If the children are enjoying and learning then I would go with the flow. You can never tell what wonderful opportunities may arise out of things like this!

I have been there and tried that! The good news is that through this whole process I’ve learned what my daughter’s learning style is. This has helped me buy curriculum that is going to work.

Now I piece her curriculum together. We use Sonlight for our history and language arts. Math-U-See, How Math Works and Math Wizardry for math. And Christian Cottage Unit Study for hands-on history projects and science.

I agree with “Mybloggerings” that we should never “feel bound to anything just because we paid alot of money for it.” My goal is to educate my children and if something isn’t working I tweak it or toss it.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ballet+for+kids+dvd

This is not an affiliate link, just a product page from Amazon. Hope that this help you! I know how it is when things are tight. We are contemplating taking a break from the guitar lessons that our boys take just to save the money each month. Lessons, in general, are very pricey.

In my first year of homeschooling, I tried a “unit study” but found it very confusing. So I used a packaged curriculum. I cringe now thinking about how much I shelled out for all this stuff. In the end, I stuck with the packaged stuff for 2 years and then got brave enough to try something unorthodox. I ended up using Ambleside Online which is a free curriculum plan for using CM. In the end that became too much work still, so now I am using something I love and have found things to supplement and it works for us. I think we shouldn’t feel bound to anything just because we paid alot of money for it. Sometimes just using the library is good. We know our kids needs. We just have to be creative in how we find what they really need.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.

Angie

My husband pulls in three pay checks. His full time job is safe, for now but people don’t buy too many high end fishing boats in this economy. He has a very, very part time job at our church and he teaches martial arts 4 hours a week mostly for the free lesson he and the girls receive in return, (more of a barter than a job). We live a very frugal life and all three of these together barely make the monthly bills. Living in Florida is expensive. Low salaries and high prices. Our home is not above our means but our home owner’s ins and property taxes are. Something we have no control over.

So back to the girls. We just told them the seriousness of the situation. They get it but not entirely. Our children have been educated in the various political systems and my oldest has studied economics. This election has them concerned. Not just because mom and dad are concerned, but because they understand the possible consequences of the outcome.

I think our children need to know but only to the extent they are able to cope. It’s kind of like having the sex talk. You only tell them what they can process at the time. Also, things are always relative. My 17 year old thought $3 gas prices were great. That’s because when she started driving gas was $3.50. Her budget now has a little breathing room because today gas is at $2.50. My youngest owns a horse. I know that’s not the right kind of pet for a frugal family. The opportunity presented itself and she became a horse owner. She boards the critter for chores and poop scooping at a friend’s property. She also rides competitively once a month. That ain’t free and she has to figure out how to pay for it each month. We used to pay the entry fees but can’t do that any longer. This has been a good lesson for her.

For my children reality lessons always seem to offer the best teachable moments. I don’t know how you usually do Christmas so maybe buying one gift for the entire family is a message in reality. Everyone is sacrificing for the family to benefit. We’ve found too that when things are the tightest in our household, giving something to others feeds our souls. We spend the weekend before Thanksgiving preparing dinner for our church family. The church pays for the meat, potatoes, and provides the dining area but everyone who attends brings a dish to share. We feed at least 200 people every year. My children have grown up participating in this event and have “accidentally” learned that many have far less than us. We’ve also worked soup kitchens. My children sometimes ask for us to do this as a service project in youth group. These opportunities to experience poverty vicariously have offered many teachable moments.

I don’t know that I’ve answered your questions but this has been good therapy for me. Thanks for letting me share.
Blessings
Susan

–
http://www.homeschoolnittygritty.com
(a work in progress)
http://www.homeschoolnittygritty.wordpress.com
(a collection of my rambling thoughts and ideas)
http://www.goodsearch.com (searching and shopping to benefit my favorite non-profit, http://www.parents-etc.com)
homeschoolnittygritty-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (a bi-monthly newsletter of support, information, and encouragement)

Especially check out my virtual piano lessons and the summer institute where I teach. Both may be just what you are looking for. The institute has guitar, piano, strings and more!
In the mean time, enjoy your kids and the music!!!