She doesn't live near by. One of the reasons I know that God loves me. She's in another province. And honestly, dh and I have talked about her helping homeschool the kids, because we have been hoping that she'd move closer, due to her age and some health concerns. I love my husband. I love my husband. I love my husband. Sorry, somehow that mantra always crops up when the thought of MIL being in the same city comes to mind. Where was I? Oh yes, MIL helping with hsing. I forbid it. She's one of those 'give an inch, take everything' kind of personalities. If I allowed her to help, say with art, she'd be so far up my tush I'd feel like a Muppet. In fact, she mentioned at one point, early on in our hsing, that she'd better move out here so she could take over, since she was a REAL teacher. :blink:

I make a point of talking about the curriculum I'm using for Diva with her. For one, it keeps her from asking me about other stuff, and 2, keeps her feeling important and informed. Is it bad that I got a grin out of her not knowing who Beowulf is, and thought to myself, "This is exactly why they're never going to ps!" ?:blush:

Ok, my dh is completely on board about homeschooling our kids, just thought I'd get that out of the way first, lol! The problem is, his mother. She's adjusted to us homeschooling Diva (dd 10 yrs). She was asking last night about Tazzie going to kindergarten in 2010. (Yes, she starts her nagging in advance. She's in her 80s, she worries if she doesn't start now, she'll miss the chance.) I told her that he wasn't going. Well, you'd think I'd announced that we had decided to stake the child to an ant hill coated in honey. Repeatedly. Gasping, moaning, "You can't do that!" more gasping and moaning. I realize that part of this is she was a teacher, but geez. Then she told me that I HAVE to let Tazzie try school and Princess too. Just because it wasn't a good thing for Diva doesn't mean it won't be good for the Littles. I told her that I didn't need to let the Littles sip bleach to prove its not good for them. *sigh* Sometimes my patience wears a wee bit thin. Any suggestions on how to better handle this next time? Cause there WILL be a next time. And no, simply turning it over to my dh to handle isn't a viable option, because he DOES try to handle it, but then next time she's got me on the phone, it starts all over again.

My first thought was "duct tape", but of course I tend to have a warped and sarcastic mind, and think of things that can never actually be put into practice, regardless of how tempting they may be to think about. Honestly, you need to be at this child's side constantly and consistantly. Discipline has to be swift and consistent. I was a licenced day home provider and time outs a minute per age was the only discipline allowed by the province. I don't know if you're licenced or not, but if you are, best to check into the rules surrounding your paperwork. If the mother isn't seeming to discipline the child for aggression, however, and it seems by your experience at the gymnastics she's not since she did nothing when her child hit another, I would give her notice immediately. I refuse to have a dayhome child that is undisciplined by parents. Nuh uh, no way. Not ever going to happen.

See, here kindergarten isn't mandatory, so Tazzie won't start school til gr. That's another 2 yrs off, and quite frankly, he's going to drive me right round the bend by then...and the bend is within sight as it is, lmao! He *wants* to read more. He's getting impatient with not being able to figure out all the words. All my kids are book addicts :D Also, I'm afraid (and maybe needlessly) that if I don't get him into some sort of pattern now, it may be really difficult to suddenly introduce later. "Ok, now that you're 6, sit down and learn!" kinda gig, lol! I'm hoping that if I start now, it'll build a strong foundation for when the 'legal' schooling begins. But I'll be honest...its about preserving my sanity mostly. He's getting bored. And if I don't keep him mentally engaged and busy, he'll FIND something interesting to do...and that's NEVER a healthy thing for my sanity. Trust me.

Tazzie is 4 as of Feb 15. By ps standards, he wouldn't be allowed to enter K for another year...but this kiddo has been counting since he was two, abcs since about then, and is a sneaky reader. I say 'sneaky' cause he'll suddenly show evidence that he's reading (like correcting us on which salad dressing is which by reading the labels:001_huh:) but then won't actually *read* a book or words when asked. "You do it, k Mom?" accompanied with a heavy sigh. I'm working on phonics with him, as he'll tolerate. He'll work with me sometimes, other times I get a, "No ganks, Mom." and thats that. But, let me start teaching Princess, our 2.5 yo, and he's all over it. *sigh* So, my question is this: How do you manage with 2 children so close in age, yet so far apart in learning development? And is there any way at all to encourage consistancy, or do we just keep riding the 5 minute wave of interest here and there? (Yeah, I pretty much know the answer to that one already...ride the wave, lol!) I'll admit, I'm nervous when it comes to the Littles, as we tend to call Tazzie and the Princess. Diva, our 10 yo came home mid grade 3, so she was already reading, etc. I call her my 'pre fabricated learner'...she had the basics. I'm worried about screwing up the Littles, since they're with me from the very get go. :blush:

I totally agree, lol! I only have unit 2, but my impression is that its pretty even handed. As a Canadian, I realize that I need to do a lot of subbing when it comes to curriculum, because most is heavy in American history, and Canadian is usually pretty scant, so we'll be flipping that around.

I voted 'neither' because honestly, it depends on the day/hour/minute you ask me. I use my kids nics here: Diva, Tazzie, and Princess. All representative of their personalities, and all pretty self explanatory. All my children are active, bright, and seemingly bent on making me nuts. I blame my dh. :tongue_smilie: They're a wonderful crew of kids, and I wouldn't change them for the world, even if now and then I've been heard to mutter, "Fish. I should have stuck to raising fish. You can flush fish. Or tomatoes. You can eat tomatoes." Those moments pass, and the good ones stick.

Specialmama and I talk pretty much every day, sometimes a cpl of times a day. Sometimes its to ask a hsing question since our dds are only months apart in age, other times its just to chat. Speaking of which, she hasn't called today...wonder if she's alive...:tongue_smilie:

I have the same expectations for my children for behaviour in public now as I did when Diva was in ps. Everyone behave, and get home alive...without losing anyone. I'm kidding. Mostly. Diva's 10, so she's expected to behave as a young lady when we're in public, period. And she does. Polite, etc. Sure, we giggle and such, but she's well mannered, and I've had many compliments from strangers on her behaviour, which makes me proud, and saddens me somewhat. Why should common courtesy and politeness be such a surprise? Course, as the Littles get older, the expectations do increase. Tazzie is expected now to behave, since he's 4. No whining, begging, moaning, taking off, etc. And he does pretty good, with the occasional lapse of begging. Princess is 2. That pretty much sums it up as far as *her* behaviour goes. Tantrums are a part of her behaviour, even though we are most certainly working on them, its still one of those developmental stages we all wish we could fast forward through or skip altogether. Most times she's good, but there are still occasions where she's slung over a shoulder and bodily carted out of a store, shrieking like she's being tortured. *sigh*

*shrugs* I don't think missing an odd meal here or there is going to create an eating disorder or lead to scurvy or malnutrition. I can count on one hand the number of times that Diva has actually missed supper. I believe in natural consequences. If her behaviour is such that its disruptive and unwelcome at the dinner table, then she needs to leave it. She's warned, of course, and if she chooses to continue the behaviour, then she's also choosing the consequence. At ten years old, she's more than old enough to understand the situation.

Wow...2 completely different votes, lol! Tie breaker anyone?

She's 15. 15 year olds are indecisive creatures, their brains haven't finished developing yet. Give her some time. And, even though you're footing the bill, she'll be living the life...so its really important that when the decision is made, that it is indeed *her* decision, and not one she's made to please you. That could cause a terrible strain on the future of your relationship if she chose a college major to please you rather than herself and was unhappy.

Or, you could tell him to help himself to the peanut butter. I had the rule that you either eat what I make, or help yourself to a pbj...til I had a kid that would eat pbj over anything else on the planet.:glare: Then it switched to, eat, or nothing but water until the next meal. Any whining, moaning, or other unpleasant noise emanating from your head is grounds for removing of supper and/or one of the following: immediate dismissal to bed, extra chores, 15 minutes off of bedtime, or a 2 page essay on why the child should respect Mom/Dad. :D

Hi there...I posted an intro on the general board, so just jumping in here. I'm sorta new, but not to homeschooling...like that makes any sense at all, lol! I pulled my dd, 'Diva' from school half way through grade 3. For the year following, we were 'blended' meaning that we did almost everything according to the provincial standards, followed the same text books, blah blah blah. Ick. This year, we're still 'blended' but a much happier blend, in that we're not using any provincial materials, but hitting the same outcomes for math, art, phys ed, health, and music. We have the ability to receive some reimbursement, and there's more when you have more subjects aligned than strictly traditional. Anyways, I'm now becoming braver as a homeschooler, and looking at curriculum. I bought SoW, Unit 2, and love it. Specialmama has ToG and I was over at her place, and it was an instant love at first read too. Of course, there's a HUGE difference in price btwn the 2 programs, and if you read my intro, you know that I was injured at work, and my drs say that its a permanent disability. (Not that Workers Comp agrees though...course not.) So, I'm understandably a wee bit nervous about ToG, despite my initial instant love. One thing that REALLY appeals to me about ToG is that I have the Littles...Tazzie is 4, and Princess is 2.5, so ToG would absolutely get a full work out with those guys. Diva is in grade 5 by psb standards, so she's got a ways to go there too. So, I'm throwing myself at the mercy of you folks here who have older kids and have been using either of these programs for several years...pros, cons? Tips, tricks, hints? Anything? Thanks so much!

Thanks! I've used Impish pretty close to forever on msn. Its a lot less unwieldy than my other handle, Not A Stepford Wife, lol!

Hello! Just thought I'd introduce myself quickly, since I'm new to these boards! My friend specialmama has been telling me about them for a while, so I finally remembered to head over! Specialmama and I actually hang out together irl, so I can tell you...she really IS that weird. Honest. She has to be, in order to manage to handle being a friend of mine :tongue_smilie: Ok, weirdness aside, what else can I tell you? Well, my dh 'Wolf' and I are celebrating 6 yrs of marriage tomorrow! Yay us! I refuse to consider what crime I might be parolled for by now. That just takes the fun out of things. I'm homeschooling our eldest daughter, 'Diva' whose 10, and according to the psb, in grade 5. Our littles, 'Tazzie' and 'Princess' who are 4 and 2.5 respectively aren't legally considered homeschooled, but we all know the difference btwn 'legally' and 'reality' lol! I refer to myself as the Non Stepford Wife Homeschooling One Armed Wonder. The 'Non Stepford Wife' is from my blogs of the same titles, and the one armed wonder is due to my having RSD shoulder through fingertips, which leaves me with about 10-15% use of my dominant hand/arm, and chronic pain. My biggest dream, aside from raising healthy, happy, successful adults, is to be a writer when I grow up. Soooooooo, if theres anything you want to know or ask that I haven't babbled out already, ask!