LOL -- that's just what I was going to write too. And, I agree w/ all the previous posters! Many of the things said echo my beliefs. It's also nice that my kids don't have to scarf down their lunches or eat them at extremely early hours just to accomodate short lunchtimes or overcrowding issues (too many lunch periods, so some kids eat really, really early). My nephew inhales food & it's partly from having to eat that way at school -- if he buys lunch & isn't near the front of the line, he said he ends up w/ less than 5 minutes of actual eating time. Also, we have a lot more time to enjoy extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles) than kids who are tied to a 'regular' school schedule. And, isn't math always more fun when there's a cat sitting on your book? :D

I'd say if you have family members available who can speak Polish, do that right away. Can your dh speak to the kids only in Polish? (That's similar to what my dh did w/ dd from the time she was born until she was about 4yo. Then, he kind of fell out of the habit & my ds has not benefitted from that at all, unfortunately. But, we also have dh's parents nearby & they speak to the kids in Dutch.) Anyway, if it's a family thing & available, just add it in, even if it's just conversational at this point. Are there others around who could also speak Polish to the kids? Next, I'd add in Spanish. I think Spanish is fun for kids & there are plenty of practical applications for it these days. If you want, add Latin a little later down the road. Or, study Latin & Greek roots if you decide not to pursue Latin all-out. Like someone else said, I guess I'd vote for all three -- just stagger adding them into your schedule over the coming years. You can't go wrong by adding more languages, imo.

I was just reading about eyebrow stencils yesterday. The product I saw mentioned was by sennacosmetics.com (but some of their links for more info didn't work). I did a google search & this is Senna's product & there is a video link (right under the photo) you can click that has a 2 minute demo. What I was reading suggested using the stencil kit to color in your brows the way you want, then pluck anything outside that area.

Too funny that you posted this. I just looked at the second book (must be new) at Borders this evening. I came home & requested the first one from the library for my dc. I'd be interested to hear opinions too.

I've always thought this set looks really cool, fun, and interesting: Milestones in Science. Your dc might like The Picture History of Great Inventors. Beautiful Feet also has a History of Science study.

Advice I gave my dd (specific to her personality, to an extent): - If you get stuck on something, don't dwell on it. Skip it & move on. Then, come back (remember, that's important!) & try to figure it out once you've finished everything else. - If you're not sure of the answer, eliminate any answer that you know is incorrect. Then, just look at the narrowed-down choices & try to figure it out from there. - If 'all of the above', 'none of the above', 'everything is correct' or 'everything is incorrect' are the choices, it's not likely that it will be the correct answer most of the time (lol). - Ask if you have a question (esp. related about what to do or anything confusing in instructions). It may be something that the person giving the test can't answer, but let that person determine whether they can answer your question or not. - Don't stress out if you don't finish everything in a section before time is called. Depending on the test you are taking, some sections are meant to be longer/harder than you are able to do in the alloted time -- they just want to see how much you do manage to do in the given amount of time. - Sometimes the questions themselves contain clues or hints at the answers. - Always read the instructions. Sometimes instructions are in the middle of text, between questions, etc.... - Don't doodle or otherwise mark the page, other than for your answers. If you need scrap paper for figuring out problems, they will give it to you. Hmmm. There were a few more things, but I can't think of them right now.

I looked at the Queen copywork books at a curriculum fair the other week. They seemed rather flimsy & not that well done for what you are getting. (I'm not sure if you're even asking about these particular books, but I figured I would post anyway.) Also, I didn't like the feel of the paper. Don't remember the font in particular, though I'm thinking it looked kind of squished together & almost too heavy (like too much ink coverage). Someone else already mentioned how the selections are split apart too. A couple of other options to consider: For copywork of some of George Washington's Rules of Civility, there is Handwriting by George (link is to Rainbow Resource). We did this last year & it was quite fun. My dd really enjoyed it. And, I just bought Spelling Wisdom (from Simply Charlotte Mason) at the curriculum fair. It looks awesome, imo. I'll be using it for copywork, dictation, and spelling.

My kids love these. We have Logic Safari & the Connections books. Both series are just the grid-style logic puzzles (like the last section in Primarily Logic) -- basically all the same thing, imo. If you've already done Primarily Logic (and the grid puzzles in there), I would think you could start w/ Book 2 of Logic Safari. Definite hit here! (And I like these better than the Mind Benders -- which are the same type of puzzles -- because you get 2x as many puzzles for the same price.) You probably already know this, but the Orbiting with Logic series is a variety of puzzle types (like Primarily Logic is). Hope that helps a bit....

Have you looked at Spelling Wisdom? It's not your 'traditional' spelling program approach, but I love the theory behind it. We'll start it in the fall.

She might enjoy something like "The Daring Book for Girls" and also "The Girls' Book of How to be the Best at Everything" -- they're not novels or read-it-straight-through books, but they're fun & have lots of neat ideas. Maybe something in that style would appeal to her? Also, some of the books my dd loves... Pippi Longstocking any of the Redwall books the Little House series the Royal Diaries series (most of them) the Harry Potter series Stick and Whittle (dd loves the humor in this) The Secret Garden The Orange Trees of Versailles the American Girl Historical series of books (even though these are below her reading level, she still enjoys them) She loves horses, but has never seemed that interested in reading 'horse' books -- her main complaint being that most horse stories are about the people characters rather than the horses, lol. But, she's read so many versions of Black Beauty that I can't even count them -- that's a book she really loves. She tried the Black Stallion series but didn't seem to get into them much. For mysteries, your dd might like Encyclopedia Brown books. Or maybe the American Girl History Mystery series. Maybe she would prefer non-fiction over fiction? Dd has enjoyed various biographies (esp. of Amelia Earhart) & history type books. There are lots more books, but I'm blanking right now. Does your dd like magazines? Perhaps you could help foster a love of reading by getting some magazines too.

I read "The Lightning Thief" 2 years ago (my nephew had it). I, personally, enjoyed it very much. My dd was 7yo at the time (very advanced reader) & read a large portion of it, but then stopped because she thought it was too scary. She loves all the Greek & Roman myths, so that's why I thought she might enjoy it (and the old myths don't scare her; maybe this 'newer' version was a little closer to reality?). And, I think it does help to have some knowledge of those myths to fully enjoy & understand the story. It was definitely a fun book, imo, and I want to read the others, lol. After getting spooked by it, dd hasn't shown any interest in reading it again. So, depending on the child, it may or may not be a good fit.

Maybe Paula's Archives would have some suggestions?

Have you looked at Growing with Grammar? www.growingwithgrammar.com

I'm guessing... darling foster daughter (???) The story is funny, though I can commiserate w/ your letdown! I think I would have marched my bran muffin right back in to the director's office & asked if I could trade my muffin treat for a donut! :D

Me too! I just bought the TWSS & SWI-B at the curriculum fair last weekend. I've watched most of the first cd of the TWSS; dd & I worked through the first SWI-B lesson yesterday. She did it! (For those of you w/ writing-haters/complainers/moaners/groaners, you know what a huge step this is! And she did a great job. I'm sooooo proud of her.) I am *thrilled* w/ my purchase & feel like this may be one the the best hsing decisions I've made yet. So, I'll echo the thanks to everyone. I sat on the fence a long time about it, but I'm so glad I decided to take the plunge based on all the info I gathered here! :001_smile:

My kids seemed to like the wrap-ups ok, but the biggest issue w/ them (imo) was that a wrap-up is hard for little hands to hold -- it was hard for them to juggle holding the non-used part, while maneuvering the string into the correct indentions on the other part. And, I don't think it was a coordination issue on the part of my kids because they're both pretty physically adept & good at handling tiny things too, but wrap-ups just seemed awkward. I recently sold all of ours at a used curriculum sale. Maybe you could spend your $ on a fun math game -- like Muggins math or something. Or a book w/ dice games, etc....

I've never had a problem or felt funny. (Though my dh almost passed out & they had to use smelling salts on him.) Personally, I love the 'meditation' time I get while laying there, lol. It's a great excuse to zone out & rest for 15 minutes or more. I think it does help to be hydrated before going, so drink lots of water that day (both before & after). Gatorade might be good too. And, hey, they usually have Nutter Butters at the cookie table -- it's worth all kinds of pain & agony (just kidding!!) to get a couple of those! :D And, hey, if you need to rest a bit longer, maybe you can snag an extra cookie to help fill the time! ;) Good for you! And, thanks for the reminder. I really need to go donate again because it's been awhile since my last donation.

Handle on the Arts

I just bought the book Vocabulary Cartoons at a curriculum fair last weekend. I think it looks great & it uses mnemonics to help aid retention. I think this will be a great book for us. That doesn't specifically address your concerns about biology, etc... vocab. But, if mnemonics would work for him, perhaps you & he could do your own vocab study by creating some mnemonics for some of the words he is having trouble with.... BTW, you could print some of the sample pages (gr. 3-6 book) or here (gr. 7-12 book I), and then use them w/ your ds to see if they work/he likes & retains info from them before deciding whether or not to purchase.

Trail Guide to World Geography or Trail Guide to US Geography We love this program. It works for multiple ages & you can do as little (a few questions a week) to as much (weekly questions, mapping, creating a glossary, and additional activities such as art/craft projects, special reports, etc...) as you want. If you do get the Trail Guide, I highly recommend also doing the download e-file of the student pages for all the grades . (This is the link for the World Geography, but there is an e-book for US Geo too.) This allows you to print all the pages for the weekly questions, pages for anything else (including maps, special report pages, etc...). Trail Guides have 3 levels of questions, so it's perfect for using w/ multiple ages, as well as having children go through again w/ the higher level questions as they advance in grade level.

I'm planning our 5th grade year now... Here's what I've got at this point (subject to change): Math: MUS Epsilon Composition/Writing: IEW SWI-B Spelling/Handwriting Practice: Spelling Wisdom Book 1 (Charlotte Mason approach) History: Finish SOTW 4, then restart rotation to SOTW 1, adding more meat this time around Science: SonLight Science 3 (Biology) Latin/Vocabulary: Lively Latin (if we end up doing Latin); also word roots w/ English from the Roots Up; Vocabulary Cartoons Spanish: Undecided but leaning toward Espanol Para Chicos Y Grandes w/ a supplment of The Fun Spanish Geography: Finish our Trail Guide to World Geography study (which we're currently in the middle of); then, move on to a study of our state using State Study from a Christian Perspective Logic: Various & assorted books from Prufock Press & some from the Critical Thinking Co. Also, sudokus, etc... Art/Music: probably Handle on the Arts Other: Horse-riding; Dutch class; possibly some art classes or workshops

9yog: American Girl, Cricket, Young Rider 7yob: Nat'l Geographic Kids, Lego Brickmaster Magazine We've also done Highlights in the past. And, when the kids were younger, Ranger Rick & Your Big Backyard magazines.

Here's a recent thread where many resources were listed (esp. in Lori D.'s post): http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24862

:iagree: We use (& love) MUS. We used RightStart (up until the middle of 4th grade -- loved it up to then, but it just didn't work after that point). Switched to MUS this year (9yo & 6yo) & they love it. Their understanding is great. FWIW, I tried Singapore when my dd was younger (didn't get the teacher guides), but I just don't think I explained things well enough. Maybe the teacher guide would have helped me, but I felt at a loss to explain things. I found that I needed a more scripted program to help *me* be a better teacher. So, I basically ended up using the Singapore workbooks as extra practice or the math we took w/ us when traveling (easier to pack a workbook than a curriculum w/ tons of separate manipulatives, etc...) Also, esp. for your youngers, you may want to check out a free, downloadable math program that is aimed for gifted students. Actually, your 10yo might enjoy it in the meantime until you decide on a particular curriculum. The free one is CSMP & my understanding is that it was originally designed for gifted math students. However, it does require teacher training/involvement, which is why it pretty much fell to the wayside as far as the regular school system was concerned. There are extensive teacher notes/guides on this site, etc.... It takes a little bit to get used to it, but my dd & I did this when she was K/1st & it was fun & a wonderful program. I think their materials go up through the 6th grade. http://ceure.buffalostate.edu/~csmp/ Good luck & enjoy homeschooling! And, welcome to the boards too. :001_smile:

Anyone using this? Do you like it? Are your dc learning & retaining Spanish (and enjoying it too)? I've been looking around at various options & like the looks of Espanol Para Chicos y Grandes, but would love to actually hear from anyone who is using it. Thanks!