We had used MUS all the way through and loved it until Algebra, but then we hit a wall. Switched to VT for algebra, which went well, then used MUS again for geometry, because we already had it. She has loved MUS geometry. Hope this helps a little. Nicole

Thanks Debbie! I didn't realize this. I appreciate your response. I was wondering why there wasn't anymore responses. :) Thanks a million. Nicole

I know how you feel. My 20 month old nephew, who lives with us, learned to climbed out of his crib when he was 18 months. We have the whole bedtime routine, but he has learned we will come back in, put him back in bed, cover him up. He thinks it is a game. Most nap times and bed times we have to put him back several times depending on how tired or wound up he is. Skip over to my sister. She has a 2 1/2 year old son and he just started to climb out of his bed. Because of a long drawn out challenge to get her 4 year old son to stay in his bed, she decided to do it differently with her 2 1/2 year old. She put all of his toys up where he couldn't reach them, locked his door (she has a monitor in his room), and after two nights he no longer climbs out and stays in bed. She figured it wasn't fun anymore to climb out because there wasn't anything to do. Disclaimer: she unlocks the door and opens it after he falls asleep. I would try that too, except we are in the middle of moving soon and he sleeps in our room right now. There is just too much stuff in their for me to feel safe locking the door. But.... as soon as we move I will be trying it! I know it can be tiring. Hope it works out soon. Nicole

Is it enough? Does it thoroughly cover pre cal and trig? Thanks so much, Nicole

oops. Will give credit for those if you also do their Alg course.

Thanks Janis. I just went on VT site and it says their Geometry, if you do all modules will give you credit for Geometry, Precal and trig. I'm wondering if I am understanding this correctly?

What would you do? My dd used MUS through Pre alg. For Alg 1 & 2 used Video Text. VT says their Geometry includes Pre Calculas and Trig. If she went with MUS they are separate courses. Anyone with experience with either of these? Pros and cons? Thank-you so much. Nicole

We went from MUS pre alg to Video Text. We tried MUS alg 1, but we seemed to get stuck in the same place with both my dc. I found the Video text VHS used on this forum and so far it has been great. We did get stuck at the same type of problems as MUS, but we took a couple of weeks off and went back reviewing MUS and Video Text of the similar lessons and finally figured it out. I think the problem with MUS wasn't really the curriculum as much as we needed to have it explained a little different. Both of my children like the way VT explain and show the work. It seems to be very thorough in its explanations, but at times they will have problems in the lesson to work out that are a little different than what they talked about in the lesson. I guess to make you think. This has been frustrating to say the least, but we would work the even problems first and if needed, would use the answer key to see how to work the problems. Then, once we understood it, we would go back and work the odd problems without the answer key. This has worked very well for us if we needed more review/work. My dd is 16 and is doing alg 1 and 2 in 6 months using Video text. She is not strong in math but is motivated to complete it by the summer since she is older. My ds is 14 and is taking it at the normal pace and is doing well. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Nicole

I know how you feel and was in the same boat last year. I had 13 years worth of photos in shoe boxes. The first thing I did was sort by year the best I could. I put them in photo boxes marked with the year. Then, I decided that even though I wanted to scrap book them all, it takes time and I just wanted to make sure they were put in an album with captions for names, dates, places, etc. So, I put them in a regular album without scrapbooking. Now, I have them all in albums so it is easier to take a year and scrap book it if I want to. I don't have the stress hanging over me that the others are still in shoe boxes. I can relax and enjoy the year I am working on, knowing that at least all the others are in an album all safe and sound. I also plan on keeping the current year in an album or go ahead and scrapbook it, so I don't get any further behind. I hope this makes sense. Feel free to email or contact me if you have questions. Nicole

Thank-you so much for such quick responses. Wonderful, sincere advice. I know it should be easy to think of these things. It sure helps to hear from others. It's such a sad time for them and I can't imagine going through it. It is the Grahm family in Ga., but it happened in SC. I am calling my sister right now and share what you have said. I know it will give her some peace and assurance. Nicole

My sister's next door neighbor lost their 16 year old son in a hunting accident yesterday. They also have a 14 year old daughter. I don't know details, only the family is obviously suffering and in shock. My sister has never been through this and is wanting to know what she should do to help or just to know what to say. I have offered some suggestions, but I have never been through this either. I thought of all of you wonderful mom's. Maybe there is already a post of others who have btdt that you could direct me to. Should she tell other close neighbors or is that not her place? Should she organize meals? What about the funeral? She doesn't want to ask them when it is and she is not sure wether she should show up without being invited. She doesn't know anyone outside the immediate family to ask these things and since the family is in so much pain, doesn't want to add more stress. She is helping with their pets while they aren't home. She is feeling very inadequate and struggles with knowing what to say or not to say, what to do or not to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you in advance.

We gave our son a BB gun when he was 5. He LOVED it. When he was 7, we gave him a child's bow. He LOVED it. Then, when he turned 10 we gave him a long bow. He loved it. The bows needed more strength and accuracy to really have fun at that young age. The BB was perfect for ages 5 to 7, because it was easier in a way and they could have fun right away.

Thanks so much ladies. I will check these out. This was a big help! Nicole

Does anyone know of something like this? My ds just bought an ipod touch for music and audio's for school. We are still learning what it can be used for. I can't believe it didn't come with some kind of manual. Thanks for any help. Nicole

Yes, I was from 6th grade to 12th, along with 5 other siblings. My mom was more into life learning and you'll learn it if you want to or need to. I think we missed out on a lot of academics, but gained a lot about life, family, etc. We had a wonderful Little House on The Prairie life in so many ways and for that I'll be forever grateful. But, I was a nerdy school lover and really missed all the tests and things like that. All of us have struggled with jobs, schooling etc because we didn't have a good foundation at home. But when we really wanted to do something, we would figure out a way to make it happen. It would sometimes just take longer because we had to start from scratch. But, to this day we all have a close relationship with each other and love our memories at home. And.... we all love learning. I think that was my mom's goal. To always love learning and to love each other. And yes, my children have always been homeschooled, but we do it differently than what I had. I want them to love learning and each other as well, but I want to give them tools they can use to learn with.

Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley

I understand! I don't think they will miss it. My children never had many toys because they never really played with them. They loved stuffed animals, which I never liked, but gave in because they actually played with them for hours. Together. Other than that, my son's favorite "toy" was any form of a stick and a ball or can to hit around like hockey. My dd had a doll, doll clothes and stroller and could play for hours. Dressing, undressing, washing the clothes in a little tub and hanging them on a drying rack. Oh, and they loved to dress up in character of a time period or movie they were in to and make "movies". They actually still like to dress up. lol The rest of the time they wanted to do real stuff. Help in the yard, work on the car with daddy, dust, vacuum, wash windows. I started when they were really young to think it was fun and a game. hehehehe

There are different sizes. My dd uses the round red one the most. The smaller blue one would fit babies. If she is wanting to make hats for herself, friends or family she will want the red one. My dd used the sm blue one to learn on and was disappointed it didn't fit.

I would....if I lived near you. I hate to work out alone, but we live 45 min from the closest gym. I find it very hard to motivate myself to work out alone. I would love the company. Hope you find someone. Blessings~ Nicole

What a great idea! How about some hot tea bags or cocoa with a personal mug? Snuggle up with a good book on the sofa before bedtime in new jammies and fuzzy socks with a hot cup of cocoa listening to beautiful music......

We love the nifty knitter. My dd (16) and her cousins, ages 10 and 12 make lovely hats and scarfs all the time. They just made some to send to an orphanage in Romania. Last year my dd made beautiful scarfs for all of her aunts for Christmas and a shawl for her Great Grandmother. My dd thinks the scarf one is a bit easier, but then said not really, they are both easy once you learn how. The bulkier yarn is easier to handle and makes for warmer hats. But they have also used many types of yarn for different looks. They even doubled up yarn that was thinner to make it warmer and give an unusual look. Came out great and really warm. I think all you need is the knifty knitter thingy, a hook and yarn. The basic set comes with the hook. You can buy the hook separately if needed. Nicole

cube steaks are great when cooked slowly-they come out very tender chili roast cooked in crock pot with vege's

My dc are 9th and 11th grade. Until middle school/highschool we had a very relaxed school. It was fun, enjoyable and learned so much that I began to wonder about the HS years. What would it look like? When we got to HS, I chose to use MFW. (we did use MFW two years previous) So far, it has been great! We have a schedule that is written to them that they check off and instead of being drudgery, they love having it all mapped out for them so they know what to expect. They like not having me tell them every little thing they need to do. I don't know why, but this has been huge. It put the accountability on them and not me. They actually feel responsible to get their work done by Friday. We have hard days, but for the most part they understand that some of the work isn't going to be all fun, but it is required. I do try to throw in some fun such as a meal that goes along with a time period in History. Sometimes we have a short day then watch a movie and or documentary that goes along with what we are studying. I'll make popcorn, etc to make it feel like a field trip..:001_smile: Things like that seem to break it up and add some "fun". One of my dc is competitive, so when he doesn't feel motivated, he sometimes lets things slack. But when he hears of some of his friends progressing in those areas, he picks up the slack again.:001_smile: Or when they know something is coming up that they are looking forward to, they are very diligent with getting their work done, because if they don't, they know they won't get to go.... nothing like a little motivation! I'm not sure if this is what you needed, but I hope it helps a little. It sounds like you have gone through a lot lately and sometimes it's hard to get back into the swing of things when your routine gets rerouted. Best of wishes. Nicole

Just for AHL it takes him about 3 hours. Longer when he has to write a paper. About 3-4 hours more to do Alg1, Biology, spanish and violin. He starts at 8am and is usually finished on heavy days around 3ish with everything. But he likes to take breaks to go out and play soccer, play with the baby, eat snacks etc. He is a slow reader, so it didn't take my dd quite that long. Nicole

We just finished... A poetic Version by Robert W. Watson. A great read aloud. Finished in 5 days. Bought it from My Father's World.