I'm using Piano Wizard to supplement the regular piano lessons I'm giving my kids.  One thing that I really love about Piano Wizard is that I can input any MIDI song I want into the system (not of feature of SM).  I've been doing the PW curriculum, but we are also doing the John Thompson books.  They can practice out of the book, and because I bought the books that came with the CD, they can practice with the software as well.  It has really helped them develop a steady beat, it gives them a score and feedback, and it gives them a chance to change things up.  But they aren't dependent on the software because they don't pass of their songs until they play it out of the book.  Piano Wizard is an excellent supplement to regular lessons for that reason.  Most piano curriculums (ie, Bastian, Alfred, Hal Leonard, Faber)  have MIDI disks or CDs available.  We also do flashcards and theory.  It has been really helpful to approach piano from more than one angle.  Good luck!

Awesome!  So I'm commenting to make a connection.  I too have a strong music background and love LMs, and like you have have 4 young children (plus another due in March).  My kids are 6, 4, 3, and 19 months, boy, girl, boy, girl.  I don't know if you're new here or not, but if so, welcome!

As long as the consumer is aware of the research status and how much guessing has been done, I don't see a problem with it.  I think it is very sad when people don't have the freedom to purchase the items they want to use, be it prenatal learning materials, raw milk, or toys with small parts.  If somebody wants to buy something that doesn't have millions of dollars worth of research behind it, it's no sweat off my back.  Entrepreneurial efforts come to a complete stop when we over-regulate these things.

One of the biggest things I've heard that they recommend pre-conception is to get into the habit of eating healthy.  Do a detox if your body needs one.  If you drink alcohol it is good to break the habit before becoming pregnant as it can take awhile to clean it out of your system.  The same goes for any other addictive substances you may be/have taken.  Make sure there is folic acid in your diet while you are trying to get pregnant as this is most important in the time period before you know you are pregnant.  I don't know much about what to do EL-wise except that the more you know and prepare now, the less you'll have to do later.  You could start collecting materials as it can be quite an investment.  Good luck. 

This baby has especially been poked and prodded in the womb by his older siblings.  He is going to need that education when he is born, haha.  One of my sisters seemed confused at her birth until my dad started talking.  She turned her head towards him and gave him a big smile.  I believe in prenatal learning, although BabyPlus could hardly become a reality for me even if I did want it.

Someone recommended this book on our facebook group, I would love to get around to reading it.  http://www.amazon.com/dp/0893342513/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=BRZE4J8RKW83&coliid=IZEUDY0EKG3Y8

I think socialization is overrated.  When people look at homeschooling and ask about socialization, I think what they are really concerned about is the public school culture.  It's not necessarily superior or inferior, but it is it's own culture, and yes, it can't be duplicated at home.  Homeschoolers have their own culture.

I was homeschooled.  My parents enrolled me in dance, soccer, 4-H, and a myriad of other things because so many people told them that I wouldn't have any friends.  This was in the 80's when homeschooling was more frowned upon.  Sadly, most of the peers told me the same thing- if you went to public school, you'd have more friends.  Hello! I'm in this dance class to make friends.  I was alienated in those groups, and it was hard as a little kid.  I don't think my kids and younger siblings have gone through that as much as homeschooling is more prevalent now.

I don't regret homeschooling at all, and I love homeschooling my children.  They get plenty of opportunities to interact with other children, both their own age and with a variety of ages.  We go to story time, choir, and a special gymnastics for homeschoolers, as well as church and various other activities.  Socially, I did just fine and I grew up to be a social butterfly in college.  I was fairly popular.  I don't think any of us would want to characterize our social skills to what we were like in grade school.  Even so, a very poor social upbringing could certainly stunt someone for life, and that could happen to homeschoolers and public schoolers alike.

As far as unschooling goes, we've been taking a stab at it while we move, and I've been surprised at how much the kids have continued to do on their own.  I can't imagine it being as successful if they didn't already know how to read, and if they didn't already have some kind of expectation of themselves of what learning should be like.  I've given them free reign to Netflix (naturally not adult content, within reason!) just to see what they would do, and to let me work.  They did a self-led survey a few days ago and all three of them agreed that they prefer educational over non-educational.  They have gravitated towards the more educational shows like Wild Kratts, Signing Time, Daniel Tigers Neighborhood, and Dinosaur Train.  They have also played Hooda math and starfall extensively.  But aside from screen time, these are a few other things I've witnessed:

• Peter, a week in, asks me when he has to do his math. I tell him he doesn't have to do any school this month and he is in charge of his own education this month. He frowns, thinks a moment, and asks, "Do I still get to do math if I want to?"
• Patrick has read dozens of books and has come to me several times to ask me what different words are.
• Helen has continued to practice the piano on her own, asks me to play duets with her, and loves doing her own art projects.
• Helen decided to be Ruth's tutor and has done flashcards with her almost every day. Ruth eats it up. Somehow Ruth also picked up on how to hold a pencil correctly and loves to color with her sister.
• They all keep asking when I'll do school with them again and are looking forward to it.

Unschooling works great for some families.  I don't think high academic achievement is important to them, nor does it need to be a high priority for every family, although it certainly is for me.  They focus on different things, so their outcomes are different.  Most unschoolers wouldn't be surprised or phased by the results of these studies.

Overall we do a lot of unschooling-ish learning anyway. If my kids read a science book, for example, I mentally check it off and focus on other things. Formal schooling is a couple of hours a day. There are things my kids wouldn't learn if I didn't require it, that I feel are necessary for them, so we do it. Peter doesn't like writing, for example, and he's behind in this aspect so we are going to hone in on it next spring.  They also achieve more book learning when I'm involved and that's important.  Overall I would like education to be more self-directed like unschoolers do. If I ever did switch to unschooling for MY family (every family is different), it wouldn't be by way of "de-schooling". Instead, I would find ways to make sure they gravitated and followed through with the subjects I want them to learn. If they didn't read that science book, they didn't come when I invited them to a science experiment, they didn't ever pull out the science kit I bought them for Christmas, there would be a hole in their education, and I would be responsible for that hole. I want their education to be balanced, and I won't give them the reins until they are mature enough to get that balance on their own. It's a privilege I want them to want to earn. The sooner the better! This month showed me that they are much, much closer than I thought they were. I'm hoping to be there by the time they are 8.  This was even before I read "The Self-Propelled Advantage".  I think most of the amiable things about unschooling are present in her approach- a way to throw out the bathwater of unschooling and keep the baby.

Am I going to skew the results as a homeschooler?  I almost answered "average" on the non-applicable questions, but thought I'd ask first.

All mine are water babies too and I'm planning on it again in March.

For what it's worth, my first delivery was by far the hardest for me.  I would rather re-do the last 3 labors again than his.  There wasn't any real complications except that I tore and was really bruised, and I had no idea what to expect so I didn't manage labor as well as I could have.  I really think that the first baby paves the way for the other children.  Think of blowing up a balloon.  The first time you may have to blow really hard, but if you let the air out and blow it up again, the balloon has already been stretched once and "knows" what to do.  It isn't just your brain that learns from your first child, it's your body too.  Naturally there are a lot of things that can be different about different labors, but as a general rule I think this holds true.

I'm sorry you had to be on bedrest, Skylark.  At least it was during your first and you didn't have to get a baby sitter.  If I had to go on bedrest now, I don't know what I would do.

I've just always wanted twins, that's all.  Blame it on Anne of Green Gables.   

I've actually been surprised at how similar my pregnancies have all been.  This is the only one that made me throw up, but overall it's been my best.  5 pregnancies, all relatively easy with births that keep getting better.  But they have all done a number on my teeth, so I didn't get away scotch free.  Congratulations on your twins!  How exciting, I'm a little jealous. 

I don't qualify, but I'm thrilled to see this post because I know it means that it's only a matter of time before you release it to non-native speakers like me.  Yay!

I love these sales.   

By the way, "Know your Monkey" is Ruth's all-time favorite book right now.  She especially loves to say "Bye-bye" at the end of the book.

Just a side note on solfege.  If you do teach them that "C" is "Do", that you are teaching them fixed "do".  This is great if you live in a country where the orchestra tunes to "La".  There are some teaching methods that also use fixed "Do", such as Yamaha and Soft Mozart, and for the most part, Little Musician (the altered syllables for accidentals are borrowed from movable Do).  If on the other hand you don't plan on using these programs and live in a country where they tune to "A", there are many advantages to using movable "Do" as it helps internalize relative pitch.  Knowing relative pitch is very handy for transposing music.  Naturally you can still learn relative pitch if without using movable "do" to do it- you'll just have to use different tools.  The Kodaly method, which is used in many music programs in the United States, employs movable Do.  Many choir teachers receive Kodaly or Orff training, which they will use in the classroom.  FWIW, I'm teaching my own children movable "Do".  There are pros and cons to both, I just think it's important to be aware of your options and decide before digging in.  As a music major, I learned both and had enough background to switch easily between the two of them, but for beginners, trying to switch between the two is a lot more tricky.

http://www.professional-mothering.com/2012/10/movable-vs-fixed.html

Spending a few minutes with flashcards every day will really help you internalize them.  Start with a few and add more in.  When you're  comfortable with that, sit at the keyboard and instead of naming the notes, play them on the piano.
For treble clef, the mnemonics I use are "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge", and "Fat Animals Can Eat" (many of my younger students didn't know how to spell "face", so this was easier.)
For Bass Clef, it's "Good Boys Don't Fight Animals" and "All Cars Eat Gas" or "All Cows Eat Grass".  The kids think it's hilarious to mix the last two up.

A few other resources that may help:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/kWUVF527FcA&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/kWUVF527FcA&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/f2S1WFkFzTg&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/f2S1WFkFzTg&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cobPVfJnxJg&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/cobPVfJnxJg&rel=1</a>

Here's her channel:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Ec1UCC3LLAAgX3gvxBEXA

I know our Home Depot offers classes for kids.  You might look into something like that.