In the summer close to noonish so the kids can play in the cool of the day. At other times of year around 8 so the afternoons are mostly free.

Chick fil a

I don't know but would like to know this too. :lurk5:

Praising Him for your blessing! He is so wonderful to not only our needs but our desires!

Math- Singapore and LOF fractions writing/grammar- copy work, dictation and grammar ace- science and history outlines history/ Bible/ literature- MFW RTR science- MFW RTR and a RS4K at a co-op We are also taking a literature/writing class and Spanish at the co-op. Dabbling in Artistic pursuits and the Draw squad.

I bought Middle ages theme based writing with no experience with the program, and we are doing just fine so far. I believe it is straightforward in it's approach to writing.

Yes you can start with Madeline. I have been rowing with my little guys for 9 years now! :001_smile: With each child's official first row, we used The Story of Ping, but in no way do have to go in any order.

I LOVE this book. Really, if I would recommend only 1 book on homeschooling this would be it!

We really like the Jotham's Journey series if you are talking about the Christmas time holiday. It is a Christian series though.

I have only used 1 partial year of Sonlight, so I might not qualify ;) but I use MFW. Sonlight always felt disjointed to me. It has amazing books, and MFW uses some of the same books, but MFW "flows" better. MFW is more hands on and interactive than Sonlight. We sometimes do not do all the hands on, but we do some. They are not busy work hands on assignments, but enrichment for the program. MFW has a 5 day program, but day 5 is very light, and we usually just add in what little is scheduled that day into another day of the week. I like our Fridays to be free. Also, be sure to check the boards at MFW where they do have a more complete comparison of the 2 programs, of course they are all biased MFW users, but most if not all of them have used Sonlight at 1 point or another.

check out http://www.homeschoolshare.com You can use that with FIAR and the Cantering the country to do a tour of USA this year. There are tons of options. Have fun!

Year round here too. Texas is just too hot to take the summer off. Today it was 107 here. :tongue_smilie: We take time off in the spring and fall. :D

I also have tried both IEW and Jump in. Jump in seems it would be manageable if your child has no problem coming up with ideas and things to say. We did it, and it was OK, but I have seen more improvement with my sons writing by using IEW. We did not buy the expensive program, but use the Middle ages writing program, and it has given us just enough instruction that I do not feel we needed the dvd's.

:iagree: We are doing RTR now after using MOH last year instead of CTG. We are loving how MFW connects all things. It has been a great 12 weeks, and I have learned so much!

Don't Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman. :D

Great post. I agree wholeheartedly. Tying heart strings is very important.

This reminds me of the old Andy Griffith Show where the new boy came to town and was a menace. Opie just stared wide eyed at the things he got away with. Then there was a light that came on in the dad, and Andy directed him out back to the woodshed. I love that episode. :D

Yes 'um I sure do spank!

You too? I thought I was the only one! :D

Hmm.. maybe it is your recipe? Here is one I use and love. I use 100% hard white wheat and all my family loves this recipe. I did have a learning curve when working with whole wheat because I could not use the same recipe that I had used before. http://www.joyfullivingforyou.com is where I get my wheat. Basic Bread Recipe Begin this recipe by grinding 8 cups of wheat berries in your wheat mill or having at least 12 cups of whole wheat flour on hand. 5 1/2 cups warm water 2/3-cup oil 2/3-cup honey 2 T sea salt Mix all these ingredients together in your mixer bowl with kneading arm installed, and add 5 cups of fresh flour (this is only 1/4 to 1/3- of the total flour used) Mix again, and add: 2 T Instant yeast 2 T Dough Enhancer Add about 5 more cups of flour and turn Bosch on to speed 1. Continue to add flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don't make the common mistake of adding too much flour. Knead dough in your Bosch for 6 minutes on low (be sure to put on the splash ring on so your dough won't fling itself across the room). But DON'T put on the lid to the mixing bowl or you'll break off the side tabs.) Oil hands and form loaves into oiled bread pans. (You will be amazed how wonderful this bread dough feels and smells!) Let dough rise once in pans until doubled and bake at 350 degrees until a hollow sound is heard when thumped (at least 30 minutes). Variations on the basic recipe Pizza: Roll dough out on pan. For thin crust do not let rise, for thick crust, roll out more dough and let rise before baking at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Add toppings and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly. Mexican option: Black bean or pinto paste with cheese, olives, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions. (Bean paste is a fresh ground, dry bean stirred into boiling water, and seasoned to taste) Low Calorie: Use 1/3-cup oil and 1/3-cup honey. Diabetics: Substitute pear juice for honey. Fat Free: Substitute applesauce for the oil and/or honey. Healthy Pregnancy: Use 1/3 7-grain when grinding grain. Substitute a portion of the honey with blackstrap molasses for iron; add 1 cup cracked sesame seeds for calcium. (Opt: Knead into dough, flax, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, nuts, cooked oatmeal, juicing pulp, or sprouts) Ezekiel: Grains to mill-7 cups wheat or spelt, 1-cup barley, 1-cup rye, 1/4 cup pintos, 1/4-cup lentils, and 1/4-cup soybeans. Do not mill: 1/3-cup millet. Substitute this for the flour in the basic recipe. Form into a round loaf and bake on a pizza stone or cookie sheet. Herb: Add 1 teaspoon each of rosemary, basil, and oregano while kneading. Form into a round loaf and brush the top with olive oil before and after baking. While hot, serve with a bowl of olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, and fresh ground pepper for dipping. Cinnamon Rolls: Roll out dough. Spread butter and applesauce over dough and sprinkle raisins, nuts, cinnamon, and sucanat or other sweetener on top. Roll up dough and cut with a piece of dental floss slid under roll and pulled together at top. Place on a buttered jellyroll pan to rise. (Cut an 8” piece of the roll and place in a loaf pan for a cinnamon loaf). Let rise until doubled and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Topping: An egg white whipped in mixer until meringue with 1T honey and 1 T butter mixed in will make a light sweet topping. For a heavier topping try 1-cup cream cheese whipped with 1-T butter and 2-T honey. Cheese Rolls: Same method as cinnamon rolls except filling is butter, shredded cheese, cayenne pepper, and dill or parsley. Cooked meat can also be added. Sticky Rolls: Use a round cake pan with 2-T butter melted in the bottom. Cover butter with honey or maple syrup and pecans or walnuts. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Knead raisins into dough. Roll dough into 1” balls and fill cake pan with the balls touching. Let it rise, bake 350 degrees, and turn pan upside down on a platter to serve. Tortillas: 3-cups flour, 1-cup warm water, 1/3-cup olive oil, and dash sea salt. Knead and roll into 2” balls. Press and cook in tortilla press. Hope this helps!

Who the Son sets free is Free Indeed!

I started this yesterday! Ow, ow, ow! I can't do all the cardio, but I can keep up with the rest- barely. I am very new to working out besides the occasional Leslie Sansone workout.

I will be doing the same this year. For reading we are going through the Ordinary Parents Guide, and then doing tons of reading aloud. For math, I am using Singapore.

We love Home school share here too! However, I must say I popped in because I saw that Freeindeed had posted here, and I thought "wait a minute I haven't been on here all day!" :D Little did I know there are 2 of us! :001_smile:

MFW is definitely worth it for us! I love how all the little things mesh together in Bible, history, and even vocabulary! It has been a good fit for our family, although there have been times we struggle through parts, it has always been worth it, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I do usually buy a few of the better book basket books and keep an eye for books at out library sales that match the topic we are on or approaching.