Why is it that these things always happen when DH is out of town? It's just not fair.

This was our scenario last year. Ds was in 4th grade and dd started first grade. Here are some things that worked for us: As much as possible, I still tried to follow the first-grade schedule of reading, narration, coloring, outside reading, and projects. We loved making Faberge Eggs! We bought several Dover coloring books and printed coloring pages from the Internet when we could. For grade-level reading I decided to get Biblioplan for modern history; they suggest several books and resources for younger children which you won't find in the AG. We also borrowed reading ideas from Sonlight. We tried to focus on some of the "positives" of the period like art, music, inventions, and so forth. We had a great time learning about the Space Race! When appropriate we also watched movies that would help her understand the era. (Most people probably don't think of The Sound of Music as a war movie, but it helped my first-grader learn about WWII.) With some planning and creativity, it is certainly workable. But I'm sure glad to be back in the Ancients this year! ;)

How do you prepare your dc for the tests? The environment would be very foreign to children who have only been homeschooled. Do the long hours pose a challenge for younger students?

This week I spoke to a homeschooling friend of mine who was very upset because she thought her umbrella school required her 2nd grader to take the 3-day standardized test at their school. (She later found out it was not a requirement but since she had already registered him, he will still take the test.) This conversation started me thinking. I have never done standardized testing with mine and I wondered how many of you give your children standardized tests, why or why not, and which ones you use.

Thank you, ladies! Sounds like this is something I'll want to have.

This year ds 10 read Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus when we studied the Greeks. He enjoyed them and we are planning to read others as they coincide with our history.

I am making my curriculum shopping list for next year and I will be using Critical Thinking I and II for my 6th-grade ds. Do I need the Teacher's Manual with these?

I have the same problem with our LC II student book. Interestingly, this is the first new book I purchased from MP -- I bought Prima Latina and LC I used and they didn't have this issue. Since I have two other children who will be using this material, I am considering taking the book to Kinko's to have it comb-bound or spiral-bound, since it only costs a few dollars.

I back up photos on CD for the most permanent storage. (We have had several memory sticks fail and hard drives crash.) I keep them in a CD case and print the pictures as I need them, usually just a few at a time. I would recommend that everyone back up their photos to CD. Our hard drive crashed last fall and even the professionals couldn't recover the data; I lost approximately 10,000 photos. I cried for days! Thankfully, about 75% were backed up so the loss was not nearly as devastating as it could have been. Even if you have an external hard drive, it might be a good idea to back them up somewhere else -- better to have too many backups than none!

About halfway through Saxon 1, ds and I stopped doing side B of the worksheets because math was becoming so time-consuming. If your child seems clear on the concepts taught in the lesson and has no trouble with the worksheet and assessments, it should be fine to do just one side each day. We are now in Saxon 5/4 and ds is in Saxon 2, and it has never been a problem.

We are finishing our fourth year with SOTW and our first with Biblioplan as a supplement, and I would definitely recommend using them together. Biblioplan coordinates nicely with SOTW and clearly shows how to use them together. It also lists Christian books and resources in addition to the mostly secular books recommended in the SOTW activity guide. By the way, if you are going to use SOTW, it is well worth it to get the activity guide. My history-loving ds can't wait to see what exciting project might be coming up each week!

We are completing the four-year cycle with ds this year (my poor dd is having to jump in at the end) and it has been difficult teaching modern history. I have observed that, for the most part, the entire focus of most curricula is on the political situation. When we studied previous eras we learned about art, music, inventions, literature, and the creative advances made by the societies of those times. I have also noticed that books tend to rush through the "good times" like the 1920's and the 1950's to get into the more historically significant wars, political upheavals and economic crises of the century. It has been a worthwhile study, and ds has had some great opportunities to hear from primary sources. Still, I will be glad to return to the ancients next year, and so will my dc!

My dc feel a real connection with Lincoln because we have visited Springfield, IL, several times and have seen many of the Lincoln sites there. After a visit, my dd (age 4 or 5 then) saw Lincoln on the $5 bill and said, "Hey, we know him!" :001_smile: My ds has a special attachment to Teddy Roosevelt because of their shared love of nature and history. It's also a bit serendipitous that they also have the same birthday!

He doesn't know a stranger. He makes dinner every Sunday night. He thinks I'm great, even though I know I'm not all that. He took me hot-air ballooning for our anniversary! (See my avatar?)

This is exactly the situation we found ourselves in this year, and in the planning I wondered whether we should continue with SOTW Vol. 4 or start over with Ancients for the sake of our 1st grader. I decided to go ahead with the modern history, but it has been tough on dd. We have had to scrounge for supplemental materials like coloring pages and age-appropriate books, and much of the information is over her head. On the up side, SWB said in a previous post that PHP should have a "younger siblings" pack available this summer which will supplement Vol. 4. That would make it much easier on people in our situation!