I buy most of my supplements from www.swansonvitamins.com. They tend to be cheaper than Vitacost. I do buy my fish oil from Vitacost though because it was specifically recommended. It is molecularly distilled and the proper blend of EPA & DHA. If anyone wants to check it out, the product is called Mega EFA. I have only bought supplements for my husband and myself from Swanson Vitamins. We have definitely been able to tell a difference when we take our supplements so I know they are potent. I am just now researching supplements to help my son. I am positive we are dealing with dysgraphia. He also has a very hard time learning and retaining information. I am considering purchasing Dianne Craft's Brain Integration Manual and her Smart Kids Who Hate to Write DVD. Any other suggestions before I place an order? Anyone have used materials they want to sell? As for supplements for my son, I gave him some things today that I have at home already. He took Fish Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Vitamin E, and 5-HTP. Can anyone suggest anymore must-have supplements that will help him? By the way, he is 13-years-old and bigger than me. I am sure that will make a difference with what he can safely take & dosage.

I am trying to plan my son's Chalkdust Basic College Math for the year. I split the sections in Chalkdust up by objective. For example, on Monday he will read Objective A, watch the video that pertains to Objective A, and complete the problems for Objective A. On Tuesday he will go through the same process for Objective B. The problem is that the Chalkdust videos are not divided by Objectives. They lump the entire section together which makes them quite long at times. A friend sent me a chart of video start and stop times for Prealgebra which has been a huge help with planning it out for my daughter. I am wondering if a chart exists for Basic College Math. If so, will someone please, please, please send it to me? I can figure it out on my own, but it will take hours to do. I wish I had that much time to devote to it right now but I just don't.

Here are my daughter's 7th grade courses: Math: Chalkdust Prealgebra Literature: Lightning Literature 7 (with Figuratively Speaking & some Garlic Press lit guides if time permits) Grammar: Easy Grammar 6 with Daily Grams 6 plus a 10 wk co-op class Spelling: Sequential Spelling & Apples Daily Spelling Drills Writing: Advanced IEW co-op class (20 weeks) Science: Apologia General Science with Red Wagon Tutorials. Labs will be completed during 24 weeks of co-op classes History: All American History 1 Music: Homeschool Band Classes (flute) I would like to add in some Geography, Typing, and possibly Spanish. We own Rosetta Stone Spanish 1-5 but I am not sure if it is the best choice right now. I am looking into the Educacion Espanola videos & workbook on Discovery Education. She will participate in cheerleading, soccer, and Girl Scouts outside of normal school hours.

Laptop for me and each child with Wi-fi Printer Proclick Binding Machine (I've only had it about a week and already can't live without it!) Paper Cutter Mechanical Pencils Homeschool Co-ops for great classes & socialization

I belong to a Workbox Yahoo Group and a bunch of posts just came through about CISS. I will be glad to forward it to you if you will PM your email address.

If you go to the Apologia website, you can click a link to view a demo of the tutorials. You will want to skip about 25 minutes or so into the tutorial to actually get to the lesson. He discusses a lot of things pertaining to his live class in the beginning. http://www.apologia.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=43

I started researching this last night. They are called CISS for short so you can google it. I found a lot of sellers that way but you can't believe what they say on their sites. I searched out a forum where everyday people were discussing their experience with CISS. http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/ From what I read, Epson is the best printer brand for using a CISS. Once I found that out, I researched Epson printers to find a model I like. I want a document feeder, wi-fi, duplex printing, etc... Once I identified a model, I searched it on the forum and found lots of information. I am not through researching and probably won't buy a new printer & CISS for a month or so. I have to wait for the perfect sale to come along on the printer, after all. If anyone has actually set a CISS up in their home, PLEASE share your experience with us. Thanks!

I completely forgot about Beautiful Feet geography! I am off to research that right now. Hopefully I can find a sample somewhere. Thanks for the reminder.

My youngest was in 3rd grade when we began homeschooling. We began using Apologia half-way through that year. I wish I could advise you about using Apologia with a Kindergartener but I have no experience to draw from. Maybe someone else can help you out.

I have two children who will be in 6th & 7th grade. They have had very little Spanish instruction so far. I have access to Discovery Education so I am considering the Spanish curriculum that is offered there. I would like to keep the kids together in their lessons so they can practice with each other. Should I start with Elementary Spanish 5/6 or Educacion Espanola for middle schoolers? We also have Rosetta Stone Spanish levels 1-5. Would this be good to do alongside the videos or should I save them for later? Is there another program that would be better for my children than Rosetta Stone? The videos didn't cost me anything (husband got them through his employer) so it doesn't bother me if they don't get used. If you have developed a plan to take your kids from middle school through high school with Spanish, I would love for you to share it with me. I am not at all familiar with all of the programs that are on the market. I am sure some are better used than others at different stages of learning. Gracias! Elizabeth

Anyone want to chime in on whether Getty-Dubay Italics or Handwriting Without Tears would be better for a child with handwriting problems? :bigear:

Any more suggestions? :bigear:

I heard about the continuous ink system from a fellow homeschooler and came here to investigate. I haven't been able to locate any posts that discuss the system. I would love to hear more from anyone who has actually used it.

My mother passed away last June from Pancreatic Cancer. I cared for her in my home up until the end. We used Hospice for the last 1 1/2 weeks or so. It was wonderful to have someone to call if you had questions or concerns no matter what time of the day or night. They provided us with a medicine kit and advised us how much pain meds to administer. When she needed something that wasn't in the kit, they had it overnighted to our house. They even sent someone out to give my mom sponge baths and change her bedding. The services they provide are not only for the patient. Hospice emplys counselors and Chaplains who come in to talk with the famly as well as the patient. They were especially concerned about my how my children were handling everything. Once your loved one passes, your family is entitled to counseling for a year with Hospice. I never took advantage of that service, but my father did. All of Hospice's services were free. They were all so caring, loving, and supportive. I would not hesitate to bring Hospice in again if I ever find myself in the same situation.

I'm one step ahead of you. I already have an appointment scheduled in August with the doc. After that, they will schedule the surgery date and I will finally be free!!! I can't wait.

Krista, It sounds like your child's high school has a much better way of doing the block system. I would not be opposed to the block system at all if my daughter's school had operated it like that. My daughter's school won't allow you to double up on subjects in the same year. So no matter what, you are going to have a huge gap between classes. In addition, they regularly mess up kid's schedules and refuse to fix them in the manner that they should. For instance, my daughter was scheduled for a math class that she had not taken the prerequisite for. Instead of placing her in the correct math class, they gave her the option of Apparel & Design or Brick Masonry. :confused: So, my all-honors daughter on the university track was forced to take a vocational class due to her school's error. The schools in our county are very sad and my other two children will never step foot through their doors.

My daughter went to a public high school that adopted the block schedule. I think it is crazy to expect kids to do well when they have 7-8 months between courses. They forget so much in that time period. Plus, she never even got to the half-way point in any of her textbooks using this approach. How can you go from one subject to the next when you only learned a portion of the prerequisite course? It's crazy in my opinion.

:lurk5:

:lurk5:

:lurk5:

I have used all of the Apologia books for my kids through the years. There isn't a certain order that they need to be completed. If I were to start over with the series, this is the order I would use: 1) Zoology 1 2) Astronomy 3) Zoology 2 4) Botany 5) Zoology 3 6) Human Anatomy The reason I suggest this order is because I got tired of studying animals for three books in a row (my kids never complained). I wish we had split it up to avoid my burnout. If you would rather keep the Zoology books together then I would suggest you start with Astronomy & Botany since they are shorter than the other books. What ever you do, use the Human Anatomy book last because it is more difficult than the rest of the series. This is just my two cents worth.

I just did this for the first time last week. I used a ruler and a box cutter. It turned out great and didn't take long to do at all. In my opinion, it was much more convenient than taking it somewhere to be done. I just purchased a Proclick machine and spines last week and was anxious to try them out. I had a few pages that I cut first without the ruler that were not perfect but the spine covered it up and you can't even tell. I am sure the wire binding would hide minor imperfections, as well.

Thank you for your suggestions. I am doing some research on Callirobics now. Has anyone used it with a middle schooler? Can anyone give me some feedback on Getty-Dubay Italics vs. Handwriting Without Tears? What do you feel makes one program a better choice for a child with handwriting difficulties than the other. Thanks!

My son has terrible problems with handwriting. When he was in public school, his teacher wanted him placed in occupational therapy but it never happened. He will be in 6th grade and his handwriting looks like a preschooler. He doesn't form his letters correctly and takes several strokes to make them. Nothing is in proportion and does not fall in the correct place on the lines. I have not taught him to write in cursive yet because I was honestly waiting for his manuscript to improve. Now that he is entering 6th grade, I don't think I can wait any longer. What is the best curriculum to use for him? To make matters worse, he is left-handed so please take that into consideration. Thanks for your help, Elizabeth

First of all, let me start by letting you know that my kids are in 6th & 7th grade. As we study US History over the next 2 years, I would like for them to learn about each of the 50 states. I want them to do more than learn to identify them on a map and name their capital. However, I also don't want to overload them with too much work or else it will get dropped...again. :blushing: I plan to take our time and only cover 25 states each year. I own the Trail Guide to US Geography book and notebooking pages. I also made my own notebooking pages to cover the typical information for each state (capital, flag, postal abbreviation, state bird, tree, flower, etc...). What other resources would be beneficial for us? I would really like for them to learn about the things that make each state unique and special. I am wondering if there is a video series (not boring) that would accomplish this. I have access to Discovery Education and Netflix if that helps. The library has a few series of books for the states but they look so boring. Is there a wonderful book out there that includes all 50 states in one volume? Help me find a way to make this study fun and enjoyable so they will actually want to do it. It also has to be easy to implement and can't consume too much time as we have a very busy schedule and some tough classes next year. Thanks for your help, Elizabeth