:)

Thanks for the recommendation (and explanation!:)). I'll go check it out now!

Do you have a favorite website for free stock photos? I've checked dreamstime and Christianphotos, but neither have what I'm looking for.

Ds was just given a game called Ottoman Sunset which he is playing every spare minute. It's a strategy war game involving military strikes and national will that details true historical events at the end of the Ottoman Empire. I'd like to find a fairly simple book (2nd-3rd grade) about this to reinforce what he's doing in the game and provide better historical context. Any recommendations?

In the next year, I'm going to start giving presentations to church and parent groups. I'd like to have a blog where I review various resources, share thoughts/articles, etc. I was thinking that I could have business cards or post cards printed up with my blog info on it, and people can go there to find more if they want. My knowledge of technology is not up-to-par at all. Is there a good how-to site for creating a high quality blog? Tips for improvement? Anything that might help me out?

I just wanted to add: Try not to get discouraged in the first few weeks. We did our first year of CC last year. By week 6, ds hadn't retained much of the memory work and hated it. It took us a while to find our groove. Once we did, he decided that he wanted to be memory master (despite me discouraging it:tongue_smilie:). We figured out the best way for him to learn the memory work efficiently, and then we flew through the memory work. By the end of the year, he did achieve memory master. I would never have believed it at first.

Our schedule is a little different because we school year-round. However, during CC, we do half days only. I concentrate on introducing the bulk (not all but most) of our other memory work during off times from CC. There is quite a long break between semesters, so that's a really good time for us to focus on other memory work. HTH!

Ah! The Sequence field! I've just been leaving it blank and letting the program auto-increment. I'll experiment with it in the next couple of days and see if I can figure it out. Thank you!

I'm slowly feeling my way through HST+. One thing I'm stuck on is how to make one LP with multiple resources. How do I do this? (Example: We use SM. In one year, this is how we progress through the books. One lesson per day of the workbook until a unit is completed. Then that unit in the IP book. Then back to the workbook until we're done with the next unit, and then on to the IP book.) ETA: I've been using the auto-increment feature. I suppose I need to input each lesson individually instead?

My son took the WJ just after turning 4 and again just after turning 6. I didn't prepare him at all except to encourage him to answer all the questions that the tester asked him. (He has a tendency to doubt himself and not answer even when he KNOWS the answer--good ole perfectionism!;)) I don't really know how the test is formatted except that some parts are timed and other parts aren't. Ds came out smiling both times and enjoyed the testing experience.

We decided to try learning keyboarding over the summer. This morning I put ds in front of BBC's Dance Mat typing, but it didn't work. He quickly became frustrated by trying to learn the first 8 keys simultaneously. Is there something else that moves slower? I learned by first practicing "f" and "j" and then moving on to other keys after those were mastered. I think something like this would work much better for ds. Do you have any recommendations?

:)

I've read reviews of HST+ that mention you can see sample transcripts before buying. I downloaded the user manual, looked around on their website, and Googled "HST+ sample transcripts." I don't see them anywhere! Can someone help me out?

I downloaded Mara's Pratt's American History Stories for free. Vol 1 & 2 are available. I think we will really enjoy them this year for our American history!

I have an 11 year old dog who has never had a problem until this weekend. We thought she experienced some kind of muscle injury. When I took her to the vet, he diagnosed her with hip dysplasia and prescribed meds and supplements for her. I came home to look up more info, and I keep reading that canine hip dysplasia usually exhibits before age 2. Now I'm really doubting our diagnosis. Can anyone shed more light on the situation for me? Is it possible for it to literally show up overnight in an 11 year old dog?

Thank you all for sharing your experiences! Dr. Hive has rescued us yet again!:)

My ds has a stye on his eyelid. He's prone to getting them, and this one is particularly uncomfortable. I did a search on home remedies and found recommendations for cleansing with baby shampoo and then covering with a hot (well, as hot as comfort will allow) tea bag. Before I start experimenting on ds, does anyone have a home remedy that they have actually tried and it worked?

I agree with short but consistent lessons being most efficient for us. It's amazing what you accomplish over 3 months if you just do something 5 min. per day. There were days last year when my son was literally done with math in 2 minutes, but we did it every M-F that we had school.

GSWL would be my choice too.

Growing with Grammar does.

Do you get the re-manufactured ones or new ones?

ETA: Corrected hyperlink.

Thought I would bump this, as we are needing ink AGAIN! I think the link I provided last time was wrong. Does anyone have experience with remanufactured ink cartridges like this?

Just a friendly bump.;)

I uploaded loads and loads of pics and cropped them the way I want. I'm ready to order some prints, but when I select the photos to order, the site is automatically re-cropping the pics. :confused: How I can turn that off? I don't see an option anywhere, and I really don't want to have to re-adjust the cropping on all those pics! Help!