lprstn... We tried the minecrafthomeschool over the summer. I thought it would have been great for them but they didn't take to it. It was boring to them. They didn't want to do all the reading. :glare: Are the "regular", meaning not summer, classes any different? Thank you for all the info. I am going to see what I can do!

OK, over the summer we tried the class at minecrafthomeschool.com and the kids weren't impressed. Both kids I signed up only did like the first two weeks. I had to force the second week. Are there any other classes that use Minecraft? Or any other game for that matter?

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/08/21/4086856_nc-homeschools-and-abandoning.html?sp=%2F99%2F108%2F&rh=1 :huh: "When parents are committed only to their own child’s education, that affects the education of other children, those whose parents don’t have the time or inclination to fight for improved school conditions, those whose parents must work long hours and can’t devote evenings to school projects and PTA meetings. When parents are committed only to their own child’s education, that affects communities for whom schools have long been a source of unity. What does that do to education in North Carolina, education in the United States?" So it is my responsibility to take over for those parents that can't (or won't) do anything? Humph. "The problem is seeing opting out of the system as a solution. Instead of looking for solutions within the system, these parents remove themselves and their students, making it more difficult for the school environment to improve for other students. What do these children learn about community?" "When we drop out instead of tackling challenges head on, our world narrows. We suggest that our family is the only one that matters." Oh, now this makes me mad. The reason I started homeschooling was because the "system" wouldn't lift a finger to help us. I asked, I pleaded. Nothing. So don't tell me it is because parents don't want to tackle challenges. This person, whoever they are, obviously hasn't watched the news or tried to actually DEAL with the system!

The last few threads I have started aren't showing up in my content. Anyone have any idea how to fix it?

Yay ;) .. I am not the only one. He has been "good" most of the day. The morning was the roughest. Sigh. We shall see how the evening goes. Or the next hour. Things can happen at any time. I have learned to have snacks on hand. All the time. Yogurt, fruit, cheese... corn dogs. He loves him a corn dog. :) I agree with the food dyes. The only food dyes he gets are the sprinkles on his ice cream and that item is probably the only sugar he gets unless he gets LOTS of protein. I have learned to keep away from sugar. Unless it is natural sugars. I keep frozen smoothies in the freezer and he will eat like 3 a day. Along with at least 2 corn dogs as well as meals. Yea, he eats a lot. He is a big boy. Very stocky but not fat. He is 6 (in June) and he weighs 67 pounds. He gets that from my side of the family. My dad is a big man and my sisters and I, even when thinner, aren't small. I supposedly have the body frame of a 6 foot woman. I am 5' 4". He does exercise a lot. He probably needs more but *I* can't exercise that much. We don't live where he can just ride his bike around forever. Oh yes, he chews his nails constantly as well. Part of the sensory seeking! I can see I don't have it as bad as some. My niece is an Aspie so I know he isn't that bad. But golly. He can just kill me! :) Wendy... can you invite me as well?

Wintermom, yes I HS all three. :) I would love to do freezer meals. If I had the freezer space. I used to have another freezer when I had a rental where the refrigerator was efficient. The one out current LL gave us is so old it takes way to much electricity to run. We tried. So we only use ours. We do walk as a family. Hiking we don't do much. I don't have time to drive to a hiking spot all the time. We don't have anywhere to bicycle. Way to many hills and narrow roads with traffic. Like I said we do walk but with the kids it doesn't really do me much good. My heart rate doesn't get up much.We still try though. I don't run. Yet. Running and me.... well we just shouldn't be used in the same sentence. :)

I do. My youngest. I think his sole purpose in life is to constantly barrage me with demands and irritation. He is a joy, absolute joy! when he is behaving.. well behave is relative but you know what I mean. He is cuddly and loves to "give love" as he calls it. That means hugs and kisses... but then the beast comes out. Usually though he is whining, complaining he wants food (my lord the boy can eat), whining about this and that again. Wants me to get him something, no I don't want to pick up my mess. No I don't want to go in te front door I just went out of I want you to get up and unlock the backdoor and I am going to stand here and knock and make complainy noises until you do. No, I don't' like whatever you suggested so I am going to hide under the table and make moaning noises until you change your mind. I am going to scream because my brother isn't playing the way want him to, or maybe I'll smack him. I haven't decided yet. I am going to go in the refrigerator and knock things over and make things fall out because I didn't ask for help (even though I have been told to and been told several times) because I am hungry... again. I am then going to wait approximately one hour before begging for food again. Because "I'm hungry!" I am going to change my underwear three times today and probably go through two pairs of pants (at least) because I spill a drop of water on them or I take them off outside and drop them in the nice red clay dirt and mud we have around the house. I may change my underwear a couple more times because they fall off my legs in the bathroom and I don't want to pick them up. If I have another pair that is. Mom only goes to the laundromat once a week. I could go on. I know I will be laughing and endeared later by these but for now, with everything I have on my plate these antics just suck the life out of me. I can feel the tension when he asks for something. I can feel the tension as soon as he wakes up. I know he is a doer. He loves to DO things. He almost always goes to the store with me so he can do everything, push the cart, load the cart, unload the cart, load the car etc. But and home I don't have the time to constantly entertain him and the rest of the family gets tired of it too. It is a constant barrage. Yes, I know he is sensory seeking. Always has been. But his sensory seeking is sensory overload for me. We have a small home and there just isn't enough here to hold his interest for long. I am just venting I guess. I have to work today, well I actually work every. single. day. I don't have a day off. I don't have the money for a break. That is my problem though not really part of this particular post. Tell me I am not the only one. Oh and vitamins don't help :P I tried them. My mood wasn't effected! :)

OK. I work from home. My current client requires 15 hours of me. Two of those hours are working on the phone in a virtual call center type atmosphere. That means I have to "sequester" myself in my room for that two hours. That isn't bad BUT we have come to a point where I am going to need to pick up more hours. I don't want to have to be "sequestered" for 10 hours a week. I don't like being shut up for that amount of time. All hell (pardon the word) breaks loose in the house when I am. You should see it when I go grocery shopping but I digress. So this morning I managed to pick up another client that is more data entry. There is no phone work involved. I need to work 10 hours on that client. So I will be working roughly 25 hours a week. It isn't a bad gig, I get to work from home. However it does tend to put a strain on my time. I want your opinions on what subjects we should keep and get rid of. I think I have a pretty good idea but it is good to have validation :) We do math, grammar, writing, history, science, reading (with phonics for our 6yo), Latin, logic, spelling and handwriting. Sounds like a lot but we don't do all every day. So my thinking was to get rid of Latin and logic for now. The core items we would do every day and then rotate others. Does that sound like it would be doable? I also need to fit in grocery shopping, meal making, cleaning and exercise. How do you moms that work full time do it? I am talking 25 hours and am pulling my hair out. Hats off to you. So sound good? Any other ideas? I am open to almost anything!!

How does one do that? I get frustrated somewhat easily. I read the instructions to ds12 3 times. It was simple. He was to read his answer in the box. He kept reading it wrong. Finally I figured out that he didn't follow the previous instructions and boxed the wring answer. He read the answer to be me. I told him to write a box around it. He only wrote a box around the first word. Not the whole thing. Couple this with ds6 running around and trying to antagonize his brother while doing work and knocking over things and not wanting to pick it up because it was making a funny noise. I snapped. Told them both to take a break because I need one and to go play outside. How do I keep from doing this? I hate getting snappy but can't seem to calm down. I think I am lacking a vitamin or something. Maybe I just need a chill pill? I know I need less stress but that just can't happen. Not at this juncture in our lives. So how can I just get over myself and press on. These things can just ruin my whole day.

I am trying to set up an eCommerce site and my eyes are crossed. I can't figure out what to go with nor how to set it up. Here are my questions. 1. I need it to calculate shipping for me. I do not want to have to enter in every state and zip code myself. 2. I want to be able to customize it to look like my website if at all possible. 3. Free is the best as we are just beginning and do not have the funds to pay a monthly stipend for services. So... anything out there that meets those requirements? An aside. I was thinking of just using Wordpress with a plug in. Any experience with that? Thank you!

Is that doable? I know he won't memorize the classification structure, for the most part anyway. By the time I discovered Apologia my older two were past the age of 6 so I don't know if it would be to much. I don't think so if we take it slow but just wanting to see if others can chime in here!

My nemesis. My Achilles heel. I can't find a curricula that I like. I have found books that look promising but no reviews. Is there a comprehensive timeline anywhere that I can use to piece it together myself? I know there are things I will forget. You know like the Revolutionary War or the Salem Witch Trials. Seriously though. I need something that tells even little things. Anything? :)

I am having difficulties searching. I am trying to search for US History. When I type that in it only searches for history. If I try "US", I need three letters. If I try U.S. it searches for "us". How do search for US History? Google it? :) Anyone have strong WTM-search-fu skills? :)

What about changing it from portrait to landscape?

OK, either I am not doing it right or OneNote seems like a whole lot more work that pen and paper. I have to type every. single. thing. into the program? Then add check boxes or whatnot, then make it pretty (if I so choose?). Where is the advantage? I would love to be able to have it all in one spot like everyone is talking about but I just can't seem to wrap my head around how it is easier!

For the 2nd edition of Saxon math what comes in the bundle? The student text, home study packet and tests only? Is there anything else with it (books only, not the DIVE or whatnot)?

Another one I forgot.... Extant with Hallie Berry. So far so good!

Falling Skies.... LOVE it!

They just posted a message on their website that they are having high traffic. I guess I wasn't patient enough! :toetap05:

Is anyone else having trouble getting to the website or is it just me? If you don't have trouble getting to the homepage what happens if you try to search? I keep getting a 500 Internal Sever Error.

Besides the self grading... is the 1.0 version just as good as the 2.0? We were using the 2.0. I thought we'd try something different but dd likes the TT better. However we can't really afford to pay for the 2.0. So do tell!

What is the difference between the two?

Is it really needed? Is it used at all or are only the DVDs needed? If you use it, how do you use it. I thought it was all on the computer? I did have TT once, but honestly I don't remember. We had the self grading and I know I didn't use the textbook at that time but now my kids want to go back to it. So I don't know if I actually need the book or can just use the DVDs. Thanks all!

This cracked me up and I know there are plenty of you that will appreciate this as well!

How can I make this easier for dh? Aside from not inviting my parents over at all ever. Since tomorrow is Independence Day I invited my parents over for BBQ in the evening and then to take the kids to see fireworks. Dh balked. "Well I gotta work anyway so I won't be going". My parents are RVers. The live in an RV in an RV park about 20 minutes away. The "moved" here in April from California. They come over maybe once every 2 weeks or so. It certainly isn't every week. It isn't that he doesn't get along with them per sae. Dh just doesn't get along with anyone. Not even his own family for the most part. So I always tense up when I tell him I want to invite them over. I am afraid to tell him because I know he doesn't like it but what can I tell my parents? Sorry, you can't come over because dh hates people over at the house ever? That isn't fair to me let alone them. Any sage advise on how to make this better?