I start IEW in 2nd grades with just simple paragraphs and key word outlines. I add more units in 3rd and by 4th, we're doing the whole program. I like IEW to teach skills, but don't continue it past 7th grade. I like it because it gives my math brain a formula to follow. I know what they need to write a paper and I know how to help them make it better. English is not my strong point and this gives me a systematic way of teaching writing. Another reason I like it is because writing is a bunch of skills smushed together-- spelling, handwriting, punctuation, grammar, and what to write about. IEW takes out the "what to write about" so the child can concentrate on just the skill of writing paragraphs. I think it just makes things simpler.

I have a soon to be 8 year old who is in first grade. She has a late May birthday. I started k when she was a solid 6 years old. Her maturity is running about a year younger. She reads at a 3rd grade level and is doing 2nd grade math but there are other skills she is solidly 1st only because of maturity. I just wanted to give her extra time in the high school years if she needed it. I just figured if she was going to the public school, I would have never enrolled her in K at age 5. At it stands, it's just a number and I can always graduate her early. She works at her own pace.

For anyone who may search for this later...I found these: http://www.gatekeepersafe.com/baby-gates-gallery.php They look like they're much safer. I'm sure there's a nice price tag with them. Since they are custom made, I am seeing if they can add a spring hinge to them. If not, I think one of those springs to have garden gates close automatically should do the trick. I googled elder care and safety gate and got a whole different range of options.

I may wind up doing that. I was just hoping for an easy solution. I do like the alarm thing. Those are fairly easy to install. Maybe I have to do a combo thing - specialty door/gate along with an alarm. Right now I have a door to the basement with special hinges that make the door close automatically. We bought a house that had most of our requirements with the thought we could make changes as needed. This is our biggest concern overall. I like to give ds freedom to roam the house, but I have to make it secure first.

I have a 15 year old "toddler" in a wheelchair. He has no sense of personal safety. In a month we will be moving to a home with an open basement staircase. I also have other children who forget often. If I put a traditional safety gate at the top of the stairs, I can see a sibling opening the gate to go downstairs and forgetting to close it. That is a serious safety issue. Are there any automatically locking safety gates? I have thought about putting a piece of furniture at the top of the stairs, but logistically, that doesn't work at all since I would constantly be having to move the piece of furniture to get past it for bathroom access. Beth

I'm STILL telling my dd to flush the toilet and wipe her butt...She STILL forgets when she's in a hurry. Sigh...

salsa and sour cream - yum

My daughter chewed/ground teethed her way through one of those clear plastic retainers in less than a month. The previous one lasted 2 months. After the second one, they made her a pretty thick plastic and wire retainer - very old school. They didn't charge us. It was part of the all-in-one cost of my daughter's weird mouth. She grinds her teeth and has the habit of chewing on these things like gum. She's only 7 though (yes, she needed orthodontics due to a cleft lip/palate - there's no way I would put braces on a child this young!).

Another thing I've thought about since posting last is that you also lose your husband's ability to help around the house. Since my dh was gone most of the weekday, he would really want to spend the weekends catching up with the kids. He is a good dad and wanted to have part in their lives. Guess what doesn't happen when dh is being a good dad - household maintenance. I just learned that if I wanted to have stuff fixed, I had to call the repairman or do it myself. When my 14 year old got big enough, he started doing a lot of the lawn stuff, but a lot of other stuff fell on my shoulders or just didn't get done. A honey-do list has been my list for the whole time we've been here. So, before my dh lost his job, I came to a point where I just couldn't continue with life as it has been. Homeschooling, every doctor appointment for my two medical kids, all the house maintenance, everything had been on my shoulders and I just couldn't do it anymore. I was done. We have a home that is completely wheelchair accessible (which is probably just as hard to find as a big family home) and we are giving it up so dh doesn't have to commute so long. A home is one thing. Having a dh who wants to be a good dad and have time to do it is priceless. I also get to have less burden on my plate because it can now be share between us instead of me shouldering it all.

My dh commuted for about an hour for all of my oldest's life - 15 years. During the winter snow and construction times, it would be more like 1 1/2 hours each way. He would leave before the kids got up and be back by supper-time which didn't leave him much time to interact with the kids before the youngers went to bed. When he lost his job a few months ago, we decided that we would have to move - mostly to get rid of the commute time. I am seeing the results of a life with a dh who had such long commutes. He wants to be a good dad and be more involved but I had to really run things around here because he was gone so much. His day was an 11 hour day. I know lots of people do this, but now that my husband has moved to our next state to start work while I pack up the home, I am seeing that my kids don't seem to notice or miss his absence much. They're used to him not being here much except weekends. After we move, dh will have a 15 minute commute. He's getting back 1 1/2 to 2 hours EVERY DAY to be dad to his children. I would suggest NO NO NO NO!!! Especially with the larger family you have. You will feel like a single parent during the week and your children will learn to live without dad being a bigger influence in their lives. Short term is one thing - beyond 6 months and it's really going to start changing the dynamics of your family.

Can you tell me the name of the university model school? I am moving to the Springs next month.

My husband, in his temporary apartment waiting for us to move has a sign at the top of the hill. It reads, "Slow dangerous hill". The implication is that you should slow down because the hill is a bit steep and dangerous. The way I read it is that the hill is a little slow, but could be dangerous - like a sloth if it whacked you with those scary nails at the end of his big hands. Don't worry! The hill is known as dangerous, but it's also a little slow in reaction time so you should be ok if you take it fast. A comma would have been a nice addition in this case.

My son had scoliosis diagnosed first at 16 months old. He probably had it before that time. His was a classic s curve brought on by low muscle tone and a chromosome disorder. He was immediately put into a back brace to correct it and hold him together. At 11, he had two rods put in and extra bone tissue to fuse his spine. By 11, the back brace couldn't hold his curve anymore - there's a degree of curve that a brace just can't hold. They never actually mentioned as he was growing that spinal surgery was a strong possibility. I always knew in the back of my mind and never wanted to "know" so I didn't ask. My son had a lot more going on than just the scoliosis so you may want to take my experience with a grain of salt. If they suggest a back brace, here's my two cents. A back brace can be very restrictive and you may want your child to achieve some developmental milestones before a brace if possible (like walking). Also, with a young child, maybe ask about physical therapy so they can learn to move with the back brace. Strengthening exercises would also help. Also, ask "what would happen if we did nothing". Go with your mommy gut. Our specialist wanted to put my son into a neck brace also. I said no - he was already having issues with looking down to eat or do activities. His quality of life would have been restricted. Turns out that his curve got really bad much further down his back - not anywhere close to his neck. If your gut says no, then talk about alternatives. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. It isn't fun.

I'm paying a little more than that for my ds's online classes. By the time you factor in all the costs of Challenge (you have supply fees, facility fees, etc), I'm coming out even. He's getting almost 9 hours instructional time with professional teachers who will grade his work for me. I had a friend who tried to convince me Challenge was the way to go for him until I realized that he would have to repeat a science he already did, he would have to repeat a math he already did, and the Latin he would be taking was a year ahead of him. Oh, and they don't grade assignments because the "Parent is the main teacher". No thanks.

Number 92. And that may take a while because most of the libraries in our system do only local reserves. Our library is one of the few "generous" libraries, so it may take a really long time. I have considered buying it. I haven't bought a book for myself in a LONG time.

I HATED science for this very reason. The little kid always wanted to be in the midst of everything "helping" and it turned to chaos quickly. I am starting to think we may be successful with a science program with experiments next year and my youngest will be 8!!! I farmed out science for my 10 year old this year and all my 14 year old ds has to do is growl at the interruptor when he's doing his experiments and he gets to be alone with them.

My son started Botox treatments for tight hamstrings when he was 5. He was good to go for about 5 years and then he started a growth spurt. He has had botox treatments once a year for 5 years now. He can't really tell us if they're painful, but he's given laughing gas to calm him and he doesn't even flinch when they're happening. I know some kids have to have a light sedation. It takes a couple of weeks to see that it worked, but I can easily tell his muscles are much looser. Before, I could stretch his leg to around 120 degrees. Afterward, I can stretch his leg to close to 180 degrees. He does use knee immobilizers to keep his legs stretched out at night just to make the effects last longer. I know some kids have to have it repeated twice a year. It really does work for my child. We've had no side effects. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone else.

With my 5th grader next year, I want to start American history. He's been all over the place with history--mostly trying to fit in what older brother was doing and we never quite got to a good study of American history. We have been doing Heart of Dakota and he should be going into the Creation to Christ section. He remembers quite a bit of that era - not so much American revolution to present. I like how HOD asks the questions, includes poetry, includes bible memorization, and includes note booking. I need something laid out like that for me otherwise it doesn't get done. Is there anything like HOD for 5th grade with american history? Beth

We've had winters like this. The relenting snow that kept on coming - makes one want to cry. The last straw for me was when it snowed a ton and we had a snow drift from the plow up to my shoulder. There's nothing so discouraging as cleaning it up just to have to go out and do it again. And then to have to do it alone? Oy vey.

I make mine in the oven with the oven light on. I have an electric oven so no pilot light from a gas stove. Just the oven light will keep it warm enough. I make a gallon of yogurt at a time using only 2 T of plain yogurt from the store (or whatever yogurt I have left over from another batch), a gallon of milk, 1/2 cup of dried milk, and canning jars. Total cost around the price of a gallon of whole milk. Around here, a quart of yogurt will cost close to that much. I make it and put it in the oven overnight. In the morning I have yogurt. The only time it takes me is keeping watch over the heating up the milk.

I have outsourced English for two years (someone else to motivate and grade ds' papers) and this year a logic and apologetics course that 's a requirement for the Potter's school classical track. Then, it will be all literature, history, and composition. I will do science, math, and Latin at home with my 14 year old ds. I have no trouble outsourcing classes for high school. If we had more money and my ds had more motivation, I would do all of them. It's cheaper than private school. We are moving to a location with more homeschooling options so I hope there's something like an art/PE class all in one chunk of time.

I have been in and out of hospitals sleeping on the uncomfortable beds they have many a night. I saw what I can only describe as a pro getting ready to go home with her child. She had one of those egg shell foam things you put on beds. She made an uncomfortable plastic couch-bed comfy! I was very impressed. See if the hospital will give a parent meal in the kids room. Sometimes you have to pay, sometimes it's included. There is always plenty to do for a kid. They even have staff to make sure the kid is well entertained. I wound up using laptops or books for myself. Last time I was in the hospital with my daughter, she just watched Frozen again and again. She was in Elsa and Anna heaven. She thinks hospitals are great places to be.

Where would you find those corrections for the 2nd edition? I can handle a few here and there but he has pages of corrections. Some of his corrections are just formatting errors, but some of them are pretty significant. I did buy the 2nd edition already and it would be nice to have the list of corrections.

Wow - you would hope that in 8 years they would correct the problem? My oldest will use it next year. I just bought the 2nd edition on Amazon. I also emailed Apologia with my concerns and also to warn them that they may have a public relations issue with this edition.

Have any of you read this? http://blog.drwile.com/?p=13271 If this is true (he doesn't seem to have a grudge), I will be looking for used 2nd editions. Please no comments about how I should use a secular textbook---I tried that route and found it hard to teach and hard to get all the materials needed. Anyone have thoughts on this?