Covering you in prayer Molly !

"Leave your brother alone, no, I said, leave. your. brother. alone." "Because I said so, that's why." "Stop looking at him" And when I hear "Mom" every 5 minutes, "I'm going to change my name"

Thanks !! This will be wonderful for my daughter and her new husband, they are both students and would love to have a prime membership !!

North and South is my favorite romantic movie !! Totally Swoon-worthy !! My favorite part, besides the "train scene" at the end when he says "Your going back with me?" and looks so happy and you just :sigh: and want to go with him too is when she is driving away in the buggy and he says quietly to himself "Look back at me, Look back at me". That part slays me everytime, I think that "Look back at me" (such simple words) is so filled with emotion, need and longing and is just the most romantic line ever in any movie I have ever seen. Now if you loved North and South, you will also love "Jane Eyre" with Toby Stevens. Toby Stevens makes the most perfect Mr. Rochester. Run to get Jane Eyre today, I promise you, you will not be disapointed !!

My kids eat everything I make every. single. night. The reason: I never give choices, they just eat whatever I place in front of them and they love all types of different foods, all types of veggies and fruits. I have never heard any of them say they "hate or dislike" this food or that. Growing up, my younger brother was always so picky about what he would and wouldn't eat and my parents catered to all his whims and made him "special foods". Every night was a battle and before long they caved in and let him pick what he wanted to eat and let him leave what he didn't want. He became an extremely picky eater and the frustration my parents felt dealing with his "food issues" were really disruptive to our entire family and made mealtime a dreadful experience for all. Today, his own two young children (ages 7 and 4) are so very picky and refuse to eat much of anything. He constantly calls me up to ask how to get them to eat, they refuse to eat almost anything that doesn't consist of McDonalds chicken nuggets, Kraft Mac and cheese or chocolate donuts. Dont even try to put a vegetable or fruit on their plate. The cycle is repeating itself. I remind my brother that kids live and become what they see around them. If he is a "picky" eater, he will create picky eaters. I tell him that change begins with him, if he stops being such a picky eater, his kids eating habits will change also. Problem is, he doesn't want to change, he doesn't want to broaden his horizons, he likes eating what he wants and when he wants it. He likes eating big steaks all the time and the only vegetables he will consume is corn and baked potatos, he hates any other kind of veggie. He has many health problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a big weight problem. Fruit is a definite "no, no" in his book, guess what his children will also not eat ? My children do not know that "they don't have to eat" what is placed before them, they just know that this is how it always has been and always will be. We eat from our gardens, fresh veggies daily served grilled, baked or steamed, many time raw, big salads, cut up veggie trays, homemade breads and stews, soups and casseroles. Some pasta, fish and chicken, lots of beans and brown rice with veggies. The kids eat lots of fresh fruits and berries from our orchard. I have our children work in the gardens and orchards with me. They learn first-hand where "our" food comes from, the work involved in planting it, tending it, weeding it and harvesting it. They also learn the work involved in helping me to cook it or prepare it for our meals. They learn to really appreciate food. We discuss how blessed we are and that so many in other parts of the world have so little and that food is both sacred and important. My oldest two children now 26 and 22 often laugh and joke with us about how they were almost 15 or 16 years old before they realized that "other kids" didn't have to eat everything on their plate or eat everything put in front of them. I do the same with our homeschooling, they don't get the "choice" to do school or not, schooling like eating is not a "choice", they do it because they have to do it. They are taught that it is their job and their education is a gift and a priviledge. We school year round with some light schooling also on weekends and my kids love homeschooling. They do not know that some children do not enjoy school or that their education is a choice because in our home, it just isn't.

Covering you in prayer Molly !!

My husband does not help teach, he does not research teaching methods, idealogies or curriculum. Homeschooling is pretty much, my job in our family. He is very supportive, he always listens to the kids tell him about what new thing they learned that day. He will brag about how smart the kids are and how well they are doing, he will stick up for me when MIL complains about our "homeschooling", but he does not get involved with our every day life of homeschooling and learning. The biggest support I get from my husband is when he comes home from his job and after doing his farm work, he pitches in to help pick up the house, make meals, wash dishes or throw a load of laudry in the washing machine ( including folding and putting it away). Whatever he sees that needs to be done, he does it without having to be asked. It is the BEST thing he can do to support me in homeschooling our children, since I spend the entire day teaching them and focusing on our schooling, his help in the housework is the best support I could ever receive ! He did the same when I had young nursing babies and was up all night nursing every two hours and I was so exhausted all the time. He also is very supportive in listening to me drone on and on and on about this new curriculum or that new teaching method or what I want to use next for the new school year. The man is a Saint ! I know his eyes glaze over, I know he really doesn't care either way if I use Singapore, RightStart or MEP math, he has no idea what any of these curriculums consist of or what the difference is between them, but he listens to me anyway. And when I am done with my " I am so overwhelmed help me figure out what curriculum to use" tirade, he assures me that he knows that I will pick out the best curriculum for our children and he tells me to buy whatever I need for the new school year and doesn't complain about the cost. ( I do stay within our budget) He also is smart enough and spent enough years with me to know that it does him no good to give me advice, since he really doesn't know anything about one curriculum from the other, and I will do what I want in the end anyway. But he is always there to let me "bounce ideas" off of and he is there to reassure me that he supports me in whatever I decide to do in the end. And he tells me that he believes in me ! That is the best support I can get ! :)

Another HUGE recommendation for folkmanis ! We love them here, they are high quality and beautiful and wonderful to pass down to younger children or future generations !

I put uneffected at this point because: My husband has a job that is so far, very stable. We don't make a lot of money, we live on a pretty meager income (actually with four young children we are considered "under the poverty line"). When we had six children living at home, we were considered practically desitute, but we never saw ourselves that way. In our case it is not what we earn, but what we "don't" spend that makes us handle the crisis in the enconomy and fair pretty well through this economic recession. Thomas Jefferson has a quote: "Man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can do without". This pretty much sums up our whole attitude. We do without, but we never feel as if we are deprived in any way. We have never had or wanted a lot of things that many other people see as basics of everyday life. We don't have cable/satelite television, we don't have cell phones, we don't take vacations, we don't eat out, we don't have exspensive hobbies or tastes, we don't purchase new clothing, vehicles or furniture. We spend very little on groceries (just $125 a week for our family of 6 which includes all health/beauty care products and dog food). We grow most of our own vegetables/fruits in our gardens and orchard. We use coupons and shop sales and I stretch one chicken into 3 meals or cook in bulk. We don't eat out, we don't eat exspensive foods, we shop very carefully. I taught myself to cook ahead, menu plan, to bake my own breads and to use "what I have in my hand". We shop used for almost all of our needs and wants. We purchase our clothing (minus undergarments/swimsuits and one pair of shoes a year) used from yard sales, flea markets, outgrown shops or the GoodWill. We purchase our furniture (when needed) from thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets or my husband makes it himself (he made all our library bookshelves, wooden benches and beautiful rolling bookcarts for our homeschool room. We purchase all our vehicles used and my husband does all the repairs and maintence on our vehicles, our house and farm and home appliances himself. We rarely have to "outsource" the job, he taught himself to do almost all the repairs through reading books, taking classes or watching videos. We have a six month emergency fund, we have sinking funds for things we anticipate as future needs (oil heat, vehicle maintence, new to us vehicle (read used), insurance for car/home, large appliance fund (should one of our appliances break beyond our home repairs) homeschooling fund ectera). We have a retirment fund which we put in 15% each month, we constantly plan for our future. We live and have always lived pretty bare bones so we can save for "tommorrow". I have been raised with the old advice from my italian grandmother "have a today without, so you can have a tommorrow with" and "always, always be prepared for hard times, because they always come in some way or form". So for our family, the hard times of the economy is just "life as usual". We don't "feel" the same pain or hardships that many others feel or face that have fallen on hard economic times, although we have great compassion for them. Even now, we are preparing for "what if's, because you never know what is to come next, so we pray and prepare consantly. Right now we are looking into harvesting wind power on our farm and solar energy. We contantly strive to learn more and live simpler so we can be less dependant on the outside world for our needs and more independant within ourselves.

Sorry, you are right. The World bundle is sold out now. It was just there last week for $56.00, I remember it because I debated back and forth on whether I wanted to purchase the World Bundle or the US bundle. I ended up going with US because I figured we should learn that before going onto World. I received it in the mail two days ago and it is very nice and I am glad I purchased the US bundle. Anyway, if anyone wants the US it is still available for the $56.00, maybe the World will come back again later ?

On their website, they actually have bundle packages for both Trail Guide to US and Trail Guide to World History. The bundles have the manual, all the books needed and also the cd with maps ectera for the entire 3 years. It is a good value, I just picked up Trail Guide to US for this coming year and the entire bundle was 60 dollars or so. The cd alone is $35.00 for the 3 years (all 3 levels) or 18 dollars per year (per level). Anyway, in case anyone else was interested in these programs I thought I would throw it out there that they offer bundles of the program and it does save money. I compared the prices on Amazon and with the 3 year cd, it was well worth purchasing from their website instead of Amazon and I usually always find better deals on Amazon.

My husband works 12 hour days, 5 days a week. He works 8 hours a day at his job as a Groundskeeper/Landscaper M-F but when he comes home, he puts another 4 hours a day in with farm work here at home Spring, Summer and Fall months. On weekends, he is working the farm all day long, so we go out and work with him or I'd see him very little. Many hands make for light work !

See, money stuff like this is a head/heart issue for me. I'll admit it publicly. I'm selfish and spoiled and immature. I don't want to wait and save and pay cash. I want it now! DR is right about the moeny stuff is easy. It's making the guy in the mirror behave that's hard! And Dave Ramsey would also tell you to stop being a "princess" ;) Really, it is hard, but remember, anything worth doing is always hard. Taking that hard road leads to a freedom you cannot even imagine. It builds character and it makes you a better person and more informed consumer. Financial Freedom, there is nothing like the peace it will bring to you once you attain it !

Definitely do not use your emergency fund, that is just for "real" emergencies ! Layoffs, Medical Emergencies, Extreme Cases ! Instead, create sinking funds to pay for things you want to do around the home (such as patio), new large appliance, vacation, home maintenence projects, or purchase of a new vehicle ectera. I have sinking funds for each thing we "want" to do or want to purchase for our home or farm and we put a specific amount of money in these funds each month or when we have extra money through side jobs, ebay sales, garage sales, ectera. Once we fill up the sinking fund we "cap" it off and then start another fund for another item/project or purchase the item. We did this last year when we needed new replacement windows for our home, we saved the money for quite awhile, then I waited to purchase when I heard there would be tax write off's for home owners purchasing replacement windows. Then I waited again until Lowes had a great sale and I found a 10% off coupon. So I saved several times on the windows, with the sale of the windows, the tax write off and also the 10% coupon. Great Deal because I wasn't impulsive and better deal because I had cash to pay for the windows without pulling money from my emergency fund. We do the same thing with other sinking funds for home appliances, homeschooling curriculum, home maintence projects ectera. Typically after filling up the fund I let it sit for awhile while I hunt around for big bargains on the item or decide if we still "want" the item or project once we finish saving for it (this keeps down impulse purchases and also helps us to make a more informed purchase). Sometimes by the time we save up the money and fill up the fund, we find we no longer need/want that item and then I feed the money into another fund. When you have sinking funds in place, you won't need to "dip" into the emergency fund EVER which would become a "very slippery slope" when real emergencies do arise (and they always do).

I think a lot depends on your school district and how "homeschool friendly" they are towards homeschoolers. I'd definitley be there at the door first thing tommorrow morning when they open, just to be safe ! There is a long holiday weekend coming up and I'm sure most school's will not be open on Friday. You might even consider calling the school and leaving a message on the answering machine telling them you tried to drop it off today at 4pm, but they were closed and you will be there first thing tommorrow morning. At least then, you have some proof on the answering machine from "today June 30th" that you tried to hand them in on the date deadline. Our school district is pretty good about homeschool things and we have never been hassled for any reason. I've never been late on purpose, but a few years back the superintendant had asked us homeschoolers to hand our portfolios and evaluations in during the mid month of July instead of the end of June because she was going to be away on vacation during that time. To be on the safe-side, I asked her to sign a paper with a statement saying it was because she had asked us to hand the items in late, that they didn't get in until mid-July instead of by the June 30th deadline. That way if later on, another school official/ superintendant/etc... or anyone for that matter questioned the "late" date of our portfolios and evaluations, I would have recourse and not have a problem. I learned early in life, get EVERYTHING in writing, better safe then sorry !

What we gave up: * cable * cell phones * eating out * big grocery bills (we shop carefully and with sales/coupons and spend less then $125 a week for family of 6 + dog for groceries and all health and beauty items) * hair salons (we cut at home now for boys, or let hair grow long for girls) * field trips (that cost money) * shopping for frivolous items * vacations * amusement parks * extracurricular activities that are not FREE * new clothing from stores (we make do with what we have or repair it, or I purchase at yard sales/flea markets for 25 cents to $1.00) * shoes- only one new pair a year per person if outgrown, if not outgrown, then we make do with last years pair if not worn out * worrying about where the money will come from for bills and living exspenses What we gained: * peace of mind * good night's rest * a 6 month emergency fund ($15,000) * no credit card bills * no car payments * heating oil and insurance paid a year in advance * property and school taxes paid for in advance * retirement fund at 15% and long term savings * A HUGE garden & orchard with lots of fresh organic veggies and fruits * SINKING FUNDS FOR: * "new" to us car (used) *car repair fund *new large appliance fund (for refrigerator, stove, washer/dryer) in case of one of them breaks beyond our basic repair. * house maintenance fund (for fixing up or repairing house) * homeschooling fund (so I don't have to worry where the money is going to come from anymore) And the best thing: Living Debt free except for a small mortgage left on farm !!

Hello, I purchased OPGTR last school year for my son to use this coming fall for kindergarten. I was wondering if I need the Magnetic Letter Board & letters that is mentioned for OPGTR, is it necessary ? I see they sell it on Peace Hill Press along with a teacher's pack of book, video companion and flashcards for $55.00. I already own the book, so it would be silly to purchase the pack. I am debating the flashcards instead of making them, since it would save me a lot of time and with homeschooling 4 children, I need to save all the time I can get. But they don't sell the magnetic letter board seperately like they do the flashcards and audio companion, so is there a way to get the magnetic letter board and letters somewhere else where I don't have to purchase the entire package ? Do I even need a magnetic letter board and letters ? Or can I get by without it easily or use something similiar ? Also, what about the audio companion that helps with the sounds and such, how necessary and useful is that ? Please help with any suggestions, I am not sure what I need to start this for fall and what is really useful and required for this program. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer me !

I think if you didn't know for four years he lived so close, then chances are he probably lived for 4 years near you and didn't know it either. This sounds like just one of those weird coincidences of life, I get lots of them, but I'm old now and they don't seem so weird to me anymore. I think you are over-reacting or watching too much lifetime television. Lifetime television always freaked me out, every man portrayed on any of those movies is either a stalker, killer or some sort of rapist/child molester.

Not only index cards, but now the construction paper is super thin too ! I purchased construction paper from two different companies and they were so thin I could no longer use them for the purpose in which I intended them to be used. It is really a disapointment when you can no longer find good quality items !

My weakness is curriculum. This board would be my downfall if I didn't have a homeschooling budget that I stick to every year. And because I understand my weakness, I pad my budget with some extra money because I know I will read about some great curriculum that I just have to have for my children. Right now it is the Right Start Abacus, guide and worksheets (will cost me $60) and the Right Start Card Games ($50 for set). I wasn't even planning to buy these items, I was done shopping for the year. I purchased everything I need for the new school year for all 4 of my children. Then the other night I read about how Bill and some of the other posters in a few threads raved about these items and now I have to get them for my daughter, who I think would really benefit from "seeing" the math. Yes, the only way I could joined your group is to stay off the boards and then I know that would never happen. ;) I do have my limits of sacrafices that I can make in my life !:lol: Psst....We are Dave Ramsey fans too, that is where I learned to set up my "homeschool" budget and pad it for those times I may get carried away with curriculum lust !

When my oldest two children (now 26 and 22) were young I spent so much time running about and always involved in some activity or another. I never knew or learned how to be content or just enjoy being at home or being "still". I always had to be doing something, running somewhere or involved in something or I felt bored or anxious. I never just felt relaxed or that I could be happy being at home. I never really enjoyed my life, I was always rushing about feeling as If I could never keep up. Then we moved to our farm which is in a remote area and the babies began coming one after another. We had one vehicle and my whole life view changed for the better. For years when my 4 youngest children were very little (nursing babies and toddlers) I only ventured off our farm once every 2 or 3 months (usually for doctor/dental visits or visiting family on holidays). My husband brought our groceries home after work, he worked right across the street from a grocery store. Anything we needed he picked up on his way home (library books or household goods) or I ordered online shipped to door. Amazon & Ebay were good friends. ;) I grew so much over that time in learning to really appreciate the simple things in life and being content in my home and in who I was. It was a wonderful experience for me. Those simple days really helped me focus on my job as homemaker, wife and mother and to get really close to God. We have no cable tv, so I filled up my days with teaching myself to garden, freeze and can our harvest, cook and bake new recipes, knit, sew and crochet. I read tons of books on simple living and homemaking skills. I spent a lot of time reading the Bible and in prayer. I read lots of wonderful books and taught myself so many new things, I was never bored ! I always had so much to do here and we live on a farm, what better place can you be ? Now that my little ones are older and there are no new nursing babies or toddlers about, I go out once a week. Every Saturday I go to yard sales (season permitting) the GoodWill and do my Walmart shopping. But even when I am out runing around, I can't wait to get back home to my farm ! We also do field trips with our homeschooling group once or twice a month and we walk to a nearby park/playground for the children to play with the other neighborhood kids (it's right across the road from our farm). I never overload our activity schedule, I want to keep things simple for myself and my children. We have learned to become content with just being still and being together. I have learned to really enjoy and find true peace and happiness in my life. :001_smile:

I would sure love a poster too !

We dont do as well around here selling at yards sales, but I get some fantastic buys when I go to other people's yard sales. This past weekend I got some great teaching supplies and books for 25 cents to 50 cents. The lady running the sale was a teacher and she was selling tons of her surplus books, classroom supplies, educational toys & manipulatives, cusinaire rods, bulletin board posters ectera. These were all things she purchased on her own for her classroom and no longer needed. I got some great things to use this year in our homeschooling curriculum. I spent just 8 dollars at her sale and got hundreds of dollars worth of school supplies ! I also found a really nice large size Little Tikes wagon that retails on Amazon for over $135 dollars, it is in great shape and I got it for only 10 bucks ! My kids are having a ball with it taking each other for rides around our farm ! When I want to sell I usually set up at the local flea markets, I do much better there because of all the people that visit from all over. We get really large crowds, so you have better access to higher sale potential. The last one in May was held at our local high school parking lot and had hundreds of stands. I made over $300 dollars, so we had a great day ! I also sell on ebay, so that is another idea to try. The commision is high, but you can make a lot of money fast if you have the right things that people want. I made over $400 dollars this week from selling old homeschooling curriculum, toys and things I picked up really reasonable at yard sales and thrift stores to resell online.

I consider debt free to mean no debt besides the mortgage. No car loans, no credit card debt, no student loans, no outstanding bills owed to businesses, friends or family.

My first grader (son) just completed Saxon 1 last week. I have a daughter who is going into Saxon 3 in July, is there any chance I could move my son who just completed Saxon 1 up to Saxon 3 with her and just skip Saxon 2 for him, or is that too much of a leap ? It would be so great to keep them together and less work for me overall, but I don't want to do it if it will be overwhelming to him. He is 7 years old and does well with the addition and subtraction but has not learned double digits addition/subtraction well yet. Does Saxon 3 go over the double digit addition and subracting again or does it move on quickly ? Any help or advice you can give me would be so appreciated !