Honestly... I've never heard of a divorce where blame was completely on one person. When I hear of a couple getting divorced, I assume they have both made bad decisions at some point and neither is willing to put forth the effort to fix those decisions. I think each person enters into a marriage with certain ideas in his/her head of what would be grounds for divorce, the problem lies when there is a discrepancy between the two. Infidelity is not a deal breaker for every marriage. When my parents divorced, they agreed to stay parenting partners for my sake, and though they both remarried, they never spoke badly about the other. They never let THEIR bad decisions become MY problem. I have many happy memories of BOTH parents AND step-parents at birthday parties, school functions, parent-teacher conferences, graduations, my wedding, and other events. My parents got married for the wrong reason (mom got pregnant and family pressured them to get married), and getting divorced was the best decision they ever made. When someone tells me they are getting a divorce, I am always sad for their kids because most people who get divorced put their kids in the middle of the war. I also feel sad for the husband and the wife though, that they were put into whatever circumstance lead to the divorce.

Personally, I'd have a hard time selling something to someone who gave it to me as a gift -- especially parents. However... I just want to mention that I have a complete Cricut setup I am thinking of selling. I have only used it twice -- it's VERY cool, but I'm just not as crafty as I hoped I could be. What I have retails for about $450+, I'd like to get $200 for it (bought it on sale and received some as gifts). I have the machine, tool kit, cutter, paper, 3 font cartridge kits, two extra sticky cut sheets, and a couple of other tools, all still in original packaging. PM me if you are interested. :)

The simple answer is that we will continue with what is currently fitting, except for those things that stop fitting between now and next year. :D The long answer is... Language Arts: Finish AAS 4/5 then return to Spelling Power. Move up to Wordly Wise 4, Michael Clay Thompson "Town" series, and yet another HWT book (he has issues LOL). Begin literature study TBD. Math: Work through Singapore Primary Math 5 and/or 6 (probably focusing on word problems since we will have completed first 2 Fred books), add in Challenge Math. Continue Mind Benders and add in logic TBD. History: Continue SOTW and Story of Science. Science: Continue Prentice Hall Science Explorer. PE: Continue being a boy with four little brothers. Latin: Continue Lively Latin, possibly Secondus. Art: Continue Atelier Art. Spanish or Chinese: Pick one and begin Rosetta Stone.

We are also using the LoF Decimals, Primary Math, Challenge Math combo, and also have no idea where we are headed afterwards. I am considering the following: - LoF Beginning Algebra (I have this on my shelf, it isn't too scary) - Jacob's Human Endeavor (too intimidating for him) - EPGY (not crazy about online math instruction, since it's my strongest area) - Singapore New Elem (seems intense for him)

Here is a search for "russian" by "jeri". Thanks for the info! I was recently wondering the same thing. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1320189

FWIW... We were using Spelling Power and shared the same frustrations as those above. I am now having Blue go through the levels of AAS to LEARN the rules, then I will return to Spelling Power for our long-term spelling plan. For each step, I use the tiles and cards to introduce the new rule. I then have him write the 10 new words (on paper or in his Spelling Power book on the daily test page, where there is room for corrections if needed), have him spell the extra words orally, then write out the 6 sentences (on the same paper or on the sentences page of the Spelling Power book). At a seperate time, I give him a quick oral quiz of 10 words he needs to review. Doing it this way, we can do an entire step in one sitting, and finish in 15-20 minutes tops. He is actually LEARNING the rules now, and I think he will do great when we return to Spelling Power.

I ordered the Zone Cleaning for Kids flip chart when I ordered Times Tales, and I really like it, though most of mine are too young to fully implement it. The pages are coated so you can use a dry erase marker for the kids to mark off what they have done. It has several pages for each zone (bathroom, kitchen, & living room). It has steps listed for each room, with pictures of exactly what needs to be done (especially for the kitchen). There is also one page for each zone to write in additional jobs you would like the kids to do. A child even as young as 3 could use the flip chart with guidance if they were motivated enough (but really, what 3 year old doesn't WANT to use a feather duster?!?), but I think it would be most useful for ages slightly older -- who can read but still need the list of reminders. As for Times Tales, I used it only for the couple of multiplication problems Blue hadn't solidified yet, and it did the trick. I don't know if I will use it to begin with or not for the younger kids, I think for our family I'd rather have them memorize as many as they pick up first and just use Times Tales for the others, to eliminate the extra mental step for EVERY problem.

I have the Teacher Express CD -- it contains printable workbook pages and answers for all 16 books, full digital version of all 16 textbooks, all the active-art images, chapter tests, labs, and more. It has scheduling software like I've never seen -- you enter how many minutes, it helps you work out how long to discuss each point, how to determine what to include (you can't include it all!). I don't see how this would be super beneficial to a homeschooler, but it's cool. :) It has a test generator. You tell it how many of each type of question you want to include, it creates the test and answer sheet. I purchased this twice through Amazon Marketplace -- the first one turned out to be a 2-CD Demo version (not usable!), which the seller let me return and refunded my money. The second time I purchased a 4-CD set, and it was the real deal, still factory sealed. The ISBN on this one is 0-13-181274-2. There is one CD for each group of texts (Life/Physical/Earth) plus an installation disk. It works on Win or Mac. It is definitely worth the $50-80 most seem to charge at Amazon, but I don't think I could justify the $400 they charge directly from PH.

I feel your pain.... Blue is a math whiz, but almost all numbers are backwards. For us, it is every time he writes 4, 7, 9 and about half the time it is 2, 3, 5, 6. I tease him that at least he always gets 1, 8 & 0 right. ;) We have been through several HWT books, and I think it has actually made it worse because he tends to draw a straight line (like a 1), then figure out how to turn it into whatever number he wants. Since HWT letters go to the right from the straight line, his 4, 7, & 9 always have the straight line on the left, with the extra part off to the right. For us, it does help to do a quick review of problem numbers on a regular basis. I make him write a whole line of each set of numbers, saying the little reminders out loud. I have him write the number 17 across the page and say out loud "down" while writing 1 and "over-down" for writing 7. Then the next line down he writes the number 23, saying "big curve-line" for 2 and "little curve, little curve" for 3. Below that he does a line of 45, remembering that each of these starts with "a tiny uppercase L", so while writing 4 he says "L, line down" and 5 is "L, curve, top line". Eventually I will let him do the top line first, but for now I make him do it this way so all letters are going from left to right, as in reading. (His reply the first time I pointed this out was "Otherwise the numbers would be counter-reading." LOL!!) Doing all of this on a regular basis does seem to be helping. Of course, many of his numbers are still backwards randomly, but overall he is getting more letters the right way. I don't make him go back and fix backwards numbers for math (only on handwriting pages) because I don't want to interrupt his math-logic-thought process. From time to time, I will make him go back over a drill sheet and circle all of the numbers that are backwards after he has checked the answers. I want him to be aware of the issue, but not dwell on it to the point where it interferes with his love of doing math.

:bigear: I have the MCT, but I have also been curious how it compares to the other.

I'm due October 15 but all my boys have been born in the 39th week so I'm mentally prepared to have the baby by October 10th. Or sooner.... I feel like I've been pregnant for years. ;)

The way I see it... when it is being used in a school, the students would be meeting for 50-ish minutes five days per week, while doing all of the reading and workbook activities outside of class time. I have the teacher planning CD for the series that schedules out your class time, and it only includes time for discussion and labs. Therefore, unless you plan to devote 10-ish hours per week to science, I don't see how you could get through all 5 books in 36 weeks. Just one opinion, from one mom, with one kid who asks so many questions that we may not get through ONE book per year. :)

If a correlation exists, please let me know! I had hoped to combine it with SOTW as we go through. We haven't done much with the science series yet. I did look at the guides that Johns Hopkins has that go along with them at a convention, but honestly I didn't see them as useful for homeschool use (at least at my son's level).

:bigear: Marking my place, and taking notes! :)

In case anyone else is still facing this decision (I'm so relieved I'm not the only one who stays up at night worried about things like this ha ha), here are my thoughts. We have two sets of each kind, but we use them differently. The wood ones are classic, and will probably last forever. There are no lines on them to mark the quantity of the rod, so you just have to memorize them by color (easier for my kids than me) or make a staircase with them, glue it together, and label them. I use the wood ones for our workbooks that use the rods to make pictures and letters (they fit into the outlines better). I prefer the plastic interlocking ones for teaching a concept because they have marks on them for the quantity (ie the yellow 5 rod looks like 5 little yellow ones stuck together). It makes larger numbers easier to work with when they are locked together, such as making 3 twelves, then sticking them all together, then transferring them to the measuring thing to see the stick is 36 long. I've used both with Miquon -- the wood ones if we are placing them on the page into an outline shape, and the interlocking if we are working on the table. Personally, I'd go with whatever is cheaper or easier to get.

Do you mean the Science Explorers books for the middle school level? If so, I would go with that. My just-turned-seven-but-reading-books-written-for-kids-twice-his-age son is using that series for science this year. It is easy to adapt the output level to where he needs it to be.

We are combining these 2 programs, and I am so jealous you only paid $3.50! Wow! You will need a student book for the Minimus, and the CDs are very helpful. For Minimus, my goal is just exposure to the Latin language. DS listens to the comic book stories (they are short -- we listen to them several times over several days) while following along in his book. We read about the family (very interesting -- based on a real family, with photos of real artifacts). I made flashcards of the Words To Remember. I can't offer any real advice since we aren't that far into it and I am NOT a Latin expert, but IMO these two programs complement each other nicely. :)

This book is on my wish list, you could use it for studying art of the time period, or even cut chosen pictures out from it and paste them into the notebook. It features works of art chronologically -- and is HUUUGE (Amazon charges an additional delivery fee due to the weight of it). http://www.amazon.com/000-Years-Art-Editors-Phaidon/dp/0714847895/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219075632&sr=8-1

... and also the SOTW Ancients activities for older kids! :) :bigear:

:iagree: I'm too tired to think of any intelligent advice to share ;) , but I did want to offer encouragement that teaching K while pregnant is definitely do-able! You will spend LESS time doing homeschool with a K-er than you will doing homework for public school K. Plus, you will have the 5 yo to help entertain the younger 2 so you can rest more - which you MUST do! Taking time for yourself each day to REST is more important than doing "just one more lesson". (and... I admit... I feel a lot better knowing that it's not just my house that isn't spotless :D )

Hi :) Can I borrow this file some time? It sounds like something I need to hear! LOL!!

Thank you everyone for your input! :) Lots of points to consider. I truly wish I had the time/energy to pre-read the books, but he has read over 600 pages since Monday, compared to less than 100 I've read in my current book. That's why I asked here. I will be sharing your replies with DH as we decide what would be best for Blue. I really appreciate all of your replies, as well as the respectful tone the thread has maintained to those who feel differently. FWIW -- I agree that there are lots of great books he could be reading... and he does. He went through a phase last school year where he "hated reading" so I didn't push it (it was almost as if once he had mastered it, it no longer interested him -- or maybe I was limiting him to books I felt were on his level and he was bored with them?). Now, out of nowhere, he has turned into a voracious reader. He read more than 30 books in June, most of them chapter books. He has already read all of the books I purchased for history this year (more than 20) and we haven't even officially started yet! LOL!!! I'm not sure what made him turn into such a reader all of a sudden, but I'm not complaining!

I admit, I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books. GASP!!!! Blue (who turns 7 at the end of this month) is loving them though, and working his way through the series much faster than I anticipated. I heard that books 1-3 are safe for younger readers, book 4 starts to get a little dark, and books 5-7 are best left for older readers. So that was my plan... until he literally BEGGED to start reading book 4 on Monday, and he's already on page 546. Should I let him continue with books 5-7? Our family is fine with fantasy and magic stories -- so far he has had no trouble keeping the things he reads separate from reality. He hasn't been bothered by anything so far, actually. As he put it: "they are just fictional things the author created with words." What about the movies? My deal with him was that I would let him watch each movie AFTER he read each book. He has already seen 1-3 with no problems, but aren't the later ones much more scary (ok -- DOUBLE GASP -- I haven't seen the movies either). I watched the trailer online for the Half-Blood Prince movie coming out soon and it looks pretty scary, but again these are just fictional characters and optical illusions (his words when I asked if the first movie was scary). What do you think? Should I let him go ahead and read the next 2 books before the movie comes out in November since he seems to be able to separate it from reality? Or is it just too scary for a 6 year old? I was teaching 5th graders when the Harry Potter hysteria started. Some of my students were soooo excited about the new book coming out (#3 I think?), and I remember watching on the news the crazy people who took their kids to Barnes & Noble at midnight so their kid could be the first to read it. I thought they were nuts.... And now that I have a child who is completely excited about reading each new book, I'm sad that he missed out on the hysteria. LOL!!

I saw your post... but didn't really have an answer for you. :) The text of the book is on the CD, but we have the print version that we read from. The Active-Art things are on the CD, but it is quicker to view them online with the code from the book rather than finding it on the CD. The student worksheets are on the CD, but I mostly print from the Teacher Express CD which contains the worksheets from all 16 books at once, along with the answers. So........ I'm not really using my Student Express CDs for anything at the moment. :) Sorry I'm not much help (but I didn't want you to think your message was being ignored).

I purchased the print version (that comes with CD and online access) because it is over 400 pages, and the quality of the printed pages is very nice -- much nicer than my color copier would print (even the paper is fancy -- very thick and shiny). I knew I would not be able to have it printed for the difference in price between CD & print. Since many of the pages are not written on by the student, they can easily be reused with later children (art pages, vocab lists, Roman history pages, etc). It is only about half of the pages that are actually written on, so I suggested to the author when I bought it that she offer an "additional student pack" with print versions of just these pages for people like me who would rather spend a few dollars than be stuck at a copier all day. She agreed this would be a good option, and since the pages are sequentially numbered at the bottom, it would be simple to add the extra pages in for later children. That said though..... I am thinking about just printing out the pdfs of the writing pages (Lesson & Exercise pages) in black and white, keeping the fancy copy to teach from. Then I will have a complete book to use for later children, with the beautiful art work and fancy, shiny paper.