Starting to get back into our groove, despite my children's best endeavors to sabotage it all: http://mrsbrooke.blogspot.com/2012/01/weekly-report-2011-2012-week-21-rus-and.html

I forgot to write mine yesterday! Getting used to not being on break, I suppose! http://mrsbrooke.blogspot.com/2012/01/2011-2012-weekly-report-happy-winter.html

I forgot to post this until now: End of the Quarter Report. Whew! Merry Christmas! :)

I'm here! Hungry Eyes

I'm back after a sluggish bout of blogging: Gingerbread Girl

If a homeschool group demanded a lesson plan in order for me to join their group, I wouldn't join it. That seems really weird to me that they want your lesson plan on hand for legal reasons...why in the world would they ever need that? I understand YOU needing a lesson plan, but not your group. They want a lesson plan of what you're teaching YOUR children in YOUR home? Why? I don't see how what you do in your home affects the group. It's really none of their business. Am I alone in this opinion? That being said, I love to make lesson plans and always make one up for myself, but I don't think it's anyone else's business what my lesson plan looks like. I've evolved throughout the years and I'm currently just using the Teacher's Planner from Lakeshore Learning. I've tried Homeschool Tracker, but it was too much work for me to go and input it all every day/week. I like to type up what my goals are for each quarter and then I break that down in writing in my planner. Good luck with starting your homeschooling adventure!

I have a 7yo and a 5yo. I only do phonics, math and penmanship with my 5yo, which takes 45 minutes tops. After our devotional (together, obviously) I start working on 7yo's math with her and once we're done with her lesson she does a worksheet (Saxon). While she does her worksheet I do 5yo's math lesson. We take a break after math. When we come back from our break they both do penmanship while I supervise. Then 7yo does her spelling worksheets (Spelling Workout) while I go through 5yo's phonics. Then 5yo is done for the day and I work intensively with 7yo on grammar and writing. I read history/science out loud while kiddos play with LEGOs and 7yo generally reads her own literature assignments. We do art/music appreciation together in the afternoon.

I have the "Unsocialized homeschool children on board" bumper sticker on my van. I happened to see it one day and it made me laugh so much that I bought it. Other homeschoolers think it's funny too, most everyone else ignores it. Sometimes I'll get a "Are you the one with homeschool bumper sticker on your back window?" and at stop lights I've watched people in my rearview mirror obviously trying to read the sticker and then laughing and using finger quotes as they talk to the front seat passenger...that makes me smile. http://www.cafepress.com/+unsocialized_children_bumper_sticker_white,292694785

I hate co-op. It takes up so much freaking time, and I don't even do everything that my group does! My kids enjoy the extra friends, but it's just such a drain on me as a human being to get everything/everyone together and transported so they can hang out with kids their own age for an hour. All the extra time I put into making up lessons for other people's kids could be used to such a greater advantage for my own children, and I am wiped out after a meeting so the rest of school usually doesn't get done either. There are some women in my groups who LOVE co-op, some who are rather neutral and some who wish they didn't do it. It's up to the individual. I'm going to withdraw after this school year, as we've been hanging on for three years and I've just never "caught the spirit" of it. I did sign up to host a homemaking club this year, so that's why we're sticking with it through the end of the year.

I can only tell you what I would do and what's worked for me. I'd drop down to 1200 calories and continue with the exercise as is. That's a another deficit of ~400 calories a day, so 400 x 7 = 2800. You need to burn 3500 calories in order to lose a pound of fat, so that's 3/4 pound a week simply due to the calorie cut.

Thank you for this thread. My DD told me yesterday that she used to like Math but that it was just so easy and boring now that she didn't like it that much anymore. So this morning I'm just running her through the assessments and she's aced everything so far. It's scary to me! I'm gifted, but had to plod along at everyone's pace in PS, and I rebelled in the 2nd grade and didn't do any math at all for the rest of the year because I was so bored. She's in the 2nd grade right now and I can see the same situation brewing with her. (It's freaky that she's practically my clone.) *deep breath* It's scary to allow them to jump ahead when they need to, but I know it's best for her. It's just out-of-the-box and it takes me a little while to be OK with it. I guess it just mostly boils down to "what others think." I just hate that it feels like you have to hide giftedness, while it's so PC to embrace the other end of the spectrum. Can't we recognize special needs and accelerated needs equally? Alright, gotta get back to the testing...

I think the point of writing the sentence exactly as dictated is to help the child learn to keep their words in order. Later on, when they're writing their own arguments, they need to keep their thoughts in order and the sentence they want to write in order while getting it onto paper. If they're changing their sentences all the time in their head as they're writing, then the resulting written sentence will not be as clear.

It probably won't help much, but I just wanted to let you know that my 7yo daughter is big on rushing to get things done. I think it might be the age...she knows she can go play as soon as her schoolwork and chores are done, so she's careening through her responsibilities as fast as she can. What I'm thinking about doing is making her do a total re-do when she messes up because she was rushing, with the lesson of "Sloppy work is not done work, it is work you have to re-do because it's halfway done--which ends up taking you more time in the end." Something along those lines. I've got to think about it a little more before implementing anything. I'm not getting the concern about the finger counting...that wouldn't bother me at age 7. If it was bothersome, I'd put the curriculum on hold and just drill the snot out of the math facts until my daughter didn't need to count on her fingers anymore. However, I think finger counting is perfectly normal for some second graders. Each kid's brain develops at a different pace. I've read through some of your posts and you're emitting a rather frantic and worried vibe. Calm down! It's so easy to get worked up during your first year of homeschooling, and that 2yo is going to act like a 2yo no matter what you do. It's all going to be OK, and you don't have to prove anything to anyone. Focus on the 3R's, and tell yourself that you'll hit the extras at least two more times in the course of their pre-college days. Read out loud to them; read out loud to that Terrific Two! These days of young childhood are too precious to allow to blur by in a flurry of stressing over little details that will probably not matter in 1, 2, or 5 years' time. Don't spend these years freaking out over school; spend these years loving your days with your children. Twenty years from now, you're not going to want to look back and be overwhelmed with regret over how stressed out you were and how frustrated you were because you were simply trying to do too much. Math, Penmanship, Phonics, Reading Out Loud. Perhaps you want to scale back just to those core subjects for a while, and when you get them under control try adding in another subject? Don't kill yourself or burn yourself out. Be wise. You get to enjoy this chapter of your life too. Hopefully none of this comes across as condescending or rude. I'm speaking it all with the tone of concern and the hope that you'll take care of yourself so you can continue to serve your family for many years. Running yourself into the ground with stress or unrealistic expectations does good for no one. :) :grouphug: ETA: If a child completely bombs a review session/test/assessment, I think it would be best to "go through" the mistakes and the like the next day. Essentially doing a double math lesson in one day isn't going to fix any of the problems the child is having with the concepts.

Not every chapter has three sections...if you do SOTW with a section a day, it generally works out to 36 weeks. We do history three days a week. I can't include ALL the optional literature, I just pick what works best for us.

There's a video of SWB on YouTube talking about this and she said to just dictate the sentences one at a time. Not one WORD at a time, but one SENTENCE at a time. I hope the link works, my computer is having issues at getting the "share" doo-dad to pop up.

Talk to the "covenant holders" and see if it was approved beforehand...if you strive to live according to the rules, you are totally within your rights to use the forces that exist to ask the same courtesy of your neighbors.

The first one might happen, but then my 4yo doesn't come out anymore because she has lost her books due to her disobedience and if she comes out again she will get an extra chore. Mind you, my girls have all grasped this concept...I'm waiting to see how it goes with my son, who is only 18 mos old at this time.

People who think handmade gifts are tacky tend to be: Non-crafters who don't understand the significance of a handmade gift. Recipients of handmade gifts that were awfully tacky. People that just don't like handmade gifts. I'm a crafter (Knitter with a capital "K"), so I like to give (and receive!) handmade gifts. However, over the years, I've come to realize that some people are handknit afghan-worthy and others are gift card-worthy. When in doubt, ASK the recipient if they would like a handmade blanket/stuffed animal/sweater/etc. Handmade gifts are also for the giver--we like to see a big reaction when the recipient opens their package, and if they're not the sort who like handmade gifts, you will be treated to an enormously anti-climatic reaction. Then you'll feel stupid as you realize you just wasted 40 hours of your life working on something that's destined to become the liner for the dog's bed or taking up space at the local Goodwill. Some people "get" the handmade gift angle, and some people just don't...which is really unfortunate for them! IMO...

I prefer to plan fun activities rather than giving presents. Extended family get-togethers usually mean some seriously boring times for the Littles with grown-ups catching up and usually being in an elderly person's house (read: DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING). Instead of gaggle of cheap gifts that their mothers will inevitably throw away when she finds them on the floor of the minivan in January, why not plan a fun activity or two that will build memories instead? One year I baked up gingerbread houses and we spent an evening decorating gingerbread houses together (Candy for decorations is expensive! Use your gift budget for that!). Another year I bought a bunch of Red Heart yarn and some knitting needles and taught a bunch of Littles how to knit (bonus of keeping them busy...even on the long car rides home).

With our first, we phoned when I went into labor...ugh. Never again. I was getting ready to push and my husband was asking me for phone numbers so we could be sure to get everyone notified. With all the others I phoned afterward, sometimes as much as a day later. Having a baby is not an extended family affair, but a personal experience between husband and wife. "It's MY baby first, YOUR grandchild second." People were not happy when I cut down the contact with second birth...and that's their rude problem that they need to get over. Anyone who gets upset over how a couple decides to bring their child into the world is a narcissistic jerk. (You know, barring normal safety issues and all...I'd be concerned about skydiving birth plans...but even then, it's their choice.) Don't sweat it. It's her issue, not yours. Forward this thread to her and watch the truth take its effect. I'm not one for stewing or talking behind others' backs, but just getting the whole nasty thing out in the open and talking about it until it's figured out. Don't let the resentment ruin your relationship. If you have an honest conversation about and she's still mad, then agree to disagree. She had her chance to have the births she wanted to have and she needs to respect your choices for your births.

When I was growing up, the rule was that 10 years old was OK to be home alone, even watching a younger sibling. 12 years old meant you could babysit outside of the home. 15 years old--you're almost ready for a license, so being by yourself was never an issue. They know how to dial 911, right? If so, you're golden. Odds are that they won't need emergency services.

Well, I learned something new today! I had never heard of stopping for a funeral procession until today. Then again, I don't think I've ever seen one in real life either. My DH's stepfather passed away last year and the site of the funeral service was about two hours away from the burial site. It's LDS tradition to provide a meal to the grieving family at the church, so we didn't even start on the road until about 20-30 minutes after the hearse had already left. There was nothing that resembled a funeral procession for that, and that is the extent of my knowledge of how funerals work.

Stop stressing. You look like what you look like. That's the truth. Wear your regular clothes and make-up and be your regular self. You're not doing yourself, your family or anyone at the reunion any favors by pretending to be any other way. That being said, maybe you should take a look at the words you've written in that first post. Do you like feeling that way about yourself? Perhaps it's time to do a little self-inventory and change some habits so you can stop hating yourself. I don't say that in any mean way, I'm just trying to help you see what I saw from your post...sometimes that outside perspective helps.

It's annoying behavior, but it's completely normal for that age, so I would just patiently work through it until it went away. It took my daughter about 9 mos to go through the phase with me reminding her about polite behavior.

I think it's wrong to make it seem like being shy is a bad thing. I mean, if the world only had outgoing people...oh my goodness. It's simply the opposite and I don't think one is better than the other, despite what society might think. I wouldn't focus on the shyness, because who stinkin' cares? We're supposed to teach our children the morals and behavior that we as their parents think are important. I wish my parents had just stuck to those lessons instead of trying to push me into groups of people and telling me to "go make some friends." It made me feel like I was some sort of oddity because I preferred to be by myself with my books and my crafts. I just didn't feel a need for social companions. That being said, communication is a skill that needs practice. If my children were painfully shy once they hit the mid-to-late teen years, I might step in and encourage some social activities. I don't know, I'm not there yet... I think the most important thing to do is to just accept a child the way they are in regards to shyness. Most people grow out of it. I was 18 when the lightbulb turned on for me and I blossomed out of it. I don't regret any of those many hours reading and being by myself. It's what I wanted to be doing. I was a friend to a few and completely loyal, instead of a friend to everyone and fickle in my alliances. Focus on the loyalty and detail they can give to the individual as strong points of this facet of their personality. Anyone can mouth off their opinions to anyone who's listening, but it takes patience and wisdom to hold your tongue...shy people get to practice some skills that serve them well in their later years.