:lurk5:

:lurk5:

:D Thank you for not throwing tomatoes... my frustration is not just with this particular company (certainly they are allowed to publish whatever they want!), but with "people" who make products and assume that if it is marketed for Homeschoolers, it MUST have a Bible verse on it. I used the example of Amy Knapp because I have used and enjoy her day planner -- she offers a regular version, and a Christian version of her regular planner, but for the homeschool planner there is ONLY a Bible verse version (at least there was last year). I will still consider a product if it has a Bible verse on it (ie we use Calculadders -- though it seems odd to me to have a child read a Bible verse on the bottom of a TIMED math facts page), it just bugs me.

:lurk5: No answers... I'm just here to listen and learn. This is me teaching writing to my former 5th grade students: :banghead: We are using WWE this year... I have hope. :)

Why is it that people who make planners for Homeschoolers assume that ALL homeschoolers want Bible verses on every page? :( It's not just this one -- EVERY SINGLE ONE I have looked at that is specifically for homeschoolers. Amy Knapp's regular organizer has inspirational quotes from a wide variety of people, but her Homeschool organizer is Bible verses. Even the Homeschool Daily Planner I bought at my teacher supply store has a Bible verse on every page. I don't understand. It is not like Christians will say "Wow, this is a great organizer, but I can't use it because it doesn't have a Bible verse on every page." And some Christians I know actually prefer to choose their own verses. And... NOT ALL HOMESCHOOLERS ARE CHRISTIANS. (sorry... I know we aren't supposed to yell here... and it isn't your fault... I'm just irritated that people allow their own stereotypes to dictate the products they create). At least offer a "Bible Version" and a "Everyone Else" version. :rant:

The first one that came to B's mind was Harry Potter. Also the Eragon series, 100 Cupboards, and The Hobbit.

I'll party with you!! :party: Congrats!!! What a fantastic accomplishment! We will be joining you in 26 more years. :D

Oh, this is so great! I must remember that. For my boys' sake, I always try to reply with a "thank you, yes they are wonderful". In one of my less-than-stellar moments, a VERY RUDE, snobby lady looked at my kids and said "Wow, all boys? You poor thing!" I was so bothered by the tone in her voice that I replied "Oh, we don't keep the girls." (Yes I know this was bad -- but it was better than what I wanted to say) With 5 boys so close in age, we get a lot of comments. A lot. To the "You've got your hands full." I say "Yes, but luckily they are great helpers." To the "Are they all yours?" I say "Only the cute ones." (My boys always giggle at this) I have only gotten the "Don't you know what causes this" from family members -- and I point out to them that I knew what I was getting into when I married DH because there haven't been any girls in 3 generations.

:iagree: I was also surprised by how many people would have gotten the police involved... but it is hard to say what I would have done under certain circumstances.

For those who said they would never leave their children in a car, do you mean even at places where the car never leaves your sight (such as going into a gas station)?

Ditto to all of this (except B won't be in 8th for a while). I like teaching Singapore, he would be happy to only do LoF. My compromise is to have him do both (finishing Primary Math 6 and LoF Decimals/Percents now, Discovering Math and LoF Beg Alg this fall).

Singapore Math (though not for all teaching styles) Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts (though not for all learning styles) All About Spelling (wish I listened to dear friend and tried it earlier!)

:lurk5:

Oh! That makes sense -- I saw an option called Excel 1997-2003, I will use that. Thanks! :)

xlsx is what happened when I converted from Works to Excel, I think. Once I have a final version, I will try to do it plain xls. :)

:lurk5:

I posted this spreadsheet on the MCTLA Yahoo group, in the Lesson Plans folder in the Files section. I requested feedback from the group, and once I make any changes suggested, I will e-mail it to those who have PMed me.

It's the "set your time for the day" part that wouldn't work for us. I can't commit to a certain amount of school time each day. With all of the little ones, it would be too easy for me to say "let's just stop here for the day so I can go take care of ____." This is what has happened around here for the last 2 years. I know others on these boards have used the loop schedule successfully, I just know I would not be able to do it successfully. :)

This is more or less what we are doing. We are listening to SOTW as a family, and doing a "younger" read aloud during the afternoon. B (my oldest, though he's younger than SL's recommended age) will do the additional history reading and readers, and I will do the Core 6 read-alouds with him after the youngers are in bed so we can discuss. We will be skipping Mara, Mary, Luther, God King, but will be keeping Catherine based on several recommendations ("it was my son's favorite book of the whole year" type comments). We will also be adding in The King's Shadow, and some books from the SOTW Activity Guide recs. FWIW... on the SL site, it states "An introduction to world history from Ancient Egypt and Sumer through the reformation. You may wish to use this program, with no modification, as the basis for teaching one or more children 10-14 years old. With modification, it may be used with students from 8-15 years old."

The loop idea wouldn't work for this family either... we are ALL procrastinators! FWIW... we are doing workboxes for our morning work. Each boy has 6 boxes (cheap magazine files) with his individual work (math, spelling, and such). Then in the afternoon we do history all together (all listen to SOTW and color, then B stays to do additional work and discuss readings from Core 6) and science in groups (B on his own, G & D together, R & W napping). So far (both weeks :D) this is working better than what we did last year, which was to have everyone do the same subject at the same time and I ran around the table helping as needed.

Amy, any idea on when you will have something like this for the other PHSE books? :) And, any chance you want to also write up a "younger sibling" plan using a lower level spine so the whole family can study the same topic each week? Pretty please. :D

I don't really have any advice, just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in your worries. :grouphug:

:lurk5:

I use the Last Line Bookmark, purchased at B&N. They stay attached to the side of the page so you know EXACTLY where you stopped. They do not damage the paper, but they no longer work when your 2 yo bends them. You can get them in different colors. :hurray:

:lurk5: Great ideas... I am so NOT creative.