It worked perfectly. Thanks!

When I googled "Ray's Arithmetic", I found the curriculum, but not the free on-line stuff. Am I missing it?

I am so discouraged for him. He is 9 years old, and is still struggling with addition and subtraction. We have used MUS, and now, right start. We even tried abeka and saxon briefly. We keep coming back to MUS. He prefers the blocks and the uncluttered pages. I have tried flashcards, manipulatives, pictures, prizes, and threats (in my worst moments). And he still has to count on his fingers. It is frustrating and embarassing for him. His younger brother, who likes math, and sees patterns easily, has flown by him in every math book we've used. Ds can do rounding, and regrouping, and learns skip-counting songs with ease. He will probably do fine with multiplication. But he is excrutiatingly slow with addition and subtraction. He just doesn't "see" it unless he is actually handling the manipulatives. I don't want a new curriculum. What I'm looking for is a technique that I can use to help him "see" his basic math. Any thoughts are welcome!

With some sourdough bread to go with. We raise the chickens ourselves. They are the best!

.... first time. We are French and Basque (read lots of dark, long hair everywhere). And my daughter just doesn't care. The only reason she shaved last week is because she had a big swim meet, and wanted to get rid of as much drag as possible. This is her first year as a competitive swimmer. The girls on the team all agreed to not shave until their conference meet. They had the team captain check their legs as they came in for practice each day to make sure everyone was sticking to the agreement. They were all amazed at the amount of hair on dd's legs, which really made her laugh! She thought that shaving was a pain, (even though her times improved considerably in her races). And she probably won't shave again now that swimming is over. Except for under her arms, because that is a hygiene issue, whereas legs are a cultural issue. To each his own, I always say. I'm glad she doesn't care. Razor blades are expensive!! ;)

This was also my first thought.

Why or why not? Dd has a big meet coming up, and wants to shave her arms. I'm afraid that if she does, the hair will come back in coarser. She already has a LOT of dark hair over her fair skin.... Any advice? And no, she is not an olympic swimmer. She wants to qualify for our state meet, and is trying to gain every possible advantage. Thanks, Jackie

...but she has some pretty lofty goals, so we're going to see how it goes. In addition to being on the High School swim team, which currently requires 3hrs/day in the pool, she has the following classes/activities: Omnibus 3, Primary Omnibus 3, Secondary (These are both on-line with VP, so they actually read all the books, and do a lot of writing.) Composition 1 (with VP) Latin II (Wheelocks) (with VP) Geometry (High School) Honors Biology (High School) French 2/3 (High School) I call it 2/3 because it is her 2nd year, but she kind of skipped a year, and will be in French IV next year. Art 3 (Oils and Sculpting, also at the High School) She is also in her 9th year of piano. Does that answer your question? She is getting extensive grammar with the Latin, and to some degree, the French. She is doing a lot of good writing with the Comp. class and the Omnibus. And of course, Literature is covered. This schedule seems nuts to me. She literally dashes from 1 class to the next, and basically does homework until 9 or 10 at night. Then she is up at 5:30, to be in the pool by 6am. Her social life consists of the swim team, and seeing her friends at the high school when she's there for her classes. It seems to me she doesn't have enough down time. But she insists that she is having fun. And she does seem very happy. It will be nice when swim season is over, and she only has to be in the pool 1 1/2 hours/day, and won't feel so guilty about taking a day off. She also won't have to miss school for meets, and then make up her work. HTH, Jackie

I can't comment on the other programs out there, but I just wanted to offer another idea/option..... have you considered tutoring? On-line tutoring? When my dd ran into a wall in chapter 7 of Lials, I contacted Jann in TX, and she provided tutoring services for my dd. It went very well. Just another option, because I really like Lials. :)

Sue, I think the consensus has been that teaching Latin with a modern language, especially a romance language like Spanish, is a great way to complement and reinforce BOTH languages. My own dc have been studying both Latin and French, and have done great with it. No problems at all. I will say that I do stress the Latin over the second language, especially in the early years. I am so glad that my oldest dd did both. She is cruising through French III as a high school freshman. She finds it very easy. And I'm convinced that it's due to all her Latin. (She is currently taking Latin II- the 2nd half of Wheelock's- online). In all fairness, though, it is true that one of dd's strengths is languages. Is it nature or nurture? The jury's still out....... HTH, Jackie

Thanks, TwinMom. Anyone else?

I read Uncle Tom's Cabin a couple of years ago, and found it to be a very powerfull book on several levels. Really, it was all I could think about for weeks. It was on dd's 6th grade reading list. SHEESH! There was no way I was going to let that happen. She will be reading it this year in 9th grade. Ugh! I sometimes wonder if it's really necessary to expose my dc to the ugliness that is our "world". I always decide that yes, they need to eventually see it. But it is my job to decide when, and how much. So, I would not suggest it pre-high school. And even then, I would make sure that the communication avenues are wide open, so that much discussion can take place. My .02 jackie

I have decided to really make our memory time a priority this year. We are spending about 25 min./day on various songs, chants, and drills. The kids are liking it, but I don't want it to go "stale". (This is our second week of school this year) For those of you who use this learning tool, can you tell me how you implement it? What do you include? How long is your memory time? How often? How often do you change the material? Oh, and please DO share any success stories :001_smile:. Thanks, Jackie

I hear of it quite a bit in our community. I've discussed it a bit with other homeschooling families. The thing I've taken away from those discussions is that there are degrees of courtship. Some families seem very, for lack of a better term, "legalistic" about it, while other families embrace the idea of courtship, and sort of define their own boundaries. It's been interesting. And with an "almost 15" year old dd, I need to think about this a lot more

We have used VP materials all along, so Omnibus I was a natural progression for us when she hit 7th grade. It was a stretch for us financially, but we bit the bullet and enrolled her. It was great! Right up her alley, and I could never have done as good a job as the Veritas professionals in teaching Omnibus. We continued with Omnibus II in 8th grade. This year, I signed her up for the Academy. She will be able to get the honors degree if she really pushes herself. The math could be the limiting factor. She is all Lit. and Languages..... math, not so much ;). This year, she'll be taking Omnibus III primary, and secondary, Composition, and Latin II. She's getting her math and science at the local public school, and also has French III, and art. Totally her choice, as the French and Art are electives at this point. It is a FULL load, but she has always thrived with pressure. We are behind on logic. I tried to teach it, and it didn't go so well. We might take that as a summer course in 2010. My dd really wants the Veritas diploma. We went to the end-of-year-gathering after the '08/'09 school year, and she really identified with her classmates. I would recommend it, if you can swing it. My only hesitation about the whole thing is that my dd might burn out before college. It is a rigorous course load. I'm sure some kids could skate right through it, but my dd will really have to work at the math and science. So, we will see. We might have to back off and do the standard diploma, if the honors is out of reach. Lots of rambling, but I hope something in there helps a little. Blessings, Jackie

I won't go into detail about what I believe, and why I believe it, but I will offer a couple of little examples which reflect why etiquette matters to me: Story 1) My mother was born and raised in San Francisco in a family where etiquette was important. On her 80th birthday, we threw a party for her in a very fancy french restaurant in S.F. It was what she wanted. Family and friends came from all over the country. It was great. It was also great that my dc and I knew the correct etiquette to use as we shared the evening with people that were special to my mother. Everything was just "pleasant". My dc still talk about that evening. They felt very comfortable. My mother had a great time. Story 2) Last summer we leased a hay ranch. Over 800 acres spread out over miles of country. In order to get the "lay of the land", the owner of the ranch had to haul us around to each different hay field in his pickup. At each field, we had to get out, walk around, talk about the crop, etc. You get the idea. It was an all-day affair. Now the reason this man was leasing out the ranch was because he had too many health problems to run it himself. He had bad hips, bad knees, a messed-up shoulder. And at each field, he made sure that he exited the pick-up quickly enough to open the door for me. Getting out, and getting back in, I never had to open my own door. When we got back to the house, he was sure to offer me a drink of water, which he pumped himself from the hand pump at the shop. I was so pleasantly surprised. When I'm in a hay field, I'm usually treated like a hay hand, which is what I am, I guess. But this man treated me like a lady. He also listened to what I said, and acted like it mattered. And this, to me, is the epitome of good manners: it is making others feel respected. My children will be taught formal etiquette, so that they can be at ease in formal situations, and concentrate on the whole experience, rather than worry about which fork to use. They will also learn basic manners, which are sorely missing these days, so that others will feel respected by them. ETA: I did buy Emily Post's book on etiquette, but found that I certainly disagreed with her teaching that a meal should be eaten as quickly as possible so that it might be an efficient affair. I was brought up to believe that a meal, especially a special meal that includes guests, should be a long, leisurely affair, with much conversation and lively discussion. I like that. But then, I'm French, and we live to eat. :)

Dd has a skirt something like this, that she loves. It looks simple enough to whip out very quickly. We were just in REI the other day.... Dd was in "pants and shirt mode" that day, so we didn't even look at skirts.... darn it. But dd found the tops too clingy, and too plain.... sigh..... Thanks for your help. I would really like that pattern number for the skirt that you make. Thanks, Jackie

I've always thought that dry cleaning was a huge conspiracy to take over the world..... one, over-priced cleaning bill, at a time. I hate paying the cleaners. I would wash it.

But I don't think I can afford them for a dd who is still growing. My dh has bought me a couple little things from Title 9 on my birthday. They are still favorites of mine!

:lol::lol: Sounds like one for the "things I never thought I'd be saying to my dd" list!

We all need it once in a while. ;) Way to go! Kudos, and all that..... :party:

And the altering would take a fraction of the time that sewing the entire garment would take. Thanks! Jackie

My dd was a GYMNAST for years before she took up swimming 18 months ago! So she has the shoulders AND the thighs. :rolleyes: Sometimes she comes out of the dressing room and says "My THIGHS are holding these pants up! Don't they make anything for people with a WAIST?" .....sigh I wish, for her sake, that being athletic and powerful was "in vogue". Thanks for your empathy. jackie

Sounds like fair to good quality that is affordable. Thanks!

skill-wise, but not time-wise. We might need to make it a priority and schedule it. This morning dd came home from her 6am weight-training workout, and all I could think of was how much bigger those arms and shoulders are going to get! :001_huh: Thanks, Jackie