Yup, my high school offered Calculus 2 (although you reached that level if you took Algebra in 8th grade), and if you were beyond that you went to the local university for math classes. I wouldn't worry about it. I spent my 7th grade year twiddling my thumbs in "Math Applications" because I had completed Pre-Alg. in 6th grade and wasn't allowed to move on to Algebra until 8th grade. It was a complete waste of a year!

I originally asked to have the Vit D bloodwork done during a check-up, since I was already at the doc. You could try calling and ask the doc to send a referral to the lab since it is such a routine test. If you have a cool doc, they might do it. Otherwise, I probably would pay the co-pay just for the referral - to me it is cheaper than getting the flu and having to go get tamiflu or something!

Also with determining how much Vitamin D to take, it really is best to get your blood levels checked rather than guess at supplementing, because the amount needed can really vary by location. For example, I am in WA, and my Vit. D level during summer was 28 ng/mL. As PP noted, you want to be in the 55-60 ng/mL range so I need to take at least 4000 IU daily in summer and 6000 IU in winter. I'm also now getting my blood tested every 3 months to make sure I am at an adequate levels and I'm making hubby and the kids get checked too.

Vitamin D! It lowers your cykotine response. That's why the Canadian government is studying it as a possible flu prevention technique. Although, you can overdose on oral supplements if you are not careful, so it is best not to supplement above 6000 IU/day unless under doctor's orders, and have your blood levels checked. You should be around the 60 level to adequately ward off diseases/germs. HTH!

As I am considering my philosophy of education, I found this article very interesting and informative! Comments welcome! http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/what-should-colleges-teach-part-3/?hp

I guess we are just behind the times. My car stereo doesn't even work and I am too cheap to fix it. Dh and I have MP3 players, but the kids don't and I'm not sure they could operate them if they did. It seems like a CD or tape player would be easier for a kid to work since they just have to push a button, but maybe that's just me. Our library has really gone to mostly digital files for audiobooks, so I'm going to see if dh can mess around with my MP3 player and load some books on there for older ds. I might look for a portable CD player for younger ds because I think he would just get frustrated with a MP3 player. Our library seems to have thrown out all the books on tape. I couldn't find any kids' books that weren't either CD or digital. Hmmm...if only technology did not keep upgrading! I am so not a techie!!

I love the idea in the WTM of letting the kids listen to audiobooks, but I am getting completely frustrated by the details! We have a kids tape player, but I can find very few tapes to play. I can't seem to find a portable kids CD player that will play CD-RW, and if I am going the CD route I would want that feature so I can burn digital files from Librivox & others to disc. I thought about getting them some kind of MP3 player, but the only ones I can find for kids for a decent price (ie, not a $100 Ipod) will only play MP3 files and our library digital books selection uses WMA files. Grrr! It's like no one thought that someone might use these kids' digital devices to listen to books instead of music!! I would love for them to listen to some books on tape during rest time, but this is incredibly frustrating, not to mention possibly very expensive! How do your kids listen to audiobooks? Am I missing some very easy solution? (We are planning on checking out some "playaway" options from the library, but that catalog is very limited compared to the digital files selections.)

Once again, Mom of 7, you rock! I was trying to figure out last night how to budget $175 for a 1st grade science course by next year and wondering if it would really be worth it since it was the most expensive item on my curriculum list. Now I feel no guilt about passing it by and doing nature study instead. Thanks!

We have the Usbourne's Children's Encyclopedia, which I like in general, and I was planning on getting the Encyclopedia of World History, when I came across a glaring inaccuracy (to me at least) in the Children's Encyclopedia which is making me rethink my plan. The encyclopedia stated that in the Victorian era (specifically 1859 by the Godey's picture) the ideal waist size was 18 inches. As someone who has been working with museum collections of antique clothing and studying mid-19th century (1840-1865) clothing extensively for the last 2 years, I know for a fact this statement is untrue. Usbourne is perpetuating a commonly believed myth, but if you measure the dresses, the average waist was between 28-32", fairly comparable to today if we still wore corsets. Ladies magazines of the 1850s/60s specifically argue against tight-lacing, and suggest it is healthier to maintain a natural waist size. Point being, it made me wonder that if Usbourne is printing that myth as "fact", how many other inaccuracies are in the text? Shouldn't encylopedias be thoroughly researched before they are published? I mean, in this case, it is a very obvious error to anyone who works in the field, which makes me nervous about all the other science topics. I'm not a scientist and I would not be able to easily identify classification errors or anything. Has anyone else experienced a similar situation with the Usbourne encyclopedias? I'd like to think I'm presenting science facts for our program as accurately as possible...but this really made me question the quality of Usbourne materials.

I'd add Vitamin D sprays or supplements to boost immunity. Good luck!

:iagree: I couldn't wait to give up art class when I hit middle school and it was an elective instead of being required. Ironically, I am actually a pretty creative person, it just manifested itself differently through a drama major and in costume design/sewing. So take heart...even if your DD doesn't like drawing or "art" that doesn't condemn her to a life devoid of the arts :).

Also, keep in mind that The Little House books were written years after the fact, during the Great Depression, to make money and keep the family finances afloat. They are fantastic historically-inspired fiction, but should not be taken as an accurate first-person historical account, given that they were written so many years later and with the purpose of selling books :). Stories about what the Ingalls & Wilders had done, may well be embellished as memories tend to become over the years.

Start with Total Money Makeover. It will tell you everything you need to know to start and has lots of inspiring stories of people who have paid off insane amounts of money and are now debt free. As for the irregular income, we have that as well, and we have a master budget based off our lowest possible income and then we maintain a list of items in order of importance that get paid if our check comes in over budget. DR actually has an irregular bugdeting form on his website and he explains how to use it in both the book and at Financial Peace University, which is so worth it if you can attend. HTH!

We are doing the Bible/character supplement from: www.hubbardscupboard.org We like it so far and it is free! We read the Bible stories from Family Time Bible to go along with the lessons. HTH!

I answered 2, because that is how many survived infancy, but my paternal grandmother lost 9 babies due to anti-bodies from the RH -/+ blood type incompatibility. I'm so grateful for the Rho-gam shot!

Background - We like our reading program, but it is introductory and we will be through it in 6-8 weeks. We are looking for where to go from there, but my head keeps spinning with all the phonics choices. I'd prefer something that does not use word families. DS is likely a visual/kinethestic learner and is definitely a Wiggly Willy (although what 5 y.o. boy isn't?). Worksheets generally don't work for us, writing in sand has been a huge hit. DS can blend/read cvc words and seems ready to take off with reading at some point this year, but writing is hard for him. SWR - What do you use for readers? Do you have to add those seperately? Are reading/writing tied together or can you somehow move ahead with the reading while slowing down the writing or do it in sand or shaving cream or something other than paper/pencil? SSRW - downfall is obviously the price. I personally love the idea, but I would need some really convincing evidence from the hive that it is awesome to persuade DH, who is still kind of iffy about this HSling thing. Thoughts? Opinions?

Hey - at least they get recess everyday where you live! Our K'ers only get recess on Tuesday and Fridays :glare:.

We're working through Sensational Strategies for Teaching Beginning Readers, an Orton-Gillingham program, and it is working well because it is multi-sensory. The problem is that I think we will be through it (well, the reading part anyway) in about 6 weeks because DS is just not ready at 5 to go on and do the full-on dictation/sentence writing (although we will keep working on handwriting slowly). It has however taught him to read cvc words and blend. Where do we move from here? OPG? Is there any way to make OPG kinesthetic? The reason I think the phonograms are sticking for DS is the hands-on sand tracing and fact that there are visual, auditory and kinesthetic drills. Anything else like that for phonics that will take him to reading fluency? (This program introduces all letter sounds and diagraphs ch, sh, th (hard), th (soft), and wh. Any ideas where to move for a kinesthetic learner?

Thanks! I'll look at all these suggestions!

Warning: I am a certified costume drama junkie. Here are some other titles for you: North & South (like PP said) The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton He Knew He Was Right The Way We Live Now Jane Eyre Wuthering Heights (most recent one) Daniel Deronda Bleak House The Ruby in the Smoke Angels and Insects Under the Greenwood Tree BBC's Robin Hood series Hope that gets you started! I've got more where those came from!

DS and I like the "house" concept for teaching letter formation, but which programs or workbooks use it? I'm getting tired of making my own worksheets and would like to cut down on prep time by having something already done for additional practice. We tried HWOT and the 2-line thing did not work for us. Which programs that you like use house paper? Thanks for your help!

What about the Shoes books by Noel Streatfeild? Ballet Shoes Dancing Shoes Theater Shoes Skating Shoes I know there are more...definitely some of my early favorites!

This would bother me as well. I would talk to the teacher and diplomatically ask what the educational goals are in assigning the book. There may be another book DD can read that you find more suitable that would serve the same purpose. This happened several times to me in high school, and my parents, teachers and I were always able to resolve the problem amicably usually with the substitution of another book. Just be prepared to explain what exactly it is about the book you find offensive. Most reasonable teachers will be willing to work with you :).

We are finishing up our first week, and I love our reading program, except the handwriting part! My DS 5 can write his first name (4 letters) and that is it, and even then sometimes it is illegible and looks like squiggles. So far this week, I have introduced the letters c,o,a,d according to the first 4 of the OG system. We are using big house paper, and the concept is working well for DS, but he is really struggling with writing the letters. He traces them with his finger on a bumpy screen, we find the starting points, etc., he writes in sand so that he knows all the proper formation of the letters, but actually writing them with a crayon on paper is incredibly hard for him. I have ordered the writing claw pencil grip to help teach him proper grip in general, but I am wondering how much writing a 5 y.o. should do? The reading/letter sounding is going so well, I am tempted to just continue that part of the lesson, along with tracing the letters with his finger and in the sand, and just put off official "writing" with pencil and paper until he is 6. Would that be a mistake? Should a 5 y.o. be able to write letters (I'm not even going to begin to think about words or sentences yet:tongue_smilie:)? Why is this such a struggle?

Ditto "The Perfect Ten"! The tune & lyrics are still stuck in my head from when I was 10 and learned it!