Does she have an American Girl doll? I found a batch of clothes and a batch of shoes on eBay for $25 each. My dd was THRILLED! It totaled about 6 outfits and 8 pairs of shoes for $50. That amt would have bought maybe 2 outfits from AG. And they fit great (not like the Generation stuff from Target). Does she have a razor scooter? That was another HUGE hit with my dd. What about an mp3 player? $30 will get you a good one and the rest will get you some music.

I am just now getting started on a blog (What is it...2004 or something?) Literally I set it up yesterday. So I have nothing to say yet! I'll seek out your thread again if I do. I got all caught up yesterday trying to "pretty" it up with a template or a background and ran into some troubles (mostly to do with my 'puter). So I was clicking around to a bunch of the blogs from you guys on here to get some ideas. It was fun but I was up waaayyyyyyy too late! Yours is very good!

No supplementing here either. We pulled from ps 3rd grade, used Singapore and didn't get it, then moved to CLE. Because of the moving around to different styles I did notice a gap here and there that I just pulled a few pages out of a workbook as a refresher. But my dd finally likes to do her math! She's in 300 and cookin' through 2 lessons a day in the hopes that we will be through 300 and 400 this year and into 500 when she hits 5th grade next fall. But even if she's not, I'm fine with that as the scope and sequence of CLE is far above ps so she's not "behind". I also own the Singapore Challenging Word Problems that I might try on her as she progresses, but if they seem too different from what she is used to in CLE I'll sell them and not worry about it. She's not mathy and I don't want to mess up what's going right! We are loving it!

16 hours?!:001_huh: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!:glare:

Jean, I know your here, so please don't take offense!:D Who's are better...these or PW's? Or are they just completely different? These look easier, somehow. PW's look like a gigantic production and I'm not much of a baker. Would love to have dd make cinn rolls with me for Thanksgiving morning! When, where would you add the pumpkin? Or what about orange zest?

:iagree: I wanna be like Kathleen when I grow up. This is our first year not to celebrate Halloween. My dh has been against it, but I convinced him it was fine in the whole "lighten up!" vein. I have been very convicted in the last 8 months or so about a lot of my behavior and this day is another in a long line of things I am changing - specifically working on taking his lead more:blushing:. Surprisingly, the kids are totally fine with it. They did get costumes though, but that was for the Renaissance Festival we went to this week (ds was a knight and dd was a princess/Juliette type) and they will get to wear them again for the Fable Fest our library is putting on - Shakespeare readings and plays, etc. So they don't feel like they are missing out at all and are of an age where they (esp dd) are getting more discerning themselves and can see why we are taking the view that we are.

Just wanted to thank you all for your very helpful reviews and encouragement of this program! Threads like this are why I love this forum!!:001_wub::D

We just got home from the ped w/ dd. She has moderately high fever (102), body aches, headaches, slight sore throat, but no cough. She was not tested for H1N1 because the doc feels the test is unreliable and expensive on our plan. Her symptoms presented as flu, but she was tested for strep because she has a history of many instances with strep. Turns out strep was negative so we were given Tamiflu for dd and also for her little brother who has asthma (but is not sick). DD will weather it fine, she's strong and healthy. I'm the teensiest bit worried about ds because he's so small (preemie at birth) and has asthma. Hopefully this Tamiflu will let us dodge it for him this time around.

I bookmarked this one from Singing Science Records. Probably not what you are looking for, but very fun!

We like beef for Christmas, so this year I think I'll also make a standing rib roast, or maybe even a tenderloin - depends on if the in-laws contribute to the meal budget! To go with it I will most likely make English potatoes, and a zuccini/tomato bake I got from Taste of Home a millenia ago. It's pretty and "Christmasy". I also want to plan on Chinese take-out for Christmas Eve - a la "Christmas Story", which the kids would LOVE. I like to make a French Toast strata for breakfast so it's in the oven by the time the kids wake up, but I thought this year about trying Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls....:drool5:

Besides Disney, my kids favorite vacations are the couple that we have done to a cabin on a lake or river. They love the adventure of the cabin, the bbq and fire pit for marshmallows, the other kids usually around (if it's a group of cabins), and I love my own bathroom and a/c. This summer we rented one on a lovely local river that had a terrific swimming hole. The kids and their dad hiked way up the river looking for and catching with a net little fish and frogs and salamanders (while I stayed behind a read a book). In the evening we'd go out and watch the bats fly low over the water to catch bugs. We hiked and explored a ton, and slept like logs at night. It was a great vacation and really quite cheap.

Hi Daisy, Here's a review that helped me. My dd is 9 and I think I'm going to wait a while. After age 10 I think, but ymmv!

Seems like it might depend on why you don't want to do the thing. Is it not safe? Is it too expensive? Is it against your moral code? Is it not appropriate for your children? Then you could have some very valid reasons. If it's just a thing that your family isn't "in to", like mine is not "in to" sports, then I might just tell them that they should go on, that we just aren't in to it, and we will enjoy some quiet time together while they are gone. No one says on a shared vacation like that that you have to spend every minute together. Often it's best not to!

A favorite breakfast treat around here: Nutella + waffles + sliced bananas = Elvis breakfast! :drool5:

I'm going to try to attach a couple of pics. Never done that! Please excuse my messy floor! We've had Harry since last Christmas and just now built him his nice new large cage. He seems to really like it. It has an upstairs but as it is it's not removable and so DH wants to build it a little differently so for now it's a single level. ETA: it's in our school room so he's able to be with us all day and doesn't get lonely in my dd's room. It's not recommended to have them isolated in a child's room unless they are in there a lot. We saw a video on YouTube with this design and liked it. It has a "kitchen" area where the majority of poops and pees are because he does that a lot while he eats. The empty bowl is for his salad (romaine lettuce, celery, apples, carrots, green peppers, cantaloupe, etc). We don't really smell him at all. We have been considering getting him a friend, but the more research I do I am not so sure. They will mark their territory apparently and this is a VERY bad smell, and they will fight, and they will even "violate" eachother, if you catch my drift. Not sure I am ready for my kids to witness this quite yet. ;) Do those of you with more than one have this problem? Harry is super sweet and gentle, maybe still a little shy. I don't want to rock all our worlds too much by adding another piggie. He's about 18 mo old so should be through adolescence.

I am so sorry! What a tragedy! Praying for you and your family.:grouphug:

Keep in mind the first LU for math is completely review, so it may go great, or seem to easy. You might want to do the placement test and see where they place, then get that LU since they are so cheap. Make sense?

Well, I used a complete curriculum (HoD) that I thought I would only use until I got through the overwhelming newness of homeschooling. But then I liked it. So I'm still with it and have no plans to change. And I don't really have curriculum envy and don't keep searching. That's God's doing, I think He is protecting me from myself.;) Just big ol' :grouphug: for what you are going through. I certainly think simplifying the schooling will help you feel like you are more under control!

Mine does the same thing. He threw away the box my new cell phone came in and by the time I realized it, it was too late and now I won't get my rebate. His theory is that if we haven't looked at or used something for a few months it must be crap and should be thrown away. But I hate to fuss at him because then he'll throw that back in my face when I do ask him to clean something. :glare::rolleyes:

I don't know what other thread it was mentioned in, but I credit this book for getting me my son.;)

I don't really have much else to share except to agree with what has been posted. HoD is a very strong program, and when I started I began with R&S and Singapore. I found I didn't like R&S, too repetitive and long, not independent enough. And my dd just did. not. get. Singapore. So I switched both to CLE and have been very happy. YMMV. It's been seamless for me to do my own math (especially since we do 2 lessons a day) and grammar. Easy peasy.

My ds is 5 and we are using it for preK. It's admittedly pretty easy for him, but we are also working on listening skills, sitting still, following instructions, fine motor skills, etc, so there's more going on than just what's in the guide. He loves the fingerplays and songs, loves the stories. It's perfect for all that. I do supplement with Kumon workbooks too because we are working on his fine motor skills, and I am also doing 100EZ with him at the same time. It's probably really ideal for 3-4. We're just going slow because we can, it's fun, and it gives me a gentle and slow program where he will feel like he's doing school, but won't overwhelm him while we work on other skills.

How's it going? Looking at it for next year for my 5th grader.

Oh my goodness! SO HAPPY FOR YOUR FAMILY!!! :grouphug::party:

After 200, you are supposed to use On Teaching Writing. I have no idea if it's any good, so I did my own research and will be using Write with the Best next year (this year we are doing our own thing with what is provided in my curriculum).