So little update. I ordered Dd12 the one volume book yesterday around 5:30 and I have not seen her since expect for the occasional "Mom guess what!" She was more excited about getting to read the books than she was over any other christmas present??!! I am very glad I decided to let her go ahead with them. Why hold her back! I just dont know where she will find the room to add LOTR posters to her room as every wall is covered with The Hobbit!!!

ok so she will read it on her Nook. Should I get the 3 separate books or the 3 volumes in one? I know the LL uses the 3 in 1. Is there any other advantage over getting the 3 separate?

I have seen LOTR several times and have not seen the Hobbit yet. I heard the Hobbit was scarier than LOTR. As far as the movies go.

I am so glad you ladies posted this. I have been torn with if it is the right thing to stop her from reading something she is interested in. I am going to let her go on and read the series now and then come back to it next year when we do the Literary lessons. I started thinking this might actually make it easier to get all the good stuff out of the lit study if it isn't her first time through the books. Thanks ladies !!!

You are the best!!!! She has read The Chronicles of Narnia last year and liked them well enough, but so far nothing has compared to the Hobbit. She now has her walls covered with the posters. I will research the other ones you sent me. I would love to find her a series that will last longer!

Well for just an ereader not a tablet, I have mixed feelings. we have a Nook and Kindle. I actually prefer the look and feel of the Nook. However books are normally cheaper and more plentiful for the Kindle. Sorry not much help on a preference. BTW I fought the idea for a while as well but finally gave in.

Dd12 just finished reading the Hobbit and loved it. I don't want her to start on TLOTR yet since I want to do that next year for her lit study. What else is out there that she might like?

Hmmm, ok I knew there was a song but I am curious how you used this as a study. It sounds very interesting. Care to share more????

Can you give me a link? I can't figure out what it is....

Ok, This is the time period we have left in US History. Dd12 is set to start over next year with Diana Waring's Ancients curriculum which we have on the shelf. I need to find the easiest way to cover this time span with her the rest of the year. She loves history! That is why it has taken us almost 3 years to make it to this point in US history! Something I could wrap dd9 into as well would be an even bigger bonus. Please throw me all your ideas! Thanks!!!

We have used both and I agree with above poster. HSITW will be over the heads of most 1st and 3rd graders. I used the Civil War CD in a co-op I taught last year for 6th-8th graders and it was good for that age. We also used the Colonial Life and while dd9 tagged along, she was 2nd grade at the time, most was above her head but i was mainly teaching to the older kiddo. We also did the 19th century lapbook with AJTL and they both really enjoyed it! Plenty there but not quite as detailed as the HSITW would be. Perfect for the ages of your kiddos.

Queen Homeschool has an Ancient you could do with younger kiddos.

Add these ideas to yours and you could have one heck of a shindig!!!! (not sure how to spell that):)

With all the Hobbit talk I thought some might find this useful. It is free until the end of the year. Looks pretty good! http://www.litwitsworkshops.com/workshop-guides/

Well save you LOTR plans because that is where we are headed next year. Dd12 is loving The Hobbit and cant put it down. I cant wait to add some of your ideas in. Of course she wants to go to LOTR once we finish this unit!

Lori D I will say it again, I want to come to your school!!!!!

I have not had time to read all the replies but here is our plan for now. This year dd12 is using Lial's pre-algebra and doing great with it! I can't believe after all the programs we have tried that just a regular textbook is working. However, i do love the way Lial's is set up and so does she. She is also using Kiss My Math after she completed Math Doesn't suck the beginning of the year. So, for next year I plan to stick with Lial's and use Zaccaro's Real world Algebra to supplement.

I am not sure but I think I am supposed to post this here now. I am looking to buy dd9 and dd12 some kind of tablet for Christmas under $160. They want to read and play games mostly. I am just worried about the internet access. Is there a way to shut off the internet when i want? someone please point me in the right direction. I am so not into tech and have no idea what the best answer is. :)

I didnt see that in SWR. It had both sounds. Of course I was already using WRTR and ended up going back to WRTR rather quickly after deciding that SWR was even more confusing. I also agree with Ellie on the sound we say and the sound we spell. When we finish a list for the day it goes something like this. As I point to the words on the board, "ok to speak we say this word ________?" "and to spell we say this word_______?" Neither of the girls have had trouble understanding this. If anything it has helped them realize that you need to know the rules and when to use what. You cant always just sound out the word because we don't pronouce everything the way it was meant to be. As a side note, I have noticed that after almost 3 years of doing Spalding both mine and my kids pronunciation in our day to day speech seem to be better.

I work for this company http://www.virtualofficeva.com/ and love it.

Both of my kiddos 9 and 12 want a tablet for Christmas. The I-Pad is out due to cost. The girls do not want to have to share so we will be buying 2 and need to keep them under $200 a piece. So my biggest concern is internet safety. They mainly want them for e-readers, movies and games. However I want to be able to control what they are exposed to on the internet. Right now they have a laptop they share and we only let them use it in the schoolroom out in the open (I know there are too many temptations). I would like to have something I feel comfortable enough with to let them have them in their rooms. I see that Toys R Us has one aimed at kids. I was also looking at the Kindle fire but read reviews saying the parental controls are weak. I am open to any and all suggestions as i am just not a techy person and totally cluelees in this!

:bigear:

I have also heavily considered this and it is probably my preferred way to go since we have plenty of reading material. I just am not sure what kits are worth the money. I want something we can set up a station on Friday morning and she can spend a couple hours really exploring and experimenting. The YSC lasted a matter a minutes and honestly the experiments were almost laughable. So what kits are good quality both in materials and products?

I have looked at this a few times. Is it decidedly Christian? I couldnt tell from looking at it.