agreed. That is my thought. We are doing the classical cycle in elementary and migrating towards BJU as they get older with the plan to do exactly what was said here. I am scheduling so that they have room to do at least 1 AP science class before they graduate.

Colleen is right. We all have grandiose plans in August for the coming school year. Then reality sets in. Things get dropped. And on a similar note, we read about mom A doing this wonderful art program with her kids but we don't read about the fact her kids barely read 20 minutes a day. Meanwhile, mom B has her kids reading original works in 5th grade but she spends about 2 hours a YEAR on art. Let's not forget the family that totes their kids to co-ops and sports and music out the wa-zoo and we think, "How on earth do they find the time? or even the money for that matter?" But we don't hear about the fact they don't spend as much sweet family time together as the other family or they skip the Disney vacation that another family goes on every other year. We all have different priorities. You have to find the right and best balance for YOUR family and be okay with it. We support you!!

One of the best weeks to go crowd wise. The kids are all back in school by then. At that point you are just dodging wheels: stroller and wheel chair! :)

I read an article from last month's Homeschool Enrichment referencing this topic. The article wanted to: discourage us from copying for our own purpose and then reselling the original remind the reader the publisher does not make money to keep their doors open when we purchase used to purchase new from the publisher when we are able, even if it is only 1 or 2 books because it helps keep that publisher's doors open I can't afford to buy all new, but I do manage to purchase a few things new here and there because I want the resources available later and more great things from that publisher. Many of us would like to see SWB publish the next round of writing books for the logic stage (grammar is finished). MANY of us would love a set of history books for the logic stage. How is that going to happen if we keep buying used from each other all of the time? Sure, she is a bigger publishing house, but most homeschool curricula aren't. We all want the great ones to stick around and we assume they will... BUT... if we are TOO frugle, we'll shoot ourselves in the foot in the long run. Off my soapbox now...

You want to quilt from the center block and work out. DON'T do the sashing first or you may end up with wrinkle in the blocks. Do the sashing as you go. I've done over 15 tshirt quilts (my business for awhile). I usually just medium stipple the whole thing (no need to stop and think!). Good luck!

Outside of state requirements.... Did they get their necessary work finished? ie: they normally have math, writing, spelling, science and reading that day... did they get it all done? If so, full day, otherwise half the work is half a day. So what if they were having an "A Game" day and finished in an hour and a half. My ds loves to work ahead and have 4 day weeks (polar opposit of his sister). Um... I am not one to come up with extra work and penalize his initiative. I count it as 5 days of work. Does that make sense? What were they doing the rest of the day: volunteering, cooking dinner, sewing, legos? Seriously... those are community, home ec, and engineering.

a LOT on the boards, myself included, look to Rod & Staff for strength in grammar. and a good handful of families have used BJU middle school and high school with tremendous success for grammar (NO problems on SAT verbal). Abeka is strong but many complain of boredom. But there are families out there who really like it - you MIGHT be one of them? There are samples, often placement tests. I know, first hand, BJU customer service is GREAT at helping families getting kids placed at the right level. They have placement exams and stuff, if you wish to spend the money. Or you can just check out their stuff online and guage where you think your student belongs. Good luck.

Heads up: a few science universities, primarily in California, have spoken against credits from BJU, Apologia or other Christian based sciences. It is hard to argue with AP credits and not everyone puts which resources they taught from on the transcript. Just be prepared, particularly with CA, for a few questions and "lip". With that said, I intend to do BJU science in our house for my budding robotic engineer and science lover. We live on the east coast and don't anticipate CA school stuff being an issue for our family.

It worked! My son read all of Aesop's Fables yesterday. My oldest, my reluctant reader, got caught this morning with the laptop in her room because she decided to stay up and read Anne of Green Gables (the ORIGINAL!). Sure enough, she likes the bigger font. WHOO HOO!!

OH! BTW! For your reluctant readers out there, my son was floored I was reading a book on my computer. The medium fascinates him. He asked if there are books HE can read on the computer. Um, Yes! I explained I can only get the original big kid version though. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's fine. Can we get me a book on the computer?" Okay, he is not quite 7 but he read Harry Potter book 1 in the fall in 2 days with amazing comprehension. I don't doubt he could pull White Fang or some other classic. Guess what I'll be doing later today... :D Kindle has a free app you can download to make your computer behave like a Kindle. The classics are free. You can choose to grab other books for your kids that aren't free. But sometime a fresh media might help. PLUS, I know that with my oldest, she'll read pages and pages of large font but will freeze with small font. Kindle lets us adjust that. Just food for thought as a fresh idea for your reluctant readers.

This is my take too. Also, I believe SWB tells us to read an elementary version of the classics in elementary, a middle school version in the logic (where necessary) so that when they get to high school, the original work is no big deal and not intimidating. Besides, if they are familiar with the main idea of the story by the time they read the original work, they can focus their energy on the nuances, the beautiful language, and think more critically about the work. Someone who already is familiar with the Odyssey will have more luck analyzing the book than the person who has never read and not familiar with the book. I have just added 4 Classic Starts to our library and I offer them as prize books. My son grabbed Gulliver's Travels last night and out pacing me as I am reading the original (free download to my free computer kindle app). Um, I better get back to reading! OH! BTW! For your reluctant readers out there, my son was floored I was reading a book on my computer. The medium fascinates him. He asked if there are books HE can read on the computer. Um, Yes! I explained I can only get the original big kid version though. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's fine. Can we get me a book on the computer?" Okay, he is not quite 7 but he read Harry Potter book 1 in the fall in 2 days with amazing comprehension. I don't doubt he could pull White Fang or some other classic. Guess what I'll be doing later today... :D

I want to say that they offer free shipping. Of course, if your order is big enough ($150+), you get free shipping regardless.

Well said, Mrs.Mungo. :)

We are doing an online virtual science camp with another member on the board this summer (we used to live near each other). Our kids are about the same ages (elementary). We grabbed the same Janice VanCleave science experiment book. I am heading it up. We will meet online using a chat engine once a week to do experiments or discuss experiments together (a few have to be started ahead of time). Each week is a different theme. I hope it goes well. we participated in a science club back in TX. Each mom had to sign up to lead a meeting / demo / whatever. There was a central coordinator who did the first meeting and after that... It worked well and we had a nice variety of topics and experiments. HTH.

This is our EXACT schedule. We did it this past year and it was PHENOMINAL. Best school year to date. No burn out. Time to play. Time to plan. Time to cook ahead (during week off). Time for field trips ad visits to parents. I highly recommend it.

I think this is a great suggestion. We finished R&S 3 up in January but my dd doesn't start 4th until this fall. I opted to focus on WWE and narration skills this semester, an area she was weak and needed practice. I feel refreshed and ready to take on grammar again come August. And given there are only ~120 lessons a year, 4 days a week, it is easy enough to condense, take a break come back and still EASILY catch up. And remember that R&S gets very aggressive in the later grades as it condenses 12 years of grammar into 10 years. I also know someone who planned on knocking out grammar in the summer just to have 1 less subject during the year. There are all sorts of ways to take a break without leaving a program that is WORKING for your family.

Elemental Science lays it out following TWTM methodology and philosophy. It is age appropriate, easy to ramp up for olders, DOABLE. I believe the OP mentioned having a degree in science. By nature, you are going to have higher standards for a science program, and likely math program as well. Can I remind you of something you already know? Science can't get super rigorous until the students have a reasonbly strong math foundation. One can't balance a chemical equation until they can do serious algebra. One can't easily do basic physical science until multiplication, division, and fractions are down. You know this stuff. With all of that said, be sure your kiddos are having fun with science - which means finding a program you can do. For MANY families on this board, that means Elemental Science. Also, check out www.superchargedscience.com. We are doing her summer camp and the kids are having a good time with it. It might be to your liking given you are science minded.

Used ES-Bio this year and I can say without a doubt it follows TWTM guidelines / structure, etc. 1. EASY to implement and follow. 2. Age appropriate and very easy to ramp up for the olders. 3. Time and time again there are posts on this board it is the ONLY science program their family has actually stuck to. 4. Does the copywork / narration just like SWB suggests. 5. Does copywork/narration 2-3 times a week with drawings just as suggested. 6. Uses a comprable experiment book to the Mudpies to Magnets the SWB suggests. We liked it enough we are doing ES-Eart Science and Astronomy in the fall with plans to keep going and take on Chem the following year.

:iagree: Being a mom of an ADD impulsive child, and given the behavior, I would say absolutely no way to camp. I would explain that until behavior and impulsiveness GREATLY improves, there will be no privelages like sleep away camp. Given how much she wants it, it might be just enough to get her attention that current behavior will not be tolerated and may be just enough to motivate some internal change.

Look for a classical ballet school that offers other types of dance as well. There are 2 types of dance schools: recital based and performance based. Performance based tends to offer more options for boys and will have boy parts for the performances.

Try this: http://www.amazon.com/Kandoo-Kangaroo-Hops-into-Homeschool/dp/0890512906/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307554666&sr=8-1

In SWB's talk on teachiing writing to elementary students (downloadable for $3.99 at PHP), she explains the benefits of teaching grammar. Basically, when a student writes a sentence and it is unclear or akward, you can have the student diagram the sentence and realize what is wrong. Strong grammar skills, a strong understanding of how a sentence should be contructed correctly, enables us to teach our students to be stronger writers and more effectively express themselves, particularly during the rhetoric years. Many of us chose a classical education because we want our kids to receive the education we never received, to ensure they receive an education superior to our local public school systems where grammar is ignored (not all systems ignore it so let's just let me point out many do). If we want our kids to have this education, then let's make sure they have the foundation necessary to produce that education.

These are GREAT ideas. For me, it is the daily packing that is a drag. My solution? Prepare several days of food at once and put in baggies or reusable containers. So, if you would need 3 servings of watermelon balls for 1 outing, maybe make 9 servings at once to cover 3 outings. Bag up a ton of pretzels, etc. Then it becomes MUCH easier to grab and go.

Something similar happened to me through Paperback Swap. I was accused of sending a book in poor condition and now it isn't tradeable, etc. The book was like new when I sent it. It is her word against mine. I agree- very frustrating and what a time waster to have to deal with it.

I'm so glad you are in SUCH good care! Houston Medical center is one of the best in the country. In case you aren't aware, there are *2* homeschool stores not far from you. One is a new and used curriculum store on the north side of town www.thehomeschoolstore.com off Judiway. The other is down toward Clear Lake (NASA) called HEP www.HEPBookstore.com. If you and the family opt to check out the space center, be sure to stop by. The owner, Joann Juren, is super nice and her staff is great. Good luck with the treatment and please keep us updated. Blessings, Laurie Beth