I'd do it, too! As long as my child didn't object, wasn't too scared etc.

I think it's good you've had ongoing discussions with him up until now. And since you have, and since you now have a good vehicle for more in-depth discussion with this magazine now, I would read it with my 11 year old, answer any questions, talk about it, etc. At 11, I think they are more open to this kind of thing- to going over it with mom, to understanding how dangerous it can be and so on, and better they have that firmly in their head before they get to the teen years where the peer pressure to actually DO those things might kick in, and they might be more likely to roll their eyes than have an earnest conversation with mom about it.

Toward the second half of fourth grade and all of fifth grade, my daughter became MUCH better at writing assignments than she had been in third or the beginning of fourth. I try to let some stuff be done orally and some stuff written, but in segments, and some stuff get typed, because I know MY hands get cramped and tired if I do a lot of handwriting at once.

Hypothetically speaking, I would hypothetically hate it if my hypothetical husband snored. Loudly. All the time. Not spouse-bashing, Nance

I'm just glad she stopped doing that stuff to that little boy.

In my case, I know that my local schools are just not very good. Going by the standardized testing, all the districts around here are pretty much below state average across the board. This is per the standardized test results that come out each year in the paper. My daughter on the other hand is doing just fine when she takes standardized tests. Each year, I have to hire an evaluator and show him a portfolio of our work. Our evaluator also happens to run a small private school. Each year, he says very positive things about our curriculum and my daughter's work samples. I can see that my daughter is bright and learning, as I am with her every day. If she ever had to go back to school, which is not the plan, I think that she'd be way ahead of most of the other kids in language arts, at least on par with them in math, and depending on where we were in our curriculum, she might not have been learning about the same things in science or social studies, but would be capable of catching up to what they were doing. So might there be "gaps?" Sure. It is utterly impossible to learn every single thing in the world, and it is entirely possible that we are learning different things at a different time compared to what the schools are learning, but I have very little interest in what the schools are learning at a given time and would prefer to just keep doing our own thing. The schools aren't faring so well. My daughter is. And the older she gets, and as she determines what she wants to do with her life, we will begin to tailor her education toward that thing, and I think that she will apply herself when it's for something that she really wants, and I believe that she'll be able to make whatever she wants of herself and her life and her education, with support and guidance from us. I guess I just kind of refuse to worry about this kind of thing. My husband owns his own small business and my daughter will always have a place there if she wants (she says she wants, but she's young, she may change her mind :D). Maybe she'll veer off and do her own thing. Maybe she'll want college, maybe she won't. If she does, I comfort myself with knowing that many colleges want homeschoolers these days, that my daughter will be self-motivated, that she's involved in lots of things that I guess will look good and nice and well-rounded... not to mention plenty of ADULTS I know have horrible grammar skills, can't spell etc, and I've seen examples of "college" writing papers that are beyond atrocious, and my almost 11 year old daughter is better at that kind of thing than they are, already. I just feel we're all happy and thriving and doing well and I can't be bothered to start allowing myself to worry or become pessimistic about stuff like "is it true that homeschooled kids are behind public schooled kids?!" or whatever.

We didn't get an "opt out" option with my son's teeball and I HATED doing the fundraising!!! He recently started soccer and there IS an "opt out" option of $20.00. I gladly paid it! The only fundraiser I don't mind is my daughter's Girl Scout cookies fundraiser. Those are fairly easy to sell. :D

Well, I don't know, I mean if we go by standardized testing, my daughter scored much higher than the kids at my district ever do particularly in language arts and tested better than a lot of them do in math, too (the results come out in paper each year, and my local districts are below state average). But we also do things on a different timeline than they do, so she didn't score as high in social studies and science- because we're learning about different things than they are and haven't covered a lot of that stuff yet. But that doesn't mean a bright or even "average" child couldn't quickly catch up- much more quickly than "two years" anyway, on that sort of stuff!

No, she uses my computer when necessary. (Hubby and I each have our own computers).

Well, it sounds like TT confirmed exactly what you thought. :) Stick with TT7. A good foundation, confidence building, etc. is nothing to brush off lightly.

Wow, that looks amazing! What is the top going to look like??

So far, I haven't changed my mind at all. And yes, I do know I'm lucky in that regard! I didn't pull my daughter out of school til the end of 3rd grade (late that March) and didn't use any boxed or formal curriculum for the rest of that year, just doing my own eclectic thing. During that time, while deciding what to use for 4th grade, my first full year of homeschooling, I was introduced to Oak Meadow and fell in love with the whole philosophy and the look of it. I found it used in one big lot K-8 and bought it. I used Oak Meadow 4 that first full year and loved it. Used Oak Meadow 5 the next year and loved it. Now using Oak Meadow 6 with my daughter and Oak Meadow K with my son and still loving it. I do add or change little things here and there, but that is and will continue to be my main curriculum. I did change math up for 5th grade because my older version of OM started using Saxon instead of its own built in math curriculum as of grade 5 (they don't do that anymore in more current editions), and I didn't want Saxon, so I went with TT instead ...and loved that and plan to continue with that, too!

If it were me, I would get up, do breakfast and make sure kitchen table was clean, (if that's where you work), then sit down and do 1st grade with your 6 y/o, aiming to finish it in two hours tops and done well before your husband wakes up. I would then work with the 4 y/o for 1 hour tops (but I personally wouldn't do a formal academic K with a four y/o to begin with, in your case you might want to consider what someone else said and drop handwriting for example with a 4 y/o!). With the goal being that by the time your husband is up and about, you're pretty much done with school. I would then do the bare necessity of what chores need to be done right then and there by you while the kids have a play break- maybe you need to start laundry (if so start that just before breakfast, actually), dishes, etc. I'd wait til later on the other stuff most of the time. Enjoy time with dad, do "fun" stuff, and do the rest of your chores while the kids nap and have quiet time, or after your husband leaves, or after dinner. If your son is a good reader and far ahead and likes to read and he's doing well enough reading to you and comprehending what's going on, I wouldn't start studying his eyes and worrying about his reading, it sounds like he's doing fine in that regard. Many kids don't even begin to learn to read til they are his age. Bottom line, they are only 6 and 4, and if you feel like you have to worry about "homeschooling all day" or not having time "to clean, cook or do much of anything," I'd re-evaluate how much schoolwork you are doing with them, because it may just be too much.

There's that free "Letter of the Week" thing you can google, Enchanted Learning (dot com) has a decent amount on their free section with access to everything for $20 per year, you can google "Kindergarten unit studies" and just utilize your library and craft type things, you can watch educational videos, play board games that reinforce math and language skills...

Haven't tried to figure per subject but figure we'll spend about 1 1/2 hours total on Kindergarten a day. (Closer to two on the days where we count "Angel Bear Yoga" as part of Kindergarten. :D)

n/m posted to wrong thread, sorry!!

We don't have a designated "school room." Most "desk work" gets done at the kitchen table. We carry in the things we need and carry them back out when we're done. Occasionally, she'll want to just flop on the computer room/den floor and do schoolwork there. We might do reading together on the recliner or couch. If it's a particularly nice day, we might sit at the patio table in the backyard. Sometimes, something gets done in the car on the way to a field trip or some such. Whatever works! :D

We are starting K next week and I am using Oak Meadow (not overly academic, Waldorf-inspired in earliest years) which will only take about an hour a day probably. I'm also going to do Funnix beginning reading lessons on the computer with him if he's willing, as he wants to be able to read things it says on his computer and video games! :D That's about it, everything else is informal, though we do plenty of educational things informally, from reading to games to shows to field trips to conversations to extra-curricular activities and so on.

Not for me!

Mine, too. She's not dark skinned but tans nicely in summer, and from her eczema and/or the medication we sometimes have to use on her for her eczema, she's got lighter patches particularly at the crease of her elbows. I don't know if they will ever look the same as the rest of her skin.

Thanks for the heads up! Will have to check back later, I just clicked the link and got: We apologize, but we are experiencing momentary difficulty with the FREE Breakfast Entrée reservation system. Please check back soon or follow us on Twitter (@cfareservations) for updates.

Thank you for the nice comment! :grouphug:

Biased of course, but I'd let him stay home if it meant that much to him.

Sure I can think of it as "our" money in general. But there is no getting around the fact that HE physically earns it and therefore pays for the curriculum etc. I don't mind giving him credit for that. It's an important contribution. On the flip side, there is no getting around the fact that *I* do all the planning and researching and implementing of homeschooling and if I say that "I homeschool my kids," I would arch a brow if someone said what you just said only reversed it to: "In no way shape or form can I identify with the notion that the spouse who actually does the teaching is the one homeschooling. It's our children. We both homeschool them." No- I homeschool them. He earns the money. ;) ETA: Or...I can just agree with Mrs. Mungo. Semantics! Yes, WE have family income. Yes, WE are a homeschooling family. But WE do have individual roles to play and there's nothing wrong with acknowledging them, especially in a thread ABOUT those particular roles. If it were just a random conversation about something purchased or that our kids stay home from public school, I'd say: "We bought the kids X," "We homeschool our kids...."

Passive is not cool. It takes two to have an anniversary. And it takes two to have an anniversary celebration. And it takes two to have communication. Seriously, you can't just sit there hoping he'll plan something by himself. Help plan it. You can't just say "okay" and seethe with frustration if he suggests something that was nowhere near what you had in mind. Speak up! Can't you just straight up talk to him? Conversationally, not angrily? "You know, I was thinking, we never had a honeymoon, we've never had a vacation without the kids, a tenth anniversary is a pretty big deal for me- I'd love if we can do a vacation just us, how can we make that happen?" And be prepared to negotiate. "Oh, you don't feel comfortable going without the kids for 3 or four days? No problem, I'd settle for an overnight...it would mean a lot to me. Family time is great, but I'd like some you and me time for our anniversary."