The Great Homeschool Debate

Do you homeschool?  I don't, and I said I never would, but now I really want to.  My husband and I are on different sides of this so I have no delusions that I will get to do this with any of my children.  My reasons for wanting to do so are many, his reasons not to are many, and all of our reasons either way are understandable and reasonable.  This is a hot topic so please feel free to weigh in in the comments!

 Fact is however, I have my baby girl home with me for one more year.  She attends a great program two days a week, but due to the fact that she knows all letters, the sounds they make, all numbers, and she is beginning to sound out words as well as do simple math problems, I feel she needs more.  We simply cannot afford the 5 day a week Pre-K programs in the area, so I am going to do homeschool preschool  3 days a week, with a new baby, while working from home. Yikes! 

I am looking at a lot of different options.  If we had another computer I would do abcmouse.com.  I have heard GREAT things about them.  However,   I don't see a separate computer in our future, so I am also looking at the ABEKA Pre-K curriculum. 

What do you suggest?  I know several out there have homeschooled Pre-K before.  Any helpful tips or tricks? 

Afar?

 "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."  Proverbs 31:14

So where was/ is "afar?"  Is this really saying we should go way off and get food for our families?  I do not really think the point of this verse is WHERE she got the food so much as HOW she got it.  She went to the trouble to get it.  Seeing as this is the Proverbs 31 Woman, I imagine she provided healthy, delicious meals within her means.  What does this look like practically for us?  I think it looks like going that little extra step.  I may be supporting a spouse who is on a special diet, whether self-imposed or medically necessary, or it may mean not giving up on finding healhty foods your kids will actually eat. 

It can get frustrating, I know.  As a wife to a husband who is on a medically necessary low-carb diet, a daughter with Cystic Fibrosis who can basically have whatever she wants, and a son who is just a normal little boy who doesn't like his veggies but needs to learn healthy eating habits, I can tell you first hand it is tempting to throw cereal on the table every night or just let them have whatever they want.  Chicken nuggets five nights a week?  Sure!  A bag of potato chips for lunch?  Why not!

Keep in mind NONE of the foods  mentioned above are bad occassionally, but finding ways to provide them with foods they both enjoy and that are good for them, even if it takes a little extra effort, is one way we can be more like the Proverbs 31 Woman in our daily lives. 

So what are your tricks?  One of my favorites is Ragu Old World Style pasta sauce.  It has 2 servings of veggies in every serving of sauce.  Since my son LOVES spaghetti, I can get some veggies in him this way AT LEAST once a week.  The sauce works well in other recipes too.  We switched from meat sauce to spaghetti and meatballs so that when the rest of us has spaghetti, dad can just have the meatballs. 

Let us in on how you put in little extra effort to bring food from "afar."