We've been so incredibly busy lately! I guess we just need to get into the groove of homeschooling. I think it is just a little more difficult this year than last year because Olivia is 16 months old and VERY mobile. She wants to do everything we are doing...which is so adorable...but so exhausting! I bought her her own little "her size" table and chair (she still wants to sit on my lap most of the time...but thats okay, I love to cuddle!) We got some little books, paper, and the twistable crayons (so she doesn't eat them easily) for her. At least she loves to "read" and "Write".

 I'm not complaining! Just commenting... I know better than to complain..I'll be longing for these times in a couple of years. I only have two kids...10 years old (or at least he will be this Tuesday) I couldn't IMAGINE being a family that has 12 or 13 kids....OMG! My cousin has 3 girls under the age of 2, I couldn't imagine. God Bless Them!

So, my question for you more seasoned homeschoolers.....what else can I do to keep my daughter happy while I need to give my attention to my son? I feel so guilty...but I know I shouldn't.

Thanks for listening...I am really looking forward to hearing everyone's responses!

Well, we have survived the first three days of homeschooling...YAY! only what? 177 days to go? My son is having a tough time with a few of the subjects. Well, I should say anything that involves writing, but he is improving. When he came home last year he was essentially a non-writer. When he was in school last year he had a 504 plan (I think thats what it was called) one of the provisions made was that he DIDN"T HAVE TO WRITE! Can you believe that one? All because he refused to. Well, Mamma doesn't have 29 other kids to attend to. Mamma has ALL DAY LONG to sit there and wait for him to write. I've been preparing him all summer for it. "This year you will be writing..get used to it!" He is super smart. When he was in school he was accepted into the 'gifted and talented' program (we pulled him out before it began) I know his repulsion to writing has to do with his disability. I'm not completely insensitive to his plight. However, I believe instead of making a crutch of it...we just work a little harder at it and overcome it. I will NOT give him excuses to use later on in life when all this stuff really counts.

So, I came up with a daily chart. It's half chore chart and half behavior chart. I recieved the Nintendo Wii for my birthday from my husband (yes, I know I'm a nerd...I'm okay with that.) Well, in my house, Dylan is not allowed to watch TV (except for a movie once every other week which we both choose, and I sit and watch with him). He is not allowed to play ANY video games, even though we have a Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, Gameboy SP, Gameboy Advance (these are saved for long car trips. we frequenlty drive from NJ to Florida, or Upstate NY) , and Nintendo Wii. (I barley play them myself...the Playstation 2 was given to us by my Father, the Xbox was acquired when I married my hubby, the gameboys were birthday presents to my son from my Mom, the Gamecube was bought for me 2 Christmases ago so I could play Legend of Zelda, and the Wii...just last week for my birthday. (The Wii is so much FUN we play bowling, fishing, table tennis, real tennis, and more, but it's active. You need to move as if you were hitting the ball) {Sorry, I have a real problem with tangential thinking!} So, on this Chore/Behavior chart, I have 20 things from brush your teeth and change your underwear to finish all schoolwork without problems.  For each of the 20 expectations I have...if he does them, he gets a + in the box, if he doesn't he gets a -. Writing a reasonable amount is one of the three which hold a value of +5. At the end of the day we tally up all the +'s then from that number we subtract all the -'s. The resulting number is the number of minutes he is allowed to play the Wii on the next day he kept all 5 points for good behavior, (hasn't happened yet, but it has only been 3 days)

Well, it's working so far. The first day of school he racked up 10 minutes. (some of the expectations are not things we do everyday, such as be good at the chiropractor, be good at Therapy) The second day, the novelty wore off, and he ended up with just 1 minute. But today was a good day, and he recieved 28 minutes on the Wii.

He also has choices, and rules. He can exchange 10 Wii minutes for $1. The rules are, He needs to have at least 15 Wii minutes to play, he must have all 5 behavior points remaining the day he chooses to play, and if he decideds to save up him minutes, he can only play for 1 hour a day. For the money, he must have $10 saved up to spend the money. Then he must take $5 of that money and put it in his savings account at the bank, then he can spend the other $5. ( He doesn't know this but I am thinking of matching his $5 with my own money when he chooses to spend it because seriously...try going to the store and finding a decent toy for $5!)

So, needless to say...his amount of writing is improving by leaps and bounds. (That was pretty much the point of the whole post)

What are some of the things that have worked for you concerning allowances or behavior charts? I'd love to hear some feedback!