I was just thinking about this the other day. I am a teacher, so when we decided to HS our DC I thought not prob, Bob! Piece of cake, I mean I can handle a classroom of 20-30 kids what will be so challenging about my own DC? Boy was I in for a surprise!!! I must admit that at first my idea of HS was "school at home" then as I read, studied, and researched my viewpoints slowly changed--it was really hard to get rid of that "teacher" mentality that was seemingly ingrained into my brain.

As I look back over last year and then into this year I have done a complete 180! I was all work and no play last year--workbook and schoolish oriented. Now we are doing so much of the CM method that narry a workbook can be found in my house (except for the ones that I gave to DC to "play" school with.

After trying 4 math programs--we have settled on one that I feel is the best--and I actually have peace with the decision and am no longer searching--Right Start math. Boy do I wish all DC had the opportunity to learn math that way!

SL LA has taken some getting used to, but we are in such a groove and my 7yo DD knows the exact same amount, if not more, than her public school counter parts. We love it--the natural method is so much more easy-going than any textbook curriculum!

My DC love their Bible, science, and history and geography lessons. Notebooking and narration is such a fun way for them to show others what they are learning, and it is a keepsake they will treasure on down the road.

And of course who could complain about all those wonderful books in our house now! Who wouldn't love this education? The icing on the cake was the other day when DD 7yo said to me (with a catch in her voice), "Mom I hope you don't ever send me to real school!" Of course now I am getting all teary eyed, but I am truly thankful for this journey that God has led us on and for His guidance and wisdom in choosing curriculum and in teaching my DC.

So this is how our curriculum situation looks for the rest of this school year and into next year:

SL core K for history (also mixing in a little bit of Galloping the Globe)

SL Bible K for Bible and also Truth Trackers (our Wed. night youth program) for Bible memory

SL language arts level 2 regular readers for 7yo dd and level K for 5yo dd

Apologia Exploring Creation through Astronomy for science

We will be taking homeschool PE classes at the local YMCA

Music will be violin lessons and practices

Art will be studying various artists and doing art projects as time permits

We will be doing pre-k type activities with the younger ones--also a bit of SL Pre-K curriculum

Notebooking will be added in and as time permits

Nature walks and nature study

Of course this list is not a complete list of all that we will be doing.  I like to follow the children's interests and allow them time to explore and learn on their own.

Well, we have been extremely busy for the past 2 weeks.  Day camp at Minnetrista Cultural Center--I taught 3 classes there, while the girls attended the classes which I taught.  Last week was vacation Bible School at our church.  It was really busy and crazy!  We would rush home from Camp Minnetrista then eat a fast dinner and leave for VBS which started at 6 PM.  Each night hundreds of kids came from all over the city to take part in our jungle themed activities.  The kids earned tickets for coming to VBS, saying Bible verses, bringing friends, and various other activities.  They could spend their tickets to play carnival type games and bounce on the giant blow up things during fun-time.  Fun was had by all. 

Until Friday that is--Mackenzie was going through the caterpillar (a giant blow up obstacle course).  When she came out of the obstacle she said she fell and got hurt.  I didn't think anything of it, as she quickly quit crying and we came home.  Come to find out Mackenzie had really been hurt during her fall.  When she went to the bathroom before bed, she was crying and freaking out because it hurt to go pee.  She was also bleeding pretty badly, so we went to the local walk-in clinic. 

The Dr. on duty was our regular pediatric Dr. (praise the Lord)!  She was so wonderful and treated Mackenzie with utmost care and concern!   That in and of itself was a blessing from God that she was on duty as she knows our family.  We did not have to be continuously drilled questions about abuse and such--that was not even a concern as the kids are always with mom or dad.  She had the on-call OBGYN Dr.  come in to check on the cut area. 

To make a long story short, he sent us home for the night and scheduled us to go to the hospital in the morning.  She was then put under anesthetic and stitched up.  Thank goodness this was only a minor injury!  I have a new appreciation for mothers who have to see their children suffer in countless ways as they struggle with much more serious or even life-threatening illnesses or injuries. 

This incident alone has rattled my nerves and I don't think I could handle anything more serious than this.  God was very comforting to us--as Mackenzie and I sat in the pediatric room waiting for nurses, doctors, anesthesia, etc.  we prayed together to calm her nerves several times.  We talked and I tried to take her mind off of what was happening to her.  She was very confused and didn't want to have the Dr.  touch her or look at her bottom area as she has been taught that it is private and no one is allowed to touch her there.  We had to discuss how it is OK if you are hurt badly as she was and that mommy and the lady Dr. and the OBGYN were all in the room together and mommy said it was OK.  Very confusing (and embarrassing) to have to go through this.  She is recovering well and on the road to healing. 

I thank God that he has given me a wonderful family in which I can rely on.  This was also the weekend of the rummage sale which we have looked forward to having for quite some time.  My mom came over and took the 2 younger kids, my father in law took Alexis, and my sister helped my step-daughter and husband run the rummage.  It was a great success by the way!

WOW!  It really has been a long time since I have written anything in here!  Sometimes I am so jealous of the HS moms who actually get to write something in their blog every week--I am lucky to write once per month!  I really wish that I could write more, but it seems that every time I think of a clever topic to write on, that I am nowhere near a computer!

Let's see what we have been up to lately:

We took a really cool mini-family vacation.  We went to Traverse City, MI and stayed a night at the Great Wolf Lodge.  This was totally awesome!  The kids had a blast and it was totally designed with kids in mind!  There were gobs of lifeguards which made me feel very comfortable to let the 6yo wander through the indoor waterpark.  It was literally a huge water park inside!  There were 2 giant whirlpools, 2 water slides in which you sit with your legs crossed to go down, then there were 3 giant enclosed tube slides which extended out of the building then back into the building inot a large and very relaxing lazy river.  There was a pool just for water basketball, a pool with lillypads which you could hop around on, and yes a kiddie pool with 3 small water slides and dump buckets and all.  It was a very shallow pool ranging from 1 inch to 18 inches--the little ones absolutely adored it!  The biggest hit by far was the Fort Mackenzie--a giant treehouse type fort with all kinds of ropes to pull and dump water on others.  Every 5 minutes a bell would ring and all the kids would run to the front of the fort to have a 1,000 gallon bucket of water dumped on you!  Talk about awesome!  We got 2 full days in the water park, plus a night's lodging in a very luxurious and BIG hotel room--all for a reasonable price (much cheaper than a theme park vacation that's for sure!)  Not to mention all the FREE activities for kids to participate in--storytime before bed, crafts, scavenger hunts, etc.   Oh and the food was excellent!  We had no reason to leave the hotel for any reason.  Definitely and all inclusive vacation!  (I guess I should get paid for the free advertisement, huh?)

Mackenzie is coming right along in her reading skills.  I am truly impressed with her!  She received a copy of the Young Reader's Bible and has been voraciously reading it.  Then tonight she brough me her Bible and we looked up a few well known verses so she could read them to me.  There is nothing more precious than seeing your own child hunger and thirst to read the Bible.  If only more Christians had this desire!  It has truly been a rebuke to me, to be more committed to my personal devotion time with the Lord.

Alexis is beginning to read easy 3 letter short vowel words.  We have been using 100 EZ lessons, but have taken a break from it for the time being.  She is asking questions and trying to understand salvation for herself.

Alivia and Caden are both growing--and getting into trouble.  I think she is teaching him a thing or two!  Much prayer is needed for my sanity as well as for their own safety and health.  Today I caught Alivia playing in the toilet--she said that she was cleaning it for me--soap bubbles were everywhere!

The oldest 2 girls have been participating in a local daycamp.  Of course I am the teacher of each class that they get to take, so this week and next have been and will be very busy for us!  We also start Vacation Bible School in the evenings.  The kids always enjoy this time of the summer, but it is exhausting on the adults (and kids too though they won't admit it).

This week we celebrated a birthday.  Not anyone's birthday in our immediate family, but Uncle Mikey turned 28 on May 10.  He lives in Noth Carolina and since we are in Indiana, we celebrated without him.  It was really fun!  When we got up in the morning, we baked a giant sugar cookie.  After it cooled we smothered it with icing and sprinkles.  Then we called Uncle Mikey and sang "Happy Birthday" to him--Mackenzie even learned how to play the song on her violin during her lessons.  But the party didn't stop there--after we decorated the giant cookie, we dug in--yes, that was our lunch for the day!  When we were stuffed with cookie, we went shopping at Toys R Us--each child got to choose a toy as a present for Uncle Mikey.  The twist was that they got to keep the toy themselves!  It really was so much fun and the kids enjoyed celebrating his birthday without him.  Of course, what kid do  you know who can resist a chance to celebrate?  We also did the same thing for Aunt Nikki's birthday back in November--she lives in China so we did a long distance birthday party.

Have you ever had a hard time deciding on HS curriculum?  You think you like something then when you try it you totally don't love it?  There is SO MUCH information and so many curriculms out there that it can be SO overwhelming!  I have recently had this situation happen to me.  I thought that Saxon math 1 would be SO perfect for 6yoDD--but once we got started doing it, I was like this is WAY too easy, maybe I should have gotten the second grade version!  My only hope is that this first part is just review, but then if I recall correctly from when I taught Saxon 1, it is all pretty easy--maybe even more like a kindergarten program.  Maybe I should save it for 4yo DD to do in the fall as a K math.  But then again, I spent all that money on it!  I can't really justify buying something else only to find that I don't like that either!  (I really can't afford it either!)

So what to do?  I think I will scan through the program and see if I could possible skip ahead.  I did find a math program I think will suit us--it is Rod and Staff math.  Has anyone out there tried this?  It is not a colorful or visual program, but it might just work.  6yoDD would probably like visual better, but R&S is fairly inexpensive, so maybe I could just get it to try.  Has anyone else ever used this?  Do I really need the manual?  Don't you think I could just use the student edition and teach her the concepts she doesn't already know?  I guess I am just wondering how valuable and helpful the manual really would be.  When we used the Horizons K math program I didn't even use the manual at all!  I just didn't like to do all of the suggested activities.  I guess that is why Saxon appealed to me so much--it offered hands-on activities and included all of the manipulatives which the kids absolutely LOVE to play with. 

I think we will give Saxon a shot for a few more weeks--if 6yoDD is getting totally bored and burned out then we will seriously consider something else.  I don't require her to do all of the written work on the worksheets, only about half.  So that should help with the monotonous factor.  I did get a math book from a used curriculum book sale last weekend--it was on the free table and was one of those sample copies that PS get when they are looking into adopting new textbooks.  Maybe we will just use that--it is a complete first grade edition and it is totally visual which she will LOVE.  I also bought Singapore 1B and 2A for $2 each--they were written in, but I just wanted to preview them and see if we could use them.  I wasn't overly impressed, but they will work if we need to try something a little more advanced.  What do you think?

It seems like it has been a long time since I have written anything--well, maybe that is because it has been a long time!  So much has happened in our busy lives.  I think of about a hundred things a day that I want to add to my weblog, but when it comes time to actually write them that is another story.  Here is an overview of the past few weeks:

1.  2yo DD had minor outpatient surgery 2 weeks ago.  She had her adenoids removed and a second set of tubes placed in her ears.  It is amazing how much she has already shown improvement!  She no longer YELLS when she is talking to you, and for the most part she is fairly quiet all the rest of the time.  She used to scream and yell and cry TONS!  It really is amazing how much better she behaves.  And to think all of those times she was misbehaving was because she couldn't hear and she didn't feel well--that isn't to say that she is an angel now, but she is pretty close!

2.  Our church had revival services last week with evangelistic team Steve Petit.  The services were great!  Great music and clear Gospel presentations plus a very exciting and dynamic kids program--the kids really enjoyed it.  They were encouraged in their Christian lives and so was I.  Unfortunately we only were able to attend 3 out of the 6 services due to sickness.

3.  Our WHOLE family was sick with the flu last week!  It was absolutely awful!  It was like a chain reaction.  Tuesday 1Yo DS was sick, the next day 6yoDD, 4yoDD, and 2yoDD all were sick with the same symptoms as DS.  The very next morning I woke up sick and then DH came home from work early with the same thing.  Then 2 days later 11yoDSD was sick with our germs too!  It was really amazing that we were all sick at the same time.  Ususally we are all sick but it takes a month or so for it to hit all of us.  The funniest thing was that anyone who came into contact with us got sick within 24 hours of being with us!  How awful!

4.  We have begun homeschooling with our curriculum that we were going to start in the fall.  I guess that is the downfall to getting your curriculum so early!  We were so excited we just couldn't wait!  Now 6yoDD is happily doing her first grade work and 4yoDD is doing her kindergarten work.  That is the beauty of HS you can work with your kids directly on the skill areas where they are currently at.  I think that if they were in school they would be totally bored!  You know how most curriculums review basic concepts before starting new ones?  Well, it will be nice to get the review part out of the way--I am tempted to skip it all together!  At any rate the kids are learning and loving it!  Here is a recap of we are currently doing:

~Sonlight Pre-K for everyone to listen to (also a bunch of other read alouds!)

~6yoDD:  Saxon math 1, Sonlight language arts 1, Bob Jones press science 1 and social studies 1

~4yoDD:  100EZ lessons, Developing Early Learner series, Rod and Staff Pre-k, Singapore math 1A and 1B

~2yoDD:  Lots of coloring and creative play (we will do the pre-k for 3Yo program from Rod and staff in the fall)

~1yoDS:  Eating all of the good books and playing with his cars and trucks! 

Today we went to kidart--it is always such an enjoyable time.  The kids really love their classes plus we get to go TOGETHER which allows for special time with just MOM.  Nana went with us today and we always have a great time with her too. 

After Kidart, we went to the fairgrounds for the local farm festival.  This was a very exciting and educational homeschool fieldtrip.  We saw lots of animals and got to touch every one that we saw including:  sheep, pigs, goats, cows.  The local zoo even brought a few animals--alligator baby, snake, and Macaw.  We saw how wool is spun into yarn.  We saw some men carving wood sculptures.  We learned about water polution and poison safety.  The county sheriff AND state police were there handing out badges, stickers, safety coloring books, and of course temporary tattoos.  The kids were in heaven.  We saw what soybeans, wheat, oats, and corn looks like after it is grown and then as seeds.  We saw several beekeepers with honey samples.  We even got to choose a plant seed and plant it in a little paper cup--of course all the kids chose pumpkin seeds.  The man who helped us plant them said to keep them in the cup until the first week of May or so and then plant them outside--I think we will have them grow up our fence.  We will see what happens.  I just love it when there is something going on that is really worthwhile and educational at the same time as the kids are having a BLAST!  The best part of the whole experience--it was FREE!!!!

I have been looking at the Titus2 website and I think I am getting interested in their products.  They offer all kinds of organizational ideas and tips.  Their newest book called Keepers of Their Chores shows you how to organize kids' chores and get them to actually do them.  Their other book Managers of the Home shows you how to organize and plan a family schedule, which sounds good to me, but I'm not sure if I really want a schedule or not and whether or not the kids will even respond to one.  I would appreciate any advice anyone could give  me on this subject.

On the other hand, I need ideas for my DS first b-day party.  I don't generally do a huge party for them when they turn 1, but we have so many family members who live close by esp. on hubby's side who want a party, so I need some original ideas.  I don't want to overwhelm the little tyke and would like to have a quiet, home party--so any quiet, easy, inexpensive ideas would be welcome. 

I think that's all for today--have a good one!

This weekend was quite enjoyable.  The weather was actually warm and other than the rain we had, we got to be outside quite a bit.  In the afternoon we (the kids and I) took a walk up to the shops a few blocks from our house.  They really  like it when we do this because there is a dollar store and they usually get to pick something to bring home.  However, we have been really working on obedience and behaving while in public.  My children are not unruly children just typical children but I still expect to behave and if we are in a situation where we must wait in line then I want them to do that quietly.  I do not want them climbing on store displays or touching items at the counter.  We have discussed that even if 1 sibbling is not doing the right thing, the others are not to follow.  They are to ignore the wrong behavior and that child will be disciplined at home.  Needless to say, we were at Staples waiting for a gal to weigh our item for shipping via UPS and 2YO started climbing on the display--the other 2 joined in.  Unfortunately we did not get to visit the dollar store.

On Friday evening we went to have pictures taken at JC Penney.  They really do a great job.  The kids were very cooperative and we had some ADORABLE pics I tell you!  The photographer just kept snapping and the kids kept on posing--it was like they were little models!  And the pictures were just darling!  Of course I can't even begin to tell you how cute they were--and of course I couldn't afford to buy every single shot, so I just had to choose the cutest ones that would fit in my budget.  That is always so disappointing to me--but there will be other photo shoots.  I wish they would sell you a CD with all the pics on it--that way I could post them for all to see or even put them as a screen saver on my computer.  Oh well,  I got the cutest ones to update our walls a bit.

It is naptime for the baby--so off I go!

Today I am working.  I have really mixed feelings about it because I would rather be home with the kids, but need the income and time away from home so this works out for us.  My schedule is really flexible because I am a substitute teacher.  I only work on days when it is convenient for me and the kids are not sick.  I get called every day to work, but usually only work 2 days per week.  This week however I am working 3 days--it is always busy near the end of the school year.  The pay is really pretty good since I have a teaching license--yes it would be better if I worked full time, but right now I feel the need to stay home and homeschool and raise the family.  God would literally have to place a job in my lap in order for me to work all the time away from my family.

Hubby is home today--rained out from his job.  He is working on the new Indy airport terminal.  His boss called at 4:30 this AM to tell him to stay home--so he is with the kids.  My mom will go by the house and pick up the baby so the older girls can play and have fun.  This is a good set up for us with me having a flexible schedule.  My mom watches the kids while I work and then we do school in the evening on those days.  That is what I love about HS.  It is SO flexible and just wonderful!

I have been a consultant for about a month now with Usborne Books.  I have a few home shows scheduled.  I really hope to get this business off the ground, so that next year, I won't have to substitute--the books will be my main source of income.  I will do shows in the evening when hubby is home with the kids.  Plus they have a really good program if you become an educational consultant which is what I have done.  Now I can sell books to schools and libraries.  Since there are no active consultants in my area, it is wide open.  There are tons of schools and libraries--now all I have to do is set up appointments with them and let them know what services I can offer them.  We can sell books directly to them or we can do fund raisers--book fairs and read-a-thons.  The cool thing about the read-a-thon is that schools get 110% of the money raised in books--50% goes to the actual students to take home and 60% goes to the school for educational uses.  That is so awesome about this business.  Pray for me that I will be able to get into schools and libraries easily.  I sometimes am afraid to ask for appointments so I really need to get my courage worked up because I really need this to work.

Check out my website  www.ubah.com/e2670

OK.  So I was thinking that some of my readers might be interested in how we homeschool each day.  Well, this is a tough one for me because my kindergartener flew through LA K from Sonlight.  She is also just finishing up Horizons K math.  I am pretty laid back when it comes to homeschool--K5 is not a requirement in our state and with 4 other small children running around it is pretty hard to fit it all in.  So not being required is a good thing in my mind.  We have been pretty informal with our schooling this year.  I just focus mainly on the 3R's.  She is SOOOO ready for first grade.  In fact I have my curriculum already for next year and as soon as the new Sonlight catalog comes in April I am ordering the last few items I need--LA 1, Singapore earlybird for the 4yo and a few miscellaneous items.  Then we are going to dig in--yes we are going to start our school year early! 

We found a really great deal on Sonlight's PreK program--the complete package for $200--I snagged that a few months ago (It was less than I year old!)--the kids really can't wait to start reading those books.  We love books can you tell????  I also found a great deal on Saxon 1 so that is what we will try this year.  I wasn't really impressed with Horizons Math.  Add some field trips and a few science experiments and we are going to have a great year!  The PreK will definitely be too easy for my 6yo going to be first grader, but it will be SO great for the 2 almost 3 YO and the 4YO.  We are all really excited about it.  I even found some workbooks written by Amish people for the almost 3YO to use and she is excited.  The 4YO will be using Rod and Staff books along with Developing the Early Learner (until they become to challenging). The 4YO has picked up quite a bit from LA K with the 6YO this year.  She knows all the sounds and letters and even writes her own name and can sound out easy words.  I think I will try 100 EZ lessons with her this year too.  The 6YO will do Saxon 1 and LA 1 from Sonlight.  When we are finished with LA 1, I have LA 2 from a friend and we will go through that too--it just depends on how far she goes with the whole LA program.  Of course everyone will listen to the PreK stories and other things too.

I also have to mention about the Bible Study we are doing.  It is from Lamp and Quill and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it--so do the kids.  It is a study that works through the entire Bible in 6 years.  So after that everyone will have been introduced to all of the Bible and have good knowledge of it.  Each child has their own study book geared just to their age--yes they even start with 1 YO!  This study is so awesome and the engaging--everyone is INVOLVED and LEARNING---YEAH!!!  We really appreciated this study and are learning so much.  Of course, there is a lot of information so we just use what we want and save the rest for another time.  We will do this in addition to the Bible Stories we will read in Sonlight PreK.

I think I have rambled on enought for today--time to go round up the kiddos and start with the homeschool adventure today!!!

Wow!  We had a really busy day yesterday afternoon.  The weather was pretty decent--but we still had to wear coats.  Anyway we cleaned out the shed--a daunting task in and of itself.  Last fall when my hubby put things away, he literally piled all of the outdoor toys on top of one another in the shed--he even put in the kids' sandbox!  It is a huge treasure chest type thing with a picnic table and umbrella attached.  I don't know how he got that thing in there because we had a horrible time getting it out!  We finally got everything all organized and now the kids can't wait for the next warm day to pull out all the sand toys and dig in.

This summer my sister and I are organizing a huge rummage sale--I think half of the items are now located in my garage, my hubby's garage (yes, we each have our own) and now that we have cleaned out the shed--some items are in there--I separated them out so that when June comes--out they go.  I just told my sister on the IM that we are going to wheel and deal--no reasonable offer will be refused!  We need to clean house.  My mom also told us to have a go at her house and get rid of what we want--so we will be having a HUGE sale.  Plus many items have already been pilfered slowly from the kids' room and we have put them in boxes in my garage.  I think we are going to have a hard time pricing all those things, so we will just put items out and make offers as people want to buy them.  The kids are going to sell lemonade and cookies so it should be a pretty good success.  I think we are going to have a contest like on the show "Clean Sweep".  That should be pretty fun.

Have you ever had one of these mornings?

To start with it was a rough night.  I woke up at 2 when the 2YO came in to join us, as she often does, only to find that there was NO ROOM for her in our bed!  Somehow the 6Yo and 4YO had crawled into bed with us also.  I quickly made beds for them on the floor and moved them, but by now 2YO was wide awake and baby was screaming for milk.  AACH!  I told 2YO to stay in bed with daddy then went to take care of baby.  30 minutes later he was back in bed, but 2YO was still WIDE AWAKE!!!!!   She tossed and turned until 5 when hubby got up for work and then she FINALLY drifted off! 

The alarm went off at 6:20 and I went to wake up 11YO to get ready for school.  OK, so I was supposed to jump in the shower before her, but the bed was way too cozy and inviting.  We all snoozed until she woke us at 7 to say she was ready for school.  Got up and showered really fast, threw on clothes, warmed up waffles for the kiddos, grabbed portable yogurts and loaded the van--we were on the road by 7:30--not bad for getting 5 people plus myself ready!

Dropped 11 YO off at school and on the way home a train was blocking the road.  We had to go all the way downtown jsut to get around it!  What a trip!  It took us over 30 minutes to make a 15 minute drive! 

When we FINALLY got home, the baby was ready for breakfast, and the other 3 girls were rarin' to go--playing with our new kitchen toys now I might add--well, we all have to get dressed now and ready to run. 

Today is KidArt--this is our music, art, and physical education for homeschool this year and the kids LOVE it! We get 30 minutes each of art, music, and creative movement (dance).  Now this is not all we do for these subjects, but it is a good start and something we all can do together--even the littlest ones.  Later this week, we will go to violin lessons and participate in Gospel Force at church--more about both of those later.  Not to mention that my kids LOVE art so needless to say we do lots of that at home too.

I am so excited about this that I just have to share it.  My kids have NEVER been this entertained in all their lives!  I constantly find myself--shall we say--dare we say--BORED!!!!?????

We went to Target the other day and I was totally AMAZED at their toys--yes they have included all the educational toys that are becoming so popular--wood, cloth, etc. There was a complete isle of such toys.   And yes even Melissa and Doug (You can get them now at Toys R Us too).  Anyway they (Target) have a really cool line of kitchen toys and accessories called Play Wonder.  They are totally awesome--a bit pricey but oh SO worth it!  The kids fell in love with them and so did I!  The dishes actually look and feel and sound like REAL ones only miniature in size.  I told them that we would save up our money for them.  They have talked non-stop about it to Nana and what do you know--she went out and bought the kitchen.  Then we took the money I had saved and bought a few--OK 3 bags fulls--of accessories.  The kids have played non-stop with this new stuff (yes even the pre-teen)!  And it is built to last--painted wood and everything--SO AWESOME!!!!!  These toys pale in comparison to Dora or any other toy the commercials show.  They are super durable and SAFE and enjoyable.  I think my kids have transformed their thinking about toys too!  Could it be that simple is better?  I might add that all the kitchen toys we just got were NOT battery operated!  For Christmas and birthdays this year--that is a requirement--NO BATTERIES!!!!!

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