 4: Read "If You Sailed On The Mayflower in 1620." (assigned reading) and "Pocahontas and the Strangers" (optional/supplemental reading). In conjunction with that, we read a couple of short lessons in the syllabus (pertaining to Jamestown mainly), with pauses to do some map activities, made a diorama of Jamestown, made a Pocahontas paper bag puppet, and did a writing assignment (OM always provides a choice of writing assignments, my daughter chose one that asked "What if you were elected the leader of a new colony? What are some of the laws you would make about establishing a secure food supply, relationships with the Indians, etc"). Read more about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower, chose another writing assignment (she chose one asking about what foods and supplies would you bring if you were preparing for the long sea voyage to the New World), read "Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl," made and tasted "hard tack," and drew a picture of the Mayflower. Weeks 5 and 6: Read "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" (assigned reading) and "I Am Regina" (optional/supplemental reading). In conjunction with that, we read a couple of short lessons in the syllabus (pertaining to Colonists and Colonial Living), described a situation in my daughter's life when she felt uncomfortable and out of place, talked about it, then she drew a cartoon about it, drew a map of the colonies, made up a chant or verse to learn something that she is studying in school, made and tasted a "Johnny Cake," looked at pictures of early American clothing, houses and furniture, and drew a picture of a typical New England colonial house. Weeks 7 and 8: Continued reading "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" (assigned) and "Tituba of Salem Village" (optional/supplemental). Read in the syllabus about "Rules for Children" and made up our own list of good manners for children today. Read about The Salem Witch Trials. Did a brief writing assignment about why the Salem teenagers continued their behavior even after realizing that others were going to be terribly hurt by it. Learned to cross stitch and did her initial on an old tanktop. Wrote a book report comparing life in Puritan times to my daughter's life in modern times. Weeks 9 and 10: Read "Johnny Tremain" (assigned) and "Toliver's Secret" (optional/supplemental). Read in the syllabus about Colonial Trades. Made a clay bowl. Guessed and/or looked up (if we couldn't guess right) what last names meant in regard to giving us information about what kind of work the family did in colonial times. Chose a craft to learn more about (she chose a blacksmith). Used rubber alphabet stamps to write a letter to me, using one letter at a time, to get some idea of how time consuming it was for printers in colonial days. Read in the syllabus about Plants in the New World. Learned about folk cures for common ailments. Found out what types of nuts, roots, berries or greens grow in our area that we could use for food if we were hungry. We're on Week 11 now. We're continuing to read "Johnny Tremain" and will need to write a report next week about events that led up to the Revolutionary War. The syllabus lessons this week cover Spanish and French explorers. Next week we'll also get to make a clothespin doll (or a sock or rag doll, our choice), and make homemade bread and butter. There have been other "extra credit" activities and projects that we could have done as well but didn't get to (a salt and flour map, learning more about various people, making a booklet to go with a family tree, pressing leaves and/or flowers to make a little booklet of plants traditionally used in folk remedies, and so on). We've been having a lot of fun with it. It's secular, and there's not tons of busywork, it's not dry and textbookish, there's a lot of opportunity for thinking, discussion, and hands on activities. It's pretty cool. :) P.S. I have an older, used version of OM. There may be SOME differences in more recent versions but I know a lot of it is the same.

64 lbs is amazing! You've lost like 3 automobile tires! It must feel great not to have to lug those around anymore, huh? (I've lost 1. LOL).

It's great reading about all the losses and the healthy changes everyone's making! Congrats to you all! Carol, WiiFit IS different from a Wii- but you need a Wii before you can use a WiiFit so you'd need to buy both. The WiiFit is pretty fun (though like everything else eventually the novelty wears off). You get a "balance board" (run on batteries) that also functions as a scale and it will track your goals and losses for you, it will give you "fit tests," and there are all different games, some of which do get you pretty active (there's step aerobics, there's hula hooping, there's a jogging one, there's a yoga category and so on). Another idea is to just borrow various exercise videos from the library, Netflix, your video store, whatever, and just try out different videos. You could do aerobics ones, pilates, yoga, dancing, or go for something random and fun like hula dancing or belly dancing... try to just have fun with it :) A good fall back favorite for me is just doing some of the Leslie Sansone/ Walk Away The Pounds videos- they're easy and don't require a lot of coordination or grace, which I seem to be short on haha. eta: michele, wow, congrats on the C25K, you're doing amazing! I might give that another try soon, too.

My daughter had a carnival party for her birthday last month here at home, and I gave out little circus boxes with a bag of animal crackers in each one, some circus themed temporary tattoos, and a little bit of candy. My son had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese this month, and I didn't do favors at all (he's only 5 and it was a small party and those Chuck E Cheese type parties aren't cheap, so I didn't bother) :D I usually do something because I feel like it's expected. But then again I can't STAND when my kids bring home little plastic pieces of junk and such favors usually end up in the trash before very long.

Brisket. :drool5:

I always liked going to meetings. It was nice to hear the tips and the lectures, to be around other people doing the same thing I was doing and to hear their ideas. I felt more accountable when I knew someone was going to weigh me in every week. AND it was something to do without the kids for an hour a week lol. But, really, it's up to you. You could always try the meetings out and see if you like them. If you do, stick with them. If you don't, switch to online.

Thinking of you guys! I hope it goes in your favor!!

FYI your sig says you started in 2005, rather than 2010. LOL. Just figured I'd let you know. Looking forward to hearing how your first week goes :) ETA: And I think we should ALL put something about our weight loss status in our siggies :D Then it will be easier to know/remember who's trying to lose weight and to see how they're doing and better be able to get random inspiration, give random encouragement etc. Just a thought!

Is there some sort of class or camp or activity he can get involved in that is interest based? An art class, a writing class, a library book club (or some other library program, ours has a couple of things for teens), some sort of YMCA teen club or organized sport through the Y, a martial arts class, or something like that? Would you want to look into whether your public school will allow a homeschooler to participate in extra curricular activities? Some do. Can you maybe start a homeschool group (like on meetup.com) on your own and call it "secular" or "inclusive" or whatever fits, and see if anyone else bites?

Beats me! I'd call and ask!

I just looked online, my library carries "The Giver" in its "Young Adult" section.