Awesome idea! Wish I had asked sooner, since I only have a couple weeks. But, I don't have access to family photos anyway, they are packed away under mounds of stuff in my parents house. (My parents have moved a lot in the last 10 years or so.) Also, it is just my brother and I, and he is a broke, out-of-work home builder at this point in his life, with children to feed. I can't ask him for anything financial right now. They were just talking about food stamps the other day.

Well, I always expected to live closer to my parents when this big anniversary rolled around. I expected to be able to throw them a big party, or at least a nice open house. As it turns out, I live a thousand miles away and certainly don't have the funds for travelling to their place to throw that party. It will be hard for us to do anything much at all, in fact. Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone has any great ideas for a very nice, special gift, for a 40th wedding anniversary, that doesn't cost more than about 150 dollars? I know I could send flowers, but that seems too easy. My parents are wonderful people who did a great job raising their children and teaching us. I would really like to recognize their special day, but am struggling to find an economical way to do that. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!:001_smile:

Several year ago, I got a bad case of the flu. I tried hard to keep it to myself with great hygene, but my mom caught it too. Now, I don't know for sure that she got it from me, as she was working and out in the world every day, but it is possible. Anyway, she got it from me, and at the time was helping my grandmother, her mil, who was VERY compromised. Anyway, my grandmother got it (maybe not from my mom, but again, possible) and my grandmother died of complications from the flu a month later. I will never, never, never go a year without the flu shot again. Even if it is not my own family, I feel it is my responsibility to keep the flu from spreading as much as possible. One less chance that someone may be attending a loved one's funeral. I just really feel that the little old lady in the grocery store, or at the restaurant, or at church, or anywhere, has a life worth my flu shot. At least.

It totally depends on the child. My 3rd grader is doing upper grammer this year, but she's reading ahead of her grade and very quickly. I also have a 5th grader doing upper, so it is easier to do that with the younger, as she is inspired by big sister. I think I could keep my 5th grader at ug level for another year or two even, though. (She started with UG in 4th grade, last year, and it truly was a bit too much for this kid, in 4th.) We are on week 8 right now, and she's already read several great books, which is plenty for her this year, too much last year. This week she starts a report, via Writing Aids. I do have my children all doing writing at grade level, which is very, very appropriate for their writing levels. I don't know. My oldest could have done UG, easily, in 2nd grade. Next dd, it was hard in 4th. The next, it is spot-on for 3rd. I would find the first couple weeks of the books, and decide where they fall. The nice thing is that you can wobble back and forth between levels for every subject, every week if you want. But, there is a BIG differnce in the readings for LG and UG, at least imo. The LG lit books are picture books, and things like SOTW and Usborne big picture encyclopedias for history. The UG books are short novels for lit, and much, much heavier history reading. (more boring too, imo again) Mostly, now that I think of it, we do UG for Lit, for 3rd and 5th graders, and LG for the majority of our history. I just like the resources (like SOTW) better. I do use a lot of the in-depth UG books though, and even some Dialectic, for these two kids. Well, that's probably as clear as mud...but it sure works around here. I'm blessed though, with the best library system in the world probably. (They just won for Library of the year actually.) I can get as much as I want, from inter-library loan, for free. I have access to nearly the entire TOG book list for free. I would have more issues picking and choosing if I didn't. Most weeks I just order up everything for all the levels, and then pick out the books I like the looks of when they get here. Too blessed, I know.

I'm looking for a "traditional" science course for my 5th grader. The children have decided to go back to ps next fall, and I feel like my 5th grader needs more than just Botany this year. I want more of a regular science course, to cover more ground. I would love it if it was rather independent, like CLE or SOS, or some such thing. I need pictures, good font, interactive. This is a very "arsty," visual child. K12 is too pricy for us this year. Thanks!

Never say never, around here too. Everything I said I would never do, or that the kids would never do...well, it's done. It's a proven fact. The minute you get up the high-and-mighty to declare anything is beneath this fam, there ya go...it happens. The only things I ever say that about now days, are things the kids are too old to do...but then I figure I'm setting them up to have one of their children do it someday!! :lol:

AWESOME!!! Thanks so much to both of you! I think we will try it all...she is SO ready to get over this hurdle and work hard on it.

We'll try that! Thanks! How much/how long, did you read at one sitting? Also, I just found Reading Pathways...has anyone tried that?

Hi! My 10yo, 5th grade dd has always had a hard time with reading fluency. She does an outstanding job with comprehension and can read long novels, to herself, well. She is very far-sighted in one eye, and that has been corrected. She was in ps through 2nd grade. At that time, she was reading much below grade level. Since we started homeschooling, this has improved greatly, but her fluency still lags behind. When reading aloud her words are choppy and she just struggles. I am wondering if anyone has found some sort of program that works on this? We practice consistently, but it would be nice to have some sort of program to follow. All the rest of my children actually excell in this area, and read beautifully. It is very hard for this dd to deal with, and it hurts her esteem and willingness to read aloud. It embarasses her, and I'd really like to find something to help her. Thanks!

Does anyone know where we should start? Dh has a bachelor's in business, and has been out of school for the last decade. He is interested in going back to school, and becoming a dentist. This is one of those wild dreams that we've always had, but never had a good reason to chase down. We were very young and married with children, when we were trying to finish up our degrees. We had no support from family. Anyway, we are thinking of a do-over! We know that there are certain science requirements for dental school, that he does not have, due to the bachelor's in business. We live in a town with a community college, but know that those specific courses would be better taken at a 4-year. We have no access to a dental school, within several hundred miles, so this would require a huge move. We are wondering if it is even possible, and where we should start. Thanks!

Oldest dd was reading at 2, and could comprehend everything she read. Her comprehension grew with her ability. By the time she was 5, she was reading novels and understanding completely. This, however, in my experience, is far from "normal." 10yo dd started reading, with difficulty, at age 5, and it was very, very tough. However, her comprehension has always been amazing. To listen to her read, you wouldn't think she could understand well, but this is furthest from truth. She remembers and understands everything. It is just plowing through the material that is difficult. Same when I read to her. She could re-write the entire story or text in detail, without missing anything. 8yo dd started reading, well, at 5, but her comprehension lagged behind. It wasn't until she was about 7.5 that I could hand her a book, and she could read it silently, and have good understanding and be able to dictate the story back to me and understand meaning. 7yo dd started reading last year, at age 6, and (I assume) because of her age, comprehension comes easily. She didn't have a lot of lag time between learning to read, and her maturity for understanding, catching up to her ability to decode text. 6yo ds started reading last year, at age 5, and I would say he is pretty normal. Does a lot of sounding out still, so it takes time, but he "gets" it. But, he is still reading pretty simple stuff. Danny and the Dinosaur, and such.

We use CLE. It encompasses more than just grammer. I can't imagine ever finding anything better. My children know their grammer well, due to its format. My 10yo dd doesn't always appreciate her lessons, as they are long at times...but wow, she knows her stuff. I can't see ever switching. Right now, I'm using the 5th grade level for my 10yo, 3rd for my 8yo and 1st for my 7 and 6yo's. I love every level of it, and so far we've used 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, to one extent or another, since we are just starting on some of those years.

It won't affect us much, only just making sure that we stick to the plan! We exchange family letters with dh's family, and that's all. He has 6 brother's and sisters and we have 24 nieces and nephews on that side of the family. The family letters and photos we send each other every year, get slid into a "Family Christmas Letter" binder that my mil gave us all several years ago. It is a yearly journal of sorts. Very simple, very economical, and much loved by the kids and all of us. So neat to see how everyone has changed and grown over the past years. The letters are neat too, in that the document the major things in each family's life, for each year. I think many letters this year will be much more humble that in years past, and much more filled with thanks for the blessings that we've had to look diligently for. It has been a rough year for the entire group. We do send my mil and fil a small, usually homemade family gift. This year it will be a cute wooden wall hanging. My parents get something more, as they are much, much more extravagent in their giving. However, we still don't spend much. Just something small and meaningful for each one of them. I have one brother, who is married with 4 children of his own. He is/was a building contractor, and he will be lucky to provide small gifts for his own children this year. We will send them a small family gift, and expect nothing in return. I just hope they can make it, and wish we could help. For my own 5 children, several years back we decided that Christmas had ceased to be about Christ, and had become ridiculous with the gifts and stress. So, we found a great idea and adopted it. Christ recieved 3 gifts, and so do each of the children. Each gift represents one of his 3 gifts. I've found a place on-line that tells the meanings behind each of the gifts. Anyway, they usually wind up with one nice toy, or fun gift. One gift of clothing. One "special" gift. The special thing is usually something they've not requested, but something that lets them know how special they are to their parents. We fill stockings with candy, undies, socks, and things like lip gloss and toothbrushes. Dh and I usually get eachother something either very small, or very meaningful, or very useful, but not spend a lot. We still do stockings for eachother. Santa loves the "big kids" in our house too. In years past, it was hard to stick to such simpleness, as we didn't financially need to, but the "economic issues" struck our family earlier than most, due to the nature of dh's job, and our location. This will be the third year that we have been thankful for tradition of simple Christmases. There is no need to explain, to anyone, including the children. It is just the way it has been for a long time. This year though, and the past couple, it has been out of dire necessity, tradition or not.:001_smile:

Yes, we are on our second try with TOG. The first time, I had been homeschooling for less than a year, and was totally overwhelmed with schooling 5 children. (This was also my 2 youngest's 1st grade year.) Anyway, I couldn't handle it, and we did just SOTW for the rest of that year. I love SOTW, but felt that my now 5th grader, needed something more directed at her level...and both my 3rd and 5th graders love history too. I also like being able to use the same program for my academically gifted teen. Normally, there is no way that she would be studying the same material as the rest of my children. She is the oldest by 3 years, and way more than 3 years ahead of the rest in academics. I also have elementary aged children with highly varying abilities. My 5th grader strugles with reading, but has an amazing level of comprehension and retention. (She has one eye that is seriously far-sighted due to infections stemming from allergies as a toddler.) My 3rd grader reads several years ahead of grade level. My two youngest are all over the place in abilities and interests too. Anyway, TOG gives me everything I need, to teach to everyone I need to teach to, every week. All in one very neat package...with a nice bow on top. The big thing I had to learn, was to cut out what we don't need. I use it for Lit, History, Geography and Philosophy, and Government, and some arts. I don't use the strictly religious materials, and I am NOT a crafter, so we don't do many of the crafts. I finally gave myself permission not to use the whole thing. I even went out and bought my oldest a "real" copy of the Inferno, rather than making her read it out of the anthology...gasp. I finally realized that I'm homeschooling for goodness sake...hardly following the social rules around here, and I probably don't need to think I have to follow any program like it is a religion either. So, thus freed from my own need to check off boxes, I'm loving TOG with all my heart. I don't see changing anything anymore.

K12 Math was the one thing that really, really kept me from enrolling in our state virtual school with a few of my children this fall. I love their language arts and history! Math just didn't "work" for my girls. They love MUS though...so that is totally different. I talked to my 10yo dd about K12, and that was what she said too. Begged me not to do K12, so that she could continue with MUS and not have to go back to K12's. She is pretty good in Math too...and totally hated it.

We just closed on our house in August. It was on the market for only 2 months when we were under contract. We have 5 kids too, and a very slow market! It can be done. Like everyone else said... Rent a storage unit and put everything in it that you don't really need. For us, this included our entire school "area" (half of our huge family room), a LOT of toys, and all our out of season things, extra furniture, etc. I put all of our necessary school books on a shelf in the kitchen and we took them out and put them away (neatly) every single day. We also did the drill thing, and then the "THIS IS NOT A DRILL" thing. It totally worked. The kids rose to the challenge and loved being involved in trying to get the house sold. We also bribed them a bit. We promised a fancy dinner at a fancy restaurant where they had never gone before, when the house closed. (The 150 that we paid for the meal was well worth the added help all summer!) I cleaned the house thoroughly, myself, every Friday (for the multiple weekend showings). That way, we only had to go over the top of everything when the phone calls came. We played Vivaldi softly, as back ground music for showings. We painted all the walls that needed a touch-up. (We had only been in the house for 2 years, but our school area and all the kids rooms really needed to be refreshed!) We kept all evidence of the dog outside. No dog bowls, no dog treats, or toys or anything. We kept the yard in perfect shape. Pretty much, we tried to maintain a house in "magazine photo spread" quality, 24/7!! Lol! It was exhausting and at times I thought I was going to go nuts...like the days we spent schooling at the library because we were having open houses. But anyway, looking back, it was totally worth it. Your house is a huge investment, and when it is time to cash it out, you need to focus on it as much as possible. Anyway, we are now in a nice, older home in town, close to everything and more space and a much lower payment. It was so worth it! That's the biggest thing...keep your eye on the prize, and try to keep your kids' and dh's eye on it too. If you focus on the goal, the getting there won't seem so bad. Good luck!

13yo dd's faves: Analytical Gram Breaking the French Barrier VideoText (on Alg. Mod C right now) Apologia Biology She likes TOG, but feels swamped by all the reading right now...but says she'll get used to it, because she likes how much she is learning. She is doing Rhetoric level, year 2. 10yo dd's faves: MUS Epsilon TOG (Upper Grammer level this year) Apologia Botany She doesn't like her CLE Language Arts, but she never likes Language Arts. She is however, learning a TON. Knows more about grammer than pretty much any kid her age in town! Lol! The rest of them seem to take things as they come and enjoy or not enjoy, based more on the day and mood, rather than the material. Personally, I'm happy with everything we chose this year. If things continue at this rate, we won't change anything next year.

We are using the next level up...the 4th to 6th grade version, for all 5 of my children...the younger ones are more artistic than my oldest. They all love it! I'm totally happy with it, as it is the first art program that is easy for me to teach and actually get done! We do it once a week. The lesson usually takes 5 minutes or so, and they they create...which has some major time variation from one child to the next. Have fun! This is a total keeper for our family!

I totally agree with the last poster. I'm not Catholic either, but we are not Protestant and we are Christian. I loved how TOG looked last year, and tried it for a few months. I was frustrated at the viewpoint, and dropped it mid-year. Then, after several months of trying to teach history and literature at that same TOG level, and finding my materials that I used to replace TOG with, falling seriously short...I switched back this year, with a greater resolve to not let the differences bother me. Also, I chose to not use the Church History portion at all. We use it for everything else. So far, we have been very happy with going back, and since we have changed our attitude about the differences, all is very well! I have not found anything to compare to TOG's depth. It is a wonderful program. One of those "don't throw the baby out with the bath water" type things. Not to be offensive to anyone's beliefs though. I don't mean the "bath water" thing in that way. Just for those of us that can't utilize the religious portion well, due to a difference of opinion.

Thank you for your help! She likes to write...even in a language she is barely learning...the translations help!

My daughter is using a really good French program, and needs the best French/English dictionary. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much to everyone!! I think I will start with the little girl tub that is pink, and order some minifigs that are girls, off of Ebay. She really likes how tiny her brothers lego guys are. Thanks!:001_smile:

Does anyone know if the people and blocks in these Belville sets, are consistent with the size of the people and blocks in the more "boy-ish" sets, like Indiana Jones or Star Wars, etc?? Thanks so much!

Hi! We just moved, and I thought I had everything done ahead of time, so that all I needed to do was unpack, organize stuff and start school, unfortunately, it hit me this afternoon, that I forgot to get myself a planner. YIPES!! I'm a totally obsessive list maker and I need to have things handwritten! I am in a small town, so running out and finding one is not going to happen. I would rather buy a nice one online, than make one, as we are still trying hard to get a lot of house stuff done before I start school on the 1st. I could make one though, if none surface that are perfect, online. I have 5 children, grades K to high school freshman. I need something that lists days across the top and that I can divide up by child/subject down the side...one, two-page spread per week is ideal. Also, and I know this is seriously silly, but I hate all those ugly homeschool planners with plain fronts and nothing artistic or even a nice color on the outside. (I'm kinda visual.) Any great ideas?? Thanks!

Other here too...I really like CLE.