[Does anyone not have and not want a dedicated schoolroom?]

but I DO want one.

 

We do school at the only table we have in the house. So it's a constant pickup and put away all day long so we can also eat there, do crafts there, and the older kids can play with their toys with little parts there.

 

We have lots of littles so the older kids get frustrated if they're playing on the floor and the littles walk up and swipe at what they're working on. . . they've figured out that higher up is a safer place to play.

 

Also, since my surgery the need to have a specific place for "school" stuff is become painfully noticeable. All my littles "school stuff" is spread to kingdom come and I can't find anything. Sitters, dh, and the kids took full advantage of "not knowing what was being kept special for school time" to use it all. I can't find it, I can't find all of it, I am still hunting down pieces of puzzles that no one wants to play with unless their whole again. :(

 

I want a school closet for my files, kids curriculum, and specific school toy boxes. It wouldn't hurt too if this room had a table that could be used to park paintings, pottery, etc. my oldest dd is working on to dry. Or if my ds wants to put his newest lego creation on the shelf for a while where baby brother won't destroy it.

 

Sorry, I do want a room to do school in. That's not to say that we won't still read on the couch, enjoy the living room, do math at the kitchen counter, or do school all over the house at given times.

[Has the economy effected the way you do things at your house?]

We combed over the budget and trimmed it further so we could increase our emergency fund. I think we're going to need it.

 

We're a little disappointed because our tax refund is going to have to purchase a new car for dh, his died last week, rather than finding a place in the emergency fund. But we're thinking carefullly about finding a fuel efficient car. And we're taking our sweet time finding it too. No hurry--wait til we get that check.

 

As for eating - digging deep into the freezers and making 5 of the week's meals from the garden produce is very high on the list. Mostly a trip to the store is to buy milk, fruit, and occassionally eggs (I do get some from my mother's flock from time-to-time) It's a very consious effort to not eat extravagantly. Kids are learning the difference between want and need.

 

We aren't eating out either. It's way too expensive. A trip to McDonald's would set us back $28 dollars these days.

 

I am putting together my order from our Food Co-Op too. I'd love to hear what other ladies buy from their Co-Op regularily.

[Bread pans. What do you like?]

and I love them. I got the longest bread pan so the loaves are really like double the normal size. The bread raises great and releases fantastic. Never underbaked.

 

I also got them from breadbakers at ICHE conference.

 

For Christmas one year my sister bought me some of the dimpled Norpro bread pans, and I really love them.

 

She ordered them from www.breadbeckers.com. I'm not sure there's a photo of them on the Breadbeckers site; you may have to google Norpro bread pans to see them.

[Who's planning on buying Susan's new writing instruction book?]

nm

[I've been looking at MFW and have a couple of question...]

But now in retrospect I should stayed with SOTW. My kids love listening to the CD's over and over again and they actually retained more from the first 2 years of SOTW than they are with MFW. We're doing MFW Adventures this year. It's very light, lots of fiction stories, a few geography points, but visually it's not stimulating or interesting. They do enjoy the hands-on activities (SOTW has those too).

 

The Bible piece of MFW was my original draw. I do like it, but I think there are probably tons of free reading schedules out there to coordinate with each historical period that would have worked just as well.

 

The art - buy the book they're using. They don't actually schedule it for you. It's a do as you want to do kind of book. My kids don't care for it because they find it too strict. They prefer to draw about what we're reading.

 

Music, same as the art. Buy the stuff they recommend and schedule it yourself. Nothing magical about it. Just listen and memorize. I was a bit disappointed because I thought it would be more than it is.

 

SOTW is a great program. Feel confident in using it alone.

[How do you make it to your own doctor visits?]

and then schedule your dental appt. back to back with your dh's. :) That's the only way to do it.

 

For doctor's office visits don't let them strong-arm you into their daytime appts. Ask for an evening appointment. And then tell your husband he has to be home. If he isn't be assured that there will be fewer people waiting at the dr's office so if your kids destroy it so what.

 

For your gyn visit. Well they usually have Sat. or Sun appointment time slots too. You just have to ask for them.

[What to do with leftover Spiral Ham?]

nm

[Baby food question]

until her new tooth came in!

 

In retrospect I realized that it was hurting her to have that spoon come in her mouth. She 9 months in 2 days and she takes the spoon cheerfully!

 

Don't worry, just keep on trying each day a little bit. Switching to fruits helped here too. Usually I start with veggies first.

[How much do you pay your kids....]

just kidding. :)

 

We pay our kids with poker chips for their jobs. 1 poker chip = 30 min. or 25 cents. They do lots of chores and keep track of what they've done and Daddy pays them once a week. Each kid has a different color poker chip so they can't mix it up.

 

Additionally we have a special (white) poker chip that we give out for PRT's. If we catch them doing something great we can reward them. A PRT is worth 50 cents or 1 hr.

 

They cash their poker chips in for screen time or cash. We do a trip to the dollar store occasionally. DD 8 is saving her poker chips for a special item she desires. She's just about ready to head to the store.

 

Ah yes, we can also ask them to pay us a token for a job they were asked to do that we ended up doing instead. :) Rarely used.

[Need ideas for 5 dc in 3 bedroom home...]

my only advice is to move. They're only going to get older and the space only gets tighter. If it's tight now . . . think about it.

 

This is us right now. 5 kid in an 1800 sq. ft. home, no basement. We've got kids sleeping on the floor right now because there is no room in their bedrooms for an extra bed. We pile matresses on top of the one bed there. We've also got dressers for 2 kids in the garage (cold clothing) because there's no room in the bedroom. Toys are on shelving in the garage in boxes because there's no room.

 

We're trying to sell. It's a huge challenge. It's also the reason for some of the above (trying to make it look bigger and like fewer than 7 people live here).

 

Well, our solution may not be yours. We need to move or do life differently.

[would you ever consider NOT homeschooling because you're outta space?]

probably a 3 bedroom apartment. :) But that truly will be OK because it is temporary and I won't have to worry about keeping it ready for a showing.

 

And I'm planning on moving us to an apartment complex that has a pool, preferably indoor. But as we get closer to summer it's not a problem if it's outdoors.

 

Our builder says they can build our house in 4 months. And our new neighbors up there say that they're very accurate in their estimations. I know it will probably be longer, but if the light is at the end of the tunnel it's easier, right?

 

Why don't you put the extras on hold until you get the house sold. Do the basics, so you can focus on just keeping things clean and de-cluttered. may I ask where you are planning to live between selling and building the new house?

[would you ever consider NOT homeschooling because you're outta space?]

we've had our home on the market for 6 months now. Most weeks there have been 2-4 showings.

 

It is brutal and not so temporary.

 

You have to seriously consider the pros and cons of quitting hsing. I wouldn't consider it direction from the Lord to quit over your space issues. You may be getting the proverbial cart before the horse. Few people understand the pressure a hsing family faces when trying to market a home they're living in. It is brutal! BUT it is temporary.

 

I don't have any solutions for you, but as a Christian woman who believes that God can and does impress His direction on us that He doesn't use confusion to do it.

[What do you think your ...]

If you're including extracurricular activities (sports, co-op, music lessons, etc) we spend about $1200 for 3 kids. About $500 of that is curriculum.

[would you ever consider NOT homeschooling because you're outta space?]

that's kind of where we're at right now. Our home has been outgrown and our efforts to upgrade to a bigger space have been fruitless for months. We're kind of wondering, because there has been no progress, if God is telling us not to move.

 

Anyway, even with all the stuff we have in storage outta the house our home still feels small. But if we weren't living here 24/7 it would be doeable. I've told hubby that it just seems that homeschooling is getting in the way of life at this house.

 

The constant shuffle of books and papers throughout the day is exhausting.

 

We're getting the basics done just fine. But I feel like the extras that I want to teach my kids like sewing, electronics, etc just have to sit on the sidelines because we just barely get started and then we have to put things away because the table has to be used for meal time. Instead we rely on the TV and computer to fill their inbetween school time (I hate this!)

 

Maybe we should just stop eating!!! I'm not a particular housewife that has to keep things uber clean. But it's the constantly having to move something to get to or to do something else that is wearing.

 

We get tons of showings, in fact poor dh has 4 the first weekend I was in the hospital. We've had the house off the market for a couple weeks so I can

heal--can't push the mop or vaccum cleaner yet. But Thursday we're relisting it. We have to continue to move forward because we did put a deposit down

on a home we're planning to build. The builder is willing to wait for us to sell.

 

Because most of our stress in this house revolves around homeschooling we seriously wondering if God is telling us to quit--this is something that is sooo not in our hearts. We always felt that homeschooling was a priority. It's so hard to think that perhaps for some reason God is telling us to stop.

[I need an online homeschool convention vendor hall!!!]

really, practically, this is probably the only way I'll get to a vendor hall this year--if it's online.

 

I'm starting to see my kids getting close to finishing their work and I'm contemplating new curriculum. . .

 

I have a need to browse, put my eyeballs on the materials and just get a couple "because they're cool" items.

 

I think cabin fever is setting in.

 

Anyone else there too?

[If you have a few kids...how do you rotate them with lessons....]

I start with the oldest, who can work independently, first. I get her started on her assignments. The understanding is that if she gets stuck she can move on to a new subject or the next problem until I'm finished with another kid.

 

Then I usually see which of my learning readers is ready to learn. It depends. I do one-one teaching with each for math and reading. Today was the first day that my 1st grader was able to do her work independently! :) Mostly we do Math first and then reading. It helps with distractions if we keep to one subject. While they wait for their individual attention from me they can play with their younger sib, play with the math blocks, or do a chore. The main rule is that no one can intererupt the lesson unless there's barf, blood, or a major catastrophe looming.

 

My 3rd grader is wont to invent "problems" so she can take a break. She gets to set the timer for a 15 min break once she gets two subjects done for the day. It helps me remember too so I don't get distracted with the youngers activities.

[Anyone homeschooling 4 days a week with ...]

Thursday a.m. is Bible Study and Friday is our Co-Op day (PE & Science).

 

Because I have lots of littles I don't schedule more than a week of time off around the holiday. Life has a way of making sure we get timeoff in between for illness, travel, etc.

 

We have become year round schoolers too. And that helps us keep on 'schedule' in making progress. Right now we're down to the basics, the 3R's. Soon we'll pick back up the history and science. Make a certain subject our focus for a period of time does help keep interest and focus.

[How do you help your dc focus?]

whatever I have on hand.

 

-- a fishy cracker for each problem done correctly

-- a choc. chip for each word read (littles just starting to read)

-- a whole granola bar for finishing their least fav. subject without complaining.

-- TV, Computer, or Playstation time when all school work is done.

 

 

Bribing helps them understand that I know it's tough and working towards a goal helps them stay focused. It helps if they can help choose their reward (with reasonable limits).

 

This usually works. In extreme cases we have a coffee break. A couple of my kids are ADHDers and the caffeine helps them to focus. I've got to be careful though because it has backfired a couple times. :) The non ADHDers get too wound up and egg on the rest!

[FLL audio CD]

but like everyone else we just used it for a short time. I really think it helped though in memorizing those poems. Poetry isn't my thing and I don't think that just reading the poem would have captured my kids attention and immagination like the cd version did. They're still reciting those poems. :)

[3rd grade spelling program questions....]

give Rod & Staff Spelling try. It's a workbook, but it doesn't feel like busy work for my dd. It's just 1 page (2 sides) and then a spelling test. The list of words is printed and in cursive (a bonus!)

 

It has been perfect for us. We'll continue with it next year.

[Food allergies/intolerances and behavior questions]

head banginig?! I've got two kids who do this. I wonder. . . .

 

Anyway,

 

ds 4 was/is allergic to milk. He ended up drinking alot of almond milk there for a while and then we switched back to milk. His primary issue was migraine headaches. His forehead was completely scratched up. We think he also had tummy aches, but couldn't confirm as this was all pre-talking.

 

Lately I've suspected that perhaps this allergy didn't clear up completely. there are days that he is very sensitive to any rough play, whiney, pouting, very partciular about his foods, etc. I've also wondering if it's just his age. But my mother who is also astute in this area is pushing me to do the elimination diet with him again "Just to see."

 

Interestingly he was also very allergic to disposable diapers and when we eliminated that his symptoms cleared up a ton. that's also about the time we tried milk again.

 

Soy milk had the same effects on my son that dairy milk did. We had to eliminate it entirely. I read somewhere that the protein in soy is very close to that of cows milk- so you may see a similar reaction. In our case our 2 year old starts biting, hair pulling and banging his head on the wall if he has any dairy or soy products. Needless to say the whole family keeps an eye on what he's eating now!

 

My boys love chocolate almond milk. We buy the Blue diamond Brand Natural Almond Breeze. We use Rice Dream Vanilla Rice milk in cereal and in anything I bake.

 

Hope this helps!

[So, what is your 1st Grader reading independently right now?]

and the like.

 

I'm thrilled. I didn't think she'd get the hang of reading so soon.

 

Unfortunately she's learning slowly but her 4 yo db is learning quickly. He's reading at the same level as she.

 

She is a bit delayed. We've done testing and she's now making progress finally. But it's taken a bit. She's got ADHD and we're using focalin. Our plan is to catch her up by next fall. She's about a 2nd semester Ker right now.

[OK, remind what to do with a baby that stays up till 11PM??]

I have only my empathy to offer. Pre-surgery dh would give me a nap in the early evening after dinner so I could handle staying awake a bit longer without being cranky myself.

 

She's perfectly content to frog around on the floor playing with her toys until 11 pm. Rarely does she need to be held and comforted.

 

We do have another night owl, 8 yo dd, and sometimes if we're both tired we ask her to watch the little one while we snooze on the couch. :) They enjoy playing together and it's good bonding time.

 

Hang in there, the days when your little prince wears himself out trying to walk & climb are coming soon. He'll be tired then and go to bed earlier.

[anyone else finding they're posting & browsing less]

My poor baby girl, 8 mo, probably thinks I've abandoned her because I'm learning all the lifting of her to the nanny & my girls! I do get to feed her, thankfully she's taking to the spoon better. I'm going to be very spoiled when the Nanny doesn't come any longer. . . .

 

I'm still sleeping a lot during the day but I think my "systems" are getting sorted out. I wasn't sure there for a while if it was ever going to be a normal don't-think-about-it process ever again. :D

 

Thanks for checking on me!

 

CalicoKat, how are you feeling?

 

I still find this format a little more cumbersome but since I have an opinion on a lot of topics, I do post. It seems harder to just quickly look what's going on. Sigh. New tricks are hard on this old dog.

 

Take care of yourself!!! No heavy lifting!

 

:)

[Third try... a passion poll]

I was passionate about building solid relationships with my kids. I wanted to homeschool because I know life is short and every moment they're away from me is a teachable moment lost. Selfish, huh?

 

Both dh and I have had open heart surgery at a young age. We had this before we started having kids. I think that glimpse at our mortality has had a lasting affect on what we consider important. Our kids are important. And since we don't know, like everyone else, how we get to walk around on Earth we're going to put in quality time every day.

 

I was surprised to realize that I'd have to teach history and science. :eek:

But I knew that we'd eventually get it all figured out. Having attended a private Christian boarding school I knew that in the end it does all get done. :o

 

I'm thrilled to have found TWTM because it does give me a detailed directions for being organized in my least fav. subjects. LOVE, love SOTW.