Wow my first year of homeschooling is off and running! I just wanted to say I really am impressed with this community here and so very grateful for all the info and mentoring you have provided me! I really really appreciate it, I've grown in confidence and my DD probably thanks you too :) best of luck! Edit: just going back to lurking for awhile! -GG. Edit again: :grouphugs: it's been fun!

Hey there! I know I haven't been around here that long or anything but I just want to say how much I appreciate your input and moral support! My first year of homeschooling has been really brightened by support from many people here. I'm going back to lurking for awhile! Best of luck ;)

sorry, I have to go back to lurking for awhile! Nvm my accountability thread post!

I am sure this is a terrible idea but it seems to get my daughter to snap to attention... Sometimes :) I make the point that if she doesn't want to learn I won't waste my time waiting and sitting there I have plenty of better uses for my time. As soon as get up and leave the room she seems to refocus.... Also sometimes I have to give us all a break and she goes to her room for a bit for quiet time. She looks forward to play time with me daily and if I spend too much time on school and she had been misbehaving, I don't feel too bad saying I'm too busy to play today - if she hadn't had so much wasted time during school, I wouldn't have so much wasted time either. She's 7, so probably quite different.

So cool! Thx for sharing :). My Grandpa / Uncle / cousins are cattle ranchers in Canada. One of my most vivid childhood memories is going on the chore rounds with my Uncle as a 12 ish girl from the city. One of his working ranch dogs was injured and could not catch itself it's food -prairie dogs. I did my part in the circle of life when Uncle showed me how to operate his bolt action rifle and I brought home din din for the dog LOL. My city mom was mortified and I was a natural with the rifle supposedly.

:)

Monday: See if I can convince YaYa (Grandma) to guest lecture a couple of scripted topics before she goes home. See if I can sneak in a nap House keeping Light school, fun stuff, and two detailed opera narrations, awesome!

Background: we are new to homeschooling, 5 weeks officially on the books, one child. My priorities are the three Rs and joy & excitement first, science and history second. I'm using BFSU vol. 1 with my 8 yr old daughter. So far at 5 weeks no issues with it not getting done. We haven't hit our stride with it yet. I started with it knowing that for the price i'd have no problem choosing another curric. if it didn't work out well. Also seems like a solid choice. -I love: I paid $15. (!). Easy to find household materials. Seems very foundational. - I don't mind: reading the chapter and the lesson plans ahead. I don't do any lesson plan prep just read ahead then sometimes pull up and save pictures ahead of time / think through demonstrations. - I could do without: wondering if I'm not "doing it right" or well enough. Luckily so far, it is getting done weekly. DD loves: When we ditch the discussion ASAP for the hands on/ physical games etc. I suspect that she'd love science a lot more with a different curric. She could do without: sitting and listening to me read/present the chapter myself from my iPad. All of the questions and thinking on her own suggested in the delivery - she seems frustrated by that. Supercharged science mastery kits: I think this is the way I'd have to go, getting the all inclusive materials kit. Also if I wanted e-science subscription instead, that's not just a materials hassle but also I would want to buy a new computer for access, so getting kit with DVD lessons and offline mode seems a better idea. So knowing that, next question is will DH be willing to pay for it or not. :p quite pricey! I'd like to know: feedback from users on any of these programs. Edit: including feedback on best target age. Their kit breakdown with level spanning k-8 ($650) k-10, or k-12 (2k$!) each including between 1-2 yrs or 2-3 yrs worth of lessons just baffles me at the moment. So... Cheapest kit lasts for 2 yrs then you move on, because you have already done all the kits for those units, and hope you don't get repeated material in your next curric choice? I don't see how doing their program for just 1-2 yrs fits in the grand scheme. Thanks! -GG

Hi Van, sorry I don't know the website. If I were you thought I'd repost again, including the website name in the thread title as that way people who recognize it will know without having to click through and more likely to respond.

lmao! A whole new level of me!me! Crazy! Hahah

I'm not planning to do this daily by any means, but after a lesson yesterday I handed my 7 yr old DD the answer sheet and asked her to check her answers herself. I was not expecting it to be a "maturity moment" - her eyes got big, "woooah, cool!" I could tell she was feeling all powerful at that moment lol. It took her more time than I expected but hey, first time for everything.

this is great - attitude is everything :)

Also today I let her teach me when school was done. I love this game. She plays teacher, reads a WWE lesson to me, conducts a whole AAS lesson including reviewing all her word cards as she is teaching me, etc. I get to jump up and run away mid lesson, complain that I'm hungry, ask when we'll be done, and do distracting things or make some mistakes that she loves to catch and correct :)

Good Morning Friday! Remaining school - minimal - math, reading, writing, grammar, spelling, skip counting Wash bedding Fold laundry and away Nap Think through anything else needed ahead of Boston trip? Read through libretto of Carmen if DD wants. Watch Carmen on DVD if we read libretto. Did not do any of the above! Instead DD and I made banana bread Outside time! For DD, anyway.

I will have to watch this and look into it tomorrow. So excited! Thanks! :D

Wow! That was fast! Looks like a hit!

:grouphug: still prayin'

I have a neighbor at my marina who was talking to my DD7 about a really cool science show? Website? DD7 thinks it was called "Super Energy Science." Only other clue was there is a woman involved, doing chemistry demonstrations among other awesome science things for kids possibly. I tried Google and YouTube. I found video clips by the beauty pageant winner who is a scientist named Dr. Erika Ebbel or Angle on YouTube, wonder if that's possibly what the neighbor meant. Nothing about "Super energy science" yet though... Please help me ID this recommendation if you think you know what the neighbor was talking about, I'd love to be able to hand DD the website/whatever she came home so curious about. Thanks!

TWO MAJOR wins this week for my homeschool! 1) took a walk on the treadmill... eureka, reading my SM math manual at the same time!!!! It was so awesome. 2) I thought I had two, :shrug: no idea now lol, losing my mind!! Guess it wasn't that major after all :)

I need more info! What do the dogs do for work? And how about the DH? Lol :)

The curriculum isn't changing but my and DD7s opinion of it / patience with it sure is! We are flip flopping like crazy it seems. One week we hate X, next week we love it :) and around again! Maybe that's normal?

I'm gonna try he hair dryer /dry ice thing. Can you tell me more, tips, or what worked best for you if you did it yourself? I've never handled dry ice. Did it leave any changes whatsoever in the finish or appearance of the metal? Getting dry ice: $30 Sent off pictures to a pdr guy, I'll hear from him later on if he thinks he can do anything. thanks for insider pdr info @Gold berry! It's a terribly reflective beautiful high cost thing. It's a tiny dent but looks awful! Ugh. DH is a magnet hater unfortunately :p

I love that we seem to have time twice a week for kitchen adventures lately, baking banana bread for Daddy usually :) but so far that hasn't gotten old. My DD , only child, is almost 8 now and is finally better able to entertain herself better without screens. She can play independently now and if I don't play at all in a day she definitely notices, but its not like before. Previous years we had times where she would literally not seem to do hardly anything (except screen time) unless I directly did it with her. Maybe PS helped for k & 1, to develop awareness of independence. Or maybe she just needed time and maturity or consistency of our work & play habits to sink in and to help her finally change her expectations of me. My DH thinks it's partly being coddled or spoiled that had her thinking she required entertaining all the day long. Lol. I had some guilt around the pressure of the idea that she wouldn't do anything except screens or play unless I would. That was a phase, and by now we seem to be well over it - thank God - She seems to "get it" finally that nothing good can come of the day if I just start off playing Barbies with her in the morning without doing dishes, laundry, tidying etc before playing. Our family motto is work first then play. For awhile I was setting aside a dedicated play time with her so she knew she could look forward to that time and I'd play with her for about half an hour even on a busy day. I think being firm in habits showed her she couldn't get me to play more by begging / bothering me. She also saw that I carried less guilt about not spending more time with her. Now, any time we hear her complaining about any boredom she gets to go play outside on her own or do the vacuuming, not gripe and whine anymore and punish the rest of us. I couldn't be more pleased with her choices now. She plays on her own most of the time and after school is done she does what she wants - around the house, right now that's usually practicing dribbling, singing, "being a wolf," playing on her keyboard, playing dolls, reading out loud to her stuffed animals, listening to audiobooks, taking walks with DH, just following me around the house everywhere for fun, etc. Hardly any screen time anymore. Sometimes she likes me to "get her going on a game" and I do and it works well. so I guess my point is maybe it's personality and maturity related and don't let the guilt train take you to crazy town... You gotta keep things in a healthy perspective. If you feel guilty, it means they ARE getting short changed somehow, kwim?

Oh no you didn't at all!! Lol my appliance repair tech also had the same suggestion, call a "pdr" auto dent repair guy, I appreciated the suggestion :)

I've spent a few hours calling around to dent repair places. No luck, they keep laughing (I imagine) when I say I need it for a fridge not a car. One place said as it's a fridge door not a car body they can get behind and pop it out from behind, it doesn't make sense. But I'll keep trying! Good idea anyhow :)