art supplies are my weakness. my kids have every imaginable type of paper, paint, brush, medium...they are also oversupplied on notebooks, paper, pencils, etc. i have an aversion to notebook paper, however, so they have never owned any. it never fits and lines up with the other papers in the notebook, unless you use college rule and they're too little for that, yet.

i made up a game that my kids are crazy for, and they ask to play it week after week. we call it simply "the stick game." i have written on craft sticks each subject (two sticks for each subject). then i have other sticks that say "you pick," "boys pick" "friend picks" "girls pick" and you could add others such as "free point" or "lose a turn." i hide the end of the sticks in my hand that have the writing on it and go back and forth between teams (we do boys v girls). a student draws a stick that will have either a topic or a "pick" on it. we had to make the rule that a team could only "pick" one history sentence per game (in addition to the ones in the bunch) because they were racking up too many points, and just answering history sentences. then i randomly choose one of the colored flash cards from the deck and ask the question. if they get it right, they get a point. if they can't get it or want to pass, a teammate who thinks they know the answer can "pull them out." if the teammate misses, the chance to answer goes to the other team and they get one chance to answer. we kept a running score each week for a while. they loved this game! we would dock points for helping a teammate, or would not award a point...something like that . you can set your own parameters. have fun!

i have chosen the Apologia Science "Exploring Creation" series for science because it absolutely glorifies God in every lesson. One thing you must do first and foremost is seek the Lord daily for his guidance in your schooling. Ask him for the spiritual gift of teaching. Ask him to show you how you can weave him into everything that you do. No curricula can do what the Holy Spirit can do through you, the parent, in raising and educating your child. There are a gazillion curricula that claim to be Christian,God-centered, and "training in righteousness" but by whose theology? I want to be a woman of The Book and teach my children to be the same. it all becomes sort of stale and "bookish" to me. IMHO, beginning with the Word, making it a priority to hide it in their hearts, and then weigh everything against that knowledge, be it Christian or secular is the best way to go.

I'm really glad you posted this. The fact the CC history is what it is (we LOVE the sentences and songs) is practically what keeps us with CC, however, I very much want to do SOTW with DD and DS next year and don't want to juggle too much info. I struggle with CC because, while I like their approach, I really like the curricula that I have chosen for my son. We do Apologia science, SOTW (though not this year, cycle 3), and things don't really match up with CC. It's the support of the CC community and the "pegs" that keep me there. Any other opinions...?

:tongue_smilie: i've given up caffeine because i was told that it was a good thing to do. i was miserable. never mind the headache and all the symptoms you're describing, i didn't know what to do with myself in the morning. i've drunk coffee since sophomore year in college and i love it. i have very few vices. it's more the morning ceremony than the caffeine i love. that said, i drink 50% caffeinated coffee, but i still feel cruddy if i give that up. won't do it. see no reason to.