Okay - this is ridiculous! We have this mattress from Ikea for the top of our Kura bunk bed. It literally comes with the air vacuumed out, rolled up in a tight little tube, and weighs 8lbs. I checked shipping to my house (in MA) and it was $169! Do you know anyone who lives near an Ikea who could pop it into the mail for you? Shouldn't cost more than $20. It is comfy (my 7yr old says so) and has NO BOUNCE. Good luck!

Just a thought but, as I have a son in public school 1st grade, I wanted to point out that you visited a well-run classroom towards the end of the year. This class would have looked completely different in September/October/November. Your daughter won't be expected to behave like that on day 1. Just something to keep in mind. Good luck with your decisions.

There is a small room, right across from the nurses' station, that is STOCKED with pre-made sandwiches, peanut butter, crackers, bread and toppings for making toast, an ice machine, coffee & tee, milks, soda, and juices, cereal, and fruit cups. It is self-serve for anyone on the floor from the moment you arrive until the minute you leave. Just be careful not to accidentally take one of the nurses' lunches out of the fridge! Each room also has a mini fridge that is stocked with juices before you arrive. It's a really nice place.

Be aware, also, that if your child uses a phone/tablet/computer that runs a Chrome browser there is the option to open an 'incognito' browser. It leaves no browser or search history and records no cookies, etc. Kids are pretty smart - I found it on accident.

Oh, no! That's too bad. I'm sorry. What we do to try and make kids happy!

I don't.... I can't... Why would she.... Ugh. I'm not a touchy-feely person, but I just want to give you a hug right now. I'm so sorry.

My oldest, now 20, had a phone early - maybe 9yrs old (I was a single and very nervous mom). I didn't really ever worry, until he became interested in a girl in high school. It wasn't that I was worried about him looking at porn (though I should have been), but that I was worried about HER behavior. Turned out I was right to worry. She sent him images via every social media site possible, as well as texts/emails/whatever. As this was his first serious relationship, we were unprepared. What we ended up doing was that the cell phone (and his tablet) lived in the living room/kitchen of our house. If he wanted to use it, he had to be in a 'family' area. It was NEVER allowed upstairs. He did take it when he left the house, but I had no control over those times - we told him our expectations and expected him to abide by our rules. He had to understand that WE WERE PAYING THE BILL, so WE MADE THE RULES. Also, we had long talks about pornography and sex and relationships and and and and... It was bad. It was ugly. It was stressful for all involved. We didn't give him access to the household internet until we moved 6 months ago, when he turned 20. He had started paying his own cell phone bill when he got a job at 18, so he did have internet that we could no longer control, but as he was now starting to act like an adult, we decided it was time to oblige. We set down rules (we have 3 small boys in the house as well) and we hope that we've done our best. Also, I pray... A LOT.

I know that we've left his topic behind BUT.... My hospital had fantastic food! I had the best turkey dinner while in early labor for my second child. :lol: Also, each room is stocked with take-out menus from the surrounding area and all the restaurants deliver to the maternity ward nurse's station. That was great.

OH MY GOD, you're right!!!!! Thank you! Next year, cake first. :-) Also, I'm guessing the extra tears were because I'm pregnant and extra sensitive. Family came over and he got Legos and coloring books and a lefty baseball mitt. He was very happy. The doll is still sitting in the living room, untouched. But, hey, the littlest turns two at the end of the month - maybe he would like it! This face.... this is the face I was hoping for!

Is there a vomit smiley? *gross*

My local hospital (right up the street) has a c-section rate of over 40%. The hospital I birthed at for the last 3 kids has a rate of 32%. However, I go to that hospital (45 minutes away) because I see the Midwives in my OBG/YN office, rather than the docs themselves, and the Midwives have very few c-sections. Also, the local hospital had an episiotomy rate of over 50% last time I checked. :ohmy: My hospital of choice has a rate of under just above 2%. After the damage done during my first delivery due to an episiotomy against my will, that number right there is worth the drive!

This is what I'm hoping for. Keeping my fingers crossed... Thanks. It is just really hard to see that look of disappointment on such a little face. This. I need to remind myself of this today!

We have other dolls that the boys play with. I really thought that he would love this guy! It's not that it was expensive (we spent the same amount on my 7yr old's birthday last month - he took two friends to the local trampoline park and lunch). With three little boys (7, 4, and almost 2), we are drowning in Legos, Duplos, cars, animals, transformers, etc. I was hoping that this would be something special, something that wouldn't just get tossed in the box with everything else. He didn't. All he has talked about was a strawberry cake with strawberry frosting and strawberries on top. (His favorite color is red and his favorite food is - can you guess - strawberries! This is what I'm hoping!

Today is my preschooler's 4th birthday. About a month ago, I found (what I thought) was the greatest present. We ordered him a WonderCrew doll and hid it in the closet. This morning, he was SO EXCITED to open his birthday gift he was practically vibrating. Slowly, as he realized what it was, he got sadder and sadder and he said, 'I don't like it.' He wouldn't even touch it. My 7yr old tried to get him interested in it, 'He wears a mask! It comes with a cape for you to wear, too!' But, sadly, he just wouldn't go for it. I think he might actually be mad at me. I've been teary-eyed since I dropped him off at preschool. We have family coming over tonight for cake and ice cream, so I know he'll get more gifts tonight but.... I'm just sad. :crying:

DS20 - Works part-time, so his summer will be spent trying to get a full-time job w/benefits. Also, continuing to learn to drive (due to medical reasons, this wasn't feasible until last year) and learning to cook real food. DS7 - We haven't officially started homeschooling yet. He's still in 1st grade at the local public school, but he has had substitute teachers all year. We are going to do some 1st grade remediation/homeschool 'try-out' during the summer and see how it goes. The plan is to do spelling/math/independent reading most days, handwriting/language/grammar as it fits in, and I will read SOTW to him daily during breakfast. He also has soccer twice/week and t-ball twice/week. DS4 - He's just started showing signs of wanting to write, so we will continue to work on pre-writing skills and read lots of books. DS2 - Wants to do whatever his big brothers are doing! We will spend the summer close to home, working on the new house, and most afternoons we will be at the town pond. I'm hoping for a weekend in the White Mountains w/a trip to Story Land with my husband's siblings & families, but that will be a last-minute decision based on finances and the weather.

This is what I was going to say. My husband has been trying for several years to teach himself Latin through his own process of finding and translating primary sources from philosophy and Catholic history. (He's weird like that.) I asked a Rosetta Stone salesman if they had an Ecclesiastical Latin program; the guy laughed at me - he was Italian! He told me that Ecclesiastical Latin is just Latin spoken with an Italian accent. Good luck!

My parents were born & raised in Catholic families, but they have never, ever been considered "practicing' Catholics. It's more like being a 'cultural' Catholic - attending weddings, baptisms, and funerals. That said, they sent me and my brother to Catholic schools, pre-K through high school. I sang in the choir at Saturday masses though 8th grade, and I even taught CCD my first two years of high school. (Then, I fell away - I went to confession last week for the first time in 26 years!) My point is, you don't have to be an 'all-in' Catholic parent to give your kids a Catholic foundation. Even if they grow up and fall away or choose a different faith, it is a great foundation to have.

They aren't exactly chapter books, but my son (just 7, reads well above his age) has been burning through the Graphic Revolve graphic novels put out by Stone Arch Books. We find them through the library, searching for the terms 'graphic revolve'. They are introductory level graphic novels of great works of literature, like Robin Hood, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Dracula, etc. They are quick, easy, and he's looking forward to reading the unabridged versions as soon as he's at that reading level.

If you were baptized Catholic but haven't received Communion or been Confirmed, you will probably have to complete those things before being able to have your marriage validated in the Church (your husband, too, as he is also Catholic). Though, as you are already married with children, they may just make you promise to get Confirmed ASAP and bless the marriage right away. Depends on the priest. Contacting your local parish to meet with the Pastor and explain your situation would be a great first step. Your and your children should be immediately welcomed into the parish. FWIW, I fell away from the church as a teenager and then married another non-practicing Catholic in a civil service (5 months pregnant) at 21. Divorced at 23. I only came back to the Church 10 years ago (at age 32) because I met the man of my dreams and he was in the process of converting to Catholicism. As my previous marriage was neither valid nor licit, we were able to marry in the Church without needing an annulment. Good luck!

Thank you! This is exactly some information that I hadn't even thought of yet. I just looked, and they want to know only the length of the school day/year. I also found this on the Massachusetts Home Learning Association's website: "7. A daily schedule matched to that of the school calendar is not required. Under the 1993 Educational Reform Act, public school students are required to receive 990 hours of directed instructional time per year at the secondary level (900 at the elementary level; check to see where your town has placed middle school grades). It is still not clear if private schools and those otherwise educated, which includes homeschoolers, are required to meet this hourly requirement, since it hasn't been addressed by the courts. However, if pressed to answer the question of time, you can assure school officials that the hours will be covered....but in a flexible manner. Because homeschool instruction needs only to be equivalent, not duplicate, you may consider certain hours when the local school is not in session as instructional time. This means that your equivalent schedule can include instructional time during the evening, on weekends, on snow days, during vacation periods, while traveling, while utilizing the internet and educational technology. Most school buildings are only open for instruction 180 days, and the length of the school day is determined by local collective bargaining agreement. Homeschoolers are not bound by collective bargaining and can utilize time in ways different from those expected of classroom teachers. However, the school system's year runs from July 1 through June 30. Because of homeschooling's flexibility you can use a 12-month school year instead of a 10- month one. This concept is called year-round schooling."

I was actually planning to do some 1st grade 'remediation' during the summer, from June-September, to fill in any gaps from not having a regular teacher for half the year and to get into a home school rhythm. Then, I was going to go into a sort-of 'crisis' mode for Oct-Dec, where we do a bare minimum of schooling (lots of reading, anything he can/wants to do independently, lots of practical life stuff) while we adjust to a new baby. He would formally start 2nd grade after the holidays, and we would take it a day at a time knowing that we had until at least the end of the summer to finish. At that point, we can decide if they will stay home another year or if both will go off on the bus everyday, one to K and the older to 3rd grade. Does that sound more feasible?

Thanks everyone, for your honest words and input! I have always wanted to home school. My oldest, now 20, never had it easy (or was interested) in school and I always thought that I could do a better job with him. It wasn't feasible at the time, as I was a single mom until he was 13 and then I was working full-time while also trying to finish my Master's/Doctorate in my spare time. With boy #2, we've been told that he's 'gifted' and feel like he could do very well at his own pace, especially since he's been doing not much of anything this year, what with the missing teacher and all. There isn't anyone in the immediate neighborhood to help with the bus routine, and school/bus company rules are that parents MUST be out at the bus stop until the child is in 4th grade. (Don't get me started - I was a latch key kid at 2nd grade!) He has lots of sports activities during the year that will keep him in contact with his friends and, as he gets a little older, we will teach him to navigate the sidewalk-less streets to his best friend's house a few blocks away. I don't have to make a decision yet for a few more months, but I really like the idea of homeschooling. I actually think my preschooler will not do well at school each day, unless his personality changes drastically in the next year. I'm going to keep lurking in the forum and asking questions as they come. Thanks again for your responses.

I can't make up my mind... Background: I currently have a 7yr old in the local public school. His K year was great, but his 1st grade teacher has had a lot of family issues and had been absent since January/February. He reads well above grade level, has an enormous vocabulary, loves to learn, and is EXTREMELY social. I also have a 3yr old (turns 4 next week) who attends Montessori nursery school 2 mornings/week (registered for 2 full days/week next year), a 1yr old (turns 2 at the end of the month), and I'm due with baby #5 in October. (Child #1 is 20yrs old, works full-time, and still lives at home.) I am a high school math teacher by trade and for the last four years have been a stay-at-home parent. Husband is a full-time high school physics/astronomy teacher and part-time college physics professor. Problem: Is not wanting to have to get four kids, ages 7 and under, up and out the door every morning/afternoon a valid reason for me to home school? Currently, the bus picks up the 7yr old at the corner, and I can leave the two little ones alone in the house for the 5 minutes or so it takes to wait for the bus to pick up/drop off (if it is nice out I try to get everyone out to the bus stop). This won't be feasible with a newborn in the fall, as I won't be able to trust the younger two alone in the house with the baby and I don't want to have to take him/her out in the cold, wet, etc. Just the idea of having to get everyone up out of bed, fed, dressed, teeth brushed, diapered, into jackets/hats/boots, and to the bus stop for the 7yr old and into the car to drop off the 3yr old EVERY MORNING (and again EVERY AFTERNOON) makes me want to crawl under the covers and weep. :crying: I have read and reread WTM over and over, annotating it in the margins. I have started purchasing materials and have a general plan worked out for the 7yr old and figure that my 3yr old will do lots of art/play/story time and start phonics as his pre-k 'curriculum'. If you've read this far, I thank you kindly. So, my question again is: Am I being selfish for wanting to keep everyone home for a year (or two - or possibly longer if it goes well) just to make mornings/afternoons easier? Or should I leave the kids where they are thriving and suck it up? :confused1:

Hello. Joined the site last year, having read and reread The Well-Trained mind several times, though I've never posted. I've been thinking about homeschooling since my oldest (now 20) was little. I now have a 1st grader, preschooler, and a toddler at home as well. The 1st grader loves school for the social aspect, but is bored to tears with the academics (mostly Language Arts/Math, I haven't seen any science/history at all this year). He reads voraciously, and is reading well above his grade level. I am seriously thinking about letting him finish this year in the public school and then teaching him at home. As my husband and I are both public school teachers by trade (I've been home for 4 years), it feels like treason even thinking about homeschooling. However, I just feel like having all of them home next year makes the most sense for my family right now. Thanks for reading. See you around the forums, Noreen