I can't think of one worse than Sugar Walls, but a close second would be "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder. .....Nobody gonna' slooooww meeee dow-un, oh no, I got ta keep on mooovin! :driving:

The whole idea of having community supplies in a classroom is just ridiculous in my opinion. Back in my school days, we were responsible for bringing our supplies, keeping them in our desks, and taking care of them. If we ran out of something, it was our responsibility to either bring in a replacement or buy it from the school bookstore. If we wanted to have nice scissors and big boxes of crayons, that was our business. If little Johnny was careless and lost supplies, then it's little Johnny's problem. If you only had money for one pencil and an 8-pack of crayons, then that's what you brought. End of story.

I have a 4th grader and a 1st grader. We used SOTW 1, then used SOTW2 and Sonlight 2, and now we are ready for American History. I wanted to use Sonlight 3, but after I was able to really look over the books, I realized it was challenging for my 4th grader, and way too much for my 1st grader. I ordered Winter Promise. I ordered it the first week of June, and I STILL don't have everything. I can't even start, because some of the books I need are used the first week or two. I don't know if this makes any sense, but I am so frustrated with the company that I can't seem to bring myself to even want to use it anymore. The fact that I have had to repeatedly contact them and continue asking them to send my stuff just has taken all the excitement out of it, and it has made me angry that I've spent $500 and have had such lousy service. The fact that they are cordial does not help. I just want my stinkin' books! I'm seriously thinking of returning the stuff I already have, and just going back to my trusty Story of the World. What would you do? I like WP, but would it be really foolish to return something just because the business end of it really stinks?

Yes, I agree that they are very good about working things out. They have been really nice, but I just want my books!! We've been emailing back and forth, and I finally feel like they are finishing up my order. According to their email, I should get everything I lack next week except for two books. I can live with that! I am so very excited about using WP. I think it will have been worth the wait. My kids are so ready to dive into the trades kit.

I ordered on June 6th, and still have not received everything. I can't begin because I don't even have all the books needed for the first week. I really like their curriculum, but I am so aggravated. Has anyone else's experience been the same? Thanks

I despise group field trips. I tried them for the first year or so that we homeschooled, then I said enough is enough! Now we just go where we want to go, when we want to go. Sometimes we ask another family or two to come along.

I feel your pain. I was in the same boat, and your description of your son sounds much like my oldest dd (she is also 9yrsold). After trying everything, I found someone who is the director for a small school for dyslexic children. She was able to test my dd for much less $$ than a professional, and she sent me in the right direction. My dd has auditory processing issues, and all this time I thought it was dyslexia! So...she is now going once a week to a reading specialist that uses the Wilson Reading System. I was skeptical, but it has helped her immensely in the very areas you mentioned. I am amazed at her progress.

We are in Chapter 22 (almost finished!!!) of CKE Earth and Space. It has been such a great program for us. My dd is in 3rd grade, and the text is right on target for her. She is so proud of all of the flashcards she has made throughout the year. After reading each chapter she would want to know more. So we would look up things on the internet (videos of weather related stuff, or photos of things we had read about) or read extra books. The experiments are a bit lacking, though, IMHO. We did the ones we liked, then I checked out one of Janice van Cleave's experiment books at the library and we did some of her experiments too. I think that CKEES takes a potentially boring year of science and makes it really fun. I didn't care much for earth science before this, but I've really changed my mind after this curriculum.

Oh that is awesome! Dh and I are huge REM fans. They remind us of college years. Dh has "It's the end of the world as we know it" as his ring tone!! My favorites are Belong Superman King of Birds Radio Free Europe Driver 8 Oh what am I saying....I love them all!!!! :thumbup:

If you must dissect owl pellets, and then want to save the tiny tiny bones of the prey so you can impress all of your friends, DO NOT leave them on the ledge that runs across the wall along the basement steps. They WILL get knocked over and they are not easy to find on indoor/outdoor carpet. :tongue_smilie:

RoughCollie, are you originally from New England? Because with all those sayings you might be from my neck of the woods! Grinnin' like a possum eatin' sawbriers! (that's a really big smile) This is a goat ropin' (when things are just out of control) Quit strawbossin' (when someone is bossing you around but not helping) Cain't never could do nothin' (when someone says they "can't") She's got one foot in the grave (someone really old) I didn't take you to raise! (I'm not your mother)

My pet peeve is when someone tells me that they are outspoken. Recently I've had two fairly new friends tell me that. They both said in different words that they "speak their mind" and that's just the way they are. It's like they are telling me in advance so that they can just say whatever they want to say. It just is annoying.

My MIL, bless her heart, has never given me compliments about anything. A few years ago, we invited her over for lasagna. She ate and then in her most gruff voice said, "Is that lasagna homemade or is that one of those FROZEN DINNERS?" I replied, "It is homemade." She replied, "Hm." No emotion, no other words. Fast forward to last Thanksgiving. I cooked a feast and had my family and my MIL over. Everyone was so complimentary, except one person (guess who!). After the meal, my MIL pointed to my delicious, homemade cornbread dressing, and said in her same gruff voice, "Is that dressing homemade or is that a MIX?" "It's homemade." "Hm" I gave her the benefit of the doubt on the lasagna, but she KNEW that dressing was homemade, yet that was her way of insulting me. :boxing_smiley:

I wonder if the work load is too much for her. Just wondering, because my oldest is 9 and she is only a 3rd grader. My dd is easily distracted, and my dh claims that he was just like her when he was a kid. He suggested that I face her work table against a wall, and I thought it was so cruel. But it has helped her so much. She has independent work, but we began with short assignments and have slowly built up. Routine is very important to a distractable child. So we do her subjects in the same order each day, and her independent work is highly structured and very similar from day to day. I assign "homework" for her, which is the same every night: 1)Read a few pages from whatever book we are reading and 2)go through the multiplication flash cards. If she does her homework then she gets a sticker on a homework chart, and when it is full (about 30 spaces) she gets a prize (I took her to get ice cream the last time). Also, don't get discouraged if it takes a while for her to get into certain habits. At first, my dd would forget to do her "homework" quite a bit, and I really didn't remind her for the most part, and I never gave her a lecture about it. After she started to earn stickers on her homework page, and realized that going for ice cream was only so many more days away, she really started to take more responsibility. Now, she is so in the habit that I NEVER have to remind her. That is amazing to me as I type it. And I made a point to make sure the only way she was going to go out for ice cream was to earn it---otherwise, it wouldn't have been as important to her. Their ability to hyperfocus can be used to help them develop habits, so use that to your advantage.

We spend about $500 a month on groceries. That includes some toiletries, but not all. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 children.

We used FLL 1/2 and I LOVED it. I bought FLL 3 and we tried it for a while, but honestly, it just wasn't a good fit anymore. My dd was not ready for diagramming. I wanted something that didn't continue to pile on the grammar--I wanted something that would allow her to use the knowledge she had already and become more and more confident with it. So, I bought Growing With Grammar 3. She and I both LOVE it. With FLL, we did the lessons together from start to finish. With level 3 that got really frustrating. With GWG, you go over a few pages together that explains the topic, then the child does the workbook to reinforce the lesson. She can do it on her own. It really has been a great choice for us. I still think that FLL 1/2 is great, and I know many children would do fine with FLL 3. But it just wasn't for us.

Why am I getting the same rebate as someone who makes half of what I make? We paid in a higher percentage of our income, why are they giving out checks that are across the board the same? It is mind boggling that people don't see this as unfair. When it's time to pay taxes, then I would LOVE to pay the same amount (OR EVEN THE SAME PERCENTAGE!!) as someone who makes "at least $3000 last year". Our income tax system is a joke.