Homeschool curriculum quandry?

Although we have been homeschooling for three years, I'm still unsure about each curriculum and wheither or not it's the best. We've used ACE, Life Pac, and most currently Abeka. Now out of those I like Abeka the best. This year though I've entertained the idea of doing it all on my own and go with used textbooks. I started our second school year doing this and enjoyed it but my husband decided I was working too hard. I missed all the hands on it forced me to do and most of the canned-curriculum I've been using has been very structured. Now structure isn't all that bad but I miss the kids excitement of learning.

During this summer, between baseball practice and everyday life, I've tried to keep the kids learning in some form or fashion. I made the kids a reading list and told them to pick at least one book from that list everytime we went to the library and then they could read a book of their choice. We made reading boxes to keep up with each book they read and what they liked or disliked about it. Each box is just one of those small file boxes (receipe box) that holds 3 x 5 index cards. We bought clear ones and I let the kiddos decorate their own box. We then use the index cards to write the title of the book at the top followed by the author and the date (month/year) in which they read that book. At the bottom they are to write whether they liked or disliked the book and why. We then file them by the author's last name. I'm ready for them to pull this box out in a year and flip through the entries, which will help them to remember the books. It will be fun to see what their interests is next year or two years from now.

They both have a love for reading but lately Cade's reading has taken a backseat to baseball. I, on the other hand, am and avid reader. I read just about anything. I'll post again about my book list.

If you have any ideas about a curriculum I should use or any fun ideas to help my kids learn I'd love to hear it. I know that some things can be costly to do but I've found that even the simplest and most inexpensive things can leave the best mark on kids.

Let me know any ideas you have!

Home school "school pictures"

Since my family loves school pictures they all asked me if I had any pictures of the kiddos. I decided to have a picture day in my mother's backyard while we were home this summer. The kids had fun posing and my mother loved that I chose her yard. This was the cheapest school pictures I ever bought and they look so much better!

Cade is 10 and in the 5th grade and Emily is 8 and in the 3rd grade. I'm a little partial but I think their adorable!

Your friend did what.....?

Having kids usually means you will at some point and time have to have birthday parties and sleep overs. In the past few years I have had my fair share. You can expect some rowdy kids, spills, broken items, lost items, and sometimes maybe even a small fire!When your child comes to you with that look (the one where they won't look you in the eye and they stay out of grabbing distance) you know something really bad has just happened.

Just recently my child invited another boy to spend the night with us while we were home from the road. Now I can trust my kids and since the boys are 10 I assumed they could stay inside and play while I mowed the yard. Boy was I mistaken. I had just gotten started good when my son come running out of the RV saying mom I need you NOW! Cutting off the mower I trotted to the camper not knowing what to expect. The unmistakable smell of burnt popcorn overwhelmed me as did the smoke coming from my microwave! My son's friend had tried to cook noodles without any water. After two minutes the noodles were burnt to a crisp. The "little darling" was laughing at the fact he had almost caught my microwave on fire and that the whole placed smelled to high heaven! Aghhh! All I could do was tell them both to go outside and play. It's been a week and our RV still smells!

On my son's 8th birthday he wanted to camp-out in a tent. We invited five boys. All of the kids were having a good time. They were wild and rambunctious but they were outside. My husband slept outside with them in his own tent while me and my daughter (and her friend) stayed in the house. I had just settled down for a movie when two of the boys came in looking like the kids from Lord of the Flies. One had hit the other one in the mouth with a full can of cola and knocked his tooth out. They were laughing about it! (The tooth was due to come out though.) The next morning after the boys were leaving and I was trying to clean up the disaster area I asked my son what his favorite part of the party was, his reply was..."When Lee took a dump in the backyard"! Right there under the tree house was a big pile of *&#^. Boys are so gross.

When these little friends do things that really are annoying and seem horrible I know that this is the time when I really can appreciate my own kids.