You've had lots of good suggestions, but I think this idea of your dh is a great one. When my 4th was born...actually, she was 6mo and I was floundering because she didn't sleep more than 45 mins for naps...dh talked to an older, retired neighbor lady and asked if she'd be interested in coming over to do some activities with our just turned 4yo dd. She nearly cried when he asked her because she said that there were so many times she wanted to volunteer to help me but was afraid I'd think she thought I wasn't capable if she offered. Ha! I know I'm not capable. :-) So for a few months, she came over and spent about 2 hrs with dd 2-3x/week. They did puzzles, coloring, letter flash cards, lacing cards, playing Playmobils. And dd loved the individual attention. The baby finally napped better, and both boys got more focused attention from me. Eventually, the neighbor had her own family situation to deal with and couldn't come anymore, but she got us through those difficult months. If there is someone in your life who would be able to help you that way, it sounds like a great option! Wise dh!

I just finished the book as well. The author mentions that reading to your children daily is indicative of higher scores on the PISA as is discussing current events and issues with them as they get older. I'm not so good at facilitating the discussions with the children, but dh is. He's good at drawing out of them their thoughts and ideas about issues or events. Listening in mow...I'm interested in others' responses as well.

I am so excited to find this writing program! Ds10 has completed WWE3 and we did some in WWE4, but we just weren't feeling it. I didn't think he was really learning or growing in his writing abilities. We're also using R&S 5 for grammar, so he is doing a few writing exercises in there. But I think this will fit in well now. I had been thinking of moving him into WWS1, but I kept wondering if he was ready. He's not a natural writer, and while I do want to teach him outlining, I think we'll save that for a ways down the road. So I just ordered and now I'm excited to see how this goes!

What about Marguerite Henry's horse series? Or other horse classics like Black Beauty?

Thank you for mentioning that I ought to look at Level 6. I wondered about that but short of looking through the whole book, I wouldn't have known. I don't care that it's not so exciting - we use Saxon math, so that's nothing new. I just want it to be thorough and independent. Thank you all for your replies!

Ds9 will finish FFL-4 this year, so I need to decide what to use in the fall. I've been looking at R&S, Voyages in English ($$$ - sheesh!), and Hake/Saxon so far. My major concerns are these: - Diagramming. We must do diagramming. Do all of these do diagramming? - How much of my time does it take? I have 3 littler ones, 2 of them doing school and a busy-bee toddler, so my hands-on time is limited. - How thorough is it? Right now I'm rather leaning toward Hake because it looks like ds9 could handle it on his own. But how thorough is it compared to other curricula? I do need to maximize my time, but I don't want to sacrifice quality/thoroughness terribly. Other choices I should be looking at? And if you've had a student transition from FLL to one of these programs, did they go right in at 5th grade level? Thanks!! Christy

Anybody know of a free shipping code for CBD for orders over $35? I managed to toss my last catalog without looking for one. TIA!

Thanks. Unfortunately, iTunes is saying it is no longer available.

I have been trying to find the app for my iPad but can't locate it. Is it called something else?

Anyone know of a resource similar to The Complete Book of Animals that is meant for older kids? I have a 4th grader who loved this book, but he's ready for something a little older. He devours all of the animal books from the library, but I thought it might be good to have something with some writing/answering questions in it. Thanks!

Does anyone know of a good place to buy a state wall map? I'm specifically looking for Virginia. I can find road maps, and I've found expensive, large wall maps. But I need something no bigger than 3' wide. :bigear: Thanks!

I don't think there is a separate teacher's guide, but the second half of the book gives the discussion questions and activities.

I don't think anyone has mentioned Get Wisdom! by Ruth Younts. It is a book with 23 lessons about living for Jesus. We haven't used it yet, but we're going to start when our school year begins in August. It addresses a certain character quality in each lesson and provides a memory verse along with a definition, discussion questions and sometimes activities. I plan to do one chapter/week. It covers character qualities such as... listening obedience contentment orderliness mercy gratitude respect and so on...

Here is the link to the forms to fill out - center of the page. You fill out the form and send it with the Loom CD and $35 to upgrade to the DE. You do not have to have bought it from them. When I spoke to them about this a few months ago, they also suggested that I call them when I was ready to send in the form and they would make sure I was in their system to process it more easily/quickly. I haven't actually done it yet, but I have a friend who has and she had no problems.

Thanks so much! :001_smile:

of the company that makes up posters for teaching kids Christian values/principles/etc. I think it's Door-something or other. I know I've seen one that lists out consequences for certain actions and another one that breaks down the steps for resolving conflict between siblings. Anybody? :bigear:

I love God's Great Covenant. We've used it for the last 2 years, starting in 2nd grade. I have ds9 and ds6 in school right now. I did some of the writing for ds9 when he was in 2nd grade, but for 3rd, he did it on his own and his brother just listened in to the story part. He didn't do any worksheets or quizzes. It is probably going to be too much writing for your 6 yo, too. We are probably going to take a break from it this year because I want something that my ds6 can do with us, and NT is meant for 4th graders and older.

Seriously - now what am I supposed to do? :tongue_smilie: It's good to know that I could possibly combine them with RS4K pre-level chem. I was thinking about that. I was also thinking about the advantages of only having 10 weeks worth of science given that we'll be dealing with a new baby and jumping into a new curriculum overall this year (TOG). Maybe I'll push science to the spring semester... ...but I don't want to short-change the kids either. And I rather liked the looks of RSO better. Back to the drawing board, I think...

Pretty please?? :bigear:

I'm trying to figure out what science to use next year (this fall), and I'm considering these two right now. We'll be studying chemistry. I'll have a 4th grader, ds9, who is a great reader and reluctant writer as well as a 1st grader, ds6, who is a reluctant reader. I want to combine them even if that means the 1st grader is kind of tagging along. I also have a 3.5yo dd who will want to be involved when there are experiments, I'm sure. And I have a newborn right now...who will hopefully be napping better by then!! So...am I right in understanding that RS4K will not take up the entire year? But REO would? We're not terribly science-y here, but I don't want to neglect it. I'm wondering if it would work to do RS4K once a week? Also, I was trying to figure out whether Pre-Level or Level 1 would be more appropriate. I don't want to buy both - too expensive. I've also been looking at AiG God's Design for Chemistry. I don't have a problem with the creation/intelligent design aspect, but I don't want the kids to be bored with it either (the samples I've previewed don't look too exciting). And it is meant to be used everyday? We won't be doing science everyday, for sure. Any pointers? :bigear:

Use bug spray with at least 25% DEET and do a tick check on everyone (including scalp) every day after showering. Know what you're looking for when you do a tick check, and know how to remove one if one is found. We are in northern VA, and I put bug spray on everybody anytime we're outside whether it's the backyard or the baseball field because ticks are bad in this area too. Ds9 had Lyme disease 2 yrs ago, but thankfully, he had the bulls eye rash and we caught it early. No further symptoms after the antibiotics.

I appreciated your post on Jim Weiss. It was a good reminder to me to check out his website again. I had forgotten how many CDs he has available...lots that I'd like to incorporate into our history for next year!

We'll be doing TOG2 next year and I'm in the midst of trying to figure it out right now. I have 2 boys who are school aged at the moment - K and 3rd this year, so 1st and 4th next year. I'm wondering about how you are having your oldest straddle LG/UG. My oldest will turn 9 in May, and he's a good reader...but not particularly motivated, although he enjoys history. Ds6 will be LG, obviously, but I'm wondering if keeping the boys together in LG would be a help to me because then ds8/9 could help with reading to his brother (I have a precocious 3yo dd and we will have a newborn in May). It's just hard to know without seeing the differences between the LG and UG books. ETA: Your other curriculum choices are much the same as ours - WWE, FLL, MM...

I accidentally boiled the milk (all over the stovetop - it needed a good cleaning anyway :tongue_smilie:). Will it still work if I let it cool and then follow the rest of the steps? This is the first time I've tried making it.

I was told here and by the customer service rep from TOG that you can pay the $35 to upgrade to DE (you can then no longer sell the printed pages). Yes, you can also elect to upgrade the supplements that you have discs for at no additional cost. I'm not so sure about upgrading them if they are paper copies. Just call and ask their cust svc. They were helpful when I spoke with them.