My son did the SWI A in a co-op class and did fairly well. I like that there was the checklist, but I too have trouble implementing it with just TWSS DVDs. I'm going to try using the student manual for SWI and my TWSS teacher manual and see how it goes. I'm trying the Susan Wise Bauer approach also. I'm a scatterbrain in the writing department. I just know that ds is still using some dress ups in his writing naturally now and I know it's because of IEW. He did improve. Anyone done the Susan Wise Bauer approach with dress-ups? Why do the SICC courses cost soooooo much?!?! Beth

Here's the issue, I did watch TWSS (borrowed it) and never understood the whole story outline thing. After watching a one minute preview of the overview DVD, I finally got it. I am such a visual learner, a good TM really helps. TWSS teacher manual is not that well set up. I have this love/hate thing going on with IEW. I really don't like the program as a teacher- I get lost in the DVDs. I do like that it works off of what the child is already reading and has a checklist of what is expected. I am just having trouble buying the program as is because it is a DVD program for the teacher. Why couldn't they have done a good TM? AARG! Beth

Could you technically get away with ordering the overview of TWSS and the tips and tricks DVDs and be able to implement the program (at least the first 5 units or so)? Beth

We have a son named Judah. You get to know really quickly who reads their Bible because the ones who don't think Judah is a girl name :001_huh:. We've only met one other Judah. I can bet you won't find another Judah in our whole school district. It means "now I will praise the Lord". Beth

Here's what we do for Halloween. We get fast food, get a good kids movie and let them eat the candy of their choice. We don't open the door to trick or treaters because most of them would scare our daughter. They look forward to it each year and don't feel like they're missing out. It's turned into a nice family night. Also, we usually tell people the reason we do it is to save $100 on costumes, candy, ect. Besides, it's really cold outside that time of year and all our kids can't trick or treat anyway. Beth

Could you "cheat" on the expense and just get the following? Structure and Style Overview DVD Tips & Tricks for Teaching through the Nine Units I am also thinking again (love/hate relationship with IEW) about IEW and am wondering if you could get away with just buying the above dvds. I am a short, sweet, and to the point kind of gal and I don't need someone going over an example. Just tell me how to do it and get on with life! Beth

This is my second year of writing out ds's assignments and having him do them (he's in 4th grade now). I started him with the independent work only because we adopted dd last year and I knew it would be crazy (it was). Sometimes I put a "see mom" on the assignment sheet which means he needs me to teach him something. It's been very successful. In a few weeks, I am going to transition him to starting to schedule out his assignments and letting him sink or swim. We're starting with his scheduling history readings and then going from there. He'll figure out how much he can handle in a day. He's also starting to argue about how much reading I give him in a given day so it will be good for him to be the king of his schedule. Beth

Do you remember when you were in your 20's? I had a LOT of mixed up ideas (even as a Christian). A lot of my thoughts about things changed once I had kids and are changing again when my ds hit 10 years old. She's young and I think inexperience with life in general is a big player in this saga. She also had no idea about what is appropriate reading for that age group and seemed shocked that parents had problems with what the students were reading and not applauding her for higher test scores. I bet when her child is older, she might have trouble with those books also. If not, blame it on the progressive everything goes attitude prevalent in society. IMO, it doesn't seem the teacher had an agenda, she was just naive. Beth

I have tried WA for a few assignments in Unit 1 for my 4th grader. I like that they relate to the history he is reading, but I don't know how to give him the "word" level of instruction. I have listened to M. Sommervile's talk on teaching writing, and a lot of it seems to be intuitive from the teacher on how to get them to develop good writing. I'm finding that just because ds reads good literature doesn't mean he writes good literature. I liked IEW because it taught them to use better words, but I didn't like the whole key word outline stuff. So, what to use? Beth

We had friends that adopted two boys from Russia at 10 and 12 years old. They both had RAD. She called it quits when one of the boys tried to shoot her. She honestly hopes that Russia makes it impossible to adopt children from their country because these children wreck families (in her opinion). We adopted a year ago. Thankfully, our daughter has almost fully attached well to us (there are still some little issues here and there - not horrible/very manageable), but until she did, she was the sweet to strangers and horrible to us. She was 2 1/2 when we adopted her. Funny thing - but one of the turning points for her was when she had to have a medical procedure and I stuck to her like glue comforting her and singing to her. She saw me as a safe haven at that point thankfully. Even though she's bonded to us, I'm still in process of bonding to her because of all those first months. For the first few months, I was convinced I had ruined our family forever. It would be a nightmare to have to continue dealing with her if she was still like that. I read the nice adoption books for children that paint this pretty picture of everything going so smooth and how the mom loved her child right from the beginning. I say "HA!" It may be like that for some, but not for all. God has adopted us as children and I bet you more than one of us has had a rocky transition from sinner to "saint". Beth

I had 1/2 of mine removed at 15 years old. I don't remember having trouble speaking once my throat healed from the breathing tube. I know that sometimes they can hurt your voice box while they're in there. Everything is so close in that area. So, I would say, you should be able to talk normal in less than a week. Beth

Yes- my son is ready for D next year. I was going to push him that direction and take a year to get full speed. His latest argument was why three people can't be on the trampoline at the same time and used all sorts of examples of why they should be allowed to do that. As far as the UG/LG question, my ds (K) is reading on a 2nd grade level and will most likely progress this year. He would be ready for some UG readings in 1st or most likely 2nd grade, BUT he doesn't have the maturity to handle the workload or the topics. He still needs basic information. He will just read more appropriate books to bump up his reading level, but history will stay at his grade level. Kids in early elementary really just need the time to work on the basics and have history as the "gravy". Keep it simple. Beth

I live in southern MN and we had 10.5 inches of rain in 36 hours. Our sump pump failed and the insurance adjuster was here today. We spent 3 days tearing out soaked carpet pad and still have fans on. In case you're wondering, 10.5 inches is what a hurricane dumps in its duration. It's sunny and we're drying off! Beth

What would you consider to be an arguing child who is arguing on an abstract level? Could you give me an example? I may have a 10 year in that category. He's definately changing to a different level of something... Beth

I had a similar situation and all I wanted was to know my baby was OK. You carry around this baby for nine months, something goes wrong, and suddenly this baby you love and want to protect is in someone elses care. AND, you really don't know what your baby looks like or if they're in pain, ect. If I were you, I would go over to the other hospital and take a camera and video camera with me to take pictures and video of her baby. Then go back to see her with all those pictures. Even better - see if you could borrow two laptops and skype her baby back to her (if they let you). That would make her feel a lot better. Beth

That's good to hear. I've come to realize due to my family situation, I will most likely never join a community unless it's a 5 minute drive from my house. Are you doing the memory work alone? I'm pretty sure I can convince a family or two to do it with me, but gotta make sure dh wants this also. Beth

This was my dh's argument against the CC memorization when I was discussing it with him over the summer. I'm having him read the book to see if it influences him. So, right now, we are memorizing Bible verses, poems, the timeline, and anything that comes up in their language arts (FLL memorization pieces) or math. CC does make it easier with the songs and graphics, but it's not so bad right now either. We will start with maps once I figure it out a bit more. Beth

I've been reading "The Core" by Liegh Bortins. It's really made me think about the direction we take in our homeschool. It seems like there are two thought processes almost. We've got TWTM approach which gives a lot of book resources for science and history and "The Core" method whose main focus is memorization for the Grammar years. I've gleaned some things from the book which make sense to me. The one thing I'm going to start implementing is having my kids be able to draw the world by heart. It makes more sense to me than just filling out maps that relate to what they're learning (and subsequently- not memorizing them/forgetting what they learned). So, anyone want to ponder the question of letting your K-6 grades just focus on memorization as the core and the books and experiments as the gravy? Beth

I guess the reason why I'm mostly looking into it is for the junior high/ high school years. My #2 son is motivated by competition. If we joined next year, he would be in essentials also. Dd would be in the nursery (which would be interesting in itself) and #3 would be in foundations alone. We already do a weekly co-op (switch off between TOG co-op and art class). We do pretty good with what we're doing now, I just see potential issues down the road with ds#2 and motivation to do well. I'm trying to head those off before they come. I also want a little more simplicity. Beth

Anybody doing this program as their spine? Anyone? Beth

yup- still out of pocket deductible...

He admits that he isn't a handyman and doesn't think like one. I unfortunately do. He told me to come up with a list of things that I see needing to be done that aren't getting done. The thing is, he admits that he doesn't know how to do them and we don't have the cash (especially now) to pay for the help. I have around 15-20 things on that list. Broken tiles, windows that still need to be varnished from the basement re-do, moldy trim, on and on. He does mow and fertilize the lawn, but I do the weeding and trimming (which is not getting done either). Part of the problem is that we have an 11 year old baby. We can't really work together and I'm just having trouble figuring out how to make the best use of someone to babysit our 11 year old. It's hard, I'm tired and I'm going to get a hot shower and hit the bed. It's been two days of ripping out soaked carpet padding. Nothing like 1200 sq feet of disaster. Nothing compared to a lot of people. And just for the record, our part of MN had 10.5 inches of water in 36 hours. Hurricanes soak as much. Beth

Do you find that Classical conversations makes your homeschool more hectic or easier? I wouldn't do it as a supplement, but our whole program. I love TOG, but am looking for outside support and another "motivator". I am struggling also with a 10 year old who has gotten very emotional about school work as of late. See here for my other issues: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2058988#post2058988 Beth

Yesterday our basement partially flooded. Yes, a pain to be sure, but it's brought up all the issues that I have been shoving under the rug. You see, when we were finishing our basement, I "knew" the sump pump didn't work. It became my responsibility and between doctor visits for my sons upcoming surgery and homeschooling, and everything else, I dropped the ball. So, we got a flood. In our house, I am responsible almost solely for the following: money management cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, all shopping for anything really home maintenance (ie. when a window in our house broke, I worked with the warranty department to get a replacement, called the guy to put it in, and varnished the thing) homeschooling everything except an occasional devotion time from my husband at night Working with insurance, social services, and the school district - think lots of paperwork (my son has HUGE special needs and my daughter has a cl/cp with hearing aids) Scheduling and taking both special kids to doctor visits (we are at a minimum of three a week) while trying to maintain all the other doctor/dentist visits for the rest of us Basically, it's too much and stuff is falling through the cracks - like the sump pump. I can't do it - I don't sleep well at night needless to say. I'm feeling overwhelmed. My husband is a great dad and excellent at what he does, but he's gone for around 11 hours of the day at work with commuting. He loves us and we can tell, but no one ever taught him all the things needed to be a husband beyond loving your wife and kids. My nearest family connection is 350 miles away. I'm asking him to figure out a way to make a little more money so I can hire a handyman all the time. A housekeeper would be nice, but for now, we can't afford either. Help? How do I do this? Beth

I've had my Bosch 7-8 years now. I make 5 loaves of fresh milled whole wheat bread at a time. I pay about 75 cents per loaf. 7 years of bread for my family probably saved me over $2000 just until now. For us, it's worth it. If you're not making bread all the time, save the money and get a kitchenaid. By the way, I have perfected making squishy whole wheat bread in my bosch. So many people asked my how I did it, so I blogged it here: http://myfathersdaughter7.blogspot.com/2010/03/beths-bread.html Beth