It was one of the projects in the "Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions" book. I remember we used latex gloves (like folks at the dr. office wear), chopsticks, and duct tape. LOL -- because, as you know, those are the exact type of materials that Leonardo had lying around too. ;)

Handwriting without Tears. I tried my dd w/ Z-B cursive first (because I think Z-B is lovely in appearance). She could do it, but it never 'translated' into her other work. She just never chose to write cursive on her own. Something about it just wasn't transitioning for her. So, I switched to HWT (even though I thought the style itself was uglier than Z-B) & it made a night & day difference. Suddenly, she starting using cursive for other things (notes to her friends, just writing her name on something, workbook pages, etc...). And, after they get comfortable w/ using cursive, they develop their own style anyway. We definitely (and highly) recommend HWT! :001_smile:

I can handle the heat/beach (seawater) & be left w/ at least some energy at the end of the day. Something about chlorine (the smell, maybe?) just puts me in a haze, though. (We actually went to the pool this evening, which is why I'm vegging out on my computer right now, lol.)

Exactly my theory! LOL. :D

I've always loved watching the design shows on HGTV. Many years ago, I was watching one about living in small spaces & a guy who lived in a very, very tiny place. He had a boat designer come in & design his space. It was so cool & every single thing was multi-functional. So, maybe if you have the time, get a few books or magazines from the library (or search the internet) about interior boat design. It could provide some new ideas or ways of seeing how space can be used. Good luck! Sounds like a definite challenge. Love all the other suggestions you have received already.

Thanks for the info, Moira! I so appreciate you chiming in on this. Have you used this series or just specific books? How did they work w/ your dc? Did it help lay a good foundation for futher philosophical studies down the road, help expand logic & reasoning abilities, etc? Studying philosophy is a new area for me too, so I'm on this learning road as much as I want my dc to be too, if that makes sense. So, I appreciate any commments, advice, or info I can find! :001_smile:

Thanks. I was looking at Touchstones Pebbles B -- the samples make me think it looks like the correct level for my rising 5th grader. Even though you weren't doing it in a group setting, what benefits do you think your child got from using this program? Did your dc learn to think more deeply, or see situations from multiple perspectives, or ...??? I guess I'm just curious as to the benefits/learning/understanding/knowledge you saw in your child as a result of using this program. I'm also wondering if this could be something fun to try to do w/ a group of my dc's friends too (small group -- maybe 3-5 kids total) every once in awhile...

Hooray! It actually brought a tear to my eye to read that! :001_smile: I feel sooooo relieved for you guys. Hoping Orange traverses the postal system well & has some fun stories to tell your ds. ;)

I usually stop the reading anytime between 10 & 11, depending on how busy our day was & how tired the child is. Of course, they almost always beg to keep reading, lol. Often, I'll give a little warning about lights out. I'll check what they're reading & then tell them something along the lines of: you can finish that chapter you're on or you can read 3 more pages (and give specific page #, so there are no excuses of 'losing count'), along w/ pointing to a specific paragraph to stop at or you can finish the book (often for shorter or almost-finished books) The warning seems to help. And, I hate stopping in the middle of a paragraph (or page) myself, so I try to be mindful of that by allowing them to read to the end of a chapter, for instance (a logical stopping point, imo). Maybe it's a moot point, though... if any of these kids have flashlights & continue reading under the covers long after 11....... ;) LOL.

Wow, wow, wow! I can't believe I didn't know of the google site (what rock have I been under?). I've found some very good samples, thanks. I actually am now looking at the Touchpebbles program, as that would probably be more suited to the current age of my dc. Any other info or tips you have to share about how you actually use this program in your hs (vs. in a group setting)? Do you use the Philosophy for Children series? Thanks again. This is awesome info! :001_smile:

Sending a hug to you & to your son! I hope you find Orange soon. :crying: My heart is breaking for your ds this evening because I can just imagine how distraught my ds would be in the same boat. We, too, have a beloved blankie here. When we travel, it's the *one* item I obsess over -- can't lose blankie, where is blankie?, make sure we have blankie, etc.... :grouphug:

<wishing there was a 'raising hand' smilie> Meeeee! Hey, Remudamom, are you going to tell us why you asked??? (And now I have the 'Raise your hand if you're Sure' song from the ad running through my head. :blink:)

If you buy the downloadable e-book of student workbook pages, you won't need to get the Uncle Josh's Map book (because the maps you need are included in the e-book). You will need an atlas (they recommend a particular one), but we just use ones we already have. (Therefore, the answer may not be as readily available to us as w/ the recommended atlas, but that's ok w/ me.) You could also just use your library to find art/craft activities if you want. So, imo, you could get away w/ getting the Trail Guide (you need this because it has the answers & the Trailblazing section of additional activity suggestions), the e-book of student pages, and a student atlas. The rest is gravy & are things you could find in library books, if desired. (BTW, the e-book link is for the World book w/ all the student levels in it. You can also get e-books just for specific levels such as elementary only, middle school only, or high school only.)

:iagree: That's kind of what I was thinking.... Who won that point, btw? (If she did, then her trash talk worked, kwim?) And, I'd suggest following elegantlion's response suggestions. :D You definitely need to develop some court smack talk of your own. ;)

Way to go! Maybe you'll inspire me to tackle the playroom & my office (the 2 areas that I want to tackle next). My hardest thing w/ both of those rooms is just figuring out where to start. Both have sooooooo much stuff that it's hard to know what to do. But, I'm going to follow your lead. I'll mosey over to the playroom in a minute & at least do something! :001_smile:

I'd check out lots of princess-themed fairy tales, plus things like Puss in Boots, etc.... There are many versions of Cinderella stories too and it's kind of fun to read all the different variations. Oliva books are fun Books by Demi (We love The Empty Pot.) Angelina Ballerina books have wonderfully beautiful illustrations Jamberry If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (and others in the series) Good Night, Gorilla the Sheep series of books by Nancy Shaw Corduroy Harry the Dirty Dog Tikki Tikki Tembo Jan Brett's books (The Mitten is really fun.) Dr. Seuss (esp. Green Eggs & Ham; and One Fish, Two Fish) Babar books Mr. Putter and Tabby books I personally love Richard Scarry books Gosh, I'd just go pick various piles from different sections of the library too: general picture books, art books for young children, science or animal books, craft books, rhymes & songs, poetry, books that show children from around the world, etc....

Trail Guide gets a thumbs-up here too. We're working through the World one right now & I have the US one waiting for when we finish the World Guide. We've taken it at our own pace & gone on plenty of rabbit trails (which is why we're not done w/ it yet, lol). I'm using Global Art by MaryAnn Kohl instead of the Visual Manna book. I also tend to request lots of books from the library to go along w/ our study. So, I don't really use it in an open & go manner, though it could certainly be used that way, if you want. If you get the Trail Guide, I highly recommend getting the downloadable e-book of student pages. (I got the one that will cover all grade levels.) The e-file has all the maps you need, the question pages, additional project pages, glossary pages, etc.... It's so handy to just print what we need. Also, if you use their recommended atlas, I think it's easy to find the answers (my friend uses it this way). We already had an assortment of student atlases on hand & we use those, even if it means we sometimes spend a little time searching for the answer to a question. I like the research aspect of doing it that way (more like real life, imo) rather than flipping open a book to a certain page & just quickly & immediately finding exactly what you are looking for. Jmo, of course. I've also used a couple of Evan-Moor's Daily Geography books in the past & think they're good if you're wanting to teach some basic map skills. But, there's not really an overall cohesion in those books (like there is in the Trail Guides). Don't know about the E-M Continent books as we haven't used those....

My dd had this last fall because she had quite a few baby teeth that were loose but never came out. The dentist needed to extract them & he used laughing gas on her (9yo). She had no problems or issues & everything went fine. I tried it myself once years ago (when I was college-age), along w/ novacaine (sp?). Both combined were too much for me & I was totally nauseated afterward. So, I personally prefer just novacaine.

In the 'burbs...

We did our own Leonardo da Vinci camp last summer. It was a lot of fun (and a lot of work for me). But, you could modify it by just picking up one of the books & choosing some projects to do. I just wrote about it yesterday, lol: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showpost.php?p=299988&postcount=7 The coolest project during our Leonardo camp was making a mask. We used half of a plastic gallon milk container as a base, then added any other shapes to it using cardboard, tape, aluminum foil, etc.... They covered it all w/ rigid wrap (like what casts for broken bones used to be made out of) & decorated (paint, sequins, feathers, ...). The masks turned out so incredibly well. It was a multi-day project & I was amazed & impressed at the variety & skill of the kids when designing/making the masks. Our group ended up with: a unicorn, a hippogriff, an alien, a cat, and two dogs. Definitely a fun project that I would have otherwise never considered. We also spend quite a bit of time observing critters in our backyard. We have quite a few bird feeders, so we see a variety of birds, plus chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits on a regular basis. Hmm, I'm sure there are other ideas, but my mind is blank right now. :001_huh:

I'm planning to use Sonlight Science 3. I need something planned for me & want more structure in our science. I will be using it w/ my rising 5th grader & my rising 2nd grader will be tagging along in it too. I found an older version w/ the books & supply kit for sale at a used curriculum sale, which made it affordable for me. The supplies would be easy enough to gather on your own anyway (mostly things for growing plants & a few other minor pieces), if you decided to look for it used.

Oh, and a website I forgot to mention: Leonardo's Workshop

I've let them have it their way from the time they started expressing opinions about it. Dd wants long hair (it's about mid-back, which is super-long in my book as I've had short hair most of my life) & I trim it once in awhile for her (to reduce knots or keep her bangs out of her eyes). Ds has always been opinionated about his hair. I like short hair cuts on little boys, but for years, he's had a slightly shaggy look (kind of like the Beatles during their shaggy stage, lol). It's time for a trim soon because it's getting in his eyes, but he always asks the barber to leave it on the longer side. So, my opinion pretty much agrees w/ many of the previous posters -- however the kids want it, for the most part.

I think this looks cool, though I know nothing about it, lol: Supercharged Science Has anyone used this? How easy is it to implement? What ages did you think it was appropriate for? Were you & your kids pleased (good experiments, knowledge, retention)?

So very similar here for my 7yo ds (except for the piano, since we don't have one, lol). A few more things: scooters, monster disc (huge frisbee), stomp rockets, cooking (he loves to cook & esp. to create his own design desserts), tv (mostly evening things on Discovery or Food channels like Man vs. Wild, Iron Chef, Dirty Jobs, etc...). He also likes some types of craft kits (building a robot) & doing general arts/crafts stuff (painting, drawing, using all sorts of odds & ends to create his own art). Also, playing w/ & hanging out w/ our cats.