I don't know, I'd still get the bike. You would get tons of exercise, spare the environment, save gas/insurance money and enjoy nature. http://shop.madsencycles.com

http://carfreecambridge.com/2014/04/guest-cargo-bike-reviews-from-a-four-kid-family-part-2-xtracycle-edgerunner/

How about this? http://www.hollandbikes.com/gmg-siege-velo-enfant-yepp-junior.htm

How about this? http://www.workcycles.com/home-products/child-transport-bicycles/workcycles-fr8-as-family-bike

I need to find something that will allow me to have a virtual live classroom that will also support videos. I have been looking but nothing has popped up yet. Any suggestions?

This is so incredibly helpful, Thank You! Yes, I think level 3 would be ideal.

So is it recommended to start at grade level or just start at level 2 if they haven't had a lot of formal grammar? For instance, if my child has gone through about 1/2 of 4th grade BJU Grammar (which is pretty simplistic) where should I start? Also, if I have a emergent reader, should I start with level 1 or just start with level 2 and do it together? I plan to use Audio books for the stories as we will be using a literature rich history program and I don't want to overwhelm them.

I'm broke. I am going to continue to be broke till at least mid-August. I need some ideas for a fun summer. Simple or complex but all free or nearly free. I know you all are full of ideas and inspiration so please help me out!

Yeah, I didn't know there was drawing involved. Can someone explain its purpose and how it is done? It sounds good, I just want to understand it more.

You should look at Trim Healthy Mama. It is low-carb... sorta. I think you might really like it.

Can anyone compare this program to Christian Light Language Arts? I know they are extremely different, but what I really want to know is how well do the concepts stick. Is this program really thorough? I was all set to try Christian Light because of the ease of use (I have used CL Math for years and we love it) but this just pulls at my heart strings. I am a huge Charlotte Mason fan but I am concerned this program doesn't have enough... enough meat... enough review... I don't know, but it still looks so good. How many have used this for a year at least? What are your thoughts?

Hi ladies, Thank you for mentioning my daughter. She is doing OK. She seems to be running a low grade fever, having a bit of upset tummy so we are headed to the orthopedic doctor tomorrow to check on her surgery site and address these issues. I suspect it has to do with the antibiotic. As far as the group goes, I have made some changes based on thoughts here and the general HS community where I live. The group has generated a lot of interest and we will be having registration next month. I say "we" because it is now a 3 person show. It is no longer a co-op and will be classes that are paid for. I will be working with ages 8-up, another mom will be working with ages 4-7 and the other lady will be giving Charlotte Mason mini-workshops each during the time we meet. I am not in charge of the real little ones so they are trying to decide how they will handle that. We are working with the local nature center to see about using 3 rooms, for our meetings and using the grounds for our nature study. We will meet twice a month August, September, October & November, take a break and resume January, February, March & April for 8 more sessions. We will cover Nature Study, Handicrafts, Poetry, Composer/Orchestra, Artist Study, Folkmusic. I am excited about it and glad to have these two ladies to help out.

I found this amazing book to add a music side to our American History Studies and then I stumbled across this YouTube channel. Both are wonderful for teaching folk songs along with your history. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkrllQB3AiOUSdf2JRk3E5g http://www.amazon.com/Shining-Treasury-American-Folklore-Songs/dp/0590428683 Please share if you have any amazing resources.

I am feeling better. I slept for a good 12 hours last night. What is so incredible to me is my daughter however. She is completely pain free without any pain meds. She is happy and alert and doing great on her crutches. We had VBS this week and my older kids were leaders so they went while were in the hospital. A surgeon friend from church heard about her injury and loaned us this great little push scooter for people with foot injuries which gives her even more comfort. All in all, I really feel God's grace on us. :)

Thank you for that amazing post Rachelpants! I will check out all those resources you mentioned. :)

Praise God! She is out, the surgery went really well and she is expected to make a full recovery. She will be laid up the rest of the summer and may have to do some physical therapy, but she is safe, awake and going home later tonight. Thank you for your prayers!

Is this what you are talking about? http://www.marriottmd.com/sam/

This might be worth a try also. It is learning words by sight first and then you focus on phonics. http://allinonehomeschool.com/grades/getting-ready-1/days-172-222-mcguffey-reader/

We used DB until my son hit a wall and then we switched to Reading Pathways and Explode the Code. That is going well, but slow.

She just rolled into surgery.

Maybe, but I looked right at her injury yesterday with the doctor and was fine. I think it is more my imagination, leading to some sort of panic attack, followed by hyperventilating and passing out.

So since I've been here so long, I thought I would request prayers for my 11 year old daughter Heidi. She had a freak accident yesterday and a drinking glass broke and fell on her ankle cutting her tendon. Were in pre-op right now waiting to go to surgery. This morning I had what felt like passing out to me, but my daughter said I was breathing really rapidly and my eyes were open. The doctor was in he room talking to me about the pending surgery so it might have been a panic attack, hyper ventilating or a weird passing out episode. I don't know. Just need prayers here.

I found some of it too schoolish for me. I lean towards Charlotte Mason. I love their Enrichment guides however. You could build a whole curriculum around that for the littles.

http://www.sketchbookskool.com/ I came across this link while looking for Charlotte Mason Nature Journaling ideas. Anyone use this before?

I would advise you to look at the level of difficulty that comes by switching to CTC. It is a pretty big jump from Preparing. Preparing really IS a preparation for more advanced work that comes starting in CTC. It lays a foundation and since you mentioned she hasn't really done a lot of reading or written narrations, I am thinking that Preparing would be the way to go. Choose some of the books in the package, head over to Christianbook.com and look over the level/amount/content of the reading. One book I am thinking of specifically is The Story of the Ancient World. I would lean towards keeping school easier for you daughter as she transitions into homeschooling and add on to her program with extra readings or projects rather than starting with something that is going to be too challenging. Plus she will have a program she could stick with for the rest of her school years if she does well with it if you start with Preparing. Don't forget to look at the placement guide on HOD website.