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  1. I'm so sorry. I know I posted this before, but my husband was just unemployed for 7 months. I really thought we would be homeless eventually. It was horrible but we made it through. He just started an awesome job in April that paid more, with job-for-life stability and a pension. And it was all-of-a-sudden and outta-the-blue. I hope when your husband finds a job (soon), it's even better than the one he had before. :)
  2. We are on that EXACT lesson in 1B. I was wondering that also. I'm also supplementing with math drills on the side and we're taking a week off from math to completely memorize our addition and subtraction math facts. I know this sounds archaic, but I just can't see progressing until we've got a solid foundation in math facts. I get tired of seeing "the fingers". :tongue_smilie:
  3. FWIW, my son learned to read in public school and he also made the letter sound when I asked him to name a letter. I think they all do that.
  4. Thank-you for all the suggestions! I am going to start using my ergo baby carrier again and I'm going to start doing some baby signs with her. I also (feel enormously guilty about this but 800-mile-away-husband was fine with it) have hired someone to come in for about 4 hours every Monday so I can leave. The logistics behind this single parent thing is just next to impossible. I can get a LOT done in 4 hours! :auto:
  5. No, she doesn't speak 20 words. I think maybe 5. She actually did make a sign for a hairbrush today (she patted her hair) and tried to get me to give it to her. Maybe the baby signing would help her a little. :glare: I noticed the more children we had the later and later they all started talking. I wonder why... :confused:
  6. Thanks for all the suggestions. :) I think the sensory theory really makes a lot of sense. Our toddler isn't talking yet and trying to explain something to her is...hmmm... :w00t: I am going to try a few of the suggestions and if anyone has another magic trick up their sleeve, I'm all :bigear:.
  7. Normally, I would do shopping when my husband was home from work, but he moved 800 miles away. :confused: We're joining him in a couple of months, but we have to sell our house first. :nopity:
  8. I have 4 kids: a 7 year-old, 6 year-old, 4 year-old and 21 month-old. You would think I would have the answer to this question...right? :glare: OK, so the older kids are wonderful and the 7 and 6 year-olds are like mini-adults. The 7 year-old is probably writing her acceptance speech for her Nobel Peace Prize right now and the 6 year-old will actually vaccuum and shovel snow. :gnorsi: Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation...? The second we walk into a store, the 21 month-old just completely loses her mind. It's like I need to call an exorcist or something. She will throw herself on the floor, cry, pick fights with the 4 year-old, throw things from the aisle onto the floor, throw things from the cart onto the floor, run up and down the aisles, refuse to walk...if I pick her up, she arches her back, slaps me, screams, etc. I understand the whole distraction and diversion with toddlers, but seriously, what do you do in the store?? :001_huh: You would think I would have the solution for this situation, but the older kids were always pretty calm. Any suggestions? (besides calling a priest) :confused: Also, do you think time-outs are beyond a 21 month-old's comprehension??
  9. I lived overseas for a while. I lived in Egypt, Israel and Jordan. I've been to England, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Mexico. :tongue_smilie:
  10. Hi! I live in Ballwin. Can't really help you much, though...my kids are a LOT younger than yours. Just thought I'd say, "Hi!!" :D I know there is a homeschool group in west county and there are tons of churches here in west county with co-ops and classes. Other than that, I don't have much knowledge in that arena either...
  11. We are using singapore 1b, but getting ready to start 2a with a 7 year-old also. I have one kid using singapore and one using horizons, so we'll see which curriculum the kids seem more compatible with... Also, you know that only certain learning personalities are compatible with singapore. I have a Wiggly Willy and he would never make it through one of those singapore lessons. As far as the workbook/textbook plan - that's what we're doing, along with memorizing math facts. I don't think they need much more than that at that age.
  12. We're doing CLE LA1 and LA2 and it is plenty. If those lessons had any more pages to 'em, my kids wouldn't be able to get through it. It is pretty comprehensive, too. It has spelling words, penmanship, little quizes, grammar rules, grammar exercises and a lot of fill-in-the-blank using vocabulary words.
  13. So, I have a 2nd grader, 1st grader, 4 year-old and 1 year-old. For the first couple of weeks, we tried to keep everything to a "time schedule". You know, we would do reading from 9-9:30, etc... Trying to mimic a school schedule did NOT work. At home, you have the phone rings, the UPS guy comes, you have to stop and feed the baby, my son has a meltdown, zombies are trying to break through the front door, etc. We actually couldn't finish half the time. So, I started blocking my schedule by subject instead of time with a set amount of work to do in each subject. This is working so much better. We're getting everything finished and meeting our goals (well, my goals, anyway -ha ha). It also helps out if I tell the oldest kids EXACTLY what the study goals are for the day. Surprisingly, we're finishing everything, but sometimes the work is spread out over the day... We do the bulk of our work during the baby's nap. The 2nd grader is doing CLE LA 2, Singapore Math, Apologia Zoology 1, Sonlight Core 1, Sonlight Readers 2 Intermediate, 3rd grade cursive HWOT, HOP 2nd grade (which was a waste of $40 because she is way beyond this curriculum :glare:), violin and piano. The 1st grader is doing CLE LA 1, Horizons Math 1, Apologia Zoology 1, Sonlight Core 1, HOP 1, HOP Spelling, Printing Power HWOT and I'm trying to get him to the Sonlight Readers 2 Beginner this winter... (he's really strong in math and science, but doesn't like reading so much) I hope this helps you... Oh, yeah, and a lot of times my kids don't realize they're doing schoolwork too. I guess it's all about presentation. LOL! :tongue_smilie:
  14. I also would recommend walking along the river. There are several museums down there and just an awesome view in general. Sometimes artists set up shop and paint along the bridges. It's pretty cool. Just be careful...
  15. I broke my arm about 10 years ago at work. It looked ok (and I didn't have health insurance), so I went home. The pain was so bad that I fainted. I was dizzy and nauseated. My sister forced me to go to the emergency room. My arm "looked" ok. I think pain could be a good indicator.
  16. We are trying CLE LA for the first time and really like it. I foolishly thought I could just buy the light units and would "know" the answers and save myself 12 bucks (or whatever it was) on the teacher's guide. :D The first lesson's odd terminology hit me like a freight train ("Ring the Vowels," the instructions said). :tongue_smilie: One light unit had How to Address an Envelope to Canada... I think it was more of a geographical disparity, but I immediately ordered the teacher's manual with answers.
  17. I was unmarried, broke and still in school when I found out I was pregnant the first time. My family was encouraging me to get an abortion so I could finish college, go to grad school and not "ruin my life". Thank God I have this awesome stubborn streak. My oldest daughter is an incredible person. We're always joking that she's going to be CEO of something someday. She also scores in the 99th percentile on standardized testing - bonus! She's 7 going on 35. She could literally "take over" if something horrible happened to me. She's probably downstairs right now consulting with the President. I guess the point is...every baby is special, has a mission and is going to make a difference in the world according to their own gifts.
  18. There's a lot of people who are going through some horrible financial problems right now. We were unemployed for 7 months and I thought we were going to be eventually homeless. Despite an awesome resume and a Master's Degree, my husband could not find a job for that 7 months. It's happening EVERYWHERE to a lot of people and it's no one's fault (well, not the Regular Joe's fault, that is :lol:). It's just a really bad economic situation. Follow the Dave Ramsey's "Four Walls" advice. We actually kept our home moving based on his advice and using a really strict budget.
  19. We are starting our second week too and it wasn't as big of a deal as I expected (relatives gave us apocalyptic scenarios about homeschooling). I was also thinking of Time4Learning for extra games and stuff on the computer. How is it? We did nature notebooking and that was a HUGE hit (even with the boy). Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle was also fun. I also have a baby, so I'm getting most of the teaching in during naps. We even did some classwork over the weekend.
  20. We just started Sonlight core 1 history and read-alouds and it is A LOT. I've had to tweak their schedule to slow down because there would be no time for anything else. We're using readers 2 intermediate also...so that is adding to the workload. The kids are enjoying the books, though. They did a fraction of that amount of schoolwork when they went to ps.
  21. We officially finished our first week of homeschooling (2nd and 1st grade). We started the school year in July "in case it doesn't work out". :glare: Funny, eh? I am pleased to announce (to other parents trying this for the first time) that it was a great week. It really wasn't as big of a deal as everybody (my opposing relatives) was making it out to be and the kids had a great time. It was a lot more relaxed than normal around here and the kids really mellowed out by the end of the week. The 2nd grader spent a lot of time following me around the house asking if we could do schoolwork (at 8:00 pm and 6 o'clock in the morning) and giving me her plans for our school schedule (good thing she's here). My 6 year-old son would do some schoolwork, practise his lightsaber moves in the living room for a few minutes, and start on a workbook. We started Sonlight Core 1, CLE LA, Horizons and Singapore Math, Apologia Science (kids' favorite), HWOT and oldest takes violin and piano. Now, we're really excited! Homeschooling is awesome! No more screaming from 6:30-7:30am, packing lunches, packing backpacks, the kids screaming at each other, me screaming at them because we're going to "miss the bus" and the entire family sprinting out the door with backpacks flying while the baby screams because she woke up too early. My kids usually come home at 3 exhausted, with homework (for me) and with attitudes. All the drama just disappeared overnight- POOF! :tongue_smilie: What a fun week we had! I hope the rest of the school year goes this well.
  22. I just bought the CLE reader and workbook for 1st grade and it was WAY above my son's reading and comprehension level. I'm going to have to wait a few months until he can use it.
  23. Thank-you for all the feedback! I love reading everybody's blogs also. Thanks!! :)
  24. Hi, I would just like a little confirmation and encouragement from somebody... :glare: I just sent my withdrawal letters to our school district and I began homeschooling my 2nd grader and 1st grader. I'm loosely following a Charlotte Mason-WTM approach with the two kids. The problem is...I am butting heads with my entire family. I'm sure you know the arguments..."You're ruining your kids"...socialization..."You only have a Bachelor's Degree and you're not a teacher"...I'm sure we've heard these arguments before. Since my husband is just fine with homeschooling, I don't really feel like I'm doing anything wrong...just need some encouragement. So, here's what we're doing... I'd appreciate any suggestions! 2nd grader: CLE LA 200, Sonlight 2 interm. readers, Singapore 1a/1b (our ps didn't feel like math was real important - LOL), HWOT, Sonlight Core 1, Apologia Zoology 1 (the flying creatures book), spelling lists from AAS, notebooking, weekly dictation, violin, piano and book reports based on the readers. 1st grader: CLE LA 100, HOP, eventually Sonlight 2 readers, Horizons Math 1, HWOT, Sonlight Core 1, Apologia Zoology 1 and some spelling/dictation. I'm also including tons of mad libs, puzzles, word puzzles, both kids play chess very well, brownies, cub scouts and the 1st grader does a lot of sports. Thanks for reading my crazy and insecure post. I'd appreciate any comments! :tongue_smilie: Also, if you see the "I'm ruining my kids" formula, feel free to let me know. :)
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