Thank you!!! To those of you who responded... I will check these authors out! :)

What are your boys' favorite chapter books? I have a couple of reluctant readers. They read, but are not book worms like their older siblings, which baffles me. One is 10 yrs. old, and one is 15 yrs. old. Any ideas?

I have all my high schoolers do IEW's Lesha Myers books. I absolutely love her Elegant Essay book. I feel it has prepared my kids for college writing. They always do post secondary college courses their junior and senior years, so I do a year of Elegant Essay, and a year of Windows to the World: Intro to Literary Analysis.

My son just finished a semester long economics course from the Notgrass company. It was excellent. He has never studied economics before, and yesterday he told me he really enjoyed this course. It is written in a very easy-to-understand conversational way, and is written from a Biblical worldview.

Has anyone used the books, Write Your Own Mystery, Write Your Own Fantasy, Write Your Own Science Fiction, etc.. ? There are quite a few in the series, by Tish Farrell. I'm wondering if my 6th grade son would enjoy them next year. I would love to hear any comments -- good or bad! :0) Thanks! Stacy

Thanks for taking the time to share. It made me think that this book may not be the right one for my own DD. With joy! Stacy

as the thread I started yesterday about LL left me not even wanting to consider it any longer. I still have to think it through, but thanks to everyone who took the time to share!

TT website after he is finished with TT6. You should have a very clear idea of what book should come next. You will want him to have a good grasp of all the basic math ...division, fractions... etc.. because otherwise he will really flounder in algebra. You do all that basic math in algebra with the extra component of unknown numbers and more! I have a 15 yr old DD who is finishing up pre-algebra (she has struggled in math) and a 12 yr old DD who will be starting pre-algebra this fall. The goal is not to rush our children through the math programs, but to allow them to learn new concepts as they are ready. That placement test should help you, though. Be blessed! Stacy

the writing assignments are not deep enough.... I am wondering if this is just one expensive literature guide!!! I was 99% sure I wanted to go this route, but everyone's comments have me reconsidering. Although.... I have also been considering buying the Teaching the Classics workbook and slowly introducing my kids to that. If I did that in conjunction with LL, then my high schooler is still getting her Literature in, while learning how to analyze literature. Thanks for your responses!

great if you don't have a college degree, because you can administer them yourself at home. And they are less expensive than some other achievement tests.

what would work for each child. I don't think I could handle using one company for everything.

I have used it with 3 of my kids and one more next year.... I am EXTREMELY pleased with it. I wouldn't go back to Saxon.

And we started when our oldest was 5..... so it's been 12 years for us.....wow..where has time gone.:confused:

Quarter Mile Math ... computer cd. It's fun and the kids have learned well on it.

Thank you!

if your order is $150 or higher.

Have any of you watched that show with Paul McKenna called, I Can Make You Lose Weight??? I like some of the principles he shares on there: 1. When you're hungry eat 2. Eat what you want 3. Eat consciously 4. Stop when you're full But I am leery with some of his other techniques, like pinching the thumb and middle finger together and thinking of something disgusting to change how your mind thinks of the foods that you crave. Why the pinched fingers? It reminds me of some new age mind control. Any thoughts on what that is and what you think of the show?

And I grew up in Minnesota.

Usually when someone sends Paypal, they are looking for some sort of response that their payment was received.

when they had unexplained stomach aches. I was perplexed for a long time until I read in my medical book that that can be common for that age group. They both grew out of it, but it went on for months for each of them. My sons have never had that.

and we have 6 kids, so if I were to bring them all, I would never have room to fit all the groceries and other stuff! Fortunately, we are at a stage where I have both older and younger children, so I tend to leave the younger ones home. My shopping trips go a lot smoother when I don't have to deal with tired, cranky kiddos.

the meantime, I just place grocery sacks in my entry closet. Usually we have about 6 going at once: plastics, cardboard, cans, glass, newspapers/magazines, etc... We've been doing that for over a year now and it actually works quite slick for. Sometimes it's a pain trying to fit the vacuum in there when the bags are full, but we manage. By recycling, we have been able to cut back to one garbage can vs the two that we had previously. So it's definitely been worth it.

I like to read posts, but I generally have not taken the time to add to discussions. I've actually been enjoying myself in the last couple of days!:001_smile:

Leather is definitely the way to go. They clean up nicely with warm, soapy water (probably not the best thing for them, but it works great). If they get scratched, it just adds character. Some day I think I might like something different, but in this season of my life, they are perfect for me.

In fact, everyone of Bill Johnson's book has "undone" me. I have grown more in my faith since reading his books and listening to his weekly sermon (Bethel Church in Redding,Ca)podcasts than I can ever remember. Life changing. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence would also be on my list.