My Foundations Guide arrived today!:lol: Now I have a follow-up question. I found the history sentences, and those should be easy to copy, laminate, and add to our timeline. I would ideally love to add the CC Timeline events (Creation, Fall in the Garden, etc) to our timeline also. Does anyone know of an easy way to find pics/figures to use for the Timeline cards? I went to the VP website and saw they have a timeline figures package for $75, but that's not in my budget. Any other ideas?

Thanks, Beth! Mine is on the way to me now. I can't wait to get my hands on it!:D

I think pushing a child academically can kill their natural love of learning. A lot of times, I think it comes from the parent trying to fulfill their own needs. However, I also think there are some children with a high need for intellectual stimulation. Some children actually crave it, and sometimes what looks like pushing to an outsider is actually the parent meeting the child's need. If a child loves their academics, I don't see a need to keep them from excelling. If they hate their academics, I would think long and hard about pacing, learning style, shorter school days, and a more fun approach.

I want to add the history sentences and figures to our timeline at home. Does anyone know if there is a document that already contains that info? If so, I would love to have it. Thanks!

We had our first co-op class yesterday, and I was stunned at how my son and another boy got into this competitive dynamic. (He's a kid who usually doesn't care whether he wins or loses, he just loves to play games, etc.) They were awful in how they kept bragging about who knew more or could do things better. Anyway, I thought a nice picture book about bragging followed by a discussion might help. Any recommendations? I had a site bookmarked that I learned about on this forum where you can search for character trait and reading level and it gives you a list of children's books. I've searched my computer and the forum for the last 20 minutes trying to find it. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

In my state, we send in a "letter of intent" at the beginning of the year. I did send in what I am expecting to use; however, I will be very surprised if we stick with our actual plan. It's what I have planned, so that's what I wrote. I doubt they care about changes, but if they asked, I would simply explain.

I really love laminating and using velcro. Where do you find the best prices on velcro dots? The cheapest I found was Amazon, but I'm wondering if there is a better deal out there that I missed.

It looks like our kids are about the same age.:) We don't do as much at night as you do--just a Bible story and prayer. In the morning, I play 2 songs for the kids and let them dance around and have fun with it. I choose a hymn and a kid's Bible song. Then we read a super quick devotion (2 minutes--it's just a paragraph). I say a quick 2-3 sentence prayer of praise and gratitude. All together, it takes about 10 minutes. The boys LOVE it! When we first started, I thought it was awkward and not working well. I was ready to quit when they started asking for it. Now they always remind me to do it and look forward to it so much.

Heritage Builders' Family Tool Chest would be a really fun Bible program.

Just wanted to mention that our local library has this series of books. It might be worth checking there.

Thank you! I can breathe a sigh of relief. I think we're good to go then!:auto:

This is our first year hsing, and I'm going to be sending in my letter of intent soon. My boys have their annual physical at the dr this morning. I hadn't even thought about whether they would need a physical on file with the school until now. Do I need to run over to the school and get a form on the way to the dr?:confused:

I was going to suggest this also. It's on my shelf, but I decided that ds will get much more out of it if we wait until he's older. I really think our whole family will get a lot out of it, and I can't wait until we can start it!

My plan is to learn HST+, and I've heard there is quite a learning curve, esp for those (like me!) who are tech-challenged. Any recommendations for tackling the project of learning the program? Should I use Basic for a while and get used to that program before upgrading to +, or should I dive right in?

Thanks for the insight! I am still forming my educational philosophy so I think I'll stick with books that I've seen highly reviewed by people on this forum.

I have no personal experience, but I have read positive reviews about Bite Size Physics. From what I've read, the math piece can be left out pretty easily. I'll be interested in hearing others' suggestions.

Has anyone used Science is Golden? I'd love to hear a review of it!

My "to read" book list is growing much faster than I can keep up!:lol: I just saw a reference to the book Repairing the Ruins. Has anyone here read it? Do you recommend it? I'm wondering if it should be worthy of being added to my list or if I should just skip it. Reviews?

Thanks for the replies! It's nice to hear from people actually doing this! Hmmm . . . I really do want to give this a try. I would do it in a heartbeat if I could keep it outside, but I'm in Ohio. I think it might be too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, and we don't have a basement or sheltered porch. I may try putting them in the garage, but I'm not sure whether the temps there would be moderate enough for them. (Does anyone in a similar climate keep them in the garage???)

Does anyone here do worm composting? The thought of worms in the house makes me feel a little squeamish, and I'm concerned about flies and such. But I'm thinking about it. Has anyone tried it? Success? Failure? Advice?

For not reading much, it does sound like his skills have come along. Does he enjoy being read to? Maybe you can set up some kind of routine with taking turns reading sentences or even having him read quotes in silly voices or something during read alouds. That way he wouldn't be overwhelmed with having to read long passages, but over time he will definitely be getting more reading practice. :confused::confused: Just thinking out loud.

I tried to search for this post but couldn't find anything that long ago by your user name? Did you have the same user name? Or am I search-challenged? :confused:

Anything? I rarely see them mentioned on the boards here.

Here are my go-to sites: amazon.com (obviously, you already mentioned that!) half.com abebooks.com Rainbow Resources

Perfect! Thanks, everyone!