I have read many posts about what to do with the 'Littles'. How to keep them busy while you teach the older ones or how to have them help with your day. I am having the opposite problem right now with my 9 year old. She is getting off track in chores and schooling. We are on our second week of school and she keeps going off track as soon as I 'let her go' and work/help with the younger two. My 'babies' are now 4 and 5 but they still clinge to me quite a bit. Mostly the younger one now. I just want her to do her part of the chores and her work that is done on her own. Last year I was one of those what to do with the 'Littles' but now it seems to be the opposite this year. Another thing is when she is finished she rushes up to her room to read or whatever and I am like NO you can move onto the next subject on the list. I am using a curriculum that is half independent and half done with me. How do I keep her on track and motivated to keep doing her work while I am off chasing or helping the younger two. I tried last year to combine all of them but it's just to far of a gap between her and them and its' not easy for me. She does her books and they share most of the the PreK/K curriculum. As for chores, she has her list and she knows how to do them and the 4 & 5 year old do chores with me beause they are not ready to do them on their own yet. sorry if this sounds rushed, trying to type it in between getting the kiddos and myself off to bed.

I just wanted to chime in and say that even though we don't have cable right now, I wished we had it on really hot days or in the winter. We live in housing and hubby don't want to pay the price for cable but we cannot get satilite because housing won't let them run new wires in the houses. I am counting the days until we move. We are all missig our favorite shows but right now not having it we do get more reading and work done around the house. I could just do more trips to the grandparents. t

It wouldn't bother me, I just be praying that my kids don't start asking their 101 questions.

They are very short chapters so I don't mind the books. My children love them, the youngest is 4 and the oldest is 9. My son don't care much for them but he likes pictures and not having pictures makes him zone out. I will have to read the chapter two or three times before he finally tells me about it. I do look forward to the day my younger ones are like the older one and can read and then tell me about the chapters. My oldest readthe Boxcar children but I never read or have her read to me. She just tell me about it. I have come to terms that my children will not like the same books as I do, even the children ones.

We dont have cable so it's PBS before school or in the afternoons if they don't nap. I also have a bunch of DVDs.

Pray for the children and their families. I have had similar situations like that. I even had a child climb over our fence to play in our backyard while we left to go for a walk in the nieghborhood. I always just said a little prayer for them.

My almost 6 year old does handwriting for both letters and numbers three times a week. Everyday when we do something that is history/social studies and science. He has a journal book for draw a picture and then he writes a sentence or two about that. He's not writing on his own, I write and then he copies it. When Awana starts up he will be writing his verses a few times a week. As soon as I started writing down what he says, it's been exciting to him. He's just amazed by it. He says something, I write it and then he copies it. I hope this excitment stays with him for the rest of the year. Then again we just started school this week and he's sort of excited to be doing big kid school now :)

I am at the beginning of teaching my younger two to read. When I pull out the 100 EZ lessons my youngest whines and my middle one says he knows it and won't say the sounds. So the book is on the shelf. I am now using magnet letters on the fridge or on a mini dry erase board, flash cards from letters, phonics, rhyming and three letter words. I unpacked the board books and started reading those to them and I have boughten some level books. I have gone to enchantedlearning and homeschool share for some activities. School is now more enjoyable and they look forward to their phonics/reading time. My oldest came home not reading well after attending a full year of K and a month of 1st grade. I used a little bit of OPGTR and the phonic books from the library and store. I honestly couldn't tell you how they taught her in K. She use to bring home little stacks of cards with words on them to learn each week and they went with a book that the teacher read to them.

I recommend looking before buying to see if that is what you really want to do. I was so excited about starting homeschooling and was for sure going to use Apologia and bought them all. Zoo1 didn't pan out well, our experiments didn't work. My daughter didn't want to do Astromany because she did that with other books and Magic School bus book already. I have them on the shelf and I will get them out to just look at or read a section but that's it. Doing one book for the whole school year also didn't appeal to my husband. Trying to do 2 would push it.

Just saying school board will get something going. Back when my daughter was in school and something wasn't addressed properly I tried over and over to get with the principle. He wasn't willn't to deal with the situation and I said I was going to address the situation with the board. Within a two days I was talking with the local super and had things changed w/o going to the meeting.

My likes to keep all the pages in the workbook. I had no issues with keeping the book open. I have done the sprial bound in that past and don't plan on doing that again.

I would say larger home because we cannot always get a way with hubby being military. He's a homebody and loves to be at home with the kids. He' much rather have a friend or two over for a cook out or just have the a bunch a kids over playing then to go out and about. He'd like to have our camper at a campground that we all like and just go there on weekends or long holidays.

My oldest is four years older than her brother so I have them do seperate work. I tried combining over spring and summer and it didn't happen. My younger two will do math and reading seperately but will be doing the fun extras together.

If it's just the maps updated, couldn't you just buy the studen pack(s) with the updated maps? I too have SOTW2 plus activity guide. I am not using it this year but will within the next two years. If its just maps I don't see a reason for getting the revised edition. Also the revised audio should be the same as the original shouldn't it? The site says nothing about new text in the new book.

I have quite a bit of books but I don't think that many. If I look at all of them, my head spins. I have just what I need for our first month.

This is my 4th year and I have started them but never finished them. My daughter jumps around in her interests so we don't go in order. This year I am using CHOW and will use the timeline suggested in the book. I will complete this one.

I will have them say it at least three times a week so that my little ones can learn it. So they will say it until it's memorized.

Show that to my hubby! I honestly have no problems forgoing the housework and read while the kids play! Reading the part the college, I remember being in a class that didn't discuss. Just did what the teacher said and that was it. I think I may have had one or two classes with disscusions but they were my medical ones.

I brought our kittens home when they were 5-6 weeks. They were already being weaned from their mama and I took at three with me. I was concerned and was going to bring mama until we saw her bringing them their real food more and more. I got my first cat around 6 weeks of age and she was a good cat. I was going to keep one but since I have three kids, they each have a cat or each cat has a human :) I have read that fixing them should be done closer to 6 months than the 3-4 months that some people do. My christmas present is getting my fur babies fix.

Thought my son would be close a year when number three came. I found out I was expecting when my son was just 3 months old!

I tried it last year but didn't care for it. Someome said once my children are older it will help but I don't think so. I much rather write it out and have them check it off.

she said mid July when I asked her. I am not so patiently waiting until the 1st to email her again. I am trying to think positivly here.

I have the orange book for my 4th grader. It's a laid back approach which is why I want to use it. The only thing that I am adding to it is First Language Lessons 4.

My daughter took the Iowa test results back in May, end of the month. I still haven't gotten my results. This is my first year using their test and the resullts are taking forever. I used a different test in the past, CAT and I got my results back in two weeks. With that test, it was at the beginning of June both times. Anyone else experience a long wait? I did have it done with a homeschooling group. I have asked others who have taken it but they have't gotten the results either. I am itching to get my letter in to the state.

You could use just the workbook but the 'meat' is in the TM. I was using just the workbook after trying the whole curriculum (DITHOR). So it can be done.