[actually need]

I've been using ABeka, a little pricey & bulky, they have a little bit too much drill work & additional materials (if you decide to use them, e-mail me & i'll help you with ddetails about what you actually need for teaching your kids, & what's just to get more money out of you) BUT - it's definitely a solid curriculum. The kids get a very good foundation in all the basics.
I've been eyeing teh Math-u-see (I am a math major) & i loveit! I'm thinking about switching to them - very clear, meaningful explanations & presentations. I just love their manipulatives! I wholeheartedly recommend it: simple, clear, practical, excellent math education.
Another phonics program i really recommend is CLE's Learning to Read - a very solid, very clear & easy to use program (hardly any prep needed!), giving your kids the best phonics based foundation for reading. After the first year they almost read fluently & spell! I've taught three of my own & my fourth one is doing it now & I'm a very satisfied customer!     I'm also a teacher & i taught foreign children to read using this curriculum & would bet on this program! http://www.clp.org/christian_light_education

[You all are super moms!]

Right on! Thanks for posting! God made babies' brains to be able toabsorb & process such incredible amounts of information & with such ease, that it's hard sometimes to believe or comprehend with our little adult one      
Babies aquire any number of languages with no problem (although be prepared, usually, multilingual tots will start to talk a little later. Also, they might, use some words from another language in one sentence, not because they don't know thw difference, but because they're looking for an easier way & chosing a word that's easier to pronounce. Give your little one a head start in life! You all are super moms!

This is momof5's husband here. My wife is originally from the Ukraine, and so when we first started homeschooling the kids, we had to face this issue of pronunciation. Although my wife's English was very good already, I found that by her going through the phonics with the kids, it improved greatly. I found the same true for when we were teaching Chinese children in China, that their pronunciation become almost native like as we worked through phonics with them. Now that our kids are in fifth grade, sometimes I help out on lessons where their words are too complicated, or when it's composition and they write essays, I'll step in and help correct them. But that's one of the beauties of home schooling, that whatever the kids are learning, I can learn it together along with them. Also as was stated above, if they are close to an English speaking environment they will pick up good pronunciation, as happened with my kids. At one time they spoke more Chinese than English, and I worried their English pronunciation would lag behind, but when we moved next to some American neighbors, they picked up the native accents almost immediately. So I'd say enjoy learning with them and feel free to fly!

What a great resource! I always needed something like this for when I'm giving my kids their morning devotions, to have some follow up questions, a short fun activity and a few pictures, especially since my kids range from 11 to 4. Thanks for the great tool!

I loved this site!   It helped me so much with ideas of how to present those basic ideas. Thanks so much for the tip!

One question about your child not liking the books before bed, have they seen these particular books a lot before? I had a similar problem with my first child, and one thing that was later pointed out to me was that they were bored of the same books. I then tried some new books and it helped quite a bit.

I like what was said about kids having the ability to pick up three or four languages. I have lived abroad since an early age and had many friends who were from international families, with the father or mother speaking English as a first language, and the other parent Spanish, Japanese or another language, and then their family was living in a country other than that of the parents. These kids were growing up speaking three languages fluently! I was so envious. My own children grew up in China, were cared for by a Chinese nanny part time when we were at university, and learned English and Chinese at the same time. The only side effect I personally saw was that it slightly delayed their speaking, in that they usually didn't start speaking fluently in any of their languages until around 2, but when they did, they were speaking fluently with full sentences, virtually missing the whole baby talk phase. I'm not sure if that would be the case for all kids, but that was what we experienced. Overall I'm very glad we did, and I feel the good result was worth the slightly later age in speaking.

THANK YOU
having had to leave China, where my kids had continuous exposure to the language, was a trial, having these cards will definitely be a great boost to help my youngest (who first spoke in Chinese!) not to forget the foundation he received. Little ones learn so fast, yet forget, if not kept up, very fast too. I'm so happy for the Chinese cards, the pronunciation is very good too, thanks babyDad

wow, i'm so happy i found your site! Dear Nikolett, my good old friend, thank you for introducing me, I'm very excited.
I've been involved in early learning & using my teacher training & passion doing Volunteer & missionary work for 15 years now. I LOVE babies & kids (my #5 is due in August) & believe with my whole heart how important it is to give them everything we can as early as possible. The difference it makes in children' development, both mental & behavioral, is incredible, when they receive good early input! I've been doing a lot of free parent training to help others bond with & give their kids a better start in life. So, thank you for creating this site to educate people & to share experiences to help other kids to get a head start. It is a great need in the world today!
Due to the calling I've chosen in life, i've been to three different continents & i lost the count of countries. My husband & I spent almost 10 years working inChina. The past six years were dedicated to working with underprivileged children, training for teachers in rural areas, raising awareness among youth & offering training to young parents in teaching & training thier little ones. Due to some circumstances beyond our control, we had to leave very suddenly. Our lugguage allowance was 20 KG per person That meant that my large, beautiful collection of all the flashcards, bits, etc. had to go     !!! My youngest (so far) is still learning to read & with the next one coming soon, I am in dire need for good materials (& i did find a LOT of good stuff on your site, thanks, everyone for sharing!). But having a ready made consistent program that even my older kids could teach to the little ones (& the one that doesn't weight anything extra & i won't have to forsake if i'm relocated suddenly again) is a dream come true!
I am one of the folks Nikolett is appealing for help for & is there is anyone out there who could give us a hand in getting the LR before the price raise, i would be ever so grateful!
God bless you for loving & pouring into your little ones

Dearest, congratulations on your upcoming addition! I'm actually not far behind, my #5 is due in three months & I really know what it's like to try to fight those pounds off.
Since you still have 6 weeks to go, I'd recommend start NOW.
#1 EXERCISE! - don't over-exhaust yourself & consult your doctor that you're ok, but don't let a day pass without taking a (as vigorous as you only can at this stage , & i do know the feeling) walk, or doing a video work out, with lots of stretching, pelvic tilts, & squatting. Besides burning extra calories, it strengthens & prepares you for the birth. I personally have experienced the GREAT difference it makes. I have coached through pregnancies & assisted many births & I can vouch on the difference exercise make for the birth & recovery. I don't know your older kids' ages, but have them take you on a walk daily, you get to bond & they get you moving (mine surely do )
#2 Watch what you eat. Nicolett said it - NO white sugar, flour or processed foods! Actually at the very end, like you are now, you really should cut down on all the starch you can, but whatever you eat, let it ONLY be WHOLE grain.
I've done a lot of research & the notion that during pregnancy you should fall for every craving you have is very wrong. Control yourself now, you will make it easier for yourself after. Count that you get your protein, fill up on veggies, when you feel like something sweet - eat fruit. Drink tons of water & you shouldn't really gain anything extra during this last bit. You will have lots more energy for the birth too. Naturally i really have a tendency to gaiin weight, i'm speaking from very personal experiences & from the many women i assisted & coached.
I'll try to post some "after" tips later take care