I can't even remember the last time I saw a payphone!

I put mostly other subjects with some of the 3 R's. I guess that would be most relevant. I am starting Kindergarten next month with my son using the Oak Meadow curriculum, which is pretty gentle and non-academic in the earliest years. It is Waldorf-inspired (not true Waldorf). Here's a description: "A rich tradition of oral language and classic stories provides the backdrop for your child’s first exploration into the world of literacy. Each week students are immersed in a language-rich environment as they listen to stories, recite poetry, and learn new songs. Familiarity with individual letters is achieved through activities that engage the student artistically, physically, and musically. Emphasis is placed on integrating the sounds and shapes of each letter in preparation for First Grade. In Math, students are gently introduced to the world of numbers through play-based activities, crafts, and storytelling. Math skills are fostered through working with patterns, grouping and sorting, and learning to draw geometric shapes. Science, Arts & Crafts, Music & Movement, and Health round out the Kindergarten experience. Each week students participate in nature walks, watercolor painting, puppetry, storytelling, circle songs and games, cooking, gardening, movement activities, and imitative games. A healthy, nurturing rhythm of learning is established that will serve you and your child for years to come." Much of the OM philosophy is that a child is more than just an intellect, that there's nothing to be gained by rushing through childhood and so on. However, I may also do some Funnix beginning reading lessons with my son if he's willing (he likes computer based stuff). It's just not a priority for me though that he must learn to read and write in K. 1st grade was time enough for that when I was a kid and I certainly didn't suffer for it in my reading and writing skills!

I have a VERY long list of books featuring homeschooled characters on my blog. Click the link in my signature line, then look at the sidebar to the left of my blog page. There will be a "Misc." section and under that you will see links to my listings of books featuring homeschooled characters. I've included titles, descriptions, age levels, etc. And if any of you know of any books I don't already have on that list, let me know!

Yes, when I had a huge scratch in mine, my husband ordered a screen online, watched a tutorial online on how to replace it, and did it himself.

If there is no passion for it or interest in continuing I'd let them quit. If there's a natural talent, perhaps they will continue on their own or decide to pick it up again down the road. But if they feel forced they may come to hate it.

:grouphug::iagree: Going through a really worrisome time (again) with someone close to me, too. It's sad and stressful and exhausting. I hate it.

I didn't know you were a member here! Hi! :D To the OP, sorry your superintendent seems to s___ as much as mine! They really do like to ask for things they aren't entitled to around here!

Yep. And then throw in the fact that a vast number of superintendents aren't even familiar with the law and randomly decide to ask for things not even required by law as if they are entitled to it.

:iagree:

LOL now that you said that, there was a Christmas thread locked last year and the mods put a really funny reason but now I can't remember what it was... can you??

I think it's MUCH better to start the day off on a positive note with something enjoyable for you both. Like you said, starting with something not so enjoyable just sets the tone for the day. Either start with something you know will be enjoyable, or better yet, give her the choice as to what she wants to start with each day so she feels like she's got some say in her education.

With my son I don't try to "formally" do "memorization" but I do work on things here and there conversationally or for fun that I know he should memorize. These are just things like full name, phone number, address, birthday, seasons, days of the week, the names of the months, 911, we sometimes do the Pledge, nursery rhymes, songs- that kind of thing.

We make up most of the work, but some things we just skip/consolidate. Like if I have spelling review on my "list" for the week, we won't do an extra spelling assignment. To me, that's just no big deal. If the grammar assignment was something we've already been reviewing and have a good grasp of it, we skip it. But we make up the math, writing assignments, and so on. The important stuff. Either by doing a bit of extra work each day over the rest of the week, or by finishing up some stuff over a weekend, or whatever. I definitely don't let it put me behind each time and extent my school year.

Any chance you'd want to change "bad to the bone" to the later years and use "colors" by Kira Willey instead for the middle years? :D I love that song for a slideshow for young children! It's got a really pretty melody and the lyrics seem to fit kids: Lyrics: I am green today I chirp with joy like a cricket song. I am gray today Gloomy and down like a morning fog. I am orange today Loud and messy like finger paint on the wall. I am red today Hopping mad like a playground ball. I am black today Strong and tall a great big bear. I am purple today Bright and happy like a butterfly in the air. I'm a rainbow today All the colors of the world. I'm a rainbow today All the colors of the world. I'm a rainbow today All the colors of the world are in me. I am yellow today I shine my light out like the sun. I am white today Soft and quite like new snow. I am blue today Calm as glass and cool like the sea. I'm a rainbow today All the colors of the world. I'm a rainbow today All the colors of the world. I'm a rainbow today All the colors of the world are in me. All the colors of the world are in me. *** Another song I really like the lyrics to for a boy is Godspeed, by the Dixie Chicks. Lyrics: Dragon tales and the "water is wide" Pirate's sail and lost boys fly Fish bite moonbeams every night And I love you Godspeed, little man Sweet dreams, little man Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings Godspeed Sweet dreams The rocket racer's all tuckered out Superman's in pajamas on the couch Goodnight moon, we'll find the mouse And I love you Godspeed, little man Sweet dreams, little man Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings Godspeed Sweet dreams God bless mommy and match box cars God bless dad and thanks for the stars God hears "amen" wherever we are And I love you Godspeed, little man Sweet dreams, little man Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings Godspeed Godspeed Godspeed Sweet dreams I'm not even religious and I like those lyrics lol. I also like "Time in A Bottle" by Jim Croce for things like this. And the Somewhere Over The Time/Wonderful World song by Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole.

I'm with eternal knot. I'd invite her only because you said you would like to see your nephew again. So give it a try and see what happens. But don't do it because you're afraid she'll get upset if you do (and upset if you don't etc- that's her problem).

I wanted mine to chronicle our experience from the beginning of going about the process of pulling my daughter out of public school, why I did it, what I hoped for from it, what it was like actually beginning to homeschool as a new homeschooler and so on. I continued by recording our daily lives and activities as homeschoolers thinking it would be fun to look back on and have as a keep sake (I even had the first school year printed into a book already), a good way for interested family and friends to see what we were up to, and eventually maybe a source of help for other homeschoolers, especially new ones. Each entry will be about what we did that day, with pics, sometimes with links or instructions on how to do a particular craft or some such. But I've also added a bunch of things to it, all linked on the sidebar to the left- articles I've written, curriculum reviews I've written, examples of necessary paperwork for my state, useful forms, favorite links, homeschooling quotes, a long list of books featuring homeschooled characters, and more. (Also, I just really like to write, and this is a good outlet for me). :)

Glad to hear good reviews! My mom and I both loved the book, and we are going to see the movie together this afternoon. ETA: Well, we saw it! And we both really enjoyed it!! It was very well done, even though they had to leave out parts I thought should have been in there. (I guess it was hard to get all that in there though, it was already a 2 hour and 17 minute movie and none of it seemed unnecessary!)

Farmer John is a title, just like Mister Smith or Doctor Jones, so that is correct. Richard the Rooster is probably being used as its full name in the story. Hare and Tortoise I assume are being used like their first names? If it says (for example) "After lunch, the Hare went out to play" that would be wrong technically, but if it says "After lunch, Hare went out to play"- that's just being used as its name and therefore properly capitalized.

Trying to get my 5 (almost 6) year old son to sit with me and listen to a book is and always has been like pulling teeth. He's just never been overly interested in being read to, and almost never asks me to read to him. If I ask him if he wants me to read to him, he almost always says no. If I get him to sit down and do it anyway, it would be hit or miss- sometimes with a shorter picture book he'd get absorbed in it, plenty of other times he'd start fidgeting, singing to himself, trying to get down and walk away, and if I asked him if he wanted to hear another story- forget it. Maybe this is "fluff" but I don't even care! I found a book called "Disney Adventure Stories," which consists of like 19 stories from all different Disney stories (there are ones about Peter Pan, Toy Story, Three Musketeers, Hercules, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Chicken Little and more) and then there will be some sort of adventure story involving that character. My son loves this book!!! He will listen to each story with complete attention and then he will BEG ME to read another one! "Just one more, Mommy, PLEASE," he has said consistently every time I've sat down to read from this book over the past few days. I see in the back of the book they also have the Disney Princess Collection, Friendship Stories, and two different "Storybook Collection" books (one seems to be more classic stories and one is a Pixar collection). I may have to pick up one or two more of these because, did I mention, my son is letting me read to him and enjoying it?!?! :)

If my husband is off and home at dinner time (usually just on Sundays and Mondays), he cooks, as he is definitely a better cook than I am. (He also does the breakfast cooking when we have cooked food for breakfast as opposed to a grab and go thing). The rest of the week, I cook, usually simple stuff, and at least once a week, I order take out. :D Starting this fall, I will be using the Rachael Ray "Cooking Rocks!" cookbook with my daughter (she'll be just about 11) and maybe she'll cook dinner once a week! :)

:lol: I'm with you. Some years I put up some Halloween decorations. If I feel like it. And since we don't even celebrate Christmas, that's about it!

Buy whatever you want, if the kids don't mind it! I like to use pencil, myself, so I can go over with my daughter what she needs to fix, and then erase my marks. One time, I was showing my ex-school-teacher aunt some of my daughter's schoolwork, my very first year homeschooling, and my aunt apparently saw a thing or two on a written paper that she didn't think was right or good enough or whatever, and she actually got out a red pen and was about to make a correction on the paper! I had to ask her to please NOT write on my daughter's paper. Can you imagine?!

Oh my gosh, poor you. I hope that feels better very soon!

Above, I posted all the books my daughter and I have read together. Here are the ones I've read on my own. I haven't managed a book a week, but I'm reading as much as I can- and some of the books I've read are very long- a few were over 1,000 pages! 1. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes 2. The Virgin's Lover, by Phillipa Gregory 3. The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood 4. Mary, Bloody Mary, by Carolyn Meyer 5. Beware, Princess Elizabeth, by Carolyn Meyer 6. Doomed Queen Anne, by Carolyn Meyer 7. Zipporah, Wife of Moses, by Marek Halter 8. At First Sight, by Nicholas Sparks 9. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman 10. Lover Unleashed, by J.R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood series) 11. Free Range Kids, How To Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts With Worry), by Lenore Skenazy 12. The Fifth Sacred Thing, by Starhawk 13. The Law of Nines, by Terry Goodkind 14. Running With Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs 15. A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin 16. A Clash of Kings, by George R.R. Martin 17. Hit List, by Laurel K. Hamilton (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series) 18. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett 19. Blessings, by Anna Quindlen 20. A Storm of Swords, by George R.R. Martin I will start A Feast For Crows, by George R.R. Martin tomorrow.

I haven't been posting to this thread lately, but I have been continuing to do the challenge and to post on the 52books blog. I'm doing this challenge with my 10 year old daughter- she and I are reading a book aloud together each week. Here's what we've read so far: 1. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster 2. Skellig, by David Almond 3. Ida B and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the World, by Katherine Hannigan 4. The Gawgon and The Boy, by Lloyd Alexander 5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling 6. The Girl With The Silver Eyes, by Willo Davis Roberts 7. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt 8. Sounder, by William H. Armstrong 9. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl 10. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson (kind of an adapted, shorter version, not the original) 11. All-of-A-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor 12. The Midwife's Apprentice, by Karen Cushman 13. Surviving The Applewhites, by Stephanie S. Tolan 14. The People in Pineapple Place, by Anne Lindbergh 15. The Prisoner of Pineapple Place, by Anne Lindbergh 16. By The Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder 17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling (audiobook) 18. The Safe Zone, A Kid's Guide To Personal Safety, by Donna Chaiet and Francine Russell 19. Harriet Tubman, Call To Freedom, by Judy Carlson 20. The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder 21. The Return of the Indian, by Lynne Reid Banks 22. The Secret of the Indian, by Lynne Reid Banks 23. Robinson Crusoe, Retold/Scholastic Books Edition 24. Ben and Me, by Robert Lawson 25. Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson 26. Frindle, by Andrew Clements 27. James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl 28. In Search of a Homeland, The Story of the Aeneid, by Penelope Lively 29. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli 30. The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, retold by John Yeoman 31. Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 32. Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater 33. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, by Jules Verne (will prob start tomorrow, still finishing up Mr. Popper's Penguins).