OK even though I was all for parents staying with their kids if they wanted to and this not being a big deal, those were some pretty funny posts :D

Speaking of the tooth fairy, here's a cute story. One time, my daughter left the tooth fairy a note, asking if she would leave more money than she had the last time. So we left her the same amount we had given her last time- plus one extra penny. :D

In the end, I chose not to send my son to preschool when he turned 4. But I did consider it. My reasons for considering it: 1. Because I thought he would enjoy it. 2. Because I thought he'd make friends and have fun being around them. 3. Because as a new homeschooler at the time, it would have allowed me to focus on doing some things with my then 8 year old, without my 4 year old constantly interrupting or distracting or being bored. We were on the waiting list and everything. When the time came, I had decided to keep him home instead. But I can definitely see why people might choose to utilize a daycare or preschool program for their little ones.

If she can read well enough herself, let her read it aloud to YOU, instead of you reading aloud to HER. See if she retains it better that way. Or assign her short sections to go read silently to herself and see if that works. I know that I definitely retain better what I read to myself, rather than someone trying to read something aloud to me. And the other day I read something to my daughter, had her go all "huh?" on me when I tried to get her to answer a couple of simple questions, so I handed her the book, showed her the section, and told her to go read it to herself and then come back. She got the questions right after that.

LOL! I love her!

Welcome :)

I agree with the others. Let that comment slide for now and don't respond to it. There's no need to bring it up, especially when you just never know how someone feels about homeschooling and whether it would make them look at you differently for any reason. AFTER you get the job, and/or you get to know her a bit better, if she brings it up again, then it's fine to mention it casually if you want to, and more in depth if she expresses friendly interest. But not now!

I store my stuff about the same way you do! I have a small closet which I took over for homeschooling and craft supplies and a small file cart. I have a china cabinet which I also took over for homeschool supplies, including most of the texts and workbooks and notebooks we are using in a given year, more craft supplies, some science supplies, etc. Then I have a couple of different bookcases. And some things that are just scattered here and there. We do most of our work at the kitchen table, and some at the computer in the den.

Weird! I've been a Netflix member for many years and never had that happen. Once in a while something has a "wait" and they will send me whatever is next on my queue but even that has rarely happened.

Thanks all :) I should have worded it more along the lines of "when did your kids stop believing" rather than "when do they no longer receive visits" lol. My daughter just lost a tooth yesterday. She'll be 10 in a month and a half. She SEEMS to still believe in the tooth fairy (I can't tell for sure if she knows and is "playing us" LOL. But she seems to still really believe). She's known for years that there's no Santa, easter bunny etc (particularly since we are not Christian anyway). But she's gotten a lot of mileage out of the Tooth Fairy. :D

Ah! Thanks! Some of those really make me nuts trying to figure out what they mean lol.

at your house?

Here's one that's a bit different (I think). It's called: I Am Learning All The Time, by Rain Perry Fordyce. It's about a 5 year old homeschooled character (who is a dog but like a person, you know, like the Berenstain Bears or something). And the book explores the differences in the little boy and his friends who go to public school, comparing them, but in a very positive way. The illustrations are great and I think that any homeschooled child would enjoy a picture/story book about another homeschooled child. It's a big hit at our house. http://www.homeschooladventurebooks.com/

What's FSOT??? Welcome, from an eclectic/relaxed/secular/non-classical homeschooler who hasn't gotten into trouble yet. :)

Maybe it was just that you didn't enclose some Midol or Pamprin or something with your letter. A warm heating pad. I don't know.

You could bring a stack of old magazines if you have them and let the kids select pictures to cut out and glue onto the middle of a piece of paper, then they draw in the rest of the scenery/background that they think would be surrounding their particular picture. You could mix kool aid powder with a little water to make like a water color "paint" and let the kids paint pics with it- they'll have scented pictures that they can even "scratch and sniff" after the paintings dry. Though that might be too messy for you! You could make fall "ear of corn" place cards- this is a cute idea that we did for Thanksgiving last year... http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/kwanza/cornplacecard/ Or you could gather twigs and make "rustic photo frames" http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/frames/twig/index.shtml

I wouldn't use SOTW with a first grader at all lol. I am currently doing it with my 9 y/o... we're only about to start Chapter 12 of SOTW1 and I didn't know there was a "test," but no, I wouldn't "test" a first grader regardless, for anything.

Oak Meadow. :) We'll be using the Oak Meadow Kindergarten Syllabus, the Oak Meadow First Book Of Crafts, the Oak Meadow First Book Of Fairy Tales, "Wee Sing Children's Songs & Fingerplays," and, for health, activities pulled from the book "Growing, Growing Strong." We'll be starting next month and I expect it to take 1 to 1 1/2 hours per day. Here's what his first week will look like: Lesson 1 (9/6/10-9/10/10) Monday 9/6/10: Arts & Crafts: Make a fall seasonal table, decorating with things that represent fall to us. Can use things we find on a nature walk or get at a store- things like pumpkins, gourds, leaves, acorns, corn, etc. More ideas in Oak Meadow First Book Of Crafts. (We will either use a small toddler-sized table set up in a corner of our living room, or we will use the window sill in our living room's bay window). Health: Read “The Bare Naked Book†(or other book about bodies for young children). Talk about how bodies are different. Talk about how to protect your body, and types of protective equipment: helmets, elbow and knee and wrist pads, sunglasses, goggles, ear plugs, gloves, sunscreen, etc. Show him some of these things if we have them here. Use a tape measure, scales, or other measuring equipment to see how tall each family member is, how long their feet are, and how much they weigh. Since this is the first day of school, perhaps make him a small "poster" that lists his grade, his height and weight, put his hand print somewhere on it using finger paint, and take a "first day of school" picture and print it to add to this paper. Display it, and then save it as a first day of Kindergarten memory. Tuesday 9/7/10: Language Arts/Social Studies: Tell the story of “The Magic Spindle.†See page 1 in “A First Book Of Fairy Tales.†Ask him to use crayons to draw a picture of a haystack (which represents the letter "A" in the story) in his main lesson book. Ask him to make the letter “A†from clay or beeswax. Teach him the tongue twister on Page 1. Read it through once, then ask him to listen for the "A" sound as I read it again. Practice it several times throughout the day if he wants to learn it. Wednesday 9/8/10: Language Arts/Social Studies: Help him gather sticks/twigs and tie them in bundles to form an “A.†Ask him to draw the letter “A†with a stick in the dirt. Help him find tree branches that fork. Tie a piece of yarn between the forks to form the letter “A.†Do many A’s! Do the following “Spatial Orientation†exercises: 1. Walk the shape of an "A" drawn with a stick in the dirt. 2. Walk the shape of an "A" without it being drawn in the dirt. 3. Run the shape of the letter "A" drawn in the dirt, then run the shape of the letter "A" not drawn in the dirt. Thursday 9/910: Science: Do Week 1 in the science curriculum for Fall- briefly recall summer. Ask him to remember the sounds, smells and sights of summer. Ask him to draw a picture of summer and enter this picture into his science scrapbook. May also gather some flowers and press them for our summer picture. Friday 9/10/10: Math: Introduce the number 1 (see page B-4 for qualitative values and story suggestions for the numbers 1-10). Make the number 1 from clay or beeswax. Music: Listen to a Wee Sing song, learn a fingerplay. --- More generally: Mondays will be Arts & Crafts and Health Tuesdays will be Language Arts/Social Studies Wednesdays will be Language Arts/Social Studies Thursdays will be Science Fridays will be Math and Music & Movement OM is much more laid back, hands on, story-based, nature-based, craft based, etc than other curricula... slower paced, less stress on heavy academics in the earliest grades and so on. I love that about it. It focuses on fairy tales, music and movement, nature, learning the uppercase letters of the alphabet, and the numbers 1 to 10.

I take my kids to have their pictures professionally done around their birthdays each year. Since one is early October and one is early November (and we start school in September), these also can be classified as their "school pictures" for that year. But I'll also take my own first day of school pictures, and the billion pictures I always take anyway all year long of them doing various school projects and field trips and activities and so on. :)

I think there's always an adjustment period in the beginning of a school year. And I think it's common for kids to "forget" over the summer things they "knew" the previous year. I think kids and teachers in public school relate to each other different when this comes up. Teachers won't really lose patience with the kid and send them to their room or whatever lol, they'll expect plenty of patient review. Kids won't burst into tears or yell at their teachers, because they don't feel that level of comfort the way they do with a parent. Likely the child is a little stressed out and nervous and adjusting to getting back into this routine etc. I'd try to be understanding and have patience with that. Instead of "Okay you need to go to your room to decompress," maybe "It's okay, it's normal to forget some of what you did last year, after a long summer vacation. How about we do some reading for now instead, and then we'll go back to math after lunch. Don't worry, I'll help you remember it." I also agree with what Catwoman said!

You say your son's 12- so, truthfully, at that age, I'd leave it entirely up to him. If he sees it as a fun and desirable way to spend time interacting with his uncle, I'd let him! If he changes his mind at any point and decided he didn't want to do it anymore for whatever reason, I'd let him back out and tell uncle on his behalf "Sorry, this isn't holding his interest any more" or "he doesn't have time for it with his regular studies anymore" or whatever worked. If I found out that uncle was actively undermining homeschooling, me as a parent, my teaching or so on, then I'd have to have a talk with uncle and put a stop to it if he didn't.

Glad it went well! :)

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203871 http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106308

Of course it wouldn't be terrible! My plan is always to start school after Labor Day, and to just enjoy the summer! Last year, we started 4th grade the day after Labor Day, did a 36 week Oak Meadow curriculum (though we did consolidate the final two weeks, which were mostly review), and still finished in May. We'll be doing the same this year. It's fine! :)

How To Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish